There was a major title change last night on Impact Wrestling. The main event saw X-Division Champion Rich Swann defend his title against Jake Crist. Swann is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He initially won the title back on January 9th, holding the belt for an impressive 194 days going into this defense. Crist is noted for his tag team with his brother Dave, with the two together known as oVe, which stands for Ohio Versus Everything. oVe has recently expanded to be led by fellow Ohio native Sami Callihan as well as Madman Fulton, aka former NXT wrestler Sawyer Fulton.
Crist would end up victorious after interference from his stable mates, making him the new X-Division champion. Swann had been an enemy of oVe’s for several months leading up to this victory. This marks Jake’s first singles title with Impact, and is perhaps his first major singles title ever.
Without a doubt, it’s the most significant he’s ever held.
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Swann’s title reign began when he won an Ultimate X match, defeating Crist as well as Ethan Page and Trey Miguel, to claim to vacant title. He proceeded to amass 11 defenses over the course of his X-Division title reign, in and outside of Impact. Swann defended against the likes of Flamita, Teddy Hart and oVe leader Sami Callihan himself. Rich Swann’s reign was the third longest in the championships’ history, four days behind second-place Tigre Uno. He was still over a hundred days away from the record holder Austin Aries, however.
This makes Crist the 42nd man to hold the X-Division title. The title was first won by AJ Styles back in 2002. The title has often been considered an important part of Impact’s identity, particularly in it’s early days. Through the many company re-brands and ownership changes, the championship has persisted.
