Have AEW promos gotten too over the top?
In AEW, it appears that the old adage is true: sticks and stones may break your bones, but a promo will never hurt you.
That's what it sounded like on AEW Dynamite this week when Christian Cage took hold of the microphone. He and recently-turned partner Luchasaurus were in the ring in an attempt to explain their actions towards Jungle Boy.
That's when they were confronted by a very upset Matt Hardy. What followed was several minutes of some of the most explosive barbs you will ever hear.
Cage tore into Hardy and wasted no time in targeting his brother's real-life battles with substance addiction. This was followed by mentions of The Broken One's family, including his wife and kids. He even referred to Jeff Hardy as Matt's "loser brother," as members of the audience either booed or just sat there in horror.
Here’s Christian Cage crossing the boundary with Matt Hardy #AEWDynamite https://t.co/QUBa7iypS2
All this might be shocking if it hadn't become so commonplace in AEW over the past few years. While they've always been known to push the envelope, it seems like in recent weeks they have basically ripped it open.
AEW has shown that they are the home of the 'worked-shoot' promo
The All Elite Wrestling roster is filled with some of the best talkers in professional wrestling today. Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley are just a few of AEW's calculating communicators.
And then there's MJF.
Perhaps no one has more vile verbalization than The Salt of the Earth. Known for living his gimmick and being a heel 24 hours a day, Maxwell Jacob Friedman is a one-of-a-kind mic man. He holds nothing back and extends his interviews far beyond the ring and into real life.
We're not that far removed from the night when MJF 'walked out' of the promotion after tearing into his fellow wrestlers, fans and especially AEW owner Tony Khan. His airing of grievances was uncomfortably honest.
Still the greatest promo of 2022 ! We miss @The_MJF badly 😭❤ https://t.co/6RarrfBsaL
There's no doubt these callouts have been effective; they certainly have social media buzzing the next day. But one has to wonder how far is too far. Has the blurring of reality just flat out gotten too real?
First off, let's get down to the fact that we all know this is wrestling.
Nothing goes on without everyone (hopefully) knowing ahead of time. At the end of the day, these people are co-workers, and they're not going for the jugalar without discussing it first. Also, it's obvious that Khan is fine with all of it, otherwise it wouldn't make the airwaves.
Likewise, the people at WarnerMedia also appear to be fine with the language, provided it doesn't violate any of their internal policies. But that's not really the question here.
Professional wrestling is an industry made up of tough people. It also has a rabid fanbase who respects any performer who stands on the edge - whether it be physically or verbally. We've been missing that dose of 'extreme' for a while now.
The promo talent in AEW right now…
🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/YpjkozIVWJ
Having said that? You wonder where stuff like this is all headed.
If you have Christian making fun of Jeff Hardy's addiction and Jungle Boy's deceased father, is that too much? If MJF makes awful remarks about Brian Pillman's mother - whether they are part of the script or not - is that taking trolling to a terrible level?
For most fans, the answer is no. They realize that wrestling is no different than watching a movie or reading a graphic novel. In that instance, the bad guys are supposed to be REALLY bad, and we don't really think about it. It's all wrapped up in around two hours, and we don't have much emotional attachment beyond that.
However, there's a certain percentage of the fanbase who will be offended, and those people spend money, too. As a three-year old promotion, AEW doesn't want to lose them. They can't afford to if they want to continue building and not go backwards.
Going forward, AEW will have to balance that fine line between good entertainment and good taste. Otherwise, the only 'shoot' will be them.. shooting themselves in the foot.