Ranking Every AEW World Championship Match From Worst To Best
Who had the better AEW World Title Reign: Jon Moxley or Chris Jericho?
The AEW World Championship has only been held by two separate men at the time of writing - Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley.
With other promotions often having a tendency to run through World Championship reigns like there's no tomorrow, this change from the American norm allowed both Jericho and Moxley to have immensely memorable runs with the strap. The quality in in-ring action hasn't always been there, but the lesser bouts have often been saved by the story arc, and vice versa.
Both of those were major factors in determining the order of this list.
Some would argue that AEW's first two World Champions being two former WWE stars perhaps isn't the greatest move, but you need to think of it this way. They can still be classed as a somewhat new wrestling promotion. What's going to get more eyes on their product - a rising star like Adam Page, or a name who's been in the headlines for the majority of his career like Chris Jericho?
As Moxley prepares himself for what is sure to be instant classic defence against Kenny Omega, which AEW World Championship was the best of the best, and which sucked worse than that December episode of Dynamite?
14. Jon Moxley Vs. Jake Hager (Dynamite #28)
Jack Swagger could easily have been an enjoyable World Heavyweight Champion had WWE not pulled the trigger on him so soon. With this in mind, AEW should have realised 'Big Hurt' wasn't too well suited to the main event spot when they booked him in a title bout against Jon Moxley.
This stunk.
Taking place on a mid-April edition of Dynamite, the title bout was billed as the best empty arena match to ever exist. Unfortunately, it literally was in an empty arena. No presence of ringside regulars like Sonny Kiss, Marko Stunt, and Gunn Club, alongside Jim Ross as a solo commentator - for whatever reason - left the venue without any sort of vibe to give the match some colour.
Granted, the match had a big fight feel coming into it, with numerous vignettes being effective in getting the challenger over as a viable challenger. Unfortunately, the match simply couldn't live up to the expectations. All props to Mox, he did what he could to carry the Inner Circle member through a big-time fight, but it just wasn't enough.
One Paradigm Shift onto a steel chair, and mercifully, it was over. Keep Hager away from the World Championship scene, please.