AEW is approaching four full years as a wrestling promotion, but they already have a deep list of memorable moments. The promotion has been responsible for some stellar storylines that helped set them up for a long-term future by having such a hot start. Names like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, and Cody Rhodes have been part of some huge AEW memories.
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However, some of the forgotten times end up being the most fascinating when looking back. Most great storylines will have an odd overlooked moment or two due to how much time goes into crafting an angle. AEW is no different from any promotion when it comes to that common trend. The following weird moments have been forgotten from generally great storylines.
10 CM Punk Insulting Long Island As Heel For A Night (Epic Punk Vs MJF Feud)
AEW practiced a different style of storytelling during the incredible CM Punk vs MJF feud when Dynamite was in the latter’s hometown of Long Island, New York. Punk opened the show by faking out the audience by coming out to MJF’s music and started insulting the local fans.
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The Freaky Friday-like scenario saw MJF playing the face and Punk playing the heel for one night since that’s how the Long Island fans viewed them. Punk played the babyface every other night in the feud to eventually win the war over MJF.
9 Don Callis Owning A Kenny Omega Oil Painting (Kenny Omega's Heel Turn)
The heel turn of Kenny Omega when he won the AEW World Championship was a tremendous story. Omega’s ally Don Callis had been emerging more and sticking his nose in Omega’s business. A forgotten segment saw the Young Bucks visiting Callis when he requested a meeting.
AEW was running the story of the Young Bucks trying to remain close to Omega despite Callis getting in the way. Callis was revealed to own an oil painting of both him and Kenny shirtless to serve as the punch line. The Young Bucks eventually turned heel as well to unite with Omega and Callis in The Elite.
8 Jerry Lynn, Mark Henry & Big Show As Title Match Judges (Bryan Danielson & Adam Page's Draw Setting Up Rematch)
Adam Page winning the AEW World Championship saw his first challenger being possibly the best wrestler in the world. Bryan Danielson leaned heel when channeling his sadistic side since Hangman was the homegrown babyface success story.
The first match between the two ending in a draw led to them having a rematch with a new twist. Judges were selected to name a winner if the match again ended after the sixty-minute time limit. Big Show, Mark Henry, and Jerry Lynn felt like the most random judges possible, but Page won in about thirty minutes to avoid them being involved.
7 Ruby Soho Getting Booed For Beating Kris Statlander (Owen Hart Cup Tournament)
Ruby Soho’s recent heel turn featured a promo discussing why she chose to unite with Saraya and Toni Storm to form the Outcasts. The Owen Hart Cup semi-finals were a huge win for Ruby when defeating Kris Statlander to advance to the finals against Britt Baker.
Soho referenced being livid about the fans booing her on that night since she was a face. The audience had an organic connection with Kris Statlander to see them upset over Ruby’s victory. Baker ended up winning the women’s side of the Owen Hart Cup as a generally positive story introducing that concept.
6 Bret Hart Revealing The AEW World Championship Belt (Setting Up World Title Scene)
Double or Nothing 2019 was the first AEW PPV to introduce the promotion to the wrestling world. Tony Khan pulled out all the stops for a successful night, including a few surprises. Bret Hart made a shocking appearance unveiling the AEW World Championship belt.
Most fans forget about this wild moment that ended with MJF interrupting Hart and making insulting comments. Adam Page, Jimmy Havoc, and Jungle Boy all interrupted MJF to set the stage for AEW having both familiar and new names at the top.
5 Diamond Dallas Page Confronting MJF (Cody Rhodes Betrayed By MJF)
One of the first major AEW storylines featured MJF starting off as Cody Rhodes’ friend and protégé until the third PPV Full Gear 2019. MJF throwing in the towel saw Cody losing his AEW World Championship title match to Chris Jericho and the chance to ever challenge again.
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The aftermath of the match saw MJF low-blowing Rhodes to prove that his actions were all intentional. Cody’s close friend and mentor Diamond Dallas Page made a rare appearance confronting MJF.
4 Christian Cage Referencing Marko Stunt's Disappearance (Jurassic Express Breaking Up)
A more recent storyline to work well for AEW saw Christian Cage playing a huge role in the end of Jurassic Express. The tag team act started off with Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus teaming up and the smaller Marko Stunt as their manager or six-man tag partner.
Christian betraying Jungle Boy after working with Jurassic Express started a great story, especially once Luchasaurus turned heel to unite with Cage. A previous weird moment showed Christian telling Luchasaurus to think about what happened to Marko, who disappeared from the group without an explanation. None of them referenced Stunt again to make that cryptic.
3 Eric Bischoff Appearing As A Journalist (Chris Jericho & MJF's War Of Words)
MJF joining the Inner Circle only to betray them started an underrated feud with Chris Jericho. The infamous musical promo between the two proved that some moments would stand the test of time to always be remembered.
However, there was a forgotten segment that featured noteworthy names appearing. Jericho and MJF were both given questions to answer from journalists in the venue that night. Eric Bischoff made a random surprise cameo asking questions to both wrestlers, along with his podcast co-host Conrad Thompson.
2 Adam Page Revealed Under Stay Puft Marshmallow Costume (Hangman Conquering The Elite)
Many AEW fans will name the entire storyline of Adam Page and The Elite as the best in company history. Hangman left the group after feeling alienated by the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. The trio eventually turned heel and no longer had much interest in Page’s career.
Hangman had to fight to get a world title shot against Kenny Omega after a few hiccups in the latter half of 2021.
An overlooked moment came during the Halloween episode of Dynamite with The Elite and Dark Order all wearing costumes. Page was not in this match, but he was revealed to be under a Stay Puft marshmallow costume that The Elite assumed was Brandon Cutler to even the odds.
1 Raven Sitting In The Crowd As Red Herring (Dark Order's Leader Tease)
AEW had quite a few ups and downs with the Dark Order over the first few months of the company's starting. Things started to improve with vignettes saving the act and fan interest in the storyline of a mysterious leader.
Wrestling legend Raven sitting in the crowd during a Dark Order match was not mentioned by commentary, but it was an intentional move to make fans think. Raven never appeared in AEW again, and Brodie Lee ended up being revealed as the Dark Order leader a little while later.
