For what was at one point the best booked championship in professional wrestling, the AEW World Championship has had a turbulent year. From questionably booked champions, interim nonsense, and hot potato being played with the gold, it has received its fair share of criticism.
All that being said, for the most part, the title has experienced some fantastic matches. Even amongst not-so-perfect booking, the best of the best have fought for the title and the quality of those bouts has been very high. The likes of Adam Page, CM Punk, Jon Moxley, and MJF have all held the top belt in AEW, each bringing a different style to the table.
Note: Interim World Title defenses won’t be included here.
13 CM Punk Vs. Jon Moxley (Dynamite - 24th August)
After being ruled out with injury, CM Punk returned to help unify the legit & interim AEW World Titles against Moxley. In a huge upset, Moxley focused on Punk’s injury and squashed him in mere minutes.
AEW went for a surprise here, but it didn’t land. Fans were promised a major title match and received awkward booking instead.
12 Jon Moxley Vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (Dynamite - 26th October)
The problem with this match is that no one believed Penta had a chance against Moxley. After some strong singles matches outside AEW, Penta failed to bring that same intensity to this match.
The action was fine, but it could have been so much better.
11 Jon Moxley Vs. Adam Page (Dynamite: Title Tuesday - 18th October)
This match between two of AEW’s top babyfaces was going pretty well, and it was just about to kick into another gear. However, an awkward clothesline and landing led to Page legitimately getting knocked out.
The referee called for the bell and the match ended early before anything could get going. This was a shame, and whilst it wasn’t anyone’s fault, this was a letdown.
10 Adam Page Vs. Dante Martin (Dynamite - 9th March)
After successfully defending the World Title at Revolution, Adam Page didn’t want to stop there, and he took on the young and promising Dante Martin.
Of course, the result was never in doubt, but Martin got a chance to shine against the top guy in the company, making himself look good in the process.
9 Adam Page Vs. Adam Cole (Rampage - 15th April)
These two would have a superior bout in 2022 for the World Title, but this Texas Death Match was still a lot of fun, with each man bringing some good fire and intensity.
The closing stages in particular to this one were great, with a brutal spot through a table winning the match for Page. It was nice to see a title match on Rampage too, for a change.
8 Jon Moxley Vs. MJF (Full Gear - 19th November)
The split crowd did slow the momentum of this a little, as the cheering for MJF worked against what AEW were trying to accomplish here. Overall, this was a good match, though it was missing something to get it to the next level.
Initially, William Regal’s heel turn at the end of the match was a great moment, but with him leaving AEW a few weeks later, it felt like a bizarre decision to give him the spotlight.
7 MJF Vs. Ricky Starks (Dynamite: Winter Is Coming - 14th December)
Two of AEW’s young stars went toe-to-toe here in a hot main event. The wrestling was smooth, though the finish was a little predictable with MJF hitting a low blow to score the win.
It was a strong start to MJF’s reign though, and it put Starks on the map as a future main eventer.
6 Jon Moxley Vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite: Grand Slam - 21st September)
Having two teammates face off provided a very strong dynamic here. For whatever the reason, the crowd wasn’t super hot for this, but that didn’t stop them from bringing great psychology and storytelling.
The constant camera cuts to MJF did hurt the pace a little, with it very much feeling like the winner of this match didn’t matter, as the inevitable next champion would be MJF.
5 Adam Page Vs. CM Punk (Double Or Nothing - 29th May)
This did have a big fight feel despite an up-and-down build, so the atmosphere of this match was great. However, there were some sloppy moments during this, particularly from Punk.
Punk’s often methodical style in this match was a great counter to the fast-paced style of Page, and seeing Punk win and hold a World Title for the first time in years was a wonderful moment.
4 Adam Page Vs. Adam Cole (Revolution - 6th March)
This one did split some fans. If you’re a fan of the old NXT TakeOver style of main event, then this was a show-stealer, but if not, then it may have felt overly choreographed with too many kickouts.
Either way, it is hard to deny the chemistry and brilliant athleticism that these two men displayed here, and the crowd responded with a raucous atmosphere, especially in the second half of the match after they’d chanted all of their “Adam” jokes.
3 Adam Page Vs. Lance Archer (Dynamite - 9th February)
Due to Archer’s position on the card, fans knew going in that Page was set to retain. However, they still managed to get the crowd invested by putting on a great showing.
This Texas Death Match was a car crash in the best of ways, with violent spots, blood, and more. Page’s Buckshot Lariat off the back of the referee remains one of the best spots of this entire year.
2 Jon Moxley Vs. CM Punk (All Out - 4th September)
After a hot opening, there was a teased repeat of their aforementioned squash match, this developed into a high level main event between two of the most popular stars in AEW. It was very hard-hitting, with Punk’s blood-covered tights showcasing just how violent it was.
If it weren’t for the post-show controversy, this would be looked back on even more fondly. In a vacuum, it was still a terrific main event.
1 Adam Page Vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite - 5th January)
The very first AEW World Title match of 2022 was by far the best one, as Adam Page and Bryan Danielson delivered another instant classic on the first Dynamite on TBS.
They managed to live up to insane expectations after their match of the year candidate a couple months prior, putting on an epic battle here. It was technical, bloody, and a whole lot of fun.