8 Wrestlers Who Tried To Look Cool (...& Immediately ATE Sh*t)

8. Matt Sydal’s Debut Botch

Matt Sydal hasn’t enjoyed the best of AEW careers. Plagued by a very serious injury, after contending with a non-stop influx of generational signings, Sydal, amongst the most underrated and influential wrestlers of his era, has been forgotten. It’s a shame, since his handful of contributions were outstanding. 

Sydal might be the ultimate hidden gem wrestler in AEW history. His May 27, 2022 Rampage effort against Bryan Danielson was a technical ripper. He was amongst CM Punk’s first AEW opponents in a simple, elegant Rampage match in which he wiped the smile off his face with a very witty body slam reversal. His November 10, 2021 tag match alongside Lee Moriarty versus Dante Martin and Lio Rush might be the most unexpectedly great match in Dynamite history. It was never going to be bad, given the talent involved, but it was the sort of special match that takes you aback at just how much the reaction intensifies, sequence by sequence, in the building. Fair play to him for reaching the odd peak after such a staggeringly terrible start.  

Sydal debuted at the omni-cursed All Out 2020 pay-per-view in which so much went wrong. All Out was a sobering reminder that perhaps we should not have escaped the horrors of that year on a weekly basis. 

Sydal attempted to make an immediate and literal splash by noticing and pointing at a prone Powerhouse Hobbs. He was going to blast him with the Shooting Star Press, but what’s funny about it is that Sydal does this ‘Third Eye’ thing, like he can see things that other people can’t. At All Out, he couldn’t see a foot in front of him; he slipped and fell right on his kidney, missing Hobbs entirely.