Finding purpose
Finding purpose
We all have to figure out what motivates us. A number of AEW wrestlers were working on that this week.
Pac was a lost and wandering soul.
On last night’s AEW Dynamite, the wrestler known as “the Bastard” grabbed the microphone to discuss the actions of the Blackpool Combat Club, a hard hitting faction that just loves to fight.
The actions in question: they turned on the beloved Bryan Danielson this past weekend after his successful title defense at the company’s All Out show.
Pac was going to explain this dastardly betrayal, right?
Well, kind of. The newest member of BCC, he explained why he likes hanging out with some fight boys and Marina Shafir (fight girl?). Where he was lost, Pac now is found, hanging out with this crew of rugged individuals.
We still don’t really know what the Blackpool Combat Club is up to with their recent run of chaos and violence. For now, they're mostly running around buildings beating people up. There seems to be some notion that it's for the greater good and, like in so many villain origin stories, it seems misguided from the start.
Pac found his purpose in All Elite Wrestling now that he has his running buddies. He’s not alone in showing a renewed purpose, and this week’s Dynamite laid out the sense of direction for a number of wrestlers as things move forward.
In today’s Kanefabe newsletter:
On the heels of two of its biggest shows, AEW gave us some ideas on where things are headed in terms of a number of characters and stories. Let’s take a look.
War
Diplomacy had a tough night on Wednesday. The BCC spent the night saying that it doesn’t work, then beating people up because diplomacy’s ineffectiveness makes them so mad.
To what end did diplomacy not work? Not sure! It's something about AEW and its success as a company. At least I think that's what it is. It seems like they have some kind of issue with the company culture.
Who among us can’t relate to seeking change to the dynamics in our workplace? Other than football locker rooms, however, I'm not sure any of us can relate to the impulse to beat people up and yell that it's time to declare war for the betterment of the company. But I don't know what your job looks like, so maybe I'm wrong.
If there are other workplaces where people act this way to advocate for different company culture, it presumably is not followed by people pretending to fight in their underwear. But again, I don't know what your job looks like.
Glory
Ricochet is a professional wrestler who has been familiar to fans for many years now. He is a truly absurd athlete who can pull off some of the craziest flips and leaps that you might see anywhere, and he does so in the context of wrestling matches.
By way of introduction, one of his most famous moments was in a non-wrestling segment.
Ricochet recently switched over from WWE to AEW. Both companies have their strengths, but I think AEW will end up being the perfect place for Ricochet.
There is great in-ring action to be found in both companies, but AEW emphasizes that side of the equation more. It also lets wrestlers perform with a certain intense and hard-hitting style, maxing out more than you typically see in WWE matches.
I think that opportunity might lead to glory for Ricochet that was never quite available to him in his previous gig. In terms of his presentation on screen Wednesday night, it sure looked like he's a new man because of that opportunity.
Revenge
Everyone's favorite unhinged cowboy is not done seeking revenge. In storyline, Hangman Adam Page burned down the childhood home of his hated rival, Swerve Strickland. He did so on live television in one of those absurd and entertaining wrestling segments that force a little extra suspension of disbelief.
Think of all the questions that come to mind. Did nobody call the police? Did Hangman hire a camera crew to film him committing a bunch of crimes? Is this type of behavior covered in the AEW Employee Handbook?
That act of arson was the lead-up to a vicious, uncomfortable steel cage match between Hangman and Swerve this past Sunday. There's a certain genre of wrestling I look away from, and these two have gone down that road multiple times despite being two of my favorites. So, let's just say that I skipped to the finish when Hangman grabbed a hypothermic needle and pointed it at Swerve's mouth. Hangman won.
With Swerve defeated, Hangman isn't done seeking revenge. Now he's out for anyone who "got in his way" when he was trying to get to his foe. More and more unhinged, this guy, but hopefully leading to a redemption story for AEW's main character when he finally pulls himself out of the spiral.
Hangman is such a great storyteller, and there were already teases on Wednesday night that he recognizes that hollow results of his obsession with revenge. Even if he did also say that he would burn down 1,000 houses if he learned that Swerve owned 1,000 houses.
In the meantime, we get to see a great mustache.
Money
Pro wrestling isn't for everybody. I get that. I understand if people want to skip my posts about wrestling.
I also think many people who don't watch wrestling would enjoy some of the best video clips of any given show or week. They would appreciate some of the wrinkles and long-term stories. If nothing else, they can join in the game of offering up a wild sentence with no context, allowing us all to enjoy the silliness before unfolding some of the supporting details.
Here's one of those sentences: Chris Jericho arrived at last night's AEW Dynamite, in his Bentley, wearing a $7,000 jacket that has four-year-old orange juice stains on it.
We can all relate to money as a core purpose, even if some of us wish it wasn't so. Athletes hold out for more money. Workers in every industry advocate for wage increases or seek jobs with better pay. Voters in the United States, nearly of half of them, vote for a hopelessly stupid felon for president because he's "better on the economy."
Anyway, Jericho demanded his $7,000 that he believed that Orange Cassidy owed him. Orange paid up.
File this clip away under "why wrestling is awesome."
The point is this: money as a sense of purpose is relatable. But seeking reimbursement because your colleague dumped orange juice on a fancy jacket four years ago? That's less relatable, although I don't know what your job looks like, so maybe I'm wrong.
