Daniel Garcia compares his 2023 to AEW’s as a whole.
For the most part, All Elite Wrestling had somewhat of a down year in 2023. The company didn’t seem to have as much momentum as previous years, and, as a result, there appeared to be a general negative feeling around the product for a large part of the past 12 months. But, in the latter part of the year, AEW ran its first ‘Continental Classic’ and competitors such as Daniel Garcia were given routinely scheduled matches on Dynamite and Collision in a tournament to crown the first triple crown champion in company history.
Now, speaking with Adrian Hernandez, the former JAS member has reflected on his performance in the Continental Classic and reflected on his character’s ups and downs in 2023, drawing comparison between his journey and that of AEW as a whole.
“It was great. I feel like AEW was in a transition period over the past couple of months. It almost resembles my character arc. AEW’s arc resembled my character arc for the past year. Everybody knows my story, I was transitioning from a pro wrestler and then became a sports entertainer. I was stuck in limbo between being a sports entertainer and pro wrestler and finding my way. I feel like that was the past six months for AEW, AEW kind of went away from its roots for a little bit and was seeming a little sports entertainmentish. Then, the Continental Classic fully brought it back into a pro wrestling product, sports-based product. With the promos and competition based around matches, I’m a fan of a very stripped-down product in wrestling. The Continental Classic brought that back to AEW. It was bare bones, ‘these people are competing for this.’ Super easy to follow, super easy story. It was a shot in the arm we needed, and I was glad to be part of that. If you notice, everyone started doing those backstage interviews after I did it. I’m not trying to say everyone is copying me, but I definitely think that was the catalyst for it.”
-Daniel Garcia
Garcia has made no secret of the fact that 2024 is a contract year for him, so he will surely be determined to establish himself among AEW’s top roster members. So far, he’s competed in three televised matches and is currently embroiled in a storyline that sees him stand alongside FTR to battle House of Black.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Daniel Garcia and his AEW status as we hear more.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
