The women's division has probably changed the most since our last rankings. Toni Storm vanquished Mercedes Mone, though Mone recently returned. Athena has created a very entertaining program with Toni Storm on AEW programming. Meanwhile, Queen Aminata and Thekla have elevated the optics of each other on TV. Alex Windsor has impressed, being thrown into a friendship with Toni Storm. There are so many great women in this division. We NEED THE TAG BELTS, TONY. -The Arial Assassin
Embedded Files
There hasn't been a ton of change in the overall team rankings, since we left off, but we do have a few new teams in Brodido and the Triangle of Madness. Athena and Billie Starkz have moved their brand of madness over to AEW in full now. Can we get some trios challenges? Will The Hurt Syndicate have a feud at some point? The Death Riders and The Young Bucks continue to impress despite some recent losses. -The Arial Assassin
And the crew is back after a long series of summer trips! The men's rankings returns with a new World Champion in Adam Page. Kazuchika Okada vanquished old rival Kenny Omega to become the first ever AEW Unified Champion. Jon Moxley continues to be featured nonstop despite losing the title. Many thought he'd take time off and retool, but that doesn't seem to be the case. And we have Kyle Fletcher as the new TNT champion. Dustin Rhodes, the former champion, is honored with the ten spot, as he was never ranked due to our absence. We wish him the best in his recovery from double knee surgery. -The Arial Assassin
Our final women's ranking before All In Texas has another controversial shakeup at the top. Mercedes Mone has (prematurely?) taken over the top spot in our rankings. She had a grueling match with Mina Shirakawa. Say what you will about Storm and Mone, they are workhorses who aren't afraid to wrestle.
Elsewhere, the women's division continues to shine, but I guess we're not getting those women's tag belts before or at All In Texas.
Tony...what are we doing? Forbidden Door? All Out? We have the teams and can make a few more if need be. Let's gooooo!
-The Arial Assassin
Our last ranking before All In Texas! Do we take the controversial result of putting a team above the champions? I think we finally do. FTR have been featured heavily in rotation and picked a win in a huge match. They have been the fighting champions as opposed to the Hurt Syndicate who are featured in promos and segments. The Young Bucks worked with Takeshita for a win this week. The Outrunners delivered what may have been their finest match in AEW, despite the losing effort to FTR. And it seems that The Gates of Agony have finally aligned with Ricochet, which I, personally, am excited about.
-The Arial Assassin
Our last ranking going into All In Texas! Not a ton of change in the men's division as we await the payoff of some of these stories. Okada picked up a huge win over Ibushi. Fletcher beat Garcia in a big match. and Briscoe continues his winning streak.
But I smell a shark in the water...MJF returns to the top ten for the first time in a long time!
-The Arial Assassin
While Dynamite is going on, check out our play by play, but in the meantime, check out our Women's Wednesday rankings as we watch Mina v. Mone!
GET THE TAG BELTS IN, TONY!
-The Arial Assassin
Team Tuesday is here! The ONLY rankings that matter!
Biggest gain this week goes to Jet Speed for a quality showing this week. FTR has gained so much screentime, they move ahead of The Opps this ranking. Even though they didn't win matches, we continue to get screentime for The Learning Tree and The Gates of Agony, which is great! And the Patriarchy is back!
But, Pinfalls and Submissions, we want the ONLY ratings that matter! I got you!
Men's Monday rankings for 6/30/25
Moxley and Page continues to heat up! Swerve, Cole, and Ospreay continue their pushes. I greatly enjoy that Ricochet is featured weekly as well, even if he suffered a loss this week. Okada and Kenny has not been featured directly with Kenny out selling the injury, but Ibushi's return is pretty great to see. Briscoe won a huge four-way match for the Casino Gauntlet match. And Fletcher won the "Battle of the Kyles" on Collision. We are continuing to see a real push on tag/trios matches on programming lately, leading to less singles matches for the men.
There are really two stories in the women's division this week: Toni v. Mercedes and the rumored women's tag team titles! I can't wait! We have four or five teams ready to challenge for them right out of the gate! Let's go!
Pinfalls and Submissions Tag/Trio Tuesday is back! The only ratings that matter! A lot of teams being featured, but very little shakeup this week. Good to see some new teams crack the top ten. And how hard is this going to get when the ladies get their own tag belts soon, as rumored?! Who off the list have you been enjoying lately?
We're back and what a week for AEW! Coming live from Arena Mexico this week for Dynamite. What a gracious host and respectful visit by our wrestlers in AEW! Moxley and Okada both picked up some victories this week to keep moving up the rankings and make their respective feuds fire! Swerve and Ospreay are hanging around the title picture still. And Adam Cole has been betting some good TV time as well. Hologram with a couple victories this week, and he has been featured in some higher profile matches as well. Nice to see Bandido getting some love as well.
All In's Main Event
-by Kaye Fabe, 15 June 2025
No matter what happens between now and All In, these are the only three matches that have a legitimate chance to be the main event. Which should be the main event?
The Case for the World Heavyweight Championship Main Eventing:
Most of the year has been figuring out who Moxley would face: Ospreay, Darby, Swerve, or Hangman. We know now, and this is entirely about Hangman's story far more than Moxley's story at this point. Does it deserve the main event? If they put it in the main event, Hangman has to win, right? This one has the most intrigue in terms of angles that could close the show. Does Danielson show up? Does Darby? Does Swerve make Hangman the champ? How does Ospreay fit in? The Young Bucks? This would be the most traditional show closer for All In.
The Case for the Women's World Heavyweight Championship Main Eventing:
No matter which match you're looking forward to the most at All In, there is no match that has had a laser-scoped outcome like this one. We knew Toni v Mone was going to happen eventually. And as much as I liked the possible swerve of Jamie Hayter winning the Owen, this is the biggest money match in the AEW Women's Division since Toni and Mariah. Would they let the women have the main event? They have on TV, and on very rare occasions on PPV, let the women close the show. Would they let it happen here? Is Mone guaranteed to win? There has been a slow-burn to a head to head confrontation for two women whose characters are entirely dependent on the titles in the division. What happens after will be almost as interesting as the outcome.
The Case for the Unified Championship Main Eventing:
When the rumor popped up early this year that Okada and Omega would be fighting in a possible unification match, people began to salivate for another chapter in the long-storied rivalry between these two. The story has only recently been built, so in terms of on-screen time, this one is the newest, but in terms of rumors, this one has the most steam. Plus, isn't AEW basically giving us recaps to say to us directly: this is the best match we will feature at All In. Can you advertise that that is the case and then not have it be the main event? I have genuinely no idea who wins this one as either will be fine with or without the titles. This is more of a grudge match between the two. Side note: I dislike the "Unified" name. It makes it confusing with a World title in the men's division as well. I wish they would have just kept the International title name if they are (and they better) keep the C2 tournament.
Who gets the main event, fans?
Not a ton of change this week in the women's division. Toni and Mercedes seem to be the main storyline going into July. Beyond that we have the Megasus and Penelope beating down Harley and Anna. Thekla debuted and is set to wrestle for the first time tonight. A feud with Jamie Hayter could be fun with Thekla pursuing and ambushing Jamie. In other news, Thunder Rosa challenged Britt Baker on social media!? Will something come of that? What does Mina Shirakawa do now that Mariah May debuted in the WWE--a reveal that broke our hearts.
-The Arial Assassin
AEW continues to push the most with the tag and trios divisions. Dynamite and Collision saw SIX matches of tag/trios action. Additionally, FTR continues to do great work outside of matches. I'm still not sure why we need Stokely Hathaway in the group, but that's my opinion. The Hurt Syndicate and The Opps have brewing stories as well, with MJF and Hook respectively. Nice to see the Gates of Agony continue to get a push/tv time. Can we finally see a real push of La Faccion Ingobernable? It seems like one of the three always have visa/work issues and they can't get together for a real run.
-The Arial Assassin
The main in-ring storyline this week was Adam Cole and Kyle Fletcher. Their feud is, dare I say, heating up? Outside the rings, we had a lot going on with the Adam Page/Will Ospreay/Swerve Strickland business. Okada is back defending his title, which is good timing heading into a rumored unification match with Kenny Omega. Ricochet says he is looking for a new stable. Intriguing. Brody and the unranked Claudio advance to the International Title four-way with Mascara Dorada and Kenny Omega.
-The Arial Assassin
The AEW Title Dilemma
-by Kaye Fabe, 28 May 2025
All Elite Wrestling, Where the Best Wrestle, has a problem.
And this problem is what the best are wrestling for.
For too long in AEW we have had a title problem. Many websites complain about the amount of belts AEW has floating around, and this gets compounded more when the ROH titles are routinely shown on AEW television. As I see it, AEW has three problems with their title picture: the men's singles titles, the women's titles, and the tag/trio titles. Each of these can be solved with a simple fix. I humbly suggest those fixes in this column.
The men in AEW currently have four titles to vie for: the World Championship, the International Championship the Continental Championship, and the TNT Title. This does not count additional gains that can be had such as the Dynamite Diamond Ring or the Owen Hart Title/Cup. It seems as though AEW may be taking steps to fix this one already. We obviously need a World Championship, so there's no need to fix anything there. I like the idea of the TNT title as the lower card title that people can first win on their way up the ladder. It's the middle that is the problem. How prestigious is the International Title? Is the International Title higher than the Continental Title? Who is closer to getting a World Championship match? Does it matter? AEW needs to get rid of one of these belts. The rumors are that they are doing just at All In Texas as they have been planting the seeds for an International Champion Kenny Omega v. Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada match. I love this idea. Can we make the Continental Classic tournament have other stakes? It doesn't really make sense that you have to win a tournament to defend your belt. Can they get something else? You don't want to steal the WWE's crown idea or duplicate the Diamond Ring idea in your own company, but the winner needs something other than a title shot to show they are the reigning tournament winner. Even a graphic that is shown next to their name for a year would be something. But yet, this one is an easy fix.
Women in AEW currently have only two belts they can challenge for, the World Championship currently held by "Timeless" Toni Storm and the TBS Championship held by "The CEO" Mercedes Mone. That used to be enough for the women's division as it grew. While the TBS title, theoretically, should be the same prestige as the TNT title, it feels far superior by virtue of it being the second belt in the division while the TNT is probably the fourth most sought-after. We here at Pinfalls and Submissions have clamored for Tony Khan to introduce Women's Tag Team Titles. This problem is magnified with the current storylines involving your World and TBS championship being together. We have a large number of ladies waiting to do something. Ignoring the two in the All In title match, here is who AEW has left on the bench fighting for nothing:
Anna Jay & Harley Cameron
Penelope Ford & Megan Bayne
Deonna Purrazzo & Taya Valkyrie
Skye Blue & Julia Hart
Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale
Athena & Billie Starkz
Keira Hogan & Diamante
(possibly) Mina Shirakawa & Mariah May
And that's not counting the other women who could be in tag teams: Ruby Soho, Tay Melo, Queen Aminata, Yuka Sakazaki, Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb, Riho, Nyla Rose, Britt Baker (supposedly), Red Velvet, Leila Gray, Trish Adora, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Marina Shafir, Jamie Hayter, and more.
That's at least 30 women fighting for nothing for the next month and a half. We need the tag titles, Tony. Give them to us, but more importantly give them to the ladies. Make a four way tag match for the inaugural titles at All In. There are plenty of women in this division with a ton of talent. They can have a bit more screen time from the deleted men's title. And there is one more radical idea coming...
This last idea is the most controversial. At first I thought about eliminating the AEW Trios title because it seems to strain the roster too much to have both Tag Titles and Trios Titles, but I found a solution: World Unified Tag and Trios Titles. Combine the AEW and ROH Tag Titles and the AEW and ROH Trios/Six Man Titles. Make the champions fight across both leagues. You could feature the Tag Titles on AEW programming for a few months and then gradually transition to the Trios Titles coming over from Ring of Honor. If you wanted to take this a step further, you could have the new Women's Tag Titles do the same.
These ideas would eliminate six belts and create two. A healthy trade off, I'd say. If the Unified Titles seem too much like merging the companies, then give ROH the Trios Title and AEW the Tag Titles. I would love to see ROH treated as a more separate company that is essentially the feeder to AEW. Take ROH on the road and let the younger wrestlers get reps and mic time. Maybe keep up the residency idea, but do it with ROH and let AEW travel. These are simply changes, Mr. Khan, but ones that would make the company healthier, leaner, and meaner. Think about it!
Enough with all the online social media negativity toward AEW. Let's celebrate the women who are continually pushing this division higher and higher! We now know the big match for Texas, and it is the one we all thought they were working toward: Storm v. Mone. It should be a classic. Does this mean Mone will win? Below them, we have a TON of talent in need of a storyline and goal. If Mercedes isn't going to defend the TBS title for the next month and half, what is everyone else working toward? I know someone will be stopping by today to tell us their thoughts!
-The Arial Assassin
The Hurt Syndicate continue to look dominant atop the tag division. Who wil their next challengers be? Bill and Keith? Many of the other teams listed were involved in the Anarchy in the Arena match. I was a big fan of the Young Bucks in their Founding Father gear! The Don Callis family is making a few good teams within their division.
-The Arial Assassin
The big match this week was Adam Page beating Will Ospreay in the finals of the Owen Hart Tournament. Meanwhile, players in the Anarchy in the Arena match get a boost and Ricochet continues to impress. Kazuchika Okada returns (finally) with a win over "Speedball" Mike Bailey.
-The Arial Assassin
This has been the most improved division in the AEW over the last month. There are now tag teams everywhere! And they are using some mid-card feuds to add some punch to a few of these teams as well. Bringing the Sons of Texas in from Ring of Honor is interesting... Surely they won't dethrone The Hurt Syndicate, especially with MJF onboard now, but where is this going? All In Texas? Elsewhere? The trios division hasn't been stressed, but it may be a good idea to merge some titles with ROH. *cough* keep tag belts in AEW and put trios titles on ROH *cough*
-The Arial Assassin
Less focus on the men's division again this week, but all roads are leading to Double or Nothing and the big match with Page and Ospreay. Can we get some Okada, Omega, and Cole solo matches? Those are three of the most important titles in the company...
-The Arial Assassin
A slower week in terms of straight matches for the tag and trios divisions. Still, many were featured in segments or multi-man matches. I'm happy to see the Gates of Agony stick around more than one week. There is potential here that can be used.
-The Arial Assassin
Men's Monday! Singles men's matches were not in abundance this week, but they are being featured prominently in interviews and multi-man matches! While, I doubt Samoa Joe has a chance at Double or Nothing, they are doing a good job of positioning him as a credible threat. It was good to see Rhino again, but he lost surprisingly quick for someone who is still an active wrestler.
-The Arial Assassin
Tag/Trio Tuesday, people! A good showing for this division this week! The Opps continue to be featured prominently, as do the Hurt Syndicate. FTR won a gem of a match against Paragon. The Cru was sighted as were the Death Riders. Bill and Keith and the Gates of Agony is a fun undercard match.
-The Arial Assassin
Kenny picked up a loss in an eight-man match. Okada scored the pinfall in that match, and he's knocking on the door of the top ten. Adam Cole was featured on commentary for the entirety of Collision, which seemed odd, but was fun. Moxley had some nice featured segments this week, though he was not in action. Adam Page has the biggest move this week, as he passes his longtime rival Swerve Strickland and the man he'll face on the 25th at Double or Nothing, Will Ospreay! Nick Wayne continues to impress against midcard competition. And, though he isn't ranked, a rare Sammy Guevara singles victory!
Happy Dynamite Day, everyone! It's Women's Wednesday! Will we see some progress toward Double or Nothing tonight? Jamie and Mercedes? What will Toni be up to? Will Bayne continue destroying?
Tag/Trio Thursday is here! Love them or hate them, having the Bucks back deepens the division that much more! A heel FTR and a heel Young Bucks? What is the world coming to? Any chance we see Knight and Bailey in an extended program?
There weren't many men's matchups this week on AEW programming. That's fine as it allowed the tag division and women's division to shine a little more. Still, a few people won matches including Swerve Strickland, Marc Briscoe, and Takeshita won in a tag match. At best, many were just featured this week. The argument could be made that MJF is deserving of a spot on the list. He gets featured week in and week out. We are all for appearances to keep up the hotness of a talent, but an actual match and win go pretty far, too, hey?
-Arial Assassin
#aew, #kennyomega, #adamcole, #willospreay, #swervestrickland
Every night is Staturday Night, baby! Kris and Julia with a big win over Harley and Mercedes this week. While Mercedes herself toppled the Forever Champion, Athena in an Owen Hart matchup! Statlander v. Hayter should be a great match this week. Meanwhile, Megan Bayne isn't letting her recent loss to Toni Storm slow her down at all.
-Arial Assassin
What a HUGE win for The Opps on Wednesday! The new trios champions. I have to feel a bit bad for HOOK as he was probably scheduled to be part of this win, but was unable to participate. The Hurt Syndicate did nothing wrong to go down a spot, but when another team dethrones The Death Riders it counts for quite a bit. FTR's story continues its slow burn. Bill and Keith continue to look for gold. Happy to see the Gates of Agony back on TV, though it remains to be seen if they will stay.
-Arial Assassin
Kenny Omega falls to the top this week as Moxley suffers a key lost in losing the Trios titles. Will Ospreay gains a key victory to go to the finals of the Owen Hart Tournament. He awaits the winner of Adam Page and Kyle Fletcher. Adam Cole picked up his first defense of the TNT title by defeating Claudio Castagnole. Nick Wayne became the new ROH TV Champion, and while we normally don't recognize ROH accomplishments, the match was featured on AEW programming.
-Arial Assassin
In divisions that AEW still needs to work on, we had some matches this week featuring tag team action. The Hurt Syndicate have an ongoing storyline with MJF, but it is unclear where it is going yet. The Death Riders will have to adjust to losing Pac, and apparently AEW is letting Moxley take his spot, which causes a few problems: why was the Bang Bang Gang forced to vacate the title when they were hurt? How does Jon Moxley lose a trios match if he is the world champion? The Opps continue their push, and as long as Samoa Joe retains the microphone, the group could go far. Hopefully HOOK is fine after puking in the ring this week. It was nice to see The Cru in the eight man $400,000 match. And 2point0 made a--brief--appearance. Are the Gates of Agony a flavor of the week, or actually going to stick around? It was great to see them talking like men and not just grunting. Keep it going, Tony! -Arial Assassin
Almost our entire list was in action this week, which was better for accurate rankings. Moxley defeated Shibata of the Opps, while the Death Riders also took a loss when Swerve Strickland defeated Pac in a shortened match due to injury. Good to see Takeshita get a win in the Owen as well. The Don Callis Family has two absolute studs in Takeshita and Fletcher. We finally get a "Hangman" Adam Page match this week--the Wild Card opponent! -Arial Assassin
The champions both retained at Dynasty and we will be looking for someone to make some noise during the Owen Hart Tournament. Will it be Athena, Mercedes, or someone else as a surprise, such as Jamie Hayter? Lots of women being featured, but we still need more stories for the ladies. Not to mention there are many women we haven't seen in a very long time!
Both our champion teams retained at AEW Dynasty. The Cru continues to impress in tag action. FTR is entering a violent, new phase. And the BUCKS ARE BACK! What is their alignment with the Death Riders? We shall see tomorrow!
-by the Arial Assassin
A lot of shakeup near the bottom of our rankings as the Dynasty Pay Per View has come and gone and featured some great performances on the men's side of the bracket. Ricochet, Speedball Mike Bailey, Mark Briscoe, Daniel Garia, and Swerve Strickland all looked like stars, despite losing their respective matches. Congrats go out to Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega on their successful defenses. And a big shout out to Adam Cole BayBay for winning his first singles AEW gold.
-by the Arial Assassin
Shall we go three for three? Our first ever women-only ranking for Women's Wednesday! A big shout out to AEW Collision which featured, I believe, 12 women on the broadcast. Awesome representation! WIth the Mone/Starkz/Athena, Storm/Rosa/Bayne/Stat/Ford, and Shafir/Nightingale storylines ongoing, plus a hint as Deeb/Aminata/Hart out there as well, things are looking up in the women's division. I still think we need a women's stable in the company as well. There are 39 women listed on the AEW roster today, and we probably have enough to run a tag team division at this point. Make it happen! Is DMD gone or staying? When are Ruby Soho and Tay Melo coming back?
-by The Arial Assassin
Our first even tag and trios ranking highlights the best duos and trios in AEW. As none of these teams were ranked in our final AEW Hot 15 List before we converted over, they are all listed as "New" teams today. On the one hand, listing these out shows how many teams there are in AEW. But on the other hand, many of these teams takes weeks off between appearances. Top Flight, Big Bill & Bryan Keith, and Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford have been the most active recently. And it's great to see a women's team on the list (sorry, Vendetta). MAKE THE WOMEN'S TAG TEAM BELTS, TONY!
-by The Arial Assassin
Many of the top male wrestlers were inactive this week, with many favoring interviews, segments, or a much-needed week off. Garcia and Cole continue their rivalry and bring each other up the rankings. With a dedicated men's ranking now, new entries such as Jay White and Kyle Fletcher reenter the rankings after being out a while. Ricochet is off getting married--hurry back! Where is Okada?
3/30/25 Welcome to the Relaunch! -by Logan Rogers
All Elite Wrestling fans of all ages! Welcome to the brand relaunch of Positively AEW--Pinfalls and Submissions! We have been working hard behind the scenes to launch a new entity free of any wording that would tie us directly to AEW. However, you can expect us to remain 100% committed to the brand we love! You will not see us address things going on in other companies--except perhaps mention a company that a competitor is from if they wrestle in AEW. We have been brainstorming how we can be different from other wrestling pages out there, and we are going to mostly do it by continuing what we have always been best at: fan interaction! You can expect to have even more topics to respond to as we continue to praise and critique the company we all love! Thanks for joining us, and tell others about us as well. Feel free to click our Reporters or About tabs to find out more about us!
3/30/25 Tag Team Tournament Incoming! -by the Arial Assassin
A warm greeting to all our fans out there. We are carrying over almost 1000 fans from Positively AEW with our new endeavors. Part of what has made that page so great was the fans sharing their honest input about the product we see on tv and the fun they had on the Facebook page. Now, as Pinfalls and Submissions, we have a real webpage and have also expanded into BlueSky for any followers who may be on there. I am going to be launching an all-time best AEW Tag Team Tournament soon on our socials. Stay tuned!
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