Revival of the X-Division: Tale of the Tape
Outside Impact Wrestling. A long time "Jerichoholic", Mick Foley, Kurt Angle & Hardys fan, pop open a little bit of the Bubbly, read what's being written by me with an open perspective & enjoy.
- Impact Wrestling’s build to the big 20. Part 1 - February 25, 2022
- (Exclusive) Rosemary: A Journey through the Valley of Shadows – PART 1 - September 19, 2021
- Revival of the X-Division: Tale of the Tape - June 20, 2021
Continuing on with the X-Division theme of my a recent post (link on last page), this article looks back at the Former X-Division Champions (from Brian Cage through to Ace Austin), this isn’t a news article. Like a majority of what’s to come, it’s more personal reflection, in this case on what past title holders gave back during their runs as Champion to help fulfil Scott D’Amore & Don Callis’ vision of (rightfully) returning the X-Division to the forefront of Impact Wrestling. A way of thanking everyone, including TJP & current X-Division Champion Josh Alexander for their support & feedback from my last post.
Some superstars could have or should have been able to offer more, but this very slow build wasn’t going to be an easy ride & 2021 has finally reset the bar. We’ll start with the man who put the chain of events in motion.
Brian Cage (Jul 18th – Nov 15th 2018)
Beating Matt Sydal at Slammiversary, Brian Cage added that one missing factor that Sydal lacked to break the mould of what had now become expected of an X-Division star both were highly skilled grapplers, strikers & had their own variety of assets to give them the edge over others. But Brian Cage’s sheer size, the first wrestler standing around/over 6ft & weighing around/over 300lbs to win the X-Division title since Bobby Lashley in 2016. Brian Cage was “The Machine” he claimed he was & proved it week after week defending the X-Division title in & out of Impact to not only change the direction of the division, but to cement his name as one of the greatest & most dominating X-Division champions in the history of Impact.
Brian Cage would vacate the X-Division title after a very brutal match against Sami Callihan. His work ethic (at times wrestling in 4 or 5 different companies across the globe) would sadly hinder his World Title run & take a lot of fan’s memories away from some of the awesome matches Cage had against Rey Fenix, Rich Swann & Sami Callihan.
About Author
