Is AEW cutting down on the number of titles they have?
The promotion currently has a champion problem. AEW has six men’s titles (TNT, International, AEW World, Continental, Six-Man, and World Tag Team) and two women’s titles (AEW World and TBS). That doesn’t even include the other titles from different companies. There’s no problem on the women’s side of things, but the men simply have too many belts.
There’s no difference between the TNT, International, and Continental titles; and it seems that AEW is pairing down a couple of those belts according to Sean Ross Sapp. A recent Fightful report states that the promotion may be merged in the International and Continental titles together sometime in the future.
“The combination has been pitched dating back a number of months. To the point that many in the company had considered them firm creative plans.”
Of course, plans can always change, but the first couple of steps seem to be in motion as Kenny Omega just won the International title. Kazuchika Okada is the Continental Champion. These two are expected to fight at All In this year, so a big unification match appears to be in order for Okada and Omega. The report doesn’t exactly state how the unification will go or what title will disappear, but it’s smart that AEW is pairing down the number of belts they have on their roster.
While Orange Cassidy single-handly boosted the credibility of the International Championship and the C2 has gotten rave reviews from fans and critics, both belts are interchangeable because there’s not a difference in styles for either. The Pure Championship, old-school X-Division Championship, and the Hardcore Championship all bring a different element to each match because of their unique ruling and stipulations.
If AEW can find that with their three mid-card titles then the justification for having them would make sense. Nevertheless, AEW has yet to confirm if they plan on getting rid of one of their belts, so the rumor should be taken with a grain of salt. All In is scheduled to take place on July 12th, so it’ll be some time until we get to a possible unification match.
In the meantime, Kenny Omega’s first challenger for the International title is being determined through an eight-man single elimination tournament. Okada is fresh off his win over Brody King at Revolution. At this moment, there’s no word on when he’ll defend the Continental title next.