The TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

X Cup Tournament staged by

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

in April and May 2006. The tournament pits

stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

X Division The X Division is a high-flying, high-risk, fast-paced style of professional wrestling seen in Impact Wrestling (formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) and since then in various NWA member promotions. Its tagline is that "It's not about weight ...

-style wrestlers from around the world against one another in a series of singles and tag team matches, with the teams earning points for victories.

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

won the World X Cup for the second time in a row after team captain

Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor. After being trained by Scott D ...

defeated

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...

captain

Petey Williams Peter Williams III (born August 26, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE as a backstage producer. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he is a two-time X Division Champion. He is also k ...

to break a 5-5 tie on the May 18, 2006 edition of ''

TNA Impact! ''Impact!'' (stylized as ''IMPACT!''), also known as ''IMPACT! on AXS TV'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)) tha ...

''. This is

's second World X Cup Championship, as he was a member of Team USA in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. Several matches leading up to the World X Cup were billed as "World X Cup preview matches", including a six-man tag team match between members of Team USA and Team Japan at ''

Lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

'', in which Team Japan were victorious; and the aforementioned four-way match at Destination X, featuring Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Puma and Sonjay Dutt, representing the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

respectively (Puma and Dutt would go on to compete for

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the US).

History

The 2004 World X Cup took place in May 2004, with

defeating

Team Japan Team Japan is a professional wrestling group that was brought together as a part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's World X Cup Tournament. History 2004 Team Japan started as six-man team as team captain Nosawa from All Japan Pro Wrestling tea ...

Team Mexico Team Mexico is a professional wrestling stable that was first formed in 2004 to compete in TNA Wrestling's America's X-Cup Tournament and has since returned to compete in other TNA X Cup Tournaments. History 2004 The original team consisted of ...

, and

Team Britain Team Britain, or Team UK, was a professional wrestling stable brought together to compete in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's 2004 America's X-Cup Tournament and TNA World Cup 2013. Also, a Team Britain was formed in 2006, but it never was us ...

. In October 2005, TNA website manager Bill Banks announced that, as a result of the working relationship between TNA and the

ese

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, TNA were considering hosting a second World X Cup, this time featuring members of the

NJPW roster (NJPW), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. NJPW personnel consists of professional wrestlers, commentators, color commentators, ring announcers, referees, trainers, producers, bookers, and various other positi ...

. On the February 18, 2006 episode of ''

'', it was announced that the World X Cup was to return in 2006. Later that evening,

Jay Lethal Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Dubbed "The Franchise" of Ring of Honor, Lethal is a two-time ROH World Champion, ...

defeated "The Prince of Punk" Shannon Moore and

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due to ...

in a three-way match to become the first member of the 2006 Team USA. On the March 11, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'',

became the second member of Team USA when he defeated

Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop ActionImpact Wrestling under the ring name Sonja ...

and

Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and physical therapy clinician, better known by the ring name, Alex Shelley, makes appearances with Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestl ...

in another three-way match. On the March 18, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'', Sonjay Dutt defeated Maverick Matt and

Elix Skipper Elix Skipper (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Tag ...

in a third three-way match to become the third member of Team USA. On the April 8, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'', Alex Shelley defeated

and

Chase Stevens Chase Bradley Stevens (born January 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name of "The Natural" Chase Stevens. He is known primarily for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a member ...

to become the fourth and final member of Team USA.

and

were quickly announced as competitors in the 2006 World X Cup, much like they were in the 2004 World X Cup. Team UK was planned, but they were replaced by Team Canada, after two of the members, Doug Williams and

Nigel McGuinness Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1976), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English actor, professional wrestling commentator and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE where he worked as a color ...

were already booked to wrestle in Japan. The other members were to be

Jonny Storm Jonathan Whitcombe (born 19 April 1977) is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jonny Storm. He has worked for many independent promotions across the United Kingdom, including the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, Real Q ...

and

Jody Fleisch Jerome Fleisch (born 2 April 1980) is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jody Fleisch. He is best known for his work with the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, One Pro Wrestling and Real Quality Wrestling. He is current ...

Rules

The competition is divided into three rounds. *In Round One, there are two tag team matches. The two winning teams get two points apiece. *In Round Two, there are two singles matches. The winners get three points for their respective teams. *In Round Three, there will be a gauntlet involving all 16 wrestlers. The last two remaining wrestlers receive two points apiece for their respective teams. The winner gets an additional three points for his team. If the final two are on the same team, then they will automatically receive all seven points, and thus win the tournament. *In the event of a tie, the captains of the two teams will compete in a singles match in order to determine the champion.

Teams and Members

Team TNA A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

(Captain) **

(Captain) ** Eric Young **

Johnny Devine John Parsonage (born April 27, 1974) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Hot Shot" Johnny Devine. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Early y ...

Tyson Dux Tyson Moody (born June 19, 1978), known by his ring name Tyson Dux (pronounced "Dukes"), is a Canadian professional wrestler, who is currently wrestling for various independent promotions. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (1997� ...

** Shocker (Captain) **

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

** Magno **

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Danish film * ''Incognito'' (1997 film), an American crime ...

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

(Captain) **

Hirooki Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with his Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii and ...

** Minoru Tanaka **

Black Tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...

Results

Round One (Tag Team Matches) - 1 Point

*''

'': April 27, 2006 **

(

and

) defeated

(

and

Minoru Minoru is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Minoru Arakawa (荒川實, born 1946), Japanese former president of Nintendo of America *Minoru Chiaki (千秋実, 1917–1999), Japanese actor *Minoru Fujita (� ...

) *''

'': May 4, 2006 **

( Shocker and Magno) defeated

( Eric Young and

)

Round 2 (Singles Matches) - 2 Points

*''

'':May 11, 2006 ** Team USA's

defeated Team Mexico's

TNA Sacrifice Sacrifice is a professional wrestling event held by Impact Wrestling. It was originally held as a pay-per-view event by the company under its previous name Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) between 2005 and 2014. The first Sacrifice event too ...

: May 14, 2006 ** Team Japan's

defeated Team Canada's

Round 3 (The Gauntlet) - 5 Points

: May 14, 2006 **16-man Gauntlet: Team Canada's

won, last eliminating Team Mexico's

***Team Mexico gained three points for coming in second, Team USA gained two points for coming in third, and Team Japan gained one point for coming in fourth.

Entry and elimination order

The order of entry in the gauntlet match included a pattern: Japan, Mexico, Canada, USA. This is identical to the final standings in reverse.

Round Four (Tie-breaker) - 1 Point

*''

'': May 18, 2006 ** Team USA's

defeated Team Canada's

Standings

The standings for the 2004 and 2006 World X Cups were identical; in both, Team USA was ranked first, Canada second, Mexico third and Japan fourth. *

: 6 *

: 5 *

: 4 *

: 3

References

''TNA News And Views In The New Bank Shot'' (October 30, 2005)

External links

TNAWrestling.com (Official Website of TNA Wrestling)
{{TNA Tournaments 2006 World X Cup Tournament, TNA 2006 in professional wrestling