Wrestling Is OBSESSED With Corruption (...And It's Got To Stop)
AEW Revolution 2023 was one of All Elite Wrestling's most critically acclaimed pay-per-views ever.
The frenetic ripper between The Elite and House Of Black was so good that it was as good as it was expected to be. This is the orbit the six men had to exist in for the contest to be a success. Dave Meltzer rated this slightly below MJF Vs Bryan Danielson and Hangman Page Vs Jon Moxley elsewhere on the card, but again, AEW Revolution 2023 was one of All Elite Wrestling's most critically acclaimed pay-per-views ever, and the dark corruption and lore were kept to a minimum.
In the end, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks were defeated. Wrestlers lost wrestling belts in a wrestling match that absolutely kicked ass. Three men went over, three others got over, and all six created a thirst for them to do it all over again should the opportunity present itself. As it pretty much did a few days later.
Perfect. No notes. The way it should be done.
Why, then, were the new Champions more interested in corrupting Eddie Kingston last month rather than fighting him in the angle that was randomly dropped when the time came to get to this contest? Why did they witter on about corrupting the friendship of Kingston and Ortiz rather than picking them apart bit by bit (and match by match) in the promotion where wins and losses matter? Going back further, if Black himself wasn't as bothered by corrupting the confused soul of Cody Rhodes, maybe he'd have won a 2021 feud he seemed to have nailed down in their first outing. The corruption of Miro, Sting and Darby Allin didn't look all that effective when they lost at All Out 2022, either.
These supposedly mortal men either have powers or they don't - it can't be both - and if they do, they've barely worked up until now, so why lean so heavily on them versus simply promising and delivering their terrifying array of strikes, throws and/or amazing strength?
Corruption is rife within mainstream wrestling and for a change, it's not the financial kind. The spooky variant is everywhere, and it's apparently not going away.
CONT'D...