No matter how you feel personally about All Elite Wrestling, there’s no denying the boost that the company has given the U.S. pro wrestling scene in just its first few years of existence. A truly healthy, strong alternative to WWE had been missing for more than a decade before AEW came to life in 2019, and almost anyone you ask in the business will tell you that it’s been a net positive.
One of AEW’s calling cards from the very start has been a strong offering of pay-per-view shows. Driven by his days as a wrestling fan, Tony Khan tries to load up each event in a way that he might have once dreamt about, and while they often tend to run a little long and occasionally seem to come together at the last minute, they nearly always deliver in terms of the in-ring product.
That makes picking the best AEW PPVs to date a bit challenging. Since the company has been cautious about not running too many big cards — though that’s starting to change with the addition of Forbidden Door in 2022 and All Out and WrestleDream in 2023 — it’s not like there have been a bunch of mediocre shows to help separate the ones that have shined brightest.
Still, if there’s one thing that unites wrestling fans, it’s opinions on which things are better than others, and no site is better for that than Cagematch. Using both the user votes on that site and Dave Meltzer’s ratings, we’ve cobbled together a bit of a consensus opinion on the top AEW PPVs, just like we did for WWE.
You’ll see that even the awe-inspiring backdrop of 80,000+ fans at Wembley Stadium in 2023 didn’t sway these ranking too much, since All In London isn’t even in the top 10.
Which shows are? You’ll have to read on to find out.