Pro Wrestling Illustrated, the outlet that releases the annual PWI 500 rankings, unveiled their inaugural PWI Tag Team 50 rankings list for 2020 on Wednesday. All Elite Wrestling’s FTR took home the honor as the No. 1-ranked team for the year, beating out Kenny Omega & Hangman Page, the Golden Role Models (Sasha Banks & Bayley), Impact Wrestling’s The North, The Street Profits, New Japan’s Guerrillas of Destiny, the Lucha Bros., the New Day, the Kabuki Warriors and Roppongi 3K.
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The men formerly known as Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were granted their releases from WWE back in April and promptly renamed themselves Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler. They arrived in AEW in late May and quickly re-established themselves as an elite-tier team by winning their first 12 tag matches in the company. They captured the AEW World Tag Team Championships at All Out against Omega & Page, then dropped them to The Young Bucks at Full Gear in what many considered to be a Match of the Year contender. Surprisingly, the Bucks did not crack the top 10.
Congratulations to @DaxFTR & @CashWheelerFTR for being ranked #1 in the inaugural PWI #TagTeam50!
Preorder your print copy of our Tag Team Special—featuring a Hotseat interview with FTR and MUCH MORE—at https://t.co/9sKkrAOCnq pic.twitter.com/n2mNSRxRk4
— PWI (@OfficialPWI) November 18, 2020
AEW congratulated the pair on the accomplishment shortly after it was announced.
Congratulations to #FTR @DaxFTR & @CashWheelerFTR for being ranked #1 in the inaugural PWI #TagTeam50! pic.twitter.com/7U9oc7uFGE
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) November 18, 2020
“Every decision we’ve ever made has ultimately been about our legacy. Grand Slam Champions, an emotional career defining match at Full Gear, & the #1 ranked tag team, all in 2020. Thank you to everyone who’s been on this ride. This is the stuff I live for,” Harwood tweeted following the announcement. “Top Guys, out.”
“Love us. Hate us. Agree. Disagree,” Wheeler wrote. “Everyone is entitled to their opinions. That doesn’t take away the pride we take in our craft. It doesn’t take away the passion we put into our profession. In our hearts, we’re the best tag team on Earth, so this is special to us.”
PWI’s other yearly rankings saw AEW World Champion Jon Moxley named No. 1 on the PWI 500, while Bayley took No. 1 on PWI 100 Women’s rankings for the first time in her career.
