Chris Sabin Is The NEW TNA X Division Champion; #1 Contender To The World Title?!

[ABMorales787]

Following a very fast pace Ultimate X match, Chris Sabin was able to climb and unhook the title to win it. But the bigger story is what happened after the match. Hulk Hogan emerged revealing that Chris Sabin has a shot at the World Championship due to his title win this summer. Whether he needs to vacate the title or not was not fully explained, but it seems Bully Ray will go one on one with Chris Sabin soon enough on Impact.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'd imagine Sabin will have to vacate the title, same as Aries did, since we can't have one guy carrying around two championships, brother, but I'm not so sure TNA has an ace in the hole with this one the way they did with Aries. Aries was a main event guy fighting down in the card in a fledgling X Divison, keeping it afloat largely on his own. The reason the stipulation worked so well for him was because of how hot he was coming into it, eventually cashing in to win. The crowd went nuts for him. Fun as Sabin is as an X Division wrestler, I'm not even half as convinced he'll have the same result.

 

[ABMorales787]

I'd imagine Sabin will have to vacate the title, same as Aries did, since we can't have one guy carrying around two championships, brother, but I'm not so sure TNA has an ace in the hole with this one the way they did with Aries. Aries was a main event guy fighting down in the card in a fledgling X Divison, keeping it afloat largely on his own. The reason the stipulation worked so well for him was because of how hot he was coming into it, eventually cashing in to win. The crowd went nuts for him. Fun as Sabin is as an X Division wrestler, I'm not even half as convinced he'll have the same result.

I can't dispute that. But just how often does a midcard guy get a title shot in TNA these days? We have 4 months until the next PPV and the BFG Series isn't going to end until probably September. We need challengers until then and giving Sabin has first World title shot ever can make for a nice Impact main event. What I'm not so hot on is vacating the the title when he clearly has no real chance to win.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I suppose so, yeah. The number potential competitors is small right now. Styles is busy with Angle (if this feud continues), Abyss is busy with Devon, Storm is tag champs with Gunner, etc.

Problem is, we're still discounting a major factor — Hardy. He returned to help Joe and Magnus take out the Aces triple tag earlier, but there's no way he's staying that low for long. I'd imagine he wants revenge, and wants it soon.

The problem with a stipulation like this is that the guy cashing it in, you'd assume, is doing so to win. Are you really ready to deal with the fallout from having a guy win the XD title, vacate it to cash in for a shot at the WHC, only to lose there too? You'd need a really strong personality to bounce back from that one. Chris Sabin, that is not.

 

[MWRedskins]

my guess is that Sabin challenges for the World title and loses in a tough competive and entertaining match and then hopefully the X-Division title is won by either another heel or Kenny King and then Sabin goes after the X-Division title after that.

 

[Alex]

Haven't watched it yet but I've jizzed my pants already.

Sabin is great. A great wrestler (all the more impressive coming back from serious injuries) and he's alright in the ring. The thing about Sabin is like Aries he's actually pretty strong and I think I'm right in saying he's a bit taller than Aries as well, so him in the main event scene would work because of that and he's pretty decent on the mic as well.

The thing I'm worried about is Sabin will most likely lose his world title shot and what he'll do after that. Going back to the X-Division would seem like a step back after competing for the World Title.

 

[HBsam31]

It seemed like everyone knew going in that Sabin would win the title. I really wish they would tweek the division a bit so it's not just triple threat after triple threat. Sabin could get lost in that very easily. I think Sabin would make a good challenger for Bully Ray as well, but I don't see him winning the World title, and least not yet.

 

[LSN80]

I remember James Storm saying something on Impact about Sabin becoming X Division Champion, and then challenging for the World Title, but did Hogan actually say it last night? He gave Sabin a ringing endorsement, for sure, but I didn't hear him say anything about Sabin and a World Title Shot. If it is to happen, it's silly to put one belt on a guy, only to trade it off quickly for a shot at another. It also shows how far the X Division has fallen.

Anyway, this was a fun opening match. I liked that all three men spent the majority of the time in the ring during the course, not one man selling while the other two fought. They didn't spend as much time climbing as one would think, but the ending was creative and well executed, I felt. It was a strong opener and the right move, although I wish they'ld jut go with a King vs Sabin match in King's rematch, and give them 15-20 minutes. It would be a heckuva match.

As for Sabin challenging for the World TItle, I don't think he's at the level, nor will he ever be. I remember when Kaz won a tournament and a shot at Angle's title 5 years ago, and this would be similar to me. Someone who could outpace Ray, gain several close nearfalls, but ultimately fall short. Is it worth trading in the X division title for that?

Anyways, a heckuva an opening match to an excellent PPV with the right man going over in a clever finish. ***

Problem is, we're still discounting a major factor — Hardy. He returned to help Joe and Magnus take out the Aces triple tag earlier, but there's no way he's staying that low for long. I'd imagine he wants revenge, and wants it soon.

Tenay really sold it last night like that was Hardy's revenge on Aces and Eights. If so, it's flimsy booking, but he really seemed to put the idea over. Further, one would think that Hardy will be a big part of the Bound For Glory Series, which I imagine will be starting shortly.

 

[JJYanks121]

I remember James Storm saying something on Impact about Sabin becoming X Division Champion, and then challenging for the World Title, but did Hogan actually say it last night? He gave Sabin a ringing endorsement, for sure, but I didn't hear him say anything about Sabin and a World Title Shot. If it is to happen, it's silly to put one belt on a guy, only to trade it off quickly for a shot at another. It also shows how far the X Division has fallen.

Anyway, this was a fun opening match. I liked that all three men spent the majority of the time in the ring during the course, not one man selling while the other two fought. They didn't spend as much time climbing as one would think, but the ending was creative and well executed, I felt. It was a strong opener and the right move, although I wish they'ld jut go with a King vs Sabin match in King's rematch, and give them 15-20 minutes. It would be a heckuva match.

As for Sabin challenging for the World TItle, I don't think he's at the level, nor will he ever be. I remember when Kaz won a tournament and a shot at Angle's title 5 years ago, and this would be similar to me. Someone who could outpace Ray, gain several close nearfalls, but ultimately fall short. Is it worth trading in the X division title for that?

Anyways, a heckuva an opening match to an excellent PPV with the right man going over in a clever finish. ***



Tenay really sold it last night like that was Hardy's revenge on Aces and Eights. If so, it's flimsy booking, but he really seemed to put the idea over. Further, one would think that Hardy will be a big part of the Bound For Glory Series, which I imagine will be starting shortly.

Why is it flimsy? Jeff Hardy lost his rematch for the title which means he lost 2 straight matches to the champion. Part of the reason he lost, if not the main one, is that the champion has a bunch of bitches helping him out. Thus, Hardy's beef is with those guys who took away his chance to regain the gold. Sure, any former champion would want to get the title back, but why is he still entitled to more rematches? Spoiler: he's not.

What Hardy will have to do, like everyone else, is win the BFG series if he wants revenge. That's his motivation. For a younger guy like say, Jay Bradley, the motivation is to win to get noticed. Same goal, different motivation.

That said, the issue here is Sabin. Good move getting the title on him. Kenny King brought nothing to the title and it's a very positive step to get it off of him. Plus, a Sabin/Ray match works just fine for me. I mean, why not? Bully Ray wins absolutely no matches convincingly so why not this one to give him something? Sabin brings it as hard as he can but falls a bit short. It motivates him for the future, he looks great in trying, and Bully Ray gets a victory without the Aces and Eights. It's a win/win.

Plus, Sabin's a guy the crowd likes due to longevity with the company. They'll get behind him way more than any other guy in the X-Division. To me, this was the best possible scenario.

 

[New Hot Fed]

Nevermind a match, a feud between Sabin and Bully would be tremendous. First it would have to be something with no interferences. Have Bully say, Sabin is too small and insignificant, he doesn't need Aces & 8s to beat him. But when he almost lose, he takes it personaly and you see multiple matchs between the two. I think it would work on several levels. Cause I think Bully and Sabin are so set in their characters and their style of wrestling that it could be a great monster big guy vs agile small guy feud. Sort of like Spike Dudley vs Mike Awesome back in the day? Also if they play this up, they could go back to Team 3-D splitting up and say that it was the Machine Guns that beat them that lead to Bully turning heel and so forth. When you think about it, Sabin is the reason all of this happened. Give them so promo time and let this all play out.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Part of me is interested in seeing Sabin in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship feud in the hopes that Sabin might be elevated to a higher plateau. The other part of me is skeptical about what will ultimately become of Sabin afterward.

Frankly, I simply don't see Chris Sabin beating Bully Ray. No other X Division wrestler has come remotely close, and I mean even in the same galaxy, to being built & hyped as strong as Austin Aries was. TNA, in my opinion, did find a legit diamond in the rough with Aries and while Sabin is someone that's a long time player in TNA as a tag team & X Division wrestler; I'm just skeptical that he's someone TNA management will look at as a top guy.

If Sabin was build & hyped with a lot of strength between now and BFG, I could see it being a potential money match. I think the only way that happens, however, is if Sabin challenges Ray soon, loses, enters the BFG Series and winds up winning the thing. It's going to take time to build Sabin into someone that's a genuine threat to Ray as Ray is obviously the true heel strength on the roster at this point while Sabin, let's face it, has always been a tag team/cruiserweight guy.

In my opinion, the worst case scenario with Sabin looks something like this:

Sabin vacates the X Division title sometime in the next month or two to challenge Bully Ray. He makes the challenge and winds up losing decisively to Bully Ray, only to wind up disappearing back into mid-card limbo. As a result, nothing is done to elevate Sabin or the X Division which, looking back on it, could feel like the whole program was meant to be nothing more than meaningless filler to give Ray a little something to do between now and BFG.

 

[scottyshowman82]

Very very clever TNA not excuding the stipualtion from Hogan's post fight interview with Sabin that he would have to give up the X Title for a shot. I agree with It's Damn Real! and LSN80 those who feel that Sabin doesn't have the momentum of Aries, however he does have a great back story and will give Bully Ray a new diverse feud. TNA could build Sabin's comback story huge in the coming weeks if they chose to.

I hate giving predictions, because for me it's not predicting what happens, it's more about enjoyment and seeing what happens and what goes down. Predictions can be fun but in a way I think on some level are overrated, especially in a predetermined show like pro wrestling. I say watch it and see how it comes down and enjoy it. I have ideas about what may happen if what I say actually comes true I feel like I'm giving away a spoiler. However I will say that we are in the Bully Ray world champ era he deserves his title reign to last longer than when he meets Sabin. To me if makes sense for Bully to hold the title until Bound for Glory where he challenges someone eles on the roster.

I'm telling you, it is very interesting that Hogan did not mention anything about handing over the X Title to get that shot "sometime this summer" as Hogan put it. Hogan not putting that stipulation he gave Aries last year is very telling and is a developing story.