10 Most Shocking Title Changes in AEW History

AEW has for the most part made sure to maintain the value of their titles by having long and well-thought-out reigns for their champions. There have been periods though where the company has decided to hotshot belts onto certain wrestlers, which has garnered mixed results from a creative standpoint.

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A shocking title win when done well can be fantastic, whilst other times it is just confusing to the audience. But in the hopes of keeping their product interesting and unpredictable, most promotions take the shocking route on occasion. AEW has seen both of these outcomes happen which shows that there is an art to the transferring of championships.

10 Darby Allin (Vs Samoa Joe) - TNT Championship

The two-time TNT Champion has been a perennial contender for the belt ever since it was created, with his first time capturing the title being against Cody in a great match with a deep story. His second time winning it was much more shocking though, as he upset Samoa Joe earlier this year whilst the 'King of Television' was feuding with Wardlow.

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The pair had a series of great matches that displayed Joe as the dominant force, whilst Allin showed how much he had grown as a wrestler in the few years he has been in AEW. Joe would win the belt back shortly after, but it was a reminder to always take Darby seriously as a contender.

9 Hikaru Shida (Vs Toni Storm) - AEW Women's Championship

Toni Storm seemed set for a lengthy second title reign with the previous AEW Women's Champion Jamie Hayter out with an injury for an unspecified length of time. That is why it was a complete shock when Hikaru Shida recently unseated the champion to win her second title in AEW, in the main event of Dynamite no less.

Shida has quietly been one of the most consistent wrestlers in AEW since the company's inception, with her first title reign sadly taking place throughout the pandemic. This second reign will allow her to be a champion in front of fans which is as good a reason as any to give her the belt.

8 Jon Moxley (Vs CM Punk) - AEW Championship

Before the acrimonious events of 'Brawl Out' in 2022, Moxley had been holding an interim version of the AEW Championship after CM Punk suffered an injury shortly after winning the title from 'Hangman' Page earlier in the year. Moxley embarked on a great interim reign before Punk returned and challenged him to a title match to decide the lineal champion.

A squash match ensued where the in-form Moxley demolished Punk to officially become the AEW World Champion for a second time. Not only was the in-ring aspect of the match a shock, but the result also confused a lot of fans who expected Punk to take back his title and continue as champion.

7 Cody Rhodes (Vs Sammy Guevara) - TNT Championship

Sammy Guevara was struggling a great deal as a babyface TNT Champion after defeating Miro for the belt in 2021, despite how fantastic of an in-ring performer he is. It seemed AEW realized this as they enlisted Cody to defeat Sammy for the belt in what would be one of his final feuds in the company.

Whilst Cody's third title win was shocking, it was made even more so when Sammy simply regained the title from him once again in an admittedly great ladder match. The hot-shotting of the TNT Title became a bit of a trend after this to the overall detriment of the belt's credibility.

6 Kris Statlander (Vs Jade Cargill) - TBS Championship

Jade Cargill seemed insurmountable as TBS Champion during her 508-day reign with the belt, although it always seemed like AEW was waiting for the right opponent to do beat her. That happened to be Kris Statlander who answered Cargill's open challenge for the title at Double or Nothing 2023.

Statlander had been out with an injury for some time, which was a big part of what made the title win so shocking. What was perhaps even more shocking though is that AEW decided to do an impromptu match on pay-per-view, something which the promotion worked hard not to do for so many years.

5 Kenny Omega (Vs Jon Moxley) - AEW Championship

The first-ever 'Winter is Coming' edition of Dynamite was full of surprises, including the debut of Sting and the shocking world title change in the main event between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley.

Omega had transitioned away from the tag team division where he had competed alongside 'Hangman' Page to challenge Moxley for the world title, but he used nefarious means to win the belt. His heel turn was cemented as he aligned himself with Don Callis to begin his 'Belt Collector' run which was one of the best in the company's history.

4 Hikaru Shida (Vs Nyla Rose) - AEW Women's Championship

Shida's recent title win was not the first time she shocked the world to win the AEW Women's Championship, as she also defeated Nyla Rose for the gold in 2020. Unfortunately for Rose, AEW really dropped the ball with her title reign as she only got to defend the title twice in over three months as champion.

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The shocking nature of the title change lay more with the fact that Rose had not really started to take off as champion before Shida swooped in and won the belt.

3 Sammy Guevara (Vs Scorpio Sky) - TNT Championship

The aforementioned hot-shotting of the TNT Championship continued after Sammy's feud with Cody when he started trading the title with Scorpio Sky soon after. Sammy had begun performing more as a heel once again, so when Scorpio won the title it seemed like a clean break for Guevara in the title picture, allowing him to build on his new character.

This did not happen immediately as Sammy inexplicably won the title again, only to drop it back to Scorpio Sky less than two weeks later. This is perhaps the most shockingly bad title change in AEW's history as it further damaged the reputation of the TNT Championship.

2 The Gunns (Vs The Acclaimed) - AEW Tag Team Championship

Another shocking title change from earlier this year occurred when The Gunns defeated The Acclaimed for the AEW World Tag Team Champions, much to the dismay of many fans. Whilst The Gunns continue to improve every time they appear on television, it seemed way too early to give them a world title run especially when The Acclaimed were at the peak of their popularity.

The story which included The Gunn's father Billy joining The Acclaimed did help explain the change somewhat, but it did shock fans nonetheless. The Gunns would drop the titles to FTR soon after, so it was more of a transitionary reign anyway.

1 Mr. Brodie Lee (Vs Cody Rhodes) - TNT Championship

Cody Rhodes' inaugural TNT Championship run did wonders in establishing the belt within AEW, with his open challenges introducing the likes of Eddie Kingston and Ricky Starks to the company. He looked unstoppable for a short while until he ran into the formidable Mr. Brodie Lee, who decimated him within minutes.

The squash was tremendously effective in getting Brodie over as a monster, with the visual of him standing over Cody's body to close the show being one of the most iconic visuals in AEW history. Their feud was tremendous and undoubtedly one of the best feuds in recent memory.