Frankie Kazarian believes he is up to the challenge of Ultimate X one more time.
Kazarian will challenge Speedball Mike Bailey for the X Division Championship at IMPACT Wrestling’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view on October 7. Speedball won the title in the most recent Ultimate X match while Kazarian competed in eight overall, including the first one in IMPACT history.
During a new interview with WrestleZone, Kazarian spoke about his history in the match and feels like he could still get a ninth Ultimate X match under his belt before he calls it quits.
“So those matches, they take their toll on you. I’ve been in pretty much every kind of match that there is. Ladder Wars, cage matches, all types of matches. Ultimate X certainly takes its toll on you, they have taken their toll on me,” Kazarian said. “I’ve been in some pretty brutal ones. There’s some pretty famous clips of me doing some pretty stupid things in those types of matches. Having said all that, I think I have one more left in me.
“There’s a scenario somewhere in my head where an Ultimate X match where kind of — a couple of guys from the old crop, the OG’s, and a couple of the guys from the new crop that are kicking ass in IMPACT Wrestling right now,” he added. “I think that could be special. Who knows, man. It’s wrestling and 2022 has taught us pretty much anything can and will happen, so who knows?”
Kazarian is 3 for 8 in his Ultimate X career, which is a solid win percentage but it still falls short of Chris Sabin’s 8 wins in 17 tries. Sabin was one of the other participants in the inaugural match with Kazarian (and Michael Shane / Matt Bentley). Kazarian looked back on that match from August 2003 and said he wears it with a badge of honor.
“[Chris Sabin is] hard to catch when it comes to title reigns and Ultimate X matches, and that’s because of his longevity in the company, God bless him. What a soldier he’s been for IMPACT Wrestling. That match in particular, that’s another thing that holds a special place in my heart,” Kazarian explained, “being as that I was in the first one and really went out there without a net, and it was cool to be part of a first. There’s not a whole lot of firsts in pro wrestling, but to be part of that and to be part of the first one and to see what it’s turned into today, it’s another badge of honor I wear.”
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