Next 3 male world champs

[ChitownKnight]

I gotta say, have Eddie beat him at Grand Slam, then a heel Mox beats him at Full Gear, Mox has a nice long reign and then Hangman beats him at All Out 2023

[rnrk supports BLM]

MJF looked like such a lock until this weekend, didn't he?

If it was up to me, I'd go with Pentagon, then Starks, then Bryan.

[bog]

I just want Eddie to win it, even if it's just for a night.

[Susan "Poison" Candy]

If they are going by standings then Adam Cole is next but he already had 3 chances and lost them all. Moxley is next, then Jay Lethal & Tony Nese. But that's if they only go by standings. I don't think BCC and LAX are done with JAS yet so Mox is out. Lethal is doing ROH stuff and Tony Nese just lost to HOOKHAUSEN. I think Hangman gets a rematch and Omega comes out and interferes.

So my guess is they will do Punk vs Cole a few times with Cole winning the last one which sets up for a returning Omega so Omega wins next then probably Ricky Starks wins the Casino Battle Royal and gets a shot and possibly gets a few months Program and then wins. At least that's what I would like to see.

[Tiffany Stratton's Daddy]

May 30, 2022 21:24:57 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

MJF looked like such a lock until this weekend, didn't he?

If it was up to me, I'd go with Pentagon, then Starks, then Bryan.

MJF was a lock... now damn.

As far as the question, if MJF isn't the next guy, should it go to Darby Allin? Darby avenges his loss against Punk at All Out a year later and wins the title. Adam Cole beats Darby Allin in the winter and then we can see Adam Cole versus Kenny Omega. Omega gets a face run with the belt.

Chris Jericho
Jon Moxley
Kenny Omega
Hangman Page
CM Punk
Darby Allin
Adam Cole
Kenny Omega

Not a bad 8-man start to the world title.

[Blade]

If it was up to me, it'd be Eddie, then Bryan, and then Miro (assuming he comes back at the top of his game).

Eddie beating Punk for the title would easily rival or even surpass Hangman winning as a feel good moment; they could very easily not do it but they would be crazy to imo. I do have some hope since finally winning a big match against Jericho has elevated his stature.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

Eddie
Back to Punk
Omega

[oxbaker]

When do you think we’ll get a surprise win for the title?

The succession has been carefully planned out to the point that from Jericho winning it in the first place to Mox to Omega to Hangman to Punk, we all knew 100% who the next champion was and even pretty predictably when it would happen far ahead — not just they announce the title match and people say ‘yeah, I think this will be it.’

I’d like to see — even if it’s just a lose it and win it back … or lose it and have that guy lose it quickly — a ‘random’ title change on Dynamite sometime to shake things up. Have an Eddie or a Wardlow or whoever is really over get a shocking title win. Maybe not even pre-announce the match and book a way for it there to be a challenge early in the show that’s accepted and then do the title match with the surprise ending at the end.

You can have long-term storytelling and builds to these things and still add some spontaneity.

I mean the fact that Punk hasn’t even taken off his boots before people are saying ‘well it was without a doubt going to be MJF’s turn next, had all this stuff not happened’ takes a little bit of mystery out of it. I don’t think you need to swerve for swerve’s sake, but going with the hot hand and keeping some suspense that it could happen would be good.

[The Ichi]

Eddie beats Punk at All Out
Adam Cole beats Eddie at Full Gear
Wardlow beats Adam Cole the following Dynamite

[Derk!]

Eddie beats Punk in New York.


After that I don't care.

[Celexa Bliss 54]

Sammy takes it at Revolution. Let Punk run with it for a bit, beat Page again, then Cole, Kenny, maybe a three-way or four-way, Kyle, then finally drops it to Sammy next year)

At Fyter Fest or Fight for the Fallen, Sammy loses it to Jungle Boy. I'd have had JB win an intense feud with Christian where he finally wins a lights out match or something. Then, to get himself in contention, he can beat Cole at Double or Nothing. By then, they hopefully won't have interacted in almost a year so the match will feel fresh...

MJF (he'll be back, guys) takes it at Full Gear and builds the whole "I'm taking this title to WWE in January" routine. If he's leaving, he drops the belt at Winter Is Coming to the Eliminator Tournament winner, Wardlow. If he's staying, have a thing where he comes out on the final Dynamite of the year and says this is it, his last night in AEW. Wardlow challenges him for Rampage and Tony makes it official, Wardlow wins, then MJF returns at the end of Revolution to attack Wardlow and they feud up to maybe April.

So yeah, I booked four not three lol

[deezy]

Darby Allin
Miro
Wardlow

[El Pollo Guerrera]

The next three title reigns?
Page
Danielson
Omega

[Bo Rida]

Eddie
Danielson

May 30, 2022 22:10:02 GMT -5 oxbaker said:

When do you think we’ll get a surprise win for the title?

I'd have Danielson look set for a long reign, announce he'll be a fighting champion and beats someone like Takeshita or Malaki and PAC does the staring challenger thing.

So Brian defends against Penta. PAC scowls.
Then Fenix... Except Fenix wins.

(MJF should be the step before Eddie)

[oxbaker]

May 31, 2022 0:24:48 GMT -5 Bo Rida said:

Eddie
Danielson

May 30, 2022 22:10:02 GMT -5 oxbaker said:

When do you think we’ll get a surprise win for the title?

I'd have Danielson look set for a long reign, announce he'll be a fighting champion and beats someone like Takeshita or Malaki and PAC does the staring challenger thing.

So Brian defends against Penta. PAC scowls.
Then Fenix... Except Fenix wins.

(MJF should be the step before Eddie)

Since you brought him up, PAC would be a great choice for a surprise short-reign ‘interim’ champion.

(Also, I originally read the start of your post as ‘I’d have Danhausen look set for a long reign …’ and did a double-take, haha.)

[Mid-Carder]

Eddie, Bryan, Kenny

[Allie Kitsune]

assuming that MJF is at least taking a break?

Danielson
Tanahashi (Yeah, I went there.)
Cole

[eJm]

May 30, 2022 22:30:33 GMT -5 Derk! said:

Eddie beats Punk in New York.


After that I don't care.

Yeah, I’m sort of the same way. Either Punk turns heel and Eddie’s the one to save it or Eddie builds himself up after the BaG win to overcome his Punk demon and prove himself as worthy to be a world champion in a big company.

After that, Eddie’s reign could end in a few months to Rebel for all I care.

[Dang!]

May 30, 2022 22:23:29 GMT -5 The Ichi said:

Wardlow beats Adam Cole the following Dynamite

Well, that match would just have to be a record time squash or the Undisputed Elite ganging up on Wardlow in nWo fashion. No way, I'd buy an actually competitive match between these two. A guy like Wardlow would just emphasize Cole's shortcomings too much.

[clifford]

Yeah its Eddie at Grand Slam- this is an obvious world title change I think we can all get behind though, and its not like Kenny or Britt's reign where we all knew the destination, we just had to spin wheels before getting there, as 3 1/2 months to Grand Slam means Summer of Punk III can be full of twists and turns.

Eddie could literally lose it to anyone after that, but I feel like it will be to a veteran so Mox, Danielson, maybe even back to Punk.

Then the wildcard is MJF; for so long thought a lock and it only being a matter of time until he gets the world title, the last few months and last weekend in particular have thrown that all up into the air. If him and AEW get it worked out then I could absolutely see him as world champ around the end of the year, beating Kingston and going into 2023 as champ.

Kenny's return and what shape he'll be in is also a factor. Is he on borrowed time in terms of an in ring career, or will this layoff fix all his recent issues and grant him another 5-8 years at the top of professional wrestling? If its the former, then one last world title reign as a face surely has to be considered for him.

As an aside I'm super interested to see how Adam Page is booked from here to any potential second world title reign.

Similarly, what's next for Wardlow- now that he's out from under MJF will his reactions be as strong without such a heel to play off of? If he continues his trajectory as is, you'd have to think AEW will be considering him as a potential world champ sooner rather than later.

So for me you've got a pool of Eddie, Mox, Danielson, Kenny, Wardlow, Hangman and MJF (maybe) to pick from as your next few world champs; that's a window for say, the next 18 months to 2 years.