In eight days time AEW has their next big event and they will have the first death match on a major wrestling event. I understand the concept of having the match as it's a way to protect both Moxley and Omega, and it drives home just how much both guys hate each other. However, I'm not sure it's needed to drive home that idea and that the same can't be accomplished by going the classic route of a cage match instead. I don't have much knowledge about the exploding barbed wire death match concept or much experience watch the match, but Onita would be proud. I do know that Moxley once called Combat Zone Wrestling home and has more of background with this type of match then Omega, but still I think they chose this route for the spectacle and to get eyes on AEW more then it being actually needed to finish the feud. Either way fair play, because media coverage of the event will get eyes on AEW as when was the last time a barbed wire match was even contested on US soil it's been that long. The other person to talk about is Sting who will be competing in his first match since Night of Champion 2014 when he got injured after the buckle bomb by Rollins. A few weeks ago Brian Cage hit a power bomb on Sting and that was the first bump Sting took in nearly seven years since the injury. It seems like Sting is fine and that might've been a test run for the match, but either way I'd be shocked if the street fight isn't more cinematic then a traditional match to protect Sting. That power bomb should be replayed time and again as it puts over Brain Cage to be the first person in seven years to do something physical to a legend that we never thought would be physically involved in wrestling again.
0 Comments
Unexpected isn't even the best way to describe the news that arrived last week when the man formerly known as Big Show was moving over to AEW. After twenty-two years in Connecticut it was time to make a move and it wasn't expected at all. Recently, it was clear that Big Show and WWE had not been in the same mindset when it came to contract negotiations as money and booking ended a two decade relationship. In my opinion, WWE has always struggled to see the value of veterans in the locker room and how they can help produce new stars if given the opportunity to have a real feud with unproven talent. Big Show in recent years helped establish Braun Strowman into the position that he ended up in, but I think Show could've done more recently to help Drew McIntyre, Lashley, Damien Preist, and other if given the opportunity.
To further proven the point I'm making look at how Dustin was booked in WWE and then compare that to when the chains came off in AEW. Honestly, Big Show is past his prime long past and shouldn't be a fixture on Dynamite. I know that if recent reports are anything to go on he will spend time in the booth for the new television show AEW: Dark Elevation. As far as competing in the ring it's obvious he will compete here in there but likely won't be a full time competitor in AEW. Looking at the roster there is a number of stars on the AEW roster namely Brian Cage who could bring an interesting programming for us to watch. The spectacle of seeing Paul Wight and Brian Cage face off with each other to end Dynamite one week. Add both Lance Archer and Luchasurus to the list for the spectacle of seeing the face off over seeing the match. Most importantly seeing Show work with the youngster to see how he can help the next generation will be the best way to judge how successful this signing will be for Show and AEW. Since Dynamite started in the fall of 2019, I've said that AEW needed to spend time developing the roster explaining to the fans who these new stars are and why they matter. Over the last year we've seen the ascension of names like MJF and Darby Allin, but one name that has lagged behind was Sammy Guervara. One of the founding members of the Inner Circle Sammy seemed to be destined for success as a future star, but has character development lacked severely. Sammy needed to be allowed to stand out instead of just being the one guy without something to do in the stable. Jericho was the leader, Santana & Ortiz were the tag team and Jake Hager was the tough bodyguard. Leaving the "Spanish God" out in the cold and other than a lackluster feud with Matt Hardy, he hasn't done much worth noting. His character really started moving forward when MJF showed interest in joining the Inner Circle and from the start Sammy showed he had reservations. This past week on Dynamite he took a step forward standing up against the Inner Circle and taking a stand to trust his gut. Continuing down the road allows Sammy to be saved if and when MJF turns on the Inner Circle and will make Sammy more credible as he didn't trust him from the start. Normally this could go one of two ways Inner Circle turning or MJF, but knowing MJF that will never happen so either Sammy stands on his own or the stable follow his lead. Guevara is a talented youngster with a lot of potential, but needed to give fans more of a reason to pay attention to him. A lot is going in AEW right now with the Bullet Club, Kenny, and Jon Moxley to say another layered story makes Dynamite all the more interesting. To see where Sammy goes from will make Dynamite more hard to miss on a week to week basis. AEW is setting the bar higher and higher in 2021 and we just got going. If all the questions that Dynamite has tied up with the Bullet Club and Impact Wrestling especially now that New Japan might be a part of things now. This has taken some of the spotlight off the long standing rivalry between Team Taz and TNT Champion Darby Allin. Darby was able to even the odds with the arrival of wrestling legend Sting who had shocked the world two months ago debuting on Dynamite and returning to TNT for the first time in eighteen years. One question that has been present since his arrival in All Elite was will the Stinger get in the ring. With the tag team Street fight announced for the upcoming Revolution event on March 7 we finally have our answer.
As of early this week there are only two matches announced so far for Revolution and both are tag team matches. One match is for the Tag Team titles between the champions the Young Bucks against Inner Circle (Chris Jericho & MJF). The other is the previously mentioned street fight and we will see exactly if Sting was right to continue to pitch a return to WWE before he left the company. It is more than likely that the match will be on the more cinematic side of things to allow Sting to be protected who was forced to retire from the ring after an in-ring injury in 2015. Sting would announce his retirement from the ring in 2016 at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Honestly, I think that Sting needs this match to be able to go out on his terms and with the advent of the cinematic styles matches it will allow Sting to end his career on his terms. Sting wanted to return and make it work, but WWE didn't want to give him the stage to do it even though he could be protected. All Elite is giving Sting the stage and it allows him to do what he wants but not be on the center stage as he really doesn't need to be just because he's getting back in the ring once again. If it works out then this clearly could lead to Sting working more then once in AEW. It started when Kenny and Don Callis turned the wrestling world upside down and helped shift attention over to Impact Wrestling for the first time in years. The first landmark was Hard to Kill in January when Kenny Omega teamed with the Good Brothers and then the Good Brothers teamed with the Young Bucks against Inner Circle brining together the Bullet Club once again. As they add to the Impact invasion everything turned again when KENTA showed up jumping Jon Moxley following a six man match against Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. As we think we have all the answers AEW changes the questions bringing up the idea has New Japan entered an agreement with All Elite finally. Currently, Moxley holds the IWGP United States Championship even though he has been unable to travel to Japan due to travel restrictions. I question how KENTA got here, but Mox can't go to Japan unless it's restrictions from All Elite and not travel. Honestly it's possible we could be seeing a title match between Moxley and KENTA in the near future on an All Elite event instead to fix the issue. At this time Moxley is the longest reigning champion even though there has only been eight champions and he hasn't defended the title in a long time the record is the record. KENTA is the man with the case and the right to challenge for Moxley's IWGP United States Championship. Another question this attack brings about is when will Moxley get a fair shot against Kenny Omega as the money match continues to point to a possible cage match to stop the disruptive finishes. Moxley has been screwed twice now in two different ways which keeps things fresh and stops us from getting tired of the same finish. The main thing about the arrival of KENTA though is that it takes the attention of Moxley away from Omega and shifts it to the new arrival. Even though a match this point hasn't been announced for Revolution between Moxley and KENTA or title defense for Omega it will likely be announced sooner rather then later. Right now Revolution is scheduled for March 7, 2021, and we will likely find more information about the upcoming event this Wednesday on Dynamite live on TNT. It is tough to retrace the steps of All Elite Wrestling much like it was for WWE as last year was unlike any other year before and hopefully any year since. I will leave the Brodie Lee tribute show out for obvious reasons as this event is on a level of it's own. I don't often watch AEW, but I've seen enough to be able to acknowledge a few moments from the last twelve months including Jungle Boy vs MJF's five star classic from earlier in the year and FTR joining up with Tully Blanchard after attacking the Rock N Roll Express.
By far though the top moment from AEW is the shocking arrival of Sting on Dynamite. The feud between Team Taz, Cody and Darby Allin has been one of the top feuds in wrestling the last twelve months. Adding Sting to the mix has given the good guys a wild card and it is still unclear what to expect from Sting in his home. For the first time since the last Nitro in 2001, Sting appears on the same network he called home for the early part of his career. Sting became a free agent from his WWE contract in early 2020 and finally was allowed to move on from WWE. After seeing Undertaker compete in a cinematic match, Sting had been campaging for a similar match, but WWE turned him down and now he gets the opportunity to do exactly that with AEW. Again putting aside the tragic passing of Brodie Lee we will pick another part of the last twelve months. For the most part the last twelve months has been mostly positive for the promotion, but if I could pick one moment. It would be the feud between Sammy Guevara and Matt Hardy! Sammy and Matt are two of the best in AEW, but they really didn't click together in the ring. The promotion leaned far to much on the unsafe nature of the Sammy's in ring style risking the well being of Matt Hardy. This feud could've gone better for both men and really given Sammy the platform he needed to begin to standalone from The Inner Circle. At this point, Matt is in a better place working with young talent and Sammy is still alongside the Inner Circle, but still is a faceless member needing development. I for one hope that Sammy has a break through 2021 as he one person with a ton of potential ready to break through. It is impossible to put into words how I felt when I saw that Brodie Lee passed away last weekend it is something I never expected to see. Honestly it didn't sink in right away when I saw the tweets pour in from AEW and other wrestlers as I didn't think that it would be happening. I'm not usually short on words, but in this situation I can't do the situation justice at all. In this generation there have been a number of underrated stars, but few have hit the status of Brodie Lee who is by far the most agile big man I've ever had the pleasure to see in the ring. Since arriving in AEW it was clear that Brodie was going to be given a chance to finally shine unlike he was given in WWE. As Luke Harper he was seen as a tag team specialist which is fine for some, but Brodie could've been a lot more and he was showing that in All Elite Wrestling. It is incredibly tragic to know that this happen and such a pure, loving, funny human was taken from us long before his time. I would like to send every ounce of condolences to his family and friends in this unimaginable time. I have a ton of respect for AEW as they went all out to pay tribute for one for the most genuine member of the wrestling world. I will let the AEW tribute put the rest into perspective. Thank you for all the memories Brodie you will never ever be forgotten god bless big man. The past year has shown us aside of pro-wrestling we never thought we'd see, but due to the global pandemic it became a must that being wrestling without an audience. Even though it's sort of common place now it will always feel like something is missing until the day comes when fans are allowed back into the areas. The big piece aside wrestling has also seen the ascension of some fresh faces who will likely have every opportunity to break through next year in 2021.
One name that has seen his stock rise a lot more in a year then some likely would've expected is Ricky Starks. Earlier in the year Ricky was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and had held the NWA World Television Championship for a cup of coffee, but was hot on the heals of then champion Zicky Dice. Starks was seen as a bright spot for the NWA prior to the outbreak of the current pandemic. As the NWA went on a hiatus due to the current situation we later found out that Ricky Starks had decided to walk away from NWA and move onto All Elite Wrestling. At first it seemed like Starks was going to follow his simple gimmick from NWA and work as a good guy, but then AEW made the right decision to allow Starks to turn heel and become a star. Sometimes in wrestling you can tell when someone is more of a natural heel then face and Ricky Starks is absolutely more of a natural heel then face. Starks has only seen his stock in AEW continue to rise due to his association with Taz and Brian Cage who have been feuding with Cody and current TNT Champion Darby Allin. Starks has gold in his eyes and a bright future ahead of him, but is also one wrestler that is better served learning to be a heel to be able to turn face as oppose to being a face and learning the reverse. 2020 has been an incredible year for Ricky Starks and even with all he has accomplished and his stock rising as high as it has he still has so much untapped potential which we will undoubtedly see him continue to progress toward in 2021. Disclaimer I know I haven't been as active as I should be on the site but I will start working on that trying to keep the site a bit more updated. Starting with the current happenings on Dynamite! Specifically the arrival of a certain wrestling "Icon." It has been 19 years since the last time we saw Sting on TNT when he and Ric Flair closed the book on WCW Monday Nitro. By the way it has been 19 years not 18 years like they said more than more then once on Dynamite last week. At this point I don't what to expect from the arrival of Sting in AEW and it would be best to wait and see as opposed to making assumptions about what we will see from "Stinger" in AEW. This week on Dynamite will be interesting!
One person who has seen a bit of change of allegiance in recent months thanks to a feud with Eddie Kingston that being Lance Archer and Jake Roberts. I didn't expect these two to turn to the good side, but Archer and Kingston have such chemistry with one another it was a logical decision. Seeing Jake get physical last week in the brawl with Kingston and cronies peaked my interest as this prompts the idea of possibly seeing Roberts give us DDT payoff. If this does happen then it will be the first time Jake has dropped someone in many many years. In my opinion, Archer's turn was done to keep balance with PAC not exactly being a secure in his travel plans due to the ongoing global restrictions. Intensity is the best way to describe this feud and it is plain the see that Kingston is the hottest heel in wrestling right now!! One of the main problems that All Elite Wrestling has faced since the start of Dynamite is really allowing the less established talent the opportunity to stick out and grow. Other than Sammy Guevara and MJF very few names have really stuck out as talent that have been given opportunities to really grow into superstars. Darby Allin has a start and stop push since the start of Dynamite, but the reputation seems to finally be turning toward something good. After winning the TNT Championship it seems like Darby finally will be given a bigger platform to shine and move up the card and with Ricky Starks getting consistent television time it is only a matter of time before his natural charisma shines making him into a star.
Speaking of Ricky Starks his new stablemate has been given a massive opportunity and his name is Will Hobbs who just joined Team Taz on the most recent edition of Dynamite. Hobbs only debuted for AEW back in July on AEW Dark and was given contract based on his performance in the Casino Battle Royal back at All Out in September. Now fast forward two months and he has found himself in one of the featured rivalries on Dynamite feuding with Cody and Darby Allin after aligning himself with Team Taz (Brian Cage & Ricky Starks.) I haven't seen much of Hobbs, but at 30 years old and after ten years in the business it is always nice to see feel good story where someone is on the cusp of realizing their potential after finally getting one big break. |
AuthorThe part of the site where you can find information about the newest wrestling promotion. Archives
February 2021
Categories |
About Wrestling Express |
Stay Connected with Wrestling Express |