Wrestlers Who Have Struggled To Find Their Footing in AEW

Wrestlers Who Have Struggled To Find Their Footing in AEW

August 17, 2020 
By Ryan Porzl

Whether you love them or hate them, AEW has been the toast of the American wrestling scene since they launched on New Years Day 2019. Not only have they quickly catapulted to the number two promotion in America but their weekly television show Dynamite has regularly beat NXT in the ratings. It's not just the fans as wrestlers from miles around have made the pilgrimage to AEW. Unfortunately, with so many wrestlers coming into the new promotion, many will overachieve while others, for whatever reason, fall through the cracks. In this article, we'll look at the wrestlers who originally came into AEW with promise but for some reason, it hasn't worked out and they've struggled to find their footing for a variety of reasons be it booking, bad luck, or the coronavirus.

Shawn Spears- We'll start with an obvious one. Spears requested and received his release from WWE right around the time AEW formed and to no surprise, he was quick to join. At the time, it felt like a great pick up for AEW as Spears is a talented wrestler and while not exactly a world champion, he's someone who could easily fit in a midcard title picture or the tag team title picture. Like many in AEW, Spears debuted at Double or Nothing 2019 on May 25, 2019 participating in the Casino Battle Royal where things began rough as he was eliminated by the legless Dustin Thomas. After appearing in the opening match at Fyter Fest on July 13th, things seemed to pick up when he turned heel and began a rivalry with former partner Cody which included a memorable chairshot to the head. Unfortunately, the feud proved one and done as he lost to Cody as All Out on August 31st. Right around this time, he was given legendary wrestler Tully Blanchard as a manager but it did little for him nor did a win over Joey Janela on November's Full Gear PPV and when AEW launched Dynamite on TNT and Dark on Youtube, Spears mostly found himself on Dark with little direction. By early 2020, Spears then began an angle where he and Blanchard were looking for a partner for him to tag up with but this angle flopped as it was a "rinse, lather, repeat" with Spears racking up losses on Dark as he repeatedly abandoned partners due to miscommunication. By March, the angle was dropped with no end, possibly due to the coronavirus. Spears continued to go nowhere and again lost to Cody in the first round of the TNT Championship tournament. After hitting rock bottom by losing a short, meaningless match against Dustin Rhodes at Double or Nothing 2020, Spears began a new angle where he was given a black glove by Blanchard that originally was supposed to give confidence before beginning a loaded glove story (a la Ted Dibiase in Mid-South Wrestling). While the recent story has seen Spears go unbeaten, he's still stuck on Dark and still struggling to get momentum.

                                   

Allie- Allie is like Shawn Spears in some ways. She was let go from Impact after a big run when AEW began forming and it again looked like a great catch who would be a top contender in the women's division. Unfortunately, from the get go, it felt like they didn't know what to do with her and she quickly got lost in the shuffle. Originally, Allie portrayed her classic Allie or bunny gimmick from Impact but couldn't gain momentum. She did guest commentary at Double or Nothing 2019 and then was in some critically panned matches with Brandi Rhodes and Leva Bates. When Dynamite went on the air, Allie found herself mostly on Dark with no direction for the first month. By November, Allie was repackaged as "The Bunny" and paired with real life husband The Blade and his tag partner The Butcher in The Butcher, The Blade, and The Bunny which was somewhat a step up as she got more TV time but she rarely wrestled so it felt mixed. Then in March, she was off TV for a few months due to the coronavirus. Upon returning in May, she was repackaged again and reverted back to the Allie name with the story being she's trying to seduce QT Marshall much to the chagrin of tag partner Dustin Rhodes and manager Brandi Rhodes. Since then, things have picked up a little bit as she's formed the tag team with Brandi called "The Nightmare Sisters" as she's appeared more and wrestled more but it's still too early to tell if this is the angle that elevates her. Nevertheless, for someone who's been a success in a national promotion and the indies, you'd expect her to be high on the women's totem pole. 

The Hybrid2- The Hybrid2, Jack Evans and Angelico, are probably another pick up that looked good at first when they signed but again feels like they haven't been able to get momentum. Again, the team debuted at Double or Nothing in May 2019 losing to The Best Friends. After that, they spent the pre-Dynamite shows largely on the losing end to teams like The Dark Order and Private Party. By the fall, Hybrid2 found themselves mostly on Dark with the occasional appearance on Dynamite but outside of the occasional six man or eight man tag victories, they continued to mostly be used as jobbers to the stars losing to the likes of SCU, The Elite, and Best Friends. So far, the biggest match they've had was on the February 19th Dynamite where they took part in a tag team battle royal with the winners becoming number one contenders for the AEW World Tag Team Championship but came up short. By March, the team suffered further setbacks when the coronavirus hit and they were off TV for over four months. Since returning in July, the team has found themselves trading single and tag wins with The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall).

                                           

Mel- While not a big name, Mel was someone kind of like Allie in that she was a long time wrestler who could bring experience to the women's division being a veteran of women's only promotions such as RISE and SHIMMER. Unfortunately, Mel is someone else who's struggled to even get on TV let alone find footing. Mel originally debuted on the December 4th Dynamite as a member of Brandi Rhodes' Nightmare Collective along with Awesome Kong and Dr. Luther. However, the Nightmare Collective was a huge flop and by February, the stable was dropped. Due to this, Mel found herself off TV for months and has only competed twice for AEW as of writing: the first being on the June 23th Dark defeating KiLynn King and on July 29th during the Women's Tag Tournament teaming with Penelope Ford in a losing effort to The Nightmare Sisters (Brandi Rhodes and Allie).

                                

Proud-N-Powerful- The former LAX were another big pick up for AEW when they signed in the summer of 2019. Not only very successful in the indies but they were coming off a highly successful two and a half year run in Impact Wrestling enjoying four reigns as tag team champions. PnP are in a different situation than the likes of Shawn Spears, Allie, and Hybrid2 where they struggled from the get-go and in the former two's case have gone through various storylines and repackaging. PnP are an act that actually started really hot but then got cold and lost in the shuffle. PnP debuted on a high note at All Out 2019 where they attacked The Young Bucks and began a rivalry with them. When Dynamite when on the air and fall came, things seem to get bigger as they joined Chris Jericho's Inner Circle and continued their feud even scoring a win over The Bucks at Full Gear in November. However, with the turn of the year, their run went cold. By January, they found themselves down in the midcard feuding with up and coming teams like Private Party and The Jurassic Express. On the February 19th Dynamite, they took part in a number one contenders battle royal but lost. Then in March, like so many others, they were forced off TV due to the pandemic and missed over two months. Upon returning in May, the team continue to slide outside of main eventing Double or Nothing 2020 taking part in the Stadium Stampede as they mostly been used to put over other teams like Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega, Private Party, and The Best Friends though they still got wins on Dark in squash matches. Even worse, the team seems like they've been demoted to stooges of Jericho and even the Le Sex Gods team of Jericho and Sammy Guevara have been the Inner Circle team that recently got a number one contenders match. Like Spears and Allie, there is some hope as they've just began a rivalry with The Best Friends and maybe that will help them. Still, for all the success they've had in the indies and the dominance they had in Impact, you can't help but expect more from them.

Bea Priestley- I know Bea has since been released but when I first started with this article, I included her and I'll keep her in. Originally from England, Priestley gained fame there winning championships in What Culture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling and World of Sport while also enjoying success in Japan for Stardom. Priestley signed with AEW in February 2019 and again, came off like a great catch for the women's division. Priestley originally debuted at the 2019 Fight for the Fallen teaming with Shoko Nakajima in a winning effort against Britt Baker and Riho. She then participated in the All Out Women's Casino Battle Royal on the pre show on August 31st but came up short. By the time Dynamite and Dark went on the air in October, Priestley had begun a rivalry with Baker but she mostly found herself on the losing end of it including the blow off match at the pre show to Full Gear on November 9th. Afterwards, Priestley seemingly began a rivalry with Kris Statlander with the two having two matches in November/December while trading wins. In December, Priestley disappeared from AEW for several months not returning until the March 11th Dynamite teaming with then champion Nyla Rose in a winning effort against Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida. Following the match, Bea attacked Rose and implied she wanted a title shot. Unfortunately, nothing came of it as the coronavirus hit and Priestley wasn't able to appear being from England. Since then, she's been released from the promotion in August as a result of being unable to appear due to the virus.

Pac- Pac is an interesting character as it seems AEW wants to do things with him but bad luck or timing seem to get in the way. Things immediately went south with Pac when he was set to face Adam Page at Double or Nothing 2019 but "creative differences" got in the way, delaying his debut. Fortunately, things appeared to pick up as he replaced Jon Moxley at All Out 2019 taking on and beating Kenny Omega. For the remainder of 2019, Pac continued to shine having matches mostly with Adam Page and Kenny Omega and things continued into 2020 getting a number one contenders shot against Moxley and a thirty minute iron man match with Omega though he came up short in both. By March, Pac then formed The Death Triangle with The Lucha Bros but before they could go somewhere, the pandemic hit and Pac was taken off TV in March due to being unable to travel to America. Sadly, Pac has yet to get back on TV and is still out of action five months later. Like I said before, I think AEW wants to do something with Pac but there's been setback after setback.

Lance Archer- We'll finish with another obvious one. Archer is a long time successful veteran having enjoyed success in Impact (then TNA), New Japan, and NOAH while also popping up in WWE and ROH. In 2019, Archer was the feel good story of the year as his stock has dropped over the years in New Japan following back surgery and the break up of KES, his team with Davey Boy Smith Jr. Then he competed in the New Japan G1 Climax tournament and had a great campaign showing a strong career revival. Going into 2020, Archer was in demand when his New Japan deal expired and his ultimately chose to go to AEW. Like PnP, Archer's debut in AEW was incredibly strong being given legend Jake "The Snake" Roberts as his manager and coming in like a dominant monster all the while being put in a feud with Cody and making it to the finals of the AEW TNT Championship Tournament. Then at Double or Nothing 2020, Archer lost in the finals to Cody in what some would consider a controversial move and since then, well, nothing. The feud with Cody didn't continue and while Archer has gone 4-0 since the loss, it's mostly been squashes on Dark outside of his win over Joey Janela (which some have thought was too competitive of a match). These days, Archer occasionally pops up and beats someone up but that's it. Overall, the handling of Archer has been one of the bigger criticisms of AEW's booking. For a guy who looked like hot property at the beginning of the year, it just feels like AEW only saw him as a dragon for Cody to slay and when it happened, that was it. Maybe he'll bounce back but for now, it just comes off like wasted opportunity.