The AEW Discussion Thread

[Glorious Fury]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

My response to your comment would be Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels was protected and got away with things like no one else in WWE due to Vince being so high on him. Additionally, and it is hard to say due to Vince near enough never speaking on these matters but I think the whole big muscle guy thing is overblown, at least in the modern day. Guys like Braun Strowman and other big guys have not gotten the rocket push you'd expect while Vince showed a lot of care and attention for 205 Live of all things when it started and he was overseeing it, which is ironic as Vince's RAW is a horrid show and yet he can book Cruiserweights excellently... which is why I find it hard to rag on Vince and "his" booking too much. Recently for example there was talk from Daivari about wanting Del Rio's (how he put it) entrance for one of his matches. He asked a writer who told him he ain't a big enough star for such an entrance, which he took as the writer being scared to ask Vince so Daivari asked Vince himself who liked it and made it happen. I think for all the talk of Vince "micromanaging", he doesn't actually have as much influence as people might think which would explain why RAW suffers from the rewrite problem. It ain't that Vince puts together a show and then rips it and starts again, but that others put it together and Vince when he sees it rips it up. Just what I think, makes more sense to me. 

 

Shawn Michaels was arguably the most naturally talented and smooth in-ring performer of all time, was excellent in both Face/Heel roles and very charismatic. Michaels in his prime years of 1995 - 1998 was an elite level talent and at that time probably the best worker in the world. Michaels is around the same size as Ric Flair, so he's really not that small. Michaels politically got away with far too much in terms of damaging other guys in the back at the time and just being generally unprofessional, anybody else would have been fired. Only the Ultimate Warrior was probably more unprofessional than Shawn in his prime years and he got fired several times. 

 

Majority of smaller guys who have gotten to major areas in WWE: Michaels, Bryan, AJ, Benoit, Eddie, Jericho, Rey have all usually wrestled like cruiserweights. MJF isn't the sort of guy to fling himself around the ring like a Shawn Michaels or AJ Styles and not a hard hitting technical wrestler like a Chris Benoit or Daniel Bryan. I'm not saying MJF won't be over, but in terms of being a main event guy in WWE I can't see it. Think AEW is a much better place for him to develop right now. 

 

I think Strowman was quite unprofessional during 2018 or so and I think it affected his push at the time, but yeah McMahon isn't as high on big muscle guys as he was in the 1980's/1990's as the landscape has changed. Even with his love of HBK, I remember seeing on one of Bruce Pritchard's podcasts he was very resistive to put the World Title on him as he deemed him too small. A guy of HBK's size and stature around 6ft or so, he would have no issue doing so now. 

 

Think I mentioned this a while back but I enjoyed that period of 205, very underrated nobody really talks about it. I don't think I've watched a full RAW in several years now. Yeah I've heard about the re-write thing, must be very frustrating being a writer in WWE and will have a affect on talent. I think Vince is more open than people think, just alot of people fear him.

 

14 hours ago, skidmarkgn said:

First and foremost I'm over the moon about the potential of Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega being real.

 

And yes me too!

[skidmarkgn]

Now that Thunder Rosa is officially signed with AEW it hopefully opens the door for 2 more matches with Britt, one where Britt retains to even the score and a rubber match, which I'd love to see Rosa win and wear the strap.  It'd be tough to space out ensuring a long reign for Brit, maybe put a stop gap challenger or two in between but Rosa has to be the one to eventually take down Britt right?

[Rozalia1]

So the most recent show. I will say it again. Jon Moxley is the dumbest man in wrestling. That will be my one note on the show.

 

16 hours ago, GloriousFury9414 said:

Majority of smaller guys who have gotten to major areas in WWE: Michaels, Bryan, AJ, Benoit, Eddie, Jericho, Rey have all usually wrestled like cruiserweights. MJF isn't the sort of guy to fling himself around the ring like a Shawn Michaels or AJ Styles and not a hard hitting technical wrestler like a Chris Benoit or Daniel Bryan. I'm not saying MJF won't be over, but in terms of being a main event guy in WWE I can't see it. Think AEW is a much better place for him to develop right now. 

 

As long as MJF is working with Cody, Jericho, and the like then he'll have something to learn sure. It is working with the rest of the roster, many ill trained or even self trained who can't do the basics correctly and have no concept of how to put matches together where MJF will be learning nothing, or worse, gain their bad habits. Though that is more of a concern for Jungle Boy than MJF who seems smart enough to know that he shouldn't for example be trying to paralyze himself in matches against nobodies. 

 

However, nothing would beat NXT, as it currently exists anyway as Vince may be wrecking it some time soon and who knows after that. Better trainers, better facilities, you're working with incredibly well trained and professional talent wherever you are on the card. 

 

12 hours ago, skidmarkgn said:

Now that Thunder Rosa is officially signed with AEW it hopefully opens the door for 2 more matches with Britt, one where Britt retains to even the score and a rubber match, which I'd love to see Rosa win and wear the strap.  It'd be tough to space out ensuring a long reign for Brit, maybe put a stop gap challenger or two in between but Rosa has to be the one to eventually take down Britt right?

 

Baker could just not wrestle on Dynamite for long periods of time. Works for others including Shida the previous champion. As for Rosa. Could delay a title match with Baker for a while by having Rosa turn heel on someone, perhaps a heel, and beat them down for X weeks. Then the match with Baker can be heel vs heel. What enlightened times we live in. 

[Glorious Fury]

16 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

Could delay a title match with Baker for a while by having Rosa turn heel on someone, perhaps a heel, and beat them down for X weeks. Then the match with Baker can be heel vs heel. What enlightened times we live in. 

 

Literally you cannot help yourself by taking a dig at AEW at any given chance you can get! (I'm not having a go at you, just find it funny)

 

On 7/23/2021 at 10:39 PM, skidmarkgn said:

Now that Thunder Rosa is officially signed with AEW it hopefully opens the door for 2 more matches with Britt, one where Britt retains to even the score and a rubber match, which I'd love to see Rosa win and wear the strap.  It'd be tough to space out ensuring a long reign for Brit, maybe put a stop gap challenger or two in between but Rosa has to be the one to eventually take down Britt right?

 

I would certainly think she is a major contender to do so, and would make sense down the line with the inital match they had kickstarting Britt's momentum. 

 

Living Colour followed AEW on Twitter/Instagram, they do the 'Cult of Personality' theme if you are not aware. Not that it's a given, but with Tony Kahn liking to get licensed music for some of his acts I think it's a good sign that Punk could be headed to AEW. Or somebody (maybe even MJF) is gonna pull a major troll on the audience. They may try and get 'The Final Countdown' or a variant of 'Flight of the Valkyries' for Bryan too. 

Edited July 25, 2021 by GloriousFury9414

[Rozalia1]

18 hours ago, GloriousFury9414 said:

Literally you cannot help yourself by taking a dig at AEW at any given chance you can get! (I'm not having a go at you, just find it funny)

 

I would certainly think she is a major contender to do so, and would make sense down the line with the inital match they had kickstarting Britt's momentum. 

 

Living Colour followed AEW on Twitter/Instagram, they do the 'Cult of Personality' theme if you are not aware. Not that it's a given, but with Tony Kahn liking to get licensed music for some of his acts I think it's a good sign that Punk could be headed to AEW. Or somebody (maybe even MJF) is gonna pull a major troll on the audience. They may try and get 'The Final Countdown' or a variant of 'Flight of the Valkyries' for Bryan too. 

 

I think AEW likely having more heel vs heel matches in a single year than mainstream wrestling had in 100 is worth a dig yes. 

 

Anyway, sorry but I can't comment on the rest of your post. I wrote a response but Nick Gage came up (you mentioned MJF, who brought the guy in), who AEW is now promoting, and who had a wrestler of theirs (Stunt) wrestling on his garbage deathmatch show the other day, and that me realise just how irrelevant commenting on anything else is. It has put me a negative mood so I'll leave it at that.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Rozalia1

[Rozalia1]

Man, last week I got so negative I thought about quitting wrestling entirely. I watched this one and maybe I should just be like that rumoured gimmick for Baron Corbin, "Happy Corbin". I mean sure, none of this follows the most basic fundamentals of wrestling. Sure, the referees are horrible, the booking ???, and the talent largely ill trained and have stupid decision making in their matches. Sure, they've promoted the likes of Nick Cage who is a disgrace as is his garbage deathmatch crap... all very sad stuff... but, perhaps everyone should just look on the bright side of things. It is all very funny too. 

 

When the Elite all started getting in the ring one after another to hit moves on a Dark Order guy out of nowhere while Knox, nah, I'm not even going to bother to show any level of respect anymore as he fully deserves the nickname Cornette has given him, while the corpse referee just stood there and looked at it, I laughed. When later the Dark Order all just got in the ring to gang up on an Elite guy and the ref just stood there I laughed again. WWE does this thing in their multiman matches often where near the end of the match things will "break down" and everyone will start hitting big moves until two guys are left in the ring and then a finish happens. AEW does worse stuff then that at the start, middle, and end of the match, over and over. And they're the promotion that RESPECTS TAG TEAM WRESTLING HAHAHA. JR who was comedy was sweating and I can't even imagine what was going through his mind as all this criminal activity transpired. Man, when he is no longer getting paid by AEW... oh but there was more of course. I laughed at Kenny Omega, the WORLD CHAMPION, playing the role of the weasel who keeps interfering and breaking things up that Shane McMahon played during the WWF vs The Alliance match. Of course Shane after enough crap was punished and then eliminated... which actually would have been solid booking if I can be serious for a moment... imagine Kenny acting like that and then Hangman just eliminates him and punishes his foolishness. Now that actually would be a nice bit of booking if Kenny is going to act the fool as he did, but who am I, random guy on the internet, to question the booker of the year? Anyway, back to the funny business. The finish. Oh the finish. I've actually seen people swearing off the show off it. Defenders of AEW are completely thrown for a loop, "Wait and see" is all they have. We've been waiting how long for Hangman to start his run at the title and get it? PPV is 40 days away. Perhaps though this is a set up for the biggest joke of all though I'm not sure which is bigger... Hangman not actually getting a match at all... or Hangman getting it and losing? One might be better as it has a slower burn... but I think the quicker one is preferable as there will be no excuses for it. 

 

Oh and I got to see Nick Gage in a match, truly incredible stuff from the deadly Pizza Cutter Assassin. Those punches, oh those punches. A 5 year old has better worked punches. Funny stuff but just stop Gage, just get a light tube or whatever and have you and whatever idiot you're in the ring with smash each other over the head with them straight away. What you're good and stupid enough for. 

 

[jackmadrox]

4 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

Man, last week I got so negative I thought about quitting wrestling entirely.

 

I'm already there. WWE has largely killed my interest in anything wrestling. I have no one to root for anymore. Everyone I like is either gone, buried or left the company. As for AEW, it didn't suck me in like I thought it would. I have to take a sabbatical from wrestling for awhile. :/

[skidmarkgn]

Everyone keeps eluding to Darby's promo as a CM Punk hint but it honestly made me think of Daniel Bryan's ROH days before anything, when pounding on the railing chanting "best in the world" was pretty much part of his entrance.  Food for thought I guess.

[Rozalia1]

Word going round has been that Domino's Pizza has disavowed AEW's deathmatch garbage and is considering pulling the advertising going forward. Who knew that a respectable company wouldn't want to be seen near that garbage. Something that comes to mind with this is that AEW may well be doing a lot of harm to WWE's mission these past 2 decades of changing the perception of wrestling. WWE has worked to change it to "entertainment" but AEW with all the blood has been promoting the change in perception to "blood and guts". 

 

Quote

 

“ Adam Page is not getting the main event for All Out with Kenny Omega. At one point it was the plan but plans change. The ten-man tag was designed to shock people when they veered off that match, but one would think they will be going to it later. They were pushing Christian Cage for a title match next. Whether that’s for TV in a few weeks or PPV should be clear pretty soon. They’ve done angles to where they should do Cage and Eddie Kingston both against Omega, but Christian feels to me like a match for a major Dynamite and Kingston could headline a PPV but with the additions maybe it’s a TV match as well.” - Dave Meltzer

 

Following fan reaction to this is quite something. AEW marks talk as if they know Khan personally and really believe that he is some sagely legitimate booker of the year. I've even seen the conspiracy that if Omega vs Hangman doesn't happen then the network must be responsible because... Khan can do no wrong? Laughable stuff.  Excuses coming out too such as "Hangman is going to be a dad soon so they're delaying it because of that". Oh dear.

 

We can't discount of course that Khan could be being meta and working all the journalists including his personal cheerleader Meltzer (well, perhaps not him, I'm sure he'd play along willingly) which... why? The problem with meta stuff, most of the time it does absolutely nothing for anybody at best, at worst it hurts things. 

 

On 29/07/2021 at 2:32 PM, jackmadrox said:

I'm already there. WWE has largely killed my interest in anything wrestling. I have no one to root for anymore. Everyone I like is either gone, buried or left the company. As for AEW, it didn't suck me in like I thought it would. I have to take a sabbatical from wrestling for awhile. :/

 

Hard to drop something you've followed so long, the habit of it. Wrestling has never been less popular. The embarrassment of it all has never been higher with even a garbage indy deathmatch main eventing AEW Dynamite. I think the only thing really keeping me going is perhaps the existence of the Anti-Smarks or whatever you might call them (ain't just Cornette fans), as that at least tells me that there is still a sizable amount of people out there who oppose this criminal activity. 

[skidmarkgn]

13 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

Word going round has been that Domino's Pizza has disavowed AEW's deathmatch garbage and is considering pulling the advertising going forward. Who knew that a respectable company wouldn't want to be seen near that garbage. Something that comes to mind with this is that AEW may well be doing a lot of harm to WWE's mission these past 2 decades of changing the perception of wrestling. WWE has worked to change it to "entertainment" but AEW with all the blood has been promoting the change in perception to "blood and guts". 

 

Following fan reaction to this is quite something. AEW marks talk as if they know Khan personally and really believe that he is some sagely legitimate booker of the year. I've even seen the conspiracy that if Omega vs Hangman doesn't happen then the network must be responsible because... Khan can do no wrong? Laughable stuff.  Excuses coming out too such as "Hangman is going to be a dad soon so they're delaying it because of that". Oh dear.

 

 

 

Domino's was mad that there was a picture in picture ad for their pizza at the exact moment Gage was using his pizza cutter, most of the world though it was funny and moved on.  If Domino's wants to be pissy and bail, let 'em, it's not gonna hurt anything.

 

With regards to Page, it's not unreasonable to consider they want his potential title win to be a huge deal and the debuts of Bryan and Punk could very easily overshadow it. Pushing it back to Full Gear where it can be the "moment" of the show isn't a terrible idea if that's the case.  Only problem is that isn't an "AEW sucks and Khan's the worst booker ever" hot take so you don't even wanna consider it.

[Rozalia1]

44 minutes ago, skidmarkgn said:

Domino's was mad that there was a picture in picture ad for their pizza at the exact moment Gage was using his pizza cutter, most of the world though it was funny and moved on.  If Domino's wants to be pissy and bail, let 'em, it's not gonna hurt anything.

 

With regards to Page, it's not unreasonable to consider they want his potential title win to be a huge deal and the debuts of Bryan and Punk could very easily overshadow it. Pushing it back to Full Gear where it can be the "moment" of the show isn't a terrible idea if that's the case.  Only problem is that isn't an "AEW sucks and Khan's the worst booker ever" hot take so you don't even wanna consider it.

 

Part of the reason wrestling has suffered getting less ad money for a long time was "blood and guts". That it ain't seen as respectable. No company that wants you and your family to partake in their product wants their product advertised during a garbage deathmatch. It'd be like if AEW started running intergender matches, you'd have companies pulling ads instantly as that is seen very negatively.

 

You could say the same about Byran's win at Wrestlemania 30 as Undertaker's streak was broken on the same show. It'd have been stupid then to delay that victory, and it is stupid now. CM Punk by the news out there right now will debut before the PPV, and may have a match at the PPV but that ain't certain. Byran who knows. If it is such a concern then they can just be delayed for the Dynamite after the PPV. They got the crowds back. Hangman is over and the fans behind him, they want him to win the title. He has already meandered for a good while and even suffered that nonsense loss to Cage for no reason. Delaying things only runs the risk of Hangman cooling off, I mean when is the PPV after this next one? 4 months? Another 5 months of Omega having the title as Hangman's victory won't mean as much if Omega ain't the champion. Not to mention that if AEW runs what Meltzer is speculating, Omega vs Christian, then we'll likely see AEW fans in attendance hijack the show, which hey, maybe is Khan's intention because he is the booker of the year, and that sort of stuff should be avoided as it breeds bad juju for you in the future.

 

I'm going to lay this out, me random guy on the internet, so you can see how straightforward and basic all this is. You have supposedly two guys coming in, CM Punk and Byran. One works best as a heel, another as a face. Your current top face is Page, heel Omega. Hangman defeats Omega for the title. CM Punk, known straight edge guy and hater of alcohol goes after Page, who is known for his drinking. Meanwhile Omega is the "greatest wrestler in the world". Byran is thought to be one if not the greatest wrestler active today and he takes issue with Omega for his heelish ways. You have just set up your current top guys with the guys coming in. Punk naturally puts over Hangman, he has been out of the game for ages and can also be portrayed as a sad angry bitter individual, while Hangman is someone in high spirits. Omega meanwhile can job to Byran as he was just champion and one of the guys coming in obviously should go over. There is no need to overcomplicate things when you have gold on your hands.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Rozalia1

[Glorious Fury]

3 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

Hard to drop something you've followed so long, the habit of it. Wrestling has never been less popular. The embarrassment of it all has never been higher with even a garbage indy deathmatch main eventing AEW Dynamite. I think the only thing really keeping me going is perhaps the existence of the Anti-Smarks or whatever you might call them (ain't just Cornette fans), as that at least tells me that there is still a sizable amount of people out there who oppose this criminal activity. 

 

Mate, I understand you don't like AEW but the 'anti-smarks' are the worst fans of the lot. Maybe take a break if it's not fun anymore. I mean I talk about wrestling on here a fair bit, but I've not watched WWE in ages, and watch some AEW shows as I enjoy it more than WWE. Wrestling like other forms of entertainment has changed over time, lots enjoy the current product even if several don't. WWE is doing very well financially, I'm unsure on AEW as they put a ton into the Video Game development which put them into the red. Very risky imo, they don't want to do a Shenmue and put a lot into a game which potentially does poorly commerically. No Mercy was an amazing game, but Wrestling was popular in the year 2000. They could have put out utter shite and it still would have done well. 

 

Cornette is fun to listen to as he's very over the top, and makes some very valid points. However people who think he's the savior of modern pro-wrestling are kidding themselves. Cornette is super knowledgeable no doubt, but never moved with the times when the business changed dramatically in the 90's and is really out of touch. I mean the NWA Invasion in 1998 WWF with Jeff Jarrett, Rock N Roll Express, Barry Windham etc. Did he notice it's 1998 not 1988, it was probably the lamest thing of that period. All the NWA fans of that period had likely stopped watching when wrestling went more cartoony with WWF and WCW in the Golden Era.

 

2 hours ago, skidmarkgn said:

With regards to Page, it's not unreasonable to consider they want his potential title win to be a huge deal and the debuts of Bryan and Punk could very easily overshadow it. Pushing it back to Full Gear where it can be the "moment" of the show isn't a terrible idea if that's the case.  Only problem is that isn't an "AEW sucks and Khan's the worst booker ever" hot take so you don't even wanna consider it.

 

Pretty much hit the nail on the head. Punk/Bryan appearing will overshadow him as top babyface initally and his big win. Hangman will get his moment at some point. Does AEW have a Wrestlemania-type PPV or are they all the same? As it may be good to do it at that point if so, to establish him as the top guy. Hangman over coming adversity makes sense to me, as he will gain more sympathy with the fans. 

 

2 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

I'm going to lay this out, me random guy on the internet, so you can see how straightforward and basic all this is. You have supposedly two guys coming in, CM Punk and Byran. One works best as a heel, another as a face. Your current top face is Page, heel Omega. Hangman defeats Omega for the title. CM Punk, known straight edge guy and hater of alcohol goes after Page, who is known for his drinking. Meanwhile Omega is the "greatest wrestler in the world". Byran is thought to be one if not the greatest wrestler active today and he takes issue with Omega for his heelish ways. You have just set up your current top guys with the guys coming in. Punk naturally puts over Hangman, he has been out of the game for ages and can also be portrayed as a sad angry bitter individual, while Hangman is someone in high spirits. Omega meanwhile can job to Byran as he was just champion and one of the guys coming in obviously should go over. There is no need to overcomplicate things when you have gold on your hands.

 

Crowd likes Hangman but would likely cheer Punk over Hangman, even if he is a heel. Not a good move as your new face champion against one of the most anticipated returns, certainly not straight away. Not saying it couldn't work, but Punk would have to be back for a while so he cools off. Hangman would be better off facing another heel initially if he wins the belt off Omega, instead of Punk or Bryan. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by GloriousFury9414

[skidmarkgn]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Part of the reason wrestling has suffered getting less ad money for a long time was "blood and guts". That it ain't seen as respectable. No company that wants you and your family to partake in their product wants their product advertised during a garbage deathmatch. It'd be like if AEW started running intergender matches, you'd have companies pulling ads instantly as that is seen very negatively.

 

All types of wrestling has a fanbase and AEW tends to try to cater to a very broad audience.  I'm not a huge fan of deathmatches myself but they're out there, as evident by the match not driving fans away, it was the 2nd highest rated segment on the show (pretty sure the opening match had the most eyes on it) so it actually brought them back in.  Dominos wouldn't have said anything if the match had gone on uninterrupted, they overreacted because a picture-in-picture segment had very unfortunate (and again, most people out there thought it was actually quite funny and probably helped them more than hurt) timing.  Not even the first time something like that happened:

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/28/the-walking-deads-kfc-endorsement-is-finger-biting-good

 

It was funny then, and it's funny now.  If Dominos wants to pull their sponsorship, screw 'em, their loss.  I'm sure other companies will slide right in.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by skidmarkgn

[Rozalia1]

8 hours ago, GloriousFury9414 said:

Mate, I understand you don't like AEW but the 'anti-smarks' are the worst fans of the lot. Maybe take a break if it's not fun anymore. I mean I talk about wrestling on here a fair bit, but I've not watched WWE in ages, and watch some AEW shows as I enjoy it more than WWE. Wrestling like other forms of entertainment has changed over time, lots enjoy the current product even if several don't. WWE is doing very well financially, I'm unsure on AEW as they put a ton into the Video Game development which put them into the red. Very risky imo, they don't want to do a Shenmue and put a lot into a game which potentially does poorly commerically. No Mercy was an amazing game, but Wrestling was popular in the year 2000. They could have put out utter shite and it still would have done well. 

 

Cornette is fun to listen to as he's very over the top, and makes some very valid points. However people who think he's the savior of modern pro-wrestling are kidding themselves. Cornette is super knowledgeable no doubt, but never moved with the times when the business changed dramatically in the 90's and is really out of touch. I mean the NWA Invasion in 1998 WWF with Jeff Jarrett, Rock N Roll Express, Barry Windham etc. Did he notice it's 1998 not 1988, it was probably the lamest thing of that period. All the NWA fans of that period had likely stopped watching when wrestling went more cartoony with WWF and WCW in the Golden Era.

 

 

Pretty much hit the nail on the head. Punk/Bryan appearing will overshadow him as top babyface initally and his big win. Hangman will get his moment at some point. Does AEW have a Wrestlemania-type PPV or are they all the same? As it may be good to do it at that point if so, to establish him as the top guy. Hangman over coming adversity makes sense to me, as he will gain more sympathy with the fans. 

 

 

Crowd likes Hangman but would likely cheer Punk over Hangman, even if he is a heel. Not a good move as your new face champion against one of the most anticipated returns, certainly not straight away. Not saying it couldn't work, but Punk would have to be back for a while so he cools off. Hangman would be better off facing another heel initially if he wins the belt off Omega, instead of Punk or Bryan. 

 

Certain ones perhaps sure, but beyond them it is good to know that I'm not someone who has been transported to some manner of bizzaro world where everything is upside down. When I see AEW fans talk up some manner of nonsense as genius booking or something, hyperbole, but I feel like I'm having a stroke. As for AEW's finances, they're poor at the moment but it doesn't really matter as long as daddy is paying for everything. AEW isn't just dumping a lot of money on a video game (why so much if the idea is to have some manner of arcade type game anyway?), but have you seen their roster? Extremely bloated and unless you sexually assault people you seemingly don't get fired. 

 

I've heard Cornette talk on that and I think you have a misunderstanding of that. First off he was never a "booker" in WWF, he was on the booking committee for a time. As for the NWA invasion, I don't think he was even on the booking committee at that point, but beyond that, and this is from memory so I could be wrong but as the story was told that stuff was a Russo idea. Russo alleges that it was a favour to Cornette, to appease him, to stop the bad blood between them. Cornette alleges that Russo did it because he knew that it wouldn't get over in that environment, especially if badly booked on top of everything else so by its end he could point to it and tell Vince "See, all that old stuff just doesn't work today and Jim is out of touch". Cornette alleges that he went along with it to try and help the boys, but he knew it was hopeless. 

 

If that is the fear then you may as well run Punk as a face. These days you have a bunch of those fans yes that will cheer heels and such because they think they're so smart if they do that... you should not let them dictate anything. Beyond that... that is why you have a build up to a match, to sort things out like this. Look at Jericho? He has come back to big face reactions before and then converted it to a heel one... Punk can't do this why? For example, CM Punk on the run up to the match can state that yes, he stated before that he was done with wrestling... but he has never been paid so much to do so little before so he thought he'd come to AEW and take Tony Khan's daddy's money. That he knows that him winning the title is a certainty, not because he is still at the same level he once was, but because he has gotten to see the boys in the back up close and personal and you know what? Most of them are human defects like all you people in the audience watching the show. That brings him to Hangman, the champ himself, a sad drunk who is playing around with the Dark Order. Brodie would be proud, you know why? You ever thought why a star (bad mouthing the dead for an angle can be done, but is unneeded) like him surrounded himself with the scum of society in the Dark Order? It is because standing next to these putrid people makes you look better by comparison. In the big leagues Brodie had to stand next to other stars, other titans, he could not stand out as much as he did in this joke of a group here in AEW. Now I bet in the back those in the Dark Order are getting real hot at me saying this. Hey, Colt Cabana, how you doing? Perhaps that fat goof in a mask "Evil Uno" wants a match. Well you know what? None of you Dark Order losers are getting a match with me. I could beat you all at the same time with a hand tied behind my back, but that ain't the point. I'd be demeaning myself by getting in the ring with such scum and with my contract I don't have to either as I can call my shots. Take a good hard look at the AEW title folks, because when I win it at Full Gear you won't see it until the next PPV.

 

8 hours ago, skidmarkgn said:

All types of wrestling has a fanbase and AEW tends to try to cater to a very broad audience.  I'm not a huge fan of deathmatches myself but they're out there, as evident by the match not driving fans away, it was the 2nd highest rated segment on the show (pretty sure the opening match had the most eyes on it) so it actually brought them back in.  Dominos wouldn't have said anything if the match had gone on uninterrupted, they overreacted because a picture-in-picture segment had very unfortunate (and again, most people out there thought it was actually quite funny and probably helped them more than hurt) timing.  Not even the first time something like that happened:

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/28/the-walking-deads-kfc-endorsement-is-finger-biting-good

 

It was funny then, and it's funny now.  If Dominos wants to pull their sponsorship, screw 'em, their loss.  I'm sure other companies will slide right in.

 

Watched by tiny amounts of people there to see the stupid untrained goofs hit each other over the head with light tubes yes. As for their numbers not tanking on the segment... it ain't this week which would say anything on if it turned people off, it'd be next week. However, with AEW promoting this stuff and having easily convinced/deluded fans, perhaps it will hold as you now will actually see people out there saying garbage deathmatch wrestling is just another cup of tea, that it deserves some level of respect. No. The art of professional wrestling is about simulating a fight while actually doing as little damage to your opponent as possible. This garbage goes against that. It ain't professional wrestling. 

 

As for Dominos and ads. What serious respectable companies don't like is seeing their name "blowing up" online and then when they look their brand is being associated with garbage deathmatches. Why? Because normal people will see that stuff and may then think that Dominos is low class like the low class garbage they're seeing. It only hurts wrestling also of course as people who don't care/hate wrestling have a nice example of the horribleness of wrestling to point to. You know how exposing someone like Gage is on top of everything else? The man can't throw a punch. He looks horrible. He moves around like a cripple. He has no talent. And this guy is in a AEW main event? What a disgrace wrestling is, that is what normal people see and think.

Word currently is the network is trying to smooth it all over, perhaps Dominos will get a nice discount on running ads to appease them and the promise that they won't ever run an ad of theirs during a garbage deathmatch again/won't have any more garbage deathmatches. An issue however is if AEW keeps having these problems with advertisers because eventually advertisers will start paying less to advertise as they'll have the concern of AEW doing something stupid that makes them look bad. 

 

Side note. AEW fans are mad and stating that people "snitched" on AEW, you know, the show on National TV, and this is why the Dominos thing happened... not you know, it blowing up and Dominos seeing it themselves. This is the same group that was involved in messaging Snickers to get WWE in trouble and have since then done it again though now to no effect. 

[Glorious Fury]

2 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

Certain ones perhaps sure, but beyond them it is good to know that I'm not someone who has been transported to some manner of bizzaro world where everything is upside down. When I see AEW fans talk up some manner of nonsense as genius booking or something, hyperbole, but I feel like I'm having a stroke. As for AEW's finances, they're poor at the moment but it doesn't really matter as long as daddy is paying for everything. AEW isn't just dumping a lot of money on a video game (why so much if the idea is to have some manner of arcade type game anyway?), but have you seen their roster? Extremely bloated and unless you sexually assault people you seemingly don't get fired. 

 

I've heard Cornette talk on that and I think you have a misunderstanding of that. First off he was never a "booker" in WWF, he was on the booking committee for a time. As for the NWA invasion, I don't think he was even on the booking committee at that point, but beyond that, and this is from memory so I could be wrong but as the story was told that stuff was a Russo idea. Russo alleges that it was a favour to Cornette, to appease him, to stop the bad blood between them. Cornette alleges that Russo did it because he knew that it wouldn't get over in that environment, especially if badly booked on top of everything else so by its end he could point to it and tell Vince "See, all that old stuff just doesn't work today and Jim is out of touch". Cornette alleges that he went along with it to try and help the boys, but he knew it was hopeless. 

 

Well, there are more reasoned fans who don't like the product, just alot of the 'Anti Smarks' are like the guy who invaded AEW the other week and talk absolute nonsense on social media. Poor Cornette had to distance himself quickly as the guy was a big time fan of his. Roster is way too big, and they need to cut the deadwood from it for sure. Punk/Bryan aren't going to be cheap. Talking about that, what happened to Jade Cargill? Just gotten lost in the huge roster?

 

To be fair that seems believable as the heat exists between the two. I still think Corny is outta touch though as he's a traditionlist through and through, couldn't deal with the change to sports entertainment. It's a pity, as Cornette has a great mind for the business and would help either in match/storyline execution or creating talent. Kinda feel he plays up to his rants now just to get views for his podcast. As sad as it is, when Wrestling was popular nobody really cared about the Wrestling and the psychology of it. They wanted to see the soap-opera type storylines and big stars like Rock, Austin, HHH, Bret, HBK, Undertaker and so on.

 

3 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

If that is the fear then you may as well run Punk as a face. These days you have a bunch of those fans yes that will cheer heels and such because they think they're so smart if they do that... you should not let them dictate anything. Beyond that... that is why you have a build up to a match, to sort things out like this. Look at Jericho? He has come back to big face reactions before and then converted it to a heel one... Punk can't do this why? 

 

He absolutely can, I just I don't think it would work straight away. Luckily AEW has massive gaps between PPV's, so I'm sure they could work something out if this scenario happens. Honestly, the whole fans being smart thing, people just follow who they like regardless of face/heel status these days. Only people who seem to get legit heat are forced FOTC contenders or the old 'X-Pac heat' for guys like Corbin these days. 

 

3 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

As for Dominos and ads. What serious respectable companies don't like is seeing their name "blowing up" online and then when they look their brand is being associated with garbage deathmatches. Why? Because normal people will see that stuff and may then think that Dominos is low class like the low class garbage they're seeing. It only hurts wrestling also of course as people who don't care/hate wrestling have a nice example of the horribleness of wrestling to point to. You know how exposing someone like Gage is on top of everything else? The man can't throw a punch. He looks horrible. He moves around like a cripple. He has no talent. And this guy is in a AEW main event? What a disgrace wrestling is, that is what normal people see and think.

 

Gotta agree with this. It's funny in it's timing but not good to piss off your sponsors. True deathmatch wrestling is fucking awful and gonna turn off most fans. Didn't they learn from the exploding ring disaster? Fair play to Jericho for going along with this shite as he has no reason to do so with the career he's had, his quest for relevency is taking him to extreme lengths.

[Rozalia1]

31 minutes ago, GloriousFury9414 said:

Well, there are more reasoned fans who don't like the product, just alot of the 'Anti Smarks' are like the guy who invaded AEW the other week and talk absolute nonsense on social media. Poor Cornette had to distance himself quickly as the guy was a big time fan of his. Roster is way too big, and they need to cut the deadwood from it for sure. Punk/Bryan aren't going to be cheap. Talking about that, what happened to Jade Cargill? Just gotten lost in the huge roster?

 

To be fair that seems believable as the heat exists between the two. I still think Corny is outta touch though as he's a traditionlist through and through, couldn't deal with the change to sports entertainment. It's a pity, as Cornette has a great mind for the business and would help either in match/storyline execution or creating talent. Kinda feel he plays up to his rants now just to get views for his podcast. As sad as it is, when Wrestling was popular nobody really cared about the Wrestling and the psychology of it. They wanted to see the soap-opera type storylines and big stars like Rock, Austin, HHH, Bret, HBK, Undertaker and so on.

 

 

He absolutely can, I just I don't think it would work straight away. Luckily AEW has massive gaps between PPV's, so I'm sure they could work something out if this scenario happens. Honestly, the whole fans being smart thing, people just follow who they like regardless of face/heel status these days. Only people who seem to get legit heat are forced FOTC contenders or the old 'X-Pac heat' for guys like Corbin these days. 

 

 

Gotta agree with this. It's funny in it's timing but not good to piss off your sponsors. True deathmatch wrestling is fucking awful and gonna turn off most fans. Didn't they learn from the exploding ring disaster? Fair play to Jericho for going along with this shite as he has no reason to do so with the career he's had, his quest for relevency is taking him to extreme lengths.

 

Guy said he did for Russo too and if he listened to Cornette he'd know that Cornette frowns heavily on fans attacking wrestlers as you know, many back in the day attacked Cornette himself. He was an attention seeker, not much more than that. As for Jade, as far as I know she got some manner of injury but should be back soon. Baker is going to get a bodyguard soon I seem to recall so many Jade can get that role. She is a whole lot of woman. 

 

Cornette is not as out of touch as his detractors make out. Some of his stuff is outdated yes, but much of it is timeless. He has also made a comment I found quite funny. Back when he was booking he'd get guys music which was 10-20 years old and he'd catch hell for it, how out of touch. AEW gets 60s music or whatever for guys and those sort of people think it is great. Some point simply aren't fair in their assessments. As for your comment... I don't think it really combats what Cornette says. For a start Cornette is not a "workrate" guy, at least not under the modern definition, he finds many of the "great workers" in AEW for example to be terrible workers, as to him being a great worker is about being believable not just in how you execute moves, but in what moves you do, when, your decision making basically. A guy might be limited in what he does but if believable and what little he does is done well then Cornette will be fine with it. The other issue he would take with your comment is that Cornette professes that the Monday Night War era was not when wrestling was most popular and that instead it was most popular during the Territory era where shows based in a single state would get 500k viewers so if you added them all together you'd get the highest numbers watching wrestling. 

 

I'm a fan of anybody who can get some legitimate heat as that takes some doing these days. Corbin that you mentioned is one and WWE never actually took advantage of it, like Elias he is someone WWE features heavily but never actually does anything with. Corbin should have been WWE champion off his feud with Rollings where he even did that unexpected moment where he hit the End of Days on Becky Lynch. They're now seemingly turning him face so that may disappear in future... or it'll just return later when he goes heel again, we'll see. Another notable person with this trait is Eva Marie who back in her first run should really have become champion near the end of her first run and now that she is back really should get it at some point. She gets real heat off people, something women struggle to do, Charlotte really being the only other one that can do that, and should be rewarded for it.

 

Yeah, and makes me worried for MJF. They've been feuding for ages and likely will for a long time still. That comment Jericho made in kayfabe about keeping MJF close so he can suck him dry... yeah. As for Deathmatches... they've already said they'll have future ones, talking the exploding one. I think also that the recent deathmatch is not one they count with the exploding one. The Exploding one is a "Japanese style" deathmatch. This one with Gage is an American/Indy style one. That may be why the exploding deathmatch debacle didn't effect them doing another deathmatch so soon after, they don't register them as the same type of match.  

Edited July 31, 2021 by Rozalia1

[Rozalia1]

https://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone/news/1247009-mark-henry-wnba-star-liz-cambage-in-aew

 

I just saw this as I mentioned Jade which caused me to look up related news and... AEW should listen to Henry. He is actually quite the scout and I think he would be correct in this being a massive get, not just literally but in it being money. Jade Cargill is like a titan in AEW and this woman makes even her look small. Or you know, could just hire some 5'2 Japanese indy wrestler instead. We'll see where all this goes.

[Glorious Fury]

3 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

Guy said he did for Russo too and if he listened to Cornette he'd know that Cornette frowns heavily on fans attacking wrestlers as you know, many back in the day attacked Cornette himself. He was an attention seeker, not much more than that. As for Jade, as far as I know she got some manner of injury but should be back soon. Baker is going to get a bodyguard soon I seem to recall so many Jade can get that role. She is a whole lot of woman. 

 

Cornette is not as out of touch as his detractors make out. Some of his stuff is outdated yes, but much of it is timeless. He has also made a comment I found quite funny. Back when he was booking he'd get guys music which was 10-20 years old and he'd catch hell for it, how out of touch. AEW gets 60s music or whatever for guys and those sort of people think it is great. Some point simply aren't fair in their assessments. As for your comment... I don't think it really combats what Cornette says. For a start Cornette is not a "workrate" guy, at least not under the modern definition, he finds many of the "great workers" in AEW for example to be terrible workers, as to him being a great worker is about being believable not just in how you execute moves, but in what moves you do, when, your decision making basically. A guy might be limited in what he does but if believable and what little he does is done well then Cornette will be fine with it. The other issue he would take with your comment is that Cornette professes that the Monday Night War era was not when wrestling was most popular and that instead it was most popular during the Territory era where shows based in a single state would get 500k viewers so if you added them all together you'd get the highest numbers watching wrestling. 

 

I'm a fan of anybody who can get some legitimate heat as that takes some doing these days. Corbin that you mentioned is one and WWE never actually took advantage of it, like Elias he is someone WWE features heavily but never actually does anything with. Corbin should have been WWE champion off his feud with Rollings where he even did that unexpected moment where he hit the End of Days on Becky Lynch. They're now seemingly turning him face so that may disappear in future... or it'll just return later when he goes heel again, we'll see. Another notable person with this trait is Eva Marie who back in her first run should really have become champion near the end of her first run and now that she is back really should get it at some point. She gets real heat off people, something women struggle to do, Charlotte really being the only other one that can do that, and should be rewarded for it.

 

Yeah, and makes me worried for MJF. They've been feuding for ages and likely will for a long time still. That comment Jericho made in kayfabe about keeping MJF close so he can suck him dry... yeah. As for Deathmatches... they've already said they'll have future ones, talking the exploding one. I think also that the recent deathmatch is not one they count with the exploding one. The Exploding one is a "Japanese style" deathmatch. This one with Gage is an American/Indy style one. That may be why the exploding deathmatch debacle didn't effect them doing another deathmatch so soon after, they don't register them as the same type of match.  

 

Ah ok, makes alot of sense. Think role would suit her and give her more experience, similar to Diesel type deal.

 

I meant it more that Cornette could help talent in regards to workrate and how to essentially 'script' a match like a producer/consultant would. So your point is kinda what I intended to get across, as several guys go wild when they don't need to or do pointless gymnastic sequences when say a punch or kick would have just as much impact. Not that he'd ever want to work for AEW, but no doubt he'd be an asset in that role as he has a mind for it. I'm unsure on the territory days as I'm not knowledgable about it, but I understand how over certain acts like Flair, Sammartino, Dusty, Von Erichs, Lawler were in the specific territories at that time so certainly for the US viewership it would make sense if combined. I'm not totally sure but I think alot of these shows were free as it was local television, when in the Monday Night Wars WWF/WCW were on cable channels. Corny knows alot than me about those things so I'm sure it's accurate. Just out of curiosity, I googled the highest draw of World Of Sport here in the UK which was a match between Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks which has been claimed to have drawn around 18 million viewers in 1981. Crazy to think that it drew that level of viewership if its accurate.

 

Me also, and it should be rewarded. Charlotte does somewhat get rewarded for her heat, but think they are going for her breaking Ric's title reigns record hence the short title reigns. 

 

Jericho is one of my all time favorites, but at this point of his career he's got to be putting younger guys over. Jericho is a big self-mark (I mean look at Fozzy and some of his non wrestling ventures ?) but I do think in the right circumstance he'll put talent over. I mean I've not really watched much of that style of much but surely the stuff that Funk/Foley did was a million times better than what is shown on AEW. 

 

3 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

https://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone/news/1247009-mark-henry-wnba-star-liz-cambage-in-aew

 

I just saw this as I mentioned Jade which caused me to look up related news and... AEW should listen to Henry. He is actually quite the scout and I think he would be correct in this being a massive get, not just literally but in it being money. Jade Cargill is like a titan in AEW and this woman makes even her look small. Or you know, could just hire some 5'2 Japanese indy wrestler instead. We'll see where all this goes.

 

I am a fan of the scouting for athletes in other sports for wrestling, as sometimes you'll land on a goldmine. I mean it doesn't always work out.....remember Brakkus or Tim Wiese ? Usually they'll have elements which can't be taught despite not having a love for the wrestling business. Henry is probably a good judge of character for looking for athletes with his power-lifting background transitioning into pro-wrestling, so probably can see who has good character and who wants to succeed.

[Rozalia1]

4 hours ago, GloriousFury9414 said:

Ah ok, makes alot of sense. Think role would suit her and give her more experience, similar to Diesel type deal.

 

I meant it more that Cornette could help talent in regards to workrate and how to essentially 'script' a match like a producer/consultant would. So your point is kinda what I intended to get across, as several guys go wild when they don't need to or do pointless gymnastic sequences when say a punch or kick would have just as much impact. Not that he'd ever want to work for AEW, but no doubt he'd be an asset in that role as he has a mind for it. I'm unsure on the territory days as I'm not knowledgable about it, but I understand how over certain acts like Flair, Sammartino, Dusty, Von Erichs, Lawler were in the specific territories at that time so certainly for the US viewership it would make sense if combined. I'm not totally sure but I think alot of these shows were free as it was local television, when in the Monday Night Wars WWF/WCW were on cable channels. Corny knows alot than me about those things so I'm sure it's accurate. Just out of curiosity, I googled the highest draw of World Of Sport here in the UK which was a match between Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks which has been claimed to have drawn around 18 million viewers in 1981. Crazy to think that it drew that level of viewership if its accurate.

 

Me also, and it should be rewarded. Charlotte does somewhat get rewarded for her heat, but think they are going for her breaking Ric's title reigns record hence the short title reigns. 

 

Jericho is one of my all time favorites, but at this point of his career he's got to be putting younger guys over. Jericho is a big self-mark (I mean look at Fozzy and some of his non wrestling ventures ) but I do think in the right circumstance he'll put talent over. I mean I've not really watched much of that style of much but surely the stuff that Funk/Foley did was a million times better than what is shown on AEW. 

 

 

I am a fan of the scouting for athletes in other sports for wrestling, as sometimes you'll land on a goldmine. I mean it doesn't always work out.....remember Brakkus or Tim Wiese  Usually they'll have elements which can't be taught despite not having a love for the wrestling business. Henry is probably a good judge of character for looking for athletes with his power-lifting background transitioning into pro-wrestling, so probably can see who has good character and who wants to succeed.

 

It is a big problem with today's wrestlers, especially the guys you'll see in AEW as WWE guys are heavily trained so are better in this respect. They are either heavily scripted to the point of being mechanical, or they just do every move they know every match with no rhyme or reason. A person might be very talented and able to execute moves excellently, but if they can't think in the ring and make a match flow well then well, fine if they're in the ring with someone who can call the match for them, but if the other person can't call the match? Then you run into issues.

 

As for Cornette and training... it doesn't have to be him obviously. They simply need to get a guy who is focused on things making sense and who has the authority to tell guys to not do X, Y, Z anymore, and if they cause problems, authority to punish them. Cornette has talked about the time he spent with the Young Bucks and it forms part of the reason he hates them. They pulled a stunt in their hiring which soured them with him instantly, but their matches were also major issues. They wrestled as the Young Bucks and Cornette obviously didn't like it and let them know it and so, according to Cornette, the sulking Young Bucks did in fact knock it off... and started wrestling as if they were the Road Warriors which he took as them giving him the finger basically as that was even worse and they knew it. The issue however, beyond the fact that Tony Khan is weak and would never give someone like that the power to tell the likes of the Young Bucks that they have to dial it back big time... is that wrestling trainers these days are getting worse and worse as old veterans retire from it. The trainers these days are Bill Demote types that teach bad basics, a whole lot of flashy moves, and have you take a whole bunch of bumps. According to Cornette from what I recall, an actual good trainer needs to focus on stressing the basics which is things like how to throw a good punch that looks good. Throwing bad punches, or the over popular bad forearms (AEW is a massive offender on this), instantly hurts the perception of wrestling especially if a new viewer of it is seeing it. They need to help develop and stress the importance of your mannerisms and facials in the ring as everything has to be as believable as possible. They need to help develop your thinking in the ring so everything you do makes sense in the ring. Once you have all that sorted you're set and it is then that you can pick up the flashy moves if you need to, you'll be smart enough from your training to know of course that just because you know how to do a flashy move, doesn't mean you should do it. It needs to make sense.

I agree with that assessment myself. I once saw what basically amounted to a "All Holds Match" (not officially one) between Cesaro and Sheamus and they had a good match as limited as they were by the story of the match as both guys could throw strikes well and you know, Cesaro is one of the best wrestlers in the world and Sheamus is heavily underrated by many people as he is incredibly good also.  

 

How big wrestling used to be is underestimated by a lot of people. In Britain Big Daddy who you mentioned was incredibly over to where yes, they got ratings like that. It didn't matter that Big Daddy was incredibly limited in the ring, or that he basically beat everyone (something that gets you heat today) not named Kendo Nagasaki, who he rag dolled 99% of the match before getting pinned off an illegal chop after a distraction and often chased off afterwards so he could end up standing tall in the ring post match anyway. In Japan it was... Rikidozan? Pretty sure it was him, who has some crazy stat where like nearly all of Japan watched his big matches. I've heard it said that Pro-Wrestling may have been the biggest sport back in the day though I don't know if that is true. 

 

Jericho I imagine will put over MJF yes. The issue is what it takes to get there. Stuff like the swirly to MJF and the Inner Circle wrecking Pinnacle constantly should not have happened if the goal is to get MJF over.

 

It doesn't always work out but Henry was involved in getting Jade aboard in some capacity among others in the past that worked out. He recognises that a 6'8 tall 220lbs woman even if she doesn't take to wrestling... it doesn't matter, her sheer size is enough of an attraction and advantage. By comparison, the other big women in AEW are Nyla Rose at 5'7 and 185lbs and Jade Cargill at 5'10 and 161lbs. They're the big ones so imagine the sheer disparity for the other women. Can you imagine this Liz Cambage next to Riho who is 5'1 and 99lbs? What a visual. That is someone you instantly put the belt on and have them hold it for a long time. Then when the time comes you can turn face a heel who has been booked strong and has some size, Jade Cargill for example, to beat her for the title. 

Edited August 1, 2021 by Rozalia1

[skidmarkgn]

Malakai squashing Cody was awesome.  Dude's hopefully got a hell of a future with AEW. 

[GoonerLukeThe]

15 hours ago, skidmarkgn said:

Malakai squashing Cody was awesome.  Dude's hopefully got a hell of a future with AEW. 

 

Cody tbf to him is great when it comes to making others look great, Brodie Lee as well he did it for

[Rozalia1]

As others out there have pointed out. Cody Rhodes was the guy who stated that AEW was beyond faces and heels as that is old hat, the future is now old man. Him and Malakai are literally out there in white and black suits to sell one is the good guy and the other the bad guy. Hilarious. As for the actual affair? Puts Malakai over strong to squash Cody and the right move but... I'm not going to give any credit yet. I already know how this song and dance goes. Get squashed and then come back in the rematch and beat the guy. Perhaps Cody will cite having his daughter, the first interracial baby born in Georgia, as what gave him the power to overcome Malakai who he'll imply as a racist (who to some is in an interracial relationship himself). He stood up and fought for America against that damn invading flying Dutchman. Anyway, if Cody returns later and Malakai beats him again then okay good.

 

The Labour of Jericho was a missed opportunity for Jericho to win the match with a Banzai Drop. How he won was obvious and boring, at least the top rope Lion Sault would have been an impressive finisher for him. The Labours continue to be messed up in going from one to the other. This match here was already a joke after Gage... but now a match against Wardlow is supposed to be a big deal? After the guy jobbed out to Hager (completely ???) and due to large breaks in his rare Dynamite (singles) match appearances being what will be in people's minds. Additionally, no one knows if it is a special guest referee match or MJF is just the ringside enforcer so great job promoting the match. Look, Gage is a disgrace and should never be booked for anything outside the garbage sideshows... but I would think he would be the final Labour before MJF. Having to have a deathmatch with a pain loving possibly diseased meth head seems a much worse affair than... singles match with a wrestler which one of your stooges has already beaten within the feud you're in. As for that match... Wardlow should win. Just squash Jericho and beat him. No special referee nonsense, just have MJF at ring side. You'll get far more good out of Wardlow beating Jericho here then you would Jericho beating him to face MJF, a weaselly heel. AEW, clearly, has shown they don't match handing out surprising defeats to people so why not this (I guess because this would help someone). Additionally if it is important Jericho vs MJF happens then you can still have the match. MJF can just a promo with the implication that now Wardlow has beaten Jericho and all the pain he took from the previous opponents, MJF now wants Jericho while he is at his weakest. 

 

Hangman stuff... not even going to bother. One thing I noticed was Omega likely flubbed his promo again. When he said "Cowboy or not" the obvious follow up was "you're just shit". Instead he went into the Elite not wanting losers which yes, same message, but why set something up to not follow it up. Oh and the "Elite Hunter"... what a joke. 

 

Also, not talked about it yet really, but giving Jade her own personal manager was a good move. Giving her one of the many other managers and just being someone in a stable would be the wrong move. Not so sure a White guy "Brand" manager is the best thing for her to have, but it beats what I feared they were going to do which was... how do you say this. Give her a racialised manager and gimmick? Not that I'm against people having such managers/gimmicks, but Jade is so much more than something like that. Hopefully, this return for Jade, which they've sold as her taking time off to work on her brand because Jade does what she wants, is quickly fast tracked to the title after Britt has her run. What? It'll be Heel vs Heel? Never stopped AEW before and I'll be fine with this one if it makes Jade champion. Of course, I hate that her return is on Elevation as Dynamite has a strict 1 woman's match rule, but it is what it is. Jade should be on Dynamite every week beating a different woman in under 3 minutes while no selling any offense she allows her opponents to have. A shame that booker of the year doesn't know what he has/only promotes women as an obligation he has to do.

[skidmarkgn]

Now that the Murphy speculation is full throttle, along with Punk on Friday speculation, Bryan Danielson speculation, and Malakai Black being an addition to an ever-bloating roster I wonder how they'll structure the Dynamite/Rampage dynamic.  I personally don't want to see new championships introduced or a straight up "roster split", if anything I'd dig it if they just treat the TNT title the top title of Rampage.  The AEW champ could still show up periodically to feud on both shows (and vice versa) and workers could be showcased primarily on one show or the other but crossover is, IMO, an essential for trying to grow an audience for both shows.

Edited August 10, 2021 by skidmarkgn

[Glorious Fury]

22 minutes ago, skidmarkgn said:

I personally don't want to see new championships introduced or a straight up "roster split", if anything I'd dig it if they just treat the TNT title the top title of Rampage.  

 

Gotta agree, never been a fan of roster spilts myself or the two 'world' champions like WWE has currently. Isn't Rampage only 1 hour though? Dynamite will be the flagship show, but hopefully they can do something interesting with it, and hopefully it doesn't become another Thunder or Heat. 

[skidmarkgn]

20 minutes ago, Glorious Fury said:

 

Gotta agree, never been a fan of roster spilts myself or the two 'world' champions like WWE has currently. Isn't Rampage only 1 hour though? Dynamite will be the flagship show, but hopefully they can do something interesting with it, and hopefully it doesn't become another Thunder or Heat. 

 

Didn't know it was only an hour, that certainly will slow down my optimism.  I guess it's time to hope it's successful enough to become another 2 hour show to run alongside dynamite instead of under it.