Wardlow

[3.0] "Wardlow is bad. He's always been very bland and has negative charisma in my opinion. I've seen a couple decent stuff from him but I've also seen him get some pretty bad matches out of very good wrestlers. I'm hoping that he does well when he comes back."

[4.0] "Wardlow is a guy who seems to be in a perpetual state of arrested development. He has been booked poorly by Tony Khan constantly; whether used as fodder for Orange Cassidy, put into the worst QT Marshall angle of all time, simply not used for months & months on end, or put into the Don Callis Family when he doesn't need that shit because he clearly has the charisma to make his own shit work, it's clear that Khan's IQ when it comes to booking Wardlow is in the negatives. Despite all this, we are seeing not a lick of proactivity from Wardlow in terms of pushing his own career. Could you imagine how irate one would have the right to be if they were booked abysmally for 5 straight years between the ages of 32 and 37 despite the fact that they fucking rule? Add to this that he seems injury-prone (he has a torn pectoral now! ), & the net result is a guy whom I have absolutely no confidence will ever transcend the line between " What should have been" & " What was" . Among the more unfortunate cases I've ever seen, really. I hope he proves me wrong, but I'm not holding my breath on it. He realistically deserves more like a 7, but his complete lack of proactivity in the field of making his own shit work is absolutely a problem."

[5.0] "If you only saw his match against Cody at Dynamite, you would think that his career had a incredible setup because he is so fucking good...that is not the case. He is good, at least I want to believe he is. But he spend more than a year without stepping in a ring and when he came back to apparently feud with Swerve, he got a injury. Don't know what to expect from him anymore. Maybe he is not THE guy at all."

[8.0] "Wardlow is one of my favorite AEW wrestlers. He's a beast and an athletic powerhouse. He is a pretty decent talker as well. I think he has been a victim of inconsistent booking."

[3.0] "For a long long time I thought he was booked very weak. Now I kinda think that he has really no personality. In the ring he can do really good things but still almost nobody would care about it as he can't make almost any rivalry really interesting maybe only if he's used as a giant security."

[4.0] "He is a professional wrestler who currently works for All Elite Wrestling and if I had to rate him on a scale of one to ten, which I do, I would rate him a four out of ten. Wardlow, the wrestler, to me, is a four out of ten wrestler. Sixteen more characters."

[6.0] "Der Mann ist für mich extrem schwer zu bewerten. Er hat extrem viel Ausstrahlung und Starappeal, er wirkt optisch einfach durch und durch wie ein Main Eventer. Er kann tolle Matches zeigen, aber nur mit den richtigen Gegner. Er kann tolle Storylines performen, aber nur mit dem richtigen Gegenstück. Er war zurecht auf dem Weg an die Spitze und fiel zurecht wieder ein gutes Stück nach unten. Und bisher hab ich nicht das Gefühl, dass sein Weg auf Sicht wieder nach oben führt, wenn überhaupt, und auch das irgendwie zurecht. AEW hat mit dem Booking viel versaut auf der einen Seite, auf der anderen Seite war Wardlow nicht gut genug das aufzufangen und das Beste daraus zu machen."

[6.0] "Wardlow ist den Beweis schuldig geblieben, dass es bei ihm zum Star reicht. Nach seiner langen Zeit an der Seite von MJF war er für einige Wochen brandheiß und gewann kurz darauf den TNT-Titel. Doch ebenso schnell wie er aufgestiegen war, fiel er auch wieder. Das lag einerseits am Booking - andererseits hat er es aber auch nie geschafft, die Leute von sich aus für ihn zu begeistern. Zu groß sind da doch die Defizite am Mikrofon und im Ring."

[5.0] "He has a great look and does have some cool moves, namely the Powerbomb Symphony and Swanton, but he's just not good enough in the ring or on the mic to really fit well in AEW"

[6.0] "I really like Wardlow, but it's clear that he has not really found his stride as a wrestler yet. Whether that is through his own fault or from the way he's booked, the end result is still unfortunately the same. I can only hope that he and AEW can find something that really makes him work."

[3.0] "I don't like Wardlow... Essentially he's just a muscular man who can do powerbombs and... that's pretty much it. Many wrestlers have to stoop to making him look imposing because he looks like an intimidating guy, but his skills are not up to par with what a competitive roster can offer. In short, he is boring in any type of match"

[8.0] "Wardlow is one of many talents in AEW that should be in the main event scene, but booking has nearly killed this man. After being MJF's bodyguard for a 2 years, he broke free and looked to become a top guy in the company. He won the TNT Championship and things seemed to look up, but then he lost it and then gained it back so many times that he and the title seemed doomed. Luckily, he being in the Undisputed Kingdom is giving him a new start with a familiar setup, hopefully this leads to the true breakout star I know he can be."

[7.0] "I like Wardlow a lot. Handsome dude, passes the airport test, very good enough to get a reaction which matters. I especially liked his return gimmick where he would just destroy people and walk away. What I'm not fond of, is whoever told him that the whole flexing between moves and Gene Simmons tongue thing was a good idea. Less is more."

[4.0] "I'm not really a fan of Wardlow. He stands out in AEW because he's really tall and he did admittedly get over big when he turned on MJF but Tony Khan didn't exactly know what to do with him going forward, and outside of him squashing enhancement talent with some cool power bombs I really don't know what he offers AEW at the moment. I do think he's worth keeping around and seeing how he develops though he's already 35 which isn't old for Pro Wrestling standards mind you, but I'd hope to see more from him at this point almost 10 years into his career."

[5.0] "An ok powerhouse, which sometimes becomes extremely generic and actually produces little interesting stuff. His storytelling ability is poor, his ring skill is very unattractive, in addition to the fact that his power move is a powerbomb, which is very mediocre."

[5.0] "I think it's too soon to push Wardlow as much as they did. In My opinion he failsbtime after time in creating entertainere matches. Even his powerbombs dont look that impressive and it's basically the only Thing that he does."

[8.0] "Wardlow has been a consistently good big man treated inconsistently by AEW. Got introduced as MJF's bodyguard and he played the role well. He got over and the feud where he turned on MJF was great. Then AEW did not know how to keep him booked strong. In the ring he is a really athletic big man, and he is good enough on the mic. He has a good presence and the Powerbomb Symphony is a great finish. Wardlow has all the tools just hopes he gets treated correctly."

[7.0] "The word "wasted" is often used way too much in the wrestling world, but Wardlow's rise in 2022 is probably one of the greatest ruined things in the history of AEW"

[6.0] "I was pretty high on Wardlow for awhile, but the more I see of him, the less excitement I feel. Part of that is certainly bad booking, with him suffering the familiar fate of heating up only to be cooled down for no explicable reason. Pros: Sparks of shocking athleticism for a big man. He has a great look. He has at least some innate charisma. Cons: His personality is underdeveloped, and last night he was sweating profusely after a 1 minute jobber squash. He also needs a new finisher. The powerbomb symphony is anticlimactic."

[6.0] "I'll admit i was much more interested in him when he was in that storyline with MJF he played the role phenomenally but ever since MJF's pipenbomb Wardlow has been in the background and i keep forgetting he is TNT champ because they have been Booking orange Cassidy 10x better, He needs to go to WWE IMO they treat bigger guys like him much much better. Edit: Ok Yeah all his hype is gone and he is basically the most uninteresting person on the roster Rn when he should have been challenging MJF for the world title he is stuck in an endless tnt title hot potato."

[7.0] "Wardlow is a good wrestler, but not too much can really be said after that after alot of his momentum that he had this time last year has just simmered away and after an unremarkable tnt title reign and losing his ponytail, there isn't really much way to describe him positively other than decent and reliable."

[7.0] "Wardlow is a good talent but has been missing that extra oomph recently. He has presence and is very good at portraying emotion nonverbally. His move set is simple but devasting, the crowd loves it."

[7.0] "His presence is stronger than his mic skills, physique superior to his in-ring performance, but his popularity reached highs few others have seen in AEW. His feuds have been stronger than his matches, but the fans are clearly into his work. He hasn't quite reached the point where he elevates his opponents, but his star has shined bright, and has potential to shine brighter than most others in the company. To echo Daigotsu "he has the ability to connect with the crowd and that's all a guy with his look and athleticism really needs." Like many others in AEW, he seems to have suffered from inconsistent TV time, seemingly disappearing right at the pinnacle of his popularity. Considering how over he was, it wouldn't surprise me to see him go on a big TV title run soon, blowing past Joe to be one of the more dominant champions for what has been a rather transient championship belt in the company."

[7.0] "Wardlow had a very complicated year of highs and, if not lows, than less high. He was built up almost perfectly, and then really cooled off. In the ring, he's almost freakishly athletic. He hasn't had a lot of standout matches, although whether from lack of ability or lack of booking is unclear. He's enormously charismatic, but also really not that great on the microphone. However, he has the ability to connect with the crowd and that's all a guy with his look and athleticism really needs."

[6.0] "There's a lot of upside in Wardlow. Still very green but the tangibles are there: a tremendous look and able to connect with fans as the badass babyface. His booking has been very stop-start which doesn't help his progression at all but hopefully that comes good and he gets a sustained run to develop his in-ring skills because the fans want to get behind him."

[5.0] "Wardlow is a guy who isn't noticeably lacking in any area: He's got the look, he's confident if slightly uninspiring on the mic, and he works better than people who've made it to the top... And yet it's really difficult for me to get excited by him. He kinda reminds me of a generic tough guy in an action movie, or the first Create-A-Wrestler you'd make on a new video game. He has the pieces, but he needs to find something to stand out. Ditch the generic scream-rock music, the black gear and the predictable promos. Otherwise he'll always be underwhelming."

[4.0] "Das Phänomen Wardlow will sich mir einfach nicht erschließen. Warum ist der over? Ich habe von ihm bis heute kein gutes Match gesehen. Sein bestes Match war das Steelcage Match gegen Cody und auch das eigentlich nur wegen Codys Moonsault. Er hat für mich null Charisma (v.a. auch verglichen mit vergleichbaren Wrestlern der Vergangenheit wie Goldberg oder Batista), kein wirklich interessantes Gimmick und am Mic ist er zwar besser als erwartet, aber auch fern davon, dass ihn das als Gesamtpaket retten könnte. Das einzige was er hat ist gutes Booking und, zugegeben, die Story mit ihm und MJF war fantastisch gebookt. Das hat ihn over gebracht. Ohne diese Story jedoch werden seine Schwächen wieder viel deutlicher und man kann nur hoffen, dass AEW die Bremse zieht und ihn in naher Zukunft nicht noch weiter pusht. Vor allem in einem Roster, dass voll mit fantastischen Big Men ist (Keith Lee, Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Samoa Joe), kann ich nicht verstehen warum man den uninteressantesten von allen pusht und warum er dabei auch noch so over ist."

[7.0] "Wardlow eine echte Maschine! Für seine größe Agil im Ring und er überzeugt durch seine bloße Austrahlung wenn's zur Sache geht. Woran er alleridngs arbeiten sollte ist sein Moveset, da könnte durchaus mehr drin sein und er sollte noch etwas an seinen Promoskills arbeiten."

[8.0] "Wardlow hat ne krasse Ausstrahlung. Ein Powerhouse der aber auch ohne Probleme, ne standing Shootingstar oder eine Wunderschöne swanton bomb raushauen kann. Die Fehde von punk und mjf hat Wardlow unglaublich geholfen obwohl er ja eigentlich im Hintergrund war."

[10.0] "Not sure whay so many are sh1tting on the Wardlow run in AEW. He is a complete athlete. Great look, getting better on the mic, and has the size that most in AEW just do not have. I also dont see the comparisons to Batista....I believe he has already exceeded Batista in the ring, without the luxury of HHH and WWE pushing him to the moon."

[3.0] "Im Prinzip die 2022er-Version des WCW-Goldberg. Imposante Statur, limitierte In-Ring-Skills und ein Monster-Push aus der Hölle. Gut, für Letzteres kann er nichts, für die schlechten Matches am Fließband aber schon."

[9.0] "DER Wrestler der Zukunft und lange der einzige Grund AEW einzuschalten. Hat Alles, was ein zukünftiger Superstar und Main- Eventer braucht! Witd einmal Wrestlemania headlinen, da bin ich mir sicher.."

[4.0] "Wardlow has gone from an interesting wrestler that was fun to watch to dull as Hell powerhouse. Removed a lot of his offence and inexplicably decided to change his finisher to a plethora of powerbombs? .the problem being are his powerbombs are lacklustre at best and god awful looking at worst."

[6.0] "I will admit I might have been wrong about him. I didn't see much in him other than a big guy doing big guy things. However, his recent run with MJF both as his right-hand man and now the breakup has led me to reevaluate as I really enjoy seeing him. Part of that is the story and MJF himself so I can't give all the credit to Wardlow but there's no denying the talent and his ability to hit the right notes. He has a great connection with the public and I think he has improved on the mic. He still lacks in that department and he's not the most charismatic but still gets the job done. He's athletic and he can deliver solid moments in the ring as well. Still, I have reservations about when this story ends if he can hang on or will fade away. Time will tell and I will admit I have been wrong about him before so he might prove me wrong, and I will rate him higher if that day comes."

[7.0] "Wardlow is one of the best Big Man right now in Wrestling, physically he is very good, he is very strong, and he connects well with the public as a face, but I give him a 7 because I have seen men of his size move better and I think that in, In terms of variety of movements there are many ahead."

[6.0] "Problem with wrestlers like Wardlow is that they get over with fans only during short term hype. Of course I wish him all the best, I like him, but let's be honest, he doesn't have charismatic skills, probably not good in making promos. Wardlow reminds of Ryback, he could be pushed to the top and then fall dramatically."

[2.0] "Ich kann den Hype um den Typ überhaupt nicht nachvollziehen. Was er im Ring kann, oder eher nicht kann, hat er eindeutig im Match um den TNT Belt gegen Scorpio Sky gezeigt. Mit Müh und Not reicht es gerade noch für einen Suplex und einen Spinbuster. Seine Powerbombs gelingen auch nur meist anfangs, aber ab der zweiten und dritten fehlt trotz Muskelmasse ohne Ende dann irgendwo die Kraft, weil er die technisch unsauber durchzieht. Die Micwork ist auch nicht viel besser. Das ist alles insgesamt mangelhaft und daher auch nur 2 Punkte."

[8.0] "Still a prospect and still learning. Fantastic look and charismatic, although he urgently needs someone to talk for him. Future world champ, and very reminiscent of old-school monsters like Sid."

[5.0] "A decent big man with a standard big-man's 'monstrous' and 'powerful' offence. His performances have all been decent but unremarkable, but the fact he's been doing this slow, slowwwww-burn build of turning on MJF due to his lack of respect has meant he's often been relegated to simply standing upright and pouting menacingly instead of actually wrestling and showing us if he can put on a good match. He may have recently started FINALLY making efforts towards fully turning on MJF due to how disrespectful he's been, but the fact remains that Wardlow has been shown as immensely subordinate to MJF and lacking in self-respect or greater goals in wrestling outside of just protecting and serving MJF for SO long that it's resulted in him looking weak. How can I see a guy get yelled at and publicly embarrassed by a total prick like MJF and still respect him if he's then shown me that he clearly doesn't have any respect for himself to begin with? Is there even any reason why he continues to take the job? Is the extra money he gets from MJF really enough to soften the blow of putting up with his BS all the time? If these questions were answered on TV then maybe I could understand his reluctance to finally turn, and maybe that'd even make for a good story, but the fact Wardlow never talks and seems to exist solely for MJF's sake makes him feel a bit like just a scowling robot. Maybe things will change once he finally breaks away and either goes singles or finds a new group to attach himself to, but it's equally possible that abandoning MJF will then expose him as being just another big guy who can do power moves but lacks the important basics and any real character. I thought we were all past seeing a big musclehead and being like "OMG I'M SURE HE'LL BE A FANTASTIC WRESTLER BECAUSE MUSCLES AND SIZE = SKILL AND STAR POTENTIAL", but I guess that mindset still exists. I'm not saying it won't happen, but I haven't seen anything remotely unique from what I've seen of him so far to make me think he could be any sort of "star". AEW seem to think that giving someone a bunch of squash-match wins that 99% of the time are against absolute nobodies will somehow make him cool, but I disagree. I'd be far more impressed with him if he just got the chance to show he can actually consistently wrestle 10+ minute matches against meaningful opponents, instead of just dominating a 1-2 minute match with a bunch of set spots against total joke jobbers. I'm pretty certain Wardlow will be nothing special, but I'm happy to be proven wrong if that's possible."

[8.0] "Wardlow can perfectly be one of the faces of AEW in terms of heavyweights, the more he appears the more his potential is demonstrated, hopefully in such a time, for the moment he convinces me."

[4.0] "Another overblown & overhyped good looking but basic-in-the-ring big man who everyone has pegged to be a high potential MEGASTAR when he finally turns on MJF. I'm afraid they'll be disappointed when they realise or remember how Wardlow's capabilities as a performer without shortish squash matches to hide his greenness (despite being a 7 year vet) actually are. From these hilarious comments here alone, a suggestion would be to stop drinking the AEW gasoline or Kool-Aid."

[6.0] "Honestly, I don't really buy all the hype around this guy. Yeah, sure, he looks like a million bucks jacked wrestler, but take away MJF and the Pineapple and all you've got is a guy who stares angrily at his opponent and is repetitive in the ring. He can do some cool moves, but he's gotta put together a cohesive moveset that can allow him to stand on his own. Tough angry guy won't work when he's on his own, this isn't GCW."

[5.0] "Gets relatively good booking and is protected well as a enforcer-type who rarely gets his hands dirty in a actual competitive setting, getting a lot of squash matches to pad up his rep as such. This may be because he's admittedly quite basic in the ring and focuses a lot on relatively slow power moves. He's certainly not a fast learner (7 years in the business thus far and he's still not quite there) as he's taken slow steps to where he is today. While he does have a good look and certainly has that intimidation factor set down, he still wrestles pretty green and doesn't have anything that really makes him stand out beyond his size. Has potential and the years to get better, but for now I can't really put him any higher"

[6.0] "Great look and agile for his size. As others said I haven't seen anything that really impressed me beyond the Cody match. Some call it "protecting the character" but he wrestles in front of a crowd so rarely it's difficult to see him improving significantly. Some of his power moves have looked not good when done on a non-junior but he's not a bad wrestler by any means. He's got potential to be a pretty capable promo; he's a decent talker but he doesn't really have an actual character though there is some backstory: "single(? ) dad and broke/in serious debt for some reason, doesn't have an actual contract with AEW and is in indentured servitude to MJF as his bodyguard" (if I'm getting all this right). Will he grow into a megastar, or remain an upgraded Joey Abs?"

[6.0] "Wardlow looks cool and all, but he hasn't done anything to really impress me all that much. Once he starts giving us some reasons to care about him, I'm sure his score will go up"

[7.0] "Wardlow has untapped potential in gallons. Firstly, he looks like a million bucks; how Vince didn't snap up a guy that looks like something he'd sculpt out of marble in his wettest dreams is beyond me. Secondly, the glimpses we've seen of him in the ring have been really exciting indications of his talent. His matches in the World Title tournament in particular stand out. Lastly, his promo work has, I feel, been unfairly critiqued. If he has a problem, I believe it to be a lack off character rather than ability. The foundations of a good talker are there. Wardlow, given the right trajectory and ample nurturing, could become the quintessential definition of a complete wrestler. We are all counting the days until he turns on his villainous handler MJF and the Wardog can really be let loose."

[7.0] "For someone who's in his mid 30s, he's still rather green & timid in the ring (especially when it comes to talking). But he's not bad, by any means. He's mostly been used sparingly, which I think is a good thing. No need to overexpose him & that's a good way to keep him feeling special. Hopefully he'll be able to really take off in the future."

[8.0] "Really impressed me since he had the cage match with Cody. He incredibly strong and agile and looks to be adding character to his work with the hints that he is getting annoyed by MJF"

"Incredibly impressed by this man in the ring and by his burgeoning character. He has been protected fairly well in AEW and has also done more with the role than most."

[7.0] "Excellent agile big man who can do power moves and " flippy shit" with credibility. He is positioned as a future main eventer by AEW, keeping him on television constantly as the hired bodyguard for MJF as well as featuring him in matches where he either squashes jobbers or is competitive and believable with stars of other future stars. I'd say if he develops microphone skills as well, he will be a lock for World champion in 2-3 years."

[7.0] "Guter Mann, könnte auch der kleinere Bruder von Brian Cage sein. Er sieht Brian sehr ähnlich dazu fehden die beiden. Man sieht jetzt in den Matches seinen Jiu-Jitsu nicht unbedingt dafür ist er ein kräftiges Powerhouse. Bei IWC längst eine feste Größe ihn sehe ich da als einer der Starpower der Liga an. Edit 14. 09. 2020 Aktuell noch in der Bodyguard Rolle von MJF aber es gibt schon Risse und ich bin gespannt wie das weitergeht."

[6.0] "Wardlow is a big, strong, athletic wrestler who has a lot of upside, but needs more work. Against a great wrestler, he can have great matches. On AEW Dark, even his jobber matches can be a chore. He's got a huge future, and can only get better, but his high praise from cage match is mostly b. c of the promotion he's with and not based on his matches or wrestling"

"Wardlow sieht zumindest mal wie ein richtiger Wrestler aus. Scheint auch bißchen was im Ring drauf zu haben. Leider habe ich erst ein Jobber Match und das Cage Match vs. Cody gesehen, sodass ich natürlich noch keine Bewertung vornehmen kann. Als Bodyguard von MJF kann er mich schon jetzt überzeugen."

[10.0] "Wardlow kicks so much ass, he makes me so happy when I see him. He's such a throwback to that brand of huge jacked dude with no personality from the WWE Ruthless Aggression era and that makes me feel very nostalgic"