- 13 hours ago
Nobody expected AEW to become Planet Jarrett, right?
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00From utterly ridiculous gimmicks that seemingly had to hit a ceiling down the road,
00:05to returning legends that had to try and meet some pretty high expectations.
00:10These are those times AEW and its gifted stars eventually smashed it in a way many initially didn't imagine was possible.
00:17Gareth here from WhatCultureWrestling and here are 10 AEW success stories absolutely nobody saw coming.
00:2410. The Acclaimed
00:26When the clearly charismatic twosome known as Anthony Bowens and Max Caster were officially made All Elite back in November 2020,
00:34the team were joining an absolutely stacked AEW tag division.
00:38And while their first big dynamite bout opposite company EVPs the Youngbooks was a promising start,
00:44it did still feel like the units were a while away from sitting as two of the faces of the company.
00:48But fast forward just under two years, the scissoring lads were AEW World Tag Team Champions
00:54and are arguably the most popular group in the industry at the time of Grand Slam 2022.
01:00The adding of daddy-ass Billy Gunn to the mix has also grown into another unexpected success.
01:06With the trio displaying a level of chemistry and ability to explode a crowd,
01:10few currently plying their trade in the land of All Elite can match.
01:13Yet it's the sheer speed in which they've grown into one of the most important parts of the AEW party
01:18that has caught many pleasantly off guard.
01:219. Samoa Joe
01:22Samoa Joe's eventual arrival in AEW wasn't quite as well received as it perhaps would have been
01:28had it gone down at the time of the company's creation.
01:31Despite being one of the most respected and intimidating souls ever to grace a squared circle,
01:36the Samoan submission machine just wasn't quite clicking in the way he once did as a bona fide killer in between the ropes.
01:43In truth, it looked as though Joe's best days as an in-ring performer were behind him.
01:47But then the former TNA and Ring of Honor world champion dethroned Wardlow at Full Gear 2022
01:52and kick-started a shockingly fun run that nobody really saw coming heading into that November pay-per-view.
01:59Vicious battles with Darby Allin and his aforementioned long-time horse rival cemented Joe's reign as the undisputed king of television,
02:06holding both the TNT and Ring of Honor TV championships as one of the greatest unanticipated AEW success stories of recent times.
02:14And with the big lad now seemingly being lined up for a potential battle with another one of his historic rivals in the returning CM Punk,
02:21it looks as though a resurgent Joe could further prove his doubters wrong in the not-too-distant future.
02:26Number 8. The Dark Order
02:28After making their All Elite debuts at 0000 2019,
02:32Evil Uno and Stu Grayson would eventually join forces with the likes of John Silver and Alex Reynolds.
02:37However, instead of striking fear into the hearts of the roster and those watching on around the world,
02:43the Dark Order and their creepers unintentionally had fans giggling at the silly faction and their horrendous worked punches.
02:49A serious change was needed to salvage what was increasingly feeling like another failed All Elite project.
02:55And said adjustment finally arrived in March 2020,
02:58as Mr. Brodie Lee was ultimately revealed as the mysterious Exalted One,
03:02managing to combine the surreal humour that this collection of oddballs naturally exuded,
03:07with a genuine sense of dread as the terrifying Lee went about manipulating and bulldozing his way up the rankings,
03:13the Dark Order went from laughing stock to genuinely captivating and entertaining squad in a matter of months.
03:19And while the group haven't felt quite as consistently hot in the time since Brodie Lee's tragic passing in late 2020,
03:25the fact the Dark Order are still a thing after such a turbulent start is a surprising success in and of itself.
03:32What's been your favourite moment that made you want to join the Dark Order?
03:35Well, let me know in the comments down below, folks!
03:37Number 7, 2.0
03:39If you'd ever had the pleasure of taking in an Ever-Rise match or promo explosion during their days on NXT,
03:45you likely already knew that Matt Menard and Angelo Parker could be relied on for some hilarious shenanigans
03:50in the time before they made their All Elite debuts in August 2021.
03:55What did probably come as a bit of a surprise, though,
03:57was just how quickly the team were able to consistently wiggle their way onto AEW programming after said arrival.
04:03And not just that, the two actually ended up producing instant gold in matches against the likes of
04:08Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, Sting and Darby Allin within their first month as All Elite regulars.
04:14Surely that would be as good as it got for two comical jobbers who WWE clearly felt weren't worth investing in, right?
04:20But no, 2.0 followed up that surprisingly high-profile initial spell by joining forces with Chris Jericho
04:26and his Appreciation Society, with both effortlessly charismatic sports entertainers then proceeding
04:31to pop folks one minute with their hard nipples and ridiculous get-ups and putting it all on the line
04:37in Blood and Guts Wars the next.
04:39Simply put, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang have gone on to become one of the biggest unlikely hits in AEW history.
04:45Number 6, Eddie Kingston
04:46After spending the majority of his career making a name for himself on the independent scene,
04:51it was starting to feel as though Eddie Kingston's chances of making a genuine splash on national television
04:56were slipping away.
04:57But then something magical happened on the night of July 22nd, 2020.
05:01Stepping up as TNT champion Cody Rhodes' latest challenger,
05:05the Mad King unleashed promo fire before taking it to the American Nightmare.
05:09That no-disqualification brawl and unfiltered words on the mic gave many their first glimpse
05:14at the raw anti-hero.
05:16And this fiery arrival was enough to convince Tony Khan to offer the independent veteran a contract.
05:21It was clear that Kingston had a powerful connection with the All Elite faithful from the get-go.
05:25But even the passionate badass's biggest supporters likely still had doubts whether the combustible Kingston
05:30could properly establish himself as a real player for TK's company.
05:33After challenging for AEW World Championship gold, warring with everyone from Bryan Danielson to CM Punk,
05:39and putting on a more recent masterpiece against longtime rival Claudio Castagnoli
05:43in Khan's revamped Ring of Honor though,
05:46Kingston has more than earned the title of All Elite's success story.
05:49Number 5, Jeff Jarrett
05:50After parting ways with WWE once again in August 2022,
05:55the TNA founder made his shocking AEW debut in November,
05:58aligning with J-Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sanjay Dutt,
06:01after smashing Darby Allin in the head with a guitar, naturally.
06:04Initially, Jeff Jarrett's arrival initially had many worried about the concept of the former NWA
06:09and TNA world champion,
06:11stealing the spotlight away from the likes of the pillar he'd pulverized on his first night
06:15as an All Elite performer.
06:16However, in the time since that impactful first appearance,
06:19AE, Jarrett has actually managed to carve out a routinely entertaining place for himself on the AEW product.
06:25Whether teaming alongside Lethal and the rest of the gang in glorious party tag bouts,
06:29or threatening to derail Orange Cassidy's run as AEW international champion,
06:34the last outlaw is quite possibly in the middle of the most enjoyable spell of his career at this moment in time.
06:39Number 4, The House of Black
06:41During the latter half of 2022,
06:43it was looking like the once intriguing House of Black had ran its course in the land of All Elite.
06:48Both Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews' AEW futures appeared uncertain,
06:52and the hit and miss faction in general hadn't been seen on the likes of Dynamite and Rampage for months
06:57in the wake of their Grand Slam fight with Darby Allin and Sting.
07:00But November finally saw the re-emergence of Black, Matthews, Brody King and Julia Hart,
07:05with the terrifying group targeting the Best Friends and the Factory during their crowd-popping return.
07:10What once looked like the disappointing end ultimately grew into a new beginning for this corrupted unit,
07:15as the trio of lads went about unleashing glorious hell during their comeback performances in between the ropes,
07:21en route to lifting trio's gold at Revolution 2023.
07:25Number 3, Orange Cassidy
07:26An apparent layabout ultimately becoming one of AEW's most popular and reliable stars in the coming years
07:32initially seemed rather unlikely back in 2019.
07:35Orange Cassidy's half-arsed mind games and sudden bursts of breathless offense were fun, sure,
07:40But could this schtick really fire freshly squeezed up the car to the point of being seen as a genuine force to be reckoned with in Tony Khan's promotion?
07:47The answer to that question has become increasingly clearer by the year,
07:51with OC more than holding his own in AEW World Championship programs,
07:55and even managing to turn the All-Atlantic-turned-International Championship
07:58into one of the most sought-after prizes in the business.
08:02Even the aforementioned Le Champion openly admitted that he originally thought his eventual rival's gimmick sucked,
08:07but as with many of Cassidy's other doubters over the years,
08:10Jericho soon realized AEW were onto something with this laid-back lad,
08:14and joined the rest of the world in getting behind a truly unique personality
08:18that keeps defying expectations with every passing year.
08:22Number 2, CM Punk Returns
08:24For a time, it looked as though the best in the world's days in the wrestling business were very much done.
08:29Punk's horrendous time as part of the WWE machine had left scars that had seemingly still not entirely healed,
08:35and even the chip magnets' appearances on WWE backstage didn't feel as though they were paving the way
08:39for any real sort of in-ring comeback.
08:42Seeing Punk finally strut down a wrestling ramp and cut a promo in the middle of a ring for the first time in seven years then,
08:48was about as unbelievable and surreal a moment as it gets.
08:51But even that long-awaited AEW first dance brought with it questions over whether Punk could deliver the sort of numbers needed
08:57to justify his no-doubt monster deal with TK's promotion.
09:00Could he also go with the best this modern generation had to offer after such a long time away from the spotlight?
09:06Within one of the most captivating years in modern wrestling history,
09:09Punk answered all of the above with deaf performances inside of the squared circle and out of it,
09:14along with leading the company to some of its most successful ratings and pay-per-view numbers to date.
09:19Punk didn't just match expectations and silence his few doubters,
09:22he massively helped take AEW to a level most didn't anticipate the company reaching within its first three years.
09:28And you wouldn't bet against the brawl-out participant doing the same thing again in the coming months.
09:33Number 1. All-In 2023
09:35When AEW announced they'd be finally heading across the pond to treat European fans to the All-Elite experience in London at some point in 2023,
09:43most anticipated the company putting on a super show within Fulham's Craven Cottage.
09:48After all, that stadium was the home ground of the football club owned by Khan's father.
09:52Putting one of the biggest All-Elite shocks of recent times,
09:55not only did TK opt to bring his promotion to Wembley instead of Fulham,
09:59he also decided to book the 90,000-seater stadium rather than the 12,500-seat arena.
10:04That looked like one hell of a gamble on paper.
10:07But within a matter of weeks of the upcoming second-ever All-In tickets going on sale,
10:11not only had AEW utterly obliterated their attendance record,
10:15they'd actually managed to shift over 60,000 tickets before a single match was even announced for the massive show.
10:21Quite simply, what once looked like a gamble too far,
10:25is now shaping up to be one of the most important and smartest moves in All-Elite history.
10:29And that's our list of any other AEW success stories absolutely nobody saw coming.
10:34Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below,
10:37and don't forget to like, share, and click on that subscribe button while you're down there.
10:40I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Wrestling.
10:42Thank you for tapping on this particular bit of AEW goodness today.
10:46Now go and click on some other WhatCulture gold and have yourself a jolly good day.
10:50Bye-bye!
Be the first to comment