What Happened To Kip Sabian In AEW?

Annnnd he's gone.

Kip Sabian
Source: AEW

Around two weeks prior to AEW’s most recent pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, AEW’s resident box-man, the former ‘Superbad’ Kip Sabian, made his sudden re-emergence on Dynamite by attacking the All-Atlantic Champion, PAC. The seeds of this match were planted a few weeks beforehand as part of a Revolution Pro Wrestling show which PAC was also featured on, defending his newly instated championship against Shota Umino. Sabian shocked the live audience by actually appearing on the performer’s side of the guard rail and made his intentions clear for the show’s Buy-In.

Sure enough, Sabian found himself competing in a championship match against ‘The Bastard’ at Double or Nothing in Vegas. His entrance was utterly glorious, including a new banger of an entrance theme, a unique entrance and a presence which won over the crowd in seconds. Without even wrestling a single match in well over a year, Sabian was destined for great things with this new, relatively undiscovered character.

And then he lost.

This wasn’t exactly against the grain in terms of fans expectations, as PAC had only just won the title after all and needed a big showcase on a pay-per-view to give the title some credibility. Sabian was a great fall-guy for PAC’s first defence, as not only did it get a fantastic match on a huge stage, but it also provided Kip with enough airtime to then take his character elsewhere and re-build himself towards another title shot in the future. Yet, he has been absent from AEW programming since.

Kip Sabian has seemingly vanished from major television and been relegated back down to episodes of AEW Dark on YouTube. This is a massive step backwards for the British star, who has only just managed to get himself started again after a long leave of absence. Since being demolished by former partner Miro, Sabian hasn’t really had much going for him, aside from the huge amount of intrigue he’s built with his boxface gimmick. His ominous presence at ringside has done enough to warrant fan interest, and seeing that start to evolve and unfold at Double or Nothing was something that really should have been explored more in the following weeks.

Instead, most fans have already forgotten about the very brief run. It’s a shame really, as he had a certain magical touch with the audience, being able to literally control the volume of their chants with his mannerisms. That’s a rare feat.

This isn’t to say of course that AEW might not pick up the ball again with Sabian down the line, but after his post-match tantrum against his cardboard companion, it almost seemed as if the character’s storyline was over in the space of a single match. The slow descent into madness should have been a month, or even a year, long narrative that could have seen Kip’s character go to some very dark places. It almost seems like AEW are scared to take any risks or push any new talent in case they flop at the first hurdle, which presumably is what they assumed with Sabian.

As someone who has been a huge fan of Kips since his time on the British indies, I’d love to see him be given more material to work with on Dynamite and Rampage. He’s a unique character that shouldn’t be left to fade into obscurity now that he’s had some exposure. With a new All Atlantic champion in Orange Cassidy, what should stop Kip from now refocusing his attention on the title and taking on a new gatekeeper? Better yet why not start him on the path of a duos wrestler or even put him in contention for the TNT Championship?

The stalker-ish character works when the crowds are genuinely invested with what’s going on in the psyche of the man or woman involved. With such a developing interest in Jeffrey Dahmer and other such sociopaths, let’s allow Kip to take this strange box friend and turn it into something disturbing, something with some meat that could help him become one of the most innovative performers of this generation.

I’m not “Over it” just yet.

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