Nepotism is nothing new in professional wrestling. In fact, in some ways, the business was built on it. The reason being isn’t almost meant in the most sinister fashion either. Keep in mind, the origins of sports entertainment where based on the crooked games, or the “con” of the carnival circuit. Even in its purest form, the business is built on deception, with the result designed to give fans their money’s worth in the end.
When the result is predetermined, it’s easy for some ham-and-egger to proclaim that they would’ve drawn as much money as Ric Flair, “if they were only given the chance.” If a player drops the ball in the end zone, strikes out at the plate, or misses that last-second shot, the final score reflects the end result. Since professional wrestling, particularly the angles that draw money aren’t that cut and dry, which is ironically what allows the business to survive over the years, any local yokel could be delusional enough to believe with a minuscule fraction of hope that they would’ve been as successful as the guy that actually got the opportunity to excel at the craft.
Because of that, specifically in a bygone era, promoters would rather trust someone that joins the family business before they would put stock into the independent contractor that could no-show or demand more cash before they would go to the ring.
It might’ve been nepotism, but that doesn’t automatically translate to anything nefarious.
Fritz Von Erich built and syndicated his World Class territory around his sons David, Kerry, and Kevin. That trios proved that they could go and carried the organization through its peak. The aftermath, as well as the commendable, but ultimately failed efforts of Mike and Chris are a different story. Dory Sr. broke his sons into the business, and they both surpassed their famous father with legacies of their own. Within the modern landscape, we’ve seen an entirely new chapter with the legacy of the names Rhodes and Flair.
The bottom line is, a famous last name has cache, and at least in the short-term, there will be a novelty level of interest based upon it.
That’s why the recent “controversy,” if you want to call it that, surrounding the son of AJ Styles, Avery is a little puzzling.
The 19-year-old Styles has roughly half a dozen matches under his belt, and spent time training with Nattie Neidhart at her version of the Dungeon that she established with WWE producer, TJ Wilson. As is usually the case, Game Changer Wrestling ran a pair of shows around WWE’s pay-per-view weekend when TKO brought Summer Slam to Minneapolis two weeks ago. Since GCW is a touring, but still independent organization, they essentially link up with local independent leagues in each market where they bring shows for mostly trivial logistics, such as the ring, chairs, and event staff.
For their trip to Minnesota, GCW utilized the set up of Arik Cannon, a longtime independent worker that has run F1RST Wrestling in his home state successfully for several years. F1RST was the local portion of the events that GCW ran Summer Slam weekend, with co-promoted shows to cater to the local fan base, as well as those that traveled to Minneapolis for the pay-per-view.
Since those shows, Nattie posted online that she saw Avery as someone that wants to pay his dues in the sport, implying that he doesn’t want to coast on his last name. That prompted the previously mentioned Arik Cannon to respond on Twitter that the second generation Styles didn’t help with ring crew or chairs, going as far as to claim that Avery was asked to help, but wasn’t around for the construction of the squared circle. Naturally, AJ chimed in to defend his son, explaining that Avery was paid to wrestle for GCW, not set up Arik Cannon’s ring.
AJ might have a point, but I’m not sure anyone will be declared right or wrong in his skirmish since most of it depends on individual perspective.
Obviously, Arik Cannon is implying that Avery Styles thinks that he’s above the menial task of setting up a pro wrestling ring, and technically that’s possible, the youngster might’ve assumed that it’s not his problem since he wasn’t there for F1RST Wrestling. At the same time, at least as of this writing, there’s nothing to indicate, nor has Avery Styles said anything publicly to suggest that he was too arrogant to lend a hand.
Don’t get me wrong, in the social media age, where every yo-yo with a voice app has a podcast since they think their opinion is important enough to be heard, or everyone thinks they can be a Youtube star because they can record themselves shopping with an iPhone, it’s very possible that some entitled punk thought they were above helping others.
However, until I’m proven otherwise, I’d say that Avery Styles deserves a break on this one, or at the very least, the wrestling public doesn’t need to assume the worst until he actually gives them a reason to.
Yes, Avery is getting a chance to travel and wrestle for Game Changer Wrestling because his last name is Styles. There are thousands of independent wrestlers across the country that won’t get the chance to do that simply because they don’t have a way to stand out from the crowded landscape of other wrestlers that are trying to do the same thing, but the bottom line is, the name Styles can generate a level of interest for GCW.
From a business perspective, GCW is in somewhat of a tough spot within the scope of the industry. The company is often a bridge between promotions, and looks to utilize talent for unique opportunities to keep itself in the conversation. The problem is, Jon Moxley was only going to be available for so long, Matt Cardona was eventually going to get the call to return to WWE, and some of core roster could be scooped up at any point so GCW has to try to stay ahead of the curve. Keep in mind, the WWE had difficulty moving tickets to Summer Slam, an independent league is tasked with trying to draw numbers from a niche demographic, which isn’t easy to do, particularly within the current economy. So, they booked the son of a WWE name on the weekend where they are trying to draw in some of the fans that were in town for the WWE pay-per-view.
For Avery, he has only worked a handful of matches, and his dad is one of the most graceful performers to ever step foot in a ring. Plus, he’s not working his rookie matches in front of a hundred fans at a small local show, but rather a decent independent crowd for an event that was broadcasted online. If Avery goes for the flying forearm and lands on his face, it’s going to make the rounds on the internet more or less immediately.
That can be a lot of pressure for a 19-year-old wrestler with only a few matches.
After Cannon and AJ chirped at each other online, GCW promoter, Brett Lauderdale weighed in on it, more or less taking a middle ground, which is the only thing that he can realistically do. GCW has a loose working agreement with WWE, with the ability to get a few names from the roster for some of their bigger events of the year so it does nothing for him to side against AJ’s kid. At the same time, Lauderdale can’t risk alienating his primary audience, a group that would be more familiar with Cannon’s career.
The most ironic part about any of this is that regardless of how Avery Styles’ career turns out, this entire situation will mean zero in the grand scheme of things. Yes, he’s getting a noticeable start because he’s AJ’s kid, but he’s only going to sustain those opportunities, including in GCW, if he can actually go in the ring. With the small sample size, he seems like an athletic youngster, but it’s not as though his last name is going to give him an entire career. Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are very successful, whereas George Gulas and David Flair weren’t. David Flair was put in a terrible situation in WCW, but that’s a different story for a different time. Ultimately, Avery Styles will sink and swim in the industry based on his own abilities, specifically in the long run. As for Arik Cannon, he got paid to set up the ring and for his involvement at the events so I’m not sure he has too much to complain about.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
