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?
Infinite agreement here. It makes the actual World Championship belt look even worse, considering how under-utilized it already is. The International Championship is THE AEW Championship in my eyes, and the World Championship belt is just some form of PPV token they can walk out for interviews.