It was held to honor the TNA wrestler Chris Candido, who died in April 2005 as a result of acute pneumonia.

The tournament featured sixteen TNA wrestlers: Abyss, Shark Boy, Alex Shelley, Sean Waltman, B.G.

James Caldwell of the Pro Wrestling Torch wrote in his review of the matches that they were "solid" and "effective in telling the story.

At TNA's Lockdown PPV event on April 24, 2005, Candido teamed with Lance Hoyt to face Apolo and Sonny Siaki in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match.

[4] Candido had an operation on April 25 to have a plate, screws, and pins placed in his ankle to fix the problem, with him being sidelined from competing for two to three months heal.

[9] At Hard Justice, a ten-bell salute was held while a photo of Candido, a pair of boots, and one-half of the NWA World Tag Team Championship positioned on a steel chair sat in the center of the ring.

[10] TNA donated some Lockdown DVD sale profits to the Chris Candido Memorial Fund.

TNA originally planned to remove Candido's match from the DVD but was given his family's blessing to include it in the publication.

He revealed the official name for the competition, the "2005 Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament", and that TNA was planning on it being an annual contest.

Before his death, the veteran Candido was managing the young tag team of The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens).

[3][15] The Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament featured seven matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines.

Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match.

The Alex Shelley and Sean Waltman team faced Abyss and Shark Boy in a bout lasting 4 minutes and 10 seconds.

Shelley and Waltman defeated the Hoyt and Konnan teams in the first semifinal match in 4 minutes and 22 seconds.

During the match, Hoyt hit Waltman with a boot to the face and went for the pin, but the referee was distracted by Kip James, who came down to ringside.

Hoyt went to get the referee, allowing Waltman to hit him in the groin and follow up by slamming him face-first into the mat with his signature X-Factor maneuver.

[2] The final round occurred on the September 9 episode of Impact!, with Sabin and Shocker versus Shelley and Waltman.

The wrestling left the ring as Waltman performed a somersault splash to the ringside area onto Shocker and Sabin.

He suffered a legitimate back injury but ended up appearing at the PWG show that Sabin was forced to miss.