Match of the Day 12: Hook vs Fuego Del Sol (AEW)

Hook, future superstar?

The debut of Hook, son of Taz, has been the talk of the wrestling world over the weekend, so I figured I'd weigh in and see what all the fuss was about.

It's clear just from his walk to the ring that Hook has a presence about him. He glares at the crowd and puts on his best mean face.

Hook turns his back on his opponent, Fuego Del Sol, as a sign of disrespect. Good thing Fuego isn't a heel, Hook left himself open to a sneak attack.

Hook shows he's fundamentally sound, taking Fuego down with a front chancery and then follows up with a judo throw into a dragon sleeper variation.

Hook gets in the refs face and leaves himself open to a rollup.

Hook quickly takes Fuego down again and applies a submission combo, trapping Fuego's leg and applying a chinlock.

If look at Hook's boot, you'll see the stitching is made to look like a Nike Hi-top or perhaps they're customized Nikes.

Taz was known as "The Human Suplex Machine" and Hook pays tribute with some suplexes of his own.

Fuego has a couple little hope spots but it's been clear from the beginning that this was Hook's showcase. He traps Fuego in a chokehold and Fuego taps out very quickly (a little too quickly for my liking).

Hook was booked to look strong in his debut and he delivered. You can see the match here.

Hook's potential is obvious but I wouldn't put too much pressure on him too soon. I think his momentum should build slowly until he's ready to have his first big feud.

By the way, just curious to hear if anyone has an opinion about Excalibur's commentary. Yes, he knows all the moves but there's something about his delivery that annoys me a bit. It seems to me that he's just faking enthusiasm at times. That said, at least it's better than hearing Chris Jericho scream all time.