Ranking Every Major Current Wrestling Storyline From Worst To Best

10. Lance Archer Vs. Eddie Kingston

Orton Fiend Moxley Fenix
AEW

Weirdly not as exhilarating as it should be.

Eddie Kingston will fight anybody, but he'll fight them dirty. Lance Archer is a killer monster who can barely be survived, much less fought.

This has simmered for a while and perhaps too long. Has AEW developed a tendency to over-build its key storylines, to a point where the destination can never feel as electrifying as the initial promise? It's all very noble, but not everything is a saga with some grand sense of heft. Of course, this booking strategy in theory enriches said destination but also allows for narrative overlap, which in turn avoids burnout and deepens the idea that they aren't just characters behaving in accordance with a script etc. etc.

But this should be more simple, and it's not as if the PAC Vs. Archer subplot is going anywhere, or anywhere that interesting.

This should feel way more primal and immediate and hate-fuelled, particularly since Archer is in it. It's not really in character for him to wait. This feels like fretboard noodling more than the real epics of Cody Vs. MJF, the Elite saga etc. When the match finally happened on this week's Dynamite, it almost had the temerity to be very much a "first match in a series".

They've danced around it since August, and there should be no dancing.

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!