TNA Wrestling star Leon Slater came very close to becoming the longest-reigning X-Division Champion of all time but was unexpectedly dethroned earlier this month. Slater lost a 2-Out-Of-3 Falls Match to Cedric Alexander of The System on the May 14th episode of Thursday Night iMPACT on AMC. He ended up tying with Austin Aries as the joint-longest-reigning X-Division Champion, each holding the title for 298 days. Naturally, many fans were upset that Slater didn’t get the chance to break the record.
Dave Meltzer mentioned in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that TNA Wrestling did not allow Slater to break the record because he is believed to be heading to either WWE or AEW once his contract with the company expires. However, Meltzer did not specify when Slater’s contract is set to end.
Since TNA entered into a working relationship with WWE, Slater has competed at several NXT and WWE main roster shows. Notably, he participated in John Cena’s retirement show, Saturday Night’s Main Event, last December, teaming up with Je’Von Evans to face then-World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee.
In January 2026, during WWE’s European Tour, Slater responded to then-United States Champion Carmelo Hayes’ Open Challenge on Friday Night SmackDown. To date, Slater has yet to compete in All Elite Wrestling.
