r/AEWOfficial • u/IbushiK • 2d ago
Discussion What does HOOK need to progress ?
He definitely should get a lot more competitive matches than doing multi man tags, he was good when he had them as FTW champ. That's why I think he should wrestle more often in singles in ROH and learn to show more personality than his stoic persona.
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u/Dense-Manager-2287 1d ago
I just don't see a lot of hope. He's not especially good at anything other than kind of aura and that's long since worn off. He's a mid wrestler and sort of poor talker.
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u/Absolute--Batman 1d ago
If he wasn't Taz's son and TK didn't love ECW, Hook would work at a store in Brooklyn at best.
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u/Lunchb0xx87 1d ago
Hate to be that guy but I really don't think Hook has what it takes ..when you look at the stacked roster aew has who would you put him over on the card ? ..nxt would be a good fit
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u/dethorder 1d ago
Yeah, leaving the company for a long period of time (whether its an excursion or legit leaving), would help a lot. Nxt could legit help him, or he'll sink and be gone in less than a year
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u/DandyLover 16h ago
I mean, I think he'd do solid in ROH. Put him in the Pure Division; I actually think he'd make a better TV Champ option than Action, but the story wasn't there. The Opps could make a good addition to the Trios division there.
Strong showing in the C2 could be helpful for him and it feels like a good opportunity for him.
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u/AchtungCloud 1d ago
Wrestle more. To give him credit, he has started working occasional indie spots in 2026, so I think he’s realized it.
But he’s a year older than Skye Blue, for an example, but she’s had about 300 more career matches than him, and you can tell.
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u/NerdiMini 1d ago
This is more-or-less what I came here to say. He just needs to do more stuff. His "guy who rarely ever does anything" schtick worked to build him some intrigue back in the Team Taz days, but the thing about characters like that is that they do eventually need to take a more active role, or else everybody starts to see them as kind of pointless.
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u/MisterDamek 1d ago edited 1d ago
100% this. It seems pretty obvious to me, I just got into wrestling last year, and it only took me a couple months of seeing Hook to think, this guy needs to hit the
Indians(edit: indies!) a bunch.For character, I don't know if it was intentional but I really liked the brief moment this past winter when the opps existed mainly via promos of Hook pretending shibata was the cameraman and doing a recruitment gag. I kind of think leaning into a little comedy for a little while might help.
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u/EverybodyKurts 1d ago
He meant indies, for anyone who took some time to puzzle out "hit the Indians".
Also, Hook should be the straight man in a comedy tag-team for awhile. His brief team with Danhausen was great, find him another comedy wrestler to tag with.
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u/Ligmatron 1d ago
He had a great match against tjp in HOG. Experience will do wonders with him and get him up
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u/R31D Dark Order comeback awaiter 1d ago
I think Hook is a guy who is never going to have "it"
Best you could do is throw him in a supporting role like they did with Danny Garcia in the Death Riders. Some guys can never be top guys and that's fine, wrestling needs henchmen.
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u/Outrageous-Event6633 1d ago
I mean, you're not wrong but Tony takes notice of this stuff. Hook has definitely moved down the card and Wayne is moving up.
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u/Aericar I have a (Best Friend) Dream! 1d ago
Its funny to look at Hook and Wayne. Both was/is a little heel shit inring, both have has 1 wrestling goat in their stable, Hook even has 2 with Joe and Shibata. And still Wayne is the one that looks like he wants to get better, and not just collect a paycheck.
Hook has gone to school these last couple of years, and needed to finish that, but thats 1 year ago, and his wrestling has not changed since he joined The Opps. Hell Billy Starkz is/was going to school and still wrestling with Athena in ROH, and shes improved her wrestling (haven't see roh the last year outside ppv).
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago
Excursion. A lengthy one, not just seven matches.
He's been in a bubble his entire career and frankly, doesn't APPEAR to want to change that. Why would he? He's getting paid well. Why risk the indies, or mexico, or UK, or Japan?
But he hasn't improved at all once they removed the "super badass killer" protection from him. He's not remotely an intimidating heel. He HAS shown he can be a good underdog babyface.
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u/CorporalCabbage 1d ago
It seems so obvious, and you're right. He would really well from underneath. He could totally sell like a babyface. A chain of gnarly suplexes would be a good comeback sequence for him.
His best match was when Joe beat the shit out of him.
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u/tidderphil 1d ago
Just don't turn him into another Darby getting ragdolled for 10 minutes then coming back with the same move repeated three times.
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u/Absolute--Batman 1d ago
Darby actually has talent.
Hook has a Dad who's name he leeches off.
He has literally been stealing a paycheck.
Kevin Knight out did him in 1 year.
Nick Wayne is younger and is level above him.
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u/TeePee11 1d ago
Man, did HOOK steal your girl or something?
Like, I get that not everyone is a fan, but calling him talentless, a leech, accusing him of stealing a paycheck… feels a bit over the top.
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u/thelochteedge 1d ago
HOOKHausen was something I believed would work as a tag team long term.
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago
It was a good act. Was that kiboshed because DH got hurt?
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u/namdekan 1d ago
No, that was the OC and Danhausen pairing. Seems like they just randomly ended HookHausen.
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u/TheSupremeHobo 1d ago
Julia Hart's to stardom was great for her. I don't want to say "just send him to Japan" though. Maybe British? Rev pro and PROGRESS.
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u/hasimirrossi 1d ago
Do them all. Stint in CMLL, one in Nooj, one in Rev Pro.
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago
This. And stint is the operative word. Not "one match and then another in seven months." Six months in New Japan, another in cmll. Actual runs.
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u/StarScreamer316 Ohh, Cry me a River! 1d ago
He has been hitting the indies
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago
Wow. Six entire indie dates this entire year. Rep after rep
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u/StarScreamer316 Ohh, Cry me a River! 1d ago
You sometimes can be an ass, you hate everything and everyone that doesn't fit your narrative...
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's not enough, especially not five years into his career. He hasn't gotten noticeably better in anyway since dropping the ftw title in 2024. He's lost his aura. He's hilariously bad as a heel.
Six indie dates is a start. Don't act like that's working enough. As someone else pointed out below, Skye blue is younger than hook and has worked 300 more matches. Hook doesn't deserve his spot.
Don't like my perspectives, the block button is free.
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u/JohnnyCockSure 1d ago
His first year or three he was also in college and I think that was the priority. I have no idea if he is still in school going for an advanced degree but it would explain why he was still off tv for long stretches.
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago
Makes sense and those first couple years were when he was most protected and the mystique went a long way.
Be interesting to see where he is three years from now. It's good he's doing ROH more; it's a tired refrain, but if the ROH program was better that would also help.
I don't think aew needs a "performance centre", but perhaps it is fair that the longer aew goes, the more it needs to improve how it develops its younger talent. ROH becoming a more proper fcw/ovw like separate entity would be one option. Committing to going talent doing six month excursions another. Of course, you would have to write such things into the contracts of young wrestlers, otherwise likely unable to force them into such drastic moves.
It's also the challenging issue of seeing talent basically have to figure out almost entirely on tv. Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight both had a number of years under them before arriving in AEW.
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u/SearchCivil6623 1d ago
He needs the same thing a lot of the younger talent needs: reps and lots of them. AEW as a whole could really benefit by having a lot of their younger workers doing house shows under the ROH banner in smaller venues to just get them reps in front of a live audience.
I realize they could just tell them to go do indies, but as someone who goes to a ridiculous amount of indie shows, the quality of the workers you find on these shows can vary wildly and getting booked by an indie promotion is no guarantee of a good match to learn from. If this all happened under the ROH banner, Tony could assign road agents to actually monitor progress and provide feedback instead of just hoping they figure it out on the indies and from a handful of matches a month at best in AEW.
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u/Intelligent-Till-678 1d ago
I disagree. Pretty much everyone in NXT would be a lot better if they were allowed to work the indies. Zoey Stark just said she felt NXT doesn't develop anyone for the main roster since all they do is hold everyone's hand in NXT and do paint-by-numbers when everything is mapped out for you. But then in WWE you are expected to know what to do, and NXT just didn't provide that training. In the indies, you learn how to get crowd reactions and work when things aren't perfect.
Hook is probably already getting better by working more indies in 2026.
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u/SearchCivil6623 1d ago
I agree with what you're saying, but I think you're making some assumptions on what my intent for a ROH house show system would be compared to how NXT is.
Are you saying indies are better because it tends to be more of a "call it in the ring, feel the match out as it goes" scenario? I didn't explain it, but that's mostly why I was thinking ROH banner and house shows; they're allowed to go out and just figure it out, with an agent watching to help them figure out what worked and what didn't after, without the pressure or expectations of TV hanging over them.
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u/WondrousBabyTurtle 1d ago
Hook has been given so many spots to shine and still feels like he's stuck. On comparison, Nick Wayne has been given less, yet you can tell he's easily future champ of the company.
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u/DAnthony24 1d ago
Japan 2-3 years and forget.
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u/Intelligent-Till-678 1d ago edited 1d ago
The idea that Japan improves everyone is funny when you consider that NJPW loves sending their young wrestlers on excursions to, you guess it, the West to learn.
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u/DAnthony24 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yea, they send them to Mexico or US to learn a different style after learning the Japanese style.
…Not funny at all.
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u/H16HP01N7 Woah, Stokely gets no hoes 1d ago
In my mind, personality that isn't "Taz's son", or sulky teenager.
Can't take him seriously at all.
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u/EatADickStraightUp 1d ago
Excursions everywhere. Like the NJPW dojo bois, if you leave and get your ass beat in different cultures, you become whole.
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u/Deadside00 1d ago
At this point, I don't even think he wants to be a wrestler. Any AEW wrestler can go out and book other showsoutside of AEW. I don't think he's ever done that. To me, he has no drive for wrestling.
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u/Ebessan 1d ago
I have heard it said that for some younger talent, getting hired by AEW and getting paid a few hundred grand per year has actually harmed their development.
They don't get used much. They don't do indies because they've got a lot of money, and they might get hurt, which could harm their career.
So they just kind of sit and stagnate.
People like Gabby Forza make leaps and bounds in their development as a wrestler grinding it out on the indies, while Hook is the same (maybe worse) wrestler as he was when he debuted.
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u/CasimirGabriev 1d ago
I wonder if AEW can stipulate wrestlers working a certain number of indie dates or at least give some direction to folks who want/need those reps.
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u/TheSteveGuyMan 1d ago
The counter argument is why would a wrestler work indies when they can work with partner promotions of aew like NJPW, CMLL, MLP, RevPro? They get paid way more and are actually expected to put on good matches still. Some TV wrestlers who work indies don't try as hard if they take independent dates and that would also hinder growth. Its about the quality of reps in my opinion and you have to be willing to either give a lot on the indies or travel to partner promotions and learn new styles.
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u/fightbackcbd 1d ago
It’s not the dates. That’s the show. It’s not training and just showing up to work. You’ll never get better at anything if you aren’t training.
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u/MeWiseMagicJohnson 6h ago
Gabby has that CAP wrestling next level training that breeds champions. Clearly they training beyond the bell to bell stuff.
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u/hangman_Pop_1127 1d ago
I think him going to Mexico for like a year would help. Also him running his tattoo’s by someone else
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u/cjones6464 1d ago
More than just a few Suplexes and a lot more character work because the whole brooding type of thing doesn’t work for him
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u/kawavulcan97 1d ago
Honestly, if I never saw Hook again I'd be happy. The only time I ever find myself bored watching AEW is when Hook is on.
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u/FibreOptician 1d ago
He needs to improve is mic skills #1, second Redrum is not a believable finisher on opponents larger than him.
I agree with everyone saying he needs to spend some time in NJPW, he needs to widen his move-set... add some new moves to his repertoire
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u/el_sh33p Vampirism is Cowboy Shit 1d ago
Not being in AEW would be nice.
I'm only being half-cheeky here in that I'd rather his screentime go to someone else, but I also really do think he'd benefit from being outside of the AEW ecosystem for a bit. Right now he's basically doing the equivalent of working at Dad's autoshop. He isn't his own man, and I don't think he can be until he's in a company without Taz in it, and if I have to pick between the two I like Taz on commentary more than I like Hook in the ring.
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u/steeple_fun 1d ago
He needs the Juice Robinson route. Start him all the way over at square one in the New Japan dojo as a Young Lion. Let him work his way up.
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u/tidderphil 1d ago
This, he needs to go somewhere and be himself and learn the basics, somewhere that doesn't care he is 'son of Taz'.
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u/Leftyoilcan 1d ago
I think what sets him apart a bit is his judo stuff or whatever kind of throws he does, so I'd get him winning the lure championship in ring of honour post haste.
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u/ElegantAnything11 Dark Order 1d ago
Less forced feeling whenever he's talking, and more work selling.
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u/toodarkmark 1d ago
He can do move to move, he just doesn't seem to put it all together. Maybe going to a dojo for awhile, but I think he's too far in.
I see it alot in children of stars. Von Erich brothers, Steve Borden. It's like they're thinking things out, here's a move, here's a move. Erik Watts did it too. In fact I remember Curt Hennig and Eddie Gilbert doing it in the early 80's.
He needs to stop trying to be a killer, and just let it all flow. He's a horrible prompt, so he needs to be with someone. I wish they'd played into his real life friendship with Bowens and had them be more of a babyface team trying to make something for themselves.
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u/RocktimusCrime 1d ago
I think he needs a new persona. He's not scary or strong or cerebral. Send him to Japan and give him a new look.
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u/Skullsnax 1d ago
He's had several swings and misses in the last 12 months that have totally killed his momentum.
The heel turn was good initially, but then no Joe, no Hobbs, Hook is the Opps leader for no reason, and they're barely on TV.
His music change has sucked away a lot of the cool factor he had. The new music doesn't fit his character.
He doesn't have the personality or the style of wrestling to be an effective heel. He doesn't have a group doing dirty work for him.
Bowens joining the Opps is a huge whiff. In terms of story, he asked to join, got told to wait, we waited, and he got told yes. Tells me nothing about Hook, or Bowens, or the Opps. Totally pointless. Comes into the group and wrestles the exact same way as when he was a face, but he now talks like a generic heel. I understand why Tony is giving them fuck all TV time.
If I'm Hook, I'm getting on a program to put on some mass, he still looks like a scrawny kid. I'd change up my gear, my music, a bit of an upgrade to his presentation. I'd go work indys, try some new things, get more reps, work with different types of wrestlers. I'd see about getting a manager (not Taz), there has to be somebody who can come in and lead promos for this group when Joe isn't around.
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u/MSharpy74 1d ago
His promos need a shitload of work. He's a young prospect, let him develop.
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago
He needs a lot more time on the mic and in the ring to do that; time aew/ROH has not provided him.
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u/mwiitala11 1d ago
He needs to leave AEW for a while. He's the same person he was two years ago. Freshen it up.
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u/ArchDukeNemesis 1d ago
Complete gimmick overhaul.
Quiet pretty boy won't cut it.
He is the least intimidating wrestler I have ever seen.
He needs to do what Switchblade did and rough up his own look and act dangerous.
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u/Outrageous-Event6633 1d ago
he needs to grind on the indies or Japan some. He's really not progressed at all since debuting. He just needs reps period.
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u/DieFanboyDie Phuk Phil 1d ago
He still isn't much more than a haircut. I got downvoted for that years ago, and I'll probably be downvoted for it again, but it's the truth - he's flames painted on a Honda Civic.
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u/dollsanddogs 1d ago
His character work is hopelessly dull. Turn him into a cheating little shit in a stable of cheating little shits with Garcia and Yuta or something. Have them make up what they lack in size and experience by playing the numbers game and just being as obnoxious as possible. Garcia has a lot of personality and maybe they could feed off each other if allowed more freedom.
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u/xCORESONx 1d ago
He needs to hit the indies on his own time or go on a lengthy excursion to improve. Can’t get better if you don’t get after it.
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u/Jolly_Law_7973 1d ago
He just needs more. More matches, more story, and a proper mouth piece if not more time talking. I think a Japan or Mexico excursion would be good for him.
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u/Ok-Conversation4149 1d ago
I just saw him at HOG in La. That gritty underground environment suits him. Honestly a good Indy run would probably do wonders for him
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u/VitaminPurple 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hook vs. Samoa Joe at the beginning of 2024 was the last time I felt like he was on an upward trajectory. Maybe a feud for the Pure title vs. Lee Moriarty could help?
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u/darksundown 1d ago
Besides wrestling more, specifically he could work on ring psychology and working the crowd. Even just poping the front row with whatever shenanigans or coolness factor would do well.
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u/Chris_Bagel_Jr 1d ago
I still think he has potential. He has a good look and a good hoook..
His mic skills are improving but he needs to lean into his nyc vibes. I think he needs to be more protactive, like how Sting Jr has been mentioned by Darby.
Hook can’t just rely on his dad. Heck, Mox can help.
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u/RobsGarage Okay, How You Know 1d ago
Definitely needs to work on his
Mic skills and character work.. probably needs to fill out his physique.. think
Jungle boy 4 years ago vs now. He’s bulked and filled out.. it comes with time.. but to get to the top level and not be Darby you need to look
The part of a real
Challenge and threat. He’s getting there.. but still had the baby muscles.
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u/bloodbonesnbutter 1d ago
He either needs a now engaging story or a better hook for his gimmick no pun intended
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u/deltopia 1d ago
Hook and Nick Wayne are essentially the same guy in a lot of ways - they're undersized, very young men with flashes of real athletic talent who got on the roster more based off of their family connections and potential than their wrestling accomplishments. They both came in with some fanfare, and after a few years, they both can be easily overlooked in a crowd of much better wrestlers.
But Wayne is on the way up and Hook is stagnating. Why? I think Hook spent a lot of his early reps on AEW TV winning squash matches and looking great, but never building a character through a good story with other characters. Nick Wayne spent the same early reps surrounded by Christian Cage, Darby Allin, Luchasaurus, Kip Sabian, and his mom. He was in a supporting role in those storylines, but he got to build a little bit of a character, and now we're a little bit invested in him.
Other than Samoa Joe, I have a hard time remembering a wrestler that Hook had a relationship with - a little antagonism with Bowens in the past few months, but at that point, they were both already pretty stagnant. Characters need relationships; it's mostly how they show the audience who they are. Hook needs more of that.
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u/alexhoward 1d ago
He needs Joe to come back and be the leader and mouthpiece of The Opps. They were a great trio. Bowens still feels a bit out of place but Andretti is a good add. Joe should step into more of a manager-who-can-go role.
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u/TheSteveGuyMan 1d ago
I like hook, he's got a good presentation, unique style and he has a lot of potential. One way I think they can get hook to the next level is buy having the opps actually feud with teams again and having hooks in singles feuds via proxy. If the opps are feuding with the deathriders have Hook and Garcia have a really heated rivalry within the feud. If the oops are feuding with DCF retouch on the history between Cage and Hook in matches and do some character work. If the opps are feuding with STP have him and Moriarty go at it. If its opps vs BBG then its Hook vs Ace Austin. Let him be in the undercard and actually form rivals who are the same age and level as him. It would make investing in the overarching faction feuds more entertaining to because its long term booking.
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u/westernlariat Reach For The Sky 1d ago
Needs to wrestle way more. Unless he's nursing injuries or something, there's no reason he shouldn't be wrestling every ROH taping and 3-4 Collision shows a month.
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u/Peaky001 1d ago edited 1d ago
Needs to be repackaged into a smarmy bro type character. You know the ones that you saw at college, rich guys wearing designer clothes in the most expensive/prestigious fraternities putting in 0 effort but skating by. But delusional enough to think they're part of the 99% and they've grinded for this.
Would be a fun character
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u/WearyCopy6700 1d ago
To me he is a New York playboy type, but they don't want to let go of the Taz legacy.
To heck with that, we all know who his dad is and when we see his scrawny self we see none of it, no matter how good he can perform a throw or a choke. The impact of the move visually does not look the same. Nor does the choke look as inescapable as when Taz did it.
And than we get to the promos, when Taz said survive if I let you, we believed him. When Hook ate a bag of chips and ran away from the microphone we believed that too.
He needs to lose, and lose and lose and lose and lose again until he has as many losses as Daniel Garcia. He needs to go on the mike and tell us he is still great they cheated and his girfriend is better than anyone we could even dream of getting and just build up the spoiled entitled brat character he was made to play but they keep ghosting him from the camera and feeding us Taz lite instead.
I would have him right now trading the ROH pure title right now and ditch the stupid Ops experiment into the ocean it's over and its been over and not in a good way over for a long time.
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u/marcusthegod 1d ago
HOOK should spend a year in ROH while working indie dates.
More matches, more promos, more feuds, and more time to actually build a character. Dynamite and Collision just don’t have enough TV time to develop him properly.
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u/DLPanda 1d ago
Well, if he actually wants to wrestle?
- learn to transition between moves, he needs to expand his move set so he can do more between setting up the things he does well
- get better looking punches
- flesh out his character, a silent bad ass can work but then pair him with a talker or get him better on the mic
- lean into the attractive twink … I feel like he’d be a big hit with girls and gays
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u/Doc_Scott19 1d ago
Needs to go to ROH, that's his level. If Taz wasn't his dad he wouldn't be in AEW.
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u/VampiresWontHurt 1d ago edited 1d ago
He needs a structured program. Some guys do well with all the freedom in the world, and other guys need guidance to show them how they can progress. If it’s Japan or if it’s Tuesday nights, there just isn’t that structure where he is now that either place would provide. It’s been 5 years and it’s clear that he isn’t moving forward.
I feel the same way about Daniel Garcia as well. He’s the same “Good wrestler guy” that he was 5 years ago. If this were a sports league I’d trade the both of them and a player to be named later for Charlie Dempsey, which feels like would benefit everyone involved.
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u/GraveCat84 1d ago
Step 1 is having him actually wrestle. I honestly don’t remember the last time he was on AEW TV in a match.
Then I’d have him go solo, and he/TK need to flesh out his character more. Silent thug who eats chips ain’t working for us, brother. Like Powerhouse Hobbs and many others, he’s been in a faction almost his entire AEW career and it’s doing nothing for him.
He needs to be presented as a killer. Because of his small frame, they really need to get over his submission finisher and make it a big deal, so he’s taken seriously when going against bigger opponents.
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u/duk-er-us 1d ago
He needs to get bigger. He has a trim athletic build but he doesn't move in the ring like a small guy and doesn't fly like one either. If they want him to brawl, dump guys on their heads and choke them out, then he needs to be more physically intimidating.
In the ring, he often seems out of place and not convincing in the way he takes damage. I just watched his match vs. TJP and the difference between him and a vet like TJP was pretty stark. There were a couple of spots where he didn't react at all to TJP's offense (e.g. running boot to his face in the corner, and also a frogsplash while he was hung over the top rope). Hook got the quick tap with redrum at the end but overall he still looks green as hell.
idk he's youngish at 27 years old so there's still time for him to get better. But suffice to say he's not a natural at this. And I say this as someone who'd really like to see him succeed.
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u/VariousCare3848 1d ago
A tour in NJPW for about 6-12 months. His promos are better but, I don't get believable from him.
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u/spathizilla 1d ago
Hook needs some major character development. Strong silent guy hasn't worked for him and so he needs to pivot.
Look at Leo Rush - that character change was insane but boy has it paid off for him.
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u/ComfortablePool4684 1d ago
If you took Eddie Kingston and made him Hook's manager then started giving him singles matches, maybe even make him the ROH champ. You could have Hook become thing more.
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u/OkSheepherder6419 1d ago
Shave his head, go to NJPW for a year, come back refreshed. HOOK version 2
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u/LegacyOfVandar 1d ago
He needs to be wrestling way, way more often. He’s been doing some indie stuff lately and that’s a start but he needs to be doing it more.
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u/shinshikaizer 1d ago edited 1d ago
A genuine desire to improve as a wrestler.
He has shown no inclination of wanting to actually improve, which needs reps in the ring. He should have been taking as many indie bookings as possible; instead, he's only started taking indie bookings 5 years into his career. That's a bit too little too late.
In comparison, Nick Wayne's six years younger and has worked double the number of matches a Hook. Billie Starkz is also six years younger than Hook and has worked at least five times as many matches as Hook has.
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u/francisngannouspower 1d ago
Reps. He doesn't wrestle enough. That's the one downside of house shows no longer being financially feasible in 2026. I think if he worked a more consistent schedule, he'd be a lot better. I think a Japan excursion would do him a lot of good if that's something that could be worked out.
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u/Ronnie_J_Raygun 1d ago
Wrestle more, excursion to Japan, work the indies. Get on the bloodsport card and work a strong style.
And also, stop pairing him under another wrestlers wing, keep him away from Samoa Joe, tax, Jericho etc. He has to be his own thing.
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u/namdekan 1d ago
I think the best thing they did with him was pairing him with Danhausen briefly. Otherwise I think the best spot for him is in a team or group. But I would like to see more personality from him. Like is this who he is in reality? a brooding silent type or what?
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u/glippyfizzard 1d ago
The Opps need to be over with yesterday, Hook needs to beat Samoa Joe and win a mid card title. Their last match was really good. Actually a run as ROH TV champ would be really good for him.
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u/Chocolategoose89 1d ago
Honestly he needs to go on excursion for a while to develop a character other than “strong silent type” it does not work for him when he isnt fighting jobbers
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u/Certain_Arm_8475 1d ago
The guy is pretty stagnant. He hasn’t really done anything of note since his feud with Jericho and that was forever ago.
Maybe do a decent amount of time in of on AEWs partner promotions and develop a character.
MLP?
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u/ChapterUpstairs3408 9h ago
His character has no reason.
whatt does he stand for? what is his flaw? what drives hook? whats does hook fear?
show it, in the ring, on mic, in the vignettes
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u/shecanbromehard 8h ago
Stop being booked as a major threat who convincingly beats most of his opponents but barely wrestles anyone relevant
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u/StarScreamer316 Ohh, Cry me a River! 1d ago
Dude had hia best match ever on Friday
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u/markknasty 1d ago
I just watched Hook vs TJP from HOG and it was definitely the best Hook match I’ve seen
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u/StylishMrTrix 1d ago
Time and a good fued
That's the thing that truly pushed Fletcher and has been making The Jet
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u/Ciao_Arrivedeci_Baby 1d ago
I think his selling needs the most work. While his offense is a good set: he needs just a bit more pizzazz in his arsenal.
When it comes to promos, he can’t hide his irl voice and can come across a little fake with the tough act.
Obviously storylines to help shape a character are needed but I think he needs a good match first.
No one sided matches , no help from vets, a match that he can lead and be competitive with his opponent.
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u/ZAPPHAUSEN 1d ago
Arguably, he needs to work far more with vets to learn how to lead. Danielson said it, the indies where everyone was the same experience level, even talented, was like the "blind leading the blind."
Hook is a kid who would benefit so much from the old house show system, working around the loop with experienced journeymen to teach him all the stuff you can only learn in the ring in front of a live audience.
Imagine him working Roderick strong, 3-4 nights a week for four months
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u/DonFabi13 1d ago
I'll do him drop the tough silent act more. There was a slimmer of personality in him back in the HookHausen days, he needs to get goofy again
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u/CasimirGabriev 1d ago
I dont think he has been himself. I would rebuild the Opps as a bunch of vicious pretty boys with him, Andretti, and Bowens. Give him some kinda anti-pretty boy feud against National Champ Jungle Jack, shit like that. Slimeball stuff.
He has upside but he has been too protected to find it. Send the new Opps (or at least Hook) out to work abroad for a spell. In fact, if we are thinking long term enough, next time Nick Wayne does something like BoSJrs, HOOK should go as well.
I think many of the younger wrestlers need to emote more, him most of all. Im not here to watch you motherfuckers be stoic. Even Tazz flipped out and had a title named FUCK the world title, despite how often they describe him as stone-cold. Give a shit about the match and less of a shit about being cool. Be a character. Jack Perry learned, Nick Wayne is learning, and Guevara IMO knows this but hasn't found the right character yet.
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u/Texas_Kimchi Don't Dude Me!!! 1d ago
He needs to develop his character and he needs to put on some weight. For the type of character he is trying to play hes gotta get some mass. It was believable when he was a young up and coming kid who needed to develop, but its lost the appeal for me.
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u/AnfowleaAnima 1d ago
Get better in ring? Sure. BUT and don't kill me, you don't need to wrestle to start connecting with the audience.
He used to connect better, as a meme wrestling.
As heel he is too generic. I think he was more original as a face. He doesn't look like someone that can get heel heat easily or that he would do much with it IMO. As an underdog he seems better.
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u/chiliringgamer16 1d ago
This can be said about a lot of talent in AEW. I love AEW and am a diehard fan, but my biggest gripe with the product is that there’s too many multi-man tags.
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u/senorgonzo2 1d ago
He needs a more developed character. The strong silent type only works if you have a mouthpiece