Dolfan in NYC Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Well, I think it's easy to say that 2023 didn't go out with a bang, but with a ... IT'S 2024~! Will AEW continue to RULE THE WORLD~? (Probably!) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 MJF has been removed from the roster page. Bidding War of 2024 is here baybay. Oh joy. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonzombie Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Here's the title history page for the AEW Continental Championship https://www.allelitewrestling.com/continental-championship-history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nineteen Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 5 hours ago, Casey said: MJF has been removed from the roster page. Bidding War of 2024 is here baybay. Oh joy. That happened too he took his hiatus after DoN 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew POE! Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 12 minutes ago, Nineteen said: That happened too he took his hiatus after DoN 2022 This time, I think it's different. He lost his title and I don't think he signed a new deal. It makes too much sense. I can't really see him 'wrestling without a contract' once he's healed up to chase after the AEW World title in 2024. Unless he's doing a one last chance at the title and if he loses, he leaves AEW forever. No, I don't think he'll be on Raw tonight or on Day 1 PPV or even at the Royal Rumble. I'm far from the biggest MJF fan (my post history should tell you that) but I think he should go to the WWE while he has a chance. At the start of 2023, I would have said no. But he at least has a chance to be in the main event for WWE. It just goes down to timing if he is leaving AEW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Dave Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Man, he re-signed months ago, if not when he came back in 2022. I don’t for a second believe AEW would’ve done what they have for the last year with him if there was any chance he was leaving… 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 14 minutes ago, Just Dave said: Man, he re-signed months ago, if not when he came back in 2022. I don’t for a second believe AEW would’ve done what they have for the last year with him if there was any chance he was leaving… I don’t either and yet Tony has made some odd booking calls in the past (like putting the world title on an unsigned wrestler) so you never know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuntmanCrowley Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 14 minutes ago, Godfrey said: I don’t either and yet Tony has made some odd booking calls in the past (like putting the world title on an unsigned wrestler) so you never know I don't know, I think both TK and Mox knew that Mox wasn't going anywhere. Mox might be the exception in terms of putting a title on an unsigned. I feel he's going to be in AEW for the rest of his career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Dave Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I think Mox is the exception. In addition to hating Vince mcmahons wwe, he doesn’t seem to have the sentimental attachment to hhh that some of the other former wwe guys do. Mox has repeatedly said he’d rather quit than go back to wwe. I believe him. For the record, I don’t think MJF is leaving either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 In hindsight, I can see Moxley resenting wwe/hhh not allowing him to do the style of match (hardcore/desthmatch/garbage) he apparently likes doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I'm not that charitable with Moxley since he's said his attitude at the time was he could've gone anywhere and he was only cooperating with Tony out of the goodness of his heart. Maybe that's all bluster though. I do remember the half-hearted, sanitized death match stuff Mox tried in WWE. That abomination with Lesnar was probably as close as he got Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 2 hours ago, Just Dave said: Man, he re-signed months ago, if not when he came back in 2022. I don’t for a second believe AEW would’ve done what they have for the last year with him if there was any chance he was leaving… People said that too about Cody when he said on Dynamite he had no contract and we all know how that turned out. (I am with you, I don't think he's really not signed although for how long I couldn't guess) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Wow, all AEW material is gone from DAZN. Does anyone know anything about what's up with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirFozzie Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 deal ended on Jan 1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, SirFozzie said: deal ended on Jan 1? That has to be it, obviously, but there has been no notification or anything. At least FITE/Triller was decent enough to notify of the current 30-day delay on all AEW shows (save for PPV's) more than a month in advance. This once again puts me in a spot where there's no way to watch current AEW on a couple of day delay. Of course, there's enough to watch without it, but not a great start to the year, once again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobo joe Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I doubt MJF’s contract is actually up right now, though I wouldn’t put it past TK. I do think he will and should go to WWE when the time comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Taking Jericho off TV right now until this situation gets resolved is the only choice to make right now. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Green Meanie Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 When did they get rid of wrestler rankings? I was thinking about that the other day, I haven't seen them in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) 8 minutes ago, The Green Meanie said: When did they get rid of wrestler rankings? I was thinking about that the other day, I haven't seen them in a while. Going by their website, they stopped updating them in September 2022. Right before All Out 2022. When the promotion first went to hell. It's crazy to think that AEW came out of the COVID-19 pandemic fairly unscathed and weathered that storm fairly well. It was everything came after the pandemic being in the rearview mirror that got them in trouble. Edited January 2 by TheVileOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StretchMediatedHypertrophy Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) 4 hours ago, TheVileOne said: https://youtu.be/ifm5C3VGWXM Taking Jericho off TV right now until this situation gets resolved is the only choice to make right now. Ok so I agreed with you on Sunday. 100%. And we were right. And now....I agree in spirit, but I gotta counsel: Kevin Wilson's question does at least need to be looked at - until what resolution exactly? Now we as a somewhat postmodern progressive culture are at least vaguely content to have ppl (well cis men really) thrown onto the bonfire of social & career death by the mob, based on an accusation by an alleged victim - this does offend some people's sense of natural justice (including that of many board members I suspect). But it's (rule) utilitarianism at work essentially - the *greater* good. Happens all the time, and it's forever. Now a couple of people have argued/implied that the distinction is we don't actually have an explicitly consenting accuser. Maybe, but the problem here is that the mob isn't necessarily going to follow their nuanced version of what they think the rules are. (And really, why should they? Where there is at least the possibility that the alleged victim is bound by a NDA, anyone with a reasonable understanding of structural power & privilege could see why it would be *deeply problematic* to insist on a public accusation). I was bantering with cancel culture with a Gen Z at work a few months ago, & basically he said 'your number comes up, you get cancelled, that's how it works'. Or to put it another way - 'Deserve ain't got nothing to do with it, it's just his time that's all'. And this might just be what we have here. If KR doesn't proactively take any further action (either by making a public statement assuming no pertinent NDA, or making a HR complaint, what fun), should AEW reach out to her because she did the heart tweet (it remains btw)? My view is probably, but I know that's going to be contentious. The other problem with that is you then potentially have a big investigation clouding TV rights negotiations. But if you continue to handwave it all away, yeah it potentially messes up any booking Jericho is anywhere near, but maybe ppl tune in to see how the fans react, and maybe the mob moves on to something else? I mean I'm not that convinced, it feels like Jericho's time, but......this is a man with a lot of friends, he's not accused of anything criminal, there's indeed no solid accusation (as far as we know at least), & on that basis I can very definitely understand deciding not to lean into this. I said right at the start that something like this was the worst possible situation because all the options are terrible. Maybe the mob must be left to do what it will, & then potentially the media execs step in. Leaning the other way & putting the belts on Le Sex Gods would certainly be a choice though. Edited January 2 by StretchMediatedHypertrophy (as far as we know at least) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Without making any judgements on the veracity/validity of whatever did or didn't happen, I do wonder if there is a reason TMZ hasn't touched the story yet. It seems like if there were anything concrete or verifiable out there, they would have been on it by now - stories like this are usually right up their alley. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) 2 hours ago, StretchMediatedHypertrophy said: Ok so I agreed with you on Sunday. 100%. And we were right. And now....I agree in spirit, but I gotta counsel: Kevin Wilson's question does at least need to be looked at - until what resolution exactly? Now we as a somewhat postmodern progressive culture are at least vaguely content to have ppl (well cis men really) thrown onto the bonfire of social & career death by the mob, based on an accusation by an alleged victim - this does offend some people's sense of natural justice (including that of many board members I suspect). But it's (rule) utilitarianism at work essentially - the *greater* good. Happens all the time, and it's forever. Now a couple of people have argued/implied that the distinction is we don't actually have an explicitly consenting accuser. Maybe, but the problem here is that the mob isn't necessarily going to follow their nuanced version of what they think the rules are. (And really, why should they? Where there is at least the possibility that the alleged victim is bound by a NDA, anyone with a reasonable understanding of structural power & privilege could see why it would be *deeply problematic* to insist on a public accusation). I was bantering with cancel culture with a Gen Z at work a few months ago, & basically he said 'your number comes up, you get cancelled, that's how it works'. Or to put it another way - 'Deserve ain't got nothing to do with it, it's just his time that's all'. And this might just be what we have here. If KR doesn't proactively take any further action (either by making a public statement assuming no pertinent NDA, or making a HR complaint, what fun), should AEW reach out to her because she did the heart tweet (it remains btw)? My view is probably, but I know that's going to be contentious. The other problem with that is you then potentially have a big investigation clouding TV rights negotiations. But if you continue to handwave it all away, yeah it potentially messes up any booking Jericho is anywhere near, but maybe ppl tune in to see how the fans react, and maybe the mob moves on to something else? I mean I'm not that convinced, it feels like Jericho's time, but......this is a man with a lot of friends, he's not accused of anything criminal, there's indeed no solid accusation (as far as we know at least), & on that basis I can very definitely understand deciding not to lean into this. I said right at the start that something like this was the worst possible situation because all the options are terrible. Maybe the mob must be left to do what it will, & then potentially the media execs step in. Leaning the other way & putting the belts on Le Sex Gods would certainly be a choice though. It's an excellent question but the problem is there isn't a simple, quick fix, easy solution to all of this. There might never be a solid resolution here that will satisfy all parties. The problem is the way Tony Khan handled this and responded to this at the press conference was embarrassing and made everything worse, and Meltzer and Alvarez said as much too. It's not the best example, but there was a time where Will Ospreay was basically viewed as persona non grata and his career was in tatters over the allegations that he had Pollyana blacklisted. Ospreay's career did at least manage to recover from those allegations even though he wasn't being accused of sexual harassment and assault. He was viewed as someone who was a victim denier and hurting the career of a victim of sexual assault. I don't know if Jericho's career can ever escape this though. While Ric Flair hasn't exactly escaped the allegations, he did manage to find a way clear out of the allegations made by Heidi Doyle on Dark Side of the Ring. Flair denied the allegations. The media eventually forgot about the story and moved on. I'm not saying that's right. I'm not saying those allegations were ever properly addressed, but Flair did lose a sponsorship. Not only that, Flair had already quit WWE before the episode came out. So it wasn't exactly like anyone could fire or cancel Flair. And plus, he's Ric Flair. I'm not saying that's right either, but basically, there was not enough of an issue to derail and incarcerate Flair over the allegations. Plus the matter had already been settled legally (to my recollection). I'm not sure what recourse Jericho has here, and if he will ever address this publicly. I don't know what the solution is here. However, Jericho does have to be taken off TV as that's the only way to PARTIALLY mitigate this situation right now. It sucks, but I think about Kylie Rae too, and my concern is what happened to her once-promising career and what she's been dealing with the past several years. Edited January 2 by TheVileOne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) I think a distinction between Flair and Jericho is perception. Flair getting hammered on a flight and chasing flight attendants in nothing but his ring robe is so specifically a wrestling thing that it can get overlooked for the same reasons Vince got away with a variety of misdeeds over the years: it’s pro wrestling. Jericho, a successful and revered veteran in his profession, offering to help mentor a young woman with her career, and then manipulating the situation to get her alone in a hotel room, is about as clearcut as workplace misconduct can get. It’s literally that one scene in Legally Blonde with Victor Garber and Renee Witherspoon. Even if Flair’s behavior was demonstrably worse, the allegation against Jericho will have a longer tail because it’s so universal. Edited January 2 by (BP) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyJ Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Part of the madness of the internet wrestling world is the stirring and stirring of a nugget of information. I don't think us "asking questions" is doing anything to help the situation as there's now a whole thread giving credence to bare accusations. The right of both the accused and the alleged victim matter. My preference is to reserve judgment until more facts come out and get back to discussing wrestling. 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Wonder if that hypothetical “Golden Jets get a tag team title shot” specifies facing Starks/Bill. It would be kinda silly if it did but also a good way out of having Jericho/Omega wrestle for the tag belts if their title shot went away when Starks/Bill lose the belts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts