AEW has introduced a second women's championship which will be called the TBS Championship. It will likely be similar to the men's TNT Championship, which acts as an unofficial secondary prize to the World title.
New titles always bring a degree of excitement to wrestling companies, but fans would be rightly concerned that AEW might be rushing into a new problem by introducing another women's singles belt. AEW's women's division involves some of the best wrestlers on the planet, including the champion Britt Baker, Serena Deeb, Ruby Soho, Nyla Rose, and many more, but it has also had its fair share of issues.
The division has often been an afterthought on AEW's programming, with short matches in the worst slots on Dynamite and very basic storytelling for some of its bigger matches. There have been some signs of improvement, but a new title may only stand to make things more complicated.
AEW may have made a mistake by introducing the belt.
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AEW's Women's Division Isn't Strong Enough For Two Titles
For a long time, AEW's women's division wasn't filled with a huge amount of renowned talent, particularly during the pandemic when many of the Joshi wrestlers couldn't make it over to America. That has since changed, with the signings of Thunder Rosa, Ruby Soho, and Jamie Hayter, coinciding with the build-up of talents like Jade Cargill, Tay Conti, and Red Velvet.
The problem is no longer with the strength of the talent in the division, but the way storylines and feuds that involve women are treated. Too many of the women's undercard matches get overshadowed by lazy finishes, short run-times, or the involvement of men (mostly from the Hardy Family Office).
The division is tremendously top-heavy, dominated by the tremendous Britt Baker and whatever challenger she faces. There isn't enough evidence that AEW can book its women in the undercard successfully enough to introduce a new title that will be worthy of the company's usual standards for championships.
In Theory, It Could Help Improve AEW
Looking at the new title optimistically, there is some scope to suggest that it could actually help solve some of AEW's problems with the women's division. Having another title could mean that the women get more exposure on television and pay-per-view, whilst also increasing the value of the world title by introducing levels to the division.
AEW has experimented with this idea before when they allowed the NWA Championship to become a part of their programming during 2020, with Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb both holding the belt. The NWA title feuds arguably overshadowed the AEW Women's Championship during this time, which is something the company will have to avoid with their new secondary strap.
More importantly, a secondary title creating more television time for the women of AEW means that some of the division's brighter prospects can be afforded more opportunities to improve. Television time is vital for any performer to grow, so allowing more of a reason for women to perform on Dynamite and Rampage will always be a good thing.
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A Women's Tag Title May Work Better
There is an argument to be made that if AEW was to introduce another women's title, it may be more beneficial to create a tag team championship for the division. AEW already has some established teams amongst the women, namely Anna Jay and Tay Conti, Penelope Ford and The Bunny, and a combination of either Britt Baker, Rebel, and Jamie Hayter. Hell, they could even team Vickie Guerrero with Nyla Rose to make up the numbers and give that pairing something to do.
Tag teams are hugely beneficial for inexperienced wrestlers too, as their weaknesses can be hidden better when they have not been exposed in singles matches. The young crop of talented women could learn more, whilst still being entertaining and getting over as a part of a team.
Furthermore, AEW has proven itself to be adept at booking and performing tag team wrestling, so this philosophy should travel over to a women's version of the division. If nothing else, it should make for some more entertaining matches than what the usual undercard women's matches adhere to quality-wise.
If AEW is set on debuting a new title into the women's division then it is perhaps a better idea to do so in tag form. A singles title may prove to be beneficial as a way to get more of a spotlight on some of the underutilized women, but a tag division would work even better. In fact, this would be another way that AEW can show WWE that they can anything they can do but better as WWE's own Women's Tag Team division has been mismanaged almost since its inception.
