Anthony Ogogo looked to be one of the next bit stars of AEW earlier this year. He is a former Olympian, who won the bronze medal in boxing at London 2012. Every match he has been part of in AEW has garnered huge eyes on AEW, and Anthony Ogogo showed himself to be a draw in AEW.
Despite only having four matches in AEW, he has been improving at a rapid pace. In only his third match, he faced Cody Rhodes on pay-per-view, in one of the premier matches on the card. However, not all his matches have been as high profile or highly rated, as I will discuss here.
Here, I will rank every single match Anthony Ogogo has had in AEW history.
Anthony Ogogo in AEW – Match Rankings
4. Cody Rhodes vs Anthony Ogogo – AEW Double or Nothing (30/5/21)
This match was Anthony Ogogo’s first ever pay-per-view match, and his worst so far in the company.
The match showed how expertly AEW had hid Ogogo’s flaws in the previous match. He was clearly inexperienced in ring, owing to the fact that this was Anthony Ogogo’s 3rd match in AEW, and 4th in his entire career.
The match plodded along, with one of the slowest paces of the show. The crowd were largely pro-Cody, but the storyline made for the match did not do it justice. Fans were rightly confused about Cody Rhodes being overly patriotic and frankly xenophobic towards the proud Englishman Ogogo.
Ogoga had critisised facets of the American society, but they were not unwarranted. He commented on their attitudes toward foreigners, and lack of national health care like in the UK. All valid points, which Cody countered by talking about his half black daughter meant that he now has the power to end racism. To the black Anthony Ogogo. It was patronising to pretty much every demographic that watched it.
In the end, Cody picked up the win with a vertebreaker. It is nice to see someone win a match with a move not normally a finisher, but it was really just a sweet release for most of the fans. The match was poor, and it was unclear whether you wanted Ogogo or Cody to win.
This can work, like with Kenny Omega vs Bryan Danielson. Both men are excellent in the ring, and you have your favourite, but you want both men to win. This one, you just wanted the match to, ideally, not be happening. And it lived up to that lack of hype.
Poor. It is the worst of all the Anthony Ogogo matches, and not just down to him. It’s down to Cody equally as much, if not more.
It also gave us the catastrophic weigh in session featuring Paul Wight, which is one of the worst segments in AEW history.
3. Anthony Ogogo vs Cole Karter – AEW Dynamite (08/04/21)
Anthony Ogogo’s first AEW match was quite an introduction to the Olympic bronze medallist. He faced Cole Karter in his AEW Dynamite debut, as part of QT Marshall’s faction “The Factory”.
Cole Karter is an independent wrestler who had a couple of matches in AEW, including against Death Triangle and Lance Archer.
The match lasted slightly less than one minute. The pair grappled in the ring for dominance, before Ogogo got the upper hand in the lock up. He pushed Karter into the corner, before the pair locked up again. Karter got the upper hand, before Ogogo saw red, and launched a huge right hand into the gut of Karter.
The referee stopped the match then and there, as Cole Karter writhed around in pain on the floor. This helped showcase the immense power of the former Olympian, and showed his punch as a deadly weapon to be feared in AEW.
2. Anthony Ogogo vs Austin Gunn – AEW Dynamite (13/5/21)
When Anthony Ogogo took on Austin Gunn on AEW Dynamite, few expected a great match to occur. Two green wrestlers with little experience on the largest stage so far.
And it wasn’t great. It was fine. But Anthony Ogogo’s matches thus far have not been great.
But this match was exactly what it needed to be. It was no more and no less.
Ogogo dominated. He launched punch after punch into Austin Gunn, who clenched his stomach in agony as he lay crying on the floor. Whenever he made it to his feet, he was greet with the iron fist of the Olympic bronze medalist.
The match ended with a really cool move. Anthony Ogogo threw Austin Gunn into the air, launching him high above the ring. As he came down, Ogogo swing a huge haymaker into the face of Gunn, knocking him clean out.
It made Ogogo look incredibly strong, and sold his punches as something to be feared. Austin Gunn’s selling went a long way to make that happen. His selling was much better than Cole Karter’s, and made Ogogo look like a top star.
Ogogo had a stare down with Cody Rhodes after the match, furthering their feud and setting up for their bout at AEW Double or Nothing.
1. The Factory (Anthony Ogogo & QT Marshall) vs The Nightmare Family (Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson) – Friday Night Dynamite (04/06/21)
The best Anthony Ogogo match was also his last bout so far for the company.
Ogogo teams with leader of The Factory, QT Marshall, to take on Nightmare Family leader Cody Rhodes and his protégé, “Big Shotty” Lee Johnson. For me, Lee Johnson is a terrible wrestling name, and Big Shotty is even more.
The bulk of this match is Cody Rhodes facing off with QT Marshall. It is Cody at his best, and shows that with the right booking he could be the star of AEW. It’s a shame they made that stupid stipulation back before he fought Jericho, because Cody would be amazing AEW Champion.
Cody and QT go back and forth, with QT eventually getting the upper hand. He hit the Diamond Cutter, which he was taught by DDP himself, but Big Shotty eventually breaks up the pin. Ogogo “Cactus Jack” clotheslines Johnson out of the ring, while Cody and QT duel.
Eventually Cody Rhodes gets ahead of Marshall, getting him in postion to his the Cross Rhodes, his deadly finishing maneuver. However, the referee is distracted by Aaron Solo, giving Ogogo chance to interfere.
He decks Cody which a huge right hand, knocking the former Intercontinental Champion out cold. QT Marshall falls back onto Cody, not knowing where he is, and the referee counts the pinfall.
Once again, they have showcased how deadly the punch can be. The bulk of the match was done by Cody and Marshall, who are both great in ring talents. While QT Marshall has rather outstayed his welcome on AEW Dynamite, there is no doubt that he is a solid in-ring competitor.
Sadly, after this bout, Ogogo had to once again leave for eye surgery. He is legal blind, so a wrestling career didn’t seem likely. However, if Stan Hansen could still lariat anything that moved not seeing 2 feet in front of him, I’m sure Ogogo can work a punch or two.
