January 2023 AEW Discussion Thread

[NoFistsJustFlips]

This is one of the most out there hills to die on just to prove a point about wrestling media. We get it you don't respect wrestling media. But this isn't a wrestling media story. Tony does promotional interviews. They have media scrums. No one is reporting what they think is happening. They're reporting on Khan's actual words said in interviews.

TK wouldn't even shop around ROH as a TV product outside of WBD out of fear it could be construed as a lack of loyalty. He's not going to put the blurbs out there he has about WBD execs knowing full well if it was a lie it would piss them off.

Isn't the FAR more logical possibility that there is an LGBTQ person in a WBD position of power that is familiar with the things he said in the past, took the comments very personally, and chose this as a hill to die on? When you're disassociated with the actual person or the form of entertainment he makes a living in, you could care less if he learned or grew from the mistakes he made. And if you're in a position of power, and one deeply offended to your core, you could put your foot down and not give a shit how anyone else feels about it.

You're taking this stance that no one knows about wrestling but us wrestling nerds. But these execs have friends and family. These execs have twitter and the internet. You really think it's impossible for something their work is affiliated with to be brought to their attention? Like maybe a 20 year ad sales vet is LGBTQ and they got sent screenshots by friends or family about these specific. Maybe they do a few google searches or look at twitter trends just to see what's happening in these partner companies / those fields.

It's crazy to me that you think it's more likely TK who is obviously very complimentary to / borderline scare of the network would make up a network boogieman to hide some weird fear of his own, than to just believe this very plausible scenario.

[porksweats]

I think we should all move on from this subject.

[The Natural]

You need to see this:

https://twitter.com/KXNGAO/status/1618635655931908098

[NikoBaltimore]

Why yes, I do highly approve of much less WBD/TK discussion and much more about fan-assisted Eddie Kingston chops.

So much so in fact that with the issue you've had with Twitter links on here and it working for me here you go.

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by NikoBaltimore

[The Natural]

30 minutes ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Why yes, I do highly approve of much less WBD/TK discussion and much more about fan-assisted Eddie Kingston chops.

So much so in fact that with the issue you've had with Twitter links on here and it working for me here you go.

 

Cheers, Nick. Luv ya xxx.

[matt925]

I was listening to Nick Wayne on jerichos podcast and he confirmed he signed an exclusive contract and he’s not getting paid. No idea what the point of that is. Wait until you turn 18 and talk to all the companies and then sign with aew if that’s what’s best. 

[zendragon]

With all the Lucha Underground Redux lately I hope Thunder Rosa comes back as Kobra Moon and teams with a green hued Kris Stralander who's renamed Kris Salamander as The Reptile Tribe win the new Women's tag straps 

[elizium]

Its about time for a Marty the Moth revival

[NikoBaltimore]

Dude, I thought Marty was fucking awesome with the creepy heel work. Not sure if that would fly in AEW but I'm sure he's creative enough to make it work. 

[Curt McGirt]

I was never a Marty fan until I finally went back and watched the absolute blood feast he had in the final LU match and man, that guy has to come back and do THAT again sometime. 

[elizium]

I haven’t seen him in forever, but he’s had some matches on dark and seems to mostly wrestle in Colorado 

[elizium]

19 minutes ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Dude, I thought Marty was fucking awesome with the creepy heel work. Not sure if that would fly in AEW but I'm sure he's creative enough to make it work. 

He was such a great creep 

[Curt McGirt]

It was good work, but man would it only fly on LU.

[Casey]

3 hours ago, matt925 said:

I was listening to Nick Wayne on jerichos podcast and he confirmed he signed an exclusive contract and he’s not getting paid. No idea what the point of that is. Wait until you turn 18 and talk to all the companies and then sign with aew if that’s what’s best. 

Maybe it’s not about the money and he genuinely wants to be in AEW.

[matt925]

1 minute ago, Casey said:

Maybe it’s not about the money and he genuinely wants to be in AEW.

I mean, he can talk to all the companies and then still choose aew. If wwe said all the right things, even if he signed a five year deal, he’s a free agent at 23. The world is his oyster. Or he can just sign with aew when he turns 18 and show up on dynamite while he’s getting paid real money. I’m gonna die on the hill that it’s a kayfabe contract. Just doesn’t make sense otherwise. 

[The Natural]

Jamie Hayter vs. KAIRI for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 please and thank you.

[zendragon]

5 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Dude, I thought Marty was fucking awesome with the creepy heel work. Not sure if that would fly in AEW but I'm sure he's creative enough to make it work. 

Dude got legit heat infront of a smark heavy clapclapbullshit crowd. dude was awesome

[NoFistsJustFlips]

16 hours ago, matt925 said:

I mean, he can talk to all the companies and then still choose aew. If wwe said all the right things, even if he signed a five year deal, he’s a free agent at 23. The world is his oyster. Or he can just sign with aew when he turns 18 and show up on dynamite while he’s getting paid real money. I’m gonna die on the hill that it’s a kayfabe contract. Just doesn’t make sense otherwise. 

Look at a similar sized guy like Mark Andrews. Or any other Cruiserweight they signed from 2016. How many of them got to contribute to the WWE product in a meaningful way? Money is money. But sometimes there's things more important than money. Creative freedom and artist expression are big selling points to being a pro wrestler. There's got to be a whole bunch of wrestlers who would rather work where they can do their thing their way than the WWE way.

Plus he's boys with Darby. His dad trained Darby. Look how well AEW has used Darby. If you're Nick Wayne & looking at the track records, I'm signing with AEW 100 times out of 100. As for why signing now, AEW is locked in now. Yeah there's no money coming in now. But he doesn't have t worry about the landscape changing or the business having a massive shift that wold make it harder to get signed or 10 other guys just like him coming along and taking up all those opportunities.

If you're in high school and you gt offered your dream job for when you turn 18 why WOULDN'T you jump on it and lock it in ASAP?

[matt925]

5 hours ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

Look at a similar sized guy like Mark Andrews. Or any other Cruiserweight they signed from 2016. How many of them got to contribute to the WWE product in a meaningful way? Money is money. But sometimes there's things more important than money. Creative freedom and artist expression are big selling points to being a pro wrestler. There's got to be a whole bunch of wrestlers who would rather work where they can do their thing their way than the WWE way.

Plus he's boys with Darby. His dad trained Darby. Look how well AEW has used Darby. If you're Nick Wayne & looking at the track records, I'm signing with AEW 100 times out of 100. As for why signing now, AEW is locked in now. Yeah there's no money coming in now. But he doesn't have t worry about the landscape changing or the business having a massive shift that wold make it harder to get signed or 10 other guys just like him coming along and taking up all those opportunities.

If you're in high school and you gt offered your dream job for when you turn 18 why WOULDN'T you jump on it and lock it in ASAP?

If he talks to wwe and they say we’ll pay you $80k and you have to move to Orlando and work with gymnasts and football players, that would be an easy no for him. What if they say we think you’ll be a star and we don’t want you in aew, here’s $500k, you can keep your name, and you’ll be a free agent at 21? Why not take the call?

Hes 6’1 or 6’2 and he can still get taller. He’s gonna be a star. He’s going to be able to work in any company he chooses. I’m not signing my name to something for free. Aew isn’t changing their mind in July. He holds the cards here. 

[dragonzombie]

Few AEW Dark taping spoilers. Please don't click below if you don't like spoilers.

Spoiler

Former NXT guy Bodhi Hayward is in AEW as Brady Booker. He was once part of Chase U.

Another former NXT guy, EJ Nduka appeared too.

 

[DEAN]

28 minutes ago, Red King said:

Few AEW Dark taping spoilers. Please don't click below if you don't like spoilers.

  Hide contents

Former NXT guy Bodhi Hayward is in AEW as Brady Booker. He was once part of Chase U.

Another former NXT guy, EJ Nduka appeared too.

 

Spoiler

I hope they signed Nduka.

 

[Coletti]

When AJ Styles came into WWE he was, I believe, 38 years old. Nick Wayne has PLENTY of time to do what he wants and still make it to the biggest company in the game. 

[NoFistsJustFlips]

13 hours ago, matt925 said:

If he talks to wwe and they say we’ll pay you $80k and you have to move to Orlando and work with gymnasts and football players, that would be an easy no for him. What if they say we think you’ll be a star and we don’t want you in aew, here’s $500k, you can keep your name, and you’ll be a free agent at 21? Why not take the call?

Hes 6’1 or 6’2 and he can still get taller. He’s gonna be a star. He’s going to be able to work in any company he chooses. I’m not signing my name to something for free. Aew isn’t changing their mind in July. He holds the cards here. 

WWE are very not indy focused these days tho. I'm not saying they will never sign people with independent experience, but the whole re-imagining of developmental is to go after college athletes. I say all that to say, there is absolutely no shot they offer any 18 year old indy kid more than the NXT minimum. There's absolutely no shot they give him any special treatment. He doesn't keep his name. He doesn't get more money. He's starting from scratch in their developmental system. He doesn't have the look or pedigree they're going after currently.

I'm not saying they would definitely not sign him. They may see potential and sign him. But he'd be starting as low man on to totem pole, with no special treatment. In AEW he already has a bond formed with one of their stars and a built in story. He would be seen as an equal getting a normal roster spot. Probably mostly matches on Dark & Elevation first. But he keeps his name and gets to start working up the ladder day one as opposed to having to be in developmental for years.

I get that you've seen his work and see a very high ceiling. You also see him as someone special. All of that may be true. But that's not at all how WWE does business in the 2020s. They don't go after young independent kids. You either have to be someone like Dragon Lee who has a long career with a proven track record, or you have to be a college athlete that they build from the ground up.

[matt925]

1 hour ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

WWE are very not indy focused these days tho. I'm not saying they will never sign people with independent experience, but the whole re-imagining of developmental is to go after college athletes. I say all that to say, there is absolutely no shot they offer any 18 year old indy kid more than the NXT minimum. There's absolutely no shot they give him any special treatment. He doesn't keep his name. He doesn't get more money. He's starting from scratch in their developmental system. He doesn't have the look or pedigree they're going after currently.

I'm not saying they would definitely not sign him. They may see potential and sign him. But he'd be starting as low man on to totem pole, with no special treatment. In AEW he already has a bond formed with one of their stars and a built in story. He would be seen as an equal getting a normal roster spot. Probably mostly matches on Dark & Elevation first. But he keeps his name and gets to start working up the ladder day one as opposed to having to be in developmental for years.

I get that you've seen his work and see a very high ceiling. You also see him as someone special. All of that may be true. But that's not at all how WWE does business in the 2020s. They don't go after young independent kids. You either have to be someone like Dragon Lee who has a long career with a proven track record, or you have to be a college athlete that they build from the ground up.

When I heard about “the contract” I was like damn that seems weird, watch he’s not even getting paid, and he just confirmed that. Jericho asked what it entailed and he said he’s learning about tv and stuff like that, but he also confirmed he’s not traveling to the tapings. I’m like what the hell kind of contract is this? Indentured servitude for minors? But I assume it’s not real and aew promised they would sign him when he turns 18. 
 

Yes I’ve seen him in person multiple times. He’s the real deal and he’s gonna be a star in the business. With his age and experience (and privileges), with how much all the wrestlers respect him, and how much buzz he gets, his ceiling is crazy high. He doesn’t need rubs, HE is the rub. 
 

I was just like, what the hell kind of contract is this, and when jericho asked him straight up if he’s getting paid, and he’s like, well, no, it made me laugh. That’s all. Carry on. 

[NoFistsJustFlips]

You're getting hung up on the not getting paid thing. He's not getting paid but he's also not doing any work yet. Think of it more as an agreement to start work once school is done. I think the word contract is just throwing you off a bit. It's like when a high school athlete pledges to play for a certain college. They still have to finish high school before they're allowed to enter college and play. In a lot of ways it's more of just a PR thing until he's eligible to start going to work than anything.