Call them the “King/Queen of Prospects” (the K/QoP). Basically, a belt reserved for wrestlers 25-or-under. Here’s a list of men and women who would qualify:
Men: Daniel Garcia, Dante Martin, Darius Martin, Action Andretti, Hook, Komander, Kyle Fletcher, Lee Johnson, Nick Wayne, Parker Boudreaux, Cole Karter.
Women: Anna Jay, Julia Hart, Billie Starkz, Skye Blue, Leyla Hirsch.
(That info comes from https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/roster/aew/ and is likely incomplete).
PROS:
- Acts as a great way to start long-term rivalries between top prospects.
- Shines a spotlight on young talent. Could be good for the demo?
- Gives insight into who Tony likes and wants to push down the road.
- Offers new story-telling devices. Example: A 24-year old has 3 months before they turn 25 to make good on their promise of one-day becoming the K/QoP.
- Could make Forbidden Door matches between AEW / NJPW’s top prospects more interesting.
- Could act as a recruiting tool for top prospects. “Come to AEW and we’ll let you have a run as K/QoP.”
CONS:
- There are too many belts. Enough with the belts.
- Without Dark/Elevation, there isn’t enough time to feature green wrestlers.
- There aren’t enough prospects under-25 to make it interesting. Especially on the women’s side.
What do you think?
I don’t care for the Under 25 rule, but they should turn the TNT title into the lower card title, similar to the WCW TV title. I’d also like to see them make it a hot potato title, I don’t want it to change hands constantly, but they as well as WWE, could benefit from a belt that actually changes hands more often than not, at least I would like that. I’m not saying hot potato it like WCW did the world title in the 90s but you could do some shock changes on Dynamite and then have it pass back on Rampage or Collision and it would be okay, if I actually thought a title could change hands on Rampage I might watch it more.
I totally agree about belts changing hands more often. And I wouldn’t mind more upsets in general. In “real” sports, the best teams sometimes lose to the worst. Outside of Jericho/Andretti, it’s incredibly rare to see that happen in wrestling.