Next AEW World Champion after Will Ospreay: Who will hold the company’s top title following the Aerial Assassin?

AEW

Will Ospreay has now defended the AEW World Championship twice since winning the gold from Kenny Omega at All In London.

Ospreay’s first title defense took place at All Out on September 29, with the Aerial Assassin finally defeating Jon Moxley.

He most recently put the title on the line at Dynamite Grand Slam France on October 6, retaining the gold against his former mentor Kazuchika Okada.

With Ospreay’s recent comments about plans for his title reign, and the upcoming Clockwork Carnage match, there has been a lot of speculation about the star who will eventually dethrone the British star for AEW’s top prize.

Here are three stars who could become AEW World Champion after Will Ospreay.

Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe became the first challenger to qualify for the Clockwork Carnage match for the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream, defeating Jack Perry at Grand Slam France to earn his spot in the match.

Interestingly, this was Joe’s first match in almost five months, since losing to Ospreay in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament quarterfinals at Double or Nothing.

With seven challengers to compete for Ospreay’s gold at WrestleDream, the Aerial Assassin has a big challenge ahead of him.

If Ospreay does walk out of Orlando, Florida empty-handed, Samoa Joe could capitalize and reclaim AEW’s top title.

Darby Allin

During the All Out press conference, Will Ospreay stated that he wants to defend the AEW World Championship against all of the stars who have previously defeated him in singles competition.

Alongside Kazuchika Okada, Ospreay specifically named Darby Allin as a star who he wants to challenge for his gold.

Allin defeated Ospreay on the December 18, 2024 Dynamite episode, in Gold League action as part of the Continental Classic tournament.

While Allin currently holds the TNT Championship, we could see him add another title to his collection if he does challenge for Ospreay’s gold in the coming months.

Andrade El Idolo

Andrade El Idolo is in an interesting position in AEW, being allies with the AEW World Champion, while also having a guaranteed title shot in hand.

The National Champion won the Casino Gauntlet at All In London to earn a future AEW World Championship match, just four matches before Ospreay defeated Omega to reach the top of the AEW mountain.

Both Ospreay and Andrade are affiliated with the United Empire faction, which has fuelled a lot of speculation about a potential future title match.

One of the most talented stars on the roster, it would make a lot of sense if Andrade El Idolo went on to win the AEW World Title.

MJF

At Dynamite Beach Break on July 8, Kenny Omega defeated MJF to win the AEW World Championship.

Despite this, MJF still parades around with “Triple B” and calls himself the real AEW World Champion, taking verbal shots at Will Ospreay frequently.

While MJF has now called out NJPW G1 Climax winner Ryohei Oiwa, it feels almost inevitable that we’ll see MJF vs Ospreay for AEW’s top title down the line.

MJF will do anything to walk away with the gold, so there’s every chance that he will be the next official AEW World Champion.

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• Will Ospreay
• title change
• champion
• AEW

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