World X Cup Tournament 2006

The TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament was staged by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in April and May 2006. The tournament pits stables of X Division-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 won the World X Cup for the second time in a row after team captain Chris Sabin defeated Team Canada captain Petey Williams to break a 5-5 tie on the May 18, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT!. This is Chris Sabin's second World X Cup Championship, as he was a member of Team USA in 2004.

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, 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, Canada, Japan and India respectively (Puma and Dutt would go on to compete for Mexico and the US).

History
On the February 18, 2006 episode of TNA iMPACT!, it was announced that the World X Cup was to return in 2006. Later that evening, Jay Lethal defeated "The Prince of Punk" Shannon Moore and Roderick Strong in a three way match to become the first member of the 2006 Team USA. On the March 11, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Chris Sabin became the second member of Team USA when he defeated Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley in another three way match. On the March 18, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Sonjay Dutt defeated "Maverick" Matt Bentley and "Primetime" Elix Skipper 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 Roderick Strong and Chase Stevens to become the fourth and final member of Team USA.

Team Mexico and Team Japan 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 eventually scrapped as the team was replaced by Team Canada. The rumored members were Nigel McGuinness (Captain), Doug Williams, Jonny Storm and Jody Fleisch.

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

 * Team USA:
 * Chris Sabin (Captain)
 * Jay Lethal
 * Sonjay Dutt
 * Alex Shelley
 * Team Canada:
 * Petey Williams (Captain)
 * Eric Young
 * Johnny Devine
 * Tyson Dux
 * Team Mexico:
 * Shocker (Captain)
 * Puma
 * Magno
 * Incognito
 * Team Japan:
 * Jushin "Thunder" Liger (Captain)
 * Hirooki Goto
 * Minoru Tanaka
 * Black Tiger

Round 1 - Tag Team Matches

 * iMPACT!: April 27, 2006
 * Team USA (Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley) defeated Team Japan (Hirooki Goto and Minoru)
 * iMPACT!: May 4, 2006
 * Team Mexico (Shocker and Magno) defeated Team Canada (Eric Young and Johnny Devine)

Round 2 - Singles Matches

 * iMPACT!: May 11, 2006
 * Team USA's Chris Sabin defeated Team Mexico's Puma 1
 * Sacrifice: May 14, 2006
 * Team Japan's Jushin "Thunder" Liger defeated Team Canada's Petey Williams

Round 3 - The Gauntlet

 * Sacrifice: May 14, 2006
 * 16-man Gauntlet: Team Canada's Petey Williams won, last eliminating Team Mexico's Puma 2

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

Round 4 - Tie-breaker

 * iMPACT!: May 18, 2006
 * Team USA's Chris Sabin defeated Team Canada's Petey Williams

Final Scores
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.


 * Team USA: 6
 * Team Canada: 5
 * Team Mexico: 4
 * Team Japan: 3