AEW officials were very pleased with how things went down this past week and believe next week will be a home run. After a couple of weeks of "filler shows" or misses, the swagger is back in the step of AEW and they are looking to ride that momentum into Double or Nothing.
AEW Power Rankings - Week 29
1.Cody
Cody once again got the better of Darby Allin, though not without some controversy. Cody felt that was the best version of Darby he has ever faced and was fortunate to get through it with the victory. He was not happy with Britt Baker getting involved and was disappointed in himself that his wife took the brunt of a blow on the outside. Cody won't make excuses for his performance, but I can tell you that he's had a lot going on in recent weeks and maybe wasn't mentally all there for this match. He was very much worried about Dustin's match against Archer. It's a little scary to think that a partially distracted Cody still defeated a fully prepared Allin. Now the question for Cody is, can he get over the title hump?
2. Lance Archer
Archer showed no mercy on Dustin Rhodes. He made his intentions clear weeks ago when he called out Rhodes. He warned Rhodes all week and told him to just take the fall to Kip Sabian so he didn't have to suffer. Rhodes didn't listen and he suffered. Archer felt no sympathy after the match and is actually putting the blame on Dustin's family for not stopping the match sooner.
3. The Best Friends
The Best Friends have really put themselves in line for a title shot during the quarantine episodes. Don't forget, they hold a victory over Kenny Omega (and Michael Nakazawa) and believe that a lone is a strong enough case to warrant a title shot. They are very interested in next week's bout where Omega will team with Matt Hardy against Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara and are actively rooting for Omega & Hardy, feeling a Jericho & Guevara victory would push them behind the Inner Circle members for a title shot. "All Matt & Kenny have to do is win next week. And Sammy Guevara is in the match. He loses all the time," said Chuckie T.
4. Brodie Lee
There is growing frustration in the Dark Order with Brodie. I’ve been mentioning for weeks that Dark Order members haven’t been pleased with the treatment given to them by Lee as it was not what they expected when they signed up. However, they’ve accepted it because Lee continues to win. But now they are frustrated with his level of competition. They feel Lee is picking on the weak to make himself feel more powerful and that’s not true leadership. “One day, someone just as powerful will step to him. And it won’t be pretty,” an anonymous Dark Order member told me.
5. MJF
There are now concerns that MJF is too injury prone. A severe hangnail and nicked neck are serious injuries and MJF would work through both injuries under normal circumstances, but it's now one right after the other. He needs to prove he can stay healthy in the coming months if he wants to live up to his potential.
6. Wardlow
As mentioned last week, Wardlow is staying sharp for MJF's return. As we've seen in the last two weeks, MJF is very delicate right now and he wants to make sure Wardlow is ready should things go array when he returns next week.
7. Jon Moxley
Moxley feels like a caged animal and wants to redeem himself after the Jake Hager match. He knows it wasn't his best effort. He was sluggish from all the love-making he's been doing while quarantined in recent weeks and it showed in his performance. He's cut sex out in preparation for the match next week against Frankie Kazarian and that's made him very antsy.
8. Shawn Spears
Another win for Spears over weak competition. Spears is padding his record and trying to regain his confidence, but his past failures continue to haunt him. He's still searching for a tag team partner, feels lost with the guidance of Tully Blanchard, and has an offer to form a trio with Sabian & Havoc. There's a lot on the mind of Spears and something has to give at some point.
9. Darby Allin
Everyone saw the controversy with Allin against Cody. His shoulders didn't appear to be down on the pinfall, but the referee counted three anyway. I'm told Allin won't file a complaint to the league as that's not his style. He told me, "If the referee said I lost, then I lost.' The last two-minute report might tell a different story on whether he actually lost, but as we know, those things don't matter.
10. Dustin Rhodes
Those close to him were worried about what Archer would do to him. Their concerns were valid. Dustin entered the match very confident. He felt like the win against Sabian proved that he still had something left in the tank. But Lance Archer is a different animal. Dustin was told by friends and family all week that he didn't have to go through with this match and that no one would look at him any different. But he wanted to prove them wrong. Well, we saw what happened. It could be a very long time before we see Dustin Rhodes in a wrestling ring again.
11. Marko Stunt
He tried, but we all knew it wasn’t going to end well. The Jurassic Express is growing restless during the pandemic as they want to be there to wrestle and support each other but they aren’t able to make it happen. Luchasaurus is concerned that Jungle Boy and Marko aren’t getting the proper training and teachings from him right now and it has stunted their development.
12. Kip Sabian & Jimmy Havoc
Both guys are trying to find their role in AEW but nothing has really clicked. They're winning more than their losing and while the potential remains, something has got to give. I can confirm that there have been heavy talks involving a trio with Sabian, Havoc, and Spears coming together to form a Big 3. All three have been loosely associated in recent weeks and months but talks are serious about making it official.
13. Musa
Expect him to be on AEW Dark in the future.
14. Baron Black
Another two-way candidate who should be featured on AEW Dark.
*These rankings are a satirical take on pro sports power rankings and treat AEW as such. Any reference to sources or reports should not be taken seriously. Quotes are not real.
