Ranking Every Major Current Wrestling Storyline From Worst To Best
8. Cody Vs. Shaq
There's nothing wrong with the pitch. The pitch is necessary or deemed necessary to expand AEW's audience.
And it's not quite as cynical as the vast majority of celebrity angles. AEW isn't just experimenting with a proven formula to draw eyes to the product at large; the ultimate objective is to get Jade Cargill over. If it's an all-too-obvious vehicle of a storyline, the right talent is in the driver's seat. Sensible and forward-thinking in concept, the premise of the storyline itself is unconvincing.
Jade Cargill on her debut said that a giant heard the echo of Cody's "giant-killer" line and woke up. That giant was a retired basketball player, so that was weird. It's not as if an upcoming rookie Center said Shaq was sh*te or something.
Brandi Rhodes' pregnancy scuppered the real heat of an angle that was still transparent regardless, but as so often happens, AEW's connected storytelling model allowed for an organic replacement in her friend Red Velvet.
This week's Dynamite set a destination after a bit too much pissing about - Revolution - but the journey still feels too obviously like an excuse to do a celebrity match. Coach Arn Anderson advised Cody to take the match because it represents an opportunity for exposure. This was a refreshingly frank admission at long last, but it doesn't explain why Shaq wants the match.
His dislike of Cody's hair absolutely is not it and it feels like he can't be a*sed at all.