PAC needs to win the Owen Hart Cup

The 2024 Owen Hart Cup is shaping up. There’s a title shot on the line, and that should bring out the best man on the AEW roster. Three have already stepped up for the tournament. Bryan Danielson made his announcement on June 5, while two other men made their move on June 12. Shingo Takagi announced his entry, then there’s PAC throwing his name into the hat. As the group comes together, PAC is one that stands out as an individual who needs the tournament victory the most.

The Owen Hart Cup grants the victory an opportunity to challenge for the AEW World Championship at All In. This event will be held on August 25, at Wembley Stadium in London, England. This is one of the most anticipated shows in wrestling this year. The card will carry the weight of such anticipation. AEW will have to put its best performers front and center. PAC is certainly one of those names.

PAC’s tenure in AEW has been good, but not great. There was a lot of excitement when he was announced as a full-time member of the roster, but COVID-19 and several injuries cut into that momentum. Five years later he’s become one of those names on the roster that could quickly emerge as a champion, but at the same time, he’s so far down in the pecking order that probably won’t happen. This is where the Owen Hart Cup comes into play.

Initial rumors were that Swerve Strickland versus Will Ospreay would happen at All-In. That’s no longer the case, as they will battle at Forbidden Door III. AEW tends to avoid doing rematches on back-to-back PPVs, so don’t expect Strickland versus Ospreay II at that point. Strickland will need a challenger and that’s where PAC could come into play.

PAC is from Newcastle, England and he’d be in his home country, giving more than enough reason for the fans to cheer him on. And while that could be enough of a reason, think about what PAC brings to the ring. He’s one of the best in-ring performers in wrestling today. While other names like Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, Seth Rollins, and Gunther may come to mind first because they are on bigger stages, PAC is just as good as any of them. His catalog has several hits that prove his place among the best performers on the roster. It’s not a debate that many would even attempt to have.

PAC’s place on the roster makes it difficult to see him become a number-one contender in any other fashion. He doesn’t get the dedicated stories thanks to other names being ahead of him, and he disappears from television for such large swaths of time it is hard to depend on him for such a build or even a championship run. If there’s any way that could change, it would mean the Owen Hart Cup, and here’s to hoping that he’ll pick up a victory in the tournament.