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2020 has been a fantastic year for AEW, despite all of the craziness going on in the world. AEW has done, and continues to do many things right. However, one thing they've definitely got spot on is their factions.
For a company the size of AEW, some may say they have too many factions. Every faction in AEW has a purpose though, and doesn't feel like a group of guys just put together for the hell of it.
In this article, we take a look at the top five factions in AEW for the year 2020. The factions will be ranked based on their importance to AEW, their accomplishments in AEW, and how well the team does together as a group.
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From Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle to Mr. Brodie Lee and The Dark Order, let's rank the top five factions in AEW.
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Note: Three-man tag teams in AEW will be considered a faction.
#5 AEW faction Jurassic Express
Jurassic Express is comprised of a fantastic big-man in Luchasarus, Marko Stunt, and one of the futures of AEW in Jungle Boy. When this faction was first put together, many thought it was just a way to get Jungle Boy over, but Jurassic Express have really come into their own this past year.
Their first match in 2020 was a winning effort against the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy, and the matches only got bigger from that point onwards. Since then, Jurassic Express has had great matches against the Young Bucks, The Inner Circle, FTR, and MJF and Wardlow.
On an episode of AEW Dynamite, Jurassic Express challenged Adam Page and Kenny Omega for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Although they came up short, the 14-minute match was great and only helped their stock in the company.
As stated before, Jungle Boy is one of the future stars in AEW. Pairing him up with a big and athletic wrestler like Luchasaurus is only helping his future stardom.
#4 AEW faction The Elite
One could make the case that The Elite should be No. 5 on this list. But behind the scenes, AEW wouldn't be alive without them. Cody Rhodes, Matt and Nick Jackson, and Kenny Omega are all Executive Vice Presidents in AEW and have been instrumental in making the company what it is today.
But in the ring? The Elite have been spiraling out of control all year. Adam Page and Kenny Omega became the first AEW World Tag Team Champions, while Cody Rhodes became the first AEW TNT Champion. In the early stages of AEW, The Elite was sitting pretty.
Then, with Adam Page continuously drinking and getting in close with FTR, The Elite lost a member when The Hangman was kicked out. After the loss, Kenny Omega began showing signs of his "Cleaner" gimmick returning, while Matt and Nick Jackson started showing a darker side of their personas.
Nowadays, The Young Bucks hold the AEW World Tag Team Championships and Kenny Omega is our AEW World Champion. Separately, The Elite is doing extremely well. But ever since 2020 began, as a group, The Elite has been anything but okay.
#3 AEW faction Team Taz
Team Taz have really found their way in AEW since their debut. When Brian Cage debuted in AEW at Double or Nothing 2020, Taz accompanied The Machine to the ring and was obviously Cage's manager.
Cage won the Casino Battle Royal for a chance to challenge for the AEW World Championship at Fight for the Fallen. Before the match against then-champion Jon Moxley, Taz brought back the FTW Championship and awarded it to Cage.
At Fight for the Fallen, Cage lost to Moxley after Taz threw in the towel. Many AEW fans thought this was already the beginning of the end for Taz and Cage, but the opposite happened and it only brought them closer. Taz then recruited NWA standout Ricky Starks, and Team Taz was born.
Cage and Starks began feuding with Darby Allin, which eventually brought Cody Rhodes into the mix. With impressive newcomer Will Hobbs on their side, Cody and Darby seemed to have the advantage. However, Taz recruited Hobbs to join the team and the group beat down Rhodes and Allin.
Team Taz has gained a lot of momentum ever since recruiting Ricky Starks and now Will Hobbs. The FTW Championship returning made many ECW fans extremely happy. Now that we've seen Tazz's son (named Hook) on AEW, it seems Team Taz will only be getting stronger and continue gaining momentum.
#2 AEW faction The Dark Order
What a difference a year makes. When Stu Grayson and Evil Uno appeared at AEW Double or Nothing 2013, it was met with chants of "who are you?" by the fans in attendance. After their debut, Uno and Grayson began speaking of "The Exalted One", but fans still didn't catch on quickly.
It wasn't until The Dark Order began increasing in size by recruiting John Silver and Alex Reynolds that fans began truly wondering who the exalted one would be.
Many fans believed The Exalted One to be Matt Hardy, who had just left WWE. Instead, on a March episode of Dynamite, Mr. Brodie Lee (formerly known as Luke Harper) debuted in AEW as the leader of The Dark Order.
From then, The Dark Order became one of the most interesting storylines on AEW. Fans that watched Being the Elite on YouTube began to see just how charismatic and entertaining the group was.
Following an unsuccessful AEW World Championship match against Jon Moxley, The Dark Order recruited life long babyface Colt Cabana to the group.
Lee would go on to defeat and destroy Cody Rhodes to become the AEW TNT Champion. Even though his title reign didn't last long, it was still a major accomplishment for The Dark Order. The group looks to continue to grow in size and is still one of the most entertaining acts on AEW television.
#1 AEW faction The Inner Circle
AEW would be far from what it is today without the efforts of Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle. 2020 may have started rough for The Inner Circle, with Jericho losing the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at Revolution, but that loss hasn't hurt the group one bit.
Almost everything Jericho and The Inner Circle have done this year has been gold, and they continue to be a mainstay in AEW. Feuding with The Elite and "Broken" Matt Hardy, The Inner Circle took part in the Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing. Although The Inner Circle lost the match, it was an absolutely fantastic match that had many across the wrestling world talking for days.
After a hilarious program with Orange Cassidy, and MJF failing to capture the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley, MJF began lobbying to join The Inner Circle.
After weeks of unsuccessfully trying to join (and a hilarious musical), Chris Jericho gave MJF an ultimatum; a match at Full Gear where if MJF defeated Jericho, he and Wardlow could join The Inner Circle.
MJF defeated Jericho, and with that, The Inner Circle grew by two. Since then, we've seen the group fly to Las Vegas in a hilarious skit on Dynamite, but we've also seen some dissension begin to form.
Jake Hager and Wardlow are continuously staring each other down, while Sammy Guevara and Ortiz seemingly hate the fact that MJF is in The Inner Circle.
We don't know where they will go from here, but one thing is for sure, The Inner Circle have been AEW's best faction in this crazy year.
