In wrestling, one match can change everything. One match secured Eddie Kingston a contract, suspended “The Summer of Punk” until probably Halloween, and one match played a part in convincing Tony Khan that another big-time wrestling promotion like AEW could run in the United States with the likes of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega serving as its top stars.

Does it always go that way? Nope, literally thousands of matches happen every year that don't affect the career of any wrestler all that much – I mean, have you ever heard of the term House Show? – but every so often, a spark of brilliance can capture the right eye and elevate a career to an exceptional degree.

That might have just happened at Ric Flair's Final Match, where, during the preshow no less, Mance Warner, a member of GCW's Second Gear Crew alongside 1 Called Manders, AJ Gray, Effy, and Matthew Justice, beat out the likes of Bully Ray, Big Domo, Rickey Shane Page, and Crowbar to become the winner of the inaugural Ric Flair Bunkhouse Battle Royal – securing the win for Team GCW in the process.

By winning the bout, Warner secured himself a big ole' trophy shaped like a boot, an interview with AEW's new Senior Producer and Special Advisor to Talent, Tony Schiavone, and even a congratulations of sorts from the man formerly known as Bubba Ray Dudley. It was a nice moment that probably sold more than a few Pay-Per-Views but largely faded into the background as matches like the criminally short four-way bout with Alan Angels, Konosuke Takeshita, Jonathan Gresham, and Nick Wayne for the PROGRESS World Championship #1 Contendership, the insane Lucha match that almost saw the literal death of Bandido, and a 25 minute Ric Flair match that almost ended in the same way too.

… except that wasn't the end of the accolades Warner received for his efforts. No, it's clear Tony Khan watched the man known as “The Mancer” in his pre-show Bunkhouse Battle Royal appearance, as he booked the former GCW Tag Team Champion for not just a match on Dark Elevation, but a legitimate shot at Jon Moxley's Interim AEW World Championship Belt on Friday's edition of AEW Rampage.

Mance Warner has a chance to make a national impression in AEW.

NGW's Nightmare In The Old City was a cursed independent wrestling event. Not only did it see Danhausen break both his tibia and fibia, which cost him the remainder of his time in a Ring of Honor ring but also seemingly zapped him of his in-ring abilities – at least in the mind of Tony Khan – but it also saw Mance Warner suffer a broken tibia and a broken fibula of his own, with a surgery required to fix his issues.

While Danhausen was able to rebound from the injury just fine, as he was in AEW as soon as he was healthy enough to wrestle again, and he raised over $47,000 with big-time gifts from big-time wrestling personalities like Cody Rhodes and Matt Cardona, Warner wasn't so lucky, with his fundraiser picking up less than $10,000, which likely isn't enough money for a 30-year-old to fully pay off a two-bone surgery. Though Warner ultimately returned to the ring at GCW's Astronaut in Atlanta, Georgia, and has since wrestled in 19 more matches, including three battle royals, none of the appearances elevated the Tennessee native's stock all that much, even if a few bouts with The Briscoes are nothing to sneeze at.

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Jon Moxley, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins in front of the WrestleMania 40 logo.

Matty Breisch ·

Jon Moxley holding the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship belt with a text bubble reading "How far are you willing to go?" with the AEW Dynamite logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Tony Khan with a text bubble reading "I think it made a lot of sense" next to CM Punk and Jack Perry with the AEW Dynasty logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

No, by winning the Ric Flair Bunkhouse Battle Royal, Warner caught the eye of Tony Khan and secured himself not just a match on AEW Dark Elevation against Serpentico, which isn't too unusual for GCW/MLW performers like Tony Deppen, Warhorse, or Blake Christian, but actually garnered him the best chance of his career to elevate his stock on a national scale, as his match versus Jon Moxley will air on TNT with a little over half a million fans watching along from home. While this isn't the first time Moxley will go toe-to-toe against a GCW talent, as he is the promotion's champion and has a match booked for GCW Homecoming at the Showboat in Atlantic City versus Effy, it does mark the first time one of his matches against a GCW talent will be broadcast on AEW television, which is pretty darn cool for both of the promotions and both of the performers too.

Will “The Mancer” secure a win over Tony Khan's handpicked Interim AEW Champion? No, probably not; while Warner is a solid brawler and an incredible talker, he isn't going to steal the strap and an eventual Pay-Per-View main event match versus CM Punk away from Mox. Still, if he shows up, shows out, and makes a few fans along the way, who knows; maybe the Second Gear Crew will have a member in AEW.