From utterly ridiculous gimmicks that seemingly had to hit a ceiling down the road,

two returning legends that had to try and meet some pretty high expectations.

These are those times AEW and its gifted stars eventually smashed it in a way

many initially didn't imagine was possible.

Garuthier from What Culture Wrestling in Hero 10, AEW's success stories absolutely

nobody saw coming. 10. The Acclaimed

When the clearly charismatic two-some known as Antony Bowens and Max Casta were officially

made all-elite back in November 2020, the team were joining an absolutely stacked AEW tag division.

And while their first big dynamite bout opposite company EVP's The Young Books was a promising

start, it did still feel like the units were a while away from sitting as two of the faces of

the company. But fast forward just under two years, the Scissoring Lads were AEW world tag team champions,

and arguably the most popular group in the industry at the time of Grand Slam 2022.

The adding of Daddyass Billy Gunn to the mix has also grown into another unexpected success.

With the trio displaying a level of chemistry and ability to explode a crowd,

few currently applying their trade in the land of all elite can match.

Yet it's the sheer speed in which they've grown into one of the most important parts of the AEW

party that has caught many pleasantly off guard. 9. Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe's eventual arrival in AEW wasn't quite as well received as it perhaps would have been

had it gone down at the time of the company's creation. Despite being one of the most respected

and intimidating souls ever to grace a squared circle, the Samoa and Submission Machine just

wasn't quite clicking in the way he once did as a bona fide killer in between the ropes.

In truth, it looked as though Joe's best days as an in-ring performer were behind him,

...