Welp, that didn't take long; after officially making his first post-NXT appearance in a wrestling ring as part of the AEW Dark tapings in Orlando, Florida, Cole Karter, aka Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan, has officially been bumped up to the “main roster” to wrestle Ricky Starks on the Week 2 edition of Fyter Fest as part of the FTW Championship Open Challange on AEW Dynamite.
Now granted, there's a pretty big caveat to this match that should keep fans from booking Karter for TNT Championship matches anytime soon; this is an open challenge, which has routinely been answered in AEW by non-contracted performers, and it isn't even the first time Karter has appeared on AEW television, as he once wrestled Anthony Ogogo in Dynamite in his first match in Tony Khan's promotion and second-ever bout in a professional wrestling ring period. Still, it's interesting to see Karter get such a high-profile nod on one of the biggest television programs on the AEW calendar, especially over more “deserving” AEW Dark hustlers like, say, Baron Black, who just recorded his 50th loss in the promotion last month.
Still, with the Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan name in the headlines and Cole Karter a promising young prospect who just went through WWE Bootcamp before joining Tony D'Angelo's Family in NXT, why not capitalize on that hype and get a few extra media hits like this one here to hype up the appearance? If anything, it could serve as a solid tryout for Ring of Honor, which may soon be looking to fill out a roster for weekly television.