Lee Moriarty is a good “get” as AEW continues to build it’s roster

Indy darling Lee Moriarty is exactly the kind of wrestler that AEW needs to drive eyes to Rampage.

Lee Moriarty had a hell of a 2020, finishing the year ranking no. 9 on the BWI 500 his momentum continued into 2021 where he finished at no. 5 on the list. He would also win IWTV’s The Masked Wrestler reality competition.

His victory earned him a title shot that he would cash in and defeat the longest reigning IWTV World Champion in history. Warhorse. A title that he held for 61 days before dropping it to Wheeler Yuta. He has only built on that momentum in the latter half of this year recently signing with Major League Wrestling ahead of their reboot coming at the end of 2021.

MLW is not the end all be all for him though. He has the swagger and demeanor that proves that he is destined for more than the gyms and rec centers that MLW runs. He carries himself in a way that other former MLW standouts do and have done while on the indie scene. Guys like Maxwell Jacob Friedman. He was in MLW for several years before the start of All Elite Wrestling and transitioned his time on the indie scene into an opening match on All Out the unofficial first event in AEW’s history.

Why bring in Lee?

Even more so than the way that he carries himself. He is exactly the kind of wrestler that AEW needs. They built their brand on huge names in the indie scene two years ago. Guys who were known as independent stalwarts who we never expected to see in a major company as themselves. But the indie scene continued to expand and grow as it has always done and in the two years since AEW snatched up some of the best and brightest in the world of Indie Wrestling bright stars have risen to take their place. Lee Moriarty is one of those stars.

AEW has gotten a lot of criticism recently that they have become a landing place for former WWE talents that were cast off the edges of the behemoth company. While most of these wrestlers have come in and made a name for themselves apart from the WWE in AEW and used their previous tenure to only build their new home to new heights. AEW runs the risk of forgetting why people tuned in so acutely at the beginning.

The indie stars are who built this company. More so than The Elite or even Chris Jericho. The guys that were brought in to pad the middle and lower card have slowly risen in popularity and promise and are the main draws on Wednesday and Friday nights. To bring in Moriarty would go a long way to bring back a ton of goodwill with the fans.

Moriarty’s time on the Dark and Dark Elevation programs on the AEW YouTube Channel give him the perfect launching point to be a huge star on the “main roster” of AEW. Powerhouse Hobbs went on a huge run on Dark for months before showing up on Dynamite and immediately made his impact felt.

With the recent appearance of Bobby Fish, another MLW signed talent on AEW the possibility of a working relationship between the two companies is more possible than ever. If anyone would drive both companies to build that bridge and maintain it for the long run it would be The Apex of Combat.