10 Best Rivalries In AEW History (So Far)

From a tweet by Dave Meltzer to a record-breaking indie show to the second-largest wrestling company in North America, the story of All Elite Wrestling is as intriguing and uplifting as it is complicated and frustrating.

The promotion was founded by Tony Khan, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Cody Rhodes back in January 2019 and AEW quickly established itself as AEW's biggest competition since the shuttering of WCW in 2001. All Elite Wrestling have put together a whole host of great storylines and feuds over the promotion's first five years.

These are the 10 best rivalries in AEW history (so far).

10. The Elite Vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Jon Moxley. Bryan Danielson. Kenny Omega. The Young Bucks. Hangman Adam Page. Claudio Castagnoli. These are just some of the all-star names involved in this rivalry between two of the biggest stables in AEW history. And also Wheeler Yuta, whose star power doesn’t quite match up, but he did add his fair share of quality to this rivalry.

What began as the Blackpool Combat Club picking on Page (following the excellent Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page feud) soon turned into a full-on skirmish between the BCC and Hangman’s “friends” in The Elite. “Friends” is in the biggest inverted commas of all time. In a storyline that also encompassed Omega’s feud with Don Callis - this is where Don turned on his charge by screwdrivering him in the head - the two units faced off in three major matches in quick succession.

The first was Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing, which the BCC won after Konosuke Takeshita turned on the Elite. Then came a tag match at Forbidden Door, where the good guys got their win back with the help of Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii. Finally came Blood and Guts, a near hour-long match which The Elite won by beating the toffee out of Wheeler Yuta until Jon Moxley quit to protect the youngest member of the BCC.

9. Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston

The first recorded singles match between Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston took place in front of about 250 people in 2011. The next time they went one-on-one, it was on Dynamite in 2020 for Moxley’s World Championship (although their first meeting did have more people in attendance due to the pandemic, but hey-ho).

Upon crossing paths in AEW, Mox and Kingston drew on their real-life friendship to deliver some of the most compelling and naturalistic promos the company had seen up to that point. When Mox beat Kingston on Dynamite, he did so by making him pass out, not tap out, setting the stage for a vicious I Quit rematch in the main event of Full Gear 2020.

The pair would rekindle their friendship after Eddie saved his buddy from being lightly sparkled to death at Revolution 2021, starting a tag team run. When Mox started to get friendly with Claudio Castagnoli, who Kingston was not the biggest fan of shall we say, they were at each other’s throats again, including during the Stadium Stampede match Wembley’s All In.

Despite their programme, the two remained friends while trying to batter each other which all led to Moxley giving Kingston a cheeky kiss on the head after the Mad King defeated him to become AEW Continental Champion at Worlds End 2023.

8. Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin

Fyter Fest 2019 was just the second pay-per-view under the All Elite Wrestling banner, in a time before Dynamite even existed. Cody Rhodes, fresh off an all-time great match with his brother Dustin, was competing against the relatively unknown Darby Allin. By the end of the night, everyone knew his name.

Darby Allin and Cody Rhodes fought to a time-limit draw, as the more experienced Rhodes just couldn’t put his younger, more tenacious opponent away. This would be the start of a unique relationship that would last for pretty much the rest of Rhodes time in the company. Rhodes defeated Allin in their next two encounters, once on the New Year’s Day 2020 edition of Dynamite and then once in the tournament to crown the first TNT Champion.

It was at Full Gear 2020 where this story reached its peak. In a sign of just how far the young daredevil had come, Allin rolled up his mentor to finally defeat The American Nightmare and claim the network-sponsored belt for his own. This was an example of simple storytelling done right.

7. CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston

A great example of quality not quantity in AEW is this rivalry between the volatile pairing of CM Punk and Eddie Kingston, which lasted just a handful of weeks and comprised just 11 minutes of in-ring action.

The build-up to the pair’s match at Full Gear 2021 was incredibly simple. Kingston interrupted a backstage interview with Punk, the two traded some suitably sharp barbs on an episode of Dynamite, then they had their match. As much as everyone loves a slow-cooked, carefully marinated leg of lamb, sometimes you’re just in the mood for a quick and dirty bacon sandwich. That’s exactly what this rivalry was; nothing fancy, but incredibly effective and potentially dangerous to your health.

The fact that this feud is still talked about in hushed tones to this day, despite its lifespan being that of your average housefly, is testament to how good it was. It made Eddie look like a total badass, brought a new dimension to Punk’s return, and, in many ways, set the stage for what was to come with the Chicago native.

6. Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa are still the gold standard when it comes to AEW’s all-female feuds. It was at Beach Break 2021 where these two first locked horns, all leading to their now-legendary Lights Out match in the main event of St. Patrick’s Day Slam.

This was the first time two women had closed out an episode of Dynamite. After one of the best and bloodiest women’s matches North America had seen for some time, it would be a full year before the pair met one-on-one again, this time at Revolution 2022 for Baker’s AEW Women’s World Championship.

Though the dentist successfully retained that night, she was unable to overcome Thunder Rosa in a steel cage rematch, as Rosa snapped her 290-day reign as champion.

Real-life heat between the pair means we might never see this classic rivalry reignited, but considering just how good everything these two did together was, it’s hard to complain.

5. Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega

Though one of them has certainly had a better AEW rivalry than this one, there was no way we could ignore one of the feuds that helped solidify the promotion during its infancy. The closing shot of the first official AEW broadcast, Double or Nothing 2019, was Jon Moxley standing over a fallen Kenny Omega, whom he’d just thrown off a giant stack of poker chips.

This was meant to lead to the pair having a match at All Out, but Mox went down with an injury, delaying their first meeting until Full Gear. Luckily, this resulted in an absolutely barbaric Lights Out match, so people didn’t mind waiting.

Omega and Moxley were then kept apart for over a year until Winter is Coming 2020, where The Cleaner became the first man to pin Mox in AEW when he ended his world title reign. This led to various tag matches, the Exploding Barbed Wire disaster, and much later down the line, the previously discussed BCC vs Elite business, which saw the pair do battle inside a steel cage. A rivalry that has lasted the entire course of AEW, you get the feeling that Moxley and Omega might be destined to do this forever.

4. The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros & The Young Bucks vs. FTR

Yes, we've cheated here.

Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that The Young Bucks have been at the heart of tag team wrestling in AEW. When it came to choosing their best dance partners, it came down to a pair of masked luchadors and two gruff Southerners, and we just couldn’t split them up.

The Lucha Brothers were The Bucks’ first AEW opponents, as they faced off at the original Double or Nothing. Over the next several years, they competed in ladder matches, trios matches, and a steel cage clash that some people would rank amongst the best matches in AEW history.

As for FTR, Dax and Cash were dream opponents for Matt and Nick long before AEW was even a thing. They’ve also put on some of the greatest tag bouts the promotion has ever seen, from their first meeting at Full Gear 2020 to their encounter in Wembley and in a ladder match at Dynasty 2024.

3. Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland

There are no two men in AEW history that perhaps have as much hatred for one another (on-screen at least, behind the scenes they likely don’t come close to scratching the list) as Swerve Strickland and Adam Page. What began as a feud for Swerve Strickland to prove himself and expose Adam Page became a heated feud full of blood-drinking, home invasions, and unhealthy obsessions.

This rivalry may have only begun in 2023, but it is already among AEW’s greatest ever feuds, with the hatred between these two individuals being felt pumping through the veins of any arena they face off in.

It even got to the point where Adam Page, the people’s hero of AEW, would rather not win the AEW World Championship himself if it meant also costing Strickland the title too. That is top tier hating, and even the most ardent of internet trolls should be proud of that.

2. CM Punk vs. MJF

For the many, many, many problems CM Punk caused backstage in AEW, his stuff on TV was always pretty good. His rekindled feud with Samoa Joe? Brilliant. His spat with Eddie Kingston? So good it’s already been on this list. However, when it comes to the very best, there’s only three letters we need to discuss.

The moment Punk first entered MJF’s orbit, fans knew they were going to witness greatness. Two outspoken egomaniacs who were lightning on the microphone and capable of doing hideous things to their enemies were now up against each other. Everything about this storyline ruled. The promos, the real-life history between the two, MJF’s apparent face turn and then further descent into darkness, Wardlow finally getting his chance to shine.

They accomplished so much whilst somehow only sharing the ring three times, only two of which were singles bouts. Cerebral, emotional, dramatic, and violent, CM Punk vs MJF is one of the great wrestling storylines of the 21st Century.

1. Hangman Adam Page vs. Kenny Omega

A storyline that had been bubbling away since the inaugural AEW show, a rivalry that created one of the most cherished babyfaces in modern wrestling history, the main event plot that made AEW the hottest wrestling brand in the world!

Adam Page and Kenny Omega used to be the best of friends, until Page’s distrust of The Young Bucks drove a wedge between them. Once they lost their tag team championships, Omega went evil, which culminated when he defeated his former partner to earn a shot at Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship.

Throughout Omega’s entire reign, the spectre of the Hangman hung over him. The Anxious Millennial Cowboy was slowly rebuilding his confidence thanks to the Dark Order, eventually leading to the biggest main event match in AEW to date - Page versus Omega for the world title at Full Gear 2021, where Page got his storybook ending.