AEW Can't Afford To Overthink Wardlow's TNT Championship Chase
Double Or Nothing should have launched Wardlow into the stratosphere, but instead, AEW is dragging its feet in what should be a no-brainer push. He beat MJF, one of the biggest stars in the company, after powerbombing him 10 times on the May 29 pay-per-view, but it seems like there weren't clear-cut plans for him after that feud ended. He's been mired in a few comedy skits and matches since then, which seems like a waste of the momentum he had built leading up to and during his match with MJF.
Wardlow was brought along the right way by All Elite. Instead of trying to immediately capitalize on his size and look, he was booked to backup Friedman throughout his early days with the company. He showed character development during that time, however, frequently being reluctant to do his now-former boss' bidding. Breaking free of Friedman's control should have been a monster moment for The War Dog, but instead, he (along with everyone else in AEW) got lost in the shuffle after MJF's excellent pipe bomb promo and the aftermath.
Related: How AEW Can Make New All-Atlantic Championship Matter
On the June 15 episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite, Wardlow beat 20 security guards who represented all the men he'd taken out during the leadup to Double Or Nothing. It was an impressive show of strength and stamina—can you imagine trying to pick up 10 or 15 grown men multiple times in just a few minutes?—and got some laughs. The time for funny business is over, however. AEW has a future world champion on its hands if they build Wardlow right, and bogging him down in nonsense in the coming weeks could take the legs out from under him for the time being.
All Elite has developed a nasty habit of not capitalizing when wrestlers get over
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