X-Division: Does TNA Really Need It?

[Cereal Killer]

TNA doesn't need the X-Division anymore. This is a different TNA then there was in the past. The got rid of much of the division,

Yes but they can still re-brand it and make the division what it once was. Be optimistic.

or bumped them up to the main event or put them in a tag team.

Well that is the purpose of a mid-card; to develop future stars and to get them ready for the main event scene. But to keep the division running they need to hire a lot of X-Division talent or there won't be an X-Division, however the returns of Kenny King, Manik and Jeff Hardy have surfaced which could mean they are indeed trying to rejuvinate the division.

I agree. I am in favor of striking the TV title, the problem is what do you do with guys like who are bigger guys and can't move around like younger and/or lighter wrestlers and aren't at the caliber to be on the main event scene.

TNA doesn't have a large roster in which will put them in a position where they'll need more than one mid-card title. The "bigger guys" can be placed in a tag-team, face each other or also get rubs from the more experienced wrestlers like EC3.

TNA should make the most out of Xplosion. At the moment it's a show which airs news, discussions and random matches. The mid-carders could work on that show to build themselves as Impact Wrestling currently does not have enough time for so many stories.

In the mid 90's, WWE only/also had one mid-card championship. At that portion of the 90's, they too were short of cash and made the most of it. I understand that the mid-card championship was for stars of all sizes, however the X-Division is what makes TNA a stand out and an alternative. After WCW and ECW collapsed, two major indie companies formed in 2002. One was ROH and the other, TNA. After 12 years, which is an international success and which is still considered the indie promotion?

 

[UFOcalling]

...public perception will always be that the bigger wrestlers compete at a bigger level, no matter how exciting X Division matches are it will be viewed as a Cruiserweight belt with stipulations. Accordingly, TNA would be like WCW trying to pass of their Cruiserweight belt over the US title which would never happen.

You have to remember that the "original" X Division wasn't necessarily supposed to be a Cruiserweight Division clone/facsimile (at least IMHO). Even though there were a lot of cruiserweight-style matches going on in the XD (and there were a lot of similarities), it was always said that "the X Division doesn't have limits...it's about NO limits" (or something equivalent). I never thought of the X title as a lightweight title, I thought of it as their IC title.

From the first day it was introduced into the company, the XD title was TNA's Intercontinental Championship equivalent...at least up until the Legends/Global/TV title came along. When Hogan & Bischoff arrived, the Television Championship was their primary focus. It didn't take long before Bischoff decided to put that ridiculous weight limit on the X Division; it honestly seemed like he was trying to devalue the title (in favor of the TV belt). I also remember Hogan saying that the TV belt was going to be defended every week, but of course that didn't last. I think it was Devon who held it at the time of Hogan's arrival, and when Devon was "fired" (or whatever it was that happened) he took the championship with him. They should have left it at that, but the TV title was brought back soon after Devon was the first member of A&8s to be unmasked. Then Abyss beat Devon for the title, and we haven't seen it since. Good riddance, as far as I'm concerned.

I think TNA/IW was on the right track, trying to make the TV belt mean something. The real problem was that the XD Championship seemed more prestigious to most of the audience. If they would have stuck with the idea of the TV Champ defending every week, then maybe it could have worked...but it's still a hard "maybe" at best. Trying to introduce any new singles title to TNA would be quite an undertaking, as long as they're trying to make it look "better" than the XD title (the Legends/Global/TV belt is a shining example). The other option could have been merging the two titles (TV & XD), but it's probably better that the TV belt just vanished.

Don't get me wrong - I understand your feeling, that it seems like TNA is trying to turn their "Cruiserweight" belt (XD title) into their IC/US title...I just don't see it that way at all. It seems to me that Bischoff took their IC/US title and tried to re-brand it as their Cruiserweight belt/division. When that didn't work (and after Bischoff left), TNA just needed to hit the reset button. Instead, they tried some other stupid gimmicks (triple-threat, etc). Once they realized that the fans didn't care about the gimmicks, they got back to what made the XD title matter so much in the first place: the matches. In the 80s & early 90s, the matches in the WWF for the IC belt were the shining spots on the card. Think about the Razor/HBK ladder matches, Savage vs. Steamboat, etc. The IC title wasn't necessarily another division, just another singles title. I think that's what IW needs to do, build it up as just another belt (and stop calling it another division). I respect your opinion, I just think Bischoff putting the weight limit (and the word "division" itself) are the biggest factors of the XD Title's "cruiserweight" stigma.

When it comes to the X Division, I believe that it's the word "division" that causes so much trouble for TNA. The audience thinks of guys wrestling in the XD as the "crappy guys", the little guys, the spot-monkeys, or whatever. It's obvious that TNA can't change the name without some blowback, since it's so ingrained in the minds of their fans; ie: referring to the belt only as "The X Title" might be a bit of a stretch. However, I believe just removing that word from the title would do wonders to help rebuild the belt's credibility, and help "newer" fans of TNA/IW to not think of it as their Cruiserweight Division/title. Now that I think about it, the "X Title" (or even the "X Championship") has a nice ring to it, anyway...at least I think so. Just a slight name tweak could do wonders.