TNA True Impact No.1: No Need for a New Midcard Championship

True Impact

Edition No. 1

By Adam Testa

Welcome to "True Impact," an exploration all of things TNA. While issues relating to the X-Division and the Knockouts may be included in this column to paint the bigger picture, more detailed accounts of those groups can be found in my other columns here on B/R, "TNA X-Factor" and "Knockouts Korner."

Becoming Legends

With many TNA stars stuck in the upper-midcard with no real championship to fight for, the Internet wresting community has long been abuzz about adding a new title belt to the company. The perfect solution, however, is sitting right in front of everyone's faces.

To begin, let's look at TNA's current titles and the roles they play in the company:

World Heavyweight Championship: Since the relationship between TNA and NWA ended, only Kurt Angle, Sting and Samoa Joe have held the company's top strap. This belt is reserved for the top man in the company who's capable of carrying TNA on his shoulders.

X-Division Championship

Many associate this title with the dead-and-buried Cruiserweight Championship of the WCW glory days, but the X-Division title really represents something different. The belt shouldn't just be for high-fliers. The division's motto says it's not about weight limits, it's about no limits; and that's the way it should be. But with that said, there are still some individuals who wouldn't seem right if they had the X-Division strap around their waist.

World Tag Team Championships

With a successful tag team division, TNA knows how to use this division and its title to build stars and prepare them for more success in their solo careers. Samoa Joe, Sting, Kurt Angle, and A.J. Styles have all held the gold. Other teams in the division right now, including Beer Money, Inc. and LAX, are being developed for eventual solo careers.

Legends Championship

Booker T introduced this title as part of the Main Event Mafia storyline, and he has been the only person to hold it. The belt has not been defended much, and when it has, it was against a departing Christian Cage and Shane Sewell. It now seems that A.J. Styles will be challenging for the belt, which presents a new opportunity.

With those four titles, in addition to the Knockouts Championship, TNA does not need to create a new belt, or resurrect an old one, for those upper-midcard stars to shine and hold gold. Here's one solution, but keep in mind, any of the names included here can be replaced with other superstars.

A.J. Styles challenges Booker T for the Legends Title, either at Destination X or Lockdown, if they want the feud to continue and be drawn out. A.J., a legitimate TNA legend, holds the belt for awhile and willingly defends it more frequently than Booker.

After Styles makes several defenses against legendary wrestlers like Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner, an upper-midcard heel (ala Robert Roode, James Storm or Matt Morgan) attack Styles during a match or a promo. They declare that he's not fit to hold the legendary title, and it belongs in the hands of a legend in the making.

While he may not win on the first attempt, this challenger sparks the interest of several other wrestlers backstage, who all begin to believe the belt will help them on their way to becoming a legend.

A quick look through the TNA roster shows the following guys would seem appropriate to be fighting for the title: Abyss, A.J. Styles, Booker T, Eric Young, Hernandez, James Storm, Jay Lethal, Kevin Nash, Kip James (with a new gimmick), Matt Morgan, Rhino, Robert Roode, Samoa Joe, Scott Steiner, Sonjay Dutt, Brother Ray, Brother Devon, and others. This list is not meant to be all inclusive.

This mix of wrestlers would allow both legitimate legends and "future" legends to be competing for the title. The hard part for TNA would be to not bury any one of its divisions with only two hours of weekly programming.

The important thing for fans and management to remember is that a program for each title does not need to be featured on every episode and crossover is allowed. The World Heavyweight Title angle should be a weekly staple, but matches and segments for the X-Division and Legends titles could alternate.

Please remember, too, that people can be utilized in more than one division. Beer Money, Inc., could still be the World Tag Team champs while Roode or Storm challenged for the Legends title. Shelley is currently being used both as the X-Division champ and with Sabin in their tag team, but that's a matter for an upcoming edition of "TNA X-Factor."

Final Thoughts

Those individuals who believe TNA needs to add another title to its list needs to sit back and evaluate the potential of the existing championships. If the creative team could get the juices flowing, the potential is endless.