At TNA Lockdown, Leon Slater defeated Cedric Alexander to become a two-time X-Division Champion. Later in the night, he shocked World Champion Nic Nemeth and exercised ‘Option C.’
Leon Slater fought Cedric Alexander in a Last Man Standing Steel Cage Match at TNA Lockdown on August 23 to become a two-time X-Division Champion. He then surprised reigning World Champion Nic Nemeth after he had just won the World Tag Team Championship alongside his brother Ryan Nemeth, defeating The Hardys.
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The 21-year-old said he wanted to make history and become the youngest TNA World Champion and had decided to invoke ‘Option C,’ which would see him relinquish his X-Division Title to receive a shot at Nic Nemeth’s World Championship at Bound for Glory in October this year.
“My legacy in the X-Division is forever cemented. And I can only think of one further way to go down in the TNA history books. So at Bound For Glory, I’m exercising ‘Option C.’ I have a habit of saying things and doing it and I will-I will become the youngest World Champion this company has ever seen. Do you get me?” Slater said to Nemeth.
The story of ‘Option C’ dates back to 2012, when the then-General Manager of the promotion Hulk Hogan had given the reigning X-Division Champion at the time, Austin Aries, two options.
One was to relinquish his title and be fast-tracked to receive a World Heavyweight Championship shot at Bobby Roode, or continue to hold the title and forget about the world title.
However, Aries had an ‘Option C’ in mind. Essentially an extension of the first option, he said that moving forward every X-Division Champion will get the same opportunity each year. Hogan liked Aries’ idea, and it was set in stone.
Nic Nemeth becomes a double champion in TNA
Meanwhile, Nic Nemeth has been in his second reign as the TNA World Champion since defeating Mike Santana at Slammiversary earlier this year.
At the recently concluded PPV, he teamed up with his brother Ryan as The Nemeths brought an end to The Hardys’ fifth reign with the World Tag Team Championship in a Steel Cage Tornado Tag Team Match.
With the victory, the former Dolph Ziggler became a double champion in the Nashville-based promotion. Nemeth will have to put his World Championship on the line against Leon Slater at Bound For Glory, who exercised ‘Option C’ to relinquish his X-Division Title.
Curiously, at Bound for Glory last year, Slater had defended the X-Division Title against Je’Von Evans of WWE, and the match ended in a no-contest. And at this year’s PPV, he will fight for the biggest prize in the promotion.
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Edited by Sayantan Niyogi
