AEW: 20 Best Matches of 2023 (Part 1)
Before 2024 gets going too much, it’s time to take a trip through the wild and chaotic world that was AEW in 2023. The company managed to have one of its most successful and one of its most turbulent at the same time.
Tony Khan was forced to fire CM Punk the week after they put over 80,000 people in Wembley Stadium. Collision became All Elite Wrestling’s third weekly show, but due to it airing on Saturday’s, it clashes with major WWE and UFC events, and even though the honeymoon period for AEW is officially over, they can still produce some absolutely outrageous in-ring contests.
In a continuation of our look back on the year that was 2023, I have comprised a list of AEW’s 20 best matches from the past 12 months. These matches showcased technical wrestling at its finest, in-ring storytelling at its most dramatic, and levels of violence that were so high, social media lost their minds.
My name is Sam Palmer from Vendetta Sports Media, and here is part one of the 20 best matches All Elite Wrestling produced in 2023!
20. Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley [Continental Classic Final for the AEW Continental Crown Championship] – Worlds End:
The AEW Continental Classic was something that fans all over the world had been asking for and it did not disappoint. For context, 90 percent of the matches from the C2 could have ended up on this list, especially the run that Bryan Danielson went on. However, the match that had me jumping out of my seat in glee was the final at Worlds End, a show that wasn’t the strongest All Elite Wrestling has ever produced, but it did produce this cathartic moment.
Jon Moxley has always been seen as a “final boss” like figure in AEW, especially to Eddie Kingston. The Mad King has never been able to beat his real-life friend one-on-one at any point in his career, but the wave of momentum he was on going into Worlds End had people thinking that maybe Kingston had found that secret formula to string some wins together. A physical bout that pitted two of All Elite Wrestling’s toughest performers against each other in a fight to see who would break first. A truly fitting end to one of the best things AEW has produced since the company started.
19. The Elite, Eddie Kingston & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Blackpool Combat Club, Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino – Forbidden Door:
The blood feud between The Elite and the Blackpool Combat Club that unfolded over the summer was one of the most action-packed rivalries of the entire year. Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley’s cage match, Anarchy in the Arena II and the third-ever Blood and Guts were all in contention to get on this list. However, the match that resonated with me the most was this 10-man brawl at the second-ever Forbidden Door event in Toronto.
The BCC was able to call on the services of Konosuke Takeshita and Shota Umino, while The Elite managed to convince Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii to put their differences aside with each other and The Elite to take down their opponents. All 10 participants had moments to shine in this hybrid of a classic NJPW multi-man bout and a PWG spotfest, which will go down as one of the best 10-man tag team matches you will ever see. Also, can someone check on Ishii, I think Takeshita knocked some of his teeth into another dimension and he hasn’t got them back.
18. MJF vs. Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Jack Perry [Four Way Match for the AEW World Championship] – Double or Nothing:
Ever since these four men were dubbed “The Four Pillars of AEW,” fans around the world wondered when they were going to collide in this sort of a match. MJF tried to get out of it by befriending Sammy Guevara in the hope that the Spanish God would drop the title to him without a fight, but that was never going to work. Jack Perry had full shaken the “Jungle Boy” gimmick and was deadset on winning gold in 2023, and Darby Allin vowed to beat the champion with a headlock takeover, the same way he was beaten by Max the last time they crossed paths.
Double or Nothing wasn’t a show that will be remembered for much, but these four men put on a match that will forever be remembered as the moment AEW proved that backing them years ago was the right thing to do. Unlike a lot of multi-man matches, all four of the wrestlers were in the ring at the same time on multiple occasions, rather than two waiting on the outside for the next spot. There was a tribute to their individual mentors, tonnes of jaw-dropping spots, and a finish that left people satisfied and eager to see the next meeting between any combination of these four future superstars.
17. Darby Allin vs. Samoa Joe [No Holds Barred Match for the AEW TNT Championship] – Dynamite (February 1st):
There is a sub-genre of wrestling in AEW that can only be executed correctly by one man. The sight of Darby Allin being thrown from pillar to post by an unstoppable beast much larger than him, combined with Allin having a complete lack of respect for his own well-being and safety is simply known as “Darby Death.” While Darby has pulled this sort of a match off with people like Brody King, Brian Cage and Luchasaurus, his trilogy of bouts with Samoa Joe is the best example of it.
Samoa Joe finally got going in 2023 when it came to his AEW career, and it was his feud with Darby that played a major part in him getting off the ground in All Elite Wrestling. This No Holds Barred match from the Feb. 1 edition of Dynamite saw Joe roll back the years, proving that he is still every bit the killer he was in ROH and TNA in the 2000s.
The fact that both of these men put each other through hell gave importance to a TNT Championship that had suffered from bad booking in 2022. Check out all three of the matches between Darby and Joe as they are all fantastic, but it’s safe to say they left the best (and most brutal) until last.
16. CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe [Real World Championship] – All In:
This match will always hold historical significance in the hearts and minds of wrestling fans due to the events surrounding it. The backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry that almost saw the match get cancelled, Samoa Joe calming everyone down, and the fact that you can see Perry’s blood on Joe as he stares down his opponent before the bell rings, all of it makes the bout seem even more special. Not to mention that Punk was gone from the company less than a week later, meaning that this was his final match with AEW.
However, when watching the match itself with the riff-raff surrounding it being a non-factor, this is still the best match from AEW’s biggest event of the year. The event was filled with great matches, but this one seems to have aged the best and only gets better the more you watch it. It’s two pros going out to do what they do best and having a boatload of fun in the process.
I was there for this one, and even though I was booing Punk until I was blue in the face (that was the alcohol’s fault), I had more fun during this match than any other on the show. CM Punk might be in WWE today, but at least he did the “Pepsi Plunge” at Wembley, and I’ll keep that with me for as long as I live.
That’s the end of part 1! Stay tuned to see what the best AEW match of 2023 will be! Don’t forget to follow myself and Vendetta Sports Media on all of your favorite social media platforms!
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