It is contested under the same rules as the Continental title, in which no one is allowed at ringside, outside interference is strictly prohibited, and matches have a 20-minute time limit. The inaugural and reigning champion is Kazuchika Okada, who is also the reigning International Champion and Continental Champion. He defeated then International Champion Kenny Omega in a Winner Takes Allchampionship unification match at All In: Texas on July 12, 2025.
Okada would go onto defeat Omega to become the inaugural Unified Champion.[5] Since Okada won as the Continental Champion, AEW president Tony Khan confirmed that the Unified Championship would be contested under Continental Rules, the same rules for matches for the Continental Championship, in which no one is allowed at ringside, outside interference is strictly prohibited, and matches have a 20-minute time limit.[6]
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 on July 8, 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 can choose to carry all three championship 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 prior championships, the belt was produced by Red Leather Belts.[9] This would be the last championship belt produced by Red Leather for AEW, as their partnership ended in August 2025.[10]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
