5 AEW stars who could be champions before the end of 2022

AEW walked into 2022 with home-grown stars as champions. Hangman Adam Page held the world title while Britt Baker was the women's champion. Both are names that will be tethered to the company for years to come.

Jade Cargill became the first-ever TBS Champion on January 5th, and it doesn't look like she'll be losing her title any time soon. On the same night, The Lucha Brothers and Jurassic Express put on a spectacular match which saw Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus come away with the tag team titles.

Come December, we may see a whole host of fresh faces holding gold in All Elite Wrestling. In this list, we'll take a look at five such AEW stars who could be champions before the end of 2022.

#5. Frankie Kazarian - AEW TNT Champion

The storyline between Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky deserved a pay-per-view payoff. From being the inaugural AEW Tag Team Champions as SoCal Uncensored to Kazarian relinquishing his shot at the TNT title more recently, this has all the makings of an all-time classic story.

It should have been a long, drawn-out feud which could have even given us a trilogy of matches between the two men. Whilst the two had a barnburner of a bout on Rampage, it seems as though Kazarian is not done with the TNT Championship.

The Heavy Metal Rebel is due a comeuppance, and he may be the perfect man to dethrone Scorpio Sky. If not now, eventually.

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#4. Serena Deeb - AEW Women's Champion

This is another of the long-term stories that AEW seemingly loves to tell. Serena Deeb and Thunder Rosa's feud goes all the way back to Deeb beating Rosa for the NWA Women's Championship in October 2020.

Given that Thunder Rosa's reign as AEW Women's Champion has fallen a touch flat compared to her predecessors, The Professor of Professional Wrestling appears primed to usurp La Mera Mera. When the time arises, that is.

Winning the title from an old rival following a revitalisation in her character work over the last year seems fitting for Serena Deeb.

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#3. CM Punk - AEW World Champion

CM Punk to win the world title in another promotion?

CM Punk vs. Hangman Adam Page at Double or Nothing 2022 is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable main events in recent memory.

Punk is coming off a great feud with MJF and is hot on the heels of the world champion. Hangman Page, meanwhile, has carried the company with aplomb during his reign so far.

What a story it would be for Punk to win the world title nearly a year after his emphatic return to professional wrestling. The stage seems set for another Summer of Punk, but will Cowboy Shizz prove to be too strong for the Straight Edge Superstar?

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#2. The Hardys - AEW Tag Team Champions

Will The Hardys taste success in All Elite Wrestling as well?

Just like CM Punk, The Hardys have held their division's top titles in nearly every single promotion they've ever been a part of - except AEW. It would be quite a sight to see both The Hardys and Punk sit atop their divisions in Tony Khan's company as well.

The current tag team champions - Jurassic Express - have already eclipsed the reign of their predecessors, the Lucha Brothers. There also seems to be an impending rivalry between Jungle Boy and Christian that's just about to reach boiling point.

Yes, The Hardys seem to be on a collision course with the Young Bucks, as seen on BTE recently. But once their first bout is out of the way, the tag team legends could do much worse than dethroning Jurassic Express as the top squad in the company.

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#1. Wardlow

It doesn't matter what title it is, just get some gold around Wardlow's waist by the end of the year! If not a championship, he could at least be the one to break Maxwell Jacob Friedman's streak of back-to-back-to-back Dynamite Diamond Rings.

The Symphony of Powerbombs that Wardlow will unleash upon MJF at Double or Nothing promises to be nothing short of spectacular. Following that, the only direction for Wardlow to go would be up.

Forget about the long, drawn-out storylines; just legitimize The War Dog with some gold. Rivalries can be revisited at any point, but the momentum that follows Mr. Mayhem is mesmerizing.

If CM Punk is going to be the man that dethrones the Hangman, there could only be one that could expropriate the reign of Punk. If the Salt of the Earth does so, there should ideally be just one candidate to overthrow him.

2022 may be too soon for that particular chain of events, but the time is right to crown Wardlow as a legitimate threat to the entire locker room. And that time is now.