Shining a Spotlight 4.28.06: Ultimate X
Posted by Michael Weyer on 04.28.2006
My inagural column with a spotlight on who I am, what this is for, why making Samoa Joe the X champion again is a mistake and the greatest Ultimate X match ever.
Before I begin, a big thank you to the guys at 411mania for deciding to take a chance on me. I hope I can match the standards they've set for the site.
So you are no doubt wondering just what "Shining the Spotlight" is about, right? Well, the purpose is to put a spotlight on one particular thing a week. It could be a major news story in wrestling and how it could prove quite important. Mostly, I'll probably spotlight a particular person/team and my thoughts on them.
I may also spotlight particular matches from the past and why they resonate today. I plan to mix them up a bit, with big and famous ones along others that may have "fallen through the cracks" but are actually pretty damn good.
Also, expect the occasional "Mark-out moment" where I'll talk about a moment in wrestling that still thrills me whenever I watch it on DVD or tape. I may also talk about recent DVD or wrestling books, not as in-depth reviews but just my general thoughts.
So, to inaugurate, I suppose I should put the spotlight on myself first to give you an idea where my opinions come from.
I've been a wrestling fan for the last 20 years. I started off mostly WWF and NWA/WCW but through the various Bill Apter mags, I stayed up to date with AWA, UWF, ECW, USWA and others. So I've been exposed to a wide range of styles of promotions and workers for quite a while.
I should say that I tend to be a bit more upbeat than most of the IWC. I don't automatically shoot down angles but rather think you can give them a chance to develop. For example, I thought putting the tag titles on the Spirit Squad was a mistake but after seeing them work as champs, I think they actually have a good act down with it. Oh, I'll admit to being judgmental at times (like TNA's idiotic decision to sign Scott Steiner) but I like to think I'm a bit more fair-minded than most.
I'm also not the type who assigns automatic star ratings to matches, a practice I think is often abused as it's difficult to really gauge it in such a manner. I mean, you don't see boxing matches or baseball/football games given stars, do you?
I will say off the bat that I don't like hypocrisy, which is something I often see on the IWC quite a lot. Like when Hassan was let go, WWE was trashed by the same guys who only weeks earlier were complaining at how bad the character and angle was. Or when Big Bossman died and the guys who spent years running him down for his work fell over themselves to honor him. Or when the Ultimate Warrior DVD hit and all these writers who had spent years burying him were trashing WWE for doing the same thing they'd been doing for years. It's an annoying factor I'm hoping I can avoid.
A few other thoughts/feelings I have:
*I think John Cena is a damn good seller and a better champ than people give him credit for.
*I think some of the Internet "golden boys" like Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Batista are a tad overrated.
*I think most "workrate" freaks give ECW a hard time but I also think supporters of ECW oversell how awesome it was.
*I feel no shame saying I've preferred WWE over any other federation for most of my life.
*The guys who moan about losing the glory days of NWA/WCW apparently forget how bad a lot of stuff was then (Dusty booking, anyone?)
*I think Eddie Guerrero might actually approve of how his name has been used by WWE since his death as he was always such a showman.
*Hulk Hogan may be an egotistical over-the-hill jerk who's long pushed people down…but like most everyone else, I'll still go nuts if I'm in an arena and "Real American" starts playing.
*I think Ring of Honor sounds like it deserves a TV show more than TNA does.
*I think WWE could make a mint if they got OVW a nationwide syndicated show in all markets. I also think it'd help if they let some of the workers called up keep their OVW personas rather than new ones (Nick Dinsmore/Eugene comes to mind).
*While I acknowledge the Diva Search itself as a waste of time, I do admire how many of the contestants (Maria, Melina, Candice) have quite improved as entertainers. Say what you will but at least WWE gives their women something to do.
*I think TNA will be able to really break out once they realize it's no longer 1999 and stop giving pushes to the James Gang, Konan and Team 3D.
That's just a few things to let you know where I'm coming from. Right now, it's time to move the spotlight to the subject I used as my "audition" for 411mania: Samoa Joe winning the X division title. And, as a bonus, I'll also do my first "Match Spotlight" as well.
So, Samoa Joe defeated Christopher Daniels to win back the X division title on the first prime-time Impact (and I still don't get why they're calling it "prime time" when it's 11 pm.). I do believe this is the first time ever the X title's switched hands on an Impact broadcast so you have to admire the history of it. Unfortunately, this simply points out how big a mistake TNA is making.
Yes, that's right. I say putting the belt back on Joe is a mistake. First, I'll admit, I admire Christopher Daniels. He went all out during his first X reign and the subsequent matches with AJ and Joe. He has a great style in the ring, awesome charisma and had just started his second title reign. And yet TNA ends it after only a few weeks.
Now that's not the reason it's a bad move. The reason it's a bad move is because TNA just spent a large amount of time pushing Joe for the heavyweight division and getting everyone excited about it. I remember the gauntlet match from Bound for Glory and how cool it was to see Joe facing off against Abyss and Lance Hoyt. Seriously, if Joe vs Abyss isn't worth a few thousand PPV buys, I don't know what is.
This seemed the absolutely perfect setup. Joe takes on Sabu at Lockdown, maybe even beats him down to sell his bad-ass rep even more. He keeps the undefeated streak going until Slammiversery, the one year anniversary of the streak and his debut in TNA. That would be the perfect time for him to beat Christan and win the NWA title. Everyone's happy Christan got a good run with the belt and even happier it's around Joe's waist. It also makes it even more special when someone finally manages to defeat Joe.
The more important part is that with Joe out of the X division, we can get some new blood in there. Alex Shelly has been deserving a shot for a while and let's not forget Sonjay, Sabin, Bentley, hell even Jay Lethal is showing some stuff. Just consider that in the past year there have been only three champions: AJ, Daniels and Joe. TNA makes such a deal out of how cool the X Division is yet it seems the glass ceiling there is even worse than in the NWA world title scene.
So putting the belt back on Joe makes little to no sense to me. Shoving him back in the X Division just as they were setting up a heavyweight push is jarring to all the fans and means it will be a while before anyone fresh in the X division gets the right push.
And now they're setting up him vs Sabu for the belt at Lockdown which makes even less sense. First, Sabu is not the type of guy you see with a title belt. I'm sorry but that's the truth. I know, he was ECW tag champ but his entire persona is that he's such an outsider, a title belt doesn't seem right around him. Second, since when has he had anything to do with the X Division? A title match between them makes no sense and serves as a distraction to what was promising to be a true bloody battle.
There's only one possible bright spot to this and maybe, just maybe, this is the reason TNA is doing it: We'd get an Ultimate X rematch between Joe, AJ and Daniels. This would be for two reasons. First, of course, is to make up for how the Destination X match had to be cut down because of Joe's eyesight loss. Second is that it makes sense: AJ won the first threeway, Joe the second, Daniels the third. So a final match to settle which is the best would make sense.
However, even with that, it just doesn't seem right to give Samoa Joe the X title back so soon. It seems to me a smack in the face of Daniels, who's busted his ass for the company since it started. First they screw him with the DVD (one disc with several matches clipped while Jeff Hardy gets a two-disc set?) and now they take the belt off him after only a few weeks and exactly ONE Impact match with him as champion (and it was a tag match at that).
So I'm hoping this is a temporary thing to set up a bigger match. Because if anyone deserves a shot at the big belt in TNA, it's Samoa Joe. We can only hope TNA themselves can recognize that soon before they blow one of the best opportunities they have.
Ultimate X.
Just the name of it is cool and the match lives up to it. It's an idea that I'm amazed it took so long to do. A ladder match sans ladders, just cables you have to climb over to get to the belt. For a division that excels in high spots, it's the perfect setup for one hell of a show.
There have been ten Ultimate X matches since it was introduced in 2003. With the possible exception of Bound for Glory (the X fell down and later literally fell into Petey Williams' hands) and Destination X 05 (cut short due to Samoa Joe suffering a loss of vision), all have been amazing. However, I want to look at what I think is the best Ultimate X of them all.
Final Resolution, January 16th, 2005. AJ Styles vs Petey Williams vs Chris Sabin for the X Division title.
First, let's consider the participants. Williams, the reigning X division champion for five months, possessing the awesome Canadian Destroyer. Sabin, former champion who had competed in more Ultimate X matches than anyone, with a 3-1 record. Styles, the first ever X champion out to get the belt back. Williams had beaten Styles at the first three-hour PPV, Victory Road and then beat Sabin at Turning Point 04. Sabin had won an Ultimate X match to gain the title shot at Turning Point. Styles had lost the X title to both Frankie Kazarian and Michael Shane in an Ultimate X match in early 2004.
There's a lot of history there. Even disregarding these were arguably the three best guys in the X division at the time (keep in mind Samoa Joe hadn't joined TNA yet and Christopher Daniels was just breaking into singles), you knew this had to be good.
But few thought it'd be this good.
It started off nice with a runaround with Williams ending up between the two guys. There was a classic moment of Williams glaring at Sabin, then getting an "oh, crap" look on his face and gazing skyward as he realized Styles was behind him. The challengers worked together to hurl him into the corner. Sabin whipped Styles over to do a great flying splash. Then Sabin leapfrogged over Styles to dropkick Williams. They fought more, spilling to the outside with Styles doing that amazing arms-at-his-sides body flip of his onto Sabin and Williams.
Styles and Sabin fought on the top rope so Sabin leapt back and drop-kicked Styles against the metal support post. Sabin was the first guy to try to get at the belt only to have Scott D'amore yank him down. The ref did everyone a favor by tossing D'amore and that's where we get awesome. This is a match that is filled with one amazing moment after another…
*Petey brings out the "Woe Canada" stomp but AJ countered with a kick.
*Sabin ends up on Styles' shoulders while Williams hung from the ropes and then hit Sabin with a huricaranna off Styles.
*Williams hanging from the cables so Styles leaps off the top rope and slugs him in mid-air to knock him off.
*Styles climbing to the steel supports again so Sabin ranas him off.
*The awesome spot where Williams sets Sabin up for a Canadian Destroyer. Sabin counters into a Cradle Shock but Williams slips out and pulls him behind for a reverse DDT only to have Styles leap past, bounce off the ropes, grab Williams from behind and give them BOTH a reverse DDT.
At this point, I should point out that FR 05 had a particularly hot crowd, even for TNA and that added to the thrills. By this point in the match, the crowd were mixing "holy shit!" yells for a "This is awesome!" chant. It's always good to see the crowd and the bout match up perfectly in terms of chemistry.
*We then get the now famous moment with AJ hanging from the cables only to have Sabin give him a taste of his own medicine by dropkicking him off. I do believe Styles takes one of the five greatest bumps in history as he literally seems to hang in mid-air and turn inside out before landing HARD on the mat.
*Now this is why AJ is one of my faves. He tries to get on the metal support only to have Williams jam his arm in the bars and yank it down. AJ spends the rest of the match selling the injury like no one's business, earning plenty of respect.
*Sabin gets in on the act by trying to armbar Styles only AJ works it into the Styles Clash. AJ tries to climb but the arm won't hold so he lands and eats a Destroyer from Williams.
*And then the ending: Williams and Sabin hanging at the "X", each grabbing one end of the title belt in a tug of war, pulling hard with AJ seemingly out of it. Without warning, Styles climbs the top rope, FLIES across the ring and grabs the belt out of their hands. I'll never forget AJ landing, looking up with a wary expression, fearing he'd missed his shot. Then looking down, seeing the belt lying next to him and clutching it tight as he rolled around, X Division champion for the fourth time.
I do believe more than a few people fell in love with the company thanks to this match. It was one of those battles that had was more than just a spotfest, all three guys selling well their fatigue and determination, playing off each other in amazing ways and made sure that the fans went home happy. There have been Ultimate X matches since and there will continue to be but it's going to take a lot to steal the title of Best Ultimate X match ever from this classic.
So, that's it for my inaugural column. I'm open to all e-mails so you can tell me what you think of my words. I only ask that you try to keep them civil. Oh, you can tell me if you think I'm wrong and be negative if you want but try to keep it above the level of "YOU SUCK!" and such. Until, next time, the spotlight is off.
