It’s that time of year for our annual midseason breakdown. This will be the first AEW Midseason Breakdown because this is obviously their first full year on TV. I did write a 2019 Breakdown article last year for AEW and it is interesting to see how things change over the course of a few months. My WWE article hasn’t been released yet, but unlike the WWE, AEW was a difficult guess as to who the MVP of the first half of 2020 was. There were a lot of possibilities. Obviously, this is a breakdown of how I see things during the course of the year on a week-to-week basis, but I think for the most part, it is on par with what they’re cooking up. Just like a normal AEW Power Rankings article, this will be the Top 5 for 2020 thus far. I have compiled each performer’s total appearances in the last 6 months and number one appearances serve as a tiebreaker. Also, some number one appearances are shared and will be reflected in the total amount of number one appearances. Without further ado, here is the AEW Midseason Breakdown for 2020 and I hope all of you enjoy Fyter Fest tonight.

Here are some performers that just missed the Top 5 cutline.

9 Appearances: Orange Cassidy

8 Appearances: MJF

7: Appearances: Hikaru Shida

6: Appearances: Britt Baker, Matt Hardy, Sammy Guevara, Brodie Lee

5: Appearances: The Young Bucks, Nyla Rose, Best Friends, Jake Hager, Lance Archer

2020 AEW Midseason Breakdown

- 5: Chris Jericho (10 Appearances; 4 Number Ones (2 with The Inner Circle))

Seeing Chris Jericho in the Top 5 is a surprise to nobody. Jericho has been one of the driving forces behind the AEW movement. Jericho carried the AEW World Championship until Revolution, but lost it to Jon Moxley. Since dropping the title, he has been involved in feuds with Matt Hardy and The Elite, Mike Tyson for a moment in time, and currently with Orange Cassidy. He is the guy that will help some of the younger or lesser-known talent get over and that is a perfect role for him. After his feud with Orange Cassidy, it will be interesting to see who is next in Jericho’s path.

- 4: Hangman Adam Page (12 Appearances; 4 Number Ones (2 with The Elite, 2 with Omega))

This one may be a little bit surprising based on the fact that he is in ½ of the tag team champions. Page has not made a single appearance in the Top 5 alone. He has shared his appearances either with Kenny Omega or The Elite and he had one appearance with Dustin Rhodes, when they teamed together for one week in March. Despite not being put at the forefront as a singles competitor yet, it is clear that he is a big piece for them moving forward and I think he has AEW World Championship potential within another year or so.

- 3: Jon Moxley (13 Appearances; 4 Number Ones)

I know what you’re thinking. Moxley has been the champ for over 4 months and he is 3rd? Yes, that is correct. In my defense, Moxley hasn’t been featured in a lot of in-ring action since the pandemic. He missed roughly 2 months of action between March and May and on top of that, he hasn’t wrestled in over a month. This would’ve been a completely different story if there weren’t a pandemic going on at the moment, but here we are. If things start returning to a somewhat normal pace, I think Moxley will be number one at the end of the year, but for now he holds the number 3 spot.

- 2: Cody (15 Appearances; 2 Number Ones)

Before tallying up the totals of the last 6 months, my guess was that Cody was the 2020 AEW Midseason MVP, but to my surprise, he wasn’t. Technically he tied, but using the number one tiebreaker he did not. I could make the argument that Cody had all of his appearances and number ones alone and deserves number one, but it didn’t turn out that way. Regardless of how this turned out, Cody has been one of the workhorses of AEW making sure the fans get the best product imaginable and that means more than a number 2 ranking in the first 6 months of 2020. Cody’s feuds in 2020 have been against MJF and Lance Archer and has taken on a new challenge as the TNT Champion defending the title against a new opponent nearly every week. It would shock me to see Cody out of the Top 5 when December rolls around.

- 1: Kenny Omega (15 Appearances; 5 Number Ones (2 with The Elite, 2 with Page))

My first instinct when I noticed this was, is this right? Then after digging deeper and actually reflect on the last 6 months, it seems about right. Omega has consistently been on TV in the last 6 months and not only that. He has been winning a lot on TV in the last 6 months. He has a 15-3 record in 2020, which is one win more than Cody. Omega brings the international star power to the forefront and he is arguably the most talented wrestler in the world. I’ve been expecting a Hangman Page heel turn for the last few months, but it remains to be seen when that will happen. He and Hangman have held the tag titles for basically the entirety of 2020 and I think their days are numbered as champs. If Omega comes out of it on top, which I am expecting, I think he is next in line for the AEW World Championship. I don’t think it is out of the question that he could be champion going into 2021. Congrats to Omega for winning The Sports Chief’s AEW Power Rankings Midseason MVP.

Yacs

2020 AEW Power Rankings Midseason Breakdown