Team USA Team USA ( also known as Team NWA or Team TNA ) is a wrestling faction brought together as part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ' s America ' s X - Cup Tournament & World X Cup Tournament ' s , which involved a team of X Division superstars from various countries representing their nation in an international wrestling competition . History . 2004 . America ' s X - Cup . Team USA was created and led Jerry Lynn after he was appointed by TNA Management as the man for the job due to being a pioneer of the X Division . The other teams in the X - Cup Tournaments were Team Mexico or Team AAA , Team Britain , Team Canada , and Team Japan or Team AJPW . Team USA did not have a very good showing early on , as they lost the inaugural America ' s X Cup Tournament to Team Mexico ( consisting of Juventud Guerrera , Hector Garza , Mr . Aguila , and Abismo Negro ) . Frankie Kazarian . They were also embroiled in a feud with Frankie Kazarian , a TNA superstar who believed he was wrongfully overlooked by Lynn with regards to the selection of the team . Kazarian proceeded to make his point by attacking and defeating members of Team USA in an attempt to get Lynn ' s attention . Sonjay Dutt eventually left the team to pursue a grudge with Kazarian regarding this situation . Kazarian defeated Dutt and demanded the now - open spot on the team . TNA responded by putting him in a match with Christopher Daniels for the open spot . Daniels won the match and joined Team USA . World X - Cup . With Daniels on Team USA , the team enjoyed instant success , winning an 8 - man tag warm - up for the World X - Cup . Their momentum carried into the World X - Cup , where Team USA emerged victorious . 2006 . Team Formation . Team USA would return to TNA Wrestling to take part in the 2006 World X - Cup . The team ' s members were chosen through qualifying matches held during episodes of TNA iMPACT ! . Jay Lethal was the first to qualify for the team , defeating Shannon Moore and Roderick Strong in a triple threat match . Chris Sabin was the second to qualify , defeating Alex Shelley and Sonjay Dutt for the role . Sonjay Dutt , who defeated Matt Bentley and Elix Skipper , was the third to qualify . Finally , Alex Shelley would qualify by defeating Roderick Strong and Chase Stevens . At a later time , former Team USA captain Jerry Lynn was given the authority of coach / mentor for the team . Despite never coming to the ring with the team during the competitions , he advised them backstage and appointed former teammate Chris Sabin as the team captain for 2006 . World X - Cup Run . Team USA jumped ahead early in the World X - Cup , with Alex Shelley and Sonjay Dutt defeating Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto of Team Japan on TNA iMPACT ! to earn Team USA 2 points . Chris Sabin then defeated Puma of Team Mexico to earn Team USA another 3 points . After not scoring any points in the Gauntlet for the Gold match at Sacrifice , the team found themselves tied for first place with Team Canada after Petey Williams pinned Puma to win the Gauntlet . Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko announced a sudden death tiebreaker between the captains of the two teams for the following episode of TNA Impact to determine the winner of the World X - Cup . Just before the match started , both respective teams were locked out of the Impact Zone . Chris Sabin defeated Petey Williams with the Cradle Shock to win the match at the tournament for Team USA . Shelley / Nash Controversies . The inclusion of Shelley on the team created controversy for Team USA , as the team was mostly full of babyface wrestlers , while Shelley was a heel working for Jeff Jarrett ' s Planet Jarrett faction . Problems with Shelley led to initial losses in exhibition matches featuring Team USA taking on Team Canada and Team Japan , but Shelley turned things around and became a productive member of Team USA , aiding their efforts . Shelley later got involved with a second controversy that started during the World X - Cup . He was invited by Kevin Nash to conduct an interview with the big man . During the interview , Nash criticized TNA and threatened to destroy the X Division . Shelley showed the tape to Team USA , who took serious offense . Nash appeared after the Gauntlet match at Sacrifice , beating down Puma after he had lost the match and delivering a Jackknife Powerbomb to the Team Mexico competitor . Nash also appeared the following week on TNA Impact , attacking Chris Sabin after he won the trophy . Nash broke the trophy and used parts of it to gouge Sabin , then delivered a Jackknife Powerbomb to him as well . Jerry Lynn and Team USA eventually was allowed back into the arena and made the save , but Shelley mysteriously departed with Nash . Post X - Cup . After the 2006 World X - Cup , Alex Shelley formed the Paparazzi Productions along with Kevin Nash and they developed a short feud with USA 2006 Team Captain , Chris Sabin . Since then , Sabin is now teaming with Alex Shelley as the Motor City Machine Guns . Meanwhile , Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal are an on - again - off - again tag - team . Lethal is now known as " Black Machismo " and his character is based on that of " The Macho Man " Randy Savage . Dutt , on the other hand , is currently playing a character that is based on Gandhi . 2007 . CHIKARA King of Trios 2007 had both names used : 2008 . Team USA has re - formed in TNA for the 2008 World X - Cup . The Tournament is still underway .