AEW - January 2022

[Guest Stefanie Without Stefanie]

16 minutes ago, Craig H said:

Eddie looks like the type of guy that would convince me that the two of us could re-roof my house and I would 100% go along with it. 

"Come on pahtnah, those contractors are a scam. We got this! You and me and a weekend. S'all we need."

[Jiji]

I would hope as predominantly an agent/coach. He was an Elite Hunter who constantly posed no threat to The Elite. Then he just got his ass kicked in a terrible match against a Kane-type title challenger. He's not got much more to give at this point unless he finds a new tag partner or something and even then.

[HarryArchieGus]

Glad to hear the news! Doc Gallows scoring a victory over Elite Hunter Kazarian was indeed an odd booking choice. Prior to that, for a minute, it looked they might be positioning Frankie to do what became the Christian/Impact title transition.  I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, he made an attack on Kenny/Good Bros in the 'Impact Zone' that seemed leading to a title bout.  As it played out he certainly looked like a lame duck following the Gallows loss.  I'd suggest that booking choice was AEW throwing Impact a bone - having one of there's go over on Dynamite. Regardless, Frankie's clearly a generous team player.  He's a consistently strong JTTS, and I appreciate his, perhaps, underappreciated role.

[John from Cincinnati]

LOL, Frankie was never going to beat Kenny for the belt. 

[HarryArchieGus]

59 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

LOL, Frankie was never going to beat Kenny for the belt. 

Thanks for letting me know.  

[For Great Justice]

Frankie in the ring serves a purpose if used properly IMO. How many babyface mechanics are on the roster at that level (Dark/Elevation to main show gatekeeper)? Matt Sydal is one. Jay Lethal but he's a little higher up. You need someone for Max Caster or whoever to get reps against in Dark main events.

[Jiji]

What does beating Frankie Kazarian even do for people though? Talk about not having any credibility left. I feel like Caster and Bowens are well above him at this point in the pecking order. 

[(BP)]

I’d like a heel Christian/Kaz mean vets tag team. I think that’d be the best use of them both. Plenty of teams on the roster could learn something from them. 

[Technico Support]

Frankie Kazarian : The Elite :: Elmer Fudd : Bugs Bunny

[Jiji]

8 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

Frankie Kazarian : The Elite :: Elmer Fudd : Bugs Bunny

But if Fudd were the babyface. Talk about a death.

[MrKothoga]

2 hours ago, Jiji said:

What does beating Frankie Kazarian even do for people though? Talk about not having any credibility left. I feel like Caster and Bowens are well above him at this point in the pecking order. 

Giving people like Aaron Solow, Alan Angels, Alex Reynolds, Angelico, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Darius Martin, Griff Garrison, Lee Moriarty or Nick Comoroto their first win on a Dynamite or Rampage or a "big" win in a Dark main event.

I mean, he could even be a nice next opponent for Hook who hasn't beaten anyone so far who's even remotely at Kazarians level. It still means more to beat Kazarian than to beat Fuego, Solow or Serpentico.

Not having any credibility left is a bit too far for my liking. He still has a Dark padded winning record and he's a former tag champion, that's still something to put over.

But, yeah, Caster and Bowens are above him at this point.

Edited January 27, 2022 by MrKothoga

[Jiji]

3 minutes ago, MrKothoga said:

Giving people like Aaron Solow, Alan Angels, Alex Reynolds, Angelico, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Darius Martin, Griff Garrison, Lee Moriarty or Nick Comoroto their first win on a Dynamite or Rampage or a "big" win in a Dark main event.

Gunn Club > Frankie in 2022 in terms of kayfabe credibility. As with most of those guys. I don't think we'll see the day when guys below Frankie are getting wins on TV over him aside from maybe HOOK but he's beating QT and presented as a face.

[Matt D]

It was on the record that Kazarian was the only person Khan trusted with Christian's first match back, for instance. Frankly, they have way more mid-level heels than they have mid-level faces, so it's good to have him there. Everyone's problem currently is with the Elite Hunter gimmick and the fact that the Archer match was a situation misfire (and I have my theories about that).

[(BP)]

Being a great wrestler doesn’t always overlap with being a great gatekeeper. I think JTTSs have to be people who were once extremely over and have lifelong equity or someone with a gimmick that makes them bulletproof. 

[JLowe]

I know nothing about this Elite Hunter gimmick (again, only been following for 4-5 months now) but recently he's been announced as the Heavy Metal Rebel (and it's on his trunks). And since I had to look at Goggle to remind me of the specific name, I see that's an old gimmick/name that predates AEW.

[(BP)]

2 minutes ago, JLowe said:

I know nothing about this Elite Hunter gimmick

Imagine if every WCW lower mid carder who swore they were going to get a piece of the NWO in C Show interview segments then jobbed was one guy. That’s about it. 

[Matt D]

10 minutes ago, (BP) said:

Being a great wrestler doesn’t always overlap with being a great gatekeeper. I think JTTSs have to be people who were once extremely over and have lifelong equity or someone with a gimmick that makes them bulletproof. 

Beating Lee Johnson (especially if he comes out with Arn) means more than beating Antonio Zambrano.

[(BP)]

9 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Beating Lee Johnson (especially if he comes out with Arn) means more than beating Antonio Zambrano.

Maybe to us because we’d get to speculate on what that means, but I don’t think it would get that person over. At best I’d assume they needed another guy on Lee’s level to job to the Nese’s and Garcia’s in competitive Dark main events. 
 

Edit: I used possessive apostrophes when I shouldn’t. My brain is dying and it’s fine. 

Edited January 27, 2022 by (BP)

[Matt D]

2 minutes ago, (BP) said:

Maybe to us because we’d get to speculate on what that means, but I don’t think it would get that person over. At best I’d assume they needed another guy on Lee’s level to job to the Nese’s and Garcia’s in competitive Dark main events. 
 

Edit: I used possessive apostrophes when I shouldn’t. My brain is dying and it’s fine. 

I guess the question is who are we dealing with that's not us. I want to liken this to me as a kid feeling differently about someone beating Jim Powers relative to Barry Hardy. But kids? Eh.

Let's look at our pal @JLowewho is not super familiar with the intricacies of the product. He may not get Kazarian's whole deal, but he knows that Kazarian is signed and that he has a history and that he has theme music and a tron. It registers differently beating him than just some guy who is already in the ring when the match starts. And there's probably some difference in beating him than beating a Wheeler Yuta sort who's obviously young and learning.

Moreover, they can book a longer match, a more intricate one, for the crowd. If Adam Cole gives too much offense to some jobber on Elevation, it makes him look worse. If he gave half the match to Kazarian, no one's going to question that and you can have a real Adam Cole match vs a squash.

[JLowe]

5 minutes ago, Matt D said:

I guess the question is who are we dealing with that's not us. I want to liken this to me as a kid feeling differently about someone beating Jim Powers relative to Barry Hardy. But kids? Eh.

Let's look at our pal @JLowewho is not super familiar with the intricacies of the product. He may not get Kazarian's whole deal, but he knows that Kazarian is signed and that he has a history and that he has theme music and a tron. It registers differently beating him than just some guy who is already in the ring when the match starts. And there's probably some difference in beating him than beating a Wheeler Yuta sort who's obviously young and learning.

Moreover, they can book a longer match, a more intricate one, for the crowd. If Adam Cole gives too much offense to some jobber on Elevation, it makes him look worse. If he gave half the match to Kazarian, no one's going to question that and you can have a real Adam Cole match vs a squash.

It does help that I remember hearing about Kazarian on RSPW and DVDVR back when he was a young up-and-comer with Chris Daniels

[JLowe]

Thanks to this board, Danhausen showed up as a "friend suggestion" when I logged onto FB. And apparently, we have one mutual friend.

[HarryArchieGus]

It makes little to no sense complaining about a low card workhorse/teacher not having crediblity.  The point of the Kazarian signing isn't to ready him at his excelled age for a title run or even a one on one feud.  Kazarian's there to continue to help out backstage with the younger talent and when the time is right in ring to 'pass the torch' regularly.  On top of that, his 'credibility' is he has good matches with capable partners - see the aforementioned Christian match and the one with Hangman, etc.  I love Kazarian's generous contribution.  I'm glad to see him continue to receive gainful employment.

Edited January 27, 2022 by HarryArchieGus

[chriskbrown50]

1 hour ago, (BP) said:

Being a great wrestler doesn’t always overlap with being a great gatekeeper. I think JTTSs have to be people who were once extremely over and have lifelong equity or someone with a gimmick that makes them bulletproof. 

Frankie has some name value - the mid-card face spots who can work a longer match? 

You have the Varsity Blondes but they are still green.  

[Shartnado]

2 hours ago, JLowe said:

Thanks to this board, Danhausen showed up as a "friend suggestion" when I logged onto FB. And apparently, we have one mutual friend.

Not Conan O'Brian?!?

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

I think it's interesting to navel-gaze about "Do wins and losses really matter (to me)?" 

In some cases, like say Danielson vs Kenny, for me personally, "Who's gonna win this one?" becomes a big part of my anticipation and excitement. I buy into the nearfalls and pop several times and it makes it all cooler and more exciting. That's the best. I love when I get fooled by a 2.999...

But it's not like I think the guy who wins is a "better" wrestler because they won.

In a case like "seasoned veteran mid-card stalwart vs young up and comer" I guess there's a sense of "wondering if they will put the young guy over" but for the most part I'm just hoping for a good match. If Frankie Kazarian is in the ring, I am generally really confident that I am getting a good match. 

I joke about wanting to see Legit Leyla, JD Drake, and Bear Country run wild, win every match, and hold all the belts. But in fact their lower-card striver status is a big part of what I love about them. And, with Tay Conti as an example, we know that it's legit possible to climb the ladder from the YouTube shows to the main event in AEW. 

So that's exciting, but for me personally they can lose every "big" match and I'll still be stoked to see them. 

And Jeff Jarrett in TNA or HHH in, I dunno, 2004 WWE or whomever can win every important match and it actually makes me like them less.

if Cody never lost, people would genuinely f'n despise him. His willingness to put other wrestlers over big is one of the best things about him as a professional wrestler. 

It's cool and to interesting to have a variety of opinions and takes. I'm genuinely surprised that so many people (here and elsewhere) seem to actually give two craps about who wins and who loses in the mid-card. I'd kind of assumed that we all cared more about seeing lots of good exciting matches, and that a good worker doesn't need to go over to stay over.

Edited January 28, 2022 by Gordlow
stupid sexy Flanders