Ultimate X: the Worst Thing to Ever Happen to the X-Division

[Big Red Machine]

We all know how great the X-Division is. Hell, even TNA claims to. We all know why it helped put TNA on the map. TNA know that it put them on the map, but for the life of them (and it could very well get to that point), they can't remember how. The reason that the X-Division hasn't been as prominent over the last few years as it had previously been can be traced to the effect that Ultimate X has had on the division.

Ultimate X has stereotyped the X-Division and its wrestlers as high-flyers. When someone says X-Division match, they expect dives and tons of highspots, and these things get pops. Management sees these pops, and has since labelled the X-Division as a place for high-flyers. It is a random, lower-card attraction. It is used as an opener to get pops to get the crowd into the show, rather than to get itself and its angles over. Ultimate X is throw out there every couple of months as an opener for either the belt or contendership to it in a giant clusterduck of spots. The spots are more important than the angle. No one gets over in the X-Division. The division itself gets over, but only because people know they will see spots.

This mentality gives it no room at all for any growth or any mobility. It will always be the opening spotfest that warms the crowd up for the bigger matches.

Ultimate X has made the bookers and fans focus on the high-flying and not on the whole picture of wrestling that is what really put the X-Division on the match. Jerry Lynn, Low Ki, Petey Williams, Jay Lethal. These men are not high-flyers, but they were main attractions of the X-Division. Why? Because they were given time to wrestle. The high-flying was part of it, and they could all pull off a dive, but it wasn't the focus of their game. Wrestling was. And until TNA remembers this, the X-Division will continue to be overlooked.

[Lynas]

It's hard for me to say this. But with the exception of Daniels, Joe & AJ... you're actually correct.

Daniels, Joe & AJ went a place with their matches that took X-Division to a different level, but the X-Division IS spots & dives... I love watching it, don't get me wrong & I'm into it... BUT when you put it the way you have you're right, it's the warm-up... BUT when executed properly... it's the best damn warm-up in professional wrestling.

[Big Red Machine]

It's hard for me to say this. But with the exception of Daniels, Joe & AJ... you're actually correct.

Daniels, Joe & AJ went a place with their matches that took X-Division to a different level, but the X-Division IS spots & dives... I love watching it, don't get me wrong & I'm into it... BUT when you put it the way you have you're right, it's the warm-up... BUT when executed properly... it's the best damn warm-up in professional wrestling.

But it wasn't always dives and highspots. Jerry Lynn, Low Ki, Petey Williams, Jay Lethal... all of these guys were always wrestlers first. Even MCMG fits this bill. Look at the most acclaimed X-Division matches in history: AJ vs. Joe vs. Daniels, Sabin vs. Shelley, Juvi vs. Ki vs. AJ vs. Lynn, AJ vs. Petey, AJ vs. Daniels, the AJ vs. Petey vs. Sabin Ultimate X match... these matches were not full of highspots and dives.

The X-Division doesn't have be an opening act, and it shouldn't be. It doesn't have to be the main event, but it shouldn't be stuck as an opener.

[cero2k]

I wouldn't necessarily say it was the Ultimate X match since we've seen some wrestlers have decent performances on it, guys that are not usually flyers like Hernandez, Anderson, Roode, or Doug Williams.

I think the worst thing to ever happen to the X Division was guys like Angle, Booker, Foley, or Anderson coming in. especially Angle. Why? because the easy money to gain to pay them, you make up by firing guys from the X Division or not giving them enough time to showcase what they got. Because TNA used to have the vision of making every possible match up, so now we want for Angle to fight AJ, to fight Joe, to fight Amazing Red, to fight Kazarian, same with a lot of other guys, but those matches would be under the X Division, but under idiotic stuff like the top ten contenders, the feast or fired thing....and then, TNA went into their Stable Wars Era with the MEM, the Frontline, EV2.0, Immortal, World Elite, so all that combined with the fact that iMPACT! became a segment show it ended up reducing the X Division to 5 minutes or less of action per week.

so for the last 4 yrs or so, every move made by TNA would slowly end up hurting the X Division, even more than the KOs Division

[NWK]

As a guy who has had an affinity for high-flyers in wrestling since Day 1, I have to disagree with you. But my own personal bias aside, your logic does indeed make sense.

I have to ask though, what do you think about the fact that Abyss is X-Division Champion? Clearly it's a deviation from "random high flying", so I must ask do you enjoy Abyss' X-Division run so far?

[Big Red Machine]

As a guy who has had an affinity for high-flyers in wrestling since Day 1, I have to disagree with you. But my own personal bias aside, your logic does indeed make sense.

I have to ask though, what do you think about the fact that Abyss is X-Division Champion? Clearly it's a deviation from "random high flying", so I must ask do you enjoy Abyss' X-Division run so far?

I am enjoying it because it fits with the story, the same way that TNA wrote Doug Williams to be an antithesis to the X-Division. Abyss in TNA has historically represented everything that the X-Division wasn't. He is a superheavyweight and a big man, known for his plunder matches, and for bumps that are more ultraviolent than crazy dives. He is the right man for the job.