AEW Power Rankings: Week of October 17th
AEW has been on a roll as of late. They have won the ratings battle 3 weeks in a row and it looks like they will keep it up for a little while. There was a lot of tag team action in this episode of Dynamite this week and it was phenomenal. It is clear that they want to establish a strong tag team division and they have a lot of talent at their disposal. The next round of the Tag Team Championship tournament starts in Pittsburgh next week and it is starting to really heat up. Here are my Rankings for this week and I wanted to say again that these rankings are more on a week-to-week basis rather than a continuous ranking. I felt like I could’ve easily made a Top 10 this week, but here are my 5 top performers of the week.
- 5: Adam Page and Kenny Omega
TNT
I feel like I could’ve left these two out this week, but it was probably the best match of the night, so it would’ve been weird to leave it out. These two teamed up this week to face Jon Moxley and PAC and I feel like they have those to two to thank for their ranking this week. There was a lot of turmoil between Moxley and PAC and they came to blows during the match. While the match was still going on, Moxley gave, in the words of JR, a two-finger salute and double underhook DDT. The win is big for both Omega and Page moving forward.
- 4: Ortiz and Santana
TNT
Their match was a squash, but it was necessary in this situation. We haven’t really been introduced properly to Ortiz and Santana and this did just that. They faced Alex Reynolds and Johnny Silver, which is a team that was destined to lose. They proved that they belong and The Inner Circle looks to be strong again this week.
- 3: Chris Jericho
TNT
Le Champion is proving himself as a strong champion every week and I’m glad we are seeing him on a weekly basis again. The wrestling world is simply in a better place with Jericho leading the pack. There aren’t many better talkers, if any, in the wrestling business at the moment and he can still bring it in the ring. He debuted The Painmaker gimmick this week and it is the first time he has revealed this in AEW. He had a successful title defense against Darby Allin and had some help from Jake Hager, but still, a strong week for Jericho.
- 2: Lucha Brothers
TNT
I probably over rated these guys, but I have a reason behind them being number two this week and it is simple. They looked like the favorites to become the new tag champs. They faced Jurassic Express minus Luchasaurus and I feel like it was nearly a squash. As much as they built Jungle Boy up in the PPVs, I was kind of surprised it was so one-sided. There are a lot of talented teams, but my personal opinion is that the Lucha Brothers have the edge to become the new, inaugural AEW Tag Team Champions.
- 1: Riho
I thought Riho and Britt Baker’s match was great. It had a lot of back and forth and they showed what they could bring to the table in this one. Most of these TV matches still feel like PPV quality and that is fantastic to see. With this win, it is pretty evident that Riho is a big player for the AEW Women’s division and it will be interesting to see storylines develop moving forward. Britt Baker has a ton of potential as well and I can’t see her staying out of the title picture for very long. Baker is also performing in front of her home crowd next week, so it will be interesting to see what happens next week. The champ takes the top spot this week and I expect to see her in the Top 5 almost every week while she is the champ.
Yacs.