Before the match, we go back to the preshow with Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown, and Jeff Hardy all coming out to the ring to lay claim at an NWA World Heavyweight Championship match against Raven. But not before Brown runs through Cassidy O’Reilly and Jerrelle Clark to put an abrupt end to their match. Back live, Mike Tenay asks the question on all of our minds; Why the hell was Jarrett in his ring gear when he isn’t scheduled for a match!?
Austin Aries makes
his way out first. This is an X-Division showcase match with neither of these
guys currently having a TNA contract, but Aries impressed the fans last month at
Sacrifice, so he’s back tonight. Roderick Strong makes his way out and he just
looks 12. The guy could break my back a thousand ways to Sunday but I’d have to
ID him for a scratch card.
Mike Tenay and Don West are on commentary for
this match. Jeremy Borash is our ring announcer.
AUSTIN ARIES VS.
RODERICK STRONG
TNA Unbreakable 2005 (11th September 2005)
They circle and lock
up, Austin Aries grabs a headlock and trips Strong, transitioning into a
front facelock on the mat.
Roderick Strong counters into a hammerlock and they get back to a vertical position to trade wristlocks. Roderick Strong cartwheels out of it and suplexes Aries over into an armbar on the mat. Aries gets back to his feet and takes Strong down in a headlock but gets trapped in a headscissors on the mat. Austin Aries moves into a headstand to escape and dropkicks Strong before going back to the headlock on the mat. Roderick Strong works to his feet, sending Aries off the ropes and getting dropped with a shoulder tackle. Austin Aries hits the ropes, steps over a prone Roddy and ducks both the leapfrog and a clothesline. Roderick Strong ducks too early, Aries calls for the Brainbuster but gets tripped into the Stronghold (boston crab) attempt. Aries fights Stong’s attempts to turn him over and kicks him away, but Roderick Strong uses the momentum to cartwheel away so they can pause for applause. Great chain wrestling in the opening minutes from these two stablemates who know each other so well. Roderick Strong strikes first with a knee to the midsection and clubs Aries back into the corner. Aries reverses an irish whip but a monkey flip out of the corner is blocked as Strong sends Aries over to the apron.
Austin Aries vaults back into the ring and hits Strong with a back elbow but we have a terrible angle, Strong catches a running crossbody and hits the sideways backbreaker across his knee before launching Aries into the turnbuckles. Roderick Strong covers for 2, a butterfly suplex gets him another 2 count and he asks the referee how slow he has to count. He starts targeting Aries’ spine with stomps and a backbreaker, covering for another 2 count. Austin Aries is sent into the corner with force before being tied up in some kind of submission, Aries leans back, pinning Stong’s shoulders to the mat for 2 but Roderick Strong counters for a nearfall of his own. Roderick Strong knees Aries in the head before he can get back to his feet and puts him in a chinlock with Strong’s knee in his back. Austin Aries elbows his way free but runs into a dropkick and Strong gets another 2 count. Roderick Strong chops Aries in the corner and Aries responds with a forearm shot, starting a strike exchange. Austin Aries gets a combination of chops and forearms going to gain control of the match.
Roderick Strong reverses an irish whip but gets his head taken off with a sick clothesline. He gets back to his feet for a second before another clothesline and a back elbow put him down. Austin Aries hits the Pendulum elbow drop for 2. Someone else needs to take that move so it isn’t lost in time. Roderick Strong counters an irish whip attempt but Aries fights out of the full nelson before it can be synched in with more stiff back elbows. Aries hits the ropes and snaps Roderick Strong’s neck off the top rope, struggling to get over it himself. A slingshot corkscrew plancha gets Aries another 2 count. He calls for the Brainbuster again but Roderick Strong blocks it and hits a backbreaker for a nearfall. Roderick Strong lifts Aries into a fireman's carry and drops him ribs-first across the knees then runs through him with a big boot, covering for 2. Austin Aries plays possum as Strong takes some time to bring his opponent to his feet and gets caught in a small package for 2. Strong quickly swings the momentum back in his favour with a clothesline and tries to get the Stronghold. Aries quickly grabs Stong’s ankle to stop the move from being locked in but gets catapulted into the corner for his efforts.
Austin Aries fights off the half-nelson and runs Strong into the corner, rolling back to make some space for the running dropkick in the corner. That’s enough to set up a Brainbuster, Aries makes it to the top rope and hits the 450 Splash for the win.
WINNER: AUSTIN ARIES
This was a really good back-and-forth match between guys who know each other well and could have a passable match with their eyes closed and one arm behind their backs. They got 8 minutes on PPV without being contracted to the company and they made the most of the time and exposure. A solid match to look back on 18 years later to see how far they would come in the industry. [***¼] 6.75/10
After the match, Shane Douglas is backstage with Monty
Brown. Douglas asks if he and Kip James have some unfinished business with
their opponents tonight and Brown says they do but he’s not waiting for a World
title shot. Kip James appears telling Monty Brown that he has to
apologise to Jarrett. Oh fun, tag team partners that aren’t getting on, that’s
not played out in wrestling at all…
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