AEW - MAY 2025

[just drew]

On 5/9/2025 at 11:44 PM, Casey said:

Yeah, it culminated in Ryder & Hawkins winning then tag titles and then losing them back to the Revival like two months later. To his credit, Hawkins didn’t want the streak to end. There’s a larger conversation to be had about conspiracy theories with Ryder and how WWE always fucked that dude despite remaining insanely over with live crowds. Out of all the people they’ve fired, those two are ones I don’t see going back because of what they’ve built in the last 5 years.

I have never understood the Ryder burial. He was never going to be Hulk Hogan, but he could've been Tito Santana; an over babyface who wrestles midcard champions on opening PPV matches. He was selling an ass of merch, and WWE left money on the table just to dick over a kid who did exactly what they claimed they want teir talent to do.

[AxB]

1 hour ago, SovietShooter said:

Is Beastman on this tour?  I trained that kid...

Beastman wrestled on the JCW show in New Jersey yesterday, so he's probably not on this tour, no.

He has made a pretty impressive shift into being a Deathmatch guy, though.

[Gordi the BJW fan]

4 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

Is Beastman on this tour?  I trained that kid...

According to Cagematch, he's never had a fight in Osaka. He was in BJW's death match tournament in Tokyo in January, and he toured up north in Hokkaido (of all places) with them in July last year. Also per Cagematch he teamed up with Mad Dog Connelly on last week, which sounds cool. (edit: Yesterday, according to AxB) 

If you don't mind my asking, how old are you? If you're calling Beastman "kid" you've got to be close to my age (I'm 59).

In addition to Bakka Gaijin (Pondo and Dale Patrick) and Akira, there are two more gaijin wrestlers on the show: Jacob Crane (a nice kid and good wrestler from Poland) (really a "kid" he's just 23) and Leighton Buzzard (a British wrestler whom I've never seen, looking forward to meeting him/watching him fight). Great name, that. Curious if he'll be the first unfriendly gaijin wrestler I've met in Japan. There was an unfriendly gaijin at my gym last week. Although that might have been my fault for laughing at him for screaming while doing cable curls. Although, the last "unfriendly gaijin" in my gym turned out to be just kind of shy and is now a drinking buddy. This most recent curl-screamer (definitely a "look at me" kind of scream) was most likely just visiting Japan, so that's unlikely to happen.

I'm on a VERY long run of pro wrestler after pro wrestler being incredibly friendly, here in Japan (and back home in Vancouver, too). It's been ridiculous. Bodyguard is on the BJW card, too. Teaming with Sekimoto! I'd consider Bodyguard an actual friend. I hope he'd agree. Sekimoto is often too busy to chat, but he did do posedown pictures with me once, so he gets a permanent pass.

 

All that friendliness, and the real sense of community I feel in the Osaka (and Vancouver)wrestling scene, really inform the way I approach AEW. (bringing it back on topic). Curious if you get a very warm welcome if you go to local shows. I'm assuming comped tickets, hanging out before doors open, afterparties, etc etc.

Edited May 13, 2025 by Gordi the BJW fan

[Peck]

4 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

Is Beastman on this tour?  I trained that kid...

Met him a couple of times over the years. Seems like a good dude. Wheeling guy like myself.

[SovietShooter]

38 minutes ago, Gordi the BJW fan said:

If you don't mind my asking, how old are you? If you're calling Beastman "kid" you've got to be close to my age (I'm 59).

47

I started training him back in like '05.  He debuted late in '07 under a mask as The Bulldozer.  My last match was back in 2011, before he started doing the Beastman gimmick.

 

34 minutes ago, Peck said:

Wheeling guy like myself.

I wrestled all over WV, but in the Wheeling area a lot.  We used to run like four shows a year up at buckeye Middle School in  Brilliant as fund raisers for the athletic dept, and we'd draw like 300 to their big-ass gym.  For awhile we ran monthly in various rec centers in Wheeling, Moundsville, Martins Ferry, etc.  Sometimes we drew some really decent houses for that area. 

[Peck]

10 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

I wrestled all over WV, but in the Wheeling area a lot.  We used to run like four shows a year up at buckeye Middle School in  Brilliant as fund raisers for the athletic dept, and we'd draw like 300 to their big-ass gym.  For awhile we ran monthly in various rec centers in Wheeling, Moundsville, Martins Ferry, etc.  Sometimes we drew some really decent houses for that area. 

I lived in Yorkville for a couple of years back in the mid-2000s so I know exactly what and where you're talking about. Last Indy show around here I went to was in Glendale, summer of 2017. SCWA I think? They brought in Shane Douglas, Jannetty and Barbarian that day. Shane went to the same small college above Wheeling that I went to(although about 20 years before me.. lol) and we had a mutual friend from there so we ended up grabbing some food and beers with him after the show for a couple hours. Great time. Here's us at that show with Shane and Barb, I'm rocking the old school Hills shirt. Haha

https://i.postimg.cc/DwGGzqzB/IMG-1746.jpg

[AxB]

AEW has announced another multi-week summer residency for this year. Between July 15th and 31st they'll be running the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois. The city they run more than any other.

[SovietShooter]

I know when they ran the e-sports arena in Arlington, that was in conjunction with the city, and tied I to the announcement for All In - essentially they were "sold shows".

Are these "residencies" in Philly & Chicago just AEW running the venues, or is there some tie in like in Arlington?

[Casey]

Aragon Ballroom looks cool as fuck so I'm not gonna complain about a residency there.

[NoFistsJustFlips]

They need to be careful with these residency deals. Drawing a crowd in the same city 6 or 7 times in a row can be dicey. Worked out okay in Arlington. Chicago especially is a city they have ran to death. Don't entirely understand the thought process unless its just a financial thing.

[twiztor]

58 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

They need to be careful with these residency deals. Drawing a crowd in the same city 6 or 7 times in a row can be dicey. Worked out okay in Arlington. Chicago especially is a city they have ran to death. Don't entirely understand the thought process unless its just a financial thing.

not exactly the same, but they've done "All In Week" or whatever at least once in Chicago already. Between that and Arlington last year, they should be aware of the dangers. I'm curious, if they get this to work out well and if it becomes a regular occurrence.

[NoFistsJustFlips]

I hope not. I dont see how these mini residencies are any different than TNA taping at the Impact Zone or NXT in front of the same audience. Not quite as bad because its just 3 or 4 weeks at a time vs all year.

[Sex Machine Gun]

Yeah, seriously. I don't want there to be a Dynamite Zone.

[stuntmanc]

I have a feeling it's going to work out extremely well in Philadelphia for what it's worth.  I think it should only be like a once or twice a year thing.

[Just Adam Bay Bay]

I’m posting this because Niners Fan asked me in the WWE thread why Jamie Hayter should win at Double or Nothing. And while I’m not sure we can have a good discussion about it here’s my reasons why:

Jamie hasn’t had a definitive win since coming back not even in the tournament so far. So to re-establish her as a dominant force beating Mercedes is a great choice.

Mercedes doesn’t defend the belt she already has on TV rarely ever so why put her in a match to win another one? 

Mercedes despite Becky Lynch drawing Hogan comparisons is the female Hogan of her time. She makes boo boo face when she has to job, or like last week flat out doesn’t job to lose a title. 

If Hayter doesn’t win what’s she doing at All In? Mercedes already has a match with Athena that would require zero buildup and people would want to see it again. 

Jamie is on tv weekly (or close enough) putting on quality performances and not relying on piped in crowd noise to make herself seem over. 

Jamie hasn’t ever got a rematch after losing the belt to Toni Storm so that also would draw fan interest. 

[twiztor]

1 hour ago, Just Adam Bay Bay said:

I’m posting this because Niners Fan asked me in the WWE thread why Jamie Hayter should win at Double or Nothing. And while I’m not sure we can have a good discussion about it here’s my reasons why:

i think Mercedes winning is the most likely scenario. Virtually a guarantee with how they've been teasing Toni/Mercedes already.

That being said, i also think Hayter winning would be more interesting for the division at large, and for me personally. Hayter hasn't regained her aura from before she left, but i think it's right there, bubbling beneath the surface. 

[HarryArchieGus]

I'd love to see Hayter score a couple big wins, but I'm also okay with arguably the bigger Mone match.  

3 hours ago, stuntmanc said:

I have a feeling it's going to work out extremely well in Philadelphia for what it's worth.  I think it should only be like a once or twice a year thing.

Yeah, that's a fun residency. I sense it'll be a success too. I just hope they stay a bit more traditional (in the ECW sense) with the set-up. Keep the big video screens in the warehouse. Give me random vines, a curtain, some holes in the wall. Keep the barricade closed in. 

I'm also curious to see how this Aragon Ballroom residency in Chicago works out. That is a beautiful looking venue. I remember an ECW show from there looking fuckinfantastic. I like these residencies - I'm All In if they ever settle on a Toronto residency. Obviously with this kinda thing there's always a worry of whether they can sell all the shows, but it's not a good reason not to try. My only complaint about the Esports shows was the set-up. They had the hardcam set on the aisle way and screen - never a good look (unless you're going for the retro Pandemic). That said, they've figured out how to shoot these smaller cooler venues pretty well over the last 6 months.  

[Niners Fan in CT]

Yeah,  I'm not going to bother about DoN because whenever I see someone call Mercedes "Hogan"  I know they aren't a serious poster.  Her and Harley Cameron are real life friends and Mercedes trained with her.  That's likely the reason why they were in a small program together and Harley said herself on Jericho's pod that Mercedes is the one who came up with the idea for "Mini Mone'"  and asked Harley if she could do it.  

Mercedes never had a title reign in WWE longer than like 30 days.  Maybe the SD! one during the Covid Era but that's about it.  She ALWAYS put everyone over... all the time.  It was also her idea to work with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania and Bianca just had an interview the other day raving about Mercedes and how Mercedes wanted to make her look great in that match and led the way.  

Mercedes is selfless,  sometimes too selfless and almost every woman on AEW's roster and WWE's roster get along fine with her.  Willow and Statlander were both in interviews recently raving about how much they like Mercedes and how awesome she's been with all the ladies there.  

So I'm supposed to ignore all of these interviews and facts from people in the industry but believe random people on the internet that she's some Hogan type trying to bury everyone?  Lol.  

[Kevin Wilson]

While I like Mercedes a lot so I'm not going to slight her as a person/wrestler, I do think its more *interesting* booking-wise if Hayter wins at DoN so that's what I'll be rooting for. For one thing I don't want a unification match at All In, the women already have trouble getting TV time and I don't think unifying the titles will help that (as if they did Toni vs Mercedes I'd think Mercedes would win, so even if her title wasn't on the line I'd expect a double champion). I also love Hayter and would love to see a rematch with Toni on the big stage. Finally, I think if someone goes undefeated for too long it almost becomes a curse, where suddenly the fans overly focus on it and think the person now *can't* lose unless its a super special moment and then also how to book a wrestler that just had a long undefeated streak which can be difficult as we've seen before in wrestling history. So it would get that "loss" off Mercedes back while she still has a title and can also have a big All In match as well. I think having two big women's title matches at All In is better then one. I actually thought she'd lose to Athena via roll-up or something for the same reason, to further storylines and to get the undefeated AEW streak out of the way but obviously that didn't happen.

So, I do want Hayter to win but not as a knock on Mercedes, I just like the direction it would send things if she did and Hayter is great.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I can see both sides of it.  Hayter/Toni would be great but it's also 'ALL IN' which is AEW's biggest show of the year and Tony Khan might be thinking a Toni Storm vs. Mercedes feud will move more tickets and PPV buys. 

Right now they are at about 14,000 sold.  Not a terrible number but for that stadium to look good they are going to need to get up around 30,000 in attendance.  

I'm not saying people should care about the business aspects and I'm not saying Hayter can't sell tickets,  I'm just saying what Tony might be thinking and I don't think it's "Wrong" to think that.  

[TheVileOne]

I think limited residencies can work, especially if they can do a location with a unique atmosphere or look. I'd like to see a return to Universal Studios, which I think AEW ran before with some tapings of Dark and ROH.

[porksweats]

39 minutes ago, TheVileOne said:

I think limited residencies can work, especially if they can do a location with a unique atmosphere or look. I'd like to see a return to Universal Studios, which I think AEW ran before with some tapings of Dark and ROH.

I was a big fan of those Universal Studio Darks at the end. I don't know if I'd want a Dynamite/Collision at Universal per say but I'd definitely love another ROH taping batch there.

[HarryArchieGus]

8 minutes ago, porksweats said:

I was a big fan of those Universal Studio Darks at the end. I don't know if I'd want a Dynamite/Collision at Universal per say but I'd definitely love another ROH taping batch there.

Those shows were a treat. Easily my favorite era of TKROH.

[Casey]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UgOqV9hK1o

Kenny Omega has a two hour conversation with Adi Shankar about video games, anime, Devil May Cry and wrestling. I think the newz websites have picked this up because Kenny said they "can't do BTE anymore", not because they don't want to but implying they aren't allowed to.

---

Anyway, RE: Toni's match at All In:

Obviously, versus Hayter has more story to it. But if you're doing a big stadium show - and this'll hurt for some people to hear - you want the big marquee matches. And that's Mercedes Mone versus Toni Storm. Plain and simple, straight up. That's the biggest women's match they've got right now, and it doesn't even have a story yet. Add in a month+ of build-up and I think it could be pretty good. Plus, Toni has never wrestled Mercedes one-on-one believe it or not. But, there's also the problem of who does it benefit? Toni beating Mercedes just adds to the list of women she's beaten, which is seemingly everyone at this point. Mercedes winning only adds to her winning streak, and now she holds two titles (provided she doesn't lose the TBS title before then, which I doubt).

I mean, if you REALLY want to heat Jamie Hayter back up, beating Mercedes and then Toni is a hell of a way to do it.

[username]

I think heating Hayter up is less a matter of giving her some big wins and more working on her presentation IMO, I'd sort that out first.