Currently being presented to us on AEW Dynamite and Collision as “The Greatest Second-Generation Wrestler of All-Time” (with a heelish wink), it’s clear HOOK has his work cut out for himself if he hopes
to reach the heights of Charlotte Flair or Dominik Mysterio.
The son of ECW legend and AEW commentator Taz got over when he debuted during the pandemic as kind of a vibe, the cool-looking kid who hung with his dad’s crew. CM Punk sensed that and name-dropped him in one of his early AEW promos, and the “Send HOOK” catchphrase was born. Somewhere in there critics began referring to him as a “meme wrestler”, and as his career hits the five-year mark… it’s a label he’s been unable to shake.
His rivalry with Jack Perry was designed to get them both over as singles wrestlers, but was overshadowed by Perry’s issues with Punk (the All In pre-show match Jack sent his “real glass” message to Punk in was against HOOK). The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil’s subsequent FTW title run and a program to retire his dad’s old belt failed to resonate.
AEW recently turned HOOK and put him back with Samoa Joe and The Opps. It seems like a safe bet, even if it hasn’t reheated HOOK significantly yet. We’ll get a chance to see where the fans are on HOOK next Wednesday (Jan. 7), when he teams with The Opps’ Powerhouse Hobbs against Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland in a Lights Out main event on Dynamite.
Roughly a week-and-a-half after that, fans will get a chance to see HOOK in something other than an AEW or Ring of Honor ring for the first time. The 26-year-old’s been announced for Limitless Wrestling’s Limitless Rumble on Fri., Jan. 16, the same show MJF will defend the AEW World title on…
HOOK has surely wrestled a lot more than 96 matches on his Cagematch page, and I’m not second-guessing his training, which I assume is being guided by Taz and probably AEW’s QT Marshall. But I imagine that getting a few matches in front of different crowds would have been good experience for the former lacrosse player, and that any lessons learned would have been worth a few critical mentions.
Hindsight’s 20/20 though, and it seems like a good sign for the young man’s career that they’re going to let HOOK work outside AEW a bit more moving forward.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
