8 Things That Still Make No Sense About AEW

1. The Rankings System

MJF Confused
AEW

In theory, a rankings system is a fantastic concept for the world of professional wrestling. To the credit of AEW, ahead of their launch it was made abundantly clear how the company was to utilise rankings as a way to bring a sense of realism and a sports-like feel to their product.

For so long, wrestling fans had become disillusioned at there often being no reason or rhyme as to why Superstar A was getting a shot at Superstar B's championship. So when AEW announced those rankings plans, it felt like a breath of fresh air.

For the formative weeks and months of AEW Dynamite, it was brilliant to see each wrestler's personal win-and-loss record displayed on the screen or referenced on commentary. Only then, it sadly became abundantly clear that the promotion's rankings system didn't particularly carry any significant sway.

As an example, Best Friends recently had to defend their #1 contenders' status for the Tag Team Championships, while on the same show we had 'Hangman' Page and Kenny Omega defending those titles against The Natural Nightmares - despite Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall not being the top ranked tandem.

Likewise, MJF has a 6-0 2020 record and an overall record of 11-1, yet he's not even been mentioned as being in the hunt for the AEW Championship - while Brodie Lee and Jake Hager get AEW Championship matches on no rankings-based merit.

Of course, title matches can happen based purely on storylines and arcs. It's just that when you make such a big deal out of your rankings system, it only stands to make said rankings feel like a trivial afterthought when anyone but your respective #1 contenders get a title shot.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.