B/R Wrestling’s High 30 Best AEW Superstars Ever: Rating No. 21-30

In 2019, Tony Khan, Cody Rhodes, The Younger Bucks and Kenny Omega vowed to revolutionize the skilled wrestling world with the creation of All Elite Wrestling.

On Sunday, on the MGM Grand Backyard Area in Las Vegas, the corporate celebrates 5 years with the pay-per-view that began all of it: Double or Nothing.

Forward of the occasion, headlined by Anarchy within the Area between Workforce AEW and The Elite, the B/R Wrestling writers have fun the primary half decade of the promotion with 30 best wrestlers in AEW historical past, all of whom are answerable for the unimaginable matches, intense rivalries and breathtaking moments which have outlined the corporate.

Here’s a rundown of our panel of voters:

Which rivals made up the highest 10, capping off the record o essentially the most vital and influential wrestlers in AEW historical past?

Discover out with the continuation of our countdown.

When compiling this record of wrestlers, a number of components had been considered.

In-ring capacity, mic abilities, drawing energy and general reputation had been all vital components weighed by the panel. Most necessary, although, was the historic significance these figures had on the historical past of the corporate.

Did they contribute to establishing its identification by way of matches, promos and different segments? Had been they a part of the material of AEW? How vital had been they to the promotion away from the cameras?

Their significance to the story of AEW by way of its first 5 years in the end decides who made the record, who didn’t, and the place they appeared on it.

Falling simply in need of the highest 30 had been:

40. Dustin Rhodes

39. Saraya

38. Santana and Ortiz

37. Ruby Soho

36. The Home of Black

35. The Acclaimed

34. Claudio Castagnoli

33. Kris Statlander

32. Ricky Starks

31. Wardlow

Accomplishments: AEW world tag group champion (with Luchasaurus), FTW champion

As Jungle Boy, Jack Perry was a preferred babyface whose Jurassic Categorical partnership with Luchasaurus recurrently had him within the hunt for the AEW World Tag Workforce Championship.

One of many younger pillars of the corporate, round whom the way forward for the promotion can be constructed, he had different alternatives away from the tag division to show himself and excelled extra occasions than not.

A 2023 heel flip, although, introduced a facet of him followers had not seen. Dropping the “Jungle Boy” moniker and going by his start title, he turned an entitled and self-serving villain who taunted his opponents each on and off display, together with a dig at prime star CM Punk through the All In pay-per-view that referenced a behind-the-scenes dialog the 2 had main into the present.

Perry’s backstage confrontation with Punk at Wembley Stadium on August 27, 2023 led to the latter’s departure from AEW and a suspension for the previous Jungle Boy plus questions as as to whether he can be again in any respect.

That query was answered when he returned at Dynasty as The Scapegoat and aligned himself with The Younger Bucks and Kazuchika Okada in The Elite.

Viler than earlier than and with a higher-profile spot than he had beforehand, he’s in a spot creatively to have vital influence on the way forward for AEW tv.

That might imply a revisited countdown of the promotion’s all-time greats might properly see him a lot additional up the record.

Accomplishments: TBS champion, Owen Hart Memorial Cup winner (2023)

Willow Nightingale debuted within the spring of 2021 and wasted little time establishing herself as one of the beloved members of the ladies’s division.

Although there have been few plans for her at that time, she put the work in and earned herself a spot on the AEW roster.

Inside two years, her infectious positivity and power-based transfer set gained the followers over and that connection earned her the belief of Tony Khan, resulting in a defining second on the July 15 episode of Collision the place she gained the Owen Hart Basis Girls’s Event.

Unfinished enterprise with Mercedes Moné, and a victory over Julia Hart for the TBS Championship at Dynasty in April, has Nightingale able to obtain her best publicity up to now.

A rematch with Moné, who she defeated to win the New Japan Robust Girls’s Championship, at Double or Nothing in Las Vegas would be the largest take a look at of her profession.

If the early work she has delivered so far are any indication, the wide-smiling badass of the AEW ladies’s division is about to achieve a brand new stratosphere of stardom and that bodes properly for a corporation placing extra emphasis on its ladies’s roster.

Accomplishments: TNT champion (3), interim TNT champion

Controversy follows Sammy Guevara, as evidenced by a suspension levied on account of a match with Jeff Hardy wherein he failed to stick to AEW’s concussion protocol, that has him sitting on the sidelines and questioning when he’ll once more have the chance to set foot contained in the squared circle.

Regardless of the uncertainty presently surrounding him, there isn’t any doubt about his contributions to AEW.

He competed within the firm’s first singles match, shedding to Kip Sabian on the Double or Nothing pre-show in 2019. He battled Cody Rhodes within the first match of the primary episode of Dynamite. He was the inaugural member of The Inside Circle and have become the primary three-time TNT champion.

Add an “interim” runs into that, and he has extra reigns with the secondary title than some other competitor in firm historical past.

His penchant for death-defying stunts outlined his in-ring fashion, regardless of some questioning whether or not it was actually value risking all of it in weekly televised matches when he clearly had a protracted, vivid future forward of him.

Bucking logic, although, he recurrently threw warning to the wind in an try to wow followers.

Not at all times a fan-favorite, whether or not babyface or heel, Guevara has embraced the hate and repeatedly proved he would cater to nobody whereas constructing his legacy as one of many pillars of AEW and one of many nice breakout stars of the corporate’s early years.

Accomplishments: Owen Hart Memorial Cup (2022)

Adam Cole’s affect on AEW tv is actually higher than the No. 27 spot on the countdown.

His debut at All Out in 2021 is likely one of the most unforgettable moments in AEW historical past whereas his prolonged storyline with MJF in the summertime and fall of 2023 managed to make a babyface out of essentially the most hated man on the roster earlier than revealing that it was Cole who was the devilish manipulator all alongside.

All the time outstanding when on AEW tv, it’s his availability that has damage his capacity to advance previous this spot on our countdown.

Cole has suffered two main accidents, the primary of which threatened his profession.

The previous Ring of Honor and NXT world champion suffered a pair of concussions in 2022 that referred to as into query whether or not he would ever be cleared to compete once more.

In 2023, amid the most important push of his AEW profession and the most well liked story within the firm with MJF, he suffered a damaged ankle whereas leaping off the doorway ramp at Dynamite: Grand Slam.

He was in the end revealed because the grand schemer, however the influence was not almost what it might have been had he nonetheless been on TV and competing each week because the villain hellbent on taking the AEW world title off his “good friend.”

Barring any vital setbacks, and any additional accidents, there may be nonetheless loads of time for Cole to ascertain himself as one of many best stars within the promotion’s historical past however the irritating roadblocks he has suffered on the journey there have stunted his elevation to that standing thus far.

Accomplishments: AEW ladies’s champion

It’s straightforward to overlook how influential Thunder Rosa was to the ladies’s division previous to the again harm that put her out of motion for properly over a yr.

Arguably essentially the most organically over lady on the roster, she exploded onto the scene in 2020 and, inside eight months, was embroiled in an intensely private rivalry with Britt Baker, which included the historic first ladies’s major occasion in Dynamite historical past on March 17, 2021.

That Unsanctioned Lights Out match was brutal, violent and bloody, however past what occurred within the ring, it shattered the glass ceiling and proved ladies may thrive within the AEW highlight.

That match, and the next battles she had with Baker gave the ladies’s division a reliable rivalry it may construct round, whereas the hard-hitting gimmick matches erased any suggestion ladies couldn’t get brutal and violent on mainstream wrestling tv.

On the March 16, 2022 episode of Dynamite, almost one yr to the day after their historic first major occasion, Rosa defeated Baker to win her first AEW Girls’s World Championship inside a metal cage and in entrance of her hometown followers in San Antonio, Texas.

A again harm compelled her to the sidelines, that means she would by no means get to correctly defend the title, however a return to the squared circle in 2023 has some hoping she is going to discover her means again to the gold and proceed what was shaping as much as be a probably defining run with the corporate.

Accomplishments: AEW ladies’s champion

The early portion of Jamie Hayter’s AEW run is one which was dotted with disappointment and defeat.

The COVID-19 pandemic halted plans for her to be a participant within the ladies’s division ahead of she was, whereas her eventual debut as a full-time wrestler in 2021 was met with high-profile losses. Regardless of these defeats, her in-ring capacity and low-key charisma caught the eye of followers, who supported her increasingly more with each passing look.

An intense, aggressive employee, she was the right addition to Britt Baker’s act, an enforcer who would be sure The Good Physician remained within the winner’s column extra occasions than not.

The summer season of 2022 noticed an explosion in reputation for Hayter, although, as she continued to show herself as a contender within the ladies’s division. A number of championship alternatives got here and went, all with the Brit struggling disappointing defeats, till an unlucky harm to Thunder Rosa created a possibility for her to compete for gold yet another time at Full Gear.

On that night time, Hayter defeated Toni Storm to win the interim AEW ladies’s title and firmly set up herself as the brand new face of the division. The reign can be formally acknowledged when Rosa gave up her title shortly thereafter.

Sadly, harm minimize Hayter’s personal run brief as she dropped the title to Storm at Double or Nothing in Might 2023 and has been inactive since.

Nonetheless, her rise reminded Tony Khan of two necessary issues: Regardless of his want to signal each main free agent potential, he had a wealth of expertise already on his roster simply ready for a possibility to shine.

Secondly, and extra importantly, it’s crucial to take heed to the viewers as a result of theycan dictate who the following massive factor will likely be and that was actually the case with our No. 24 entrant.

Accomplishments: AEW All-Atlantic champion (inaugural), AEW world trios champion (with Lucha Bros)

If it was not for the inconsistent appearances over the course of his 5 years in AEW, PAC would possible rank a lot greater on this record.

A significant free-agent signing made on the inception of AEW, The Bastard wasted little time establishing himself as one of many premiere rivals on the roster.

A ruthless competitor who may brutalize opponents along with his submission transfer set as simply as he may wow followers along with his capacity to contort his physique throughout an aerial assault, he combined it up with prime stars reminiscent of Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Web page, The Younger Bucks and Orange Cassidy.

He turned the inaugural All-Atlantic (now worldwide) champion at Forbidden Door 2002 with a win over Malakai Black, Clark Connors and Miro, and he teamed with Loss of life Triangle mates the Lucha Bros to win the trios titles.

He has repeatedly been put able to work with the most effective wrestlers within the firm and win championship gold, as a result of his work speaks for itself. He’s plausible, dependable between the ropes, and he can prove a show-stealing efficiency with any opponent.

Look no additional than Revolution 2020 with Cassidy, which passed off lengthy earlier than Freshly Squeezed turned the workhorse that he did later in his AEW run.

PAC’s relevancy to the historical past of AEW, very similar to his standing as one of many world’s finest skilled wrestlers, is probably going underrated, leading to his spot within the backside third of our countdown.

Accomplishments: TNT champion

Brodie Lee arrived in AEW in 2020 with a objective: To show that he didn’t must be a member of a household or a Bludgeon Brother to be a star in skilled wrestling.

As “The Exalted One” of The Darkish Order, he wasted little time establishing himself as such.

A giant, nasty, no-nonsense competitor with a devastating discus lariat, he unsuccessfully challenged Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at that yr’s Double or Nothing however made it clear he was a reliable contender for any of the corporate’s prime prizes.

In August, he decimated Cody Rhodes, squashing the EVP to seize the TNT title in one of the staggering and efficient one-sided beatdowns in AEW historical past.

Lee and his Darkish Order minions would proceed to make life depressing for The American Nightmare, drawing a darker facet out of Rhodes earlier than their rivalry culminated in a Canine Collar match on the October 7 episode of Dynamite.

It could be his last match with AEW.

Lee died in December 2020. The admiration his friends had for him was obvious on a particular tribute episode of Dynamite, wherein his rivals and pals spoke of the person and the legacy with everybody.

Lee’s reminiscence lives on within the TNT Championship he held, and his spouse, Amanda, works in production for AEW and beforehand was an integral a part of the corporate’s neighborhood outreach initiative.

His son, Brodie Jr., routinely appeared as a part of The Darkish Order as Unfavorable One, retaining his father’s title alive throughout the faction he led.

Tony Khan formally acknowledged Lee as the best TNT champion ever and every week, Dynamite opens with Excalibur saying, “it is Wednesday, you recognize what meaning” in one other tribute.

Accomplishments: TNT champion (2), AEW world champion

Amid the controversy surrounding CM Punk’s sacking from AEW, and vital accidents suffered by Adam Cole and MJF that may place them on the sidelines within the winter of 2023, AEW brass badly wanted to deliver stability to the primary occasion scene.

It discovered that within the type of the grizzled veteran Samoa Joe.

The celebrated in-ring competitor, who legitimized Ring of Honor and helped deliver credibility to NXT below Triple H, defeated MJF to win the AEW world title and finish his year-long reign. From there, he turned an imposing, plausible champion who carried an organization that was in turmoil from a star-power perspective.

Alongside the way in which, he elevated Swerve Strickland and put him over at Dynasty in April 2024, dropping the title to him and creating a brand new major occasion star.

Earlier than that, Joe had his fair proportion of success, successful the TNT Championship on two totally different events and bettering that title, too.

The unstoppable drive has positively influenced each promotion he has labored for and it’s no shock that the B/R panel acknowledged his significance to AEW since his debut in 2022 and ensured his spot on this countdown.

Accomplishments: AEW continental champion

There isn’t a AEW star extra organically widespread and genuinely beloved by followers than Eddie Kingston.

An “each man” in the identical vein as Mick Foley or Terry Funk earlier than him, he fights with objective and dedication. Whether or not it was for a job and his future in skilled wrestling in opposition to Cody Rhodes in a TNT Championship Open Problem match, or for the AEW title in opposition to good friend Jon Moxley, he does so with uncooked emotion that makes it virtually unimaginable for followers to not join ultimately with him.

An underdog who has had his worth and legitimacy referred to as into query by extra celebrated, conventional wrestlers like Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson, Kingston has by no means shied away from proving himself in opposition to these athletes, typically even beating them at their very own video games.

He’s the embodiment of the fighter mentality that AEW has adopted from the get-go in its pursuit of wrestling excellence.

Nonetheless a fan who watches as a lot wrestling as he can, he’s a consultant for any followers who really feel undervalued and missed.

His victory over Danielson to develop into the primary AEW continental champion in March was one of many nice moments in firm historical past because it mirrored an underdog overcoming his doubters, reaching a purpose and proving that onerous work and dedication do repay.

The emotion on show there, and when a bloodied Kingston carried a gasoline can to the ring and woozily dared Danielson to deliver the struggle, has helped Kingston go away a mark in AEW.

Accomplishments: AEW world champion, AEW world tag group champion

Swerve Strickland took a difficult path to the highest of AEW.

He signed recent off a surprising launch from WWE in 2021 and struggled to search out his footing early on earlier than linking up with Keith Lee and successful the corporate’s world tag group titles. An eventual breakup of that union left him considerably directionless whereas Khan and the inventive group sought a path for him.

Mogul Industries by no means actually materialized the way in which it was meant to, however a partnership with Prince Nana and the formation of Mogul Empire allowed Strickland to construct momentum.

Nana’s dancing to his theme, “Massive Stress,” was considerably extra necessary than anybody may have imagined by way of serving to Strickland to ring a bell with followers on one other stage past what his dynamic in-ring fashion already did.

It was his feud with Hangman Web page and the depths to which they might go to punish one another over the span of a handful of matches, most notably the Texas deathmatch at Full Gear in November 2023, that catapulted Strickland into the world title dialog and gave him the upward momentum he had been lacking.

Present-stealing battles with one of many faces of the corporate didn’t damage.

That momentum in the end paid off in April at Dynasty, the place he defeated Samoa Joe to win the AEW world title, making historical past within the course of as the primary Black man to seize the highest prize within the firm.

Like Jamie Hayter, Strickland got here from nowhere to develop into a breakout star who followers threw their help behind. They demanded he get the push that had eluded him and, inside months, had voiced their help to him in such a way that Khan and Co. had no alternative however to push him and provides him the world title.

Although he was a free-agent signing, Strickland turned the star he’s immediately in AEW and his ascension felt like an natural rise for one of many vivid younger rivals within the firm at a time when it felt like administration might have been leaning a bit too closely on buying new expertise and leaning on the identical handful of stars.

Accomplishments: AEW worldwide champion (Rey Fenix), AEW world tag group champions, AEW world trios champions (with Pac)

Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo are AEW originals. They signed with the corporate previous to its launch in Might 2019 and instantly established themselves as top-of-the-line tag groups in wrestling, thanks largely to a feud with The Younger Bucks.

A ladder match for the AAA tag group titles wowed followers contained in the MGM Grand Backyard Area in Vegas on the inaugural Double or Nothing whereas a metal cage match two years later at All In noticed them lastly defeat Matt and Nick Jackson to take residence the AEW World Tag Workforce Championship.

All the time within the hunt as a tag group, additionally they proved formidable in trios competitors, teaming with PAC as Loss of life Triangle and defeating Kenny Omega and the Bucks to win the AEW world trios titles.

Penta and Fenix have proved to be excellent particular person rivals, too, with the latter even placing gold as AEW worldwide champion. Penta, in the meantime, has not hesitated to go hardcore, throwing all warning to the wind and bleeding for his artwork.

Whereas the group has not been as prominently featured on AEW tv of late, due to a slew of accidents, the influence the tandem had on AEW threw its first handful of years is indeniable.

They helped set up the in-ring fashion, introduced credibility to the tag group division and gave the Bucks one in all their finest rivalries up to now.

It doesn’t matter what occurs from right here, the luchadors are merely constructing on their elite legacy.

Accomplishments: TBS champion

Jade Cargill could also be tearing it up within the rings of WWE now, however the phenom received her begin in AEW, the place she exploded onto the scene in a high-profile tag group match that pitted her and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal in opposition to Cody Rhodes and Purple Velvet.

It was obvious that whereas she wanted some steerage between the ropes, she checked each different field when it got here to potential box-office attraction. She was a superhero come to life.

The previous collegiate basketball star was found by WWE Corridor of Famer Mark Henry, and she or he went on a tear in AEW, turning into the inaugural TBS champion and holding the title for 508 days. It stays the longest championship reign of any in AEW historical past so far.

Cargill basically discovered on the job, competing with the likes of Tay Conti, Nyla Rose, Willow Nightingale, The Bunny, Leila Gray and Velvet.

By no means essentially the most polished wrestler on the roster due to her inexperience, she made up for it with unbridled confidence in her promos and a pure charisma in entrance of the digital camera that made her charming.

She in the end dropped the TBS Championship to a returning Kris Statlander at Double or Nothing 2023 and wrestled her final match for AEW in opposition to her that September.

Cargill was the primary actual home-grown performer in firm historical past. She was found, offered like a star and given a possibility to ascertain her on-screen presence. That she by no means had the chance to develop her in-ring recreation in a measurable means damage her growth, and the corporate was most likely not outfitted on the time to dedicate to getting her prepared in a means that WWE was when she signed with them in late 2023.

Nonetheless, AEW gave Cargill a platform and she or he thrived, establishing herself on a worldwide telecast and legitimizing the TBS Championship from its infancy.

Accomplishments: AEW world tag group champions (2)

The very best tag group in skilled wrestling, bar none, made their AEW debut on Might 27, 2020 and shortly made historical past, turning into the primary group to carry world tag group titles in each their new promotion and their outdated one, WWE.

It was the primary of two reigns as champions in a four-year span that noticed them mix old-school psychology and physicality with the drama and lightning tempo of contemporary in-ring work, making them interesting to totally different audiences.

Regardless of repeated makes an attempt to show them heel, FTR turned one of the over tandems in wrestling, due to the appreciation followers had for his or her dedication to their craft, which was on full show in opposition to The Younger Bucks, Greatest Associates, Jurassic Categorical, The Briscoes, SCU, Sting and Darby Allin, United Empire and The Gunns, amongst numerous different groups.

Harking back to The Midnight Categorical, Harwood and Wheeler countered the uncooked athleticism of their opponents with a smashmouth strategy that earned them their fair proportion of victories.

Even in defeat, their excellence has been plain, with many a present stolen by the seven-star tag group.

Their battles with the Bucks, specifically, cemented their standing as prime guys in AEW. Immediate classics, reminiscent of a Collision showdown with Jay White and Juice Robinson, stored them in that spot.

There have at all times been questions on how keen the inventive forces in AEW are to guide Harwood and Wheeler to lose, particularly in opposition to the Bucks and through their latest battles with The Blackpool Fight Membership, however the energy of their efficiency retains them over in a means others wouldn’t be in below comparable circumstances.

Different groups on the roster might confer with themselves as the most effective within the enterprise, however FTR backs it up each time they hit the ring, with matches which are inherently totally different than those that preceded it.

In an organization usually outlined by a breakneck tempo and a willingness to take greater dangers than typically needed, FTR constantly brings to AEW a methodical strategy to the in-ring recreation that units them other than the remainder of the roster.

Accomplishments: TNT champion (2)

It was a decade in the past when it regarded like Christian Cage would by no means compete inside a squared circle once more.

Ravaged by concussions that threatened his long-term well-being, he stepped away from the trade he helped revolutionize by means of the enduring Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches, and into the uncertainty of early retirement.

Then, in 2021, upon medical clearance and along with his contract with WWE expired, he signed with AEW.

All he has finished since is develop the most effective heel persona within the trade because the chief of The Patriarchy and seize the TNT Championship on two totally different events, all whereas chopping the most effective promos of his profession and having bangers with the likes of Jack Perry, Wardlow, Darby Allin and Sting, Daniel Garcia and longtime good friend and companion, Adam Copeland.

He has finished so whereas surrounding himself with Killswitch (previously Luchasaurus) and the mother-son combo of Shayna and Nick Wayne.

The appear and feel of the group has solely served to raise Cage’s stature as he’s the clear centerpiece of it and a reliable contender to any championship in AEW.

Previous to the heel flip, he headlined All Out 2021 in opposition to Kenny Omega in a match that was wonderful however overshadowed by the debuts of Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson instantly afterward.

A fantastic, cowardly heel who’s unafraid to get actual warmth by infuriating crowds with uncomfortable digs at their favourite wrestlers, he has introduced a wealth of information to the AEW locker room and reinvented himself in entrance of the digital camera, offering the corporate with a reliable star they’ll guide tales and feuds round.

And there aren’t any indicators of him slowing down, both.

Finally, his legacy in AEW will likely be outlined by his heel persona and the way these younger stars he has labored with benefited from sharing the ring with him.

Accomplishments: AEW ladies’s world champion (3)

There will not be one other star in AEW’s transient historical past extra underrated than Hikaru Shida, which is kind of the assertion contemplating her three ladies’s titles.

One of many consummate in-ring performers within the ladies’s division, she is answerable for excellent matches with everybody from Nyla Rose to Britt Baker, Toni Storm to Thunder Rosa.

For no matter cause, and regardless of the fanbase recognizing how nice she is, Shida not often garners the identical consideration as a few of her counterparts.

All she has finished is tie the report for many reigns as champion and introduced credibility to the division along with her persistently robust work between the ropes.

A bodily, hard-hitting competitor, she ups the depth of her matches. Her contests look totally different than these elsewhere within the division, the product of a veteran competitor who is aware of lay her strikes in tougher, inform a extra full story and even unleash her trusty kendo stick when the time requires it.

Her work within the division helped lay the groundwork for what we see immediately, with extra matches and promo time being provided to ladies in high-profile feuds. With out her carrying the ball, there’s a actual argument to be made that the state of girls’s wrestling in AEW can be considerably worse off.

It could have been good for her to profit from the publicity that the ladies are getting on Dynamite, Collision and Rampage now, however there may be nonetheless loads of time for her to leap again into the combination, chase a history-making fourth title reign and additional solidify herself as one of many foundational items of the ladies’s division in AEW.

Accomplishments: AEW ladies’s world champion (3)

It’s tough to think about one other performer in AEW who has recreated themselves to the extent Toni Storm has.

Exploding onto the scene recent off her launch from WWE, she struggled to recover from within the rock-and-roll gimmick she had had relationship again to her days within the independents.

Her ring work was nice, and administration trusted her sufficient to guide her to win the ladies’s title on two separate events, however the followers didn’t totally purchase into her on-screen persona.

Upon the tip of her second title reign, she underwent an entire character overhaul, apparently descending into insanity as she turned a throwback to basic Hollywood actresses reminiscent of Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Rita Hayworth.

Engulfed in black and white, with a hairdo proper out of a Marilyn Monroe film, she spoke as they spoke and overacted in almost each state of affairs.

The end result? An indisputably over character that linked with followers as a result of it was so recent and in contrast to something they’d seen. She had taken an enormous threat and tried one thing totally different and hit paydirt.

Her shtick popped the followers, to not point out her co-stars, almost making the at all times skilled Renee Paquette break in a single notorious promo phase.

The character turned so over that there was no alternative however to offer her one other run with the ladies’s title, a run that continues immediately as Storm continues to evolve whereas flanked by butler Luther and mega-fan Mariah Might, who will virtually actually develop into her best opponent if wrestling historical past is any indication.

A performer who has been tapped for superstardom since she first appeared within the Mae Younger Basic on the infancy of her WWE run, she has lastly begun to realize it in essentially the most off-the-wall, enjoyable, and charming means.

Within the course of, she has laid the groundwork for others round her to assume exterior the field, embrace the unique, and reap the rewards.

Accomplishments: AEW world champion (2)

There will likely be those that soar by way of hoops to argue CM Punk was a higher detriment to AEW than something, and no argument goes to vary their minds.

For everybody else, there may be one certainty in AEW historical past: Punk is the only largest, most profitable and necessary free-agent signing within the firm’s historical past, and it is not even remotely shut.

His return to skilled wrestling after eight years away drew a sell-out crowd to Chicago’s United Middle and 1.129 million viewers to the August 20 episode of Rampage. Double or Nothing 2022 turned the primary million-dollar gate within the historical past of the corporate, thanks largely to The Straight Edge Famous person’s presence.

That success would proceed, with 4 consecutive pay-per-views drawing comparable gates and the September 21 episode of Dynamite: Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York additionally surpassing $1 million.

Punk turned the centerpiece attraction for AEW, a man who followers went out of their method to see.

Throughout his first few months with the corporate, he labored with younger stars, together with Powerhouse Hobbs, Darby Allin, Daniel Garcia, Lee Moriarty, FTR, Max Caster and John Silver. His overarching feuds with Eddie Kingston, MJF and Web page took on higher magnitude and had been must-see, due to his capacity to chop promos and hype these culminating matches up.

Accidents prevented him from occurring a long term as AEW world champion when he defeated Web page for the title at Double or Nothing, however he bounced again and defeated Jon Moxley in the primary occasion of All Out 2022 to regain the title.

His legacy in AEW will likely be tied to a media scrum wherein he unleashed a curse-filled rant on the backstage surroundings within the firm and beef with sure EVPs, all of which may have been prevented had the problems with the events in query been addressed previously.

A brawl ensued backstage and as an alternative of these animosities therapeutic by means of constructive dialog, Punk and the EVPs remained at odds.

The Chicago native returned to the corporate amid the creation of a 3rd AEW tv property, Collision, a star car for him. Backstage conditions once more reared their head in entrance of the cameras, resulting in the confrontation with Jack Perry backstage at All In at Wembley Stadium in August 2023 that resulted in his termination from the corporate.

There was loads of controversy to sink one’s enamel into or level to as proof that Punk was dangerous for AEW, however it might be silly to disregard simply how a lot he helped develop the corporate’s enterprise.

Extra viewers, greater homes, hotter major occasions, and additional proof {that a} man who had at all times succeeded due to his connection to the viewers nonetheless had the juice to be a prime man in an trade some believed had handed him by.

That he ranks at thirteenth is debatable, at finest.

Accomplishments: TNT champion (2), AEW world tag group champion (with Sting)

Darby Allin has made a reputation for himself all through his AEW tenure because the competitor most certainly to threat his personal well-being in an try to vanquish the opposition.

Whether or not he’s hurling himself excessive rope and somersaulting onto his rival or launching himself off a ladder and onto a pane of glass, few can lay declare to the variety of jaw-dropping moments that the face-painted antihero of AEW can.

Allin is much from a stuntman, although.

The Washingtonian has gained a few of his most unforgettable matches by out-wrestling his opponent, together with a signature win over Cody Rhodes on the 2020 Full Gear pay-per-view, the place he captured his first of two TNT titles.

As a lot as he completed alone, it’s irresponsible to debate Allin and never point out Sting. Following The Icon’s debut in December 2020, they turned linked. The previous WCW and TNA world champion took the younger star below his wing, and so they went on a run within the firm that may see them spend simply over three years undefeated as a tag group.

With each outing, Allin’s star burned slightly brighter and on the February 7 episode of Dynamite, the pairing captured the world tag titles. Weeks later at Revolution, he ensured his hero and mentor would go away on a cheerful word, throwing warning to the wind because the duo outlasted The Younger Bucks within the night time’s major occasion.

There’s cause to be involved that what Allin is as a performer now just isn’t sustainable, that he is not going to bodily be capable of proceed to deal with his physique the way in which he does and have a future within the trade. With that mentioned, it’s the fashion that has outlined him so far and helped make him one of many first true breakout stars in AEW.

Altering it now betrays what the viewers latched on to and dangers disenfranchising them, so anticipate Allin to proceed to enthrall with bodily feats most would by no means be keen to attempt, all whereas pursuing a profession that places him among the many finest to do it in an AEW ring.

Accomplishments: AEW worldwide champion (2)

On the floor, Orange Cassidy is a comedy wrestler with an apparel straight out of Moist Scorching American Summer season, a demeanor that spits within the face of significant skilled wrestling and a personality that may by no means recover from with the followers.

Beneath that, although, is a wrestler who has spent the final 5 years proving doubters fallacious with a resume of contests higher than anticipated.

Freshly Squeezed shook the “comedy” label early on in an exceptional match in opposition to PAC at Revolution 2020. If that didn’t silence the critics, different robust outings in opposition to the likes of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega ought to have.

Then there was the long term as worldwide champion in 2023 that noticed him wrestle on a near-weekly foundation, in opposition to any and all challengers, permitting him to indicate off his evolving in-ring recreation. He bought properly, too, placing over the extraordinary toll the matches took on him.

It was the feud with Jon Moxley that basically put him excessive as a reliable star for the corporate, although.

At All Out in September 2023, he bled buckets whereas shedding his title to Moxley. The defeat solely additional legitimized him within the eyes of the followers, although, in order that his eventual victory over the Loss of life Rider would in the end imply extra.

It did, too.

Cassidy entered the promotion with a personality that he had fine-tuned on the independents, the slacker of all slackers; a wrestler who couldn’t be bothered by the overly aggressive nature of his friends or the utter seriousness of all of it.

He was himself and that separated him from a roster filled with centered, intense and typically prototypical wrestlers. With out it, he might by no means have achieved the extent of success that he has all through his AEW run.

Accomplishments: AEW world tag group champion (with Darby Allin)

The arrival of Sting on the December 2, 2020 Winter is Coming episode of Dynamite was a watershed second for AEW as an organization getting ready to turning into the primary actual competitors to WWE in twenty years.

One of many largest stars within the trade’s lengthy historical past and a kind of uncommon performers to earn the “icon” label, he instantaneously legitimized AEW as a vacation spot for free-agent stars.

In return, the corporate provided the previous WCW world champion a shot at going out on his personal phrases after he was compelled into untimely retirement on account of a neck harm suffered throughout his transient run in WWE.

Sting would group with Darby Allin virtually solely all through his run, accumulating an unbeaten report whereas mentoring the youthful, face-painted enigma. Collectively, they battled and defeated prime tag groups reminiscent of FTR, whom they vanquished on the inaugural Dynamite: Grand Slam in September 2021.

The veteran’s star energy elevated no matter he was concerned in whereas concurrently spotlighting one of many 4 younger pillars of the corporate in Allin. His presence alone elevated the stature of AEW throughout the trade.

In October 2023, having contributed all that he may bodily at 64, he introduced his impending retirement on the following March’s Revolution pay-per-view. Alongside the way in which, he and Allin earned their first and solely tag group title with a win over Massive Invoice and Ricky Starks.

In his last match, Sting turned again the clock one final time, handing over an exceptional efficiency wherein he and his companion efficiently defended in opposition to The Younger Bucks in an awe-inspiring conflict of attrition.

Sting, as he did along with his unforgettable debut, supplied AEW a defining second along with his emotional retirement on the Greensboro Coliseum, residence to so a lot of his legendary battles with Ric Aptitude, Terry Funk, Lex Luger and others throughout his time because the franchise star of WCW.

A locker room chief for whom everybody behind the scenes had the utmost respect, he went out as a winner and what he had lengthy been touted: The Icon.

Accomplishments: Co-founder of AEW, TNT champion (3; inaugural)

Tribalism is humorous as a result of it usually leads to narratives spun to replicate any group’s agenda. Take the assertion that Cody Rhodes’ influence on AEW was by no means what it was made out to be.

The identical Rhodes who wager Wrestling Observer Publication creator Dave Meltzer that he, The Younger Bucks and Kenny Omega may self-finance a serious indie present and promote out 10,000 seats for All In, an occasion that may function the unofficial jumping-off level for AEW.

Historical past tells us they did simply that, with Rhodes’ confidence within the fan fervor surrounding him and his pals fueling his choice to accept the wager.

From there, he was one of many co-founders and EVPs of AEW, the face of its main media push forward of the inaugural Double or Nothing in 2019, and the centerpiece of one of many present’s largest drawing factors: an emotional showdown along with his brother, Dustin.

Rhodes was additionally instrumental in creating three of the 4 pillars of AEW.

On the debut episode of Dynamite, he squared off with Sammy Guevara in a match that spotlighted The Spanish God. He engaged MJF in one of the emotional rivalries in AEW historical past and feuded with Darby Allin over the TNT Championship, ultimately dropping the title to him at Full Gear in 2020.

There was the rivalry with Brodie Lee that heightened consciousness for the gifted massive man and resulted in some unforgettable battles, together with a brutal and bloody Canine Collar match.

Away from the present, he was the face of AEW, showing on each potential platform in an try to attract consideration to a product he was intensely pleased with. Maybe that’s the reason some nonetheless battle to come back to phrases along with his departure in 2022 and return to WWE.

We might by no means know what in the end compelled Rhodes again to essentially the most outstanding promotion within the trade, however his choice to return shouldn’t cloud anybody’s perspective in the case of his significance to the historical past of AEW.

He has by no means uttered a foul phrase concerning the firm or these he got here along with to create it and it’s unlikely he ever will, due to the delight he nonetheless feels for having modified the wrestling world by making a reliable different.

The B/R Wrestling group has used a good voting scheme on our rundown, however there may be an argument to be made that Rhodes is ranked means too low, even at No. 9.

Accomplishments: AEW ladies’s world champion; Girls’s Owen Hart Cup

From day one, it was obvious that Tony Khan and Co. noticed one thing in Britt Baker that instructed them she was the face of the AEW ladies’s division for the foreseeable future.

Confronted with the immense strain that such a label carries with it, to not point out operating her personal dentistry workplace, Baker thrived and have become one of many largest and most over stars on the roster.

There have been bumps within the highway, together with a failed babyface run and a Tooth and Nail match in opposition to Massive Swole at All Out 2020, rating as one of many worst concepts and executions in AEW historical past.

As soon as she found her confidence as a heel, although, she turned one of many present’s centerpieces.

Her feud with Thunder Rosa, culminating of their notorious Lights Out Unsanctioned match, put her on the map whereas robust performances in opposition to the likes of Hikaru Shida, Ruby Soho, Tay Conti and a partnership with Jamie Hayter stored her there.

Charismatic above all else, Baker has carried herself like a star and the result’s somebody followers can put money into and care about, whether or not they wish to see her succeed or get crushed up by one of many many gifted ladies on the AEW roster.

A performer who has already completed nearly the whole lot there may be to within the firm, she may simply step away, deal with dentistry and transfer on.

As a substitute, she figures to be a major a part of AEW’s plans as soon as she is formally cleared to return to motion, constructing on a resume that has already seen her win the highest prize within the ladies’s division and seize the inaugural Girls’s Owen Hart Cup.

Baker, for as nice as she has been from a personality standpoint, has missed vital time during the last yr on account of harm, with no clear-cut indication of when she will likely be again within the ring. It is going to come, although, and all will likely be proper with the world, even when just for a second.

The Good Physician would not have it some other means.

Accomplishments: AEW world champion, AEW world tag group champion (with Kenny Omega)

“Hangman” Adam Web page was the guts and soul of AEW by way of its early years.

An anxious millennial cowboy, he noticed his friendship with Kenny Omega and The Younger Bucks examined early, solely to companion with The Greatest Bout Machine to seize the corporate’s world tag group titles and efficiently defend them in opposition to Matt and Nick Jackson.

He overcame his demons to problem for the world title. To perform his purpose and seize the highest prize in AEW, he must defeat the person he teamed with initially, Omega.

At Full Gear in November 2021, he did simply that, blasting the longest-reigning world champ on the time with the Buckshot Lariat to win the gold and stand atop the AEW mountain.

His reign can be short-lived and the follow-up was nowhere close to as partaking or charming because the journey to the title was.

That’s till he uttered a now-infamous promo that ignited backstage tensions between The Elite and CM Punk that culminated within the messy All Out media scrum and backstage brawl.

Web page stayed out of the weeds, prevented suspension and continued to be one of the constant in-ring performers in AEW and a personality followers may simply relate to and put money into.

It was the reference to the followers that made him such a invaluable piece of the AEW puzzle and allowed him to succeed on the highest ranges. It was with the corporate that he realized his fullest potential and introduced real emotion to prime storylines, one thing few performers had been in a position to do initially.

When the followers had been prepared for a change and demanded a heel flip in 2024, he gave it to them. Routinely touting the injustice that stored him from a one-on-one world title match with Samoa Joe, he turned the cry-baby he usually fought in opposition to earlier in his AEW run.

Although he finds himself on a hiatus now, Web page figures to be one of many centerpieces of AEW’s long-term inventive efforts. And when he does return, he ought to discover his residence within the revamped Elite, guaranteeing many extra tales, rivalries and in-ring classics comply with.

Accomplishments: AEW world champion (inaugural), FTW champion

There can be no All Elite Wrestling with out Chris Jericho.

No matter anybody’s opinion now, Jericho’s star energy alone made the upstart firm a chance. With out that one era-defining star signing on to Khan and The Elite’s brainchild, AEW would have struggled to search out an viewers past the area of interest fanbase its core rivals had achieved.

The announcement that Jericho was All Elite modified the sport, created curiosity and served as an announcement to the remainder of the wrestling world that the corporate was not a billionaire’s self-importance undertaking however was a reliable try to revolutionize the game.

With nice energy comes nice duty and Jericho embraced it, competing in opposition to and defeating Kenny Omega within the inaugural Double or Nothing major occasion, turning into the primary AEW world champion and main the Inside Circle faction that may develop into a centerpiece of the corporate’s inventive efforts early on.

Feuds with Cody Rhodes, Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy and MJF had been top-shelf packages that had been important to additional establishing the corporate as a real different to his former stomping floor, WWE.

An originator and innovator, Jericho competed within the first Stadium Stampede match in opposition to The Elite, joined his Inside Circle brethren in battle in opposition to The Pinnacle within the first-ever Blood and Guts match, and partnered with the revamped Jericho Appreciation Society in conflict in opposition to The Blackpool Fight Membership in Anarchy within the Area.

A star who repeatedly proved able to reinventing himself, not often permitting himself to develop stale. When confronted with that chance in 2024, and dealing with an viewers’s whose urge for food for the long run Corridor of Famer was waning, he launched a “Studying Tree” persona that obliviously soaks within the “adulation” of the followers.

Has Jericho’s work been the most effective it has been in AEW? No, however whereas that tablet could also be powerful to swallow for the performer and his most ardent supporters, there isn’t any denying his place within the firm’s historical past and simply how vital he has been to the event and evolution of the product.

A world-class competitor who fought on each main stage that there’s, and who squared off with each main star from Steve Austin to The Rock to Shawn Michaels, he was the primary to place his stamp of approval on what Khan and The Elite hoped to do with their new creation.

The significance of that call alone is sufficient of an argument for him being even greater on this countdown than No. 6.

Three years into his run with AEW, and it feels very very similar to the corporate was made for The American Dragon.

A number of the handcuffs positioned on him in WWE from a stylistic standpoint had been off and Bryan Danielson was allowed to reintroduce a bodily, aggressive fashion that was tamed a bit within the largest firm within the trade.

Virtually instantly, he had a five-star basic in opposition to Kenny Omega at Dynamite: Grand Slam in September 2021. That match was so eagerly anticipated that earlier than the 2 each locked up, followers greeted their staredown with constructive chants. They delivered on the potential of the encounter and the followers ate it up, simply as they might most of what Danielson has completed within the years since.

Matches with Hangman Web page, Miro and Dustin Rhodes would additional set up the kind of work we might see from Danielson, who gave the impression to be on a quest to remind everybody of who the most effective wrestler on this planet really was. His no-nonsense in-ring strategy meshed completely with that of Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta, and the Blackpool Fight Membership was born from there.

As he nears the tip of his full-time in-ring profession, the 43-year-old usually finds himself wrestling the matches he needs, in opposition to stars from world wide he admires. He additionally went out of his method to put Eddie Kingston over robust, shedding to him within the finals of the AEW Continental Basic and displaying him an indication of respect after the match.

A selfless employee from the standpoint of wins and losses, he’s the whole lot one would need from a prime star: He’s plausible, revered, exhibits respect in form and excels at each aspect of his job.

He’s excellence personified however by no means carries himself like somebody superior to these round him. He merely likes to wrestle and elevate these round him. He’s, arguably, the best free-agent signing in firm historical past. And whereas his days as an on a regular basis competitor are nearing their finish, he has reiterated that he doesn’t intend to ever totally retire.

The wrestling bug is so robust inside him that followers can nonetheless depend on a basic each time he decides to step again between the ropes.

Accomplishments: Co-founders of AEW, AEW world tag group champions (3), AEW world trios champions (2; inaugural, with Kenny Omega)

Love them or detest them, The Younger Bucks are two different stars with out whom AEW wouldn’t exist.

The co-founders together with Elite brethren Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes, got down to change the wrestling panorama and so they did. Followers who adopted them all through their days of competing in Professional Wrestling Guerilla and New Japan Professional-Wrestling gleefully went alongside for the journey from the inception of AEW.

Brash and bordering on boastful, the tandem knew they had been able to doing dazzling strikes and offensive combos that few may replicate. What they did between the ropes helped lay the muse for the AEW fashion that different groups would try to duplicate however fail to match.

It was on full show of their early battles with Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix and meshed properly with the standard ground-and-pound fashion of FTR, making Dax Harwood and Money Wheeler their best opponents below the banner of AEW.

From a storyline perspective, they had been on the coronary heart of the story involving the dissension inside The Elite that included an instantaneous basic match in opposition to Omega and Web page at Revolution 2020. They’d reunite to take down The Inside Circle at Stadium Stampede.

The power to transition from babyface to heel proved invaluable for the group, too, as they crammed roles as wanted based mostly on harm or storyline calls for. One minute they had been dishonest on behalf of Omega; the following, they had been tearing down the home because the babyface challengers.

It doesn’t matter what they did, they remained related.

In 2024, the group returned from a hiatus and once more discovered themselves within the function of villains, embracing their EVP standing as heel authority figures on prime of their detestable wrestler selves.

Their work as disingenuous employers has seen them return to the primary occasion whereas capturing their third AEW tag title, making them the primary group to perform that feat.

The centerpieces of this period of AEW alongside Jack Perry and Kazuchika Okada within the revamped Elite, the Bucks determine to make extra historical past and create extra moments, guaranteeing their place within the firm’s historical past and, probably, sending them additional up this record by the point it’s revisited years from now.

Accomplishments: AEW world champion, Dynamite Diamond Ring (2019-2023)

It was clear from the second the younger, loudmouthed and boastful MJF first appeared on AEW on the inaugural Double or Nothing that he was a star of the long run.

Few may speak and infuriate a crowd like him, regardless of his relative inexperience. Extra importantly, he may again up his trash-talking between the ropes.

He proved it, too, working with prime stars early in his AEW profession as these in energy acknowledged his potential.

Prolonged feuds with Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho and CM Punk positioned the Lengthy Island native because the heel of the long run. He may dangle with these gifted orators on the mic, then exit and have a show-stealing match with them, making him the only most beneficial younger pillar within the promotion.

His work to continually enhance and evolve as an in-ring employee, coupled along with his willingness to get warmth by saying absolutely anything to bother the followers and his friends, paid off in November 2022 when he defeated Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear.

The point of interest of the corporate’s inventive efforts for the following yr, he would efficiently defend in opposition to fellow pillars Darby Allin, Jack Perry and Sammy Guevara, Adam Cole and New Japan Professional-Wrestling legend Hiroshi Tanahashi.

The feud with Cole, which noticed MJF develop the primary actual friendship of his grownup life, turned him right into a beloved babyface, just for his new buddy to betray him moments after the heartbreaking lack of the AEW title to Samoa Joe.

Sadly, the months-long storyline was by no means adequately adopted up due to accidents to each MJF and Cole. The previous has not been seen since his loss to Joe, sparking hypothesis about when he could also be again and what AEW has in retailer for him creatively.

No matter what which may be, there isn’t any denying his place this excessive on the record.

From uncomfortable lashings of Rhodes with a leather-based belt to signing with Chris Jericho in a phase proper off of Broadway, to going toe-to-toe with Punk on the mic and wrestling an Iron Man match with Bryan Danielson, he has established himself as one of many faces of AEW’s transient historical past and the star most certainly to information it into the following decade.

Accomplishments: Co-founder of AEW, AEW world champion, AEW world tag group champion (with Hangman Web page), AEW world trios champion (2; inaugural, with The Younger Bucks), first AEW triple crown champion

Essentially the most embellished star in AEW’s first 5 years.

Kenny Omega left a extremely profitable and profitable run in NJPW, the place he established himself as The Greatest Bout Machine through classics with Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito and others, to ascertain his legacy stateside as a part of a promotion he hoped would change the wrestling panorama eternally.

The previous chief of Bullet Membership joined The Younger Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan in conceptualizing and introducing AEW to the world and wasted little time establishing what he would deliver to the corporate.

One half of the primary occasion of the inaugural Double or Nothing, he misplaced to Chris Jericho in one other nice match between the 2, then instantly transitioned right into a rivalry with the incoming Jon Moxley. Their matches had been brutally violent, proving Omega was not merely an ordinary wrestler however may go hardcore when the event referred to as for it.

Later, he teamed with Hangman Web page to win the tag titles, defeated the Bucks in a basic, and stood victorious beside his Elite pals after the primary Stadium Stampede.

It was his heel flip and run as AEW world champion that represented his finest work, although. As The Belt Collector, he confirmed as much as Dynamite with the AAA and Affect Wrestling world titles to associate with his AEW model, a reminder of his excellence. Throughout his reign, he defeated Moxley and Christian Cage, amongst others.

He wrestled a time-limit draw with Bryan Danielson in what may be the best match in Dynamite historical past, earlier than dropping the title to Web page within the emotional end result of Hangman’s story.

Omega continued to churn out dazzling performances and win gold, largely with the Bucks in trios motion, however he nonetheless managed to interrupt Dave Meltzer’s star ranking system every now and then, particularly following a showdown with Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door 2022.

At the moment sidelined because of the results of diverticulitis, it stays to be seen after we will see Omega again within the AEW ring, however his legacy is secured both means.

One of many visionaries of the corporate and a star who lived as much as the lofty expectations of followers, he stays one of the widespread and beloved stars within the trade by those that have lengthy supported him and can proceed to, no matter what the long run might maintain.

Accomplishments: AEW world champion (3), AEW interim world champion, AEW worldwide champion

The second Jon Moxley emerged from the group on the inaugural Double or Nothing in Might 2019 and attacked Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, it felt very very similar to professional wrestling would by no means be the identical once more.

Moxley launched a paradigm shift that instantly established AEW as a substitute for WWE and cemented his standing as one of many faces of the promotion.

His no-nonsense, grizzled in-ring fashion and willingness to undergo something if it meant beating his opponent captured the eye of followers and made him one of the widespread guys on the roster.

It was solely a matter of time earlier than he captured the world title, defeating Jericho to develop into champion on the first Revolution PPV in February 2020. The victory got here on the heels of an intensely violent feud with Omega that left little doubt in anybody’s thoughts that Moxley was in a position and able to lead the corporate.

He did and has continued to take action ever since.

Far higher than his many rivalries, victories and different accomplishments is the reliability and consistency he has delivered to AEW. In an organization that has seen accidents ravage the roster and adversely have an effect on inventive plans, or real-life controversies result in swift modifications to reserving, Moxley has at all times been prepared to select up the ball and run with it.

When CM Punk was injured in 2022, Moxley reigned as interim world champion. When Punk was suspended on account of the backstage brawl with the EVPs at All Out of that very same yr, Moxley once more ran with the title.

Even after he fended off his personal demons and returned from an inpatient alcohol remedy program, Moxley stepped proper again into the combination and thrived as a member of the Blackpool Fight Membership.

He has been steadily constant, can thrive as champion or just by beating individuals up on the undercard. He has been profitable as a singles star or in tag groups, as witnessed in his and Claudio Castagnoli’s victory over FTR at Dynasty in April.

Adaptable and dominant, Moxley is the star many believed he may have been as Dean Ambrose in WWE. Virtually assured to bleed sooner or later in his matches, he has given the whole lot he has for AEW, making him its MVP and savior within the hardest of occasions.

His fashion just isn’t for everybody, and a few might discover fault with him seemingly by no means shedding, however there isn’t any denying what he has meant to the group or what number of occasions he has bailed it out of powerful conditions.

Moxley is its chief and tone-setter, extra so than any EVP or pillar may very well be, and he tops our record due to that.