10 Best AEW Matches Ever (According To The Internet)
1. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page Vs. The Young Bucks - AEW Revolution 2020 (9.68)
Dave Meltzer went ****** on this. The users of Cagematch went 9.68.
To many fans, this match is All Elite Wrestling: the very selling point of the promotion, distilled.
It was 30 minutes and five seconds of exhilarating, state of the art action: a relentlessly thrilling vehicle for subtle, layered storytelling that did not require exposition to engage the crowd. Pulsating spectacle and rich emotion were one and the same. It proved correct Cody Rhodes' take that wrestling is capable of accelerating past the basic babyface and heel dynamic. Every wrestler entered the match with a different character motive, all of which were understandable, all of which tore the Elite asunder with incredible action set-pieces.
The match proved that there was a market for a coming of age story about male friendship in the mainstream. It also destroyed the notion that AEW should dumb itself down to cater to a mythical "casual fan". Consider the sequence, inserted into the match as it reached a white-knuckle crescendo, in which Kenny Omega kicked out of the Golden Trigger at one. To fans deep in the weeds of Omega "lore", they grasped the subtext. Omega - and this built his split with Hangman Page in plain sight - showed more emotion towards his former tag partner than his current one. Page using the One-Winged Angel was a heart-wrenching display of support in contrast.
Everybody else just watched an awesome twist, a badass display of defiance. They were not alienated. They got as much out of the match without watching a single episode of Being The Elite.
On this night, AEW embodied itself. It was the best wrestling in the world, and it was for everybody.
For an in-depth, 2000 word match review of this classic, check out my book Becoming All Elite: The Rise of AEW, which is available to purchase on Amazon at this link.