2023 AEW Matches of the Year.

[The Natural]

17 hours ago, Greggulator said:

I haven’t seen it yet. But I am not surprised. Pretty sure you missed FTR when they were The Revival in NXT and they were popping off MOTYs every single match. If you get a chance — all of their matches against The Vaudevillains, American Alpha (the lost great tag team of our era) and DIY (Johnny Gargano/Tomasso Ciampa) are excellent. Their blowoff against DIY in a 2 out of 3 falls at some random NXT Takeover has arguments to be made of being the best tag match in WWE history and the best NXT match ever.

Looking back at this:

https://deathvalleydriver.com/forum/index.php?/topic/6767-best-nxt-matches-ever/page/5/#comments

I have The Revival vs. #DIY Two out of Three Falls at NXT TakeOver: Toronto second. Only Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia is higher.

5 hours ago, Brandon Bones said:

That’s a greatest hits record of wrestling matches right there.  Rankings aside.  Just stepping back and looking at the total scope of the body of work.  You can’t help but go “Damn”.  
 

The Dudley’s might be somewhat comparable in pure decorations.  But Dax and Cash are in the conversation for the top of a lot of lists.

This. World's best tag team every year since 2016. The Revival/FTR are way better than The Young Bucks.

[The Natural]

This is what I'm thinking as of right now:

10. CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe. AEW Collison, 8th July.

9. Bryan Danielson vs. Konosuke Takeshita. AEW Dynamite, 11th January.

8. Orange Cassidy vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Daniel Garcia. AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, 25th June.

7. Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal. AEW Dynamite, 25th January.

6. Jay White/Juice Robinson vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler. AEW Collison, 8th July.

5. Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. AEW Forbidden Door, 25th June.

4. Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo. AEW Dynamite, 22nd March. *****.

3. Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley. AEW Revolution, 5th March. *****.

2. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Jay White/Juice Robinson. AEW Collison, 15th July. *****.

1. MJF vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 5th March. *****.

[The Natural]

Difficult deciding whether I preferred FTR vs. Jay White/Juice Robinson 1 or the 2 out of 3 falls rematch. Difficulty placing Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada as well.

[The Natural]

On 7/10/2023 at 4:50 PM, The Natural said:

Top ten Revival/FTR matches:

10. The Revival vs. The Undisputed Era. NXT TV, 20th November 2019.

9. FTR vs. The Young Bucks. Full Gear 2019.

8. FTR vs. Jay White/Juice Robinson. Collison, 8th July 2023.

8. The Revival vs. American Alpha. NXT TV, 24th June 2016.

7. FTR vs. Aussie Open. NJPW Royal Quest II, 1st October 2022.

6. The Revival vs. #DIY. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II.

5. FTR vs. The Young Bucks. Dynamite. 6th April 2022. *****.

4. FTR vs. The Briscoes. ROH Death Before Dishonour 2022. *****.

3. FTR vs. The Briscoes. ROH Final Battle 2022. *****.

2. FTR vs. The Briscoes. ROH Scorecard of Honour 2022. *****.

1. The Revival vs. #DIY. NXT TakeOver: Toronto. *****.

Update:

10. The Revival vs. The Undisputed Era. NXT TV, 20th November 2019.

9. The Revival vs. American Alpha. NXT TV, 24th June 2016.

8. FTR vs. Jay White/Juice Robinson. AEW Collison, 8th July 2023.

7. The Revival vs. #DIY. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II.

6. FTR vs. The Young Bucks. AEW Dynamite. 6th April 2022. *****.

5. FTR vs. The Briscoes. ROH Death Before Dishonour 2022. *****.

4. FTR vs. Jay White/Juice Robinson. AEW Collison, 15th July 2023. *****.

3. FTR vs. The Briscoes. ROH Final Battle 2022. *****.

2. FTR vs. The Briscoes. ROH Supercard of Honour 2022. *****.

1. The Revival vs. #DIY. NXT TakeOver: Toronto. *****.

[The Natural]

Post All In and All Out update:

10. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson. AEW All In, 27th August.

9. Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy. AEW All Out, 3rd September.

8. Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal. AEW Dynamite, 25th January.

7. Jay White/Juice Robinson vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler. AEW Collison, 8th July.

6. Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. AEW Forbidden Door, 25th June.

5. Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo. AEW Dynamite, 22nd March. *****.

4. Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley. AEW Revolution, 5th March. *****.

3. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Jay White/Juice Robinson. AEW Collison, 15th July. *****.

2. Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks. AEW All Out, 3rd September. *****.

1. MJF vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 5th March. *****.

Edited September 4, 2023 by The Natural

[Bill S. Preston ESQ.]

First stab at one of these..

10. Jay White/Juice Robinson vs Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler. AEW Collision, 8th July

9. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson. AEW All In, 27th August

8. Jon Moxley vs Orange Cassidy. AEW All Out, 3rd September 

7. Kenny Omega vs El Hijo Del Vikingo. AEW Dynamite, 22nd March

6. Bryan Danielson vs Kazuchika Okada. AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door, 25th June

5. Adam Page vs Jon Moxley. AEW Revolution, 5th March

4. Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega. AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door, 25th June

3. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs Jay White/Juice Robinson. AEW Collision, 5th July

2. Bryan Danielson vs Ricky Starks. AEW All Out, 3rd September

1. MJF vs Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 5th March

[The Natural]

22 hours ago, Bill S. Preston ESQ. said:

First stab at one of these..

10. Jay White/Juice Robinson vs Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler. AEW Collision, 8th July

9. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson. AEW All In, 27th August

8. Jon Moxley vs Orange Cassidy. AEW All Out, 3rd September 

7. Kenny Omega vs El Hijo Del Vikingo. AEW Dynamite, 22nd March

6. Bryan Danielson vs Kazuchika Okada. AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door, 25th June

5. Adam Page vs Jon Moxley. AEW Revolution, 5th March

4. Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega. AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door, 25th June

3. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs Jay White/Juice Robinson. AEW Collision, 5th July

2. Bryan Danielson vs Ricky Starks. AEW All Out, 3rd September

1. MJF vs Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 5th March

Thank you for doing so. Our lists are very similar. We have the same top three in the same order.

[StuntmanCrowley]

On 3/23/2023 at 6:57 PM, StuntmanCrowley said:

Updated as of 3/23

 

1.  "Hangman" Adam Page v Jon Moxley, AEW Revolution

2.  MJF v Bryan Danielson, AEW Revolution

3.  Kenny Omega v El Hijo Del Vikingo, AEW Dynamite, 3/22/2023

4.  Bryan Danielson v RUSH, AEW Dynamite 02/08/2023

5.  Darby Allin v Samoa Joe, AEW Dynamite, 02/01/23

6.  Bryan Danielson v Bandido, AEW Dynamite 01/18/2023

7.  Elite v House of Black, AEW Revolution

8. Jon Moxley v "Hangman" Adam Page, AEW Dynamite, 02/01/2023

9.  Bryan Danielson v Timothy Thatcher

10. Anna Jay-AS and Tay Melo v Willow Nightingale and Ruby Soho, AEW Rampage, 01/13/2023

HONORABLE MENTION:  "Fox Flight(Top Flight and AR Fox) v The Elite, AEW Dynamite (Can't find the date), KUSHIDA/Darby, Yuta/Cassidy (This one i need to watch again because i wanted to put it on the list, but didn't know what to bump), JJ/Lethal v The Acclaimed (1st match), Danielson/Takeshita, Takeshita/MJF

 

Okay, so it has been a LONG time since I updated my list, so bear with me,im sure I'm going to miss something, forget something and will be glad to be reminded.

 

1.  Hangman/Mox, AEW Revolution

2.  Danielson/Starks, AEW All Out

3. Okada/Danielson, AEW Forbidden Door

4. Ospreay/Omega, AEW Forbidden Door

5.  MJF/Danielson, AEW Revolution

6.  Jay White/Juice Robinson v FTR, AEW Collision, July 15

7. FTR v Young Bucks, AEW All In

8.  Danielson/RUSH, Dynamite 02/08/2023

9.  FTR v Jay White/Juice Robinson, AEW Collision, July 8

10.  Anna Jay-AS and Tay Melo v Willow Nightingale and Ruby Soho, AEW Rampage, 01/13/2023

#10 will stay on my list, because i absolutely loved the team of Ruby/Willow and am still so mad I can't find the shirt they were wearing during this match with their Dudleys tribute gear.

 

[StuntmanCrowley]

So I need to go back and compile an updated list.

 

But my 1 and 2 are concrete.

 

1.  Danielson/Sabre Jr, WrestleDream

2.  Mox/Page, Revolution

 

I was looking at them and what a drastic difference in the types, tempo, just everything about these matches is different and i love the shit out of them.  Just a rambling post, thought it was wild and honestly pretty cool to see how different my 1 and 2 are.

[The Natural]

Post AEW WrestleDream update:

10. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson. AEW All In, 27th August.

9. Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy. AEW All Out, 3rd September.

8. Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal. AEW Dynamite, 25th January.

7. Jay White/Juice Robinson vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler. AEW Collison, 8th July.

6. Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, 25th June.

5. Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley. AEW Revolution, 5th March. *****.

4. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Jay White/Juice Robinson. AEW Collison, 15th July. *****.

3. Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks. AEW All Out, 3rd September. *****.

2. MJF vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 5th March. *****.

1. Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. AEW WrestleDream, 1st October. *****.

Edited October 14, 2023 by The Natural

[The Natural]

A new #1 in Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr from AEW WrestleDream. Bryan Danielson vs. MJF from AEW Revolution drops down a spot and third place goes to Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks from AEW All Out.

Edited October 14, 2023 by The Natural

[StuntmanCrowley]

On 9/6/2023 at 1:46 PM, StuntmanCrowley said:

Okay, so it has been a LONG time since I updated my list, so bear with me,im sure I'm going to miss something, forget something and will be glad to be reminded.

 

1.  Hangman/Mox, AEW Revolution

2.  Danielson/Starks, AEW All Out

3. Okada/Danielson, AEW Forbidden Door

4. Ospreay/Omega, AEW Forbidden Door

5.  MJF/Danielson, AEW Revolution

6.  Jay White/Juice Robinson v FTR, AEW Collision, July 15

7. FTR v Young Bucks, AEW All In

8.  Danielson/RUSH, Dynamite 02/08/2023

9.  FTR v Jay White/Juice Robinson, AEW Collision, July 8

10.  Anna Jay-AS and Tay Melo v Willow Nightingale and Ruby Soho, AEW Rampage, 01/13/2023

#10 will stay on my list, because i absolutely loved the team of Ruby/Willow and am still so mad I can't find the shirt they were wearing during this match with their Dudleys tribute gear.

 

I absolutely know I'm going to forget some stuff, but im going to give my best at an updated list.

 

1.  Danielson/ZSJ, WrestleDream

2. Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland, AEW Full Gear

3.  Omega/Ospreay, AEW Forbidden Door

4. Danielson/Starks, Strap Match, AEW All Out

5.  Danielson/Kingston, AEW Collision, 12/2/2023

6.  Hangman Page/Jon Moxley, AEW Revolution

7.  Bullet Club Gold v FTR, AEW Collision July 15, 2023

8.  Danielson v Okada, AEW Forbidden Door

9.  MJF/Adam Cole, AEW All In.  

*I have an asterisk on this one because it's not in the top 10 best matches I watched this year in AEW, not close.  But why I'm including it is because MJF and Adam Cole had an almost impossible task of main eventing AEWs first HUGE stadium show in a foreign market.  The pressure and expectations were off of the fucking charts and they both not only delivered a great match, but they delivered pitch perfect story notes on, and your mileage may vary, an incredible, organic storyline.  I didn't want to put it above any of the other matches, but it deserves a top 10 nod.

10.  Anna Jay-AS and Tay Melo v Willow Nightingale and Ruby Soho, AEW Rampage, 01/13/2023

*I have an asterisk for this one as well.  There were "better" matches throughout the year, even in the womens division, but I can't overlook how amazing this match was and what all 4 competitors put themselves through.  It's a sentimental favorite because i Loved the pairing of Ruby and Willow(I am STILL so heartbroken I can't find their merch shirt they wore in this match for my daughter and I, if anyone has a link, please drop it here.  

 

Honorable Mentions:  MJF/Danielson, Garcia/Danielson, Danielson/RUSH, Danielson/Bandido, any of the other Mox/Hangman matches, FTR/Young Bucks(All In), Swerve in Our Glory/Acclaimed, Mox/Orange Cassidy 1.

EDIT:  I'm sitting here and just thinking of more and more and more matches i would include.  Lull in the product or not, AEW never fails to put on amazing matches.  

Edited December 10, 2023 by StuntmanCrowley