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Ronda Rousey loves the predetermined nature of pro wrestling, Anthony Bowens talks about his journey to the AEW roster, Road Rager episode of Dynamite down over last week, Zac Efron attached to new Von Eric biopic.
Come this Wednesday, Andrade El Idolo will wrestle in an AEW Ring against Matt Sydal for the first on the road episode of Dynamite called 'Road Rager'. Given how the only thing we know from Andrade's AEW career is that he'll be with Vickie and speak in his native tongue, there's a lot we can expect from the former La Sombra.
I personally have some things I'd like to see, so I'm going to list them here, Five Things I want AEW to do with him. So if you don't see something you agree with, remember this is my opinion.
5. Change the Finisher
The Hammerlock DDT is nice, but Andrade's Feint Kick Elbow is just a chef kiss kinda beauty. Granted, Jericho's Judas Effect is similar (and less good) but we could still work with that - the Hammerlock DDT is also Tay Conti's more frequent finisher now so we're duplicating either way - and even layer it into a story. He can still keep the Hammerlock for a more slower setup but for my money the elbow has potential for RKO levels of 'flash in the pan' finishers.
4. Don't wear merch (unless it's jewelry)
Andrade of course has merch value, the La Sombra mask in particular. But Andrade's character is better in expensive suits and grandiose outfits - quite like his girlfriend's father - so wearing his own merch will be beneath his character. The only merch that's acceptable for this will be jewelry; rings, watches, bracelets, cuff links and necklaces, stuff that can blend with the suit is fine.
3. Keep Grounded, and Ground the High Flyers
We know that Andrade can fly, but he's also a heel. So at least for the start I'd like to see Andrade not whip out his box of high flying tricks, not yet at least. Instead I want Andrade to face high flyers and ground them, firstly this will establish Andrade's mat-wrestling but it'll also annoy fans that he's winning without flying which'll make whenever he does whip something out extra special and narratively puts their opponent over. It's also important to note though that these will have to be clean wins, no Vickie interference or weapons.
2. Enter the Death Triangle
Eventually Andrade will have to lose, but that person needs to be someone who will bring out the best of his athleticism, and we can look no further than any of the members of Death Triangle. PAC, Fénix or Penta would be perfect opponents for Andrade, maybe even see him get challenge one of each but only have one beat him. I wouldn't have him join the faction but there can at least be a trickle of respect in there to set up any future partnerships down the line, losing to one of these members can also lead to a title push either in or out of AEW, which leads me to my final point.
1. Beat Kenny Omega for the AAA Mega Championship
As of current, Kenny and Andrade are set to fight in Triplemania, and while this match is outside of AEW it has AEW implications. Omega has held the title for nearly 2 years now so one cannot say that he hasn't had a good crack at it, the only person to have defended more and held it longer was Texano Jr. Having Andrade win the title off Omega serves two purposes; for one it gives him something he can carry around to AEW and flaunt, possibly even defend in an AEW ring from time to time, the second is exposing a weakness in Kenny's armour. By having him lose the AAA Mega Championship we set a course not only for Kenny and Andrade to fight again - possibly for the AEW World Championship should Hangman fail at All Out like I predict - which will be a big money fixture, beating Omega will hugely elevate Andrade to the top of the card with minimal effort, while also allowing more of AEW's home grown talent to still compete.
And there we have it, AEW have had a mixed bag of debuting big stars so there is an air of worry, but if they keep along these lines and give Andrade and Sydal time to kick off, it should be smooth sailing, even with Vickie by his side.
