Option C is a good thing, at least Kurt Angle thinks so.
Option C was initiated by Austin Aries in 2012, allowing anyone who carries the IMPACT Wrestling X-Division Title to cash in that championship for an opportunity at the IMPACT World Championship.
Kurt Angle was a former X-Division Champion but never needed that title in order to try and earn an opportunity at the World Championship. Speaking about Option C during a recent episode of his podcast – The Kurt Angle Show – Kurt Angle admits that he was a fan of the Option C initiative as it allowed new stars to make the jump into the World Championship picture.
“I liked Option C. I think it did help the X-Division. There are guys there that deserved to be in the main event and heavyweight division and never got there. You look at AJ [Styles], Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe, the history is so long with the X-Division, and they parlayed over to the heavyweight division, but after those guys, not many X-Division guys came out and went to the heavyweight division. So I think that really helped the X-Division by having Option C,” said Kurt.
H/T Robert DeFelice from Fightful. Full article here.
The latest person to win the X Division Title was Frankie Kazarian, who defeated Mike Bailey at last years Bound for Glory Pay Per View.
Frankie would then go on to relinquish the X Division Title on the October 20th episode of IMPACTonAXSTV. This allowed Frankie an automatic shot at the IMPACT World Title, which was held by Josh Alexander. Frankie would be given his title shot at the company’s next LIVE event, Overdrive, which took place on Friday, November 18th, 2022. Although it was a failed attempt, Frankie put forth a great effort.
Chris Sabin is currently the IMPACT X Division Champion, and is slated to defend against Lio Rush at Slammiversary.
Sabin’s best friend and tag team partner, Alex Shelley, is the World Champion. He defends against Nick Aldis at Slammiversary.
It would certainly be an interesting dynamic if both men retained their respective titles and then Chris Sabin used option C in an attempt to capture the IMPACT World Title for another reign with the top prize.
We’ll have to keep watching to see how things play out.
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