AEW: The men get another title and the women get left out

On the June 8 episode of AEW Dynamite, it was revealed that there was not only a new championship, but there would be a tournament for it. Earlier in the day, fans got the match announcement for Buddy Matthews vs. PAC. Just before the match began, a video package aired that revealed the surprise title, All-Atlantic Championship. It also revealed the entrants, who hail from different countries. There will also be two entrants from NJPW.

This tournament comes just 10 days after the Owen Hart Cup tournament ended at Double or Nothing. The All-Atlantic championship is the fourth title up for grabs for men. A fifth one, the Trios titles, is likely on the way very soon. The FTW Championship, while not officially recognized, has been defended several times.

Meanwhile, the women’s division has just two titles. They are once again an afterthought. The tournament ensures at least one more men’s match every week on TV. The women are already being left out of Forbidden Door as NJPW does not have women compete.

Throughout AEW’s relationship with IMPACT wrestling, the women were left out entirely. Britt Baker and Deonna Purrazzo actively campaigned to have a match. Their relationship was reportedly over after IMPACT’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view. Purrazzo finally made her AEW debut in May when she faced Mercedes Martinez for the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship.

Back in March, AEW announced a partnership with DDT Pro on their 25th anniversary. Thus far, fans have been treated to the amazing Konosuke Takeshita. DDT Pro/Tokyo JoshiPro-Wrestling (TJPW) has women that compete. They also have intergender matches (AEW allows mixed tag matches, but not intergender). When the announcement was made, many fans hoped that meant the women would be more involved. Maki Itoh made her much-anticipated return to AEW as The Joker in the Owen Hart Cup tournament. Miyu Yamashita appeared in a tag match on Dark Elevation this past Monday.

During the Double or Nothing media call, I had an opportunity to ask Tony Khan if we would see the women used more in the relationship with DDT Pro. He replied, “Yuka Sakazki is a great wrestler from the DDT dojo. We’ve had a lot of great wrestlers, male and female, from all over the world come to AEW. And I would certainly be interested in getting women and men to come through the “forbidden door”, including more people from DDT. They’re a great company and we’ve had some good exchanges with them and a lot of the great companies in Japan that we’ve worked with. And no company we’re closer with than New Japan, but always looking for great talent to bring into AEW.”

In the same media call, AJ from AJ Awesome Show asked if there would be any more women’s titles such as a tag team or Trios titles. Khan answered that he’s “considered it.” He wants more teams and wrestlers to come back from injury. He goes on to say he’d “love to add more titles if it makes sense.” Whether he’s talking about more women’s titles is unclear.

During last year’s Double or Nothing media scrum, I asked Khan about the women being involved in the forbidden door relationship with IMPACT. He said yes but then went into his plans for Private Party. AEW just celebrated their third anniversary and it’s still struggling with how it presents its women’s division. For the most part, women still get one match on Dynamite and Rampage. While it was great that the women had their own Owen Hart Cup tournament and have main evented a handful of shows, they’re still battling many of the same issues that have always been there.

The women shouldn’t constantly have to fight for representation on TV. There’s also frustration with how Thunder Rosa is being booked as champion, especially compared to Jade Cargill and even Baker are being booked.

It’s well past time for the women to not only get more TV time, but to be involved in more special events such as tournaments for a title or inter-promotional shows. It feels like talking in circles when it comes to the women’s divisions.