All Elite Wrestling

[Ricky Jackson]

Thesz was the one who gave Buddy the "easy way or the hard way" line before the title switch in Toronto. I think Buddy may have balked at being told he had to lose in less than a minute to Bruno, but by that time he had serious heart issues and had to stop wrestling anyway

[The Thread Killer]

38 minutes ago, C.S. said:

I never want to see anyone lose their job, but I also never understood the point of AEW bringing in Fish, Tony Nese, Matt Sydal (is he still there?), and other ham 'n eggers like that who are a dime a dozen and have never made a difference anywhere. 

I assume Fish already knew he was a goner by the time he made those tweets, but if they're the reason he's being let go, good riddance - acting like an unprofessional jackoff about a co-worker's ring skills when yours are the drizzling shits in comparison, and you're not 1/10th the star, is a more than valid reason for TK not to re-sign someone. 

I had no issue with Fish being there as long as it was as a part of The Undisputed Era or more importantly…ReDragon, who are a legitimately great Tag Team. I think unfortunately that fact has gotten lost in AEW partially due to injuries and partially due to the fact that AEW is overloaded with Tag Teams who never get any TV time.

But Fish is a classic “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” kinda guy. He’s pretty much of no use on his own and does not have a lot of value outside a team setting. Ditto for Kyle O’Reilly, if I am being completely honest. Give me ReDragon all day, but I don’t much care about either guy outside that.

If the rumors circulating online are to be believed, Fish has been one of the behavioural problems backstage in AEW and I have even seen it alluded to (by admittedly unreliable sources) that he might have some mental health or substance related problems.

It is a bit of a shame if it’s true, because obviously the money match that would’ve been nice to see would have been The Elite vs. The Undisputed Era and if these rumours are true, that likely will not happen.

Fish supposedly just started his own podcast and has already started some shit by talking about some supposed heat between himself and Dax Harwood. He is apparently planning on dropping some sort of “bombshell” announcement tomorrow, which may or may not have something to do with his impending departure from AEW.

Bottom line is, his and ReDragon’s entire run in AEW has been a total bust so far. So if he really is being a problem backstage, it’s probably best for everybody that he goes now rather than later. I don’t know how much use he will be to WWE, even if he gets to work with his hero HHH. Like I said, he doesn’t have a lot of value by himself, I wouldn’t think.

[sek69]

It was pretty clear almost immediately that ReDragon was signed as Tony's post-goal celebration after NXT admitted defeat. I didn't really care much about them being in AEW, but I can't begrudge TK wanting to stick it up Hunter's ass one more time that his pissant company beat him by completely snatching the team that ran roughshod on NXT. 

[EnviousStupid]

I find it funny that Bobby was always viewed as the tag guy in Undisputed Era, yet the best tags that group had were consistently with Kyle and Roderick.

[Alucard]

1 hour ago, Perfectly Straightedge said:

I have no idea how long KoR has signed for either but with Cole, TK made it sound signed for 5 years and if that’s the case. 5 years is a lifetime in wrestling years when you break it down. It could be less but TK strongly hinted that it was for a while same with Black. 

Kyle confirmed in May that he is also signed for 5 years

[Dale Wolfe]

Regardless of circumstance Fish was right in saying that Punk's kicks are fucking terrible, it pains me to see people having to sell them. And i like Punk

[The Thread Killer]

So the stories making the rounds today are that Fish's contract has already expired...and that Kyle O'Reilly just had neck fusion surgery?!  Don't know if it's true (as of right now, Fish has failed to release his "bombshell" podcast that he promised for yesterday, and the injury to KOR is unconfirmed.)  But if it is true...so much for ReDragon in AEW, and so much for The Undisputed Elite...I guess. Remember when FTR had that staredown with ReDragon on Dynamite on the ramp, that was never followed up on? What a waste. Can't really blame anybody. If Fish is being a jackass backstage, then that's on him and obviously it's not O'Reilly's fault if he's injured.  But it still sucks to see an opportunity like that disappear.

[TheDuke]

They could still run O Reilly Cole vs FTR and O Reilly Cole vs Young Bucks. I was assuming Cole and ReDragon vs Bucks and Omega for 6 man titles may have been a future matchup possibly at Arthur Ashe but I guess not now. 

[Flyin' Brian]

Apparently O'Reilly confirmed it on his Instagram. I'm not a big fan of everyone involved, but the story would have been a good one and probably the match too. Maybe they can still do it in the future once everyone is healed up unless Fish has  burned some bridges. I'm actually liking Kenny Omega since he's been back and he's growing on me. Seems more serious and not quite as over the top as before. I think that's a good thing for both him and the Bucks going forward. I worry with the Good Brothers being done with Impact that they might be the replacement for ReDragon in the feud and that's a step down in my eyes.

[Stiva]

They can still do the Cole attempts to take over The Elite from Omega angle without KOR and Fish. If anything, it’ll save us from seeing O’Reilly and Matt Jackson having a competition to see who can deliver the most business-exposing acting performance in backstage segments.

[KawadaSmile]

Word is Malakai requested his release - AEW didn't confirm or deny that. His tumblr seems to indicate he is quite unhappy with *something*.

[Jmare007]

Selfishly, I'm not the least bit mad that we wont see UE vs The Elite as a long term feud on TV, and I'm very interested how TK pivots as it was pretty clear the idea was to build to a big Cole + friends vs Omega + Young Bucks. I guess Hangman will become a big piece of this new puzzle?

[Jmare007]

Just now, KawadaSmile said:

Word is Malakai requested his release - AEW didn't confirm or deny that. His tumblr seems to indicate he is quite unhappy with *something*.

Has there been any decent source on this? I saw it started with a fake Bryan Alvarez twitter account and it just blew up, lol.

[KawadaSmile]

Just now, Jmare007 said:

Has there been any decent source on this? I saw it started with a fake Bryan Alvarez twitter account and it just blew up, lol.

From what I've read, the fake reports said he was GRANTED his release. I have read other things like "He requested his release and was denied", but haven't read strong sources confirming it. There was this PWInsider report with some more insight on the matter.

What is true, or, at the very least, easy to verify, is there is discontent - not necessarily with AEW, something more private. 

[The Thread Killer]

Yeah there have been all sorts of unconfirmed reports online the last couple of days about talents from AEW requesting their release and being denied...Malakai Black and Andrade being two of the names I've seen.  I also read that Billy Gunn wants his release and to go back and work for Trips, which is why they split him from his boys.

Hell, "FreeMalakaiBlack" was even trending on Twitter for some odd reason. But I don't know how reliable any of these reports are.  I think the stories might be bullshit, but then again it is equally possible that now it is starting to look like Vince really IS gone from WWE and has no creative control over the product and Triple H is in charge, some of his former favorites are wanting to go back there.  I don't know who to believe for sure on these stories.

[The Thread Killer]

1 minute ago, KawadaSmile said:

From what I've read, the fake reports said he was GRANTED his release. I have read other things like "He requested his release and was denied", but haven't read strong sources confirming it. There was this PWInsider report with some more insight on the matter.

What is true, or, at the very least, easy to verify, is there is discontent - not necessarily with AEW, something more private. 

Thanks for the link.  Interesting story, but the main problem is that Raj Giri is pretty notoriously full of shit and doesn't have a lot of credibility as a reliable source, does he?  I think Black has been pretty up front about having depression and mental health issues going way back...I would hate to think he is using those to justify getting a release but then going back to WWE.  Then again, I suppose TK could release him with a lengthy non-compete.  I also read somewhere that Black is in really bad health with terrible back issues that could possibly be permanent.  It will be interesting to see if he works the 6 Man and All Out and what happens from there.  I was really looking forward to a continuation of the angle with him and Miro and an eventual singles match between the two...assuming TK was actually going to give it to us and not get distracted by something shiny on his desk.

[Timbo Slice]

Given those mental health issues, I imagine him being with Zelina on a more regular basis would also be a boon for him. 

[Jmare007]

Really interested on y'all thoughts on Tony's new strategy of declaring out in the open his roster is filled with people that don't like each other, letting them go off outside of AEW's main programming, and basically saying "now, wouldn't y'all like to see them fight each other?". 

I see the appeal, on paper, but will they be able to pull it off in practice?

[Dav'oh]

5 hours ago, Jmare007 said:

will they be able to pull it off in practice

Well, you don't have to like your opponent, you just have to be able to trust them with your body. So it's just a question of getting people to lay down for people they hate.

[KawadaSmile]

8 hours ago, Jmare007 said:

Really interested on y'all thoughts on Tony's new strategy of declaring out in the open his roster is filled with people that don't like each other, letting them go off outside of AEW's main programming, and basically saying "now, wouldn't y'all like to see them fight each other?". 

I see the appeal, on paper, but will they be able to pull it off in practice?

I am fully entertained by grown men and women having huge fucking egos regarding wrestling when they all already have huge guaranteed salaries. 

Besides, any interest on actual matches relies on them potatoing each other and being unprofessional, or at least being extra violent. I am not sure some of them are willing to go there.

[Sean Reedy]

"But it turned out to be the last time street guys like us were ever given anything that fuckin valuable again". I'm getting end of Casino vibes. 

[Flyin' Brian]

10 hours ago, Jmare007 said:

Really interested on y'all thoughts on Tony's new strategy of declaring out in the open his roster is filled with people that don't like each other, letting them go off outside of AEW's main programming, and basically saying "now, wouldn't y'all like to see them fight each other?". 

I see the appeal, on paper, but will they be able to pull it off in practice?

It’s one thing when you’re a forum poster talking about companies other people own and another when it’s your own company. TK has a front row seat to all this, and maybe this is him getting his billionaire jollies from causing as much chaos as possible and watching it all play out. It’s not my idea of the best way to run a wrestling company. 
 

In a perfect world, all this would be planned out and cleared with everyone involved ahead of time, with a clear plan of where everything is going and who is working with whom. As it is, it feels like breaking as many eggs as fast as you can and seeing how many omelets you can make before the eggs go bad. 
 

Is there an overarching story here, or a bunch of smaller stories that can play out over time? It’s always hard to do something like ‘WWE guys vs AEW originals’ because of the overlap between heels and faces. WCW at the end kept trying to recreate NWO vs WCW with diminishing returns in the New Blood vs Millionaire’s Club and Magnificent Seven storylines. I don’t know if AEW could or should pull something like that off at this point with Kenny, Page, The Bucks, MJF etc.  vs Punk and whoever else they put on that side. 
 

I’m still baffled by the ROH purchase and the plans there. I also don’t understand the amount of championships. There are currently 8 AEW championships (9 if we count the interm Women’s championship and the regular Women’s championship separate) plus 6 ROH championships and belts from various other promotions like AAA being defended semi regularly. I’m hoping the solution to keeping everyone happy isn’t to just give them all a title. 
 

Right now AEW feels like a company in flux. They have moved away somewhat from where they began. They have added some bigger names who have overshadowed the people that were there from the beginning. The booking feels more haphazard than before. One of the things I fell in love with about AEW was the way the booking flowed especially the progression toward the big events. That seems to be missing now and the last few PPV’s have felt more thrown together. Injuries have surely played a part, on top of the interpersonal conflicts. Now that the roster is mostly healthy and back under one roof, can AEW start moving forward again or are they stuck in a mess of their own making? That’s the biggest question for me, can this all be straightened out or is this what AEW has become for the foreseeable future? 

[NintendoLogic]

Finally, some positive publicity. It looks like there's a new wrestling trend taking the sports world by storm.

[Jmare007]

Mike Johnson is reporting both Bandido and Juice Robinson have signed with AEW.

[El-P]

29 minutes ago, Jmare007 said:

Mike Johnson is reporting both Bandido and Juice Robinson have signed with AEW.

Bandido is a huge catch. Hopefully he gets used well aka don't make the same mistake they did with Andrade.

Juice, well, he could be something really good, just have him ditch the lame Bullet Club kinda heel persona that has totally plagued his return to NJPW and killed whatever he had before. He was tons of fun in IMPACT when he was over there with Finlay as a babyface, and he's a really good worker that fits their mentality (plus the japanese experience of laying it in).