Hook

[4.0] "Hook was hyped before he was ready and has suffered as a result. He looks too skinny for a wrestler and has no charisma, his gimmick is being the son of Taz and none of it is believable. A change of gimmick and physique is in order."

[3.0] "An example of a typical Nepo Baby. Hook has not changed at all over the 5 years of his career, he continues to be a silent guy who can sometimes say something into a microphone. His wrestling is super boring. He doesn't bring anything new to the business. However, it seems to me that it suits The Opps, because basically, the same taciturn guys are sitting there."

[2.0] "AEW has spent several years investing in the improvement of Hook. Sadly, that improvement just hasn't happened yet. His character work continues to be extremely unconvincing, especially when he's constantly surrounded by main-event talent. Not to mention, he's still incredibly green in the ring, and while I can appreciate that he's been on the improvement grind, it might be a while until we see that labor come to fruition."

[5.0] "He hasn't really evolved since joining AEW, same moveset, same monotone promos, just bland bland bland. No one takes him serious as "leader" of The Opps and he drags down every segment he's in. Working more matches on the indies would serve him well, which he appears to be doing. He can't keep relying on who his dad is."

[3.0] "The only reason I am not giving him a zero is because there is still time, not much time but time. I may be to harsh but he just does not have anything that does it for me. He had the Action Bronson song but they took the one good thing about him away."

[5.0] "My oh my how far hook has fallen. It is so unfortunate because they had something really special when he first started, he was perhaps the most over wrestler in the business at that point without having wrestled a single match. He showed up and showed some promise as a young wrestler. Unfortunately, he has done very little to improve and there doesn't really seem to be a need for him, as the AEW roster in 2026 runs laps around any potential HOOK match/storyline."

[3.0] "Hook has made no progress since joining AEW and has been doing the same stuff for 5 years. With the way he works, he's way too undersized for his matches to be believable. Hes not good on the mic either and really needs a drastic change of his gimmick, looks, moveset, etc."

[4.0] "I do not particularly hate or like him. But honestly he just doesn't really fit AEW anymore. If I was him I would have gone to NXT by now but is just me. Some of his work is good while others time it's horrible."

[5.0] "Hook has been stagnant for years , it doesn't seem like wrestling is his passion. He just recently started doing indies but that is something he should have been doing years ago. He had a chance to go to NJPW at Will Ospreay's request but for some reason he didn't accept it. Current Hook has not improved at anything, you know you're in trouble when your most successful stuff was teaming with Danhausen."

[5.0] "originally i gave him a better rating but wow even though i love the guy and his persona (music, attire, how he acts), his in-ring abilities are really limited, i genuinely think he has potential but he gotta work WAY more to fit to aew's level because beyond becoming an enjoyable wrestler to watch it's mostly to make sure that he's totally safe to work in-ring with. hopefully he's willing to improve and not just stick with what he's doing right now"

[4.0] "You know what? I get it. Hook has always been kinda cool. He got over as a cool character way back then when he made his debut wearing a hoodie and staying silent during the feud between Cody Rhodes and Team Taz, and the booking emphasized that. He has a cool factor, but he never made much progress in 6 years. And his lackadaisical approach to wrestling, treating it as more of a hobby (he's also a very good photographer), and taking as few dates as possible, had made his attempts at progressing even more of a slog to get through. He has long since passed the bar for what it was required of him and it shows. He's the son of one of the greatest wrestlers and commenters of all time though, so to keep the latter happy you need to keep him occupied and relevant (remember when Hook cost Hangman Adam Page the title last year? What even was that? ). I've read that Taz has threatened to go back to WWE and bring his son to NXT in order to develop Hook further, and I hope that isn't true, because it would be truly a shame to keep him for this. All in all, Hook was a failed experiment. It's fine, a lot of second generation wrestlers have a cool look but not the "IT" factor. It happens. I hope Hook either realizes this or truly puts his mind to the craft."

[3.0] "Es un luchador que no tiene carisma, no tiene buenas promos, no tiene un buen personaje, simplemente es un buen luchador y eso no le alcanza para tener relevancia en alguna empresa de lucha libre, es un jobber."

[4.0] "I don't understand how to take Hook seriously. While he is serviceable- not good, but decent in ring, I can't take him seriously as some tough badass. He is NOT Tazz. He does not come off as a silent badass, just as some 15 year old kid who thinks he's tough because he wears hoodies. If he wasn't Tazz's kid, he wouldn't be in AEW and would not have gotten any of the chances that he has. Not the worst nepobaby ever, but certainly one of the poorer ones who I just can't ever take seriously, especially with his current run in the Opps."

[1.0] "He's not good in the ring, worse when he's talking, and he's very undersized for the moveset he tries to use. He's a nepo baby who's put into the spotlight despite being no better than the jobbers. He does nothing for me, absolutely nothing about him entertains me. His matches can be boring and mediocre or just awful, and he's shown zero improvement over all the years he's been in AEW. He's just an absolute nothing wrestler with zero charisma and bad in ring work. Also he looks like a geek and his hair is stupid."

[5.0] "He's named Hook because his father is from Red Hook in Brooklyn. Hook himself is from a ritzy area of Manhattan but I digress. Hook has potential but he was put in a position he wasn't ready for. He's not a nepo case like Dom who was booked way beyond his abilities for years. He's also far from the worst active wrestler male or female and from conversations I've had the opinions are often parroted from pro wrestling grifters."

[2.0] "Truly one of the worst wrestlers I've seen today to the point where I'm taken out of watching the match and more just waiting for what the next disaster is gonna be. Undersized for the style he's billed to work, not very athletic, botches everywhere, and some of them even put his opponent in dangerous positions. It looks like you're taking a kid out of wrestling school in the first month and putting him on the main AEW roster."

[3.0] "Look, he's not good. He has practically zero redeeming qualities. He's not good in the ring, even worse when speaking, and its been that way for years now. He doesn't wrestle in the indies very much so his only reps are, unfortunately for the TV viewing audience, mostly on TV and even those are few and far between. Because of these lack of reps, he's not improving or growing as a wrestler. He's obviously still young so he could improve, theoretically, but he won't if he keeps at the pace he currently is. AEW's roster is so stacked from top to bottom, there are many, many other wrestlers who could easily be getting his TV time. I am over the HOOK experiment."

"Simply zero aura, charisma, and a moveset that just doesn't fit because he's too skinny... he's the only AEW wrestler I genuinely didn't like. With his body type, he should be more of a high-flyer and have more submission moves and kicks."

[3.0] "Stilted wrestling, clearly coddled and overpushed, can't talk, and certainly doesn't have the look of a suplex machine or tough guy despite his billing. His FTW title reign was okay but he hasn't seemingly improved at all since, and has had pretty light presence in wrestling. All the time off doesn't seem to be spent on improving. Flagrant case of nepotism holding someone up."

[6.0] "Cut him some slack. 26 is fairly young in pro-wrestling, He definitely needs to improve, but overall, he isn't the worst thing to ever happen. Give him time to bulk, and maybe a few years in ROH, and he can deffo be someone who is a legitimate threat, and a credible wrestler. He was thrusted into the main-event scene, and was expected to float. He's a nepo-baby, but it's not like the nepo-baby can't wrestle. He needs time to improve somewhere where he can truly shine, AEW is not that place, especially when they're red hot, like right now. I definitely feel bad for him, 4 years in the industry is such a short amount. Here's hoping he ages like a fine wine. Also his theme is fucking amazing? Go listen to it it sounds like frank sinatra, which is fucking crazy?"

"What really needs to be said? The consistent decline of the annual ratings for HOOK shows how the initial hype for HOOK that largely came from a random CM Punk promo as well as being Taz's son is completely dead now. As someone whose in-ring wrestling career started at the tail end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, it's pretty much impossible to find any evolution with HOOK. He never really got muscular enough to even do a "silent badass" gimmick and it comes off more as comical when you see him suplexing guys that are easily 50-75 pounds heavier than him. As bad as his in-ring matches are, his lack of any real personality or mic skills can be considered his true weak points. He seems afraid to do live promos and AEW never gave him a platform to succeed or fail in places like ROH where there is far less pressure to learn how to show personality when talking to his opponents or the audience. As a result, you have an aimless wrestler who has been wrestling since the end of 2021 and still hasn't gotten to a total of 100 matches in his career as of the end of March 2026. In fact, he has only had 2 matches in all of 2026 and only one was in AEW. At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if he becomes a regular on the ROH Jacksonville tapings or gets completely phased out. Perhaps a trip to WWE NXT will give him the beneficial environment he deserves but this could simply be a case of someone who simply isn't cut out for the demands of professional wrestling. Rating: 1/10"

[4.0] "I know Hook has only been wrestling for a very few years but the man has only had one good match in his entire career which is not a good ratio for someone who has been in shows as much as he has had."

[1.0] "Truly, one of the worst wrestlers signed to a major company. It blows my mind he is still given opportunities when it is clear he has no talent, he's not a special athlete, he cannot talk on the mic, he has zero charisma, and his matches range from boring and mediocre to absolutely awful all the while showing zero improvement over the nearly 5 years he's been in AEW. I desperately hope AEW moves on from him so he can no longer take up a spot and TV time from more deserving wrestlers."

[4.0] "He does a fine enough job in the ring, and he can do a decent short promo with some good tough guy vibes, but he's lost a lot of luster since his first year and some change. I fully expected him to be in a solid mid card title scene by now and it just...never happened. Idk if he didn't improve enough for TK's liking, or if he hit his ceiling with the FTW Title, but idk. He's fine enough in the Opps but he's unlikely to get too much out of it aside from TV time and pin eating, which hurts to see, since he was positioned early on as a up and coming monster back when Rampage was around"

[2.0] "I will put him with five, because I am a hooper. Still believe he is improving each day even more and being with Samoa Joe kinda raise my hope on him, but man...his past does not have a good showing at all. Literally the only pretty good thing related with him was the match he had with Samoa Joe. Oh, and his partnership with Danhausen was quite funny, mostly because of Danhausen. EDIT=Nah I gave up on him, he is just so bad."

[4.0] "Why is he called Hook? What does Hook mean? He's not believable at all. His father was in the business and that's why he's in the position he's in. He's so young so he can improve (definitely if his ring name is changed), but seeing him shoved into a faction with absolut legends of this business like Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata was frankly laughable."

[0.0] "Everything about him screams bad to me. He's only in the position he is because he's the son of Taz and Samoa Joe loves him since he's friends with Taz. His in ring work is green and sloppy. He hasn't got an ounce of charisma at all and his lame ass theme won't help with that at all. His character is supposed to be some sort of non-chalant teenager but to me it just looks like a charisma vaccum. He's had one good match in his whole career. That's unacceptable when you're in the spot that Hook is currently in. His work with Chrisitian was the worst I've seen from Christian too. Interesting that he was feuding with hook during it..."

[4.0] "I hate to say it but I think Hook might not have what it takes to reach the next level. I was down for him initially. He had a good look- anyone complaining about him not being 275 pounds of pure muscle has no idea what non-heavyweight combat sports physiques typically look like and should subsequently be pointed and laughed at- and despite his limitations and his inexperience what he could do in his first couple years in the ring looked solid enough. He couldn't talk to save his life unlike his amazing father but maybe that would come in time. Now that time has passed, however, it's become apparent that he's still completely lacking in something major. I'm not sure what it is exactly, is it a lack of motivation? He has barely progressed in nearly any aspect of professional wrestling over the past four years. He's still not even remotely a charismatic promo even though he physically carries himself well, he's had subpar matches with great wrestlers when he goes longer than two minute squashes, and while I'm not as attuned to AEW in the past couple years or so I have seen similarly young and new wrestlers easily pass him in nearly every way. The overall lack of matches doesn't help, maybe he needs to work as many indies as possible before they all inexplicably die out and we end up in a hell where there's only massive corporations enshittifying our beloved graps. I really don't know though. I don't think he's a lost cause outright as he's still not even thirty, there's plenty of time for a major breakthrough to happen. He's currently working onscreen with Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata and I can't think of a better pair of legendary pro wrestlers to help nurture a young talent as I safely assume they're helping him offscreen as well. For now though, I just question whether he'll ever be more than "Taz's kid." Here's hoping he proves me wrong in the future."

[1.0] "A nothing wrestler, truly. besides a pretty good match against Joe what has he done. Had two minute meme tag teams with Jungle Boy, or Danhausen, or the singer to is old song (Action Bronson I think). All he does is squash matches. Less then 100 matches in 5 years, if i was in charge of AEW I would not keep him around at all, either start working the indies and having proper matches and maybe I use you, or you are out."

[2.0] "I literally can't get behind him, he's just boring and bland. All I get is a silent tough guy with no personality. Hook is just one of those people where you can't enjoy anything about him, cause nothing about him stands out for people to enjoy him. He can't cut promos, he's meh in the ring, and like I said, no personality. His feud with Jericho was horrible and his title reigns with the FTW title were all worthless"

[4.0] "Hook hasn't really clicked for me, tbh. I don't mind him and I think he's had some cool matches and moments, but I can't really think of any specific segment he's done that's great. I do like the idea of him learning under guys like Joe, Hobbs and Shibata and I think he's better suited as a douchey heel. I hope the current run goes well."

[3.0] "I really haven't seen anything from him that is convincing whatsoever. He is small and has no personality, yet keeps getting booked as this scrappy Little Mac type. I really hope he can improve as he is still young, but until then he is Taz's nepobaby."

[0.0] "Truly no redeeming factors. He does nothing for me. Nothing about him entertains me. He only brings pain and suffering on the world of professional wrestling. And also, I dislike his hair. And I also dislike how many people like his hair. Even putting him into a tag team with Eddie Kingston couldn't make him interesting. Eddie Kingston could make a damp biscuit interesting. Just because someone was a bit gay with Danhausen for a bit doesn't mean we can keep letting them get away with these heinous crimes against the beautiful sport and art of professional wrestling. I cannot remember a single wrestling move I have ever seen him do. Why? Because they are all boring. Because he is boring."

[5.0] "Honestly has not been working for me the recent year or two with Hook. I get how young he is and all that, but he's not a rookie anymore. I haven't seen the growth that I've wanted out of him overt the years and I think that it comes down to style of wrestling and character. I don't think either have suited him well as he doesn't get the chance to work with anyone outside of being a jobber. Too many of his matches have been straight up squash matches to protect him, but eventually to need to see something more than that. I hope that his recent heel turn brings out a new personality from him, but for now I have to give him a low rating."

[4.0] "Maybe a gimmick change would help but he's just too small to be intimidating. He doesn't look terrible in the ring but for someone his size I feel like he should move a little quicker and maybe switch out the overpowering bruiser move set of his dad for a more quick striker flyer style like Mike Bailey. Just can't take Hook seriously, he's the only wrestler on the roster who I don't find legit."

[6.0] "HOOK is still trying to fully find himself in AEW, the talent is clearly there - we've seen glimmers of greatness from Hook, and he's only 26, so I have zero doubt we will get there someday. But for now, he's a passable wrestler who is just three years into his career and finds himself in a constant identity crisis as a result, let's see where his return gimmick goes."

[2.0] "Hook is one of the biggest failed experiments AEW has ever done. The guy just can't wrestle and he has the charisma of a wet rag. He looks like a geek too. Only does 1 good move and that's it. Please stop trying to make this guy a thing, he is just not good. Admit defeat, it'll help the product a ton. He peaks in hardcore situations, just have him do that or something since you can't really fire him."

[10.0] "Hook is both a highly skilled suplex machine and a more than capable heir to the throne once held by his father, Taz. Hook's in ring style is wildly entertaining and his diverse collection of suplexes make watching him wrestle different and fun every match. Hook graps make me feel some type of way that no wrestler past present and future will ever be able to replicate. Hook is the future of wrestling and could single handedly take AEW to the promise land."

[1.0] "Well the FTW title is played out, but how is this guy still in AEW. he has no character, no skill, I can't believe this guy can stay in AEW. you can say he's still young, but honestly I don't see the fundamentals of his game, just a couple of boring prop matches with Chris Jericho. All he has is his face, and a few girl fans like him as a trophy. Even Dominik is more talented than him.This guy is Tony Khan's biggest mistake."

[4.0] "I've soured on HOOK over the last year or so. His size and experience level was problematic from the start as he was being booked like some kind of unstoppable badass without the physical or historical credibility to back that kind of booking. He feels like the epitome of a nepo baby, and his absurdly protected booking has also limited him telling any sort of layered story. He still can't cut a promo, and Taz on commentary constantly force feeding the viewer about how tough and badass his boy is gets pretty grating."

[2.0] "Leaving aside the fact that he's the son of ... let's be serious: what has Hook actually shown so far? The music hits, and this scrawny-looking wrestler walks out like some kind of badass -- I have no idea why or who he's supposed to intimidate. He gets in the ring with this cocky attitude and... I don't get it. Why? What's the point? And honestly, the booking makes it even worse. Apparently, he has to win every match no matter what, which means you can't build anything around him, because every feud is basically decided from the start -- Hook has to win, despite having no real status. It makes no sense. Not to mention they created a title specifically for him -- an unofficial, unrecognized title that he defended -- and it ended up being completely useless. I'm sorry, but I don't see a future for him unless something changes."

[4.0] "Just fundamentally lacks credibility. Has the play pretend moveset of a 260 pounder but looks like a 12 stone jabroni and is seemingly incapable of leaving his feet. His old man was a killer in the ring no doubt, this one can attribute much to good old fashioned nepotism. Has been hugely overpushed for what he is and just don't see much there. Also drags Joe down multiple levels when they're together."

[6.0] "Hook is an interesting case. He originally just showed up as a hanger on to a group - not really adding much & no one really knew what his point was or what to expect. But he finally did something & when he did, we saw that there was actually something there. A guy who had a pretty cool arsenal of judo throws & someone who had a pretty unique, badass appeal, allthewhile kind of having a zoomer approach to his character. I was very into him at this point. But over time, his character has suffered. Part due to poor booking, but another part due to lack of character depth beyond the initial character development phase. He's recently been in a pointless mish-mash group, which has done him no favors. He has potential if he can find some intriguing booking to latch on to."

[3.0] "I waited until after All In London on August 25, 2024 to submit a comment because I wanted to give Hook the opportunity to showcase his skills in his match with Jericho on this major PPV. What did I see. Besides having a few more tattoos, it was the same old stuff, nothing improved. Hook gets a beat down, throws some strikes, gives a few suplexes, applies his Redrum submission and Jericho taps. Overall, Hook appeared awkward and unsure of his next moves. At the end, Tazz was at ring side consoling his son with a hug. The bad ass kid needed a hug from daddy. It's painfully obvious the powers that be are trying their best to give him a push, but his skill set is so limited he gives them little to work with. The combination of limited skills with his lack of speaking ability suggests he should not have been on a major PPV, but rather he should have been getting further training. He's was there for only one reason - nepotism and that's not a good reason. And about 8 months after his All In appearance, it's still the same old stuff but now the bad ass kid vomits in the ring during a match with the Death Riders. While I hope it's nothing serious and wish him a speedy recovery, this incident should be used as a wake up call. Hook needs further training."

[3.0] "His mic skill need to be polished. And while his character was very young and fresh at the beginning, it didn't develop that much. The fact that his matches are so boring and repetitive doesn't help, I feel like they tried to rush him into an important role into AEW but he was far from ready"

[5.0] "A naturally gifted performer who has an extremely endearing aura and an exciting moveset, but ask him to work a ten-minute, dare I even say, a 15-minute 1-on-1 contest, and the holes in Hook's current abilities are obvious. Super raw talent who needs to spend some time in Ring of Honor or even just spend a few months working up to lengthier matches on Collision until reinserting this dude anywhere near the world title. If they want to get away with him not cutting promos, at least set him up with a mouthpiece!"

[6.0] "Hook's cool. He certainly has a nice style to watch, and his matches are about as binge-able as Kelly Kelly's (which is a compliment coming from me). All I can say about Hook is that he needs more experience, because he gets heavily carried and his matches can be repetitive (but that has more to do with the booking)."

[3.0] "After numerous feuds and ton of tv time he got, this guy has been found out as a mediocre wrestler and a really underwhelming ''prospect'' as an overall performer. His ceiling is very obvious which isn't that high. Bland in the ring and his promos and nonexistent character work is terrible. Go back to the square one and put him in the lower card and see if something clicks (I doubt it) because the forced shit they've been doing with him, trying to make him a credible threat is not working."

[5.0] "Hook has plenty of potential, but his output as a wrestler goes up and down. He has a lot of room to improve but definitely has charisma and a decent look, but leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the connective tissue of wrestling, and all the stuff that happens between moves. He isn't a very good promo, whether they're short or long, and often gets overshadowed by other wrestlers when in the ring with guys who are much smoother than him. It just always feels like he's lost in the shuffle between being a shooter style wrestler and being a super typical american wrestler. He has some stuff to figure out and I think he'd do better to broaden his moveset to be more inclusive of the japanese strong style with the judo influences added in as finishing sequences. Think he probably could do for a trip on an excursion too"

[5.0] "The wheels have very much come off. I am not entirely sure why he is getting so much TV time on the main shows. A guy who would hugely benefit from a few years on ROH and being told to go work as many independent shows as possible."