The following week, Van Dam was allowed to pick his opponent for Bound for Glory and opted to challenge Zema Ion for the TNA X Division Championship. Van Dam defeated Ion to win the X Division Championship for the first time at Bound for Glory. On the October 25 "Impact Wrestling", Van Dam made his first successful title defense, defeating Ion in a rematch. Following the win, he would be attacked by Matt Morgan and Joey Ryan. The following week, Van Dam was defeated by Ryan in a non-title match after an interference from Matt Morgan. Afterwards, he would again be attacked by Morgan. On November 11 at Turning Point, Van Dam defeated Ryan to retain the X Division Championship, after which, he would be attacked by Matt Morgan for the third consecutive time. Four days later on "Impact Wrestling", he successfully defended the title against Kid Kash. Van Dam retained the X Division Championship against Austin Aries on November 19 after losing to him via disqualification, following interference from Bully Ray.