The Heat and the Shine

The crowd was hot for Jack Swagger. That was the inescapable thought.  It was a thought that said it all. His given name is Donald Jacob Hager.  He goes by Jake now.  He is almost the prototype -- tall, young (by modern pro wrestling standards), athletic, attractive.  He is a former WWE Champion. His WWE title reign lasted fourteen weeks, then the ripcord was pulled.  His run was ten years ago.  He's had several wrestling reincarnations, and he's 2-0 in Bellator. Why go nuts for Jake Hager? The fundamental reason is the same reason AEW exists: wrestling fans hate WWE.  As they see it, fifteen years of their fandom was stolen by Vince McMahon.  Vince offered an ambitiously produced product whose meat was overcooked.  It has been the ultimate frustration: loyally watching a show in the hopes it gets better, and it never does. The appearance of Hager, like the appearance of fellow former WWE midcarder Dean Ambrose before him, was the crowd's chance to give a middl

"You see all these churches?" the wise man observed, on a Memphis to Little Rock road trip a dozen years ago, "They were all started by the same guy...  Some guy who thought every other church sucked." And so we have All Elite Wrestling.  The promotion that began because a wrestling scion, two dreamers from the California desert, and the son of a car bumper magnate thought that every other promotion sucked. WWE, suck?  Who can count the ways?  From Vince's whims to PG to scripted promos, everybody has a complaint. New Japan?  Too afraid, I'm afraid. ROH?  Too thrifty.  No vision.  Too fat, dumb, and happy with their lot in life. PWG?  What could have been...  Maybe if Danny were born with Cody's ambition, it would have happened.  There is honor in being the template; just not much money. And does Impact still exist...? Impact, it could be argued, is AEW's greatest inspiration.  It had so much potential...  if only it didn't suck.  

Names matter, and the name "All Elite Wrestling" matters a lot.  The promotion authored by Cody & the Young Bucks and owned by Shad Khan's son will be Elite, or it will die trying. The term "Shad Khan's son" is hardly music to the money man behind All Elite, Tony Khan.  Sons of successful entrepreneurs rarely enjoy discussion of the fact that their dads made a lot of money.  There is a perception that being such a son comes with inherent advantages.  Vince McMahon says that Shane had to work twice as hard to reach his position, but many fans and journalists simply don't believe it.  Dynasties like the McMahons of wrestling or Rooneys of football are spotlighted.  Cases where the family business is not handed down -- the Denver Broncos' present ownership drama, for example -- are ignored. Shad Khan is relevant to AEW because he is a remarkable man, with a remarkably American success story.  He emigrated from Pakistan, and simply decided to