Moose has a new challenger on the horizon.
The X-Division has been a dominant force ever since he beat Mike Bailey for the belt last year. But for the first time in his run, Moose’s challenger will be a former X-Division himself - Ace Austin. The circumstances surrounding the match were quite interesting; Austin was originally looking to challenge Nic Nemeth for the TNA World title, but Moose kept poking the bear and baited Ace Austin.
That’s when the former Santino Marella came out and made the match between Moose and Ace Austin official.
Moose is fresh off defending his belt against KUSHIDA. The 40-year-old will defend the X-Division title at Genesis for the sixth time as he’s also beaten Myron Reed, Laredo Kid, Jackson Drake, and Cody Deaner. Though Moose is still new in the X-Division, the champion has the advantage because he’s a former three-time world champion. That means Moose has faced a variety of opponents with different in-ring styles.
That doesn’t mean Austin should be counted out here. The 27-year-old has won the X-Division title three times; beating some of the best X-Division names throughout TNA and one of them includes Moose! It was a four-way match in 2019 where Austin successfully retained his belt against the current X-Division Champion, Eddie Edwards, and Fallah Bahh. This is the first time that these two will meet in a singles match for the X-Division title.
Though his sights were set to challenge Nic Nemeth for the TNA World title, should Ace Austin win then Option C is always available for the TNA star. It should be very interesting to see the in-ring dynamic between Ace Austin and Moose at Genesis. The X-Division Champion has been working hard to make sure that his title was seen as the most prestigious one in TNA.
Will his hard work come to an end on January 19th? We’ll find out at Genesis! Check out the updated line-up below:
- TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs. Joe Hendry
- TNA World Tag Team Championship: The Hardys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) (c) vs. The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel)
- TNA X-Division Championship: Moose (c) vs. Ace Austin