The Rebirth of AEW’s Tag Team Division

One thing AEW has always excelled at is tag team wrestling. In the early days of the company, the tag division served as its backbone. Teams like Private Party, The Young Bucks, The Lucha Bros, and SoCal Uncensored served as faces of the division for a time. In 2025, the AEW tag team division is vastly different, and it just might be the best it's ever been.

AEW’s Rough Patch: What Went Wrong in the Tag Division

Around this time last year, the AEW tag team division was in an odd spot: The Young Bucks were champions and were eager to lose the titles to any team so they could take time off. This led to the OutRunners almost becoming champions before it was decided that Private Party would win instead, with the victory taking place at last year's WrestleDream. Marq Quen and Isaiah Cassidy had never won tag team gold despite being in AEW since its inception, so it was obviously a big moment for both in story and in reality. Unfortunately, their reign was not handled well at all. They spent most of it relegated to Collision or Rampage and never wrestled on Dynamite. It also didn't help that they only had two title defenses before losing to the Hurt Syndicate in January.

The Hurt Syndicate's reign as champs may have damaged the division. They never interacted with the rest of the division much and spent most of their reign on a story with MJF that abruptly ended and led nowhere. On top of that, the title defenses weren't that great until near the end of their reign. They wound up losing their titles to Brody King and Bandido, aka Brodido, at Forbidden Door in August.

Brodido: A Bright New Chapter for the AEW Tag Team Championship

Brodido winning the belts has been nothing but a benefit for AEW. The Hurt Syndicate is now free to wrestle who they want, and now we have champions who regularly interact with the division. Since they became champs last month, they've competed in CMLL and wrestled against the best teams in AEW. Their most recent match was a fatal four-way ladder match where they defended their titles at All Out against Jet Speed (Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey), The Don Callis Family (Hechicero and Josh Alexander), and the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson).

A Memorable Ladder Match

The ladder match served as a showcase not just of the division but also of the champions themselves. This was Brodido’s first PPV title defense since winning the titles one month prior at Forbidden Door. Needless to say, it did not disappoint. All Out has typically been the show where AEW’s roster goes all out to deliver the best performances possible. That’s what I’d call this match. If you imagine the All Out ladder match as a machine with each team acting as a different component, then the Young Bucks were surely the most important. I’d go as far as to say that they were the glue that held the match together. Matt and Nick are no strangers to ladder matches. They’ve been competing in them since the first Obama administration. Their experience helped them guide the other teams through any stumbles or mistakes that could’ve been made, allowing the match to go off without a hitch. As a result, fans were gifted with the best title defense of Brodido’s reign so far as well as one of the best AEW tag team matches of 2025, with its only competition being the FTR vs Brodido match from August.

An Unexpected Tag Team Pairing

A key factor in the tag division's rebirth has been unexpected tag team pairings. This is how teams like Jet Speed and Brodido formed. Before Jet Speed, Speedball Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight were on an unknown trajectory in AEW. Knight had just lost to Will Ospreay, and Bailey had just lost an international title triple threat match. Once they became partners, their direction became clear. They've become a reliable duo on the roster, consistently having great TV matches filled with high-flying action. Out of the two of them, Knight may be the most impressive to me. He moves so smoothly and effortlessly in the ring that I always think about how WWE wanted him to go to NXT if he signed with them. I'm grateful he didn't because he and Mike Bailey have been a highlight of Dynamite every week.

Looking Ahead: How the AEW Tag Team Division Can Keep Its Momentum

Things are only getting better for the AEW tag team division. At All Out, Jack Perry returned and reunited with his former tag partner, Luchasaurus, adding to an already stacked tag team division. Soon, the pair will be feuding with the Young Bucks, giving the division a much-needed non-title rivalry. In the meantime, we still have the rest of Brodido's title reign to enjoy. There are plenty of worthy opponents for them to have great matches with. It's been great seeing the division thrive once again after going through a rough patch last year. We're seeing some of the best AEW tag team matches in 2025, and I hope the division continues to thrive for as long as possible.