The history of TNA/Impact Wrestling has seen their world title represented by some of the greatest wrestlers in the industry. Past legends like Sting and Mick Foley, tremendous talents like AJ Styles and Kurt Angle in their prime, and rebuilding projects like Bobby Lashley and Drew Galloway showed the hit list of names to hold that title.Cagematch is known as one of the best platforms to find general fan ratings for the overall matches that took place. TNA obviously had many great matches for the world title given the talent they had and longevity of the company. Each of the following matches received the highest ratings on Cagematch with the TNA World Championship on the line.
10 Kurt Angle Vs Christian Cage Vs Rhino (Impact: June 19, 2007): 8.36
TNA had a unique idea to have one match fill their entire television episode of Impact in the summer of 2007. Kurt Angle had feuds going with both Christian Cage and Rhino to put the TNA World Championship on the line.
The concept was to have a great match run the entire show to get some buzz for the taped episode. Cagematch rated the triple threat a strong 8.36, and it received rave reviews at the time. Angle defeated his rivals to continue his title reign in grand fashion.
9 Bobby Lashley Vs Eddie Edwards (Genesis 2017): 8.50
The TNA tenure of Bobby Lashley helped him improve and become a main event talent before his WWE return. Lashley had the best matches of his career as the TNA World Champion, and it was further shown here in an Iron Man match with Eddie Edwards.
The match took placed on the Genesis 2017 special episode of Impact with the biggest prize in the company on the line. Lashley scored a 3-2 victory over Edwards in thirty minutes of action. Cagematch readers rated the match an 8.50 for one of the strongest TNA title matches ever.
8 Brian Cage Vs Michael Elgin (Slammiversary 2019): 8.58
The recent rebranding to Impact Wrestling started in 2019 with Scott D’Amore and Don Callis signing new talents. Brian Cage and Michael Elgin each joined the company in main event roles after their prior success in other promotions.
The Slammiversary 2019 match for the TNA World Championship received a strong 8.58 rating. Cage defeated Elgin in a fun match between two hosses exchanging power moves. The duo used to team in PWG and used their chemistry as opponents this time.
7 Kurt Angle Vs Christian Cage Vs Samoa Joe Vs AJ Styles Vs Chris Harris (Slammiversary 2007): 8.60
The King of the Mountain ladder match became too confusing with the reverse rules of having to hang the belt to win along with needing pins and the use of a penalty box. However, one match showed that the wrestlers could still have a classic through it all.
Kurt Angle won the vacant TNA World Championship over the fellow main eventers of Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, Chris Harris and AJ Styles. All five wrestlers brought their A-Game for an all-time great TNA match receiving an 8.60 rating on Cagematch.
6 Kenny Omega Vs Sami Callihan (Slammiversary 2021): 8.61
Impact Wrestling recently used their working relationship with AEW to help boost the company’s reputation. Kenny Omega becoming the Impact World Champion led to business booming with more PPV buy rates for his big title defenses.
Cagematch gave Omega’s match vs Sami Callihan his highest rating in Impact with an 8.61. Callihan representing Impact saw him falling short of bringing the title back home. Omega had an outstanding 2021 with classic matches for both AEW and Impact as the top champ.
5 AJ Styles Vs Kurt Angle (Impact: January 4, 2010): 8.61
The first episode of Impact TV under the Hulk Hogan era saw them starting off with a banger of a main event. AJ Styles defended the TNA World Championship over Kurt Angle in a classic match that closed the show strong.
There was criticism for almost every other segment that night, but Styles and Angle showed new viewers the best of what TNA had to offer. Cagematch rated the match an 8.61 as the greatest TNA World Championship match to come on free television.
4 Jeff Hardy Vs Austin Aries (Turning Point 2012): 8.70
The short rivalry between Jeff Hardy and Austin Aries for the TNA World Championship closed 2012 strong. Hardy won the title one month defending it in a ladder match against Aries at Turning Point 2012.
The combination of Jeff and a ladder match is almost always to create a spectacle. Aries and Hardy delivered a great match to receive an 8.70 rating on Cagematch. The win for Jeff helped his redemption story over a year after the embarrassing moment showing up intoxicated against Sting.
3 AJ Styles Vs Christopher Daniels (Final Resolution 2009): 8.75
The rivalry between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels is arguably the greatest in TNA history. Styles and Daniels have had great chemistry from the X-Division classics to their tag run together to even main eventing PPVs for the TNA World Championship.
Final Resolution 2009 saw Styles retaining the title over Daniels in another classic match. The 8.75 Cagematch rating showed that fans loved seeing them battle for the top prize. This match represented a fun time for TNA on the PPV before Hulk Hogan took over and drastically changed everything.
2 Austin Aries Vs Bobby Roode (Destination X 2012): 8.85
Austin Aries is essentially blacklisted from most major promotions today, but he was once viewed as a great talent. The peak of Aries’ career featured him trading in the X-Division Championship for a world title shot against Bobby Roode.
Destination X 2012 saw the two wrestlers telling a great story of the underdog Aries ending the longest world title reign in TNA history from Roode. Cagematch rated it an impressive 8.85 as the second-best TNA World Championship match ever.
1 AJ Styles Vs Samoa Joe Vs Christopher Daniels (Turning Point 2009): 9.35
TNA was guaranteed a great match any time the trio of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels faced off. Their five-star match for the X-Division Championship was the standard, but they also had the greatest TNA World Championship of all-time.
Styles defeated Joe and Daniels in a main event classic at Turning Point 2009. The win for AJ cemented him as the top dog in TNA and the other two reminded the audience they belonged in the main event. Cagematch gave the triple threat an outstanding 9.35 rating as easily the best to have that title on the line.