2) What Are They Fighting For?
There must be a prize for the winner, an incentive/reasoning to justify fighting. The underlying issue of the women’s Blood and Guts match was that their reasons for fighting were paper-thin. A tournament needs stakes for the character and the fans to buy in. It can’t just be for being the best. That’s what the world title is supposed to represent.
Like the men’s, the winner could receive an AEW Women’s Continental Championship. However, this would re-ignite the recurring debate about too many championship belts, with valid points. Already, the women’s roster doesn’t necessarily have the depth, nor defined divisions or peaking orders for each title. Excluding Athena as the ROH Women’s World Champion and Mercedes Moné’s belt collection, there is already a women’s midcard belt in the TBS Championship. Plus, the newly introduced AEW Women’s Tag Team Championships.
If AEW replicated the G1 Climax format, a trophy and a title shot, this could introduce a calendar and a booking/timing issue. The tournament is either booked earlier or later in the year than the Owen Hart Memorial Cup Tournament, which has a similar prize. Also, tactically, AEW would need to think carefully about the timing of another women’s Casino Gauntlet match for the same reasons. For each has a similar prize, one concept cannibalises another.
