“Everyone is going to be gunning for this belt, so it’s going to have even more importance. I think it’s going to be harder to keep it around people’s waist…

“It does give me some bragging rights that nobody has beaten me for the championship, and I relinquished it. It is something that is quite rare. When the opportunity was presented to me like getting to wrestle Bobby Roode at Destination X…As far as being the longest reigning X Division champion, it is pretty remarkable in some ways when you think about it because of all the men who have held the title over the years.

“The competition of the X Division and where you had a lot of top caliber superstars and wrestlers in the division that made it more competitive. The time I came into the company they were kind of rebooting the X Division and injecting new blood so to speak. I think I came at a time where it didn’t have the top competition it had historically…Some of the guys who I have faced I would have liked to do more with. Some of the guys who I would have liked to get in there with were injured or weren’t here. So hopefully, I’ll be able to get in the ring with them and prove my worth against them as well…It’s really time to step out and step up.”

Considering what is on the horizon, it seems Aries is doing just that.

• Austin Aries challenges Bobby Roode for the X Division championship 8 p.m. [EST] Sunday, July 8 at the Destination X pay-per-view at Universal Studios Orlando.

AJ Styles squares off with Christopher Daniels, and Kurt Angle faces Samoa Joe in a Bound For Glory Series match.

The event will also include a tournament final Ultimate X match to crown a new X Division champion.

• Follow Austin Aries on Twitter @AustinAries.

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