Tear Jerker / All Elite Wrestling

• Cody Rhodes losing to Chris Jericho and then being betrayed by MJF at 'Full Gear' 2019.
• Mixed with Heartwarming but Cody and Dustin's reconciliation after their bloody match against each other at 'Double or Nothing' 2019.
• The Elite breaking up after suffering too many losses as a group.
• Adam Page and Kenny Omega's continuous troubles with their friendship. Losing the tag team titles and much of the ensuing fallout.
• Adam Page's falling out with most of his friends in the Elite in general.
• The feud between Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley shows shades of this with them being considered longtime friends but nevertheless going head to head for the company's top championship.
  • To go into more detail, Eddie Kingston's motivation behind wanting to win the AEW World Championship. He's fought to become a name on the independent wrestling scene for years and finally has the chance to make all his struggles mean something. Not just to himself but to the person he cares about most, his mother.
    Kingston: I'm gonna take that championship, I'm gonna hand it to my mother and I'm gonna tell her 'ma, the reason why you don't have a grandchild is cause of this, the reason why I didn't give you a daughter-in-law is cause of this!' Cause this is all that matters in this sport. No other championship means this much!

  • His growing resentment and hatred towards Moxley as well. Seeing him as a sell-out who forgot all his friends after going on to bigger things. Constantly accusing him of leaving everyone else behind.
  Kingston: I just wanna beat his ass a little bit for forgetting people like me. Some of us aren't here no more. Some of us have passed away cause either because of drugs, because of alcohol, or because of pro wrestling. Mox forgot those people.
  • Moxley's reaction to Kingston's hatred for him is upsetting as well. Doing everything he can to try and set things right with him and still being rebuffed.
  Kingston: It's too late for me Jon, you ain't savin' nobody.
  Moxley: There is no greater pain that you feel down deep twisting in your guts, no greater pain than losing a friend.
  • This all comes to a head at Full Gear in a hardcore 'I Quit' match. Neither is willing to give in battering each other bloody. Mox gains the upper hand standing over Kingston with a coil of barbed wire reluctant to do what it takes to win. Old friend of Eddie's and referee for the match Bryce Remsburg's pained pleading for Kingston doesn't help.
  Moxley: There's no other way out Eddie! Don't make me...
  Bryce: He's done!
  • This results in Eddie being locked in a barbed-wire-wrapped Bulldog Choke submission with nowhere to go. There's nothing left to do but quit and you can see him realize that he's going to lose and can't do anything about it. He has tears in his eyes and is blubbering as he realizes he has to break his promise to his mother. He's not going to win the Championship, he's not going to make all his years of struggling worth it, he's not going to succeed and prove everyone wrong.
  Bryce: Eddie! EDDIE!
  Moxley: Quit man, JUST DO IT!
  Kingston weakly: no, no.
  Moxley: That's it Eddie!
  Bryce: You're done.
  Moxley: It's done Eddie!
  Bryce: You're done...
  Kingston: I quit, I quit.
  • All of their reactions immediately afterward. Eddie laying still on the mat in tears. Remsburg kneeling next to him sadly and Moxley sitting there beside Kingston's prone body exhausted by what he's done.
  • Also when both combatants have recovered enough Moxley tries to help Kingston up and Eddie shoves him away despondent showing their friendship is still beyond repair.
  • In a heartwarming subversion, however, Eddie would later turn face by saving Moxley after the latter's match at Revolution 2021, protecting him from the explosion, the two reconciling afterwards. Guess Eddie still cared about Mox after all.
• A big real-life one came when Mr. Brodie Lee passed away in on December 26, 2020 from non-COVID-related lung complications. Tributes instantly poured from all over the industry to one of AEW's most beloved members (despite being with the company for less than a year). He truly was Exalted.
  • While the tribute show AEW put on for him on the 30th of December (pushing their previously-scheduled New Year shows back a week) was two solid hours of heartwarming moments as the company celebrated Brodie's life and career, it was still a very sad and moving occasion, even as the Dark Order won victory after victory in their Exalted One's memory. John Silver and Alex Reynolds embraced each other in tears after defeating the Inner Circle while Brodie's long-time friend Erick Redbeard, who had unexpectedly shown up to save them from Wardlow's interference, tearfully held up a sign reading "Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road." At the end of the episode, when Brodie's eight-year-old son Brodie Jr. entered with his mother, dressed in a business suit and Dark Order mask, to lay his father's boots in the middle of the ring and be awarded the TNT Championship belt his father had won by Tony Khan to keep for life, it was enough to wring tears from a stone.
• On the January 21st edition of Dynamite, after a hard-fought match alongside the Dark Order and celebrating -1's Birthday, Silver asks Hangman if he would join the Dark Order... Which Hangman says "No" to despite enjoying his time with the Dark Order, noting it's due to his past experience with another group, sounding quite choked up about it as he apologises... Not only is he still hurting from being forced out of the Elite and no longer teaming with Kenny Omega, it's clear Hangman really did want to join the Dark Order, but fears getting hurt again... Fortunately, he ends up changing his mind later on and comes out much more positive for it.
  • Miro forcing Chuck Taylor, after making him his "young boy" last week, to say that Miro is his best friend while looking right at Orange Cassidy who can only turn and walk away sadly, which quite likely hurt more than the beat-down Miro might've inflicted on Chuck if he didn't do as demanded... They manage to get him back for this, though, teaming up and ruining the wedding Miro planned for Kip and Penelope.
• The end of Darby Allin's first TNT title reign. Worn down by multiple difficult defences and an injured arm from being pitched down a flight of concrete steps the week before by Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky, even the Determinator Darby just doesn't have enough left to stand up to the brutality of his final challenger, Miro. Hurled into the ropes by his monster opponent, Darby looks weakly over at his mentor Sting, who's supporting him from ringside but can't do anything, and reaches out with one fist- which Sting fistbumps, letting him know that it's alright that he's going to lose, as long as he fights to the end. Darby somehow finds the strength to get back up and keep fighting, even coming close to squeaking out a victory despite everything, but in the end, Miro catches his Coffin Drop into the Game Over and Darby passes out. After the match and after Dynamite went off the air Darby, sitting alone in the ring, cut a tear-jerking promo about how much the TNT Championship meant to him.
  Darby: When I became TNT Champion, I told everybody it was the only championship that meant anything to me. And I mean that 100%. People asked me "When are you gonna win the big one? When are you gonna win the AEW Heavyweight Championship?", and I looked them dead in the eye and I said "I don't need that shit, I need the TNT Championship!" I don't need to collect any other belts from anywhere else in this world, I need the TNT Championship. And I guarantee you, every single one of you here, this is not the last time I am TNT Champion. Thank you for all the support, it means the world to me.
• During a promo between FTR and Proud N’ Powerful, Santana gets real for a moment and talks about his Mom doing all she could and her struggles to raise him and his siblings, noting that by FTR disrespecting him as they have, they were also disrespecting his Mom and he is NOT going to take that lying down.
• Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels failing to defeat the Young Bucks for the Tag Titles after months of the pair winning many matches under the self-made threat of separating if they ever lost a match, made all the more heartbreaking when Christopher bled profusely near the end of the match yet refused to lie down, giving hope that maybe, just maybe, SCU would win and stick together. Not to mention they lost to a duo they thought of as close friends but have become a pair of asshats under Don Callis's thumb whom didn’t even care about what they had done to their old allies. With their loss, Frankie and Daniels hugged it out some time after the match ended, but Christopher Daniels was brought down heavily by the loss, leading to him being unseen in AEW for a long while with Frankie swearing to make the Elite pay for what they’ve done, becoming the Elite Hunter.
• The Dark Order’s falling apart after they become conflicted on helping Hangman Adam Page as he’s assaulted by the Elite or respecting his decision after he says he wants to face them alone, leading to the cowboy to go off TV for a while. (Which was so he could spend time with his family after his child was born.) It’s heartbreaking to see such a close-knit group that developed into one of the closest and most beloved Face groups getting angry at one another and possibly separating… It says a lot about how saddened the fans are towards the group having matches against each other, in a wrestling company mind you, the crowd would regularly chant for them to “Please don’t fight!”
  • Adding to that, Hangman’s guilt once again weighs on him after he and the Dark Order fail to defeat the Elite in a 5v5 elimination match, preventing not only himself from getting a chance at the AEW Championship but also his allies from getting a shot at the Tag Titles, being what led to him confronting the Elite alone in the first place.
• MJF's promo in the February 23 Dynamite must be seen to be believed. He talked about how CM Punk inspired him to get into wrestling and got him through all sorts of schoolyard bullying — but when Punk quit wrestling in 2014, it made Max give up his aspirations only to keep going in spite of Punk. As soon as MJF ended his promo, Punk walked out looking clearly uneasy and asked: "Is that true? Is it real?" and Max just walked away without a word. Even though MJF is one of AEW's biggest heels, by the end the crowd was cheering him like a face hero.
  • This promo definitely hits much harder after All Out 2022's infamous media scrum. One can only wonder how MJF feels after that...
• Danhausen trying to make a peace offering to Hook by giving him a bag of potato chips with a ribbon. On Hook's birthday. It's actually the more crushing when Hook initially picks it up as if to accept it then tosses it to the side. Yes, rejecting a bag of potato chips is depressing.
  • What really sells it is that Danhausen didn’t give the present until after his request of Hook being by Dan’s corner for his match against Tony Nese was rejected, making clear he wasn’t going to use it for bribery and instead as a genuine gift of friendship, if at least a birthday present. Thankfully, this act seems to be what convinces Hook to later go save Danhausen from an extended beatdown by Tony Nese after a shock quick defeat and form the fascinating duo that is Hookhausen.
• Less than a week after winning the AEW World Championship (and just days after being announced he would defend it against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door), CM Punk announced that he would need to take time off due to an injury. The crowd audibly gasps when he announces he will need surgery and the camera shows people who are absolutely devastated by the news. Punk himself has tears welling up in his eyes (which are already red) and it sounds like he can barely keep himself from breaking down.
  CM Punk: A couple of things are broken...the biggest one is my heart.
  • Punk goes on to say that he offered to vacate the title because he didn't want to deny anyone in the locker room the chance to claim it while he's out (keep in mind he'd held onto the championship for less than a week). The only reason he didn't drop it is because Tony Khan told him not to. ^note  There will instead be an interim champion crowned at Forbidden Door who will face Punk in a unification match once Punk is healthy enough to compete again
• On July 1st 2022, after Anthony Bowens accidentally strikes Austin Gunn and costs their team the win, they end up arguing up until Billy Gunn shoves a way his sons, seemingly favouring The Acclaimed as he has shown to so several times hefore. The Gunn Club walk a way shortly after this, understandably upset. However you feel about the Ass Boys, having your own father chose someone over you has to hurt…
• On July 8th 2022, when it seems like Billy Gunn is about to chose to side with The Acclaimed over his sons after the two teams fought, he instead hits Max Caster with a clothesline, making clear the two teams are done. For many, it was already sad to see such a beloved team gone so soon but what really got people’s hearts broken was Anthony Bowens weakly signalling Billy Gunn to scissor him at least one more time, if not to give the team one more chance despite everything. Yes, the denied action of people rubbing their fingers together in the motion of scissors got people tearing up. What makes it even more sadder is that Billy looked conflicted and was actually about to do so before choosing to instead hit Bowens with the Fameasser.
• After giving his boys some Tough Love, Billy Gunn notes how proud he is of them after they get a quick and efficient win. However, when Stokely Hathaway starts making his way, having tried to recruit the Gunn Club beforehand, they actually proceed to attack their own father...! Being assaulted and betrayed by your own sons undoubtedly stung hard... Thankfully, The Acclaimed save Billy Gunn and put aside what happened before, reuniting with Daddy Ass.
  • Kayfabe-wise, before the attack, Billy, Austin and Colten all hug close, clearly preparing themselves for what's to come. It's clear how painful it is for them to initate the Gunn Club's complete heel turn...
• The shocking betrayal of Will Hobbs. In the middle of Ricky Starks humbly accepting his defeat against Hook and losing the FTW Championship, Hobbs looks exasperated and suddenly, as well as very audibly, clocks him from behind. Even Taz was shocked by this, making clear unlike with Brian Cage, he didn’t intend for this to happen and it, among other factors, lead to the disbandment of the beloved Team Taz stable. But where Hobbs attacked Ricky is what makes it so much worse; In the back of his surgically repaired neck. And this was all because Ricky Starks was fine with losing.
  • Ricky Starks would later have a promo where he was very much pissed off about the attack. Already sad enough, but when mentioning the fact that Hobbs hit his neck and he knew it had surgery, Ricky is clearly fighting through tears by that point. This particular line, concerning how Hobbs had been texting Ricky over the time of his recovery to see if he was doing alright, hits hard.
  Ricky Starks: The thing about the people who wanna see you do good is that they never wanna see you do better than them.

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