TNA 2005 Super X Cup Tournament
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The 2005 Super X-Cup Tournament was a professional wrestling X-Cup tournament held by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Then X Division Champion Christopher Daniels provided guest commentary for a number of the matches, where he coined the unofficial nickname for the tournament: "The Christopher Daniels Invitational".
The tournament began with eight wrestlers, and culminated in a final match live at Sacrifice on August 14, 2005. The tournament was won by Samoa Joe, who won a shot at "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels for the TNA X Division Championship at the Unbreakable pay-per-view.
The other participants in the tournament were Sonjay Dutt, Matt Bentley, A.J. Styles, Alex Shelley, Shocker, Chris Sabin and Petey Williams.
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Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals of the tournament were televised during the TNA iMPACT! episodes on July 22 and July 29, 2005.
Samoa Joe vs. Sonjay Dutt
Samoa Joe defeated Sonjay Dutt on the July 22 episode of iMPACT! in a rematch of their first meeting at Slammiversary. Dutt lasted considerably longer, but in the end he tapped out when put in an STF followed by the Coquina Clutch (rear naked choke).
Matt Bentley vs. "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles defeated Matt Bentley on the July 22 episode of iMPACT! Traci, Bentley's valet, distracted referee Rudy Charles while Bentley went for one of her shoes to knock out Styles. America's Most Wanted came out and "Cowboy" James Storm gave the Superkick to Bentley while the referee was still distracted by Traci, allowing Styles to get the pin.
Alex Shelley vs. Shocker
Alex Shelley defeated Shocker on the July 29 episode of iMPACT! Shelley got the pin by pulling Shocker into a La casita/head-scissor pin combination, a signature maneuver of Shocker.
Chris Sabin vs. "The Canadian Destroyer" Petey Williams
Petey Williams defeated Chris Sabin on the July 29 episode of iMPACT! A-1, a member of Team Canada, came out and distracted the referee while Sabin hit his Cradle Shock finisher. Williams was able to get Team Canada's signature hockey stick Canadian flag and ram Sabin in the gut with it, allowing Williams to hit his Canadian Destroyer finisher for the pin.
Semifinals
The semifinals of the tournament were televised on the August 5 and August 10, 2005, episodes of TNA iMPACT!
Samoa Joe vs. Alex Shelley
Samoa Joe defeated Alex Shelley on the August 5 episode of TNA iMPACT! He got the victory by submission with a Muscle Buster followed by his Coquina Clutch, causing Shelley to pass out.
A.J. Styles vs. Petey Williams
A.J. Styles defeated Petey Williams on the August 10 episode of TNA iMPACT! Styles was able to thwart an attempt by Williams to use Team Canada's hockey stick once more, causing A-1 to get knocked silly. A series of rapid pin attempts between the two culminated with Styles pulling Williams out of a Sharpshooter attempt into a small package for the pin.
Finals
The championship match was televised live during the Sacrifice pay per view on August 14, 2005.
Samoa Joe vs. A.J. Styles
The match between Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles was very hard-fought, with the two matching up well. Toward the end, however, "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels himself came out to interfere, managing to beat up Styles before Joe put him out of the ring. Afterward, Joe hit the Muscle Buster on Styles and locked him in the Coquina Clutch, getting the victory by tapout.
Aftermath
On the August 19 episode of iMPACT!, Christopher Daniels tried to assault Joe with the X Division belt after Joe's match with Jerrelle Clark. Daniels was tossed out of an attempt to put Joe in the Angel's Wings. A.J. Styles came out and attacked Daniels in kind. As a result of the melee, TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko added Styles to the match at Unbreakable.
A.J. Styles won the match and the X Division Championship by reversing the Angel's Wings by Daniels into a bridge pin combination. Samoa Joe was not defeated, but did not win the X Division title. Joe would not win the title until Turning Point, over A.J. Styles.
