Best male AEW wrestlers in the world 2023
Our comprehensive round-up of the best male wrestlers in AEW in 2023.
It’s a cracking time to be a wrestling fan. Whether you’re satisfied with a slice of sports entertainment or prefer to sample from the wider pro wrestling world, there’s something out there for everyone.
For the first time in decades, the juggernaut called World Wrestling Entertainment has true competition. All Elite Wrestling, the upstart wrestling company backed by Fulham FC owner Tony Khan, has gone from strength to strength over the past few years and now has the talent to compete with any promotion around.
This list of AEW’s best male wrestlers was extremely tough to compile, owing to the sheer depth of talent on the roster. Some hugely impressive stars miss out on this list, as we ranked the performers via a combination of in-ring ability, mic skills, storyline strength and wrestling legacy. This takes nothing away from the iconic careers of stars like Chris Jericho or blossoming talents like Orange Cassidy, but right now, the following five men stand above all others in AEW.
RadioTimes.com brings you our ranking of the best male AEW wrestlers in the world right now.
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Best male AEW wrestlers in the world 2023
5. CM Punk
If AEW was built on the backs of Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes and the Elite, it was raised even higher by the arrival of CM Punk. When the Chicago-native bid farewell to the industry in 2014, he left a chasm in the business. The longer he was away, the more unlikely it felt that he would ever return.
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That’s why CM Punk lacing back up his wrestling boots was so special. He brought more eyes to the show and has repaid the attention, with interest. Injuries and off-screen drama have disrupted his run, but the former AEW World Champion has still created history with the likes of Jon Moxley and MJF, proving he’s still one of the best talkers in the business, with the in-ring storytelling to keep up.
It now looks like he has his health back, has a direction and, in Collision, a show to make his own. CM Punk is still one of the biggest stars in the industry, and the best could still be to come.
4. Bryan Danielson
Is Bryan Danielson the greatest wrestler of all time? It was a question asked in the lead up to this year’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view, but it’s a valid one. You won’t catch this writer arguing against giving him that title.
The pro wrestling fan base thought they’d seen the last of Bryan when injury prevented him from competing in WWE, but the American Dragon would not be kept out of the game. He has been a man reborn since joining AEW, performing with the shackles off, with new levels of intensity, ruthlessness and violence.
The legend from Aberdeen, Washington has missed more time due to injury in the last few years but is now part of a special band of warriors - the Blackpool Combat Club - who will continue to have a massive role in the business going forward.
Every time we get to see Danielson’s technical mastery should be cherished. He is the GOAT of what he does and is rounding out his legacy. Danielson is the standard-bearer of greatness in professional wrestling.
3. Jon Moxley
There’s just nobody quite like Mox. He is violent, sure, but that word hardly scratches the surface. He’s intense, brutal, snarling, antagonistic, rageful, nasty and he loves every second of grinding his body against his rivals’. And what a spectacle that creates.
The three-time AEW World Champion has been a tentpole in AEW since joining in 2019, carrying the weight of the company when they’ve needed him most. He’s stood up and stood out, raising his unique, bruising style to new levels, tolerating untold levels of pain, and wearing the crimson mask like it’s part of his ring attire.
He could well be the toughest man in professional wrestling. The bed-of-nails bump he took at Blood and Guts may just have won him that crown. Mox is the man.
2. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
MJF is unparalleled on the mic. He can be devilish, he can be cocky, he can be churlish, but he is also undeniably brilliant. The champ is impossible to look away from.
His critics point to his in-ring work and its regularity - he hasn’t always wrestled a lot - but those criticisms get swept under the sheer power of his personality. He is loved, he is hated, he is cheered, he is booed, just as a wrestler wants to be. Every AEW fan has an opinion on Max and that’s because he’s a star.
Nobody is doing what MJF is doing. He might not yet be the best professional wrestler in the world, but he’s already an elite-level entertainer.
1. Kenny Omega
The Canadian ‘Best Bout Machine’ is built different. He’s an incredible athlete, capable of doing remarkable things inside the squared circle, but he’s also as hard-hitting as they come.
His forty-minute match-of-the-year-contender with Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door surely cemented the veteran firmly within the conversation for the sport’s king. He’d get plenty of votes for the industry’s modern GOAT. He can sell, has got a ridiculous engine on him, can create drama - even when nobody expects him to lose - and his snap dragon suplex looks like it could legitimately break necks.
Omega is special among special athletes. It only takes watching him work to see that.
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