{"id":74694,"date":"2020-08-20T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=74694"},"modified":"2020-08-20T07:10:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T11:10:19","slug":"aew-follow-up-star-making-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2020\/08\/20\/aew-follow-up-star-making-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW Needs To Improve It&#8217;s Follow Up Of Star-Making Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>AEW Dynamite has been on our screens for just under one year and in that time we have seen the company do a lot of good things, but also we&#8217;ve seen them make mistakes.\u00a0 In this writer&#8217;s opinion one big issue with AEW is their failure to follow up on big moments and matches for some performers.\u00a0 While yes, they have got over a number of things and run with them there&#8217;s also a number of star-making moments or performances that have not been followed up on leading to performers quickly cooling off. Let&#8217;s take a look at just a few such performers who have been let down by this issue.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Shanna<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"#AEW DYNAMITE EPISODE 5 HIGHLIGHTS:  SHANNA DEBUTS AGAINST THE RETURNING HIKARU SHIDA\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Kq2KHQSHksA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>European indie veteran Shanna made an impressive start to life in AEW delivering a really good match with\u00a0<strong>Hikaru Shida.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Just one week later she was involved in another good match and it felt like AEW could have an organic babyface star on its hands with the veteran performer.\u00a0 Instead, she would disappear from television until February by which point crowds had all but forgotten her.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Scorpio Sky<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38051\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/02\/Kazarian-Daniels-Sky-e1549829235652.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"316\"><\/p>\n<p>Remember when Scorpio Sky pinned <strong>Chris Jericho?\u00a0<\/strong>Sky is one of the few men in the company to hold a pinfall win over one of the top stars in AEW.\u00a0 You wouldn&#8217;t know that though based on his booking ever since.\u00a0 SCU lost the tag team championships not long after Sky challenged Jericho for the world title and the group quickly faded into obscurity in AEW&#8217;s overloaded tag team division.\u00a0 Sky did get a big win streak started&#8230;on Dark as he was off TV and out of fan&#8217;s minds for a number of months.\u00a0 Sky did get to have a hyped return to Dynamite though.\u00a0 Just so he could lose to\u00a0<strong>Cody<\/strong>.\u00a0 The fact Sky has gone from pinning Jericho to being an afterthought in just under 12 months proves our point more than anything, Sky should be a player in this company and SCU should be more than just faces in the crowd but instead, Sky has to be content with being &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/08\/05\/scorpio-sky-king-of-aew-dark\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the king of Dark<\/a>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Sonny Kiss<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WAS SONNY KISS ABLE TO SHOCK THE WORLD?  | AEW FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN, 7\/15\/20\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K_G4VUYad0Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Sonny Kiss had an eye-opening performance in his TNT Championship match with Cody.\u00a0 He showcased his talent and charisma and in many people&#8217;s eyes solidified himself as a future world champion.\u00a0 Since that match on July 15th, Sonny Kiss has been on AEW Dynamite a grand total of 0 times.\u00a0 That match was also just her third Dynamite appearance in 2020.\u00a0 How are we as fans supposed to care about these people who show up and wow us only to disappear again for months at a time?\u00a0 Yes, Kiss is on Dark, but that&#8217;s not good enough Dark&#8217;s viewership every week is only a fraction of Dynamite&#8217;s.\u00a0 When Kiss shows up on Dynamite again his performance against Cody will be all but forgotten and he will go back to just being\u00a0<strong>Joey Janela&#8217;s\u00a0<\/strong>tag partner.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Lance Archer<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67920\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67920\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67920\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/05\/Cody-vs-Lance-Archer-Build-e1588682470698.jpg\" alt=\"Double Or Nothing\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67920\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: AEW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lance Archer debuted for AEW in April and quickly became a highlight of the show.\u00a0 He felt like a real monster and blazed a trail through the roster ruthlessly destroying everyone in his way.\u00a0 Then he lost to Cody.\u00a0 And he&#8217;s done nothing of note since.\u00a0 Outside of a short feud with Janela, he either squashes people on Dark or is found backstage throwing people around and that&#8217;s cool and all, but he&#8217;s had nothing of substance to do.\u00a0 He&#8217;s gone from someone that felt like a big star and a pivotal part of the show to just being another face in the crowd.\u00a0 And for someone as talented as Archer to be so anonymous is almost criminal.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Joshi Talent<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45973\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45973\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45973\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/05\/Joshi-Trios-e1557773687238.jpg\" alt=\"Aja Kong, Emi Sakura &amp; Yuka Sakazaki vs Riho Abe, Hikaru Shida &amp; Ryo Mizunami\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: AEW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Man, AEW really <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/05\/15\/analysing-joshi-wrestling-aew\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">had something with their Joshi connection<\/a>.\u00a0 The women delivered an absolute show-stealer at <em>Double Or Nothing<\/em> that opened many eyes to Joshi wrestling and how good it is.\u00a0 They even followed up with a really good triple threat match at\u00a0<em>Fyter Fest\u00a0<\/em>where\u00a0<strong>Yuka Sakazaki\u00a0<\/strong>got over.\u00a0 The company failed to follow up on anything notable with these women though.\u00a0 <strong>Aja Kong<\/strong> showed up for an awesome staredown with\u00a0<strong>Awesome Kong\u00a0<\/strong>which has never been mentioned again.\u00a0 Sakazaki wouldn&#8217;t be seen for months, by which point she was cold and fans had forgotten her.\u00a0 And let&#8217;s not even get started on how poorly\u00a0<strong>Riho\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Hikaru Shida\u00a0<\/strong>have been treated as champions.\u00a0 Neither were given many notable opponents or much TV time.\u00a0 The Joshi could have been something special for AEW that helped them stand out and really revolutionize women&#8217;s wrestling, instead it goes down as another strike against the company.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Eddie Kingston<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What Did Eddie Kingston Have To Say To TNT Champion Cody? |  AEW Dynamite, 7\/22\/20\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hc9zLtDRvzk?start=1&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>We admit that maybe this one is jumping the gun a little.\u00a0 But in the month since Kingston <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/07\/22\/eddie-kingston-answers-codys-tnt-open-challenge-on-aew-dynamite\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">made a big impact on Dynamite<\/a> he has not made a single appearance.\u00a0 No matches, no promos, no hype videos, not even Dark squashes.\u00a0 It&#8217;s baffling that you would<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/07\/31\/aew-sign-eddie-kingston\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> sign a man<\/a> as talented as Eddie Kingston and proceed to do absolutely nothing with the buzz he generated, but as we&#8217;ve learned that&#8217;s just par for the course with AEW.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>MJF<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31599\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31599\" style=\"width: 584px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31599\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2018\/11\/MJF.png\" alt=\"MJF top 5 hated heels in wrestling\" width=\"584\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2018\/11\/MJF.png 584w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2018\/11\/MJF-300x191.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31599\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: MLW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is the most controversial pick of the bunch but hear us out.\u00a0 In February at <em>AEW Revolution, <\/em>he beat Cody in the biggest win of his career.\u00a0 In the months since then has MJF had one notable feud?\u00a0 He had a short program with <strong>Jungle Boy\u00a0<\/strong>yes but he has had absolutely nothing major to sink his teeth into.\u00a0 Now he goes into a feud with<strong> Jon Moxley<\/strong> and frankly he doesn&#8217;t feel like he belongs in there with Moxley, aside from the Cody win MJF has no real major wins under his belt nor has he won any other high profile feuds.\u00a0 After beating Cody he should&#8217;ve been pushed to the top and beaten someone like a\u00a0<strong>Kenny Omega\u00a0<\/strong>or any other AEW upper card talent but instead, he just beat enhancement talents and beat the midcard Jungle Boy at <em>Double Or Nothing 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day, AEW is doing just fine for the time being.\u00a0 They&#8217;re beating NXT regularly and even matching RAW in the key demo some weeks.\u00a0 With that said it&#8217;s frustrating seeing them pass up on star-making moments as often as they have because it would allow them to really diversify their Dynamite roster instead of featuring mostly the same faces all the time.\u00a0 A dynamite where Sky, Kiss, Kingston, Archer, and even MJF mattered more could only be a good thing.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay tuned to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for 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 Tuesday nights at 7 PM ET on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCFN4JkGP_bVhAdBsoV9xftA\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a>. \u00a0Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/boards\/index.php\" target=\"_self\">LWOS Boards<\/a>\u00a0to engage in conversation with fellow fans!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AEW Dynamite has been on our screens for just under one year and in that time we have seen the company do a lot of good things, but also we&#8217;ve seen them make mistakes.\u00a0 In this writer&#8217;s opinion one big issue with AEW is their failure to follow up on big moments and matches for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2013,"featured_media":68510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4677,2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aew","category-featured","category-north-america"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}