Coffey

I could definitely see Triple H & Ric Flair both being 3x inductees. They're both two-time already. Ric Flair with the IV Horsemen & solo & Triple H solo & with DeGeneration-X. All they would have to do is induct Evolution as a stable, which I certainly wouldn't put it passed WWE doing, since all four of them were main eventers. Plus anytime they can get someone that moved on from WWE to other things, like Batista, to come back & make an appearance, they seem to jump at the opportunity. I guess it could be argued that Evolution did turn both Randy Orton & Batista into bonafide main eventers. They were all world champions & Flair got a tag title run from the stable. The HHH/Batista feud was memorable, I reckon. At least the Batista turning babyface part. Not like WWE needs to really justify the criteria for their own Hall of Fame anyway, I reckon, but I'm sure they could justify the important of Evolution with some video packages & typical WWE hoopla. Now, with the apparent falling out of HHH with Vince (and HHH recent health), Ric Flair always being in the news for bad reason (like helicopter dick) or Batista just saying "no thanks" - I could see those reasons being an issue.

I know there's the whole "respectfully" gimmick kind of going on around PWO but I'm genuinely curious about the "mandate" that supposedly was made for NXT 2.0 as it pertains to the women. Nikkita Lyons is going to be a star. And we would be daft if we didn't acknowledge it's because of how she looks & that she oozes sex appeal. Modern sex appeal, too. Not like Vince McMahon 1980's Playboy sex appeal. Also, if you watch NXT, you obviously notice the difference in ring gear, with girls like Gigi Dolin. So my question is, what happens if any of these women get called up if they don't have the same kind of mandate on the main rosters? Because I see it as just more setting people up for failure if they get over in NXT one way and then have to worry about it being stripped from them on the main roster, just like when they took Scarlett away from Killer Cross.

The HBO Max deal would, indeed, be a big, good announcement. I would also love to see #DemBoyz show up just because the fan in me really wants to see the Briscoes work FTR, Young Bucks, Lucha Bros., Proud N' Powerful, ReDragon & Kings of the Black Throne in AEW. They're really firing on all cylinders heading into the PPV. The matches & angles are all interesting & intriguing. Plus, AEW has that "anything can happen" feel, that WWE lost quite awhile ago. We know all the names of the free agents & many of them showing up would make a pretty big splash. Even with the bloated AEW roster right now.

I'm just now hearing about this; I don't know if it's old news or not. So, a woman went into the locker room so Austin Aries made her kiss his balls... and that's not sexual abuse? I mean, he literally admits to it...

Kane was a terrible wrestler for like thirty years. He's only been in politics for a few years & is some how worse. That's actually impressive...

So they'll unify the titles again. Then end the brand split again. Then split the titles again & do a brand split again, just like the last times. lol

Harvey Wimpleman, maybe?

All completely valid questions & to me, a big part of the reason why Wrestlemania is just not appealing at all this year. WWE need to build new stars & then actually elevate them & use them. Instead, when WWE gets new names, they seem to have them trade a lot of wins/losses in the mid-card, or just have them start doing goofy comedy. Hell, half the time they push a new babyface to the main event and then START the comedy there. It's really weird. Bron should be oh the main roster & called Steiner already, in example.

Y'know, now that you mention it, with all the talent that Cody has worked against, it really says a lot about Dustin Rhodes that they had such a good match together. A lot of the other Cody matches, even before AEW when he was on that Indy tour like you mentioned, I remember being really underwhelmed by.

Bivens is great. There's been quite a few good managers over the years that I enjoyed: Prince Nana, Larry Sweeney, Armando Estrada, I liked Dutch too but that shit they gave him with Swagger wasn't great. But yeah, they should go all the way with Bivens.

This really deserves its own thread. This is really big AEW news that shouldn't get lost in a megathread. Anyway we can separate 'em by a mod? It's interesting to me mostly because I'm not sure why Cody would potentially want to go back to WWE. Maybe there's something there that can still entice him, that AEW can not provide, like getting the rights to his dad's stuff or something? Or maybe he thinks due to his stint in AEW he can be a WWE main eventer now & be at the top of a card? I'm not sure. I do know that he has done really well for himself, outside of wrestling, with multiple shows now. So it's not just going to be money. I'm wondering if he really did have a big falling out with the Young Bucks & Omega. Or maybe it was with Tony Khan, who knows? His PPV match against Dustin was great but I won't shed tears over Brandi's departure, that's for sure.

I like MJF, and think he's a pretty good heel, but I don't see him as a top guy. Never have. For what it's worth, I don't see Hangman Page as a top guy either & he seems to be doing pretty well as champion.

Well they brought in Mark Henry & Paul Wight, put them in other roles & they've been fine. I'm not saying Joe needs to wrestle weekly but I wouldn't be against Joe having a faction & his faction feuding with Taz's faction or something like that. He's still a great talker & has an aura about him. Have Joe corrupt Hook away from his father.

How long until Samoa Joe can potentially show up in AEW? I would love to see a reunion of Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson & C.M. Punk. Hell, can they bring in Chris Hero, too?

Man, I'll admit, Danhausen is fuckin' over, for sure.

Maybe they can get Paul London instead. That would be an upgrade anyway.

Even in years past when people would put over Shane it was cause of shit like his match with Kurt Angle where he was taking dumbass bumps through glass. Or being he would do a shitty Van Terminator with a garbage can. Dude has always been the drizzling shits. I'll never forget the awful television that was the Mean Street Posse & them jabrones trying to convince us that Shane McMahon was tough.

Agreed. It makes me think back to my childhood watching WWF in the 80's. What was different? Maybe it's just because I was younger. I know when Hogan was on top, it wasn't like anyone else was going to really get a chance to shine on top. I do however vividly remember liking multiple people on the roster for a lot of different reasons. The Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man, Texas Tornado, Jake the Snake, Tito Santana, Big Bossman, etc. I look at the roster today & not even looking for main eventers, I can't even find anyone likeable. Unless it's like "Oh, well this might be a good match" but ultimately, a good match doesn't matter. During the Rumble, each person that came out just felt like going up another rung on the ladder of disappointment. The only people that really felt fresh to me when coming out were Matt Riddle & Damian Priest. Maybe Rick Boogz but his name & shit is nonsense. WWE is also seemingly continually in the thought process that tomorrow matters more than today. So even when you get to the big shows, like Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania, you're not even getting the payoffs anymore, you're still getting "wait for RAW tomorrow!" Now more than ever as they killed their own PPV model & now focus on TV contract money. But then those TV shows themselves are too long & full of never-ending fluff. I have no idea what the end game is. It literally feels like they're just rolling their wheels until Vince McMahon dies. Even if the goal is to sell WWE to someone.

In my mind, I don't see guys like Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley or Kevin Owens as stars. I don't buy them as main eventers. They come off as b-team to me. That's why when someone like Roman or Brock come out, they feel like such a bigger deal. I think Matt Riddle's goofy ass has more of a shot at being made than McIntyre, Lashley or Owens.

I think a lot of it is just because it ended on such a bad note. Roman/Seth was good. Women's Rumble was fine & Ronda's return was cool. Lesnar/Lashley was fine & did a good job setting up the future. Even the mixed tag had a fun ending couple of minutes. But Becky/Drop & the men's Rumble were both the shits & that's what the crowd goes home with fresh in their minds. That men's Rumble could have really used a few cool return surprises & a lot less filler. I also think it's not a good look when the "big stars" of the match, the people that should get pops, are guys like Big E, Kevin Owens & Drew McIntyre. Those guys are all so far below top guy star level that it makes them look even worse when they come out to a ring full of scrubs.

That was an all-time bad men's Rumble match.

He's the biggest star in there by far.

Good. RIP that stupid Kofi spot shit.

Kevin Owens looks like he's dropped some weight since the last time I saw him.

These entrants are so lackluster it's actually sad. Like I would pop for Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs at this point.