Opinion: AEW Trios Division Has Been the Best Part of AEW

At the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) event Revolution 2023, The House of Black defeated The Elite to become the AEW World Trios Champions for the first time. The team of Malakai Black, Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and their manager Julia Hart dethroned the two-time champs in an impressive fashion.

The trios division has become a center piece of AEW programming. It isn’t perfect, and I would like to see some things change, but the division has become the best part of AEW television. We have seen trios matches be close to or the main event of the flagship program AEW Dynamite in recent weeks, which has spotlighted what the division has to offer. Let’s break down why the AEW trios division has been the best part of the program.

AEW Trios Division Has Been the Best Part of AEW:

Top Billed Talent

One of the biggest feuds in AEW currently outside the World Title picture has been surrounding The Elite, The Dark Order, and Blackpool Combat Club. Within these stables, you have Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Jon Moxley, and Claudio Castagnoli among others. The company was widely built around The Bucks and Omega when AEW started, and Moxley has become a cornerstone of the company.

With The House of Black becoming the champions of the division they will likely be working with them in trios and possible singles or regular tag action as well. Having top-billed talent has given the division legitimacy and made it feel like an important part of the program and less like an obligatory title. This is also great for House of Black, The Dark Order, and other trios as they will likely get more television time in higher profile feuds with teams like The Elite, The BCC, and the Jericho Appreciation Society.

Consistent and Long-Term Story Telling

One of the biggest criticisms of AEW has been the storytelling. For example, when Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo was announced to main event Dynamite, many argued that the match did not have a build-up or a storyline to it. With the trios division, the storytelling has been more consistent.

The build-up for The Elite versus The House of Black did not have much of a storyline. However, when you look at the division as a whole there is something there. Much of that has been around Hangman Adam Page and his association with The Dark Order. When AEW was created in 2019 Hangman was associated with The Elite (Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and at the time Cody). Hangman drifted away from the faction and found himself aligned with the Dark Order. A feud started brewing between The Elite and The Dark Order with Hangman caught in the middle. This came to a fever pitch at All Out 2022 when the team of Hangman Page, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver lost to Omega and The Bucks for the inaugural AEW World Trios Tag Team Championship. This also called back to Hangman and Omega who were previously AEW World Tag Team Champions.

Enter the Blackpool Combat Club

Now enter the Blackpool Combat Club. The stable consists of Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, and Wheeler Yuta. The group had been an antihero-type face stable until recently. They have turned heel by beating down other competitors and showing a more ruthless side to themselves. now the trio of Moxley, Castagnoli, and Yuta has become an intimidating trio.

Moxley lost to Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match at Revolution in what seemed to be a feud-ending match. It turns out this was only the beginning of a more flushed-out trios feud. A couple of weeks ago on Dynamite The House of Black successfully defended the AEW World Trios Championships against The Elite and The Jericho Appreciation Society. After the match, a brawl that started in the back between The Dark Order and The BCC spilled into the arena. The Elite came up behind Dark Order and Hangman Page to back them up. Something that would not have been thought to have been plausible just a few months ago. The BCC backed off, which is not something we see often from them.

This past week on Dynamite the BCC got their revenge on The Elite by taking out Matt and Nick Jackson as the show started. After Kenny Omega’s main event match with El Hijo Del Vikingo, the BCC came after a weakened Omega. Hangman made the save for his former tag partner, but Don Callis made it look like Hangman attacked him, leaving Kenny confused and angry.

The interwoven storyline between The Elite, specifically Page and Omega, The Dark Order, and now The BCC has callbacks all the way to the start of AEW. The storytelling has been consistent so far and there are many ways the feuds can go from here.

Personally, I would like to see the House of Black become more intertwined in the feud. The trios are now being given prime slots in AEW programming and as the division champions, they should have a stronger presence on AEW programming.

More Options for Fresh Sub Feuds

We are already seeing a feud in Hangman and Omega boiling. Although that isn’t exactly a fresh feud, there are options out there. This would be a great segway into a feud between Omega and Claudio for example. Another option could be Moxley and Malakai Black squaring off as representatives of their respective factions.

The fantasy booking options are plenty. The trios give plenty of options with the story tying back to the original trios feud. A story could start with a match or feud for the AEW World Trios Championship and pivot to a sub-feud over the tag, TNT, or even AEW World Championship. Some scenarios are more likely than others, but the trios could be a jumping-off point to a feud with a solid story behind it.

AEW Trios Division Has Been the Best Part of AEW: In Conclusion  

The trios division has been a solid part of AEW programming for a bit of time now. It has a lot of room to grow and there are plenty of exciting possibilities within the division.