Despite being utterly crushed by Miro on the inaugural episode of AEW Rampage, Fuego Del Sol is now All Elite. The stipulation was simple: should Fuego overcome “God’s Favorite Champion”, he would receive a contract with the Tony Khan owned promotion. This was, of course, no easy task; with Fuego having only won one match out of well over 40 since debuting in the company last year. In contrast, Miro has become an unbeaten, TNT Championship wearing monster of destruction. It is no surprise, then, that Miro dominated his way to victory and tore up Fuego’s future contract; breaking the heart of Fuego and the thousands cheering his name.
Dream do come true! Welcome to the team…@FuegoDelSol is #AllElite!
Tune in NOW to the world premiere of #AEWRampage LIVE on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/wRDJ2UlKUo
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 14, 2021
Friends in High Places
The heartache was very real at the end of the bout. In a genuine tale of David versus Goliath, the fans were rooting for Fuedo Del Sol – he has captured the affection of the AEW audience, despite his losing efforts, and the crowd reaction perfectly showcased that affection. The physical image of Miro ending the dream and literally tearing it into pieces was priceless. Typically, with these kind of endings, this would mark the end of the story. After all, wrestling is no Disney fairytale – a definitive defeat is a definitive defeat. There is no “happy ending” for a squashed competitor – it is quite simply “life sucks and then you die”, to quote a certain pro wrestling promoter. Or so we thought. Out came Fairy Godmother, Tony Khan, alongside Fuego’s best friend Sammy Guevara – who was bearing a new, whole contract for the Oklahoma based luchador, seemingly granted to Guevara by the magic wand of Khan.
“Fuego, man, you lost – but sometimes there’s victory in defeat. I mean, you’ve been coming here for the past year, you’re like 1 in 50, but who cares, because these people [the audience] love you. Fuego, you know a lot of guys back there [backstage] love you too. Tony Khan thought it was only right for me to be the one to come out here, because you’re my best friend, to say officially, that Fuego Del Sol… is All Elite.”
The commentators cheered in unison that “dreams do come true”; the audience cheered his name and Fuego became All Elite. This was perfect storytelling – a rare fairytale ending. The match did not steal the show, of course; no squash match can be better than the pro wrestling masterclass put on by Christian and Kenny Omega, or the great women’s match main event between Red Velvet and Britt Baker. However, it was “sports entertainment” done correctly; something WWE would love to pull off so well. For that, it will be remembered.
Fuego Del Sol: AEW’s New Ultimate Underdog
For decades, Rey Mysterio was dubbed as WWE‘s “ultimate underdog”. Whereas no one can ever be compared to Mysterio, nor should they be, Fuego can now become AEW’s ultimate underdog as his own man. He has the audience behind him; he has the locker room behind him, as well as a friendship with Sammy, and now he should be able to start winning some matches to continue building his momentum. Whereas he may never be able to defeat someone as monstrous as Miro, he should be able to carve out a solid run for himself and, potentially, as one half of a tag team with Sammy. Sammy’s rivalry with The Elite is renowned and with Chris Jericho focused on working solo, Fuego could be the one – with Sammy – to overcome the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson).
Should a AEW Cruiserweight Championship and division ever be announced in AEW, Fuego could be one of the perfect guys to spearhead it. He has the history, he has the skill and he has the backing of the fans. With the likes of some of the other smaller competitors and high flyers present in the company, such as Rey Fenix, Pac, Darby Allin and maybe Sammy himself, it could eventually become one of the world’s leading cruiserweight divisions. That, however, is mere fan speculation. One thing is certain: Fuego is destined for a long and healthy stay in All Elite Wrestling.
Miro Has Become the Best Version of Himself
The former Rusev was at his best in the WWE when he was the undefeated, “Bulgarian Brute” fighting for Mother Russia (for reasons never quite clear). He had real life wife, Lana; he had a tank and he had a United States Championship reign worthy of rivaling the greatest. He was, of course, soon to face constant burials following a WrestleMania defeat to John Cena and, within just a few short years, he would be released from the company. When Miro came to AEW, things began slower than expected. He was the video gaming “Best Man” to Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford; a far cry from the rejuvenated monster many expected to come in and dominate AEW Dynamite right off the bat. However, this was intentional and was part of Tony Khan’s plan for Miro, as he expressed in a conference towards the start of the year.
“He drove a tank out five years ago, that’s not the guy I signed. The guy I signed has been abused for years and he’s being rebuilt, he’s going to be a huge star in wrestling and he is a huge star, he’s a huge name in wrestling but he wasn’t treated like it for a long time.”
Miro was being rebuilt into the monster he was supposed to be – not debuting as this monster. It was, looking back, a rather genius way of reintroducing Miro to an audience who had seen him abused, and his worth diminished, for years. Since then, Miro, the real Miro, has been unleashed; he captured the TNT Championship from Darby Allin and has crushed everyone in his path since. Miro being a part of the Fuego Del Sol storyline, as the evil villain, was great for his character; no one else could have pulled it off so well, besides maybe “The Murderhawk”, Lance Archer. With Miro now putting the Fuego story arc behind him, “God’s Favorite Champion” can look to the future and, one day soon, meet a worthy adversary to share a perfect story with once more. The Rampage debut of Miro and Fuego Del Sol will be remembered fondly as a story done right.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW Dark: Elevation (Monday nights) and AEW: Dark (Tuesday nights) at 7 PM ET on YouTube.
