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AEW, WWE and IMPACT, as well as other wrestling promotions, were severely affected due to the pandemic. Fans are a huge part of what makes wrestling great, and crowd reactions play a huge role in how a match is perceived. With that factor gone, companies had to flex their creative muscles and come up with cinematic matches which gave fans something that had scarcely, or never been seen before.
AEW, in particular, really shone in this regard with multiple gimmick matches that were truly iconic and memorable. While some matches like the Tooth and Nails match between Dr. Britt Baker and Big Swole and the Mimosa Mayhem match between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy divided opinion, others like the Stadium Stampede were critically acclaimed.
With the upcoming coffin match and Street Fight on AEW programming, it makes sense to look back at the best gimmick matches AEW have delivered. Here are the top 5 gimmick matches in the company's short history.
#5. Dr. Britt Baker vs Thunder Rosa - Lights Out Match on AEW Dynamite
AEW has done many things right, but their women's division always felt like it could do better, in terms of personnel as well as storylines. Thunder Rosa really bolstered the division with her mix of experience and stellar in-ring ability.
Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker were engaged in a very personal feud, which culminated in an Unsanctioned Lights Out match on AEW Dynamite. The match was historic even before it started, as it was the first instance of women main eventing the Wednesday night show.
What followed was incessant brutality and violence as both women threw everything they had at each other in one of the bloodiest and most violent matches in women's professional wrestling history.
Chairs, tables, ladders and even thumbtacks were involved in a brilliant match that saw Rosa emerging victorious after putting Baker through a table with a Fire Thunder. The image of a bloodied Britt Baker refusing to give up will live long in fans' memories.
#4. Santana and Ortiz vs Best Friends - Parking Lot Brawl on AEW Dynamite
Tensions between The Inner Circle's Proud and Powerful and Best Friends had been rising on AEW Dynamite for weeks. When Santana and Ortiz destroyed Trent's mom's van, things escalated very, very quickly as the feud became very personal. A Parking Lot Brawl was booked between the tag teams to settle their differences.
Nobody expected the match to be as good as it ended up being. Wrestling on concrete floors and surrounded by cars and trucks, the two teams produced a hard-hitting affair full of creative spots and nasty looking bumps. It was a highly entertaining match, with one particularly insane spot which saw a double powerbomb on a car's windshield.
Trent pinned Ortiz after putting him through plywood to secure a massive win for Best Friends in a match that saw everyone don a crimson mask. We also saw unconventional weapons like baseball bats, lead pipes, chains, a 2x4 and trash cans. The match even got a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer, an achievement in its own right.
The show ended with Sue picking up Best Friends in her repaired van and flipping off Santana and Ortiz for a delightful ending to another strong AEW Dynamite episode.
#3. Jon Moxley vs Kenny Omega - Unsanctioned Lights Out Match at AEW Full Gear 2019
The second AEW Lights Out match on this list, Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley tore the house down at Full Gear 2019 in a barbaric match. A match so violent and so bloody, AEW was fined by the Maryland State Athletic Commission for violating rules.
Now, about the match. This was AEW's first foray into deathmatch wrestling and a lot of viewers weren't ready for what was to come. Some of the spots were as brutal as they were creative. The match divided opinion as a lot of people couldn't stand such brutality, including Moxley's wife, Renee Paquette.
The match saw the usual weapons, mixed with other weapons like beer, ice picks, chains etc. Both competitors brought their signature weapons, a barbed wire wrapped bat for Mox and a barbed wire wrapped broom for Omega.
We saw a board with mouse traps, and Omega bore the brunt of it as he crashed into it back first. Broken glass spilled into the ring as Moxley crawled through it after being thrown onto it with a spinebuster and Omega dragging him through it.
The lacerations were clear on both of their backs. This wasn't even close to the finish, though. A massive barbed wire net was spread net to the ramp, and Moxley suplexed Omega onto it in a nasty spot. They needed assistance to get out of it. The match still wasn't over. Moxley exposed the ring boards after getting rid of the canvas, Omega missed a Phoenix Splash and a Paradigm Shift later, Moxley won.
It's unlikely we'll see a match like this in AEW again, but this was a true spectacle and both men went through hell to entertain the fans.
#2. Inner Circle vs The Pinnacle - Blood and Guts Match at AEW Blood and Guts
Blood and Guts was AEW's version of the WarGames gimmick, created by Cody and Dustin Rhodes' father Dusty Rhodes in 1980s for NWA. The dual ring cage match is one of the most brutal and compelling match types in all of wrestling.
AEW fans had been clamoring for one, and it was supposed to take place between the Inner Circle and The Elite a year before it really happened because of the pandemic. But it did happen, between different teams. MJF turned on the Inner Circle and formed his own faction with FTR, Shawn Spears and Wardlow, under the guidance of Tully Blanchard.
The build to the match was brilliant as both teams attacked each other backstage at various points and cut scathing promos against each other. The hype was as high as it could be heading into AEW Blood and Guts, and the match delivered in spades. All ten members were a bloody mess at the end of it. The match had multiple thrilling spots and a memorable ending (for both right and wrong reasons).
Standard pinfall and submission rules didn't apply. The match could only end if one of the teams gives in. MJF and Chris Jericho battled at the top of the cage and Sammy Guevara surrendered after MJF threatened to throw Jericho off the top, which he ended up doing anyway.
The camera work made it too obvious that Jericho landed on crash pads which dampened the ending a bit, but it takes nothing away from the excellent match we saw before it.
#1. Inner Circle vs The Elite and Matt Hardy - Stadium Stampede at AEW Double or Nothing 2020
When the Stadium Stampede match was announced by AEW for Double or Nothing 2020, nobody knew what to expect. AEW had all the freedom in the world to do something extraordinary and indeed they did.
By far the most enjoyable of all cinematic matches we got to witness due to the pandemic, the Stadium Stampede match ended up being an incredible spectacle which will not be forgotten.
A 5-on-5 match between the Inner Circle and the Elite and Matt Hardy, it was a match that had a little bit of everything. Plenty of well executed comedy shots, the various settings where the brawls took place and a memorable ending make this the most unique and interesting wrestling match in a long time.
Jake Hager and Hangman Adam Page shared a drink before brawling in a bar. Matt Jackson suplexed Sammy Guevara for 100 yards. Chris Jericho challenged a kickout which led to Aubrey Edwards and Jericho watching the replay in the replay booth.
Matt Hardy changed gimmicks every time he was drowned by Santana and Ortiz, coupled with Matt Facts for each gimmick. There was a lot more, and it all came to an end when Kenny Omega put Guevara away with the One-Winged Angel from a height. This match was the definition of entertainment. AEW's innovation throughout the pandemic was inspiring, and this was the best example of what they could do on short notice.
