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Dissolved Groups
QTV: I was going to put this group last in the rankings, but with QT Marshall leaving by the end of the year and not even a smidge of recent TV time I'm putting this group down. Unless Johnny TV wants to take over the group and bring back Worldwide Underground (who else remembers?).
On Hold
Snake Army: Anything going on with Jake Roberts group? As soon as they formed Lance Archer went off on a tour of Japan and the Righteous haven't been featured on AEW TV.
Outcasts II (the sequel): With Hayley Cameron associating herself with Saraya we'll wait and see if this forms into a cohesive group alongside Ruby Soho.
The Elite: So it's come to this. Kenny's out on medical leave, Hangman's hanging out with his family (I assume) and the Young Bucks vanish from TV now for week's at a time.
The Rankings
#14 Ingobernables: (Up 2 Spots) This group has a lot of work to do in 2024. Could use some new members, definitely need to start getting some wins and titles.
Strength: 39.5%
#13 Triple J: (Up 2 Spots) Jay Lethal being a participant in the Continental Classic is the most action this group saw in the last several weeks.
Strength: 40.3%
#12 Hardy Party: (Up 2 Spots) Yep, still here.
Strength: 43.7%
#11 Top Flight: (Returned!) After nearly six months out of the rankings, a healthy Top Flight make their return to the standings.
Strength: 50.7%
#10 Dark Order: (Up 2 Spots) It took until the end of the year but the Dark Order finally achieved purpose! They took over BTE and rebranded it as BTDO. While reverting back to being comedy goofs may not be new ground, at least it's something they excel at.
Strength: 65.2%
#9 Bullet Club Gold: (Down 2 Spots) Just on the cusp of greatness in 2023, hopefully a fully healthy BCG will make waves in 2024.
Strength: 72.2%
#8 Mogul Embassy: (Down 2 Spots) Mogul Embassy was a weird one to track as their win % was never great, yet they had ROH gold on two occasions this past year. I expect with them going into 2024 as champions, and Swerve making a claim on the AEW World title, they should start with good momentum next year.
Strength: 46.3%
Championship: ROH Trios (Cage, Liona, Kaun)
#7 Blackpool Combat Club (No Change) This may seem low for Blackpool, but there's two areas that they just missed out on. For attainment their belt doesn't have the prestige of the TNT title (AEW belts score higher than ROH belts), nor do they have the quantity of "secondary" belts that Callis Family have. Callis Family also barely outscored them on strength. The inclusion of three BCC members in the Continental Classic resulted in more wins and losses.
Strength: 68.2%
Championship: ROH Pure (Wheeler Yuta)
#6 The Patriarchy: (Down 2 Spots) I didn't even have time to edit my rankings during the TNT reign of Adam Copeland (2023-2023). Luchasaurus/Killswitch can't put up with Christian Cage's nonsense much longer. I don't see the Patriarchy making it long into the new year.
Strength: 52.8%
Championship: TNT Title (Christian Cage)
#5 The Callis Family: (No Change) Oh the possibilities for this faction in 2024. Fans are salivating for Takeshita to be featured more, Hobbs deserves another championship run, and Ospreay wil join AEW as a full timer. The biggest thing that may be holding this group back, may be Callis himself as he can't get out of the orbit of Omega and Jericho. The overall strength score of the group went up slightly when Sammy Guevera was given the boot.
Strength: 69.1%
Championship: ROH TV Title (Kyle Fletcher), IWGP UK (Ospreay)
#4 The Devil's Kingdom: (Up 5 Spots) Biggest gain of any faction on the list. Before Saturday the Kingdom were just Strong, Taven, and Bennet. Now revealed as a lager group that managed to win ROH gold they are shooting up the list. With the final reveals of Wardlow and Adam Cole to the group, their strength score got a nice little boost at the end of World's End.
Strength: 81.0%
Championships: ROH Tag (Taven and Bennet)
#3 Best Friends: (No Change) Not much more can be said about the top three, they've been consistent for most of the year. Almost always holding a title or two and strong strength scores. Best Friends are a warm cozy blanket within AEW, you always know what you're getting (and I see no reason for that to change).
Strength: 65.3%
Championship: AEW International (Orange Cassidy)
#2 House of Black: (No Change) I don't know if Malakai Black's head is in the game at this point. He openly name drops CM Punk, he gets Claudio's name wrong, and he hasn't wrestled a meaningful singles match in a long time. I know he's dealt with some injuries, but maybe he's not where he belongs at this point in his career. Julia Hart however is right where she belongs and HoB would probably be better served if she was the de facto leader.
Strength: 78.2%
Championship: TBS Title (Julia Hart)
#1 The Acclaimed: (No Change) It may be hard to book so close to Sting's farewell, but Billy Gunn deserves a nice sendoff should he hang up his boots in 2024. Although who knows, the man's built of granite. He may continue working and scissoring into 2025.
Strength: 86.0%
Championship: AEW Trios (The Acclaimed)
Looking at the strength chart for 2023 the first thing I see is the quiet ascension of the Kingdom. All year the Acclaimed and House of Black held the top two spots (ignoring the brief moment in Jan when Dark Order were on top). Then in October the Kingdom make their faction debut and start creeping up. This coincides with a slide in HoB's score and by the time the Kingdom are revealed as the Devil's Kingdom, they've surpassed Hob. Another thing to note is how the Elite just blipped out of existence in December. I put them on hold so their strength line just stopped.
What a year. We had factions break up (The Firm, JAS), move over to ROH (Varsity Athletes), and we saw groups form and disappear within 12 months (QTV, possibly the Outcasts?). I'm looking forward to starting fresh with 2024 as the slate is clean, ROH is more established (ie I get a better idea of which groups I need to follow), and we see who steps up in future rankings. Have a great New Year's everyone!