The AEW TNT Championship Is NOT Being Retired, The Specific Belt Given To Brodie Jr Was
Brodie Lee Jr. was declared the TNT Champion for life on Dynamite, but that does not mean All Elite Wrestling has any plans to retire the title permanently.
During the closing segment on tonight’s AEW Dynamite broadcast, Tony Khan presented Brodie Lee Jr. (aka “-1”) with the current TNT Championship and said it was his for life. Later on during the AEW post-show, Tony Schiavone said -1 would always have that TNT belt and the company would “come up with a new belt.”
Apparently, this led to some confusion with fans who mistook his comments to mean the title’s status would change, and that it would no longer be a sanctioned title in the company, or the belt was getting redesigned.
Later in the post-show, Schiavone got a note from Tony Khan and noted that they’ve received some comments about the TNT title status, but ensured fans that Darby Allin is still the recognized TNT Champion, but Brodie Jr. would keep the physical belt.
“The particular belt that was given to little Brodie tonight, has been retired, NOT the TNT Championship itself,” Schiavone said. “That is not the case. The belt was, and rightfully so.”
To close the broadcast, Schiavone once again stated:
“Again, the TNT Championship will go on. The belt has been retired. A new belt is being made, it will be given to Darby, of course, who is still our TNT Champion.”
It’s still unclear whether that meant the title would be redesigned or simply another copy of the existing belt would be produced, but we do know Darby Allin is still the reigning champion. Darby is still scheduled to defend his title against Brian Cage at Night Two of AEW New Year’s Smash on Wednesday, January 13.
Read More: AEW Dynamite Results – Brodie Lee: Celebration Of Life (12/30/20)