Tony Khan: The AEW TNT Title Is Not A Mid-Card Championship

AEW President Tony Khan has said the TNT Championship is not a mid-card title. Instead, he considers it a "top championship that stars hold."

Speaking on a media call ahead of All Out, Khan said: "It's not a 'mid-card' championship. The only people that have held the belt are Cody, Brodie Lee, may he rest in peace, Darby Allin and Miro, so I don't consider it, I don't book it like a 'mid-card' championship. I'm looking at it as a top championship that stars hold, so I will take exception [to that idea] right off the bat."

Khan then used thermodynamics to explain how the TNT Title has remained a hot belt.

"That is the key to the championship, is that none of the champions have been a stretch. Thermodynamics - heat is passed from a warmer body to a cooler body. If you have a hot belt and take a cold wrestler and say 'I can heat this guy up,' the problem with that is that you cool off the belt. So the key to this belt has been, in my opinion, from the beginning, it’s been hot matches, hot issues. It’s been pushed on television and the champion has always been a protected star," Khan added.

"It would not have been right for Darby to win the first tournament and Darby was a huge part of the tournament. He went to the semifinals and lost to Cody before the Cody/Lance Archer match at the pay-per-view because it was part of the build for Darby finally winning the title. Cody and Darby had a classic match at Full Gear, a great pay-per-view even though we were at 25 percent capacity.

"I thought it was one of the best wrestling shows anyone did all year, period. And really for me, I just think it wouldn't have made sense where he was at that point. [Darby] had to get red hot for it to be the right time for him and same for Brodie and Miro. They are huge, huge stars and neither one of them came in and won the TNT title their first week. They really were built up and built steam and solidified their place in the fans' eyes, so I think the belt has been very protected and I think that's why it is not a 'mid-card' championship and I never intend for the TNT title to ever become a 'mid-card' championship," he continued.

"It's really near and dear to my heart, and I think protecting the title is a key thing. We look at other quote-unquote 'mid-card' championships and that's how they became [seen that way]. There's other belts in wrestling, and I think we all know the one I'm talking about, that used to be really protected, that used to really mean something really important. It's been batted around, retired, it's been brought back, but what does it even mean anymore? I never will let [the TNT title] be that."

H/T to WrestleZone