AEW World Trios Championship

AEW World Trios Championship
The standard AEW World Trios Championship belts
Details
PromotionAll Elite Wrestling
Date establishedJuly 27, 2022
Current champion(s)Death Riders
(Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta)
Date wonAugust 25, 2024
Other name(s)
  • AEW World Trios Championship
    (2022–present)
  • Unified World Trios Championship[a]
    (2024)
Statistics
First champion(s)The Elite
(Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson)
Most reignsAs a team (2 reigns):

As individual (2 reigns):

Longest reignThe Acclaimed
(Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and Billy Gunn)
(238 days)
Shortest reignThe Elite
(Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson)
(1st reign, 3 days)
Oldest championBilly Gunn
(59 years, 289 days)
Youngest championNick Wayne
(19 years, 10 days)
Heaviest championHouse of Black
(Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews)
(725 lbs combined)

The AEW World Trios Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a specialized tag team championship, being contested by teams of three wrestlers, referred to as trios. The current champions are the Death Riders (Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta), who are in their first reign as a team, while individually, it is the first for Castagnoli and Yuta and the record-tying second for Pac. They won the title by defeating previous champions The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne), Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn), and House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) in a four-way London Ladder match at All In on August 25, 2024.

The title was established on July 27, 2022, and the inaugural champions were The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson). From April until July 2024, the AEW World Trios Championship and Ring of Honor's World Six-Man Tag Team Championship were held and defended together as the Unified World Trios Championship.

History

Record two-time and inaugural champions The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson)

On the July 27, 2022, special episode of Dynamite titled Fight for the Fallen, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced a tournament for the inaugural AEW World Trios Championship, which would culminate at the All Out pay-per-view on September 4, 2022. Unlike the AEW World Tag Team Championship, which is a standard tag team title contested by teams of two wrestlers, the Trios Championship is contested by teams of three wrestlers, referred to as trios.[1][2] At All Out, The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) defeated "Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver) in the tournament final to become the inaugural champions.[3]

Following berating comments made by reigning AEW World Champion CM Punk at the All Out post-event media scrum on September 5, a legitimate physical altercation occurred between Punk and The Elite. As a result, AEW president Tony Khan suspended all involved.[4] On the September 7 episode of Dynamite, Khan announced that both the World Championship and Trios Championship were vacated. Khan then announced that the episode's scheduled six-man tag team match between Death Triangle (Pac, Penta El Zero M, and Rey Fénix) and Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and Orange Cassidy) would be for the vacant Trios Championship, which was won by Death Triangle.[5]

During Dynasty: Zero Hour on April 21, 2024, Ring of Honor World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn) defeated The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, and Billy Gunn) to win the AEW World Trios Championship in a winners take all championship unification match to unify the titles and become recognized as the Unified World Trios Champions.[6][7]

When Bullet Club Gold (who since became known as the Bang Bang Gang) were stripped of the Unified Trios Titles on July 10, 2024 (aired July 13), the AEW and ROH titles were separated, thus ending the unification.

Inaugural tournament

Quarterfinals
Dynamite
(August 17 and 24, 2022)
Rampage
(August 19 and 26, 2022) 		Semifinals
Dynamite
(August 31, 2022)
Rampage
(September 2, 2022) 		Finals
All Out
(September 4, 2022)
         
Death Triangle
(Pac, Penta El Zero M, and Rey Fénix) 		24:51[8]
United Empire
(Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis, and Will Ospreay) 		Pin
United Empire 18:59[12]
The Elite Pin
La Facción Ingobernable
(Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee, and Rush) 		20:50[9]
The Elite
(Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) 		Pin
The Elite Pin
"Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order
(Alex Reynolds and John Silver) 		19:50[3]
The House of Black
(Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) 		9:03[10]
The Dark Order
(Alex Reynolds, John Silver, and Preston Vance) 		Pin
"Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order
(Alex Reynolds and John Silver)[b] 		Pin
Best Friends 11:10[14]
The Trustbusters
(Ari Daivari, Parker Boudreaux, and Slim J) 		10:32[11]
Best Friends
(Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and Orange Cassidy) 		Pin

Belt design

The standard AEW World Trios Championship belts were made by Ron Edwardsen of Red Leather Belts. They have five gold plates on black leather straps. The circular center plate has a blue globe at the center with "TRIOS" written across the globe in black with a gold border. Above the globe is a black banner that says "WORLD" in gold while a black banner below the globe says "CHAMPION" in gold. At the top of the plate is AEW's logo while filigree fills out the rest of the plate. Sitting on either side of the center plate are two side plates each. The inner side plates show two wrestlers performing simultaneous superkicks on another wrestler.[15] The outer side plates originally showed a wrestler performing an electric chair driver, but when the standard belts returned in 2024 after the custom "scissoring" belts had been used, the outer side plates were changed to saying "WORLD TRIOS CHAMPION" (which had first appeared on the scissoring belts).

Custom designs

The custom "scissoring" belts first used by The Acclaimed (Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and Billy Gunn). Bullet Club Gold/Bang Bang Gang (Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn) then held these belts in tandem with the standard belts and the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship belts to represent the Unified World Trios Championship.

During House of Black's (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) reign that began in March 2023, they introduced their own custom "black out" versions of the championship belts. The belts featured mostly the same basic design as the standard belts, but with silver plates instead of gold (the globe was also black instead of blue). The side plates were also changed to The House of Black's logos with a vertical "HOB" tooled into the leather between the outer side plates and the button snaps.[16]

After The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, and Billy Gunn) won the title in August 2023, they introduced their own custom "scissoring" championship belts. They featured the same basic design as the standard belts, but with pink straps. Additionally, the ends of the belts were shaped like scissors and said "Scissor Me" on one side and "Daddy Ass" on the other side, referencing their "scissoring" gimmick. The inner side plates were the same as the standard belts, but the outer side plates were changed to saying "WORLD TRIOS CHAMPION". AEW's logo was also added to the top of each side plate.[17]

During Dynasty: Zero Hour in April 2024, ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn) defeated The Acclaimed to win the AEW World Trios Championship, holding and defending both titles under the Unified World Trios Championship banner, using the standard AEW Trios belts, the ROH World Six-Man belts, and The Acclaimed's custom "scissoring" belts to represent the collective accolade. This would continue until July 2024 when Bullet Club Gold (who had since become known as the Bang Bang Gang) were stripped of the Unified World Trios Championship. This subsequently ended the unification of the AEW and ROH titles with the custom "scissoring" belts also being dropped in favor of the standard AEW World Trios Championship belts.[18]

Title history

Current champions Death Riders (Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta)

As of November 28, 2024, there have been eight reigns between seven teams composed of 20 individual champions, and two vacancies. The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) were the inaugural champions and they have the most reigns as a team at two, while individually, all three and Pac are tied, also at two. The Elite's inaugural reign is also the shortest at three days while The Acclaimed's (Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and Billy Gunn) sole reign is the longest at 238 days. Billy Gunn is the oldest champion, winning the title at 59, while Nick Wayne is the youngest at 19.[3][5]

The current champions are Death Riders (Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta), who are in their first reign as a team, while individually, it is the first for Castagnoli and Yuta and the record-tying second for Pac. They won the titles by defeating previous champions The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne), Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn), and House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) in a four-way London Ladder match at All In on August 25, 2024 in London, England. They originally won the title as Blackpool Combat Club, but changed their team name to Death Riders on November 6, 2024.

Names

Name Years
AEW World Trios Championship September 4, 2022 – present
Unified World Trios Championship April 21, 2024 – July 13, 2024

Reigns

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific team—reign numbers for the individuals are in parentheses, if different
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
1 The Elite
(Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) 		September 4, 2022 All Out Hoffman Estates, IL 1 3 3 Defeated "Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver) in a tournament final to determine the inaugural champions. [3]
— Vacated September 7, 2022 Dynamite Buffalo, NY — — — The Elite were stripped of the title after being suspended by AEW president Tony Khan following a legitimate backstage physical altercation with CM Punk and Ace Steel that occurred during the All Out post-event media scrum. [5]
2 Death Triangle
(Pac, Penta El Zero M, and Rey Fénix) 		September 7, 2022 Dynamite Buffalo, NY 1 126 126 Defeated Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and Orange Cassidy) to win the vacant championship. [5]
3 The Elite
(Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) 		January 11, 2023 Dynamite Inglewood, CA 2 53 53 This was an Escalera de la Muerte that was also the seventh and final match in a Best of Seven Series for the championship. [19]
4 House of Black
(Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) 		March 5, 2023 Revolution San Francisco, CA 1 175 175 [20]
5 The Acclaimed
(Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, and Billy Gunn) 		August 27, 2023 All In London, England 1 238 238 This was a "House Rules match"; The Acclaimed's stipulation was No Holds Barred. [21]
6 Bullet Club Gold/Bang Bang Gang
(Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn) 		April 21, 2024 Dynasty
Zero Hour 		St. Louis, MO 1 80 83 This was a Winners Take All Title Unification match also for Bullet Club Gold's ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.
With both titles, Bullet Club Gold were referred to as the Unified World Trios Champions and during this reign, the group was renamed to Bang Bang Gang.
AEW recognizes this reign as ending on July 13, 2024, when the following episode aired on tape delay. 		[22]
— Vacated July 10, 2024 Collision Calgary, AB, Canada — — — Bang Bang Gang were stripped of the Unified World Trios Championship by interim AEW Executive Vice President Christopher Daniels after Jay White suffered an injury, overruling Bang Bang Gang's attempt to invoke the Freebird Rule to allow Juice Robinson to defend the title in place of White. This subsequently ended the unification with the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.
This episode aired on tape delay on July 13, 2024. 		[23][24]
7 The Patriarchy
(Christian Cage, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne) 		July 20, 2024 Collision Arlington, TX 1 36 36 Defeated Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn) to win the vacant championship. [25]
8 Blackpool Combat Club/Death Riders
(Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta) 		August 25, 2024 All In London, England 1
(2, 1, 1) 		95+ 95+ This was a four-way London Ladder match also involving Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn) and House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews). During this reign on November 6, the group was renamed to the Death Riders. [26]

Combined reigns

As of November 28, 2024

† Indicates the current champion

By team

Rank Team No. of
reigns 		Combined
days 		Combined days
recognized by AEW
1 The Acclaimed
(Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, and Billy Gunn)		 1 238
2 House of Black
(Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews)		 1 175
3 Death Triangle
(Pac, Penta El Zero M, and Rey Fénix)		 1 126
4 Blackpool Combat Club/Death Riders †
(Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta)		 1 95+
5 Bullet Club Gold/Bang Bang Gang
(Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn)		 1 80 83
6 The Elite
(Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson)		 2 56
7 The Patriarchy
(Christian Cage, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne)		 1 36

By wrestler

Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
days 		Combined days
recognized by AEW
1 Anthony Bowens 1 238
Billy Gunn
Max Caster
4 Pac † 2 221+
5 Brody King 1 175
Buddy Matthews
Malakai Black
8 Penta El Zero Miedo 1 126
Rey Fénix
10 Claudio Castagnoli † 1 95+
Wheeler Yuta †
12 Austin Gunn 1 80 83
Colten Gunn
Jay White
15 Kenny Omega 2 56
Matt Jackson
Nick Jackson
18 Christian Cage 1 36
Killswitch
Nick Wayne

Notes

  1. ^ In tandem with the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.
  2. ^ Page replaced Preston Vance because the latter was not medically cleared to compete.[13]

References

  1. ^ Barnett, Jake (July 27, 2022). "7/27 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Jon Moxley vs. Rush for the Interim AEW World Championship, Thunder Rosa vs. Miyu Yamashita for the AEW Women's Championship, Ricky Starks vs. Danhausen for the FTW Title, Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia, Sammy Guevara vs. Dante Martin". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 27, 2022). "AEW Officially Announces Trios Championships, First Champions Will Be Crowned At AEW All Out". Fightful. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Powell, Jason (September 4, 2022). "AEW All Out results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk for the AEW World Championship, Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida for the Interim AEW Women's Title, Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson, Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry vs. Christian Cage, Casino Ladder Match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  4. ^ "Report: AEW Members Suspended After 'All Out' Altercation". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Barnett, Jake (September 8, 2022). "9/7 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Tony Khan addressing the status of the AEW World Championship and AEW Trios Titles, MJF's return promo, Wheeler Yuta vs. Daniel Garcia for the ROH Pure Rules Title, Death Triangle vs. Best Friends, Interim AEW Women's Champ Toni Storm vs. Penelope Ford in an eliminator match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "Bullet Club Gold Are The Unified World Trios Champions". AEW. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Miller, Haley (April 21, 2024). "Bullet Club Gold Become the Inaugural Unified World Trios Champions at AEW Dynasty". ComicBook. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  8. ^ Barnett, Jake (August 24, 2022). "8/24 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley for the unified AEW World Championship, Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay and Aussie Open in an AEW Trios Title tournament match, Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal, Billy Gunn vs. Colten Gunn, Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King, Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia meeting". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  9. ^ Powell, Jason (August 17, 2022). "8/17 AEW Dynamite results: Powell's live review of The Young Bucks and a partner vs. Andrade, Rush, and Dragon Lee in an AEW Trios Titles tournament match, Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia in a best of three falls match, Ricky Steamboat appears, Toni Storm vs. KiLynn King, Gunn Club vs. The Varsity Blonds". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  10. ^ McGuire, Colin (August 26, 2022). "8/26 AEW Rampage results: McGuire's review of Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dustin Rhodes for the ROH Title, Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews vs. Alex Reynolds, John Silver, and 10 in an AEW Trios Titles tournament match, Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo vs. Ortiz and Ruby Soho, Wardlow vs. Ryan Nemeth for the TNT Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  11. ^ McGuire, Colin (August 19, 2022). "8/19 AEW Rampage results: McGuire's review of Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee vs. Private Party for the AEW Tag Titles, Hook vs. Zack Clayton for the FTW Title, The Trustbusters vs. Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta, and Chuck Taylor in an AEW Trios Titles tournament match, Penelope Ford vs. Athena". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  12. ^ Barnett, Jake (August 31, 2022). "8/31 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay and Aussie Open in an AEW Trios Titles tournament semifinal match, Bryan Danielson vs. Jake Hager, Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley promo". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  13. ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (August 31, 2022). "#DarkOrder's 10 is unable to compete in this FRIDAY's #AEW World Trios Tournament #AEWRampage Final. Just made official: Hangman Page will be taking his place to stand alongside #DarkOrder against #BestFriends & Orange Cassidy! Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS" (Tweet). Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ McGuire, Colin (September 2, 2022). "9/2 AEW Rampage results: McGuire's review of Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta, and Chuck Taylor vs. Hangman Page, Alex Reynolds, and Jon Silver in an AEW Trios Titles tournament match, Ricky Starks vs. QT Marshall, Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo vs. Rubo Soho and Ortiz for the AAA Mixed Tag Team Titles, final hype for AEW All Out". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  15. ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (July 27, 2022). "Here is a better look at the #AEW TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP belts, designed & crafted by #RedLeatherBelts. The first champions will be crowned at #AEWAllOut, Sunday, September 4 LIVE on PPV from the @NOW_Arena, get your tickets now @ AEWTIX.com" (Tweet). Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Brody King [@Brodyxking] (May 12, 2023). "B L A C K O U T" (Tweet). Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (August 30, 2023). "New AEW Trios Titles Unveiled On AEW Dynamite". 411Mania. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  18. ^ Lee, Joseph (July 20, 2024). "The Patriarchy Win Trios Titles On Tonight's AEW Collision". 411Mania. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  19. ^ Powell, Jason (January 11, 2023). "1/11 AEW Dynamite results: Powell's live review of Death Triangle vs. The Elite in a ladder match for the AEW Trios Titles, Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page, Bryan Danielson vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker vs. Saraya and Toni Storm, "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry and Hook vs. Big Bill and Lee Moriarty". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  20. ^ Powell, Jason (March 5, 2023). "AEW Revolution results: Powell's live review of MJF vs. Bryan Danielson in an Iron Man match for the AEW World Championship, Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya vs. Ruby Soho in a three-way for the AEW Women's Title, Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page in a Texas Death match, Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow for the TNT Title, The Elite vs. House of Black for the AEW Trios Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (August 27, 2023). "AEW All In results: Powell's live review of MJF vs. Adam Cole for the AEW World Championship, Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho, CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe for the Real World Title, Stadium Stampede". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  22. ^ Powell, Jason (April 21, 2024). "AEW Dynasty Zero Hour pre-show results: ROH Six-Man Tag Champions Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn vs. AEW Trios Champions Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and Billy Gunn for both titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  23. ^ Krotchsen, Billy (July 10, 2024). "AEW COLLISION SPOILERS FROM CALGARY". PWInsider. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  24. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 13, 2024). "Bang Bang Gang Stripped Of Unified AEW Trios Titles On 7/13 AEW Collision". Fightful. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  25. ^ Murphy, Don (July 20, 2024). "AEW Collision results (7/20): Murphy's review of Austin and Colten Gunn and Juice Robinson vs. The Patriarchy for the vacant Unified Trios Titles, Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a lumberjack match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (August 25, 2024). "AEW All In results: Powell's live review of Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship, Toni Storm vs. Mariah May for the AEW Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 25, 2024.