Every AEW PPV Of 2023, Ranked Worst To Best
Say what you will about some of AEW’s weekly content throughout 2023, they have once again fired on all cylinders when it comes to PPVs. Aside from maybe one show (which was still decent), all of their events have been a home run filled with highly consistent cards, hot crowds, class matches, and memorable moments.
TheSportster's 10 Worst AEW Matches Of 2023, Ranked
AEW has featured some all-time classic matches over the last 12 months, but the promotion also put on some absolute stinkers in 2023.It can therefore be difficult to pick between some of their shows to determine which has been the best of the best, as the quality has been pretty high. Even amongst some poor booking decisions, questionable stories, and backstage controversy, AEW can always be counted upon to give fans their money’s worth when it comes to PPVs.
8 AEW Worlds End Was Their Worst Show Of The Year
The First Half Of The PPV Was A Slog
AEW Worlds End Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia & Mark Briscoe defeated RUSH, Jay White, Brody King & Jay Lethal | 17:50 | |
Miro defeated Andrade El Idolo | 14:45 | |
Toni Storm defeated Riho | 11:40 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Swerve Strickland defeated Dustin Rhodes | 9:30 | |
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting & Darby Allin defeated Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Powerhouse Hobbs & Konosuke Takeshita | 15:40 | |
Julia Hart defeated Abadon | 11:35 | TBS Championship |
Adam Copeland defeated Christian Cage | 25:00 | TNT Championship No DQ |
Christian Cage defeated Adam Copeland | 00:11 | TNT Championship |
Eddie Kingston defeated Jon Moxley | 17:20 | Triple Crown Championship |
Samoa Joe defeated MJF | 17:50 | AEW World Championship |
The atmosphere at Worlds End was an awkward one. Some negativity regarding booking and the allegations involving Chris Jericho led to an uncomfortable night, and it was poorly affected by Jericho’s match especially, which the crowd didn’t want to see. The two women’s matches and Swerve Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes also had an uninterested crowd - something that is not the norm for AEW PPVs.
The final three matches offered more quality, but it didn’t salvage what was AEW’s worst PPV of the whole year. Eddie Kingston against Jon Moxley was great, Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage featured good storytelling, and Samoa Joe’s AEW Title win was a welcome shock, but overall this had the worst balance of any AEW major show ever.
7 AEW Double Or Nothing 2023 Was A Night Of Ups And Downs
Some Poor Booking Decisions Affected The PPV
AEW Double Or Nothing 2023 Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Orange Cassidy wins Battle Royale | 22:29 | AEW International Championship |
Adam Cole defeated Chris Jericho | 19:00 | Unsanctioned |
FTR defeated Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett | 19:57 | AEW World Tag Team Championships |
Wardlow defeated Christian Cage | 17:11 | TNT Championship Ladder |
Toni Storm defeated Jamie Hayter | 3:03 | AEW Women's World Championship |
House Of Black defeated The Acclaimed | 15:21 | AEW World Trios Championships |
Jade Cargill defeated Taya Valkyrie | 8:47 | TBS Championship |
Kris Statlander defeated Jade Cargill | 00:50 | TBS Championship |
MJF defeated Darby Allin, Jack Perry and Sammy Guevara | 27:50 | AEW World Championship |
Blackpool Combat Club defeated The Elite | 26:58 | Anarchy In The Arena |
The most obvious issues of this show come with the terrible Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho match, the braindead decision for Jade Cargill to suffer a cheap defeat, and the manner of Jamie Hayter’s World Title loss, which came in a bad match due to her injury. This had more negatives than most of AEW’s shows, but there was a still a lot to shout about.
TheSportster's 10 Worst WWE Matches Of 2023, Ranked
While WWE enjoyed tremendous success in 2023 and featured some amazing matches, there were also quite a few bad encounters.Wardlow vs. Christian exceeded expectations despite Wardlow’s TNT Title reign going terribly, the Four Pillars World Title match was an electric match with non-stop action, and Anarchy in the Arena once more brought some hardcore chaos to close the show out on a high. Even amongst the good though, there was nothing which offered a match of the year candidate, and it won’t be a show fans remember too much.
6 AEW Full Gear 2023 Had One Show-Stealer Amidst A Decent Night
Full Gear Was Arguably Carried By A Classic
AEW Full Gear 2023 Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Adam Copeland, Darby Allin & Sting defeated The Patriarchy | 15:10 | |
Orange Cassidy defeated Jon Moxley | 12:04 | AEW International Championship |
Toni Storm defeated Hikaru Shida | 10:25 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Big Bill & Ricky Starks defeated FTR, House of Black, & LFI | 20:09 | AEW World Tag Team Championships Ladder |
Julia Hart defeated Kris Statlander and Skye Blue | 11:22 | TBS Championship |
Swerve Strickland defeated Adam Page | 29:46 | Texas Death |
Golden Jets defeated Young Bucks | 20:52 | AEW World Tag Title Shot |
MJF defeated Jay White | 29:44 | AEW World Championship |
The deathmatch between Swerve Strickland and Adam Page was a stunning piece of violence that tore the house down. It was one of AEW’s best matches ever and it certainly made this a night to remember. Even though MJF vs. Jay White was criticized, there was nothing inherently bad on this show, but it didn’t have some of the usual AEW spark.
The first three matches on the show were not anything special, the ladder match was a fun spot fest, Julia Hart’s TBS Title win salvaged an average match, and the AEW Women’s World Title match dragged on. Overall though, everything got the crowd engaged and that elevated the show alone.
5 AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door 2023 One Again Had A Great Card
The Stars Of AEW And NJPW Tore The House Down Again
AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
MJF defeatded Hiroshi Tanahashi | 15:46 | AEW World Championship |
CM Punk defeated Satoshi Kojima | 13:40 | Owen Hart Cup Quarter Final |
Orange Cassidy defeated Daniel Garcia, Katsuyori Shibata and Zack Sabre Jr | 11:15 | AEW International Championship |
SANADA defeated Jack Perry | 10:49 | IWGP World Heavyweight Championship |
The Elite, Eddie Kingston & Tomohiro Ishii defeated BCC, Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino | 21:29 | |
Toni Storm defeated Willow Nightingale | 10:27 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega | 39:50 | IWGP United States Championship |
Darby Allin, Sting & Tetsuya Naito defeated Minoru Suzuki, Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara | 15:09 | |
Bryan Danielson defeated Kazuchika Okada | 27:47 |
Forbidden Door 2023 saw a wonderful blend of styles throughout the night, bringing together some of the biggest stars from both promotions. The Elite vs. Blackpool Combat Club was an example of glorious chaos, Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada had a big match feel, the International Title four-way was a lot of fun, and Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega was a spectacle that carried the show by itself.
Jack Perry vs. SANADA wasn’t too impressive, and the six-man tag felt disorientated, but all in all Forbidden Door hit stride after stride.
4 AEW All Out 2023 Exceeded All Expectations
It Wasn’t Perfect, But All Out Was Better Than Fans Thought It Would be
AEW All Out 2023 Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Adam Cole & MJF defeated Dark Order | 14:08 | ROH World Tag Team Championships |
Samoa Joe defeated Shane Taylor | 6:23 | ROH World TV Championship |
Luchasaurus defeated Darby Allin | 12:14 | TNT Championship |
Miro defeated Powerhouse Hobbs | 15:34 | |
Kris Statlander defeated Ruby Soho | 12:20 | TBS Championship |
Bryan Danielson defeated Ricky Starks | 16:39 | Strap |
BCC defeated Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata | 15:50 | |
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kenny Omega | 22:21 | |
Bullet Club Gold defeated FTR & Young Bucks | 21:41 | |
Jon Moxley defeated Orange Cassidy | 19:43 | AEW International Championship |
Despite having one of the worst builds going into an AEW show all year, the competitors showed up and put on a thrilling night of action. Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks had a stunning strap match which was a match of the year candidate, Kenny Omega and Konosuke Takeshita showcased phenomenal, hard-hitting chemistry, and the main event between Jon Moxley and Orange Cassidy was simply perfect.
Even with the highest cagematch.net rating of the year for AEW shows, this PPV did have some down points such as a TV-quality opener, a heatless match between Samoa Joe & Shane Taylor, and an arguably underwhelming TBS Title match. Even with some down points, this show had fans mostly drawn in all throughout and it was a great night.
3 AEW WrestleDream Debuted With An Exciting Night Of Action
AEW’s First WrestleDream Was A Wondrous Event
AEW WrestleDream 2023 Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
MJF defeated The Righteous | 9:35 | ROH World Tag Team Championships |
Eddie Kingston defeated Katsuyori Shibata | 10:58 | ROH World & NJPW Strong Openweight Championships |
Kris Statlander defeated Julia Hart | 8:56 | TBS Championship |
Young Bucks win Fatal Four Way | 12:13 | Tag Team Title Number One Contenders |
Swerve Strickland defeated Adam Page | 20:12 | |
Ricky Starks defeated Wheeler Yuta | 9:53 | |
Bryan Danielson defeated Zack Sabre Jr | 23:12 | |
Don Callis Family defeated Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, & Kota Ibushi | 22:10 | |
FTR defeated Aussie Open | 20:26 | AEW World Tag Team Championships |
Christian Cage defeated Darby Allin 2-1 | 25:17 | TNT Championship 2-Out-Of-3 Falls |
Adam Copeland’s debut capped off a great AEW PPV, following up on a thrilling, brutal main event between Christian Cage and Darby Allin. Another show-stealer in Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr was a masterful match too. Other matches such as Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page, Katsuyori Shibata vs. Eddie Kingston, and Kris Statlander vs. Julia Hart all delivered.
Some matches were missing some spark such as the opener, the AEW World Tag Team Title match, and the pointless bout between Ricky Starks & Wheeler Yuta, but there was still a lot to love on the night for sure.
2 AEW All In London Had A Record-Breaking Crowd
The Spectacle Of Wembley Stadium Went A Long Way
AEW All In 2023 Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
CM Punk defeated Samoa Joe | 13:58 | Real Worlds Championship |
Jay White, Juice Robinson & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Golden Elite | 20:28 | |
FTR defeated Young Bucks | 21:46 | AEW World Tag Team Championships |
Best Friends, Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy & Penta defeated BCC, Santana & Ortiz | 21:22 | Stadium Stampede |
Saraya defeated Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker and Toni Storm | 8:43 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Darby Allin & Sting defeated Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland | 15:50 | Coffin |
Will Ospreay defeated Chris Jericho | 14:46 | |
The Acclaimed defeated House Of Black | 10:04 | AEW World Trios Championships |
MJF defeated Adam Cole | 27:30 | AEW World Championship |
AEW’s biggest ever show was certainly historic and it lived up to expectations. The spectacle of Wembley Stadium and over 70,000 fans carried it some of the way ahead of other shows this year, even if some of the match quality wasn’t at the same level.
TheSportster's 13 Best WWE Matches Of 2023, Ranked
2023 was a strong year for WWE, filled with epic moments and matchups. What was TheSportster's pick for the best match of the year?That being said, bouts like CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe, MJF vs. Adam Cole, Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho, Stadium Stampede, and FTR vs. Young Bucks all delivered to a very high level. Even with no match of the year contenders, this was arguably AEW’s most balanced and consistent card of the entire year, featuring great spots, moments, and more. It wasn’t quite number one though.
1 AEW Revolution 2023 Had Some All Time Classics
Revolution Was AEW’s Best Show Of The Whole Year
AEW Revolution 2023 Results | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Ricky Starks defeated Chris Jericho | 13:49 | |
Jack Perry defeated Christian Cage | 14:49 | Final Burial |
House of Black defeated The Elite | 17:58 | AEW World Trios Championships |
Jamie Hayter defeated Saraya and Ruby Soho | 10:04 | AEW Women's World Championship |
Adam Page defeated Jon Moxley | 26:04 | Texas Death |
Wardlow defeated Samoa Joe | 10:42 | TNT Championship |
The Gunns win Fatal Four Way | 13:22 | AEW World Tag Team Championships |
MJF defeated Bryan Danielson 4-3 | 65:15 | AEW World Championship Iron Man |
2023 kicked off with a bang for AEW, and Revolution proved to be their best PPV of the whole year. Three stunning matches propped up this event, as MJF vs. Bryan Danielson was one of the best AEW matches ever, Adam Page and Jon Moxley went to war in one of AEW’s best deathmatches, and The Elite vs. House Of Black was a stunning, fast-paced battle.
Matches such as Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho and Jack Perry vs. Christian Cage were great and had the right winners, and whilst like most shows in 2023 not all the matches necessarily delivered, there was still nothing bad on this show at all.
