Kiera Hogan Has Been Mishandled By AEW So Far
Kiera Hogan has been booked the same way many young talent have been booked in AEW, doing the job on Dark and on television until eventually getting a contract, and grabbing their first win. This doesn’t spell disaster for Hogan, but moreso represents a missed opportunity within the AEW Women’s Division. That being, capitalizing on the momentum Kiera had after leaving her former home at Impact Wrestling, and establishing another star right off rip.
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Capitalizing On Kiera Hogan's Impact
Making her first television appearance for Impact Wrestling back in 2018, Kiera found success after teaming with Tasha Steelz as Fire 'N Flava midway through 2020. In the next year, they would win the Knockout Tag Team Tournament that brought the titles back out of retirement, and overall would hold the titles two separate times. During their time as a team, Fire 'N Flava was given a fair amount of screen time both backstage and in the ring. Shining in their championship celebration, as well as some of their work backstage with the likes of fan favorite Fallah Bah. Kiera had grown as performer in the ring by the end of her tenure in Impact Wrestling, and had become somebody the fans loved to hate.
Since making her first appearance for AEW, Kiera has been presented much like Nightmare Factory graduate KiLynn King — when fans first saw her, Kiera wrestled in a losing effort to more established names on AEW Dark. Kiera was chosen as Jade Cargill’s opponent on the now infamous “First Dance” Edition of Rampage, and was given some speaking time, but lost in a little over a minute, much like King being on the losing end of a handicap match with Nyla Rose live on Dynamite within her first month or so with the company, This, in and of itself, is fine, but it seems like a waste of momentum to start Kiera from the ground floor, despite having wrestled for five years to this point. Hogan is someone who would have benefited from having a microphone in her hand, telling the people who don’t know her exactly who she is before ever having gotten in the ring.
Comparing Kiera To Other AEW Wreslters Who Left Impact
Not too far off from how they introduced former Impact Tag Team Champion Ethan Page when he made his way over from Impact Wrestling, the difference being that Page actually debuted as a surprise in AEW. But contrary to Kiera's debut, Page was given a microphone and a purpose pretty immediately, and has been thrust into high level situations with Sting and Jericho. Even though the the two share a similar level of notoriety from their times in Impact, and it representing a large portion of its audience, the difference in experience is almost a decade's worth as Page first debuted in late 2006. Compared to some of the other women wrestling on Dark or Elevation, six years is actually more than the average experience of your typical enhancement lady.
RELATED: Adam Cole Hints At Doing Some On-Screen AEW Work With Britt BakerThe difference between Hogan and King, though, is that KiLynn made regular appearances for five months and was 0-14 before picking up her first victory on Dark, and as of this writing sits at a record of 16-28. Meanwhile, Kiera Hogan sits at 2-4 after debuting on August 11, and hasn’t lost a singles match since she lost to Jade on that historic episode of Rampage. Both her and King found themselves on the winning side of matches at NWA Empowerrr recently, with King representing AEW and Hogan being wrestling's hottest free agent.
Starting from the very bottom of the rankings isn’t a bad place to be, and it makes a lot of sense, especially for a younger wrestler. Normally in AEW, though, if a wrestler is coming in with any sort of experience on television, they’re treated with a certain amount of shine, as was the case for Serena Deeb, Thunder Rosa, Ruby Soho, and Ivelisse among others. Luckily for Kiera, there is still an endless amount of time to shine, and things are trending upwards as of right now.
Obviously, it’s still early on in Kiera Hogan’s AEW career, and there is no real cause for concern, even if AEW didn't capitalize on her accomplishments with her initial presentation. But Kiera had gotten over with the hardcore fans that watch Impact Wrestling, and she had proven herself on the microphone alongside Tasha. It’s not that she absolutely needed to be brought in on a pedestal, it’s that she seems to be one of those performers who would have been able to take an opportunity like that and make something special out of it.
