10 Non-AEW Stars Who Should Challenge For The TNT Championship

Cody may come to regret his words. Who is next for the AEW TNT Championship challenge?

Zack Ryder TNT Champ
WWE/AEW

Has it really been four months already? Time flies when you're waiting out a global pandemic. A third of a year has passed since AEW announced that it was going to introduce a second championship, the TNT Championship. From the moment the brackets were announced it was clear that fans could expect a final between Cody and Lance Archer and that is exactly what they got, with Cody overcoming the Murderhawk Monster to become the inaugural champion.

Cody pledged to make the AEW TNT Championship a title to be proud of, setting out a plan to defend the title against anyone brave enough to challenge him. That proclamation was extended to performers outside the AEW bubble, setting pulses racing and fantasy bookers into overdrive.

The whole 'global pandemic' thing has stopped the open challenge from taking off, but the wrestling world remains full of quality talent that could appear on Dynamite with gold in mind. Ricky Starks was the first, and he got himself an AEW contract in failing to capture the title.

Who else might take an interest in AEW's newest title? Throw the net out wide, the waters are full of sharks waiting to strike.

10. Nick Aldis

Zack Ryder TNT Champ
NWA

He might not be everyone's cup of tea, but since when have pro wrestlers strived for that mediocre middle ground? Okay, throw in your own '2 1/2 star merchant' joke in there. Nick Aldis is old-fashioned in a lot of ways, and not just because he carries the fabled ten pounds of gold, the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Aldis works slow, works smart. His promos are undeniably his strong point, but he rarely underperforms in the ring.

AEW might be the land of Orange Cassidy, Kenny Omega and other pro wrestling revolutionaries, but it has also shown a keen love for the long history of pro wrestling. Nick Aldis fits that latter mould. The Englishman also has previous with Cody; their match for the NWA title overachieved way back at All In, providing the audience with an invigorating and cathartic piece of professional wrestling magic.

Is Aldis going to turn up on AEW Dynamite unannounced? Almost certainly not. Aldis is the NWA's biggest star and its most protected. Having the top champion fall short in a impromptu secondary title match is bad business. Could AEW and NWA work together to build to a pay-per-view match between Cody and Aldis? Absolutely. It is a match that works for all involved parties.

Contributor
Contributor

Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.