TNA: Kip James ,Part 5

On February 13, 2005, Sopp debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling without a name (as Billy Gunn is a WWE trademark) at the Against All Odds 2005 PPV, helping Jeff Jarrett retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a match with Kevin Nash. Sopp, using the name The New Age Outlaw, then formed a stable with Jarrett and Monty Brown known as Planet Jarrett. However, WWE threatened TNA with legal action if Sopp continues the use of the name "The New Age Outlaw", so he shortened his name to The Outlaw.

Sopp began a campaign to make former ally B.G. James leave the 3Live Kru and defect to Planet Jarrett, reforming the old tag team with Sopp. On July 17 at No Surrender 2005 he renamed himself Kip James and was announced as "wrestling out of Marietta, Georgia" (the family seat of the James family) as a psychological ploy. As a result of his campaign, Sopp attracted the ire of 3Live Kru members Ron Killings and Konnan, leading to a series of tag team matches pitting Sopp and Monty Brown against Killings and Konnan, with a conflicted B.G. James unwilling to take sides. Sopp's efforts ultimately proved futile as James, appointed guest referee in a final match between Brown and Sopp versus Konnan and Killings at Sacrifice 2005, attacked Sopp enabling a 3Live Kru victory.

In September at Unbreakable 2005, Sopp teamed with Brown to defeat the team of Apolo and Lance Hoyt. There was clear tension between the partners because Brown was unhappy at the series of losses at the hands of the 3Live Kru, and Sopp was irked by Brown's decision to leave Planet Jarrett. Despite the victory, the partners argued after the match.

On the October 8, 2005 episode of iMPACT!, Sopp rekindled his feud with the 3Live Kru, running to the ring after a bout between the 3LK and Team Canada in order to prevent Team Canada captain Petey Williams from beating down B.G. James. He saved James, and then engaged in a staredown with Konnan and Killings. Sopp saved James from Team Canada once again at Bound for Glory 2005. Though Killings showed signs of gratitude, Konnan remained skeptical as to his true intentions. Later that night, Sopp took part in an over-the-top-rope gauntlet match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After he was eliminated, he tried in vain to prevent Killings from being eliminated as well, before being sent away from ringside by the referees.

On the November 26, 2005 episode of iMPACT!, B.G. brought James and the 3Live Kru to ringside and asked Killings and Konnan whether or not James could join the stable. Following a heated argument between Konnan and B.G., both Killings and Konnan gave their approval, and the Four Live Kru was born. However, at Turning Point 2005, Konnan attacked both B.G. and Kip, costing them their match against Team Canada and initiating a feud between himself and the remainder of the Kru. Shortly thereafter, B.G. James's father, Bob Armstrong, attempted to reconcile the group, but was instead attacked by Konnan and his new stablemates, Homicide and Apolo. Killings later stated that he had severed his ties with the Kru. With Konnan and Killings no longer members of the Kru, Kip and B.G. began referring to themselves as The James Gang.

By November 2006, Kip James and B.G James began to show displeasure in TNA and threatened to go find work elsewhere if they did not receive gold soon. They began performing the crotch chop, a reference to the WWE's DX. On the November 2 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Kip and B.G. James threatened to quit. Kip James grabbed the mic and tried to say something to the TNA administration and Spike TV, but each time his mic was cut off. Kip then tried to use the announcer's headset, but it was cut off as well. Frustrated, he started yelling loudly to the crowd, but he was cut off again as the show went to a commercial break. When the show returned, the announcers speculated that they may have been frustrated due to the influx of new talent entering TNA. It was reported that the segment was a worked shoot that Vince Russo had written in order to renew interest upon their eventual return. Kip and BG James appeared in an internet video on TNA's website where they addressed the owner of WWE Vince McMahon. They mention their discontent at a house show in Connecticut that was shut down under suspicious circumstances (influence from WWE is alluded to yet never outrightly mentioned).