The AEW International Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a secondary championship for male wrestlers, and unlike AEW's other titles, which are almost exclusively defended on AEW programming, the International Championship can also be defended in other promotions globally. The current champion is Roderick Strong, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Orange Cassidy at Revolution on March 3, 2024.
| AEW International Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The former belt design as the AEW All-Atlantic Championship (2022–2023); the current version is the same but with the text "International" in place of "All-Atlantic" | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | All Elite Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | June 8, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Roderick Strong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | March 3, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Established as the AEW All-Atlantic Championship on June 8, 2022, the title was created to represent AEW's fans from around the world, but with no particular focus on the Atlantic Ocean or countries surrounding it. The inaugural champion was Pac. Since its establishment, the title has been defended in the Revolution Pro Wrestling, Over the Top Wrestling, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotions, although most of its defenses have occurred in AEW, which has also included defenses against wrestlers from NJPW. On March 15, 2023, the title was rebranded as the AEW International Championship.
History edit
The championship was unveiled by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the June 8, 2022, episode of Dynamite. It was originally established as the AEW All-Atlantic Championship and was created to be a secondary title for the men's division. Despite its original name seemingly centering on countries around the Atlantic Ocean, the company announced that the championship "[represented] the AEW fans watching around the world in over 130 countries".[1]
The inaugural champion was crowned in a four-way match which was held at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view event on June 26, which was co-produced with the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). To determine the competitors in the four-way, six qualifying matches were held. Three of these featured wrestlers from AEW with the three winners advancing to the four-way match.[1] The other three qualifying matches were held between four wrestlers from NJPW in a single-elimination tournament fashion. The winners of NJPW's preliminary qualifiers faced off and the winner of that match advanced to the four-way at Forbidden Door.[2][3] On the AEW side, Pac,[4] Miro,[5] and Malakai Black[6] won their qualifiers; on the NJPW side, Tomohiro Ishii qualified but suffered a legitimate left knee injury and had to be replaced with the runner-up, Clark Connors.[7] At Forbidden Door, Pac became the inaugural champion by submitting Connors.[8]
In an interview with Robbie Fox on the My Mom's Basement podcast, AEW president Tony Khan confirmed that the championship would be defended differently than the company's other titles. Khan said that holders of the championship would defend the title internationally in other promotions, in addition to AEW. This interview came shortly after Pac defended the title at a Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) event, which was later shown on AEW's YouTube show, Dark, on July 12.[9] Pac also defended the title at an Over the Top Wrestling event on July 22.[10] During Orange Cassidy's first reign in April 2023, he defended the title at an NJPW event,[11] while during his second reign in February 2024, he also made a defense at a RevPro event.[12]
On the March 8, 2023, episode of Dynamite, Tony Khan announced that Orange Cassidy's defense of the title that night was the final as the AEW All-Atlantic Championship. The following week on March 15, in celebration of the release of the Warner Bros. film Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the title was rebranded as the AEW International Championship due to AEW's broadcast partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery.[13] At the time, AEW had considered this to be a new title, with Cassidy regarded as the final All-Atlantic Champion and inaugural International Champion,[14] but the title history was later amended to show that it is the same championship with Cassidy's reign as one continuous reign from when he originally defeated Pac for the title.[15]
Inaugural All-Atlantic Championship tournament edit
| Preliminary Qualifiers New Japan Road (June 20, 2022) | Qualifiers Dynamite (June 8, 15, and 22, 2022) New Japan Road (June 21, 2022) | Final Forbidden Door (June 26, 2022) | |||||||||||
 Buddy Matthews | 10:32[4] | ||||||||||||
 Pac | Pin | ||||||||||||
 Ethan Page | 9:25[5] | ||||||||||||
| Pac | Sub | ||||||||||||
 Miro | Sub | ||||||||||||
| Miro | —[8] | ||||||||||||
 Malakai Black | —[8] | ||||||||||||
 Penta Oscuro | 9:49[6] | ||||||||||||
 Clark Connors[a] | 15:05[8] | ||||||||||||
| Malakai Black | Pin | ||||||||||||
 Tomoaki Honma | 11:29[16] | ||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | Pin | ||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | 13:21[17] | ||||||||||||
| Tomohiro Ishii | Pin | ||||||||||||
| Tomohiro Ishii | Pin | ||||||||||||
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 19:01[16] | ||||||||||||
Belt design edit
Ron Edwardsen of Red Leather Belts designed the championship belt. At the top of the center plate is AEW's logo, while at the center of the plate is a globe with flags representing six countries: Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Japan. Originally, the banner above the globe read "All-Atlantic", but this was changed to "International" with the championship's rebranding on March 15, 2023. Another banner below the globe reads "Champion". On each opposing side of the globe are lions standing upright. Sitting on each side of the center plate are two side plates. The inner side plates include AEW's logo over a globe, while the outer side plates feature two wrestlers grappling. Filigree fills in the rest of each plate.[18]
Reigns edit
As of April 25, 2024, there have been six reigns between five champions. Pac was the inaugural champion. Orange Cassidy has the most reigns at two and his first reign is the longest reign at 326 days, while Jon Moxley has the shortest reign at 17 days. Rey Fenix is the youngest champion, winning the title at 32, while Roderick Strong is the oldest, winning the title at 40.
Roderick Strong is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Orange Cassidy at Revolution on March 3, 2024, in Greensboro, North Carolina.
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| AEW All-Atlantic Championship | June 8, 2022 – March 15, 2023 |
| AEW International Championship | March 15, 2023 – present |
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Pac | June 26, 2022 | Forbidden Door | Chicago, IL | 1 | 108 | Defeated Clark Connors, Malakai Black, and Miro in a four-way tournament final to become the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion. | [8] |
| 2 | Orange Cassidy | October 12, 2022 | Dynamite | Toronto, ON, Canada | 1 | 326 | The title was rebranded as the AEW International Championship on March 15, 2023. | [19][20] |
| 3 | Jon Moxley | September 3, 2023 | All Out | Chicago, IL | 1 | 17 | [21] | |
| 4 | Rey Fenix | September 20, 2023 | Dynamite: Grand Slam |
Flushing, Queens, NY | 1 | 20 | [22] | |
| 5 | Orange Cassidy | October 10, 2023 | Dynamite: Title Tuesday |
Independence, MO | 2 | 145 | [23] | |
| 6 | Roderick Strong | March 3, 2024 | Revolution | Greensboro, NC | 1 | 53+ | [24] | |
Combined reigns edit
As of April 25, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange Cassidy | 2 | 471 |
| 2 | Pac | 1 | 108 |
| 3 | Roderick Strong † | 1 | 53+ |
| 4 | Rey Fenix | 1 | 20 |
| 5 | Jon Moxley | 1 | 17 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Defelice, Robert (June 8, 2022). "AEW Introduces All-Atlantic Championship, First Champion To Be Crowned At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- ^ "New Japan Road Night 4 (June 20) Preview". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ Casey, Connor (June 8, 2022). "New AEW Championship Unveiled During AEW Dynamite". ComicBook.com. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- ^ a b Barnett, Jake (June 8, 2022). "6/8 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Jon Moxley vs. the Casino Battle Royale winner for a spot in the Interim AEW World Championship match at Forbidden Door, Pac vs. Buddy Matthews, Thunder Rosa vs. Marina Shafir for the AEW Women's Title, Hangman Page vs. David Finlay". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Powell, Jason (June 15, 2022). "6/15 AEW Dynamite results: Powell's live review of Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus vs. The Young Bucks in a ladder match for the AEW Tag Titles, Chris Jericho vs. Ortiz in a hair vs. hair match, Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker, Will Ospreay vs. Dak Harwood, Ethan Page vs. Miro in an All Atlantic Title qualifying match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Barnett, Jake (June 22, 2022). "6/22 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho and Lance Archer, Bryan Danielson addresses his future, Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis vs. Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta, and Rocky Romero, Penta Oscuro vs. Malakai Black in an All Atlantic Title qualifier". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ a b 【新日本】石井智宏が左ヒザ負傷で『AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door』大会欠場 [[NJPW] Tomohiro Ishii will miss the "AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door" event due to a left knee injury]. proresu-today.com (in Japanese). June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Powell, Jason (June 26, 2022). "AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Interim AEW World Title, Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women's Title, Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy for the IWGP U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ Lee, Joseph (July 13, 2022). "Tony Khan Says AEW All-Atlantic Title Will Be Defended Differently Than Other Belts". 411mania. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 4, 2022). "PAC To Defend AEW All-Atlantic Title In OTT Wrestling". Fightful. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 16, 2023). "NJPW Collision In Philadelphia Results (4/16): Orange Cassidy In Action, Archer vs. Rosser". Fightful. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (February 18, 2024). "Orange Cassidy Appears At RevPro High Stakes 2024, Successfully Defends AEW International Title". Fightful. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ Russell, Skylar (March 8, 2023). "AEW To 'Level Up' All-Atlantic Championship Into AEW International Championship On 3/15 Dynamite". Fightful. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ G., Joey (March 15, 2023). "Orange Cassidy Defeats Jeff Jarrett To Become The First AEW International Champion". Wrestling Headlines. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ "International Championship History". All Elite Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ a b "New Japan Road 2022.06.20". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ "New Japan Road 2022.06.21". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved June 21, 2022.
- ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (June 9, 2022). "Here is a better look at the brand new #AEW All-Atlantic Championship crafted by #RedLeatherBelts that was shown for the first time on TONIGHT's LIVE #AEWDynamite" (Tweet). Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 12, 2022). "10/12 AEW Dynamite results: Powell's live review of Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson for the ROH Championship, Pac vs. Orange Cassidy for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry vs. Luchasaurus, Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter, Swerve Strickland vs. Billy Gunn". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Powell, Jason (March 15, 2023). "3/15 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of House of Black vs. The Elite vs. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Daniel Garcia for the AEW Trios Titles, Orange Cassidy vs. Jeff Jarrett for the AEW International Title, MJF's Re-Bar Mitzvah, Jade Cargill's Canadian open challenge for the TBS Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Powell, Jason (September 3, 2023). "AEW All Out results: Powell's live review of Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley for the AEW International Title, Luchasaurus vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Title, Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks in a strap match, Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ Powell, Jason (September 20, 2023). "AEW Dynamite results (9/20): Powell's live review of MJF vs. Samoa Joe for the AEW World Title, Saraya vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women's Title, Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston in a title vs. title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 10, 2023). "AEW Dynamite results (10/10): Powell's live review of Adam Copeland vs. Luchasaurus, Rey Fenix vs. Adam Copeland for the AEW International Title, Jay White vs. Hangman Page, Chris Jericho vs. Powerhouse Hobbs". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ Powell, Jason (March 3, 2024). "AEW Revolution results: Powell's live review of Sting and Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Titles in Sting's final match, Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
External links edit
- Official AEW International Championship History at All Elite Wrestling
Media related to AEW All-Atlantic Championship at Wikimedia Commons
