Talk about making the best out of a bad situation.
The injury to Kyle Fletcher was a piece of news that was a gut punch to many AEW fans as “The Protostar” was back as the AEW TNT Champion, and once again putting together a case for being the fastest rising star in the business. He will certainly be in the main event scene when he returns, or maybe he will come back for the TNT Championship because the man who now holds it is none other than “The Jet” Kevin Knight.
Knight was victorious in tonight’s Casino Gauntlet Match, a stipulation that a lot of people love, some people are beginning to get sick of, and other people still want to see a version of it where 21 entrants actually make it to the ring. This edition of the match was very fun, and very Lucha-coded with Bandido, El Clon, and Rush all being involved, PAC, “Speedball” Mike Bailey were able to join them in the high-flying and hard-hitting offense, Tommaso Ciampa carried himself as if he was the favorite, and the Death Riders’ young boys, Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia, also had nice cameos too. Anthony Bowens was also there. AEW really needs to find something substantial for him outside of “remember when he used to be in The Acclaimed” because I can’t imagine him taking orders from Hook of all people.
Lots of action throughout, with PAC being a particular MVP as he busted out a Sky Twister Press and a Black Arrow throughout. Bandido managed to hit a 21-Plex on Ciampa, who was literally lying on the floor, and Knight hit a UFO Splash on Garcia, who was leaning back in the Dragon Tamer that he had locked in on “Speedball,” which must have killed the pair of them.
Knight getting the victory was such a good move. It’s fairly obvious that the guy is set for big things in AEW, particularly after his high-profile matches against MJF, Swerve Strickland, and his entire Continental Classic run. However, I didn’t know if or when AEW would pull the trigger on him, but with Fletcher out of action, why not take a risk and see what happens with Knight as a singles champion?
Hopefully, this run as the new TNT Champion can really boost Knight’s stock to the point that when Fletcher does come back, you can set up that match, which will be great, but he will be featured on TV enough to the point where he could make a late-year charge to the main event scene. An inspired booking decision, and I’m excited to see “The Jet” fly high as TNT Champion this Spring.
Written by Sam Palmer.
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