AEW is making the right choice to bring back the weekly rankings

All Elite Wrestling is seemingly going through a shift, where what’s old is new again. This time, it is the AEW rankings that are set to come back to the company. This was a surprising, but seemingly sought-after request from hardcore AEW fans, and it will be interesting to see how this plays into both the immediate and long-term future.

“The rankings are coming back to AEW going forward, starting this month!” Tony Khan tweeted on January 20. “AEW is having a very exciting January, and this is only the beginning of an amazing 2024 for AEW and our fans.”

When AEW started the company employed the use of a rankings system to determine which men and women were moving closer to a title shot. Think of how other sports use rankings to represent which teams are the “best” at any given time. While it wasn’t the first time to see rankings used in pro wrestling, it was well-received, giving value to both wins and losses each week.

Yet, the use of rankings went away and that was replaced by an attempt to make things more “story-driven” in the product. The results of that were quite mixed, with many taking to social media to complain. But by the end of 2023, Khan was promising a return to a focus on professional wrestling and a sports-based presentation. Enter Samoa Joe as champion after Worlds End and things are already heating up.

Bringing the rankings back into the equation should be met with open arms. This immediately puts an emphasis back on wins and losses, making each week more critical. Especially since AEW Dark and Dark Elevation are things of the past. Without those two shows, AEW will not be able to have certain individuals rack up numerous wins outside the view of weekly television. That means every moment on television and in the ring matters even more from a story standpoint. This shift will also hopefully put more focus back on the tag team and trios’ divisions which have seemingly dropped by the wayside.

As AEW returns to focusing more on the presentation of sports each week, bringing back the rankings is a step in the right direction. Here’s to hoping that this opens the door for more fan favorites to get featured at the top of the card.