14 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW In 2020
In which Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, and so many other men ascend to greatness. But the women...?
This is a take that won't do away with those bias accusations, but f*ck it: a list like this can't just comprise of moments of individual brilliance, because we'll all be here longer than it takes MJF to cut a promo. Those promos are still pretty good, MJF, and don't worry! You'll get the praise you long for imminently!
Just consider the abundance of low key wonders to illustrate that point:
Hangman Page swigging from a pitcher in a marvellously irreverent sight gag; a remarkable spree of ****-level TV bangers so consistent that greatness has become the norm (PAC Vs. Darby Allin; Le Sex Gods Vs. Best Friends; Ricky Starks Vs. Darby Allin; so many more); Chris Jericho calling Vanguard a "piece of sh*t"; the initial presentation of Anna Jay and how that fed so perfectly into the turn and the insidious motives of the stable that led her astray; Lance Archer sending some poor motherf*cker head-first into a ceiling; Wardlow taking down Luchasaurus with a flying headscissors; Marko Stunt dying, RIP, in a pair of ghoulish squashes; Chris Jericho blasting Clownico le Clown flush in the temple with the Judas Effect; Fénix taking your breath away every time he stepped in the ring; Sammy Guevara eating a superkick from a springboard in an all-timer of a sell; Orange Cassidy's iconic smirk in the face of PAC, who almost broke into a smile himself just like everybody else did.
AEW is better than even the more positive critics receive it. But it's not quite perfect.