10 Best Matches From AEW: Year 3 | partsFUNknown
These are Adam's 10 best matches from All Elite Wrestling's third year but what is your favorite match AEW has had from Double or Nothing 3 to Nothing or Nothing 4? Let us know in the comments!
10 Best AEW Wrestling Matches: Year 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdZ4fO0IxV8&t=20s
00:00 - Start
01:00 - Honourable Mention
01:20 - 10
02:14 - 9
03:07 - 8
03:54 - 7
04:56 - 6
05:51 - 5
06:56 - 4
07:49 - 3
08:49 - 2
09:51 - 1
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
These are Adam's 10 best matches from All Elite Wrestling's third year but what is your favorite match AEW has had from Double or Nothing 3 to Nothing or Nothing 4? Let us know in the comments!
10 Best AEW Wrestling Matches: Year 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdZ4fO0IxV8&t=20s
00:00 - Start
01:00 - Honourable Mention
01:20 - 10
02:14 - 9
03:07 - 8
03:54 - 7
04:56 - 6
05:51 - 5
06:56 - 4
07:49 - 3
08:49 - 2
09:51 - 1
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Happy Double or Nothing everyone! A few buckshot lariats aside, wasn't a good show.
00:05MGF got powerbombed into the land between kayfabe and shoot, Athena showed up, and even though Keith Lee didn't win the tag titles,
00:12gosh he looked like he was having fun, didn't he? And that's the most important thing. The most important thing.
00:17And with Double or Nothing comes our annual tradition of looking back at the past year of AEW matches and giving out the following awards.
00:24Best Newcomer goes to Keith Lee. Best Wrestler to throw Isaiah Cassidy so far that he becomes a new low-orbiting space station goes to Keith Lee.
00:32And the Adam Blampied Award for Wrestler that Adam Blampied most wants to marry goes to Dan Howson, Kyle O'Reilly, and Keith Lee in a shocking three-way tie.
00:41But seriously though, AEW's Year 3 was undoubtedly the best year in its short existence so far.
00:45And if you don't believe us, just have a gander at some of these wrestling matches.
00:48I'm Adam, hailing from Parts of Unknown, and here are 10 Best AEW Matches from Year 3.
00:53Also, while you're here, you can check out our other videos from AEW Year 1 and AEW Year 2.
00:58You might as well. They're very good.
01:00Honorable mention, Anarchy in the Arena.
01:02Oli and Luke forced me to mention this, even though most of it, to me, was like watching TV with a toddler in control of the remote,
01:08just flipping through the channels every five seconds, and stop it. Stop it.
01:13It was very silly and very fun in isolated places, but it gave me a headache.
01:17But Luke and Oli said I'm a fake fan if I don't mention it, so here you go.
01:2010. Cash Wheeler vs. Dax Harwood, Dynamite
01:23Tournaments are great.
01:24And while it might seem a little strange that the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament,
01:26aka the babiest babyface honor that ever babyfaced, was won by the Honey Bunny and Pumpkin of AEW,
01:31it gave us some wonderful matches, chief amongst them being Dax vs. Cash,
01:35an FTR-nival of friendship, old school wrestling, and good clean fun.
01:39After an aimless 2021, FTR are having a sensational 2022, more on that later.
01:44But when the two wrestled on the 27th of April episode of Dynamite,
01:47they told a wonderful story of two men so psychologically in tune with each other,
01:51it created proper NWA-style magic.
01:54With fluidity of motion akin to flair and steamboat, a lot of the match was beautiful
01:58pin counter into beautiful pin counter, with the compelling storyline throughout,
02:02how much did each guy want to win?
02:04Enough to do permanent damage to their tag team partner with a sharpshooter?
02:07The emotion on that face.
02:09Don't do it, Dax.
02:11Old school simplicity from those who do that shtick the best.
02:149. Red Dragon vs Jurassic Express vs Young Bucks
02:17Revolution. AEW gave absolutely no ground this year in their staunch position of having the
02:21best tag team division on this planet, thank you very much. The first of three tag team
02:25matches on this list, spoilers, this one is very silly but a joyous mess of moving parts.
02:30After NXT tore the Undisputed Era apart, Fish, O'Reilly and Cole just went,
02:34now we're friends again if you want to know how, a wizard did it.
02:37Though the best years of the Undisputed Elite still seem to be ahead of them in AEW,
02:41Red Dragon, the classic ring of honor pairing of O'Reilly and Fish,
02:44have already got a barnstormer on their resume. A triple threat tag team match between them,
02:48the Bucks, and the tag team before time Jurassic Express, it's a wee bit of a spot fest,
02:52but there's a solid enough story running through it, with the Bucks and Red Dragon ostensibly on
02:55the same page, but both equally jealous for Adam Cole's sweet kisses. It's a playful friction that
03:01ties all of the action together, and the action is goddamn impeccable stuff from the masters of
03:06silly choreography.
03:078. Bryan Danielson vs Eddie Kingston, Rampage
03:11From the engaging but unmistakably fake ballet of the Young Bucks to two lads who never got told
03:15that wrestling clause wasn't real, kicking hard men lumps out of each other in a battle of who
03:19most likes to do angry fights. They slap each other so hard you develop a kink just watching
03:24it, bloody look at Danielson's chest though. Both men are so good at this sort of thing,
03:28and having the time of their life doing it, Danielson getting to finally unleash the dragon
03:32in AEW, and Eddie solely deriving meaning and purpose in his life from being sucked in the
03:36jaw and having Daddy Daniel spit in his mouth, probably. Really like the bit where Kingston
03:41flips off Danielson mid-submission. And apart from that, there's not much more to say about it
03:45other than it's insanely charismatic psychopaths hitting each other so much that the crowd give
03:49them a standing ovation in the middle of the match, and honestly if that doesn't sell it to you,
03:52you might be in the wrong hobby.
03:547. CM Punk vs MJF2, Revolution
03:57What was the best feud of year three? The fact that you can't just automatically say Omega vs
04:02Paige, or MJF vs Punk, or MJF vs Wardlow tells you just how f***ing magic this year has been
04:07for wrestling fans who like big feelings. MJF and Punk put on a clinic of character work this year,
04:13an old gunslinger who has to reckon with his mistakes, and the young protégé driven mad
04:17by deformed love. Oh man, it was wonderful. Their first match in Chicago was a banger,
04:23but for me it's their dog collar match at Revolution. Is it a perfect match? Not by
04:26any stretch. Lumpy, a bit awkward in places, and arguably too long, but it's a fantastic example
04:31of how to blow off an emotionally complex feud. MJF showboating his feigned apologies,
04:35the total physical destruction to the point where it goes beyond revenge and just becomes
04:40two men bleakly destroying each other to the point where you're just worried about them before you set
04:44out for revenge, dig two graves, etc. Also, heck of a pop for Wardlow, masterfully dovetailing
04:50into the next feud, story over work rate, especially important for a company that
04:53often doesn't get enough credit for its stories. 6. Cody Rhodes vs Sammy Guevara, Beach Break
04:59Well this one's just stupid, but it's 5 stars stupid. One of the biggest shockers from AEW
05:04year three was one of the company's founders defecting back to the company that made him
05:08dress up like a Jackanory pervert for a not insubstantial amount of his life. It's still
05:13utterly mad that Cody Rhodes, the face of the revolution, is now working for the evil regime,
05:18like if William Wallace settled down and got a civil service job at Westminster.
05:22But on his way out the door, Cody did manage to turn out one of the all-time
05:27ladder matches against Sammy Guevara, aka if Miley Cyrus and Zoolander had a really horny baby.
05:34Anyway, Sammy might have turned being unlikable into a fine art, but he's an unreal,
05:39once-in-a-generation talent, and that was on full display here. Genuinely,
05:42that cutter from the ladder might be the single best spot in year three.
05:47Ridiculous. And there are many more spots where that came from, just watch the match again.
05:515. Adam Page vs Kenny Omega, Full Gear
05:55It's hard to determine who's had the best year since Double or Nothing 2021. CM Punk went from
05:59debuting to winning the world title, Bryan Danielson turned up and helped form a treehouse
06:03of rough-and-toughs, but I think I've got to give it to hangman Adam Page. The man who defeated his
06:07anxieties, strapped the company to his back in Omega's absence, and went on a tear of fantastic
06:12matches. At Full Gear, it was the culmination of his story, the multi-year-long Page vs Omega
06:18storyline, but more importantly, the Adam Page vs Adam Page storyline. All that self-doubt,
06:24all that pure babyface fire. Think of it, a cool, pure, uncynical babyface in a post-Steve
06:30Austin world. What an accomplishment. At Full Gear, Page and Omega put on a
06:34stellar match. It might not have been the seven-star classic that some might hope for,
06:38but more than just moves, the match felt momentous, a proper beating heart underneath it,
06:43an energy in the crowd of a wrestler being in exactly the right place, winning exactly the
06:49match at exactly the right time. At the end, it all builds to the best explosion of good feeling
06:54in AEW's entire third year. 4. FTR vs Young Bucks 2
06:59Dynamite, the second in a trilogy of tag matches on this list. Speaking of second matches in a
07:04probable eventual trilogy, see it's all connected. At Full Gear 2020, FTR and Young Bucks faced off
07:09in a 30-minute instant classic, marred only by the fact it took place with drastically reduced
07:14attendance because of the pandemic. Well, in April this year, they ran it again in front of
07:18a proper crowd, and oh boy, it was somehow even better. Well, not somehow, it had f***ing fans
07:23there. That's why. If the first match saw FTR fail because they tried to wrestle a Young Bucks-style
07:28match, this time it was Young Bucks wrestling a more subdued but psychologically sound FTR-style
07:32match, and it cost them just as dearly. Which is not to say they weren't flippy dudes, it's just
07:37that the match felt so much more grounded, with a heartfelt, taped-up, courage-under-fire babyface
07:42performance from FTR, and also, holy shit Dax Harwood might have the best hot tag in wrestling
07:47right now. Good for him. 3. Bryan Danielson vs Adam Page
07:52Winter is coming. Look, I'm just going to talk about the first Paige Danielson match to save
07:56space, but don't worry, they're both bananas good and I appreciate them both super, promise.
08:00Danielson has almost done it all since arriving in AW. A highly stupid plunder match at Double
08:05or Nothing, ludicrous violence matches against Kingston and Suzuki, fancy techers against Bobby
08:10Fish and Lee Moriarty, formed a best friends gang, wrestled Kenny, we'll get to that,
08:15and even pulled a 60-minute Broadway out of his ass because he could best in the f***ing world.
08:20This match was the first main stage for both men in their newly found roles,
08:23Hangman as the champion seeking to establish that he's not a fluke,
08:27and Danielson as a ruthless tweener who cares about no one and nothing apart from kicking
08:32people's faces in. Over 60 minutes, that story's told perfectly, Bryan busting Hangman open,
08:37targeting his weaknesses with precision, forcing Hangman to take bigger and bigger
08:42risks to try and hang in there. Normally, 60 minutes is too long for my taste,
08:46but can't deny the monumental achievement here.
08:492. Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega
08:51Grand slam. If there's one criticism to lay at the feet of Paige Danielson won,
08:55it's that it was a time limit draw so soon after another, arguably more iconic,
09:00time limit draw, one that was also twice as good at half the length.
09:03When Bryan Danielson strode into AEW to thunderous applause,
09:07fans wondered just how long AEW would make us wait before it gave us
09:10the dream match of Danielson and Omega. The answer? Two weeks. Two f***ing weeks.
09:16Thanks, Uncle Tony. Talk about striking while the iron's hot, and irons do not come much hotter.
09:21The two men batter the arse off each other for 30 beautiful minutes, and while the match is good,
09:26the crowd are even better. Bloody hell, they are so happy to be watching a wrestling match,
09:32and a fully engaged, enthusiastic crowd makes a good match great, and a great match this.
09:37Kinda hard to fathom that a match without a definitive ending could be so good,
09:40but in rare situations like this, it was perfect. Delivered a match that everybody
09:44wanted to see immediately, while banking the rematch for years down the line.
09:48Violent crowd work perfection.
09:511. Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros All Out
09:54Quite possibly the stupidest match in the history of AEW's stupid matches,
09:58which is both a big statement and the highest praise I can give.
10:02Despite being the kayfabe archdukes of hateful debaggery, the Bucks might be the most reliable
10:06big match players in the entire company. Them vs. Page and Omega, Bucks FTR1, Bucks FTR2,
10:13Bucks vs. Moxley and Kingston. Hell, they even dragged the Hardy Men to something silly entertaining
10:17a double or nothing. Throw in the Lucha Bros, who always somehow manage to come up with new
10:22wrestling moves like Luchador Mad Scientist, and you have a recipe for stupid wrestling magic.
10:26I've written a lot about this match in the past, including last week's list of my favourite non-WWE
10:30matches. You should watch that. But it's simply an essential wrestling match to watch, not because
10:34it's a good example of wrestling storytelling, just because it's a perfect match in terms of
10:38the most impressive stunt work currently available in wrestling, combined with the hottest crowd
10:43currently available in wrestling. If TLC2 is your favourite wrestling match, you need to watch this
10:48one. It will be your new favourite wrestling match. Few matches have ever made me laugh out
10:53loud at the sheer audacity of what I was seeing than this. Watch it today.
10:58And that's our list. What's been your favourite wrestling match from AEW's third year? Let us know
11:02in the comments, don't forget to like and share this video around if you enjoyed it, make sure
11:05you're subscribed to PartsFunKnown for more silly wrestling content, and never forget to Jam That Jam.