It appears the controversial ranking system in AEW will be “toned down” going forward with less emphasis put on it according to a new report.
One of the oft-repeated phrases from the beginning of AEW was that wins and losses would matter in the company. With that in mind, the promotion implemented a ranking system based on match results and that would see stars climb the rankings to achieve title matches.
However, the system was not without controversy with the nature of pro wrestling meaning that sometimes rankings were ignored as other storylines took precedence. Many fans point to the fact that FTR has been the top-ranked tag team for quite some time as well as being AAA, IWGP, and ROH Tag Team Champions, and yet have been overlooked time and again for another AEW Tag Team Title shot.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that the rankings will be the subject of less focus going forward but that they have not been abandoned completely:
“They’re not dead but they have been toned down. They’re not dead. There was a decision not to emphasise them as much on television but they can always go back to doing so.”
The current rankings have not been updated since the 31st of August and the win/loss records of the company’s stars no longer appear as part of their on-screen entrance.