Jim Cornette Rips AEW’s Championship Scene: “Everybody’s Got a Belt, Nobody Knows What It Means”

Jim Cornette has seen a lot in pro wrestling—but even he’s at a loss when it comes to AEW’s title scene.

On the first 2026 episode of The Jim Cornette Experience, the legendary manager and wrestling historian unleashed a scathing rant about AEW’s overflowing championship landscape. The tipping point? AEW’s Worlds End pay-per-view and the confusing conclusion to the Continental Classic tournament.

“I don’t even understand what you just said, and you pretty much summarized it,” Cornette told co-host Brian Last, reacting to the now-infamous “Triple Crown” finale that supposedly unified the AEW Continental, ROH World, and NJPW Strong Openweight titles—only for the belts to remain separate immediately afterward.

“Nobody understands with these belts… everybody’s got a belt, everybody’s got a title.”

Cornette zeroed in on the visual mess created by top stars carrying lower-tier titles. He cited AEW World Champion Samoa Joe still walking out with the ROH Six-Man Tag Team title, saying it “confused the goddamn issue” and “diminished” the stature of AEW’s top prize. He questioned why AEW didn’t vacate that belt immediately, adding:

“Being the world champ should mean something—but if you're dragging mid-card trinkets to the ring, it sure as hell doesn’t help.”

Cornette also took aim at the broader wrestling industry, where every promotion seems to be handing out belts like party favors. “Carrying 14 belts out… now she can’t whip cream with an outboard motor,” he joked, referring to top-tier stars like Mercedes Moné becoming “belt collectors” with no real story attached.

As of January 2026, AEW and ROH alone are juggling over a dozen active championships between them. And that’s before factoring in WWE’s ever-growing title count, which now includes Speed Championships, North American Women’s Titles, and brand-specific U.S. and Intercontinental Championships for both men and women.

From AEW’s International, Continental, National, and Trios belts… To ROH’s World, Pure, Television, Women’s TV, Women’s Pure, and Six-Man titles…To WWE’s 45-plus championships across Raw, SmackDown, NXT, Evolve, and WWE ID… Cornette believes it all blurs the line between “champion” and “just another guy with a belt.”

“Tony intricately overthinks this and writes this s**t down, and somehow this all makes sense to him,” Cornette said. “But for him to immerse himself in this night and day and it still don’t make a lick of goddamn sense, that’s troubling to me.”

Cornette’s frustration taps into a growing chorus of fans and critics who argue that when everyone has gold, nobody stands out—and the entire concept of championship prestige starts to crumble.