AEW Booms/Duds: The gritty brutality of Moxley vs. Hager

Boom: Lance Archer is who AEW (and Jake Roberts) made him out to be

That intro video to start Dynamite last night with Jake “The Snake” Roberts really drew me in (and not just due to his gravelly voice). His words, coupled with the wonderfully produced clips of Archer decimating people, just add further gravitas and intrigue for his client. Roberts opening the show the past two weeks has been a welcome addition.

Archer continues to assault people on his way to or in the ring before he poses on the middle turnbuckle, this time taking out one of the faces in the crowd. He then proceeded to have about a 12-minute match with Colt Cabana where I never doubted Archer would win.

Sure, Cabana did well and had several near falls. His video beforehand was great (more on this later).

Still, Archer continually mocking Cabana by laughing and smiling when Cabana punched him indicated to me Archer, “The Murderhawk Monster,” truly revels in physical violence even if inflicted upon himself; he’s basically a sadomasochist in the form of a professional wrestler. He knew, just like I knew, that he was just playing with Cabana like a predator toying with his prey.

In-ring, Archer’s intensity and facial expressions have gone a long way in telling AEW fans that he’s a force to be reckoned with.

The height he is able to lift opponents for his chokeslam is astounding, and that’s even after taking his height into account; Cabana was a good seven feet off the mat! His Blackout inverted crucifix bomb finisher is impressive considering the amount of strength needed to execute the maneuver on a stockier guy like Cabana.

Roberts has continually reminded us that Archer is a brutal, decimating force here to wreak havoc on AEW and The Elite, specifically. Well, everything Archer has done since debuting (outside of the initial shots of him sitting ringside with Roberts) has proved Roberts correct: he is exactly what Roberts said he was, and he might be even more.

He seems set to clash with Cody in the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament, and that makes sense. In full disclosure though, I picked Allin to defeat Archer in the finals. Either way, the rest of the tournament (with two more first-round matches next week) should be fun.