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Now, the first episode of AEW Dynamite had its highlights and I've chronicled the best and worst of the show right here. If you were watching NXT instead and just want a run-down of exactly what went down, you can check it out right there.
Perhaps the biggest headline coming out of the show was the return of Jake Hager to professional wrestling. He had a great run at Lucha Underground, and in recent times had commenced on a very successful Mixed Martial Arts career with Bellator.
But this is certainly the best career move for the man. What could have been the reason why AEW lapped him up and gave him such a massive spot on what was their big debut show?
The answers have been chronicled in the pages to follow...
#5 Bringing crossover fans from Bellator
There is a big crossover of fans who watch both mixed martial arts and professional wrestling because, in essence, it is the very same thing. One of the combat sports is choreographed while the other is not, but both have a winner and a loser. Jake Hager is someone who has a legitimate MMA experience having been with Bellator, and his appearance certainly could bring Bellator fans to AEW.
In a sense, this is exactly what Vince McMahon did with Ronda Rousey and others like Ken Shamrock before him, because he knew that there was an opportunity to capitalize on a market that exists where the fans want to see these performers excel across fields. And this is what Dana White does by bringing performers like CM Punk in, because he knows that there's a pro wrestling audience that will tune in just to watch him perform.
This was a big coup for Tony Khan. And a pretty genius move!
#4 Uncertainty over Lucha Underground's future
I got on the Lucha Underground train late in life and I realized then what I was missing out on. Fun fact, I only started watching when I learned that Sportskeeda had set up an interview with Marty 'The Moth' Martinez when he became the Lucha Underground Champion and this forced me to go back and watch everything on the show. I loved every second of it, and especially season 4, because of Hager!
Hager was portrayed as the powerhouse of the show, almost like the Brock Lesnar of this ancient temple. He also closed the season as the final Lucha Underground Champion but he, like many others, have stated that they do not know if there will be yet another season of the show, because of more than one factor.
And it would have been a real waste of his talents had he been sitting on the sidelines waiting for yet another season to commence, when the people in charge themselves were unsure of the future of the beloved show.
I am glad that he is back in a pro wrestling ring where he belongs and that he's been elevated to such a prominent role on AEW's weekly television.
#3 Matching NXT in terms of genuine surprises
As I mentioned in another article, when WWE and WCW were on at the same time, I was just a little kid. It was quite an experience to be part of the Sportskeeda Writer's Chat, with half of us watching one show and the other half watching another, announcing the big surprises and swerves.
AEW knew that NXT had set up a very stacked show filled with many big matches, and there were bound to be surprises throughout the course of the night as well. Jack Swagger was their one big surprise, which is fine because the focus right now should be to promote the roster rather than dwell on surprises.
Could Jack Swagger match up to the genuine shock of Finn Balor's return to NXT or the fact that Ciampa is now back? I suppose that there's a Marvel vs. DC element here because you will tend to back the brand that you believe in more and support considering things like these cannot be quantified.
I know it's a cliche but I really do mean it when I say that the fans won this week. I'll give the nod to AEW as someone living outside the USA, because at least we had a legal way to watch the program!
#2 Clearly establishing the heels and the babyfaces
Thus far, we've only seen characters like Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega but we haven't really known whom to root for and whom to root against. Even in 2019, when kayfabe is all dead and gone, one of the things that we so love about wrestling is the fact that it's good vs. evil. All Elite Wrestling did not have that until recently when this brand new faction was formed.
But now, there's a heel faction that's at the helm of All Elite Wrestling and the fact of the matter is that they hunt in a pack, unlike the babyfaces who are not really a cohesive alliance. It will make for some very interesting times on TV because you have the Champion in Jericho, the muscle in Swagger, and the new guys in Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz.
Will this force the babyfaces to band together and while it is clear that The Bucks are babyfaces and Cody Rhodes is aligned with them, is Kenny Omega on their side because he is clearly fixated with Jon Moxley at this point? I have a feeling that we are in for some great storytelling in the days to come in All Elite Wrestling.
#1 Jack Swagger is a globally recognized name
I know that part of the whole deal with AEW is that they want to build their own stars from the ground up and establish them as big names in the roster in the days that follow. In that sense, it was great to see what they did with Riho with the title because she is a brand new star that the world may not know about.
But there's also the whole deal about those flipping the channels stopping to see exactly what's up. Like it or not, WWE has been the monopoly when it comes to sports entertainment over the past many years and WWE stars are globally recognized names that the world recognizes.
Jack Swagger is an established star from WWE and the casual fan who may be switching through the channels may just stop to check out exactly what this new show is about if they see a familiar face like Jack Swagger. And so, not only did AEW sign the big man, they gave him a featured spot so that he can arrest anyone's attention who was giving All Elite Wrestling a try.
At least, that's what I think!
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