'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
All Elite Wrestling recently announced, via a press release, the addition of a new championship to the company. The AEW TNT Championship will presumably be a secondary championship within the company, and the eight-man tournament to crown the first winner will start on the April 8th edition of Dynamite.
The addition of a secondary championship has been on the wishlist of many AEW fans as a way to highlight a deep and talented roster. The secondary championship is a very important piece to the championship lineage of a company as seen with the WWE Intercontinental and United States Championships, the X-Division Championship within Impact, and the Television Championship within Ring of Honor and the NWA.
The full bracket will be unveiled on this week's editions of AEW Dark and Dynamite, and the tournament will start with the April 8th edition of Dynamite. The conclusion of the tournament will take place at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view which will take place on 23rd May unless AEW are forced to delay it due to prevailing circumstances.
This article is going to take a look at five AEW wrestlers who would benefit the most from holding this championship. They may not be included in the initial tournament, but each will have their particular reason as to why they should hold the AEW TNT Championship.
#5 Joey Janela
The career of the "Bad Boy" Joey Janela started in 2006 but began to take off when he made his Pro Wrestling Guerrilla debut in 2017 at the Battle of Los Angeles. Janela is also known for his Spring Break shows; which have become a standout for independent wrestling during WrestleMania weekend.
In 2019, Janela would become one of the first wrestlers to sign on the dotted line with AEW, and he has already been in a couple of high-profile feuds with Jon Moxley and Shawn Spears.
Though Janela is primarily known as a hardcore wrestler, he's shown in several matches that he doesn't have to rely on that style to provide a great match. This type of talent and charisma would make for a great AEW TNT Champion.
#4 Scorpio Sky
Scorpio Sky is one of the most athletic and talented wrestlers on the AEW roster today. Even though he has been featured as the tag team of SCU with Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky has shown flashes of brilliance not only in tag team matches but in singles competition as well.
Though Scorpio Sky will be forever known as one-half of the first AEW Tag Team Champions, he has already carved a path a singles wrestler when he had a chance to face Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship on the November 27th edition of Dynamite last year. Sky showed what he was capable of on that night.
If AEW decided to have Scorpio Sky pursue the AEW TNT Championship, SCU would still have a great tag team in the veterans Kazarian and Christopher Daniels (who have been aligned or a tag team going back to 2012). The fans would love it if there was a point where every member of SCU held gold.
#3 Shawn Spears
With the Perfect 10 gimmick, the popularity soared for Shawn Spears durng his WWE run as Tye Dillinger. The biggest pop of his career would come at the 2017 Royal Rumble when he was, coincidentally enough, the #10 entrant. However, once he was on the main roster for good, he never would recapture that momentum.
Fast forward to Double or Nothing, AEW's first-ever pay-per-view in May of 2019. Spears would enter the Casino Battle Royal to a huge pop, but the pop wouldn't last long after he turned on his longtime friend Cody at Fyter Fest with the chair shot heard around the world.
Currently, Spears and his manager Tully Blanchard are in search of the perfect (no pun intended) tag team partner. While it makes for a good story currently, Spears has the talent to shine as a singles competitor.
With enough losses in the tag division with random partners, Spears and Blanchard may decide to scrap the tag idea and chase the new championship.
#2 Jungle Boy
"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry is the son of the late Luke Perry who rose to stardom on the hit show Beverly Hills 90210 in the 1990s. Before signing with AEW, Jungle Boy was a relative unknown in the wrestling world outside of the die-hard independent wrestling fans.
Jungle Boy began his pro wrestling career in November of 2015. Even though he's only been wrestling for just over four years, he has made tremendous strides in the ring during his AEW career.
As part of the Jurassic Express, wins didn't come all that often in 2019, but the trio of Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, and Marko Stunt has found some modest success in 2020. The highlight of Jungle Boy's short career came when he had the task of lasting ten minutes with then AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.
Not only did Jungle Boy succeed in surviving ten minutes with the champ, but he also put himself on the map as someone who could make an impact within AEW. Don't be surprised if his first taste of AEW gold is with the TNT Championship.
#1 Darby Allin
Darby Allin didn't start wrestling professionally until 2015. Allin would gain notoriety within World Wrestling Network and Progress Wrestling before deciding to join AEW.
While he was a little more known in the indies, his popularity exploded once he debuted with AEW. He would receive high praise from Jim Ross, who would call Darby and enigma, essentially comparing him to Jeff Hardy.
When he went to a 20-minute broadway with Cody at Fyter Fest last July, you could tell that he was going to be something big within AEW. Allin would later go on to have a chance at the AEW World Championship against Chris Jericho, and while he came up short, he had a very competitive match.
One would have to think that Allin is the hands-on favorite to be the first AEW TNT Champion, and it would truly be a shame if he isn't in the tournament. We will find out once the brackets are revealed later this week. Allin is one of the breakout stars from AEW and has a big future ahead.
