AEW has been criticized (rightly) for normalizing and reducing the auras of some of its biggest signings. This year already, AEW has signed three of the hottest free agents. Each has its unique auras, fanbases, and histories. Before the ink even touched their AEW contracts, some fans were already suggesting that Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Moné were doomed to fail.
Scrutiny, critical, and analytical eyes (and their voices) are watching closely. The decision to revert Okada back to the wealthy, privileged, entitled bully from the beginning of his legendary New Japan Pro Wrestling run has helped solve a selection headache. It could allow AEW to avoid past mistakes. Already, their presentation of Okada as a character has sidestepped the repetitive conversation about how Japanese speakers do not translate well to English-speaking wrestling shows.
For now, as they ascend, Okada and Ospreay will be potential headliners in slots 1A and 1B.
Winning the AEW Continental Championship on last night’s AEW Dynamite will have interesting ripple effects. The match with Eddie Kingston may, from an in-ring technical standpoint, not be a match-of-the-year contender. More decisively, it was an excellent showcase of storytelling.
Character and their arches advanced. Each man’s personal stories progressed. In the long term, it helped both wrestling characters advance. For the championship, it gave Okada a chance to make the Continental Championship distinguishable, removed from Kingston’s triple crown.
Okada is The Elite
Okada’s AEW debut was a talking point for all the right reasons. The Young Bucks cleverly sidestepped their AEW Revolution loss by pointing out they “technically” retired Sting (a matchpoint breakdown of the build is here).
Removing Kenny Omega from The Elite tied up a plot tease from Full Gear. Eddie Kingston’s interruption. The beat down that led up to that familiar sound. The coin dropped. Okada ran to the rescue. Swerve! Ripcord on Kingston into the Rainmaker Lariat.
One segment set up a conspiracy wall of red string, leading to various future matches for the former seven-time world champion. A fifth match with Kenny Omega, one of the greatest wrestling rivalries. One (or a series) of trios matches against spurred Elite members Omega and Hangman and another intriguing partner. A possible trios championship run. Kingston’s triple crown.
Building on the real-life friendship with The Young Bucks, few saw this move coming. Since the trio’s misuse in TNA Wrestling, the three have been joined. Adding the wealthy playboy to a group of power-exploiting executives fits like a crown on a king’s head.
Starting with Okada gunning for Kingston fits perfectly with where both wrestling characters are in their story arches. Most importantly, it gets fans to focus on something else in the short term. It keeps the question of why Okada is not in the AEW World Championship picture obvious without harming Okada’s aura. It’s about character work.
Why would he not want the Continental Championship? It would be an easy trophy to claim against a man the Rainmaker’s character sees as an “inferior” Puroresu fanboy. Would he help his new best friends solve a company problem? Prove that he’s in a league of his own? Why not?
Selection Nightmare Averted
AEW’s plan for the World Championship, when the feeling was there, was written in plain sight. The prestige of the championship and the care given to its storylines (when creativity is at its peak) nonetheless make the fans feel prophetic.
We see the next man rising to claim the gold as if it were written in the stars. Right now, Swerve Strickland will not be the next world champion. But already waiting behind Swerve (and in danger of overshadowing rather than foreshadowing Strickland) is Will Ospreay.
Since debuting, Ospreay in the ring has been a revelation. Ospreay’s theme music lyrics tell fans what to expect: a sledgehammer to our high expectations of AEW’s in-ring action. “Elevated, el-elevated to the sky.” The Billy GOAT has shattered that ceiling. Ospreay’s aura, as the self-proclaimed feeling, is starting to elevate the company. Okada’s presence being directed elsewhere has not diminished Ospreay’s aura.
What about The Rainmaker’s aura? Some might argue Okada is being misused. Now, holding a “mid-card” championship, a single piece of the triple crown, rather than pursuing the world championship? They perhaps miss the larger picture being painted. It’s likely if Okada had gone for the world championship, some would cry fowl, saying the casual audience would have no idea who this Japanese wrestler is.
Instead, AEW is allowing Okada to build a character using Elite’s slower, more TV-acting (at times melodramatic) pace. The Rainmaker will likely challenge for the world championship, just not yet. There are other stories to be told, more of a character to be built up and invested in. This will make the eventual world championship challenge a big-money event.
Introducing Nepotism – I Mean the Rainmaker
It is a valid point that some wrestling fans will not know of Okada. AEW might cater to the more dedicated wrestling tastes, but it’s not an exclusive club. The myth that AEW doesn’t care about attracting new viewers is a strange one built around othering. T
he kind of tribalism I discussed in breaking down discourse around The Undertaker vs. Sting. No one’s ever needed to pass some elitist test or initiation to enjoy AEW. The myth All Elite tries to act elite is misplaced.
AEW promotes and discusses wrestlers’ accomplishments beyond their corner of the universe. But regardless of whether you know Okada or not, the presentation of the character so far gives all viewers a reason to stay tuned—to see more in-ring and out-of-the-ring antics.
Stood between The Young Bucks as they pose, Okada is clearly the centerpiece. The relationship clearly puts in fans’ minds that Okada is as good as Kenny Omega if an upgrade. Even if you were unaware of their epic rivalry, and you miss Excalibur filling in these blanks, the positioning right now is building Okada to be the antithesis of Omega.
Kenny may have cheated to win in AEW, but he always had his in-ring excellence to finish the job. Okada, benefiting from nepotism and the authority given by having friends in high places, is Kenny’s foil. Omega, as an EVP who was never on screen, abused this privilege.
Likewise, Okada is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. Yet having Okada mock jobbers, acting disinterested, playing mind games with Kingston, and forcing Alex Marvez to sing Happy Birthday makes him more distinct.
AEW is filled with the greatest wrestlers in the world. Omega, Bryan Danielson, now Ospreay. Making each unique is textbook booking.
Continental Championship: Entitled vs. Earned
Okada and Ospreay are adapting to life as performers on weekly TV. Different from New Japan’s formatting, both must become weekly TV characters. Jay White has had to do the same and has been someone critics have held up as an example of how far a former IWGP World Champion can fall in AEW. The performers must adapt as much as the creative has to display them best.
Okada’s character is already entitled but intelligent. Solving the problem of the “undesirable” and “unprofessional” Eddie Kingston for his new best friends furthers the larger story of this new Elite wanting to revamp AEW to suit their image. It’s their world, and everyone lives in it.
Okada and Kingston are both ideologically and philosophically opposed characters. Okada is the chosen pet project. His AEW opportunity was given to him on a gold plate, and he is above the fans. Everyone writes off Kingston, who has had to fight for his peers’ respect and is a surrogate for the fans.
Yesterday marked Okada’s first single match sign, becoming All Elite. Okada won gold in his debut match. Eddie had the same opportunity but lost it. Differently, only one of these men had to sell their gear and contemplate retirement before their debuts. The story was clear. Money-maker vs. King of the Bums. It goes deeper than that.
The Japanese Connection
Eddie Kingston is a student of Japanese pro wrestling. The Mad King wears that inspiration on his wrist tape, and it’s also present in his overarching storyline of becoming a triple-crown champion. Inspired by the original “Four Pillars of Heaven,” especially Toshiaki Kawada, a former five-time Triple Crown winner, Eddie’s respect for Japan is unquestionable.
So, having the former kingpin of Japan’s top promotion go after Kingston with indifference ties back to this arch. Eddie has earned the respect of his peers, Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson, who doubted him. His checklist from 2023 to now includes a range of other satisfying achievements for the character (and likely the real man also).
Won the ROH World Championship. Check. Wrestled in Japan’s G1 Climax. Check. Won a championship in Japan. Check. Won the first Continental Classic. Check. First AEW Triple Crown. Check. All while remaining a loveable yet gritty modern babyface. Multiple ticks. The catharsis can’t reach hider than Danielson’s post-Revolution endorsement. The redemption cannot get higher without stagnating.
Having Okada come in and his first singles match under an AEW contract ends Kingston’s dream of being a triple crown champion. The best wrestler in Japan shows Eddie he wasn’t good enough. This fits the character and would give The Rainmaker more heat in the traditional sense. It brings Eddie back to Earth, where he has done his best work before.
One Title? Why Not the Whole Triple Crown?
In the build, Okada acted like it would be easy. It wasn’t. Throughout yesterday’s match, there were clever story beats for both characters. Eddie is acting with restraint. Not once blowing his lid with rage like the old Kingston would when provoked. Okada was battering and smiling while Kingston appeared weakened. Being disgusted that Kingston had the gall to keep trying.
The match started slow. The New Japan style of reverse finishes did not happen (perhaps to subvert expectations?). The result moved the story on with a good match. Maybe not the best of the night, but it did not underwhelm either.
Some may question or still feel deflated. Okada only walks away with one belt. Why not go for the entire Triple Crown? Drape the rainmaker with gold. It would have made Okada even more remarkable.
However, New Japan politics and Okada wanting a clean break could have stopped this. Also, there is the risk of diluting Okada by stretching him between three promotions (in theory). What can Okada do with three belts? What could he do with three? We’ll have to see.
Who knows if the new corporate Elite will stop at the Continental Championship and AEW Tag Team Champion? What about the trios? There’s still room for a repeat of the belt collector story, and there are more parallels to Omega.
Kingston’s Journey and the Other Two Parts of the Crown
There is perhaps a wider story arch for Kingston in losing those other two champions. Mark Briscoe feels like a worthy and deserving ROH World Champion. Hope for a breakout Briscoe championship run has been alive since last year. Other wrestlers in New Japan, which is going through a transition, could use the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship to ascend.
Losing these belts could perhaps set Kingston up for another spiral—another crisis of confidence, or more personal growth, some more of that stoicism shown against Okada, maybe a run at the AEW World Championship?
For Okada, The Rainmaker has the role of elevating the Continental Championship for the time being. Hardly something beneath a former world champion. Those who would scoff should consider how many times WWE booked former world champions to win the US or Intercontinental Championships.
Many of them also failed to re-establish the prestige these belts historically had, but Okada has a fresher canvas to work with.
This gives Okada, on a private island away from the world championship, the ability to define himself as his own. With the right booking, like Orange Cassidy did last year with the International Championship,
Okada could create something special. Make the Continental Championship a worthy prize to win with its distinct character compared to the other championships. There are reasons for being hopeful. The feeling may be stealing back.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – 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 on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
