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AEW - SEPTEMBER 2022


The Natural

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Tony Khan is not confident that his company will collaborate with WWE anytime soon. 

During a media call on Thursday, Khan was asked if the recent management changes in WWE could lead to the two companies working together similar to how AEW has worked with NJPW, Impact, and AAA previously. 

"I was pretty optimistic when they first made the change but I'm less optimistic now given how they've treated me," Khan responded. 

The AEW President did not elaborate on the treatment he has received from WWE that is leading him to feel this way. However, it was reported last month that WWE had reached out to AEW talent regarding potentially working for them. Khan is said to have addressed this at a recent AEW meeting. He noted that the company's Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh sent an email to WWE CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan instructing them “not to tamper” with AEW talent. 

 

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5 minutes ago, Craig H said:

No he didn't. He got duped by a fake Meltzer account.

Yes, with the implication of Raj's tweet being that (who he thought was the real) Meltzer got the scoop before he (Raj) could report on it.

tJ6y19w.png

Doesn't even really matter, since SRS is claiming it's not real, and Raj is sticking to his story.

Edited by Casey
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2 hours ago, Casey said:

Yes, with the implication of Raj's tweet being that (who he thought was the real) Meltzer got the scoop before he (Raj) could report on it.

tJ6y19w.png

Doesn't even really matter, since SRS is claiming it's not real, and Raj is sticking to his story.

Dollars to donuts this is happening because of that weirdly vague Tumblr post Malakai Black posted that got spread on the Squared Circle reddit. 

nev6dkdom5l91.jpg?width=1018&auto=webp&s

Edited by TheVileOne
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@Greggulatorgets a bit hot at the lack of quality wrestling reporting and how we've sort of grown as a community around rumors and access dirt sheet stuff and whatever else, but when I hear Black, I immediately piece together:

  1. his AEW Unrestricted interview and how positive it was
  2. the recent news that he had a really bad injury that no one knew about which is part of why he was out of the spotlight for a while
  3. Darby going on in the promo last night about how King didn't need him but he needed king
  4. and 4, Julia's interview (out of character) where she talked about how the House of Black was like a real family and how everyone was looking after her and teaching her things.

And in my head I put those things together and think that Black probably isn't super upset with things right now.

But it's obviously blind man touching the elephant. But we're all too old and too used to this to NOT engage with content that we come across and think about things on that level between what we've heard and decades of following wrestling. It makes it more fun to constantly be thinking about every element and not just watch the show as it is.

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Fightful on rumoured release requests:

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Clarification regarding some AEW release request rumors.
Tons of rumors are swirling, and we're hoping to help clarify some of those.

Since Wednesday, there have been countless AEW rumors emerging from largely unsubstantiated accounts about a ton of releases and requests for release. Most of those were shot down, but in asking, we did learn that Bobby Fish was finished with All Elite Wrestling.

One of those unreliable relays Wednesday was that Malakai Black had been released by AEW. Reps quickly shot that down to Fightful as completely false, and later that evening he was booked for AEW All Out. Wrestling Inc's Raj Giri -- who is reliable -- had tweeted then deleted that Malakai Black had asked for his release and it wasn't granted. We have heard that rumor within the AEW roster that Black had been unhappy, but the reason why wasn't something we could report without confirming first-hand. There were outside sources that indicated Black had asked for his release, but we've not been able to confirm that with the company. AEW sources that we spoke to that had claimed Black wasn't happy, also said that they believed things had been smoothed over to some degree. Black is signed to a five-year AEW contract that has four years left on it.

Another name that was listed by one of those less than reliable posters was that of former TNT Champion Miro, claiming that he'd asked for his release. This was also shot down, repeatedly by sources who would by familiar with such a situation. Miro re-signed with AEW in late 2021, which will keep him with the company until early 2026. Miro told Fightful earlier this year that he gave AEW a deal on his first contract and was angling for a huge money increase on his second contract, which we're told came to fruition.

What do you all think Black's ceiling is? Is he a credible world champion? I'm not so sure, at least not in a company with as many world class guys as AEW and with how infrequently the title is shifted among them. When he came in and squashed Cody they definitely seemed to angle him for big things and then it all petered out. I wonder how much of that is by design and how much is injury driven. I enjoy him but sometimes I find it difficult to get a gauge of just how good he is. Even on the indies it was like that. Seems like he wrestles to his opponent's level quite a bit. That EVOLVE tag with Hero was a classic though. 

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2 hours ago, Casey said:

Yes, with the implication of Raj's tweet being that (who he thought was the real) Meltzer got the scoop before he (Raj) could report on it.

tJ6y19w.png

Doesn't even really matter, since SRS is claiming it's not real, and Raj is sticking to his story.

Looool @ that fake Dave quote.  The first part is fine, then it veers so far into WWE tribalism territory, how could anyone think that’s real?

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1 hour ago, Jiji said:

Fightful on rumoured release requests:

What do you all think Black's ceiling is? Is he a credible world champion? I'm not so sure, at least not in a company with as many world class guys as AEW and with how infrequently the title is shifted among them. When he came in and squashed Cody they definitely seemed to angle him for big things and then it all petered out. I wonder how much of that is by design and how much is injury driven. I enjoy him but sometimes I find it difficult to get a gauge of just how good he is. Even on the indies it was like that. Seems like he wrestles to his opponent's level quite a bit. That EVOLVE tag with Hero was a classic though. 

Until he was forced to job to Cody...yes.

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Black's ceiling is world champion. Acknowledging the spooky stuff and teleporting is more for other people than myself, fans have already shown a willingness to accept him at that level. One of the only limitations is how Tony positions him and what his personal depth chart looks like. 

Matt pointed out that Malakai seemed positive on Unrestricted, but it's important to remember that is only a small snapshot of what someone wanted to present in a public-facing broadcast almost a year ago. A person's position could change in any number of ways for any number of reasons in a year's time. 

If his health is a problem, jumping to a place with a heavier schedule would be seem counterintuitive. But who knows what the situation is there. If he has a problem with his push, the new guy at the other place has booked him on top in the past. This is a case where I can imagine Tony not being eager to potentially hand the competition another instant main eventer and would want to enforce his contract.

Hope the talk of things being somewhat smoothed out is true. 

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I'm going to disagree with @John from Cincinnatiand think that the gimmick is what keeps Black's ceiling from being World Champion, but maybe that's my bias showing. I think he flashes as an excellent wrestler but I don't think his promos are good and even his work gets weighed down at times by the demands of the gimmick.

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I like that his promos are different. Perhaps the content can be a little myspace convoluted nonsense at times and should be a little more direct and consistent, but I particularly like his calm, confident delivery. His presentation is great imo, it's his in-ring quality that is pretty inconsistent for me. 

I too really hope things are better now, his back isn't an issue, and there's a long-term plan for him. He is very talented but more importantly unique and that's big. I'd like to say he's world champ material but it certainly doesn't look like Tony believes that to be true once he started trading wins with Cody. I'm repeating myself, but I'd love the Andrade, Miro, Pac, and Black universe to start mixing it up with the other big names. 

Khan is also great at heating up acts to the upper midcard level, and we've seen this from the very start with AEW, but how many people has he elevated to tip top main event status? Even Hangman has been left jerking it in the back while the big boys fight over the title since May. I love rigid hierarchies because you can tell so many stories with incremental improvements in underdogs but sometimes it can backfire when you don't pull the trigger or fully commit. 

Edited by Jiji
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Reminds me of the one dude that bitched about AEW not having intro video packages for the wrestlers walking through the forbidden door months back ? Like YouTube doesn't have highlights clips and montages of just about every wrestler on the indie/international scene ? Because sure, tiktok and Twitter won't have those clips for you either so how dare AEW foil someone's introduction to the product 

Just saying, remember that time Nexus popped up? The Shield? Any number of invading factions/wrestlers out for revenge or just looking to put their stamp on the territory. Now imagine the same "boohoo! Who are these guys and why should I care about them?" Wrestling used to be awesome with someone walking through the curtain being unknown to the viewers but being treated with respect and sometimes reverence by the announcers. Instead we got "who's this Suzuki dude? Why should I be awed by Ishii?" And etc with this Ace Steele shit lmao 

 

 

 

This is a pretty good thread about the whininess

 

Edited by Hayabusa
Fucking boonies taking the fun outta posts
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Malakai can be a world champion but he appears to be an all time "needs an editor" guy. He clearly puts a lot of thought into what he does and in-ring he carries himself in a way that is unique and striking but his promos are all over the place and the story/creative stuff he comes up with is... let's call it hit or miss.

 

I remember Black mentioning Hunter and I think someone else in the match asking for help/some ideas when laying out the HBK/HHH vs Taker/Kane match in Saudi Arabia (yes the match was a disaster, no I don't know why they would have asked him) and that he took it as an honor to do so, so I can follow the logic that he may have enough of an attachment to Hunter that he could theoretically want to go back and work for him (mild take: NXT Black was the best booked version of him). I'm not sure that I buy that he actually would/did, but I don't think it'd be the most shocking thing in the world if it actually happened.

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So some general thoughts on TV production that I think are really important for wrestling and sports:

1) If the character is new to your program, the character is new to some percentage of your audience. And you have to really consider how much the audience knows who that person is. There are some people who don't need any introduction like Punk and Dragon. There are some people who do need some kind of introduction like whatever Big Cass's name is or etc. And you absolutely need to give some kind of introduction or backstory if the person is from an indie promotion or another country. Make it as easy as possible for your audience to know who the character is and why they should care about the person. 

2) I didn't catch all of Dynamite but I saw the "Ace Steele rallies Punk" promo. I have no idea who Ace Steele is beyond he's a name I recognize. I could not tell you anything more than that. But he dropped in some dialogue like "I trained you, Punk." That's all that was needed to be done. Or along with Excalibur or one of the other announcers adding in some of the details behind it to fill in that gap of who this person is and why I should care. 

3) I didn't really like the promo. The main reason why: It's CM Punk. When has self-doubt ever been a character trait of his? He lost one match because of a foot injury and he's going to hang it up and needs a sports movie moment in front of his hometown audience to get his groove back? There needed to be a lot more space to make that work -- Punk loses against someone else against Moxley, Punk goes down for a match against someone else and can't get in the ring, some dastardly heel goes after Punk's foot to sell the injury, someone else trying to rally Punk and he shakes it off and then Ace comes into play, etc. 

But Punk losing one match and needing his old mentor to rally him in front of his hometown audience? That's not a good story arc. I get they're sort of limited for time to set up the PPV and Punk has to appear in Chicago but rushing all of that doesn't work. It's real easy just to do a whole "My foot's not at 100 percent, but that was a fluke win Mox and you know it, let's go again" and bam. It's friggin' Mox and Punk and a rematch, you don't need to do anything too much to make that work. 

4) The other reason why it's bad to do that is because the whole "person has self doubt but gets rallied to the occasion" is a good trope. So why the hell are you burning this story for a character who doesn't need it? There are so many other people who would benefit so much for that. Punk does not need it. 

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No idea at all what's going on with Malakai Black, but that Tumblr post didn't help matters and that's likely what sparked the release or "Black is unhappy" rumors. 

I'm just spitballing, but he might be second guessing signing a long-term contract with AEW. His wife, who he once said one reason she went back to WWE was so she could be with him, is still in WWE. And now the guys who undercut him and fired him from WWE are out of power, and the guy who booked him like a king in NXT is in charge. 

A year ago, AEW was the wrestling promised land. WWE was not a fun place for anyone to work unless your name is Roman Reigns. WWE fired half the roster. The other half were booked to look like absolute idiots. Now, Triple H is in charge and it's truly a new day and a new era. All the things wrestlers couldn't stand or hated about WWE have been undone or reverse. The boils have been lanced. The senile old man who had lost his mind and brought the product down, hates the word wrestling, and can't remember anything from week to week is gone.

Malakai Black is still a human being. He might be wondering, "Did I make the right move?" He might have doubt. Or it could be something else entirely, dunno.

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I don’t know about rumors, but I do know that based on the roster, his place in it, and how he’s been booked, Malakai leaving AEW for WWE return wouldn’t be a major loss. I think he has potential away from the gimmick but I hate HOB and like Darby said, Brody King did his best work without them. if he stays, great, but give them a refresh and maybe se if you can get them to get rid of the corny ass early 2000s black metal wannabe shit.

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I don't know when it will happen, but one thing I'd like to see is some shorter length championship runs in the next year or two. I don't mean six days or something silly, don't devalue it, but as long as every reign is 6+ months it is going to limit who TK trusts with carrying the promotion for that long (for the sake of my argument, I'm not considering Punk's unusual run as it was derailed due to injury, so it wasn't the original booking decision). That would open up the door for wrestlers like Miro, Black, Kingston, Joe, Wardlow, etc. that may not be ready yet to be the "face" of the promotion but could get a crowd pop, have a couple interesting defenses, and then bow out before the run got stale.

I like the longer reigns to kick start the promotion, you certainly don't want to hot potato the top title in a new promotion. But at some point I'd just like to see some maybe 'surprise' wrestlers, or an upset win between the longer reigns.

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Here is the probably real reason why people might want to go back to WWE from AEW more than anything else:

The WWE turned a profit of $256 million last year. The WWE is on two separate networks and has its archives on Peacock. The company's going to be sold to some huge media entity. Despite a crappy economy that has tanked the stock market at large, and despite a mammoth scandal that could entail accounting fraud on top of sexual harassment, the company's stock price is still trading near its high for the year.

Since AEW is a privately held company, we have no idea how much money (if any) it makes. AEW is at the behest of TV executives who if they choose to cancel the shows could really hurt the promotion. We also know AEW has spent a lot of money to acquire a lot of talent. 

If you are a wrestler looking to sign a five-year deal, who do you think is the better bet that you'll get paid over those five years? That's not to say AEW is in any trouble. But the WWE is a much safer bet for someone looking for financial security. And it becomes that much more alluring if you have a good relationship with the new boss whereas you might not have one with your current one.

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