#not that apathy will deter me from doing the 4 pillars of the women's division later

[omegatheunknown]

On AEW's "Four Pillars"

I understand the metaphor is that they're a solid foundation for the future... but if it were me I'd avoid comparisons to the Four Pillars of Heaven and quickly append a descriptive word... The Four Pillars of... something. Point is, MJF said 'Pillar' a lot on Wednesday and I wanted to take a look at the boys individually and as a set. Threw in my 40 point scale for my own amusement, 30+ usually rounds out to 'main event talent.'

Notably, it's extremely obvious who this group is: under 30, in AEW from day 1, have shown star quality and have paired with a legend or two along the way. It doesn't include other good but less prominent prospects like Dante & Darius Martin, Lee Johnson, Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen, Brock Anderson, Wheeler Yuta, Lee Moriarty, Fuego Del Sol, Sonny Kiss, Brian Pillman Jr or uh... the Gunns. Daniel Garcia has a long future knocking down pillars, most likely.

Darby Allin (b. 1993 - 28) Work-7 Mic-6 Look-8 X-10 (31)

Darby Allin is neither the best wrestler nor the best talker, his look is the kind of thing that isn't 'cool' per se (many are dubious about the skinny hot topic skate geek when they first see him,) yet he commands attention and possesses an unmistakable aura. He also loves any and all dangerous looking spots. It's a tired comparison, but factor in his brooding sex appeal and he really is the natural heir to the charismatic enigma. They've paired him with Sting, he was CM Punk's first match in 7 years, he's held the TNT title, and in no small part due to his penchant for risk and flair for the dramatic in his self-shot artistic promos, he's been part of several memorable moments already.

He fights from underneath pretty much as a rule, taking a beating due to his size and powering through on daring -- he's definitely found a niche inside the ring. His pace is incredible, and he bumps like he means it. I think my biggest knock against Darby's long-term prospects are the alleged skeletons in his closet -- whether pro wrestling is doomed to always be 'carny shit' or not, it's in everybody's best interests to root out real life heels. They've confronted Sammy G's immature sense of humour, I don't know how closely they want to examine some of the things you hear about Darby -- but shouldn't they?

Sammy Guevara (b. 1993 - 28) Work-8 Mic-7 Look-7 X-8 (30)

'The Spanish God' does indeed have formidable gifts -- a face just straddling the line between cute and punchable atop a body that can match pace with the likes of Flamita, Rey Horus, Mike Bailey and even Ricochet back in 2017. Chris Jericho took one look at Sammy G and climbed right aboard -- it's been a long winding path (aforementioned suspension for gross 'jokes' included) through the Inner Circle and the Pinnacle and all that, but Sammy's star has risen steadily throughout, to the point where he can beat Miro and I'm not even upset about it really that much at all (it's fine.)

He's the best in-ring performer of this quartet right now, and he's arguably the most well-rounded. He's turned as a character once already, I think he's comfortable playing most sides in most angles. He's yet to have a big solo feud (Shawn Spears?) or stand-out match in AEW, probably his best match to-date was against MJF earlier this year. He's now the mid-card champion, so now's the time.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman 'MJF' (b 1996 - 25) Work-6 Mic-10 Look-8 X-8 -- 33

Any appraisal of MJF starts with his stand-out gift, which is praised so often people even start to levy complaints about him being overrated -- that's how you know MJF is great on the stick. Wrestling is very simple actually. Heat is heat, and cheap heat is different from lazy heat, and the clichés are clichés for a reason -- the boy's a maestro and there's no such thing as a wrestler 'peaking' on their promos in their mid 20s. He'll keep talking and finding ways to piss off everyone.

His ring work is of the old-school heel variety, which usually requires him to work to try and deny the crowd the exciting maneuvers of his opponent. Bobby Roode's NXT run is probably the blueprint for just how well this can still work, but at the time Bobby had been at it for close to twenty years (but hey, developmental...) He has a great look for where he's at -- big and strong enough to be a threat worth taking seriously and a smug mug that ranks pretty high on the all-time list.

I kind of want to quibble with Jericho as-Mentor: did MJF need a sparring partner on the mic considering he was already ascendant, and did Sammy need to be tagging with a middle-aged man to shine in the ring? He did accentuate their strengths, though, it made for good TV.

'Jungle Boy' Jack Perry (b 1997 - 24) Work-8 Mic-5 Look-8 X-9 -- 30

Youngest and most literally baby-faced, Jungle Boy is very over, on the strength of his boyish good looks, his fun tag team, his great theme song, and as of late, his being the Robin to Christian Cage's older version of Spiderman. One might expect the son of TV's Dylan McKay to be a little more natural on the mic, but standing next to an all-time snarker like Christian should help. He's still boyishly skinny but he's taller than Adam Cole and I'm not convinced he couldn't basically be Omega-sized in a decade.

His work suits his size and gimmick, he's daring and speedy, he's no technician but 'the snare trap' and other holds are laid in convincingly. Like the rest of the group he has presence, and he's generally booked well -- AEW has made sure to get him his reps and he continues to improve and is almost always adjacent to serious talent. That said, in his current form he's maybe plateauing. What's it going to take to turn this Jungle Boy into a Jungle Man, you know?