The concept that there may very well be “smart” 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 incorrect both). It’s turning into fairly farcical within the wrestling world as effectively as of late, given the break up between AEW and WWE followers. Everyone’s of their trench, and Wonder Woman 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. Somehow, a match that was solely about introducing the youthful Vikingo to American audiences generated an exhausting and actually bewildering dialogue 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 comes to the States.”
Where 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. Anyone who follows even the slightest little bit of wrestling exterior WWE had no less than heard the identify 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 presupposed to face him in Mexico in 2021 however his accidents bought in the way in which of that. While a majority most likely hadn’t seen numerous his matches, or perhaps even one, they’d virtually definitely heard the identify and knew in regards to the buzz being generated.
Whatever 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 towards one of the best wrestler AEW has, and fairly probably nonetheless one of the best wrestler on the earth, in Omega. If that’s who the corporate desires to place Vikingo towards largely sight unseen, it’s clearly a sign that this child fucking rips. And boy does he!
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The first shot of this spotlight package deal is simply killer. The digital camera pans again to indicate 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 appear to be he morphed right into a pterodactyl through 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 may have prompted 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 attempting to grasp something he was seeing with an understated, “Jesus…”)
For those that care about such issues, or extra precisely are simply ready round to yuck another person’s yum, the match itself informed a effective story of Omega struggling to return 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 pressure 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 is yet one more notch within the unmatched belt of Omega, who has wrestled precisely two singles matches this 12 months (the opposite being towards 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 house atop most everybody’s listing. While 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 one of the best matches anybody’s seen for the sixth or seventh 12 months operating.
All the prematch horseshit did was present the rising 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 can most likely look rather a lot like ones we’ve seen earlier than and never stay as much as what it may very well be, everybody can simply tune into regardless of the fuck Triple H has Asuka and Bianca Belair doing earlier than Mania. But as a result of WWE followers are so unaware of something exterior the New York realm, and in reality fairly happy with that, they needed to sneer at one thing that may by no means occur in WWE and guise it as criticism of some imaginary “build” to justify their willful ignorance and inflexibility.
The entire level, from the very announcement, was to offer 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 they did that. If there are followers on the market nonetheless grumbling about it “just being a wrestling match,” that’s their loss.