A couple months back, AEW was getting rinsed on social media for the unbelievably lame ending to an ‘Exploding Ring’ deathmatch between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley, and it seems they’ve disappointed fans again with another corny bump to end a show the other night.
Former WWE legend Chris Jericho was taking on MJF in a cage match, and the whole time they were teasing someone taking a fall from the top. Unfortunately when the big moment came, it looked like this:
OFF THE TOP OF THE CAGE! #BLOODandGUTS pic.twitter.com/bV3h5M9N2I
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) May 6, 2021
Welp, not exactly The Undertaker throwing Mick Foley off the Hell In A Cell is it? Pro wrestling sure has changed since 1998…
Here was the general reaction online:
Jericho took a bump on a king size mattress 😂
— BDE (@itsbrandonde) May 6, 2021
I can’t believe Jericho got thrown through the pictures of metal.
— Jus🏆in (@Justin_SofOK) May 6, 2021
On top of fake metal flooring and pillows. Waaaaay too fake looking. Disappointed in the show tonight
— J sharp (@jsharp_j) May 6, 2021
Chris Jericho fell from 10 feet onto a massive padded bed, Age makes no difference for safety here, Shane is a year older then chris and jumps from 20 foot cages onto thin padding. Its embarrassing for AEW, the aim is to make it look real and they constantly fail in that. pic.twitter.com/07RdvilRdo
— Adam Lucas (@M4DXBuLL) May 6, 2021
“Jericho may have broken his back”
– JREmbarrassing 😂
— Rob 🏴 (@RobODonnell93) May 6, 2021
Nah Jericho getting thrown off the cage could have looked so cool but that was lame as fuck
— Choi Seung-hyun Simp account (@Daryltakahashi7) May 6, 2021
— Shotzi Blackheart (@ShotziWWE) May 6, 2021
Now obviously no one’s expecting 50-year-old Chris Jericho to actually fall off a cage and obliterate himself on real concrete, but couldn’t they have chosen a different camera angle that didn’t expose the fact he landed on a load of painted cardboard covering up a giant crash pad? It’s like if Hollywood were to show the wires/green screen when Superman’s flying through the air or something. Totally ruins the illusion and makes it impossible to suspend disbelief.
In fairness AEW is still a relatively young company and I guess will figure this stuff out as they go along, but you’d think it would be common sense to not go close-up with this one. Anyway – here’s how you do it properly (and, um, without a crash pad):
And then later getting Chokeslammed through the cage itself:
Those were the days.
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