The concept that there may very well be “smart” wrestling debate is most likely 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 in the wrestling world as properly lately, given the cut 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 foremost 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 really 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 probably it got here from the most New York-pilled followers the web can discover posing as AEW followers or not even bothering. Anyone who follows even the slightest bit of wrestling outdoors WWE had a minimum of 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 purported to face him in Mexico in 2021 however his accidents obtained in the manner of that. While a majority most likely hadn’t seen a quantity of his matches, or perhaps even one, they’d virtually actually heard the identify and knew about the buzz being generated.
Whatever followers didn’t learn about VIkingo’s introduction to American audiences ought to have been answered by the incontrovertible fact that his very first match was in opposition to the greatest wrestler AEW has, and fairly probably nonetheless the greatest wrestler in the world, in Omega. If that’s who the firm needs to place Vikingo in opposition to principally 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 outdoors 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 precipitated 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 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 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 pressure he was coping with and at last overcome him. It wasn’t only a sequence of flips and dives signifying nothing, as it can assuredly be derided as by these carrying Randy Orton t-shirts.
It is yet one more notch in the unmatched belt of Omega, who has wrestled precisely two singles matches this year (the different being in opposition to Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom) and each of them will definitely end in everybody’s prime 5 matches of 2023. The Wrestle Kingdom match has most likely already made itself at residence atop most everybody’s record. 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 the greatest matches anybody’s seen for the sixth or seventh year working.
All the prematch horseshit did was present the growing divide between WWE followers from the relaxation 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 loads like ones we’ve seen earlier than and never reside as much as what it may very well be, everybody can simply tune into no matter 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 outdoors the New York realm, and in reality fairly proud of that, they needed to sneer at one thing that might by no means occur in WWE and guise it as criticism of some imaginary “build” to justify their willful ignorance and inflexibility.
The complete level, from the very announcement, was to offer El Hijo Del Vikingo a platform to announce himself and make folks wish to see extra, whereas additionally giving Omega one other likelihood 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.
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