10 Genius Ways Tony Khan Can Get The AEW Magic Back
6. Stop. Beating. Champions.
A great wrestling champion feels invincible so that, when they are eventually dethroned, it feels like the challenger has realised the ultimate triumph.
Jon Moxley and Wardlow fulfil the role, so it's bad faith to suggest that this core concept has gone entirely to sh*t - but again, Tony Khan used to be far more disciplined at this sort of thing. When Scorpio Sky pinned Chris Jericho, it really meant something (even if the follow-up wasn't great). When the Young Bucks lost to Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo, the shock result sparked euphoria. Fans wanted to see the Bucks lose because they were on phenomenal form as heels, and they lost before it all became too oppressive - but well after they had been established as credible champions.
The following is a list of AEW and ROH titleholders who have been directly pinned or submitted between All Out on September 4, 2022, and November 17 and does not include Tag or Trios champions that obviously lost the same match:
AEW Interim Women's Champion Toni Storm (September 14);
AEW Trios Champion Rey Fénix (September 23);
AEW Trios Champion Rey Fénix (November 2);
AEW Trios Champion Penta El Zero Miedo (September 14);
AEW Trios Champion Penta El Zero Miedo (October 26);
AEW Trios Champion PAC (October 12);
ROH World Champion Chris Jericho (October 26);
ROH World Champion Chris Jericho (November 16);
ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia (October 5);
ROH Trios Champion Dalton Castle (October 18);
AEW World Tag Team Champion Anthony Bowens (November 16)
That's literally over one per week. What are we doing here?
This is fairly appalling when it's written down, and is the grim, inevitable byproduct of introducing or integrating far too many titles, the sheer volume of which renders the concept diluted before one even considers the actual results.
Perhaps Tony Khan needs to revisit the following narrative choice...