New TNA World Champion Crowned On Impact AMC Debut (TNA News)

TNA chiefs decided to switch their top title back to Mike Santana during Impact's debut on AMC.

Mike Santana TNA World Title
TNA

Mike Santana is now a 2-time TNA World Champion. The former AEW star won the belt by defeating veteran Frankie Kazarian during the debut episode of Impact on new home AMC this past Thursday night. It was a memorable evening of debuts, surprises and killer moments for the company, but TNA topped it off with a major title switch.

Now, after beating Kazarian, Santana will defend it against the same opponent on the upcoming Genesis pay-per-view on Saturday night. That bout will be a 'Texas Deathmatch' with Nic Nemeth as special guest referee. Fans go into it expecting even more drama.

Again, this is Mike's second run as TNA World Champ. His first only lasted 32 days - he won the belt from WWE's Trick Williams at Bound For Glory on 12 October 2025, but then dropped it to Frankie on a mid-November edition of Impact before the jump to AMC.

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TNA top brass apparently decided it was for the best if Santana regained the strap to jumpstart this new era for the promotion's long running flagship show.

The Wrestling Observer has noted that Santana's win is the 65th title change in the history of TNA's top prize. He also becomes only the 16th man to hold the thing multiple times. It remains to be seen just how long Mike's second stint in the championship hot seat will last - it'd certainly be bold to book another change at Genesis this weekend.

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Santana looked emotional as he celebrated to end Impact. Clearly, departing AEW when he did was the right decision for him personally.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.