{"id":210437,"date":"2026-01-14T12:24:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T18:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=210437"},"modified":"2026-01-14T12:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T18:24:50","slug":"aew-rising-and-fading-stars-mjf-has-found-a-sweet-spot-for-his-heel-character-aew-announcing-needs-an-overhaul-sammy-guevara-still-doesnt-get-it-brody-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/01\/14\/aew-rising-and-fading-stars-mjf-has-found-a-sweet-spot-for-his-heel-character-aew-announcing-needs-an-overhaul-sammy-guevara-still-doesnt-get-it-brody-king\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW RISING AND FADING STARS: MJF has found a sweet spot for his heel character, AEW announcing needs an overhaul, Sammy Guevara still doesn&#8217;t get it, Brody King"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3610900469\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Welcome, everyone! I write this at the beginning of every column I write and I wanted to say it\u2019s not just something I write down. No, I truly mean it. In a world of divisions, we need more inclusion. We are all human beings just trying to make it in this crazy world.<\/p>\n<p>So I do really mean it: Welcome, everyone!<\/p>\n<p>On to some AEW, which had a wonky episode of Dynamite. You can see and hear my opinion on last week&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/aew-dynamite-post-show-1-7-keller-kline-discuss-mjf-bandido-build-jim-ross-s-return-death-riders-moxley-shelton-brodie-king-s-promo--69349720\">Wade Keller Post-show<\/a> following AEW Dynamite.<\/p>\n<p>Then on Collision, I don\u2019t know what to say. I just don\u2019t like the residency arena they are in right now. It feels very TNA\/NXT\/OG ROH, which is not a compliment for the the no. 2 promotion in the States.<\/p>\n<p>Feels like I\u2019m loading up for a negative column. Let\u2019s see how it shakes out.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>RISING STAR OF THE WEEK<\/h3>\n<h3>MJF<\/h3>\n<p>The AEW World Champion appears to be maturing right in front of our eyes. Some people are thrown off by the new hair style but its fine. We have all tried different hair styles over the years. I didn\u2019t always have this, as my wife calls it, mane of a hairdo. Then you add to it, outside of his first promo back, this has been a much more reserved MJF on the mic. This week was no different.<\/p>\n<p>MJF was only on screen for about 5 minutes but in true MJF fashion he stole the show. The way he built himself up and put Bandido down was done in a clever way. Not the old MJF way of being over-the-top looking for cheap heat from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>A few of his lines had me smiling while shaking my head, you know in that \u201cwhat a dick\u201d way. My boss, who is also a friend of mine, gets that same reaction from me because he can also be such a dick. What\u2019s up, Anthony?<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4065781966\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The line of the night that got me the most was delivered so well I had to legitimately laugh out loud. \u201cHey, I\u2019ll pull Tony Khan aside and I\u2019ll put you over kid\u2026 I\u2019ll tell him I will wrestle you live on PPV\u2026 in say 5 or 10 years from now. That\u2019s a\u00a0\u00a0good deal!\u201d Without putting down the crowd or even Bandido, this was a great line from a heel like MJF.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of other great quotes from the same segment from MJF:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cYou\u2019re one heck of a talented little luchador.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cNo offense, with all due respect, I\u2019m bigger star in Mexico than you will ever be.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>MJF did what he was supposed to do here; he made you want to see him get us butt kicked next week, which is all MJF has to do as champion. The nice cherry on the top was it also put Bandido over more, which is what a good heel is suppose to do.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1st Runner Up &#8211; Brody King<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I think you can tell that Tony Khan knows he has something in Brody King after the Brodido run. He didn\u2019t just lose the title and fade away. Instead, he has been around every week since.<\/p>\n<p>This week we got a nice little video where Brody got to show off his band a little and talk himself up. It was less than 60 seconds, but I thought it was perfect. Thst was followed by a squash match on Collision and as long as he continues to progress, I\u2019m happy with where Brody is after his AEW Tag Team Title run<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m still curious if we get a heel King in 2026. Though it might be hard considering we all know his feelings about what\u2019s going on in the world. \u201cAbolish ICE\u201d &#8211; I could not agree anymore.<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the &#8220;All Elite Conversation Club&#8221; with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/all-elite-conversation-club-dehnel-kanner-talk-willow-winning-tbs-women-s-championship-kenny-omega-returning-to-world-title-picture--69285332\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cpwtorch\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"All Elite Conversation Club - Dehnel &amp; Kanner talk Willow winning TBS Women's Championship, Kenny Omega returning to World Title picture\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=69285332&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>FADING STAR OF THE WEEK<\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Sammy Guevara<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I know this is an interesting choice considering Sammy just had his first match on Dynamite this past week since 2024. Then again, I think it makes him the perfect candidate for this spot. Why, you ask? Let me explain.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-773144310\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Sammy was in the first-ever match on AEW Dynamite back in 2019, in a losing effort to Cody Rhodes. This was the giving time of Cody as he definitely tried his hardest to get three-fourths of the original AEW Pillars over. Darby Allin\u2019s first match in AEW was prior to the first Dynamite at Fight for the Fallen and Darby went to a draw with Cody.\u00a0\u00a0Then Cody was giving here with Sammy before Cody moved on to help get MJF over. Man, I miss early days AEW for all the fresh faces on television.<\/p>\n<p>After the match with Cody, Sammy stood by as Chris Jericho viciously attacked Cody. This was foreshadowing Sammy joining the Inner Circle at the end of the first Dynamite. It all started Sammy on the best run of his career over the next few years.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the AEW Rampage match against Jeff Hardy in 2023. In the match, Sammy accidentally broke Hardy\u2019s nose, but both finished the match. After this, Sammy was suspended because he didn\u2019t follow concussion protocol and for the most part has not been on AEW, proper, television since. Having just a couple of matches outside of his new brand ROH.<\/p>\n<p>This is why Sammy is here. A guy who looked like he could be the next Eddie Guerrero type (Jim Ross\u2019s words, not mine) has just become a footnote in the early ears of Dynamite. Not to mention, it doesn\u2019t feel like he\u2019s learned anything during his time away from Dynamite.<\/p>\n<p>Sammy, like others in his generation, do not see the reasons behind changing your in-ring style when you are a face or a heel. So what you get is this guy who looks like a heel, talks like a heel, and acts like a heel, but does all the graceful moves of a babyface. In a video game, if you took out signature moves, I don\u2019t know you could tell the difference between a guy like Sammy and a guy like Bandido.<\/p>\n<p>All that said, Sammy is 32 and that is still the middle of the prime for pro wrestlers these days. And maybe as he gets older he will learn what he needs to learn to progress in this sport. What does he need to learn you ask? Let me explain.<\/p>\n<p>Going forward, Sammy really needs to adjust his in ring work to match the character he\u2019s trying to portray. Tease the big spots, but then flip off the crowd before doing a basic wrestling move as a heel. It\u2019s easy to do and would get over with the crowd. I\u2019m begging any guy with his type of move set to switch it up if they to heel. It will work for you, especially with the AEW audience. I think as a whole they would love to hate it.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1st Runner Up &#8211; AEW Announcing<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>First. This is not about Jim Ross. It was great to see and hear him this week. The man is a legend and the \u201cVoice of Pro Wrestling\u201d to a few generations. My apologies, but I just wanted to put that out there.<\/p>\n<p>Something that stood out to me this past week having J.R. back was how little Excalibur has progressed in the no. 1 announcer role. Excalibur can not express a serious moment without coming across as disingenuous. It comes across like an actor being told \u201cwe need you serious here\u201d so Excalibur turns on somber voice.<\/p>\n<p>Then Excalibur will drop the somber voice and go right into pitch man. After that, in the following segment he\u2019s \u201cho ho ho\u201d-ing it because he saw a big move. He is too all over the place and not professional enough for the role he is in. It\u2019s time for AEW to start trying out a new lead play-by-play guy. Stick him or her, Renee Paquette, anyone, on Collision and let the audience get use to him or her.<\/p>\n<p>I know someone new taking over Collision means Tony Schivone loses his play-by-play job and he probably should. For everything that made Tony great when he came back it\u2019s now turned 180 degrees and it\u2019s almost all bad. Tony can be a great in-ring interviewer who is a company man, the new Mean Gene, but him calling matches these days does not work. Everything is the greatest move ever, in the greatest match ever, on the greatest Collision, Dynamite, or PPV ever.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sorry, Tony, but it\u2019s time to move on from you even if it might be really tough for Tony Khan to hear. Again, Schiavone can be the AEW hype guy. He can be the one reading the cities AEW is coming to or the new thing on AEWshop.com. He just doesn\u2019t need to be the main play-by-play guy on any show.<\/p>\n<p>Nigel McGuiness is okay. He seems to have two modes and I\u2019m not sure either are great. He\u2019s just normal Nigel talking or he drops his voice and goes into announcer Nigel mode. I would rather just an authentic all-around mode for him, but I don\u2019t know that anyone is directing the announcers at all right now. (I wrote &#8220;mode&#8221; way too much, I know)<\/p>\n<p>I might be writing all of this to say that I miss Taz on the announce team, a lot. Taz brings a realism to everything he does while also seeming like he\u2019s enjoying the product. Both are good things. Hopefully he\u2019s back soon. Taz is also sneaky funny, which I enjoy more than 97 percent of comedy AEW tries to do.<\/p>\n<p>J.R. will be good to add gravitas to a big match but he doesn\u2019t seem to be up on all the product and, at his age, can you blame him? Trying to keep up with four-plus hours and all the side content is hard enough for a guy like myself who works a 40-plus hour a week job. At J.R.\u2019s age, I\u2019m sure he has better things he\u2019d like to do.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, I think bringing in a professional announcer who has an interest in pro wrestling is what AEW needs, someone new to the national scene and not a retread. Someone like a Walker Stewart from New Japan.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (1\/7) - AEW Dynamite w\/Keller &amp; Klein\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a9CCE8X2lGg?start=5&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3451688107\"><div id=\"pwtor-2933275342\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Welcome, everyone! I write this at the beginning of every column I write and I wanted to say it\u2019s not just something I write down. No, I truly mean it. In a world of divisions, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/01\/14\/aew-rising-and-fading-stars-mjf-has-found-a-sweet-spot-for-his-heel-character-aew-announcing-needs-an-overhaul-sammy-guevara-still-doesnt-get-it-brody-king\/\" title=\"AEW RISING AND FADING STARS: MJF has found a sweet spot for his heel character, AEW announcing needs an overhaul, Sammy Guevara still doesn&#8217;t get it, Brody King\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,4309,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-rising-star-fading-star","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-12.11.28-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210440,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210437\/revisions\/210440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}