Exposing The Myth: TNA Was A WWE Rival

8. Introducing The X-Division

TNA Hulk Hogan Impact Monday Night Raw WWE
Impact Wrestling

For the very first weekly PPV, NWA-TNA introduced the concept of the X Division.

Pulling inspiration from WCW's success with the cruiserweight division and WWE's subsequent adaptation of that division, the X Division took what was being seen by WWE's lighter grapplers of the time and amped it up to 11.

Rather than simply being focused on the supposed smaller wrestlers, the X Division changed things up by being more about a person's in-ring style rather their size - or, as the tagline read, "it is not about weight limits, it is about no limits".

It was AJ Styles who would be crowned the first ever NWA-TNA X Division Champion, with the Phenomenal One defeating Jerry Lynn, Low Ki, and Psicosis on the second of the company's weekly PPV events.

At this time in 2002, the cruiserweights of WWE were putting on good matches - with Shane Helms, Jamie Noble, and Billy Kidman all taking centre-stage - but the X Division was a different beast altogether, which in turn gave NWA-TNA a one-up on WWE in that regard.

Going from strength-to-strength, the Ultimate X concept was introduced the following year and only served to further up the ante for the X Division talent. And when there are performers such as Styles, Lynn, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels, Amazing Red, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, and the badass presence of Samoa Joe competing within the ranks of the X Division, it instantly made for must-see TV.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.