11, instead Sabin faced Petey Williams and won after hitting the Cradle Shock In 2006, Sabin mostly teamed up with Sonjay Dutt, to great effect, beating Team Canada in a number one contenders tag team tournament on TNA Impact!. At the Against All Odds pay-per-view event Sabin and Dutt were beaten by Chris Harris and James Storm (America's Most Wanted) in a bout for the NWA World Tag Team Championships. On March 11, Chris Sabin defeated Alex Shelley and Sonjay Dutt in a 3-way match to represent both the US in the "International X Division Showcase" at Destination X 2006 as well as joining Jay Lethal on Team TNA in the upcoming World X Cup Tournament. Later that month, Sabin was hospitalized with a severe concussion after taking four blows to the head during a show for the Northeast Wrestling (NEW) promotion on March 25 in Bristol, Connecticut. He was released after undergoing a CAT scan. Sabin acted as the captain of Team USA at World X Cup 2006, defeating Puma of Team Mexico, earning 3 points, and on May 18, defeating Petey Williams in a sudden death tiebreaker singles match, winning the World X Cup for Team USA. On the June 1, 2006 episode of TNA Impact!, Sabin rushed to the ring to clear out Alex Shelley and Kevin Nash, who were attacking Jay Lethal in another of Nash's X Division beatdowns. Nash would avoid a physical confrontation with Sabin, only to be challenged to a match by Sabin at Slammiversary 2006 which Nash was able to win. Sabin later became the number one contender for the TNA X Division Championship by defeating Alex Shelley at Hard Justice 2006. Sabin would enter into an angle with fellow X-Division wrestlers to promote the Jackass: Number Two movie by imitating stunts performed on the film to display the lighter side of the X-Division, something then champion Senshi disapproved of. Since then, Sabin would attempt to take Senshi's title on several occasions. On October 22, 2006, Sabin defeated Senshi after using an inside cradle to become a 3 time X Division Champion at Bound for Glory 2006. On the November 2, 2006 episode of TNA Impact!, he lost the title to A.J. Styles in the Fight for the Right tournament. Prior to the match, Sabin showed signs of turning heel when he expressed his disdain for X-Division pioneer, and face, Jerry Lynn