On this past week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, fans witnessed one of the most brutal moments in the company’s history. I am sure true wrestling fans have seen way worse, but was this the most graphic, spot-on, live-television moment that the wrestling world has ever seen?
The moment happened during a World Championship street fight between Jon Moxley and challenger Cope (formerly known as Edge in WWE). It was a scene that most wouldn’t see unless they went on to YouTube to search for death matches or backyard wrestling. The question we have to ask is, did AEW go too far on live TV?
AEW Pushing the Limits on Dynamite
As a WWE fan and a casual AEW viewer, I will go on record to say that if this happened in WWE, I would still say they went too far. I felt that I had to make that clear to the Internet wrestling community. The incident occurred when Cope grabbed a bat with very large nails protruding from it from underneath the ring.
Of course, Moxley and Cope threatened to use the weapon repeatedly against each other, building up the suspense. Cope was eventually able to suplex Moxley onto the spikes. What happened next was hard to watch. As Moxley looked to be in excruciating pain, the bat stuck in the back of the Champion.
As Moxley sat there, bat in his back, the referee tried to remove the object embedded into his skin. As the referee pulled on the bat, the skin stretched visibly, as if it were a scene from a horror movie. After what seemed like minutes and numerous tugs, they finally pulled the piercing bat from the skin of his back. Seeing something like that on live TV was not only shocking but also cringeworthy.
Where the Best Wrestle
AEW uses the moniker “This is where the best wrestle.” Moxley is undoubtedly a tough guy, given the number of death matches he has been in. Was this spot really necessary for cable television? Trust me, I grew up during the ECW days and used to love seeing them take it to the extreme! This may have gone a little too far. I get barbed wire, but nails? The fact that the referee could not easily remove the object was disgusting.
I’m not even saying don’t do the spot at all, but couldn’t it have waited for a Premium Live Event? AEW needs to have intriguing storylines to capture the audience’s attention. Whether people want to admit it or not, wrestling is about emotion and storytelling between the ropes. Sometimes, you need to show the brutality, but there is a time and place for it. It shouldn’t be used to increase ratings on a random Wednesday.
Final Thoughts
Again, I think there is a time and place for this kind of brutality. This moment should have been saved for a Premium Live Event. I believe Arn Anderson told a young Mick Foley to save the high-risk moves for the big paydays. Don’t risk it all for a small crowd. This definitely seemed like a ratings grab. It looks like the patients are running the asylum at AEW.
Doing stunts like this one, piercing skin using syringes, or using real glass seems unsafe and flat-out stupid. This is what Indy wrestlers do to grab attention online. Is AEW really stooping to that to get attention? They already have the TV time, so why not just produce a better product? Go watch the match yourself and give us your opinion!
