.
X Division The
X Division was established on June 19, 2002 at Total Nonstop Action's first weekly PPV event. The first match in the X Division's history was a
six man tag team match between The Flying Elvises (
Jimmy Yang,
Jorge Estrada, and
Sonny Siaki) and the team of
A.J. Styles,
Jerry Lynn, and
Low Ki. Later that day at the taping of the following weekly PPV event, TNA introduced the X Championship, now known as the X Division Championship, which was won by inaugural champion A.J. Styles. The division is described as a "fast paced version of professional wrestling", a style that is recognizable in
Japan and
Mexico. It was promoted under the motto
"It is not about weight limits, it is about no limits" by commentator
Mike Tenay. On the August 11, 2011, edition of TNA's primary television program,
Impact Wrestling, TNA authority figure
Eric Bischoff announced that the X Division would have a weight limit of . Following the appointment of
Hulk Hogan as the new on-screen general manager in March 2012, the weight limit was ignored at
Slammiversary on June 10, 2012, when
Samoa Joe was allowed to challenge for the title. In October 2012, the weight limit was officially repealed when
Rob Van Dam won the title at
Bound for Glory. In March 2013, the X Division was given a new set of rules: • All matches contested for the X Division Championship were
triple threat matches. • The weight limit was set at . • The participant who was pinned or submitted in a title match was temporarily eliminated from title contention. • The participant who was not involved in the deciding fall automatically qualified for the succeeding title match. • To fill the third spot in a championship match, a qualifying triple threat match was held between the previously eliminated contender and two new potential challengers. The new rules were short-lived, as then-champion
Manik defended the title against
Chris Sabin in a
singles match five months later.
Specialty matches (yellow shorts) and
Christopher Daniels (red trunks) during an
Ultimate X match in 2006. The X Division utilizes several specialized match types to showcase the division's style and to serve as platforms for TNA X Division Championship defenses. Three prominent match types featured in TNA include the
Ultimate X match, the
Steel Asylum, and the
Xscape match. • The
Ultimate X match was introduced on August 20, 2003. The inaugural match concluded with
Michael Shane winning the vacant X Division Championship against Chris Sabin and
Frankie Kazarian. A steel pillar is positioned behind each turnbuckle to support two cables that cross diagonally to form a large "X" above the center of the ring. The X Division Championship—or a red letter "X" representing a future title opportunity—is suspended at the central intersection of these cables. To win, a competitor must climb the corner pillars or jump from the top turnbuckle to reach the overhead cables, navigating toward the center to retrieve the prize. The use of ladders is strictly prohibited. The match features the ring completely enclosed by a large, red, domed steel cage with barred walls. To achieve victory, a competitor must climb the interior of the structure and be the first to escape through a circular opening located at the center of the domed ceiling. It was later rebranded as "The Steel Asylum" at
Bound for Glory IV on October 12. It is a multi-stage contest that typically features four to six participants competing within a steel cage. Competitors are eliminated via pinfall or submission until two participants remain. The two survivors must then race to be the first to climb over the cage and escape to the floor to win the match.
Creation The championship was created and debuted before the main event at the taping of TNA's second weekly PPV event on June 19, 2002; the event aired on June 26, 2002. this match was announced as being for the NWA X Championship on the onscreen graphic while the
ring announcer stated it was for the "NWA–TNA X Championship". Afterwards, the title was renamed the NWA–TNA X Division Championship and then shortened to just the TNA X Division Championship. In May 2003, before the
professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling All-Stars' (WWA) foreclosure, then NWA–TNA X Division champion
Chris Sabin defeated
WWA International Cruiserweight Champion Jerry Lynn,
Frankie Kazarian, and
Johnny Swinger in a
Four Corners championship unification match to unify the X Division Championship with the WWA International Cruiserweight Championship. In Winter 2004, Petey Williams defended the title in various IWA-Mid South events. During
Christopher Daniels' first reign in mid-2005, he defended the X Division Championship at several
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla shows. The first defense happened at All Star Weekend - Night One on April 1 against
Alex Shelley, while the second occurred at All Star Weekend – Night Two on April 2 against
Chris Hero; Daniels won both encounters retaining the championship. At Jason Takes PWG on May 13, Daniels fought A.J. Styles for the X Division Championship and Styles'
PWG Championship to a one-hour time-limit draw. Daniels successfully defended the X Division Title two more times in PWG; once at Guitarmageddon on June 11 against
El Generico, while once at The 2nd Annual PWG Bicentennial Birthday Extravaganza - Night One on July 9 against fellow TNA wrestler Chris Sabin. In September 2005 at TNA's
Unbreakable PPV event, the TNA X Division Championship was defended in the main event for the first time at a monthly PPV event; then-champion
Christopher Daniels defended the championship against A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe. The title was once again defended in the main event of a monthly event at TNA's August 2007
Hard Justice PPV event, where
Kurt Angle defeated Samoa Joe to win the TNA X Division and the
TNA World Tag Team Championship and retain the
TNA World Heavyweight and
IGF's version of the
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This win made Angle the only in the history of TNA to hold every active championship at the same time; TNA World, X Division, and World Tag Team. On March 4, 2014, the title was defended in
Japan as part of
Kaisen: Outbreak - a supershow event promoted by
Wrestle-1 in partnership with TNA - where the title was won by Wrestle-1 star
Seiya Sanada. On March 22, Sanada defended and retained the title on a Wrestle-1 show. In January 2025, TNA and
WWE signed a multi-year working partnership where TNA and
NXT wrestlers will appear on each other's programming. On the February 25 episode of
NXT, the X Division Championship became the first championship in TNA to be defended in WWE, where
Moose successfully defended the title against
NXT Heritage Cup Champion Lexis King.
Option C Option C is a concept in which the current X Division Champion may voluntarily vacate the championship in exchange for a World Heavyweight Championship match. It began in June 2012 when then-champion
Austin Aries said that he was not satisfied with being just the X Division Champion, which led to then-General Manager
Hulk Hogan offering him a match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but only if he first vacated the X Division Championship. Aries agreed to Hogan's terms, on the condition that future X Division Champions be given the same opportunity.
Cash-in matches ==Championship tournaments==