All Elite Wrestling

[NintendoLogic]

It was originally scheduled for February 27, but they moved it back a week to avoid going head-to-head with the Canelo fight. And UFC 259 is on Saturday, so they moved it to a Sunday. That puts them head-to-head with the NBA All-Star Game, but I guess they figured that would hurt them less than the other two.

[Dav'oh]

9 hours ago, NintendoLogic said:

That puts them head-to-head with the NBA All-Star Game

Is that a "shits and giggles" game, where the players and fans treat it like a lark, or is there some "heat", for want of a better term? 

[cm funk]

1 hour ago, Dav'oh said:

Is that a "shits and giggles" game, where the players and fans treat it like a lark, or is there some "heat", for want of a better term? 

Last year it was taken way more seriously than usual because the game happened shortly after Kobe Bryant died and it became a tribute, as well as a rule change to make the 4th quarter more competitive.  Generally it's for shits and giggles, and there's a lot of players and fans who think it's stupid to even play it this year.  It's usually a 4 day event that takes over the city it's in.

[cm funk]

Cody Rhodes was on WFAN (NY sports talk radio) with Evan Roberts and Craig Carton yesterday to promote the Shaq match

https://www.radio.com/wfan/podcasts/carton-and-roberts-207/cody-rhodes-358230154

I haven't listened yet.  Roberts is an actual wrestling fan who follows the modern product so it might be decent

[Alucard]

On 2/24/2021 at 1:18 PM, C.S. said:

Was Show's last match technically the main event of WrestleMania (he wrestled Drew right after the Brock match and it aired on Raw) or was there another one after?

He did a few more after that. Beat Andrade & Garza in a handicap match then teamed with the Viking Raiders in a loss to Andrade, Garza, & Orton. His last was then (technically "unsanctioned") against Orton on Raw in July.

[rovert]

Anyway. 

You have to assume Moxley gets exploded into paternity leave. 

[sek69]

How can anyone dislike Kenny? He's such an amazing douchebag heel.

[El-P]

5 hours ago, sek69 said:

How can anyone dislike Kenny? He's such an amazing douchebag heel.

Really now, this is awesome. Best promo of the year. How can sad Mox with hair on fire stuck in barbwire be so cute ?

[kas]

They are going full FMW with this and it's going to be amazing.

[Cowboy Hats 4.0]

Don't think I've purchased an AEW ppv since last year's Revolution, but the combo of this being on a Sunday and this death match has me likely to pull the trigger.

Unrelated, but something I've been wondering: is there a known reason for why they brand a lot of their Dynamite episodes? Is it mostly so that the show doesn't just blend together?

[rovert]

28 minutes ago, Cowboy Hats 4.0 said:

Don't think I've purchased an AEW ppv since last year's Revolution, but the combo of this being on a Sunday and this death match has me likely to pull the trigger.

Unrelated, but something I've been wondering: is there a known reason for why they brand a lot of their Dynamite episodes? Is it mostly so that the show doesn't just blend together?

The Brodie tribute show was a deeply separate situation. But yeah they distinctly wanted to avoid the ratings tanking in December 2020 as they did in December 2019.

But yeah they leaned on/TNA'd too much on branded Dynamite episodes for sure.

I have already ordered the PPV but it is a colder proposition regardless of the extreme title stip. MJF and Page were hotter before the last PPV. The undercard is over gimmicked up (to cover for bad storytelling). The women's division is "busy" but without a coherent through-line or direction and just prolonging putting the title on Britt.

[El-P]

44 minutes ago, Cowboy Hats 4.0 said:

Unrelated, but something I've been wondering: is there a known reason for why they brand a lot of their Dynamite episodes? Is it mostly so that the show doesn't just blend together?

WCW Clash of the Champions-like special episodes of the TV show, basically, with either bigger main events of unique matches. Which is really a cool idea.

[Ryan Faulconer]

1 hour ago, El-P said:

WCW Clash of the Champions-like special episodes of the TV show, basically, with either bigger main events of unique matches. Which is really a cool idea.

It helps with remembering particular weeks a little easier.  As the wrestling obsessed, that I can safely say most of us are, we can call up certain dates.  

Named shows just makes notes, typing, ritual sacrifices or however else others may keep track of things a lot simpler.  It also goes a long way towards making 52 Wednesdays a year not melting in our memories.

[Blehschmidt]

Certainly wasn't overly impressed with the Christian Cage or Ethan Page signings, and it does feel like maybe they are signing too many of the Dark guys. But I have to ask....

Do we have any idea when Aleister Black's WWE contract is up?

Because if WWE are just going to let him rot because his wife had the balls to stand up to them, I really hope to see them show up as a pair on Dynamite when he is finished. That would give AEW two viable people that would actually fit in pretty well there, that wouldn't be rookie talent, or over the hill talent.

@rovert? anybody?

[sek69]

Well Zelina's non compete is up so she could theoretically appear anywhere at this point, I'm assuming they're just waiting for his deal to expire so they could go somewhere as a package deal. 

[Coffey]

2 hours ago, Blehschmidt said:

Certainly wasn't overly impressed with the Christian Cage or Ethan Page signings, and it does feel like maybe they are signing too many of the Dark guys. But I have to ask....

Do we have any idea when Aleister Black's WWE contract is up?

Because if WWE are just going to let him rot because his wife had the balls to stand up to them, I really hope to see them show up as a pair on Dynamite when he is finished. That would give AEW two viable people that would actually fit in pretty well there, that wouldn't be rookie talent, or over the hill talent.

It's interesting because when I think of people I would love to see outside of WWE - people just from WWE mind you, other than Rusev/Miro & FTR, I'm surprised at some of the people they have brought in. Alesister Black & Zelina Vega would be awesome.

CM Punk & A.J. Lee I'm sure are the longest of shots. I doubt Andrade is leaving WWE anytime soon especially with his involvement with Charlotte Flair. Of course the name of Jericho from the jump helped & grabbing Moxley was huge on that first PPV. But it has felt lackluster since then. Sting? Matt Hardy? Jake Hager? Shawn Spears? Trent? The Big Show? I feel like it's giving the opposite feeling than it should be. Well, Brodie Lee was great too. But people online are starting to make comparisons to TNA wrestling & talking about the age of the signees & shit. Then on the PPV the big Hall of Fame signing was Christian, whom as we've all discussed is a helluva worker but it feels disappointing still, as a surprise. Even if you weren't expecting a Brock Lesnar or John Cena huge name like some crazies on Twitter, it just didn't feel like a big surprise.

I know early on in AEW's history we specifically talked about how AEW shouldn't just sign anyone & everyone & that they should be more selective on the people they fill their roster up with. That's still true but now the roster is getting filled up with these people that are, now, taking spots away from other talent. Like Sting is getting in-ring time on Dynamite & PPVs now. I love Sting & I know he's a huge name & he's not really that associated with WWE as a whole but is his name still bringing in the eyeballs to make it worth it? Or did they bring him in just because Cody Rhodes wants to relive the era of his daddy while bringing in Sting & the Horsemen? They also need to seriously consider that Jim Ross can't do commentary anymore & is actively hurting the product.

I feel like the strong parts of the AEW roster right now are the AEW prospects that people don't know from elsewhere or at least from U.S. promotions or WWE. Sammy Guevera, Darby Allin, Adam Page, Fenix, Britt Baker - people like that.

If anything, I think AEW should consider letting some people go now. The roster is getting too big, even with another show coming.

[RingoPlaysDrums]

4 hours ago, Coffey said:

They also need to seriously consider that Jim Ross can't do commentary anymore & is actively hurting the product.

Yeah. He really shouldn't be on Dynamite anymore but they don't seem to have the heart to get rid of him. Excalibur, Tony and Taz would be a much better trio in my opinion. If they absolutely must keep JR around, have him do Dark Elevation alongside Jericho/Big Show. 

[El-P]

5 hours ago, Coffey said:

I know early on in AEW's history we specifically talked about how AEW shouldn't just sign anyone & everyone & that they should be more selective on the people they fill their roster up with. That's still true but now the roster is getting filled up with these people that are, now, taking spots away from other talent. Like Sting is getting in-ring time on Dynamite & PPVs now. I love Sting & I know he's a huge name & he's not really that associated with WWE as a whole but is his name still bringing in the eyeballs to make it worth it? Or did they bring him in just because Cody Rhodes wants to relive the era of his daddy while bringing in Sting & the Horsemen? They also need to seriously consider that Jim Ross can't do commentary anymore & is actively hurting the product.

I feel like the strong parts of the AEW roster right now are the AEW prospects that people don't know from elsewhere or at least from U.S. promotions or WWE. Sammy Guevera, Darby Allin, Adam Page, Fenix, Britt Baker - people like that.

If anything, I think AEW should consider letting some people go now. The roster is getting too big, even with another show coming.

I agree with all of this. They need to refocus, as showed by Revolution. Sting getting a win over Ricky Starks strikes me as really odd. I gave them the benefit of the doubt about Miro for too long, he needs to get away of Sabian now and they need to push Penelope as a single star. Focus on the core group of great workers, because that's what the AEW fan want to see (no reason for Max Caster to be in a big match at all). Don't sign any over 45 guys from WWE anymore, please. Focus on the best women and those with real potential as stars (no reason for Big Swole to get a push ever again).

[Blehschmidt]

In absolute agreeance about Jim Ross. I remember in 1989 during the end of Gordon Solie's career, they gave him a little segment where he counted down the Top 10, and then recapped and offered his opnion on one of the big angles happening in the NWA. I think this would be a great use of J.R. It keeps him active with the product, but it also has him nice and produced where he can't shit on the product or say things he shouldn't say.

In agreeance about all of the people they've brought in, other than Trent. I feel like he was gone from WWE long enough, and his team with Chuck Taylor make a fine enough mid card act that the fans seem to enjoy. But Hager, Hardy, Spears, Big Show, and Christian all feel unneeded. If they had just brought Sting in as a recurring enforcer, or special referee, I would have been okay with it. Him showing up on TNT all these years later, kinda cool. Him beating up guys that are the future of AEW, not cool at all. and please, please get Miro away from Sabian. Penelope Ford is the money in the Sabian act in the first place!

As I mentioned before, you have all of the Dark jobbers that they've signed now, who could eventually turn into something, but that's a long ways off. Then you have guys like Luther, Nakazawa, and Billy Gunn and his brood taking up space. 

They could drop about a dozen people, sign up a couple people like Chris Hero and Jeff Cobb who can come out and have some bangers with pretty much anyone on your roster,  and then have spots waiting when someone like Aleister Black and Zelina became available. I really hope WWE and their hoarding of wrestlers doesn't become the standard.

[Marksman]

8 hours ago, Coffey said:

I know early on in AEW's history we specifically talked about how AEW shouldn't just sign anyone & everyone & that they should be more selective on the people they fill their roster up with. That's still true but now the roster is getting filled up with these people that are, now, taking spots away from other talent. Like Sting is getting in-ring time on Dynamite & PPVs now. I love Sting & I know he's a huge name & he's not really that associated with WWE as a whole but is his name still bringing in the eyeballs to make it worth it? Or did they bring him in just because Cody Rhodes wants to relive the era of his daddy while bringing in Sting & the Horsemen? They also need to seriously consider that Jim Ross can't do commentary anymore & is actively hurting the product.

Totally agree with this. I really like Moxley, PAC and Miro but other than that the people I'm enjoying the most are guys/girls like Silver, Britt/Rebel, Sammy, MJF, Orange Cassidy, Rosa, Darby, Adam Page, Itoh, Lucha Bros. I was surprised how good the cinematic match was but Sting is generally doing nothing for me, Cody is awful (I mean, I know as an EVP he's going to be featured a lot, but still...) There's obviously room for some ex-WWE guys - in addition to the three I mentioned above, the Inner Circle storyline has me interested in Jericho, I like Matt Hardy's sleazy money-grabbing character (although I'd rather see him as a manager than a wrestler) and The Good Brothers/Callis are obviously the only people who could do the Omega angle. But yeah, really hope they don't end up bringing many more 'big names' in when there are so many awesome people I really want to see more of.

[Log]

The only good thing about Cody lately is that he's not been involved in anything I actually care about for a while, so he's easy to skip.  It's like when Shane O feuded with the Miz.  Keep the suck in one segment.

I'm excited to see Christian work with some of the guys on the AEW roster, but he was a bit disappointing as the surprise.  He's actually one of the older guys that I'm cool with them signing assuming he can still go.  I just don't think they should've teased him so hard.  Also, coming on the heels of signing Big Show made it seem like all of the WWE olds are coming in.

WWE is as stale as ever.  There was that pic going around showing how the roster (well, the pushed roster) is pretty much the exact same as it was in like 2009.  If AEW wants to be seen as the "hip"" alternative to old man Vince, they need to feature their young stars, which they have a lot of.  

I'm still positive about the future of AEW.  They've shown that they can adjust when things aren't working.  The next few weeks will be big for them in seeing if that's true.  They had some legit hype going into Revolution and did NOT deliver on it.  

[El-P]

17 minutes ago, Log said:

Also, coming on the heels of signing Big Show made it seem like all of the WWE olds are coming in.

That's one other thing that bothers me. Paul Wight was a surprise from nowhere, and it was cool in that sense, less in the sense of "Oh, an almost 50 years old guy from WWE shows up in AEW". But the fact he announces a big signing makes it seem like hey, no worry, the almost 50 years old guy from WWE is not the big deal here, something much more exciting is coming... and in fact, we get another almost 50 years old guy from WWE, who actually is not even as big a name as Big Show (much better addition to the roster in term of what he can bring to the company, yes, but not the "huge huge star" that was promised). It's almost like a ricochet of old WWE guy signing up and there is definitely a TNA feel to it (especially since Christian was the poster boy for this in TNA). This is not what you want at all.

If anything, this entire show will teach AEW a lot of valuable lessons. They have showed in the past they were smart and learning, so let's see what's to come. I sure hope they make fun of the shitty explosion in BTE next week.

[Coffey]

8 hours ago, Log said:

I'm still positive about the future of AEW.  They've shown that they can adjust when things aren't working.  The next few weeks will be big for them in seeing if that's true.  They had some legit hype going into Revolution and did NOT deliver on it.  

Oh, absolutely, 100%. Revolution was their first real "miss" & tonight, how they respond, will answer a lot of questions. I also think that when fans can come back is when AEW will really catch on. The shows felt special with the fans before the pandemic. It was like you were a part of something cool, which WWF has not had in... twenty years. Everyone seemed like they were having a blast, both in the crowd & in the ring both & that is an environment that people will want to be in. Especially with AEW seemingly being so much more inclusive than any other big wrestling company in the past. 

[Coffey]

So, Andrade/La Sombra asked for his WWE release on Monday, apparently.

If AEW don't bring him in, they're insane. Unless he just doesn't want to go there. Especially after some of the other names they've brought in. He's one of the biggest gets they could acquire imo.

[WingedEagle]

Why would WWE release him?