Get ready to fly, as we enter the high flying risk taking and ground breaking x division stars and ten champions! 15 years ago the title was born and it's gone through a lot of designs and changes over the years but who are the top 10 champs?
10) Amazing Red - Once upon a time, the wrestling world was convinced that Amazing Red was going to be the new Rey Mysterio. Red won the TNA X Division Championship on three occasions, and he always carried the title with grace. His reigns weren't all that memorable, but he was unique in that he was a plucky underdog that was more than capable of getting everything done without relying solely on heart. Red's first X Division Championship run started in April 2003 when he dethroned the notoriously grumpy Kid Kash for the title, but he would hold the belt for just two weeks before dropping it to Chris Sabin. It would be a whole six years before he would hold the gold again, shocking the world in 2009 by defeating Samoa Joe, of all people, for the belt. Red's third and final reign came and went in the blink of an eye, as he picked up the strap from Jay Lethal at a live event in 2010 before losing it back to Lethal just two days later.
9) Petey Williams - Williams was the first man to give the X Division Championship something approaching a true identity in many ways. Having a finishing move as brutal as the Canadian Destroyer certainly helped and it helped both him, title and division out but sadly he only held the title two time but maybe when this list comes out he wins it again for now this list was done a month in advance so who knows.
8) Daniels - Make no mistake about it: Christopher Daniels is the most underrated professional wrestler in TNA's history and a 4 time x division champion. Heck, when all is said and done he will surely go down as one of the best never to perform in WWE. He was the glue in the rivalry which fuelled the famous unbreakable triple threat match between Joe, Aj and Daniels.
7) Kaz - Kazarian has always been a fine hand in the ring, a credible opponent for anyone, and also an individual who works well regardless of their alignment, as comfortable as a face as they are a heel. Despite this, there always just seemed to be something missing with Kaz. He won the title five times but never had a career-defining run with the belt. Kazarian was never far away from the title picture and do not underestimate him or his reigns as champ.
6) Low Ki/Senshi - I believe this was the guy who was champ when i first tuned into TNA all those years ago funny enough and he was the second tna x division champion. Low ki has legit been one of the best wrestlers outside wwe in the 21st century. He has won the x division championship five times and most of his title reigns were memorable. Guys like low ki and Aj styles made it a point to showcase the best wrestling on every ppv they were involved in. That concept still holds true in 2017 as his x division title match with sonjay dutt at slamiversary was the best match of the night. Personally, I like low ki cos of his adaptability. He wrestles a more mma style when wrestling against someone like Samoa Joe, a more technical style when he is wrestling someone like Austin Aries and a more highflying style when wrestling against someone like the amazing red. As good as he is, I think he is hugely underrated and deserves to be mentioned on the same plane as the AJ styles and Samoa joes of the world.
5) Samoa Joe - The X Division was long considered a division characterised by its total lack of limit and restrictions, and no champion embodied this more than the Samoan Submission Machine, Samoa Joe. Joe was undefeated for ages after arriving in TNA in 2005, and it was in this same year that the X Division reached its peak thanks to the feud over the title that involved Joe, Christopher Daniels, and AJ Styles. 91 days after one of the greatest matches in TNA history (a 3-way with Daniels and Styles at Unbreakable), Samoa Joe won the X Division Championship for the first time by defeating AJ at Turning Point. Coincidentally, he would hold the title for 91 days himself, before losing it to Christopher Daniels in an Ultimate X match involving, AJ Styles.
4) Jay Lethal - When Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair came in to the company in 2010 it seemed as though they took a shine to Black Machismo, and Lethal found himself in a number of marquee matches against some of the biggest names in the company. Lethal was an X Division Champion a long time before 2010 however, with his first title win coming in 2007 at Slammiversary. Lethal would go on to have six total reigns as champ, although three of those came in 2010 alone. Lethal’s constant caricature of Macho Man Randy Savage helped propel him and he even got his own Miss Elizabeth in the form of SoCal Val. Whenever Lethal was on TV, you know you were going to be entertained and after he moved on from ‘Black Machismo’ he became Ric Flair! One of the best segments in TNA history features Jay Lethal mimicking Ric Flair right to his face. A six-time X Division champion, Lethal could’ve been much more for TNA, but was still a terrific champion for the Division.
3) Aj Styles - AJ was the very first X Division Champion, overcoming Jerry Lynn, Psicosis, and Low-Ki at the second weekly TNA PPV to win the championship. He would go on to win the belt six times in total (joint second highest), with his reigns covering a total of 272 days. He is phenomenal and regarded a pioneer in the x division and i hope he gets more success in wwe.
2) Austin Aires - Austin Aries has won the TNA X Division Championship on six different occasions, holding the belt for a cumulative 362 days. This puts him second on the all-time list for days as champion. Five of his reigns only amount to 61 days however, and it his first record-breaking reign that leads to the Greatest Man That Ever Lived featuring here at number four. On 11 September 2011, Austin Aries defeated Brian Kendrick at No Surrender to win the title for the very first time. He would go on to hold the belt for an impressive 301 days, far and away the longest individual reign in the history of the belt. To put that into perspective, no other reign lasted more than 199 days. Aries didn't even lose the belt. Instead, he cashed it in when TNA introduced 'Option C' in 2012, and he went on to defeat Bobby Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Destination X. Aries had a second chance with Option C in 2014, but came up short that year against Lashley. I hope since his WWE release he can return to TNA soon.
1) Chris Sabin - No one has held the X Division more times or for longer than Chris Sabin. Sabin won the title no less than eight times, the first of which came way back in 2003 when he won a 3 way dance that also included then champion Amazing Red and Jerry Lynn. Interestingly enough, Sabin's won many titles from the 3 way dance or triple threat matches. Sabin's perhaps finest moment with the X Division Championship came in 2013, however. After winning the title in yet another 3-way, Sabin instantly cashed it in for a shot at then-TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bully Ray. Sabin went on to win the title, thanks in part to the Main Event Mafia and Aces & Eights' hammer. After losing the world title Sabin would win the X Division belt two more times, including an Ultimate X win at Bound for Glory in 2013. Along with his eight reigns and 432 days as champion, Sabin is way ahead of the pack when it comes to Ultimate X appearances as he has a record 17 appearances.
Ok thanks for popping in, remember to come back again for more!
STAY SHINY!
