As this years comes to an end, fans are looking back on the year of wrestling. It’s mainly been a positive year, as all companies continue to step up their games – or remain steady. AEW has really grown over the past year, adding a third hour to TV and setting up for a move to an even bigger network in TBS. They’ve had some truly great matches and stories told… but also one major stinker that stands out like a sore thumb, with American Top Team vs. The Inner Circle.
Having MMA Fighters On AEW Programming Didn’t Move The Needle
This feud saw Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana & Ortiz enter a rivalry with Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page and the fighters of Dan Lamberts ‘American Top Team’. Getting some big name MMA fighters on Dynamite and PPV felt cool, but did little to boost ratings – showing there isn’t much crossover appeal between MMA and pro wrestling.
Their match at Full Gear was a fun weapon based match, but came shortly after one of the best examples of that match type in history. Jurassic Express & Christian Cage winning out over The Superkliq in a truly violent affair was one of the best matches of the night, making Inner Circle vs. ATT seem like a very weak match by comparison. Since then, AEW has taken a step back – just keeping Dan Lambert with Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky.
Chris Jericho Wanted To Disband His AEW Faction
Making this even worse, is that Chris Jericho wanted The Inner Circle to disband after finishing up their story arc against The Pinnacle. Jericho said the following back in September.
“My idea was for us to respectfully disband and go on our own ways, but Tony didn’t want to do that. He said, ‘Why would you want to disband? You don’t have to be together all the time, but you’re still The Inner Circle.’ After this year, the whole storyline was based around MJF wanting to join the Inner Circle, Wardlow is in the Inner Circle, The Pinnacle, five-on-five, and that sort of thing.
It was a well-told year-long story with the five of us. It’s good for us to go our own ways and not be in each other’s business every week — It’s good that we’re still aligned. Like I said, for me, I thought it was a good time for us to go our own way, but we can still do that without officially disbanding the band…breaking up the band.”
Halting Any Momentum That Sammy Guevara Had As TNT Champion
The biggest victim of the pointless feud with American Top Team was Sammy Guevara. It took the focus for the bulk of his reign as TNT Champion, leading that to be one of the weakest reigns in the belts history – despite solid matches with Bobby Fish & Ethan Page.
His reign came a halt last night on Rampage, with Cody Rhodes getting the win in dominant fashion – likely to help rehab this championship. Santana & Ortiz likewise suffered with a lack of focus after they were being built up with wins on Dark, but are back on track as they have buddied up with Eddie Kingston. Jake Hager has vanished from TV, and Chris Jericho was written off by an attack from 2point0 and Daniel Garcia.
Should Tony Khan have let Inner Circle split up instead of pushing the American Top Team feud? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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