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All Elite Wrestling is closing in on three years since its inception. Till now, AEW has held ten major events. The promotion only holds four pay-per-views a year, so producing excellent shows is a must.
AEW's first pay-per-view was Double Or Nothing 2019. Since then, the company has produced shows that get the wrestling world talking. Be Match of the Year candidates or title changes, memorable moments and encounters have been consistent at these events.
With Full Gear 2021 just weeks away, it's an ideal time to look back on AEW's first ten pay-per-views so far and rank them.
10) AEW All Out 2020
AEW All Out 2020 took place in the middle of the pandemic and suffered from a limited capacity crowd in Jacksonville's Daily's Place. The card had a lot to look forward to and plenty of matches. The main event saw AEW World Champion Jon Moxley retain his title over MJF in a bloody encounter.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman put in an exceptional performance and proved he could keep up with AEW's top guy. His Pinnacle stablemates FTR defeated Kenny Omega and Hangman Page to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships. This was the longest match of the show.
Matt Hardy faced Sammy Guevara in a Broken Rules Match that went wrong. Hardy suffered a concussion after falling off a lift and his head hitting the concrete. The incident received widespread criticism as the match continued despite Hardy's injury.
Hikaru Shida and Thunder Rosa put on a great contest for the AEW Women's World Championship. Rosa made her pay-per-view debut for the company and showed the potential to make a bigger impact. On the other end of the spectrum, Big Swole defeated Britt Baker in the cinematic Tooth And Nail Match.
Other standout contests saw The Young Bucks defeat Jurassic Express in a high octane tag team clash and Orange Cassidy defeat Chris Jericho in the first-ever Mimosa Mayhem Match. The latter elevated the rising star in a major way.
There was a lot to like, but the atmosphere, along with a real-life concussion, deflated an already limited crowd.
9) AEW Revolution 2021
The first AEW pay-per-view of 2021 was Revolution taking place from Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. This was AEW's final major event in front of a limited capacity crowd. Revolution 2021 brought in the most pay-per-view buys for AEW up to that point.
The main event was the highly anticipated Exploding Barbwire Death Match between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship. The two delivered an insane bout that lived up to expectations, but the post-match deflated what would be remembered as a memorable spectacle.
Omega and The Good Brothers jumped Moxley post-match and left him in the ring to take the brunt of the final explosion. However, Moxley's bitter rival and former friend, Eddie Kingston, came down to save him. The final explosion was a giant dud, which hurt the overall experience.
Other standout bouts saw The Young Bucks defeat MJF and Chris Jericho to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships, Hangman Page beat Matt Hardy in a Big Money Match, Rey Fenix and PAC win the Casino Tag Team Royale, and Sting makes his AEW debut with Darby Allin with a win over Team Taz in a cinematic Street Fight.
8) AEW Full Gear 2019
The final AEW pay-per-view of 2019 was Full Gear in Baltimore, Maryland. The show was headlined by a double main event. In an Unsanctioned Lights Out Match, Jon Moxley defeated Kenny Omega in a violent war that had barbwire, thumbtacks, and everything fans could imagine. The other headline match saw Chris Jericho beat Cody Rhodes to retain the AEW World Championship in a tremendous bout.
Other standout contests saw Santana and Ortiz defeat The Young Bucks, Hangman Page beat PAC, and Riho overcome Emi Sakura to retain the AEW Women's World Championship. This was a good pay-per-view that shows the high quality of AEW's major events.
7) AEW Double Or Nothing 2020
AEW Double Or Nothing 2020 was the first pay-per-view to take place during the pandemic. The company had an opportunity to provide fans an escape from reality and give them a fun night of professional wrestling.
Jon Moxley beat Brodie Lee to retain the AEW World Championship in a physically intense encounter that elevated both competitors. MJF and Jungle Boy put on an awesome contest that proved both men as the future of the promotion. The Casino Ladder Match saw the debut of Brian Cage in a winning effort to earn an AEW World Title shot.
Hikaru Shida defeated Nyla Rose to win the AEW Women's World Championship in a fun No Disqualification Match. However, everything was overshadowed by the main event. In one of the greatest cinematic matches of all time, The Elite and Matt Hardy beat The Inner Circle. This was an amazing spectacle that took the fans on a rollercoaster.
6) AEW All Out 2019
The first AEW All Out took place a year after All In in the same Sears Centre in Chicago. Chris Jericho made history by defeating Hangman Page to become the first AEW World Champion. This was the night that Le Champion was born and arguably started the best run of the legend's career.
The Lucha Brothers defeated The Young Bucks to retain the AAA World Tag Team Titles in an unreal Escalera De La Muerte Ladder Match. It was spectacular with high spots that had to be seen to be believed. The debut of Santana and Ortiz in the post-match added a memorable moment. PAC made his debut, beating Kenny Omega in a superb encounter.
Other standout bouts saw SCU defeat Jurassic Express in a terrific six-man opener, Jimmy Havoc beat Darby Allin and Joey Janela in a three-way Cracker Barrel Clash, and Cody beat Shawn Spears with the help of a debuting Arn Anderson.
5) AEW Double Or Nothing 2021
AEW Double Or Nothing 2021 was the first major show to be held in front of a full capacity crowd at Daily's Place in Jacksonville. For the second year in a row, the show was headlined by the Stadium Stampede. The Inner Circle avenged their loss from the year prior and their loss in the Blood and Guts Match by beating the Pinnacle.
The title matches on this night were all terrific. Kenny Omega defeated Orange Cassidy and PAC in a marvelous three-way match to retain the AEW World Championship. The Young Bucks overcame the tandem of Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston in a fantastic bout to retain the AEW World Tag Team Titles.
Britt Baker won the AEW Women's World Championship by beating Hikaru Shida in a strong contest. Other standout bouts saw Hangman Page defeat Brian Cage, Darby Allin and Sting beat The Men of the Year, and Jungle Boy win the Casino Battle Royale.
4) AEW Full Gear 2020
AEW Full Gear 2020 had one of the strongest cards in company history. The match of the night saw The Young Bucks defeat FTR to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships. This was a beautiful love letter to tag team wrestling with the signature offense of classic teams and callbacks to the past of both tag teams.
The opener saw Kenny Omega beat Hangman Page to win the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament in an outstanding encounter. Jon Moxley defeated Eddie Kingston to retain the AEW World Championship in a violent I Quit Match. Darby Allin finally won the big one by beating Cody Rhodes to win the TNT Championship.
Other standout contests saw MJF defeat Chris Jericho to earn his way into the Inner Circle, Orange Cassidy beat John Silver, and Matt Hardy defeat Sammy Guevara in the Elite Deletion Match. AEW Full Gear was arguably the best of the pandemic pay-per-views in all of wrestling in 2020.
3) AEW Revolution 2020
AEW Revolution 2020 was the final major event before the pandemic. The Chicago crowd was pumped after a wonderful buildup to this pay-per-view. The main event saw Jon Moxley defeat Chris Jericho to win the AEW World Championship in the first title change for the top prize.
The show featured the best match of 2020 with Kenny Omega and Hangman Page defeating the Young Bucks to retain the AEW World Tag Team Titles in a phenomenal encounter. It had amazing storytelling, high spots galore, and a pace that elicited a molten hot response from the fans.
Other standout bouts saw Darby Allin beat Sammy Guevara, MJF claw his way past his former mentor Cody Rhodes, and PAC defeat Orange Cassidy in a fun clash of styles. The latter is viewed by many fans as one of the most underrated matches in company history. This was the best major event of 2020.
2) AEW Double Or Nothing 2019
To say AEW set the tone for the company with their first pay-per-view would be an understatement. Double Or Nothing 2019 was not just the first major show, it was AEW's debut to the wrestling world. They put together an unforgettable event.
The main event saw Chris Jericho avenge his loss to Kenny Omega from NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 by debuting his Judas Effect finisher. The post-match saw Jon Moxley's epic debut. This proved to be a shot heard around the world with Moxley having left a big-money deal in WWE to come to a new game in town.
Cody Rhodes put on an all-time classic against his older brother Dustin Rhodes. This was an ode to old-school wrestling with blood, a grueling struggle, and superb storytelling. Post-match with Dustin hugging Cody is still one of the most emotional moments in wrestling history.
Another great match saw the Young Bucks defeat the Lucha Brothers to retain the AAA World Tag Team Titles in a fabulous bout. Other standout contests saw SCU beat Strong Hearts in a sublime six-man opener, Britt Baker win the Women's Fatal Four Way, and Riho, Hikaru Shida, and Ryo Mizunami win a fun Joshi six-woman tag.
1) AEW All Out 2021
AEW All Out 2021 is the most recent pay-per-view, but might be the very best. The anticipation heading in was at an all-time high. Much of that was down to the moments that were created in the buildup, highlighted by the grandiose debut of CM Punk on The First Dance special of Rampage.
At the major show, CM Punk defeated Darby Allin in a great contest that told a simple story of Punk working off the ring rust against a rising star. The Chicago crowd rooted on the returning hero and wanted to see him get back to form.
That wasn't the match of the night, though. That honor must go to the stunning Steel Cage Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships between The Young Bucks and The Lucha Brothers. The teams put on an unbelievable war inside the cage that showcased remarkable tag team wrestling with Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo winning the titles.
The main event saw Kenny Omega defend the AEW World Championship against Christian Cage. The crowd started apprehensive about this encounter, but they soon came around and were invested in the near-falls. Eventually, Omega pulled out the win with an avalanche One-Winged Angel to retain the gold. However, the post-match proved to be the highlight of the night.
The Elite attacked Christian Cage, and Jurassic Express laid them out. Kenny Omega looked set to end the night, but the debuting Adam Cole interrupted. It looked like Cole wanted revenge for the past, but he instead joined his friends and super-kicked Jungle Boy. Omega once again looked to end the show, but one more interruption occurred.
Bryan Danielson debuted in AEW to an insane reaction. Two back-to-back game-changing debuts happened within five minutes of each other. This was a landscape-shifting moment that shocked the wrestling world and established AEW as the hottest commodity in the wrestling business today.
Other standout bouts saw Miro beat Eddie Kingston to retain the TNT Championship, Britt Baker overcome Kris Statlander to retain the AEW Women's World Championship, and Jon Moxley defeat Satoshi Kojima with Minoru Suzuki debuting to beat down Mox afterward. Ruby Soho debuted to win the Casino Battle Royale as well.
On this one night, there were so many memorable matches and moments that will be remembered for years to come. Fans may look back on this show as the single most important pay-per-view of the past decade. That's why All Out 2021 is the best AEW pay-per-view so far.
