As we know, much of wrestling is scripted, but it is certainly not fake.
The action is real, the moves and the skills are authentic, and claims of ‘being fake’ hurt fans and athletes alike. AEW operates differently from some promotions, as Chris Jericho told Sports Keeda, as it has no scripted promos, giving a further air of realism to the action. It could be claimed that of all the promotions operating in the United States, AEW is the most realistic action you can find.
That means that when one of its stars throws about an accusation of events being faked, the claims hold more weight than if they came from the WWE, for example. Jade Cargill has done just that recently, but she hasn’t taken aim at another wrestling promotion; instead, it is the celebrity boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and YouTube star Logan Paul which has her riled up.
Cargill tweeted during the bout, which attracted more than a million buys: “This fight is a work”, which drew several thousand likes. The bout saw Paul last longer than some of Mayweather’s professional fights, going the complete eight rounds. As there was no judging and no actual outcome, it didn’t matter, but fans have been heavily critical of the event. When a professional wrestler can come out and claim a bout is faked, with some credibility, it does strike at the very heart of the so-called exhibition matches.
If Mayweather was holding back, what is it that fans were paying for? If the fight was rigged from the start, why did one million people tune in, and were they cheated? It certainly feels that way, but the exhibition matches circuit is proving to be very lucrative for some reason. As demonstrated in a biggest PPV fights feature by Bwin, Logan Paul’s only other fight, against fellow YouTube star KSI, drew 1.3m buys in 2018, making it the 18th most viewed pay per view fight of all time. Another exhibition bout, Floyd Mayweather’s fight with Conor McGregor, drew 4.3m views in 2017, more than any other bout bar Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. What sort of message does that send to aspiring young boxers when YouTube stars or other celebrities can drop into a boxing event and immediately draw vast amounts of revenue?
Cargill’s claims appear to be substantiated by a viral video reported by WKYC Studios to show Mayweather holding Paul up during the fight. The clip, which shows Mayweather landing a solid right, does look suspicious, and Paul appears to fall into Mayweather’s arms whilst having to be kept on his feet. In fairness to the YouTube star, he recovers quickly to throw punches, but the clip does add to the controversy and general disdain for the fight amongst other professionals.
As for Cargill, she seems well-placed to make a call on the bout, being in the fight industry herself, and her claims only echo what many feel about the show in early June. She will now turn her attention away from exhibition matches and focus on her stint in AEW, which is set to go from strength to strength after defeating Rache Chanel recently, with new manager Mark Sterling in her corner.
