30 Best AEW Matches Ever (So Far...)

17. Will Ospreay Vs. Darby Allin (Dynamite December 18, 2024)

This was absolutely incredible; the best of the 'PPV match on Dynamite' genre.

Fusing their sensibilities to utter perfection, it was the perfect Will Ospreay Vs. Darby Allin match.

Wrestled with a face-melting sense of urgency, Darby had to bring it to Ospreay because he had taken what even his standards was a gruesome bump in the opening phase. When Will moved out of the way of Darby’s apron Coffin Drop, the sound from the frame of the ring was like something from a dank internet video you watched at too young an age.

Darby versus anybody bigger is great. Everybody is bigger than Darby. Nobody maps a babyface comeback like Darby in today’s scene.

The template worked so well with Ospreay because he can, unlike the biggest brute monsters Darby has faced, chain together an intricate string of offence better than anybody. Allin had to ignore the searing pain in his back and stay mentally sharp to stay in the match - and the longer it went, the easier it was to admire and root for him.

The best sequence of the match was a cutting edge Ospreay chain intersected with a true hope spot.

Will rolled through a missed Leap of Faith. Darby caught him getting back to his feet, and attempted to floor him with the Code Red, but Ospreay using his shoulders back-flipped him onto his ankles before smashing him with the Hidden Blade. Darby sold it like he’d just ruptured each set of his achilles, but somehow found it within himself to counter the Stormbreaker with the Code Red.

Awesome as this story beat and sequence was, they looped it to equally great effect deeper in the match. Will’s use of crowd psychology was unbelievable, when he teased hitting Darby with a Styles Clash to the outside before actually doing it.

The bump looked like it sucked to take, but it was registered so masterfully that it felt like that 2003 Misawa/Kobashi bump in the moment.