Smark Out Moment

Welcome to the AEW portion of the 16th annual SMARK OUT MOMENT AWARDS (aka the Smarkies)!

These awards focus not just on applauding the best things from the year, but also calling out the worst.

Starting things off is our look at this year in All Elite Wrestling. What were the best and worst parts of AEW 2025?

Make sure you let us know in the comments what your choices are for the best and the worst of each award in all of the divisions (Technical Skills, Writing, and Performers)!

[TECHNICAL SKILLS AWARDS]

ENTRANCE

Explanation: This award should take into account everything including pyro, lighting, music, what the wrestlers do during their entrances, and so on. Your choices can be a singular entrance in particular or someone's standard entrance that happens every time he/she comes to the ring.

[BEST]: 

• Toni Storm @ All In (even though I don't like the gimmick aesthetics)
• I liked how Mercedes Mone had the 8 royal guards carrying her titles at Forbidden Door in London, but she still had her dumb CEO theme which ruins it
• Claudio Castagnoli's theme is great
• Various Young Bucks joke entrances

[WORST]: 

• Mercedes Mone CEO theme still annoys me
• Hook's theme (I just don't get what they're going for here)

CLOTHING / ATTIRE

Explanation: Who has the best and worst outfits, whether it's just what they wear during their entrance or if it's their normal ring gear?

[BEST]: 

• Swerve Strickland's Predator gear for Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing
• Penelope Ford as Harley Quinn for WrestleDream (along with Megan Bayne as Poison Ivy, and Harley Cameron matching Willow Nightingale's gear)
• Brody King's anti-ICE shirt 

[WORST]: 

• I can't really remember, but I don't like Jamie Hayter's style and I don't like PAC's singlet
• The Outrunners look ridiculous, but that's kind of the point
• I'm personally not a big fan of Toni Storm's style, as I've never liked that kind of aesthetic. It works for the gimmick, but it just isn't my thing.

SIGNATURE MANEUVER

Explanation: What is your favorite and least favorite regularly seen wrestling move was that had been featured multiple times as something on a wrestler's repertoire. Typically, these are finishers (such as the One-Winged Angel) but it could also be a signature setup (such as Orange Cassidy's shin kicks) or something along those lines.

[BEST]: 

• I kind of like Jon Moxley's bulldog choke variations
• Will Ospreay's Hidden Blade
• Hangman's Buckshot Lariat

[WORST]: 

• Eddie Kingston's spinning back fist
• Mone Maker

SPOT / BOTCH

Explanation: What was the most entertaining spot and what was the biggest disaster of a botch that happened this year?

[BEST/COOLEST SPOT]: 

• Spanish Fly from Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher off the steel cage onto thumb tacks (and plenty other things they did against each other) at AEW Revolution
• Jon Moxley takes a suplex onto the nail board from Cole on Dynamite (March 19)
• The overall hardcore element of Anarchy in the Arena (no particular spot stood out)
• Jon Moxley digs into Darby Allin's ear with a fork (Forbidden Door)
• Marina Shafir slammed barefoot on thumb tacks (AEW Dynamite 6th Anniversary)
• Jon Moxley trying to drown Darby Allin in a fish tank (WrestleDream)
• Hangman disguises himself as Tony Schiavone on Fright Night
• Claudio Castagnoli is able to do the swing on Darby Allin while Orange Cassidy is choking him out (Blood & Guts)
• PAC throws Darby Allin off the stage through two flaming tables (Blood & Guts)

[WORST/BIGGEST BOTCH]: 

• Thunder Rosa tries to save Kris Statlander and threaten Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford with a steel chair, only for Bayne and Ford to stand their ground and Rosa to be awkwardly flustered not knowing what to do
• Eddie Kingston misses the spinning back fist on Big Bill
• AEW Collision gets cut off
• ROH event needs to go to YouTube
• Bandido has to redo his pinfall to win the tag team titles
• Bad ref call from Shelton Benjamin vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey 

RECOGNITION

Explanation: Perception is everything, so which wrestler deserved more credit this year than they received and which wrestler was unworthy of all the praise he or she received?

[MOST UNDERRATED]: 

• Anthony Bowens
• Jack Perry
• JetSpeed
• Sammy Guevara
• Shelton Benjamin
• Wheeler Yuta

[MOST OVERRATED]: 

• Essentially the entire women's division
• Lee Moriarty is someone who doesn't stand out to me as an anchor for a brand like he is for ROH, but I admittedly don't watch ROH material all that often, so I could be missing some greatness

IMPROVEMENT IN A WRESTLER

Explanation: Which wrestler improved their work and saw the biggest upgrade and who saw the biggest downgrade in terms of a regression of their performance, spot on the roster, quality of value and so forth?

[BIGGEST UPGRADE]: 

• Bandido
• Harley Cameron
• Kyle Fletcher
• Marina Shafir
• Ricochet

[BIGGEST DOWNGRADE]: 

• Adam Cole
• Anthony Bowens
• Britt Baker? 
• Chris Jericho
• Jay White
• Max Caster
• Private Party 

RING WORK

Explanation: Which two wrestlers were the best and the worst when performing in the ring?

[BEST]: 

• Bandido
• Kyle Fletcher
• Konosuke Takeshita
• Will Ospreay 

[WORST]: 

• I'm honestly not sure. If they were really bad, I probably didn't see them at all, or I've forgotten about them.

MIC WORK

Explanation: Who had the best and worst promo skills, charisma, and performing as an entertaining character with all of the verbal aspects of AEW.

[BEST]: 

• Don Callis
• Eddie Kingston 
• Harley Cameron
• Mark Briscoe 

[WORST]: 

• Ricochet was awful at the start of the year before he got into the rhythm
• Julia Hart and Skye Blue are pretty monotone
• Mercedes Mone thinks she's better than she is; but that's not new
• Roderick Strong
• Toni Storm's character infuriates me sometimes 

MATCH OF THE YEAR

Explanation: Matches can be from any show, including AEW Collision, AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage as well as pay-per-views.

[BEST]: 

• Supposedly Bandido vs Konosuke Takeshita at ROH Supercard of Honor but I wasn't paying attention
• Lights Out match at Forbidden Door was obviously fun
• Steel Cage Match: Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher @ AEW Revolution
• Owen Hart Cup Semifinals Match: Athena vs. Mercedes Mone @ AEW Dynamite Spring Breakthru
• Owen Hart Cup Semifinals Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay @ AEW Dynamite Spring Breakthru
• Anarchy in the Arena @ AEW Double or Nothing
• Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay @ AEW Double or Nothing
• AEW Unified Championship (Continental/International) Winner Takes All Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega @ AEW All In: Texas
• AEW World Championship Texas Death Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. "Hangman" Adam Page @ AEW All In: Texas
• Kyle Fletcher vs. Mike Bailey @ Dynamite 12/10 

[WORST]: 

• Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jeff Jarrett @ AEW Dynamite (January 29)

[WRITING AWARDS]

CATCH PHRASE or SLOGAN

Explanation: This includes any kind of regularly mentioned slogan, taunt, catch phrase, signature sign-off or any verbal sayings of those sorts.

[BEST]: 

• "Yo soy Hechicero" 
• "Let's go Max, you're the best wrestler alive!"
• "Who's house?" / "Swerve's house!"
• Harley Cameron's puppet stuff 

[WORST]: 

•  "CEO!" / "There's a price to pay when you mess with Mercedes Mone"
• "Boom" and other stuff from Big Boom AJ, Big Justice, and The Rizzler

GIMMICK

Explanation: Which wrestlers portrayed the best and the worst characters this year?

[BEST]: 

• The Young Bucks are poor --- maybe?
• Orange Cassidy 
• The Hurt Syndicate
• Harley Cameron's puppet stuff
• Don Callis
• "The Protostar" Kyle Fletcher
• Max Caster, the best wrestler alive
• MxM Collection 

[WORST]: 

• Big Boom AJ, Big Justice, and The Rizzler 
• "The Last Outlaw" Jeff Jarrett
• Why is Billie Starkz still an underling for Athena?

TITLE REIGN

Explanation: Who had the most meaningful time with a championship to their name, where the matches were good, the feuds were interesting, and you were enjoying their reign, as well as who failed to meet those expectations and perhaps had a boring, uneventful, bad run with a belt.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: all of the title reigns on this list for AEW and this list for ROH

[BEST]: 

• Jon Moxley (AEW World)?
• Kazuchika Okada (AEW Continental/International/Unified)?
• Brodido (AEW World Tag Team?)
• Bandido (ROH World?) 

[WORST]: 

• Private Party (AEW World Tag Team Championship)
• Daniel Garcia to Adam Cole to Vacated to Dustin Rhodes for the TNT Championship
• Mina Shirakawa (Interim ROH Women's World Television Championship)

PAY-PER-VIEW or SPECIAL EVENT

Explanation: What were your favorite and least favorite pay-per-views or special events from the year?

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: All pay-per-views and special events are indicated on this list

[BEST]: 

• AEW Revolution
• AEW All In

[WORST]: 

• Can I just say that no AEW or ROH show needs to be 15 matches that are 7 hours long?

STORYLINE

Explanation: What were the most interesting, well-executed storylines of the year and which feuds were the least interesting, terrible ones to watch?

[BEST]: 

• Some fun moments with The Young Bucks being poor
• "Hangman" Adam Page dethrones Jon Moxley

[WORST]: 

• MJF and The Hurt Syndicate
• Jeff Jarrett's "retirement" concept  

MOST SHOCKING MOMENT

Explanation: What was the absolute biggest surprise you had this entire year that you didn't see coming?

[MOST SHOCKING MOMENT]: 

• Sting returns at WrestleDream / disappointing ending of the I Quit match where Darby Allin puts Jon Moxley in a Scorpion Death Lock and Moxley quits immediately
• Toni Storm retains over Mercedes Mone

SMARK OUT MOMENTS

Explanation: What did you consider to be the overall best and worst things to have happened this year? What was the coolest thing to make you happy as a fan and which moment was so horrible that it made you the most disappointed with AEW?

[BEST]: 

• Hangman wins the title

[WORST]: 

• Adam Cole's seeming retirement
• Wardlow's return and immediate injury and other injuries, for that matter

[PERFORMER AWARDS]

MANAGER or VALET

Explanation: This includes anybody who regularly accompanies someone down to the ring in some capacity, but is not their tag team partner in the ring.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: All managers and valets on the roster are indicated on this list

[BEST]: 

• Don Callis
• Stokely Hathaway
• Prince Nana
• MVP

[WORST]: 

• Alex Abrahantes
• Luther
• Do we even count Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett? Jake Roberts?

COMMENTATOR

Explanation: This includes all members of the commentary teams on all brands, including the foreign commentators.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: Bryan Danielson, Caprice Coleman, Don Callis, Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Jim Ross, Matt Menard, Nigel McGuinness, Taz, Tony Schiavone + any others who were on there

[BEST]: 

• Excalibur
• Bryan Danielson
• Don Callis

[WORST]: 

• Caprice Coleman

NEWCOMER

Explanation: The Best/Worst Newcomer award applies to anybody who either made their debut, or were repackaged into a completely different gimmick with a different name.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: All newcomers to the roster are indicated amongst the wrestlers on this list

[BEST]: 

• Josh Alexander
• Kevin Knight
• Mike Bailey
• Thekla

[WORST]: 

• I'm not as big on Alex Windsor as everyone else
• Grizzled Young Veterans haven't made the splash they should have
• Did Viva Van even wrestle for AEW this year?
• Nixon Newell, if you count, her. Yikes.

TAG TEAM or STABLE

Explanation: Which tag team or stable did you like and hate the most?

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: All tag teams can be found on this list

[BEST]: 

• Brodido
• The Death Riders
• The Don Callis Family
• The Hurt Syndicate
• JetSpeed
• The Opps

[WORST]: 

• Anthony Bowens and Max Caster / The Acclaimed
• The Bang Bang Gang
• The Dark Order
• Heat 
• La Facción Ingobernables
• The Learning Tree
• Private Party
• The Iron Savages

HEEL

Explanation: Who was the most hated villain and which wrestler failed the most to get the crowd to boo them?

[BEST]: 

• Don Callis
• Jon Moxley
• Kazuchika Okada
• Kyle Fletcher
• Nick Wayne
• Ricochet
• Thekla

[WORST]: 

• Aaron Solo
• Chris Jericho
• Mark Davis
• Matt Taven & Mike Bennett
• Rocky Romero
• Wardlow
• WorkHorsemen and ROH talent that I don't watch 

BABYFACE

Explanation: Who was the best fan-favorite hero and which wrestler wasn't able to pull off being a babyface?

[BEST]: 

• Adam Page
• Bandido
• Darby Allin
• Eddie Kingston
• Harley Cameron
• Mark Briscoe
• Orange Cassidy
• Swerve Strickland
• Toni Storm
• Will Ospreay
• Willow Nightingale

[WORST]: 

• Dalton Castle
• Jeff Jarrett

FEMALE WRESTLER

Explanation: Which female wrestlers were the cream of the crop and the bottom of the barrel?

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: All wrestlers who were in AEW this year can be found on this list

[BEST]: 

• Athena
• Mercedes Mone
• Toni Storm
• Willow Nightingale

[WORST]: 

• does Britt Baker count?
• So many people just weren't around that I'm aware of, like Kamille and such

MALE WRESTLER

Explanation: Which male wrestlers were the cream of the crop and the bottom of the barrel?

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: All wrestlers who were in AEW this year can be found on this list

[BEST]: 

• Adam Page
• Bandido
• Kyle Fletcher

[WORST]: 

• Aaron Solo
• Bear Boulder
• Big Boom AJ, Big Justice, and The Rizzler
• Jeff Jarrett
• Ned Fulmer wrestled a match? Ew.

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

Explanation: Judging as a co-ed award out of both the men and women wrestlers who were in the company at some point, who was the absolute best and worst in the company this year?

POSSIBLE OPTIONS: All wrestlers who were in AEW this year can be found on this list

[BEST]: 

• Adam Page
• Athena
• Bandido
• Kyle Fletcher
• Mercedes Mone
• Toni Storm
• Willow Nightingale

[WORST]: 

• Bear Boulder
• Big Boom AJ, Big Justice, and The Rizzler
• Chris Jericho
• Jeff Jarrett
• * realistically, there are so many people on the lower end of the spectrum that I would pick if I were watching ROH and counting the enhancement talent  

LET US KNOW YOUR PICKS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!