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

16. Young Bucks Vs. Lucha Bros. (All Out 2021)

Lucha Bros All Out
AEW

The best wrestling matches feel real.

This is distinct from looking real, which wrestling rarely if ever does. Something as crazed and as exhilarating as the high-octane caged madness of the Young Bucks Vs. Lucha Bros. at All Out 2021 - with its brain-scrambling excess of flashy choreography - felt more real than several matches in which the holds were struggled against or sold for an amount of time deemed adequate. This felt realer than grapplef*ck.

It felt real in the way that all great wrestling matches feel real: selling.

While he took the delayed selling method to its limit, this was Penta’s best individual performance ever. He didn’t just sell the physical pain of getting blasted in the face with Matt Jackson’s thumbtack sneaker; he sold the emotional toil of his mask getting torn almost to shreds.

Of all people, Penta - the guy in the terrifying mask who dumped other guys on their heads with a ridiculous frequency - looked distressed, even vulnerable.

A sense of injustice cloaked the arena. This visual was wrong, and the fans knew it. They reacted as if the heels simply couldn’t get away with this anymore.

That’s wrestling. On one of the best shows in wrestling history, the Bucks distilled its essence.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!