For a company that produces, on a weekly basis, incredible in-ring action as its main drawing force, it is incredibly difficult to narrow their best ever AEW matches over the last four years down to just ten. With top stars like Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Adam Page stealing the show in the singles division, with others like the Young Bucks tearing up the tag team scene, there is a lot to shout about in terms of in-ring quality.
Of course, this will certainly be a subjective list, though it is still hard to argue that all of these mentioned matches should be in the conservation for the best AEW match of all time.
UPDATE: 2023/11/27 16:38 EST BY ANDREW KELLY
AEW prides itself on being the company which focuses more on in-ring product, and it lives up to the lofty expectations week in and week out. There are countless show-stealers which have received plaudits, and there are so many instant classics which fans need to go back and look at. It is a hard job judging the best AEW matches of all time given how many incredible bouts there have been, and the list of matches could get to 100 and there would still likely be an argument for the majority of those to be in the top five. It is worth looking at some more great matches in AEW for sure.
15 Jamie Hayter Vs. Hikaru Shida – Dynamite: Holiday Bash 2022
AEW’s women’s division has plenty of talented names, though they aren’t always allowed to showcase their talents. However, at the back end of 2022 on Dynamite, Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida stole the show in what was arguably the best women’s match in AEW history.
It was a hard-hitting match which saw a lot of back and forth and a change of momentum. The ending stretch featured a lot of nearfalls, all of which got the fans convinced that the finish was coming. The pair showcased some tremendous chemistry in this brilliant AEW Women;s World Title bout.
14 Kenny Omega Vs. Adam Page – Full Gear 2021
Whilst the match between Kenny Omega and Adam Page perhaps wasn’t the fastest-paced main event, it still hit all the important points when it comes to a big-time main event. Fans were on the edge of their seats, the storyline going in was perfect, and the pair threw big moves at each other for nearly half an hour.
Page would win the match after a three-year journey to the AEW World Championship, completely a marvelous tale. The crowd erupted for Page’s emotional win, and it was for sure one of the most satisfying results in AEW history.
13 Adam Page Vs. Bryan Danielson – Dynamite 01/05/2022
We will get to another match between Adam Page and Bryan Danielson later on, but the pair had two of the all-time best matches in AEW history in their series. Following on from a time limit draw, they faced off on AEW’s first TBS show, and they delivered another instant classic.
It was insanely hard-hitting and violent, with pools of blood left all over the ring. There was more urgency in this one, building off the finish of their previous match, which led to a physical clash for the AEW World Championship. They built off what happened in their previous match which ensured that it was great from a storytelling perspective too.
12 Bryan Danielson Vs. Ricky Starks – All Out 2023
The Strap Match between Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks at AEW All Out 2023 may very well be the most violent match in AEW history – and there was only one weapon involved. These two beat the holy hell out of each other with the strap, making for a truly thrilling encounter.
It was hard to take your eyes off the screen but equally as difficult to keep watching. It felt like a war which blurred the lines between reality and kayfabe due to how physical it was. There was some wonderful psychology involving Danielson’s broken arm, adding to the realism in this one.
11 Bryan Danielson Vs. Zack Sabre Jr – WrestleDream 2023
Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr had a lot to live up to going into WrestleDream 2023, with their match being billed as a “dream” encounter. However, they delivered with one of the most beautifully wrestled matches in AEW history.
It was a fluid, fascinating technical masterclass between two men who developed instant chemistry. It built and built, and every single detail felt as though it meant something.
10 Adam Page Vs. Jon Moxley – Revolution 2023
Adam Page and Jon Moxley had a few good matches in their feud, but that made it even more impressive when they over-delivered in a brutal death match at Revolution 2023. The pair brought the violence for one of AEW’s most violent matches of all time.
It wasn’t just violence for the sake of it though, but the match being structured well with every spot feeling as though it was earned, making it even better. The finish was brilliant too, with Page living up to the “Hangman” name by hanging Moxley over the top rope to prompt an incredibly rare submission loss for Moxley.
9 MJF Vs. Darby Allin – Full Gear 2021
This may be one of the more contentious entries given that it was lower profile than the majority of matches mentioned in this list of the best, but there is no denying how gorgeously wrestled this match was.
They mixed together fluid wrestling, hard-hitting spots, and a storyline thread through the match that was done perfectly. It is often hard to claim this but there were arguably no flaws in this beautifully executed bout between two of AEW’s most promising young names.
8 FTR Vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson – Collision 2023
Recency bias could come into play here, but the 58-minute AEW World Tag Team Championship spectacle between FTR and Bullet Club Gold members Jay White & Juice Robinson could already be a classic.
This 2-out-of-3 falls match was stunning, and the four men managed to never let the pace slow down for nearly a whole hour, which is very difficult to do. Intensity, drama, near-falls, and lovely tag team wrestling played into this being a thrilling matchup on weekly AEW programming.
7 Bryan Danielson Vs. Kenny Omega – Dynamite: Grand Slam 2021
Whilst the dream singles match between Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega ended in a frustrating time-limit draw, it goes to show just how good it was that it always makes it into the conversation for best AEW matches ever.
The crowd played their part, popping at the opening bell sounding out, and they managed to help elevate it even more. The in-ring action was simply world class, with two incredible wrestlers bringing their best efforts to live up to what were simply enormous expectations.
6 Kenny Omega Vs. Will Ospreay – Forbidden Door 2023
Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay stole the show at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom in 2023, and they followed this up with arguably an even better match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
This was a brutal, fluid, bloody encounter between two of the best in the world, perfectly mixing together both the NJPW and AEW styles to create a wonderful match for the IWGP United States Championship.
5 Cody Rhodes Vs. Dustin Rhodes – Double Or Nothing 2019
AEW’s very first ever show, Double or Nothing 2019, played host to what is still one of the greatest matches in AEW history.
Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes clashed in a personal match between brothers, and it delivered in every way. It was a throwback, slower and methodical style of match but it worked perfectly. Blood-drenched, these two went to war in a match which stole the show and legitimized AEW as a company who deliver spectacle after spectacle in the ring.
4 Adam Page Vs. Bryan Danielson – Dynamite: Winter Is Coming 2021
“Hangman” Adam Page’s very first AEW World Championship defense came against Bryan Danielson at the 2021 edition of Winter Is Coming, and it was an absolutely thrilling encounter.
The pair fought to a rare one-hour time-limit draw, becoming the first two men to ever wrestle to an hour draw in the company’s history. It didn’t feel like an hour though, with the world class talents of both men managing to put together a match that never tired once.
3 Young Bucks Vs. Lucha Brothers – All Out 2021
The Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers have had several classics in AEW, stealing show on numerous occasions. Their best match though came at All Out 2021 when they met inside a steel cage for the AEW World Tag Team Championships.
With brutal spots, hard-hitting action, and intensity, this is up there with the greatest cage matches in professional wrestling history, ending with a massive win for Rey Fenix and Penta in what was a wonderful moment that the crowd went absolutely crazy for.
2 MJF Vs. Bryan Danielson – Revolution 2023
MJF defended his AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson at Revolution 2023 in what many have branded as the greatest Iron Man match of all time.
The pair wrestled for over an hour in this instant classic. It was a storytelling masterpiece which didn’t ever have a down point, which is often rare for Iron Man matches. It had an incredible structure and pace, and MJF came out of this looking like a legit main eventer.
1 Kenny Omega & Adam Page Vs. Young Bucks – Revolution 2020
The whole storyline regarding The Elite between 2019 and 2021 played host to some all-time great storytelling moments in professional wrestling history, and perhaps the pinnacle of that came in this breathtaking tag team match at Revolution 2020.
With the AEW World Tag Team Championships on the line, these four friends went to war in what is still the best match in AEW history. Incredible in-ring work, some of the best near-falls ever, and character moments full of nuance and authenticity made for a perfect match.