Interesting details revealed of a forgotten WWE SmackDown match with AEW's John Silver and Alex Reynolds
AEW has done a great job of showcasing talent from the indie circuit that often never get the chance to break through on a bigger platform. WWE has used several local competitors as enhancement talents, and while a handful of them get tryout offers and contracts, many end up going back to the indie grind.
For John Silver and Alex Reynolds, however, the arrival of AEW proved to be their moment of glory.
John Silver and Alex Reynolds wrestled a match on WWE SmackDown on September 10th, 2019, against Heavy Machinery. The match was a routine win for Otis and Tucker, but Silver and Reynolds - who are from Long Island, cherished the moment of wrestling at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
The Dark Order members spoke about their SmackDown appearance on the latest edition of the AEW Unrestricted podcast. Alex Reynolds said it was a memorable experience for them to wrestle in the WWE at that time. Reynolds and Silver had been in the business for a while, and they knew the drill.
"That was just wild. At that time, It was always cool doing extra work for WWE, but both of us had done it for so long that you know what to expect. You're going in. You're going to eat catering. Maybe you do something. Maybe you don't, whatever. It's just uncomfortable, but when they're like, 'Oh, it's at MSG.' It's like, 'Oh I want this one. We're not passing that one up,' and then earlier in the day, we kind of had matches beforehand, So John and I just wrestled each other."
Reynolds then revealed that the WWE officials told them about their scheduled match against Heavy Machinery. While there was a certain degree of nervousness, Reynolds found it remarkable that he would wrestle on a WWE SmackDown show at the same arena where he attended WrestleMania 20 several years ago.
"And they just pulled us both aside and were like, 'Hey, it's gonna be you guys vs. Heavy Machinery.' For Long Island guys, wrestling in Madison Square Garden, [it's a big deal]. It's wild, and the coolest moment for me was like, it's SmackDown, you're nervous, you want to make sure you're doing it right and I remember John kind of elbowed me while the ring was dark. And he's just like, 'This is pretty cool.' I looked around [and] looked where I was sitting at WrestleMania 20 [which was held at Madison Square Garden]. I was like, 'Yeah, this is pretty cool.' It was just a cool moment."
What happened after John Silver and Alex Reynolds' WWE SmackDown match?
John Silver noted that while they weren't offered a WWE contract, WWE did reach out to them regarding a tryout. The tryout offer, however, came after the duo signed with AEW.
It's also interesting to note that WWE SmackDown aired on Tuesday, and AEW contacted Reynolds and Silver on Thursday about working the Dynamite show in Philadelphia, which aired on September 16th.
Reynolds and Silver were also very close to going their separate ways before the SmackDown opportunity came knocking on their doors.
"At that point, we weren't even teaming together," Reynolds noted. "We had split up. We were already kind of like, all right, let's just do our own separate things, and then SmackDown happened. And I remember just being like, 'Aw man, we've done a lot of cool stuff together. All right, that's cool.' Then two days later, it's like, 'Oh, yeah, we want you and John for Dynamite in Philly.' It's like, should we just ride it? All right, guess we're teaming together." H/t WrestlingInc
Alex Reynolds and John Silver have thrived as members of the Dark Order, and their work has also enhanced the entertainment value of BTE.