Last night, AEW Men’s World Champion Bryan Danielson dropped a video explaining he’s fighting for his idea of what kind of champion he wants to be.
It would be announced just a half hour from midnight by the AEW official Twitter account that Kazuchika Okada would face Bryan Danielson in a title for title match.
If that wasn’t enough, the first 20 minutes would be for the Continental Championship, which means the match has no time limit or a later time limit. So Bryan Danielson has to beat Kazuchika Okada in the first 20 minutes to win the title, but he could beat Okada later to simply defend his title. Okada has to last 20 minutes to ensure his title isn’t on the line, but can beat Danielson at any time. MJF sarcastically gave up trying to figure it out.
It’s a bizarre stipulation for a match that probably deserved more than 48 hours of build up. This is the rubber match between Okada and Danielson, both champions in AEW, and we’re just getting it on television without much build up? How does this related to the feud with the Blackpool Combat Club and Bryan Danielson? How does The Elite factor?
Essentially? This is the equivalent of smashing two action figures together because you can and it will be awesome.
That new AEW TV deal with WBD is likely to be announced tomorrow for the 5th Anniversary of Dynamite, with the FOX Television deal soon to follow. It’s going to be a major moment to shift the narrative for AEW, and most importantly to celebrate five years of success and prepare for the future. This is basically throwing a party. It’s not really about building the biggest money program possible. It’s not really about doing the right thing for storyline and promoting. It’s wrestling for wrestling sake.
If you want to analyze this and critique it be my guest. I’m never going to say you are wrong for it. I just think that we should have room for two correct answers to observing this. Sometimes… maybe it’s okay to step back and just enjoy it? Okay I see you’re getting out the RLM Nerd Crew meme.
“Just enjoy it” “Shut up and enjoy it” “You’re not doing your duty as a journalist and a critic to refuse to engage in this on a deeper level” blah blah blah I get it.
But maybe, just maybe, for a special occasion like the 5th Anniversary of Dynamite and the announcement of new TV deals that will keep the company profitable and successful for the coming years, maybe celebration is okay? And the best way to celebrate this isn’t to just drop some balloons or throw some streamers. It’s to book one of the biggest matches you can.
Bryan Danielson versus Kazuchika Okada is Tony Khan’s gift to himself and gift to AEW fans. It doesn’t have to make sense. It doesn’t have to logically weave into the storylines of both wrestlers. It doesn’t have to be the best possible match for the championships involved. It doesn’t have to be properly built up (though I wish it was. How did you have two weeks to prepare for Britt Baker in Pittsburgh but two days for Okada and Danielson?)
I sometimes think back to December 30, 2020 when AEW Dynamite hosted “A Celebration Of Mr. Brodie Lee’s Life” which was less about storylines and more about having wrestlers pay tribute to Brodie Lee by having great matches. Everything on that show was pretty good, but the Adam Page and Dark Order versus Inner Circle trios match is one of the best trios matches in the company history.
Nothing that night pushed storylines further. Nothing that night factored into the following week or weeks after. MJF and Adam Page have yet to step into a ring against each other since that match. It was one night of something special. Something for the fans.
Next week all the questions will still have to be answered. Next week we can ask if AEW is rushing the Jon Moxley program with Danielson. Next week we can ask if AEW has dropped the Konosuke Takeshita build up to Okada for the Continental Championship or not. Next week we can ask how Darby Allin gets revenge for losing a Championship title shot. Next week we can ask if Danielson wrestling two heel champions as AEW Men’s World Champion indicates a lack of credible heels in AEW for him to face. Next week we can ask if AEW is doing enough with Hangman, doing enough with Swerve, doing enough with the midcard, doing enough to build opponents for Mariah May, doing anything with Mercedes Moné, doing enough to rebuild the tag division, preparing for their future, transitioning out their past, and developing storylines with enough heat to get you to pay for the Pay Per Views. Or Pay for MAX if that’s the future.
We got time for all of those questions. Next week. Wednesday night? It’s a celebration.
