The Impact World Championship is a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
world championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
created and promoted by
Impact Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result of a predetermined match. The current champion is
Josh Alexander
Joshua Lemay (born May 29, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Josh Alexander. He is a two-time Impact World Champion, with his second reign being the longest reig ...
, who is in his second reign.
Before the championship was created, the promotion, then known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), controlled the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...
via an agreement with the
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
(NWA). In 2007, the agreement between TNA and the NWA ended, leading to the creation of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. The championship was unveiled on May 14, 2007, at the taping of TNA's primary television program, ''
Impact!'', which aired on May 17, 2007. The inaugural champion was
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...
, who also holds the record for the most reigns at six.
When TNA changed its name and became Impact Wrestling in March 2017, the title was renamed soon after to reflect the change. After Impact Wrestling rebranded to GFW later that year, the title was
unified with the
original GFW Global Championship at
Slammiversary XV
Slammiversary XV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Impact Wrestling. It took place on July 2, 2017 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the thirteenth event under the Slammiversary chronology and celebrate ...
and became the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship. Following
Destination X
Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Impact Wrestling currently in the month of August. The event primarily revolves around the X-Division, the 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 events had Ultimate X matches.
It w ...
, the title took the GFW Global Championship name and kept the former TNA lineage. On October 23, 2017, the GFW name was dropped and the company name was reverted to Impact Wrestling when the company severed ties with Jeff Jarrett and he took the GFW name with him. However, Impact Wrestling kept the Global Championship name for their championship and the title was then called the Impact Global Championship. On the February 1, 2018 episode of ''Impact!'', the title became known as the Impact World Championship. On June 4, 2018, the title was unified with the
Impact Grand Championship
The Impact Grand Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by Impact Wrestling.
History
The title was introduced at the August 13, 2016, tapings of TNA's television program ''Impact Wrestling'', after then-TNA President Billy ...
and on March 13, 2021, it was unified with the
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
, which was briefly sanctioned in 2021 as a separate title from the Impact World Championship.
History
Impact Wrestling was formed as NWA: Total Nonstop Action in May 2002.
Later that same year, TNA was granted control over the NWA World Heavyweight and
World Tag Team Championships by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) governing body; subsequently becoming an official NWA
territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
as NWA-TNA.
On June 19, 2002, NWA-TNA held its first show; a
weekly pay-per-view event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
.
The
main event
In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
of the telecast was a twenty-man
Gauntlet for the Gold
A Gauntlet for the Gold match is a professional wrestling match used in Impact Wrestling.
Match format
Different from the other gauntlet matches, in which one competitor faces several others in turn, the Gauntlet for the Gold match is very simil ...
match in which 20 men sought to throw each other over the top rope and down to the floor in order to eliminate others, until there were two men left who wrestle a
standard singles match to become the first ever TNA-era NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...
defeated
Malice to win the
vacant
Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is th ...
championship with
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...
as the
special guest referee
In professional wrestling, a referee is an authority figure present in or near the ring during matches. The referee's purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts, that is, as an arbiter of the rul ...
at the event.
Creation
The NWA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships were contested for in TNA until the morning of May 13, 2007.
On that day, NWA's Executive Director
Robert Trobich
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a g ...
announced that the NWA were ending their five-year agreement with TNA, which had allowed them full control over both titles.
Trobich went on to state that effective that morning, then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Christian Cage
William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Christian Cage. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Christ ...
and then-NWA World Tag Team Champions
Team 3D
The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family me ...
were stripped of their respective championships.
The alleged motivation behind these actions was because Cage refused to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against wrestlers from NWA territories.
That same day, TNA were scheduled to produce their
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
event, in which both Cage and Team 3D were to defend their respective championships.
On the
card Card or The Card may refer to:
* Various types of plastic cards:
**By type
***Magnetic stripe card
*** Chip card
*** Digital card
**By function
***Payment card
****Credit card
**** Debit card
****EC-card
****Identity card
****European Health Insur ...
, Cage was scheduled to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...
and
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
in a match involving three competitors, also known as a
three-way match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
.
That night, the onscreen graphic used to refer to the champions and their respective championships credited both Cage and Team 3D as still being NWA champions.
Angle defeated Cage and Sting to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
TNA held a set of tapings for the next two episodes of ''Impact!'' on May 14, with the episodes set to air on
tape delay on May 17 and May 24.
At the first taping, Angle came to the ring with the new TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt and announced that he was the "new TNA World Heavyweight Champion".
TNA commentator
Mike Tenay
Michael William Tenay (born March 1, 1955) is an American podcast presenter and retired professional wrestling play-by-play announcer known for his time as an announcer for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA ...
announced when Angle made his way to the ring that
Management Director Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...
, TNA's on-screen authority figure at the time, "made the decision that due to TNA's growing worldwide exposure, the company needed to have its own TNA title belts"; thereby not acknowledging the NWA ending their agreement with TNA and giving a storyline explanation as to why the championship was created.
Later on during the broadcast, Cornette stripped Angle of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship due to a controversial finish to the match at Sacrifice.
Cornette then announced the championship would be contested for at TNA's
Slammiversary
Slammiversary is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling. It is one of Impact's “Big Four” PPV events (along with Hard to Kill, Rebellion, and Bound for Glory), and celebrates ...
on June 17, 2007, in a
King of the Mountain match
The King of the Mountain match (Queen of the Mountain when female wrestlers are involved) is a professional wrestling match exclusive to Impact Wrestling (formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling).
Match format
The five competitors in the match st ...
—a match which involves five participants racing to gain a
pinfall
In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team.
Background
A pinfall is a victory condi ...
or
submission
Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...
to become eligible to hang a championship belt to win.
On May 15, 2007,
Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash (born July 19, 1974), is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, and producer who is currently signed to WWE. He is known for his work in Impact Wrestling as a ...
unveiled the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt on that day's edition of TNA's online
video podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...
''
TNA Today
''TNA Today'' was an online professional wrestling program produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), now known as Impact Wrestling. It was hosted by interviewer Jeremy Borash, with occasional appearances by Don West. The show purported to ...
''.
The five participants for the King of the Mountain match were determined in a series of standard wrestling matches that took place on ''Impact!'' leading up to the event, with Angle defeating
Rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
in the first bout to gain entry on the May 17 episode of ''Impact!''.
On the May 24 episode of ''Impact!'',
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
defeated Sting to become the second participant.
The third qualification match was held on the May 31 episode of ''Impact!'' between
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...
and
Tomko, which Styles won.
The next bout pitted
Chris Harris against
James Storm
James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling.
He started his career in 1997 and after working on several independent pr ...
on the June 7 episode ''Impact!'', which ended in a double
disqualification, therefore neither man advanced to the King of the Mountain match.
The final qualification match was won by Christian Cage over
Abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
on the June 14 episode of ''Impact!''.
Angle ended up winning the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary over Joe, Cage, Styles and Harris, who was a mystery participant chosen by Cornette, to become the "undisputed TNA World Heavyweight Champion".
Re-branding
In early 2017 After TNA rebranded as Impact Wrestling, the name of its flagship show, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship changed its name to the Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship to reflect the name changes of the company.
At
Slammiversary XV
Slammiversary XV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Impact Wrestling. It took place on July 2, 2017 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the thirteenth event under the Slammiversary chronology and celebrate ...
, GFW Global Champion
Alberto El Patron
José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a ...
defeated Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion
Bobby Lashley
Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...
to unify the titles, with the
GFW Global Championship
Global Force Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by Jeff Jarrett, the co-founder and former President of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling), and his wife Karen Jarrett. It is o ...
being dropped and the Impact World Heavyweight Championship changing its name to the Unified GFW World Championship as Impact Wrestling began rebranding once again as GFW. In September 2017, GFW reverted their branding to Impact Wrestling, the championship then became known as the Impact Global Championship.
Since the February 1, 2018 episode of ''
Impact!'', the title has been known as the Impact World Championship. On June 4, 2018, the title was unified with the
Impact Grand Championship
The Impact Grand Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by Impact Wrestling.
History
The title was introduced at the August 13, 2016, tapings of TNA's television program ''Impact Wrestling'', after then-TNA President Billy ...
, with the latter title being officially retired.
At
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
,
Moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
appeared with the old TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt (its 3rd design from 2011 to 2017, later modified with a white strap) and declared himself the new
TNA World Heavyweight Champion
The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
after defeating
Hernandez and
Michael Elgin
Aaron Frobel (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Michael Elgin. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was a one-time GHC Tag Team Champion with Masa Kitami ...
in a
triple threat match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, which was originally to be for the Impact World Championship but reigning champion
Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard (born July 26, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she became the first female wrestler to win the Impact World Championship and is also a former Impact Knockouts C ...
missed the tapings due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. While the title was not recognized as an official championship by Impact, Moose had several title defenses. On the February 23, 2021, episode of ''Impact!'', Executive Vice President
Scott D’Amore announced that Moose's self-proclaimed championship was officially sanctioned. At
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
, Impact World Champion
Rich Swann
Richard Allen Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Impact X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Cham ...
defeated Moose to unify the championships. The TNA title was deactivated and the Impact World Championship was briefly referred to as the Impact Unified World Championship.
Championship Tournaments
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2010)
On the August 19, 2010, edition of ''TNA Impact!'', the
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
was vacated, after champion
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
suffered a storyline injury. The title was put up in a tournament featuring the top eight ranked wrestlers in the
TNA Championship Committee rankings. The finals of the tournament would take place at
Bound for Glory on October 10.
* Angle and Hardy wrestled another draw on the September 16 edition of ''Impact!'', which led to
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...
making the final match at Bound for Glory a three–way.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2013)
On October 29, 2013, TNA President
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law (American TV series), Family La ...
vacated the
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
after the previous champion
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...
left the company with the championship title. On the October 31 edition of ''
Impact Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
'', Carter announced an eight-man tournament to determine a new TNA World Heavyweight Champion, that would begin on November 7. Seven of the eight men were former TNA World Heavyweight Champions including
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...
,
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor.
After being trained by Scott D ...
,
Bobby Roode
Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is currently inactive due to undergoing neck surgery.
Roode is known for his 12-year tenure for Total Nonstop ...
,
James Storm
James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling.
He started his career in 1997 and after working on several independent pr ...
,
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...
,
Austin Aries
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his time with Impact Wrest ...
, and
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
. The eighth would be determined later in the night in a gauntlet match, which was eventually won by
Magnus
Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
last eliminating
Kazarian and
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
. Also later that night, Carter announced the "Wheel of Dixie" in which she would spin a wheel full of different stipulation that the competitors would compete in. The stipulations on the "Wheel of Dixie" were a
Falls Count Anywhere match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, a
Bull Rope match, a
Submission match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, a
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...
, a
Full Metal Mayhem match, a
Coalminer's Glove match, a
Tables match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, a
Dixieland match, a
Tuxedo match, and
Last Man Standing match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. The Storm/Roode match was originally a
Bull Rope match but Storm asked Carter to change it to a
Florida Death match, which was not on the "Wheel of Dixie", which Carter agreed to. Also the winner for the vacated would be decided at
TNA Final Resolution of 2013.
Championship belt design
Kurt Angle TNA.jpg, Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...
with the original TNA World Heavyweight Championship Design with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWG ...
beside it.
NewJeffHardy1.JPG, Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...
with his custom design, dubbed the "Immortal Championship"
TNA Champion Ethan Carter III.jpg, Ethan Carter III
Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III (or simply EC3). EC3 is a co-founder of Control Your Narrative. He also performs on the independent circuit. He ...
with the third title belt design (2011–2017)
Eli Drake BFG 17 Global Champ crop.jpg, Eli Drake
Shaun Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name LA Knight. Ricker is known for his time in Impact Wrestling as Eli Drake. Ricke ...
with the fourth title belt design; note the "Impact" plate added to the title belt to reflect the company reverting to the Impact Wrestling name
Johnny Impact Feb 2019-2.jpg, Johnny Impact
John Randall Hennigan (born October 3, 1979) is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name John Morrison. He is best known for his time in WWE, Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground. Hennigan currently makes appea ...
with the fifth design of the belt, introduced in 2018, in its blue version.
To date, the championship has had five belt designs, with the original title belt (which was unveiled in May 2007) having on its center plate an imprint of an eagle with its wings extended. The word "World" was placed above the eagle's head on a ribbon. The ribbon was wrapped around the bird's wings and body. Five stars were engraved on the ribbon when it passed over each of the bird's wings and the word "Champion" as it passed over the bird's talons. The words "Heavyweight Wrestling" were printed across the bird's chest. At the top of the center plate there was TNA logo. Four smaller side plates had an imprint of a globe centered with TNA's logo at the top and bottom of each. At each end of the title belt there was a small plate that covered the championship belt snaps with TNA's logo engraved on each.
At the November 8, 2010 tapings of the November 11 episode of ''Impact!'', TNA introduced a new design for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt, which the champion
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...
dubbed the "Immortal Championship", as part of the
Immortal
Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life.
Immortal or Immortality may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film
* ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...
storyline. The new design consisted of a purple strap with a silver center plate depicting a masked head (designed to resemble Hardy's face with face paint), the TNA logo on the forehead and blue lines along the mask. There were four irregular dodecagonal side plates on the title belt, shaped like stars with rounded edges on two of the sides of these plates.
The Immortal title belt was replaced by the third design of the championship belt at the March 14, 2011 tapings of the March 17 episode of ''Impact!'', introduced by the reigning champion at the time, Sting. The design featured seven gold plates over a black leather strap. The center plate had faux diamonds aligned along its multiple rounded edges, similar to that of the
Big Gold Belt
The Big Gold Belt is a historic professional wrestling championship belt that has represented multiple world championships throughout its history.
Originally designed in 1985 by silversmith Charles Crumrine and commissioned by Jim Crockett Prom ...
. Over the center plate was a large TNA Wrestling logo and below it the words "Heavyweight Champion" engraved in silver. On each side of the center plate was a group of three smaller plates, one with a TNA logo engraved while the other two featured separate corresponding halves of a globe, on either side of the TNA logo side plate. This belt—modified with a white strap—returned in April 2020 after
Moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
declared himself as "
TNA World Heavyweight Champion
The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result o ...
" following defeating several past TNA wrestlers, and with then-reigning Impact World Champion
Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard (born July 26, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she became the first female wrestler to win the Impact World Championship and is also a former Impact Knockouts C ...
being absent due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions. Moose's title would remain unrecognized until February 2021, when it became officially sanctioned and recognized by Impact executive vice president
Scott D'Amore
Scott Francis D'Amore (born August 8, 1974) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, manager, promoter, booker and entrepreneur. He is the current Executive Vice President of Impact Wrestling, where he also worked from 2003 to 2010 as an on- ...
.
Following
Slammiversary XV
Slammiversary XV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Impact Wrestling. It took place on July 2, 2017 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the thirteenth event under the Slammiversary chronology and celebrate ...
, both the TNA and original GFW Global Championship belts were used in tandem to represent the unification of both titles. At
Destination X 2017, the GFW Global Championship belt, with an updated color scheme and ''Impact'' logos on the side plates, became the sole belt used. Following the departure of Jeff Jarrett from the promotion, the company reverted to the Impact Wrestling name and the title belt was updated with an Impact name plate to reflect the change. A new title design was announced and introduced at Impact Wrestling's
Redemption on April 22, 2018. The gold center plate has the Impact logo with "World Champion" inscribed below the logo. An owl sits above the Impact logo, representing Impact's parent company
Anthem Sports & Entertainment
Anthem Sports & Entertainment (formerly Anthem Media Group) is a Canadian multinational media company based in Toronto, Ontario and founded by Leonard Asper. Its assets include combat sports and sports entertainment properties (including the MMA ...
. On each side of the center plate is a group of four smaller gold plates, with the inner side plates featuring separate corresponding halves of a globe with "World" inscribed above the globes and "Champion" inscribed below them and the outer side plates featuring the Impact logo but without the owl design. Blue shading had filled the Impact logo, the owl design, and the globes and logos on the side plates, but in 2020, the belt was modified with red shading replacing the previous blue to reflect the new color of the Impact Wrestling logo introduced following the move to AXS TV.
At Sacrifice on March 13, 2021, Impact World Champion
Rich Swann
Richard Allen Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Impact X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Cham ...
defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose to unify the two championships. Following this, the 2020 red shaded Impact belt and the white strapped TNA belt were used jointly to represent the unified world championship; the unified title was briefly referred to as the Impact Unified World Championship before reverting to being called the Impact World Championship, though still represented by both belts (with the white strap TNA belt being swapped out for the original black strap version shortly thereafter). In August 2021, after
Christian Cage
William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Christian Cage. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Christ ...
won the title, the TNA belt was retired once again.
file:Josh Alexander Alpha-1 2018B.jpg, 175px, Two-time and current champion
Josh Alexander
Joshua Lemay (born May 29, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Josh Alexander. He is a two-time Impact World Champion, with his second reign being the longest reig ...
Reigns
Overall, there have been 56 reigns shared among 32 wrestlers. The inaugural champion was Kurt Angle, who won the championship by defeating Christian Cage and Sting in a three-way match on May 13, 2007, at TNA's Sacrifice event. Angle also holds the record for the most reigns, at six.
At days,
Bobby Roode
Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is currently inactive due to undergoing neck surgery.
Roode is known for his 12-year tenure for Total Nonstop ...
's first reign is the longest in the title's history.
Josh Alexander
Joshua Lemay (born May 29, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Josh Alexander. He is a two-time Impact World Champion, with his second reign being the longest reig ...
's first reign is the shortest at 3 minutes. Tessa Blanchard is the only woman to ever win the world title. The title has been vacated six different times.
The current champion is
Josh Alexander
Joshua Lemay (born May 29, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Josh Alexander. He is a two-time Impact World Champion, with his second reign being the longest reig ...
, who is in his second reign. He defeated
Moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
on April 23, 2022, at
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
.
See also
*
List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions
The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). It is the promotion's premier title.
NWA currently recognizes 101 ...
References
External links
Impact Wrestling World Championshipat Cagematch.net
{{good article
Impact Wrestling championships
World heavyweight wrestling championships