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All eyes were on the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) X Division Championship on Thursday night as Leon Slater looked to retain the title over Cedric Alexander and cement himself as the longest-reigning X Division champion in company history.
Slater knew a legacy was at stake as he looked to break a record set by Austin Aries. But he needed to pin Alexander twice in one match to retain the title. It was a steep mountain to climb as Alexander had been just as dangerous since he joined the company.
The match started hot with Slater and Alexander trading blows to start the match. But the quick-thinking Slater rolled Alexander up quickly for the first fall.
Cedric Alexander in the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on September 23, 2025. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
Alexander was able to go on the offensive from there. He hit a nasty German suplex on the outside of the ring. He continued working on Slater’s crooked neck. He then performed a Lumbar Check to tie the match 1-1.
Slater dug deep into his bag. He hit an avalanche Styles Clash, which could have taken anyone down. However, Alexander was expelled. Alexander was able to counter Slater’s high-flying skills for only a moment and knocked him out of the ring.
Alexander sent Slater into the steel steps, leaving him wide open. Alexander declared that he would be the “best” champion of Division X. Once again, Alexander attempted to pin Slater, but was unable to take him down.
Alexander applied a Lumbar Check again, but Slater kicked him out. Slater summoned the last bit of energy. A tilt slam set Alexander up for a Swanton 450. Slater missed and Alexander hit another Lumbar Check, and then again.
Leon Slater enters the arena during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on January 6, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
Alexander pinned Slater for the victory, completely surprising the fans in Sacramento, California. It will be Alexander’s first reign and his first title of any kind in TNA.
Alexander is a reminder, at least for TNA, that “The System always wins.”
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Fabián Aichner appears
Fabian Aichner, formerly known as Giovanni Vinci, enters the ring during WWE SmackDown at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California on September 20, 2024. (WWE/Getty Images)
Moments before TNA went off the air, the lights went out at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Out of the darkness emerged Fabián Aichner.
Aichner glared at Alexander and appeared to name himself as the next challenger for the X Division Championship. Aichner, known as Giovanni Vinci for much of his WWE career, had not been seen or heard from in months since his departure from WWE.
Aichner wrestled under his real name for a time in WWE before returning as Vinci on June 22. He was in WWE until 2025. He was a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion and Evolve Champion before it became a WWE brand.
Eric Young earns a future shot at the TNA World Championship
Eric Young outlasted nine other men in an over-the-top battle royal and earned a shot at Mike Santana’s TNA World Championship to start the show.
The match boiled down between him and Elijah after the latter was able to kick members of The System out of the ring while also preventing Frankie Kazarian from attempting to return to the match following his own elimination.
Young and Elijah came to blows on the platform, knowing that as soon as their feet hit the ground, they would be eliminated. Young grabbed Elijah’s hair to try to hold on to the moment. Elijah broke away with his back to Young. Elijah, however, disregarded his broad stance.
The TNA original kicked Elijah in the groin and pushed him to the floor. Young won the match and received the opportunity to win the TNA World Championship in the future.
He also made it clear that Santana was next on his list of people to eliminate, as he did with Joe Hendry, EC3 and Ricky Sosa in past weeks.
“Mike Santana, you’re leaving now,” he declared.
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Mike Santana knows his next opponent
Mike Santana enters the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on September 30, 2025. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)
Mike Santana came out to address the crowd and praised Young for his efforts in helping build TNA from the ground up.
“You better come with something different because while you may be someone who helped build this place, when it comes to the new era of TNA on AMC, I’m the man. I’m the man. I’m the one who holds down the fort week in and week out as your TNA World Champion.”
While Young could have earned a title shot, Daria Rae came out and revealed to the crowd that Steve Maclin was cleared to return to action following an injury at the hands of Santana.
Maclin will get a shot at Santana’s TNA World Championship next week on “Impact.”
Santino Marella also came out during the segment after he was “suspended.” He revealed that Indi Harwell re-signed with TNA.
Rivalry between Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside intensifies
Xia Brookside attends the screening of “Freelance” at Regal Waterford Lakes in Orlando, Florida on October 24, 2023. (José Devillegas/Getty Images)
Lei Ying Lee brought the TNA Knockouts Championship home last week with a victory over Arianna Grace. She addressed the crowd before being interrupted by her former best friend, Xia Brookside.
Dressed all in black, Brookside claimed that she was already in Lei’s head.
“You are a fraud. I destroyed you mentally, I destroyed you emotionally, I destroyed you physically and that title will be around my waist.”
Both competitors threw profanities at each other before the segment ended. But Brookside made it clear he had his eyes on the title.
AJ Francis wins over KC Navarro
AJ Francis told Pak Gazette Digital before the SacTown street fight on “Impact” that he was going to cause pain to Navarro.
While wearing “Show Stealer” on his back, Francis did just that. Francis received some punishment from Navarro: a few shots with a baseball bat and a kick with a trash can.
Francis was able to turn the tide for a few moments, using the baseball bat to his advantage. But Navarro went deeper. He lined up six chairs in the ring, hoping to throw Francis through it. Instead, Francis responded and attempted an avalanche down payment. Somehow, Navarro responded with a cutter as both men crashed into the sea of chairs.
It seemed like it could have been like that. Navarro went for the pin, but only got a two count.
Francis turned on the heating from there. He took hold of Navarro and put a down payment on him through tables lining the outside of the ring.
He rolled Navarro back into the ring and earned the pinfall victory.
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Results of the match “Impact”
- Eric Young wins the 10-man battle royal to earn a shot at the TNA World Championship.
- AJ Francis defeated. KC Navarro in a SacTown street fight.
- Rosemary and Allie defeat. Veronica Crawford and Mila Moore
- Cedric Alexander defeated. Leon Slater to win the X Division Championship.
