AEW has grown its roster since the company's inception in 2019. The promotion has spent a lot of money to bring in some big names like Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Hangman Page, and many more. Some of these stars have even lived up to the hype and have become multi-time World Champions, while many are still in search of their first World Championship. Currently, the prestigious AEW World Championship is held by "Hangman" Adam Page, who won the title from Jon Moxley at All In: Texas. Given how hard he had to fight to win the gold, it is unlikely that he'll lose the title any time soon. However, there are still plenty of stars who want to challenge him for the title. In this article, we will take a look at three stars who should become the AEW World Champion in 2026.#3. Will OspreayWhen Will Ospreay first arrived in AEW, it looked like he might be catapulted into the World Title picture almost immediately. However, that did not happen as The Aerial Assassin had to take a detour. He ended up winning the International Championship twice and has competed in some terrific matches for the Jacksonville-based promotion. He did get a World Title shot at Forbidden Door 2024 but wasn't able to dethrone then-champion Swerve Strickland.Currently, it looks like Ospreay has been written off TV after he was brutally attacked by the Death Riders following the main event Lights Out Steel Cage match at Forbidden Door 2025. When Will Ospreay returns from his injury, he should go after the World Title and win it from whoever is the champion at the time. The Aerial Assassin has proven to be one of the most consistent performers in the ring, and he deserves to be the World Champion.#2. Swerve StricklandLast year, Swerve Strickland was on top of the world after he won the AEW World Championship. However, he lost it to Bryan Danielson 126 days later. Following this loss, Swerve has been on a mission to regain the title. He got his chance against Jon Moxley at Dynasty earlier this year, but The Young Bucks cost him the bout. Since then, The Realest One has been looking to get revenge against The Bucks.Swerve will look to get himself back into the title picture once again, and 2026 could be the year when Strickland becomes World Champion again.#1. MJF Should be the AEW World Champion in 2026MJF was the longest-reigning AEW World Champion in the company's history. During his incredible run, Maxwell also turned babyface for the first time. Unfortunately, this came back to cost him as he was betrayed by Adam Cole and the Undisputed Kingdom, who played a role in him losing his title to Samoa Joe.It's been more than a year, and The Wolf of Wrestling is ready to regain the World Championship. He competed for the title against Hangman Page at Forbidden Door 2025 and lost. However, MJF still has his Casino Gauntlet Contract, which he can use to get another World Title match in the future. Going by his previous track record, Friedman will use every cheap trick in the book to weaken his opponent before he takes the gold. Hence, there is a possibility that this could happen in 2026.It will be interesting to see which of the above-mentioned names will be the first to win the World Title.