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Since the promotion itself is less than two years old, it's been apparent that AEW has leaned on performers with prior star power/exposure to carry their titles. The first AEW World Champion was one of the greatest of all time, Chris Jericho, and he completely reinvented himself yet again. His promos were among the most entertaining parts of Dynamite each week.
The second Champion is another star from WWE that had some name recognition, Jon Moxley (formerly Dean Ambrose).
While they did rely on well-known stars to carry the major title in the early stages, they didn't do the same thing with the Women's Championship. Riho might be well-known overseas. in Japan and in the rest of Asia, but I don't know how many casual fans would have known who she was. AEW crowned her the first Women's Champion and it was easy to root for her in the early stages. She was the smallest competitor but her "finding a way to win" gimmick got old when she would defeat the likes of Nyla Rose and other much bigger stars. Had they put the title on someone like Allie, who was likely the most well-known female performer due to her time in Impact, then it might have made a little more sense to me. But it is their company and they book it how they see fit.
One strange thing that they've consistently done is tout certain stars of the future (Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara, others) but have them lose in big matches. Those are the types of stars that should be carrying the mid-card and its title rather than one of the Executive VPs. The younger stars can establish themselves as the TNT Champion before being considered for AEW World title programs.
Cody has practically beaten everyone he's faced except for MJF. Even then, he lost via chicanery. Cody will lose his title this year and here are my predictions for the next holders of each belt in AEW.
#5 The next AEW TNT Champion - Orange Cassidy
One of the early stars in the infancy of AEW has been Orange Cassidy. His nonchalant gimmick got over instantly with the bigger crowds but he proved that he can actually wrestle when the heat is turned up. He's become more popular than his group, Best Friends.
The fact that he main-evented Fyter Fest against Chris Jericho is another sign that big things are in his future. AEW president Tony Khan is also a fan of Cassidy, which only helps his prospects.
I would have thought that Brian Cage would have made sense as the next TNT Champ because he's a well-known name AND bigger and stronger than Cody. But Cody has beaten Lance Archer and everyone else he's faced. It might not be for a few months, but I expect Cassidy to be holding gold by year's end.
#4 The next FTW Champion - Lance Archer
When they unveiled the newest title in AEW, Taz said that the "baddest dude" in the company should hold the FTW Championship. While it's not necessarily an AEW title and more so a creation of Taz, it still looks like it might be defended in the promotion like the TNA Championship is being defended in Impact by Moose.
I truly felt that having Archer as the first TNT Champion would do wonders for the performer. He really started to hit his stride as a singles competitor in his last year in NJPW and he's a legit danger to everyone in AEW. Instead, Cody won the title, and it halted Archer's momentum a bit. If he's only beating jobbers and lower hanging fruit on the roster then his signing is minimized.
In terms of big, bad wrestlers on the roster, it's Archer, Cage and Jon Moxley. Joey Janela is the Bad Boy but always gets beaten. Darby Allin is a daredevil but is smaller. Mr. Brodie Lee would also make sense because he's an actual character instead of simply a wrestler.
But in order to make up for Archer not winning the TNT title, he should be the next holder of the FTW Championship instead. Jake Roberts cutting promos about that would also be a plus.
#3 The next AEW Tag Team Champions - FTR
There have only been two teams to hold the AEW Tag Team titles. Surprisingly, neither of those teams are the Lucha Brothers, Santana and Ortiz or The Young Bucks. They were thought to be three of the top teams in the business with the first two being huge free agent signings for AEW. But instead, SCU and the pairing of Kenny Omega and Hangman Page have represented the company as its tag title holders.
Omega and Page have beaten a lot of good teams. Their most recent victory saw them topple Private Party. In order for the Dark Order to actually be threatening, they would need some gold. But instead of putting the tag titles or a singles title on Lee, they currently do not possess any belts.
For the last five years or so, the Young Bucks and FTR have argued about which is the best tag team in the world. They now have the chance to prove just that. Since the Bucks already faced their Elite teammates and lost, it would make more sense for FTR to challenge for AND win the titles. The former Revival and the Bucks can then enter into a program over the titles.
Omega and Page don't need to be anchoring the division when there are already so many talented and deserving teams in AEW. Let Dax and Cash dethrone Omega and Page and reset things.
#2 The next AEW Women's Champion - Britt Baker
It's been very apparent during the first year of AEW that Britt Baker is someone that AEW desperately wants to push. She was in practically every female match in the promotion's infancy and was the first female signed to the company. As her initial pushed seemed to stall, it looked like a change was needed.
Instead of being the bubbly and smiling face, Baker adopted the condescending role model gimmick and leaned into her dentist background. It opened up another side of the performer and it seemed like she'd found her groove. Like the rest of her first year in AEW, however, she couldn't stay healthy. She hurt her ankle, had her nose busted open and is currently out of action with a leg injury.
In any promotion, when most stars are injured, they are taken off of TV. It gives other stars TV time and also a provides a moment of pop and anticipation for when the injured star returns. That hasn't happened with Baker. She's still in the crowd each week on Dynamite and is currently in the middle of a feud with Big Swole. While Baker has maintained her entertaining nature, you have to think that the spotlight could go to someone else in the women's division until she's 100% healthy.
Baker already stated that she'd be back for All Out which is in September. Hikaru Shida seemed like the most logical choice to be AEW Women's Champion. Riho was the inaugural title holder who ceded the title to Nyla Rose. Rose lost the title rather quickly to joshi star.
Without many other established performers in the women's division, it's likely that Shida holds onto the title until Baker is healthy. Then they can finally put the title around her waist. Baker has been one of the most entertaining parts of Dynamite and it's been done for this reason.
#1 The next AEW World Champion - MJF
Even MJF thought it was weird that he hasn't had a shot at the AEW Championship despite being undefeated (7-0) in 2020. He's No. 1 in the rankings but the reason for postponing his title shot could be simple - they're saving his actual title match for a big title change later this year.
Jon Moxley has dispatched of every challenger he's faced since winning the title in February. He's one of the biggest names in the company and has clout within the business due to his tenure in WWE. It would have been a slippery slope had a member of the Elite been one of the first AEW title holders in the company's history. Part of the reason of forming AEW was to be different than the others and to be unique. They made the right choice to crown Chris Jericho as the company's first World Champ and Moxley as the second.
MJF has been greatly protected throughout his time in AEW. He even entered into a program with Cody and won. He's the only person to do so (beat Cody) this year. While he did lose with interference so the American Nightmare could still look strong, MJF still won the match. The youngster is one of the best heels in all of wrestling and it's clear that he's the future of the business and AEW.
It might not be right away, but whenever Moxley drops the AEW Championship, it will be in shady fashion to MJF. He's just better than us and we know it. The inevitable title win will only confirm that statement.
