The AEW Thread

[djchapsticks]

On the subject, who do folk think WWE would/will be contacting when their deals are up from AEW? Aside from the obvious in MJF.

Think Malakai Black and Swerve would be locked in for returns for sure. HHH would never have gotten rid of either.

Always feel it's just a matter of time before Mox and Renee are back. Mox in terms of they will 100% want one last bite at the Shield at some point. Renee because she's good at what she does and admitted it was Vince's verbal abuse that drove her out.,

Adam Cole, Kyle O'Riley? Again with injuries has that ship sailed? Would they go all out for Cole so long as Britt was part of the deal?

With regards to folk who have never worked there, Starks and Hobbs are both obvious. Darby, probably not so much as although WWE audiences would love him, they'd 100% curtail his insistence of trying to kill himself in a Darwin award level manner in his spare time.

The Gunns, the Acclaimed, Anna Jay (maybe not if she sticks with Jungle Boy) and Julia Hart all would fit as well in terms of already having that look about them.

[forameus]

MJF for options 1, 2 and 3.

Malakai Black is probably a safe bet.  Not really doing a whole lot in AEW, and I'd imagine he'd come over with at least Buddy Matthews given Rhea and Zelina are already there.  If they could persuade Brody King too, that's a whole stable you can do a lot with in the new brand WWE.  Julia Hart could come too, but I think she's probably best placed to stand on her own, and might get lost in the shuffle in a women's division that a company actually cares about.

I think ultimately though, it's probably an easier question to answer on who probably wouldn't make the switch.  It's flipped now Vince has gone, in that WWE is probably a pretty attractive place to go for guys at all levels.  Even NXT is probably an attractive proposition for those mid-card guys who don't have much of a chance of being used in AEW. 

I doubt we'll see WWE go on the sort of spree AEW did in picking up huge numbers of people, imagine it'll be more looking for those individual names that can come in and be stars.  Seems like they thought Ospreay was one (although I still can't see it for some reason in a WWE ring), MJF would almost certainly be one. I don't think they could resist Moxley coming back

[DA Baracus]

WWE have a massive roster and are looking to move a load of NXT folk up.

If you did go over you'd be asking where you fit in.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

JK Rowling appears to have infiltrated the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission.

 

[forameus]

Can't believe this is such a big deal when AEW already have a dinosaur competing against human beings.  Khan must condemn.

[djchapsticks]

22 hours ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

JK Rowling appears to have infiltrated the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission.

 

In competitive full contact sports, I fully understand the standpoint. Wrestling isn't MMA, Boxing or Kickboxing though.

In a performative show such as Wrestling, where both participants are working together to put on a show and entertain first and foremost, not to hurt or physically maim their opponent.

Intergender matches are a pretty standard part of wrestling and have been for a long time, so in reality, even if they classify it as a Male vs Female wrestler, there still isn't a leg to stand on here.

[8MileBU]

Is it just me who finds the Young Bucks incredibly boring? Whether it’s face or heel everything they do as characters comes across so forced and false. 

As for their in-ring work, they’re clearly two very fit athletic guys - but their matches are almost always very boring with no real flow. Just a couple of spot-fairies going through the motions until that synchronised flying somersault over the ropes or that back flip from the top turnbuckle etc.

Edited April 18 by 8MileBU

[djchapsticks]

7 minutes ago, 8MileBU said:

Is it just me who finds the Young Bucks incredibly boring? Whether it’s face or heel everything they do as characters comes across so forced and false. 

As for their in-ring work, they’re clearly two very fit athletic guys - but their matches are almost always very boring with no real flow. Just a couple of spot-fairies going through the motions until that synchronised flying somersault over the ropes or that back flip from the top turnbuckle etc.

I cannot go them at all. Not their promos, not any gimmick. They just strike me as perpetually small-time in a way that guys like Kenny and Hamgman simply don't.

They can put on good matches, some great matches even and I do love a spot-fest on occasion as a spectacle but their matches are just that. Youve seen one, you've seen all. There's a total lack of cohesion and psychology in what they do.

I roll my eyes so hard at everything they do. Whether it's their wee insider jokes, playing the plucky underdogs, pull the power hungry EVP gimmick out, it is all hard to buy into. Especially the wee ratty looking one who looks like a stiff breeze could put him on his arse.

[8MileBU]

12 minutes ago, djchapsticks said:

I cannot go them at all. Not their promos, not any gimmick. They just strike me as perpetually small-time in a way that guys like Kenny and Hamgman simply don't.

They can put on good matches, some great matches even and I do love a spot-fest on occasion as a spectacle but their matches are just that. Youve seen one, you've seen all. There's a total lack of cohesion and psychology in what they do.

I roll my eyes so hard at everything they do. Whether it's their wee insider jokes, playing the plucky underdogs, pull the power hungry EVP gimmick out, it is all hard to buy into. Especially the wee ratty looking one who looks like a stiff breeze could put him on his arse.

Precisely what I was trying to say but you worded it a lot better.

[DA Baracus]

Mercedes comes across a massive heel. Her look, her words and how she says them; all heel as f**k.

Yet she's portrayed as a huge face. Hmmmm.

Also, as I've said before, get her 'CEO' chant so far to f**k. Despise it.

[forameus]

Bucks are one (or two I guess) of those wrestlers that you can't really say you don't like without getting a disproportionate reaction in "wrestling circles" (so basically r/squaredcircle).  They are clearly incredibly talented, and their approach to how they worked their indies and marketed themselves deserves absolutely massive credit.  But I just can't take to them either, and the constant mugging to the camera and shouts during matches often come off as grating.  Their EVP stuff makes it slightly better, as if you seem like a wee arsehole, playing a wee arsehole on screen is usually more palatable, but still just not for me.  

Similar to Logan Paul in a way.  I've seen a similar reaction creep in that as soon as you point out that he's clearly a c**t's c**t of the highest order, you get all kinds of people jumping back at you about how good he is at wresting.  Of course he is.  He's still a massive c**t though.

1 hour ago, DA Baracus said:

Mercedes comes across a massive heel. Her look, her words and how she says them; all heel as f**k.

Yet she's portrayed as a huge face. Hmmmm.

Also, as I've said before, get her 'CEO' chant so far to f**k. Despise it.

I'd say it seems like a baffling decision she went to AEW, but I suspect they're giving her more freedom than WWE would, even under HHH's leadership.  And that has proven to be a terrible idea, as pretty much everything since the moment the first notes of that awful theme hit has been absolute guff.  She comes across like she's trying to cut a 90s WWE promo from someone stuck in an awful gimmick, with their only direction being "mention your gimmick a million times".  Like Terry Taylor slicking his hair up and going out to talk about barnyards and shit.  Every tortured CEO reference is horrible.  The Boss worked, but it was never as blatant as this.  I know they can't use that, so maybe, I don't know, find something different and reinvent yourself.  She's very good in the ring, and she's a tremendous heel.  I remember her dancing around Full Sail having just torn up a kids sign during that Iron Woman match she had with Bailey.  You've got a red-hot face in Willow and a ready-made story there, I expect they'll get there and it'll be fine, but until...it's just fucking shite.

[untitled00]

To the surprise of no one, Ospreay v Danielson was incredible. Danielson may be the best of all time at selling, his bit at the end got me - although I thought it was during the hidden blade before the tiger driver that he got caught. As it was only after the tiger driver the ref checked him, once they started talking about the tiger driver being the cause and I saw the replay where he landed about as safely as you can with that move, I clicked that Bryan is up to his old tricks.

Jack Perry is more interesting now than he has been at any point in his AEW run, which isn’t something I thought I would be saying 3 weeks ago.

Also saw a brilliant suggestion that if Tony still has the rights to Cult of Personality then he should give it to Perry for his music.

AEW just don’t really miss with the PPV’s, and this show is no exception. PAC/OKada and Strong/O’Reilly were both really enjoyable - Okada turning the entire crowd that had been cheering, was excellent heel work. There wasn’t really a bad match in the show (I’m giving the Julia/Willow match a pass due to Julia having a fucked shoulder apparently and I wouldn’t even say that match was bad it was just kinda there). Just wish the TV was as consistent 

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

It's no secret that Ospreay was a fantastic wrestler long before he came to AEW, but every match he has been in since he joined AEW fuill time has been spectacular

It seems nailed on that he'll be main eventing All In this year, even if that means that Swerve has to turn heel again as a result.

I thought the rest of the show was very good, with usual exception of The Jericho Vortex. It's well past time for Tony Khan to take Old Yeller out back.

[Lukovic]

Danielson might just possibly be the greatest of all time.

[TheGoon]

Cracking show. I know the style isn’t to everyone’s taste, but the Danielson match will take some beating as my MOTY. The best wrestler of the 21st century for me. 

For as much as I didn’t enjoy the All In footage nonsense, Perry’s return was great, and it’s given him a dynamic he just didn’t have before as a heel. 

Shame to see Joe lose the belt as I think he’s been excellent, but need to strike whilst the iron’s hot with Swerve.

The TV does not pull me in as much as it once did, but the PPVs are still just of a ridiculous quality. Been a few dud matches, but I legit think it was just that December PPV I wouldn’t have classed as excellent.

 

[forameus]

I thought early on in the match, Danielson looked like he was a good step slower than Ospreay.  Obviously, that's no slight as Ospreay often looks like he's going at a million miles an hour, but fair to say he caught up, and that was incredible.  Slight nitpick, but I never like Danielson going full Danielson on his selling given his history.  Just fills me with that little bit of existential dread.

Another good show to go along with all the others, hard to point to a match that was anything less than good.  Although - and it seems like I say this every time - they still feel like they have an issue with pacing and letting things breathe. Not quite as egregious as other times, but Danielson is lying in the ring, supposedly paralysed and on the brink of death, and you cut to your short video package for the next match, then 45 seconds later the next guys are coming out, and they're hurriedly telling you that it's fine, he left on his feet (probably because he fucking had to given the time schedule).  I give them credit for keeping their shows to a set 4 hours every single time, and I'm not suggesting they go to the new WWE thing of having 3 hours of adverts a show to split things up, but pushing one match to a pre-show, or even just trimming matches slightly to give you more breathing room would make a bit of a difference.  Probably just me though.

[untitled00]

20 hours ago, forameus said:

Another good show to go along with all the others, hard to point to a match that was anything less than good.  Although - and it seems like I say this every time - they still feel like they have an issue with pacing and letting things breathe. Not quite as egregious as other times, but Danielson is lying in the ring, supposedly paralysed and on the brink of death, and you cut to your short video package for the next match, then 45 seconds later the next guys are coming out, and they're hurriedly telling you that it's fine, he left on his feet (probably because he fucking had to given the time schedule).  I give them credit for keeping their shows to a set 4 hours every single time, and I'm not suggesting they go to the new WWE thing of having 3 hours of adverts a show to split things up, but pushing one match to a pre-show, or even just trimming matches slightly to give you more breathing room would make a bit of a difference.  Probably just me though.

I can’t really disagree with the above tbh, I doubt very much this show wouldn’t have felt just as good with 9 matches rather than 10. 

Like you say it doesn’t need to be 10 minutes of adverts after every match ala WWE, but literally even 1-2 minutes more at the end of each match before the packages start for the next match would help. I noticed the same thing you did at the end of Storm / Rosa, the transitions from one match to the next are quite abrupt and borderline jarring in some cases.

 

If they don’t want to give a little more time after the matches then maybe a 15-20 minute intermission in the middle of the show would help? Gives the people in the arena a chance to go to the toilet /drinks without having to rush and miss matches. Fling the broadcast to Renee and RJ (give the commentators and me a break as well) let them recap a few of the previous matches with talent and maybe a few pre recorded interviews with the people involved in the the matches to come. I’d prefer this if I was actually at the show but I accept it’s less preferable when viewing at home.
 

 

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

I'm amazed it took nearly five years before Tony Khan made himself an onscreen character.

[RossBFaeDundee]

[djchapsticks]

4 hours ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

I'm amazed it took nearly five years before Tony Khan made himself an onscreen character.

So a real life situation where a relatively minor backstage pushing and shoving match led to one person being fired with cause and another being suspended for 8 months and the owner 'in fear of his life' 

Fast forward 8 months and said owner gets dropped on his head by one of the previously involved parties who will, in turn, obviously not be fired for an attack (kayfabe) that was much more violent than anything that happened backstage.

I'm all for suspension of disbelief when it comes to angles but it needs to make at least a bit of logical sense. Stone Cold got to regularly leather f**k out of Vince back in the day because it was acknowledged that he was putting arses in seats and there was always the unspoken threat that Austin would go back to WCW and make them money of Vince bagged him.