AEW's Obsession With Tournaments & Titles Hurts The Brand

Highlights

• AEW and ROH have produced more titles than necessary due to their semi-combination, leading to an excess of championships.
• Tournaments have become a regular occurrence in AEW, happening almost every other month to crown new champions and contenders.
• The Continental Classic tournament is a successful and intriguing idea that presents opportunities for mid to upper card wrestlers.

No matter if you are a fan of AEW's product or dislike the way they produce wrestling shows on a weekly basis, one can say that, at the very least, Tony Khan and his crew keep fans on their toes wondering what idea the AEW President will come up with next. With that said, in conjunction with Khan's purchase of Ring of Honor (ROH), he has conducted a semi-combination of the two organizations, which has produced more titles than what's needed in a pro wrestling company. Tournaments have become a staple for AEW for various reasons, either random or as needed to crown new champions or number one contenders.

The following table shows a full list of AEW and ROH titles, and tournaments held between 2019 through 2023.

Tony Khan Confirms Plans To Unify Titles From Three Different Promotions

AEW's Problem With Having Too Many Titles Began With ROH Purchase

Tony Khan Bought Ring Of Honor In 2022

Over a year ago, in March 2022, Tony Khan made the monumental announcement that he acquired Ring of Honor following a sale from previous owners, Sinclair Broadcasting. This was seen at the time as a big acquisition for AEW and ROH, as the potential was there for ROH to be given a new start whilst acting as a secondary entity in conjunction with AEW.

However, while both shows were kept separate with ROH functioning on its own through Ring of Honor's Honor Club for weekly matchups, we began to see more ROH titles and storylines appear on AEW television. In the beginning, it was justifiable to get the brand out there by using AEW's fan base as a platform, but as time went on, fans began to see ROH get more publicity through AEW television rather than its own events, with the titles appearing more and more on AEW Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. This meant that AEW had not only 7–8 championships of their own, but also ROH's.

Tournaments Became Almost A Weekly Thing On AEW Television

Tony Khan's Obsession With Tournaments

Wrestling fans realize and understand that tournaments are natural in both sports and pro wrestling. This is completely understandable, but sometimes too much of a good thing is exactly that. During AEW's entire existence there have been roughly 25 tournaments held altogether, with a majority of them crowning a new champion or determining a new #1 contender. When you break it down over the last four years, there has to be at least a tournament held every other month.

Ricky Starks And Willow Nightingale Win AEW's 2023 Owen Hart Tournaments

The biggest issue with AEW and the way Tony Khan has handled these tournaments falls in line with how often they happen. For example, any championship tournament to determine a new #1 contender can easily be resolved with a multi-man match, or even a battle royal if needed. The best usage of AEW's tenure with any tournament has to be the Owen Hart Memorial Foundation Cup Tournament. The more tournaments and cups that AEW holds throughout the year can water down the Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament, which serves more meaning than the other tournaments AEW has ever held to date.

The AEW Continental Classic Tournament Is A Great Idea

Eliminating Tournaments And Doing Away With Certain Titles In AEW And ROH

AEW's recent tournament called the "Continental Classic" is one idea that is both intriguing and, with a couple tweaks, could become another signature tournament that AEW can run once a year. Having two leagues with a select number of AEW stars involved, mostly in the mid to upper card range, presents a tremendous opportunity to boost that wrestler's career and present them with an opportunity to earn a future title shot.

AEW Dynamite Ratings Up With Success Of Continental Classic Tournament

This may come off a little hypocritical considering everything that has been said about AEW tournaments above, but this is one scenario where, when it's done right, it makes sense for AEW. Having status-quo tournaments just for the sake of having them or to crown new champions and #1 contenders can be interpreted as lazy booking and unnecessary.

Eliminating titles is certainly an option. Aside from completely separating AEW from ROH, AEW would benefit from eliminating at least two titles from their lineup. The AEW Tag Team Trios and FTW Championship are two examples of this. There aren't enough trios teams to carry the titles, while the latter FTW Championship is strictly a gimmicked title that serves no real purpose in AEW.