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MJF was the one to coin the term "four pillars of AEW" (no doubt in homage to the Four Pillars of Heaven from All Japan in the 1990s). When MJF included himself in the "Four Pillars" of AEW he was grouping himself with three other young and talented workers that have the potential to be the face of AEW for the next decade. Being the best can also make you a target though as other competitors will seek to get a win over the best and the brightest. Looking into 1-on-1 win/loss records I noticed that no one has a clean sweep over the four. So who has the best chance of getting that feather in their cap as being the first to do so?
First we need to look at the career 1-on-1 stats of the four pillars themselves.
MJF (18-2)
Jungle Boy (18-7-1)
Sammy Guevera (22-13)
Darby Allin (37-9-1)
Honorable mention to the workers who have beaten a single member of the four pillars. This group consists of PAC, Miro, CM Punk, Adam Page, Luchasaurus, Dustin Rhodes, Adam Cole, and Matt Hardy. While it's not impossible for any of these men to quickly score victories over the remaining three pillars, they've got some ground to cover. In the case of Luchasaurs it would also take an out of character feud with his friend Jungle Boy which is unlikely. With that said, on to the top five contenders to break down all four pillars.
#5 Kenny Omega or Darby Allin (tie)
Both Kenny and Darby have beaten two members of the pillars. They can both claim wins over Sammy and Jungle Boy (hence the tie). While Darby will never score 4-4 in matches against his fellow pillars (unless he figures out how to pin himself) I'm including him on the ranking anyway. Besting a pillar should be seen as an achievement in AEW, and he's done it twice. Kenny Omega is currently taking a well earned hiatus as he's out with shoulder surgery. When he returns I don't think feuds with MJF or Darby Allin will be at the top of his to-do list.
#4 Chris Jericho
2021 has been the first year as a fan of Jericho where I felt it really is time for him to start wrapping up his legendary career. I had hoped that MJF would have been the one to do it but that didn't happen and instead Jericho got the win at All Out. This is big as only two men have beat MJF in a 1-on-1 scenario. The other four pillar member that Jericho has a win over is Darby Allin who Jericho beat early on in AEW's existence. With those two out of the way that leaves Jungle Boy (who Jericho wrestled to a time limit draw) and Sammy Guevara. I can't imagine Jericho getting a singles win over Guevara as Sammy would actually make sense to be the one to finally retire Jericho (in a student overtaking the master kind of storyline).
#3 Cody
I can only imagine the flutter that would occur on Twitter were Cody be the man to score wins over the future of AEW. As it is he's one win away from a clean sweep. The only man left is MJF, who famously beat Cody. It may be a good storyline to revisit down the road but Cody is having some issues with the fans right now and while intriguing, the idea of a Cody/MJF match-up reads better on paper than it would in an arena.
#2 MJF
MJF has quickly established himself as one of the premiere talent in AEW. While he doesn't have the match totals of the other three it can not be understated how good of a worker he is. His matchup with Darby Allin at Full Gear 2021 was a thrilling match that felt like a open dare to the rest of the roster to try to top. MJF won that one, as well as wins over Guevara (Dynamite in June 2021) and Jungle Boy (Double or Nothing 2020). He'll never get a clean sweep of all four pillars (thanks to being one himself), but what he has done is beat three of them. There is only two other men who can claim a similar feat. We already mentioned Cody, so that leaves...
#1 Jon Moxley
When Jon Moxley returns to action it will be very interesting to see what direction his character takes. No doubt he will get a hero's reception on his return, yet the seeds of a heel turn were definitely in play before his hiatus. He'd be better served as a heel as the last remaining member on his four pillars bingo card is fan favorite Jungle Boy.