Showing posts with label AEW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AEW. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Is Kenny Omega The Best Wrestler in the World?

Since joining All Elite Wrestling a year and a half ago, most wrestling fans have had a mixed reaction to his time back in North America. Most people expected him to bring his six-star matches with Okada stateside, but he’s definitely gone a different path. But even though it may not be what you love best, it may be doing more to prove his case as the best wrestler in the world. 
 
Let’s face it, the six-star matches were not a likely possibility without an opponent, and maybe just as importantly, a backstory to create those matches, although, credit where credit is due, his matches with Rey Fenix and Pac are pretty damn awesome. 
 
But for the most part, his transition to All Elite Wrestling has been a pivot in his career. And not a single pivot as he refused to be defined by a certain wrestling style. His feud with the Lucha Bros, undeniably great, did represent a transition to more lucha libre in his arsenal. He’s still the AAA Champion, and even I forgot the awesome match he had with Dragon Lee.
 
After that, it was an even more extreme change as he went hardcore against Joey Janela before carrying that over to the end of his feud against Jon Moxley. This was not Best Bout Machine, Kenny Omega, but he showed that he could transition to a style very different than what he had gotten accustomed to in New Japan.
 
Now he’s transitioned to tag team wrestling where he and Adam Page are currently the AEW Tag Team Champions. Tag team wrestling is secondary in New Japan so outside of a brief late run with Kota Ibushi, he really didn’t have any recent runs in meaningful tag matches. But he’s transitioned well as the Ricky Morton babyface that can take a beating before making the hot tag to Hangman. On top of that, he’s even dabbled in mixed tag matches with Riho.
 
Most recently, he had his first street fight, and the man proved he could do it all by wrestling in jeans. He’s trying new things constantly, and he’s excelling in all facets of pro wrestling. There may be nobody better at the epic big show matches than Omega, but he’s proving he’s pretty damn good no matter what style he needs to adjust to. His average star rating may be dropping, but by challenging himself in different ways, he is now proving that he truly is the best wrestler in the world.

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Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Why Hasn't Anyone Signed AR Fox?

Before the pandemic hit, it seemed that anyone who had any bit of potential was being scooped up by WWE, AEW, Ring of Honor, Impact, and New Japan. And despite independent wrestling being raided for talent, there was one name that always shocked me that he somehow didn’t get a big time organization contract, and that man is AR Fox. 
 
I have been lucky to see AR Fox about a dozen times since he wrestled quite a bit down in Florida. Every match I have ever seen him in has been somewhere between very good and holy shit, and it isn’t all competition as I saw him against less than stellar competition with a crowd of like 15 people at a Style Battle in New Port Richey. Of course, when the competition is stellar, like the time I saw him against Matt Riddle, that’s when he can produce those holy shit matches.
 
But it’s not like he’s new to the scene. The guy has been awesome for a long time. The first time I saw him was at the WrestleCon Supershow back in 2015. I saw him team up with Jushin Thunder Liger and Ricochet to take on Roderick Strong, Frankie Kazarian, and Christopher Daniels, which, holy shit, that’s a hell of a lot of talent, and the guy I was most impressed with was Fox. He wrestled a hellacious pace and managed to outshine freaking Ricochet. 
 
Over five years later, he’s still putting on awesome matches, running a wrestling school in Atlanta, and outside of a brief stint in Lucha Underground, he hasn’t gotten a real shot at showing what he can do on a bigger stage. He’d be an incredible addition to any organization, and it is absolutely baffling that it hasn’t happened yet. So for all of you wrestling executives reading this right now, remedy your mistake sign AR Fox before your competition does.

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

Pro Wrestling and the Fascinating World of Free Agency

There has never been a better time to be a pro wrestling fan. Yeah, WWE main roster has some major issues, but NXT is fantastic, AEW is providing an interesting challenger, NJPW is still putting on ridiculous matches on their bigger cards, and NWA seems to get better every week. That doesn’t even include ROH, Impact, and MLW who have all been getting positive reviews. People may long for the good ol’ days, but there are just so many great options to watch right now that my only complaint is that I don’t have time to catch up on all of it.

There has also never been a better time to be a pro wrestler. There is a fit for every talented guy out there. If you’re looking to get the most exposure and have the highest potential for earnings, WWE is still the place to be. If you are looking for an international experience where you can work on a different style, the door to New Japan is open. If you are looking for the easiest schedule while having some flexibility in your bookings, both AEW and NWA have openings. Or you could do a sampler platter which appears to be the plan of Marty Scurll.

Everyone assumed that Marty Scurll would join his Elite friends and sign with AEW, yet he shocked the wrestling world and resigned with Ring of Honor instead. Now, with him signing the ROH deal, he was given freedom to work for the NWA and New Japan, and maybe others as well? At first, I questioned the decision, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

In AEW, Marty Scurll was stuck. He was so tied to The Elite that it could have put a ceiling on his potential. Cody and Kenny are your top guys, the Bucks are the tag team greats, and Page is the future star. Marty was the other guy. He was loved, but he also wasn’t seen as a top star since he did most of his work in six-man tags and the junior/lightweight division. He showed his potential in an amazing match against Kazuchika Okada, but it was going to be tough for him to leap over guys that everyone naturally saw him aligned with.

So he surprised everybody and chose not to go with the big wrestling companies on cable and resigned with ROH where he managed to have a very successful year without his Elite compadres. He’s not only making good money by all accounts, but he has the freedom to work with New Japan where he is challenging a former heavyweight champion and NWA where he is already in the title picture. Oh yeah, and he’s got a good amount of creative control in his home promotion of Ring of Honor.

Right now, you would have to say that Scurll is projected to have the most interesting 2020, and he did it by straying away from everything that people thought he would do. Before this, I think most assumed that top free agents would have two choices between WWE and AEW, but Scurll is showing that there are many doors to choose from, and for some top wrestlers, the best path may be the one less traveled.

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Monday, December 23, 2019

The WWE Is Ruining... Shelton Benjamin

To say this series has sapped me of any excitement towards wrestling gives this series far too much credit. Main roster WWE is still brutal anytime I check in on it, but NXT is great, AEW can be great, and New Japan is getting ready to be great with Wrestle Kingdom on the horizon. What does this have to do with Shelton Benjamin? Nothing. And that’s really all of my opinion on Shelton Benjamin at this point. He’s still a great athlete, but he’s not an overwhelming athlete at this point, and he’s better off in a tag team as opposed to a singles wrestler. I know I’ve been beating this drum repeatedly, but this is a guy that should be a crony in a stable of more important wrestlers. You could even have a formidable tag team with him and Apollo Crews if you wanted. But really, things are winding down for Benjamin, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he was one of the few talents WWE was willing to let go at this point. He can still be valuable for a couple more years, just not to the WWE where he is their version of wallpaper, only meant to stand in the background and be inoffensive.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
Akam
Aleister Black
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Monday, November 18, 2019

The WWE Is Ruining... Luke Harper

Luke Harper is a guy that is incredibly talented in the ring, and this is a simple case where WWE does not care about professional wrestling. He’s maybe not the most charismatic guy, but it’s not like he can’t talk. He just doesn’t talk the WWE way where you have to get in the middle of the ring and scream things to get your point across. There’s subtlety to his charisma, and if there is one thing WWE hates, it’s subtlety.

Because of this, Harper rightly asked for his release. As an independent contractor, this should have been a very easy process where both sides could split amicably. Instead, WWE is making him fulfill his contract, the one in which they could release him at any time, and may have even extended it, because WWE’s contracts are some of the most bullshit things on the planet, yet still might not be in the top five of bullshit things about the WWE.

He came back to help out his old tag partner, but that quickly died off when Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns defeated them a month later. He hasn’t actually won a match on TV since he came back to a huge pop, so that seems like classic WWE.

This is just sad. WWE has no plans for him outside of not letting him wrestle somewhere else. They’re paying him to not do the thing that he is best at, and I cannot wait to see his contract run out as an opportunity in AEW or NJPW seems like a great way to make Brodie Lee relevant again.
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Monday, November 11, 2019

The WWE Is Ruining... Ricochet

I’ve done almost 70 of these things, and at this point, it’s truly shocking that things haven’t gotten better. WWE has brought in new people, but everything stays exactly the same. They have worn me down. When I started this up, I watched Raw and Smackdown religiously. Now I checked out the season premieres of both, regretted it, and have not been back since. WWE has three brands, all of which have twice the talent that AEW has, and yet only one, NXT, can actually put on a comparable product. It’s so stupid and so disappointing, because I legitimately love professional wrestling.

The only reason I started with that diatribe is to let you know that these are likely to be a whole lot shorter going forward. But let’s quickly talk about how great Ricochet is, shall we?

Are we sure Ricochet isn’t the most physically gifted person in professional wrestling? It’s an impossible thing to say for certain, but Ricochet really has to be up there. That guy has springs in every part of his body. He springs with his legs, his arms, and even his neck. It’s incredible what he is able to do. If I was going to show a non-wrestling fan one wrestler that might get them hooked, it would have to be Ricochet, because his talent is so undeniable.

But the WWE can and will deny that talent. Ricochet has been treated fairly well on the main roster, compared to other talents, but it doesn’t lead anywhere. He won the US Title, and he wasn’t even able to keep the belt for a month before AJ Styles beat him for it. Ricochet is still super athletic, but everything surrounding his athleticism is stupid and pointless.

Basically, Ricochet should only be consumed in gif form. Don’t get attached, watch a 3 second loop multiple times, and move on with your day.

To fix him? Have the fun wrestling guy do fun wrestling things, but this time, actually make them matter. Either that or put him in a mask, call him Prince Puma, and let him wreck shop because of ancient Aztec Medallions. That is a proven formula that can’t be denied.
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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

AEW and the Transition from Marks to Plants

AEW's inaugural event, Double or Nothing, was a massive success. Not only did they put on a hell of a show, but they also had an estimated 100,000 PPV buys which is incredible in a market where the two most dominant brands, WWE and NJPW, will give you everything for less than $10 a month. They showed a variety of styles, and the crowd was into it from start to finish. It makes all wrestling fans wonder how they can build on this in the future.

The most amazing part of Double or Nothing is they built up the entire card with almost no wrestling. Instead, they utilized YouTube shows to not only build up the matches but set the framework for future feuds as well. It's amazing how they changed the game, and I think they are ahead of the curve on the future of pro wrestling.

The best example of this is Cody. Cody is beloved by fans of AEW, because he is a huge reason that it even exists. Between The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and him, they are setting a path for where the organization goes, and Cody definitely seems like the leader out of those wrestlers as well. But here's the thing with Cody, he's not a babyface. He's the most heel heel that has ever heeled in wrestling. Cody has never smiled in his entire life; he's only smirked. I love the guy, but I also totally want to punch him in the face.

So you have Cody who is easy to hate but he is providing you with what wrestling fans have been craving for years, so you also kind of love him. He cheats in his matches but gets cheered at the end of the show. No matter what people say, wrestling is still built on faces and heels, and that is where AEW needs help from a character that is often overlooked in the grand scheme of pro wrestling, the fans.

The fans that are already supporting AEW are not your traditional wrestling fans, but they are almost reverting back to what fans used to be. WWE fans cheer the guys they like and boo the guys they don't. That seems logical, but it runs into problems when clear babyfaces like Roman Reigns get booed out of the building. 30 years ago, things were much simpler in professional wrestling. The chosen good guys always got cheered and the chosen bad guys always got booed. It was a more innocent time, and even though we have lost our innocence, the fans of AEW seem to be reverting back to those simpler times.

But instead of AEW fans being marks, I think they're closer to plants. Magicians famously used plants to make the audience think anything was possible. It would look like they were picking a person at random, but really, that person was in on the trick to make sure everything went according to plan. This is what wrestling fans have become. We're all a bunch of plants, and we are in on what is supposed to happen. So we can love Cody as an executive but boo his every move in the ring, because he's the bad guy, and it's fun to be in on the show. Look at a guy like MJF, who is objectively hilarious, but you have to boo him, because that's what makes the show better and more enjoyable.

AEW realizes that wrestling fans want something different. We don't need to be tricked, because it's more fun to be in on the trick. Fans pay to see a WWE show; they pay to be a part of an AEW show. That sure sounds like a lot more fun to me.
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Tuesday, April 23, 2019

The WWE Is Ruining... Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens is one of the greatest talents in the WWE. He's great in the ring and great on the microphone. He's not exactly a body guy, but he has a body, and with all of his talent, that is enough.

Still, despite all that, he has kind of yo-yoed up and down the WWE roster in importance during his time there. He started his career in NXT by winning a single match and later that night destroying his best friend and brand new NXT Chanpion, Sami Zayn, to set up an immediate title match which he won, yet he had to lose twice to Finn Balor at the end of his NXT run despite already being on the main roster. He managed to debut on the main roster by beating up John Cena, yet despite getting a win over Cena, never actually won the US Title. He followed that up by winning the Universal Title, but only because of help from Triple H, and then lost his title to Goldberg in 22 seconds, because...?

Most recently, he made his return after an injury and immediately stole Kofi Kingston's title shot, but then became friends to Kofi and is now a good guy host where he is still letting his comedic timing show. It was also very weird that he may have been the only healthy person on the roster to not do anything at Wrestlemania.

Right now is the time to strike with Kevin Owens. Not only is he an incredible talent, the WWE has to be aware that they need to keep him happy with his current situation. I'm not sure of Owens contract status, but he has the luxury to go to AEW anytime he wants as he was the guy who told the Young Bucks to take care of Cody on the independents. He has the luxury of waiting out to see how AEW does before taking that leap if he wants to do so, but the WWE could make it worthwhile for him to stick around if they pull the trigger.

So what is the best way for the WWE to utilize Kevin Owens? To start off, let's have a good Kevin Owens take on a bad Sami Zayn which is where WWE may already be leading us. This is fun, and it gets both guys to better places. This time, Owens teaches Sami the error in his ways, and they become good guys. By that time, Daniel Bryan can reclaim his title from Kofi Kingston, and you put a good Kevin Owens over a bad Daniel Bryan where Zayn can stop interference from Rowan. You could also reverse this order and have Zayn look like he's going to help Owens, just to join up with Daniel Bryan and Rowan which would then create the Owens/Zayn fire feud. Either way, this isn't rocket science, put Daniel Bryan and Sami Zayn with Kevin Owens in some way and good things are probably going to happen. Good enough for Owens to stick around? Only time will tell.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Apollo Crews
Bayley
Big E
Big Show
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Carmella
Chad Gable
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Monday, January 21, 2019

The WWE Is Ruining... Zack Ryder

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, I look at Woo Woo Woo, You Know It, Zack Ryder.

The only reason you know Zack Ryder is because of Zack Ryder. The WWE is not in the business of helping Zack Ryder get over, but Zack Ryder changed the game in what wrestlers could truly do on their own while in the WWE by starting his own YouTube show, Z! True Long Island Story. This was Being The Elite before Being The Elite. It was stupid, ridiculous, and wonderful, and it built such a following that the WWE couldn't stop denying how over Ryder had gotten without actually being on television.

The WWE started putting him on television but never gave him a significant push, and let's not forget how over he was at the time. There were "We Want Ryder" chants during Raws, Pay Per Views, and even during The Rock's promo one time. I own a stupid looking t-shirt to prove how over this dude was.

And yet, the WWE did as little as they could with it. The WWE did take over possession of his YouTube show to launch their own channel, but it quickly lost its magic and died out shortly after that.

Years later, it led to Ryder winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania, but he lost it the next night on Raw, so it was not the most memorable title reign in history. After that, his most memorable moments involved tagging with Mojo Rawley who had more impact on NXT than they did with anything on the main roster.

Since then, he has tagged with Curt Hawkins, No Way Jose, Tyler Breeze, and Tye Dillinger. He tagged with No Way Jose twice, so you probably remember those very important matches on Main Event.

Basically, he hasn't done shit.

In my piece on Curt Hawkins, I recommended getting the Major Bros back together, and it's not a bad plan for either guy. Honestly, I think it's about the best that the WWE can do for Zack Ryder.

That is why, possibly more than anybody else on the roster, Zack Ryder needs to leave the WWE and go to All Elite Wrestling. AEW's aim seems to bring variety and fun back to wrestling. Joey Janela isn't some amazing technician, MJF is still in the process of getting better, and Cody is very good, but not anywhere near the best wrestler in the world conversation. Still, these guys bring other things to the table that get people invested in their matches, and Zack Ryder would fit perfectly in that sort of environment. Ryder's career would go from completely unimportant to one of the most fascinating additions to the hottest brand in wrestling.

WWE is ruining Zack Ryder, and although Ryder is a lifelong fan who seems to love WWE. If he truly loves it, he must let it go on his way to All Elite Wrestling.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Apollo Crews
Bayley
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Ember Moon
Goldust
Jinder Mahal
Kane
Karl Anderson
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Luke Gallows
Mickie James
Mojo Rawley
Nia Jax
Peyton Royce
Randy Orton
Scott Dawson
Shinsuke Nakamura
Tyler Breeze
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