Team USA (also known as Team NWA or Team TNA) is a wrestling faction brought together as part of

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

's X-Cup Tournaments, which involved a team of

X Division The X Division is a professional wrestling division utilized by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion and used historically in several National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member promotions. The division is intended to emphasize a fas ...

contestants 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 Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. Lynn has worked for professional wrestling promotion, promotions ...

after he was appointed by TNA Management as the man for the job due to being a pioneer of the

. The other teams in the X-Cup Tournaments were

Team Mexico Team Mexico is a professional wrestling stable that was first formed in 2004 to compete in TNA Wrestling's America's X-Cup Tournament and has since returned to compete in other TNA X Cup Tournaments. History 2004 The original team consisted of ...

or Team AAA, Team Britain,

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

, and

Team Japan Team Japan is a professional wrestling group that was brought together as a part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's World X Cup Tournament. History 2004 Team Japan started as six-man team as team captain Nosawa from All Japan Pro Wrestling tea ...

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

(consisting of

Juventud Guerrera Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández (born November 23, 1974), better known by his ring name Juventud "Juvi" Guerrera, is a Mexican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler performing on the independent circuit. Guerrera is best known for ...

Hector Garza In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

, Mr. Águila, and

Abismo Negro Andrés Alejandro Palomeque González (July 1, 1971 – March 22, 2009) was a Mexican luchador ( Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"). He is best known for appearing under the stage name Abismo Negro, which is Spanish for "Black Abyss" ...

Frankie Kazarian

They were also embroiled in a feud with

Frankie Kazarian Frank Benedict Gerdelman (born August 4, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and musician signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), performing under the ring name Frankie Kazarian. He is also known for his wo ...

, 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! ''TNA Impact!'' (stylized as ''TNA iMPACT!'') is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that debuted on June 4, 2004. It also features wrestlers from WWE's ...

Jay Lethal Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his tenures in Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrest ...

was the first to qualify for the team, defeating

Shannon Moore Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for ...

and

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his ring name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon stable and is a former one-time AEW I ...

in a triple threat match.

Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by the ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 f ...

was the second to qualify, defeating

Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983), better known by the ring name Alex Shelley, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is widely known for his tenure ...

and

Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a Glossary of professional wrestling terms#agent, producer and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#manage ...

for the role.

, who defeated

Matt Bentley Matthew James Bentley (born December 10, 1979), is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) by the ring name Michael Shane, later changed to "Maverick" Matt Bentley. He was trained ...

and

Elix Skipper Elix Skipper (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Tag ...

, was the third to qualify. Finally,

would qualify by defeating

and

Chase Stevens Chase Bradley Stevens (born January 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name of "The Natural" Chase Stevens. He is known primarily for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a member ...

. 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 is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also one-half of the tag team Bishamon alongside Yoshi-Hashi. ...

of Team Japan on

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 A Gauntlet for the Gold match is a professional wrestling match used in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA - though from 2017-2024 it was known as Impact Wrestling). Match format Different from the other gauntlet matches, in which one competito ...

match at

Sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

, the team found themselves tied for first place with

after

Petey Williams Peter Williams III (born August 26, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a backstage producer. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he is a two-time X Division Champion. He is also known for hi ...

pinned Puma to win the Gauntlet. Director of Authority

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his Feud (professional wrestling), feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during ...

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 Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

wrestlers, while Shelley was a heel working for

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...

Planet Jarrett Planet Jarrett was a professional wrestling stable in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), led by the eponymous Jeff Jarrett and containing many of the main event heels in the promotion.Hornbaker, Tim. Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 Years of Hea ...

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 Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Ac ...

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 The Motor City Machine Guns are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. They are signed to WWE, where they perform on the SmackDown brand and are former one-time WWE Tag Team Champions. They are b ...

. 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 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

2008

Mexico won the World X Cup 2008.

2013

Team USA won the World Cup of Wrestling in a tiebreaker match against Team Aces & Eights.

2016

EC3, Tyrus and

Eli Drake Shaun Edward Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name LA ...

represented Team TNA in the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup, but was eliminated in the first round.

Members

2004

(Captain) *

(Left the team to pursue a feud with

) *

Christopher Daniels Christopher Daniel Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the Head of Ta ...

(Replaced Dutt)

2006

(Captain) *

2008

* Kaz (Captain) *

* Curry Man

2013

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He currently competes on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He sta ...

(Captain) *

* Kazarian * Kenny King *

Mickie James Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) Additional January 6, 2017. is an American Country music, country singer and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE. She is also signed to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as Cre ...

2016

* EC3 *

* Tyrus

Competitive record

World X Cup record

Championships and accomplishments

** TNA World X Cup (2004) – with (Jerry Lynn, Chris Sabin, Elix Skipper and Christopher Daniels) ** TNA World X Cup (2006) – with (Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley) ** TNA World Cup of Wrestling (2013) – with (James Storm, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, Kenny King, and Mickie James)

External links

TNAWrestling.com (Official Website of TNA Wrestling)
{{TNA One Night Only annual events Total Nonstop Action Wrestling teams and stables Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide teams and stables