AND NEW! Rohit Raju is your new X Division Champion after winning the title on night one of IMPACT Wrestling’s Emergence special.
Rohit won the title in a triple threat match against TJP and (now former) champion Chris Bey, pinning the latter to win the match. The final moments of the match saw TJP place Bey in the tree of woe position before Rohit shoved him back and hit Bey with a double foot stomp for the win.
Innovative abdominal stretch driver by @MegaTJP. #Emergence pic.twitter.com/w8jSfeGMNF
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) August 19, 2020
This marks Rohit Raju’s first title win in IMPACT Wrestling; he previously competed for the promotion as Hakim Zane and won the Global Forged competition in 2017. Bey’s first and only championship reign in IMPACT ends at 31 days after winning the title last month at Slammiversary.
Related: TJP Says Winning The X Division Championship Would Put Him In ‘Amazing Company’
TJP spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of the Emergence special and said that Bey had been on his radar for awhile now but was quick to note that Raju shouldn’t be counted out either.
“I feel to that point that Rohit is the wild card in the match. I’ve thought for the past couple of years that he’s one of the more dynamic talents in wrestling in general, especially in IMPACT Wrestling where we’ve had one or two matches where we’ve faced off. I think his toolbox is pretty unique and he’s a bit of a heavy hitter for the X-Division too; people don’t realize that he’s a bit of a bruiser too.
I feel like Chris Bey is a supernova type. He’s been wrestling as long as my cup of coffee has been warm and he’s gone from the starting line to the major leagues so fast. I remember seeing him—he’s a Southwest region guy, LA, Vegas, that area—and I remember seeing him a year ago and telling him ‘you’re the guy I’m going to see at the next level down the road.’ This was when I was with WWE and sure enough, here we are a year later and this guy is blowing up. I think that he’s got a unique charisma about him and physical talent; he reminds me a lot of myself. He’s very sure of himself and he’s very confident—I’ll definitely rip his other arm off if he wants to protect the one—but I think that duo and having to be across from them that Rohit is a real wild card and he’s got such a unique toolbox.”
