AEW officially confirmed on this week’s AEW Dynamite that Thunder Rosa had relinquished the AEW Women’s World Championship. This not only made Jamie Hayter the official women’s champion but Toni Storm’s interim reign from September to November is also officially recognized as a world title reign. Rosa initially won the title at AEW Dynamite: St. Patrick’s Day Slam but had to relinquish it ahead of September’s All Out pay-per-view. Hayter beat Storm for the gold at Full Gear this past weekend thanks to heavy interference from Dr. Britt Baker and Rebel.
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Tony Khan was asked about the interim championship situation last week leading up to Full Gear. He explained at the time, “Thunder Rosa’s a great wrestler, and it’s unfortunate that she’s injured. It’s kept her out a long time. It’s not an easy situation,” Khan added, “and I try to take everything on a case-by-case basis, and am trying to give Thunder Rosa every opportunity to come back and defend the championship. But eventually, you would have to crown a lineal champion.”
Dave Meltzer then gave more details on Wrestling Observer Radio, explaining how Rosa’s injury kept her out of action for much longer than expected. He said (h/t WrestleTalk), “The deal with Rosa was that, when she went down, she was going to lose the title at that pay-per-view (All Out) to Toni Storm. They expected her back November/December, in that timeframe, and I think the feeling was, because of what happened with Punk, where they gave him a couple of months, to be consistent they would have to do the same thing here. Now it’s looking like February, so now I think they’re saying February’s too long.”
Rosa responded to the news by tweeting out on Wednesday night, “Thank you #ThunderArmy for all the support and @aew for being there for me. Dream-like moments happened in this run, and this is not how I wanted to lose the championship, but you deserve a present champion; on to the next chapter.”
AEW will wrap up its 2022 event schedule with the Winter is Coming special on Dec. 14 in Garland, Texas. Two matches have been confirmed for the show so far — AEW World Champion MJF vs. Ricky Starks and Death Triangle vs. The Elite as part of the Best of Seven Series.
