Ranking Every Kenny Omega AEW Championship Defence From Worst To Best

Kenny Omega reigned as AEW World Champion for 346 days, just nineteen days shy of a full calendar year after being usurped by 'Hangman' Adam Page.

He only defended the strap on seven occasions, though. Traditional wrestling discourse would see jokes made with regards to the championship not being defended within thirty days, "He's Brock Lesnaring the championship lol", etc.

It can't be said for Kenny Omega's legendary reign.

The 'Best Bout Machine' was precisely that while serving as the kingpin of All Elite Wrestling. Every title defence felt like a big-time deal, elevating not only his own prestige, but that of his opponents' and the title, too. This is a mantra AEW has built their brand on. If a champion isn't achieving this, then they aren't a champion, but rather someone who just happens to hold an AEW title.

For this ranking, matches will be judged on their presentation, quality of the title program, effectiveness in advancing the lore of involved parties, and positioning on the card. A World Title storyline doesn't always need to be the main arc within a promotion, something that AEW realised during Omega's generational run as World Champion.

Let's light the fuse...

Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann was Omega's weakest title defence through no fault of its own. AEW didn't even promote the bout on their weekly programming.

The match was never about the AEW World Title. Kenny was never losing it to Rich Swann, was he? It was inescapable that he was going to defeat Swann, or that, God forbid, a draw ended one of IMPACT's most anticipated pay-per-views in history.

That would be a laughable, lol TNA moment, though, and so the winner of this match was effectively revealed from the moment the match was made official.

It should, however, be said that the match was decent. It's a 2021 Kenny Omega outing, so it couldn't be bad, but it far surpassed the expectations it had coming in. The match took on a different tone compared to Swann's recent matches in that Omega focused on Rich's neck, having spiked Swann directly on his head on the ring apron. From there, V-Triggers, snap dragon suplexes, and a One-Winged Angel saw Omega crowned IMPACT World Champion.

Unfortunately, Rich Swann sank back to the mid-card after this, his World Title reign being entirely forgotten about as he moved into a feud with W. Morrissey. That contributes to this low ranking; Omega should have elevated Swann's prestige, rather than essentially steal it from him.