Leon Slater reveals when TNA planned his X Division title win.
In a recent interview with Cultaholic, Slater revealed that TNA had planned his title win for nearly a year. Talks began around September 2024, shortly after he turned 20. He told the TNA team that he wanted to chase the record of becoming the youngest X Division Champion.
“They actually started quite a while back. This is probably like a year ago, the conversations maybe started in like September 2024 because my birthday is in September. When I turned 20, I was saying to the team at TNA like, ‘Hey, I’d really like to pursue trying to be the youngest X-Division Champion of all time.’ And this was like for real, because I’m the first person that’s actually had a chance to do it since [Amazing] Red did it 20 years ago,” Slater explained.
“So it was a real possibility to make history and I think that was super intriguing to the team. And then, obviously, as the months and weeks have gone by and I’ve started to do more stuff with The Hardys and almost proved myself to be reliable, more than just a cool move and athletic manoeuvres.”
He added TNA team saw the potential in Slater’s title when he worked with The Hardy Boyz. “As we started to develop, I think the team realised I was getting more and more ready for an opportunity like this, and when the time came to making the matches for Slammiversary, I think they wanted to make some history. So we went and made the match, and I made it happen on Sunday.”
The plan came into fruition at TNA Slammiversary when Slater made history by becoming the youngest X Division Champion. His win felt even bigger when WWE Superstar and TNA legend AJ Styles showed up to celebrate with him.
Read More: Leon Slater Wants Match With AJ Styles, ‘Had No Clue’ About TNA Slammiversary Surprise
