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AEW: Looking back at the Top 10 Moments in 2020

By Samantha Schipman

The Dark Order (right to left: Stu Grayson, Brodie Lee, and Evil Uno) standing at the ramp (photo courtesy of AEW)
The Dark Order (right to left: Stu Grayson, Brodie Lee, and Evil Uno) standing at the ramp (photo courtesy of AEW) /
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2020 was a strange year, but AEW still managed to put on shows all year. There were some really great moments including these ten.

Last year started off normally, but the world changed very quickly across the globe. Wrestling began the year as it normally does: performing in front of live crowds in various cities. AEW even had shows aboard a cruise ship. When the pandemic hit, the company improvised. First, they taped a bunch of episodes in two days. Then, they moved to Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Fla. to stage shows. Eventually, they began allowing fans in socially distanced pods.

Along with Dynamite, AEW also put out supersized episodes of Dark. The shows grew to between 13-15 matches on average. Independent wrestlers got an opportunity to wrestle in front of a new audience and earn a paycheck when many of them lost a majority of their income due to the pandemic.

AEW later partnered with other companies such as NWA and Impact Wrestling. The NWA World Women’s Championship was defended both on Dynamite and at All Out. Impact Wrestling has recently been brought into the fold with Kenny Omega winning the AEW World Championship with the help of Impact’s co-EVP, Don Callis.

This isn’t to say that AEW was perfect. They weren’t immune to the fallout of #SpeakingOut and cut ties with Jimmy Havoc following allegations against him surfacing. There was also the injury of Matt Hardy at All Out. He was visibly concussed and allowed to continue the match, although they shortened it quite a bit. Alex Reynolds was concussed during an eight-man match and allowed to compete. Fans rightfully dragged the company for how the situation was handled, even though Reynolds claims he was fully aware of what was going on.

I have written many times about the problems regarding AEW’s women’s division. Encouragingly, there have been some improvements in recent weeks that will hopefully lead to bigger improvements in the coming year. There’s also been a lack of Black men in singles competition, especially in the title picture for both the TNT Championship and World Championship, respectfully.

Despite the negatives, AEW has had a lot of significant moments last year and it was hard to narrow it down to just ten. And while this list is for the top ten moments, perhaps there was nothing bigger to happen to the company than the sudden death of Mr. Brodie Lee. In his short time with the company, he made a massive impact. Who knows what was planned for him in the coming months and years, but we were robbed of his greatness far too soon.

Let’s focus on some of the good, shall we?

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