page_title: Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament
section_title: Tournament
hierarchical_section_title: Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament / Tournament
caption_attribution_description: English: A picture of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelly at a TNA Fan Fest that I took in Cleveland Ohio.
context_page_description: The Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament was a professional wrestling tag team single-elimination tournament held by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion in 2005. It was held to honor the TNA wrestler Chris Candido, who died in April 2005 as a result of acute pneumonia. It is the only edition held as of 2020 despite it being announced as an annual event. The competition began on August 16, 2005 and concluded on August 16, 2005 at the tapings of TNA's television program TNA Impact!. It was broadcast from the August 19 to September 9 episodes of Impact!. It was known by various names: 2005 Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament, The Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament, and The Chris Candido Cup Tournament.
  The concept of the tournament was to have eight teams consisting of one veteran wrestler and one rookie wrestler competing against each other to gain entry into a Four Way Elimination Tag Team match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship at TNA's Unbreakable PPV event on September 11. The tournament featured sixteen TNA wrestlers: Abyss, Shark Boy, Alex Shelley, Sean Waltman, B.G.
context_section_description: The Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament featured seven matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match.
  The tournament consisted of three rounds: the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. All three rounds were broadcast on Impact!. All three rounds were taped on August 16 and aired on the August 19, August 26, September 2, and September 9 episodes of Impact!.
  Quarterfinals
  The first two matches of the quarterfinals took place on the August 19 episode of Impact!. The team of Chris Sabin and Shocker were pitted against the team of Mikey Batts and Simon Diamond in the first. Sabin and Shocker won the bout after Sabin slammed Batts back-first into the mat with his signature Cradle Shock maneuver and followed with the pin at 7 minutes and 1 second. In the second, the team of B.G. James and Cassidy Reilly fought the team of Ron Killings and Sonjay Dutt. Dutt won the match at 4 minutes and 14 seconds for his team after a 450° aerial splash onto Reilly and the pin.
  The last two were held on the August 26 episode of Impact!. The team of Alex Shelley and Sean Waltman faced Abyss and Shark Boy in a bout lasting 4 minutes and 10 seconds. Shelley pinned Shark Boy after slamming him face-first into the mat with his signature Shellshock maneuver. The second encounter was between the team of Lance Hoyt and Konnan and the team of Kip James and Petey Williams. The team of Hoyt and Konnan won the bout after Hoyt pinned Kip following a boot to the face at 6 minutes and 49 seconds.
  Semifinals
  The semifinals were held on the September 2 episode of Impact!. Shelley and Waltman defeated the team of Hoyt and Konnan in the first semifinal match at 4 minutes and 22 seconds. During the match, Hoyt hit Waltman with a boot to the face and went for the pin, but the referee was distracted by Kip James who came down to ringside. Hoyt went to get the referee, giving Waltman the ability to hit him in the groin and follow-up by slamming him face-first into the mat with his signature X-Factor maneuver.
  In the second semifinal match, Sabin and Shocker defeated Dutt and Killings at 7 minutes and 49 seconds. During the contest, Sabin accidentally hit his teammate Shocker in the face. This led to some confusion in the match, allowing Killings to get a near-fall on Sabin. This was later resolved, with Sabin getting the pin on Dutt via la magistral.
  Finals
  The final round occurred on the September 9 episode of Impact!, with Sabin and Shocker versus Shelley and Waltman. This contest lasted 7 minutes and 20 seconds. Sabin and Shelley started off the match, with Shelley dominating Sabin with mat submission holds. The wrestling left the ring as Waltman performed a somersault splash to the ringside area onto Shocker and Sabin. Later, Sabin ascended to the top-rope to perform a dropkick onto Shelley, to only have Shelley dodge out of the way, resulting in Sabin hitting his partner Shocker instead. After checking on Shocker, Sabin turned around and was met with a kick to the jaw from Shelley. Sabin left the ring after this due to a legitimate injury. With Shocker left and the referee attending to other matters, Waltman hit Shocker in the groin and followed by performing his X-Factor maneuver to gain the pinfall victory and to win the tournament.
  With Shelley and Waltman's victory, they became the first winners of the expected annual tournament. They also gained entry into the Four Way Elimination Tag Team match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship scheduled for Unbreakable.
  Tournament bracket
caption: Chris Sabin (left) and Alex Shelley (right) both competed in the final round of the Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament.
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