SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Heat, heat, heat.
That’s been the story so far of The Cut, the group briefly known as The Last Outfit. By the way, for all the consternation about the name, “The Outfit” would’ve been fine. “The Outfit” evokes the mafia, while “The Last Outfit” is akin to those out-of-style pants and shirt combo you have in the back of your closet. So, it was a rough start for the group.
Otherwise, AEW has worked overtime to get heat on the new faction, which makes sense given that they ARE a new faction. Jay White and David Finlay, with their powers combined, seem like the whole is greater than the sum of the parts at this point. Their history coming up together in New Japan adds to the story, as does their on-screen chemistry as partners.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
The most intriguing aspect about The Cut isn’t the name or the mission – it’s who’s missing. Gabe Kidd made a ton of sense to be a part of this heel squad as they don’t get much more “heel” than Kidd. Anyone who has seen his work in NJPW, especially during the G1 Climax Tournament, can attest to that. Yet, he was turned on along with the Death Riders, keeping him in that now babyface camp for the time being. Could he still betray Jon Moxley and company, playing the long game as a way to further outwit the enemy? Perhaps. But I wouldn’t put money on it.
Speaking of Moxley, it’s finally clear he and the rest of his Death Rider cohorts are firmly on the babyface side of the ledger. They’ve been squishy for too long, and really, with Pac’s death and the emotions they poured out celebrating his life on the memorial episode of Dynamite, it would’ve been hard for them to stay heel. They’ve been lacking a mission statement lately so a feud with The Cut gives them something new and fresh to do.
With Anarchy in the Arena on the horizon next month for this feud, Tony Khan and company are hitting the accelerator quickly in order to get to that point. Some will decry another large heel faction with The Don Callis Family already chewing up so much TV time. The Cut appears different in both leadership and membership from the Callis Family, a differentiation that will be important moving forward. I don’t expect everyone to love continued gang warfare, but from where I sit, it’s probably the best use of Finlay and White, if not others within The Cut.
(Read Greg Parks’s feature-length weekly columns in the PWTorch Newsletter with a paper copy subscription or online VIP membership. He also reads his feature columns for his VIP-exclusive “Greg Parks Outloud!” podcast. He has contributed to PWTorch for over two decades.)
