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As of this article I'm tracking 17 groups (not including ROH). Looking over the list I wondered if maybe this is too many. One criticism of AEW is having a large roster and not enough TV time. The upside is that being a part of a group may increase visibility for talent that may not get featured otherwise. Killswitch hasn't had a match in months, but he does get to hang around with the Patriarchy and look menacing. Good work if one can find it. So bring on more factions I say! Let's see if we can get over 20 by the time All In rolls around.
Groups to Watch
The Learning Tree- While he's seemingly course corrected his Learning Tree gimmick, another Jericho group already feels like it would be diminishing returns. As that may be, he's already got Big "Redwood" Bill and it looks like Bryan Keith may be joining soon.
The Rankings
#17 Triple J (Down 2 Spots, or No Change depending on perspective)- Good to see Satnam Singh get a Dynamite match. Still no wins though. I do hope that Jarrett gets a 1v1 match against Danielson sometime this year. It wont result in a win for Jarrett, I just think it'd be fun.
Strength: 0%
#16 Shane Taylor Productions (Down 2 Spots)- Good to see this group, and Shane Taylor specifically, getting some respect from the online wrestling community. I thought Anthony Agogo would be more involved after he made his in ring return. Strength: 12%
#15 The Outcasts (RETURNING)- I was very close to not including this group in the rankings but a late tag match involving Cameron and Saraya was just enough to make the list. Who knows if we'll ever see Zak Knight on TV again. Strength: 14.3%
#14 The Righteous (Down 3 Spots)- I'd put Lance, Vincent, and Dutch in the same category as STP in that with enough proper build they could be title contenders. Strength: 15.7%
#13 The Infantry (Down 1 Spot)- It was nice to see the Infantry back on Collision this past Saturday, I do wonder what Trish Adora is up to though. Strength: 18.1%
#12 Top Flight (Down 2 Spots)- The utility team among the AEW factions. Top Flight can work a match with literally any other group on this list and it will be entertaining. Strength: 20.0%
#11 Dark Order (Up 2 Spots)- I've been writing about Dark Order for so long that there's very little else I can say. They're funny guys, wish they would recruit another member, the same as it's ever been. They did move up two spots in the rankings, despite not having a televised match in recent memory. Their upward movement is a result of more teams debuting below them. Strength: 21.4%
#10 Cage of Agony (Down 5 Spots)- Now that they've freed themselves of Strickland and Nana, the newly renamed trio of Cage, Liona, and Kaun have an opportunity to move up the rankings and possibly win gold. Yet there is a very noticeable divide between the haves and have-nots among the AEW stables. Strength: 32.3%
It's been a point of online chatter lately that AEW talent don't have enough movement up the card. Wherever they were a year ago, they still find themselves in a similar position in the present. This has been noticeable when looking at the factions in 2024. The eight factions that make up the lower portion of the rankings have been there for awhile (some going back into 2023). All have poor strength scores (sub 50%) and aside from occasional runs with secondary titles, they don't win championships. It doesn't have to be this way though, a few weeks of strong booking and a group like the Righteous or STP could be credible contenders. I can't stress the word "credible" enough. When elevating any act in wrestling I think a slow hand is best. It'd be cool and surprising to see Top Flight beat the Young Bucks for the Tag Team Championships, but if done without the proper build it can devalue the title and get no one over. I hope to see any of these acts do anything of note within the next few months, I just hope the booking doesn't let them down. Back to the list.
#9 The Patriarchy (No Change)
It's very telling how good this group is that Christian Cage looked like he had a very real chance of dethroning Swerve during their title match. It doesn't make any sense from a booking standpoint, but the storyline and character work have been so good that one can forgive fans for believing.
Strength: 50.0%
#8 Death Triangle (RETURNING)- We will have to wait and see if the return of Death Triangle is a long term storyline or if it was just a one off for Double or Nothing. I'd rather see all three members have more solo runs (Pentagon vs. Ospreay could be cool).
Strength: 57.1%
#7 House of Black (Up 1 Spot)
Everyone online asking if Malakai Black is leaving AEW can just stop, dude is under contract until 2027.
Strength: 66.6%
#6 The Acclaimed (Up 1 Spot)- You know, I hope Will Ospreay is the one to end Billy Gunn's career, and it wasn't just a one-liner from a media scrum. Strength: 69.2%
#5 Undisputed Kingdom (Down 1 Spot)
Of all the groups on this list, Undisputed Kingdom is the one that leaves me scratching my head on where they go from here. It seems a given that Adam Cole and MJF feud, but Cole is still injured (?). Strong lost his belt, Wardlow is lost until his inevitable turn, and Taven/Bennett are more relevant in ROH. At the end of 2023 this was the hot group, now I don't think they'll last more than a few months.
Strength: 66.6%
Championship: ROH Tag (Taven & Bennett)
#4 Callis Family (Up 2 Spots)
It would make sense that the AI image generator would make "The Don Callis" Family into some sort of mafia group. Can't spell his name right though. I expect some heavy storyline beats among the group this summer as Ospreay breaks away, a possible returning Mark Davis, and hopefully Will Hobbs makes a speedy recovery.
Strength: 51.4%
Championship: AEW International (Will Ospreay), ROH TV (Kyle Fletcher)
#3 Blackpool Combat Club (No Change)
The members of BCC have all been off doing their own things as of late. Cohesion comes into question as Claudio is clearly not approving of Danielson standing up for AEW.
Strength: 83.6%
Championship: IWGP World (Moxley), ROH Pure (Wheeler Yuta)
#2 The Elite (No Change)
Interesting that AI would associate "Elite" with a Homelander like character. The New Elite looked really good in Anarchy in the Arena and everything is working out fine for them.
Strength: 86.1%
Championships: AEW Continental (Okada), AEW Tag (Young Bucks)
#1 The Bang Bang Gang (No Change)
Anyone know what the story is behind dropping the Bullet Club Gold moniker? Did someone at NJPW say something? Simple creative change? Weird, anyway... The Gunn Club are quickly becoming one of my favorite acts in AEW. The oblivious, egotisical, nepo-babies are a great gimmick and Colten Gunn is slowly developing into a real solid worker (he has a great dropkick).
Strength: 90.0%
Championship: Unified AEW/ROH Trios (Jay White, Gunn Club)
So we have the top factions holding steady in their positions, while the bottom half of the rankings fight for scraps. My hope for this summer is that things shake up a little bit and we get some movement in either direction.
Looking at the chart we can see how Cage of Agony shot themselves in the foot by dropping Swerve. Most other groups are just holding steady. The biggest change in strength position occurs when a member joins or leaves so unless that happens this graph isn't going to have many peaks and/or valleys.
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