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Posted

I'm not the biggest MJF fan but I'm willing to give him a chance and there's been lots of times over the last 3 years I've enjoyed his performances.  If it turns into him holding the belt hostage and never defending I probably won't like it, but we'll see.  More Flair less HHH.  After all the messed up booking along the way we're finally where Tony wanted to end up all along.  It's kind of a clean slate and as Matt D noted there's an endless list of challengers.

As far as the booking along the way, Meltzer felt they were testing the waters of a possible babyface run but it was always going to be a swerve.  Alvarez thought they should have pulled the trigger.  They also said at one point he was doing off camera heavy heel work to get the crowds to stop cheering him. 

I don't think the MJF character works without goons though, paying for hired muscle is a big part of it.  The Firm is almost assuredly ending up back with him and I guess I'm fine with that because they don't work on their own.  They don't really work as constructed either though.  The Gunns should be doing their own thing and Lee Moriarty feels like a Punk pick who doesn't fit now.  Spears was MJF's most loyal guy and I don't remember him ever turning despite coming back as a babyface in Canada but I'm not sure you want to go back to that.

I've been down on AEW in recent months but Elite/Death Triangle, Mox/Page, Jericho, Danielson, MJF love or hate is compelling right now, Hayter and what feels like good depth in the division, The Acclaimed and Orange as strong champs in their own ways.....there's the skeleton of a really hot promotion right now.  I feel like if the focus is kept on all of that, with of course FTR, Lee/Swerve, Hobbs, Starks and.......this is where they run into problems because I was about to list about 50 people who need tv time and the shows still suffer for it.  And don't forget that next week will be the ROH hardsell for a show I have zero interest in.  FTR and Briscoes was the draw of those shows, nothing on this one feels uniquely ROH or something you haven't already seen on AEW tv.  Super WWECW vibes

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Posted
6 hours ago, just drew said:

-I dug this opener. Mox and Hanger are two of my top five favorite guys right now (Starks, Jungle Boy, Yuta) so seeing them get to run this back is a pure joy. I feel like AEW doesn't do enough "backstage chaos" segments (good ones, anyway), so Mox & Page brawling in the back was even more fun.

-Dax and Danielson did exactly what we all thought; they burned that bitch down. Holy shit was that fun. I saw that Dax said that he and Cash's contracts are up in April. Here's to hoping TK does the smart thing and backs the Brinks truck up to their houses. They have gone from "Hey look, it's those guys from nXt we like" to "how the hell is there ever an AEW show without these guys on it?"

-AR Fox is a joy to watch. I saw him numerous times at ACTION Wrestling in my hometown of Tyrone, Ga. He rules and Joe rules. Wardlow/Joe is going to be carnage.

-For whatever reason, Hager's obsession with that bucket hat is exactly the brand of horseshit that I love.

-This MJF segment is.. something. I think I figured out what my issue with Max is. He burns through material so fast. He's incredibly inefficient with his cheap heat. He could get a reaction with 10-15% of what he does. It also seemed like the crowd was mic'ed funny, as they went from super hot to crickets almost arbitrarily. I do think TK has a problem on his hands, and AEW can't afford to hemorrhage viewers while MJF cosplays Papa H. The easiest solution would be to have Mox whip his ass at the next PPV, but I have a feeling all this is gonna take some serious course correction. I don't see how TK can let Regal leave while saying "no" to Malakai, Buddy and Andrade. Someone said it earlier, but when you compare MJF to someone like Christian, and it becomes very easy to see how valuable tv experience is. I'd seriously consider having Christian and Luchasaurus (probably unmasked and retooled) join MJF. He'd benefit so much from having a polished tv presence with him every week.

-Ricky Starks, again, is everything guys like MJF wish they were; effortlessly believable and cool. I'd think long and hard about Starks taking the title off of MJF. There's too many guys who would do well as champ in AEW to let MJF do this "2024" schtick forever and ever. Also, Stokely is awesome and Ethan Page has really plateaued. I think he's a super talented guy, but this intense heel thing is not in his wheelhouse. He comes off so likable in his vlogs that I think he should just embrace it fully.

-Willow Nightingale is one of the rarest things in pro wrestling; a naturally likable babyface that gets the reaction she's trying to. She's really great and TK was smart to lock her down when he did. I think her signing, along with Bandido's, RUSH's, and AR Fox's, is signaling a return to what AEW was doing really well; highlighting the best indy talent in the world while building their show around select stars. Anna JAS has regressed, and as I said before, I think working a few house shows a month would do wonders for her, if she can stay healthy. Ruby is a sentimental favorite and I was very happy to see her return. I thought her booking was pretty poor before her injury and I hope they've figured out something for her to do. I'd love to see a title reign in her future.

-God am I tired of hearing Britt Baker talk. 

-Jade Cargill is a star. She has the "IT factor" by the bucketload. She is exactly who she says she is and who TK is portraying her on tv. Having said that, I think she would really benefit from having a "hype man" type around her. Someone to say all the standard wrestling things, freeing up Jade to talk about how awesome she is. Very, very happy to see Red Velvet. We'll say it's because I missed her ring work. It's not true, but we'll say that's why.

-Am I.... enjoyin this best of 7 series? Yes. Yes I think I am. The Elite entrance is super cool with the "Carry On Wayward Son," and I'm impressed that they managed to offer a completely different match structure here. I'm still not convinced doing that 4 more times is smart, and I'm glad they're taking a week off, but Nicholas, Matthew, and Kenjamin are SO much more palatable to me when they aren't the focal point of every show. I still wonder how much having the show built around those guys hindered AEW's growth during that period. Anyway, really good shit here. 

 

All in all, this show has been like every AEW show the last month or so; some good, some bad. I'd be very tempted to build around Hangman and Mox for the foreseeable future, but I understand why Tony feels like he has to find out what he has with MJF before committing to him long-term. It's smart from a sports perspective and a business perspective. However, he cannot be as shy about course correcting as he has been in the past. I'm looking forward to watching the next phase in Ricky Starks' development, and hope this is just the start for guys like him and Jungle Boy and so much of AEW's young talent.

Why would you put the title back on Moxley when the ratings decline started with him as champion?

One show he appeared on didn’t work for you, so you want to go back to something that wasn’t working?

MJF should at least get a chance to feud with someone who is interesting and not a rehash of an old feud.

And like him or not (I personally don’t) the fact of the matter is that the only person on the roster that can actually pop a rating is CM Punk. 

And that bridge was probably burned by the Elite (by the way he posted pics of his dog today and damage was done.). But maybe Tony Khan will decide he likes making money more than being friends and that the Elite only appeal to a niche audience, so decide to bring Punk back regardless of the teeth gnashing it might cause in the locker room.

Posted

We knew right away that Dax-Dragon wouldn't go THAT long, since it was 20-minute time limit. Good match, wouldn't call it a classic or anything.

The opening segment was another "Captain America saying I get that reference", when Hangman walked out when called out (basically). Good way of getting them away from MJF and Regal later.

Joe vs Fox was nice. When Fox was rallying, I was like "OK, now you can't afford a single mistake" and yeah, that was all it took.

MJF laying out his masterplan so specifically that I have to wonder if his reign is going to be much shorter than he is implying? Do you guys think that Regal anticipated that the killshot was coming, but resigned to his fate and did nothing to stop it, or was he really blindsided? I doubt he would be so naive.

Good to see the Elite use a different strategy and it worked in the end. I'm glad they didn't go 3-0, because that seems to be the only damn way these things seem to go. So now even Abrahantes is in on the hammer time, with only Fenix resisting.

Hey, big win for Willow and Ruby is back for revenge!

I'm guessing (hoping) that it is not Bow Wow himself who will take the fight to Jade? Where is this going?

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Posted
10 minutes ago, SprintingFromAmerica said:

That is in no way demonstrated by a picture of an old dog with missing teeth several months after 'Brawl Out'.

 

Similarly, the Elite telling their media sycophants who unquestioningly regurgitate their denial it happened doesn’t mean it didn’t happen either.

Posted
28 minutes ago, Red King said:

Some fans think it will be Mercedes Mone vs Jade.  I dunno about that. 

Off topic: God, I hope she goes with Mercedes Bankz or something. Hopefully it's one of those things like Claudio trademarking 'CSRO' just in case, and never using it. 

On topic: I think she might be one of the only realistically available, non-senior-citizens not named CM Punk who could probably affect TV numbers (to @Bryan 's point). I don't know if I see the logic in putting the TBS title on her - sure, it would elevate the belt, but unless youre building to a unification with Hayter, I think it might fuck her a little bit. On the other hand, if you're trying to make nice with WBD for a new TV deal, you could do a lot worse than putting a TBS logo on one of the most recognizable women's stars of the last decade.

 

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Posted (edited)
14 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Similarly, the Elite telling their media sycophants who unquestioningly regurgitate their denial it happened doesn’t mean it didn’t happen either.

Yes, if you like, but you were the one making the claim here today and that's not what Punk explicitly claimed in his Instagram. You made a claim you are in no position to substantiate.

Edited by SprintingFromAmerica
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Posted
1 hour ago, Bryan said:

Why would you put the title back on Moxley when the ratings decline started with him as champion?

One show he appeared on didn’t work for you, so you want to go back to something that wasn’t working?

MJF should at least get a chance to feud with someone who is interesting and not a rehash of an old feud.

And like him or not (I personally don’t) the fact of the matter is that the only person on the roster that can actually pop a rating is CM Punk. 

And that bridge was probably burned by the Elite (by the way he posted pics of his dog today and damage was done.). But maybe Tony Khan will decide he likes making money more than being friends and that the Elite only appeal to a niche audience, so decide to bring Punk back regardless of the teeth gnashing it might cause in the locker room.

The rating just posted & that show didn’t work for a lot of people. MJF doesn’t appear to move the needle. 

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Posted
16 minutes ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

Off topic: God, I hope she goes with Mercedes Bankz or something. Hopefully it's one of those things like Claudio trademarking 'CSRO' just in case, and never using it. 

On topic: I think she might be one of the only realistically available, non-senior-citizens not named CM Punk who could probably affect TV numbers (to @Bryan 's point). I don't know if I see the logic in putting the TBS title on her - sure, it would elevate the belt, but unless youre building to a unification with Hayter, I think it might fuck her a little bit. On the other hand, if you're trying to make nice with WBD for a new TV deal, you could do a lot worse than putting a TBS logo on one of the most recognizable women's stars of the last decade.

 

Bankz is too similar to her WWE name.  So Mercedes one namer will do.

 

Posted
5 minutes ago, GuerrillaMonsoon said:

I think if you look at the WWE doing AEW a solid releasing Dustin Rhodes to go to AEW. I don't think them allowing Regal to go back is any different.

Difference is that there’s been alleged contract tampering lately, right?

Posted

Aside from the two being compassionate grounds type things outside of the usual talent acquisition. There was heaps of it when AEW launched, it just was never officially termed as that.

The Good Brothers were lined up to debut on the opening episode. Ended up staying with WWE. The Randy Orton Jacksonville Dixie stuff. Where does the line of contract tampering start?

Posted

The MJF promo was a big miss, but I am sort of willing to out this down to yet another change of plans - I will say this though, that suit and that belt....these are Miz moves. I was ready for junking the guy 6 months ago because I thought he was played out....we'll see but I hope the good Khan is willing to course correct here. People are like....'there are loads of good babyfaces for MJF to run through'...lol wut?.....I'm pretty sure HHH did that in 2002-3 and yeah that's basically the worst thing they could do.

I also don't think the Elite is a good use of Omega. I understand why he might prefer to wrestle in six-man-tags right now, but ultimately he's the generational talent and I think having him essentially as a Third Buck is not a good idea. I'll be glad when Death Triangle split up too because they're also less than the sum of their parts.

We'll see what happens. I still say that they should never have taken the belt off Page. Not sure you can get back to where things were though. That said, I don't think they even showed the Preston Vance heel turn - I believe it got mentioned in passing, but that was a great bit of business, and it should have been followed up properly on Dynamite.....I mean I liked the bit they did where Taz explained how Hook beat Moriarty, but it's kind of weird that this becomes the one thing you mention from Rampage.

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Posted

Rampage was beaten in the ratings on Friday Afternoon by TBS airing Christmas Vacation and Elf, so half-ish of the Dynamite audience didn't see Rampage anyways. I'm not sure how much you have to mention the B Show on the A Show unless you have something happening on the B Show that actually carries over to the A Show.

Posted

Love all the analogies to a young quarterback. I compare to having young talent who you think could be the next big thing, and you have to try it out. Flair's first NWA reign has often been described as not great, with some saying he was sabotaged (see Charlie Cook in Florida). But they re-shaped it with 1983 and off it went. 

Is MJF the generational talent or not - suspect we will get a chance to find out.  Is he a Sam Darnold/Marcus Mariotta/Baker Mayfield or a Josh Allen? Time to find out. I am encouraged that AEW put the title now on two newer talents (Hangman/MJF).  MJF needs to sharpen his promos - just hope he is listening to folks in the back as some great veterans. But the whole 2024 is a huge turn off...

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Posted

I don't think I'm getting the logic in the world champion of a promotion saying he wants to go to the much bigger and more famous promotion.  

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Posted

Theoretically, to the AEW fan, WWE is the ultimate heel. The evil empire. WCW to ECW, times 10. The most beloved ECW wrestlers got mercilessly booed when they left. An existing heel says "you people are stupid and wrong, that place is better than this place, and I'm gonna take your world title there"? Mega heel.

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Posted
48 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

I don't think I'm getting the logic in the world champion of a promotion saying he wants to go to the much bigger and more famous promotion.  

While calling his top 3 opponents fake fighters/tough guys/wrestlers. 

The suspension of disbelief required to see him get his comeuppance we've already seen with Jericho/Punk/Wardlow is not worth the emotional involvement and twenty minutes of bland promo work 

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Posted
1 minute ago, Go2Sleep said:

That would make more sense if AEW wasn't trying to poach (or at least share) WWE fans as part of their business model.

(Mike Awesome can't pay his bills because Paul Heyman's checks bounced, leaves ECW for WCW)

Paul Heyman: "Mike Awesome sold out all of us and our families, and everything we've worked for...to get rich! Fuck him!"

(Malakai Black and Buddy Murphy shows slight disgruntlement with AEW's booking)

Tony Khan: "I'll sue you if you leave"

(William Regal decides he wants to leave AEW for WWE because the booking sucks)

Tony Khan: "It was such an incredible honor to work with Mr. Regal for 7 months of his 36-month contract! What an incredible performer and asset to our company he was for 7 months! I have nothing bad to say about Mr. Regal!"

Posted
19 minutes ago, Dog said:

Theoretically, to the AEW fan, WWE is the ultimate heel. The evil empire. WCW to ECW, times 10. The most beloved ECW wrestlers got mercilessly booed when they left. An existing heel says "you people are stupid and wrong, that place is better than this place, and I'm gonna take your world title there"? Mega heel.

Part of the problem is that with Vince gone, they’ve lost their lead heel.

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Posted
1 minute ago, Matt D said:

Part of the problem is that with Vince gone, they’ve lost their lead heel.

Yeah he was the boogeyman and now the dynamic is totally different. 

Posted

If I had been the guy that fist bumped Dax.  I’d have told him “Bryan Danielson is my favorite wrestler… and I want you to kick his fucking ass”.  
 

Biggie umph on that last German Suplex from Dax.  Some good ole rasslin’ baby. DID ENJOY!

Is this singles Dax run going somewhere?

MJFs promo was full of raw plot meat. He understands the notion that villains commit violations of the sacred.  
 

Like when SUWA pissed off Joe Higuchi for tearing up the scroll.  You do not tear up the scroll.(motherfucker).

Giving credit where it’s due.  Anna Jay made Willow look really good.  Good to see Ruby.  
 

QT Marshall reminds me of my boss.  
 

Death Triangle has always baffled me.  Outside of all 3 guys being massively athletic.  Why do they hang out?  Maybe it’s weed.  Weed makes lots of strange friends that don’t make sense.  
 

I too am sorry that Derek was stuck at work.


 


 

 

 

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