AEW - SEPTEMBER 2022

[Andrew POE!]

13 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Dude if Herb Abrams was a multi billionaire or had access to a billion dollars somehow, he would have snorted his entire body weight in cocaine in under 72 hours.

The autopsy report after that OD would have been amazing.

I was only comparing Herb Abrams and Tony Khan in terms of competency (or lack thereof), not cocaine usage. Although Khan's recent appearances on TV have started to have me wonder...

[Technico Support]

15 hours ago, John from Cincinnati said:

If anyone's interested in a preview of coming attractions, MJF was on Rasslin' earlier and called the BCC the "Blackpool Cuckold Club." So we've probably got a lot of that to look forward to.

So happy he's back. 

MJF's talents on the mic: No

MJF's talents as his own publicist who somehow convinced people he has wit and mic skills?  Yes

15 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

 

People have tried to control what comes out of their locker rooms, and it usually doesn't work. I mean both WCW and WWF tried to have some sort of inroads with Meltzer. Dave kept chugging online and stuff still got out there (both bad info and stuff that was right), which is why ole Bruce and Bischoff hate his guts. 

Hell, Dana White tried to do that same thing with Sherdog.com. Then The Ultimate Fighter spoilers got leaked by Josh Gross back when the show was really popular. It got real nasty on the UFC end. About ten years later, something similar happened with Ariel Helwani. 

It's a battle you're not going to win.

That's what kills me about this handwringing/concern trolling about how AEW has the "culture of leaking" and how they'd better fix it.  Look, wrestling has improved a lot of things about its awful culture.  I just don't see "guys running to the sheets" ever changing.  This is a not an AEW problem.

13 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Dude if Herb Abrams was a multi billionaire or had access to a billion dollars somehow, he would have snorted his entire body weight in cocaine in under 72 hours.

The autopsy report after that OD would have been amazing.

Am I paraphrasing Denis Leary here when I say they'd just cremate Herb and then snort his ashes?

[Belgian_Waffle]

Since we're talking about Herb Abrams, my favorite moment from my old Beach Brawl VHS ($3.99 brand new at some weird off-brand pharmacy here in Ethan Page Country Hamilton) was when Craig Degeorge asks for Herb's prediction in the title tournament finals and he wastes not a millisecond in giving away the finish of his main event ("I gotta go with the Doc. I gotta go with the Doc."). Someone should ask Tony who he's picking in the finals tomorrow night before it's too late. 

[John from Cincinnati]

11 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

MJF's talents on the mic: No

MJF's talents as his own publicist who somehow convinced people he has wit and mic skills?  Yes

Wit? No. He should be convincing people that he thinks he has wit. He's out here yelling "cuck!" in the year of our lord 2022. He gets what he's supposed to be.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

6 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

That's what kills me about this handwringing/concern trolling about how AEW has the "culture of leaking" and how they'd better fix it.  Look, wrestling has improved a lot of things about its awful culture.  I just don't see "guys running to the sheets" ever changing.  This is a not an AEW problem.

This might sound like an odd connection to make, but hear me out:

Do you remember how a lot of people theorized that the uptick in Roman hate online in 2014-2015 was partially in consequence to Punk's appearance on AOW with the "... but you gotta make Roman look really strong" stuff?

I have a similar theory that the hand wringing you're referring to comes at least in part from Punk mentioning in the lead-up to his signing that his decision was swayed by the locker room keeping Brodie Lee's condition under wraps when we were losing him in late 2020.

Now that things are reported more frequently, I think that's something a lot of folks might have in the back of their head - like a weird, almost parasocial "Well, this isn't the AEW locker room I know..."

I also think there's a possibility it's a sort of shadow-attempt at pointing the finger at recent signees/ex-WWE/TNA guys for being sources (which again, is super silly for all the reasons you've noted. But these are weird times).

Just a couple theories, anyway.

[Log]

There's a big difference in not telling "the sheets" that one of your co-workers, and friend to a lot of the roster, is very ill and it's looking like it could be terminal and leaking that someone in the locker room is being a dick. The latter is much more acceptable as gossip. Spilling the former makes you a shitty human. Spilling the latter is "working".

[Zakk_Sabbath]

2 minutes ago, Log said:

There's a big difference in not telling "the sheets" that one of your co-workers, and friend to a lot of the roster, is very ill and it's looking like it could be terminal and leaking that someone in the locker room is being a dick. The latter is much more acceptable as gossip. Spilling the former makes you a shitty human. Spilling the latter is "working".

Absolutely agreed, and to be clear, I wasn't trying to draw any comparison between the two situations at all - just trying to get inside the head of someone who believes this is an "issue" that is in any way novel or recently emerging.

[Log]

Just now, Zakk_Sabbath said:

Absolutely agreed, and to be clear, I wasn't trying to draw any comparison between the two situations at all - just trying to get inside the head of someone who believes this is an "issue" that is in any way novel or recently emerging.

I should have clarified that I agreed with your point and was expanding on it.

[worldcupfever]

TK making a Waynestock reference seals him either being in character all along or being on drugs.  Or both.

While touting the Northeast area as a wrestling hotbed, Khan said it’s truly the “crown jewel” of wrestling markets, taking a subtle dig at WWE’s annual October pay-per-view.

“We’re running a lot of great shows around the Northeast, it’s so many great wrestling markets in one geographic region. And the — hey, I’ll say it, the crown jewel of wrestling markets — the real crown jewel of wrestling markets, not some BS overseas in Saudi Arabia. The real crown jewel of wrestling markets, New York City, is where you want to be, and I love, love, love, New York.”

Khan then compared Grand Slam to the “Waynestock” event in 1993’s Wayne’s World 2. While the concert in the film faced several problems, Khan said fans should expect plenty of highlights from AEW this week.

“If there’s still an opportunity to come on Wednesday night and you’re a wrestling fan in New York, you do not want to miss this. It is going to be, I believe — have you guys seen Wayne’s World 2? This is going to be like my Waynestock. I’ve been through a lot lately and gone through a lot, I’m telling you, it’s going to come together and it’s going to be like Waynestock. It’s going to be that one perfect night in New York City this Wednesday night. Expect a lot and you shall not be disappointed, I promise.”

[Curt McGirt]

As long as he leaves Aerosmith at the old folks' home. 

EDIT: Tia Carrera is totally welcome though, of course

Edited September 20, 2022 by Curt McGirt

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Hype levels are through the God damn roof. At first, I wasn't as pumped as last year (it's hard to top Danielson's debut and getting to see Sting wrestle live for the very first time) but the closer we get to showtime, the more I'm getting swept up in things. If Grand Slam is Christmas, I'm now out of the "Jingle Bell Rock fucking again? It's only October!" phase, and into the "It's Black Friday, let's pop a bottle and decorate the tree!" phase.

[Craig H]

Part of me thinks that's almost sort of endearing? That you have this son of a billionaire who, despite being allowed to go to wrestling events, sounded like he lived a fairly sheltered or indoor life and so his touchstone for something huge and amazing is his experience as a kid watching Waynes World 2. It's just cute. I guess that's the best word for it.

[John from Cincinnati]

10 minutes ago, worldcupfever said:

I’ve been through a lot lately and gone through a lot, I’m telling you, it’s going to come together and it’s going to be like Waynestock.

I guess another way of phrasing this could be...

Spoiler

 

 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

1 minute ago, Craig H said:

Part of me thinks that's almost sort of endearing? That you have this son of a billionaire who, despite being allowed to go to wrestling events, sounded like he lived a fairly sheltered or indoor life and so his touchstone for something huge and amazing is his experience as a kid watching Waynes World 2. It's just cute. I guess that's the best word for it.

We're broke, but same story here. Endearing is definitely the word.

[Dolfan in NYC]

11 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

As long as he leaves Aerosmith at the old folks' home. 

EDIT: Tia Carrera is totally welcome though, of course

Sidetrack sidenote - I saw her this weekend in the Village.  Still stunning.  

I wanted to tell her I was sorry Arnold killed her in the Florida Keys... but that would have been weird.   

[Elsalvajeloco]

2 hours ago, Technico Support said:

That's what kills me about this handwringing/concern trolling about how AEW has the "culture of leaking" and how they'd better fix it.  Look, wrestling has improved a lot of things about its awful culture.  I just don't see "guys running to the sheets" ever changing.  This is a not an AEW problem.

Shit, maybe they do got a bunch of Terry Taylors and Brian Pillmans running around. However, just because you (a Malakai Black or whomever) feel you might have something that is definitely confidential doesn't mean the sheets have that same agreement. TK might be keeping quiet but that doesn't stop one of your co-workers from putting two and two together and making an inference. That's why you don't then confirm it by going on a long tangent on social media.

Even with sensitive issues like mental health, nothing is completely off the record. 

There was also a certain crowd of folks that tried to pry into what was on with Brodie Lee. Why? Cause they felt like they were left in the dark because it was kept under wraps. Leaks or not, people are going to try to get that information somehow. Before or after the fact.

[Shartnado]

1 hour ago, Technico Support said:

Am I paraphrasing Denis Leary here when I say they'd just cremate Herb and then snort his ashes?

"In a recent interview with the dirtsheets, Herb Abrams inimated that wrestlers should not do drugs"

"Herb...fucking...Abrams...said wrestlers should not do drugs!"

"Herb, we can't do any more drugs , 'cause you already F'n did them all! There's none left! We have to wait until you die (oh, look!) and smoke your ashes!"

Edited September 20, 2022 by Shartnado
Expletive added

[Zakk_Sabbath]

17 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

There was also a certain crowd of folks that tried to pry into what was on with Brodie Lee. Why? Cause they felt like they were left in the dark because it was kept under wraps. Leaks or not, people are going to try to get that information somehow. Before or after the fact.

Certainly, there's another parallel conversation to be had there about us fans' sense of entitlement, which I personally think was more at play with that one,  but I also in a way can't blame anyone who went digging because I truly don't think anyone could have imagined what was to come. Also, and I'm not placing any blame on the guy whatsoever because it was obviously both truthful and unintentional, but Dave saying it was a "state secret" instead of "no update" or something probably fanned the flames on said digging at least somewhat

[matt925]

I remember just being genuinely curious because so little was being said. My friend even texted me to see if I’d heard any updates and I was just like, I think it’s his elbow or something. The whole thing was odd. In hindsight of course it all makes sense. 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

15 minutes ago, matt925 said:

I remember just being genuinely curious because so little was being said. My friend even texted me to see if I’d heard any updates and I was just like, I think it’s his elbow or something. The whole thing was odd. In hindsight of course it all makes sense. 

That must've come from somewhere because I heard elbow too, then ankle, then... yeah.

[Elsalvajeloco]

3 hours ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

That must've come from somewhere because I heard elbow too, then ankle, then... yeah.

Yeah, I saw something about an elbow. However, that was not too long after he was off TV. For me, it was out of sight out of mind. Once I saw the elbow injury news, I just assumed he was recuperating and/or taking some time out to spend with his family. It was the holiday season so I would totally understand.

Wasn't that the era in the pandemic where folks were complaining about the sheer number of people being on Dynamite? Like the HFO would have 9 or 10 folks out there including the wrestlers in the ring.

The only thing I remember is listening to Cornette's podcast, and Jim bitching about Brodie disappearing from TV. Then, the announcement of his passing was made the next Saturday evening. 

[AxB]

Did you notice that, when the Jericho Appreciation Society started, as well as changing their individual names, 2.0 also changed their tag team name. They aren't called 2.0 anymore, their Sports Entertainment team name is Daddy Magic Matt Menard & Cool Hand Ang Angelo Parker.

[Curt McGirt]

"Elbow" could have always been somebody conflating his prior troubles with the MRSA infection with what was going on with the ankle. They're both joints, too. 

Not sure if you'd want to be known as 2.0 after HHH stole that idea haha

[Red King]

Dunno if it was posted here or anywhere else but Meltzer said AEW toned down the ranking system for tv.

[John from Cincinnati]

Dax can't hop on Twitter and pop off about how many weeks in a row they've been ranked #1 without a shot if AEW just stops posting new rankings. Genius move.