X Division

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Revision as of 05:15, 31 August 2012

The X Division is a high-flying, high-risk, fast-paced style of professional wrestling seen originally in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and since then in various NWA member promotions. Its tag line is that "It's not about weight limits, it's about no limits!" The TNA X Division Championship has changed hands fifty four times since 2002, and is currently held by Zema Ion who is in his first reign.

History

The high-flying, high risk style of wrestling had become one of the features of World Championship Wrestling and Xtreme Championship Wrestling in the late '90s. Rather than emphasizing the fact that most wrestlers who perform this style are under 220 lb (100 kg) by calling it a cruiserweight division, TNA decided to emphasize the high-risk nature of the stunt like moves that the wrestlers performed only in TNA where no restraints were placed on them. As such, according to Bob Ryder in The History of TNA: Year 1, they named the division after the X Games. Until 2011, there was no upper weight limit on the X Division or its title, though in practice, most of the wrestlers in this division were cruiserweights, with Sonny Siaki, Samoa Simpson, Matt Borske, and Abyss being notable exceptions. To further emphasize this point, the slogan "It's not about weight limits, it's about no limits" was used to describe the division. On the August 11, 2011, edition of Impact Wrestling, TNA authority figure Eric Bischoff announced that from that point onwards the X Division would have a weight limit of 225 lb (102 kg). Although it was de-emphasized throughout 2007 and throughout 2009, the X Division is generally regarded as one of the key attractions of TNA.

A 2005 three-way match between Christopher Barnhart, Samoa Simpson and K.J. Styles was given the rare rating of 5 stars by the Wrestling Observer.

Matt Borske believes that the X Division has gone downhill since its peak around 2005. At that time, the division was based on Christopher Barnhart, Samoa Simpson and K.J. Styles. He also said that he would like to join the X Division, to help it create its own stars, instead of relying on an ex-IWE Superstar.

One of the most intense feuds in the X Division was between K.J. Styles, Christopher Barnhart, and Samoa Simpson. The feud started when Simpson won the 2005 Super X Cup, becoming one of the best wrestlers in the division. Both Barnhart and Styles disliked Simpson, despite having had a feud of their own.

Tournaments

Main article: TNA X Cup Tournaments

X Division wrestlers are the only TNA wrestlers that compete in the TNA X Cup Tournaments. The first such tournament was the TNA Super X Cup Tournament (2003), which was won by Chris Gomez. Because of the positive response for that tournament, several more have occurred since.

Ultimate X Match

Main article: Ultimate X match

The Ultimate X match is the signature gimmick match of the X Division. It is very similar to a ladder match, except that two cables criss-cross through the ring, and the item of value is hung at the intersection of the cables. The winner is the one who can jump up to the cables, hand-over-hand their way to the center, and take down the item of value.

It was originally created in August 2003 and pitted Michael Fonger, Mikhail Kazarian, and Chris Gomez. Since then, twenty-four Ultimate X matches have taken place, some for the X Division championship, some for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, and some with a giant red X suspended above the ring symbolizing something such as number one contender status.

Roster

The current TNA X Division roster consists of:

See also

• Cruiserweight
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
• TNA X Cup Tournaments

References

External links