Last night’s episode of IMPACT Wrestling ended with an interesting turn of events, as Moose brought back the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and declared himself as the new world champion.
Night two of IMPACT’s Rebellion special was scheduled to feature IMPACT World Champion Tessa Blanchard defending her title in the main event, but the lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic forced a major shift in plans. Rebellion was supposed to feature Blanchard facing Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards, but with the match up in the air, Elgin said he wanted to be declared IMPACT Champion by default.
Elgin’s in-ring promo was interrupted by Moose, who came out wearing the TNA Championship around his waist. TNA original Hernandez also got involved, and the three had an impromptu title match… although the commentary team was clear in that the TNA title was defunct.
Moose speared Hernandez for the victory and while the belt isn’t being recognized by IMPACT (at least as we left the broadcast), Moose is calling himself the new World Champion and it looks like we might have a case of having two major titles in IMPACT, or an interim championship until Blanchard returns.
Related: Moose On How His Ring Name Has Defined His Brand, His Recent ‘Animal’ Battles On IMPACT (Exclusive)
Moose hadn’t had a title shot or a number one contender’s match in several months, with his last opportunity coming in a World Title #1 Contendership Gauntlet against Tessa Blanchard, Brian Cage, Daga, Michael Elgin and Rich Swann. When he spoke to Wrestlezone last month he said it wasn’t something that bothered him too much, responding that when he wanted something he could take the opportunity instead of asking.
“It’s not something that I’m losing sleep over. If I want a World Title shot, I could easily go get a World Title shot. There’s a lot of things that I’m trying to prove and build on, work on before I step back into that title picture.”
With Moose’s title win last night, he is now a three-time World Champion. You might ask how that is possible but Moose explained that his Grand Championship reigns share the same lineage as the current world title, so it’s really just a simple math equation.
“I’m going to do some math for you—see if you can follow. The IMPACT World Championship was merged with the Grand Championship, right? So they were merged together, making them one title, right? So technically, the Grand Championship is now the World title, right?” asked Moose. “Who is the longest-reigning IMPACT Grand Champion? Who has won the IMPACT Grand Championship the most times? So, wouldn’t that make me a two-time World Champion?”
“For them to say I’ve never been a champion is ridiculous because if [those two titles] were merged into one, then that means I’m a two-time World Champion. But nobody thinks about that,” said Moose. “It’s like with Ric Flair—he says he’s a sixteen-time World Champion. They don’t say he’s a 16-time “WWE Champion”, they say he’s a 16-time World Champion because they count it from WCW because it was [part of the lineage], right? So why is it not the same for this situation?”
RELATED: IMPACT Wrestling: Rebellion Night Two Results (4/28/20)
