I try to remain positive in my work. I know you have a lot of choices out there on the internets, and I think I offer a unique voice in that I'm not out here writing hit pieces on WWE or AEW.
I love wrestling! It's fun to watch, a blast to attend live performances, and I really like writing about the subject. There are so many styles and promotions out there that I think there's bound to be something for everybody, you just gotta find what suits you.
That's all to say that I just can't understand the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament at all. I love that we're all saying Owen's name so much, an older fans (like me) are remembering some of our favorite stories and matches from the man. I'm happy that Hart's wife, Dr. Martha Hart, was able to create a foundation in memory of her late husband, and that she was able to work with a company full of talent that got into the business because of the inspiration Owen Hart provided to so many. I thought AEW showed her a lot of respect, from the talent to management to the fans.
If we separate the sentiment and the respect for the foundation itself, if we take the "Owen" out of the tournament and focus on the tournament itself, it's a little easier to be critical without seeming overly monstrous. I'm sure their heart was in the right place, I just wonder what AEW was trying to accomplish in the end.
The booking of the men's tournament was, largely, fine. Adam Cole has been in a weird position since his feud with Hangman Adam Page ended in February. That's not a terribly long time to be between storylines, especially with all the new performers that have been added to the roster since then. Keith Lee, Swerve Scott, William Regal, Buddy Matthews, Jeff Hardy, and Toni Storm are all pretty big names, and have all had parts to play on Dynamite programming.
Adam Cole is a really popular former WWE guy, so it does kinda feel like he's got to be featured a little more, and his connection with the Young Bucks and Bullet Club seem to guarantee that AEW will always be able to insert him into any storylines involving those groups. But I also understand that the Owen Tournament is a nice way to give him a championship-style victory at a big show, even if it's not an actual championship title.
The women's side of the bracket is where I have concerns. I'm a big fan of women's wrestling, I think I have been for as long as there have been women to cheer for on the WWE roster. Chyna, Jackie, Ivory, Jazz, AJ Lee, Paige and Beth Phoenix were some of my favorites as a younger guy, and I've always made a point to stick around for new talent and give them a chance, at the very least.
The point of the tournament, I believe, was to enhance the talent that could use a little bump, and to use the feel-good nostalgia vibes of the tournament to do it. AEW seemed alright with using existing storylines and just kind of melting them into the brackets - you had Jay Lethal and the RoH TV title in the men's side, and Jamie Hayter's tension with Britt Baker on the women's.
Even if Cole was surely a big name, he's eaten quite a few losses recently and this might turn his trajectory upward. Any number of the women in the tournament, excepting one, could have used the boost. Toni Storm, Kris Statlander, Ruby Soho, even Jamie Hayter could have benefitted from the win, and some interesting stories could have come from it.
Britt Baker doesn't need any of this. She's perpetually over, even as the baddest of bad guys. She's getting cheered and the crowd does the DMD chant along with her. She won't gain anything from the victory in the tournament because she can't; Baker is at the highest position AEW has for a woman in their company. Higher than Jade Cargill and the TBS championship, higher than Thunder Rosa and the Women's World Championship.
I hope I'm wrong! I hope they have a plan and the stories that come from Cole and Baker winning the tournament and becoming AEW's IT couple are great and compelling. Maybe Jamie Hayter is offended that Britt won by nefarious means. Maybe Cole and Baker become the hub for a series of intergender tag matches. WHO'S TO SAY?
If there's one thing I've learned, it's that booking stories is hard. My record in both Journey of Wrestling and any version of GM mode in WWE games reflects this.
But I'm also skeptical. The company has built one, maybe two real stars on their own in the women's division - Britt Baker and Jade Cargill. Ruby, Toni, and Kris are all right on the precipice, I believe, and now there's going to have to be some other means of strapping a rocket to someone's back. The tournament was an "easy win" for AEW's women's division and, unfortunately, it sure looked like Baker didn't have any problem winning it.
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