I've written a lot the past few years since Will Ospreay's arrival to All Elite Wrestling that he should be spotlighted as the franchise guy of the organization, very similar to the same way that AJ Styles was the franchise player for Total Nonstop Action in the early days of the promotion. Ospreay should be the wrestler the represents the All Elite brand, specifically because he's such a graceful high flyer, much the same way that AJ was during his in-ring career, that the British grappler can be the personification of AEW's strong points. The Will Ospreay presentation should be the main selling point of the overall package of All Elite Wrestling.
Granted, some will say that the die has been cast in terms of what AEW is or isn't so the ceiling is already set as far as much how of an audience that the company will garner at any given time, but that's a different discussion.
The point is, Ospreay's coronation as the champion at Wembley Stadium in London, dethroning Kenny Omega for the AEW world title, was a key moment in All Elite history. Despite the laundry list of serious injuries, including a life-threatening bout with diverticulitis, Omega proved with his recent string of bouts that he can still go at a tremendously high level bell-to-bell. That being said, there's no doubt that his career will ultimately be cut short because of the risky style that brought him notoriety more than a decade again. It should theoretically be a cautionary tale for Ospreay as the torch was passed, but I doubt that it's something that the new champion will take into account. Omega burned the candle at both ends with the risky bumps and high impact style, which brought him an international reputation, leading to the best contract of his career working for Tony Khan. The trade off for that was that it was going to take a significant toll on his body at a relatively younger age. Everyone pays the piper.
That's why it's so important for All Elite Wrestling that Will Ospreay has a very strong title reign to cement him as a true focal point of the organization, emphasizing his skills as much as possible so that he can excel in the position as the top guy. Omega's career isn't over, but even at 42, there's no doubt that he's going to be in a more secondary role going forward. Tony Khan isn't going to be able to play the Omega card in an effort to boost numbers nearly as much in the future as he did in the past. Ospreay is younger and healthier, at least for now, than Omega so it's his time to be the flag bearer for All Elite.
Obviously, Will Ospreay can't wrestle himself so he will need solid opponents and compelling storylines to maximize his potential as a draw for the promotion.
This is where things can get more complicated since Tony Khan is a matchmaker, not a booker. That isn't to say that he hasn't done anything right, since Wembley's attendance is proof that he did, but rather to point out that it's much easier to pair great wrestlers together to have a great match than it is to construct a storyline that is intriguing enough to invoke an emotional investment from the audience. The combination of the amount of pro wrestling content available in the modern era and the current economy makes that a tougher task than it was in the past.
That's why Khan's decision to book Ospreay against Jon Moxley in his first title defense at this weekend's All Out pay-per-view is somewhat puzzling.
The entire storyline with Ospreay randomly joining the Death Riders after the stable previous injured him in an effort to get ready for the biggest match of his career in his hometown was odd and convoluted. The baby face trying to win the world championship in his hometown shouldn't need extra motivation since the admirable pursuit of greatness is enough of a baby face trait. If that is the basis for this title match at All Out this weekend, the logic or lack thereof is shaky at best.
The much more questionable portion of this match-up, particularly when it comes to trying to sell the pay-per-view to the viewing audience at the traditional $50 price tag is, does anyone want to see Moxley back in the title picture? Is the prospect of Moxley as the champion again something that the fans will want to pay to watch? Yes, I understand that this is and should be the first of numerous title defenses on pay-per-view for Ospreay, but the entire point of booking a title match on pay-per-view is the possibility of the title changing hands.
The original Death Riders storyline and Moxley's title run during it was illogical drek that didn't have a point and dragged on way too long. It soured a portion of the audience on the concept of Moxley as champion, and given that he had several title reigns already, there's no reason for him to be in the main event picture. If you want to know how effective Moxley's heel run was, consider where Adam Page is now after beating Moxley was supposed to push him back to the top of the card. There was a time when Jon Moxley was the MVP of AEW, carrying the title picture on his back when a series of injuries put some of the main event scene on the shelf, but that was years ago, and as I've discussed since Page beat him for the championship at All In Texas last year, Moxley is overexposed to the audience. The notion of "Moxley fatigue" is a legitimate criticism so again, I'm not sure him challenging for the AEW title sells All Out.
As we know, the WWE is running When Worlds Collide in the same city of Chicago on the same day of the pay-per-view, with a stacked line-up, including an appearance from Oba Femi, and CM Punk in his hometown as a part of the six man tag main event. The Lucha Brothers are also scheduled for a tag match. As of this writing, there's no announced plans to broadcast the event so it's essentially a house show, but there was some speculation that it could eventually surface on the newly-launched Club WWE service.
I understand that the WWE has such a massive portion of the market share, but when When Worlds Collide, a house show, has just over 11,000 tickets sold, and the All Out pay-per-view has just over 9,000 tickets sold, it really puts the scope of the industry into perspective. Chicago is a wrestling city, it has history that goes as far back of the DuMont Network with Wrestling at The Marigold in the 1950s so it's not surprising that the market can support two events on the same day, especially given the history of AEW in Chicago. Still, when the pay-per-view, a premium event by nature, sells less tickets than the house show, at the very least, it creates questions about if Moxley was the right choice to challenge Ospreay in his first title defense. Taking the entire situation into account, it might've been better to immediately book the Ospreay/Omega rematch for All Out since it sold more tickets for Wembley, and the rave reviews of that bout could've been used as a selling point for the pay-per-view this weekend.
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