Currently, Tessa Blanchard is the Impact World Champion. The wrestler is the first female to hold the title in the company’s history. However, over the last few months, former two-time Impact Grand Champion Moose has launched an all-out assault on the organization in an attempt to rid them of “TNA Originals.”
Before its rebranding, Impact Wrestling was known as Total Nonstop Action, aka TNA. The company began in 2002 and housed a bevy of former WWE talent in order to compete. Impact Wrestling dropped all references to TNA in 2017 and moved forward under the Impact moniker.
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Turning heel late in 2018, Moose has been impacting the company in a big way. His campaign to prove himself better than the stars of the TNA, has led to contests with the likes of Rhino and Kid Kash. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Impact was forced to rework some of its television taping schedules and place focus on new stories.
The original plan for its 2-night Impact Rebellion show was for World Champion Tess Blanchard to face her longtime rivals Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards in a triple threat match. However, due to travel restrictions, only Elgin was able to appear. This caused the big man to claim he came to win a championship. Enter Moose.
Moose’s Crusade
A new triple threat match was formed between Elgin, Moose, and “Supermex” Shawn Hernandez. During Moose’s entrance, the former NFL offensive lineman donned the classic TN Heavyweight Championship, not seen on TV since 2018. The match began with the three heavyweights throwing caution to the wind with heavy offense.
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The commentary team Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne noted several times that the TN World Championship was not officially recognized. However, that did stop Moose from claiming victory and hoisting the title up above his head, claiming to be the “real” World Champion.
The Backlash to Moose is Real
The controversial move caused quite a stir on social media. Tessa Blanchard tweeted that her reign as Impact World Champion was “Undeniable,” while Ethan Page tweeted his disgust along with a picture. Interesting enough, Executive Vice President of Impact Wrestling Scott D’Amore reacted to the move with excitement. He tweets “how awesome is it to have the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt back on @IMPACTWRESTLING???”
What do you think of the return of the TNA World Championship? What about Moose? Bodyslam those comments below and respond on social media! Stay tuned to The Illuminerdi for more on this ongoing story as it happens.
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