January was a great month for AEW, but how did February do? Who had the best month? Though I foresee wrestlers making their way into these lists in multiple months, I’m pleasantly surprised to have seen certain talents step up beyond what they already had. In fact, a couple of honorable mentions take from January’s crop of heavy-hitters!
February for AEW saw little in the way of news. There were no pay-per-views. Danhausen was released on the 28th. However, fans were treated to the return of Thunder Rosa and some in-ring action by The Rascalz, as well as the return of the stalwart Private Party. However, the biggest development of the month had to be a certain political moment following a certain Brody King (who will be in the honorable mentions).
Without further ado, in no particular order, here are the best of the best wrestlers of AEW in February.
Honorable Mentions
Andrade El Idolo’s momentum continued from January. From his flirting with ringside girls to defeating Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii, he seemed unstoppable. Even in losing to Hangman Adam Page, Idolo came off as a big star. Swerve Strickland and Omega deserve their just dues as well, especially given their match on Dynamite’s February 18 main event.
Another wrestler who, like Idolo, had a great February was Thekla. Squashing Brittnie Brooks and dethroning Kris Statlander as AEW Women’s World Champion left the Toxic Spider a big star. Even her verbal takedown of Stat and Thunder Rosa on January 28’s Collision made her feel like a hot act.
As promised, Brody King deserves his own paragraph here. In his chase for MJF’s AEW Men’s World Championship, he brought with him some chants, specifically, anti-ICE chants. This resulted in him, MJF, and AEW going viral and reaching the mainstream. I want to highlight King’s performance amid the fan support. He’s remained stoic, unleashing rage when he needs to. Successful in an eliminator match, he would not reach such luck come Grand Slam: Australia, but continued, humbly overcoming Mark Davis later in the month.
Mark Davis
Last month, Davis was a part of my initial batch of wrestlers who had the best match of January. However, that was during his time teaming with new signee Jake Doyle. It’s clear Tony Khan sees a lot in the duo, and never more was it obvious than Davis’s solo run in February. On the surface, it might seem silly to put Davis here. He hadn’t won any singles matches, with the only victory at all being a six-man tag on the February 21 episode of Collision.
Despite his frequent losses, Davis had a fire in him. He had more time in his matches and more opportunities to showcase his strengths. Davis in February was a monster let loose, and it’s evident he was hungry for this. Down to selling his opponents’ offenses, Davis came off as badass. The fact that he continued and improvised, after bloodying his knuckles after an errant punch to a ring post, cements that.
Win-loss record aside, Davis has undoubtedly endeared himself not just to Tony Khan and the staff but also to fans. His string of losses may soon be balanced with wins in his ledgerbook if he keeps up this fire. Even his Aussie Open teammate Kyle Fletcher is happy to see his rise.
