The real ‘pillars of AEW’ - 2019-2025

[RedTwoster]

A simple question - using the idea of the ‘pillars of AEW’, who do you think the four MVPs were for the company in each year of its existence? Full-time tag teams count as one pick (how could only one of the Jacksons be selected as a pillar?) and non-wrestlers also count. So you could include the actual MVP if you really wanted to…

Here are my picks (in order of importance for each year):

2019:

Chris Jericho - the first ever AEW champion, and leader of arguably its best ever stable in The Inner Circle. His value has plummeted, but during the early years, he was very important.

Cody Rhodes - In the beginning, fans had the kind of connection with him that they do now with Hangman Page. He was the heart and soul of the company at the beginning.

Jon Moxley - I don’t think the importance of signing a member of The Shield can be understated for AEW. He was a statement of intent, and continues to be important to this day.

Kenny Omega - In 2019, I don’t think AEW made the most of either The Bucks or Omega, and I suspect both were keen to prove they were team players. Omega, at least, was able to show why he was considered one of the best wrestlers on the planet, even if it did take him time to become what he would go on to be for AEW.

2020:

Jon Moxley - 2020 becomes a challenging year to pick MVPs as a number of people stepped up their games. But Moxley was champ for most of the year, having great matches with a range of people and some cracking feuds, including the one with Eddie Kingston.

Chris Jericho - he was no longer ‘Le Champion’, but he was still enormously important at this stage.

MJF - MJF was tremendous in 2020, and became one of the main reasons to watch AEW. His feud with Jon Moxley was weak, but outside of that, he was brilliant. And I still love La Dinner Debonair.

Hangman Page - I considered listing ‘The Elite’ as a stable but that felt like cheating. Ultimately, without Hangman, their story wouldn’t have worked as well as it did. In 2020, he began to form a level of emotional depth that we’d not seen in a wrestling character maybe ever. 

2021:

Kenny Omega - his title run was really important to the company. Without that, you would not have had the fantastic culmination of the Hangman Page storyline.

Hangman Page - I don’t think you can understate the importance of Hangman/Omega to the company - without it, Hangman wouldn’t be what he is for the company today.

MJF - pretty much everything he touched turned to gold at this point. 

Dr Britt Baker - I seriously considered including CM Punk, but in 2021, on the whole, Baker was far more important to the company. It’s a shame she regressed, but she laid the foundations for the women’s division in AEW to become what it is now.

2022:

Jon Moxley - during a challenging year for the company, he held things together.

CM Punk - for a portion of the year he was great, then he got injured, and then shit hit the fan. I’m conflicted about including him given that he was so destructive in the end, but for better or worse he had an impact.

FTR - They were fantastic in 2022, and were a reason to watch the company even during the darker days.

Sting - Sting wrote a compelling final chapter during his time in AEW. When things went to shit, he was another reason to tune in, and a guarantee of interesting storytelling.

2023: 

MJF - main events day Wembley and justifiably so given the early strength of his storyline with Adam Cole. He also had some banging matches.

Orange Cassidy - his International title run really established that belt. Arguably one of the greatest AEW title runs ever.

Christian Cage - he became one of AEW’s greatest ever heel characters in 2023 to the point he feels like an AEW Original more than he does ex-WWE or TNA.

Adam Cole - I had Danielson in this spot at one point, but I think Cole’s story with MJF was the highlight of AEW for 2023, and it was so important when it came to building interest in that record-breaking Wembley show.

2024:

Swerve Strickland - what a year he had. Banger match after banger match, superb character work and a face turn that positioned him as one of the biggest stars in the company. Then there was the Hangman Page story…

Hangman Page - the cowboy is back in my pillar list! Or rather, a version of him is. Turns out he’s not only capable of playing the best babyface character in wrestling, he can play the best heel too.

Toni Storm - …although Toni Storm might have something to say about that. I can’t really justify putting her above Swerve and Hangman, but the top three here are very much on equal footing.

Mariah May - The AEW women’s division was the best part of the company in 2024 for me, and her story with Storm was the lynchpin of that. I was tempted to include Mercedes, but there were times in the year where her character work was truly terrible.

2025 (so far…)

Hangman Page - I mean, who else could it be? What a year he’s having.

Toni Storm - as above. One of the most compelling characters in wrestling.

Mercedes Mone - without Storm and Mone, the AEW women’s division wouldn’t be where it is now. She’s one of the most consistent wrestlers on the planet.

Jon Moxley - I was going back and forth between Mercedes, Moxley, Ospreay and Swerve but ultimately, without Moxley, Hangman’s title win wouldn’t have been anywhere near as meaningful. He’s earned his spot on my list.

(feel free to not go into as much detail as I did, unless you really want to!)

Edited July 18, 2025 by RedTwoster

[HarmonicGenerator]

Nice thread idea! Mine are not in order and only include wrestlers, otherwise Schiavone would be turning up multiple times.

2019

Chris Jericho - as you said, he was really important in those early years.

Jon Moxley - again, as you said - statement of intent.

Young Bucks - it felt like in those early months they wanted to show it wasn’t just about them, but unlike Kenny, who felt like a bit of a loser because of, well, all the losing, the Bucks lost just often enough for each time to feel like a big deal.

 Jungle Boy - the first ‘original’ I remember really standing out in a sustained way. JR got behind him from the start which felt like a huge endorsement that not everyone received.

 

2020

Brodie Lee - gave the heel side of things a big jumpstart when he turned up, he righted the Dark Order ship and was half of Cody’s best AEW match.

Hikaru Shida - like Moxley below, she kept her division afloat during the pandemic.

Jon Moxley - like Shida above, he kept his division afloat during the pandemic.

Eddie Kingston - he turned up unannounced, and was just so good they had to sign him and showcase him. An example of what AEW should be all about.

 

2021

Hangman Adam Page - we were all proud of him.

Kenny Omega - the above wouldn’t have worked nearly as well without Omega as Hangman’s foil.

CM Punk - such a huge deal at the time. That initial Chicago reaction might never be topped.

Bryan Danielson - if grabbing Punk wasn’t enough, following it a month later with the American Dragon really showed how much of a major player AEW now was.

 

2022

Jon Moxley - kept things going as a reliable main hand when the Punk-Elite shit was going on.

Hook - as below, they figured out what he could do best, and let him do it.

Jade Cargill - as above, they figured out what she could do best, and let her do it.

Christian Cage - he did a huge amount of work with Jack Perry across this year that demonstrated how valuable an experienced vet can be.

 

2023

Orange Cassidy - that first International run may be AEW’s all time best title reign.

Swerve Strickland - he brought Hangman back from the brink by sending him over the edge.

Hangman Adam Page - he was floundering a little, understandably, and this year got him back on track.

The Acclaimed - we have already forgotten, but “scissor me, Daddy Ass” was so, so over.

 

2024

Toni Storm - timeless.

Hangman Adam Page - it’s the Swerve feud. They chose him!

Swerve Strickland - the Hangman feud, but also a hell of a spell in the main events.

Will Ospreay - by All In he was a megastar.

 

2025

Toni Storm - if anything other than The Hollywood Ending wins match of the year, you’ve all gone horribly wrong.

Willow Nightingale - she hasn’t been used as she should be, but she’s a bright spot of every single show she appears on.

Hangman Adam Page - at this point, AEW is just the Hangman And Some Other Guys Show.

Will Ospreay - continues to knock it out of the park on the regular.