I have waited all year for this article and we’re finally here. This is my first AEW Predictions review and after doing I think 4 WWE Previews, I finally did an AEW one. I really don’t know why it too, me so long to do one, but here we are. A lot has happened in the last year, some good, some bad. I knew this was going to be a pivotal year for AEW and that is a big reason why I started a prediction article for them. With all of the things that took place in wrestling. AEW maintained its relevancy, but how much did things change from January until now? Keep reading to find out.

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Current State of AEW

I said that AEW was a company once on the rise, but now ready to take over the wrestling world and I meant every word of it. It is hilarious to look back and read that now, but it was the honest truth back in January. CM Punk was getting settled in, Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole were only 3 months into their AEW career, Hangman Page was at the beginning of a really good reign as AEW Champion, MJF was on fire, Sting was in a match about every month, Cody Rhodes was making the TNT Championship relevant, Andrade El Idolo appeared to be on the rise, Britt Baker was headlining the women’s division. Things were going great, that is until they weren’t going great.

I alluded to it in my article back in January, but the ever-growing roster was a big concern. It isn't as big of a concern now, but it seemed like every week a new talent was making their debut. That continued for quite a while oddly enough. A lot of released WWE talents made the jump to AEW, but when you have too many hungry people without enough food, chaos ensues. Now that WWE is the place to be again, I think a lot of these performers are looking to go back.

2022 was definitely the worst year for AEW, by far. It was drama-filled in the worst way possible and a lot of bridges were burned in the process. The biggest news in the first half of the year was Cody Rhodes departure and that got a lot of fans wondering if there is trouble in paradise. Things aren't always what they seem, and it turned out that AEW had some big backstage drama. CM Punk dominated the news in the second half of the year and still is a big topic of discussion today after the All Out post-show tirade and brawl that followed. You don’t always know what to believe in the world of wrestling, but this was a very real thing. Both belts won by Punk and The Elite were vacated immediately. Many are saying he will not return and it wouldn't surprise me. They’re not at the point of no return by any means, but this tough year was definitely a wakeup call for them.

Will We See More Belts Added to AEW in 2022?

I hit the nail on the head with this one. The Trios title was introduced this year, but it was honestly a little later than expected. Unexpectedly, we were introduced to the All-Atlantic Championship in June at Forbidden Door. The Trios belt wasn’t introduced until All Out in September. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the first winners of the belt and it has been a little odd in its early stages, but I think it will ultimately be a good thing. The Elite vs. The Death Triangle have had a tremendous feud with the belts. I thought the Undisputed would be in play for these, but Adam Cole has been injured for the whole duration of the belt, so that hasn’t been the case. I think it definitely will be a thing in 2023 though.

The All-Atlantic Championship is interesting. It is a unique belt that has a ton of potential. I can't say we’ll be introduced to any more belts in 2023, but if it will be one, I think the Women’s tag division will probably be next in line, but I don’t think they get enough TV time to justify it at the moment.

Is the AEW Women’s Division Strong Enough?

The women were starting to be featured properly on AEW at the end of 2021 and I thought that we were going to see a lot of great feuds, but that wasn’t exactly the case. Not to say that there weren’t good/great matches, there were, but they weren’t featured as much as they should’ve been. Injuries are always a concern, but it plagued the women’s division this year. Not only that, but it was a big issue with both the men and women, especially when it came to the title picture. It’s definitely because they try way too hard to wow the audience each week and I think part of that is due to the indie background of the majority of the roster. I’m not going to dive too far into that, but I still the AEW Women’s division is strong enough to be successful. They have added Toni Storm, Jamie Hayter is established, and Saraya is here, so there is a ton of potential on top of the roster that they already had. They simply need more TV time and to stay healthy.

The Video Game

Well, we didn’t get an AEW video game this year sadly and there still isn't a confirmed date for its release. This has been my most anticipated video game since they announced it was in the works, but it is kind of tiring seeing that it is still in production. I realize that there are a lot of things that go into producing such a thing, but I thought for sure we would be playing the AEW video game in 2022. The trailers I have seen have been good and I think it will be a fun game. I can't wait for its release. Hopefully it will be on shelves in February or March as it is projected to be.

Who Will Be the Breakout Star of 2022?

I was correct in both divisions. I predicted that 2022 would be the year of MJF and I was dead-on. MJF took his game to a whole new level and became the biggest star in AEW after Cody Rhodes’s departure. MJF even made it part of schtick that he would do just like Cody and leave AEW for WWE after his contract is up. His ascent to the top was a wild ride and his return was warmly welcomed. Every time he is on the mic it is an experience. He just gets it. His promo begging Tony Khan to fire him on TV was unlike anything I have heard on wrestling TV, period. The drama of his contract was brought to light and it was the best thing for him. He leaned into the drama and made the most of it. Also, his feud with the Blackpool Combat Club and William Regal was phenomenal. I’m definitely interested to see what 2023 will be like for The Devil Himself. He is without a doubt, the most watchable figure on AEW.

As for the women’s division, I chose Thunder Rosa to be the star of 2022. I’ll say that she was. She dominated the women’s division up until her injury forced her out of action back in September. Tony Khan revoked the interim Championship status after it was clear that Thunder Rosa wasn’t going to be able to compete for quite some time. This was done in the men’s division as well, but definitely under different circumstances. I know he only did it to give it a fighting feel, but, they shouldn’t do interim title holders whatsoever in wrestling. Wrestling never stops, and neither should title reigns. I mentioned that Anna Jay and Tay Melo (formerly Conti) would likely be featured more, and they were featured quite a bit. They just weren’t featured in the title discussion too often. Both received a shot at Jade Cargill’s TBS Championship on PPVs, but obviously lost. Their time with the Jericho Appreciation Society has been very entertaining though. You could make the argument that Jamie Hayter was the standout of the women’s division and I wouldn't argue against that, but I would still say that Thunder Rosa was the MVP.

Will They Add More PPVs in 2022?

They actually added one. It was a collaboration PPV with NJPW and it was fantastic. I don’t know if this will be an annual thing, but I think there are talks of another event in 2023. I can't say that I expected there to be another PPV added, but I’m glad that AEW is working with NJPW. Hopefully we see more of that in the future. I know it is a massive longshot, and I do mean massive, but I would love to see AEW and WWE working together in some capacity. Now that Vince McMahon is no longer in charge, I would love to see WWE put on a Forbidden Door type of show with AEW. With Cody Rhodes in the WWE, it may be a small possibility because I don’t think the bridges were burned with that relationship. Like I said, it is a massive longshot and I honestly don’t know how you could make it work, but it would be awesome to see it. I would pay a lot of money to watch that show and I know a lot of fans would too.

Bold Predictions

Let’s get this over with.

- CM Punk will leave All Out with the AEW World Championship

Man, I don’t think I have ever been more right about something in my life. CM Punk did indeed leave the All Out PPV with the belt, but the thing is, he never returned. Why is that? If you follow wrestling in any capacity, I likely don’t have to tell you why. It’s a real shame that he couldn’t make things work with AEW. Hopefully things aren't over for him, but I can't say that I miss him. (1/1)

- Scorpio Sky will become the first 2-time AEW Tag Team Champion in 2022

Nick and Matt Jackson become the first 2-time AEW Tag Champs in 2022. Scorpio Sky didn’t even receive a shot at the Tag belts, however, he did become a 2-time TNT Champion in 2022 surprisingly enough. I thought he and Ethan Page were going to be tag champs, but it didn’t work out that way. (1/2)

- Eddie Kingston will be TNT Champion at some point in 2022

Didn’t even receive a shot. I don’t know why honestly. (1/3)

- Wardlow will get a shot at the AEW World Championship before MJF this year

Nope. Like I thought, they did have a feud and it was good. Wardlow did have a great run with the TNT Championship this year though. 2023 should be another good year for Wardlow. (1/4)

- Despite this, MJF will end the year as Champion

Yes, he did. MJF was the star of 2022 and will likely continue his reign of terror in 2023. (2/5)

- There will be 5 or more title changes for the TBS Championship

I have to laugh here. I wanted to go really bold for this because I figured that Jade Cargill was going to have a long reign. She didn’t drop the title once and I really can't think of an immediate scenario where she will drop it any time soon. (2/6)

- Britt Baker will lose the AEW Women’s Championship in 2022, but become the first 2-time champ

She did lose the belt but didn’t become champion again in 2022. I thought that she and Thunder Rosa would revisit their feud, but they never did. I think Britt will get a shot pretty soon again with Jamie Hayter as champ, but will she win? Who knows. (2.5/7)

- Hook will be the FTW Champion by the end of the year

Not only did he win the belt, he ended the year with the belt. Hook is destined for big things, even though he is holding a meaningless belt. (3.5/8)

- Rampage will become a 2-hour show in 2022

It did not, but the show did air for 2 hours one time in September. (3.5/9)

- Bryan Danielson will hold the AEW World Championship for the most days in 2022

He did not. Not only that, he didn’t even win the belt. I thought he would definitely win the belt this year. Hangman Page held the belt for the longest in 2022 (148 days). We had 5 title changes this year. (3.5/10)

Yacs

A Look Back at "AEW Predictions for 2022"

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