IMPACT Wrestling: 5 challengers for Eddie Edwards' World Championship
Slammiversary was arguably IMPACT Wrestling's biggest event in recent history. Seen as "the beginning of a new chapter" for the company, several former IMPACT Wrestling wrestlers returned to the promotion, as well as several new faces making their debut appearances.
However, it was an IMPACT Wrestling stalwart that achieved the greatest accomplishment at Slammiversary. Eddie Edwards became a 2-time IMPACT World Champion after winning a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match against Eric Young, Ace Austin, Rich Swann and Trey Miguel for the vacant World Championship.
Seen as the "heart and soul" of IMPACT Wrestling, many fans and colleagues were thrilled to see Eddie Edwards once again win "the big one".
The new IMPACT World Champion announced during the following episode of IMPACT Wrestling on AXS TV that he will also be a fighting champion. Eddie Edwards will hold a weekly open challenge for the IMPACT World Championship, open to all comers on the IMPACT Wrestling roster and beyond.
So, what names can we expect to see challenge Eddie Edwards for the IMPACT World Championship in the future? Let's take a closer look at five possible challengers.
#5 Eric Young
Eric Young has done it all in IMPACT Wrestling. EY was previously a member of the IMPACT Wrestling roster from 2004 to 2016. During that period of time, Eric Young won every championship possible in the company, becoming the 4th TNA Grand Slam Champion and 7th TNA Triple Crown Champion.
However, Eric Young departed IMPACT Wrestling in 2016, moving to WWE and having a successful run in NXT as the leader of the Sanity faction. But, this success would be short lived in WWE. Once the faction was drafted to Smackdown in 2018, Eric Young would only make sporadic appearances for WWE, largely being reduced to an enhancement talent.
Eric Young would be released by WWE in April of 2020, as part of the mass budget cuts by the promotion associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Once his 90-day non-compete clause expired on July 18, Eric Young made his surprise return to IMPACT Wrestling at Slammiversary competing in the IMPACT World Championship main event.
After being eliminated by Rich Swann, Eric Young would unleash a vicious assault on Swann, attempting to injure the former X-Division champion's surgically repaired ankle in the process.
Once Eddie Edwards announced the weekly IMPACT World Championship open challenge, Eric Young was first to stake his claim for a future World Championship opportunity.
However, Eddie Edwards stated that he would not allow EY to have a shot at the IMPACT World Title, due to Eric Young's actions at Slammiversary in attacking Rich Swann.
But, given the psychotic mad man that Eric Young is portraying in IMPACT Wrestling currently, it seems inevitable that the former TNA World Heavyweight Championship will receive an IMPACT World Championship opportunity in the near future.