After promising an incredibly consequential episode of AEW Dynamite on Twitter, Tony Khan delivered, with the President/CEO/head booker officially stripping CM Punk and The Elite trio of Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson of their championship belts ahead of the company's Grand Slam show at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.

Surprising? Only slightly; all parties involved have reportedly been suspended, and there was heavy speculation that Punk and Ace Steel might be outright fired for their involvement in the post-media scrum brawl in the back of the NOW Arena, but that's neither here nor there. With no mention of The Elite or Punk of Dynamite and the World Trios Championship belts officially awarded to new holders thanks to Death Triangle's big-time Buffalo win over Best Friends, AEW is clearly moving full steam ahead with MJF and Jon Moxley as their new main event mega-draws.

But what about the World Heavyweight Championship? While MJF has the Casino Ladder Match chip that affords him a match for the belt at a future date, he can't exactly win the belt if he doesn't have an opponent, unless TK wants to pull a Becky Lynch-Asuka and simply hand over his top strap without any resistance.

Fortunately, Mr. Khan came up with a plan to do just that, formulating yet another one of his much-loved tournaments to decide on the belt at Grand Slam, with six performers taking part in nine matches over forthcoming editions of AEW programming, with the first match already run on Dynamite in the Return of the Jedi of the “Hangman” Adam Page-Bryan Danielson trio broadcast live from Buffalo, New York; a match Danielson ultimately won in a fury of near-falls and broken pinning attempts. With only five men left eligible for the finale at Grand Slam, these three wrestlers deserve strong consideration to win it all and add some championship gold to their in-ring resume.

These three wrestlers deserve to be the next AEW World Champion.

3. Chris Jericho

In the immediate aftermath of the All Out brawl between Team Punk and The Elite at the end of the All Out, no one was more lauded for his efforts to get everyone on the same page and bring the locker room together than Chris Jericho. A grizzled veteran with over 30 years of in-ring experience and 43 different championship reigns over his career, according to Cagematch, Jericho may be a heel in the ring who prefers to be called a sports entertainer over a professional wrestler, but in the back, he's a crowd pleaser who is respected by all.

By giving Jericho another run with the belt, Khan would effectively be rewarding good behavior in the hopes of recapturing some of the magic from AEW's maiden voyage. Considering his pre-existing relationship with MJF and his in-ring hot streak coming off of a huge win over Bryan Danielson, giving Jericho another run with the championship would put a sweet garnish on top of a sour situation.

2. Bryan Danielson

The goal of the AEW World Championship Tournament has to be threefold – it needs to ultimately establish a new champ, sure, but it also needs to provide fans with a compelling main event for Grand Slam and give MJF a compelling opponent for his eventual match down the line, likely at Full Gear.

While Bryan Danielson doesn't check the final box, as he has never wrestled MJF before in AEW or elsewhere, he would make for one heck of a champion and could potentially deliver an absolute barnburner against Moxley at Arthur Ashe. After Danielson unsuccessfully challenged “Hangman” Adam Page on two separate occasions earlier in their year, recording a 60-minute draw in match one and a near-30-minute loss at The Rock in Newark, New Jersey, Danielson finally secured a win over his early AEW foe in the first round of the AEW World Championship Tournament, and now prepares to wrestle his All Out opponent, Jericho, in the second round.

If Danielson can survive that match, he'll be one match close to a Blackpool Combat Club Civil War with Mox.

1. Jon Moxley

When even Eric Bischoff lauds a performer for his AEW Galaxy-calming promo at the top of Dynamite, you know who the favorite for the championship belt should be.

Moxley might just be the most over man in AEW today. He took on the challenge of being AEW's Interim World Champion with honor, wrestling some of his best matches over the run, and even after a weird, quasi-heel turn to rile up fans in Chicago, his arrival in the Buffalo ring proved that he's still the most over babyface in Khan's promotion. Like Jericho, Moxley has been celebrated for helping to keep the locker room together in these trying times, and his history with Danielson, Jericho, and MJF makes him the perfect man to headline Grand Slam and send fans home happy after an event they will never forget.

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