Nobody expected AEW to become Planet Jarrett, right?
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00From utterly ridiculous gimmicks that seemingly had to hit a ceiling down the road, to returning
00:06legends that had to try and meet some pretty high expectations.
00:10These are those times AEW and its gifted stars eventually smashed it in a way many initially
00:16didn't imagine was possible.
00:17Gareth here from WhatCulture Wrestling and here are 10 AEW success stories absolutely
00:23nobody saw coming.
00:2410.
00:25The Acclaimed When the clearly charismatic twosome known
00:28as Anthony Bowens and Max Caster were officially made All Elite back in November 2020, the
00:34team were joining an absolutely stacked AEW tag division.
00:38And while their first big Dynamite bout opposite company EVPs The Young Bucks was a promising
00:43start, it did still feel like the units were a while away from sitting as two of the faces
00:48of the company.
00:49But fast forward just under two years, the scissoring lads were AEW World Tag Team Champions
00:54and arguably the most popular group in the industry at the time of Grand Slam 2022.
01:00The adding of daddy-ass Billy Gunn to the mix has also grown into another unexpected
01:05success.
01:06With the trio displaying a level of chemistry and ability to explode a crowd, few currently
01:10plying their trade in the land of All Elite can match.
01:13Yet it's the sheer speed in which they've grown into one of the most important parts
01:17of the AEW party that has caught many pleasantly off guard.
01:219.
01:22Samoa Joe Samoa Joe's eventual arrival in AEW wasn't
01:26quite as well-received as it perhaps would have been had it gone down at the time of
01:30the company's creation.
01:31Despite being one of the most respected and intimidating souls ever to grace a squared
01:36circle, the Samoan submission machine just wasn't quite clicking in the way he once
01:40did as a bona fide killer in between the ropes.
01:43In truth, it looked as though Joe's best days as an in-ring performer were behind him.
01:47But then the former TNA and Ring of Honor World Champion dethroned Wardlow at Full Gear
01:512022 and kickstarted a shockingly fun run that nobody really saw coming heading into
01:57that November pay-per-view.
01:59Vicious battles with Darby Allin and his aforementioned longtime horse rival cemented Joe's reign
02:04as the undisputed king of television, holding both the TNT and Ring of Honor TV Championships
02:09as one of the greatest unanticipated AEW success stories of recent times.
02:14And with the big lad now seemingly being lined up for a potential battle with another one
02:18of his historic rivals in the returning CM Punk, it looks as though a resurgent Joe could
02:23further prove his doubters wrong in the not-too-distant future.
02:278.
02:28The Dark Order After making their All Elite debuts at Double
02:31or Nothing 2019, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson would eventually join forces with the likes
02:35of John Silver and Alex Reynolds.
02:38However, instead of striking fear into the hearts of the roster and those watching on
02:42around the world, the Dark Order and their creepers unintentionally had fans giggling
02:46at the silly faction and their horrendous worked punches.
02:49A serious change was needed to salvage what was increasingly feeling like another failed
02:54All Elite project.
02:56And said adjustment finally arrived in March 2020, as Mr. Brodie Lee was ultimately revealed
03:01as the mysterious Exalted One, managing to combine the surreal humour that this collection
03:05of oddballs naturally exuded.
03:07With a genuine sense of dread as the terrifying Lee went about manipulating and bulldozing
03:12his way up the rankings, the Dark Order went from laughing stock to genuinely captivating
03:17and entertaining squad in a matter of months.
03:20And while the group haven't felt quite as consistently hot in the time since Brodie
03:23Lee's tragic passing in late 2020, the fact the Dark Order are still a thing after such
03:28a turbulent start is a surprising success in and of itself.
03:32What's been your favourite moment that made you want to join the Dark Order?
03:35Let me know in the comments down below, folks!
03:377. 2.0 If you'd ever had the pleasure of taking
03:41in an Ever Rise match or promo explosion during their days on NXT, you likely already knew
03:46that Matt Minard and Angelo Parker could be relied on for some hilarious shenanigans in
03:51the time before they made their All Elite debuts in August 2021.
03:55What did probably come as a bit of a surprise, though, was just how quickly the team were
03:59able to consistently wiggle their way onto AEW programming after said arrival.
04:03And not just that, the two actually ended up producing instant gold in matches against
04:08the likes of Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, Sting and Darby Allin within their first month as
04:13All Elite regulars.
04:14Surely that would be as good as it got for two comical jobbers who WWE clearly felt weren't
04:18worth investing in, right?
04:20But no, 2.0 followed up that surprisingly high-profile initial spell by joining forces
04:25with Chris Jericho and his Appreciation Society, with both effortlessly charismatic sports
04:30entertainers then proceeding to pop folks one minute with their hard nipples and ridiculous
04:35get-ups and putting it all on the line in Blood & Guts Wars the next.
04:39Simply put, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang have gone on to become one of the biggest
04:43unlikely hits in AEW history.
04:45After spending the majority of his career making a name for himself on the independent
04:51scene, it was starting to feel as though Eddie Kingston's chances of making a genuine splash
04:55on national television were slipping away.
04:57But then something magical happened on the night of July 22nd, 2020.
05:02Stepping up as TNT Champion Cody Rhodes' latest challenger, the Mad King unleashed
05:06promo fire before taking it to the American Nightmare.
05:09That no-disqualification brawl and unfiltered words on the mic gave many their first glimpse
05:14at the Raw anti-hero, and this fiery arrival was enough to convince Tony Khan to offer
05:19the independent veteran a contract.
05:21It was clear that Kingston had a powerful connection with the All Elite faithful from
05:24the get-go, but even the passionate badass' biggest supporters likely still had doubts
05:28whether the combustible Kingston could properly establish himself as a real player for TK's
05:33company.
05:34After challenging for AEW World Championship gold, warring with everyone from Bryan Danielson
05:38to CM Punk, and putting on a more recent masterpiece against long-time rival Claudio Castagnoli
05:43in Khan's revamped Ring of Honor, Kingston has more than earned the title of All Elite
05:48success story.
05:51After parting ways with WWE once again in August 2022, the TNA founder made his shocking
05:56AEW debut in November, aligning with Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sanjay Dutt after smashing
06:02Darby Allin in the head with a guitar, naturally.
06:05Initially Jeff Jarrett's arrival initially had many worried about the concept of the
06:08former NWA and TNA World Champion stealing the spotlight away from the likes of The Pillar
06:13he'd pulverised on his first night as an All Elite performer.
06:16However in the time since that impactful first appearance, a year, Jarrett has actually managed
06:21to carve out a routinely entertaining place for himself on the AEW product.
06:25Whether teaming alongside Lethal and the rest of the gang in glorious party tag bouts, or
06:29threatening to derail Orange Cassidy's run as AEW International Champion, The Last Outlaw
06:34is quite possibly in the middle of the most enjoyable spell of his career at this moment
06:38in time.
06:394.
06:40The House of Black During the latter half of 2022, it was looking
06:44like the once intriguing House of Black had ran its course in the land of All Elite.
06:48With Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews' AEW futures appeared uncertain, and the hit and
06:53miss faction in general hadn't been seen on the likes of Dynamite and Rampage for months
06:57in the wake of their Grand Slam fight with Darby Allin and Sting.
07:01But November finally saw the re-emergence of Black, Matthews, Brody King and Julia Hart,
07:05with the terrifying group targeting the Best Friends and The Factory during their crowd
07:09popping return.
07:10What once looked like the disappointing end ultimately grew into a new beginning for this
07:14corrupted unit, as the trio of lads went about unleashing glorious hell during their
07:19comeback performances in between the ropes, en route to lifting Trio's gold at Revolution
07:232023.
07:243.
07:25Orange Cassidy An apparent layabout ultimately becoming one
07:28of AEW's most popular and reliable stars in the coming years initially seemed rather unlikely
07:34back in 2019.
07:35Orange Cassidy's half-arsed mind games and sudden bursts of breathless offense were fun,
07:40sure.
07:41But did Orange Dick really fire freshly squeezed up the car to the point of being seen as a
07:44genuine force to be reckoned with in Tony Khan's promotion?
07:48The answer to that question has become increasingly clearer by the year, with OC more than holding
07:52his own in AEW World Championship programs, and even managing to turn the All-Atlantic
07:57turned International Championship into one of the most sought after prizes in the business.
08:02Even the aforementioned Le Champion openly admitted that he originally thought his eventual
08:06rival's gimmick sucked.
08:07But as with many of Cassidy's other doubters over the years, Jericho soon realised AEW
08:12were onto something with this laid back lad, and joined the rest of the world in getting
08:16behind a truly unique personality that keeps defying expectations with every passing year.
08:222.
08:23CM Punk Returns For a time, it looked as though the best in
08:26the world's days in the wrestling business were very much done.
08:29Punk's horrendous time as part of the WWE machine had left scars that had seemingly
08:33still not entirely healed.
08:35But even The Chip Magnet's appearances on WWE Backstage didn't feel as though they
08:39were paving the way for any real sort of in-ring comeback.
08:42Seeing Punk finally strut down a wrestling ramp and cut a promo in the middle of a ring
08:46for the first time in seven years then, was about as unbelievable and surreal a moment
08:50as it gets.
08:51But even that long-awaited AEW First Dance brought with it questions over whether Punk
08:55could deliver the sort of numbers needed to justify his no-doubt monster deal with TK's
09:00promotion.
09:01Could he also go with the best this modern generation had to offer after such a long
09:04time away from the spotlight?
09:06Within one of the most captivating years in modern wrestling history, Punk answered all
09:10of the above with death performances inside of the squared circle and out of it, along
09:14with leading the company to some of its most successful ratings and pay-per-view numbers
09:18to date.
09:19Punk didn't just match expectations and silence his few doubters, he massively helped
09:23take AEW to a level most didn't anticipate the company reaching within its first three
09:27years.
09:28And you wouldn't bet against the Brawlout participant doing the same thing again in
09:32the coming months.
09:331.
09:34All Elite Stadium in 2023 When AEW announced they'd be finally heading
09:37across the pond to treat European fans to the All Elite experience in London at some
09:42point in 2023, most anticipated the company putting on a super show within Fulham's
09:47Craven Cottage.
09:48After all, that stadium was the home ground of the football club owned by Khan's father.
09:52But in one of the biggest All Elite shocks of recent times, not only did TK opt to bring
09:57his promotion to Wembley instead of Fulham, he also decided to book the 90,000-seater
10:01stadium rather than the 12,500-seat arena.
10:05That looked like one hell of a gamble on paper.
10:07But within a matter of weeks of the upcoming second-ever All In tickets going on sale,
10:12not only had AEW utterly obliterated their attendance record, they'd actually managed
10:16to shift over 60,000 tickets before a single match was even announced for the massive show.
10:22Quite simply, what once looked like a gamble too far, is now shaping up to be one of the
10:26most important and smartest moves in All Elite history.
10:29And that's our list of any other AEW success stories absolutely nobody saw coming.
10:34Let us know all about them in the comment section right down below and don't forget
10:37to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're down there.
10:40I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Wrestling, thank you for tapping on this particular vid
10:44of AEW goodness today.
10:46Now go and click on some other WhatCulture gold and have yourself a jolly good day, bye
10:50bye!