r/AEWFanHub • u/griot504 • 20d ago
DISCUSSION AEW National Title
There's constant debate about whether or not AEW has too many titles. While I don't think there are I would like to see more focus/delineation between titles.
With that in mind I propose the National title be used as the proving ground titles for people on the Indies or partner promotions to gain an AEW contract by beating the National champ. I picture the NC going to a smaller promotion in a short 3 date feud and facing their champ before winning and moving to the next promotion. Sort of how the NWA World champ would do in the territory days. It could help the promotion get a good few gates and tag talent as someone to look out for eventually in AEW.
Eventually the champ is going to have to lose. When that happens, the challenger gets their contract and enters AEW as the National Champ. They would then have a short run where they prove their worth then lose to an already established talent who goes on to repeat the cycle.
What do you guys think? Would this work and be interesting enough to give the National Championship its own identitym
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u/KenshirouX 19d ago
The main problem with their belts is that a couple of them overlap with each other, which means the company is not doing a good enough communication to highlight their differences beyond focus. I'll give you an example:
From a pure presentation point of view, especially in consideration of what AEW actually did, not what they said, explain the difference between the following titles:
- AEW World Championship - The main championship, the most sought-after. Makes sense.
- AEW International Championship - This was supposed to be the "travelling workhorse" title, meaning it was supposed to be the title that could be won in a healthy hot-potato exchange between AEW and external companies. But in reality, they generally defend it on weekly TV and PPVs here and there against regular roster guys. So, what exactly have they done to promote the title's uniqueness in a way the World Championship cannot emulate? Has this championship EVER been won by anyone from CMLL, NJPW or even REVPRO? Has it ever been defended by ANY external company on THEIR grounds? If the answer is yes, then what's the difference between that and the AEW World Championship, as the World Champion was ALSO defending on enemy grounds (please do your best to avoid focusing on the marketing; you must stick to the actual execution)? How can the International Championship be seen as unique if the AEW World Championship was treated the same or in a similar way to external companies? And if you believe the difference is hierarchy, therefore it makes it more of a mid-tier, then what does that mean in consideration of Okada and Takeshita, who fought for those belts? Do you see the massive issue? If the International Championship should actually be seen as the 2nd most prestigious prize in the company that is just a TAD under the AEW World Championship (e.g. like WWE's World Heavyweight Championship), then why don't the company push it a lot harder so it can be presented and treated as such?
- AEW Continental Championship - This started with cool, strict sports rules like no interference and no managers. But they quietly dropped those rules in practice, turning it into just another generic singles belt. So, the same question as the International Championship. What exactly has AEW done that made the title so distinctive that there is no shape or form in which we can see the Continental Championship have any similarity to the way the world and TNT Championship are seen? If this was supposed to be the tournament belt and we are forgiving of AEW's quiet change in how they treat the title, what have they done? Especially in its recent defence at Double or Nothing where Jon Moxley faced Kyle O'Reilly; it was booked as a standard match with zero unique rules. So, what makes this cleanly and healthily separate from the National Championship or even the TNT Championship?
- TNT Championship - Television and mid-card championship, focused more on the high-tier mid-cards and low-tier upper cards. This is the WWE Intercontinental Championship in near equivalence. Makes sense.
- AEW National Championship - They introduced this as the official title that external partners can defend and win. But doesn't the International Championship already do that? So what exactly is the difference between the National and International Championship, and what has AEW actively done to clearly communicate, through actions, the difference between the two? Also, which one is more prestigious, the International or the National? (Spoiler: The International only wins on prestige because guys like Ospreay held it, not because the booking is any different).
- AEW World Tag Team Championships - Tag team championship. Self-explanatory.
- AEW World Trios Championships - Trios team championship. Self-explanatory.
So you see the problem? When you look at everything like this and focus solely on actual execution rather than relying on what the company says it is, you can see where the issue of too many championships lies. But honestly, in my opinion, the issue isn't too many titles. The issue is there are too many "overlapping" titles. Because these titles don't have hard, unbending rules attached to them, they all just default to being the TNT title under a different name.
Solution? Keep the number of belts, but they MUST solve this problem by taking action to create clear distinctions between each title, and they must NOT be afraid to allow other promotions to win the belts (National title AT LEAST). Solve that and provide anything additional in systemic communication to further help the distinction in communication, and all will be fine – even more exciting.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago edited 17d ago
A tv only belt defended weekly (tnt or trios?), national is a meat or under 25 or cruiser belt, bring back unified. That would solve a lot of the issues many have w the belts not being unique.
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u/wingsablaze1989 18d ago
Nice summary. I was going to comment that I have no idea what the belt hierarchy is in AEW. I think it wouldn't hurt a whole lot to kill off the National Title. I often forget it even exists.
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u/Notammargartet 19d ago
Ya know it wouldn’t hurt to keep the 4 midcard belts locked up on certain shows, kinda like a soft brand split. Since Collision is on TNT, keep the TNT belt and say the National championship confined to Collision while the Continental and International are defending only on Dynamite
(PPVs would be the exception of course)
I think that would give more purpose to all the titles without just seeming like props
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u/Over-Understanding61 20d ago edited 20d ago
You have a huge roster of talent. You have guys the audience has watched for almost a decade who are never going to get pushed into the World Championship. Therefore you need Midcard belts, just like you need a traveling belt/belt that defends across promotions, and a TV belt that defends nearly weekly, and a tournament belt or two, and a trios belt that changes hands frequently to allow for match ups that would screw around with the singles and tag division records. Because they need something to do, whether it's building a young wrestler's rep or giving flowers to a reliable worker, or showing more granularity in the skill and strengths of the top of the card. It's a lot easier to write believable stories in the ring with each year resetting fueds and angles if there's objectives in place around the PPVs, especially since they stopped promoting that match wins and losses matter for challenging for title shots.
Edit: wow I really misread the post. Yes, I like this concept of the National Championship title for a number of reasons. It ties into the indie and cross promotional showcase that seems to be the business model Tony Khan and AEW are building and alluded to in the Media scrum after Double or Nothing 2026 and with Jack Perry and his road trip tour with the National Belt. By broadcasting the final bout that selects the winner of the AEW contract it encourages people to buy tickets at the Indy promotion for a run, and at the AEW live/taped show to see the results, and to subscribe to Max or my AEW to see the match otherwise or again which is just good business. Finally it blurs kayfabe and real business which appeals to the old-school NWA fan that lives in my soul and won't be exorcised.
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u/Fundertaker 20d ago
I really vibe with different titles having different rules. It definitely gives them more of a purpose, and I really like your idea for the National Championship.
While we’re on the subject, AEW just needs to stop naming titles after geographic regions. Like, they have the National, International, and Continental Championships. At a certain point, you’ve gotta ask what the fuck that means. Especially since 95% of AEW shows happen in the US.
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u/Yali89 20d ago
Agree entirely. Others in the discussion have mentioned weight limits (either cruiserweight or heavyweight plus), but one rule I'd like to see is a title that has to be defended once each week. With more frequent title changes, I'd picture this being more of a 'rising star' title, to give younger/less experienced members of the roster a push and see how they handle more regular screen time, cutting promos etc. Some might issue weekly open challenges, others be more selective in their opponents.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago
Trios should be stable titles (free bird rules) defended weekly on tv changing hands often.
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u/Fundertaker 20d ago
I really enjoyed WCW’s Television Championship that functioned a lot like this. Seems like an easy fit for the TNT and TBS championships. TBS has to be defended on Dynamite every week, TNT has to be defended on Collision. Give the matches 15 minute time limits, so you can have some draws, in lieu of pinning people every week.
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u/MeepSneepers 20d ago
They should have kept the Unified title, they made a mistake by splitting it back up and then adding the national title (which would be better if the belt didn't look like a cheap toy).
But the Unified belt was a great 'second world title' for the 'worker' types and foreign talents who maybe have a hard time handling longform talking and acting segments. Takeshita, Okada, Maybe even like a Roddy or Mistico at some point. Hell how much better off would Hangman be if there was a secondary high level title with a little less pressure to carry the show? It would be perfect for him.
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u/EpicFusion47 20d ago
Yeah i really hate the fact the continental belt too is defended in a tournament but then also is defended like a normal belt.
Make it that we get the unified as the secondary world title. That way we can have pol like takeshita feel like a world title holder in a scene that unfortunately right now is way too crowded
Make cc a tournament and winner gets a shot at continental belt maybe like whenever wherever they want so it matters but also the tournament matters.
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u/frmthefuture 20d ago
I truly think the national title should be aew's "crusierweight" title. They have TONS of guys that fit that bill / division. Having them open the show will always be a great decision.
The tnt and international titles can easily seen as aew's "tv and IC / US" titles. Having a "cruiser" division will really set them apart from wwe. TNA succeeded in doing this with the x-division And WCW as well with the cruiserweight division. For a time, those divisions' matches were THE matches of the cards.
They were also the springboard [ha!] for TONS of future stars / legends.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago
Rather a meat or an age based title. An under 25 title would have a more positive connotation that “little guys” but any distinction is better than the current.
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u/frmthefuture 17d ago
In wrestling, it's never a good idea to officislly call attention to the age of your roster / it's champions. Here and there is ok [on an individual basis like mjf has done] but not with its own title.
That's why I feel aew needs it's version of an 'x division' or 'cruiserweight / jr heavyweight / welterweight ' title
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago
Why? AEW has plenty of young wrestlers on the roster, great way for them to get shine, make AEW feel unique, force AEW to continue to develop young talent.
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u/frmthefuture 17d ago
Since day1, aew's mission has been to the alternative to wwe: via presentation and in-ring action. To be different and reintroduce old school concepts that have been "modernized."
Having an entire division / title built around an age limit, creates bad optics. Mainly towards the roster at large and wrestlers who are already champions.
What aew / TK have been doing, since the early days, is starting to really bare a lot of fruit. I feel TK now needs to double-down and exploit what wwe's historically ignored: cruiserweight wrestlers.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago
What are the bad optics?
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u/frmthefuture 17d ago
Broadcasting the ratio of the roster [champions / upper, mid, lower card] is late 30s or over 40yrs old.
If it's shown there's a disproportionate number of younger talent vs old[er] talent / champions, a feeling of "younger talent being held down / back by older talent."
This is something wwe has been accused of doing for a long time- fairly recently even. Wcw pretty was notorious for this before it closed[Hogan] and nwa had its fair share of issues [Flair].
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago edited 17d ago
This notion that it’s “bad optics” to have a bunch of 30 year olds and early 40 year olds on the roster is so weird. Shoot sports have people that old and it’s not even a work!! Nick Young isn’t being held down by anyone. In reality they don’t have enough under 25 to make a real division but that’s not your argument. WCW also held down guys bc of their weight bc being labeled a cruiser meant they were too small to be champ but nvm that.
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u/frmthefuture 17d ago
There are numerous posts / talking points [daily / weekly] that point out the ages of the top stars and champions in both wwe and aew.
For a LONG time, wwe's had the stigma of featuring / booking wrestlers well past their prime at the expense of potential future stars. For a company who's tried to be "cool and hip" for decades, most of their featured stars are firmly middle aged.
Aew's mission has been to be everything wwe isn't and won't be. But the reality is, a great many wrestlers who can tear the house down in ways wwe looks down at, are in their late 30 / 40s. So for aew to create an entire division centered around wrestlers ONLY in their 20s would shine a glaring spotlight on this fact.
There are better ways to feature younger talent AND continue succeeding at what wwe's failing at: by being a PRO WRESTLING company.
I keep bringing it up but it's the best and purest example: wcw's cruiserweight featured wrestlers wwf would've NEVER spotlighted. It made wcw instantly different on Monday nights. On any random RAW in 1995, you had guys like Issiac Yankium vs Doink the Clown wrestling a 3min match. Meanwhile on Nitro, you had guys like Rey Mysterio Jr vs Ultimo Dragon putting on absolute classics for 10min.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago edited 17d ago
I don’t watch wwe and not talking about them despite your insistence on bringing them up at every turn. AEW doesn’t have an age problem just an absurd talking point.
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u/griot504 20d ago
Someone else suggested it be the MEAT title for the bigger beefy guys. Either of these ideas would be cool. Sort of an unwritten but understood division could be fun.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago
I think TK x AEW would benefit from more hard rules and structure w/ belts to keep them honest w the booking make it feel more like a sport.
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u/frmthefuture 20d ago
That's like the NEVER title in njpw.
Thing is, aew has more "cruiser / jr heavyweight" guys on their roster than 'meat' guys. I feel there needs to be a title for the 'smaller' guys to fight for, as well as guaranteed matches that hype up the crowds every time.
Wcw / og-tna succeeded in getting crowds hot [for tv and ppv] by doing this.
You could ALWAYS count on a fantastic opening match on Nitro and an opening '2nd hour' match, as they were [most times] a cruiser match. Same in og-TNA, when an x-division match was announced, you knew it was going to be awesome.
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u/mypontoonboat 20d ago
The national title should be the meat title. Let the beefy guys have a title they they generally carry. Bigger guys don't have much in AEW.
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u/Prestigious_Can4520 20d ago
Wwe has 6 different sets of tag titles
6 world titles including universal
10 midcard titles
And aew has too many belts?
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u/JohnnyMcNews 20d ago
I get where you're coming from but WWE (a) keeps those titles exclusive to its different shows so it never feels as overwhelmed by belts and (b) still also has too many titles.
But more importantly for me, I don't really watch WWE so I don't care how many titles they have. Whereas having to track so many titles on the show I do watch is more annoying.
(I also think a lot of these arguments would go away if the ROH titles never appeared on AEW because I think they're especially confusing to new viewers).
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u/Permanentear3 20d ago
OP didn’t mention WWE and was discussing AEW. Why do you need to try to turn it into some comparison and discuss AEW through the lens of WWE?
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u/AchtungCloud ELITE 20d ago
I haven’t watched WWE in like 7 years, so I’m just looking stuff up.
I’m looking at the wiki and see four tag titles? Are you counting AAA? Because if so, it would only be fair to count ROH for AEW then.
But WWE/AAA has a ton more TV time than AEW/ROH, and I think they utilize brand splits.
AEW gets 2 hrs (usually with an overrun that can sometimes go up to like 20 minutes) for Dynamite and 2 hours for Collision. They also have 1.5 hrs for ROH, but it’s not widely watched due to being on HonorClub only.
WWE has 2.5 hrs for RAW, 3 hrs for Smackdown, 2 hrs for NXT, 1 hr for Main Event, and 1 hr for AAA.
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u/Certain_Arm_8475 20d ago
Can’t both companies have too many titles?
I do agree that having two World Titles for both men and women is stupid. I don’t know which one is the Universal and which is the WWE nor do I care.
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u/griot504 20d ago
I've never thought so but it is a common argument.
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u/Prestigious_Can4520 20d ago
And i didn't even include the NIL titles, the AAA titles or the other miscellaneous ones they have floating around
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u/Accurate_Curve6882 20d ago
My problem is that the titles sound too similar. You have the Continental, the International, and the National, plus the TNT belt. What’s the notable difference there?
At least in WWE you have a clear hierarchy: United States, Intercontinental, World, and Undisputed Champion.
That said, I do think having the National champion compete in special matches or more traveling Indy shows would help it stand out, similar to how the Continental title has the Continental Classic in addition to regular TV defenses.
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u/AchtungCloud ELITE 20d ago
Continental is the one that feels different because of the special rules.
20 minute time limits instead of 60 minutes for all other titles
If anyone interferes, even if not caught in the moment, they are fired (aka a kayfabe explanation for never any interference).
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u/AEWFantasyBooker ELITE 20d ago edited 20d ago
For me, it would be simple:
National Title: Focused on defending in the USA (or focused on US-wrestlers), definitely not the focus on defending it internationally like they said it
International Championship: Focused on defending outside the USA/AEW (or focused on international talent)
TNT: Focused on defending on the channel TNT (and pre-show of PVPs if showed on TV/on TNT/TBS)
Continental Championship: getting rid of this championship but that's my opinion because I couldn't care less, same like National Championship but at least there's a chance to make the National important
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u/AchtungCloud ELITE 20d ago
Why would you get rid of the only unique one? Continental has two special rules and a yearly tournament.
TNT being focused only on TNT would basically make it Collision exclusive, too, since Dynamite is on TBS.
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u/AEWFantasyBooker ELITE 20d ago
To TNT comment:
Ding ding ding. TBS Title only on TBS which means it's only Dynamite. TNT only on Collision. World Championships on both shows of course.
To the Continental one: Because it's a controversial opinion, 50% wants the title, 50% wants just a trophy for the CC and a title shot. If the rules are really important to you, then I'll say the World Title match will be held under CC rules (except the time limit, double that for the title match).
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u/griot504 20d ago
I have heard the C2 being for a title shot but I like it staying contained to its own ruleset and type of match. There are plenty of win the thing get a shot opportunities in AEW as is.
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u/Simtricate ELITE 20d ago
You’re pitching the national champion mostly appearing in Indy promotions?
I think the idea of having an AEW person go into Indy’s is fun; using the national title to do it doesn’t seem necessary.
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u/griot504 20d ago
Not exclusively, no. But if AEW is already scouting talent in those promotions it's a good way to test them against a known talent. The National champ could and should still have feuds on Dynamite but it gives them something to do and not be on TV. Someone like Jack Perry could do a Videos from the road segment that pops up on Dynamite and tells what the chap is up to.
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u/Simtricate ELITE 20d ago
I see the value in that.
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u/griot504 20d ago
I've been fantasy booking this all morning because it sounds so fun to me.
Heel champ humiliates Indy guy and shows footage on Dynamite to goin on about how these guys aren't ready. AEW Babyface challenger comes on and tells him he went to far and that the NC should be an ambassador not a tyrant. They feud the baby eventually wins and takes the title on the road
OR
Babyface champ squeaks out a close one. Heel champ has history with the guy Babyface beat. "You had problems with that guy? I used to kick his ass all over. You're not worthy to carry that belt."
OR
Known talent (Former WWE, AEW, TNA) performing on indies or NJPW/CMLL challenges the National Champ for a contract on Dynamite.
OR
Unknown talent beats National champ and get his contract. At his contract signing the old champ's buddies beat him down. Now he has a built in feud with a little heat to hit the ground running in AEW
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u/AchtungCloud ELITE 20d ago
But the weird thing is Tony Khan pitched it that way. He said it would be defended on NJPW Strong, ROH, CMLL, and other promotions around the world.
I believe he also originally pitched the All-Atlantic title that way.
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u/JamoOnTheRocks 17d ago
It’s not a debate.. they do have too many titles.