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TNA X Division Championship
The TNA X Division Championship belt (May 16, 2007 – present)
Details
Current champion(s)	Doug Williams[1]
Date won	January 19, 2010[2] (aired January 28, 2010[3])
Promotion	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
Date established	June 19, 2002[4][5]
Other name(s)	NWA X Championship[6] NWA–TNA X Championship[6] NWA–TNA X Division Championship[7]
Past design(s)
Statistics Most reigns A.J. Styles (6 reigns)[5][7][8] First champion(s) A.J. Styles[4][7] Longest reign Christopher Daniels (182 days)[9] Shortest reign Eric Young (<1 day)[10] Oldest champion Jerry Lynn (39 years, 147 days) Youngest champion Amazing Red (21 years, 4 days)

The TNA X Division Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. It is primarily defended in TNA's X Division—a style based on a fast-paced, daredevil type of wrestling. It debuted on June 19, 2002 at the taping of TNA's second weekly pay-per-view (PPV) event.^[4]

Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won as a result of a scripted match. There have been 42 reigns among 22 wrestlers.^[7] The title has previously been known as the NWA X Championship, the NWA–TNA X Championship, and the NWA–TNA X Division Championship.^[7][6]

History

X Division

The TNA X Division was established on June 19, 2002 at TNA's first weekly PPV event with a Six Man Tag Team match resulting in Jimmy Yang, Jorge Estrada, and Sonny Siaki—collectively known as The Flying Elvis—defeating A.J. Styles, Jerry Lynn, and Low Ki.^[4][11] Later that day at the taping of the next weekly PPV event, TNA introduced the X Division Championship—then known as the X Championship—to showcase the division more prominently.^[4][11] The division is described as wrestling reinvented, as it takes traditional wrestling and mixes it with the fast paced, high–risk style of wrestling incorporated in cruiserweight divisions and lucha libre.^[11] The division is promoted under the motto "It is not about weight limits, it is about no limits" by commentator Mike Tenay.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Speciality matches

A.J. Styles [yellow trunks] and Christopher Daniels [red trunks] during an Ultimate X match in 2006

The TNA X Division has multiple styles of match types used to showcase the talent within the division and to defend the TNA X Division Championship in more marketable matches. Three of the matches used in TNA are the Ultimate X match, The Steel Asylum, and the Xscape match. The Ultimate X match was introduced in 2003.^[15] It involves multiple competitors racing to retrieve the X Division Championship or a giant red letter "X", which is suspended above the ring by two cables.^[14][15] The cables are attached to four posts that stand behind four of the six turnbuckles in a TNA ring.^[14][15] These cables intertwine to form an "X" over the center of the ring.^[14][15] This match has become successful in TNA; it was featured in the 2008 DVD "TNA: Ultimate Matches", released by TNA Home Video.^[16] The Steel Asylum made its debut in May 2008 at TNA's Sacrifice PPV event, under the name "The TerrorDome".^[17] It was used once again in October 2008 at their Bound for Glory IV PPV event, under the new and current moniker "The Steel Asylum".^[18][19] As of March 2010, this match has only been used to determine the number one contender to the TNA X Division Championship.^[17][19] The layout of the match involves the ring being surrounded by a giant red steel barred cage with a domed ceiling.^[18] The only way to achieve victory is to escape the cage through a hole in the center of the ceiling.^[20] The Xscape match is the third specialty match primarily used in TNA. It is held annually at TNA's Lockdown PPV event in April—an all–steel cage format PPV event.^{[21][22][23][24][25]} The first two Xscape matches were held to determine the number one contender to the TNA X Division Championship, while, since 2007, it has been contested for the X Division Championship.^{[21][22][23][24][25]} The contest involves between four to six participants. To win this match, three or more participants—depending on how many are involved in the encounter—must be eliminated by pinfall or submission until only two remain.^[22] These two men then race to see who escapes the cage first to claim victory.^[26]

Creation

The championship was created and debuted before the main event at the taping of TNA's second weekly PPV event on June 19, 2002; the event aired on June 26, 2002.^[4] Later, A.J. Styles defeated Low Ki, Jerry Lynn, and Psicosis in a Four Way Double Elimination match to be crowned the inaugural champion;^[27] this match was announced as being for the NWA X Championship on the onscreen graphic while the ring announcer stated it was for the "NWA–TNA X Championship".^[4][6] Afterwards, the title was renamed the NWA–TNA X Division Championship and then shortened to just the TNA X Division Championship.^[7]

Other

In May 2003, before the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling All-Stars' (WWA) foreclosure, then NWA–TNA X Division champion Chris Sabin defeated WWA International Cruiserweight Champion Jerry Lynn, Frankie Kazarian, and Johnny Swinger in a Four Corners Championship Unification match to unify the X Division Championship with the WWA International Cruiserweight Championship.^[7][28] During Christopher Daniels' first reign in mid-2005, he defended the X Division Championship at several Pro Wrestling Guerrilla shows; it is unknown if these defenses were agreed to by TNA and PWG. The first defense happened at All Star Weekend - Night One on April 1 against Alex Shelley, while the second occurred at All Star Weekend - Night Two on April 2 against Chris Hero; Daniels won both encounters retaining the championship.^[29][30] At Jason Takes PWG on May 13, Daniels fought A.J. Styles for the X Division Championship and Styles' PWG Championship to a one-hour time-limit draw.^[31] Daniels successfully defended the X Division Title two more times in PWG; once at Guitarmageddon on June 11 against El Generico, while once at The 2nd Annual PWG Bicentennial Birthday Extravaganza - Night One on July 9 against fellow TNA wrestler Chris Sabin.^[32][33] In September 2005 at TNA's Unbreakable PPV event, the TNA X Division Championship was defended in the main event for the first time at a monthly PPV event; then-champion Christopher Daniels defended the championship against A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe.^[34] The title was once again defended in the main event of a monthly event at TNA's August 2007 Hard Justice PPV event, where Kurt Angle defeated Samoa Joe to win the TNA X Division and the TNA World Tag Team Championships and retain the TNA World Heavyweight and IWGP Third Belt Championships (which TNA had billed as the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship).^[35] This win made Angle the only person in the history of TNA to hold every active championship at the same time; TNA World, X Division, and World Tag Team.^[36]

In May 2007 the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) ended their five-year partnership with TNA, which allowed the NWA to regain control over the NWA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships that TNA had controlled since June 2002.^[37] TNA then introduced a new TNA X Division Championship belt on the May 16, 2007 edition of TNA's online podcast TNA Today.^[38][39][40] Jeremy Borash and Management Director Jim Cornette, TNA's on-screen authority figure at the time, unveiled the new belt and awarded it to then-champion Chris Sabin.^[38]

Reigns

The inaugural champion was A.J. Styles, who won the championship by defeating Low Ki, Jerry Lynn, and Psicosis in a Four Way Double Elimination match on June 19, 2002 at TNA's second weekly PPV event.^[4][7] At 182 days, Christopher Daniels' first reign holds the record for longest in the title's history.^[9] At less than one day, Eric Young's only reign is the shortest in the title's history.^[10] Styles holds the record for most reigns, with six.^[5][7][8] As of March 2010, Doug Williams is the current champion in his first overall reign.^[1] Williams defeated the former champion, Amazing Red, on January 19, 2010 in Orlando, Florida at the taping of the January 28, 2010 episode of Impact!.^[2][3] Overall, there have been 42 reigns among 22 different wrestlers.^[7]

See also

Professional wrestling portal

• X Division
• Cruiserweight
• WWA International Cruiserweight Championship
• History of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Notes

References

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA Wrestling: Ultimate Matches. TNA Home Video. 
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA Wrestling: Year One. TNA Home Video. 
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA Wrestling: The Best of the X Division Vol. 1. TNA Home Video. 
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA Wrestling: The Best of the X Division Vol. 2. TNA Home Video. 

External links

• TNAWrestling.com