Since its debut on television in 2019, AEW has quickly emerged as one of the definitively biggest Wrestling companies in the world. Combining a more mature atmosphere with world-class Wrestlers, the promotion has overtaken the globe, becoming the second most-watched American wrestling company behind WWE.
As a prominent promotion with a massive roster, AEW has become just as formidable a threat to WWE as WCW had in the late ‘90s. Many reasons exist for AEW’s growing popularity among wrestling fans — its grittier storylines, its abundance of hardcore wrestling, the award-winning matches delivered every week… But perhaps the biggest and most apparent reason for AEW’s success is the number of great wrestlers signed to the company.
From experienced indie talents like MJF and Orange Cassidy to wrestlers formerly signed to WWE, NJPW, ROH, and AAA, here are the greatest wrestlers we’ve seen in AEW.
15. Pac
A former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Pac was one of the first wrestlers to sign with AEW when the company was still in its infancy. Taking the chance to drastically reinvent his character from his family-friendly superhero-themed presentation in WWE, Pac became AEW’s “Bastard,” a cold-blooded, merciless high-flier willing to do whatever it takes to win.
His time in AEW may have been a bit underwhelming so far, but with recent successes like his winning the All-Atlantic Champion and the World Trios Champion (as part of Death Triangle), Pac seems to be finally coming into his own in the company. Here’s hoping he receives a world heavyweight title push sometime very soon.
14. The Lucha Brothers
The teammates of Pac in Death Triangle, The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero M and Rey Fénix) are easily among the best and most consistently high-performing Lucha Libres in the world.
Making a name for themselves as incredible singles and tag team talents in Lucha Underground and AAA, the brothers have since delivered some of the greatest matches in their career against the likes of the Young Bucks, Jurassic Express, and FTR in AEW.
While they tend to be underutilized as singles and tag team competitors, The Lucha Bros are nevertheless two of the most impressive wrestlers AEW has signed since its formation.
13. The Young Bucks
Probably the most outstanding tag team in AEW (both from a corporate standpoint and a wrestling one), The Young Bucks have played an incredibly vital role in the company both on and off-screen. As the executive vice presidents of AEW along with Kenny Omega, The Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) are two of the founding members of the company, building the entire promotion from the ground up in the first place.
An already experienced tag team the world over, thanks to their work in NJPW and ROH, The Bucks have maintained the same high-performance level they made famous in the 2010s.
Now a bit more seasoned and cycling through a few new gimmicks (such as their current hypebeast personas), they’ve managed to stay with the times in AEW, tweaking their onscreen personalities to remain fresh and original in the new company.
12. Darby Allin
In no uncertain terms, Darby Allin is the future of AEW. One of the younger wrestlers they have on their roster, Allin climbed through the ranks of various indie wrestling promos before ending up in AEW (one of the first signees added to the roster).
With his preference for hardcore wrestling, high-pain tolerance, and tendency to take ridiculously risky bumps, he seems like the perfect mixture between similarly-veined wrestlers like Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, and Sting.
He is one of the better TNT Champions we’ve seen on TV to date, no doubt destined for greatness in the company — especially given his long-standing partnership with his mentor, Sting.
11. Eddie Kingston
If Darby Allin invites comparisons to risk-taking wrestlers of the ‘90s like Mick Foley, Eddie Kingston invites similar comparisons to the more hardcore wrestlers of the same era.
A fervent trash talker on the microphone, Kingston has also shown to favor a more street fighter style of wrestling, full of chops, punches, kicks, and a penchant for using foreign weapons like trashcans, chairs, and kendo sticks.
Like so many of his fellow wrestlers, Kingston was an indie veteran before signing to AEW. Since joining the company, though, he’s had some of the most standout moments of his career, memorably feuding with The Elite and his on-again, off-again tag partner, Jon Moxley. One of the more underrated wrestlers on the roster, he’s had great feuds with practically everyone he’s faced.
10. Adam Cole
Adam Cole was one of the biggest names to sign with WWE’s NXT branch in the 2010s. Having become a top-tier talent during his time in NJPW and ROH, WWE’s acquisition of Cole was considered a significant win for the company, with Cole destined to become the next breakout star.
Unfortunately for them, Cole’s friendship with his former Elite members — The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega — ultimately led to him leaving WWE for AEW. What was WWE’s loss was AEW’s gain, with Cole becoming one of the more dominant heels in the company, dazzling audiences with the same brash attitude and verve of Shawn Michaels back in the late 1990s.
9. Orange Cassidy
One of the most remarkable things about AEW is that it offers less well-known indie stars a chance to gain exposure among mainstream audiences. Such can be said about Orange Cassidy, who, in the late 2010s, was the greatest wrestler nobody has ever heard of.
Using his ingenious and highly original gimmick to his advantage, Cassidy has been portrayed as an indifferent slacker — a great wrestler who hides his immense talent behind a more lackadaisical, carefree persona. Its popularity with the fans is abundantly clear, with Cassidy becoming one of the biggest fan-favorite wrestlers in the company.
8. Hangman Page
The only Elite member to not also have an executive position in the company, Hangman Page had the unfortunate reputation for being one of the weakest members of the stable before the formation of AEW. An overall underrated wrestler, he lacked the same charismatic personalities as Kenny Omega or Cody Rhodes, resulting in him being relegated more to an enforcer role in Bullet Club and, later, The Elite.
Since signing in AEW, Page has drastically changed for the better. Improving his already decent in-ring skills, he’s also more fully explored his onscreen character, portraying him as a melancholy cowboy with trust issues. The change has undoubtedly been for the better, with Page soon after winning the coveted World Heavyweight Championship from Kenny Omega in 2020.
7. Bryan Danielson
Along with Adam Cole (whom he coincidentally debuted with on the same night), Bryan Danielson was considered a valuable acquisition for AEW in 2021. A former WWE world champion, Danielson was and still is regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world today, with his signing to AEW one of the biggest wins for the company at the time.
Since joining AEW, the American Dragon has had some of his most entertaining matches in years, competing against the likes of Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, and Hangman Page in several award-winning matches. Whether he’s a champion or not is moot — just having Danielson on the roster is proof enough of AEW’s growing importance in the pro wrestling community.
6. Chris Jericho
One of the first big-name wrestlers to sign with AEW, Chris Jericho brought a good deal of legitimacy to AEW upon joining the promotion in 2019. From his singles match with Kenny Omega in NJPW, it was clear that something had reawakened inside Jericho — his love and enthusiasm for wrestling and all its possibilities suddenly back after two decades of creative stifling in WWE.
Likening his position in the company to the role Terry Funk played in ECW back in the ‘90s, Chris Jericho was a veteran who allowed for an easier transition for WWE fans probing into AEW television. Seeing a familiar face in the form of Jericho, these viewers could then segue into watching matches featuring Omega, MJF, or Darby Allin. He was a crucial signee to AEW, and has been doing predictably stellar work ever since.
5. CM Punk
CM Punk returning to the ring after a seven-year hiatus was a huge deal not just for AEW, but for the wrestling community as a whole. Fans had long awaited Punk’s reemergence to the world of wrestling, but also likely accepted the possibility that such a return would never actually happen.
Fortunately, in 2021, that all changed, with Punk making his debut on AEW in his hometown of Chicago. In what will almost definitely go down as the greatest wrestling return ever, Punk blew the roof off the United Center. It was a crucial moment in AEW’s history, one that helped cement its place as a legitimate competitor to WWE.
4. Cody Rhodes
As one of the founders of AEW with his Elite stablemates, Cody Rhodes was a pivotal personality when it came to laying the groundwork for the company. His corporate leadership, backstage pull, and the respect he commanded from his fellow wrestlers all helped AEW exponentially grow and take shape in the promotion’s early years.
From a wrestling standpoint, too, Rhodes consistently put his body in harm’s way for the sake of AEW. Whether he was throwing himself on thumbtacks, moonsaulting off the top of a steel cage, or jumping bare-backed on a flaming table, nobody sacrificed more than Rhodes did for AEW.
3. MJF
AEW has no shortage of wrestlers who have cultivated their reputation on the independent circuit like Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin. But no one comes close to enjoying the same level of exposure that’s been received by AEW breakout star, MJF.
Booked as an egocentric heel, MJF has already proven himself to be one of the most talented wrestlers in recent history to ever cut a promo. Blurring the line between fact and fiction, he has the verbal skills of Roddy Piper and the flamboyance of Ric Flair — in other words, a future star destined to become one of the pillars in AEW.
2. Jon Moxley
Like Chris Jericho signing to AEW in 2019, Jon Moxley leaving his cushy position at the top of the WWE for AEW during the company’s early days was another major turning point for the fledgling promotion. Before Cole, before Danielson, before CM Punk, Moxley was there making waves in the new startup.
Reverting back to his more hardcore wrestling style seen prior to his debut in WWE, Moxley’s signing with AEW instantly brought a good deal of legitimacy to the company. It was a bold risk on Moxley’s part, but one that clearly paid off, with Moxley flying on a career-high as the first three-time AEW World Champion in the promotion’s history so far.
1. Kenny Omega
Years before AEW was even an idea, Kenny Omega was enjoying a reputation as the greatest professional wrestler the world over. His matches in NJPW against Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, and his arch-rival Kazuchika Okada elevated him to career stardom, leading him to his well-deserved nickname of “The Best Bout Machine.”
A legend in the business while still in his prime, Kenny Omega — like his fellow Elite members — has played an important role in founding AEW, maintaining a crucial position behind the scenes as well. His storylines with Jon Moxley, Hangman Page, and Bryan Danielson have been some of the most entertaining in AEW, with Omega seemingly incapable of delivering a bad match.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
