Marko Stunt has long been one of the most divisive wrestlers in the business. Many wrestling fans who watched him on the indies couldn’t figure out what he brought to the table. This was mostly due to his size, of course, which matters in an industry filled with almost literal giants.
His doubters doubled down on the hate when he signed with AEW and became a part of Jurassic Express. Given the talent exhibited by both Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, it was hard for many people to see where he fit into that group, let alone the rest of the company.
But recently, AEW has started to show a different side of Marko Stunt. It’s one that lets more of his personality shine through. And with more of his personality on the table as part of his gimmick, it’s been a lot easier to connect with him as a wrestler.
Marko Stunt gets in the game
Debuting in 2014, Marko spent a few years with a variety of independent promotions before signing on with AEW. When taking a look at his overall record, the pattern becomes apparent quite quickly. He has a lot more losses than wins, and the majority of his wins were in tag team matches.
Stunt has lost a lot of singles matches in his career. His opponents have included MJF, Orange Cassidy, Jake Atlas and Shotzi Blackheart. Those matches all happened before his time in AEW. Once joining, his singles record didn’t really improve all that much.
That being said, this didn’t stop Marko Stunt from picking up a few championships along the way. While none of those titles were for particularly well-known companies, that doesn’t make holding them any less important. Gold is gold and a title reign is a title reign.
The most high profile moment in his young career has definitely been signing with AEW. While it remains to be seen if that will produce any gold for him, it’s definitely made him a more well-known wrestler. What he can translate that into will be interesting, to say the least.
A surprisingly divisive wrestler
A quick troll through the wrestling internet and related social media shows fans have some very different opinions on Marko Stunt. There are people who appreciate him. On the other hand, there are a lot of people who absolutely hate the guy and don’t think he belongs in wrestling.
For some of the haters, the issue is his size. Even by Cruiserweight standards, he’s a little small. Marko is about 5’2″ and 117 lbs. As a comparison, Rey Mysterio has four inches and close to 60 pounds on him. NXT’s Leon Ruff, a small but talented wrestler, is five inches taller and 40 pounds heavier.
But it’s more than just a size issue for some. Marko is a reasonably serviceable wrestler but he’s certainly not the best in the ring. Seeing someone as talented as Jungle Boy tag out to Marko Stunt often rubs some wrestling fans the wrong way.
People who watch wrestling are nothing if not opinionated and vocal. If they don’t like something or someone, they certainly aren’t shy about it. And many of them have had some less than nice things to say about Marko Stunt over the years, which naturally had a negative impact on him.
What’s interesting is that AEW has offered Marko Stunt some opportunities in the last few weeks to be seen in a different light. And in the long run, that’s exactly what he needs to get more fans on his side in AEW. The trick is getting them to know Marko the person, not Marko the wrestler.
Marko Stunt takes center stage
Over the last couple of months, Marko has put on a much different show. He was the musical guest on Britt Baker’s “The Waiting Room” and was great. He has been in a weird feud with Tully Blanchard. A recent episode of Dark showed him mixing it up with -1, aka Brodie Jr.
All of this has developed his character and his personality, giving fans more to latch onto than his size or perceived wrestling ability. What’s interesting is that it’s been going on for a while via Sammy Guevara’s Vlogs and the BTE YouTube channel.
Marko Stunt provides an interesting glimpse into one of AEW’s biggest issues. A lot of character development is being done for various talents through these avenues. But not everyone watches them. A surprisingly large number of people who watch Dynamite don’t watch Dark, let alone BTE or Sammy’s Vlogs.
There’s nothing wrong with doing that as long as AEW isn’t reliant on it, which they are. There are a variety of storylines with the Dark Order, Fuego Del Sol, and Marko Stunt that don’t use up broadcast time on Dark and Dynamite. The problem is that announcers mention these storylines.
Keeping in mind that a majority of Dynamite fans don’t watch BTE, advancing storylines using it causes gaps. That’s what has happened for a lot of people with Marko Stunt. Watching Sammy’s Vlogs, which Marko frequently participates in, shows viewers a completely different side of him.
Recent changes to how AEW is presenting Marko Stunt on screen are more reflective of the version of him that exists on the Vlogs. The more the company taps into that, the bigger Marko’s star will grow in their company. As it turns out, he’s a pretty entertaining guy and a solid wrestler when given a chance.
