The Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was the primary men’s singles title in Impact Wrestling from March 2, 2017, until July 2, 2017. It was the same championship established by TNA in 2007, renamed to match the promotion’s move away from the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling name.
Lashley held the championship when the new name was introduced. His reign continued through the company rebrand, and the title remained positioned above the X Division, Grand, Knockouts, and tag team championships.
During the same period, Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling became part of Impact’s programming. Alberto El Patrón held the separate GFW Global Championship, leading to a unification match against Lashley at Slammiversary XV on July 2, 2017, in which El Patrón won, combining the two championships.
The Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship’s existing lineage continued after the match. The original GFW Global Championship was absorbed, and the combined championship briefly used the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship name before adopting the GFW Global Championship identity.
