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2022 AEW Matches of the Year.


The Natural

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Started one for AEW last year after doing the WWE's for years. Three months into 2022, now's the time. A top five for now which will likely turn to a top ten as the year goes on:

5. Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho. AEW Revolution 2022.

4. Dr. Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa. AEW St Patrick's Day Dynamite, 16th March 2022.

3. CM Punk vs. MJF. AEW Revolution 2022. *****.

2. MJF vs. CM Punk. AEW Dynamite, 2nd February 2022. *****.

1. Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Dynamite, 6th January 2022. *****.

Honourable mention to Adam Page vs. Lance Archer. AEW Dynamite, 9th February 2022.

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I'd definitely have the triple threat tag title match from Revolution on there, probably in the 3-4 spot. Honorable mention also for Punk/Moxley against FTR from the 2/9 Dynamite and the triple threat TNT title match from the 3-4 Rampage.

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For now I’ll go with what I think my definite top 4 are for now:

 

4. Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks vs. ReDragon - AEW Revolution

3. MJF vs. CM Punk - AEW Dynamite, February 2nd

2. Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho - AEW Revolution

1. Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW Dynamite, January 6th

Edited by eikerir
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5. Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho - AEW Revolution

4. Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley - AEW Revolution

3. CM Punk & Jon Moxley vs. FTR - AEW Dynamite (February 9)

2. CM Punk vs. MJF - AEW Dynamite (February 2)

1. Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page - AEW Dynamite (January 5)

Edited by ThatTCGuy
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  • 2 weeks later...

Mental note to do an update as since then: 

CM Punk vs. Dax Harwood. AEW Dynamite, 22nd March.

Bryan Danielson vs. Wheeler Yuta. AEW Dynamite, 30th March.

#FTR vs. The Young Bucks. AEW Dynamite, 6th April.

Tonight it's:

Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta. AEW Dynamite, 8th April.

Am I missing anything?

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Time for an update and a top ten:

10. Bryan Danielson vs. Wheeler Yuta. AEW Dynamite, 30th March.

9. Adam Page vs. Lance Archer. AEW Dynamite, 9th February.

8. Dr. Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa. AEW St Patrick's Day Dynamite, 16th March.

7. Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho. AEW Revolution, 6th March.

6. Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta. AEW Rampage, 8th April.

5. Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 6th March.

4. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson. AEW Dynamite, 6th April. *****.

3. CM Punk vs. MJF. AEW Revolution, 6th March. *****.

2. MJF vs. CM Punk. AEW Dynamite, 2nd February. *****.

1. Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Dynamite, 6th January. *****.

Edited by The Natural
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Figured I might as well do an update too

1. Bryan Danielson vs Hangman Page - Dynamite (January 5)

2. Jon Moxley vs Wheeler Yuta - Rampage (April ?

3. FTR vs Young Bucks - Dynamite (April 6)

4. CM Punk vs MJF - Dynamite (February 2)

5. CM Punk & Jon Moxley vs FTR - Dynamite (February 9)

6. Bryan Danielson vs Jon Moxley - Revolution

7. Eddie Kingston vs Chris Jericho - Revolution

8. Bryan Danielson vs Wheeler Yuta - Dynamite (March 30)

9. Andrade el Idolo vs Darby Allin - Dynamite (March 30)

10. Bryan Danielson vs Daniel Garcia - Dynamite (February 23)

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Interesting seeing our similarities and differences. We all have Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson on Dynamite, 6th January as our #1 AEW match in 2022.

I rewatched a few matches before posting my update yesterday. Of those, Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson from AEW Revolution 2022 benefited the most. I liked it a lot more second time round.

@ThatTCGuy, no CM Punk vs. MJF from AEW Revolution 2022?

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Updating my definitive top 5 for now since it's the cool thing to do:

 

5. Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks vs. ReDragon - AEW Revolution

4. MJF vs. CM Punk - AEW Dynamite, February 2nd

3. Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta - AEW Rampage, April 8th

2. Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho - AEW Revolution

1. Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW Dynamite, January 6th

 

I love that MY FAVE FIVE have no repeated wrestlers in it, shows how good the whole roster really is.

 

Edited by eikerir
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Crazy thinking where this list is now compared to the same point last year, as I'd rate Hangman-Danielson from 1/6 and Bucks/FTR last week as five-star matches, and then a ton of other matches right on that 4 and 3/4th stars and five-star border: Both Punk-MJF matches, Mox-Yuta from the last Rampage and Danielson-Yuta, Kingston-Jericho and the triple threat tag match also from Revolution, Punk/Mox against FTR, and the triple threat TNT title match from Rampage before Revolution. I'd argue that last year's first five-star match for AEW was Bucks vs. Lucha Brothers at All Out (and there was a cascade of them after that thanks to the combination of regular size, hot crowds and Mr. Danielson joining the fray). And I've tried to sort of keep a running list of all-time great AEW matches in my head, but that's a daunting task given the sheer quality of awesome matches (and great crowds that add just that much more to the matches).

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21 minutes ago, Big Z said:

Crazy thinking where this list is now compared to the same point last year, as I'd rate Hangman-Danielson from 1/6 and Bucks/FTR last week as five-star matches, and then a ton of other matches right on that 4 and 3/4th stars and five-star border: Both Punk-MJF matches, Mox-Yuta from the last Rampage and Danielson-Yuta, Kingston-Jericho and the triple threat tag match also from Revolution, Punk/Mox against FTR, and the triple threat TNT title match from Rampage before Revolution. I'd argue that last year's first five-star match for AEW was Bucks vs. Lucha Brothers at All Out (and there was a cascade of them after that thanks to the combination of regular size, hot crowds and Mr. Danielson joining the fray). And I've tried to sort of keep a running list of all-time great AEW matches in my head, but that's a daunting task given the sheer quality of awesome matches (and great crowds that add just that much more to the matches).

Yeah, quite the contrast from this time last year to where we are presently. AEW's on a hell of a run for match quality.

For the part I bolded, hope this helps:

 

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I have trouble rating matches (which is kinda funny, since I have no problem rating songs) in a 5 (or whatever) star scale, but for example, the greatness of Jericho vs Kingston on straight up match quality as well as on meta level was off the charts. The fact that (sorry for using bad words here to make a point) a has been Jericho and a never was Kingston had a 90's All Japan main event  as an opening match of a PPV in order to prove a point was incredible to see. And the fact that they were allowed to do it, was even better.

So far this year I loved the Page v Archer Texas Death Match, everything by Jungle Express, the Buy In six man with House of Black vs Death Triangle (due to illness the role of Fenix is played by Eric Red Beard), all big Trent Baretta matches, Mox vs Yuta and Swerve vs Nese more than I liked a lot of the bigger stuff. But obviously, there has been crazy stuff this year. FTR vs Bucks, Roppongi Vice vs Bucks, too many to mention.

If I could get more PAC and Matthews singles matches against pretty much anyone, those would be among my favorites for sure! I mean give me PAC vs Sammy and Matthews vs Allin or PAC vs Allin and Sammy vs Matthews and I'll be there!

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I also enjoy the guys like Trent or Starks who keep putting out so many bangers that never quite reach ****+ but they’re SO consistent in putting them out almost weekly that there should be a special category for these guys in these type of rankings.

Trent for example puts out about 5 or 6 solid badass *** 1/2 matches in the same period that Hangman puts out a single all time classic. It’s a different responsibility to fill in the card but both equally impressive.

Edited by eikerir
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13 minutes ago, ThatTCGuy said:

Hangman's super frustrating to me because I feel like he's really good but he's just as likely to have a dud main event against Cole as he is to put on a classic with Danielson.

Certainly everybody is capable of a bad match, but where's the frustration coming from?  He, Hangman, is one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster.  Further, he already had a solid to great match with Cole.  What indicates the next one is going to be a dud?  I ask that question assuming you aren't a 'Adam Cole is not for me' guy, but if you are then you already have your place to lay blame.

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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Hangman throws bombs from start to finish and I’m happy with this approach. Every single punch or kick he does looks pretty brutal. He has my favourite move set in the whole roster cuz nothing is too contrived/fancy and everything he lands feels heavy and hurty.

 

Edited by eikerir
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1 hour ago, HarryArchieGus said:

Certainly everybody is capable of a bad match, but where's the frustration coming from?  He, Hangman, is one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster.  Further, he already had a solid to great match with Cole.  What indicates the next one is going to be a dud?  I ask that question assuming you aren't a 'Adam Cole is not for me' guy, but if you are then you already have your place to lay blame.

This is probably just me being stupid but I think I'm super high on Hangman as a talent so I'm always a bit frustrated when I see a guy like that put on something actively bad when I know they're capable of so much more.

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16 minutes ago, ThatTCGuy said:

This is probably just me being stupid but I think I'm super high on Hangman as a talent so I'm always a bit frustrated when I see a guy like that put on something actively bad when I know they're capable of so much more.

Of course to each their own.  Just curious when he's been bad or underwhelming to you?  Off the top of my head, I can't think of any.     

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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33 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

I'm curious to see a more detailed analysis of this criticism.  

Pick me a random 2020 or 2021 (before Punk shows up) singles Page match vs someone that's not part of the Elite to watch and I'll see what I can do.

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6 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

Of course to each their own.  Just curious when he's been bad or underwhelming to you?  Off the top of my head, I can't think of any.     

The FTR match at All Out 2020, the Omega match at Full Gear 2021, the Cole match at Revolution

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