One of the big selling points about AEW for the average wrestling fan is the fact that, when it comes to its title scene, it can forge its own legacy.
The AEW World Championship has, for the most part, had a pretty solid lineage; there’s no Jinder Mahal to contend with, no Orton/Cena hot potato, nobody who was convicted of some terrible crime.
That’s why it’s so important for the company to be selective about its world champions going forward; to really think long and hard about who they want to give that honor to while it still feels unique and special.
With that in mind, here are seven AEW stars who we believe could become world champion in 2023:
Bryan Danielson
Alright let’s get this one out of the way while we’re here: the fact that Bryan Danielson wasn’t made AEW World Champion five minutes after first setting foot in the company is a travesty.
Okay maybe travesty is a bit mark-y; it was super weird, though.
Weirder still is the fact that, as far as we’re aware, there don’t seem to be any immediate plans to put the belt on one of AEW’s bigger draws, even the face of stagnant ratings and the blow to company morale that was “the entire second half of 2022.”
That being said we’ve got a long year ahead of us, and after MJF’s reign of terror comes to an end this could be the year Tony (and Danielson himself, if reports about him refusing the bigger accolades are true) sees the light.
Of course, if there’s one drawback to putting the big gold on the big goat, it’s that it would help to further the narrative that AEW plays favorites when it comes to guys who were big in WWE.
That’s why they should actually put it on…
Darby Allin
Maybe this is just because I grew up in Manchester in the early-2000s, but Darby Allin’s sk8r boi aesthetic really does it for me.
In fact when I think of AEW, Darby’s I-Like-Turtles make-up is one of the things that stands out to me as being really iconic, and that separates AEW’s roster from that of WWE.
It doesn’t hurt that he has the skills to back up the look either, consistently putting on great performances against a wide range of opponents.
What he’s been doing with Sting and the TNT title have been great, but when that whole saga comes to an end maybe Darby should set his sights on fellow pillar of AEW MJF to continue the streak of home-grown talents holding the big gold.
Also, let’s be honest: with the way he hits the coffin drop, Darby doesn’t have long before he’s going to have to think really hard about changing his moveset, before he gets an extra-bad case of just-turned-30-and-now-everything-hurts back.
Miro
If Tony does give Miro the belt the first thing he should do is install a GPS tracking chip in it so he doesn’t go missing for another six months.
I know it’s passè to talk about now – hell, it was passè to talk about in August – but the fact that Miro is barely featured on television is one of the most baffling decisions by a company that is quickly becoming known for its baffling decisions.
One of the ways to make up for what at this point is beginning to feel like a very deliberate insult is to not just bring Miro back and feature him prominently, but strap the belt to him and prove that you understand his worth to the company.
It wouldn’t even take much build to get there: Miro is big. Miro is strong. Miro is back, and he would like the shiny belt now, please.
Claudio Castagnoli
The Swiss Cyborg is one of those wrestlers who fans have spent years arguing should be at the very top of any promotion he’s part of.
It’s not hard to see why; he’s a freak of nature and the strongest man alive, it makes perfect kayfabe sense for him to completely outmatch every other wrestler he comes into contact with.
They sort of got his wish last year, when he was made ROH World Champion for a cup of coffee (note: you know what’s crazy? I almost ended the sentence there, but then when I got to the end of the list I came back and realized that he’s currently in his second reign as ROH Champion. Tony really needs to get a TV deal).
That reign was fine, but if we’re being honest he was the pinnacle of a promotion that doesn’t really exist at this point.
What would be better would be if Castagnoli got a shot with a title that serves more of a purpose than headlining pay-per-views for a phantom company.
Give him that big beautiful trouser cincher, and let him put on some of those patented Claudio classics.
Malakai Black
The third-spookiest boy in all sports entertainment made a huge splash when he turned up in AEW all the way back in July 2021.
While people expected great things from the big Dutch goth, it took a while for him to get off the ground.
When he did, he was relegated to a stable, meaning that he never really enjoyed the singles run most of us were anticipating in the weeks following his first appearance.
It definitely didn’t help that Black was forced to take some time out from the company towards the latter half of 2022, owing to personal issues.
As the creepy kick machine settles back into his wrestling duties, 2023 could be the year could be the year that
Tony Khan
There was a point in 2022 where people were genuinely starting to make late-2000s WCW comparisons about AEW.
Well jokes on you, internet trolls: I was 10 years old in the late 2000s and I didn’t think there was anything wrong with WCW at the time, because I was dumb as hell.
Let 2023 be the year that AEW embraces the hate, hires Vince Russo and becomes what it was always meant to be: TNA 2.0.
Obviously I’m joking (I’m not joking, I want to see this, I love drama) but hey, you never know with wrestling (I do, I know, this is definitely going to happen).
Keith Lee
Adam Blampied’s husband is one of the best wrestlers in the world, and he should be treated as such.
WWE didn’t treat him as such (at least they didn’t on the main roster); WWE put him in a pink singlet and called him “Bearcat”.
While he’s had a fair amount of success as a tag team guy in AEW, I think we forget sometimes that this is Keith Lee we’re talking about.
The man who ended Adam Cole’s record-setting NXT reign. The man who impressed Brock Lesnar simply by being a “big boy”.
Tag teams are fine, but the man is a single’s star; emphasis on the “star”.
Could 2023 be the year we finally see him shine?
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