Date: 09/01/19 | Written By: Jack Williams
Top Ten Impact World Champions list continues with part two, Here is the top half of the top ten that were covered in the part one. #10 - Eli Drake, #9 - James Storm, #8 - Eddie Edwards, #7 - Austin Aries and #6 - Jeff Hardy.
#5 - BULLY RAY
In 2013, Bully Ray shocked the world when he pulled off the biggest con in modern pro-wrestling history, When Bully, In a World Championship Steel Cage match at LockDown 2013 with Jeff Hardy, revealed that he was the leader of the Aces and Eights faction that had been dominating the company for a good while, and defeated the Charismatic Enigma to become World Champion for the very first time in his long and storied career. The Aces and Eights faction was one of the very best and most memorable that's ever been, and the fact that Bully Ray was the leader, a man who was only ever seen as a tag team wrestler made it all the more special. Bully would have the best run of his career that year, aswell as being in the best shape of his career, with ripped arms and a leaner physique.
The reign would last until Destination-X, where the unthinkable happened. Chris Sabin, Lifelong X-Division Star, would cash-in Option-C and become World Champion in the process. It was a historic moment for Sabin, but it wouldn't last long, As the irate Bully would later reclaim the title not long after inside of a Steel Cage, winning the belt for a second time.
#4 - BOBBY LASHLEY
When Bobby Lashley returned to TNA/Impact at LockDown 2014 to answer an open-challenge issued by EC3, He would go on to have the best run of his entire career. Lashley would go onto fight and defeat Eric Young for the World Championship, which set him up to be TNA's face of the company for years to come. Bobby from there would go on to become the most dominant World Champion the company had ever seen. He would go on a title spree by collecting and adding the X-Division Championship and King of the Mountain Championship to his World Title, becoming the first man to hold all three titles at once. Over the years, Lashley would have classic bouts with the likes of Bobby Roode, Eddie Edwards, Alberto El Patron, EC3, Drew Galloway and Kurt Angle for the World Title, cementing him as one of the top Impact World Champions of all time.
#3 - BOBBY ROODE
The It-Factor of Pro Wrestling Bobby Roode, in 2012, turned on his best friend and tag team partner James Storm of Beer Money and Fortune, to become World Champion for the very first time in his career. Roode had a long run in TNA, But what we saw from Roode following his World Title win was nothing short of seeing a whole new level of talent, a whole new gear. Roode held onto the Championship for a staggering 256 days, making him the longest reigning champion of all time, and the time as champion was pure brilliance. Roode would be the great heel champion that the company needed after the Storm victory, and he truly took the ball and ran with it. Roode displayed his ability to be the face of a company, and showed he had the talent to be the very best in the world. Roode's war's with Storm, Styles, Sting and Aries were something to truly behold, No one could be as horrible and as nasty as Roode as champion.
#2 - STING
This list couldn't be completed without seeing the Icon known simply as Sting. Sting, following the collapse of WCW, would dip his toes in the water at TNA in a few matches, But as time went by, he would dive in nose deep and completely revitalise and add to his storied career. By the end of WCW, Sting seemed to just vanish and never be seen or heard from again, until it was imagined that he would drift into WWE, But he came and stayed with TNA for the majority of his career, and what a time it was.
Sting delivered big time when he became the face of TNA IE becoming World Champion, He was the perfect fit, Because he wasn't a project of WWE, yet he wasn't the same Sting we saw in WCW, We had a different but better Sting than ever before. He wasn't frightened to play around with his character, going from the normal Sting, to the Main Event Mafia Sting, to the wacked out Joker Sting, that truly brought so much enjoyment and amazement at the same time. Sting would hold the TNA/Impact World Title four times over his career, and each reign was as memorable as the last, with iconic bouts with AJ Styles and Kurt Angle to the Monster Abyss and Samoa Joe.
#1 - KURT ANGLE
Then there was one... Our number one in our top ten TNA/Impact World Champions is the one and only, Kurt Angle. Just the name alone brings back memories of the incredible World Title bouts he had in TNA with the likes of Sting, Styles, Abyss and Lashley. Kurt Angle's time as World Champion in the Main Event Mafia was pure gold, and is truly unforgettable. The Mafia ran roughshod over the TNA roster, leading to many wanting revenge, and as Kurt was the head of the faction and the fact that he was also the World Champion, We got to see many classic showdowns during that time for the gold. Kurt Angle holds the esteemed record of most World Titles, with six illustrious reigns, which in the side of the stats, Makes Kurt the greatest too.
Kurt would in the twilight years of his TNA career, become World Champion again, by defeating Bobby Lashley at the iconic Wembley Arena in London, England, the same Country where his TNA days would come to an end. It was an incredible moment that proved that time was just a number for the cyborg, and made for more incredible World title matches.
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