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AEW - OCT 2019


Dolfan in NYC

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43 minutes ago, Kyuubi said:

Jeff Cobb, Jacob Fatu, Moose, Alexander Hammerstone

Well none of those dudes are currently available, so it’s slim pickings for now. The women on the other hand I agree with you on. Priscilla Kelly is a great example. Beautiful, different, and talented. I’m surprised that she wasn’t signed following that battle Royale, but I have a theory why. They’re probably offering low-ball contracts to these women’s wrestlers, and they aren’t biting. 

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51 minutes ago, Kyuubi said:

I don’t know. I see too many familiar faces than I care to want to see in AEW. Again, I get that this is the beginning and they are likely to expand but it’s weird I see the likes of Hager, Spears, Rhodes, and to some extent Moxley as kind of redundant because are prototypical WWE cast offs.  

But this is just a nit pick. Overall the shows have been enjoyable and I say this as someone who never really enjoyed a Kenny Omega or Young Bucks match. I was surprised to see the variety in what I thought would be styles catering to them. 

If it helps, I don't think the business model is to bring in ex-WWE guys as a habit, it's to bring in some names to generate interest as they get going and establish their core roster on TV. At least for Rhodes, Hager and Moxley (interesting you didn't mention Jericho). I think they still believe they can redeem Spears into something the fans can't quite see yet.

But they're on TV now and eventually the Khans are going to be more concerned with profits than 'living the wrestling dream'. They're going to invest in some more ex-WWE people and the line between what makes a WWE and AEW wrestler will be blurred even further. Tbh, the way they handle someone like Hager will be a good litmus test. If they can get that dull oaf with a problematic past over without burning any of their own guys, imagine what they could do with someone with more steam.

And yeah, obviously Jacob Fatu would've been the right man for the job but I assume he and most alternatives were sown up by contracts. Except Thatcher. I have no idea what that dude has to do to get signed somewhere.

Edited by Godfrey
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I got a feeling Hammerstone will end up in AEW given the fairly good relations between MLW and AEW.   It might just take a year or two.  I'd rather have some guys saved up so they can have hot newcomers.  AEW is going to have to wait out some contracts and get by with a thin roster for a while.

Hager's the only one I have issue with, Spears never got his chance (though we've seen why), Moxley's a genuine star- and stars are musts no matter who they are, Cody's a star as well, and Dustin's a solid veteran hand/coach.

 

I'd rather Fatu come in as part of a Contra Unit type faction (esp with Samael as a mouthpiece) than individually.  I think he would excel in a faction concept- and the Elite lends itself well to faction vs faction conflict.


We don't know for certain, but isn't AEW actually breaking even at this point?  For a startup wrestling company breaking even is fantastic.

 

Edited by alstein
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I don't think I quite understand these constant posts complaining over the signing of a performer previously employed by WWE.  To those with this hang up, in comparison does an actor performing a role in a movie taint the rest of said actor's career?  This is especially frustrating talking point when you consider how poorly WWE creative accesses talent's strengths and weaknesses, and how they ultimately use their 'superstars'.  
  

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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I didn’t mention Jericho because he really never fit the mold of prototype WWE guy. Short, not particularly stout, and works in several styles.  I know that sounds contradictory but Jericho has always been atypical and one of those roles where they put Miz in nowadays except better overall performer. WWE never looked at Jericho and tried to replicate him like a Rock or a John Cena. He was never a mold but an extremely versatile performer that WWE just loved to have. Jericho may have the largest name recognition out of anybody in AEW because of his WWE background but with him, I feel like he fits in any promotion or any style of wrestling. And he is also changes his character significantly. Spears, Rhodes, and Hager as characters and workers haven’t really shed that WWE story structure type wrestling. And I kind of give Moxley a pass because he did reinvent himself or he went back to his Moxley character. 

The issue here is that they aren’t former WWE guys. It is just that I don’t just want to see former WWE guys who wrestle the same style and don’t really reinvent themselves. Especially if I can watch WWE and pretty much watch the same 5 or 6 guys. Jake Hager is just a more stoic Jack Swagger to which he should have never spoken in the first place. Spears just seems like a less eccentric and more serious Dillinger. While some of them are great performers, I just kind of expected more unknown guys who haven’t had much exposure to be at the forefront. Like Private Party feels brand new. Darby Allin feels brand new. Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt feel brand new  

Its just those ‘reinventions’ are vanilla. I don’t know. I just expect if an actor is in a different movie, they’d play a different character. In the case of wrestlers, I’d expect them to wrestle differently outside of classical heel vs face dynamic. Use different moves or have a different psychology. Which is why I don’t include Jericho and I’m hesitant on Moxley. We know that the Moxley character doesn’t translate well to WWE. We know PAC never was utilized well and was severely under appreciated. I can’t say the same about Spears, Hager, and Rhodes. They are interchangeable from their ‘E counterparts for the most part(Cody’s rich affluent gimmick at least coincides with his Handsome or Legacy roles). 

And I don’t mean to take away the talent of these guys who did get treated wrong like Spears and Cody. I just don’t really want to see them too much. 

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2 hours ago, Kyuubi said:

Its just those ‘reinventions’ are vanilla. I don’t know. I just expect if an actor is in a different movie, they’d play a different character. In the case of wrestlers, I’d expect them to wrestle differently outside of classical heel vs face dynamic. Use different moves or have a different psychology. Which is why I don’t include Jericho and I’m hesitant on Moxley. We know that the Moxley character doesn’t translate well to WWE. We know PAC never was utilized well and was severely under appreciated. I can’t say the same about Spears, Hager, and Rhodes. They are interchangeable from their ‘E counterparts for the most part(Cody’s rich affluent gimmick at least coincides with his Handsome or Legacy roles). 

And I don’t mean to take away the talent of these guys who did get treated wrong like Spears and Cody. I just don’t really want to see them too much. 

Ah, this I totally get. For sure, anyone who's given a chance to reinvent themselves should really go for it. Maybe Spears and Hager were in the system too long but maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that the guys who were names before they got signed are the same ones adapting better after their release too. I'd only dispute Dustin Rhodes being vanilla. Dude has brought a lot of intensity he never showed in WWE and I am big into it.

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So the card this Wednesday is currently...

Jon Moxley Vs. PAC

Private Party Vs. Lucha Bros - Tournament Semi Final

SCU Vs. The Dark Order - Tournament Semi Final 

Best Friends Vs. Young Bucks

And maybe a Britt Baker enhancement match.

 

Edited by LoneWolf&Subs
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1 hour ago, Oyaji said:

Man, Best Friends losing another one after doing exactly what Chuck said would make them look like real dorks (losing the match for the bye and getting dumped in the first round)? Ouch.

I think Best Friends beat the Bucks after Santana & Ortiz interference. 

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I'm not sure what counts as a "WWE castoff" anymore far as it being used as a derogatory term.  Hager is a good wrestler and they are putting him over as a 'shoot fighter' and touting his MMA credentials (which is obviously Jericho doing what he does and taking something semi-truthful and blowing it up to sound like the greatest thing that's ever happened). 

Hager was a guy that WWE felt strongly enough about to put the heavyweight title on and then when that didn't work out as planned his segments still managed to get over with the "We the People" stuff that Jericho just buried the other night..   it's not like AEW is trying to promote him in any of his previous incarnations.  

I just don't see what makes him a cast off other than being previously employed by WWE which is pretty much everyone at this point. They have over 200 contracted talents.  

People don't call Moxley a 'castoff' I guess because he recently said F you to Vince and joined AEW? I don't know,  there are people in WWE right now that AEW should absolutely sign if they were to become available. Not signing useful talent would be a mistake. 

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WWE is a company that employs hundreds of wrestlers. You can call most of these people WWE castoffs and if they're not that then someone will say that such and such is a TNA castoff and if they're not that then someone will say they're a ROH castoff and on and on and on. The castoff moniker is weak, overly simplistic, and dumb. With TNA, their problem was taking almost any former WWE talent and immediately promoting them to the top at the expense of more "home grown" talent.

As for Jericho, the dude was in WWE for nearly 20 years. How the hell is he not a WWE guy? Also, the talk of a "prototypical" WWE guy is nonsense. That may have made more sense back when Johnny Ace was just trying to sign tall, muscular models with little to no ability. To say that Spears and Cody haven't changed is ridiculous. I don't understand how in one paragraph you can give Moxley a pass and say he reinvented himself and then in the next say that others haven't. Moxley is nearly the same guy he was in WWE, just without Vince trying to saddle him with terrible comedy shit and Moxley gets to work a little stiffer. You can look at most any interview with him where it doesn't sound like much has changed except that now he doesn't have Vince drowning him in creative garbage.

I just really don't get some of the criticisms above. Cody is interchangeable from who he was in WWE? What?

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back during the Monday Night Wars, there were no "WWE Castoffs" or "WCW Castoffs". there were wrestlers "jumping ship" and there was "poaching" from ECW. i hope the terms we use will shift back to the positive spin instead of the derogatory 'castoff' tag.

i expect that now that AEW is on tv and established, we will see WWE contracts expire and more wrestlers "jumping ship". Until that time, AEW is signing guys who've been out of the WWE system for a bit but haven't really shined anywhere else. I'm not high on the Hager signing, and Spears hasn't impressed me yet, but i think AEW is signing these guys sparingly. I love NWA's new Power show, but this week we saw Trevor Murdoch, Mr. Kennedy/Anderson, and Damien Sandow debut. I'd say that it's not a hot take to say that AEW is being selective and not just grabbing anybody with name value.

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I know this isn't the NWA thread but shit..  I love both the Trevor Murdoch and Damien Sandow pickups. I think both are talented and useful.  Murdoch in ring is just a touch southern bruiser and Sandow on the microphone, his promo segment was great.  

Kennedy/Anderson I don't see much value in because he's still doing the tired yelling shit that was played out years ago. I don't think he fits the roster at all. 

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MLW considers themselves "allies" of AEW and MLW books Tim Thatcher...

BOOK THATCHER AND PUT HIM ON TNT, YOU COWARDS!

(Just don't sign him to an exclusive deal that would limit his wXw dates, though ?)

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1 minute ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

Isn’t wXw essentially NXT Germany?

Not exactly. They are somewhat of a distant affiliate organization.

And I don't think Tim would fit in or would be interested in signing with them.

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I find it weird that he hasn’t found a home promotion yet. The only ridiculous reason I think might be the case is that everybody really did think he was British, and now all the scouts feel betrayed. 
 

Remember the WWE did do a video hyping him up at one point, and then he completely fell off their radar.

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2 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

I find it weird that he hasn’t found a home promotion yet. The only ridiculous reason I think might be the case is that everybody really did think he was British, and now all the scouts feel betrayed. 
 

Remember the WWE did do a video hyping him up at one point, and then he completely fell off their radar.

wXw is his home promotion. I believe he's one of the trainers at their academy when he's in Germany.

The hype WWE built around him was when they began their relationship with EVOLVE and he was their champ.

There's that from this year, but it means nothing as they were all in Toronto because of TakeOver and because wXw ran shows in Toronto during that weekend.

I'm sure Regal would love to work with Thatcher in NXT, though.

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21 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

 

So the card this Wednesday is currently...

Jon Moxley Vs. PAC

Private Party Vs. Lucha Bros - Tournament Semi Final

SCU Vs. The Dark Order - Tournament Semi Final 

Best Friends Vs. Young Bucks

And maybe a Britt Baker enhancement match.

 

Emi Sakura tweeted about Pittsburgh. 
 

This will be the first show (not counting Florida) that isn’t sold out. 

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