Their Own Non-Wrestler Wrestling. AEW Has Signed An Olympic Champion As A Developmental Project….But There’s A Big Detail.

I guess that’s their version of the outside athlete. Earlier this month, SmackDown debuted on FOX with two major non-wrestling athletes making their WWE debuts. Those names, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and former World Heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, are both scheduled to be in the ring at next week’s Crown Jewel, though the fact that they are coming in from outside the wrestling world has not been the most well received concept in the world. The issues aren’t going to stop AEW from having their own version though.

On Saturday, Cody appeared at a Southside Wrestling event in England and announced the signing of Anthony Ogogo, British boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games, to AEW. The signing will be AEW’s first developmental signing as Ogogo has no major wrestling experience, though he has appeared for the World Association of Wrestling promotion earlier this year. However, there is a problem with Ogogo which may cause some problems in the future.

In the last fight of his boxing career, Ogogo’s eye socket was broken and he has had two operations to fix it. The operations have not been entirely successful though as he has been left legally blind, to the point where he cannot even drive a car. It is not clear when Ogogo would make his AEW debut or what he would be doing with the promotion. Ogogo would not be the first wrestler with vision problems, as Stan Hansen was known for poor vision and could barely see when he threw his lariat.

I’m thrilled about this signing. Anthony will be our first developmental project as a company. For those who followed his boxing career and saw his Olympic acumen, you’ll be happy to see he’s now applying that passion and work-ethic to pro-wrestling training. Welcome Anthony! https://t.co/QLARQOTbof

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 26, 2019

Ogogo was a bit better as a boxer. Check out one of his fights:

Opinion: I’m not sure I get this one but maybe it could go somewhere in the future. In theory this is the kind of thing that is going to work later on down the line (hence the developmental part) but at the same time, is it really worth it for AEW to take this kind of a chance? Ogogo doesn’t seem to be much of a name outside of the British boxing world and that doesn’t seem to have the strongest crossover appeal. Fury may not be a household name but he has a bit more of a resume than Ogogo. I really don’t get this one but AEW has surprised me at every turn so far.

One more thing: Boxers vs. Wrestlers haven’t gone well before. Check out one of the most hilarious moments in wrestling history:

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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