The Diamonds in the Rough The Diamonds in the Rough was a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , led by the eponymous Simon Diamond and consisting primarily of lower - to mid - card wrestlers . Their name is derived from the expression " a diamond in the rough " ( meaning a valuable find in an unexpected location ) , as the members of the stable are wrestlers who Diamond regards as having unlocked potential . Though Simon Diamond constantly claimed that he would lead the Diamonds to success , they had a poor win / loss ratio . History . The Diamonds were formed at TNA Slammiversary on June 19 , 2005 when Simon Diamond returned to TNA after a several month absence , introducing Trytan as his " insurance policy " . Diamond and Trytan then defeated Apolo and Sonny Siaki in a tag match . The Diamonds next appeared on the July 1 episode of " TNA Impact ! " , where Diamond boasted that , as he had recruited a 7 ft 0 in ( 2 . 13 m ) " wrecking machine " , he had " all of the answers " . Diamond and Trytan lost to America ' s Most Wanted after they were outmaneuvered by the veteran tag team . On July 15 they defeated Apolo and Siaki in a Slammiversary rematch . Trytan left TNA in July 2005 after he could not agree on a new contract with TNA , and at TNA No Surrender 2005 on July 17 , Diamond introduced his new protégé , David Young . Citing Young ' s ability to " bench press 400 lbs ( 180 kg ) " , Diamond insisted that Young ' s two year losing streak was due to a lack of direction and leadership , which Diamond would provide . This is where the name of the stable originated , as Diamond hailed David Young as a " diamond in the rough " . Diamond and Young then faced Apolo and Sonny Siaki in a near - rematch from Slammiversary , with Young losing to Apolo following a TKO . In the main event of the August 5 episode of " Impact ! " , Diamond and Young faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven and Sabu . Young was pinned after receiving a Raven Effect DDT from Raven and a splash from Sabu , while Diamond watched from outside the ring , disgruntled at Young ' s inability to kick out . The Diamonds faced America ' s Most Wanted once more on August 12 , and defeated them after Team Canada interfered . At the outset of TNA Sacrifice on August 10 , Diamond came to the ring and talked about the career of Elix Skipper , claiming that he had been " a star " as one - third of Triple X , but that he had been " a lost soul " since XXX disbanded . Diamond then promised to make Skipper " a star again " . Diamond , Young and Skipper then faced Chris Sabin , Sonjay Dutt and Shark Boy in a six - man tag match . The Diamonds lost after Skipper was rolled - up by Sabin , and Diamond berated his team as a result . Diamond teamed with Mikey Batts on the August 19 episode of " Impact ! " , facing Shocker and Chris Sabin in the first round of the Chris Candido Cup . During the match , commentators Mike Tenay and Don West speculated that Batts was " auditioning " for membership in the Diamonds in the Rough . Diamond and Batts lost the match after Sabin pinned Batts , and he did not join the Diamonds . On the August 26 episode of " Impact ! " , Diamond and Young defeated the regular tag team of Mikey Batts and Jerrelle Clark , with Young pinning Clark following a spinebuster . Later in the program , Diamond accompanied Skipper to ringside , and watched in disappointment as his protégé lost to Apolo . On the September 9 episode of " Impact ! " , Skipper defeated Sonjay Dutt following interference from Young . At TNA Unbreakable on September 11 , the Diamonds lost to the 3Live Kru in a six - man tag team match . The stable was inactive throughout the remainder of September and early October as Diamond toured India to promote the debut of " Impact ! " on ESPN Star Sports , but reconvened on October 23 at TNA Bound for Glory , where they defeated Siaki , Apolo and Shark Boy . On a special two hour episode of " Impact ! " on November 3 , the Diamonds lost to Sabu , Lance Hoyt and Jeff Hardy in a six - man tag team match . At TNA Genesis on November 13 they defeated Hoyt and The Naturals , with Skipper pinning Chase Stevens . On the December 4 episode of " Impact ! " , all three members of the Diamonds were announced as Raven ' s opponents in a handicap Raven ' s House of Fun match booked by Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko to encourage Raven to resign from TNA . Despite interference on his behalf by Cassidy Riley , Raven was decisively beaten after the Diamonds drove him through a table and then pinned him . On a prime time episode of " Impact ! " on December 8 , 2005 , the Diamonds interrupted a ceremony in which Chicago White Sox catcher A . J . Pierzynski and strength trainer Dale Torborg presented TNA wrestlers A . J . Styles , Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt with memorabilia from the 2005 World Series . Diamond , himself a former baseball player , mocked Pierzynski ' s . 256 batting average , telling him that he needed a designated hitter . Diamond then slapped Torborg , leading to a brawl . As a result , Torborg , Sabin and Dutt , with Pierzynski in their corner , faced the Diamonds at TNA Turning Point 2005 on December 11 . The Diamonds lost following interference from then - Boston Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon . In the main event of the December 17 episode of " Impact ! " , Young and Skipper were defeated by Team 3D . At TNA Final Resolution 2006 on January 15 they were defeated by The James Gang . At TNA Against All Odds 2006 on February 12 , 2006 , Skipper and Young teamed with Shannon Moore , losing to Lance Hoyt , Cassidy Riley and Shark Boy in a six - man tag team match . At TNA Destination X 2006 on March 12 , 2006 , Skipper and Young defeated Norman Smiley and Shark Boy . On the March 11 , 2006 episode of " Impact ! " , Diamond , providing commentary during an eight - man tag team bout featuring Skipper and Young , complained about Pierzynski having been presented with a replica belt by TNA . One week later , Diamond , accompanied by Alex Shelley and his " ShelleyCam " , attended the White Sox spring training in order to confront Pierzynski . Pierzynski challenged Diamond to a fight , but he was struck from behind with a chair by manager Ozzie Guillén before he could give his response . On April 23 , 2006 at TNA Lockdown 2006 , Skipper took part in a six - man " Xscape " match that was won by Chris Sabin . On July 16 , 2006 at TNA Victory Road 2006 , the team returned to action ( after a month - long hiatus from TNA ) losing to The Naturals in a tag match . In late February 2007 , David Young and " Primetime " Elix Skipper were both released from their TNA Contracts . Simon Diamond remained with the company as a road agent until his release on November 2 , 2008 .