All Elite Wrestling has quickly become the land of factions. The wrestling promotion was essentially founded on the momentum of The Elite and went on to create dozens of groups in its first few years on television. The debut episode of AEW Dynamite saw the creation of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle, a unit that is spiritually succeeded today by the Jericho Appreciation Society. Stables like Death Triangle and House of Black have found success in the trios division. Units like the Blackpool Combat Club have dominated across company lines, regularly racking up victories in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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One stable that started out white hot but quickly fizzled out was The Pinnacle. Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s first faction saw him enlist the talents of FTR, Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard to join him and Wardlow in a war with Inner Circle. The Pinnacle saw immediate success, main-eventing AEW Double or Nothing just weeks after assembling on AEW Dynamite but would see start-stop momentum after the Inner Circle feud ended.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Shawn Spears reflected on his time in The Pinnacle, noting he believes the faction lost steam due to AEW as a company growing rapidly.
“I just think [AEW] grew fast. When you have more guys coming in, or more opportunities for the company to branch out, there’s just a lot going on,” Spears said. “When there’s a lot going on and there’s one man at the helm, not every storyline is gonna take precedence. Things are gonna slip through the cracks. Things are not gonna maybe have the long longevity that one would’ve hoped or the promise of time that at least was an idea beforehand.”
Following the Inner Circle feud, The Pinnacle operated as less of a cohesive team and more as MJF and Wardlow’s lackeys. Friedman moved on to a feud with CM Punk while Wardlow dominated local talent in weekly squash matches. FTR backed up MJF in his segments against Punk, whether it be a trios match or a beat down, and Spears accompanied Wardlow to the ring for his quick bouts. Spears re-aligned with MJF when he began feuding with Wardlow but quietly left television after MJF lost to Wardlow at AEW Double or Nothing. FTR also ditched The Pinnacle on their own as well, leading to the group ending without a true blow-off.
“I think Pinnacle could have done a lot more,” Spears continued. “I think we all think that. Everybody in the group thinks that, but this is the wrestling industry. Things move fast. Things move on. Unfortunately, some things fall through the cracks and unfortunately, Pinnacle was just one of those things.”
AEW Dynamite airs tonight at 8 PM ET.
