AEW - FEB 2022

[Ramo2653]

On 2/6/2022 at 3:51 PM, Craig H said:

I think in terms of impact and interest, it probably goes in this order...

Cena, HHH, Jeff Hardy, Bayley, Okada, Keith Lee, Jay White, and then a fewer spots down would be Ali. 

Cena is WWE for life, HHH is a WWE corporate executive, Jeff is still under a no compete, Bayley would take some kind of fuck up with her contact and her being unsigned going completely under the radar, Okada and White are big ifs and are dependent on travel and other factors. So that leaves Lee and Ali as the most likely options from a logistical standpoint, but none match up to the amount of noise TK made over the appearance. Then again, TK is always just promoting on Twitter and as long as the signing isn't a total dud like Kross then it'll be good enough. 

As far as Jay White goes, he's been in the states since some time between post Wrestling Dontaku 2021 after he beat Tana for the NEVER belt and showing up at Slammiversary in July of 2021. 

[NikoBaltimore]

Man, Celebfest yesterday was absolutely awesome to go to.  I feel like I blew my whole paycheck but it was so worth it.  There were a mix of young and older talents but our focus was strictly on AEW wrestlers (though my wife did meet Taya and Ember who were great to say the least)  Instead of a photo dump I'll just give quick little bits from the interactions.  And aside from MJF everybody was an absolute pleasure to talk to.  I think the only one I missed out on was Santana and Ortiz but at least my friend did the photo op while I talked to Ortiz for a bit.  Really cool guy and I could tell he legit doesn't know what's going to happen with their part on Dynamite.

-2.0 were absolutely hilarious and even when nobody was near them they were still cracking jokes.  I couldn't stop laughing talking to them but did ask about their own coffee.  They said it's in the works which is great because I've been pretty tired lately and could use whatever they're having.  Daniel Garcia was also there and he's humble yet really chill and thankful for where he's at.  We also talked about Buffalo Bills and how much I love the team and their fans.  Too bad they lost in the playoffs.  We also saw Preston and Alan Angels who were so down-to-earth and so incredibly happy.  They definitely loved their time on the vlogs they're on and with how far Dark Order has come.

-For Ethan Page we randomly talked Sega Genesis and Sonic games.  He got a kick out of the sign I had and its appearance on Botchamania.  Though I couldn't help but notice his sign got defaced by one MJF.  Speaking of while none of us met him while in line for photo op tickets we were witnesses to him charging a good chunk of change and heeling it up every second he was out there.  He got into it with a couple kids which made for a humorous scene.

-Nick Comoroto was there and according to a friend of mine him and his fiancee know them.  Well I don't know if he was tired or what but he couldn't remember/recall anything even after showing pictures.  He was still fine to talk to and I hope down the line to see him at a party where he'll go "Shit, sorry about that".  And that can happen since his fiancee lives not far from me.  We also met Adam Cole who is the nicest dude around.  I know I talked before about how much I like him and it was great to see my wife and friend see it for themselves.  Of course they were crushing hard for him afterwards which was expected.  I did kindly suggest that Britt needs a ring on her finger to which he said he's working on it.  So that was cool to hear.

-There were two more people that really are the ones I think the fondest of from the whole thing.  Once we saw Nyla was going to be there without hesitation my wife said she had to go meet her.  I can go on and on about how much she loves her but let's just say she was nervous and incredibly overjoyed to meet her.  Because of Nyla she got the Hyrule Crest tattooed on her arm and it was great to see them share that bond while also talking Pokemon and other nerdy things.  To say the least this meant the world to her and I'm glad this happened.

-As for me I was over the moon to find out that Serena Deeb was there.  I somehow missed her in the advertisement so I was kind of in shock at first to see her there.  But I made sure to mention she's the Bret Hart of AEW and I hope she joins Danielson's crew as that'd be an unstoppable group of badasses.  She's been getting that recently but really loved the idea.  And  I can safely say that Serena is by far the nicest and sweetest women's wrestler I ever met.  She has that yoga chill going on and I could tell she genuinely appreciated what I said.  I just think she's the best and I couldn't have been happier to see her.

Anyway sorry for the wall of text but I tried to not go too crazy with it all.  I can say the biggest takeaway from yesterday was it was really cool to go up to people I really admire and just chill out with them.  Through them all we talked Pokemon, Zelda, D&D, Buc-ees, the Bills and all kinds of other stuff.  And you can really tell they were not only great people but they have so much love in their hearts for AEW.  It surely helped reinforce my admiration for them and also for AEW to do right by them.

Edited February 11, 2022 by NikoBaltimore

[The Natural]

23 minutes ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Man, Celebfest yesterday was absolutely awesome to go to.  I feel like I blew my whole paycheck but it was so worth it.  There were a mix of young and older talents but our focus was strictly on AEW wrestlers (though my wife did meet Taya and Ember who were great to say the least)  Instead of a photo dump I'll just give quick little bits from the interactions.  And aside from MJF everybody was an absolute please to talk to.  I think the only one I missed out on was Santana and Ortiz but at least my friend did the photo op while I talked to Ortiz for a bit.  Really cool guy and I could tell he legit doesn't know what's going to happen with their part on Dynamite.

-2.0 were absolutely hilarious and even when nobody was near them they were still cracking jokes.  I couldn't stop laughing talking to them but did ask about their own coffee.  They said it's in the works which is great because I've been pretty tired lately and could use whatever they're having.  Daniel Garcia was also there and he's humble yet really chill and thankful for where he's at.  We also talked about Buffalo Bills and how much I love the team and their fans.  Too bad they lost in the playoffs.  We also saw Preston and Alan Angels who were so down-to-earth and so incredibly happy.  They definitely loved their time on the vlogs they're on and with how far Dark Order has come.

-For Ethan Page we randomly talked Sega Genesis and Sonic games.  He got a kick out of the sign I had and its appearance on Botchamania.  Though I couldn't help but notice his sign got defaced by one MJF.  Speaking of while none of us met him while in line for photo op tickets we were witnesses to him charging a good chunk of change and heeling it up every second he was out there.  He got into it with a couple kids which made for a humorous scene.

-Nick Comoroto was there and according to a friend of mine him and his fiancee know them.  Well I don't know if he was tired or what but he couldn't remember/recall anything even after showing pictures.  He was still fine to talk to and I hope down the line to see him at a party where he'll go "Shit, sorry about that".  And that can happen since his fiancee lives not far from me.  We also met Adam Cole who is the nicest dude around.  I know I talked before about how much I like him and it was great to see my wife and friend see it for themselves.  Of course they were crushing hard for him afterwards which was expected.  I did kindly suggest that Britt needs a ring on her finger to which he said he's working on it.  So that was cool to hear.

-There were two more people that really are the ones I think the fondest of from the whole thing.  Once we saw Nyla was going to be there without hesitation my wife said she had to go meet her.  I can go on and on about how much she loves her but let's just say she was nervous and incredibly overjoyed to meet her.  Because of Nyla she got the Hyrule Crest tattooed on her arm and it was great to see them share that bond while also talking Pokemon and other nerdy things.  To say the least this meant the world to her and I'm glad this happened.

-As for me I was over the moon to find out that Serena Deeb was there.  I somehow missed her in the advertisement so I was kind of in shock at first to see her there.  But I made sure to mention she's the Bret Hart of AEW and I hope she joins Danielson's crew as that'd be an unstoppable group of badasses.  She's been getting that recently but really loved the idea.  And  I can safely say that Serena is by far the nicest and sweetest women's wrestler I ever met.  She has that yoga chill going on and I could tell she genuinely appreciated what I said.  I just think she's the best and I couldn't have been happier to see her.

Anyway sorry for the wall of text but I tried to not go too crazy with it all.  I can say the biggest takeaway from yesterday was it was really cool to go up to people I really admire and just chill out with them.  Through them all we talked Pokemon, Zelda, D&D, Buc-ees, the Bills and all kinds of other stuff.  And you can really tell they were not only great people but they have so much love in their hearts for AEW.  It surely helped reinforce my admiration for them and also for AEW to do right by them.

Glad you had a great time, @NikoBaltimore. You and your Wife deserve it, my friend!

Edited February 8, 2022 by The Natural

[Big Z]

3 hours ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I'm busy for one weekend and when I come back I see some of the most absurd theories about the new signing. John Cena? SHANE MCMAHON? Currently under contract Ali? Any woman being in a ladder match against Isiah Kassidy? You guys. LOL. Settle down. I get why TK hypes things the way he does (trying to get people who only watch sporadically to tune in) but it makes the fandom go crazy.

Like when he hyped a hall of fame worthy guy (Christian) and people were mad it wasn't Cena or Batista or CM Punk. This debut is either going to be Kieth Lee, Jay White or someone there abouts. It's not Hogan to WCW. It's not a fight against the entire independent contractor classification (although I wish). It's not Vince McMahon's son. It's not almost certainly currently under a contract Lita shooting on the Saudis.

Bring those expectations back to earth please.

I do not ultimately think that it will be Ali because that's a gamble to make Doyle Brunson proud, but if Phil Schneider posits it as an idea (someone who has had Tony Khan on his podcast in recent months), I am not going to poo-poo the idea. 

[Horatio]

So Tony Khan's Forbidden Door tweet got me thinking, 'maybe he knows how to make everyone happy', especially with the part about whoever being free to slam the door on their previous company...

Suppose, just maybe, it is for Cody's contract signing. Except it's so that he can re-sign with WWE and slam the door on the AEW fans who don't appreciate his greatness. And he's moving on to the only place where he can be Stardust, so everyone wins. 

Damnit if Khan's previous tweet doesn't put things in context though because he does say there will be an AEW debut.

But man, who wouldn't wanna see happy/sad happy/sad sad/happy sad/happy schizo/bipolar Cody Rhodes every time they decide to pull the plug on letting him be Stardust until he spontaneously combusts into actual stardust because WWE needed a heel and plain Cody was their only go-to...

I can even see a strange phenomena of fans booing Clark Kent Cody Rhodes until he dons "the suit" and appears as Stardust, to which no fan will boo.

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Horatio

[AxB]

Nobody said Will Ospreay yet, did they?

[The Natural]

5 minutes ago, AxB said:

Nobody said Will Ospreay yet, did they?

@DEAN did, bud. I hadn't considered Will Ospreay till then. Hopefully not Ospreay as he's never done anything for me.

Edited February 8, 2022 by The Natural

[RIPPA]

Per Meltzer - since the majority of guys people are predicting can not be it due to their no-competes not being up - "it has to be" Keith Lee or Johnny Gargano (though he did throw out Killer Kross technically since his no compete just ended)

And with Gargano, Dave remembers Gargano said he wouldn't wrestle again until after his child was born which hasn't happened yet (obviously this doesn't mean it is 100% not Gargano)

Tangentially - he did say Jay White is coming in but he doesn't know if that is separate from this tease TK did (he would lean towards it not being White since TK talked about the person signing a contract and due to White's others commitments he wouldn't be signing a contract)

[JohnnyJ]

Here's a left field pick. What if he is bringing in Austin for some kind of role?

 

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

That doesn't make sense. The guy has a match on Dynamite.

[Technico Support]

I want TK to come right out and say Batista is showing up.  Then, Wednesday, a Starbucks employee is there instead, making coffee for all the wrestlers, and Tony blames the whole misunderstanding on a typo since T is next to R on the keyboard.

[Matt D]

So when's Rush projected to be healthy enough to wrestle again?

[Horatio]

lol RUSH showing up as AEW's very own Barbaro Cavernario who refuses to play nice would make the roster so much more Dynamic.

Bring Barbaro in, too; love to see what these guys would do with Sting and Darby.

[Shartnado]

I've been watching Full Gear 2021 in portions and the overall quality is just nuts. It's a bit much for one go, but watched over 3 or 4 days, it gives you 2-3 classic matches at one go and lets you appreciate them more. Ok, so it cost about two months of Network subscription, but nonetheless, this is like an extended Super-Takeover! So this is what it's like when you put some effort into your PPV product?

[Craig H]

43 minutes ago, Shartnado said:

I've been watching Full Gear 2021 in portions and the overall quality is just nuts. It's a bit much for one go, but watched over 3 or 4 days, it gives you 2-3 classic matches at one go and lets you appreciate them more. Ok, so it cost about two months of Network subscription, but nonetheless, this is like an extended Super-Takeover! So this is what it's like when you put some effort into your PPV product?

I will say that if you watched Full Gear live, it was really exhausting with the amount of great matches. I think I felt pretty spent after the Bucks/Lucha Bros match and didn't get as up for the matches that followed it as much as I wanted to.

Although I watched Omega vs Page a couple times after that and loved it a ton more since I wasn't so spent.

[HarryArchieGus]

I really wish AEW would cap their PPVs at 3 hours. I also wish they had more promos in between bouts to better the aforementioned pacing.

[NoFistsJustFlips]

4 hours ago, JohnnyJ said:

Here's a left field pick. What if he is bringing in Austin for some kind of role?

 

Yes 57 year old Steve Austin with a neck so bad he retired in 2003 will be showing up to wrestling one of Private Party in a Ladder Match. You cracked the code.

This is what I am talking about. There's a framework here that needs to be worked in. The person is in a ladder match Wednesday. It's not a 60 year old megastar that retired 20 years ago. Let's make some guesses back here on earth please lol.

[CSC]

Isn't the whole point of the "forbidden door" being people currently working in other companies and not just free agents who used to work somewhere else?

All this Gargano/Keith Lee speculation makes no sense if you are using the forbidden door term for what it's actually supposed to mean.  

[(BP)]

This is a sweaty way to set up introducing a new talent. Unless it’s a handful of people it really doesn’t make sense for it to be a ladder match, and it’s clear that as talented as Kassidy is the only reason he’s in the spot is so none of the singles talent that’ve already dropped falls to incoming WWE wrestlers have to do it again. I don’t see why they couldn’t just announce a new signing and have Schiavone or TK introduce them to open Dynamite. 

[matt925]

4 minutes ago, CSC said:

Isn't the whole point of the "forbidden door" being people currently working in other companies and not just free agents who used to work somewhere else?

All this Gargano/Keith Lee speculation makes no sense if you are using the forbidden door term for what it's actually supposed to mean.  

I’m pretty sure he just used that wrong. It’s a free agent who will be signing a contract, so it’s not forbidden door and it’s not a new japan guy. It’s Keith. 

[For Great Justice]

14 minutes ago, matt925 said:

I’m pretty sure he just used that wrong. It’s a free agent who will be signing a contract, so it’s not forbidden door and it’s not a new japan guy. It’s Keith. 

Yep. And Tony quickly tried to cover his tracks after the initial “forbidden door” tweet, thus the rapid tweeting. 

It’s only not Lee at this point if Tony’s worked himself into a shoot and is feeling pressure to bring in a legit forbidden door talent from elsewhere to appease the masses.

[Leonidas]

33 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

Yes 57 year old Steve Austin with a neck so bad he retired in 2003 will be showing up to wrestling one of Private Party in a Ladder Match. You cracked the code.

This is what I am talking about. There's a framework here that needs to be worked in. The person is in a ladder match Wednesday. It's not a 60 year old megastar that retired 20 years ago. Let's make some guesses back here on earth please lol.

Flair? What if it's Hogan? No, no what about Mean Mark Calloway? Could it be Dwayne Johnson you think?

[Craig H]

Ooof...Well, here's one of the possibilities...

Spoiler

I'm not putting the video up on here, but there's one up on r/sc where Scarlett and Kross are at a signing and Scarlett lets it slip about Kross being in Atlantic City on Wednesday and Kross stops in his tracks, looks at Scarlett, and is like, dude, what the fuck?

I think that person sucks and there isn't really anything special to them. If I were to guess though, we'll get three debuts on Wednesday. The person in the spoiler, Lee, and let's just throw in Jay White for shits and giggles.

[Technico Support]

Regardless, it really feels like somebody needs to take away TK's Twitter privileges and let a pro handle it.

[wpdougie2180]

It's not a ladder match guys lol. It's a regular match to qualify for the ladder match at Revolution