Reason Nick Wayne Lost Cleanly Before ROH Title Match

At Death by Dishonor next week, Nick Wayne will challenge Bandido for the Ring of Honor Men’s World Championship. The 21 year-old would be the youngest to ever hold it if victorious. Bandido is obviously a favorite to win, so why, in the buildup, did Wayne take a clean pinfall loss on AEW Dynamite, following another recent AEW loss?

On Wrestling Observer Radio (transcribed by Wrestling Inc), Dave Meltzer addressed the issue. In a three-way match for entry into the Men’s Casino Gauntlet match at All In, with MJF and Speedball Mike Bailey, MJF was obviously not going to lose. Bailey wasn’t either, since in AEW he is ranked higher than Wayne.

Meltzer noted that Tony Khan typically uses Ring of Honor Talent in AEW to have good matches, and not specifically to protect their ROH records. He added that Bandido also frequently loses in AEW, even in Mexico. This puts Wayne and Bandido on a relatively even playing field, storyline-wise, and doesn’t force Wayne into a major AEW main event that Bailey would be better positioned for.

Wayne is also still young, and it’s not hard in storyline to paint him capable of reckless mistakes without undermining his perceived talent.