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#AEWeekly 2025-2026 AEW Yearbook
Since the first AEW All In broke attendance records three years ago, each annual edition of the stadium supershow has been the climactic event of AEW’s calendar each year. So we at Pro Wrestling Musings have decided that we’d like to take our look back at the year that was in AEW based on the timeframe from the first Dynamite after All In Texas 2025 until AEW’s return to Wembley at the end of August. And it occurs to us that there is another traditional look back at the past year that covers a non-calendar year: the school Yearbook! So along the lines of an AEW 2025-26 Yearbook here is a look back at the performers who stood out over that time week in and week out, based on their recognition by the #AEWeekly team over that time!
This past year the contributors to #AEWeekly have been Abel [@loza3.bsky.social] covering Match of the Week, Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] talking about the Best Interview, Lauren [@sithwitch.bsky.social] exploring a key Story Beat, with Moment of the Week expanded on alternately by Sergei or Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] until our newest writer Larissa [@actual-swamp-hag.bsky.social] took over, while Most Valuable has been covered alternately by Emi or Abel as we continue to look for a regular writer for that beat. Sergei also edited and organized it all.
We'd love for this and any and all of our content to be the beginning of a conversation with our readers. To interact with any and all of our contributors please accept our invitation to join the Pro Wrestling Musings Community Discord. Then follow this link to the #AEWeekly Discord Thread.
The Ring General
No matter what some folks claim, wrestling is foremost about… wrestling matches! Which of AEW’s great performers dominated within the squared circle over the past year?
# 1 In Ring Kyle Fletcher
Other competitors were in the most compelling stories, but between the ropes nobody else had a year like Kyle Fletcher. A big part of that was COMPLETELY dominating the last two months of 2025. In the five weeks of the Continental Classic, a C2 match was Match otW every week, and it was Fletcher’s match except for once for Moxley v Castagnolin in week 2. Add on a TNT title defense against Ace Austin right before the tournament started and Fletcher held Match otW FIVE of the last seven weeks of 2025.
Fletcher was the king of free TV matches specifically. Other than the C2 final against Jon Moxley at Worlds End, the rest of Fletcher’s 10 matches chosen as our match of the week last week were on Dynamite or Collision.
Some pull quotes from a couple of the best of them:
Ciampa vs Fletcher for the TNT Championship… might be the TV match of the year… Ciampa and Fletcher both have proved that they are measuring sticks within the men’s division. The bar has officially been set for matches for the rest of the year.
– Abel
“Speedball” Mike Bailey versus “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher is precisely what the Continental Classic is all about. It's also, in the microcosm, what All Elite Wrestling is all about. It brings out the best in the best wrestlers of the world, and makes even the most jaded of wrestling fans suspend disbelief, even if it's just for a few seconds…
– Abel
Runner Up TIE:
Jon Moxley & Kenny Omega
Whereas the #1 guy in the ring was all about putting up bangers regardless of what was on the line, the two men who are his runners up were all about their story with a championship. In the case of Jon Moxley, looking for redemption for the (within kayfabe) disgraceful way he had held the world title hostage, by campaigning for and then keeping hold of the one title that by definition can’t be gained or retained using gang warfare tactics: the Continental Championship. Meanwhile, Kenny Omega went after one last great (if brief) World Title run, dispatching the despised Max Friedman and then passing his torch to the Man of the future Will Ospreay at Wembley stadium…
Some noteworthy quotes about Mox or Kenny Matches of the Week throughout the year:
The finish for Fletcher / Moxley was the culmination of an emotional, savage, and beautiful match that had us see Moxley standing tall in the middle of the ring, nearly completing his full circle moment.
– Abel
I don't think there will be a match like MJF vs. Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship for the rest of the year – especially on free television… Omega’s entrance was built for the megastar he is, and like every other big stage he has stepped on, The Best Bout Machine delivered.
– Abel
Few matches make us feel – collectively as wrestling fans – the way that the match between Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the AEW World Championship at Wembley Stadium on Sunday did… If this is how Omega goes out, as a main eventer, then there is no better way for a warrior to go out than on his shield. There will never be anyone else like Omega ever in this business, and we should all be thanking our stars we were born during the same era.
– Abel
Match of the Week 2025-26 Highlights | ||
July 2025 | AUG 2025 | SEP 2025 |
OCT 2025 | NOV 2025 | DEC 2025 |
JAN 2026 | FEB 2026 | MAR 2026 |
APR 2026 | May 2026 | June 2026 |
Kenny Omega: | Jon Moxley: | |
July 2026 | AUG 2026 | |
Master of Ceremonies
Sometimes a performer just has a silver tongue, the gift for gab, mastery of the microphone… Over the past year, who was AEW’s emcee?
# 1 on the Mic TIE:
Toni Storm & Hangman Page
The tie between Adam Page and Toni Storm on interviews is pretty fitting I think, because in a lot of ways their stories over last year had a lot of parallels. Both started the year as absolutely dominant champions and had great promos in that mode. And both had a devastating career crash and had great speeches about that as well. And both only edged ahead of the pack in Interview of the Week honors, but that’s not because they weren’t consistently head-and-shoulders above everybody else on the mic, but just because they were each away for a significant part of the year.
Adam Page on being Champion:
…there are people… who would say that that makes me weak. They would say that that makes me less of a man. But I want you to look at me. I have a wife and two kids who love me. I have … millions of people watching … who can look to me and … respect me and if you want to know what kind of man I am, you can look at me tonight because I am the champion of the fucking world.
Toni Storm on being Champion:
Seven months ago, I won my baby back. And since then I've lived every day as though it's my last. I have slain, beasts, belt collectors, and forever champions. And I have loved every single, disgusting, sweaty, bloody, sexually-questionable second of it. Because … if you're not willing to put your life on the line every time you step in that ring, then, darling, you ain't shit.
Adam Page on failure and disappointment:
…now I am faced with the question: WHO is Hangman without the World Championship? And the honest truth is that I don't know… But we are damned sure going to find out aren't we?
Toni Storm on failure and disappointment:
Every circus ends the same way: the lights fade, the music dies, and someone is left lying in the sawdust…
Interview of the Week 2025-26 Highlights | ||
July 2025 | AUG 2025 | SEP 2025 |
Hangman: | Toni Storm: | |
OCT 2025 | NOV 2025 | DEC 2025 |
JAN 2026 | FEB 2026 | MAR 2026 |
Toni Storm: | ||
APR 2026 | May 2026 | June 2026 |
July 2026 | AUG 2026 | |
Hangman: | ||
The Storyteller
We said just above that Wrestling is matches, but wrestling is ALSO stories, and … well, almost everything human is too. In wrestling, those are often stories of conflict and hate (ie feuds!) But not always…. So, who was the beating heart of AEW’s stories over the past year?
# 1 at Advancing Stories (& Runner Up):
Omega & Ospreay
Over the course of this past year, the story at the core has been the story of these two men running into each other in the trainer’s room… Leading finally to the moment of torch-passing seen above…
When you have people around you, the pain is shared and the victories celebrated. I look at Kenny and Ospreay getting back into the ring after injury and loss, and I see my own struggles reflected back at me. Sometimes you just need that outside vote of confidence to get back up and try again.
– Lauren
Kenny… finally… telling Ospreay that the rest is up to him. I hope Kenny returns to the ring soon, but I anticipate a break coming up. Thank you, Kenny, and we just hope that you're healthy and happy following such an emotional performance.
– Lauren
Story Beat of the Week 2025-26 Highlights | ||
July 2025 | AUG 2025 | SEP 2025 |
OCT 2025 | NOV 2025 | DEC 2025 |
Kenny Omega: | ||
JAN 2026 | FEB 2026 | MAR 2026 |
Kenny Omega: | Kenny Omega: | |
APR 2026 | May 2026 | June 2026 |
July 2026 | AUG 2026 | |
The Moment Maker
Those moments that wrestling fans will never forget, that’s one of our favorite parts of wrestling! So which performer was creating those unforgettable slivers of time over the past year?
# 1 in Memorable Moments:
Hangman Adam Page
It’s Hangman. Dressed as Tony Schiavone. Wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask. He takes off the mask. … Beautiful, 10/10. No notes.
– Emiliana
If anything, I feel that Emiliana's praise… above was faint… It was that sort of rare moment that has us wrestling fans calling up or texting friends who don't even watch wrestling to say: "you gotta see this!"
– Sergei
Runner Up: Mercedes Moné
Now the question is: did Mercedes believe, by the cosmic laws of wrestling, that because Mini Moné got put through the cake, that she herself would be safe? That the cake gods would be satisfied? But alas, the answer is that no, they were not.
– Emiliana
Moment of the Week 2025-26 Highlights | ||
July 2025 | AUG 2025 | SEP 2025 |
Hangman: | ||
OCT 2025 | NOV 2025 | DEC 2025 |
Hangman: | ||
JAN 2026 | FEB 2026 | MAR 2026 |
Hangman: | ||
APR 2026 | May 2026 | June 2026 |
Mercedes: | ||
July 2026 | AUG 2026 | |
The Most Valuable
Distinct from the All Rounder, this is the performer who week-in and week-out brought added value to AEW as a whole. This is less about being good at one thing or many, but about raising the level of everyone around you. So, who added the most value to AEW over the last year?
# 1 at Adding Value 3-WAY TIE:
Darby & Kenny & the Jet
Adding value can mean a lot of different things. It can mean being a leader and an example. It can mean demonstrating what can be accomplished in even a brief run at the top if you put everything you have into it. And it can mean showing incredible potential for the future.
Darby’s unparalleled title run:
To the surprise of no one, Allin and Guevara had a banging match, which brought Darby’s successful consecutive title defenses to six…in just 31 days! An insane pace. The pace that previous comparable Champions took to reach 6 successful defenses has been slower than Allin's by a factor of TEN.
– Abel & Sergei
Omega’s inspiring win:
Even if this turns out to be a short title reign, I know for a fact that Omega will make it worthwhile. Given how he crushed his moment in the spotlight this past week, it's clear that Omega knows what to do and how to prove that he is one of, if not THE BEST, professional wrestler in the world.
– Abel
Knight’s attention-grabbing challenge:
What I do know is that this week, Knight grabbed the spotlight, even when the spotlight was supposed to be on the World Champion, and he excelled.
– Abel
MVP of the Week 2025-26 Highlights | ||
July 2025 | AUG 2025 | SEP 2025 |
OCT 2025 | NOV 2025 | DEC 2025 |
JAN 2026 | FEB 2026 | MAR 2026 |
Kevin Knight: | ||
APR 2026 | May 2026 | June 2026 |
July 2026 | AUG 2026 | |
Kenny Omega: Kevin Knight: | ||
The All-Rounder
While some are great at one thing or another, others are just great at everything! Who was AEW’s Renaissance Man or Woman over the past year?
I don’t think it’s any surprise to anyone that when it comes to excellence in every category over the All In 2025 to All In 2026 time period the #1 All Rounder was Kenny Omega and it wasn’t terribly close. Hangman Adam Page and Will Ospreay are also highly deserving of their spots as runner up and second runner up.
What will the coming year bring? Obviously last year’s #1 All Rounder said to Will Ospreay after Wembley: “It’s your AEW now…” But so far this year it’s Jon Moxley who has been the centerpiece of the story. But there is plenty of time for Will to catch up, or for some surprise dark horse to suddenly take the fore. Only time will tell!
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