10 Wrestling Images That Will Make You Feel Really Old

3. X Division Inspiration

Samoa Joe Christopher Daniels AJ Styles
ImpactWrestling.com

TNA may not exactly have a history of financial success, but due to a series of benefactors (the kind who are cool with losing money), the organization has managed to continue to exist for 14 years - which, by the way, is longer than WCW and ECW. In that entire history, no match from the organization is as acclaimed as the three-way X Division Championship bout between Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, and AJ Styles.

The bout was a non-stop thrill ride of perfectly-executed spots and incredible action. It received a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer (the only TNA match in history to earn the honor) and helped build the reputations of all three of the combatants.

If the match seems like it's a latter-day classic, odds are you've been watching wrestling for a while. The bout actually took place nearly 11 years ago, in September of 2005. Even more noteworthy is that Will Ospreay, the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors winner and one of the most talked-about wrestlers in the world, cites the match as his inspiration for becoming a wrestler. He was only 12 years old when it occurred.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013