Leon Slater Says X-Division Title Win at TNA Lockdown Helped Release ‘All of This Emotion’

Leon Slater said winning back the TNA X-Division Championship from Cedric Alexander at Lockdown gave him a sense of catharsis. At TNA Lockdown in Chicago, Slater defeated Alexander in a Last Man Standing match inside a steel cage.

The match was contested for the X-Division Championship, with Slater winning the title for the second time. Had he lost, his earlier X-Division title reign would have been erased from TNA’s history books.

Following his victory, Leon Slater described having weeks of emotion surrounding his rivalry with Alexander and the threat of losing his title history. After the match, Slater said he had been carrying those emotions throughout the build to Lockdown. Slater stated:

“I did it. I did it, man. I told everyone that I refused to be forgotten. Told everyone I’m gonna be remembered forever. And I did it. And you know? Come with me, come with me. Tonight was one of those nights where I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be walking out on these two feet or going home in the back of one of these. But I did it. I did it and I keep on doing it. Ever since I stepped foot here, all I’ve done is said it and did it. And I had all of this emotion bottled up. I had it bottled up in here, in my heart, in my head, all of this emotion this week and the weeks leading up to this.”

Slater added that talking to people and trying to redirect his anger had not provided the same release as defeating Alexander. The wrestler continued:

“All of it just bottled inside, and no matter what I did, I talked to people, it didn’t help. I try and take my anger out on anything around me, and it didn’t help. But that, just helped it all. I wanna say I’m at peace, but I don’t think I’ll ever do that. Not until it’s said and done, and I’m remembered as the greatest to ever do it.”

The victory did not completely settle things for Slater. Following the main event match at Lockdown, he exercised ‘Option C.’ He relinquished the X-Division Championship to President Carlos Silva for a World Championship match against Nic Nemeth at Bound for Glory in the hopes of becoming the youngest TNA World Champion in company history.

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EXCLUSIVE: Immediately following his X-Division Title victory, @LEONSLATER_ reacted to the catharsis his victory over @CedricAlexander provided. #TNALockdown pic.twitter.com/H3lvWlZwlV

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) August 24, 2026