The Post’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the world of professional wrestling in his weekly column, Post Match Angle.
AEW rightfully didn’t give in to the Harley Cameron temptation. Now, it’s up to them to make it pay off.
Some in the pro wrestling community were calling for the budding star Cameron to win the TBS championship from Mercedes Moné at Grand Slam in the challenger’s home country of Australia on Saturday.
AEW did the right thing by having Moné beat Cameron clean in the middle of the ring, but it was not without difficulty. Afterward, AEW should feel even more encouraged about the Aussie’s future.
Here’s why.
For starters, a babyface is at his or her best during the chase for a championship — and Cameron is one of their hottest right now. Fans are just starting to get invested in the super-talented and relatable Cameron, who has just one win in the company.
There is no reason to cut the chase short when you can build an audience’s investment in a wrestler from wanting to see them win to absolutely needing it to happen with all their collective soul, which takes time. Look at what WWE did with Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes and now Jey Uso. TNA did it recently with Joe Hendry.
Maybe Cameron will be ready by All In this summer or World’s End to close the year.
Moné is one of your biggest and most recognizable stars. Having her lose on a taped show from Australia at 11:30 p.m. Saturday is not good business.
Get the story to the point at which people want to pay to see Cameron beat her to become the TBS champion.
Cameron, a talented singer, guitarist and ventriloquist, only began wrestling in 2021. Let her in-ring work catch up to her entertainment skills a bit more. Champions should ideally be able to lead matches, but Cameron proved she can listen to a veteran in Moné and have a pretty darn good match. Moné’s ability to help get talent over makes her invaluable to companies.
However, AEW should be very, very encouraged by Cameron’s performance. She got over some early jitters when things didn’t look smooth to really settle in. Cameron had the crowd after the awesome shot of her and the previously punted Mini Moné puppet popping up from the outside of the ring.
After the loss, she gave the babyface promo for social media — though I would have waited her to do it live on Dynamite — assuring fans this is just the beginning. This stuff seems to come easier for her.
Cameron is a reminder that entertainment value and story will connect you to an audience faster than any five-star match.
She has a tone going for her now — including a strong catchphrase and a puppet (and future ones) AEW should sell. Look at Lilly in WWE.
Now, it’s on Cameron to continue to seize the opportunity and on AEW not to waste the time it bought. Let’s see just how big they can grow Cameron’s star.
Bully Tactics
Outside of the fact that Gunther and Jey Uso had one of their probably nine brawlspullaparts on the road to WrestleMania because we know how much Triple H loves them, the World Heavyweight champion showcases why he can be such a unique promo.
Gunther’s ability to mock and belittle people may have no equal, which is exactly what he did as he recreated Jey Uso’s entrance through the crowd.
He then took things to an even nastier and more interactive level, basically daring the lovable Pat McAfree to risk bodily harm when he asked him if he thought Uso could beat him at WrestleMania.
It was just an effectively planned promo to build heat that few could deliver as well and as believably as Gunther.
The Ten Count
The loss to Seth Rolins in a fantastic Raw main event really should be it for Finn Balor in The Judgment Day. The group needs a jump start and he needs a fresh start. Maybe it’s Aleister. Maybe it’s Karrion Kross.
AEW absolutely stuck the landing on the “Timeless” Toni Storm and Mariah May feud — which will go down as one of the company’s best ever. Having Storm win with the roll-up she was using to beat people while playing her “rookie” rocker self was the chief’s kiss.
The powder keg moment for the Hangman-MJF feud didn’t disappoint. The intensity met the moment of two of the strongest personalities in AEW hating each other. The fact that they have had just one singles match from 2019 is mind-blowing. Does tangling with MJF soften Hangman’s character at all as fans will easily want to embrace him?
Solo Sikoa versus Jacobs Fatu could elevate both at WrestleMania 41 if they turn one babyface. Sikoa actually trying to help Fatu qualify for the Elimination Chamber feels like something Roman Reigns would have never done for a family member. Thought Sikoa also cut a very good promo telling Fatu he loves him.
I know Jon Moxley is obsessed with keeping the AEW World championship under wraps in his briefcase, but Adam Copeland threatening to potentially smash it open doesn’t feel like enough of a threat for Moxley to give him the match at Revolution. Moxley choking him out to win at Grand Slam also felt odd as it’s unlikely Copeland will become champion.
WWE surprising its Hall of Fame inductees, as it did Triple H and Michelle McCool, gives it the feel of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and adds some extra meaning and humanity to the process.
Would it be more effective if the Street Profits did less yelling in their promos and took the cold Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ approach instead?
Ethan Page and Je’Von Evans’ match at Vengeance Day really stood out for me. It was perfectly laid out. Evans was bouncing and flying all over the place early, getting his revenge on Page for injuring him. Then, Page turned the momentum by going after Evans’ legs and won by countering his finisher with a perfectly placed elbow to the jaw he had seriously injured in storyline — as if knowing he could just do it at any time.
TNA doing a variation of life-imitating art from when Tessa Blanchard was originally fired as she is refusing to wrestle in her storyline because she believed the competition is below her. I’d expect an NXT opponent for her mandatory match this week after Santino showed up at Vengeance Day.
Extra: All the chatter about the smaller, rented ring for AEW Grand Slam is a waste of breath, isn’t it?
Wrestler of the Week
Stephanie Vaquer, NXT
Vaquer dreamed of working in WWE, and just four months into her tenure, she has her first title after defeating Fallon Henley to become the NXT Women’s North American champion at Vengeance Day. Vaquer has all the tools to be a star for a long time. She can be smooth and athletic at one point in the ring and deliver believable violence the next. That was certainly on display Saturday.
Social Media Post of the Week
Match to Watch
Bianca Belair and Naomi (c.) vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan for the WWE Women’s tag team championship on Raw (Monday, 8 p.m., Netflix)
If you think Rodriguez and Morgan were the ones who attacked Jade Cargill, you haven’t been watching wrestling very long. My money is still on Belair. She and Naomi showed up at Raw to confront the suspected attacker in cheerleading outfits straight out of “Bring It On.” Hopefully, this match brings us closer to the truth and continues a string of excellent women’s tags
