TNA Impact Wrestling has had a rocky road since its inception in 2002. It started as a weekly PPV under the NWA banner that occurred on Wednesday nights as Jeff Jarrett tried to help replace WCW for fans who didn't want to watch WWE become a monopoly in professional wrestling.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling soon received a TV contract and shed the NWA attachments to create its own TNA World Heavyweight Championship in 2007, five years after the promotion launched. That title was one of the top world titles in North America until this day, despite changes in ownership, name, and creative control. Without further ado, here is a look at the 10 most unlikely TNA World Champions, from its launch in 2007 until it changed into the Impact World Championship in 2017.
10 EDDIE EDWARDS (2016)
In some interesting trivia, the last man to hold the TNA World Championship before it morphed into the Impact World Championship was Eddie Edwards. This was a shocking win, as before this, Edwards was just a tag team wrestler in TNA with Davey Richards. However, on an episode of Impact in October 2016, Edwards shocked the world when he beat Bobby Lashley for the title.
9 BULLY RAY (2013)
For years, Bubba Ray Dudley was one of the best tag team wrestlers in the world. While his contemporaries in Edge, Christian, Jeff Hardy, and Matt Hardy all moved on to successful singles careers, The Dudley Boyz did not. WWE tried to make them top stars on their own, but it never worked. That changed in TNA when Bully Ray made the unlikely move to the top as a world champion when he beat Jeff Hardy, of all people, at Lockdown 2013 in a steel cage match.
8 MATT HARDY (2015)
Matt Hardy was one of the top tag team wrestlers in WWE with his brother Jeff Hardy. He held the ECW Championship in WWE, but he was never a real threat for a major world title outside the failed ECW brand. He was best on his own as a mid-card titleholder but was out of his element in the main event. By 2015, Hardy was 41-years-old and was going by the name Big Money Matt when he shocked the world by beating EC3 for the world title, the biggest title win of his career.
7 ETHAN CARTER III
Ethan Carter III faced the same dilemma as someone like Magnus and Eric Young. He was mostly a guy who looked the part but wasn't seen as a successful star. The man who played EC3 recently came off of an unsuccessful run on NXT as Derrick Bateman. He was also someone who got over a little more based on his comedy than his serious work. When he debuted, he was the nephew of the owner and beat jobbers every week.
However, Ethan Carter III became EC3 and quickly won fans over with his cocky heelish ways reminiscent of a young Randy Orton circa 2003-2004. He was able to get his gimmick over and became a top star in TNA. While it seemed unlikely he would ever be a world champion when he started, EC3 went on an undefeated streak all the way to the world title in 2015 from Kurt Angle.
6 MAGNUS
From the time that Magnus arrived in TNA, he was considered a flop. He had the look of a star, and he carried himself like a star, but there seemed to be something missing. His size and look couldn't make up for being a green competitor with poor charisma and weak mic skills. It looked like he was going to wash out like so many before, but TNA saw something in him. In 2013, Magnus won a tournament to become the new champion and held the title for 128 days, although his title run was lackluster to put it nicely.
5 AUSTIN ARIES (2012)
TNA came up with a fun new stipulation in 2012, where once a year, the X-Division Champion could make a big decision. If the wrestler chose to, he could use Option C, which meant relinquishing the X-Division Championship for a shot at the TNA World Champion. Austin Aries was the first man to cash in on that opportunity and was the first to win after doing so, beating Bobby Roode for the title at Destination X 2012.
4 CHRIS SABIN (2013)
Bully Ray was the TNA World Champion for 130 days in 2013, and it didn't look like there was anyone who was going to beat him. Not only was Bully Ray bigger and meaner than anyone in TNA, but he had Aces & Eights behind him, helping him win.
When Chris Sabin chose to take Option C and gave up his X-Division Championship for a title shot, most fans felt he had no chance. He was one of the best X-Division Champions in history and was a great tag team wrestler. Then, Sabin shocked the world at Destination X 2013 when he beat Bully Ray for the title.
3 ERIC YOUNG (2014)
Eric Young was part of Team Canada as a TNA Original, but after that, he changed. Young became a comedy character, almost a joke in TNA. He dressed up as a superhero. He teamed up with women to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship with ODB. No one took him seriously. However, in 2014, Young got serious and, as unlikely as it was, he ended up beating Magnus for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
2 MICK FOLEY (2009)
Mick Foley was a mainstay in WWE for most of his career. After getting his start on the big stage in WCW as Cactus Jack, he arrived in WWE and became Mankind before winning his first world title. In 2000, Foley lost a retirement match to Triple H, and his career was over.
While he returned for matches here and there, he looked finished as an in-ring full-time competitor. That made him an unlikely winner when he captured the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Sting at Lockdown 2009, three months after making his in-ring return.
1 TESSA BLANCHARD (2020)
Tessa Blanchard was easily the most unlikely TNA World Champion ever when she kicked off 2020 with an Impact World Championship win. What made her so unlikely is the fact that she is the first female world champion in history, beating Sami Callihan for the title at Hard to Kill in January 2020. Not only was she the most surprising, but she defended it and never lost it, with Impact releasing her while she was champion and crowing a new champion in Eddie Edwards at Slammiversary 2020.