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At All Elite Wrestling's last pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, Cody became the inaugural TNT Champion, as he secured a vital win over 'The Muderhawk Monster' Lance Archer. Having defeated Shawn Spears and Darby Allin earlier in the TNT Championship Tournament, Cody was able to overcome the threat possessed by Archer in the finals - in what was arguably one of Cody's biggest wins in AEW so far.
The win was also Cody's first title win in AEW and on the following edition of AEW Dynamite, the former 'American Nightmare' revealed that he would be hosting a TNT Championship Open Challenge every week.
This coming Wednesday, Cody will also mark his first defense of the TNT Title, as he prepares himself to put his newly won title on the line against Jungle Boy, who won a Battle Royal on last week's Dynamite to become the #1 contender for the title.
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However, interestingly enough, Cody revealed a new rule for the TNT Championship Open Challenge, via one of his latest Q&A sessions' on Twitter, claiming that non-AEW Superstars are also eligible to challenge for the TNT Championship.
As we all know, several WWE Superstars were recently released by the company, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which presumably forced WWE to cut down on their talent pool. There are currently a bunch of superstars who are either working as free agents or aren't committed to one particular promotion.
With that being said, there is a possibility for several notable names to possibly step up to Cody's TNT Title Open Challenge in the coming weeks and try their best to take the title away from the AEW EVP.
Therefore, in this list, we will take a look at 5 non-AEW Superstars who could answer Cody's TNT Championship Open Challenge.
#5 Brian Pillman Jr.
Brian Pillman Jr. is one of the most talented superstars today. Son of the legendary superstar Brian Pillman, he is currently working for Major League Wrestling and despite having made his debut just three years ago, in 2017, Pillman Jr. has quickly established himself as one of the finest second generation workers in the business today.
Pillman Jr. was trained by former WWE Intercontinental Champion Lance Storm and, during the initial stages of his MLW career, he was mentored by Kevin Sullivan, who was his father's rival in WCW.
Having formed the New Era Hart Foundation in MLW, Pillman Jr. has been on the rise on the Independent Circuit. He has previously shared the ring with current AEW Superstar Lance Archer and others and, in 2019, he also took part in a battle royal at the very first Double or Nothing PPV, which was also AEW's first PPV altogether.
Having technically worked under AEW already, this could the perfect opportunity for Cody and Co. to bring back Pillman Jr. and have him challenge for the TNT Championship. The man himself also teased the possibility of it, while responding to Cody.
We'll have to wait and see if the son of the "Loose Cannon" makes his return to AEW, but it's a possibility.
#4 Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Sticking to our involvement with MLW and the New Era Hart Foundation, how could one leave out the highly-talented Davey Boy Smith Jr. when it comes to the challengers of the AEW TNT Championship open challenge?
Davey Boy Smith Jr. is mostly popular in the US for his work with WWE, where he was known as David Hart Smith (or DH Smith) and was part of The Hart Foundation with Tyson Kidd and Natalya.
Smith Jr. is a former two-time WWE Tag Team Champion and enjoyed quite the formidable run in WWE. However, it was his tenure in Japan that arguably made him the star that he is today.
Marking his departure from WWE in 2011, Davey Boy Smith, Jr. worked on the Indie Circuit for a few notable months before making his grand return to New Japan Pro Wrestling and this time, he was set for his comeback as the newest member of Minoru Suzuki's Suzuki Gun.
As part of that faction, Davey Boy Smith Jr. represented the primary tag team of the faction, as he and current AEW star Lance Archer formed The Killer Elite Squad - and pretty much decimated every tag team that stepped in their path.
The duo conquered the tag team divisions of both NJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH, winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship on three different occasions and the GHC Tag Team Championship on two occasions. The duo are also former two-time NWA World Tag Team Champions, as well.
Over the years, Davey Boy Smith Jr. has proved his worth as a singles wrestler on the Indie circuit, similar to what Lance Archer has done within the past year or so in NJPW.
The Canadian Superstar himself has been pretty vocal about signing with AEW and his debut for the promotion could eventually lead to the highly-awaited reunion of The Killer Elite Squad in AEW. Or maybe we get an exciting feud between Smith Jr. and Archer?
We'll have to wait until a future AEW Dynamite to find out.
#3 Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona
k Ryder - now going by his real name Matt Cardona -was among one of the few names that WWE let go recently and, since his departure from the company, fans have been hoping that the former WWE Intercontinental Champion would show up in AEW, solely due to his relationship with Cody.
In the aftermath of his release, Cardona did claim that Cody is his only friend in the wrestling business, and considering his off-screen relationship with the AEW Executive Vice President, it could actually only be a matter of time before the former Ryder makes his official AEW debut.
Having the former Intercontinental Champion step up as a challenger for Cody's TNT Championship would be the perfect manner to introduce Cardona to All Elite Wrestling. Regardless of the outcome of his title match against Cody, the former WWE Superstar could receive the perfect boost to get-off to a solid start in AEW.
Let's not forget, Cardona's long-term tag team partner Curt Hawkins - no going by Brian Meyers - was also let go by WWE and maybe the latter could accompany Ryder in his tenure with AEW and eventually add some more depth to the AEW Tag Team Division.
#2 EC3
EC3 is a very talented wrestler but the primary reason why he stands head and shoulders above most superstars in the modern era of pro wrestling is due to his outstanding promo skills.
When EC3 signed with WWE for the second time (after a stint as Derrick Bateman in the company), many fans had a lot of hopes for the former Impact World Champion and fans even believed that he would end up as a future WWE World Champion. While he did get off to a solid start in NXT, EC3 didn't last long in the black-and-yellow brand and was quickly promoted to the main roster.
Once again, the WWE Universe thought that this would lead to EC3 being a pivotal part of the WWE main roster and enter the WWE World Title picture, instead of having him compete for the NXT Championship.
However, things drastically changed for him, and it was the beginning of his downfall. For almost every single week, EC3 was pretty much used as an enhancement talent - when they had him on TV at all.
This past April, he was finally let go by the company and in the aftermath of his departure, many fans believe that EC3 will finally end up in All Elite Wrestling. And that very much remains as a possibility, considering the depth Ethan Carter III will add to the AEW roster.
AEW needs to make sure that they get EC3 off to a good start and having him potentially win the AEW TNT Championship off someone like Cody could be the best way to do it. Could you imagine the back-and-forth promos between EC3 and Cody on AEW Dynamite?
#1 Karl Anderson (w/ Luke Gallows)
Karl Anderson is a terrific singles wrestler and all those who aren't aware of his work should check out some of his NJPW classics against the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kazuchika Okada. He's also a former Bullet Club member, along with a number of members of the AEW roster - like Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.
Now, it is pretty much a given at this point that Karl Anderson is probably returning to NJPW and is likely to align himself with the Bullet Club once again, as he and Luke (Doc) Gallows prepare to join forces with Jay White, KENTA, El Phantasmo and co.
However, there could very well be a possibility that Anderson and Gallows stick to the stateside and sign with AEW, instead. I mean, it's very much a possibility, especially after for Anderson, who has spent the majority of his career in Japan, away from his family, would like to keep roots here. AEW could give him the best of both worlds.
Anderson also teased the return of his 'Machine Gun' moniker and the tag team veteran is pretty much ready to put on some absolute classics once he gets to wrestle again. With that being said, having Anderson challenge Cody for the TNT Championship would be a perfect manner for the Bullet Club OG to get things started in AEW.
And, considering Cody's history in the Bullet Club, maybe 'The Machine Gun' decides to work it into an angle and make the former pay a heavy price for trying to mess around with Anderson's beloved group.
