14 Ups & 5 Downs For AEW In 2021

1. The Revolution DUD

Revolution GIF
AEW

Possibly the greatest match to never mean anything, Jon Moxley Vs. Kenny Omega's Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match ended in stinging vicarious embarrassment.

The total disaster would land very near the top of a theoretical '10 Dumbest TNA Moments Ever' list. Poofs of sparkling pyro pathetically blew out of the ring posts as the C4 boards at ringside barely exploded. In the ring, Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley had to sell the dud explosion as if they were in mortal danger. This utter humiliation could not have affected two less ideal performers: the two realest men in wrestling looked like tape-trading teenagers doing a lame impersonation of Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita.

It was a debacle.

AEW short-changed what was by that point its biggest ever crop of paying customers, made its resident badass look more of a t*t than he ever did in WWE, and in a lesser stated bit of bad booking undermined the alliance forged between Moxley and Death Triangle when the stable didn't bother to save him. Those excellent trios matches in February were just an excuse to tease physical interactions between Mox and Omega.

However...

Advertisement
In this post: 
MJF
 
Posted On: 
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!