Worst in the World: The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)

Four years. That's how long ago I started the Worst in the World. In that time, I've covered 111 matches...but this is the one I've wanted to cover for the longest time. Back when I made the original list for this series, I came up with 115 matches based on ratings from Dave Meltzer and winners of the Worst Match of the Year Award from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. What I didn't take into account was that quite a few of those matches were house show matches that I would never be able to find...but then there's this match. Unlike those random house show matches, this match was aired on television. It took place in 2006, so there should've been some video of it somewhere. Theoretically, I should've been able to watch this match with ease...but no. It was nowhere on YouTube, nowhere on Dailymotion...this match didn't exist anywhere on the Internet it seems. I probably could've found it if I had found some shady website that would've unloaded a metric f*ck ton of viruses onto my laptop, but...no. So, I took it off the list. However, with Impact Plus posting old episodes of Impact, they gave me the opportunity to finally review this match. You ever see Chasing Amy? Well...this is my Amy; TNA's Reverse Battle Royal.

This match is actually just the first stage of the needlessly complicated Fight for the Right Tournament. Stage one is the Reverse Battle Royal, where the objective was to fight to get over the top rope and into the ring, with the first seven men to make it into the ring then having a regular battle royal, then the final two have a singles match, with the winner of that receiving a bye to the final stage. The regular battle royal would determine seeding for Stage 2's tournament based on the order of elimination, where the winner of the tournament would face the winner of the singles match at the end of the battle royal in the third and final stage. The loser of the singles match at the end of the battle royal would be given the #1 seed in the tournament. Whoever wins the whole thing gets a shot at the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship

That is literally the best, most clear way I can explain this. Unsurprisingly, Vince Russo re-joined the TNA creative team a month before this. Let's get into this.

So the participants for this match are:

• Team 3D's Brother Devon (D-Von Dudley)
• Eric Young
• Sonjay Dutt
• James Storm
• Abyss
• AJ Styles making his second straight appearance on the series
• Brother Runt (Spike Dudley with a green mohawk)
• Kazarian
• Raven
• Robert Roode
• Lance Hoyt (Lance Archer)
• Christian Cage
• Christopher Daniels
• Jay Lethal
• Chris Sabin
• Ron Killings (R-Truth)
• Senshi (Low Ki)
• Kip James (Billy Gunn sporting one of the ugliest haircuts I've ever seen)

He's got the top part of his hair blonde, but then he dyed the sides red and pulled them back into a rat tail. What are you doing Billy...you're 43 here. But back to the participants, look at how much talent is here; Styles, Roode, Daniels, Kazarian, Senshi, Lethal, Sabin, Storm, Christian, Killings, EY, Dutt, even Raven is still pretty good at this point. You could be doing so many great things and yet, here we are. The match starts with everyone brawling except for Eric Young, who sprints around ringside, making no attempt to get in the ring. James Storm eventually decides he's too good for this, stops brawling, grabs a beer, and watches the chaos.

More brawling as every tries to prevent everyone else from getting into the ring. Robert Roode is the first to get into the ring. We then see Brother Ray (Bubba Ray Dudley) standing on the ramp just watching.

Chris Sabin is next to get in the ring before we get a shot of Matt Bentley watching the match from the stands. I don't care enough about Matt Bentley to screencap that. Raven ends up on the apron, only for Sabin to knock him off. That was rude. AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels both jump in at the same time as Shane Douglas materializes on the ramp and talks to Brother Ray. Abyss makes his way into the ring, quickly followed Lance Hoyt and his tramp stamp.

The Naturals arrive on the scene, prompting Devon to abandon the match and even the odds with Ray. Christian and Killings fight on the apron before Christian pulls a double heel move by poking the eyes before kicking the balls. Christian has a clear path to the ring, only for Rhino to run down. Don West says he didn't want to be in this match, making him the smartest man in the entire company. Rhino & Christian brawl to the back as L.A.X run down to beat up James Storm. Killings takes this opportunity to claim the final spot in the ring before Chris Harris evens the odds for his America's Most Wanted partner Storm. This concludes the stupidest thing I have ever seen.

 Following a commercial break, the regular battle royal begins. Robert Roode quickly tosses Killings out, giving him the worst seed in the tournament. Roode follows that up by countering a tornado DDT from Sabin and tossing him out of the ring. Hoyt runs through everyone before Roode hits a Cross Rhodes on him. Abyss tries to eliminate Styles, but Daniels makes the save. Abyss tries to chokeslam Daniels, but Styles makes the save before the two hit a Total Elimination-style move. Styles proves that he's the best teammate when he pushes Daniels out of the way and eats a clothesline from Roode. Roode and Daniels trade blows before Daniels sets Roode on the top rope. Daniels goes for a move, but Roode's valet Miss Brooks (who just randomly appeared) stops him, allowing Roode to eliminate him. Styles gets revenge by kicking Roode off the top rope and out of the ring. Styles tries to eliminate Abyss, but Abyss is able to hip toss him out of the ring. This leaves the final two as Abyss and Lance Hoyt, which is literally the worst combination we could've gotten out of everyone in the regular battle royal. 

Abyss immediately splashes Hoyt in the corner, but Hoyt responds with a jumping clothesline. Hoyt punches Abyss in the corner, which Abyss responds to with a big boot. James Mitchell then appears and gives Abyss a chair. The referee takes the chair away from Abyss, distracting him long enough for Hoyt to hit a big boot followed by a very impressive step up moonsault for a near fall. Hoyt charges at Abyss, who catches him with a boot and follows it up with the Shock Treatment, but Hoyt kicks out. Abyss charges Hoyt in the corner, but Hoyt dodges it and hits a dropkick. Mitchell complains to the referee, allowing Hoyt to set up and connect with a Coast to Coast that doesn't quite catch all of the chair, but is still impressive for a guy the size of Hoyt. Hoyt makes the cover, but Abyss kicks out. Hoyt goes for a fireman's carry, but Abyss fights out and hits a Black Hole Slam for the win, earning the bye to the finals.

The Verdict

If I were to judge this match solely on the final two parts of it, it would probably be the best match I'd seen for this series. While not the longest or most engaging, it was still a somewhat enjoyable battle royal followed by a better than expected singles match. However, this match wasn't two parts, it was three, and that first part drags the rest of the match down sharply. The actual reverse battle royal is one of the most incomprehensible, confusing things I've ever seen in a wrestling match. Not only is the sight of wrestlers trying to fight to get into the ring bizarre, but the fact that apparently everybody on the roster decided to make a random appearance during this match. Here's every run-in or cameo that happened during this match

1. Brother Ray
2. Matt Bentley
3. Shane Douglas
4. The Naturals
5. Rhino
6. L.A.X
7. Chris Harris
8. Miss Brooks
9. James Mitchell

Just pure chaos. I can see why TNA tried to scrub this match from existence. What I can't understand is why they thought this idea was so good that they not only ran it again, but ran it again at BOUND FOR GLORY a year later. You know, their version of WrestleMania. What a company.

Rankings (Best to Worst)

1. Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
2. Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
3. Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
4. Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
5. T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
6. Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
7. Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
8. Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
9. Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
10. Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
11. Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
12. The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
13. Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
14. The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
15. The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
16. Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
17. ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
18. Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
19. The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
20. Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
21. Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
22. Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
23. The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
24. Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
25. Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
26. The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
27. Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
28. Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
29. Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
30. Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
31. Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
32. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
33. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
34. Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
35. Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
36. Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
37. Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
38. Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
39. Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
40. Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
41. Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
42. Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
43. Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
44. Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
45. Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
46. Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
47. Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
48. Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
49. Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
50. Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
51. The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
52. Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
53. Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
54. Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
55. Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
56. Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
57. D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
58. Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
59. Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
60. Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
61. Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
62. Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
63. Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
64. PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
65. Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
66. Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
67. Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
68.  Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
69. Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
70. King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
71. Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
72. The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
73. The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
74. The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
75. AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
76. Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
77. Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
78. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
79. Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
80. Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
81. Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
82. David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
83. The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
84. The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
85. The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
86. Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
87. Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
88. Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
89. Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
90. Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-RAW (7/8/2002)
91. Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
92. Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
93. Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
94. The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
95. The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
96. Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
97. The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
98. Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
99. Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
100. Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
101. The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
102. Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
103. Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
104. Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
105. Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
106. Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
107. The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
108. James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
109. John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
110. Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
111. Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
112. Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009

Thanks for reading. Be sure to share this post and leave any suggestions for matches you'd like to see covered here in the comments below. Now that I've finally covered the one that got away, I'll be diving into the suggestions I've received already. And with WrestleMania just recently happening, next week I'll be covering one of the worst matches to ever take place at the Grandest Stage of Them All. Until next time...