10 Best Matches AEW Still Haven't Booked

7. Darby Allin Vs. Mr. Brodie Lee

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AEW

This should be the culmination of the arc that has defined Darby Allin's AEW career thus far: Allin is the guy with all the potential to be a main event star, but who has shown more in spirited defeat than most do in triumphant victory.

He has come agonisingly close, again and again, in several awesome, big matches, the two TV sequels opposite Cody and Jon Moxley in particular.

This arc should inform the development of this programme: Allin isn't the loser of the sort the Dark Order aims to recruit, but does have the middling record that Mr. Brodie Lee can attempt to manipulate him with. It's a viable story beat that, crucially, does not stigmatise Allin as a loser. His gutsy performances don't align with said record. Naturally, he'd reject the offer, drawing the fury of Brodie and setting up the match - and what a damn match it would be. Allin would sell Lee's brutality and frame like a murder victim before mounting an all-time babyface comeback made believable by the very nature of his character.

The giant-killing that in one deft swoop would finally answer the question AEW has deliberately posed - when is Allin going to score that major, career-making win? - Mr. Brodie Lee could not better embody the struggle Allin has faced in the fiction.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!