Quick Links
Daniel Garcia is just 23, and he has only been wrestling for five years, which is incredible considering how much he has already managed to achieve in the business. Of course, he has been able to establish himself as a consistent presence on television ever since arriving at AEW, and during his time in the company, he has easily been one of their most used performers.
It is not hard to see that Tony Khan sees a future star in Garcia and as a result, is trying to build him up as such by involving him in programs with some big names.
At the same time though, one has to question, is he being pushed way too fast and hard, and could it ultimately end up being detrimental to his development as a wrestler in the long-term?
Daniel Garcia Has Been Booked Way Too Competitively With Bryan Danielson
Garcia has already done something that most wrestlers can only dream of, and that is have a win over Bryan Danielson.
Garcia managed to beat Danielson at Fight for the Fallen, and then had a very competitive 2 Out of 3 Falls match with him at Dynamite: House of the Dragon. Garcia might have lost on this occasion, but it was he who dominated most of the match against the legend, even winning the first fall with a Dragon Sleeper. Thus, technically, if this was a straight singles match, he would have won again.
This is where the problem begins though. Danielson's booking in recent months has been very weak, and he does not mean nearly as much as he did when he came to the company around this time last year. As a result, losing to Garcia became more about Danielson's continued slide rather than it being about the youngster breaking out.
Daniel Garcia Got His Big Win Way Too Early
Also, it does feel like Garcia was given the win over Danielson way too early. He is still developing as a performer, which is understandable at 23 years of age. If he got this win a few years down the line, when he was ready to break into the main event picture, it would have meant a lot more and helped push him forward.
Now, he will just go back to being part of Jericho Appreciation Society and the win will be forgotten about. In fact, he was on Dark, fighting Westin Blake. Timing is very important in wrestling, and AEW might have jumped the gun on Garcia's big win.
Daniel Garcia Is Not Ready To Be A Star Yet
There is no doubt that Garcia is very good in the ring. At 23 years of age, he is better than most wrestlers will ever be. Yet, as an overall performer, he is not ready to be pushed as a star. As a character, he is just not there yet, and when it comes to being a main event player, most of the time that is more important than being a great in-ring performer.
Just look at Danielson, or Daniel Bryan, for example. He was considered one of the best in-ring performers in all of wrestling before ever stepping foot in a WWE ring but in his early years with the company, he struggled to get over with the fans and floated around the mid-card most of the time.
It is only when the 'Yes!' chant became popular, as well as his character work with Kane as part of Team Hell No, that he went from a great hand in the ring to a main event player in the WWE, who went on to headline a couple of WrestleManias.
Garcia still needs to find the spark. A chant, a hold, a storyline, whatever it is, that will take him to the next level. Just putting a towel around his neck won't magically turn him into Samoa Joe in his prime.
AEW Need To Time His Big Push Right
It is very possible to be pushed way too early in wrestling and often, it has a negative impact on the performer.
Some people recover from it and still go on to become huge stars, like Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. Some others like Garcia's Jericho Appreciation Society stablemate, Jake Hager, known as Jack Swagger in the WWE, never do.
Thus, it is important for AEW to get the timing of Garcia's push right and only do it when he is ready because if the fans give up on him once, there might be no way back.