The Greatest X-Division Champion That Ever Lived

I'd like to thank the people in the comment section of TNAsylum for voting for yours truly to put out the first edition of the Write Call. I'd also like to compliment you on your good taste. lol

Anyway, with this being the first month of this particular feature, it needs to get off to a great start. Therefore, it's only fitting that the subject of discussion is none other than The Greatest Man That Ever Lived. Because you asked for it, I've been tasked with booking X-division champ Austin Aries' path to Bound For Glory.

Let's do this...

First, we need to figure out exactly how the booking of Aries is going to impact the rest of the show. I (like many of you, I'm sure) am anxious to see Aries move up the card and into the main events, rubbing elbows with the top guys, but he can't really do that as the X-division champion. If he's put in the top mix, I'm afraid the X-division would just disappear from TV again. The tricky thing is, Aries is currently the only X-division star the writers seem to want to feature regularly, so putting the belt on someone else might just have the same result. Aries is the centerpiece of the X-divison, and until a suitable replacement is found (where the hell is Zema Ion?), he probably needs to stay in that spot.

So what to do with Aries? Creatively, they don't seem to be in a position to take the X title off him, but how much longer can they try to stall his momentum and delay his ascension to the top of the card where he belongs? I've thought long and hard about this, and I think I've got a way to make most of the people weighing in on this happy.

Aries' journey begins after Slammiversary. The match with Samoa Joe actually fits perfectly into the direction I'm going in, so let's just keep that exactly the way it happened.

Aries cuts an in-ring promo on iMPACT WRESTLING. He says that when he signed his contract last year, he told Dixie Carter that he was going to be the man to bring the X-division out of the cobwebs and make it relevant again, and he's done exactly that. But, ambitious man that he is, he's always looking for his next big challenge. He's beaten every X-division star that there is to beat, but he won't be satisfied until there's no question in anyone's mind that he's the greatest X-division star in TNA history.

Aries has made a list of people that he intends to face over the next several months -- a list of the longest reigning champions, the most prolific champions and the greatest wrestlers to ever hold the X-division title -- essentially, any past or present X-division star still with the company that holds any kind of record or accolade in the division. He plans to defend his X-divison title against them all, and one-by-one, he's going to beat them all until every record, every accolade under the X-divison banner, has the name Austin Aries attached to it. Then, and only then, will Aries be satisfied. He will accept nothing less from himself than being the greatest X-division champion of all time, and that's what he's going to be.

At Slammiversary, he crossed the first name off his list. Wasting no time moving on to the next, Aries calls out the first ever X-division champion, AJ Styles.

AJ joins Aries in the ring. Aries says that, since TNA's inception, the name AJ Styles has been synonymous with the X-division, even years after AJ stopped competing in it. And since Destination-X is the next upcoming PPV, their annual event where the X-division takes the spotlight, he can't think of a more fitting opponent. Aries offers AJ an X-division title shot. AJ accepts.

AJ Styles vs Austin Aries (c) for the X-division title is the main event of Destination-X. Aries wins.

With another name crossed off his list, the following Thursday, Aries calls out Chris Sabin. He says that Sabin is regarded as the king of the Ultimate-X match, competing in more of them than anyone else (including the very first one), and holding more victories in them than anyone else. And since Aries has never been in an Ultimate-X match before, he wants to prove himself against the best there is.

He then explains that there's another factor on top of that. He puts Sabin over as not only one of the most prolific X champions of all time (3rd most prolific behind AJ Styles and Jay Lethal) but the record books also show that in the 10 years of the X-division's existence, Chris Sabin has logged more cumulative days as the champion than anyone else, with his 4 reigns lasting a total of 338 days -- a record Aries is just a few weeks away from breaking. As it turns out, Hardcore Justice is coming up first, so before Aries breaks his record, he's going to give Sabin a chance to stop him. Sabin accepts.

[SIDE NOTE: I'm going by Wikipedia here, so if any of these details are wrong, feel free to blame Wikipedia and leave me out of it.]

At Hardcore Justice, Austin Aries defends the X-division title against Chris Sabin in an Ultimate-X match. Aries wins.

The following week, Aries calls out Christopher Daniels. He explains that before he was the longest reigning X-division champion in history, Daniels held that record. And since he's already defeated the other members of the Unbreakable 3, he wants to make it a hat rick. He challenges Daniels to a title match at No Surrender. Daniels accepts.

Later in that same show, Kurt Angle confronts Aries backstage. He says Aries seems to have forgotten that he is also a former X-division champion. If Aries is trying to prove himself against the best X-division stars of all time, then Angle wants in on this. He challenges Aries to a match that night. Aries seems suspiciously reluctant, but accepts the challenge.

Austin Aries vs Kurt Angle is the iMPACT WRESTLING main event. Angle is closing in on a victory when Daniels and Kazarian try to interfere. Aries and Angle fight them off. The match is ruled a no contest.

Aries spends the weeks leading up to the PPV dealing with Kaz to get to Daniels. Not for nothing, Aries puts Kaz over as another of the most prolific X champions of all time -- tied for 3rd with Sabin at 4 reigns each. Kaz is another person on his list that he'd planned to challenge in the near future, but if Kaz felt like jumping the gun, he has no problem with that. He defeats Kaz on the No Surrender go-home show.

At No Surrender, Austin Aries defends the X-division title against Christopher Daniels. Aries wins.

The following Thursday, Kurt Angle challenges Aries to a rematch. The match is again the main event. This time, Aries has the upper hand, but Daniels and Kaz attempt to interfere as payback for Aries beating them both. A brawl with all 4 men ensues. The match is once again ruled a no contest.

Next week, Aries & Angle challenge Daniels & Kaz to a tag team match. A game of one-upmanship is going on with the faces during the match. They win with simultaneous pins on the heels, staring each other down afterward.

Next week, Aries calls Angle out to the ring. Aries explains that he only accepted Angle's challenge last month because he never backs down from any challenge, but the truth is that he hadn't wanted to. He wanted to keep that match in his pocket until he took care of unfinished business. He says that he never forgot that Angle once held the X-division title, and the reason he hadn't mentioned it was that he had planned to work his way up to Angle, so as to save the best for last.

Kurt Angle is the final name on Aries' list. And the reason Aries waited so long to challenge him is that Bound For Glory is just a few weeks away, and he can't think of a bigger or better match for TNA's biggest show of the year than The Greatest Man That Ever Lived vs the greatest wrestler that ever lived. And since they've done this a couple times now without having a clear winner, he wants there to be no debate about who the better man is. He suggests a stipulation for the match. Angle accepts.

At Bound For Glory, Austin Aries' goal to become the greatest X-division champion in TNA history concludes as he defends the X-division title against Kurt Angle in a 2-out-of-3 falls match.

And that's how I'd book Austin Aries up to Bound For Glory.

This has been the Write Call. If you liked it, great. If you thought it sucked, just remember, you're the ones who asked for it, so this was really all your fault.

#TGMTEL