Philadelphia 76ers: Franklin the Dog is All Elite
Ah, wrestling and the Philadelphia 76ers; two things that are good on their own but better together.
The City of Brotherly Love, as you may or may not know, has a very healthy history with wrestling, from ECW to Ring of Honor, Chikara, Beyond, and most recently MLW. Seemingly every major promotion has run in our fair city, from Jim Crockett in the mid-1980s all the way to WWE in the modern day.
Well, for the second time in two years, you can add All Elite Wrestling to that hallowed historical ledger, as they just ran another massive show at the Licoreria Center in the heart of North Philly.
And this time, the promotion got a little help from the Philadelphia 76ers’ mascot to boot.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ mascot has new best friends in the Best Friends.
Wednesday, October 6th marked the two-year anniversary of AEW Dynamite.
In those two years, the promotion has effectively doubled their average weekly viewers, defeated NXT in the Wednesday nights wars, and added marquee talents like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, and Adam Cole to their already deep stable of homegrown talent like Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Orange Cassidy, and Britt Baker.
Is the promotion still number two behind The Fed? Most definitely, a nearly half-century head start will do that for ya, but as the numbers between Dynamite and Raw continue to shrink with each high-profile signing, we may soon see the day where AEW holds the same weight to the average Joe on the street as ECW and WCW before them.
Needless to say, the Philadelphia 76ers want in on the action.
After noted Sixers fan Chuck Taylor made an impassioned plea to Joel Embiid to appear on Dynamite like his fellow All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo did in Milwaukee before him, going so far as to offer up a free chokeslam while wearing a Ben Simmons jersey, it was Franklin who answered the call, and ultimately took the stage at the Licoreria Center alongside Taylor’s faction, Best Friends.
While fans in attendance and at home didn’t get to see the big blue fella take the ring, as he was more of a morale booster than a Philly street fighter, Franklin still came out of the “face” tunnel alongside Taylor, Wheeler Yuta, Kris Statlander, and the man of the hour – or of the Casion Ladder Match – Orange Cassidy, posed with his 76ers jersey-clad Best Friends and even donned a custom 76ers championship belt.
Did you hear a childlike scream from the combination AEW/Sixers fan in your life around 9:45 on Wednesday night? This was probably why.
Props to Chuckie T on the Matisse Thybulle jersey; he gets it.
Now, to be fair, this wasn’t the only love shown to the Sixers at AEW’s two-year anniversary show. Asbury Park native Joey Janela cut a heel promo on both Ben Simmons and the city in general before ECW legend/Eagles podcaster The Blue Meanie stopped him in his tracks.
Whether you watched ECW back in the day or are simply a fan of history, this was a darn cool moment.
Next. The problems with Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert. dark
The last time the Philadelphia 76ers collaborated with a wrestling promotion, it didn’t turn out so good. Triple H came out with Joel Embiid and DX’d it all over the Wells Fargo Center, and the team promptly dropped their series against the Atlanta Hawks in seven ugly contests that effectively ended the Ben Simmons-era. Hopefully, Franklin’s foray into the squared circle yields better results, as it could be the start of a beautiful working relationship moving forward.