30 Best AEW Matches Ever (So Far...)
6. Anarchy In The Arena (Double Or Nothing 2022)
In a pro wrestling match, a wrestler attempted to murder his opponent.
That sentence, out of context, reads like an excerpt of a Lucha Underground review - or possibly the worst impulses of TNA. Maybe WWE’s wretched pandemic era cinematic output.
It happened in AEW, in a plunder match, and people believed it because Eddie Kingston’s unhinged shambling walk and dead-eyed facial expression made them believe. A deep library of utterly convincing character work, incomparable across the preceding decade, bought him a moment he executed to scary perfection.
Every single wrestler in the match deserves credit for erecting that platform: if this match wasn’t a deranged scene of total chaos, the buy-in for Eddie Kingston attempting to set Chris Jericho on fire does not happen.
The match was special. Completely insane. It was structured immaculately in a way that never actually felt structured. Thrillingly, underscoring the felt absence of contrivance and assembly, the director often came within seconds of missing the various big stunts, which unfolded in parallel across the breadth of the arena. Obviously, some assembly was required - but it was easy to ignore when two other melees were happening and someone was about to get driven through four tables at once.
There was real substance to it, too: the worked punches, particularly those thrown by Bryan Danielson, were the proper stuff.
DDT creativity, Memphis x PWG work, this crazed melting pot of mind-blowing action still felt like its own unique thing. Witty, horrifying, entertaining, exhilarating: this instantly felt like the gnarliest, most awesome sh*t you’d ever seen in your f*cking life. The sort of match that makes you say HELL YEAH over and over and over again.
“The sh*t’s about to hit the fan.”
Five stars before the bell, and instantly one of the very best gimmick matches ever.