10 Wrestlers AEW Plucked From Complete Obscurity
From tiny gyms to TBS and dingy dives to Dynamite, AEW continues to strike gold...
"Complete obscurity" is perhaps a relative term, but rest assured that it's okay not to know what's happening in wrestling beyond the shows you watch or promotions you're able to keep with up on social media.
Wrestling - like all other forms of escapist entertainment - has been forced to understand in recent years that time is now as valuable a currency as cash to its core consumers.
In response, WWE made its product disposable to the point of disinterest - television shows sold for billions of dollars are missable because the same things happen every week and/or are recapped ad nauseam and neatly clipped into YouTube-ready chunks for casual observers.
AEW, in a contrast too perfect for their own good, are guilty of flailing out in the wrong direction. Things aren't given enough breathing room on Dynamite or Rampage, and far too often, programmes that warrant time aren't given it and vice versa. It's particularly jarring when a wrestler appears as if from nowhere, blows your mind and then disappears off the face of the earth for six weeks.
But. But but but but. Trust the process. 16-year-old new arrival Nick Wayne should. These did...
10. Anna Jay
As of this writing in February 2022, Anna Jay still has less than 50 matches to her name as a professional wrestler on the fairly reliable digest Cagematch.
By any standards, this is amazing. By old ones and in judgment of of the constant improvement in her matches, this is borderline incredible.
She's been helped immensely by some awesome creative and a couple of tremendous pivots during unexpected changes. 'The Star Of The Show' was all very literal without having much to grab on to, but the image was left in tatters by a battering at the hands and terrifying face of Abadon.
This smartly existed for two reasons - one to get the winner over (and, briefly, it did) and also provide Jay with a Dark Order reboot and completely fresh start as the group's only female member. That in turn fed into her attempts to recruit Tay Conti, with both turning face when the group did in and around the tragic passing of Brodie Lee.
All this and Jay's still only 23 years old. The future's not just bright for Jay, it's long too.