Since its inception, TNA's cornerstone has been the X-Division. Largely considered a cruiserweight division, it touts itself as being "not about weight limits but about no limits." Of course, while this does not clearly define the qualifications (if any) for competing in the division, it spells out for the viewer that this is the home of high-flying or just high-impact wrestlers. For about a year, from 2005's Slammiversary up until shortly before this year's, the division was ruled by three men: AJ Styles, "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe. They faced each other constantly in matches that consisted of one-on-one bouts with a combination of two of the big three or three-way matches with Styles, Daniels and Joe all participating. Because of these wrestlers, the X-Division helped TNA's 2005 Pay-Per-Views break out and, while not huge financial successes, became what some considered the "best kept secret in wrestling."
Times have changed. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels formed a tag team to help rebuild the then-diminished tag division. Samoa Joe, TNA's most popular wrestler, was given the go-ahead by management to be their next big thing. In order to do that, at least in their minds, he needed to get out of the X-Division and face the heavies in the World title picture. While a report in the Observer confirmed it, what we saw on television was very clear. TNA was going with the idea that Styles, Daniels and Joe are all out of the X-Division. The three biggest and most entertaining X wrestlers were on to other things, and from the looks of it, there's a good chance they won't be back in the near future.
So where does this leave the X-Division? Who rules it now? Who can rule it in the future? Who is the next Joe or Styles or Daniels?
Right now, the X-Division is not about the X-Division Championship. It is about an alternate feud between the stable of Kevin Nash, Alex Shelley and Johnny Devine vs. babyface X wrestlers Chris Sabin and Jay Lethal as well as X-Division pioneer Jerry Lynn. It is largely about Nash vs. Sabin, though. The angle is that Kevin Nash wanted to return to TNA to show that the best X-Division wrestler couldn't hang with even a mediocre big man. He obviously wasn't refering to Samoa Joe but to the cruiserweights of the division. Nash enlisted X wrestler Alex Shelley to be his eyes and ears and to teach him about what makes these wrestlers tick. It has produced some of the funniest non-wrestling segments of the year. Nash learning the X-Division style is always a highlight of Impact.
However, with this the major feud in the division, this leaves X-Division Champion Senshi (Low Ki) with next to nothing to do. At the last PPV, Victory Road, Senshi had no match scheduled. TNA did not even take the time to build up the "mystery opponent" aspect much on Impact. Senshi simply showed up, faced and defeated a returning Frankie Kazarian and that was the end of it. Leading up to the Hard Justice PPV, which is only two weeks away, Senshi again does not have an opponent. Reports suggest he is not happy during Impact tapings.
With these being the "major" happenings of the division, the new top stars are Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, Senshi and Alex Shelley. None of these four wrestlers are on the level of any of the previous big three. Not even Senshi. So what does that mean for the division? Is it in trouble? Probably not. Sabin vs. Senshi would almost certainly be a good match. If Senshi retains, an obvious feud is Lethal vs. Senshi. These two have had a series of matches in Ring of Honor during their long feud. They would work very well together. Lethal is such a natural babyface that the fans would be dying for him to get the big win over Senshi.
Eventually, unless Styles and Daniels drop their team and come back before the end of the year, TNA is going to have to elevate other X-Division wrestlers. Petey Williams is a possibility but management may be wise to look to others. Namely Austin Aries. A while back, Aries and Roderick Strong were suspended by TNA for disobeying orders. They were told to no-show an ROH event due to the likelihood of a storm delaying their flight to Orlando. Aries and Strong refused. Their contracts recently came up. Strong is out of TNA. Aries, from what I've read, is re-signing with the company and has been telling others that he will be reintegrated into the X-Division. It may take TNA some time to trust Aries again, but if they do, they'll have a great all-around wrestler in their division. Aries is a smart worker who has proven he can put together ****+ matches. I'd put him above nearly all of the current division now that Styles, Daniels and Joe can't be counted.
Another idea TNA may use would be to use Homicide. He recently faced Sonjay Dutt in what could have been considered a try-out match for the division. Reviews were mixed. It came off well on television but was said to have been heavily edited to make it look better. Homicide is actually a very versatile worker and could help the division in a time when it could use new stars. It's all up to TNA, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet against him being X-Champion this year. The newly-popular Eric Young could get the fans excited about the division but putting the belt on him this soon would be a mistake. He's not that good of a wrestler and lovable losers burn out too quickly with overexposure.
In the end, whatever TNA is going to do, they need to do it now. Up until recently, their storylines were pretty lackluster (and to some extent, they still are) and their shows seem low-rent. The X-Division action is the one thing that seperates them from World Wrestling Entertainment, and without that, fans may find there are few reasons to watch TNA with five hours of WWE programming on every single week.
