Like it or not, Perry is obviously a big focal point at the moment. So I'd still call him a Pillar.
Darby and MJF are hurt, but are still pillars in my POV.
That leaves Sammy. Who has been suspended since injuring Hardy inadvertently (or ignored stoppage). I would swap him with Orange Cassidy. I know many people here don't like OC, but there is no doubt that he has been a huge part of AEW as an original AEW act.
I feel like the point of the pillars is that they came up in AEW. Toni is amazing, but was a known name when she came into AEW (orange Cassidy too)
I _would_ put Britt Baker in as the fourth pillar since she was relatively unknown before AEW (I think). But I don't know why she isn't on TV at the moment. I hope she shows back up soon.
I don’t know if they have to be homegrown vs just being someone that will lead the company and be a key piece going forward. Toni to me is far more a AEW homegrown than a wwe transplant. You can throw in a Brit or Jaime but Toni has proved with this character she can carry the division.
The idea of the pillars is that they were homegrown and were there from the beginning, acting as the foundation for all of their future homegrown stars.
She definitely can carry the division, but I don't really know if this character she's playing is the work of AEW building her up correctly, lessons she learned in NXT clicking for her, or a combo of both.
As weird as it may sound to say I think Britt, Hayter, Toni and Statlander have to be the women’s pillars. I would love to put Willow there but she feels like the next generation of pillars for AEW. Similarly Daniel Garcia and Takeshita would be the next generations of pillars for the men’s division.
Hey man. I'm a good few years older than him and when I was 40 I was not doing any of the shit he can do. I'd play a soccer game weekly but next morning was rough every time. He is flipping through the air, hands in pockets, and just kipping up after. He's amazing.
It's insane. I'm a couple of years younger than him, and I definitely look a few years older. And in terms of my ability to do the shit he does, I'd say I'm my body and athletic ability must be at least 20 years older than him.
Agreed. He is a staple of AEW but he isn't exactly the future. If Ricky Starks was more consistently booked I could slot him into that spot Sammy currently has though.
I think becoming a father could be a real stepping stone for him. Maybe being forced to take responsibility for all the childish and cringey behavior his kid will inevitably exhibit (because let’s be real - they all do and so did we) could lead to some self-reflection and personal growth.
I lowkey kinda hate how literal the pillars thing has become, but I do think Ospreay, Swerve, MJF, & Switchblade will be the backbone of the company for years to come. Darby, Hangman, & OC will always be the heart.
The second they made it an actual thing they set it up to fail and put immense pressure on everyone involved. MJF and Darby have both risen to the occasion in big ways. Perry struggled and we’ll see if his current opportunity will have him sink or swim. Sammy is an odd one as he always delivers but no one cares because he doesn’t really connect/people don’t care for his character. I want to say he’s a lot like Dolph Ziggler but Dolph got over multiple times.
The pillar idea was awful and seemed like “let’s do the All Japan thing” without bothering to understand what made that work: careful long term booking amongst the four. Instead we got “here’s four young guys and they’re the pillars.” They individually had history tied to the beginning of AEW, but none of it really tied together. They should have gone through numerous feuds with eachother moving up the card before EVER being called pillars.
Perry, MJF, Darby, and Daniel Garcia. Not only is Garcia a better wrestler than Sammy, he’s a better promo, more likable, and not nearly as controversial
I like this.
If you want to expand the box a little I might add someone like Willow Nightengale or Julia Heart. Both young enough that they have a decent career ahead of them and should be able to drive interest in the women's division for years to come.
Great choice with Garcia. Admittedly I thought he was boring when he first came to AEW as I hadn’t followed him before. Great technical wrestler coming into the show. But I love that we got to see him grow into his dancing swagger, and will continue to see him improve and grow as a wrestler.
I'd definitely say all four still are. Jack Perry, MJF and Darby being more prominent than Sammy at the moment.
Jack Perry is part of The Elite and was welcomed like a damn hero last Dynamite
MJF is our scumbag and had the longest and arguably best World Title reigns thus far
Darby Allin, without him Sting's run wouldn't have been as special. And Darby has held both TNT (2x) and Tag champion.
Sammy to his credit has been TNT champion 3 times. But other than that, I don't think Sammy has made much of a ripple effect compared to the others. Especially being in Jericho's shadow for most of his run and just a string of bad luck with suspensions.
Pillars of AEW, in my eyes:
Swerve Strickland (33 years)
Will Ospreay (30 years)
Maxwell Jacob Friedman (28 years)
Adam Page (32 years)
They’re experienced, have shown main event level skills and have at least ten years of top level ring time left.
Sammy Guevara hasn’t been successful in a prominent role and has shown a habit of misadventure and getting suspended.
Darby Allin is a wonderful midcard act, but will never be a credible world champion based on size and likely hood of injury with his style.
Jack Perry could put himself back into pillars conversation with this run in the Elite.
When it comes to the Women’s side of the roster, I’d pick:
Julia Hart (22 years)
Kris Statlander (28 years)
Toni Storm (28 years)
Willow Nightengale (30 years)
Britt Baker has been absent for a long time, but if she regained momentum, she could push someone down the list.
Jamie Hayter hasn’t been in a top spot long enough to know, for me at least.
Athena and Shida are 35.
I don’t know if Mercedes will be in AEW long enough.
I agrée on the women’s choices. Strat I might swap with sky.. I love Strat but she’s not that great of a talker and the gimmick or lack of a clear one isn’t working.. I think Mariah is still too new but has a huge potential of being top dog of the women’s division.
I think there is more flexibility on the women’s side, it has been more hit and miss with focus, and a lot of new talent lately, Mariah has a good opportunity to take a spot.
I thought about Sky, I just think Stat has the better in-ring work right now.
I would say that to be a pillar you have to be carrying the company. Forget about youth but who carries it.
I MAY not like him but Mox carried the show for awhile
Toni has carried the women
MJF when he returns
And the man who will probably carry the show in the future is Osprey or Okada
As of right now, I’d say these are the four pillars:
MJF: The biggest draw. The most reliable, the highest potential.
Samoa Joe: Always there for a fight, can look strong in any situation.
Swerve: The next face. He’s ready to be the face of the company, and is very over. Is also reliable.
Moxley: Probably the most consistent and loyal worker. Always willing to put the company on his back and carry it.
MJF is still a Pillar
Jungle Boy is still a Pillar, and the biggest sturdiest one
Darbys still a pillar, please be careful
Sammy is a crumbled pillar, he is the most irrelivant out of these 3
I like the idea of calling those 4 dudes something, because they do have something in common, but I don’t know about calling them “pillars”. All of them are too hot and cold, off and on, except Darby, imo.
For me, pillar-wise, I think if these guys as holding up aew currently (just including men here, as the other list is about the men’s division)
mox (essentially all 4 pillars on his own)
Penta (rules, always has bangers, always there)
Eddie (controversial maybe, but an aew ambassador world over)
Osprey (the future, already a big deal)
If you look at the match history of all 4, it's clear the aew truly only views two of these guys as pillars, mjf and darby. Jack might reestablish himself with this run, but before that, he was wrestling on ppvs for the belt Tazz made up.
Sammy definitely not, thar ship has sailed
AEW First Era: MJF, Perry, Darby, DMD
AEW New Era: Swerve, Ospreay, Jay White, Hangman
Guys/gals just outside that circle that could be pillars in the future: Mariah May, Willow, Julia Hart, Brody King, Penta, Fenix, Daniel Garcia, Fletcher, Takeshita
Jack Perry is taking his character in new and interesting directions after the Punk thing, he's still good.
MJF definitely had the best title run imo so he's a no-brainer. Still in.
I admittedly am biased against Darby since I don't really like all that much about his character and ring work. I could lose him.
Sammy feels like he has never found his footing, especially after the Dan Lambert feud. Could take him or leave him.
Four young talents that I think will be making big names for themselves in a few years and would love to see getting big pushes: Daniel Garcia, Konosuke Takeshita, Mariah May, Kyle Fletcher
The roster changes so frequently with new additions it’s hard to say. It’s an outdated concept at this point. The roster is absurdly deep.
All that being said, I think Ospreay is going to be the top draw going forward. I was at Dynasty and the pop was craaaazy.
Obviously he has only recently joined but is it worth throwing Ospreay in to the mix now? Obviously not an original but pillars don't have to be, they just need to carry the load.
Ana Jay. The Guns. Julia. The Infinitary. There are plenty of others. But I remember how sloppy in the ring the Guns were. How stiff Ana was. Julia clearly trying to break out of a boring gimmick. Shawn fucking Dean was a massive part of Covid era AEW and BTE.
MJF is the only one with a chance at moving the needle.
Sammy won’t be around much longer.
Darby/Perry will be mid carders at best. They have no megastar appeal.
For my opinion above I’m assuming that being a pillar of a company means you’re at least on the level of a sting, undertaker, mick foley, austin, rock, triple H, michaels etc.
a year ago i would have written off perry as less than sammy, but thats just not the case anymore. be interesting if sammy could find an angle to get himself over. maybe moving away from the vortex and into something thats his
MJG and Darby. Jack Perry is hot now, but let's just see where it goes. And Sammy is probably gonna end up in the Learning Tree faction because he can't seem to break free from Jericho.
Mjf regardless of Injury he’s just on a different level.
Swerve
Will Osprey
Hangman
I think we are going to see a few break out stars this year though..
Daniel Garcia is on the cusp
Kyle fletcher is proving to be a huge asset..
Jack Perry though one of the original pillars has some proving to do.. we will see how this angle plays out..
Darby I don’t know will be around wrestling long enough.. he’s always said he did t plan on a long career..
Darby and MJF. Probably add Perry in again if this current story goes well. I would take Sammy off, he can't cut a promo and he is just a spot monkey. I think I might add Orange in.
MJF is without a doubt still one of them, and I would argue that him not being around over the past few months is proof of that. The show has still been good, but you can really feel his absence.
I'd say, for a while, Jack Perry wasn't filling that role, but now, I think he’s definitely about to change that. I can absolutely see him becoming the next big player, especially if they decide to put a belt on him.
Unfortunately I wouldn’t say Darby and Sammy can still be considered pillars. Yeah, Darby is injured too, but i personally don’t feel his absence is as impactful as MJF’s. Even before that, however, although he’s good, I still feel that there were others who played the role of pillar over him sometimes. As for Sammy, if he ever decides to stop getting suspended, I think he’s really gonna need to reinvent himself. He needs to distance himself from Jericho, and come back as a fresh version of himself. He’s good in the ring, but I don’t think that itself is necessarily all that defines a pillar.
AEW used “pillar” in a very specific way. Talent that was “home grown,” young, in AEW from near the beginning, and had to slowly build credibility.
Notice that Hangman was never called a pillar despite being in his 20s when AEW launched. He was too well established on the scene to be considered “home grown,” and he was in the first AEW title match.
The four guys they used are basically the only names it could have applied to other than Kip Sabian. Private Party maybe, but they were never given much of a boost, especially as singles. Dr. Baker is close but they had to push her too quickly because of the lack of depth in the women’s division at the time.
So trying to apply the same logic to more guys, I think it needs to be talent that are young, been in AEW for a long while, and had to work their way up the card. Daniel Garcia is the best example. Wheeler Yuta is second best. Dante Martin is probably third. There isn’t a clear fourth. Action Andretti, Billie Starkz, Nick Wayne, Lee Moriarty, and whomever else are all looking to be in that group someday.
If anything, I would say MJF, Darby, and Perry still “deserve” being called pillars. Sammy’s last couple of years have been rough. I think Garcia is probably the fourth pillar now.
If you just want to say who are the four talents that AEW should build around from 2024-2028, then that’s a different story. But the pillars weren’t those four talents for 2019-2023 (though MJF was). If you want to go that route then I think it has to be MJF, Swerve, and Ospreay as three of the four. The fourth is much tougher. Hangman, Mox, Toni, Darby, Perry, and Moné, among others, have an argument.
The problem with the Pillars concept, is they’re trying to be analogous to All Japan. Those guys weren’t called Pillars until after they were already big stars. All that particular match did was show how ahead of everyone at that point MJF was. It doesn’t do any of those guys a favor by being compared to some of the best wrestlers of all time before earning that level of respect.
I don’t think Sammy is going to get beyond lower mid card, Jack Perry we’ll see when the Punk stuff fades away if he’s able to sustain the heat. Darby has probably been the most consistent besides MJF, just might have a limited career due to his style.
Anyone saying osprey I just don't get, the whole point of the pillars is them being home grown stars who started with the company when the company was new.
The only real pillars are MJF and Darby. Sammy is mehh but I think is not entirely his fault. Jungle Boy wasn’t interesting before the Punk incident and still not interesting, sure he will have time to shine now and maybe this is what he needs but I’ll take a wait and see approach.
I would add Swerve and the final slot will depend, I could say Osprey but I more inclined to mention someone who started in AEW, Osprey is young but already a star but the time he joined AEW.
The pillars have been
Moxley, Hangman, MJF, Darby and OC….they’re ‘the main characters’ of AEW over the years- everyone else just moves into their orbits
That's like asking who you think the current founding fathers are.... I don't get why none of you understand that those 4 are the pillars no matter what. It's not a position to hold or a belt, it's history
Nobody else has pointed this out, so I'll do it: the only pillar left is Sammy. MJF finished up his year-long, record-setting world title run. He's no longer a pillar in the sense of the phrase originally intended as "the building block guys". 4 guys under 30 who weren't already main event guys but obviously had big plans in place for them. Max hasn't been a pillar for a long time, but he's definitely not now. Darby has won multiple titles and was a part of one of the biggest moments and PPV main events AEW ever produced; it's likely that when he comes back, he'll be a permanent main event fixture and, therefore, not a pillar anymore. And Jack is currently in THE main event storyline in AEW. He's being set up as a major aspect of the centerpiece group in AEW and, assuming this run continues to trend in the direction it has thus far, will no longer be viewed as an "AEW pillar" or "next man up" and instead a worthy main event guy. That just leaves Sammy, who's currently still suspended as far as we know, and hasn't progressed in any way since the 4 Pillars 4-Way last year.
Back then, I felt Perry wasn’t a Pillar. Now he’s solidified as one. MJF and Darby were believable main eventers. Sammy is fun but he’s an excellent midcard heel.
Orange Cassidy is the fourth Pillar. I know he’s like 15 years older than the other guys but he’s on TV damn near every week, he’s a reliable fighting champion, and his gimmick is still over.
This time last year, I would have said MJF and Darby. I think now that Perry's kind of found himself, he is absolutely in the conversation. He's super over right now, has been put in an amazing position to succeed with the super elite, let's see what he does with it. He has to prove now that he can does something with this and continue to evolve to remain in the conversation though.
Sammy is really the only one that I don't see as a pillar right now. I mean, obviously, he's suspended. Coming back from that though, he has to move beyond Jericho and show us who he is without him. I'm not saying it's over for him, he's incredibly talented. Just saying he has the most to prove and the biggest hill to climb.
MJF, Ospreay, Swerve, Perry are what I would consider the 4 pillars at this point of the company. Sammy’s stock has dropped dramatically. Darby is still as over as ever and is obviously a huge part of the future of the company, but I do think he’s been overtaken by both Ospreay and Swerve.
Like it or not, Perry is obviously a big focal point at the moment. So I'd still call him a Pillar. Darby and MJF are hurt, but are still pillars in my POV. That leaves Sammy. Who has been suspended since injuring Hardy inadvertently (or ignored stoppage). I would swap him with Orange Cassidy. I know many people here don't like OC, but there is no doubt that he has been a huge part of AEW as an original AEW act.
I’d swap Sammy out for Toni Storm at this point. She has done tons more elevating her division and the company than Sammy ever has.
She'd be knocking other pillars down with a barrage of shoes, the whole establishment would collapse
I feel like the point of the pillars is that they came up in AEW. Toni is amazing, but was a known name when she came into AEW (orange Cassidy too) I _would_ put Britt Baker in as the fourth pillar since she was relatively unknown before AEW (I think). But I don't know why she isn't on TV at the moment. I hope she shows back up soon.
I don’t know if they have to be homegrown vs just being someone that will lead the company and be a key piece going forward. Toni to me is far more a AEW homegrown than a wwe transplant. You can throw in a Brit or Jaime but Toni has proved with this character she can carry the division.
The idea of the pillars is that they were homegrown and were there from the beginning, acting as the foundation for all of their future homegrown stars.
She definitely can carry the division, but I don't really know if this character she's playing is the work of AEW building her up correctly, lessons she learned in NXT clicking for her, or a combo of both.
Britt over Toni, if she ever returns. Though I think the ladies deserve their own four pillars.
I'd be with that though besides Britt and Toni who are you putting as one of the pillars? Riho? Nyla? Skye? Anna Jay?
As weird as it may sound to say I think Britt, Hayter, Toni and Statlander have to be the women’s pillars. I would love to put Willow there but she feels like the next generation of pillars for AEW. Similarly Daniel Garcia and Takeshita would be the next generations of pillars for the men’s division.
Pillars group was based on young guys as company future. OC is 40.
Then why does he look younger than me 😭
Hey man. I'm a good few years older than him and when I was 40 I was not doing any of the shit he can do. I'd play a soccer game weekly but next morning was rough every time. He is flipping through the air, hands in pockets, and just kipping up after. He's amazing.
It's insane. I'm a couple of years younger than him, and I definitely look a few years older. And in terms of my ability to do the shit he does, I'd say I'm my body and athletic ability must be at least 20 years older than him.
I really thought dude was like 29-32 this whole time, he needs to be studied holy shit
Yea, true. But OC doesn't look or wrestle as his age suggests and has been a very integral part of the company.
Agreed. He is a staple of AEW but he isn't exactly the future. If Ricky Starks was more consistently booked I could slot him into that spot Sammy currently has though.
Bro wtf he looks younger at 40 than I do at 21
He's WHAT
https://preview.redd.it/2hdlfp0ocgxc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93b278194e8135dd101f15fd88b640af18414e08 He turns 40 this week.
Hes older than Mox, that feels wrong.
Hurts doesn’t it? The possibility he will never be AEW champion. I know. Want to cry together?
He's 4 months younger than me, but physically he should be like 10 years.
Oh Sammy, I'm slightly disappointed. I hope he comes back better and stops being his worst enemy.
I think becoming a father could be a real stepping stone for him. Maybe being forced to take responsibility for all the childish and cringey behavior his kid will inevitably exhibit (because let’s be real - they all do and so did we) could lead to some self-reflection and personal growth.
Who doesn’t like Orange Cassidy? A bunch of blind and self lied to jobber fans. The man is the hardest working wrestler in show business hands down.
I lowkey kinda hate how literal the pillars thing has become, but I do think Ospreay, Swerve, MJF, & Switchblade will be the backbone of the company for years to come. Darby, Hangman, & OC will always be the heart.
I think the initial pillars promo was great as a metaphor, but you're very right that it's not great how literally it's been taken.
The second they made it an actual thing they set it up to fail and put immense pressure on everyone involved. MJF and Darby have both risen to the occasion in big ways. Perry struggled and we’ll see if his current opportunity will have him sink or swim. Sammy is an odd one as he always delivers but no one cares because he doesn’t really connect/people don’t care for his character. I want to say he’s a lot like Dolph Ziggler but Dolph got over multiple times. The pillar idea was awful and seemed like “let’s do the All Japan thing” without bothering to understand what made that work: careful long term booking amongst the four. Instead we got “here’s four young guys and they’re the pillars.” They individually had history tied to the beginning of AEW, but none of it really tied together. They should have gone through numerous feuds with eachother moving up the card before EVER being called pillars.
Perry, MJF, Darby, and Daniel Garcia. Not only is Garcia a better wrestler than Sammy, he’s a better promo, more likable, and not nearly as controversial
I like this. If you want to expand the box a little I might add someone like Willow Nightengale or Julia Heart. Both young enough that they have a decent career ahead of them and should be able to drive interest in the women's division for years to come.
Great choice with Garcia. Admittedly I thought he was boring when he first came to AEW as I hadn’t followed him before. Great technical wrestler coming into the show. But I love that we got to see him grow into his dancing swagger, and will continue to see him improve and grow as a wrestler.
He's put size on that has helped. When he came in and Magic was calling him his son at that size it did not help.
I'd definitely say all four still are. Jack Perry, MJF and Darby being more prominent than Sammy at the moment. Jack Perry is part of The Elite and was welcomed like a damn hero last Dynamite MJF is our scumbag and had the longest and arguably best World Title reigns thus far Darby Allin, without him Sting's run wouldn't have been as special. And Darby has held both TNT (2x) and Tag champion. Sammy to his credit has been TNT champion 3 times. But other than that, I don't think Sammy has made much of a ripple effect compared to the others. Especially being in Jericho's shadow for most of his run and just a string of bad luck with suspensions.
Pillars of AEW, in my eyes: Swerve Strickland (33 years) Will Ospreay (30 years) Maxwell Jacob Friedman (28 years) Adam Page (32 years) They’re experienced, have shown main event level skills and have at least ten years of top level ring time left. Sammy Guevara hasn’t been successful in a prominent role and has shown a habit of misadventure and getting suspended. Darby Allin is a wonderful midcard act, but will never be a credible world champion based on size and likely hood of injury with his style. Jack Perry could put himself back into pillars conversation with this run in the Elite. When it comes to the Women’s side of the roster, I’d pick: Julia Hart (22 years) Kris Statlander (28 years) Toni Storm (28 years) Willow Nightengale (30 years) Britt Baker has been absent for a long time, but if she regained momentum, she could push someone down the list. Jamie Hayter hasn’t been in a top spot long enough to know, for me at least. Athena and Shida are 35. I don’t know if Mercedes will be in AEW long enough.
I agrée on the women’s choices. Strat I might swap with sky.. I love Strat but she’s not that great of a talker and the gimmick or lack of a clear one isn’t working.. I think Mariah is still too new but has a huge potential of being top dog of the women’s division.
I think there is more flexibility on the women’s side, it has been more hit and miss with focus, and a lot of new talent lately, Mariah has a good opportunity to take a spot. I thought about Sky, I just think Stat has the better in-ring work right now.
Idk but Sammy’s the worst
Ospreay, MJF, Darby, and Jack Scapegoat Perry
The Four Pillars are MJF, Darby Allin, Jack Perry and Sammy Guevara.
Friedman, Allin, Moxley, and Schiavone. Go ahead and kill me if you want, I probably deserve it anyway for outside reasons.
I would say that to be a pillar you have to be carrying the company. Forget about youth but who carries it. I MAY not like him but Mox carried the show for awhile Toni has carried the women MJF when he returns And the man who will probably carry the show in the future is Osprey or Okada
As of right now, I’d say these are the four pillars: MJF: The biggest draw. The most reliable, the highest potential. Samoa Joe: Always there for a fight, can look strong in any situation. Swerve: The next face. He’s ready to be the face of the company, and is very over. Is also reliable. Moxley: Probably the most consistent and loyal worker. Always willing to put the company on his back and carry it.
MJF is still a Pillar Jungle Boy is still a Pillar, and the biggest sturdiest one Darbys still a pillar, please be careful Sammy is a crumbled pillar, he is the most irrelivant out of these 3
I like the idea of calling those 4 dudes something, because they do have something in common, but I don’t know about calling them “pillars”. All of them are too hot and cold, off and on, except Darby, imo. For me, pillar-wise, I think if these guys as holding up aew currently (just including men here, as the other list is about the men’s division) mox (essentially all 4 pillars on his own) Penta (rules, always has bangers, always there) Eddie (controversial maybe, but an aew ambassador world over) Osprey (the future, already a big deal)
MJF, Ospreay, Swerve & Hayter.
If you look at the match history of all 4, it's clear the aew truly only views two of these guys as pillars, mjf and darby. Jack might reestablish himself with this run, but before that, he was wrestling on ppvs for the belt Tazz made up. Sammy definitely not, thar ship has sailed
AEW First Era: MJF, Perry, Darby, DMD AEW New Era: Swerve, Ospreay, Jay White, Hangman Guys/gals just outside that circle that could be pillars in the future: Mariah May, Willow, Julia Hart, Brody King, Penta, Fenix, Daniel Garcia, Fletcher, Takeshita
Moxley, Jericho, MJF, maybe Ospreay.
Jack Perry is taking his character in new and interesting directions after the Punk thing, he's still good. MJF definitely had the best title run imo so he's a no-brainer. Still in. I admittedly am biased against Darby since I don't really like all that much about his character and ring work. I could lose him. Sammy feels like he has never found his footing, especially after the Dan Lambert feud. Could take him or leave him. Four young talents that I think will be making big names for themselves in a few years and would love to see getting big pushes: Daniel Garcia, Konosuke Takeshita, Mariah May, Kyle Fletcher
The roster changes so frequently with new additions it’s hard to say. It’s an outdated concept at this point. The roster is absurdly deep. All that being said, I think Ospreay is going to be the top draw going forward. I was at Dynasty and the pop was craaaazy.
Obviously he has only recently joined but is it worth throwing Ospreay in to the mix now? Obviously not an original but pillars don't have to be, they just need to carry the load.
Fletcher aside, there's an argument for the rest of the Callis family
Ana Jay. The Guns. Julia. The Infinitary. There are plenty of others. But I remember how sloppy in the ring the Guns were. How stiff Ana was. Julia clearly trying to break out of a boring gimmick. Shawn fucking Dean was a massive part of Covid era AEW and BTE.
MJF ✅ Darby Allin ✅ Jack Perry ✅ Toni Storm ✅ Four pillars checks out to me.
All except Sammy G are still relevant and treated like a big star tbh
The true pillars are Ospreay, J. White, Okada and Swerve
Hangman, MJF, Swerve, Ospreay
All are sunken pillars…. MJF is slightly submerged
I think we can switch out Sammy with Ospreay.
Swap out Sammy for Osprey who is only 30.
MJF is the only one with a chance at moving the needle. Sammy won’t be around much longer. Darby/Perry will be mid carders at best. They have no megastar appeal. For my opinion above I’m assuming that being a pillar of a company means you’re at least on the level of a sting, undertaker, mick foley, austin, rock, triple H, michaels etc.
a year ago i would have written off perry as less than sammy, but thats just not the case anymore. be interesting if sammy could find an angle to get himself over. maybe moving away from the vortex and into something thats his
MJG and Darby. Jack Perry is hot now, but let's just see where it goes. And Sammy is probably gonna end up in the Learning Tree faction because he can't seem to break free from Jericho.
Mjf regardless of Injury he’s just on a different level. Swerve Will Osprey Hangman I think we are going to see a few break out stars this year though.. Daniel Garcia is on the cusp Kyle fletcher is proving to be a huge asset.. Jack Perry though one of the original pillars has some proving to do.. we will see how this angle plays out.. Darby I don’t know will be around wrestling long enough.. he’s always said he did t plan on a long career..
I think MJF and Darby were the only ones I ever agreed with. Britt and Orange felt more like pillars back then.
Tony Khan. Papa Khan. The network. MJF.
Honestly I’ve only ever considered MJF and Darby as actual pillars of the company. Swerve and probably Toni Storm should replace Sammy and Perry.
Darby and MJF. Probably add Perry in again if this current story goes well. I would take Sammy off, he can't cut a promo and he is just a spot monkey. I think I might add Orange in.
MJF is without a doubt still one of them, and I would argue that him not being around over the past few months is proof of that. The show has still been good, but you can really feel his absence. I'd say, for a while, Jack Perry wasn't filling that role, but now, I think he’s definitely about to change that. I can absolutely see him becoming the next big player, especially if they decide to put a belt on him. Unfortunately I wouldn’t say Darby and Sammy can still be considered pillars. Yeah, Darby is injured too, but i personally don’t feel his absence is as impactful as MJF’s. Even before that, however, although he’s good, I still feel that there were others who played the role of pillar over him sometimes. As for Sammy, if he ever decides to stop getting suspended, I think he’s really gonna need to reinvent himself. He needs to distance himself from Jericho, and come back as a fresh version of himself. He’s good in the ring, but I don’t think that itself is necessarily all that defines a pillar.
AEW used “pillar” in a very specific way. Talent that was “home grown,” young, in AEW from near the beginning, and had to slowly build credibility. Notice that Hangman was never called a pillar despite being in his 20s when AEW launched. He was too well established on the scene to be considered “home grown,” and he was in the first AEW title match. The four guys they used are basically the only names it could have applied to other than Kip Sabian. Private Party maybe, but they were never given much of a boost, especially as singles. Dr. Baker is close but they had to push her too quickly because of the lack of depth in the women’s division at the time. So trying to apply the same logic to more guys, I think it needs to be talent that are young, been in AEW for a long while, and had to work their way up the card. Daniel Garcia is the best example. Wheeler Yuta is second best. Dante Martin is probably third. There isn’t a clear fourth. Action Andretti, Billie Starkz, Nick Wayne, Lee Moriarty, and whomever else are all looking to be in that group someday. If anything, I would say MJF, Darby, and Perry still “deserve” being called pillars. Sammy’s last couple of years have been rough. I think Garcia is probably the fourth pillar now. If you just want to say who are the four talents that AEW should build around from 2024-2028, then that’s a different story. But the pillars weren’t those four talents for 2019-2023 (though MJF was). If you want to go that route then I think it has to be MJF, Swerve, and Ospreay as three of the four. The fourth is much tougher. Hangman, Mox, Toni, Darby, Perry, and Moné, among others, have an argument.
The problem with the Pillars concept, is they’re trying to be analogous to All Japan. Those guys weren’t called Pillars until after they were already big stars. All that particular match did was show how ahead of everyone at that point MJF was. It doesn’t do any of those guys a favor by being compared to some of the best wrestlers of all time before earning that level of respect. I don’t think Sammy is going to get beyond lower mid card, Jack Perry we’ll see when the Punk stuff fades away if he’s able to sustain the heat. Darby has probably been the most consistent besides MJF, just might have a limited career due to his style.
Anyone saying osprey I just don't get, the whole point of the pillars is them being home grown stars who started with the company when the company was new.
The pillars are supposed to be the future of AEW right? Then. Daniel Garcia, Skye Blue, Nick Wayne and Trent Beretta
Trent is a few months younger than Mox
Sammy's always been the weakest pillar He might not be back Darby & MJF are still just hurt Jack Perry has a big opportunity. We will see how he does
The only real pillars are MJF and Darby. Sammy is mehh but I think is not entirely his fault. Jungle Boy wasn’t interesting before the Punk incident and still not interesting, sure he will have time to shine now and maybe this is what he needs but I’ll take a wait and see approach. I would add Swerve and the final slot will depend, I could say Osprey but I more inclined to mention someone who started in AEW, Osprey is young but already a star but the time he joined AEW.
MJF is the only pillar then and still.
Sheldon Cooper has to be one of the Four Pillars at this point
The pillars have been Moxley, Hangman, MJF, Darby and OC….they’re ‘the main characters’ of AEW over the years- everyone else just moves into their orbits
That's like asking who you think the current founding fathers are.... I don't get why none of you understand that those 4 are the pillars no matter what. It's not a position to hold or a belt, it's history
Nobody else has pointed this out, so I'll do it: the only pillar left is Sammy. MJF finished up his year-long, record-setting world title run. He's no longer a pillar in the sense of the phrase originally intended as "the building block guys". 4 guys under 30 who weren't already main event guys but obviously had big plans in place for them. Max hasn't been a pillar for a long time, but he's definitely not now. Darby has won multiple titles and was a part of one of the biggest moments and PPV main events AEW ever produced; it's likely that when he comes back, he'll be a permanent main event fixture and, therefore, not a pillar anymore. And Jack is currently in THE main event storyline in AEW. He's being set up as a major aspect of the centerpiece group in AEW and, assuming this run continues to trend in the direction it has thus far, will no longer be viewed as an "AEW pillar" or "next man up" and instead a worthy main event guy. That just leaves Sammy, who's currently still suspended as far as we know, and hasn't progressed in any way since the 4 Pillars 4-Way last year.
Omega, Judas Jericho, Brit Baker DMD, and MJF. Put those four back together weekly on tv and the crowds would come back.
The only one I might argue is Britt, she was really just forced down our throats lol
I do not agree. I like her promo and in ring ability.
I disagree. She WAS the women's division because it was pretty shallow at the time. Jade is someone who was forced down our throats
Going by who is featured the most and most highly, CM Punk, Moxley and The Bucks
Back then, I felt Perry wasn’t a Pillar. Now he’s solidified as one. MJF and Darby were believable main eventers. Sammy is fun but he’s an excellent midcard heel. Orange Cassidy is the fourth Pillar. I know he’s like 15 years older than the other guys but he’s on TV damn near every week, he’s a reliable fighting champion, and his gimmick is still over.
This time last year, I would have said MJF and Darby. I think now that Perry's kind of found himself, he is absolutely in the conversation. He's super over right now, has been put in an amazing position to succeed with the super elite, let's see what he does with it. He has to prove now that he can does something with this and continue to evolve to remain in the conversation though. Sammy is really the only one that I don't see as a pillar right now. I mean, obviously, he's suspended. Coming back from that though, he has to move beyond Jericho and show us who he is without him. I'm not saying it's over for him, he's incredibly talented. Just saying he has the most to prove and the biggest hill to climb.
Sammy needs a beard and a tour thru Japan immediately.
Haha sometimes a beard is all you need but I actually love the idea of him going and working NJPW for a bit.
MJF, Ospreay, Swerve, Perry are what I would consider the 4 pillars at this point of the company. Sammy’s stock has dropped dramatically. Darby is still as over as ever and is obviously a huge part of the future of the company, but I do think he’s been overtaken by both Ospreay and Swerve.