Ranking the WWE and AEW Moments of 2020 You'll Remember for Years

Over the past 12 months, we have all had to deal with a lot. It's been a trying year for everybody, but despite all of the mayhem, most people can recall at least one good thing from 2020.

For WWE and All Elite Wrestling, it was a year of major changes. Not only did both promotions need to figure out how to make shows work without fans, but they also had to make sure their talents were safe in the process.

Both companies have been doing all of this in Florida for a number of reasons. AEW found a home at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, and WWE has used both its Performance Center in Orlando and a makeshift arena called the ThunderDome (first in Orlando, and now in St. Petersburg) to house its shows. 

While there is nothing like the roar of a live crowd, both promotions have managed to deliver some unforgettable moments throughout the year. Whether we remember them for being good or bad is up to you.

Let's take a look back at some of the most memorable segments of 2020.

Pro wrestling is a lot of things, but musical theater has never been something people associate with headlocks and leg drops.

MJF and Chris Jericho put on one of the most memorable AEW segments of 2020 when they met for a steak dinner that turned into a performance of "Me and My Shadow".

The performance was met with every kind of reaction you could imagine. Some called it the best thing they had seen in years. Others called it a mockery of the business. And there were those who watched it and moved on without putting much thought into it.

Regardless of opinion, you can't deny that this is a segment you will be talking about for years to come. Even if you hated it, you have to respect the effort put in by all parties.

On March 13, WWE held its first show without fans, airing its weekly episode of SmackDown from the Performance Center in Orlando.

The circumstances of the pandemic changed everything about how the company did business in 2020 and how the Superstars performed.

Instead of tours with house shows and long stretches away from their families, the men and women of WWE have worked a couple of days each week. This has allowed many to heal nagging injuries and work on their conditioning in ways that being on the road does not allow.

The experience of watching that first show was surreal. There was no canned crowd noise at first, so everything the wrestlers did and said could be heard by everyone at home.

Watching "Stone Cold" Steve Austin ask a crowd of zero to give him a "Hell yeah" highlighted just how odd this situation was.

WWE has adjusted, and we have seen some great matches in 2020, but it's going to be great when conditions allow us to safely pack arenas once again. The first Superstar who makes their entrance in front of the first sold-out crowd is going to get the pop of a lifetime.

Between SummerSlam 2018 and Money in the Bank 2020, Becky Lynch was the hottest star in pro wrestling. She was winning titles, making opponents tap out and gaining new fans every week.

On the May 11 episode of WWE Raw, The Man relinquished her Raw Women's Championship to the winner of the Women's Money in the Bank ladder match, Asuka. The reason she gave up the belt was that she was pregnant.

The announcement surprised everybody, but the WWE Universe wished her and Seth Rollins well on their journey to becoming parents. They announced the birth of Roux on December 7 with a sweet post on Instagram.

The moment Lynch announced her pregnancy was one of joy and happiness. She looked excited to become a mother, and Rollins looked just as happy to know he would be a father.

If and when Lynch returns to the ring, she will be welcomed back with open arms.

Both WWE and AEW had to make the best out of a bad situation in 2020. Cinematic and themed matches became more commonplace, and the one from AEW that stands out the most was Stadium Stampede.

The Inner Circle battled The Elite with Matt Hardy inside TIAA Bank Field at Double or Nothing on May 23 in one of the most chaotic encounters of the year.

This match included golf carts, bar fights, a multitude of weapons and "Hangman" Adam Page galloping across the field on a horse.

This is another one of those love it or hate it scenarios. You either thought this was great because it was unique or thought it was a joke. There was little middle ground among fans. Either way, you're not likely to forget it.

When Pat McAfee vs. Adam Cole was announced for NXT TakeOver XXX, a lot of people expected it to be the typical celebrity match. They would get in a little offense and some assistance before getting a meaningless win.

What we ended up getting was one of the greatest celebrity matches in WWE history and one of the most entertaining encounters in 2020.

McAfee took this seriously and came to make an impression. When it was all said and done, he had put over Cole and had a ton of new fans.

We have seen other pro athletes come in and embarrass themselves. McAfee respected the business, put in the work and made sure nobody would forget the first time he stepped into the ring. 

Several WWE Superstars either left the company or were let go in 2020. Of all the people to go, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder seemed like they had the best chance at securing a contract elsewhere.

When they debuted in AEW as Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood, they were finally able to make good on their yearslong social media feud with The Young Bucks.

The hype for this feud was as big as any storyline for the AEW world title. These two teams represented contrasting styles, but that didn't stop them from having some great encounters.

Harwood and Wheeler weren't the first former WWE Superstars to sign with AEW, but their arrival felt like a big deal. We haven't seen them a ton since they lost the tag titles to The Young Bucks in November, but when they get back into the hunt for the belts, we can expect the rematch to be just as good as their first fight.

Wrestling promotions working together is a rarity outside of the independent scene. You wouldn't expect Coca-Cola and Pepsi to work together on a drink, so why would we expect two televised wrestling shows to collaborate?

In 2020, Don Callis and Kenny Omega appeared together on both AEW Dynamite and Impact Wrestling in the same week, giving fans something we haven't seen since the Monday Night War.

Impact and AEW may not have tons of talent jumping between shows, but the fact that this happened at all signals a possible shift in the way business is done.

The odds of WWE working with anyone else are slim, but if enough companies start opening the forbidden door, it could lead to a resurgence for the entire industry.

With promotions all around the globe, there are numerous potential combinations we could see lead to working relationships.

We have seen people set on fire in pro wrestling before 2020. The Undertaker was burned inside a casket, several Inferno matches have taken place and fireballs were once a common weapon in certain regional promotions.

However, we have never seen someone immolated quite like what we saw with Bray Wyatt at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs against Randy Orton.

The Firefly Inferno match looked like it would end the same way most of the bouts do. Somebody would have a small, protected part of their body catch fire. That was all we expected.

What we got was The Viper dousing The Fiend in gasoline before dropping a match to set him ablaze. It was a strange and violent image to end the PPV.

WWE bills itself as family entertainment, but this seemed like something we would have seen during the Attitude Era. It was a moment fans will remember for years.

We have seen a lot of emotional returns in WWE, but it's hard to think of any as memorable as when Edge returned to the ring after a nine-year absence at the 2020 Royal Rumble.

The reaction of the crowd was wild. Everybody was on their feet cheering as The Rated-R Superstar proceeded to Spear everyone in the ring out of their boots.

His emotional return came after years of work to rehab his neck to make sure he wasn't in danger. He has only worked a couple of matches since then, but when he pops back up again, the WWE Universe will have another reason to cheer.

If he is ready by the PPV, it would be awesome if Edge came back at the 2021 Royal Rumble and won the men's titular match. It might be wishful thinking, but it would create another unforgettable moment in his storied career.

On December 26, Jon Huber died of a lung-related condition. His death shocked the wrestling world, and the people who knew him best mourned him with countless touching tributes.

AEW decided to postpone its plans to make Wednesday's episode of Dynamite part of its new year's celebration in favor of dedicating the show to the memory of Huber, who went by Mr. Brodie Lee in the promotion.

The entire night was a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute we are watching wrestlers put on an exciting match, and the next we are crying because of somebody's tribute to Lee.

The show was a beautiful sendoff to a man who was beloved by his family, peers and fans. 2020 dealt us one more blow when it took Huber, but his memory will live on through his wife, children and all of the people he entertained around the world.

Let's all work together to make 2021 better for the entire pro wrestling community.