8 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dark (Aug 18)

2. Shawn Spears vs. Will Hobbs

Shawn Spears
AEW

Again, the action here was fine. Spears' fundamentals are excellent and his work is always on point, while Hobbs has been one of Dark's better enhancement guys in recent works. That isn't the issue.

Repetition is.

This was the same thing we get from Spears every week. He struggled to take control early on, consulted with Tully Blanchard, improved, and started working a body part with increased nastiness. This led to an eventual victory via Death Valley Driver, before Hobbs was smashed with the loaded glove after the bell. Copy, paste, repeat.

A degree of repetition is required to get something over, which is what AEW is trying to do with the black glove. There need to be small differences, though. It gets lazy when it's literally the exact same layout all the time. Small variations and twists are required to keep a concept fresh before it gets stale, which is increasingly the case here.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.