The 5 best trilogies in AEW history

AEW is a company that has been built on in-ring excellence and stories being told by their exceptional roster of talent. In just short of three years, All Elite Wrestling has delivered awesome feuds and matches on pay-per-view as well as television. With these stars, they have developed a series of bouts to deliver a winner and loser of these rivalries by way of trilogies.

This three-match series format has shown that AEW wants to give the fans satisfying conclusions to their feuds. Whether it be over championship gold or a personal issue, the men and women of All Elite Wrestling have left lasting memories through these trilogies.

With the second full year for the company coming to an end, it seems right to look back on these memorable encounters that have happened in the history of this promotion. It is quite remarkable what these performers have accomplished in the short existence of this promotion. In this article, let's take a look at the five best trilogies in AEW history.

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#5. Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb (AEW 2021)

Hikaru Shida still holds the honor of being the longest-reigning champion in AEW history. Her one-year run as the women's champion firmly solidified her as one of the anchors of a division that has seen a lot of progression in 2021. In 2020, All Elite Wrestling added an essential figure to their fledgling women's division in Serena Deeb.

Deeb quickly made an impact, capturing the NWA Women's World Championship from Thunder Rosa last year. However, her run in AEW really jumpstarted this year with her trilogy of contests against Shida. The two women first met on the AEW Dynamite: Second Anniversary Show in a highly anticipated bout. The Philadelphia crowd were heavily invested in this clash.

Shida and Deeb put on a splendid affair that set up their rivalry. Despite teasing that the former AEW Women's World Champion would claim her 50th win in the company, Serena Deeb defeated Hikaru Shida to deny her that honor. Their issues would increase over the next few weeks before meeting in the TBS Women's Championship Tournament.

This second bout proved to be even better than the first with a showstealing matchup that showed why the two ladies are considered two of the best workers in the world. Shida beat Deeb, but the latter attacked her opponent's leg after the match. This, along with interference from Serena Deeb, led to Hikaru Shida losing to Nyla Rose in the tournament.

Their final showdown occurred this past week on Dynamite: Winter Is Coming 2021. The Dallas crowd took some time to get into this one due to witnessing a 60-minute classic earlier in the night, but these two women delivered another quality contest that the fans were invested in towards the finish. Shida beat Deeb again, this time with the assistance of an exposed turnbuckle.

#4. Kenny Omega vs. PAC (AEW 2019-2020)

Kenny Omega signed with AEW in February 2019 with major hype behind him. After suffering a loss to Chris Jericho in the Double Or Nothing 2019 main event, he kickstarted a feud with Jon Moxley after The Purveyor of Violence laid him out, but their first match at All Out 2019 was postponed following a Moxley injury. His replacement was PAC.

The Bastard defeated The Cleaner in a tremendous, back and forth clash. Both men wanted to prove themselves as the better wrestler, so this set the stage for a rematch. On Thanksgiving Eve's 2019 episode of Dynamite, Omega gained a measure of revenge with a win in a fantastic bout.

To finally settle their differences, All Elite Wrestling announced a 30-minute Iron Man Match between the rivals on the February 26th, 2020 episode of Dynamite. Fans witnessed an absolute classic with the two performers putting on a clinic that saw Omega beat PAC in overtime to win.

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#3. Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin (AEW 2020)

Darby Allin debuted for AEW at Fyter Fest 2019 in a 20-minute time limit draw against Cody Rhodes. This one night showed that Allin would become a star for All Elite Wrestling. As the calendar turned to 2020, he wanted to finally get a victory over Rhodes.

The American Nightmare defeated him thanks to help from his new coach Arn Anderson. They would have a rematch a few months later in the TNT Championship Tournament. This time, Cody Rhodes reversed the Coffin Drop into a pinning combination to move on to the finals of the tournament.

The final match of their 2020 trilogy came at Full Gear 2020 where Allin finally defeated Rhodes to win the TNT Championship.

#2. Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley (AEW 2019-2021)

The AEW World Championship has become one of the most prestigious titles in all of professional wrestling. The building blocks for the gold were set up on the company's first pay-per-view, Double Or Nothing 2019. Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega to move on to the first AEW World Title Match, and then Jon Moxley debuted to lay out both men.

Moxley kickstarted a personal rivalry with Omega. Their first clash came at Full Gear 2019 in a Lights Out Match. The two men put on a bloody, brutal spectacle of violence that saw forks, thumbtacks, and barbed wire being used. Jon Moxley defeated The Cleaner and turned his sights to the top prize. At Revolution 2020, he beat Chris Jericho to win the AEW World Championship.

This loss caused Kenny Omega to lose his confidence and head to the tag team division with Hangman Page. After losing the AEW World Tag Team Titles, he wanted to vie for the richest prize in the promotion. The Best Bout Machine defeated Page to win the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament and faced Jon Moxley at Dynamite: Winter Is Coming 2020.

This second meeting was suspenseful with the fans not knowing who would walk out with the gold. Thanks to help from Don Callis, Omega defeated Moxley to win the AEW World Championship. The Purveyor of Violence was none too happy about being screwed, which led to the final showdown of their trilogy.

Kenny Omega finally wanted to beat Jon Moxley in his game after failing in the Lights Out Match. He challenged the former champion to an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match. This was an insane and unique experience with the two competitors putting their bodies on the line.

Omega beat Moxley once again thanks to help from The Good Brothers. Despite the dud explosion, this was great.

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#1. The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers (AEW 2019-2021)

The tag team division was always going to be considered important in AEW with The Young Bucks as two of the EVPs. However, the company wasted no time in establishing one of their greatest feuds and trilogies for the promotion. In their first pay-per-view, Double Or Nothing 2019, The Young Bucks defeated The Lucha Brothers to retain the AAA World Tag Team Titles.

The initial contest was exhilarating, breathtaking and showcased the style of the brand new company's doubles division. Despite matches outside of the promotion, the two tag teams met again at All Out 2019 with even bigger stakes. The four men faced in an Escalera De La Muerte Ladder Match. The expectations were extremely high and somehow exceeded them.

The Chicago crowd at All Out 2019 witnessed a high octane war that featured some of the most spectacular spots ever in a ladder match, including Penta hitting a super Canadian Destroyer off a ladder through a table. The Lucha Brothers defeated the Young Bucks to regain their AAA World Tag Team Titles. These two classics transpired before the company even introduced its own belts.

Matt and Nick Jackson defeated FTR to win the AEW World Tag Team Titles at Full Gear 2020 in a phenomenal encounter, but their reign went to new heights after their heel turn the following April. They would use the help of The Elite and Brandon Cutler to cheat their way to wins. With this in mind, Tony Khan made their defense at All Out 2021 a Steel Cage Match.

The Lucha Bros defeated Jurassic Express in the AEW World Tag Team Titles Eliminator Tournament to face The Bucks at All Out 2021. This set up the third showdown in this trilogy where the four men somehow elevated their work again. The Steel Cage was physically intense, had marvelous high spots, incredible pace and an insane finish.

The Lucha Brothers defeated The Young Bucks to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships to an awesome pop from the Chicago crowd. This trilogy helped build what is the best tag team division in the business today. The two teams have outstanding chemistry and have delivered one of the greatest ladder and steel cage matches in wrestling history.