The concept that there could possibly be “sensible” wrestling debate might be excessive comedy to any non-wrestling fan, given the notion that they most likely have for creatures like us (not all that wrong both). It’s turning into fairly farcical within the wrestling world as properly today, given the break up between AEW and WWE followers. Everybody’s of their trench, and Marvel Lady ain’t coming to bridge the divide.
There was no higher show than the lead-up to final evening’s Dynamite major occasion between Kenny Omega and El Hijo Del Vikingo, making his US tv debut. In some way, a match that was solely about introducing the youthful Vikingo to American audiences generated an exhausting and actually bewildering discussion about why this match mattered or not as a result of it didn’t have any construct or story apart from, “El Hijo Del Vikingo involves the States.”
The place this “debate” began is anybody’s guess, however most certainly it got here from essentially the most New York-pilled followers the web can discover posing as AEW followers or not even bothering. Anybody who follows even the slightest little bit of wrestling exterior WWE had not less than heard the title of El Hijo Del Vikingo, and had heard he was setting the luchador world alight together with his galactic work at such a younger age (25). Most knew that Omega was speculated to face him in Mexico in 2021 however his accidents received in the way in which of that. Whereas a majority most likely hadn’t seen quite a few his matches, or possibly even one, they’d virtually definitely heard the title and knew in regards to the buzz being generated.
No matter followers didn’t find out about VIkingo’s introduction to American audiences ought to have been answered by the truth that his very first match was in opposition to the very best wrestler AEW has, and fairly probably nonetheless the very best wrestler on the earth, in Omega. If that’s who the corporate desires to place Vikingo in opposition to largely sight unseen, it’s clearly a sign that this child fucking rips. And boy does he!
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The primary shot of this spotlight bundle is simply killer. The digital camera pans again to point out Vikingo isn’t ready round to get issues began, and goes for a suicide dive exterior the ring whereas nonetheless in his full Viking regalia, which makes it seem like he morphed right into a pterodactyl throughout the run-up to it. The match by no means actually misplaced any tempo from there, with each males pulling off some unfathomable execution of strikes that might have brought on wrestlers from even 15 years in the past to stroke out. Vikingo particularly confirmed off what had been producing headlines and whispers and pleasure throughout borders just by phrase of mouth. Like, what the fuck is that this?
(This contained the spotlight of the match for me, Tony Schiavone on commentary merely giving up on making an attempt to understand something he was seeing with an understated, “Jesus…”)
For many who care about such issues, or extra precisely are simply ready round to yuck another person’s yum, the match itself advised a high-quality story of Omega struggling to come back to grips with the pure athleticism and bravado of his a lot youthful opponent, however utilizing his expertise to lastly come to grips with the unholy drive he was coping with and eventually overcome him. It wasn’t only a sequence of flips and dives signifying nothing, as it’s going to assuredly be derided as by these carrying Randy Orton t-shirts.
It’s yet one more notch within the unmatched belt of Omega, who has wrestled precisely two singles matches this yr (the opposite being in opposition to Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom) and each of them will definitely end in everybody’s high 5 matches of 2023. The Wrestle Kingdom match has most likely already made itself at dwelling atop most everybody’s checklist. Whereas Omega nonetheless hints at retiring, he did so once more proper after this match, and rumors swirl about his contract standing with AEW, he’s nonetheless placing on the very best matches anybody’s seen for the sixth or seventh yr operating.
All of the prematch horseshit did was present the growing divide between WWE followers from the remainder of wrestling followers. If AEW or anybody else wanted to see some half-assed construct jammed into the bloodstream resulting in a match that may most likely look loads like ones we’ve seen earlier than and never reside as much as what it could possibly be, everybody can simply tune into regardless of the fuck Triple H has Asuka and Bianca Belair doing earlier than Mania. However as a result of WWE followers are so unaware of something exterior the New York realm, and actually fairly happy with that, they needed to sneer at one thing that might by no means occur in WWE and guise it as criticism of some imaginary “construct” to justify their willful ignorance and inflexibility.
The entire level, from the very announcement, was to provide El Hijo Del Vikingo a platform to announce himself and make individuals wish to see extra, whereas additionally giving Omega one other probability to enthrall in a manner solely he can. And so they did that. If there are followers on the market nonetheless grumbling about it “simply being a wrestling match,” that’s their loss.
