*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.
There was a lot of anticipation for Dynamite this week but by the time the show rolled around, some of the top stars just happened to be burnt out. Chris Jericho and Cody were described as "not themselves" on Wednesday after having a rough week on social media.
AEW Power Rankings - Week 43
1. Orange Cassidy
"Good win," said Orange after the match.
2. Cody
The pain adds up for Cody, who survived another week, but now has faces arguably his toughest task in Brodie Lee next week. Cody remembers Brodie defeating Hangman and what he did against Moxley at Double or Nothing. Cody is banged up, that's not secret, Lee is well rested and very angry after Dark Order failed to defeat Young Bucks. Lee will be in peak condition for his TNT Title match, Cody will continue to train while also taking care of his executive responsibilities. As I've been reporting for weeks, those close to Cody believe he's running himself into the ground. They've been begging for him to take a week off and he won't do it. A member of the Nightmare Family who wished to remain anonymous told me, "I hope Brodie puts him out of his misery. It's been a nightmare recently, not a family."
3. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page
Omega & Page continue to roll through the division. Both men are actually growing increasingly frustrated with the division, wanting to finally mix it up with FTR and The Young Bucks, knowing those are the two teams who present the biggest challenge for them.
4. Young Bucks
The Young Bucks continue to prove why they are one of the best tag teams in the world. The goal for them remains the same. They want the AEW Tag Team Championships. FTR remain in their way, but they believe a match with FTR will take care of itself once they hold the gold.
5. Hikaru Shida
Still waiting for someone to step up.
6. Jon Moxley
"He's confident. He's also stupid," Moxley told me as he walked by in the backstage area.
7. FTR
They are tired of playing nice. The mutual respect is out the window and they want the AEW Tag Team Championships. Their attack on Ricky Morton was a message to the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Omega that they have no friends, only each other. "We weren't technically signed, so we played by the rules," said Cash. "We're signed now, what are they gonna do, fire us during a pandemic?"
8. MJF
No one in AEW has more confidence than MJF right now. Even though his recent record isn't as impressive as many would like it to be and some feel he hasn't had a signature victory since his win over Cody, MJF is riding high. He believes he is the best and that belief is why he believes he is better than everyone else. One source inside the locker room told me, "MJF isn't a top five wrestler in the company. He might not even be top 10. But the man truly believes he's the absolute best at everything he does. Plenty of people go on social media and say 'I'm better than everyone,' No one actually puts in the work and knocks it out of the park every single time like MJF does. This endorsement is paid for by the campaign to make MJF champion."
9. Scorpio Sky
Sky closed off the locker room after his loss, not allowing media access. He wouldn't even allow Christopher Daniels or Frankie Karazian to talk to me. Sky is usually in a playful mood, win or lose, but this one really got to him. He believed it was his time and thought he had Cody in a perfect position to beat him. He didn't underestimate Cody, he just felt supremely confident. Personally, I wonder if Sky wasn't as prepared as he could have been for this match. He had a cupcake schedule before this match and was not able to test himself against top competition. There's a difference between picking up wins against AEW Dark talent and facing the second best wrestler in the company.
10. Chris Jericho
The Sammy Guevara incident caused things to fall apart for The Inner Circle over the past week. As I reported last week, Jericho was confident heading into the Orange Cassidy match, but tensions have risen in the Inner Circle. After Guevara crossed the line with Hardy, things blew up over the weekend. Santana and Guevara actually came to blows at one point during a training session. Ortiz jumped in to help Santana, leading to Hager getting involved and catching a stray punch from Ortiz, which angered him. Jericho had to jump in to save things and managed to calm everyone down, but then departed for a Fozzy concert. The other four members of the Inner Circle then became angry at Jericho, feeling their issues needed to be resolved right then and there. Jericho was clearly not himself on Wednesday after dealing with a tough week and it showed in the Orange Cassidy match. Now, it's up to him to pick up the pieces.
11. Jurassic Express
Another loss for Jurassic Express, who probably should not have been in this position in the first place. Though they have victories on Dark and a recent win over MJF & Wardlow, they also have recent losses to Best Friends and The Inner Circle. Obviously, Jurassic Express was not going to turn down the opportunity to challenge for the Tag Team Championships, but they know they have a long way to go before they want to be at the level of the top teams. The question is, how do they get there?
12. Dark Order
Mr. Brodie Lee was impressed with initiative Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, and other members of the Dark Order took by attacking the Young Bucks before the match. However, he was less than impressed with the result of the match. Lee was hoping his top two lieutenants would use the momentum he created last week and pick up a victory this week, but it was not the case. Sources tell me that the Dark Order will be in for a long week of punishment. Lee will not only use the upcoming week to whip Dark Order into shape, he will use that time to prepare himself for his showdown with Cody.
13. Heather Monroe
Might get opportunities on Dark.