Call them the “King/Queen of Prospects” (the K/QoP). Basically, a belt reserved for wrestlers 25-or-under. Here’s a list of men and women who would qualify:

Men: Daniel Garcia, Dante Martin, Darius Martin, Action Andretti, Hook, Komander, Kyle Fletcher, Lee Johnson, Nick Wayne, Parker Boudreaux, Cole Karter.

Women: Anna Jay, Julia Hart, Billie Starkz, Skye Blue, Leyla Hirsch.

(That info comes from https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/roster/aew/ and is likely incomplete).

PROS:

  • Acts as a great way to start long-term rivalries between top prospects.
  • Shines a spotlight on young talent. Could be good for the demo?
  • Gives insight into who Tony likes and wants to push down the road.
  • Offers new story-telling devices. Example: A 24-year old has 3 months before they turn 25 to make good on their promise of one-day becoming the K/QoP.
  • Could make Forbidden Door matches between AEW / NJPW’s top prospects more interesting.
  • Could act as a recruiting tool for top prospects. “Come to AEW and we’ll let you have a run as K/QoP.”

CONS:

  • There are too many belts. Enough with the belts.
  • Without Dark/Elevation, there isn’t enough time to feature green wrestlers.
  • There aren’t enough prospects under-25 to make it interesting. Especially on the women’s side.

What do you think?

  • EccTM@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    There are already 8 belts (9 if you rummage through CM Punk’s luggage) and I don’t think more belts is the solution.

    I feel like there should be a reason for each belt, and as such:

    • I feel the TNT/TBS Championships are basically what your proposed K/QoP belts should be, but they end up just leaving them idle or with no real booking ideas for long stretches of time. We didn’t need 500+ days of Jade Cargill just to put her on ice, and Luchasaurus/Christian doesn’t need to hold a strap just to show us he’s a turd, either.
    • I also think that a champion should always be defending their belt. If it can be on the line, it should be on the line. You get pinned in a four-way or tag match and that opponent just earned a title shot. Keeping the belt on the line makes it matter. Look at the International Championship.
    • Speaking of, I kinda have to admit I don’t really understand the International Championship. It’s booked like it’s the World Championship belt, but for the workhorse talent that are actually willing to have matches. As much as I love that, it’s just how the World Championship belt should actually be treated on a week-to-week basis. If it was me, I’d have a requirement where it has to be defended against other nationalities. Use it for cross-promotional feuds and surprise opponents… make it INTERNATIONAL!
    • The World Championship feels like it’s just a PPV token rather than a belt. The belt that sees more interview time than ring-time. If you claim to be King, you should be willing to defend your throne, even if it’s just randomly to a jobber before a promo-segment.
    • I’d love some sort of Hardcore championship with an any-time any-place kinda rule, and I’d probably have it replace the FTW Championship. Random backstage brawls and stadium stampede situations whenever you need to fill 20 minutes! hurray!

    I think If they’re adding any belts, it should be a Women’s Tag Championship, even though that would require an announcement stating that they’re doubling the women’s roster and backing a dump-truck of cash up towards some big names.

    TLDR: They could just use the belts they already have a bit better, maybe?