AEW Unified Championship
| AEW Unified Championship | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The AEW Unified Championship belt (minus the outer side plates). | |||||
| Details | |||||
| Promotion | All Elite Wrestling | ||||
| Date established | June 11, 2025 | ||||
| Current champion | Kazuchika Okada | ||||
| Date won | July 12, 2025 | ||||
| |||||
The AEW Unified Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The title was unveiled during Dynamite: Summer Blockbuster on June 11, 2025, as the unification of the AEW Continental Championship and the AEW International Championship, although both titles remain independently active under the Unified Championship, which has its own lineage. It is contested under the same rules as the Continental title, in which no one is allowed at ringside and outside interference is strictly prohibited. The inaugural champion was determined in a Winner Takes All Championship Unification match where Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defeated International Champion Kenny Omega at All In on July 12, 2025.
History
On the March 20, 2024, episode of All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) weekly professional wrestling television program, Dynamite, Kazuchika Okada won the AEW Continental Championship.[1] The following year on March 9, 2025, at the Revolution pay-per-view (PPV) event, Kenny Omega won the AEW International Championship.[2] Over this time, AEW began teasing a match between the two to reignite a long rivalry between them from their time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). This came to a head at Dynamite: Fyter Fest on June 4, 2025, where Okada confronted Omega to set up a Winner Takes All match between them at AEW's PPV event All In on July 12, 2025.[3] During the contract signing the following week at Dynamite: Summer Blockbuster, Tony Schiavone announced that the match would also be a championship unification to unify the Continental and International titles as the AEW Unified Championship.[4]
At All In on July 12, 2025, Okada defeated Omega to become the inaugural Unified Champion.[5] Since Okada won as the Continental Champion, the Unified Championship is contested under the same Continental Rules in which no one is allowed at ringside for matches and outside interference is strictly prohibited.[6]
According to a report from Fightful Select, AEW stated that the title would be booked as another top championship on par with the AEW World Championship and not as a "mid or upper-midcard level title".[7] During the All In: Texas media call just a few days prior to the event on July 8, AEW president Tony Khan clarified that neither the Continental or International Championships would be retired and that their lineages would still be intact along with a new lineage for the Unified Championship, and the champion has the option to carry around all three belts. Khan stated that the Unified Championship was established because, "I wanted to create something special around this match and event".[8]
Belt design
The AEW Unified Championship belt takes inspiration from both the Continental and International Championship belts. It has five gold plates on a black leather strap. The oval shaped center plate features AEW's logo at the top. At the center of the center plate is a circle that has the crown from the Continental Championship, with the rest of the circle filled in with jewels. Above and below this are two black banners, in similar style to the International Championship, which say "Unified" on the top banner and "Champion" on the lower banner. The banners are held up on each side by an upright lion facing inward, also from the International Championship. By the end of each banner are parts of a globe, similar to the circles on the four corners of the International Championship's center plate. The inner side plates also have an oval shape and are modeled after the Continental Championship's side plates, featuring part of the globe with the AEW logo above it, but these are customizable as the globe can be removed and replaced with the reigning champion's logos.[9]
The outer side plates are unique in that the left one features Kenny Omega delivering his finisher, the One-Winged Angel, while the right one shows Kazuchika Okada performing his finisher, The Rainmaker. According to the Wrestling Observer, AEW president Tony Khan plans to keep the Omega and Okada side plates to commemorate the International and Continental titles and the legacies that Omega and Okada brought to the unification match. Like most of AEW's championships, the belt was produced by Red Leather Belts.[9]
Reigns
As of July 14, 2025.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||||
| All Elite Wrestling (AEW) | ||||||||||
| 1 | Kazuchika Okada | July 12, 2025 | All In | Arlington, TX | 1 | 2+ | Defeated AEW International Champion Kenny Omega in a Winner Takes All Unification match, in which Okada defended the AEW Continental Championship, to become the inaugural Unified Champion, with the respective titles maintaining their individual lineages. | [10] | ||
References
- ^ Rose, Bryan (March 20, 2024). "Kazuchika Okada wins Continental title on AEW Dynamite". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Ucchino, Rick (March 9, 2025). "Kenny Omega Completes Comeback Winning International Championship At AEW Revolution". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Renner, Ethan (June 4, 2025). "Omega vs. Okada AEW All In double title match official". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (June 11, 2025). "AEW Unified Championship Unveiled, Kazuchika Okada Attacks Kenny Omega And Aligns With Don Callis At AEW Summer Blockbuster". Fightful. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Alba, Jon (July 12, 2025). "Kazuchika Okada Defeats Kenny Omega To Win AEW Unified Championship At AEW All In: Texas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ DeFelice, Robert (July 12, 2025). "Tony Khan Says Going Forward AEW Unified Title Matches Will Have Continental Rules". Fightful. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (June 12, 2025). "Note On How Long Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega Has Been Planned, Continental Classic Update". 411Mania. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 8, 2025). "Tony Khan Says AEW Unified Championship Will Carry Lineage Of International And Continental Titles". Fightful. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Middleton, Marc (June 13, 2025). "Tony Khan's Unique Plans For New AEW Unified Championship Revealed". Inside the Ropes. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 12, 2025). "Kazuchika Okada Beats Kenny Omega, Becomes AEW Unified Champion At AEW All In". Fightful. Retrieved July 12, 2025.