Last night on AEW Collision, Nick Wayne got his revenge finally for the actions of AR Fox back in 2023 when Fox and Swerve Strickland attacked Nick Wayne at the Buddy Wayne Academy.
It’s great that Nick Wayne was finally able to get his revenge but like… isn’t Nick Wayne a heel? Why should we feel good about Wayne getting his revenge? Fox also wasn’t even the main guy. Swerve Strickland was the main guy in that attack.
It’s so weird that not only was AEW President Tony Khan enjoying it but so was Swerve Strickland. What is going on here? I’m sure someone will say they are just enjoying the staple gun but it’s literally at Fox’s expense.
I knew you always loved this shit… https://t.co/ulfQxdmFss
— The Realest Swerve Strickland (@swerveconfident) November 10, 2024
It’s absolutely perplexing to me why we should be feeling good about Nick Wayne stapling the Wayne family photo to AR Fox’s forehead after he lost the match. This was supposed to be a cocky heel beatdown and not a moment of sweet revenge. Yet here it is. Because AR Fox is in the AEW doghouse.
AR Fox in the Doghouse
You see, AR Fox was supposed to work All In teaming with Swerve against Sting and Darby Allin. That’s what the Nick Wayne break in was all about. They were sending a message to Darby. But according to Fightful, AR Fox wasn’t upfront to AEW about his ability to fly out of the country and that led to him being pulled from the match at All In. Not only that, but he lost to Nick Wayne in a tag match (back in 2023, that was the actual revenge), got kicked out of Mogul Embassy, and has struggled to get on the cards in AEW since.
Now I wasn’t there. I don’t know how things exactly happened. But why was AEW booking people for the show in London without knowing they had their passport situation figured out? Why is this falling on AR Fox instead of management for not knowing? Again, I don’t know. But I have worked plenty of jobs where some tasks required a drivers licence and I don’t have one. I’m up front about it, but it’s up to the company to ask me. If Fox claimed it was good and it wasn’t then I understand the heat in 2023.
However it has also been a year since All In 2023. All In 2024 has gone by. Fox has still got work in AEW and ROH. He didn’t win a match for almost a year, finally teaming with Komander to beat Ariel Dominguez and Brillante in August of this year. He also beat Jack Cartwheel and Josh Woods on HonorClub. Three weeks ago he worked Collision to face Ricochet in a fantastic match that reminded people of what level of worker Fox is.
Collision last night was in Rhode Island. AR Fox is from Connecticut and was treated like a local star to the audience with a good reaction on his entrance. I’m not going to say all local workers have to be protected, but again, the perspective from the company on this isn’t treating it like Nick Wayne was a bastard for what he did to AR Fox. It’s being treated like sweet revenge. Even the guy who helped take part is having a laugh at the expense of his former teammate.
Why do I care so much about AR Fox?
I’m sure if you got through the past 500 words you’re wondering why I’m caring this much about a guy who isn’t an AEW Regular, only been in the company since 2022 (and wasn’t signed until probably 2023), never a title holder, never a big deal in any other company. It’s just some indie guy. Oh right he worked in Lucha Underground. Is that why I’m so supportive?
It’s part of it. It’s also just my eyes. All Elite Wrestling is full of high spot athletic wrestlers who get their various levels of pomp and circumstance. AR Fox might not be the very best (that would be reserved for Ricochet and Will Ospreay) but he’s just a spot underneath them. To the point he has no issue hanging with them. He’s polished, smart with his spots, and great at getting the crowd into both his heat and his sells. He’s an excellent pro wrestler.
AEW is Where The Best Wrestle and AR Fox is better than a lot of guys pushed ahead of him. That’s fine. Usually you need more than just good wrestling. Personality, charisma, all of those things. Fox is also 37 so he isn’t a young whippersnapper. This is likely one of his last runs before he becomes too old to even get a spot.
That’s why I hope he’s treated better. Burn the doghouse down and let the fox run free. He deserves a little more love, and a little more love is all I’m asking here. I’m okay with him losing to Nick Wayne if it’s going somewhere for Nick Wayne. I’m okay with Fox doing jobs on TV to pretty much anyone who is going somewhere. Just make sure they are going somewhere. And it can be done without the humiliation unless again, IT’S GOING SOMEWHERE. Nick Wayne didn’t need his revenge on Fox. He got it a year ago. It’s not leading to Nick Wayne versus Swerve Strickland. It’s just for Nick Wayne to gloat for a random Saturday and then move on.
I would love to see AR Fox working the likes of Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin. I would love to see him get in Konosuke Takeshita’s way after a few wins for the International Championship. Have him work Jack Perry at some point for the TNT. He’d be great as a top guy in Ring of Honor instead of just a few random wins here and there. Make AR Fox a little more important and it’s going to improve your overall product.
I just have a bad taste in my mouth how this whole situation on Collision was handled. The alignments were wonky, it was a heel getting revenge from back when he was a babyface last year, and it just felt like another opportunity for Tony Khan to dunk on one of his own talents for something they did a year ago. Enough.
If it does at some point lead to a program or something to help AR Fox in the future? Great. If Tony makes me eat my words I’ll get a fork and knife so it can go down easier. But right now it feels like Tony Khan killing time on Collision at the expense of arguably the most underrated pro wrestler of the past decade. AEW wants to consider themselves an alternative? Treating an underrated pro wrestler with respect is a good start.
