This article was originally published on October 24, 2019 at VoicesOfWrestling.com
Most wrestling fans wouldn’t have guessed that Joey Janela and Kenny Omega would be pushing each other up the rankings in AEW’s singles division, but with two strong matches against each other recently, that’s exactly where we stand. After a few weeks of TV, Omega was in a slump, seeking opportunities to get back in the win column and Janela has long sought the chance to prove he belongs in the ring with wrestlers renowned as the best in the world. In what seems like an unlikely partnership, Janela proved he can put up a good fight and Omega got himself back in the win column in two matches that turned out to be more meaningful than most analysts anticipated.
RANKINGS
Sport of Pro Wrestling’s AEW Statistics and Rankings are the preeminent independent source for All Elite Wrestling in-ring statistics and analysis. Sport of Pro Wrestling’s rankings are a balanced aggregate of each of our reported metrics weighted by a wrestler or team’s strength of schedule. Our objective is to provide transparent analysis of AEW wrestler’s in-ring performance and their match-maker’s processes. Every Thursday, we’ll take a look at the risers and fallers in our divisional and overall rankings.
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MEN’S OVERALL – TOP 2O
THROUGH DYNAMITE – OCTOBER 23, 2019
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MEN’S SINGLES – TOP 10
THROUGH DYNAMITE – OCTOBER 23, 2019
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MEN’S TAG TEAM
THROUGH DYNAMITE – OCTOBER, 23, 2019
Complete statistics and rankings at SportofProWrestling.com
RISERS
KENNY OMEGA (MEN’S SINGLES)
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
This Week’s Ranking: 3
Kenny Omega is finally showing AEW and their partner promotions that he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world. Over the weekend, he defeated Fenix for the AAA Mega Championship at Heroes Inmortales XIII. Last week on AEW’s broadcasts, he defeated Joey Janela in an unsanctioned match that over delivered, and he teamed with Adam Page to defeat Jon Moxley and PAC in a tag team match. Finally, last night on AEW Dynamite, he defeated Joey Janela in the middle of the ring in a sanctioned, gimmick-free match.
Six weeks ago, nobody would have been surprised if you told them that after a month of AEW television, the top three AEW singles wrestlers would be Chris Jericho, Cody, and Kenny Omega. If that statement were made two weeks ago, it would have been met with skepticism about Kenny Omega’s performance, his lack of featured bookings and his inability to garner fan support.
Kenny Omega is finally showing that he will be a perennial force in AEW’s title picture and it will be interesting to see how his path continues in a World Championship picture that is currently clearly defined by Chris Jericho and Cody’s feud at the top.
JOEY JANELA (MEN’S SINGLES)
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
This Week’s Ranking: 6
Even with a 1-4 record, Joey Janela has moved up our singles ranks significantly over the last two weeks. His performances in two matches against Kenny Omega paired with his victory over Brandon Cutler on this week’s episode of AEW Dark have given The Bad Boy some real momentum.
Janela benefits most from his lone-wolf nature, almost exclusively competing in singles matches in AEW. With 1:24:01 in total match duration, he is second only to Kenny Omega in the division. The Bad Boy’s average losing match time of almost 19 minutes is good fifth in the category, and his win-loss differential of 10:10 is impressive. It takes a long time to beat Joey Janela, but his defeat of Brandon Cutler was definitive and swift.
To keep his spot in the top 10, Janela will need a defining victory, strong losses only get a wrestler so far. A victory over someone like Darby Allin, Jon Moxley, or Pac would do wonders for Joey’s future positioning.
SO CAL UNCENSORED, FRANKIE KAZARIAN AND SCORPIO SKY (MEN’S TAG TEAM)
Last Week’s Rank: 11
This Week’s Rank: 5
The SCU duo of Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky are ascending through the Tag Team Rankings with definitive victories in the World Tag Team Championship Tournament. These two have been the streak-stoppers, ending strong initial performances by Best Friends (Trent? and Chuck Taylor) and the previously undefeated Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson)
With two match win streaks, Kazarian and Sky are tied with their AEW Tag Team Championship Tournament Final opponents, the Lucha Brothers, for the best win streak in the division. One team is sure to break away after their match next week on AEW Dynamite.
FALLERS
BEST FRIENDS, TRENT? AND CHUCK TAYLOR (MEN’S TAG TEAM)
Last Week’s Rank: 8
This Week’s Rank: 13
Trent? and Chuck Taylor, The Best Friends, added a third wheel to their hug-heavy relationship recently in the form of Orange Cassidy. Unfortunately for Trent? and Chuck Taylor, that is where their inability to win matches began. Since adding Cassidy to their posse, the tag team has gone on a three-match losing streak, including falling to The Young Bucks this past week on Dynamite.
Headed into Dynamite’s debut, The Best Friends were tied for the best record in the division at 2-1 and ranked third headed into the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament but they have since lost two matches within the division and one multi-person match.
Luckily for their team dynamic, Trent? and Taylor are trading losing falls, so neither is really showing as the weaker member, but they may have made a mistake in recruiting Orange Cassidy as their third; if they can’t find a way to effectively utilize their sloth-like third, they will continue to struggle.
PRIVATE PARTY, MARQ QUEN AND ISIAH CASSIDY (MEN’S TAG TEAM)
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
This Week’s Ranking: 10
What goes up, often must come down. Private Party rode the high of their upset victory over The Young Bucks into the second round of the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament, but unfortunately, they ran right into the incredibly hot Lucha Brothers, Pentagon Jr and Fenix.
Quen and Cassidy are becoming the poster boys for the AEW house style of tag team wrestling, but so far, they’re struggling to keep up with veterans of the style The Young Bucks and The Lucha Brothers. Private Party’s furious pace has worked against them when it comes to building some cache in their peripheral statistics. Their average match length after five matches is only 13:25, the second lowest of any tag team with more than one match in AEW. They have a long away to go to prove that their stamina can keep up with the best teams in the division: The Young Bucks at 21:16 and The Lucha Brothers at 17:38.
Private Party will be able to ride the wave of their defining victory over The Young Bucks for a little while, but they’ll need to capitalize on it quickly in some lower stakes matchups to get themselves back into the title picture.