Let’s talk Juice Robinson.
This isn’t one of those, “Wah this guy isn’t higher up on the card” pieces where I wag a finger at the booker for not fulfilling my own personal fantasy booking. Juice dealt with some injury issues, came back, and almost immediately the Bang Bang Gang lost their leader Jay White to injury. It likely derailed whatever plans they originally had for the Bullet Club Gold.
Instead this is an appreciation for Juice Robinson, and merely a suggestion to have him do more, and where more could absolutely be done.
Juice has essentially been doing what I like to call, “Entertaining Anywhere All The Time” where it doesn’t matter what spot you put Juice Robinson. He’s going to find a way to take your attention, bring a smile to your face, and keep you from thinking about changing the channel or hitting the fast forward button. It’s what Mark Briscoe was (well, what Mark Briscoe has been for 20+ years) before getting moved up to being an AEW TV regular. It’s what got The Outrunners from comedy jobber tag team to now getting wins on television.
Juice is a chaotic mad man, currently embracing the similarities of Macho Man Randy Savage in the early 1980s in appearance. Gyrating and shaking, Juice Robinson’s every second on television is a reminder that the 1990s dream of calm children on Ritalin failed. Juice is one of the best throwbacks to crazy cocaine fulled territory wrestling wild men.
The thing with Juice is I don’t think he needs drugs like the older generation. He just needs a camera light.
AEW seems currently focused on having the Bang Bang Gang to be exclusively in the Trios Division, as they had them work against The Dark Order in the All Out Zero Hour. I’ve recently written about how I feel like The Gunn’s could be better utilized in the Tag Team Division and I still feel that way.
I’m sure AEW might have the plan of having Bang Bang Gang try to compete for the Trios Championship again, against the recently fractured Blackpool Combat Club and PAC. It’s hard to say what ends up happening after the angle with Bryan Danielson and if Wheeler Yuta is still willing to align with the men who beat Danielson into a lifeless husk.
It would suggest there could be plans for them to get back to the top of the Trios Division and win the Trios Championship as the current holders have question marks. I just don’t know if that’s really what the company plans for them. That’s why I think it would be better if instead of working Trios they have them work singles and tags.
If Austin and Colton Gunn are back in the tag division, that means Juice Robinson needs a spot in working singles. There’s a few options they can go with.
TNT Championship
Jack Perry has only defended his TNT Championship twice so far since Forbidden Door in June. Once against Marko Stunt in July, and now once against Darby Allin at All In a few weeks back in August. The TNT Championship used to be defended weekly or bi-weekly on television and Jack Perry has been a bit lazy.
Juice Robinson would be a great challenger for Jack Perry, either on TV or in a proper program leading to a pay per view match. I don’t think he’s in the plans for AEW to win it, but it would still rise his stock to get a title program against the Scapegoat.
Juice and Jack have never wrestled each other either, which would make it a fresh program for AEW to do. You could slip in a Gunns versus Young Bucks match or a Trios in there as well against The Elite.
AEW International Championship
Will Ospreay and Juice Robinson have only wrestled had one singles match, in the G1 Climax 32 where Will Ospreay defeated Juice in 2022. They did take part in a NJPW United States Championship four way with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jon Moxley also in the match. Juice ended up taking it and the US Championship.
Ospreay seems to have his sights set on Ricochet right now but Juice would make a solid competitor to the International Championship on a weekly Dynamite, Rampage, or Collision episode. I’m not too high on this aside from the fact I want to see the match. I don’t think it would do much to raise his stock, aside from him proving he can hang with Will.
FTW Championship
Fresh matchup, but if Juice is wrestling Hook? He better be beating him, and unfortunately the FTW Championship when not in Hook’s hands just makes people say, “When is Hook getting the FTW Championship back?” instead of what the title holder will do with it. Best to leave this one be.
ROH World Championship
This is probably the least popular choice for others but not for me. Going to ROH essentially moves Juice down from AEW contention to ROH, but there’s one specific reason I want this:
Mark Briscoe versus Juice Robinson.
Two absolute wild men in AEW being absolute wild men against each other. I think that feud could be absolutely perfect. I just care about the matchup. And honestly? Juice could beat Mark Briscoe for the ROH World Championship. It might be good for him to hold the ROH World Championship before having him do more in an AEW singles division. I don’t think he’s too proud for it, and as we know, being a champion in ROH doesn’t keep you away from being on AEW TV. It also officially moves Briscoe out of Ring of Honor. There’s nothing left for him to do there.
I could discuss Juice against Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship or Bryan Danielson for the Men’s World Championship but I think both of those essentially fall into the same spot as Ospreay in the International. It’s just a weekly defence he probably loses. The TNT is a bit more on his level, and the ROH World Championship feels like a real possibility of giving Juice Robinson singles gold and a better spotlight in the company.
It’s tough to say what AEW does, as I wonder if they are waiting for Jay White to come back from injury to decide what Bang Bang Gang does next. Maybe they remember the great tag team match Jay and Juice had against FTR and maybe want them in the Tag Team Division over the Gunns? It’s possible, but I think both Jay White and Juice Robinson are better suited for singles competition.
Whatever they decide to do, I do think Juice Robinson needs to steal some spotlight in All Elite Wrestling, even if he has to do it through Ring of Honor. Entertaining Everywhere All The Time should earn you a push in today’s AEW.
