This week AEW Dynamite saw the return of the Bastard PAC onto our television screens, with the Newcastle-Upon-Tyne resident being away from tapings since March 11th, last wrestling with Pentagon and Rey Fenix against Joey Janela and Private Party.
The Bastard had been aligned with the Lucha Bros to form the stable Death Triangle before he was forced to isolate back in England due to COVID-19. With PAC being locked away from AEW for seven months, the landscape has severely changed upon his return, with new possible feuds awaiting him. Ahead of his return, we take a look at seven feuds that we want to see PAC get into.
Eddie Kingston
Having been away from the promotion for seven months, PAC missed the arrival of Eddie Kingston, with him sliding into the Bastard’s place alongside the Lucha Bros. Many may expect PAC to slide in alongside Kingston in the group, but PAC seems to be a man that doesn’t like to follow but be the leader instead.
Upon his return, we could possibly see a power struggle story between Kingston and PAC as they fight over the leadership of the Lucha Bros and the Butcher and the Blade, with the stable possibly splitting in half. Not only does a Kingston and PAC programme promise incredibly high-quality wrestling, but the promos within this feud would be amongst the best, with men being masters on the microphone.
Jungle Boy
Jungle Boy continually delivers high-quality matches and is showing the potential to be the future of the promotion alongside the likes of MJF and Darby Allin. But despite Jungle Boy’s regularly great performances, he is yet to that breakout performance that establishes him and pushes him closer towards titles.
PAC has previously helped to build up and develop new stars in AEW, with his match against Orange Cassidy at Revolution helping to make the freshly squeezed star become even more of a fan favourite.
Although Jungle Boy is a totally different in ring prospect to Orange Cassidy, PAC could help to bring up the youngster’s stock even with a victory.
A long-standing feud between a pure babyface and a pure heel would be beneficial for both men and could help pull Jungle Boy away from a possibly goofy image that he has with Jurassic Express, to a true main eventer that he can be.
A fun wrinkle to this feud is that PAC also used to wrestle under the name “Jungle Pac”, having been billed from the jungle, similarly to the gimmick that Jungle Boy has today.
Jon Moxley
Although this could well have been a Smackdown match from 2016, a match between Jon Moxley and PAC today would have that big match feel going into it.
On route to the AEW World Championship, Jon Moxley defeated PAC to become number one contender to Chris Jericho before winning the title at Revolution. A reimagined feud between the two could show how both Moxley and PAC have developed following their previous encounter.
Many suspects that Moxley will be dropping the title to the winner the number one contenders match at Full Gear between Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page, so Moxley could enter a feud with PAC following his world title run. This could either see Moxley pick up a win to keep his momentum going despite losing the world title or pushing PAC towards the title picture.
If PAC is to join Eddie Kingston upon his return, he could follow up on the feud between Moxley and the Mad King following his inevitable defeat.
Hangman Adam Page
Hangman Adam Page is the future of the AEW World Championship regardless of his loss at Full Gear. Page and Omega will most likely be facing off for AEW’s top prize for months to come, but when Page finally captures the gold, PAC would be a great challenger for him to face.
PAC belongs in the world title picture, and with AEW’s renewed focus on capturing the British market, crowning their first English world champion would go a long way to sweetening their fans over the pond. The Bastard and Hangman squared off at the first Full Gear pay-per-view and were promoted to be in a number one contenders match at the first AEW pay-per-view before the match was cancelled, showing that PAC was considered to be in the title picture since his arrival in the company.
Cody Rhodes
If PAC is not set for a push towards the top title in AEW, then maybe he can set his sights on the American Nightmare? Cody’s stranglehold on AEW’s secondary title set him for a fall against Darby, and what better way to continue that than at the hands of a returning PAC.
PAC winning the TNT Championship could have a similar effect that Brodie Lee’s win over the American Nightmare did, establishing him as a menacing and twisted character to be feared. This would also give PAC the chance to delve into the darker side of his character, being as much as a Bastard as possible to Cody.
Despite some peoples ill feeling towards Cody about his booking, his performances with the TNT Championship have been excellent and it would be a great opponent for PAC to come back and establish himself against.
Darby Allin
But by the time PAC returns, Darby Allin may well be wearing the TNT Championship around his waist still. The 27-year-old has been one of AEW’s biggest success stories, but he really needs a feud to sink his teeth into and one against PAC could be just that.
Allin is regularly seen as a stunt man, often thrown around and regularly trying death-defying stunts, giving PAC an opponent to brutalise and torture. The feud could go either way, with PAC beating Allin into a powder or Allin fighting from underneath and overcoming the odds to defeat the Bastard. Cody has done a great job of establishing the TNT Championship, but after his reign, feuds like Darby Allin vs PAC would help to keep the title relevant and important
Scorpio Sky
Since the beginning of lockdown, Scorpio Sky has developed a groundswell of support and has been one of the most consistent performers on AEW Dark and Dynamite. Sky may well have been viewed as the third member of SCU heading into AEW, but he has certainly developed a platform of his own, with many arguing that he should have beaten Cody for the TNT Championship.
If PAC is to be in the TNT Championship picture as he returns, Sky would be an excellent face champion or chaser against a heel PAC. And as previously mentioned, PAC can help people become stars in AEW and Scorpio Sky should be within the world title picture one day.