2020: 5 best AEW tag teams of the year

All Elite Wrestling has made tag team action a hallmark of the company's identity since its inception last year. With the Young Bucks at the helm as EVPs, there has been a strong importance on having the best tag teams and tag team matches in the company. In particular, this year has seen AEW have consistent quality in their doubles division.

From the very start of 2020, the top storylines and main event matches have been centered on tag teams. The stacked division has not only seen phenomenal title matches, but also upper to mid card feuds blown off in spectacular fashion. AEW has not let up, even adding more great teams throughout the year.

With the year winding down, it seems like the level of the tag team division will only continue to reach new heights in 2021. In this article, let's take a look at the top five AEW tag teams of 2020.

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#5 Santana & Ortiz - AEW's Proud N Powerful

The duo known as Proud N Powerful have not seen much attention in the AEW tag team division and are yet to get a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championships. However, Santana and Ortiz have made the absolute most of every single opportunity they have been given in 2020.

From their role in the Fatal Four-Way tag team match at Bash At The Beach to the understated beauty of their feud with Best Friends, the former LAX have been tremendous in their brief moments in the spotlight this year.

They have shown a significant amount of humor in their skits with the rest of the Inner Circle but, at the same time, have boosted their aggressiveness when need be.

Their role in the Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley feud over the AEW World title at the start of the year showed that both men have potential as singles stars. Santana showed an underrated promo ability after being blinded in one eye by the Purveyor of Violence. Meanwhile, Ortiz is a gifted brawler that meshed well with Moxley.

The highlight of Santana and Ortiz's year has to be the aforementioned rivalry with Best Friends. A feud based off Proud N Powerful destroying Trent's mom's minivan brought us one of the most brutal matches of the entire year across all promotions.

The Parking Lot Fight on the September 16 edition of AEW Dynamite was compelling and showed that there is so much more to this duo. That alone should leave every fan hopeful that they will get more opportunities in 2021.

#4 Best Friends - Former AEW No. 1 contenders

In 2019, Best Friends seemed like one of the tag teams that would be in line for a huge push in AEW. Unfortunately, due to many different circumstances, things did not work out that way in the first few months of 2020.

With COVID-19 being a huge obstacle for the promotion, like most of wrestling, it was Trent and Chuckie T who were some of the MVPs of the early pandemic shows.

Best Friends filled the void left by teams such as the Lucha Brothers and Young Bucks, who were absent during this period. Their short rivalry with Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc received significant TV time.

When summer came around, the team was in prime position to be the No. 1 contenders for the AEW World Tag Team titles. They were a part of a very good Fyter Fest 2020 Night One main event against Kenny Omega and Hangman Page.

Their entrance for the encounter with Trent's mom driving them in her minivan became the centerpiece for their aforementioned feud with Proud N Powerful. The blowoff Parking Lot Fight was universally praised and received the vaunted five star rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

2020 was a trademark year for Best Friends without them winning the AEW World Tag Team titles. With well-defined characters, impressive moments, and one of the best TV matches of the year, Trent and Chuckie T are among the top tag teams in all of wrestling.

#3 FTR - Former AEW Tag Team Champions

Since their debut in AEW, FTR's Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler's goal has been to become the best tag team in the world. With the promotion having the best doubles division in wrestling, the former Revival were a tour de force that ran roughshod over the promotion from their in-ring debut match onwards.

In victories over SCU, The Butcher and The Blade, and others, Dax and Cash used expert double team maneuvers. They also showed superior precision to pull off an astonishing winning streak that propelled them to a match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. FTR defeated Hangman Page and Kenny Omega at All Out 2020 to win the straps.

Along with their wins over all of the other top teams and then obtaining the gold, FTR also had plenty of superb contests on TV and PPV.

Their eight-man tag team bout with the Young Bucks against Butcher, Blade and the Lucha Brothers was incredible. They have consistently delivered on AEW Dynamite against the likes of Private Party and Jurassic Express, among others.

Then, there was their instant classic against the Young Bucks at Full Gear 2020. It was a beautiful love letter to tag team wrestling that was five years in the making. The match built to an amazing crescendo that played off the team's mantra.

FTR's old school in-ring work, their AEW World Tag Team titles win, and No. 1 ranking in the PWI100 is enough to make them one of the very best tag teams in the business.

#2 Hangman Page & Kenny Omega - Former AEW tag team

Hangman Page and Kenny Omega became the AEW World Tag Team Champions by defeating SCU on January 22 episode of AEW Dynamite. This refined bout was a staggering display of tag team wrestling that put the AEW World Tag Team titles in the most intriguing story in the company.

Page and Omega came together due to their own inabilities to gain singles success in AEW. Through their sheer skills as performers, the two Elite members gelled together immediately.

They went on to have a long reign as champions, holding the straps for 228 days. In exceptional title defenses against the Best Friends, Lucha Brothers, and Dark Order, they showed unique chemistry that smoothly transitioned into their eventual breakup.

Their excellent Match of the Year candidate against the Young Bucks at AEW Revolution was viewed by many as not just the best tag team match of 2020, but of all time.

They not only impressed in traditional formats, but also on the cinematic platform. Page and Omega were at the center of the transformative Stadium Stampede main event of Double Or Nothing 2020.

Through an engaging, ever-developing storyline, as well as a deeply enthralling title reign, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page constantly delivered in every chance they had in 2020. There was only one familiar team that could say they had a better year than the former AEW World Tag Team Champions.

#1 The Young Bucks - AEW Tag Team Champions

Often viewed as the greatest tag team of their generation, the Young Bucks have established a legacy of marvelous encounters and are a money-making draw that helped create AEW. In 2020, Matt and Nick Jackson continued their long form story arc that saw them continue to fail in their biggest opportunities.

At Revolution, the Young Bucks fell short of winning the AEW World Tag Team titles against Hangman Page and Kenny Omega in a thrilling masterpiece. The fantastic storytelling, awe-inspiring spots, and riveting emotion made it the most talked about bout of the year for the promotion. It also furthered The Elite's magnificent storyline.

From there, they played an integral part in the aforementioned crazy Stadium Stampede match with the other members of The Elite and Matt Hardy against The Inner Circle at Double Or Nothing.

FTR's introduction into the promotion led to a slow burn feud that started with a measure of respect between the four men. They teamed against Butcher, Blade, and the Lucha Brothers in a tremendous eight-man tag team bout at Fyter Fest Night Two.

Their rivalry with the former Revival blew off in an excellent AEW World Tag Team Championships encounter at Full Gear 2020 that was awarded five-and-a-quarter stars from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Young Bucks also had an underrated gem in a Falls Count Anywhere contest against The Butcher and The Blade on the July 22 edition of AEW Dynamite.

With so many unbelievable and unforgettable matches in 2020, as well as completing their arc with a win of the AEW World Tag Team titles, the Young Bucks have to be recognized as the best tag team in the promotion this year.