TheTNA World Championship[1] is aprofessional wrestlingworld heavyweight championship owned by thepromotionTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). From June 2002 to May 2007, TNA used theNWA World Heavyweight Championship as their primary championship as part of an agreement with theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA). On May 13, 2007, the NWA abruptly ended the arrangement and retrieved control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.[2] On the same night, TNA were set to host their annualSacrificepay-per-view event, in which the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was to be defended by then-championChristian Cage againstKurt Angle andSting in athree-way match. Angle won the match and on the following episode of TNA's television programImpact! on May 17, was declared the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion.[3][4] He was stripped of the championship later in the program, withManagement DirectorJim Cornette citing a problematic finish to the title match.[5] The ownership of the championship was decided on June 17, 2007, at TNA'sSlammiversary event in aKing of the Mountain match involving Angle and Cage along withA.J. Styles,Chris Harris andSamoa Joe, which Angle won.[6]

Despite the championship being primarily contested for by male wrestlers, it was once won by a woman,Tessa Blanchard. Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won via a scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of astoryline. Reigns that began onImpact Wrestling usually air ontape delay and as such are listed with the day the tapings occurred, rather than the air date. Angle holds the record for most reigns, with six. At 335 days,Josh Alexander's second reign is the longest in the title's history. Alexander's first reign holds the record for shortest reign in the title's history at only a few minutes. Overall, there have been 64 reigns shared among 39 wrestlers, with seven vacancies.
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| TNA World Heavyweight Championship | May 13, 2007 – March 1, 2017 |
| Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship | March 2, 2017 – July 2, 2017 |
| Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship | July 2, 2017 - August 17, 2017 |
| GFW Global Championship | August 17, 2017 - September 18, 2017 |
| Impact Global Championship | September 18, 2017 - January 10, 2018 |
| Impact World Championship | January 10, 2018 - March 13, 2021 |
| Impact Unified World Championship | March 13, 2021 - March 16, 2021 |
| Impact World Championship | March 16, 2021 - January 13, 2024 |
| TNA World Championship | January 13, 2024 – present |
For a list of world champions in TNA between 2002 and 2007, see thelist of NWA World Heavyweight Champions.
As of November 21, 2025.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | |||||||
| Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) | |||||||||||
| 1 | Kurt Angle | May 13, 2007 | Sacrifice | Orlando, FL | 1 | 1 | Angle defeated formerNWA ChampionChristian Cage andSting in athree-way match.NWA had stripped Cage of the title earlier that day. After the matchup Kurt Angle was given the rights of being crowned the title of being the inaugural TNA World Heavyweight Champion due to NWA’s agreement with TNA ending that exact day later that night. | [3][7][8] | |||
| — | Vacated | May 14, 2007 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | — | — | Angle was stripped of the championship due to a double-fall result of the three-way match atSacrifice. This episode aired ontape delay on May 17, 2007 | [4][5][7] | |||
| 2 | Kurt Angle | June 17, 2007 | Slammiversary | Nashville, TN | 2 | 119 | This was aKing of the Mountain match also involvingA.J. Styles,Chris Harris,Christian Cage andSamoa Joe. After the event, Angle's reign and the vacancy were no longer recognized and thus is viewed to be the start of the title's history. TNA counted Angle's previous reign to his credit without detailing why, giving loose recognition towards that reign. | [6][9] | |||
| 3 | Sting | October 14, 2007 | Bound for Glory | Duluth, GA | 1 | 2 | [10][11] | ||||
| 4 | Kurt Angle | October 16, 2007 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 3 | 180 | This episode aired ontape delay on October 25, 2007. | [12][13] | |||
| 5 | Samoa Joe | April 13, 2008 | Lockdown | Lowell, MA | 1 | 182 | This was asix sides of steel cagetitle vs. career match. | [14][15] | |||
| 6 | Sting | October 12, 2008 | Bound for Glory IV | Hoffman Estates, IL | 2 | 189 | This was ano countout match. | [16][17] | |||
| 7 | Mick Foley | April 19, 2009 | Lockdown | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 63 | This was asix sides of steel cage match. | [18][19] | |||
| 8 | Kurt Angle | June 21, 2009 | Slammiversary | Auburn Hills, MI | 4 | 91 | This was aKing of the Mountain match also involvingA.J. Styles,Jeff Jarrett andSamoa Joe. | [20][21] | |||
| 9 | A.J. Styles | September 20, 2009 | No Surrender | Orlando, FL | 1 | 211 | This was afive-way match also involving Hernandez,Matt Morgan andSting. | [22][23] | |||
| 10 | Rob Van Dam | April 19, 2010 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 113 | [24][25] | ||||
| — | Vacated | August 10, 2010 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | — | — | The championship was vacated due toRob Van Dam suffering astoryline injury. This episode aired ontape delay on August 19, 2010. | [26][27] | |||
| 11 | Jeff Hardy | October 10, 2010 | Bound for Glory | Daytona Beach, FL | 1 | 91 | Hardy defeatedKurt Angle andMr. Anderson in athree-waytournament final to win the vacant title. Per the pre-match stipulation, Angle (in storyline) was forced to retire. | [28][29] | |||
| 12 | Mr. Anderson | January 9, 2011 | Genesis | Orlando, FL | 1 | 35 | [30][31] | ||||
| 13 | Jeff Hardy | February 13, 2011 | Against All Odds | Orlando, FL | 2 | 11 | This was aladder match. | [32][33] | |||
| 14 | Sting | February 24, 2011 | Impact! | Fayetteville, NC | 3 | 108 | This episode aired ontape delay on March 3, 2011. On the May 3, 2011 tapings ofTNA Impact it was announced that TNA will be re-branded asImpact Wrestling. A day prior TNA purchased the website impactwrestling.com (The episode aired on May 12, 2011 on atape delay.) | [34][35][36][37] | |||
| Impact Wrestling | |||||||||||
| 15 | Mr. Anderson | June 12, 2011 | Slammiversary IX | Orlando, FL | 2 | 29 | [38][39] | ||||
| 16 | Sting | July 11, 2011 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 4 | 27 | This episode aired ontape delay on July 14, 2011. | [40][41] | |||
| 17 | Kurt Angle | August 7, 2011 | Hardcore Justice | Orlando, FL | 5 | 72 | [42][43] | ||||
| 18 | James Storm | October 18, 2011 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 8 | This episode aired ontape delay on October 20, 2011. | [44][45] | |||
| 19 | Bobby Roode | October 26, 2011 | Impact! | Macon, GA | 1 | 256 | This episode aired ontape delay on November 3, 2011. | [46][47] | |||
| 20 | Austin Aries | July 8, 2012 | Destination X | Orlando, FL | 1 | 98 | Aries voluntarily vacated theX Division Championship in exchange for a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match at the event. | [48][49] | |||
| 21 | Jeff Hardy | October 14, 2012 | Bound for Glory | Phoenix, AZ | 3 | 147 | [50][51] | ||||
| 22 | Bully Ray | March 10, 2013 | Lockdown | San Antonio, TX | 1 | 130 | This was asteel cage match. | [52][53] | |||
| 23 | Chris Sabin | July 18, 2013 | Impact: Destination X | Louisville, KY | 1 | 28 | Sabin voluntarily vacated theX Division Championship in exchange for a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match at the event. | [54] | |||
| 24 | Bully Ray | August 15, 2013 | Impact: Hardcore Justice | Norfolk, VA | 2 | 66 | This was asteel cage match. | [55] | |||
| 25 | A.J. Styles | October 20, 2013 | Bound for Glory | San Diego, CA | 2 | 9 | This was ano disqualification match. | [56] | |||
| — | Vacated | October 29, 2013 | — | — | — | — | TNA PresidentDixie Carter announced viaTwitter thatA.J. Styles had been stripped of the championship due to a contract dispute. Styles continued to carry around the championship belt proclaiming himself champion in the storyline. | [57] | |||
| 26 | Magnus | December 3, 2013 | Impact: Final Resolution | Orlando, FL | 1 | 128 | DefeatedJeff Hardy in atournament final to win the vacant title. This was aDixieland match which aired ontape delay on December 19, 2013. On the January 9, 2014 episode ofImpact Wrestling (taped December 6, 2013),A.J. Styles returned claiming to be the legitimate TNA World Heavyweight Champion as he was never defeated for the championship (though not recognized as such by TNA). Magnus defeated him later that night to become the undisputed champion. | [58] | |||
| 27 | Eric Young | April 10, 2014 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 70 | IfMagnus had been counted out or disqualified, he would have lost the title. If anyone had interfered in the match, they would have been fired. | [59] | |||
| 28 | Lashley | June 19, 2014 | Impact! | Bethlehem, PA | 1 | 91 | If anyone besidesMVP orKenny King had interfered, they would have been fired. | [60] | |||
| 29 | Bobby Roode | September 18, 2014 | Impact! | Bethlehem, PA | 2 | 111 | This episode aired ontape delay on October 29, 2014.Kurt Angle was thespecial guest referee. | [61] | |||
| 30 | Lashley | January 7, 2015 | Impact! | New York, NY | 2 | 24 | [62] | ||||
| 31 | Kurt Angle | January 31, 2015 | Impact! | London,England | 6 | 145 | This episode aired ontape delay on March 20, 2015. | [63] | |||
| 32 | Ethan Carter III | June 25, 2015 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 101 | This episode aired ontape delay on July 1, 2015. | [64] | |||
| 33 | Matt Hardy | October 4, 2015 | Bound for Glory | Concord, NC | 1 | 2 | This was athree-way match also involvingDrew Galloway who Matt pinned.Jeff Hardy was thespecial guest referee. | [65] | |||
| — | Vacated | October 6, 2015 | — | — | — | — | Vacated due to a legal injunction filed by Ethan Carter III as part of the storyline. | [66] | |||
| 34 | Ethan Carter III | January 5, 2016 | Impact! | Bethlehem, PA | 2 | 3 | Carter III defeatedMatt Hardy in the finals of theTNA World Title Series to win the vacant title. | [67] | |||
| 35 | Matt Hardy | January 8, 2016 | Impact! | Bethlehem, PA | 2 | 67 | This was alast man standing match. Had Hardy not won, he would have left TNA. This episode aired ontape delay on January 19, 2016. | [68] | |||
| 36 | Drew Galloway | March 15, 2016 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 89 | Galloway invoked hisFeast or Fired championship opportunity to challengeMatt Hardy for the championship and win the title. | [69][70] | |||
| 37 | Lashley | June 12, 2016 | Slammiversary | Orlando, FL | 3 | 113 | This was a knockout or tapout only match. On July 13, 2016, Lashley also won theTNA X Division Championship defeating then-championEddie Edwards in a title vs. titlesteel cage match. On August 11, 2016, Lashley also won theTNA King of the Mountain Championship by defeating then-championJames Storm in atitle vs. titles match. The following day, Lashley retired the TNA King of the Mountain Championship and vacated the X Division Championship. | [71] | |||
| 38 | Eddie Edwards | October 3, 2016 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 97 | This episode aired ontape delay on October 6, 2016. | [72][73] | |||
| 39 | Lashley | January 8, 2017 | Impact: Genesis | Orlando, FL | 4 | 175 | This was a 30-minuteIron Man match. This episode aired ontape delay on January 26, 2017. On March 2, 2017, the championship was renamed to the Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship following the renaming of the promotion. | [74][75] | |||
| Global Force Wrestling (GFW) | |||||||||||
| 40 | Alberto El Patrón | July 2, 2017 | Slammiversary XV | Orlando, FL | 1 | 43 | This was aunification match to unify the Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship and theoriginal GFW Global Championship. The championship was renamed to the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship. | [76] | |||
| — | Vacated | August 14, 2017 | — | — | — | — | Vacated due toAlberto El Patrón's suspension. | [77] | |||
| 41 | Eli Drake | August 17, 2017 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 146 | This was a 20-man Gauntlet for the Gold match. Drake pinnedEddie Edwards to win the match once they were the last two wrestlers. The championship took the GFW Global Championship name, while retaining the TNA World Heavyweight Championship history. On August 24, 2017, the championship was renamed the "Impact Global Championship" (aired ontape delay on September 18, 2017). | [78] | |||
| Impact Wrestling | |||||||||||
| 42 | Austin Aries | January 10, 2018 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 2 | 102 | This episode aired ontape delay on February 1, 2018. During his reign, the championship took the Impact World Championship name. | [79] | |||
| 43 | Pentagón Jr. | April 22, 2018 | Redemption | Orlando, FL | 1 | 2 | This was athree-way match also involvingFénix. | [80] | |||
| 44 | Austin Aries | April 24, 2018 | Impact! Under Pressure | Orlando, FL | 3 | 173 | This episode aired ontape delay on May 31, 2018. Aries unified the Impact World Championship with theImpact Grand Championship. | ||||
| 45 | Johnny Impact | October 14, 2018 | Bound for Glory | New York, NY | 1 | 196 | [81] | ||||
| 46 | Brian Cage | April 28, 2019 | Rebellion | Toronto, ON | 1 | 180 | Lance Storm was thespecial guest referee. | [82] | |||
| 47 | Sami Callihan | October 25, 2019 | Impact! | Windsor, ON | 1 | 79 | This was asteel cage match. The episode aired ontape delay on October 29, 2019. | [83] | |||
| 48 | Tessa Blanchard | January 12, 2020 | Hard to Kill | Dallas, TX | 1 | 165 | Blanchard became the first woman to hold the championship. | [84] | |||
| — | Vacated | June 25, 2020 | — | — | — | — | After a period of inactivity during which Blanchard missed multiple tapings due toCOVID-19-related travel restrictions, her contract was terminated by Impact Wrestling and she was stripped of the title. | [85] | |||
| 49 | Eddie Edwards | July 18, 2020 | Slammiversary | Nashville, TN | 2 | 28 | This was afive-way elimination match also involvingAce Austin,Trey,Rich Swann, andEric Young. | [86] | |||
| 50 | Eric Young | August 15, 2020 | Impact! | Nashville, TN | 2 | 70 | The episode aired ontape delay on September 1, 2020. | [87] | |||
| 51 | Rich Swann | October 24, 2020 | Bound for Glory | Nashville, TN | 1 | 183 | AtSacrifice on March 13, 2021, Swann defeatedMoose to unify theTNA World Heavyweight Championship, which was officially sanctioned as a separate title, with the Impact World Championship. The TNA title was deactivated while the Impact title became briefly known as the Impact Unified World Championship before reverting to Impact World Championship. | [88] | |||
| 52 | Kenny Omega | April 25, 2021 | Rebellion | Nashville, TN | 1 | 110 | This was aWinner Takes All match in which Omega also defended theAEW World Championship. | [89] | |||
| 53 | Christian Cage | August 13, 2021 | Rampage | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | 71 | This was anAll Elite Wrestling event. | [90] | |||
| 54 | Josh Alexander | October 23, 2021 | Bound for Glory | Sunrise Manor, NV | 1 | <1 | Alexander voluntarily vacated theX Division Championship in exchange for an Impact World Championship match at the event. | [91] | |||
| 55 | Moose | October 23, 2021 | Bound for Glory | Sunrise Manor, NV | 1 | 182 | Moose invoked hisCall Your Shot Gauntlet championship privilege he earned at the event. | [91] | |||
| 56 | Josh Alexander | April 23, 2022 | Rebellion | Poughkeepsie, NY | 2 | 335 | [92] | ||||
| — | Vacated | March 24, 2023 | Impact! | Windsor, ON | — | — | Vacated due to Josh Alexander requiring surgery for a torn triceps. This episode aired ontape delay on April 6, 2023. | [93] | |||
| 57 | Steve Maclin | April 16, 2023 | Rebellion | Toronto,ON | 1 | 54 | DefeatedKushida to win the vacant championship. | [94] | |||
| 58 | Alex Shelley | June 9, 2023 | Against All Odds | Columbus, OH | 1 | 218 | During this reign, the name of the company was reverted back to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). | [95] | |||
| Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) | |||||||||||
| 59 | Moose | January 13, 2024 | Hard To Kill | Paradise, NV | 2 | 189 | Moose invoked hisFeast or Fired world title opportunity. | [96] | |||
| 60 | Nic Nemeth | July 20, 2024 | Slammiversary | Montreal,QC | 1 | 183 | This was aSix-way elimination match also involvingJosh Alexander,Steve Maclin,Joe Hendry, andFrankie Kazarian, who Nemeth lastly pinned. | [97] | |||
| 61 | Joe Hendry | January 19, 2025 | Genesis | Garland, TX | 1 | 126 | [98] | ||||
| 62 | Trick Williams | May 25, 2025 | NXT Battleground | Tampa, FL | 1 | 140 | This was aWWENXT event. | [99] | |||
| 63 | Mike Santana | October 12, 2025 | Bound for Glory | Lowell, MA | 1 | 32 | [100] | ||||
| 64 | Frankie Kazarian | November 13, 2025 | Impact! | Orlando, FL | 1 | 8+ | Kazarian invoked hisCall Your Shot Gauntlet championship privilege he co-won withNic Nemeth. | [101] | |||
As of November 21, 2025.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurt Angle | 6 | 608 |
| 2 | Lashley | 4 | 403 |
| 3 | Austin Aries | 3 | 373 |
| 4 | Moose | 2 | 371 |
| 5 | Bobby Roode | 2 | 367 |
| 6 | Josh Alexander | 2 | 335 |
| 7 | Sting | 4 | 326 |
| 8 | Jeff Hardy | 3 | 249 |
| 9 | A.J. Styles | 2 | 220 |
| 10 | Alex Shelley | 1 | 218 |
| 11 | Bully Ray | 2 | 196 |
| Johnny Impact | 1 | ||
| 13 | Nic Nemeth | 1 | 183 |
| Rich Swann | 1 | ||
| 15 | Samoa Joe | 1 | 182 |
| 16 | Brian Cage | 1 | 180 |
| 17 | Tessa Blanchard | 1 | 165 |
| 18 | Eli Drake | 1 | 146 |
| 19 | Eric Young | 2 | 140 |
| Trick Williams | 1 | 140 | |
| 21 | Magnus | 1 | 128 |
| 22 | Joe Hendry | 1 | 126 |
| 23 | Eddie Edwards | 2 | 125 |
| 24 | Rob Van Dam | 1 | 113 |
| 25 | Kenny Omega | 1 | 110 |
| 26 | Ethan Carter III | 2 | 104 |
| 27 | Drew Galloway | 1 | 89 |
| 28 | Sami Callihan | 1 | 79 |
| 29 | Christian Cage | 1 | 71 |
| 30 | Matt Hardy | 2 | 69 |
| 31 | Mr. Anderson | 2 | 64 |
| 32 | Mick Foley | 1 | 63 |
| 33 | Steve Maclin | 1 | 54 |
| 34 | Alberto El Patrón | 1 | 43 |
| 35 | Mike Santana | 1 | 32 |
| 36 | Chris Sabin | 1 | 28 |
| 37 | Frankie Kazarian † | 1 | 8+ |
| 38 | James Storm | 1 | 8 |
| 39 | Pentagón Jr. | 1 | 2 |
Mike Tenay and Don West hyped the show as the TNA Champion, Kurt Angle, made his way to the ring. Angle talked about finally winning the gold.
The fans chanted for Christian and Angle said he is the new TNA champion.