AEW Fight for the Fallen - 7/15/20

**Evil Vito** · 07-17-2020, 10:46 AM

Thinking about the finish some more RE: them painting themselves into a corner.

It felt like the storyline had been written backwards.

The FTW belt shouldn't have just been a vanity belt introduced for no reason - it should have been brought in after a screwy finish to Moxley vs. Cage. Cage effectively saying that the champ couldn't really beat him, so the FTW title is his way of saying that he's the deserving champion, and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.

That way you get Moxley able to move on to the next challenger, while giving Cage and Taz reason to stay in his rear-view mirror for a future rematch. At the moment, it's a one and done.

Moxley and Cody's programs have followed the same type of pattern where it feels like they're booking like Jerry Lawler in Memphis fighting a revolving door of heels who will move to another territory after. But Cage/Archer/Brodie/Hager are all under contract and not going anywhere. Yet they all struck out in their first opportunity (and in Hager's case, his first opportunity at two separate belts).

At least they sent Cage straight into his next program with Darby so that's an improvement from the others, but still. For as much as I enjoy AEW they still haven't yet mastered booking a longer-term program between two wrestlers.

07-17-2020, 10:46 AM	#36
Evil Vito President of Freedonia Posts: 58,383	Thinking about the finish some more RE: them painting themselves into a corner. It felt like the storyline had been written backwards. The FTW belt shouldn't have just been a vanity belt introduced for no reason - it should have been brought in after a screwy finish to Moxley vs. Cage. Cage effectively saying that the champ couldn't really beat him, so the FTW title is his way of saying that he's the deserving champion, and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise. That way you get Moxley able to move on to the next challenger, while giving Cage and Taz reason to stay in his rear-view mirror for a future rematch. At the moment, it's a one and done. Moxley and Cody's programs have followed the same type of pattern where it feels like they're booking like Jerry Lawler in Memphis fighting a revolving door of heels who will move to another territory after. But Cage/Archer/Brodie/Hager are all under contract and not going anywhere. Yet they all struck out in their first opportunity (and in Hager's case, his first opportunity at two separate belts). At least they sent Cage straight into his next program with Darby so that's an improvement from the others, but still. For as much as I enjoy AEW they still haven't yet mastered booking a longer-term program between two wrestlers.