It didn't take long for a wrestling producer and former WWE road agent to see an issue with the way AEW has presented Christian Cage to the fans since his arrival a few weeks ago.
This is not to say that Storm's opinion is biased in favor of WWE. Quite the opposite, as it appears Storm is trying to offer AEW some free advice when it comes to the promotion working themselves out of a potential corner they may have painted themselves in.
Storm says he's a huge fan of Christian, but he's not a fan of the "workhorse" moniker or how AEW has presented the "Hall of Fame-worthy" star since his arrival. During the latest Figure Four Daily show, Lance Storm and Bryan Alvarez talked about Christian's work thus far and Storm said he thinks Cage's gimmick is bad for him and wrestling because "it’s acknowledging that wrestling is fake."
Noting the term is comparable to the "legitimate tough guy" moniker, but recognizing that all wrestlers are supposed to be tough, it's hard to sell the idea that Christian is the best worker because of his win/loss record and that everyone works hard. Storm says it sounds like Christian is suggesting, ‘I’m one of the best workers. Everybody’s learned from me.’ But Storm goes on to say... 'It’s like, well, you lost.' Storm also suggests that every wrestler in almost every promo says they "work hard" and there are countless vignettes and documentaries pointing to how hard every talent has worked to get to where they are.
It's like the go-to thing to say and as such, it doesn't really set Christian apart.
AEW Is Under-Delivering Thus Far
So too, Storm suggests AEW has dropped the ball on their presentation of Cage since his arrival because he was touted as a huge star that hasn't really said much for three straight weeks. Noting one time he didn't talk, the next time he only did a backstage promo and this was all after fans had really gotten themselves worked up as to who the new signee would be.
Storm says, "So three times in a row now with Christian, I got less than I expected. I think they need to be careful with that."
h/t Figure Four Daily with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription