Coinciding with WWE’s Naughty or Nice list, let’s examine All Elite Wrestling’s roster to give a 3-count of the best babyfaces and heels of AEW, too.
AEW likes to brand itself as not having traditional heroes and villains, but we all know that’s b.s. Just because they play more with shades of gray than WWE at times doesn’t mean there aren’t still some clear-cut babyfaces and heels. They have different tunnels they come out of, for God’s sake!
As with that WWE list, these names I picked are solely by my personal opinions, although I tried to factor in accomplishments, longevity, character work, intensity and other kayfabe elements even if I didn’t necessarily prefer that person over some others. I try to be as objective as I can, despite how it’s a mostly subjective topic.
Naturally, your personal preference may disagree. If so, be sure to tell us your list in the comments below!
Without further ado, let’s talk about the men and women who made this year’s AEW list…
BEST BABYFACES
The Acclaimed
Listen to those pops. Check out how many signs are in the crowd that point to the phrase “Scissor me, Daddy Ass.” Hell, the fact that that slogan caught on in general is a testament to how over these guys are right now.
The Acclaimed are not only great for their entrance, but they’re rock solid in the ring, too. They’ve managed to take a random tag team pairing that Tony Khan decided could work and turn it into effectively The New New Age Outlaws, in many ways. That includes revitalizing Billy Gunn.
Both Max Caster and Anthony Bowens have a ton of potential for the future, too. Whenever they split, they could go on to be singles stars, undoubtedly.
I’m super happy to see them win gold this year and every time they come out, I tend to enjoy their segment more than almost anything else on the show.
Blackpool Combat Club (and Eddie Kingston)
Yes, I’m lumping in a lot of names here, but that’s what you do when you decide not to have an Honorable Mentions list! Plus, look at what we got this year from Blackpool Combat Club and their allies.
First and foremost, you have Jon Moxley—a guy who took the fight to The Jericho Appreciation Society as the leader of the BCC and the reason why Eddie Kingston was brought into the mix, too.
Moxley held down the fort for so many months in AEW as its interim champion, then follow-up champion to CM Punk. On or off camera, he was someone pulling more than his weight.
Bryan Danielson’s had his moments of skirting that heel or at least tweener side, but remains someone the fans just cannot help but to cheer for.
Kingston, as previously mentioned, has been one of those “heart of AEW” talents and major underdogs. He’s had a few issues this year, too, notably with Sammy Guevara, but he’s also manned up to those mistakes to offset that.
You can’t forget about Wheeler Yuta’s rise this year, nor how great it was to see Claudio Castagnoli step in to AEW and become one of its top babyfaces instantaneously.
Jungle Boy Jack Perry
Every year, Jack Perry continues to be the quintessential underdog babyface in AEW. He works his ass off, provides fantastic matches every time he steps in the ring, and never looks like the guy who’s going to win any match, but still pulls off some big upsets.
The act hasn’t gotten old yet, like it does with some others. That’s a testament to some inherent likability about the guy.
But in 2022, this was upgraded even more when he was forced to fend for himself, truly being along for the first time in his AEW career. All that stemmed from Luchasaurus turning his back on him and Christian Cage cranking up the heat for a heel turn.
Perry seems to still be simmering on what could be an even bigger year for him in 2023. It wouldn’t shock me if he won the TNT Championship or All-Atlantic Championship this year, got a shot at MJF’s world title (but will fail) and goes into 2024 looking like he may even be able to win the big one then.
BEST HEELS
MJF
MJFI don’t even really need to explain why Maxwell Jacob Friedman is on this list, do I?
The words that come out of his mouth are gold. He’s the most captivating character in AEW by far. No one else comes close.
Whether it is CM Punk, Wardlow or Jon Moxley, he’s bringing a level 11 presence. And even though he’s getting cheered, that in and of itself shows how talented he is. People can’t help but to like his villainous act so much that they just instinctively root for him. That’s akin to fandom for The Joker or Darth Vader.
Winning the world title by cheating was a major step up. Attacking William Regal only gained him more points. And if you listen to his promos, he has some of the best heel lines out there.
The Jericho Appreciation Society
Particularly while MJF was absent, no heels have dominated more of AEW television than The Jericho Appreciation Society.
Tay Melo and Anna Jay haven’t had as much presence in the women’s division as the men have had, admittedly, but even they are more interesting by proxy than most heels.
Matt Menard and Angelo Parker are great low-level mooks, who can be hilarious.
Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia are like the two delinquent kids Chris Jericho is raising all wrong.
Jake Hager, meanwhile, has that hat. I mean, look at it. He’s like the doofy uncle who will cause a scene at the gathering and piss off a ton of people while breaking things unintentionally.
Jericho overtaking Ring of Honor has given that brand some extra juice, and the whole JAS feuding with Blackpool Combat Club took over AEW television for so many months that they can’t be ignored from this list.
Christian Cage
Christian Cage is the only heel to give MJF a run for his money on the mic. He’s said some awful things in 2022, which were great.
His feud with Jungle Boy hasn’t had the ending it deserved, due to Cage’s injury, which is a shame. It was really heating up with all the personal attacks on Jack Perry’s family. That did wonders to make Jungle Boy even better as a babyface.
What differentiates Cage from someone like Jade Cargill, who many would argue should be on this list, is that Cage does his schtick effortlessly. His promos don’t come off wooden and scripted. The lines aren’t just words he’s memorized. You can buy into him actually believing it, even though that clearly isn’t true.
AEW talent can certainly learn a lot from studying under his learning tree, and when he’s back in the ring, it will be interesting to see how they reignite this feud once more.
Those are my picks, but who do you think should be considered the best babyfaces and heels of the 2022 AEW roster? Who do you think will take these spots in 2023? Tell us what you’re thinking in the comments below, and happy holidays, everyone!
