At Impact Wrestling’s event Over Drive, Trey Miguel defeated Black Taurus in the finals of the X Division Title tournament to become the latest wrestler to hold the prestigious title. During the course of the match, Trey Miguel turned heel which enabled him to secure the victory over Black Taurus and walk out of the match as champion. This is the second time Trey Miguel has held the X Division title.
Now that Trey Miguel has turned heel and seems poised for a lengthy title run, we need to think who his next challengers will be. Potential names that come to mind are the usual suspects – Mike Bailey, Kenny King, Rich Swann, Crazzy Steve, Ace Austin, Chris Bey etc. Each one of these names have either held the X Division title or had past shots at the championship. While Chris Bey and Ace Austin are great options, its a good bet they will be a fixture in the Impact Wrestling depleted tag team division.
There’s new signee Alan Angels but he has joined Violent by Design and is a fellow heel. It appears at this moment, Violent By Design is what he will be concentrating on. In addition, Angels lost to Trey Miguel in the X Division Tournament prior to joining Violent by Design. I’m not saying he won’t want another X Division title shot (he challenged then champion Mike Bailey unsuccessfully), but its unlikely at this moment.
The X Division would greatly benefit if they pushed a few new names as legitimate challengers for the X Division Title. So with that said, who can be built into the next stars of the X Division? Well, Impact Wrestling have three talents on their current roster right now that have the potential to be those stars.
Let’s examine the three names that I think could be molded into legitimate challengers to the X Division Title:
The first name on my list is Aiden Prince. Aiden Prince is a tremendous talent who signed with Impact Wrestling earlier in the year. He is very active on the indy scene right now and proves himself to be a potential star in each and every match. Aiden Prince currently holds the Destiny Wrestling World title with a big upcoming defense against Blake Christian.
Aiden Prince actually made a number of appearance for Impact Wrestling in 2018 and 2019. He even had a shot at then X Division champion Jake Crist. Many people, myself included, thought he was going to get signed after that match. When Prince finally signed with Impact Wrestling in 2022, I became very excited. I felt Prince, who had been paying his dues on the indy scene for a long time, was finally getting the opportunity he deserved. But since he signed he has had only a handful of matches, losing all of them and hasn’t been seen in an Impact Wrestling ring since July 2022. Prince did recently appear on an Impact Insiders YouTube match against Serpentico but that was contested for Greektown Wrestling.
To be honest, I really feel Impact Wrestling is dropping the ball with Aiden Prince. He has future star potential who can become a huge asset for the X Division. If they gave Prince a little push he would deliver big time for Impact Wrestling. If Impact Wrestling let Aiden Prince loose to do his thing, he would become a fan favorite very fast. Prince could get in there and have incredible matches with Mike Bailey, Rich Swann, Alan Angels and, of course, current X Division champion Trey Miguel.
During the recently held X Division Title Tournament, Impact Wrestling brought in PJ Black to be one of the participants. I thought this was a mistake. Why bring in a non contracted individual who was going to be gone from the promotion when he was eliminated from the tournament? This was the perfect opportunity to use and showcase Aiden Prince. Unfortunately, Impact Wrestling thought PJ Black was the better option. Now PJ Black is gone and Aiden Prince is still sitting on the outside looking in.
Hopefully in 2023, Impact Wrestling will decide to give Aiden Prince a real opportunity to become the star he has the talent to be. Aiden Prince has the potential to become a terrific X Division star and champion.
The second name on my list is Jason Hotch. Hotch earned a contract with Impact Wrestling by winning the 2022 Gut Check tournament. Jason Hotch is a regular on the indy scene wrestling for numerous promotions including Metro Pro Wrestling and Insane Wrestling Revolution. In 2021, he appeared on AEW Dark a number of times.
For Impact Wrestling, Hotch has appeared in 5 matches. Personally, I really took notice following his match with Yuya Uemura. I thought he was very good in that match. His skill set was impressive as was his timing. Despite losing to Uemura, I think many Impact Wrestling fans took notice and saw the potential in Jason Hotch.
The match in which, in my opinion, Jason Hotch became a blue chip prospect was the six way scramble match at the countdown to Over Drive. That match placed Hotch in there with top stars Rich Swann, Mike Bailey and Kenny King plus Bhupinder Gujjar and Yuya Uemura. For Hotch to be able to make a statement, he was going to have to bring his A+ game to the match. He did just that. You could argue that Jason Hotch gave a standout performance in that encounter. Many fans on social media showered him praise. Hotch proved he belonged in that ring with the other 5 wrestlers in the six way scramble.
I am hoping the powers that be have taken notice of Jason Hotch and have big plans for him in 2023. I would love to see him step into the ring for a one on one match against Rich Swann or Trey Miguel and really be tested in the ring. I have no doubt he would pass with flying colours.
The 3rd and final name on my list is someone I’ve mentioned already in this article – Yuya Uemura. Let’s clear one thing up that has caused confusion to some fans on social media. Yuya Uemura is not signed to Impact Wrestling, he is signed to NJPW. He is in the US on excursion and will be returning to Japan once his excursion ends. I do believe Impact Wrestling has become his main excursion promotion and we will be seeing Yuya in Impact regularly throughout 2023 into 2024.
That being said, Yuya Uemura is going to be a superstar. He has all the tools and dedication to make it happen. Impact Wrestling is very lucky to have Uemura at this stage of his career. He is already an incredible talent and he’s only going to get better and better. Impact Wrestling should take full advantage of having Uemura on it’s roster. Impact must not drag their feet with Uemura because their time with him is limited.
In addition to Impact Wrestling Yuya Uemura has appeared on NJPW STRONG and AEW in 2022. He holds big wins in Impact over Kenny King, Raj Singh and Andrew Everett. In each and every match Uemura is in, you can see that he has the IT factor. In October of 2021 he had an incredible match with Josh Alexander. for NJPW STRONG. That match proved just how good he is and he has gotten even better since.
I think he is ready to step in there right now and be a legitimate challenger for Trey Miguel and the X Division title. I really believe Miguel and Uemura could tear the house down. Given that he will be heading back to Japan once NJPW feels he is ready, Impact Wrestling should make plans to start pushing Uemura right away and inject him into the X Division Title picture. I don’t want to see Uemura get stuck in a tag team with Delirious which seems to be the way Impact may be heading. Impact Wrestling needs to present Yuya Uemura like the star he is now and the superstar he will become.
There you have it, Aiden Prince, Jason Hotch and Yuya Uemura. Three potential stars on their roster right now that they should be showcasing and pushing on regular basis in 2023 to be the next stars of the X Division.
Lewis Carlan can be found on twitter at @ShootingUpNorth and his YouTube channel Alliance Pro Wrestling Network
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