A Look at the Semifinalists of AEW's TBS Championship Tournament

On October 6, 2021, it was announced that All Elite Wrestling's flagship series, Dynamite, would move from TNT to TBS, doing so to make way for TNT's NHL coverage. AEW already began the process by airing on Saturdays for the first few weeks; allowing TNT to begin their NHL relationship with doubleheaders on Wednesdays. Afterwards, Dynamite returned to Wednesdays, airing live coast-to-coast for the rest of the year, followed by a single Wednesday Night Hockey game at 10PM EST/7PM PST.

In addition, that night's 2nd Anniversary edition of Dynamite saw the unveiling of the TBS Championship, which was introduced as a secondary title for AEW's Women's Division. A 12-woman tournament began on the October 23, 2021 edition of Dynamite, with eight of the women competing in first round matches while four others received byes straight to the quarterfinals. Three opening round matches took place on Dynamite, while a fourth (The Bunny vs Red Velvet) took place on an episode of AEW Rampage. After several weeks, the race to crown AEW's first-ever TBS Champion has reached the final four, and they are as follows:

Thunder Rosa: One of my all-time favorites in women's wrestling is Thunder Rosa; I loved seeing her on Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, but my fandom increased when I watched her on Lucha Underground as the deliciously sinister Kobra Moon. In October of 2019, Thunder Rosa debuted for the National Wrestling Alliance, with her debut marking the beginning of the building of a villainous faction that was revealed to be masterminded by Melina, and would include Marti Belle. It was in January of 2020 that Thunder Rosa defeated Allysin Kay to capture the NWA Women's World Championship, and it was during her run as champion that she started to make appearances for AEW.

Thunder Rosa officially became signed by AEW, and she engaged in a months long feud with eventual champion Britt Baker, while also crossing paths with Nyla Rose and Jade Cargill. Regarding the tournament, Thunder Rosa was one of the four women who received a bye to the quarterfinals, and she defeated Jamie Hayter to advance to the semifinals.

Jade Cargill: I am a huge fan of Jade Cargill, and the reason is simple: her appearance continues a recent trend of strong and muscular powerhouses in women's wrestling. Characters like this were once immensely rare, mainly due to the negative and (at times) misogynistic stigma towards muscular women, but thankfully, we are seeing more of these women in wrestling. Another reason why I adore Jade so much: she reminds me a lot of another recent fave--NWA's Kamille.

Jade's debut in AEW in 2020 originally saw her feuding with Brandi Rhodes, but once Brandi became pregnant, Red Velvet replaced her as Jade's target. In just over a year in AEW, Jade has yet to be pinned or made to submit, factors that led her to receive a bye in the tournament. Jade defeated Red Velvet to become a semifinalist, and many fans expect her to win the whole thing.

On a side note, Jade vs Kamille needs to happen. Just saying.

Nyla Rose: The only AEW Women's World Champion in the Final Four, Nyla Rose is another villainous powerhouse in AEW's Women's Division. I had seen a few of her matches prior to her AEW debut, so I was elated to see her debut at AEW's very first pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, in May of 2019. At All Out in July of 2019, Nyla won a battle royal to earn the right to become the inaugural AEW Women's World Champion, but she was defeated in the title match by Riho on the very first episode of AEW Dynamite on October 2, 2019. Nyla would become the second Women's Champion when she defeated Riho on the February 12, 2020 edition of Dynamite, with her run lasting over three months before she was defeated by Hikaru Shida.

Nyla has made quite a bit of history in her AEW run. She is the first openly trans woman to compete in a major American wrestling promotion, and she is the first openly trans woman to hold a major championship in said promotion. She has a chance at history again; Nyla can become the first to hold both women's championships at least once with her entrance in the TBS Championship Tournament. Nyla also received a bye straight to the quarterfinals, where she defeated the aforementioned Hikaru Shida.

Ruby Soho: The only Wild Card (in more ways than one) in the tournament's Final Four is Ruby Soho, who I have watched for many years. Ruby competed in many different independent promotions as Heidi Lovelace; promotions such as SHIMMER, Shine Wrestling, and even Queens of Combat. Of course, many of us definitely remember her as Ruby Riott in WWE, where she competed for five years, beginning with NXT and then being called up as the leader of The Riott Squad, which also consisted of Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.

When Ruby was released in June of 2021, it was only a matter of time (fans, myself included, felt) before she would become All Elite. Sure enough, that moment came at All Out in September, when the renamed Ruby Soho debuted as the "Joker" in the Casino Battle Royale, which she ended up winning. She quickly feuded with Britt Baker leading to her title opportunity, but even though she came up short, Ruby made enough of an impression to be named as one of the 12 women in the TBS Championship Tournament. Unlike her fellow semifinalists, Ruby did not receive a bye, and she defeated Penelope Ford in the first round, as well as Kris Statlander (who received a bye) in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Thunder Rosa will face off against Jade Cargill in one match, while the other match will feature Nyla Rose and Ruby Soho. It was recently announced that the finals of the TBS Championship Tournament will take place on the night that Dynamite debuts on TBS: January 5, 2022.

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