10 Booking Steps For The AEW World Title Tournament

7. Kenny Omega's Turn Intensifies, And Is Executed

Kenny Omega Orange Cassidy
Being The Elite

Tournaments don't just decide number one contenders to titles, or at least they shouldn't.

They create immense scope to build and develop stories and character arcs. Among the most gripping unfolding at present is Kenny Omega's slow-burn heel turn: he's playing a negging prick to Hangman Page at the commentary booth, very gradually revealing his aspirations to once more become the God of all this.

As the stakes in the tournament escalate, so too must Omega's desire to win, and how that desire will mutate into something sinister. This turn needs to peak at its hottest, as all effective narrative developments should, with every beat enriching the next.

Kenny Omega is a tremendous details wrestler - the best ever, in your writer's estimation, at rewarding those who pay the strictest attention. He very rarely opts for exposition. He shows, doesn't tell, and trusts the audience to trace every visual beat. His work is so lauded because the peak is so earned.

The tournament must end with Omega established as AEW's top heel - and there's a gloriously symbolic means of achieving this...

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!