Implemented in 2004, at a time when Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) began to carry out monthly pay-per-views , Turning Point took place in December in its first four editions (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007) and in the six that followed in November (2008, 2009, 2010 , 2011 , 2012 and 2013).
From 2013 onwards, however, it stopped being a pay-per-view and became a special Impact Wrestling event, which also changed its periodicity and scheduling: in 2014 it took place in September, in 2015 in July, in 2016 in August, in 2017 in April and between 2019 and 2021 in November, but it was not carried out in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Now, in 2023, it will be recorded this Friday, October 27, in the English city of Newcastle, and will be broadcast on television on November 3rd. It’s therefore worth checking out our list of the ten best fights in Turning Point’s history, in chronological order.
Turning Point 2004
TNA X Division Championship : Petey Williams (c) vs. Chris Sabin
On the first night of The Best Damn Wrestling Event Period , which aired on November 10, Chris Sabin beat Elix Skipper and Sonjay Dutt in an Ultimate X match to become the top contender for the TNA X Division Championship .
Two days later, on an episode of Impact! , Chris Sabin said he discovered a way to counterattack the Canadian Destroyer , but Williams said it was impossible to counterattack. To prove what he was saying, Sabin counterattacked the Canadian’s finisher during the episodes on November 12, 19 and 30.
Turning Point 2004
Six Sides of Steel match:
America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) vs. Triple X ( Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper) (the losing team would be forced to disband)
In TNA’s last weekly pay-per-view, on September 8, 2024, when James Storm was declared unfit to fight, which led Triple X (XXX) to take the place of America’s Most Wanted (AMW) in a match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship, held by The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens). However, Christopher Daniels was injured earlier that night by The Naturals, which led Chris Harris and Elix Skipper to form a team to challenge The Naturals, and this unlikely duo ended up winning the belts.
On the September 24 episode of Impact! , Christopher Daniels and James Storm were forced to team up and challenge Harris and Skipper for the title and managed to win and become champions.
Storm and Daniels would lose the NWA World Tag Team Championship to Team Canada ( Bobby Roode and Eric Young) on the October 15 episode.
Meanwhile, Chris Harris and James Storm continued together as America’s Most Wanted and Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper as Triple X. After some fights between the two teams on episodes of Impact! , AMW challenged XXX to an Elimination Last Team Standing match at Victory Road .
On pay-per-view , AMW managed to win. After James Storm and Christopher Daniels were eliminated, Elix Skipper was unable to respond to the ten count after suffering a Catatonic from Chris Harris onto a chair.
Almost two weeks later, on the November 19 episode, Daniels hinted that a Six Sides of Steel match was scheduled between the two teams at Turning Point. Later that night, newly appointed authority figure Dusty Rhodes announced that the match was indeed scheduled, with the additional stipulation that the losing team would have to disband and never come together again in TNA.
Turning Point 2005
TNA X Division Championship : AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe
In the final of the 2005 TNA Super X Cup tournament at Sacrifice, Joe beat Styles via submission after interference from Christopher Daniels to earn a shot at the TNA X Division Championship .
On the August 19 episode of TNA Impact! , it was announced that Daniels would defend the title against Joe at Unbreakable. However, that same night Daniels attacked Joe until Styles appeared and attacked Daniels , in retaliation for the interference in Sacrifice. Daniels demanded that NWA officials suspend Styles , but instead, manager Larry Zbyszko added Styles to the X Division Championship match .
At Unbreakable, in a match described as a dream and which at the time even earned a rare five-star award from journalist Dave Meltzer, AJ Styles won the X Division Championship by beating the then champion Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe in a three-way match .
However, Styles successfully defended the title against Christopher Daniels in a 30-minute Ironman match at Bound For Glory .
Weeks later, at Genesis, Styles beat Petey Williams to retain the belt. At the same event, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels were the only survivors of Team Ministry in a 4 vs. 4 Tag Team Elimination match against the team of Austin Aries , Chris Sabin , Matt Bentley and Sonjay Dutt. However, after Joe brutally attacked Daniels , leaving him injured and away from the ring for a few weeks.
However, Styles accused Joe of violating the X Division ‘s unwritten code of conduct and wanted to defend the title against the Samoan Submission Machine at Turning Point, issuing the challenge on the November 19 episode of Impact! . Joe accepted and, two weeks later, attacked Styles , stating that he wants nothing to do with the X Division code of conduct .
Turning Point 2006
Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle made his TNA debut on October 19, 2006, confronting Samoa Joe , who refused to give up the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt he had stolen from Jeff Jarrett. Angle and Joe ended up getting involved in a feud, which allowed Jarrett to regain the title.
Three days later, at Bound For Glory , Angle and Joe were once again involved in a brawl during the match between Jarrett and Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, in which Kurt Angle served as special enforcer .
On the November 16 episode of Impact! , Angle debuted in the TNA ring with a victory over Abyss achieved via submission, through an Ankle Lock , but was attacked by Joe after the match, and a match between the two was scheduled for Genesis.
At Genesis, Kurt Angle beat Samoa Joe via submission, via an Ankle Lock , inflicting Joe ‘s first defeat in TNA in 18 months in the company. After the match, Joe said that Angle was the better man that night, but asked for a rematch and proposed a handshake, but the request was refused by Angle , who left the ring. However, a new fight between the two ended up being scheduled for Turning Point.
Turning Point 2008
TNA World Tag Team Championship :
Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) (c) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
At a time when the Frontline, comprised of TNA Originals (including Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin ), was feuding with the Main Event Mafia, the Motor City Machine Guns received an opportunity for the TNA World Tag Team Championship , which was held by the neutrals. Beer Money , at Turning Point.
Previously, on the October 30 episode of Impact! , Eric Young was attacked by Beer Money after beating James Storm, but was saved by the Motor City Machine Guns . The following week, Beer Money and Booker T defeated MCMG and Christian Cage .
Turning Point 2008
Falls Count Anywhere match: Kurt Angle vs. Abyss
At Bound For Glory 2008, Kurt Angle was defeated by TNA founder and co-owner Jeff Jarrett in a match featuring Mick Foley as special guest enforcer . No Impact! Following the pay-per-view , Angle challenged Jarrett to a rematch at Turning Point, but Jarrett refused. Furious at his rival’s refusal, Angle began attacking several TNA wrestlers to persuade Jarrett to accept the challenge.
On the October 23rd episode, Angle launched the challenge again and received a denial from Jarrett. However, the TNA founder recommended Abyss , one of Angle ‘s victims from the previous week, as the Olympic champion’s opponent. A week later, Angle lost a duel with Abyss , via disqualification, after hitting the Monster with a chair, which led to a Falls Count Anywhere match between the two being scheduled for Turning Point.
Turning Point 2009
Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe
After rising to prominence in Ring of Honor under the ring name Nigel McGuinness, Desmond Wolfe made his TNA debut on the October 22 episode of Impact! , when attacking Kurt Angle . The following week, Wolfe beat Angle in a street fight due to a referee’s decision, after the Briton applied a Lariat to his opponent. However, a first duel between the two was scheduled on pay-per-view , at Turning Point.
Turning Point 2009
TNA World Heavyweight Championship : AJ Styles (c) vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe
At Bound for Glory 2009, AJ Styles beat Sting to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship , putting an end to The Icon ‘s unbeaten run at the company’s biggest event of the year.
In the weeks that followed, Styles was attacked by an anonymous attacker backstage, which led him to believe that it had been Samoa Joe or Christopher Daniels who attacked him, which led to a match between the three, with the title in play, for the Turning Point. On the November 5 episode of Impact! , Daniels confronted Styles and said he was as good a wrestler as him, but that he wasn’t given the same opportunities.
Turning Point 2012
#1 Contendership; TNA World Heavyweight Championship :
James Storm vs. AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode
(Loser would not be able to fight for the TNA World Title for 1 Year)
The culmination of a long rivalry, which began when Bobby Roode used a beer bottle to beat James Storm and then beat his former Beer Money bandmate to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the November 3, 2011 episode of Impact! , and in between there was a victory for Roode over Storm at Lockdown 2012, James Storm defeated Bobby Roode in a Street Fight that had King Mo as Special Guest Enforcer at Bound For Glory 2012 .
However, on the October 25 episode of Impact! , Kurt Angle , James Storm, Bully Ray and Mr. Anderson presented to the then TNA General Manager, Hulk Hogan, arguments about how they deserved an opportunity forTNA World Heavyweight Championship, at the time owned by Jeff Hardy . However, Hogan eliminated Anderson and Bully Ray from the equation and ended up choosing Angle , but told Storm he had a plan for him.
The following week, Bobby Roode complained about being omitted from the title fight , especially because he could now fight for it since the clause that prohibited him from competing for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship while Austin Aries was champion had expired, since Aries lost the title. AJ Styles interrupted the Canadian and challenged him to a fight. Roode refused, but, after attacking Styles for cheating, the two ended up getting involved in a fight. Having said that, Hulk Hogan appeared on the scene and scheduled a match between Styles , Storm and Roode for Turning Point , with the stipulation that whoever beat him would become a contender for the title and whoever suffered the settlement would be banned from fighting for the title until Bound For Glory 2013 .
Turning Point 2012
Ladder match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship : Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Austin Aries
In June 2012 it was announced that a points tournament contested by 12 wrestlers would take place over three months to determine the main contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory .
The top four in the rankings at the end of the tournament were James Storm, Samoa Joe , Bully Ray and Jeff Hardy and so they faced each other in a four-way mini-tournament at the No Surrender pay-per-view in September. In the semi-finals, Hardy beat Joe and Ray beat Storm. In the final, Hardy got the better of Ray and became the main contender for Austin Aries’ title . On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Bully Ray claimed that Jeff Hardy had been lucky, so they both fought to define the main candidate again, but Hardy won again. During this rematch, Austin Aries began to display envy towards Jeff Hardy ‘s success and charisma , trying to prove that he was as good as him. In the weeks that followed, the rivalry between the two heated up.
Three days before Bound For Glory , Aries attacked Hardy and gave him a Brainbuster . At Bound For Glory, Jeff Hardy defeated Austin Aries to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship . Austin Aries appeared at Hardy ‘s victory celebration on the October 18 episode of Impact Wrestling , and stated his intention to trigger the rematch clause when appropriate. That being said, Hardy referred to the face drawn on his belt as the face Aries couldn’t beat, and Aries responded by spitting on the title , leading to a brawl between the two. The following week, following Hardy ‘s successful title defense in a match with Kurt Angle , Aries attacked Hardy and announced that he would challenge for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Turning Point . A week later, Aries stated that Hardy had knocked him from the top of the company after fighting his way there and that he was going to regain his position at the top. However, Hardy responded by going to get a ladder and climb to the top of it, challenging Aries to a ladder match on pay-per-view .