AEW President Tony Khan announced major changes to the All-Atlantic Championship.
On the March 8th edition of Dynamite, Khan confirmed the title was “levelling up” and will be rebranded as the International Championship.
Khan broke the news during a live backstage segment in which he revealed the new plans for the title. Khan stated the All-Atlantic Championship will be defended for the fifth and final time on international soil when Jeff Jarrett challenges Orange Cassidy in Winnipeg, Canada on March 15th.
The change to the championship is due to AEW’s broadcast partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. The two companies will promote the new DC Comics and Warner Bros. movie Shazam: Fury Of The Gods that is released on Friday, March 17.
The All Atlantic Championship Debuted At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
The All-Atlantic Champion was unveiled on June 18th 2022 to represent the promotion’s fans from 130 countries worldwide.
It was announced the first-ever champion would be crowned after a tournament featuring international stars such as Buddy Matthews, Ethan Page, Penta Oscuro and Tomohiro IIshi.
The inaugural champion was crowned in a four-way match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. PAC defeated Miro, Malakai Black and NJPW’s Clark Connors.
After winning the title PAC defended the title on international soil. At Revolution Pro in the UK PAC defended against Shota Umino and Connor Mills. He also defended the title against LJ Cleary at OTT in Dublin, Ireland.
Current champion Orange Cassidy defeated PAC for the title on the October 12th 2022, episode of Dynamite. Since winning his first title in AEW. Freshly Squeezed has successfully defended it fourteen times. His fifteenth and next defence against Jeff Jarrett will usher in a new version of the title.
As well as the big title announcement, the show saw Ruby Soho explain her actions at Revolution, Will Hobbs defeat Wardlow to become the new TNT Champion and set up a huge Trios Championship encounter with the House of Black, The Elite and the Jericho Appreciation Society.