While wrestling for JAPW, Lethal caught the eye of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) producer and announcer Jeremy Borash, who offered him a spot in the TNA roster.
Lethal debuted in TNA on the December 17, 2005 episode of Impact!,
losing to X Division Champion and fellow ROH alum Samoa Joe.
In January 2006, he was signed to a contract by TNA.
He made his pay-per-view debut at Against All Odds in 2006 on February 12, defeating Matt Bentley, Alex Shelley and Petey Williams in a four-way match by pinning Williams.

On the February 18, 2006 episode of Impact!,
Lethal defeated Roderick Strong and Shannon Moore to earn a spot in Team USA, the defending champions in the 2006 World X Cup.
Other members of the team were Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley.
Team USA wrestled their first match at Lockdown on April 23, 2006, where Lethal, Dutt and Shelley lost to Team Japan (Black Tiger, Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto) after Black Tiger pinned Lethal with a Black Tiger suplex.
On the April 27, 2006 episode of Impact!,
Lethal unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the X Division Championship.
On May 14 at Sacrifice Lethal participated in the World X Cup Gauntlet match, but ended up being the second to last man eliminated from the match by Team Mexico's Puma.
The tournament ended on the following episode of Impact!
with Chris Sabin defeating Team Canada's Petey Williams to win the World X Cup for Team USA.

In the June 1, 2006 episode of Impact!,
Lethal scored a win over Alex Shelley, but was after the match attacked by his associate Kevin Nash, who had declared a war on the X Division in the aftermath of Team USA's World X Cup victory.
During the July 13, 2006 episode, Lethal won the right to challenge for the title of his choosing by scoring the deciding fall in an eight-man "All or Nothing" tag team match, where he teamed with Rhino and Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) against Team Canada (Petey Williams, Bobby Roode, Eric Young and A1).
The next week, Lethal challenged Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from Scott Steiner.
Two weeks later, Lethal took part in a five way X Division match to determine the number one contender for the title.
Although Petey Williams won the match, one week later Lethal was added to the match, making it a three-way match for the X Division title at Hard Justice involving Lethal, Williams and defending champion Senshi.
Lethal was pinned by Senshi after Williams hit him with his Canadian Destroyer.

In a strong product placement, Lethal alongside Sonjay Dutt, got fellow X Division superstar Chris Sabin ready for his match at No Surrender by watching clips of Jackass Number Two, which was being heavily promoted by TNA at the time.
One night on Impact!,
during Chris Sabin's match with Alex Shelley, Shelley's partner Johnny Devine was pushed in a shopping cart and rammed into the steel post, allowing Sabin to pin Shelley.
The following week, Lethal was able to defeat Petey Williams after Sabin and Dutt distracted the referee, allowing Lethal to roll a bowling ball into Petey's groin.
Following in this storyline, Lethal went on to defeat Williams again on September 24, 2006, at the No Surrender pay-per-view, following Williams allegedly being given laxatives by stable mate Dutt, rendering him incapable of doing most of his moves, and giving Lethal the victory when Williams could no longer "hold it".
He and Dutt were also involved in Sabin's match later in the night with similar antics involving a blow-up doll, but to no avail as Sabin would lose the match despite the interference.
These, too, were designed as advertising for Jackass Number Two, as were other moments for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.
While wrestling for JAPW, Lethal caught the eye of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) producer and announcer Jeremy Borash, who offered him a spot in the TNA roster. Lethal debuted in TNA on the December 17, 2005 episode of Impact!, losing to X Division Champion and fellow ROH alum Samoa Joe. In January 2006, he was signed to a contract by TNA. He made his pay-per-view debut at Against All Odds in 2006 on February 12, defeating Matt Bentley, Alex Shelley and Petey Williams in a four-way match by pinning Williams.
On the February 18, 2006 episode of Impact!, Lethal defeated Roderick Strong and Shannon Moore to earn a spot in Team USA, the defending champions in the 2006 World X Cup. Other members of the team were Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt and Alex Shelley. Team USA wrestled their first match at Lockdown on April 23, 2006, where Lethal, Dutt and Shelley lost to Team Japan (Black Tiger, Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto) after Black Tiger pinned Lethal with a Black Tiger suplex. On the April 27, 2006 episode of Impact!, Lethal unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the X Division Championship. On May 14 at Sacrifice Lethal participated in the World X Cup Gauntlet match, but ended up being the second to last man eliminated from the match by Team Mexico's Puma. The tournament ended on the following episode of Impact! with Chris Sabin defeating Team Canada's Petey Williams to win the World X Cup for Team USA.
In the June 1, 2006 episode of Impact!, Lethal scored a win over Alex Shelley, but was after the match attacked by his associate Kevin Nash, who had declared a war on the X Division in the aftermath of Team USA's World X Cup victory. During the July 13, 2006 episode, Lethal won the right to challenge for the title of his choosing by scoring the deciding fall in an eight-man "All or Nothing" tag team match, where he teamed with Rhino and Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) against Team Canada (Petey Williams, Bobby Roode, Eric Young and A1). The next week, Lethal challenged Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from Scott Steiner. Two weeks later, Lethal took part in a five way X Division match to determine the number one contender for the title. Although Petey Williams won the match, one week later Lethal was added to the match, making it a three-way match for the X Division title at Hard Justice involving Lethal, Williams and defending champion Senshi. Lethal was pinned by Senshi after Williams hit him with his Canadian Destroyer.
In a strong product placement, Lethal alongside Sonjay Dutt, got fellow X Division superstar Chris Sabin ready for his match at No Surrender by watching clips of Jackass Number Two, which was being heavily promoted by TNA at the time. One night on Impact!, during Chris Sabin's match with Alex Shelley, Shelley's partner Johnny Devine was pushed in a shopping cart and rammed into the steel post, allowing Sabin to pin Shelley. The following week, Lethal was able to defeat Petey Williams after Sabin and Dutt distracted the referee, allowing Lethal to roll a bowling ball into Petey's groin. Following in this storyline, Lethal went on to defeat Williams again on September 24, 2006, at the No Surrender pay-per-view, following Williams allegedly being given laxatives by stable mate Dutt, rendering him incapable of doing most of his moves, and giving Lethal the victory when Williams could no longer "hold it". He and Dutt were also involved in Sabin's match later in the night with similar antics involving a blow-up doll, but to no avail as Sabin would lose the match despite the interference. These, too, were designed as advertising for Jackass Number Two, as were other moments for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.
Jay Lethal