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
Chris Bey (Jul 18th – 18th Aug 2021)
Hugely talented & like Rich Swann, Ace Austin & Willie Mack, Chris Bey offered a great diversity of styles alongside outstanding charisma. Winning the X-Division title so early in his career as a professional wrestler, let alone on contract with a major company like Impact Wrestling. Chris Bey has one of the fastest pushes to title contention & backed this decision up over his short lived reign as champion.
Chris Bey’s run as X-Division champion helped develop the rivalry between Rohit Raju & TJP whilst keeping himself in the spotlight with his big title matches with Willie Mack, after beating him for the title they would cross paths again at Slammiversary 2020, as we head into Slammiversary 2021 & the Ultimate X is now on the table, Chris Bey’s opportunity to not just regain his title but to continue to amaze the fans with his skills is going to add to the very bright future he has with Impact Wrestling & apart of the X-Division.
Rohit Raju (Aug 18th – Dec 12th 2020)
Once again the X-Division reminds us that it’s not about high flying offensive moves but those who have the talent to step up to the plate. Rohit Raju’s X-Division title reign has been one of the most entertaining in recent history, mixing Impact’s impressive development when building rivalries, while those infighting amongst themselves also had to face Rohit’s deceptive tactics to hold onto his championship.
Ever the antagonist, Rohit Raju would juggle his attention between Trey Miguel, Chris Bey & TJP giving them opportunities to “Defeat Rohit” in open challenges for the X-Division title (anyone who wanted a shot, just come out & take it) but always pulling off a way to keep his belt either by Heel tactics such as using the ropes or grabbing the tights for illegal pins to intentionally getting himself disqualified, adding a real sense of story driven matches & rivalries back into the X-Division. The only person who would pin Rohit would be Jordynne Grace but she wasn’t given the X-Division title because Rohit (claimed he) hadn’t put his title on the line in this Defeat Rohit challenge.
All the challenger’s frustrations with Rohit’s antics would be resolved at Bound For Glory 2020 in a 6-way Intergender Scramble between Willie Mack, Trey, TJP, Chris Bey, Jordynne Grace (now only the 3rd woman to challenge for the X-Division title) & Rohit. After winning this match Rohit & TJP would continue their rivalry, TJP making appearances as Suicide to try & get around a “loophole” Rohit had put in place stopping TJP from getting another shot as he’d failed several times but was still the only serious threat to his title. At Final Resolution, Rohit would lose his title to Manik, an alter ego of TJP classed as different wrestler so breaking Rohit’s blockade & ending a highly enjoyable 120 days with someone who had been overlooked for so long, finally breaking into a singles competition role & establishing himself as a top contender outside the tag team division.
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