C.S.

You're missing the point of who this show is for... Rasslin' geeks, fans in the bubble, PWO/GWE posters, ROHbots, "THIS IS AWESOME!" and "YOU DESERVE IT!" types - it's not for any of them. AEW has all of those viewers already. The goal of this is to generate new fans outside the bubble. If no one watches it, no real harm done - it gets cancelled, fades away quietly, and becomes a future punchline on BTE. I'm only seeing upsides to this, and clearly so are Cody, Brandi, Tony, and TNT. Then you don't give a flying fuck about AEW's future survival. This post is exactly why AEW needs to grow its audience beyond the toxic geek message board bubble rasslin' fanbase. But I get the sense that some folks here wouldn't really care if AEW is gasping for breath in ten years on a z-grade network or streaming service, completely irrelevant - just like Impact is - as long a Chris Bey type does cool flips for $25 a night while working a Hot Topic mall kiosk on the side. It isn't for us though. AEW already has us. This is a stab at attracting outside audiences. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Cody has taken acting classes and he's a wrestler, so I'm sure he knows how to work it for the cameras. But even if the show is boring and no one watches it, no real harm done - it will fade away and be forgotten about. The downsides are minimal and the upsides are much bigger. It's easily worth the risk.

The rasslin' bubble, ladies and gentlemen. No one had a problem with Total Divas, Total Bellas, or Miz and Mrs. before or during the pandemic, so why have a problem with this? I have no idea if this reality show will be a success or even good, but this is absolutely what a small startup company like AEW should be doing - especially during a pandemic. Cody, Brandi, and Tony K. have absolutely nothing to lose - except maybe their own privacy and dignity, which is their decision - and everything to gain if it gets new eyeballs on AEW. Total Divas/Bellas definitely did that for WWE, and my sister has watched Miz and Mrs. in the past, so these things do attract outside audiences. At worst, no one watches the show, it gets cancelled, and it becomes a future punchline on BTE before fading away and being completely forgotten. No real harm done. The numerous potential upsides are more than worth the minimal risk.

Eli Drake - excuse me, L.A. Knight - just lost to Bronson Reed. I wonder if the honeymoon is over and he already has heat?

Batista openly said Khali's reign with the World Title made him sick to his stomach.

Christian Cage is giving that youngster Frankie Kazarian the opportunity of a lifetime in a match that is sure to be an Instant Classic.

I assume Kane is the headliner? I wonder if Batista backed out because of his complete and utter disdain for Khali. Is Kane still under contract? I wonder if it works differently for people who already work for WWE vs. former wrestlers. Maybe being inducted into the HOF is buried in the contract's fine print as a future obligation if they're chosen? That could open the door for these emotional surprises.

Can't wait for rasslin' fans to embarrass themselves once again by tweetstorming Peacock asking for the restoration of blackface. (But just for the record, as misguided as that whole thing was even then, I don't think it should've been edited out. Expect a lot more of this going forward though.)

Admit it: You love my posts and so-called "contrarian" opinions.

Great post! I agree with most of what you said. I'll find myself in the odd position of defending Jake Hager though. I'm not a fan and I hope he wasn't paid stupid money to sign. With that said, he has exceeded every possible expectation and earned his spot. For all of the WWE/TNA also-rans we can bitch about, Hager doesn't deserve to be included among them. I wouldn't cut Marko. The guy is absolutely a special attraction. The minute Big Show vs. Marko Stunt is announced for Dynamite, I'm first in line. Colt and Janela don't appeal to me at all, but they have inexplicable fan followings, so I don't know. I'd keep Colt and have him help AEW launch podcasts and things like that. Matt Sydal never should've been signed. They have 20 kids who do the same thing and do it much better than he can after years of wear and tear. I defended Shawn Spears at first, but he hasn't been nearly as over in AEW as he was in NXT and his first few appearances in WWE as The Perfect Ten. There's probably a reason he was in developmental for so many years. Christian should not only topple Kenny for the AEW World Title after Callis turns on him and embraces a "real Canadian," he should also take over Kenny's "belt collector" gimmick and then conquer the NWA, ROH, and NJPW. I may be trolling. Slight possibility. Magic 8-Ball says "Uncertain." But the delusion is strong with you if you think Christian's promo had anything to do with anything that's said on this board. I know you all think "Coach Tony K" secretly lurks here - spoiler alert: he doesn't - but now we're collectively thinking Christian does too? Well, if he does, we know who his favorite poster is.

Weird, with Christian being positioned strong in the Rumble as one of the final four. I wonder if that spot is something fans take more seriously than Vince, Hunter, etc. do.

Christian would've been such an awesome addition to the current roster. WWE lost out big time by never realizing and valuing what they had in him.

Are they trying to make Braun the biggest geek imaginable?!

Just don't get some cheap knockoff tablet that might have malware or spyware on it. Stick to recognized name brands (Samsung Galaxy, etc.).

My only experience with Fire tablets are the cheapest models, which I got because, like you, "I didn't need it for much" - but I personally found those pretty sluggish and underwhelming. I can't say if the more expensive Fire tablets are better. Definitely look at the specs of the cheapest Fire, the cheapest iPad, and compare those to the Fire you're thinking of. See if there's a big difference. Also read reviews. I have the cheapest base model iPad, and it's night and day to the cheapest Fire, but the Fire was $50 and the iPad was $300, so the price is night and day too. If the $150 Fire is much better than the $50 Fire and comparable to the $300 iPad, it might be worth considering. Speaking from personal experience, I've had a couple of FireTV devices and a couple of Fire tablets, and I didn't really liked any of them in the long run. I much prefer iPad and Roku. (The B&W e-ink Kindle devices are pretty good though, but that's not what you're asking about.) I hated the forked Android ecosystem the Fire tablets use, because it's not even real Android and I'm not sure how consistently the Amazon version of apps are updated compared to Google Play. (You can sideload apps, and probably jailbreak if you want more functionality, but I never bother with that stuff.) At least with an iPad, I know what I'm getting with iOS.

I found this very curious too. I wonder if Orton meant he wasn't interested in working with Drew earlier in their careers?

So did I, because I was hearing results as the WWE PPV was going on. Glad to be wrong.

I hope you're right, but it wouldn't surprise me if a number of those people pirated the show. It's on Peacock now (in the U.S.), which is free if you have Xfinity cable, or $2.50 until SummerSlam and then $5 after that, and there's a lot more than just WWE on it. No, not weird - incompetent. Same here. It's a baffling business model. Hope it works out for them though.

This is the shits but Bray's mask game is on point. Another great new look.

Seth Rollins > Low-Ki, and it's not even close. I'm not a huge Seth fan, but he's an actual STAR who has proven he can have good matches with a wide variety of opponents and be a lasting contributor to any company he works for. Basically, the very opposite of Low-Ki. I would never waste even a second of my time hiring and dealing with overrated, unreliable malcontents like Low-Ki and Austin Aries who are their own biggest fans but have never made a single ounce of difference to any organization they've ever been in.

Did Drew just freak injure his lower back, or has he been selling that all along? It seemed awkward for him to start selling it after climbing the ring apron to look at the WrestleMania sign after the match.

Remember when Elias seemed like a hot prospect? Those days are long over. The useless jackass he's saddled with as his second doesn't help either.

Is that ABYSS?!?! (Old Spice guy)

After that hot beginning, it was a pretty boring match. The post-match attack was great though.

Older. And I'd say that even if you started watching wrestling last week. I couldn't believe it when Shane came back with gray hair and Vince was still dying his black/dark brown.