The 5 Most Historic Matches In AEW

In its six years of existence, AEW has certainly brought significant change to the pro wrestling industry. Most would argue its biggest contribution has been giving wrestlers a second major company to work for after WWE, with a television and PPV platform not seen since WCW closed its doors in 2001. But others would say AEW's also delivered its fair share of high quality wrestling, via "AEW Dynamite," "AEW Rampage," "AEW Collision," and their numerous PPVs. Of course, how good a match or PPV is or isn't is all in the eye of the beholder, but even AEW's harshest critics...okay, perhaps not them, but those a step below would even concede AEW has given its fans plenty of top tier matches and PPV's to sink their teeth into since 2019.

But while one can close their eyes and pinpoint a great AEW match rather easily, the same cannot be said for AEW matches that would be considered "historic." Some of that, of course, is because AEW has only been around for a little more than half a decade; it's hard to have that much history when the promotion is as young as it is. But it's also difficult because, and this is admittedly preaching to the choir, for a match to be historic, it doesn't necessarily have to be great. That doesn't hurt, but it's more important for the match to have significance years after the fact, while remaining influential, and, in this writer's opinion, a moment in time that helped solidify what AEW was, and remains, as a promotion. So with that in mind, here's a look at five AEW matches that are both great, and historic, perhaps even the most historic in the promotion's history.

Naturally, it all begins at the first ever show in AEW history, which happened to feature this battle of the Rhodes brothers. In some ways it's a weird choice, and not just because Cody Rhodes left AEW in order to return to WWE in 2022. Mostly, it's because the match kind of seemed out of place on a card full of Pro Wrestling Guerilla alumnus, joshi wrestlers, and Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho trying to recreate their New Japan magic. Cody vs. Dustin felt like a holdover from WWE, the two Rhodes sons trying to have the match they long wanted in their old promotion, only for WWE to treat it so lowly that fans hardly cared when it occurred on the 2015 edition of Fastlane.

That was not the case the second go around. The Rhodes' not only got the opportunity to have the match they wanted, but they completely stole the show in a bloody, emotional, story driven bout, a sharp contrast to the more action fueled rest of the card. Double or Nothing remains a historic and great show, but as good as other matches on it were, Cody vs. Dustin is still considered its highlight. And it did so while established two things about AEW; that the promotion wouldn't shy away from blood, and that any concerns about the promotion leaning away from storytelling were unfounded. Simply put, Cody vs. Dustin was the match that answered the doubts across the board, and remains one of the two biggest things to come out of AEW's inaugural romp.

The other major moment to occur at that Double or Nothing was the debut of Jon Moxley, coming through the crowd, laying out Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, the latter attack which kicked off a feud that's continued on and off ever since. The two were originally scheduled to wrestle at the second AEW PPV, All Out, in September, but an injury to Moxley ultimately led to the match being rescheduled for Full Gear in November, in a Lights Out, unsanctioned match as opposed to a regular bout. The wait turned out to be worth it; Omega vs. Moxley under that stipulation turned out to be as wild as one would think, ultimately ending with Omega faceplanting onto the exposed ringboards during a Phoenix Splash attempt, which Moxley took advantage of to score the biggest (at the time) win of his AEW career.

This match also may seem like an odd inclusion to this list; after all, AEW has had plenty of other violent matches that were more out of control than this (some of which will be mentioned soon), and in the grand scheme of "all time great AEW matches," Moxley-Omega I may not even be considered the best they had together, let alone the best in AEW history. But the match's historical value lies in the fact that, at the time, AEW hadn't yet unveiled its love for ultra violence, making this match the starting point of when AEW fully embraced delivering high quality plunder matches when the situation called for it. But most importantly, the match served as the launching point for Moxley's AEW World Title run, which began a few months later, and Omega's quest for redemption, which ended with him turning to the dark side and defeating Moxley to win the title just a little over a year later.

People, places, and even wrestling promotions, learn who they are at times of tragedy. AEW had one of those moments at the end of 2020, when former TNT Champion Brodie Lee suddenly passed away just ten days after his 41st birthday. Lee had spent less than a year with the promotion, but his death was devastating from whatever way you sliced it. So instead of running a normal "Dynamite," AEW owner Tony Khan threw out his original idea and put together a tribute show built around honoring Lee and his stable, the Dark Order, even allowing Lee's young son, Brodie, to book the show's main event featuring Cody, Preston Vance, and Orange Cassidy battling Team Taz.

But the match that stole the show, and warmed hearts while breaking them at the same time, came an hour earlier. It had everything; future top stars Page and MJF squaring off, a white hot John Silver comeback at the apex of his popularity, a cameo from Erick Rowan (aka Erick Redbeard for this night), plenty of tears, and perhaps most poignant, Brodie Jr. whacking MJF with a kendo stick. It was a match, and a show really, that offered a glimpse of what AEW represented outside of the usual factors, by paying tribute to a fallen wrestler, his stable, and his family, all in one swoop. In many ways, this match was truly AEW at its very best.

One of the constant criticisms AEW has received throughout its run is the usage of the women's division. This was especially the case in the early years, where if there was any fan divide over the women's division, it was whether to criticize it for not having enough talent, or to criticize it for not doing enough to utilize the roster they had. The dialog started to change when a feud between Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker blossomed into a legit blood rivalry. And the only way for it to end was the same way other intense feuds in AEW had; with a Lights Out match on "AEW Dynamite," in what proved to be the first time in history a women's match had main evented an AEW show.

An argument can be made all these years later that what Baker and Rosa did in the course of 16 and a half minutes is the most violent piece of work that's ever been delivered in an AEW ring. But even if you want to argue another match was more violent, the match still did its job. Both women bled profusely, with a shot of Baker covered in blood becoming one of the more iconic images of early AEW, both used everything from thumbtacks to tables, and both emerged out of it bigger than they were, with Baker arguably becoming one of the top five stars in AEW altogether. From the perspective of the AEW women's division though, it proved that it was capable of delivering more, and also began a trend that has continued to this day, where AEW women's hardcore matches are just as good, and arguably even more violent, than the matches the men are having.

AEW has had their fair share of "classic" rivalries since its inception, several of which (Omega vs. Moxley, Baker vs. Rosa) have been highlighted above. But at this point, most would agree the defining storyline in AEW history is the feud between Swerve Strickland and "Hangman" Adam Page. It's frankly had it all; Strickland breaking into Page's house, Page burning down Swerve's house, syringes, cinder blocks, cage matches, chains, and ultimately, the two men reaching enough of an understanding that Strickland helped Page dethrone Jon Moxley to became AEW World Champion at All In. But you have to start somewhere in order to reach that destination, and that's where Page and Strickland's Full Gear Texas Death Match comes in.

To be clear, Page and Strickland's feud was already humming by the time this match occurred; the two began their rivalry after AEW All Out months earlier, and Strickland had already beaten Page at WrestleDream and broken into his house soon after. What makes this match more historical than the first encounter though is a) the fact that it can argue it's just as violent (and great) as the aforementioned Baker-Rosa Lights Out Match and b) more than the first bout, this was the one that solidified Strickland. He was a budding star throughout 2023, and the first victory over Page had secured his spot as a borderline main eventer. This match, however, turned him into an instant main eventer, World Championship contender, and most importantly, Page's equal. If Page defeats Strickland, as most expected, this feud perhaps ends right then and there, a well regarded two month story. Instead, Strickland's win elevated him and continued the story, allowing it to turn into the feud that some would say helped put AEW back on the map.