9 Ups & 9 Downs For AEW In 2022
5. ...And Promos And Angles
Non-finishes and horrendously scripted squabbles don't build matches; angles build matches, and AEW remains unparalleled in this regard.
The Pinnacle hanging a blood-soaked CM Punk made you desperate to see Punk exact bloody retribution of his own. 10 turning on Negative 1 was truly shocking and actually devastating, until you removed yourself from the fiction and realised that a young, grieving kid's favourite wrestler is now going to be actually doing something of note. National Scissoring Day built a daft TV match with a visual punchline, but also made an entire arena thankful that they had wrestling in their lives. Darby Allin exacted vengeance on Brody King for an assault at a fan convention by being clever enough to find a space between the entrance tunnels from which he could attack in plain sight. Wardlow ran amok backstage in sensational geek-killing theatre, before outsmarting MJF, in an absolutely superb visual telling of the "you can run, but you can't hide" story.
There were a few too many bland and repetitive brawls, but even the most basic of angles were elevated by AEW's signature level of thought. Choke-slamming Jack Perry on the pyro grate was as creative and committed. It was allowed to register because the burn visual left a lasting impression.
AEW is the best promo promotion since 1986 JCP.
It is almost impossibly clever at times. These talents are so outrageously talented in peak mode that, and this really is remarkable for wrestling, they can use subtext as the driving force behind their career-best work. Hangman Page's "I'm a man" promo elegantly challenged Jon Moxley's perception of him and allowed him to throw a cathartic shot in CM Punk's direction. Jon Moxley cut promos so fantastic that he conspired to become the most sympathetic and badass man in the game. Dr. Britt Baker's sly, sh*t-eating grin was so good that she got away with laughing at her own jokes - and being a prop comic, incredibly. Eddie Kingston makes everything he does mean as much to him as the Jun Akiyama match did, even if it was only some gradual, obligatory advancement of the BCC Vs. JAS programme on Rampage.
And the best mic man in the game was...