AEW Booms and Duds: Hangman Page’s mystery partner is underwhelming

Dud: a debut without sizzle

While it’s not surprising Lance Archer is Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ client, the debut of Archer with Roberts just seemed underwhelming. After all, Archer announced he was on a mission to “kill The Elite,” and this lacked any of that killer instinct connoted in his moniker (which, again, I won’t repeat).

In story, this pairing makes sense. Roberts debuted last week with his fantastic promo tearing down Cody and informing him that his “client” would meet him soon. While not necessarily a meeting in the traditional sense, Cody saw Roberts and Archer, and knows what waits on the horizon.

Still, particularly with Archer’s size and style, wouldn’t it have been more prudent to have had Archer jump Cody and lay waste to him, escaping through the crowd before others made the save? This would have instantly made Archer a violent threat to the fans, whereas last night made him seem a bit hesitant.

I know, being aligned with Roberts already gives Archer a sense of legitimacy. All I’m arguing is that sense of legitimacy could have been enhanced with a slight difference in presentation that may have had a greater impact.

Yes, Roberts was always methodical, but nothing about Archer has really ever indicated he is also methodical. Archer’s always been more of the intense violence kind of guy.

However, I am excited for the eventual Cody vs. Archer match. Hopefully, there will be more investment in the build to that match than what we had last night.