AEW - SEPTEMBER 2023

[Kevin Wilson]

16 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Let me tell you who is the safest motherfucker in the history of wrestling right now: Phil Brooks.

Until that new TV deal gets worked out, he ain't going nowhere unless it's of his own volition. Even then, there is likely a provision in his contract that makes that super tough just like a WWE contract. So I dunno why folks are going back and forth about this.

I just don't agree with you, that's all. I mentioned Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan earlier, Phil Brooks is neither of those people. AEW got the initial TV deal without Phil Brooks, and Phil Brooks has only appeared on TV for a small percentage of the existence of AEW. His TV drawing power I feel is exaggerated, he is someone you want on your shows for sure but WBD by all accounts have been satisfied with the ratings even when Phil Brooks isn't on TV. AEW sold 50K tickets at Wembley before Phil Brooks returned to AEW. He's not as safe as The Elite, or Roman Reigns, or John Cena. Now would TK greatly prefer to have Phil Brooks active on TV and not being a pain in the ass, absolutely, but everyone has their breaking point which is clear by the fact Phil Brooks isn't announced yet for tomorrow's PPV which they really would like him to be on.

There is a small list throughout wrestling history of wrestlers that a promotion literally can't afford not to use, Phil Brooks is not and never has been on that list.

[Elsalvajeloco]

1 minute ago, Kevin Wilson said:

 He's not as safe as The Elite, or Roman Reigns, or John Cena.

WWE has it made it more about the brand. If Roman Reigns left tomorrow, do you think they have an issue securing a huge TV deal? When was the last time John Cena was a full time wrestler?

 

[Casey]

I think the idea that the Young Bucks are more vital than CM Punk when it comes to having a strong position for a better TV deal is actually insane. Omega, Danielson, even Cole & MJF sure, but the Bucks? Hangman? I don’t think WBD really cares if they’re on TV or not.

[Elsalvajeloco]

Just now, Casey said:

I think the idea that the Young Bucks are more vital than CM Punk when it comes to having a strong position for a better TV deal is actually insane. Omega, Danielson, even Cole & MJF sure, but the Bucks? Hangman? I don’t think WBD really cares if they’re on TV or not.

AEW's strength is going to be their strength in depth overall. So it's going to be EVERYONE including Punk. They aren't insolated like a WWE or UFC where the market is so firmly entrenched in their favor that they (either one) would have wholesale collapse in order to not get something in their favor.

Now AFTER this deal is done, Punk better watch his ass. However right now, short of a scandal of Speaking Out type nature or fighting TK physically, Punk won't be fired. 

[(BP)]

Barring an injury, if anyone WBD was counting on being on TV when they sign a new deal suddenly disappears from the show and they feel misled, I’d imagine that there are ways that they can make things unpleasant for AEW for the remainder of their contract. 

[Kevin Wilson]

20 minutes ago, Casey said:

I think the idea that the Young Bucks are more vital than CM Punk when it comes to having a strong position for a better TV deal is actually insane. Omega, Danielson, even Cole & MJF sure, but the Bucks? Hangman? I don’t think WBD really cares if they’re on TV or not.

WBD cared enough to give them the TV contract in the first place.... I don't think any *one* person is key to WBD's happiness (maybe Jericho) but acting like The Elite don't matter when they were one of the original selling points is actually insane to me. Their faction is literally in the name of the promotion. Danielson, Cole, and MJF had nothing to do with why AEW are on WBD are on TV now. Yes, the promotion has grown enough now and signed enough other talent that no individual is more important than the whole (even Phil Brooks) but acting like WBD doesn't care if they are on their shows is purely fans own opinions of the group, nothing based on reality.

[Jenalysis]

26 minutes ago, Casey said:

I think the idea that the Young Bucks are more vital than CM Punk when it comes to having a strong position for a better TV deal is actually insane. Omega, Danielson, even Cole & MJF sure, but the Bucks? Hangman? I don’t think WBD really cares if they’re on TV or not.

 

Hangman is their guy once their current guys slow down too much, and he's been built up as their top babyface.   He needs to be on  TV, though he needs to have programs away from the Elite, except when something is going down so bad he needs help.  the BCC was a big enough threat that the Elite were needed.   I'd probably move Hangman over to Collision to work with Jay, or move BCG over to Dynamite.

[Elsalvajeloco]

14 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

Yes, the promotion has grown enough now and signed enough other talent that no individual is more important than the whole (even Phil Brooks) but acting like WBD doesn't care if they are on their shows is purely fans own opinions of the group, nothing based on reality.

Given what's happened with WBD since it's been a thing, nothing is based on reality. We're all guessing.

 

[odessasteps]

Than I’d expect Phil to play the “unsafe working conditions” card, as hilariously hypocritical that would be.

[Niners Fan in CT]

3 hours ago, (BP) said:

This does feel like Punk had Tony convinced at the beginning of the summer that they could convince the Elite to do business by All Out, and most of what we’re seeing is a fall-back plan that has also gotten screwed up. 

Yeah,  that could be.  If we are to believe the reports, it was said that Omega has been willing to work with Punk though so it makes me wonder why they haven't done that.  Omega teased at showing up at Collision in a promo a few weeks back.  Nothing came of it.  If they wanted to boost ticket sales for some events that sounds like a pretty easy short term solution to get a program going between those two. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

3 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

Yeah,  that could be.  If we are to believe the reports, it was said that Omega has been willing to work with Punk though so it makes me wonder why they haven't done that.  Omega teased at showing up at Collision in a promo a few weeks back.  Nothing came of it.  If they wanted to boost ticket sales for some events that sounds like a pretty easy short term solution to get a program going between those two. 

I wouldn't waste that as a short term solution when that should be part of a long term solution.

Consistent ticket sales are not generally popped by "getting someone hot" (that's kinda vague). It's an up and down the card thing especially based on people's expectations. People expect every PPV card to look like the Dream Slam cards or WrestleMania/SummerSlam. So one program ain't going to do it. Now, if you have a bunch of a great stuff under it, then an excellent main event program can amplify everything.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I think it'd be smart to not ruffle any feathers with WBD.  I don't know what exactly WBD wants out of AEW but obviously Tony Khan is aware.  WBD is not above cutting shit entirely. They seem to have a great relationship with AEW and are happy with the ratings but this is a company that could be under the Universal/Comcast banner by next year.  I think the whole thing with Zaslav is cutting whatever unnecessary expenses he can,  eliminating as much debt as he can and making it more attractive for another big corporation to swoop in. Over the next few years, Warner Bros. Discovery could be merging again and Disney could be selling off some of their channels, etc.  There's only going to be a few major entertainment companies owning damn near everything,  worse than it is now. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

Just now, odessasteps said:

Does tomorrow become TK's Bash 91 PPV? 

If that ROH PPV wasn't Bash 91 and turned out to be good, then nothing can be Bash 91.

Flair was genuinely beloved prior to Herd's decision. Punk was 50/50 at best. There will be some shit, but it won't be hijacked like that.

[zendragon]

2 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

If that ROH PPV wasn't Bash 91 and turned out to be good, then nothing can be Bash 91.

Flair was genuinely beloved prior to Herd's decision. Punk was 50/50 at best. There will be some shit, but it won't be hijacked like that.

This is why I maintain that Darby and OC are your top babyfaces in the company right now. Pretty much everyone else was getting split reactions.

 

[John from Cincinnati]

Put Jungle Boy on the PPV.

[(BP)]

It’s 2023, and a Ricky Steamboat segment is going to be a pivotal moment in a major wrestling promotion’s immediate future. So that’s cool. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

Just now, Casey said:

50/50 at best… outside of Chicago. Tonight is going to be interesting, I’d say. And tomorrow. But those are likely the only two crowds that would be “hostile”.

GAB 1991 on paper and in reality was also one of the worst cards in PPV history. You would be hard pressed to find cards as bad as Great American Bash 1991. In that 30+ years since then, there have been other crowds that hijacked other shows that were better. GAB 1991 was the beginning of the end of Jim Herd in WCW. Havoc and Starrcade 1991 being also bad sealed the deal. 

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

6 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

GAB 1991 on paper and in reality was also one of the worst cards in PPV history. You would be hard pressed to find cards as bad as Great American Bash 1991. In that 30+ years since then, there have been other crowds that hijacked other shows that were better. GAB 1991 was the beginning of the end of Jim Herd in WCW. Havoc and Starrcade 1991 being also bad sealed the deal. 

Poor PN News had no business being on that scaffold.

[Firebreaker Chip]

Just now, John from Cincinnati said:

It’s gonna be one of the Cornette pods this time, right? 

I guess he probably can't say anything about the All Out 22 stuff but if they just straight up fired him this time he can go off on the recent stuff as far as his confidence in his lawyers will go?

[Elsalvajeloco]

1 minute ago, Sparkleface said:

Poor PN News had no business being on that scaffold.

I definitely get what you mean, but so did the other three guys. I mean you're not going to be having too many barnburners on a scaffold.

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

3 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

I definitely get what you mean, but so did the other three guys. I mean you're not going to be having too many barnburners on a scaffold.

Oh totally, but the other three have a lot of apologists. Not a lot of people shouting out love for ol' Cannonball Grizzly.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Sparkleface
They HAVE a lot of apologists, I mean. Sheesh. Get with it, fingers..

[NoFistsJustFlips]

I hate brand splits. But at this point a hard brand split would at least shake AEW up and make it feel fresh. Punk is gone. Collision is no longer the Punk & Friends show. It needs a real identity. I suggest they do a hard brand split. Shake a bunch of shit up. Break the BCC up (it's run it's course). Give some new gusy some chances. TK keeps booking Dynamite. Danielson gets Collision. (I say that because TK himself has said he loves Danielson's creative input). Make Rampage an ROH show. Fuck what WBD want, just do it. Let someone else book that. Someone random that isn't on the radar to make it totally stylistically different than Dynamite & Collision. Like Callis or Jarrett.

Just continuing on this same path without Punk there seems like continued diminishing returns. There's a lot to like about AEW. But it doesn't really ever feel like anything important happens. Make some dynamic changes and try to ignite some anything can happen vibes. Shrug.

[Infinit]

23 minutes ago, Sparkleface said:

Poor PN News had no business being on that scaffold.

NO BABY, NO BABY, NOOOOO

[Eivion]

22 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I hate brand splits. But at this point a hard brand split would at least shake AEW up and make it feel fresh. Punk is gone. Collision is no longer the Punk & Friends show. It needs a real identity. I suggest they do a hard brand split. Shake a bunch of shit up. Break the BCC up (it's run it's course). Give some new gusy some chances. TK keeps booking Dynamite. Danielson gets Collision. (I say that because TK himself has said he loves Danielson's creative input). Make Rampage an ROH show. Fuck what WBD want, just do it. Let someone else book that. Someone random that isn't on the radar to make it totally stylistically different than Dynamite & Collision. Like Callis or Jarrett.

I've seen suggestions of maybe giving the women a stronger push on Collision.

22 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Anything is possible after WWF officials flew out to Arizona to meet with Warrior and he talked about Destrucity, and they STILL signed him. Different era definitely, but it wouldn't be even #1 in the "how the fuck did this happen" category. 

Anything is possible. It just feels unlikely. He isn't really necessary, and off the back of this I can't see them wanting him right now, if at all.

[YouHaveUntil5]

I’d hate to be anyone on their roster from Cleveland next week after they see what a ratings boost firing someone from the city that Collision is in right before the show has against college football.