The TNA Global Championship[1] is a professional wrestling championship owned by the United States–based Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. It was introduced on the October 23, 2008 episode of TNA's primary television program TNA Impact! as the TNA Legends Championship.[3][4]
Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won legitimately; it is instead won via a scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. All title changes have occurred at TNA–promoted events thus far. There have been a total of 6 reigns among 5 wrestlers.[2] The first champion was Booker T. The current champion is Eric Young, who is in his first overall reign.[1]
[edit] History
The title was introduced during a storyline that pitted young talent with-in the company (the TNA Frontline) against veterans of professional wrestling (the Main Event Mafia). In the weeks leading up to the unveiling of the physical belt, Booker T carried around a steel briefcase. On the October 23, 2008 episode of TNA Impact!, Booker T introduced the belt by removing it from the steel briefcase and announcing its name as the "TNA Legends Championship".[3] He followed by declaring himself as the first official champion.[3] He went on to state that the championship was his and that he would defend it when he saw fit; this meant that the championship was unsanctioned by TNA in the storyline.[3] On March 15, 2009 at TNA's Destination X pay-per-view (PPV) event, A.J. Styles defeated Booker T to win the championship.[5] Afterwards on the March 19, 2009 episode of TNA Impact!, Styles was credited as becoming the first-ever TNA Grand Slam Champion, by winning the World Heavyweight (NWA or TNA), the World Tag Team (NWA or TNA), and the TNA X Division Championship along with the Legends Championship.[6][7] TNA's then-primary authority figure, Jim Cornette, then announced that the TNA Legends Championship had become an official TNA sanctioned championship thanks to Styles defeating Booker T for it legally via the contract the two had signed to make the match official (in storyline terms).[7] On the October 29, 2009 episode of Impact!, then-champion Eric Young renamed the championship the "TNA Global Championship". He went on to decree that he was not going to defend it against any American wrestlers nor on American soil.[8] Soonafter, TNA began to recognize the name change on their website.
[edit] Belt designs
A close-up of the center plate of the current design of the TNA Global Championship belt
During the championship's history, it has had one design. It begins with a red leather strap that is covered with two small gold plates that are encrusted with silver. In the center of each plate stands a figure resembling a wrestler holding up a championship belt (depending on which side the plate is on, the belt may be in a different hand). On the outer edge of the plate are red and blue gems, which circle the entire plate. The center golden plate of the belt has TNA's official logo engraved in the very center with the word "Legends" above it and the word "Championship" below it. At the very top of the center plate is a king's crown. This plate also has gems circling the outer edge.[N 1]
[edit] Summary of champions
The inaugural champion was Booker T, who awarded the championship to himself on the October 23, 2008 episode of TNA Impact!.[2][3] At 143 days, Booker T's only reign is the longest in the title's history.[2] Kevin Nash's first reign holds the record for shortest reign in the title's history at 3 days. Nash also holds the record for most reigns, with two.[2] As of November 2009, The current champion is Eric Young, who is in his first overall reign.[1] He defeated former champion, Nash, and Hernandez in a three way match on October 18, 2009 TNA's Bound for Glory PPV event. Overall, there have been 6 reigns among 5 wrestlers.[2]
[edit] Reigns
| # | Order in reign history |
| Reign | The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed |
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the titles were won |
| + | Indicates the current reign is changing daily. |
| # | Wrestlers | Reign | Date | Days
held | Location | Event | Notes |
| 01 1 | Booker T Booker T | 01 1 | 02008-10-23 October 23, 2008 | &0000000000000143.000000143 | Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada | Impact! TNA Impact! | Booker T declared himself the first champion after he unveiled the title belt.[3] |
| 02 2 | Styles A.J. Styles | 01 1 | 02009-03-15 March 15, 2009 | &0000000000000126.000000126 | Orlando Orlando, Florida | Destination X Destination X (2009) | [5] |
| 03 3 | Nash Kevin Nash | 01 1 | 02009-07-19 July 19, 2009 | &0000000000000003.0000003 | Orlando Orlando, Florida | Victory Road Victory Road (2009) | [9] |
| 04 4 | Foley Mick Foley | 01 1 | 02009-07-22 July 22, 2009 | &0000000000000025.00000025 | Orlando Orlando, Florida | Impact! TNA Impact! | This episode aired on tape delay on July 30, 2009.[10][11] |
| 05 5 | Nash Kevin Nash | 02 2 | 02009-08-16 August 16, 2009 | &0000000000000063.00000063 | Orlando Orlando, Florida | Hard Justice Hard Justice (2009) | [12][13] |
| 06 6 | Young Eric Young | 01 1 | 02009-10-18 October 18, 2009 | &0000000000000040.00000040+ | Irvine Irvine, California | Bound for Glory Bound for Glory (2009) | Young renamed the championship the "TNA Global Championship" on the October 29, 2009 episode of TNA Impact!.[14][8] |
[edit] List of combined reigns
| † | Indicates the current champion(s) |
- ^ This description is based on the current design of the TNA Legends Championship, as seen in the images throughout the article.
- ^ Each reign is ranked highest to lowest; reigns with the exact same number mean that they are tied for that certain rank.
[edit] References
- General
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e "Current Champions List at TNAWrestling.com". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA Entertainment Inc. http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/blogsection/5/37/. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Oliver, Earl. "TNA Legends Championship Title History". Solie.org. http://solie.org/titlehistories/lttnaction.html. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g Caldwell, James (2008-10-23). "Caldwell's TNA Impact report 10/23: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live Spike TV HD broadcast". PWTorch.com. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_27416.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ Banks, Bill (2008-10-23). "Introducing: The Legends Championship". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA Entertainment. http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/1133/84. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ a b Sokol, Chris (2009-03-16). "The TNA Destination X disaster". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2009/03/16/8761106.html. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Total Nonstop Action Wrestling presents: TNA Impact!". TNA Impact!. Spike TV. 2009-03-19.
- ^ a b Boutwell, Josh (2009-03-20). "Impact results - 3/19/09". WrestleView.com. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1237528436.php?style=dark. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ a b Wilkenfeld, Daniel (2009-10-29). "Wilkenfeld's TNA Impact report 10/29: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV broadcast". PWTorch.com. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_36419.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ Sokol, Chris; Bryan Sokol (2009-07-20). "Victory Road: Submission wins and title changes". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2009/07/20/10192976.html. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ^ Keller, Wade (2009-08-06). "Keller's TNA Impact report 7/30: results, thoughts, observations, nitpicks, quotebook 10/23: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live Spike TV HD broadcast". PWTorch.com. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reports_9/article_34179.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ Martin, Adam (2009-07-31). "Impact Results - 7/30/09". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1249022922.php. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
- ^ Martin, Adam (2009-08-16). "Hard Justice PPV Results - 8/16/09". Wrestle View. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1250477659.php?style=dark. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
- ^ "TNA News: Three titles change hands at tonight's PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2009-08-16. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_34496.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
- ^ Tylwalk, Nick (2009-10-20). "Sting loses but doesn't retire, capping off night of ups and downs at Bound for Glory". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2009/10/19/11447881.html. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
[edit] External links
