– Management stripped Douglas Williams of the title because of travel restrictions at Lockdown 2010. They crowned a new champion on the same night.
– Austin Aries invoked “Option C” (more on that later) at Destination X 2012. TNA crowned a new champion on the same night.
– Chris Sabin invoked Option C on June 29, 2013, but on tape-delayed to July 11, 2013. A new champion was crowned a few weeks later, on July 18, 2013.
– Austin Aries invoked Option C again, this time on June 25, 2014, but on a tape-delayed to July 24, 2014. Impact crowned a new champion on June 26th, but fans had to wait until August 7th to see it on TV.
– Samoa Joe vacated the title on September 19, 2014, because of injury. They did not show this on TV until November 12th because of tape delays. Impact crowned a new champion the same day, but fans had to wait until November 19th to see it on TV.
– Rockstar Spud invoked Option C on May 10, 2015. Impact crowned a new champion on June 24, 2015.
– After Lashley unified the World, X Division, and King of the Mountain Championships, he vacated the X Division title on August 12, 2016. This was seen on TV six days later. Impact crowned a new champion on August 13, 2016, but fans had to wait until September 1st to see it on TV.
– Brian Cage invoked Option C on November 11, 2018. Impact crowned a new champion at Homecoming 2019 on January 6th.
– Josh Alexander invoked Option C on September 23, 2021. Impact crowned a new champion at Bound For Glory 2021 on October 23rd.
As we can see, half of the time the X Division title is vacated because of Option C. The other six times were because of three injuries, a unification, a controversial match, and travel restrictions. The longest vacancy in the title’s 20-year history is 56 days after Brian Cage invoked Option C.
Where Is It Now? – No matter the time or place, if a championship is lonely, it will be there. Like a superhero, Vacant will keep the title safe until it’s time to pass it on to the next worthy champion. It does this unselfishly and without judgment, and it will hold as many titles as it needs to because no amount of gold can weigh it down. For long may it reign, and all hail our faceless lord of light.
#5. Syxx-Pac (Sean Waltman) — 1 Reign, 14 days
Along with Scott Hall, Syxx-Pac jumped over to TNA in its early days. After Jerry Lynn vacated, he defeated Kid Kash, Tony Mamaluke, The S.A.T., Ace Steel, and A.J. Styles in a ladder match. It didn’t last long though, as AJ Styles defeated him for the title two weeks later.
Where Is He Now? – Sean Waltman has been retired for a few years and has spent it rarely appearing on talk shows for WWE. He was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame twice, as part of the stables D-Generation X and the New World Order.
This year, he came out of retirement and wrestled as Joey Janela’s tag partner in Game Changer Wrestling. After turning on him, Waltman lost a singles match to Janela a month later. It is unknown if he plans to work more matches.
#6. Sonny Siaki — 1 Reign, 63 days
“First Samoan Champion” – Not much can be said about Sonny’s reign. He defeated Jerry Lynn in late 2002 but then lost it two months later. It did little to help his career. Before TNA, he was a graduate of WCW’s Power Planet after being trained by Paul Orndorff and Dusty Rhodes.
Where Is He Now? – After failing to get through WWE’s developmental system from 2005 to 2007, he returned to the independent scene. He donated one of his kidneys to his brother, and the doctor told him he couldn’t wrestle anymore. Siaki officially wrestled his last match in early 2009. After retiring, he got a job working for UPS.
#7. Kid Kash — 1 Reign, 77 days
“First TNA X Division Champion” – In 2003, the company gradually moved away from its partnership with NWA. As a former ECW and WCW star, Kid Kash served as a reliable stand-in. When you consider how much time he spent in the X Division, it’s surprising he didn’t get more reigns, but it just goes to show how much talent there was.
Kash’s work impressed WWE enough to sign him to a deal from 2005 to 2006, so he must have been doing something right.
Where Is He Now? – Kash has wrestled sporadically since 2013. His last recorded matches were for Impact during its Xplosion tapings in March 2020. He lost a tag match with Johnny Swinger to Manik & Suicide, and a singles match to Moose.
#8. Amazing Red — 3 Reigns, 122 days
“Youngest Champion” – Most fans remember the title reign shown above when Don West acted as his manager. However, his first reign (which lasted two weeks) came in 2003 when he was just 21 years old.
Amazing Red is often named among the most athletic and exciting X Division wrestlers. Will Ospreay and others call him their inspiration for his innovation. His biggest win was over Samoa Joe for the title in 2009. Red won it again in 2010 but held it for only two days.
Where Is He Now? – Despite announcing his retirement in 2019 because of a neck injury, he returned and has since wrestled sporadically for House of Glory, New Japan, and Warrior Wrestling.
#9. Chris Sabin — 8 Reigns, 432 days
“Most Reigns, Longest Overall & The Master Of Ultimate X” – Chris Sabin is the undisputed king of the X Division. AJ Styles may be the most popular, but in terms of sheer numbers, Chris Sabin holds the record for most reigns, along with holding the title longer than anyone.
He used the title as a stepping stone to the World title, although this didn’t go over as well as some hoped. Why? Probably because fans always saw him as an X Division or tag team guy, so Sabin as World Champion was out of place.
When fans talk about Chris Sabin, the first thing they think of is his partnership with Alex Shelley as the Motor City Machine Guns. While the team is arguably the most popular team in company history, individually, Chris Sabin is way more than that. He is an everlasting presence in the X Division, since winning the title in 2003, all the way to the eighth time in 2013. Not only that, but Sabin is an Ultimate X specialist.
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