News

AEW Announces Plans To Crown New Champion

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published May 31, 2026 11:00 EDT
AEW Logo
AEW Logo (Image via X/@AEW)

An AEW title was recently relinquished by its champion due to a legitimate injury.

On the May 20 taping of Dynamite/Collision, Willow Nightingale was featured in a backstage segment, where she reflected on her reign as the TBS Champion.

She subsequently revealed that she was injured and would be stepping away from television. In doing so, Nightingale also said that she was relinquishing the title, which she had held for 140 days since winning it from Mercedes Mone on December 31, 2025.

The 32-year-old was originally slated to defend the AEW TBS Championship against Alex Windsor in round one of the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament at Double Or Nothing.

Since becoming the TBS Champion, Willow announced her intention to be a fighting champion and defend it as many times as possible, which she did.

In the process, she also earned the “Comeback Killer” moniker, a direct reference to her accepting challenges from wrestlers returning from injury or absence. Every time she beat them, she ‘killed’ their comeback.

Some of the wrestlers against whom she defended her title in the recent past were Queen Aminata, Hikaru Shida, Kamille, Anna Jay, and Red Velvet.

AEW Announces New Match Format To Crown New TBS Champion

On the May 30 taping of AEW Collision, veteran commentator Tony Schiavone announced the company’s first ever Survivor of the Fittest match.

The specific Collision segment also ran archival footage from Ring of Honor, showing multiple wrestlers competing to win the top prize.

The names of the contenders competing to become the new TBS Champion have yet to be announced. Schiavone further stated that the match would take place on the July 1 episode of Dynamite.

The comments section featured mixed reactions from fans, some of whom suggested elevating it to the upcoming pay-per-view Forbidden Door, due to the one-month gap from the date of announcing it.

As for Willow Nightingale, while she promised to return after regaining full fitness, the timeline for her comeback remains unclear at the moment.