Ranking the Careers of Every World Heavywieght Champion in TNA History (w/Video)

The TNA World Heavyweight Championship was unveiled on the May 17, 2007, edition of TNA Impact. It was created after the agreement with TNA and NWA ended, thus ending reign of the NWA World Championship in TNA. 

There have been a total of eight champions who have had a total of 13 different reigns.

For this slideshow, I will rank the careers of every man who has held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

*Please note that these rankings are not just based on these wrestlers' TNA careers, but their full wrestling careers.*

8. Mr. Anderson

This is the second part of Mr. Anderson winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Mr. Anderson is last because he hasn't been in pro wrestling long enough to pass any of the other guys ahead of him. However, it isn't because he isn't as good, if not better than them.

After being sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) for six months, he got a tryout match on Velocity. At the time known as Mr. Kennedy, he was quickly called up to the WWE's Friday Night Smackdown and became the WWE United States Champion.

About a month later he lost the title to Chris Benoit, after interference from The Undertaker.

He would go on to win the Money In The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania. He ended up getting hurt before cashing it in, so they had him drop the briefcase to Edge.

After numerous injuries, and backstage complaints by Randy Orton, Kennedy was released from the WWE on May 29, 2009.

In January 2010, now known as Mr. Anderson, he debuted in TNA as a heel. He would feud with the likes of Abyss and Kurt Angle before his face turn.

Just a year after his video,(as seen in the video) he won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Although he lost it a month later to Jeff Hardy.

7. Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe made a name for himself in Ring of Honor, starting in 2002. He most notably held the ROH Championship for 21 months, after winning it from Xavier.

He made his TNA debut at Slammiversary 2007, defeating Sonjay Dutt. He continued his 18-month undefeated streak, part of it as X-Division Champion.

At Lockdown 2008, Samoa Joe won his first TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Kurt Angle. He would have a 182-day reign as champion, before losing the championship to Sting.

Joe has seemingly been lost in the shuffle for a while now. At one point, he was kidnapped by ninjas. I hope he finds his way back to the top, because he certainly deserves it. He could accomplish so much more and move up on this list if given the opportunity.

For now, Samoa Joe takes the No. 7 spot.

6. A.J. Styles

Remember, this is ranking careers, not their wrestling ability. 

A.J. Styles has been with TNA since the beginning. He has held about every title there is to hold in TNA. I'm not going to go through everything, because as this list goes on, the careers get longer. In some cases, you could write a book about it.

Styles is 32, which is still relatively young in pro wrestling. Most guys make it to about 40, while others wrestle longer (Ric Flair). I believe if there is ever a TNA Hall of Fame, he should be in the first one inducted, because he has been the face of the company from the start.

A.J.'s one TNA World Title reign was in 2009, after defeating Matt Morgan, Sting, Hernandez and Kurt Angle at No Surrender. He is the longest reigning TNA World Champion in history at 211 days.

5. Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam had a storied career in ECW and WWE. He once held the ECW Championship and the WWE Championship at the same time. The only man to do that WWE/ECW history.

RVD made his debut in TNA on March 8, 2010, as Sting's mystery opponent. A little more than a month later, he won the TNA Championship in a singles match against A.J. Styles.

After being attacked by Janice, Abyss' weapon, his title was forfeited. He wouldn't receive his rematch until a couple of weeks back against Jeff Hardy, to whom he lost.

4. Jeff Hardy

Like him or not, Jeff Hardy has had a great career in pro wrestling. Just look at all the championships he has won.

He has been Intercontinental Champion, a tag team champion, Light Heavyweight Champion, Hardcore Champion, WWE Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and most recently TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

He re-debuted in TNA in early 2010, and quickly became their top babyface. However, at Bound For Glory in October, he won the TNA Championship and turned heel in the process.

You see, Abyss had been preaching about "they" coming on 10/10/10. Jeff Hardy ended up as part of "they," as you can see in the video.

3. Mick Foley

"The Hardcore Legend" comes in at No. 3.

Mick Foley is one of the guys I was talking about when I said you could write a book on his career. Oh wait, he's already done that. (Four times! - ED.)

His career with ECW, WCW, WWF/E and TNA has been amazing.

On April 19, 2009, he won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship when facing Sting. He would eventually lose the title to Kurt Angle in a King of the Mountain Match.

He lost his rematch for the title, after submitting for only the second time in his career.

2. Kurt Angle

The only Olympic Gold Medalist in the history of Professional Wrestling is a big enough accomplishment as it is. It just so happens, Angle is pretty good at the "fake stuff" too.

He held both the WWE Championship and World Championship in WWE, and when he got to TNA, he quickly became the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

Angle has held the TNA World Championship four times, and you can see one of his title wins in the video.

1. Sting

Sting has held countless championships, namely in WCW and TNA. I'm pretty sure if he would have been in WWE, he would have held titles there, too.

He has held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship two times and is the reigning champion. He defeated Jeff Hardy this past Thursday night in his return to TNA Wrestling.

Thanks.

Do you agree with my list? If not...

I welcome feedback as always. Thanks for reading.