| TNA World Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The current TNA World Championship belt | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | May 13, 2007[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion | Frankie Kazarian | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | November 13, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | |||||||||||||||||||
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TheTNA World Championship[3] is aprofessional wrestlingworld championship created and promoted byTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via pinfall or submission. The reigning champion isFrankie Kazarian in his first reign. He won the championship by defeating previous championMike Santana on the November 13, 2025 episode ofTNA Impact!.
Before the championship was created, TNA controlled theNWA World Heavyweight Championship via an agreement with theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In 2007, the agreement between TNA and the NWA ended, leading to the creation of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. The championship was unveiled on May 14, 2007, at the taping of TNA's primary television program,Impact!, which aired on May 17, 2007. The inaugural champion wasKurt Angle, who also holds the record for the most reigns at six.
When TNA changed its name and became Impact Wrestling in March 2017, the title was renamed soon after to reflect the change. After Impact Wrestling rebranded toGlobal Force Wrestling (GFW) later that year, the title wasunified with theoriginal GFW Global Championship atSlammiversary XV and became the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship. FollowingDestination X, the title took the GFW Global Championship name and kept the former TNA lineage. On October 23, 2017, the GFW name was dropped, and the company name reverted to Impact Wrestling when the company severed ties withJeff Jarrett, and he took the GFW name with him. However, Impact Wrestling kept the Global Championship name for their championship and the title was then called the Impact Global Championship. On the February 1, 2018, episode ofImpact!, the title became known as the Impact World Championship. On June 4, 2018, the title was unified with theImpact Grand Championship and on March 13, 2021, it was unified with theTNA World Heavyweight Championship, which was briefly sanctioned in 2021 as a separate title from the Impact World Championship. In January 2024, Impact Wrestling reverted back to the TNA name, thus renaming the title as TNA World Championship.
TNA Wrestling was formed as NWA: Total Nonstop Action in May 2002.[4] Later that same year, TNA was granted control over the NWA World Heavyweight andWorld Tag Team Championships by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) governing body; subsequently becoming an official NWAterritory as NWA-TNA.[5] On June 19, 2002, NWA-TNA held its first show; aweekly pay-per-viewevent.[6] Themain event of the telecast was a twenty-manGauntlet for the Gold match in which 20 men sought to throw each other over the top rope and down to the floor in order to eliminate others, until there were two men left who wrestle astandard singles match to become the first ever TNA-era NWA World Heavyweight Champion.[6]Ken Shamrock defeatedMalice to win thevacant championship withRicky Steamboat as theguest referee at the event.[6]
The NWA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships were contested for in TNA until May 13, 2007, when NWA ended their five-year agreement with TNA, which had allowed the latter full control over both titles.[5] NWA Executive DirectorRobert Trobich also stripped then-NWA World Heavyweight ChampionChristian Cage and then-NWA World Tag Team ChampionsTeam 3D of their respective championships, ostensibly because Cage refused to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against wrestlers from other NWA territories.[5] That same day, TNA were scheduled to produce theirSacrifice event, in which both Cage and Team 3D were to defend their respective championships.[7] On thecard, Cage was scheduled to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship againstKurt Angle andSting in athree-way match.[7]
That night, the onscreen graphic used to refer to the champions and their respective championships credited both Cage and Team 3D as still being NWA champions.[8] Angle defeated Cage and Sting to win the World Heavyweight Championship.[9]
During subsequent TV tapings for the next two episodes ofImpact!, TNA did not acknowledge the NWA ending their agreement with TNA but gave a storyline explanation as to why a new championship was created.[1]Management DirectorJim Cornette, TNA's on-screen authority figure at the time, decided that "due to TNA's growing worldwide exposure, the company needed to have its own TNA title belts". At the first episode, broadcast ontape delay on May 17 Angle introduced himself as the "new TNA World Heavyweight Champion".[1] but later on, Cornette stripped Angle of the TNA championship due to the controversial finish of the match at Sacrifice.[1][10] and scheduled aKing of the Mountain match for the championship at TNA'sSlammiversary on June 17, 2007. This match type involves five participants racing to gain apinfall orsubmission to become eligible to hang a championship belt to win.[1] On May 15, 2007,Jeremy Borash unveiled the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt on that day's edition of TNA's onlinevideo podcastTNA Today.[11]
The five participants for the King of the Mountain match were determined in a series of standard wrestling matches that took place onImpact! leading up to the event, with Angle defeatingRhino in the first bout to gain entry on the May 17 episode ofImpact!.[1][12] On the May 24 episode ofImpact!,Samoa Joe defeated Sting to become the second participant.[13] The third qualification match was held on the May 31 episode ofImpact! betweenA.J. Styles andTomko, which Styles won.[14] The next bout pittedChris Harris againstJames Storm on the June 7 episodeImpact!, which ended in a doubledisqualification, therefore neither man advanced to the King of the Mountain match.[15] The final qualification match was won by Christian Cage overAbyss on the June 14 episode ofImpact!.[16] Angle ended up winning the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary over Joe, Cage, Styles and Harris, who was a mystery participant chosen by Cornette, to become the "undisputed TNA World Heavyweight Champion".[17][18]
In early 2017 After TNA rebranded as Impact Wrestling, the name of its flagship show, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship changed its name to the Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship to reflect the name changes of the company.
AtSlammiversary XV, GFW Global ChampionAlberto El Patron defeated Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight ChampionBobby Lashley to unify the titles, with theGFW Global Championship being dropped and the Impact World Heavyweight Championship changing its name to the Unified GFW World Championship as Impact Wrestling began rebranding once again as GFW. In September 2017, GFW reverted their branding to Impact Wrestling, the championship then became known as the Impact Global Championship.
Since the February 1, 2018 episode ofImpact!, the title has been known as the Impact World Championship. On June 4, 2018, the title was unified with theImpact Grand Championship, with the latter title being officially retired.
AtRebellion,Moose appeared with the old TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt (its 3rd design from 2011 to 2017, later modified with a white strap) and declared himself the newTNA World Heavyweight Champion after defeatingHernandez andMichael Elgin in atriple threat match, which was originally to be for the Impact World Championship but reigning championTessa Blanchard missed the tapings due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[19] While the title was not recognized as an official championship by Impact, Moose had several title defenses. On the February 23, 2021, episode ofImpact!, Executive Vice PresidentScott D’Amore officially sanctioned Moose's self-proclaimed championship.[20] AtSacrifice, Impact World ChampionRich Swann defeated Moose to unify the championships. The TNA title was deactivated, and the Impact World Championship was briefly referred to as the Impact Unified World Championship.[21][22]
As Impact Wrestling returned to its original name, TNA Wrestling, the world title also reverted back to its original name.
On the August 19, 2010, edition ofTNA Impact!, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was vacated, after championRob Van Dam suffered a storyline injury. The title was put up in a tournament featuring the top eight ranked wrestlers in theTNA Championship Committee rankings. The finals of the tournament would take place atBound for Glory on October 10.[23][24]
| Quarterfinals (TV -TNA Impact!) | Semifinals (PPV -No Surrender) | Finals (PPV - Bound for Glory) | ||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Rob Terry | 03:17[citation needed] | |||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy* | NC | |||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle* | 30:00[25] | |||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Douglas Williams | 04:52[citation needed] | |||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy Kurt Angle | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Mr. Anderson | 18:37[26] | |||||||||||||
| Jay Lethal | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Mr. Anderson | 04:11[citation needed] | |||||||||||||
| Mr. Anderson | Pin | |||||||||||||
| D'Angelo Dinero | 16:58[25] | |||||||||||||
| D'Angelo Dinero | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Matt Morgan | 04:46[citation needed] | |||||||||||||
* Angle and Hardy wrestled another draw on the September 16 edition ofImpact!, which led toEric Bischoff making the final match at Bound for Glory a three–way.[27]
On October 29, 2013, TNA PresidentDixie Carter vacated theTNA World Heavyweight Championship after the previous championA.J. Styles. Carter scheduled an eight-man tournament to determine a new champion, that would begin on November 7. Seven of the eight men were former TNA World Heavyweight Champions includingJeff Hardy,Chris Sabin,Bobby Roode,James Storm,Kurt Angle,Austin Aries, andSamoa Joe. The eighth would be determined later in the night in a gauntlet match, which was eventually won byMagnus last eliminatingKazarian andSting. Match stipulations for the tournament were determined by spinning the "Wheel of Dixie"; options included aFalls Count Anywhere match, aBull Rope match, aSubmission match, aLadder match, aFull Metal Mayhem match, aCoalminer's Glove match, aTables match, aDixieland match, aTuxedo match, andLast Man Standing match. The Storm/Roode match was originally aBull Rope match but Storm asked Carter to change it to aFlorida Death match, which was not on the "Wheel of Dixie", which Carter agreed to. Also, the winner would be decided atTNA Final Resolution of 2013.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Impact Wrestling | Jeff Hardy | Pin1 | ||||||||||||
| 11/7 | Chris Sabin | 10:39 | ||||||||||||
| Impact Wrestling | Jeff Hardy | Win5 | ||||||||||||
| 12/5 | Bobby Roode | 13:51 | ||||||||||||
| Turning Point | Bobby Roode | TKO*2 | ||||||||||||
| 11/23 | James Storm | 12:36 | ||||||||||||
| Final Resolution | Jeff Hardy | 17:42 | ||||||||||||
| 12/19 | Magnus | Win7 | ||||||||||||
| Impact Wrestling | Kurt Angle | Sub3 | ||||||||||||
| 11/14 | Austin Aries | 18:46 | ||||||||||||
| Impact Wrestling | Kurt Angle | KO6 | ||||||||||||
| 12/5 | Magnus | 15:24 | ||||||||||||
| Turning Point | Samoa Joe | Pin4 | ||||||||||||
| 11/23 | Magnus | 11:22 | ||||||||||||
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To date, the championship has had seven belt designs, with the original title belt (which was unveiled in May 2007) having on its center plate an imprint of an eagle with its wings extended. The word "World" was placed above the eagle's head on a ribbon. The ribbon was wrapped around the bird's wings and body. Five stars were engraved on the ribbon when it passed over each of the bird's wings and the word "Champion" as it passed over the bird's talons. The words "Heavyweight Wrestling" were printed across the bird's chest. At the top of the center plate there was TNA logo. Four smaller side plates had an imprint of a globe centered with TNA's logo at the top and bottom of each. At each end of the title belt there was a small plate that covered the championship belt snaps with TNA's logo engraved on each.[1]
At the November 8, 2010 tapings of the November 11 episode ofImpact!, TNA introduced a new design for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt, which the championJeff Hardy dubbed the "Immortal Championship", as part of theImmortal storyline.[28] The new design consisted of a purple strap with a silver center plate depicting a masked head (designed to resemble Hardy's face with face paint), the TNA logo on the forehead and blue lines along the mask. There were four irregular dodecagonal side plates on the title belt, shaped like stars with rounded edges on two of the sides of these plates.[29]
The Immortal title belt was replaced by the third design of the championship belt at the March 14, 2011 tapings of the March 17 episode ofImpact!, introduced by the reigning champion at the time, Sting.[30][31] The design featured seven gold plates over a black leather strap. The center plate had faux diamonds aligned along its multiple rounded edges, similar to that of theBig Gold Belt. Over the center plate was a large TNA Wrestling logo and below it the words "Heavyweight Champion" engraved in silver. On each side of the center plate was a group of three smaller plates, one with a TNA logo engraved while the other two featured separate corresponding halves of a globe, on either side of the TNA logo side plate.[32] This belt—modified with a white strap—returned in April 2020 afterMoose declared himself as "TNA World Heavyweight Champion" following defeating several past TNA wrestlers, and with then-reigning Impact World ChampionTessa Blanchard being absent due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions. Moose's title would remain unrecognized until February 2021, when it became officially sanctioned and recognized by Impact executive vice presidentScott D'Amore.
FollowingSlammiversary XV, both the TNA and original GFW Global Championship belts were used in tandem to represent the unification of both titles. AtDestination X 2017, the GFW Global Championship belt, with an updated color scheme andImpact logos on the side plates, became the sole belt used. Following the departure of Jeff Jarrett from the promotion, the company reverted to the Impact Wrestling name and the title belt was updated with an Impact name plate to reflect the change. A new title design was introduced at Impact Wrestling'sRedemption on April 22, 2018. The gold center plate has the Impact logo with "World Champion" inscribed below the logo. An owl sits above the Impact logo, representing Impact's parent companyAnthem Sports & Entertainment. On each side of the center plate is a group of four smaller gold plates, with the inner side plates featuring separate corresponding halves of a globe with "World" inscribed above the globes and "Champion" inscribed below them and the outer side plates featuring the Impact logo but without the owl design. Blue shading had filled the Impact logo, the owl design, and the globes and logos on the side plates, but in 2020, the belt was modified with red shading replacing the previous blue to reflect the new color of the Impact Wrestling logo introduced following the move to AXS TV.
At Sacrifice on March 13, 2021, Impact World ChampionRich Swann defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose to unify the two championships. Following this, the 2020 red shaded Impact belt and the white strapped TNA belt were used jointly to represent the unified world championship; the unified title was briefly referred to as the Impact Unified World Championship before reverting to being called the Impact World Championship, though still represented by both belts (with the white strap TNA belt being swapped out for the original black strap version shortly thereafter).[33][34] In August 2021, afterChristian Cage won the title, the TNA belt was retired once again.[35]
Prior toHard to Kill in January 2024, the company reverted back to the TNA name. To reflect the change, TNA PresidentScott D’Amore presentedAlex Shelley, who was the last champion under the Impact name with a new belt. The new belt has 5 gold plates. The center plate added more height with the top and bottom each pointed like a V-shape with the sides having various shapes. In the center plate, features World on top, the TNA logo over a gold and red globe in center and Champion at the bottom. The first side plate next to the center on each side features World Champion in smaller print and globe in the center. The second side plate on each side is gold with TNA logo in the center. The third side plate on the right side features the Anthem logo in gold and red.
Overall, there have been 64 reigns shared among 39 wrestlers. The inaugural champion was Kurt Angle, who won the title by defeating Christian Cage and Sting in a three-way match on May 13, 2007, at TNA's Sacrifice event. Angle also holds the record for the most reigns, at six.[18]Josh Alexander's first reign is the shortest at three minutes, whereas his second reign is the longest at 335 days. Tessa Blanchard is the only woman to ever win the championship. The title has been vacated seven different times.[36]
Frankie Kazarian is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated previous championMike Santana on the November 13, 2025 episode ofTNA Impact! inOrlando, Florida.
The fans chanted for Christian and Angle said he is the new TNA champion.
Media related toWrestlers as the Impact World Champion at Wikimedia Commons| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | TNA Wrestling's top heavyweight championship 2007–present | Succeeded by Current |
