The AEW TBS Title had to be vacated last week by the latest woman to hold the belt due to an unfortunate injury. Now, an update has emerged regarding the future of the belt.
Earlier this month on Saturday Night Collision, Willow Nightingale defended her TBS Championship against Red Velvet, who made her return to AEW television for the first time since this past year. Although the ROH Women’s World TV Champion pushed The Babe with The Power to her limits, Willow lived up to her “Comeback Killer” moniker, retaining her strap against Velvet after a hard-hitting, back-and-forth matchup.
Last week during AEW’s Dynamite-Collision three-hour special, however, Nightingale revealed that she had unfortunately sustained a shoulder injury during her title defense on May 16, as a result of which she had to vacate the TBS Championship. During the media call for Double or Nothing 2026, Tony Khan had stated that the future of the TBS Title would be addressed after the May 24 pay-per-view.
Now, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer has provided an update on the subject, noting that he expects an announcement to be made regarding the TBS Championship on this Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. The veteran journalist also stated that he had expected such an announcement to be shared during Double or Nothing, but all the relevant plans and details had likely not been finalized yet.
“I expect word about the TBS title will be announced on Dynamite on Wednesday. I had the impression it would be announced last night but I guess everything wasn’t finalized.” [H/T- @WrestlePurists on X]
AEW’s Alex Windsor on Willow Nightingale’s shoulder injury
Due to her injury, Willow Nightingale also had to withdraw from the 2026 Women’s Owen Hart Cup, and from her quarterfinal match in the tournament against Alex Windsor, which was initially scheduled for Double or Nothing 2026. The Englishwoman, during her recent interview with Denise Salcedo, addressed the former TBS Champion’s health status, voicing sympathy regarding her shoulder injury. She also stated that she hoped Willow will be back soon, albeit admitting a measure of disappointment over not being able to wrestle her on PPV.
“Oh, honestly, selfishly, I’m gutted, because I really wanted to wrestle her. I just knew we would have such a good match. But obviously, the main thing is, I just feel so sorry for Willow, because it’s never a good time to get injured. I just think that there are some moments where it just cuts a little deeper, so I just, I feel so sorry for her. I can only sympathize, obviously, having been injured myself, but there’s obviously that little part of me that’s just like ‘Ugh”, for myself, just gutted. But of course the main thing is hopefully Willow is back soon, and when we do have the match, it’ll be even more worth it.”
Windsor’s AEW Double or Nothing match against Nightingale was replaced with another Owen Hart Cup quarterfinal bout between Mina Shirakawa and Athena. The Fallen Goddess ended up victorious over The Venus of Pro-Wrestling in New York this past Sunday.
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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee
