This new personalized Hardy belt still looks worse to me than the "real" TNA/IW World Heavyweight Championship belt. When Hardy first came out with the "real" belt on Impact earlier tonight, I thought to myself "good, he's not using a personalized belt this time". Then the camera panned away from Hardy for a second or two, while it looked like Hardy was lifting his shirt or something - and then Hardy revealed his new personalized belt (I'm guessing it was under his shirt, around his waist). Since the camera was off Hardy for that brief second while he was switching the belts, I don't know what he did with the "real" Championship belt. I'm guessing he just handed it to a TNA stagehand or something, and they took it to the backstage area while Hardy was in the ring holding his personalized belt high in the air. That was the last time we'll see that title design, at least until Hardy loses the belt again.
I hope that TNA doesn't start treating Hardy's new personalized "Egyptian" belt as the WHC again. Remember when Hardy was still with Immortal, when Anderson won the WHC belt and was walking around with that purple monstrosity? Then Hardy won it back - if I'm not mistaken, and was finally beaten for the title by Sting (and then Sting debuted the "real" WHC the very next week on Impact; again - if I'm not mistaken). When Hardy finally loses the title again, I hope the next Champ uses the "real" design again. Even if the wrestler that beats Hardy only keeps the belt for a month or so (like Anderson did), and then drops it back to Hardy, I hope that the "old" (or "real") design belt is what they carry around with them. When Hardy is finally defeated for the title, it would be kind of silly to debut yet another new title design...but TNA just might do that when Hardy finally drops the belt again.
I actually like the idea of having Jeff Hardy as the Champion again. As it's been said many times before, TNA didn't let him just waltz back into the company and jump right back into the title hunt after the debacle at Victory Road 2011. TNA made him pay his dues for a while, culminating with his recent win at BfG (after winning the tournament). Jeff seems to be on track again, sober and with a great work ethic. As far as I remember, Jeff's only other WHC win in TNA was at BFG 2010 (10/10/10) - when Immortal was formed and Jeff turned heel. Even though Jeff's current title reign is his second as TNA Champ, it's his first run with the TNA title as a babyface.
Putting the title back on their number one face was really a no-brainer for TNA/IW, and it's easy to see why they decided to do so. Aries was doing well as the Champ, and had a great run...but turning Aries back into a heel was an easy decision as well. Since Aries' heel-turn happened so fast (it only happened last week, at the very end of the "go-home" episode of Impact before the BfG PPV), I seriously doubt that the Hardy/Aries feud is anywhere near being over. Obviously tonight's exchange on Impact between Hardy & Aries confirmed that as well (during Hardy's "celebration", when Aries brought him cookies! LOL). Aries will probably invoke his rematch clause at Turning Point next month, and then there will probably be at least one more Hardy/Aries match (maybe even a triple threat with another Impact "superstar") at Final Resolution in December.
I do see Hardy holding the title for a while (at least into early 2013, maybe dropping it in February or March at the earliest), and I don't see Aries winning the title again in his rematch against Hardy; especially now that Aries is a heel again. Also since Hardy debuted his personalized belt again, I doubt that TNA would let him carry that thing around (as opposed to the "real" belt) if they were just gonna take the belt off him again by the next PPV. I'd expect to see Hardy as the TNA Champ well into 2013.
I didn't really think about this until Aries said it on Impact tonight, but Aries had been on quite a long winning streak for over a year now. He hadn't been beaten in a singles match (at least I think) since winning the X-Division title, as far as I remember. Aries might have been pinned in one or two tag matches since his X Division title win back in 2011, but obviously he had been X Division Champ since No Surrender 2011 (that took place in Sep of '11). If he did lose any matches since then, they must have been non-title matches (and I can't remember any singles matches that he lost, unless maybe I'm forgetting one or two that he may have lost by DQ).
Obviously Aries never lost the X Division title, he just traded it in for a shot at Bobby Roode's WHC (back in July, 2012). That means that Aries had held TNA singles gold for over a year (September 2011, when he won the XD title until July 2012, when he won the WHC, then losing the WHC in October 2012). 13 consecutive months holding TNA singles gold is nuts, and something I hadn't really thought about until earlier tonight (when Aries congratulated Hardy for being the first to beat him at a PPV, or whatever he said). It might be a while yet until Aries captures more TNA singles gold, but he really had a great run over the past year.
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