How Many Championships Does AEW Really Need?

To understand this situation, one must first look at AEW’s championships.

For the women, it has been simple enough. There is the top-tier prize, the Women’s World Championship. It is typically reserved for the best, the so-called “franchise faces”. And most of its holders have had a gimmick that has helped to define who they are.

Nyla Rose was the monster, Hikaru Shida was the stoic fighting hero, Britt Baker was the crass jerk, and of course, who cannot forget “Timeless” Toni Storm?

Next is the TBS title, the so-called “midcard” title. Initially designed as a way to get Jade Cargill over, it has had four holders since. The current one, Mercedes Mone, is also its longest-reigning ever, and she has turned herself into the star that she should have been in WWE during that time. The title has also been defended in outside promotions and against wrestlers from them, like Ring of Honor, CMLL, and Stardom.

Finally, there are the aforementioned Women’s Tag Team Championships, whose holders have yet to be crowned.

The men’s side used to be simple as well: a World title, the TNT title for the midcard, and tag titles. Then, they complicated it.

First, they introduced the All-Atlantic title, later renamed the International title. Next were trios titles, and finally came the Continental title, which had its own rules: 20-minite time limit, no corners at ringside, and no outside interference. Kazuchika Okada unified the International and Continental titles at All In this July, but he has continued their lineage during his reign.

The Problem With AEW’s Titles

Overall, the women’s championship structure is fairly simple. Women on the rise can build themselves up to stardom by holding the “lower” titles before aiming for the “big-time”. Meanwhile, women who have had their turn in the main-event scene can refresh in the lower ones.

Then, there is the complexity of the men’s. The World title is simple enough, but then there is, of course, the International/Continental merger. Meanwhile, the TNT title has usually been one of two things: either a starmaker or a meandering prop. It was certainly the latter during Orange Cassidy’s International title reign, but it has become the former once again in Kyle Fletcher’s hands.

The introduction of the National title, however, may change that. Fletcher’s next challenger is Mark Briscoe, and their match has a stipulation: if Briscoe loses, he must join the Don Callis Family.

A win for Briscoe can mean one of two things: either he continues the TNT title’s momentum, or the National title surpasses it in prestige. The latter situation raises the same question that arose when the Continental title was first created: can it coexist with another title, and will they be merged?

Finally, there are the trios titles. Having them in addition to tag team titles is nothing new. NJPW and Stardom do it, but both assign a unique identity for each set. Not so much with AEW, which has made little or nothing to differentiate its sets. This creates confusion among fans, some of whom may think “tag team” and “trio” are interchangeable.

End Of My AEW Titles Rant

For so many years, Western wrestling brands had been built on the “four-title” concept: world, mid-card, tag team, and women. It was a concept that worked well for years, and AEW seemed to follow that forever.

Since the introduction of the International title, however, there has been a “paradigm shift” (pun not intended). AEW has been trying to emulate its partners in having more titles, and it has only caused confusion. Eventually, it will have to ask itself: “How many titles do we really need?” “Should we merge and/or retire some of them?”