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Hello friends and welcome to this weeks edition of the AEW Rankings. This week we look the men's division of AEW and after Full Gear, things have certainly changed.
These rankings are done in kayfabe taking into account each wrestlers role in the world of AEW, their recent records, rankings and strength of schedule.
#1- Hangman Page
HE DID IT!!!!
Hangman Page fulfilled his potential Saturday night and beat Kenny Omega to win the AEW World Championship, making good on his promise at the AEW launch press conference in January 2019. But after showing True Grit on his greatest night as a wrestler, the chaser is the now the guy who is being chased. His status as AEW Champion means he has a bullseye on his chest and all those from 2nd to 15th in our Power Rankings are looking to be the man who dethrones the Cowboy.
But this is not the Adam Page who was lacking in confidence the past couple of years. That was apparent when Page told Omega he had 10 days left with "Pretty Platinum" and with the title round his waist, the feeling is Page's reign could be a long one.
# Joint 2nd- Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson's win against Miro at Full Gear has earnt The American Dragon a World Title shot. The date for Danielson's first shot at AEW gold is yet to be known with TNT's first quarterly hour long special "Battle Of The Belts" and the first Dynamite to be shown on TBS the favourites to host the match.
Danielson's last month has seen him beat Miro, Rocky Romero, Minoru Suzuki and Bobby Fish on his way to an AEW record of 8 wins in a 30 day stretch. He is rolling right now and dare I say it, Danielson starts his first AEW World Title match the favourite and be the part of an elite list of people that have won a world title in the last three promotions they have been under contract for.
# Joint 2nd- Kenny Omega
So Kenny's reign as AEW World Champion came to an end at Full Gear. Was it one of the greatest reigns in pro wrestling history? That's a debate for another day (or maybe a Top Ten list on this website) but Kenny's 346 day reign will be talked about by wrestling historians in the years to come. But what next for the Hall of Famer?
Champions are not automatically granted rematches in AEW. Only two have had such granted matches to try and reclaim their belts in the two months after their loss, (Jon Moxley and Cody Rhodes) and the finality of Hangman Page's win makes such a granting of a rematch hard for Omega. Also, with reports of a shoulder injury in the hours after Full Gear and stories of Omega's nagging knocks in the last year and an half not exactly hidden from fans, it would not be a surprise if Kenny took a break to get back to something near 100% full fitness and when he does come back, who is going to rule Omega out?
#4- CM Punk
Punk's victory over Eddie Kingston at Full Gear is arguably his best win since his victory over Darby Allin at All Out. A lot of talk about Punk's happy demeanour since The Last Dance and how his feud with Eddie Kingston might have shown that the old Punk that dominated wrestling screens from 2001-2014 is still there hidden in the new CM Punk does make for fascinating viewing down the line.
Was the last two weeks just a aberration and that it was just a chaotic series of events that came about from Eddie Kingston being in the wrong place at the wrong time? It's pro wrestling, of course we're seeing the old CM Punk at some point in AEW.
But the short term question is, what next for Punk? A spot in the Top 5 of AEW Rankings is coming soon with zero losses on his AEW resume and with the ring rust now off surely, when it comes to Punk and AEW gold, could his time be now?
#5- Jon Moxley
What would have happened if Moxley had not left the AEW Eliminator Tournament to enter an inpatient alcohol treatment program? You know what, it doesn't matter. Mox made a decision that is not only brave and courageous but also a decision that shows that no matter how much we love this industry of professional wrestling, some things are way more important.
When will Jon be back? That's something no-one knows but that day will a beautiful day when the fans of AEW show and tell Mox how much they love him.
#6- PAC
PAC's last 30 days has seen The Bastard beat Andrade El Idolo making it 1-1 in their rivalry, Tiger Ruas who was seen as a future prospect in NXT and tag team specialist Dax Harwood in a exhilarating match. PAC's Full Gear saw him tag with everyone's favourite wrestler Cody Rhodes to beat Malakai Black and Andrade in a tag team match. A rubber match against Andrade could be down the line as well as a match against Malakai or maybe PAC can cement his popularity with the AEW faithful by attacking Cody sometime soon. A few wins from Newcastle's finest could see him in the hunt for a shot at the world title against Hangman, who he holds a 2-1 record over from the early days of AEW.
#7- Maxwell Jacob Friedman
I hate to say it but MJF is actually good at this wrestling malarkey. He has only two losses to his name in All Elite Wrestling with both losses coming with a huge degree of controversy and with his victory over fellow Pillar Darby Allin with a side headlock as promised, he deserves his spot on the Power Rankings. But when it comes to a future shot at the AEW World Title, MJF's inactivity in the singles ranks is a barrier with Maxwell only wrestling five one-on-one matches against AEW contracted wrestlers in 2021 so far. The more he wrestles, the chances of facing Page, who he has a victory over in 2019, increases.
#8- Jungle Boy
The boy became a man at Full Gear thanks to a con-chair-to to Matt Jackson. Jungle Boy's first pin against one of the big names of AEW might have come in a trios match but his singles record has been impressive in the last month with wins over Bobby Fish, Anthony Bowens and Brandon Cutler.
Now Jungle Boy has found that killer instinct, his AEW future could be very interesting with a score to settle with Adam Cole potentially coming. Also with it being professional wrestling, he might need eyes in the back of his head regarding his mentor Christian Cage and a betrayal which could come.
#9- Malakai Black
After his hot start to his AEW career, Malakai has somewhat had his momentum levelled off with his defeat against Cody Rhodes in Orlando. With a defeat to Cody and PAC when partnering Andrade El Idolo at Full Gear not helping his AEW career, Malakai is at a potential crossroads. With a stacked roster and just two titles in the singles ranks, Malakai needs to find wins to get an opportunity at either title. Is PAC the match to get the Dutchman back to title consideration? If it is, it will be a barn-burner but a match that is must-win for Malakai.
#10- Dante Martin
Whilst a tag team specialist, Dante has had a great 30 days in the singles ranks after his loss to Malakai Black in which he earned a nod of respect from Black. Dante, since joining forces with Lio Rush has beaten his former partner Matt Sydal, Frankie Kazarian and Ariya Daivari. His momentum has been noticed by other groups in AEW with Team Taz offering Dante a contract in the biggest case of contract tampering since the Gareth Bale/Tottenham Hotspur transfer in 2013.
What decision Dante decides to make will shape the rest of his 2021. Someone is going to be upset with Dante and the expectation is that Dante will wrestle the upset party at some point and should Dante get W's on the way, he will rise up the rankings.
Usually these rankings are a Top 10 but with the stacked roster in AEW and how closely matched everyone is right now I've decided to do a next 5 in my Men's rankings
#11-Miro
Entered into the Eliminator Tournament to replace Jon Moxley, Miro took advantage to beat Orange Cassidy in the final four but would go on to lose to Bryan Danielson in the final. How that plays into the dynamic between Miro and the God he aims to please is something that will be seen in future Dynamites. Maybe more importantly, will Miro ever see his wife again?
#12- Andrade El Idolo
Despite a loss to Pac on Rampage, Andrade bounced back with a win against Cody Rhodes. After a slow start to his AEW career, the Idol has shown the talent that made him such a hot property pre-WWE main roster and with just the one-loss so far in AEW, Andrade is someone that needs to be watched when it comes to the title hunt.
#13-Cody Rhodes
I'm going to presume that you're going to be booing when reading this entry but has been Cody been that bad in the past few months? Yes and no. Getting the hairdryer treatment from Arn Anderson's seemed like the kick up the backside that Cody needed when he finally beat Malakai Black but then The American Nightmare lost to Andrade 11 days later. Where does Cody go from here and what about the relationship between Cody and the fans? These questions need to be answered by Cody himself in his AEW journey.
#14- Eddie Kingston
A win over Lance Archer in the 1st round of the Eliminator tournament might have been thanks to a high-risk move gone wrong from the Murderhawk but it was a much-needed win for one of AEW's nearly men. Heart-breaking losses to Bryan Danielson and CM Punk ask the question of what now for the Mad King. How Kingston, who has often been accused of being his own worst enemy, reacts to his loss to Punk is something to watch over the next few weeks.
#15- Adam Cole
With Cole's focus centred on helping his Superkliq buddies, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in their rivalries with The Dark Order and Christian/Jurassic Express, Cole has only had one singles match since our last Men's singles rankings were released. That win against John Silver was impressive but Cole needs to be more active to get to the top of the rankings, a chance he might get if Omega needs to take time away to heal injuries up and Cole then becomes The Elite's top singles star.
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