Ranking Every AEW "ERA" From Worst To Best

Heading into this year's inaugural WrestleDream PPV, AEW President Tony Khan didn't miss a single opportunity to put over the arrival of his company's latest "era."

Now sure, this turned out to be little more than a way to get some more eyes on the latest addition to the ever-growing All Elite PPV calendar and set the stage for the debut of a certain 'Rated "R" Superstar', but all this talk of "eras" did also force you to sit back and consider the ones that came before Adam Copeland's.

The promotion may have only just turned four in October, but this All Elite product has actually seen a surprising amount of major eras and shifts during that time.

And it must be said that even the lower ranking periods in the history of all things Elite have boasted some unbelievable in-ring action, record-breaking feats, and iconic moments amidst the madness.

Also, with the current spell of "Rated 'R" shenanigans not being old enough to really judge at this early stage, this list will strictly be focusing on the time leading up to the aforementioned October 1, 2023 event.

So, with all that being said then, let's take a magical, frustrating, and often pulsating trip down memory lane, and relive and rank the fascinating different eras of All Elite Wrestling....

The last year or so has unquestionably brought with it a ton of important and fantastic moments for Tony Khan's company.

In 2023 alone, AEW unleashed a brand new Saturday Night show in Collision, shifted a ridiculous amount of tickets and put on an iconic All In event inside of Wembley Stadium, and continued to produce PPV magic.

However, all of that brilliant work in front of the camera was regularly overshadowed by the frustrating chaos going down behind the scenes.

The way the company handled much of the aftermath of the Brawl Out insanity that went down in September 2022 was laughably bad. Instead of forcing all involved to sit down and work through their issues, doing what was absolutely right for the company, the animosity was given the chance to fester.

But there's still no guarantee nipping those CM Punk/Elite issues in the bud early would have led to better ticket sales domestically or a product that didn't feel like it was often making it up as it went along since All Out 2022.

All that being said, this routinely aggravating most recent period in AEW history hasn't been completely devoid of outstanding flickers of brilliance.

This is the era that saw MJF confidently take his place as the biggest star in the company, becoming AEW's new lovable main character/anti-hero with his engaging work alongside everyone from Bryan Danielson to Adam Cole.

As with every era on this list, the women's division hasn't been given anywhere near as much time to shine as they deserve, but Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, Saraya, Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm have all shown the world what this division is capable of when it and its titles are treated with the right amount of care and attention.

Outside of the AEW World Championship picture and the women's division, however, only FTR and Orange Cassidy's stints as AEW World Tag Team Champions and International Champion, respectively, really live long in the memory when it comes to the excessive amount of belts up for grabs post-September 2022.

And despite the presence of a frankly absurd amount of world class stars, the product was unfortunately at its absolute coolest for much of the "Chaos Era." Though it likely didn't help that their rivals over in Stamford were - and still are - enjoying their hottest era in decades at the same time.

But telling more unfocused stories on-screen than ever before isn't the best way to retain viewers and move tickets either.

Building new stars also didn't appear to be the priority it had been in the years that came before, with the likes of Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, Konosuke Takeshita not being handled or booked as well as they perhaps would have been at a time when the roster wasn't anywhere near as bloated.

Chaos reigned supreme right up until the point the 'Chick Magnet' finally left/was chucked out of the building, and the AEW brand wasn't better for it. But even then, the occasional highs were still magnificent to behold.