Swerve Strickland has a straightforward idea for a potential redesign of the AEW World Trios Championship: remove The Young Bucks from the side plates.

Strickland is currently enjoying his first reign with the AEW World Trios Championships alongside Kofi and Austin Creed. While discussing what he would alter if given an opportunity to change a title belt’s design, Strickland focused on a feature of the trios titles that has remained especially tied to Matt and Nick Jackson.

“Take the Young Bucks off of it. It is the Young Bucks throwing a superkick on the side plates. We’ve had so many Trios Champions since then. If you get the new champions, you put different — at least the trios team on it. The Young Bucks aren’t even a trios, it’s just two people on a Trios Championship.”

The comments put a spotlight on a distinctive aspect of AEW’s trios belts. Championship side plates can serve as a way to reinforce a promotion’s branding, commemorate a particular lineage, or spotlight the wrestlers who helped establish a title. In this case, Strickland believes the imagery should evolve with the championship and with the wrestlers who carry it.

For more background on this topic, read Swerve Strickland Blasts MJF’s Heatseeker, Says It Was Taken From Adam Cole.

His central objection is not simply that a past championship team is represented on the plates. Strickland’s point is that the belts honor a two-man act despite being championships built around three-person teams. The Young Bucks have long been among the most closely identified names with AEW and have played a major role in the company’s tag team identity, but Strickland stressed that the trios division has had numerous champions beyond them.

A championship design tied to a growing division

The AEW World Trios Championship was created to give the company’s wide range of factions, alliances, and three-person units a title specifically suited to their matches. Trios wrestling has been an important part of AEW programming from its earliest period, with the promotion regularly featuring six-man tags involving established teams, stables, and unexpected partnerships.

Because of that environment, the identity of the trios division is naturally different from a conventional singles or tag team championship. The wrestlers holding the belts can change the entire tone of the title scene. One reign may be centered on a deeply established unit, while the next can showcase three performers who have developed chemistry through a newer alliance.

Strickland, Kofi, and Austin Creed represent the current version of that concept. Their reign is Strickland’s first with the AEW World Trios Championships, making the visual presentation of the titles an understandable point of interest. A title belt is more than a prize handed to the winners after a match; it is also a symbol wrestlers carry into entrances, promotional material, interviews, and major championship defenses.

Strickland’s suggestion is therefore a request for the belts to reflect the people presently defining them. He did not lay out a full proposed redesign, but he clearly indicated that he would prefer side plates featuring the current trio, or at least imagery that does not remain permanently associated with The Young Bucks.

Why side plates matter

Side plates have become a meaningful part of modern championship presentation across professional wrestling. They offer an additional canvas beyond the central plate, which usually carries a title’s name and a promotion’s principal visual identity. Depending on the belt, side plates may be changed for champions, feature logos, commemorate historical figures, or emphasize the championship’s broader heritage.

For a trios title, the issue has another layer. The championship is intended for three wrestlers, so imagery associated with a full trio can underscore the format of the division. That is why Strickland specifically raised the fact that the Bucks are a pair.

“The Young Bucks aren’t even a trios, it’s just two people on a Trios Championship,” Strickland said.

That criticism is rooted in the basic distinction between tag team and trios wrestling. The Young Bucks’ status as a historic tag team does not change their influence on AEW, but Strickland believes that a championship designed for three competitors should not visually prioritize two wrestlers. In his view, the side plates would be better used to recognize a complete team or adjusted as the title changes hands.

A change like the one Strickland proposed could take several forms. The plates could be replaced with a permanent AEW design not tied to any particular wrestlers. They could feature symbols representing the trios format. Or, as Strickland suggested, they could change with the champions. Each approach would shift attention away from one act and toward either the division as a whole or the titleholders of the moment.

There has been no indication that AEW plans to alter the design. Strickland was answering a redesign question and offering his personal preference, rather than announcing an official championship update. Still, his remarks create a clear talking point around a detail that can be easy to overlook amid match results and championship storylines.

Strickland’s perspective as a reigning champion

Strickland’s comments carry extra weight because they come during his active championship reign. Wrestlers often speak about the titles they hold as extensions of their accomplishments, and the visual details surrounding a belt can become part of how a reign is remembered. For Strickland, Kofi, and Austin Creed, the AEW World Trios Championship is a shared achievement and an opportunity to put their own stamp on the division.

His comments also underline the importance of recognizing title lineage without allowing a previous era to define every future champion. The Young Bucks’ connection to AEW is undeniable, and their superkick imagery is instantly recognizable to many wrestling fans. But Strickland is arguing for a different balance: respect what came before while ensuring that the current champions are not visually overshadowed by an act from an earlier chapter of the championship.

That is particularly relevant in a division where combinations of wrestlers can be fluid. Trios teams may be long-standing groups, but they can also be built through alliances that develop over time. A belt design that foregrounds one specific act may create a fixed image of a championship whose real appeal is its ability to accommodate different kinds of teams.

Strickland’s proposed solution is also notably practical. He did not call for the AEW World Trios Championship to be abandoned or radically reimagined. He singled out the side plates and made the case that they should better suit the title’s purpose. His framing leaves room for the championship’s existing presentation while targeting the element he sees as outdated.

The Young Bucks remain part of the conversation

Although Strickland wants their likeness removed from the plates, his comments also demonstrate just how lasting The Young Bucks’ visual influence remains. The fact that their superkick imagery is still a point of discussion speaks to their place in AEW’s history and in the company’s championship aesthetic.

At the same time, Strickland’s argument is that influence and permanent representation are not necessarily the same thing. The trios division has continued to develop, its champions have changed, and he believes the physical belts should acknowledge that evolution. The current champions, in his opinion, should have a stronger connection to the title’s presentation than a pair of wrestlers who are not themselves a three-man unit.

Whether AEW eventually considers an update remains to be seen. Championship redesigns can be rare, and promotions often retain familiar elements because of brand recognition and continuity. Yet title belts are periodically refreshed, especially when a company wants to mark a new era, improve functionality, or adjust a design that no longer aligns with how a division is being presented.

For now, Strickland has made his position unmistakable. As one-third of the reigning AEW World Trios Champions with Kofi and Austin Creed, he wants the championship’s side plates to move beyond The Young Bucks’ superkick silhouette and toward imagery that better represents the competitors and teams who make up the division today.

The proposal is a small visual change on paper, but it speaks to a broader championship question: should a belt preserve the stamp of those who helped establish it, or should it change alongside each new group that earns the right to carry it?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.