We're, uh- we're just cutting a cool promo. You guys weren't trying to kiss each other on the lips again, right? No! We're just cutting a badass promo right now.
While I appreciate the Elite/Hangman stuff being brought back up to continue, I also don't want AEW to diminish Dark Order by simply swapping them out.
Initially I had hoped that we'd put Dark Order over by having them rise to meet the BCC, since they are still good wrestlers who made the Trios finals, at Blood & Guts. But with the Elite coming in it does feel like they are at risk of being job guys again.
Instead, I want to encourage AEW to go a different route, make this a 3-way battle for Hangman's soul: you have the BCC who respect Hangman but want to literally beat him into submission (we could have it be like a recruitment angle), the Elite are his old friends capable of standing to the BCC and penitent for their rift, and Dark Order are the friends who stuck by Hangman at his lowest but seem a little out of depth. We put a fourth for Elite and BCC (Adam Cole for Elite and maybe someone like Hobbs for BCC since he did roll with Mox for a bit, or Shota, may be too soon for heel Danielson) while keeping Stu because Stu is great and then we have a great narrative feud as well as a great in-ring feud.
Hell, 3-Way Anarchy in the Arena it with Hangman making a choice on who to side with, just don't shuffle Dark Order to the side.
like it hurts because its not so much that i believe hangman is ~Destined~ to be with the elite or that theyre the only ones who get him or will ever understand, but the order and elite are nearly as opposite ends of the spectrum as you can get when it comes to group vs individual outlooks and watching hangman try and maintain BOTH when hes more inclined towards one is just so :’(
the order stand for each other, with each other. theyre community-minded and while it might not be second-nature, its definitely coming relatively easily to them. theyre just friends! its that simple and that complicated. the elite stand for themselves, together. theyre a unit, but one made of individuals and clear cut lines. they’ll save their own skin when the knife comes down, because they know the others are strong enough to handle it but also because the self comes first. theyll take a beating together, but the revenge that follows is for themself just as much as its for everyone else. its a case of “the group, and yourself, and the group” VS “yourself, and the group, and yourself.”
and i rlly do believe hangman is in the second category even if he can manage to embody the first one (he was, and is, a picture perfect tag partner for his ability to fluently step into the tempo and time of anyone hes ever tagged with). he is constantly tangled in his own self worth, and self determination, and internal conflict. his own dreams and aspirations. hes constantly aware of how people view him, but its less about other people seeing him as he is or as he used to be and more about them seeing the version of him he’s trying to become; its roots are in his own identity and achievements rather than the validation of others, even if those achievements gain worth FROM crowd and wrestler acknowledgement. (vs kenny who struggles to be satisfied with everything he could ever want unless someone else is there to witness it and experience it with him, which is a whole nother post)
its not a bad thing inherently! but with so much of his Everything being turned inward, no matter how much he cares about his teammates, whoever they are at the time, he’s always had a distance of varying lengths. and in the order, it makes him stick out like a sore thumb because of how integrated they all are with each other, vs the elite where he fits right in-- it’s almost expected of him, really! but the two, for the similarities they DO have, can’t mesh the way a perfect world for hangman would wish them to.
More tag team punishment by the Young Bucks who trapped Cash Wheeler in their torture chamber -- aka, the wrestling ring -- and proceeded to work him over. They thwart his every escape attempt and unleash their flashy, devastating offense. And I was here for it.
This is the third time these teams have met (and hopefully not their last.) In the golden age of wrestling, the same wrestlers or tag teams would meet dozens of times, in every little town on the circuit. I wish these two teams would do that -- just wrestle on every card for the next 5 years.
The Young Bucks actually unleashed their devastating Double Knee Strike (which they call the "BTE Trigger") twice on Cash Wheeler. He kept kicking out, though -- which gave the Young Bucks more time to keep on hurting him.
There must be something wrong with me, because I really enjoy seeing the wrestlers I love utterly gutted and humiliated.