Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
It’s a cliche, but it’s a cliche that’s true. It happens all the time, both in the mundane aspects of society, and in the over-the-top world of the pro wrestling business. Vince McMahon should’ve taken a lesson from all of the other powerful moguls that fell because of a scandal, TNA should’ve taken note of who actually killed WCW, and based on this week’s episode of Dynamite, All Elite Wrestling might want to refer to the reveal that flopped last year before they plant more cryptic seeds.
Jon Moxley hasn’t been seen on AEW programming since he dropped the IWGP championship to Naito at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view two months ago. As I wrote at the time, it was a good opportunity for Moxley to take some time away from the All Elite landscape during his brief reign as the top titleholder in New Japan since it gave him a chance to freshen up his persona. It wasn’t his fault, but circumstances within the organization often dictated that Moxley step up to carry the company in times of distress. For some of the fair criticisms of his in-ring work, Moxley was an MVP in many ways for All Elite Wrestling.
Someone got injured? Moxley takes the title when he had a vacation scheduled, suspensions or backstage conflicts derail the script? Moxley steps up to be the guy to carry the flag of AEW forward. Keep in mind, while others waited for proof of concept to see if All Elite would get off the ground before they made the jump from WWE, Moxley was the star that got in on the ground floor when he made his surprise debut at the first Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
It’s been more than five years and during that time, Jon Moxley had a good run with the company, particularly as someone with legitimate star power that gave the impression of optimism because he put the future of his career in the midst of the success or failure of the upstart project. Sure, it was a mix bag, but that’s the case with more or less any pro wrestling project. The key is to maximize the positives, and minimize the negatives. Tony Khan’s attempts to do that have been a mixed bag as well.
Still, the bottom line is that Tony is willing to put enough of his billionaire family’s money into the wrestling league to make an impact in the industry. It’s still an option for talent and fans, regardless of how bloated the roster is, or how unnecessary some of the B-shows are on its line-up. Does anything that happens on the Ring Of Honor brand truly make a difference in the grand scheme of things?
It goes without saying that the Blackpool Combat Club stable lost a lot of its steam when there weren’t any members actually from Blackpool in the gorup and then a lot of the stablemates went in different directions so they weren’t booked as a faction. Essentially, Tony’s slapstick approach more or less eroded any importance the group had. So, it wasn’t too surprising when Jon Moxley made his return to All Elite programming to open the show this past Wednesday without the stable. He was interviewed by Tony Schiavone, claiming that AEW isn’t his company anymore, which prompted some level of confusion, as well as questions as to what this could be an indication of as far as storylines.
Obviously, Tony Schiavone isn’t the owner of the company so the attempted message wasn’t as clear as it could’ve been. Later in the show, there was a backstage segment where Marina Shafir attacked security and appeared to join Moxley. Unfortunately, Shafir is most well known for the absolutely cringe worthy “you know me” promo from a few years ago and hasn’t appeared on AEW programming since a match on Rampage at the end of last year. She was MIA for the first half of this year until she resurfaced on ROH’s streaming platform in May. I don’t want to sound overly pessimistic, but the former MMA fighter gimmick lost its luster before Shafir made her AEW debut, and the harsh reality is, her character isn’t anything of importance to the audience, nor was there any indication prior to this that she was destined for success in pro wrestling so this was a rather flat way to attempt to jump start a new faction that might potentially be booked for a major spot on AEW shows.
The problem is, besides Shafir not exactly being a major star to put a spotlight on the angle, that with Moxley’s promo earlier in the show, it was implied that there was more to the story to unfold. Certainly, that appears to be the case, and perhaps, the hint was that the former AEW world champion will assemble a new faction to take the company by storm. However, is there actually a conclusion planned for this angle or will it be another example of an extended build up with an underwhelming payoff? Let’s not forget, Adam Cole was the one under the mask at the finish of the World’s End pay-per-view last year. It was an angle that went on too long and given the nature of how far it was stretched, you got the impression that Tony Khan was buying time to attempt to figure out a resolution, not building to a payoff.
With Moxley’s implication of a takeover of the company, some fans have speculated on social media that this could put the foundation in place for the eventual debut of Shane McMahon. As I mentioned when I wrote an article about the rumors when they made the rounds online a few months ago, it’s very doubtful that Shane is going to work for any other wrestling company outside of the WWE. If he landed on All Elite programming, it would make a splash and get fans to take notice, but in order for it to make a difference, AEW would have to avoid many of the pitfalls that eroded its audience in recent years.
Don’t get me wrong, episodic television is one of the ways that you can build an audience, but Tony Khan better have a plan for the payoff because the claim that “it’s not your company anymore” gives the impression of a major storyline. I’m not saying that Shane McMahon has to be the reveal, and it’s doubtful that it would be realistically possible anyway, but the point is, there will have to be a conclusion that justifies the amount of TV time invested in the angle. As much as I’d like to say that the audience should be cautiously optimistic about the possibility that this is the start of a major angle, I can’t use that term for the All Elite product because there was already a completely underwhelming scenario last year. However, I will definitely be happy to be wrong if this is the start of a major storyline that will spark the AEW product for next year, especially when it could help their new TV deal.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
