All Elite Wrestling issued a press release on early Monday evening to announce a new championship is going to be introduced by the company. The title will be known as the AEW TNT Championship.
The process to crown the first AEW TNT Champion will start soon
Starting with the April 8th edition of Dynamite, an eight-man tournament will play out to determine the first-ever champion. During this week's edition of AEW Dark (set for release on Tuesday), one-half of the bracket will be revealed; while the other half will be unveiled on this week's edition of Dynamite on Wednesday.
Please take a look at the full press release below:
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
March 30, 2020 – AEW announced its first-ever “TNT CHAMPIONSHIP,” a high-stakes, eight-man tournament which kicks off on Wednesday, April 8, on the weekly AEW: DYNAMITE show on TNT. The single-elimination tournament will feature the biggest names in AEW all vying for the inaugural TNT CHAMPIONSHIP belt.
Wrestlers in the first half of the tournament bracket will be revealed this Tuesday, March 31, on AEW’s YouTube show, AEW DARK. The second half of the bracket will be announced this Wednesday, April 1, during the live AEW: DYNAMITE show on TNT. The TNT CHAMPIONSHIP will culminate with an epic final match at DOUBLE OR NOTHING, AEW’s highly anticipated PPV event on Saturday, May 23, in Las Vegas.
“It’s been a privilege working with Kevin Reilly and TNT to bring fans the best live wrestling show week after week on AEW: DYNAMITE, especially during these tumultuous times,” said Tony Khan, president and CEO of AEW. “I’m glad we’re now able to announce the TNT CHAMPIONSHIP. The first ever titleholder will be determined by an unforgettable tournament that fans will not want to miss, and that our wrestlers will be desperate to win. I’m excited for the announcement of the full bracket live on Dynamite this week. And, it’s only fitting that the champion and the title belt will carry the logo of the globally-respected TNT brand, and that they’ll represent not only AEW but also the great quality programming, massive reach, and storied history in the wrestling business that are all associated with TNT.”
Last year on May 25th, Double or Nothing was the first-ever AEW branded pay-per-view. Two days shy of a year later, the company's first secondary champion will be crowned.
Within a short amount of time, AEW has created a large and deep roster of talented wrestlers, and this championship will further enable the company to highlight some of those superstars like Darby Allin, Shawn Spears, and Jungle Boy
What's next for AEW?
With the full eight-man bracket unveiled by the end of this week's edition of Dynamite, we will not only know who is in the tournament but the match-ups as well. A secondary championship was on many wishlists of the fans of AEW, and it is safe to expect that the tournament is going to be loaded with some top-tier talent.