AEW Dynamite

Rey Fenix has been receiving a much bigger spotlight than normal in singles action in recent months because his legitimate brother and tag team partner Penta El Zero Miedo suffered a leg injury in training back in November 2020. Penta was put through the timekeeper’s table by The Butcher in a six-man tag match in November and has been out ever since. As it turns out, he was purposely removed from the match to write him off TV for the time being so he could nurse his leg injury back to health, which Penta suffered a few months ago.

Fortunately, as of now the injury does not appear to serious, and Penta El Zero M is expected to return to AEW Dynamite within a few weeks. In the meantime, Rey Fenix, who is 5.5 years younger, is proving what a commodity he can be in the singles division. Most notably, Fenix delivered a fantastic match with AEW World Champion Kenny Omega for the title on the December 30, 2020 episode of Dynamite (which was also the night of the tribute episode to the late Brodie Lee – incredible human being).

Personally, I was first introduced to both Pentagon Jr. and Feniz in 2015 when they were both members of the promotion Lucha Underground. The two brothers were a tag team and occasionally competed in singles matches, but it was blatantly obvious that they were both more than talented enough and charismatic enough to sustain their characters individually. Both men have done a great job throughout their careers of establishing their own nuances within the confines of their tag team.

More Cross-Promotional Storyline Development, this time between NJPW and AEW; incredible Athleticism on Display

Perhaps what stood out more than the story depicted in this match was the unbelievable athleticism displayed by Rey Fenix – he might move quicker than anyone in wrestling today, although Kenny Omega is a much better all-around performer. The primary storyline this match was orchestrated to advance was the Kenny Omega / Jon Moxley feud for the AEW World Championship. The two top stars in AEW need to have at least one meeting on Pay-Per-View at Revolution to draw the most money for the company.

AEW is also continuing its partnership with other wrestling companies throughout the world. The Jacksonville-based promotion already has a partnership with Impact, given the close bond Don Callis has with Kenny Omega, serving as a mentor to him since Kenny was 10 years old. This continued at Beach Break when Kenta appeared to get an NJPW rivalry going with Jon Moxley over Moxley’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, which he has held consecutively for well over a year.

It is fantastic for AEW from a business standpoint that the company is so willing to collaborate with other promotions, not just in the United States but in Japan as well. It shows the company’s adaptability, which is more necessary than ever for any business in a changing world which appears to be changing at a faster rate than ever – AEW is showing it can keep up with the changes in the world. Kenny Omega also descended the AAA Mega Championship from Mexico in early 2020 against Sammy Guevara.

Jericho and MJF taking the AEW World Tag Team Championship off The Young Bucks is the priority for right now as it has been planned for months, but Tony Khan and the rest of the company executives recognize that Top Flight is the future of tag team wrestling

The match the company has been building toward in the last several months, since November when Maxwell Jacob Friedman defeated Chris Jericho to earn a spot in The Inner Circle at Full Gear, is Jericho and MJF vs. The Young Bucks. Maxwell and Christopher will most likely take the titles off The Bucks at Revolution. If all goes according to plan, MJF will be launched into superstardom as being tag team champions with Jericho which may be the final big accomplishment to make him the face of AEW for the next 10 – 15 years.

In the meantime, MJF seems to be seeking to dismantle The Inner circle from the inside, and it’s working. Sammy Guevara is beginning to distrust Jericho and feel Jericho and MJF are completely out for themselves and to further their own careers. Sammy is like the son who does not agree with the new friend his father has chosen, but he is stuck in the middle of the situation. Jericho – the father – is being manipulated by his new friend and he doesn’t realize it.

On a lighter note, Top Flight are like the next generation’s version of The Young Bucks. Darius and Dante Martin are only 21 and 19 years old respectively, and the two young men from Minneapolis were trained by Ken Anderson and Molly Holly Anderson’s Academy School of Professional Wrestling. They were signed by AEW in November 2020 and have wrestled for numerous independent companies such as Game Changer Wrestling, Black Label Pro and AAW.

These two kids publicly talked about potentially wrestling The Bucks since September, so it was evident that this encounter was on their minds. They would have been the top choice by AEW to challenge for the tag team titles if Jericho and MJF were not already in the plans.

Now Miro has developed some history with several different wrestlers in AEW in his first five months with the company, including Penelope Ford, Kip Sabian, Chuck Taylor (unexpectedly) and Orange Cassidy – this opening storyline for Miro has effectively done its job from that perspective

Miro’s first storyline in AEW was a long-term storyline, which did not elicit much excitement from fans in his first five months with the company. It took a while to get off the ground, but the angle did its job of creating another high-profile story between Miro and Orange Cassidy.

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford were the primary (but not the only) characters to benefit from this “Best Man” storyline. Tony Khan was able to slide Chuck Taylor in as the Butler for Miro when Trent (Chuckie T’s tag partner in the Best Friends) unexpectedly went down with an injury.

Lance Archer defeats Eddie Kingston and the two men displayed great chemistry in the ring together even if the lumberjack stipulation made the match a little tough to follow

There are several layers to the storyline between Lance Archer and Eddie Kingston. The stable known as Death Triangle comprised of Pac and the Lucha Brothers was formed in March 2020 but was put on hold during the pandemic because of Pac being in the UK and there were travel restrictions all over the world.

The Lucha Bros had to find something else to do in AEW, so they joined Eddie Kingston’s family along with The Butcher and The Blade – but reformed Death Triangle when Pac returned to the company in November. Lance Archer has now formed a cautious alliance with Pac and his stable. Not confusing at all, right?

Eddie Kingston had his greatest AEW match to date at Beach Break vs. Lance Archer. Archer got the victory, but Kingston showed a higher level of chemistry with Archer than he has with anyone else on the AEW roster so far. Since signing with AEW in June 2020, Kingston’s debut match with Cody Rhodes was the best until his match with Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in November at Full Gear, but this lumberjack match with Lance Archer may have been Eddie’s best performance thus far with his new employer. He appears happy as well, which is a big deal.

Lance Archer delivered impressive performances back in early 2020 in QT Marshall’s gym, when the company was relying on only about 1/3 of its roster.

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. is virtually guaranteed to be a superstar if she keeps up this pace with her character development; Tony Schiavone is fantastic in his role as well

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. is currently on pace to be a megastar in AEW within a couple years – maybe even quicker than that. One who closely observed the business could have potentially seen this coming immediately when she became the first woman to be signed by AEW. It has now been 2 years since she signed and she is still not even 30 yet.

Britt just got a massive victory over perhaps the top woman in the company other than herself. Thunder Rosa is relatively new to AEW, but she has plenty of experience in the NWA among other promotions as well. She was the NWA Women’s World Champion until dropping the title to Serena Deeb a few months ago.

Britt Baker started to gain the most prominence she has had in AEW in April 2020 when she had her nose broken in a match with AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida (total accident). She received a significant amount of respect for her softness and professionalism/wherewithal to finish the task at hand.

Sting’s first AEW match is quickly approaching

It’s fantastic that Sting has come to AEW, nearly 20 years after appearing in WCW also on TNT and is unselfishly putting over Darby Allin as the next generation of himself. That shows he has the self-awareness to recognize his own star power, whether Steve Borden likes the attention or not, and use it to preserve the wrestling business multiple generations into the future.

The upcoming Street Fight at Revolution may or may not be a cinematic match like WWE did with The Undertaker’s final Boneyard match against AJ Styles. This would be a brand-new undertaking for Tony Khan as AEW has never attempted to orchestrate a match like this, but it is an interesting idea as this company has shown in the past how willing everyone is to innovate – they are all looking to do just that.

Sting’s entrance in AEW is similar to one scene of the 1992 movie “Batman Returns” with Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito as The Penguin. The snow reminds me of the scene at the end of the movie where Batman and The Penguin are fighting in the snow and ice. Just a cool reference point.

Hangman Adam Page is struggling to form a lasting alliance with mutual trust

Matt Hardy is trying to get a tag team going with Hangman Adam Page, who is reluctant to get involved with any sort of stable or tag partner. Page was deeply hurt by Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks when they kicked him out of The Elite, and he is not looking to be hurt like that again – he already turned down The Dark Order. Page is searching for validation and highs in wrestling rather than titles.

He is constantly seeking affirmation and approval from others – the only reason is avoiding another partnership right now is because he feels hurt by The Elite. This is the mentality of a somewhat entitled person, and the validation he is seeking will not come until Hangman realizes that he has always had the ability to give it to himself. Once he realizes that he will then be able to see that reflection in someone else. For now though, he has been getting victories over people like Ryan Nemeth to give these people a huge spotlight in their early AEW careers.

The fact that Kenny Omega is now AEW World Champion is no doubt in the back of Adam Page’s mind, and that Page could potentially challenge Omega for the title this summer (or sometime in the future). This is the most subtle storyline in all of wrestling in the US right now, because the AEW World Tag Team Championship reign for Omega and Page took place before Omega became the face of the company – adding yet another layer to the story. Hangman also formed a bit of a cautious alliance with FTR as drinking buddies, but it turns out they were manipulating him the whole time. Mixing any activity with alcohol almost never goes over well.

A Chronicle of Kenny Omega’s Career in Wrestling and how he has become the most Revolutionary Figure in the Business having never Stepped Foot in WWE as a Main Roster Talent

Rather, Kenny has spent the most notable part of his career thus far in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and has become an executive in AEW. He has also revolutionized the way stories are told in pro wrestling, opting to tell long-term stories.

Twenty-twenty five years ago it was commonplace to orchestrate shocking moments and storylines with the intention of generating a pop in the ratings for that particular week – this was during the Monday Night Wars of The Attitude Era. Starting about 10 years after this, Kenny Omega started patterning his career according to his own vision of what storytelling in wrestling should be. He approached his career from a long-term storytelling perspective, where many different layers and subtle nuances to storylines are hinted at over a period of several years. It is fundamentally a patient man’s game, because there are no immediate payoffs, but the end result is often greater and generates a higher level of investment from fans.

There have been many examples of this long-term approach to storytelling throughout Kenny Omega’s career. A perfect place to start delving into this methodology is by discussing what has transpired in Omega’s AEW career since the inception of the company at the beginning of 2019. Kenny’s tenure in AEW started quietly, but that was merely an example of him adhering to his long-term approach to storytelling, the methodology he has become proficient in.

During the first ever Double Or Nothing Pay-Per-View in May 2019, he delivered a fantastic match in the main event with Chris Jericho before they were both attacked by Jon Moxley. Omega and Moxley were scheduled to be in a match at All Out a few months later, but the match was postponed because Mox contracted a MRSA infection.

The two men met for the first time in AEW at Full Gear in November 2019 in an Unsanctioned Lights Out match which Moxley won (he is a huge proponent of the death match style). This story was put on hold for about a year before Omega won a number one contender’s tournament for the AEW World Championship. Who was the champion at that time? Moxley. Kenny Omega would take the title on December 2, 2020 at Winter Is Coming.

Jon Moxley is currently getting involved in The Cleaner’s storyline with The Elite on a weekly basis so they can build the story for their first Pay-Per-View title match at Revolution at the end of February 2021. Omega has brought The Cleaner persona to AEW after first creating this character in Japan, where the people at NJPW told him that his current character was “too bubbly” for Bullet Club and he needed a little more edge to his heel character.

Omega was able to sandwich an entire eight-month reign with the AEW World Tag Team Championship, with his partner Hangman Adam Page, in that year between his two encounters with Moxley. This run for Omega and Page with the titles was pivotal in the effort by Tony Khan (with influence from EVP’s The Young Bucks) to establish the tag team division within AEW as the best in the world.

Page is currently flirting with the idea of potentially joining The Dark Order (after the passing of their leader into the next life. Rest in peace Brodie), but may eventually find his way back into The Elite, since Kenny and Don Callis are always thinking macro in terms of how to revolutionize the business and fundamentally change the way people think.

Another possibility of someone who may find their way back into The Elite is Cody Rhodes. Cody was originally scheduled to team with The Elite against The Inner Circle in a Blood and Guts match at the end of March 2020 and was even being promoted as a member of The Elite. In June of that year Cody stated on Dynamite, “I guess I am not a member of The Elite anymore.”

Omega has always been looking to innovate and do things no one has ever seen before in the professional wrestling industry. A perfect example of this was his 2011 match in Japan with a nine-year-old girl. This was met with mixed reviews – younger fans of wrestling were more willing to accept the style because they had not as much of a preconception as to what wrestling was. On the contrary, veterans who had worked in the business for many years felt Omega was exposing the business. This goes to show that the way things are perceived in life are completely dependent on the perspective of people, their culture and willingness to accept something new.

Another example from the past of Kenny Omega’s willingness to try any and all forms of long-term storytelling is his tag team partnership with Kota Ibushi as the Golden Lovers in Japan’s DDT Pro Wrestling. They were able to do great things together winning many titles and revolutionized the way people think on many different levels. The Golden Lovers were together as a tag team from 2009 – 2014, disbanding when Kenny Omega left DDT Pro Wrestling,

Omega and Ibushi met later in 2014 after Kenny Omega joined Bullet Club. Kota Ibushi earned the opportunity to challenge Bullet Club leader AJ Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but Kenny would interfere in the match. He visibly hit a crossroads in his mind because his instinct was to do anything necessary to help AJ retain the title. He did not physically attack Ibushi, but one could intuitively determine that he was mulling over whether he had done the right thing, because the distraction Omega provided was enough to cost his former tag team partner the championship. Fate had brought the two men back together for a brief moment – this proved to be just another layer that was added to their story.

They would reunite one final time at New Japan’s The New Beginning in Sapporo in January 2018, four years after the tag team broke up. The moment was reminiscent of the WWF storyline in the 1980s between Macho Man Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth, which also ended with some people in tears because they were so emotionally invested.

Yet another example of Omega employing this long-term approach to storytelling over the years with many different layers, subtle nuances, and hints over a period of years is the way he became the ultimate leader of Bullet Club. When he first came to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he was constantly being attacked by Prince Devitt (Finn Balor), the litigator of the stable at the time. As Omega integrated himself with the company, he eventually joined Bullet Club and overthrew the leader AJ Styles to become the leader himself in 2016 – nearly 2 years after he initially joined the stable.

In reality, this changing of the guard occurred as a subtle storyline intended to compensate for the fact that AJ Styles was leaving NJPW for WWE in January 2016. Shortly after that a sub-sect of Bullet Club called The Elite was born comprised of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. The show on the Internet Being The Elite caught fire and became a way for them to gain a significant amount of exposure across the entire world instead of just Japan.

Omega would also become the first foreign G1 Climax winner in NJPW history in 2016 before his match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in January 2017 with Kazuchika Okada (which was rated six stars by Dave Meltzer), the first of four incredible matches between Omega and Okada. Omega was named Sports Illustrated‘s Wrestler of the Year in 2017 and Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s top male wrestling on its list of the 500 greatest in the world.

The Build to Darby Allin-Brian Cage over the past 8 months was a much better story than the match which didn’t have a pop to it.

Thankfully, the match didn’t need to be great as Sting saved Allin by evening the odds and allowing him to pick up the improbable victory

The feud between Brian Cage and Darby Allin has been a well-thought-out, long-term story that has manifested over the past 8 months. It actually began in January – because Cage signed up with AEW then, but unfortunately, he found out soon after signing that he tore his bicep. Cage logically needed some time to heal from that injury before making his debut at Double or Nothing in May 2020, where he would go on to win a ladder match to become the number one contender for the AEW world championship. This was the beginning of his on-screen rivalry with Darby Allin, which was built with multiple tag matches over the next several months and also at All Out in September.

For the most part Taz – and to a lesser degree Ricky Starks (only because he has not been around for that long. This guy, however, might be the best promo in AEW) – are the reason Brian Cage is over the way he is. Taz is contributing to the business and leaving a legacy in the form of Cage and putting a new title belt on him. Cage already challenged Jon Moxley at Fight for The Fallen on the July 15 Dynamite where he was defeated for the AEW world championship.

Darby Allin just has a cool, unspoken vibe to his personality that neither I nor anyone else can adequately put into words. There is just some quality about the energy he puts into the world that nearly everyone can resonate with. It significantly helps that Allin has a small stature to him and creates the feeling that he is always the underdog – these two qualities make his character extremely easy to root for.

Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers, The Elite for the week, dominate as Omega teases dissension between him and The Young Bucks; The Lucha Bros assert themselves into the AEW World Tag Team Championship hunt, and Jon Moxley rates the next chapter in the rivalry between him and Kenny Omega over the AEW World Championship

Kenny Omega teased some dissension again within The Elite by talking backstage like he was going to team with The Young Bucks but instead chose to tag with The Good Brothers – Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows – and calling themselves The Elite. It will be interesting to see what the next steps will be for integrating the partnership between AEW and Impact Wrestling – Kenny Omega is already scheduled to appear at the next Impact Pay-Per-View Hard to Kill. He and Don Callis are taking creative command of the professional wrestling business with the goal of shocking people so they never know what to expect.

An Invasion angle may not be the route to go because it was already done between WWE and WCW/ECW in 2001 – and it didn’t work all that well (in fairness it could have if Vince McMahon would have allowed The Alliance to get the upper hand on WWE once in a while – the foundation of a good storyline is when each side wins some. If one side is crushed all the time, fans will soon lose interest).

Jon Moxley is going to meet Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship most likely at Revolution so Tony Khan has at least one opportunity to get his top two stars on Pay-Per-View where they can make the most money for everyone. This is the feud Khan likely had in the back of his mind as the primary rivalry he would build to when Moxley and Omega were first signed to AEW. The emergence of this rivalry is the culmination of several years of work to get this company going.

The Lucha Bros may be subtly hinting toward reigniting their rivalry with The Young Bucks. This story hasn’t been visited in close to two years. The Bucks defeated Penta and Fenix for the AAA World Tag Team Championship in early 2019 at Rey de Reyes and had a rematch at the first ever Double Or Nothing Pay-Per-View, which was won by The Bucks. Rey Fenix couldn’t get it done last week against Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship, so he is immediately turning around with his brother to go after the next best thing and to further solidify the AEW tag team division as the best in the world.

Chris Van Vliet’s interview with Don Callis really struck me as very poignant in terms of the way Don approaches life in general. He thinks on a deeper level that seems like a healthy lens through which to look at the events of life. From another perspective, this may seem a little arrogant, but the most important thing is that Don is happy with himself; and it seems he is very much so with a very introspective worldview. It is a loose perspective that does not put many limits on what is possible, not only in the wrestling business but in life. Callis’ goal is not to change how people behave but rather to change the way they think about the wrestling business.

I personally view the world as a mirror in which one of the primary goals is to understand oneself at a deep fundamental level (which unfortunately not many people take the time to do the necessary introspection). Ultimately, if this is achieved, you can eventually get to a point where you understand yourself so well that you see every person as a reflection of some aspect of yourself. One tactic that provides aid in this process is meditation/visualization – the benefits of this are incredibly underrated. Ever since I have started meditating, not necessarily every day but as much as I feel called to do it, it has been lifechanging, but one should not pressure oneself into meditating.

Each human being has the option to be in full control of his/her destiny if they so choose, but that does not come without having to earn each new set of circumstances one attains. No one gets anything just because he/she deserves it; the new set of circumstances is more rewarding anyway, at least from my own experience, when you legitimately earn it.

Lance Archer might join either Death Triangle or Eddie Kingston’s Mafia-style Family

Eddie Kingston could most likely sell people on his matches if he did nothing in the ring because he is one of the best on the microphone in wrestling. He has finally found his home in Jacksonville after bouncing around different companies for 18 years prior to that, and even challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in November at Full Gear.

Pac was forced to be away from AEW back home in the UK for about 8 months before finally being allowed to return to the United States and AEW. That’s why Death Triangle was on hold – because it was formed in March 2020 immediately before the pandemic started – AEW did a fantastic job in finding stories for The Lucha Bros to engage in during that time. When Pac was able to leave WWE and embody a more authentic presentation is when he was able to flourish – he looks to be enjoying life right now and that’s extremely encouraging.

Lance Archer is still not sure whether to trust Pac at the moment, but he is teasing an alliance with Death Triangle in the future.

The Ever-Consistent FTR gets a Victory over Two Young Stars of the Future

FTR vs. Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt was a much better match than most would have expected. AEW fans already knew what to expect from Dax Hardwood and Cash Wheeler as they have been unbelievably consistent since debuting in AEW in mid-2020, delivering classic matches with the likes of Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page at All Out to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship and losing the titles two months later at Full Gear to The Young Bucks.

AEW places a heavy emphasis on their quality of tag team wrestling – and has shown that to FTR through regularly featuring them on Dynamite, giving them adequate time for their matches, and pairing them with manager Tully Blanchard. So overall Hardwood and Wheeler are most likely much happier with AEW than they were with their former employer WWE, a company that does not place nearly as much emphasis on its tag team division.

Jungle Boy has what it takes to go with anyone – it doesn’t matter if he is small because he is more than capable of adapting to any style. We saw a classic example of that when he went toe-to-toe with Chris Jericho on December 18, 2019. Marko Stunt has also proven over the past two years that he is more than just a gimmick guy to accompany Jurassic Express. He is more than capable of holding his own in the ring with much bigger guys.

Things are looking up for the AEW Women’s Division with plenty of young Talent taking their time to get Accustomed to the Atmosphere of the Company

Serena Deeb, similar to FTR, has been incredibly consistent in AEW and NWA as the Women’s World Champion since October. The one thing that could use some work is her character development, but that will surely happen with time because a wrestler cannot be a champion for long without some sort of character development. Tay Conti, along with Anna Jay, has shown significant improvement on the microphone and in the ring over the past couple of months. At this rate, she could become a women’s champion within a couple of years. Things are looking bright for the AEW women’s division in the future; Britt Baker also has a major match coming up.

Miro looked dominant against Chuck Taylor, and he needed it. Best Friends have quite a bit of momentum built up after being booked favorably in 2020 – partially because of AEW having to rely so heavily on time in March – May with only one third of their Roster and being kicked out of Florida for about a month. To the credit of the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy they took the ball and ran with it

There will need to be some extra creative energy put into the presentation of Chuck Taylor in order to keep him afloat so he does not lose much momentum while Trent is healing from injury; maybe Chuckie T. can team with Orange Cassidy some weeks to fill this hole. Miro was the focus in this match as he should have been. He needed a victory to look strong in his presentation because he has been unable to get his sea legs underneath him since coming to AEW in September 2020.

The storyline with Kip Sabian getting married and Miro being the Best Man feels somewhat awkward and a little forced, so it might require at least a slight pivot; it doesn’t necessarily need to be scrapped altogether, just give Miro a little more TV time to develop his personality. That is if Tony Khan and the rest of the AEW executive are serious about presenting him as a star.

Just as AEW did with Fyter Fest in early June 2020, New Year’s Smash will be held across the first two episodes of Dynamite in 2021. Chris Jericho was on commentary for Night 1 of this event. Jericho was pretty damn good on commentary when he first started doing it with Tony Schiavone and the initial months of the pandemic at QT Marshall’s gym, but he has improved exponentially albeit with a small mishap on December 30 (emotions were extremely high so it can be excused). Rest in peace Brodie. Many people are better because you graced this earth for 41 years.

Kenny Omega and The Elite are revolutionizing professional wrestling by partnering with Don Callis and Impact

Kenny Omega might be the greatest and most innovative World Champion in the history of the wrestling business – for any company, in any part of the world. His subtle character evolution since Dynamite began in October 2019 has been spot on tied to his relationship with The Young Bucks going through the various ups and downs like a brotherly relationship. This week it came to fruition that The Elite will align in 2021, because after all, they are a family (everyone can resonate with that).

Omega’s relationship with Hangman Adam Page also didn’t necessarily dismantle. Each man just wanted different things at this point in their careers. Omega was made to be a World Champion; Page more so wanted validation and to achieve a moderate amount of success, but his character knew full well – at least subconsciously – that there was a ceiling to the amount of success he could achieve and keep his sanity.

The on-screen relationship between Kenny Omega and Don Callis, and for that matter the working relationship between ATW and Impact, was most likely planned well in advance and is just now coming to light because Kenny and Callis are essentially like an uncle and nephew. In the 5.5 weeks since Omega won the AEW world championship, he has unleashed an extremely arrogant side of his character that has never been seen before. It took a while for his character to get to this point, but it is thoroughly entertaining now that it has.

No one would have anticipated that the release of The Good Brothers, Anderson & Gallows, from WWE in April right after WrestleMania could have been the best thing for their careers nine months later now that you have aligned with The Elite. This was probably in the works when they were negotiating their contracts. I’m assuming that’s why they were so excited about signing with Impact.

It’s likely that Tony Khan wants to continue the rivalry between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley over the AEW world title, because they are the two biggest stars he has so it makes good business sense. Moxley and Omega will most likely meet on Pay-Per-View for the first time at Revolution. This match has far too much money written on it for the company not to orchestrate, and now is the best time to do it.

Regarding the title match this week between Kenny Omega and Rey Fenix, this may not have been the match of the year, but the two men did the best job they possibly could have with the time they were given and that’s all that can be asked. Fenix has been a star in the making for quite some time and has been oscillating between tagging with his brother and chasing titles as a singles wrestler; this began during his time in Lucha Underground several years ago and has only expanded from there.

As far as the actual match, two moments in particular stood out. The first was the point dead in the middle of the match when Kenny was dumped on the back of his head by a German suplex. The second was at the end of the match when Fenix paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero with the shoulder shimmy (Eddie Guerrero has been featured before on TNT when he was with WCW in the late 90s). Those are the moments that really resonated with me, and I know they have to with many others, because I believe that all human beings are simply reflections of other aspects of myself; the same could be said for you reading this piece from me.

Fenix had an AEW World Tag Team Title shot early on in 2020 when Kenny Omega was one half of the champions and could not get it done. He lost to Omega at Full Gear in the number one contender’s tournament, and now a title match. There might be a bigger story brewing between these two men that will play out in the future. This reunification of The Elite, along with the partnership between AEW and Impact, could be the beginning of another golden age of professional wrestling; this is a great era to be a part of.

Promotion for Cody Rhodes’ and Snoop’s TV show; in addition, the talent level of Matt Sydal is highlighted

Snoop Dogg’s splash off the top rope on Matt Sydal might have been the most fun moment of Dynamite. He was getting very much into the role of coaching Cody Rhodes during the match in promotion for the Go-Big Show on TBS. Cody Rhodes looked great as always in the ring, but Matt Sydal showed AEW fans exactly why he has been overlooked for years and should absolutely be booked higher on the card. It was very generous of Tony Khan to give Sydal this large of a spotlight after many months of not being featured as heavily in the company; this man is clearly one of the most underrated performers in professional wrestling.

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian have been so consistent for so long, they have earned a title match with the best tag team in the world. The Young Bucks took a step later in the night to ensure that the story between the two teams will be easy to understand by turning heel with the rest of The Elite

Christopher Daniels is 50 years old, so it might be a now or never thing for his tag team to challenge The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Right now it does not make much sense from a character perspective since they are both clearly faces; but anymore there is such a grey area for professional wrestling characters that it’s starting to matter less and less which side of the fence you are on as a character. Daniels and Kazarian will challenge The Bucks at Revolution for the belts, but they will have their backs until then.

One reason The Bucks aligned with Omega and The Good Brothers, other than the fact that The Elite is family, was so they could become the clear-cut heels in the current feud with SCU. The roles in the story will therefore be more well-defined and it will be easier to follow; this now opens the door for SCU to become the faces in the current story which they are best at anyway.

MJF might be trying to disband The Inner Circle from within

MJF is seeking to systematically destroy The Inner Circle from the inside. Two developments in this story happened this week; the more obvious one is that Wardlow defeated Jake Hager, 2 inner Circle members battling and planting the seeds for an even bigger rivalry to manifest in the coming months. The subtler aspect was that Maxwell Jacob Friedman earned the trust of Hager by calming him down after the loss and at least appearing sincere (we all know he wasn’t. After all, he is an arrogant and entitled a**hole).

Maxwell also did a similar thing with Santana and Ortiz a couple weeks ago by consoling them. When MJF and Wardlow finally dismantled The Inner Circle in a few months, Sammy Guevara and Ortiz will be gloating in Chris Jericho’s face about how they were right, and they knew MJF wasn’t trustworthy. The male obsession with being right all the time will cause the group to break up. Santana might even get annoyed with Ortiz and that tag team might break up; that’s a big if because they work so well together and AEW takes a lot of pride in its tag division being the best in the world.

Better days could be on the horizon for the AEW women’s division; this division is not short on talent, just on character development and a little more attention to detail could be useful

AEW is heavily leaning on Shida to be the face of the women’s division, and she is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. The women’s division overall is not in a particularly strong state, not because it doesn’t have the talent, but because the characters have not been developed as well as the men. Clearly, not as much time has been spent on the women’s side of things.

There are some incredible talents like Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (the most established character on the AEW roster among women), Penelope Ford (impressed in a title match with Shida in June) and Big Swole, so there is hope that this trend of not focusing as much on the women will eventually be reversed but this is just the way it is right now. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it will work as out in time just like everything does in life; even someone like Kris Statlander who tore an ACL back in June 2020 will be returning in a couple months, so she might significantly help things pick up in the women’s division.

There’s a high probability Eddie Kingston will not win the AEW world title belt on November 7 at Full Gear so Tony Khan can continue working toward a Jon Moxley – Kenny Omega rivalry for the title, but that’s just what motivates Eddie Kingston to prove everyone wrong. He’s pissed that he had to wait 18 years in this business to get a shot at a world title. Moxley may not get over quite as well as an underdog as he does being the top guy in the company. His level of attitude is completely justified when he is champion, but this demeanor may come across as somewhat unnecessary and arrogant if he is chasing the title – but it worked about a year ago when he was not champion, so it might not matter.

Eddie Kingston has reminded wrestling fans that it’s a positive thing for one to feel into their emotions wholeheartedly, and actually shows strength rather than weakness. Eddie was feeling anger about the state of the world many months ago, the fact that he had to leave a tour of the United Kingdom early (surrounded by great people as well as great pay), as well as being forced to sell his wrestling gear in order to pay his mortgage. He wanted to let that anger out in a way that would potentially create some positivity in his life, so he asked the people who ran ICW if he could cut a promo filled with intense language letting out much of his anger.

Kingston did just that on July 4, 2020 and was brought over to AEW for a TNT championship match with Cody (he had mentioned Cody’s name in his expletive-filled promo about a month earlier just to see what would happen). Eddie Kingston’s in-ring work impressed people backstage instead of just simply his promo work. According to Eddie, this was the primary factor that piqued his interest in AEW, because this company viewed him as someone who could be a potential “player-coach” who could be used as not only as a manager for wrestlers but also someone who could get the job done in the ring. WWE had expressed interest in Kingston in the past but only as a promo guy who could get it done on the microphone.

After 18 years in the professional wrestling business, the 38-year-old is finally getting an opportunity to be put in a position where he has the chance to carry a top company. Eddie Kingston is plenty skilled enough but has simply never received the opportunity to do so. According to him, this will serve as justification for why he has done everything in his life and made the decision he has made that his family did not necessarily agree with. Kingston will definitely have his hands full with Jon Moxley, who essentially is the same wrestler who comes from the same type of background and has overcome very similar challenges in life on his journey to find himself.

The thick New York accent Eddie Kingston has (which sounds like a mixture of actor Robert De Niro and the former long–time owner of the Oakland Raiders Al Davis) goes perfectly with his character. It’s essentially not a character but more of an expression of his world view (just slightly more dramatic). Also, the whole reason Kingston signed with AEW is that his mother, who gave him life and “knows me better than anyone else” told him he would be happier with AEW (with more creative freedom) than WWE. This article reminds me of Chris Van Vliet’s recent interview with Chris Jericho, primarily the part in which Jericho talked about how his match in 2018 with Kenny Omega in Japan made him fall in love with wrestling again because he had no “chains” and “pure creative freedom.”

Jon Moxley recently allowed some quotes of his covering a wide variety of topics to be used for SI.com’s Week in Wrestling, including his current rivalry with Lance Archer, the importance of representing AEW during a pandemic, and the milestone of AEW Dynamite hitting the one-year mark.

Moxley wrestled at an event for the new Bloodsport (that name totally fits into how Mox wants to present his character) debut on October 11 – just days before his defense of the AEW World Championship against Lance Archer. The storyline with Archer dates back to their time with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the encounter between the two men at Wrestle Kingdom 14 – in January 2020 – in a Texas Death Match under last-man-standing rules – which Moxley won. Archer is quick to point out, however, that Moxley has never pinned or submitted him, which only adds to the rivalry.

Moxley can easily create a mystique surrounding his opponents, making them look like absolute stars in the process. He discussed how he “barely got out of there (the Tokyo Dome) with my head on my shoulders.” Now he wants to finish the job, so to speak. “Maybe he is my kryptonite.”

This is a prime example of how Tony Khan is perfectly willing to use his performers’ history with other companies to add more layers to a particular storyline in his own promotion. Moxley talked about how the success of AEW is extremely critical to the wrestling industry as a whole. The primary goal of the company at this stage, even though it’s still in its embryonic stages, is to create brand new stars in the world of professional wrestling. The company needed to lean on the reputation of guys like Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley (guys the wrestling world already knew from WWE) to get the ball rolling, but now that AEW has some momentum, new home-grown stars who have not necessarily made their name first in WWE need to be created to ensure the success of the company.

Jon Moxley takes an extreme amount of pride in being the pandemic-era world champion for AEW and being the guy who is relied upon to carry the company through extremely tough times and “provide stability in an unstable time.” People have been forced to adapt on the fly, and the professional wrestling industry is no exception. Moxley has had two title matches canceled for Covid reasons, and there might be more. He discussed in detail how much everyone in the company was looking forward to the six-man Tag match with Will Hobbs (one of the new stars I was talking about) and Darby Allin which was scratched due to the pandemic. “I think everyone is pretty used to it.” This is just the world we live in right now. Nothing can be planned in advance as much – because it is all subject to change at any given moment. AEW is doing about as good a job as anyone when it comes to this.

One last topic Moxley discussed is how he doesn’t like to compare himself, his mentality, or his accomplishments to that of anyone else. What the 34-year-old loves most about the art of professional wrestling is that, with the free-flowing creative process in AEW, he can develop the vision in his mind for each match, and then has the ability to execute that vision in the ring and make it a reality.

A perfect example of this was the match at All Out with MJF. Moxley claimed how he could see the match in his mind and develop a clear vision for how it will go “months in advance.” The very loose creative process gives the wrestlers freedom to use whoever’s ideas they resonate with most – and that allows them to create a very authentic presence for the crowd each week.

It was an extremely hot night in Jacksonville for All Out, and this probably caused the performers to be – not necessarily lethargic, but simply more focused on how miserable the conditions were outside as opposed to their performance. The result was that the action was not quite as fast-paced, and while the event was very well executed it was not as fluid as normal. Think about it – when it is hot and humid outside, you are more focused on those conditions than anything else and you don’t perform very well if you are doing something physical.

Mox retains, but here comes Lance Archer

Maxwell Jacob Friedman proved he belonged in the main event scene in AEW after holding up his end of the bargain in his first Pay-Per-View main event against one of the best in the company, Jon Moxley. I have a theory on why MJF did not win the AEW World Championship at All Out – Vince McMahon made the mistake of making Randy Orton into a world champion at 24 years old when he clearly was not ready for that responsibility and did not have nearly enough maturity. Tony Khan may have decided to take a different path with MJF – who happens to be the exact same age – and let him build a little more of a reputation and experience before he becomes world champion (there is absolutely no doubt he will be many times over since he was already placed in a main event position this early into his career).

Friedman’s match at Double or Nothing with Jungle Boy in May caught the attention of many wrestling fans because the match had a very rhythmic flow given the fact that both wrestlers are so young and relatively inexperienced. This very well may have been one of the major signals to Tony Khan that Maxwell Jacob Friedman might be ready to hang with the big boys. He looked very comfortable and had an excellent grasp on what he was doing when he was put in a position where he was leading the match just a few months ago (an experienced wrestler like Cody can make anyone look good).

MJF is clearly most comfortable with a microphone in his hand because he has an innate ability to command the attention of an audience. This quality is so rare in such a young person. It took someone like Jon Moxley years to develop this sense of comfortability in front of a crowd, but Friedman has this at just 24 years old (and it will only strengthen over time).

It was a brilliant idea, by the way, to orchestrate the match so that MJF could connect with a Cross Rhodes at some point during the match to subtly comment on his long-standing rivalry with Cody. This started with MJF throwing in the towel for Cody in November at Full Gear 2019 and culminated at Revolution in February with a singles match between the two men. This might set up another encounter between MJF and The Nightmare down the line – maybe even a year or two from now.

A potential feud between Friedman and his stooge for now Wardlow was also hinted at because Wardlow distracted the referee in an attempt to create an opening for MJF, but instead this opened the door for the world champion Moxley to connect with Paradigm Shift (which was originally banned for the match –  MJF played this up in typical heel fashion, with a walker and more).

Moxley is incredibly consistent, delivering in every scenario imaginable. AEW clearly works best for his character because the company is a little rougher around the edges and somewhat more innovative. The company will allow Jon Moxley to be more authentic to himself, which is always beneficial. Audiences will feed off that authenticity and it causes them to respond better to Moxley because they are feeling more energy circulating throughout the arena since Moxley is more invested in his character. More energy is therefore circulating throughout whatever building – or outdoor arena – he is in, cool vibrations in other words.

The man to take the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley may be Lance Archer. This possibility seems much more plausible than Maxwell Jacob Friedman – who will be a world champion many times over, just not quite yet. Archer on the other hand has 20 years of experience in the wrestling business (he has spent the last decade in Japan), so he knows how to do everything required in the wrestling business to be a champion. The Murderhawk Monster is 43 years old, so if he’s ever going to be World Champion in AEW now is the time for Tony Khan to act on it before he is out of his prime. Archer has been built up for nearly a year (since February 2020) into a legitimate threat, and now might be the time to pull the trigger by making him AEW World Champion.

Chris Jericho puts over Orange Cassidy in the first-ever Mimosa Mayhem match

Chris Jericho has spent the pandemic months building a brand-new star in professional wrestling in the form of Orange Cassidy. Jericho debuted a new concept with the Mimosa Mayhem match by mixing The Bubbly, his own invention, with orange juice (obviously for Orange). This was very similar to 2005 when Jericho created the concept of the Money in the Bank ladder match for WWE which is still in use today.

Because Cassidy won this match, this means he wins the entire feud. Jericho won the first match; Orange won the second match in mid-July along with this one. Chris Jericho is one of the best in the business at creating new stars in the industry – and this rivalry with Orange Cassidy has created yet another one. Now it’s up to Orange to stay there. Right now, he and “Hangman” Adam Page have the keys to the future of AEW.

New Tag Team Champions after over seven months of Omega and Page

This was the longest, most seamless and well-paced match of the evening. The performers had plenty of time to do what they needed to do to tell a good story with that many layers. FTR have earned everything that is coming to them – they simply were not getting enough opportunities to showcase their talent in WWE.

It’s been an impressive run for Kenny Omega and Hangman Page (they became tag team champions in January, but the division is too good to keep the belts on one team for much longer than that). Plus, the time seemed right considering The Young Bucks kicked Page out of The Elite and Kenny Omega is now distraught over losing the titles. AEW is proceeding with the long-term story of The Elite slowly disintegrating (which we started to see evidence of starting last year, followed by what was possibly the greatest tag team match ever at Revolution at the beginning of the year).

Britt Baker and Big Swole became stars in the AEW Women’s Division with their match in Britt’s Dental Office at All Out

AEW can get away with creating innovative concepts like the Novocain shot because Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. is a legitimate dentist, so she knows what she’s doing. AEW has really done a great job of building Britt’s character (because she was the first woman signed to the company, so a high degree of emphasis was placed on making her a star), but the characters of other women like Big Swole, Hikaru Shida, and Penelope Ford (I am not even mentioning Kris Statlander because she is rehabbing an ACL).

The AEW Women’s Division is beginning to pick up steam]; it just took a few months to develop the characters because they were all so new, whereas we already kind of knew a few of the guys (from WWE, among other places).