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Coffey

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All Elite Wrestling has been around for a bit under two years at this point. Contrary to what you'll read on other corners of the internet, such as Wreddit, or Twitter, it's not an AEW Vs. WWE (or NXT) battle - however, that is not to say that some of the positive/negative talking points about AEW do not have any merit.


So, now that AEW has Dynamite, along with the new Friday night show & two YouTube shows in Dark & Elevation, I thought maybe we could discuss some of the often brought up talking points about AEW, the direction of the company & areas you may be concerned about, if any at all. Regardless of if you're a viewer that never misses Dynamite, only watch it every so often or checked it out once or twice & decided it wasn't for you. I'm curious what your turn offs & ons about it are. 

 

  • How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.
  • How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena? 
  • What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight? 
  • Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy? 
  • What about their abundance of factions/stables? 
  • Managers/Valets?
  • How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?
  • Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?
  • Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches?


Most importantly, what do you think the greatest positive about current AEW is & what do you think is their biggest hindrance at this point in time? I wanted to get some conversation going outside of the AEW megathread to maybe just discuss what we like & what we're concerned about going forward.

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This is an excellent topic. I will give my idea later during the day (or maybe even, *shock of horrors!* later down the week), but this is an argument all who watch AEW even semi-regularly should weigh on and talk about the difference between the average WWE product and the average AEW product.

As far as I am concerned, while there will obviously be better answers than mine on both sides of the spectrum, I think the biggest structural advantage for AEW is the level of their promos. The standard for their promos is excellent. I would argue that they are pound for pound the best promotion with promos since JCP 1985. This includes the entirety of the attitude era. 

This means that obviously Tony Khan is doing something correct. He has also turned wrestlers who would be complete randos on any WWE product to be genuine stars and draws. No one would ever expect WWE to think of Kingston and Darby as proven draws, but thanks to the internet, their drawing power has been proven consistently. 

For me, the biggest hindrance is tied to its biggest strength. How do you ensure that these new, exciting young wrestlers are actually getting over and pushed prominently at the expense of so many nostalgia talents that NXT can bring over? How do we make sure that these wrestlers remain patient to promoters who would screw them without a second thought if they had the opportunity, and can only make their names notorious if they go against the wishes of their bosses, because they have no "real stars" on their hands? 

There is so much to unpack here. However, hopefully no matter what, all youngsters will be given a chance to steal the entire spotlight from other seniors. Even more importantly, hopefully these young talents will have the platform to brag about their accomplishments, without jeopardising the chances these youngsters will have against the seniors in a direct one-on-one match, as an example. For one-on-one matches and examples along those lines, as an instance of the arbitrariness, Dana said only Jones knows what he wants, which is hopefully as big an admittance of a failure as we usually get. Hopefully, we get more clarity on the negotiations as well as the actual RULES soon (wtf Dana), cuz, regardless of my personal feelings, Ngannou v. Jones is the biggest possible fight for MMA, even including filthy hardcores, and I am sure they would love to be clear on the rules about what handsets you can avail while also being legally sanctioned to punch the face off everyone involed 

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  • How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.

JR is terrible, has been terrible the entire AEW run, but was also very bad for probably the last decade+ of his WWE run as well. He not only clearly doesn't give a shit or like most of the stuff he's seeing, but actively distracts and detracts by his complete lack of enthusiasm, low key burying guys and spots, or just finding the negatives and pointing out flaws in everything. Excalibur is fun, from time to time gets a little too obvious "get this point/phrase/story point over" but that's hardly a complaint. Tony Schiavone is really the glue holding the team together and tbh, Tony being able to enjoy calling wrestling shows again is my favorite part of AEW.

 

  • How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena? 

Pre-COVID, I liked the ring and look. I was hoping for more of an early Nitro look, but really it was dead on for 2002-2004 WWE PPVs, which is a pretty good look to have. Daily's Place was real cool the first time they ran it, but after a year I never want to see that venue or have them run outdoor shows again.

 

  • What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight? 

Hager/Spears, dogshit. Just wastes of space. Big Show and Mark Henry? Well, I'm sure they have a lot of wisdom to give to a locker room, but I'm not sure if AEW is the right locker room to accept that wisdom. The biggest guy on their roster does suicide dives and rope walking moonsaults every match, so I don't know that anyone cares or wants to work like a traditional big man/monsters outside of Miro. I don't know think they should make big deals out of signing guys mostly for backstage roles. 

  • Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy? 

I think certain talents do. I don't think the promotion as a whole does, however the certain talents that do are pretty prominently featured so I guess that's a toss up for me.

 

  • What about their abundance of factions/stables? 

Too many stables filled with nobodies and used as a crutch for booking and clearly trying to take inspiration from New Japan's factions that really only exist just to have excuses to fill up the cards with tags and nothing matches without having to do any storylines for them beyond that. No one gives a fuck about the The Nightmare Family or The Factory. No one knows half the guys in the Dark Order and they do nothing but run ins for brawls. The Elite barely feels like a stable. Inner Circle ran out of steam AGES ago. Matt Hardy's group is just random teams that weren't doing shit and still aren't. They're using them as a booking crutch and not even doing that right.

  • Managers/Valets?

Taz and Tully have been great in their roles. Everyone else feels like they add absolutely nothing (Arn, Vicki Guerrero, Jake, etc). Actually, Tully might be the best overall performer any given week he's on the show, and the week he wrestled this mf made Jericho look so bad by looking so good and in shape despite being 20 years older and having not worked in about 20 years.

  • How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?

I think TK needs someone to help with writing a show. Every feud is essentially one angle and one promo repeated for 8-12 weeks. And god forbid a feud goes on multiple PPVs. You can tune in at any point during the progression of a feud and 9 times out of 10, you're going to get the same angle or promo from either or both sides. This is both convenient and annoying. Because of how repetitive the storyline booking is, I only tune in for a really interesting match but then get caught up on everything I need to know in one viewing. I don't give a shit what Meltzer or Cornette have to think about AEW (or anything, really) but I do get a chuckle about how much Dave strains himself to criticize as lightly as possible and give AEW the benefit of the doubt in every situation. It feels to me that TK's biggest issue is not telling some guys no. Specifically Jericho, the Bucks, and Cody. 

  • Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?

While the women's division and presentation has improved a lot in the past 6 months or so, it still has a long way to go. Even pre-COVID, the booking of the joshi girls being THEY'RE FROM JAPAN THEY'RE GREAT BECAUSE THEY'RE FROM JAPAN, JOSHI IS GREAT SO THEY'RE GREAT and then the domestic women feeling like completely separate divisions felt so outdated and incongruent. And then the multiple very long title reigns in a row without any storylines to go with them. The two best in ring women they have aren't even on their real roster. Britt Baker's turn to one of the best parts of the show after being one of if not the worst part of the shows when they were pushing her so hard as a face is a triumph, but I don't have high hopes for them to keep interest in the division without an influx of a lot of outside talent.

The tag division is also very haphazard and random, essentially just booked like PWG of fuck it what's a cool match this week/month. You'd think the Bucks would make sure their division is better, but despite the great teams, the best team in the company has been a thrown together team, and so far all these great teams just get a short feud with the Bucks and then do nothing. Even when the Bucks weren't champs, they were the main event of the tag division despite not doing anything but being the Young Bucks. 

  • Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches?

I don't know if they're over relying, but it does seem like they jump into the gimmick or stipulations way too fast.

 

 

Overall, AEW is a fun show to watch every 3-5 weeks for me, and I always enjoy it more than a WWE show due to the excitement in the roster and crowd when there was/is one. I think ultimately it really has most of the same issues WWE does as a weekly wrestling show, but there's some joy and excitement in the product so it's easier to deal with once a month or so.

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  • How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.
  • I feel Jim Ross sometimes phones it in but at the same time the man is getting up there with age and brings name relevance to the promotion so I get why he is there. He makes the networks happy and keeps AEW present in the mind of people that watched while he was announcing. He does stumble on his words, he does sometimes struggle but at the end of the day he is a legend and it would be hard replacing a legend like that. I do really enjoy Excalibur. I have zero issues with him. He is growing each week and a solid play by play guy. I have no issues with any of it. I feel commentary teams move around so much that you can never grow chemistry because it changes so often. So AEW actually having a team that doesn't change often I enjoy. So I have no issues with either of them. I will probably be alone in that but it is what it is.
  • How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena? 
  • This one is kinda tricky to answer because of the pandemic. I mean the stage and arena looked fine and felt like a big show coming at you when they ran arenas. I really loved the ramp and everything from AEW Double or Nothing. I think their ring style and looks are just fine. They look like a big promotion and not a small rinky dink.
  •  
  • What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight? 
  • Absolutely NO issues whatsoever. I mean these guys are talented, they have been at the top and can teach the newer guys. Spears is someone that I feel they never really gave a chance to. I mean they gave him the Cody match but after that he was kinda forgot about. He had a very forgettable run with Scorpio Sky. I will say that he has a nice look and gimmick. So him being in the Pinnacle is a really good thing for him. He is perfect in the role of being in the stable but not the lead of the stable. Big Show, Mark Henry...I have no issues with they give the networks names to work with and they will be great in the long run. Henry has proven to be an excellent scout and Big Show has the name appeal that the sponsors love. Hagar has had some solid matches and promo work with The Inner Circle so I have no issues with any of these guys being brought in. I feel wrestling twitter ruins a lot of things. So I stay away from anything negative. Like oh this is a WWE guy or here we again another WCW. So I feel bringing in guys with name value and can help build the brand does nothing to hurt it as long as you don't bring in guys with a shady past. None of these guys have that stigma attached to them. So what's it hurt. 
  •  
  • Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy?
  • That's a hard question to answer cause at the end of the day it's an entertainment show. I mean what's exactly comedy? This is a question that will be asked for eons. What I consider amusing others may not. So in short answer no. I don't feel they have relied too much on comedy cause at the end of the day it's an entertainment and you have to try and grab as many as people as possible. So you can only be so serious for so long before people get bored.
  •  
  • What about their abundance of factions/stables? 
  • I mean The Attitude Era had a TON of factions. It's a staple in wrestling. So grouping guys together to get everyone TV time. I have no issues with. I mean if you were to break off every single stable in AEW. I mean how can you jam pack that show with all the talent they have and guys they want to build. So I have no issues with it. Even back in the 80's you had a slew of stables. So I don't have any issues cause it gives people things to do and if you can get guys on tv or over with a stable then I don't see the big deal.
  • Managers/Valets?
  • Managers are something that has been missing in recent years. You need managers, valets, enforcers. You need people that can speak for someone that can't speak for themselves. Look at Team Taz. I love the addition of giving him guys like Hobbs, Cage and even Ricky who they do let speak because he can. Then others like Matt Hardy for Private Party, Vikki for Nyla. Tully for Spears. I mean it brings that credibility to the person. I LOVE that Tully is back in wrestling. A very good speaker and putting him with someone like Spears made him actually feel special and the connection with FTR was just smart booking in my opinion. Managers are something that has been missing in WWE. So I am very glad that AEW realizes how valuable that is in wrestling.
  • How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?
  • It's social media. NOTHING will ever be praised 100 percent. I take people's opinions on social media with a grain of salt. Cause at the end of the day. Everyone is selling something to someone. Jim Cornette is a carny. He knows it. I mean if you hate the product so much and everything why comment on it ALL THE TIME. It's like some weird type of torture. I hate pickles with a passion but I don't go around eating all types of pickles then blast it on twitter and say pickles suck. Like everyone gets it you don't like pickles. So you move on. Dave Meltzer, I don't honestly care in the slightest about. He is entitled to his opinion like everyone else. This whole notion that everybody is going to agree on everything is stupid. People like what they like in the end. So trying to get everyone on the same page is next to impossible. 
  • Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?
  • I mean that's a hard question to answer. I mean they don't have them parade in bra and panties matches. They don't have them on the cover of Playboy and trying to sell them as objects to look at. So I mean in that sense yeah. I mean they give the women a lot of time in their matches and give them a proper showcase of PPVs. I mean women's wrestling is actually being taken serious. I don't care about it but I mean I don't think they are doing a bad job with it by any means. I mean they got Britt Baker over into arguably their most over star on TV. So I think they are doing just fine with it. 
  • Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches?
  • Compared to what exactly? I mean a gimmick match is something you use to sell your show next week. I have no issues. it's not like where WWE has made the hell in a cell a complete joke and destroyed whatever made it special by dedicating a PPV to it and putting people in the match that just don't make sense like this PPV where we get Roman/Rey in a Hell in a Cell. Like  wtf...anyways this isn't a WWE bashing thing even though I could do that all day cause the thing is terrible but anyways I don't feel they do cause I mean who can really say when the right time to use a stipulation is. Like it's just to pop a rating. I mean how many cage matches have we had in AEW? Ladder Matches? Street Fights? I mean the thing I can give them is when they use the stipulation of something along those lines at least they have a story to kinda make it make sense. So relying isn't the best word I would use cause it makes it feel that they use it every week but they really don't.

I also want to add that something I LOVE that AEW does. Is they give some episodes a theme to them. I think that is something that needs to be praised. It's something different. I mean doing the same show every single week isn't good long term business and doing something different that what others are doing is never a bad thing. So I just wanted to add that anyways those are just my opinions. I am by no means an expert or whatever. I just think AEW is doing a find job in making their place in the business and we honestly haven't seen a promotion get this much steam that isn't WWE in a while. So I am a fan and will keep supporting the product. 

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21 hours ago, Coffey said:
  • How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.
  • How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena? 
  • What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight? 
  • Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy? 
  • What about their abundance of factions/stables? 
  • Managers/Valets?
  • How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?
  • Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?
  • Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches?

 

JR is JR, in all the good and bad that entails. I do think he is largely out of his element but when they do more old school style elements he shines. As much I would like to see JR improve its clear that is not going to happen and at this point it would be silly of me to expect it at this point. Luckily for them, the rest of the announce crew is top notch. Excalibur is a pretty good play by play guy and he is able to fill the Mike Tenay role of educating the fans who the new people are and why they are interesting. Of course Tony being in love with wrestling again is the best thing to happen to wrestling and it's pure joy to watch. 

One of the big pluses AEW has is how different their shows have looked. in WWE, everything's essentially looked the same for over 20 years with the only difference being one show's red and the other is blue. AEW shows all had a unique look to them, and Daily's Place was a different looking venue no one was running in. Of course seeing it every week for a year plus kind of killed that, but now that both companies are ramping back up to tour again it will again be something they can capitalize on. 

I think they are making good use of everyone they bring in now, but like everything else there was a learning curve. Shawn Spears was the only name brought in that I side eyed, but its not like he was being pushed down everyone's throats. He's been a mid level guy/person to take the fall in tag matches and I don't think anyone would argue that isn't what he should be doing. I admittedly don't watch the Youtube stuff, but plenty of people who do have said Paul Wight has been good on those and if Mark Henry's main roles outside of announcing is going to be training and scouting we probably can't fairly judge his signing for a few years. 

I don't think AEW relies on comedy at all,  there's a place for it in wrestling and nothing really leaps to mind if I think if there's a time I thought anything comedic seemed forced. 

I personally don't think there's anything wrong with factions or stables as long as they have a purpose to exist and are just bloated messes like having 100 people in the nWo B team. None of the factions in AEW have that feel to them, and it allows the company to give more people time to shine. You never know when someone in a group will unexpectedly get over like a John SIlver.

There was certainly an issue with a glut of managers, but like the wrestlers, it seems like the wheat has separated from the chaff. Tully and Taz are out there like its 1985 and 1997 respectively and haven't missed a beat. Arn with Cody reminds me of Arnold Skaaland with Bruno. You get the impression this guy doesn't need a manager but he's just humoring him. Plus my JCP-raised brain just thinks an Anderson aligned with a Rhodes is morally wrong. 

I think Tony Khan has a done a good job navigating the pitfalls of running a wrestling company so far. Having the ability to recognize something isn't working or missed the mark and take steps to correct course is something a  lot of other companies weren't nearly as good at. A lot of people before the company  launched were figuring he was just another rich money mark, and why not, everyone else who's tried to do this since Ted Turner has been just that. Stubbornness has hurt or outright killed companies in the past and the willingness to adapt will pay dividends. I also push back at the notion that Dave gives them the benefit of the doubt. That's 100% an Eric/Bruce/Cornette thing they use to work up their fans when Dave points out they are just doing a gimmick to make money. I will say he absolutely tends to overrate matches that guys like Omega and the Bucks are in, but (and I know I sound like Dave responding to Twitter eggs here) if you actually read the Observer and/or listen to the shows he is critical of the company if a match isn't good or an angle/segment falls flat. I suppose you could argue he criticises WWE more than AEW, but with the current WWE product being what it is you are going to have more things to have issue with in WWE. As far as Corny goes, he is what he is at this point. HIm ignoring the good stuff in AEW just to keep podcast kayfabe makes him look silly every time he does it. 

I think AEW has done the best job they could promoting the women considering how snakebit the division is. Pre-launch, Kylie Rae was going to be the focal point and then that whole thing happened with her. Then after trying t square-peg Britt into a babyface spot she wasn't suited for, they were just starting to find a groove bringing in women from Europe and Japan when the pandemic hit and no one could travel.  Certainly things floundered for a while and the company clearly was trying to figure out WTF to do until they made the deal with the NWA to use their women. That allowed them to build back up and now I think it's one of the better parts of the show.

I don't think they rely too much on gimmick matches. Maybe Dustin likes bullrope matches too much, but usually when they do a gimmick match there was a reason for it or it makes sense for the feud. 

In all, when I watch AEW I see a company that really seems like they are trying their best to give the fans what they want and if they fall short of that, it at least it was a good faith effort. As opposed to other shows where it seems like you're getting what *they* want to see and you better like it or else, and don't even think of asking them to change or you're an ingrate. It's just refreshing to watch a show that doesn't feel like it's constantly fighting their fans. Not every match has to have a happy ending, but not every babyface needs to be ground into paste to get endless HEAT. 

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Before I answer your questions, I want to say that I have been waiting for something like AEW for ages.

WWE's product has felt like the stalest, paint by numbers, same shit different week, wrestling company to me for nearly 20 years. Probably since they fucked up the Invasion, and followed it with the never ending reign of Hunter. Sure there have been glimmers of hope with the first One Night Stand, The Summer of Punk, Daniel Bryan, the first few years of NXT, the beginning of The Shield, etc. But they have managed to take everything extraordinary and beat it back to ordinary as quickly and soundly as they could.

Ring of Honor was amazing for quite a while, then they lost all of the talent that made them that way, got television and became something else. TNA was mismanaged from day one, and well, we've all seen the "Is TNA the worst company ever" thread. I enjoyed Chikara for a while, then they did that stupid closing angle, things were never the same, and well, we know how that ended. So for years, when it came to modern wrestling, I enjoyed some PWG shows when they came out every few months, watched a ton of older stuff, and viewed everything else with far less enthusiasm.

With the announcement  of AEW, I finally hoped that we were going to get a true alternative to Vince's monopoly on American television. 

So far, I would say things have been hit or miss with them, leaning more toward the positive. The pandemic certainly made things harder on them, and makes things harder to judge.But having said all of that, let's look at your questions.

 

How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.

I think Excalibur is fantastic. He has a great voice, he knows the moves, he knows the stories, he knows the right times to raise his voice. As a lead commentator, I have zero issues with him. I know the mask bothers some people, but who gives a shit? It doesn't interfere with his speaking, and it gives him a unique look. Better than Michael Cole and the endless supply of Michael Cole sound-a-likes that WWE seems to have.

I love Jim Ross. He is the voice of my childhood. I felt so awful for him when he lost his wife. But, I feel like at this point he is a detriment to the product in his current role. Use him for intimate backstage interviews. Use him for big time main events. I say give him a weekly segment where he runs down the Top 10, and discusses one of the big angles like Gordon Solie use to do on the Power Hour at the end of his career. But we are past the point where J.R. should be calling several hours of wrestling on a weekly basis.

Re-energized Tony Schiavone is fantastic. Taz has also been really good in AEW, and I never cared for him in WWE. As for Big Show and Mark Henry, we'll discuss them in a later question, but I certainly don't see the need for more commentators!

 

How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena?

I guess I never really thought much about the look of the arena. It isn't distracting, so I suppose that is a good thing. As for the look of the show, I have to say that it is fucking wonderful to have camera work on a wrestling show that doesn't make me feel like I am going to have a seizure! Kevin Dunn and his 75 camera cuts a second can go right to hell.

As for the in-ring style. I mentioned being a PWG fan, so for the most part I enjoy it. There are guys I don't care for, but I think you get that in any wrestling you watch. 

 

What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight?

I have felt from the beginning that AEW needed to be very selective about which former WWE guys they brought into the company. I honestly thought there best bet would be to go after the guys that the fans felt were being held back, or misused by WWE, in hopes of drawing those eyes to their product, and at the same time avoiding the "LOL TNA" trope where they just brought in every cast off and scrap that fell from the WWE table.

I think they have done reasonably well in this. Moxley, Tay Conti, Brodie Lee, Miro, Andrade, and FTR were all good choices.

At the time Matt Hardy and Shawn Spears were good choices as well.  I don't particularly like Spears, but that 10 gimmick was over in WWE. He just hasn't shown a god damn thing since. Hardy was over as hell with the Broken stuff. HIs creative has just gone sailing off the rails since.

On the other hand: Hager, Christian, Billy Gunn, Big Show, Mark Henry... Not sure these were needed. Even understanding that Gunn, Show, and Henry have different roles to play. These signings just have that "Look who we got! These guys used to be stars elsewhere!!" stigma to them. 

As for the recent WWE releases... I hope to see Tommy End, Buddy Murphy, Ruby Riot, and Iiconics show up.

 

Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy?

No, not too heavily. Though I do think they sometimes have guys continue acting "funny" when the situation calls for something different.

 

What about their abundance of factions/stables?

This I am growing very tired of. We don't need faction wars, or team challenge series! The Inner Circle has run it's course. I don't need a group with Peter Avalon, Cesar Bononi, and whoever else. The Pinnacle only exists to fight the Inner Circle. QT Marshalls group is cringe worthy, and The Nightmare Factory is literally Cody surrounded by jobbers. The only two needed factions are Death Triangle and The Dark Order and I suppose for now, the Omega version of The Elite. But only until he loses the title.

 

Managers/Valets?

As everyone else has said. Taz and Tully are wonderful. Vickie is worthless. The new lawyer guy with Jade is unproven. I like seeing Arn on TV, so I am good with him. I have zero issue with Penelope and Kip cornering each other. Callis is great in his current role, but needs to disappear once the angle is over. Matt Hardy...needs to go back to WWE. 

 

How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?

I'll start by saying I don't read Meltzer, and I only care about what Jim Cornette says about stuff that happened before 1997. That being said, i think Tony Khan is doing a good job. However, I feel like maybe he is letting certain people get too much of their own shit on his show. He needs a Pat Patterson type that can help him out, and be a buffer between the talent and management. I have no idea who that would be though.

 

Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?

The women's division is a tough answer. I feel like they were off to a decent start, and then the pandemic totally fucked them since half the talent was foreign. Hikaru Shida did a wonderful job leading the division for the last year. She was a great champion, and I hope she gets another chance with the belt in front of people at some point. They listened when babyface Britt wasn't working and went with it, and now they've organically created a HUGE star. Imagine if that had been WWE? She'd still be a smiling babyface. If they can lock Thunder Rosa down full time, they will have another potential cornerstone for the division as well. 

So my answer on the women is, the jury is still out. They are trying, but Covid hindered it too much to give a fair and accurate judgement.

As for the tag team division, I think they are doing a pretty good job with it. This Young Bucks reign has actually brought it down, as before that I thought it was one of the highlights of the company. Between Page/Omega, Lucha Bros, FTR, PnP, Jurassic Express, etc they have had plenty of really good tag team matches. So I would call it a win.

 

Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches?

Relying on them too much? No

Doing them without enough build? Yes

2 Stadium Stampedes, the war games match, the explosion match, and the arcade match are the only one's I really remember. Sure, the explosion match ended badly. The Stampedes were both fun. The war games was good until the stupid ending, and the arcade was harmless fun.  

My issue is more that those kind of matches need longer builds. But that seems to be the case with the whole world today, not just wrestling. No one has the attention span for shit.

 

In closing:

I think AEW is doing a pretty good job of being an alternative to Vince's product. I hope as we come out of the pandemic and they go back on the road, they find themselves and their niche even more. There are certainly still several parts of the product that could be tightened up.

For example, I don't think they need 4 shows. If they insist on keeping both Dark and Elevation, they need to significantly cut down the running time on both.

I also think it is time to take a look at the over bloated roster and start sending some folks packing. 1 Ruby Riot in the women's division is worth Joey Janela, Luther, Serpentico, and all of Billy Gunn's kids.

But, I hope they continue to improve and grow an audience. Because the WWE Monopoly on American mainstream professional wrestling has certainly done more harm than good for the business itself.

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I think if they could find a way to mix that style with exciting, sensible, long term booking they could make it work.

They also need to make sure that they mix it up and not have the same types of styles in back to back segments constantly. You can have the flippy dudes, the Walter types that look like they are murdering each other, the Jeff Cobb types doing cool throws and shit, and you can have them on multiple segments. Just spread that shit out!! 

I have a buddy who grew up watching WWF and NWA, then morphed into ECW and the Monday Night Wars, then stopped watching all together when Vince bought everything because he thought it sucked. A few years back I showed him the crazy shit that the guys in PWG were doing and he popped huge for it and always wanted to know when I got a new dvd of that "California wrestling"

So, I think that kind of athletic style could draw in people, but at the same time you need to surround it with angles and storylines that aren't going to turn those same people off, and will at the same time draw the interest of your core audience.

Essentially I think we need someone to book PWG matches, with 1995 Paul Heyman's creativity, 1985 Crockett's angle and storyline pacing, and Mike Quackenbush's eye for continuity. Is that too much to ask?

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I watched basically zero wrestling in 2020, but this summer I've been watching Dynamite most weeks and it's a fun show. It's not clear to me what someone like Paul Wight is doing to earn his keep, and I have no idea what they stand to gain by doing interpromotional angles with Impact. It seems like we're probably fated to sit through one mediocre Cody Rhodes showcase match on every PPV for the next five years.

I also think the extra hours of programming are probably a bad idea, but they're in the same tight spot as WWE there -- how can the company say no to more money?

What else... I think their graphic design is mostly pretty poor, and most of their merch is ugly and dated-looking. I'm looking forward to the video game, though.

On the whole the show is good, and the promos are lightyears ahead of WWE. Even when they're not particularly good, they still sound more or less like a human being speaking, as opposed to an awkward recitation of buzzwords. And overall it's just refreshing that a relatively non-embarrassing wrestling show is on TV.  

What's the best match in AEW history? Hangman/Omega vs. Young Bucks?

Is there anyone who prefers Raw to Dynamite? 

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On 6/15/2021 at 3:28 AM, Coffey said:
  • How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.
  • How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena? 
  • What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight? 
  • Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy? 
  • What about their abundance of factions/stables? 
  • Managers/Valets?
  • How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?
  • Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?
  • Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches?

I guess I should answer the thread I created as well. I will say from the jump that I like AEW & think they have a lot of potential. I like quite a bit of the roster. My biggest issue is I think AEW is a different product than what I was expecting.

I like Tony Schiavone on commentary. Paul Wight on Dark has been good too, honestly. I don't think Jim Ross has it anymore & think he actively hurts the TV product but he would be invaluable behind the scenes with all of his experience & knowledge. I'm also not a fan of Excalibur as I don't think you need to give your commentators gimmicks. He comes off as a try-hard nerd that makes shit feel uncool by trying to sound know-it-all if that makes sense. You can't take him seriously. I've heard the Mike Tenay comparisons a lot but Mike Tenay in 1998 making Lucha Libre references is a lot different than a masked commentator in the internet world calling matches in 2021. I also loathe the idea of feeling like wrestling ever needs a commentary booth with more than two people. A straight laced play-by-play & a color commentator that works off of them.

The in-ring style could be slowed down & the people could sell a lot more. My biggest issue with AEW is probably that everyone thinks they're Shawn Michaels or Rob Van Dam or Rey Mysterio & none of them are. Too many guys on the roster do flashy shit just because they think it'll look cool instead of doing it because it makes sense. Case in point, Brian Cage doing a 6-1-9 or Luchasaurus doing suicide dives & standing moonsaults. This is where I think having a Mark Henry or Big Show offering some guidance might help but that doesn't mean anyone will listen to them, but they don't need to be on-air in-ring talent.

The way the show looks, specifically the entrances on Dynamite, comes off as TNA or WCW Saturday Night to me which I think looks a bit amateurish & low rent with the two tunnels. I like that they're licensing music now though. I think that's a big step in the right direction. 

Other people that they have brought in like Matt Hardy I don't get the appeal of at all if they're in an on-air wrestling role. Matt Hardy looks like he can barely even walk anymore. Christian can still go but every time he gets a win over someone else, it feels like it is squandering younger talent. It needs to lead to something. Miro has been great. Andrade was a great signing. I would be OK with them bringing in Tommy End as well. Jim Ross in particular loves Jake Hager but I've never seen anything there - he doesn't have any charisma. There's a difference between untapped potential & has-been.

I think AEW has an issue with trying to do too much comedy at the top of the card, specifically pretty much every time Jericho is on screen. He's corny & is frequently the worst part of every show. I wish they would move away from him entirely. It feels forced & doesn't come off as natural at all. That's a lot different than say, Eddie Kingston cracking a joke. The Elite, especially Omega & Callis have also been quite bad with a lot of their "jokes" like the "69 me, Don!" shit. I also don't think doing gimmicks like the alien chick, The Dark Order or Luchasaurus makes sense in this day & age unless you're leaning all the way into it like Chikara did. 

I don't mind the stables or factions but they need to have a purpose. Like The Dark Order doesn't have a purpose. More so now with the passing of Brodie Lee. The Matt Hardy group, the Cody group, the QT Marshall group... it's just putting a bunch of people on TV that shouldn't be on TV. The Inner Circle Vs. The Pinnacle was fine because it was serving a purpose. It certainly helped to establish Sammy Guevara.

Tully has been great. Jake is kind of just there now but his promo on Cody was good & I think he gave Archer a sense of danger around him (which if he's babyface now doesn't make sense anymore). Not a fan of Vickie. Using a manager as a mouth piece for a talent that can't promo would be really beneficial. Arn with Cody doesn't make much sense because Cody can talk for himself. You put Arn with someone like Wardlow or Hager & it makes more sense. Which is why I assume they were put in the Jericho stable so Jericho could do the talking but he's making them look goofy by association because he won't act serious.

Tony Khan needs to keep himself off of TV entirely & needs to be more willing to tell people no. Not every idea is a great idea. Not everything Jericho thinks is funny should make TV, nor should the Young Bucks/Omega stuff just because it's an in-joke for their YouTube shit. Meltzer is too praising, Cornette is too critical (especially of the women) which makes both of their opinions mean less because you expect they're both going to love/hate everything.

The rise of Britt Baker is one of the best things, if not the best thing, that AEW has done to date. Shida did a good job as champion & think the women's division is going to be really good moving forward with Thunder Rosa & Serena Deeb. They have talent. I do think that the pandemic hit this division especially hard but I have a positive outlook moving forward here. One of the better parts of the program & if they can get Ruby that would be a good acquisition. Hell, who knows, maybe they could get lucky and get Charlotte in the future, now that they got Andrade.

The tag division is a mess. Instead of being a resurgence of the days of the Rock & Roll Express or The Midnight Express it feels like just a spot fest of dives & breaking the rules with the referee not enforcing anything. There needs to be more of a focus on the story of the match instead of just the moves of the match. The Young Bucks are terrible at this & it's the reason why I've never liked them.

The gimmick/stipulations would be fine if they made sense. Build to them & then do them when the story asks for it. They went in the right direction with the idea behind War Games - two stables that wanted to battle it out. But the Stadium Stampede doesn't make sense. The Casino Battle Royal doesn't make sense. Putting a ladder in a match just because it has high flyers is lazy booking. Doing a Deathmatch just because Moxley wants to doesn't make sense. Do it when the build asks for it not just because you want to do it.

The PWG comparison is dead on. That's a good reference. I wanted more 80's NWA & less modern Indie-style, which going by the roster that's on me for expecting. But when I heard they were going to do a more sports oriented style - which did not come to fruition - I was expecting more like the NJPW main event style & less like the 2008 Ring of Honor style... or TNA X-Division.

I think the biggest issue with AEW is that there's not a Pat Patterson kind of person, a go-between from Tony Khan & the talent. They need someone that will tell people no to their ideas when it's not a good idea or doesn't make sense. I'm sure the talent feels like they have a lot more freedom but that can be a detriment to the overall show if everyone is just doing whatever they want & you don't have a direction. The biggest positive for AEW is that they have a blank canvas which they can use to create with - like they have done with Britt Baker, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy. Build up these new stars, make them household names & create brand awareness with your own, homegrown talent.

There's so much potential in AEW. I love that we have a promotion in the United States providing an alternative to WWE that is on national television. I love that new people are getting a chance to make a mark. I love that the talent has more working options other than just WWE or Japan where they can make a decent living. AEW right now feels like it could be on the cusp of being something big but they won't go all the way with it. Like they want to be a WWE style big promotion but they won't let the wooden stakes out of the ground for the balloon to take off entirely, so they still have some of the Indie things attached to them. Maybe they find it endearing, or nostalgic, or even like they're paying an homage to wrestling from yesterday with the tunnel entrances & what not but I don't think anything that lets you be compared to "B-shows" is a good look nowadays. I also think they're getting dangerously close to spreading themselves too thin with all of the programming they have to fill up now. I don't feel like they need the YouTube shows at all - including Being the Elite. Promos like the one Miro just cut on Evil Uno, that should be happening on TV, not on Instagram. And assume that the viewer doesn't know every single inside reference, joke or callback - the Elite are terrible about that & the commentators often miss it too. Stop giving the likes of Omega, The Young Bucks, Cody & Jericho so much slack. A perfect example: why has no one tried to reign in Pentagon doing the hand gesture shit yet? He's not even wrestling anymore at this point he just doing that like six times a match & it kills the flow. Someone should be on his ass about that. Where are the road agents? Also not every single match needs to be 15 minutes long, through a commercial break, with the people involved kicking out of finishers.

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4 hours ago, Coffey said:

Also not every single match needs to be 15 minutes long, through a commercial break, with the people involved kicking out of finishers.

The last four episodes of Dynamite:

AEW Dynamite #86 13.05.2021

Singles Match
Christian Cage defeats Matt Sydal (9:15)

Tag Team Match
Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley defeat The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (10:27)

AEW Women's World Title Eliminator Match
Hikaru Shida defeats Rebel (w/Dr. Britt Baker DMD) (2:03)

NWA World Women's Title Match
Serena Deeb (c) defeats Red Velvet (9:33)

Singles Match
Anthony Ogogo (w/Aaron Solow, Nick Comoroto & QT Marshall) defeats Austin Gunn (w/Arn Anderson & Cody Rhodes) by referee's decision (2:13)

AEW World Tag Team Title Match
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (w/Brandon Cutler & Don Callis) (c) defeat The Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison) (w/Julia Hart) (11:34)

 

AEW Dynamite #87 - Friday Night Dynamite 28.05.2021

Singles Match
Darby Allin (w/Sting) defeats Cezar Bononi (w/JD Drake, Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth) (4:15)

Singles Match
Adam Page defeats Joey Janela (w/Sonny Kiss) (9:41)

Singles Match
Jade Cargill (w/Mark Sterling) defeats KiLynn King (5:32)

AEW TNT Title Match
Miro (c) defeats Dante Martin (3:16)
 

Tag Team Match
Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky defeat The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) (8:45)

AEW Dynamite #88 - Friday Night Dynamite 04.06.2021

Non Title Tag Team Match
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (w/Brandon Cutler) defeat The Death Triangle (PAC & Penta El Zero Miedo) (9:27)

Tag Team Match
The Factory (Anthony Ogogo & QT Marshall) defeat The Nightmare Family (Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson) (w/Arn Anderson) (9:24)

Tag Team Match
Christian Cage & Jungle Boy defeat Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) (w/Matt Hardy) (11:27)

Singles Match
Red Velvet (w/Big Swole & KiLynn King) defeats The Bunny (w/The Blade) (7:00)

Bullrope Match
Dustin Rhodes defeats Nick Comoroto (w/Aaron Solow) (10:05)

 AEW Dynamite #89 05.06.2021

Singles Match
Christian Cage defeats Angelico (w/Jack Evans & Matt Hardy) (9:24)

Six Man Tag Team Match
Death Triangle (PAC & Penta El Zero Miedo) & Eddie Kingston defeat The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & Brandon Cutler (13:06)

AEW TNT Title Match
Miro (c) defeats Evil Uno (9:36)

Singles Match
Lance Archer (w/Jake Roberts) defeats Chandler Hopkins (0:52)

Singles Match
Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero) defeats Leyla Hirsch (8:45)

Tag Team Match
Adam Page & Ten defeat Team Taz (Brian Cage & Powerhouse Hobbs) (w/Hook & Ricky Starks) (10:18)

Now, my math might be off here, but I'm pretty sure that's  total of zero matches that went over 15 minutes on the four most recent episodes of Dynamite. And, I'm pretty sure that "zero matches" is significantly less than "every single match." :)

 


 

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How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.

JR is definitely taking more away from the table than what he brings to the table, these days. He's probably my least favourite thing about Dynamite. I agree with everyone here and elsewhere who wishes AEW would give him a backstage interviewer role or something similar.

I have really enjoyed Excalibur, Skee-a-vone, Taz(z), The Big Paul, and the endless stream of guests that visit the booth. I also prefer a simple two-person booth, but that doesn't seem to be AEW's style so I'm not going to waste energy complaining about it. 

What I like most about AEW is that generally everyone seems to be having fun there and (other than miserable prick JR), all of the commentators seem to be having a blast at work.

How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena?

I'd personally prefer a modernized UWF-i style or a 1992-93 AJPW big man clubbering festival or, like a Gaea level of violence. However, I can go watch old videos if that's what I really want. No sense being all "Old Man Yells at Cloud" about too many movez and kick-outs and so on. That's what pro wrestling is, these days. 

Also, AEW gives us a wide variety of wrestling on almost every show. As I showed in the previous post, the common trope about every match being too long is simply false. So are the tropes about AEW ignoring selling and stories and always and only being about flashy moves. You get kaiju battles and straight up squashes and old school clubbering and all kinds of stuff. It's a buffet. I like buffets.

I don't find the arena set up to be distracting. That's all I really ask for. Set design is not my bag.

What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight?

They don't need any of them, but it's not like any of them have been booked like mid-2000s Triple H or anything. Miro is really shining now. Christian has been pretty great so far. 

I'm worried about them possibly bringing in Braun. I don't see him as a good fit.

Almost all of my AEW favourites are guys who went over to Japan to make a name for themselves or wrestlers who have made a name for themselves on Dark and Dynamite. 

They've done an amazing job getting me to care about wrestlers like Tay, Britt, Sammy, Darby, Silver, Bear Country, JD Drake, Jungle Boy...

Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy?

I am an Osaka Pro fan. I'll take all the pro wrestling comedy I can get.

What about their abundance of factions/stables?

Doesn't bug me. I don't feel like every faction, every team, and every wrestler needs to be involved in a white-hot angle at every moment. AEW seems to be pretty good (and getting better) at heating up an act when it's needed.

Managers/Valets?

I'm all for it in theory. In practice it's been hit or miss. I pretty much agree 100 percent with Blehschmidt's take.

How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?

Sincerely do not care about what Meltzer or Corny think about anything these days, though I respect their past accomplishments.

Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?

The women's division is on the right track now.

I wish there was even more focus on the tag division.

Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches?

I wish they didn't try to go quite so big quite so often. It's like, they make a superb ice cream but then they want to put too many topping on it. I don't feel like we need exploding rings or people falling off of cages. 

I'm all for the violence, though. I just wish they'd keep it simple and stay away from big flashy stunts.

Most importantly, what do you think the greatest positive about current AEW is & what do you think is their biggest hindrance at this point in time?

Biggest positive: They seem to respect their audience and their wresters and everyone seems to be having fun. That's huge for me.

Biggest hindrance for me personally might be Tony Khan's love for Attitude Era stunts and shenanigans. (e.g. The Bubbly Truck or the Blood and Guts finish). Just not for me.

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16 minutes ago, Coffey said:

Now how many of those went through a commercial break since you want to just single me and that point out.

I "singled that out" because I felt that adding my two bits worth in the same post would make for an overlong post.

I think this is a good topic. Enough so that I actually want to participate in it.

Certainly AEW has matches go through commercial break, and they have a lot of finisher kick-outs.

The idea that "every single match" goes over 15 minutes, though, is obviously nonsense.

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I totally agree with you about the commercial breaks @Coffey. I despise the picture in picture thing that they seem to be oh so fond of, and I wish they would time shit better so that we would see less of that. 

I am all for good long matches when it's called for, but Joey Janela vs Alan Angels certainly doesn't need to last long enough to see a commercial break. Striking a nice balance between WWE's 15 matches a show that all go 3 minutes, and every match lasting 15 - 20 minutes is where they need to be.

Those numbers that @gordi posted show me that they are getting the times in just about the right place. Now they just need to get the formatting a bit tighter, at least in my opinion. I just feel like the picture in picture thing should actually be something that feels special. Like a "Oh Shit, this match is so good and is going long, we are going to have picture in picture because we love you fans and don't want you to miss a moment of it!!"

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I apparently missed a question during my inital answering, and I'd like to answer it, so I hope no one minds me making another post!

 

Most importantly, what do you think the greatest positive about current AEW is & what do you think is their biggest hindrance at this point in time?

Biggest Positive: As Gordi said above, the company seems to respect the fanbase. Something that it has become glaringly obvious the WWE no longer does.

Now, obviously a wrestling company can't bow to the whims and desires of the fans all the time or they would lose control of their own product. I get that, we all get that. But AEW at least seems to care enough to try and make changes when it is blatantly obvious that something isn't working. When The Dark Order was failing, they took steps to change it and make it better. When that Brandi Rhodes heel turn and stable wasn't working, they killed it. Babyface Britt Baker, changed it and made a HUGE star. That's just three examples.

In the WWE, it seems like ever since Vince had to listen to the damn fans about Daniel Bryan, and then he got a concussion, he decided never to listen to the damn fans again. Even though he's "a really good listener."

 

Biggest Hindrance: I feel like too much of the talents vanity stuff is getting on TV. This was my fear when the company began, and they actually kept it in check for a long while. Sure, little bits would appear now and again, but for the most part I didn't feel it was problematic. Now though, it is starting to become front and center and it's getting annoying. Jericho has become insufferable since the Inner Circle babyface turn, and you can tell that lots of his ideas are being implemented into things. Then on the other side, The Elite storyline has gotten more and more tedious and has begun taking up more time and well, instead of droning on about it, I will just be nice and say that I am glad that Adam Page distanced himself from it!

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Quote

How do you feel about the commentary in AEW? Jim Ross & Excalibur specifically.

I don't think the company lends itself to quality commentary. The tone of the show is all over the place so it's difficult to give a professional call when one segment you'll get a sincere Eddie Kingston promo and the next you're getting some nonsense comedy segment. On top of that, AEW loves to use a ton of guy which really prevents the commentary team from building a familiarity and rhythm to their call.

JR clearly struggles but I still think he has the most credibility of any commentator out there. I respect his opinion because he was one of the greatest heads of talent relations, ever. Again, I don't think it's entirely his fault, sometimes the show is just bowling shoe ugly.

Excalibur is a really good fit for the promotion, it's just a question of whether he has the ability to really elevate a match with commentary to make it an all-time classic. I remember Nigel McGuiness in ROH, the 2nd Wrestlemania Show in 2012 turned what was just a good Elgin/Richards match into what was a rare ***** from Meltzer.

Quote

How do you feel about the ring style or the look of the show/arena? 

The presentation is a little generic. I used to enjoy the way Nitro was shot and how it had that sports style presentation with the cinematography and choice of shots. I wouldn't necessarily want to see AEW copy that but just get a little bit more creative with their shots. I feel like they could shoot matches better and when the crowds do return I hope they stop cutting to the crowd as much as they did.

The ring style is fine, the issue is that a lot of talent is green/not very good and they're still getting their material down pat. Sometimes I wish they'd learn to walk before they learn to crash and burn but that's modern wrestling.

Quote

What are your thoughts about the talent that AEW has been bringing in like Jake Hager, Shawn Spears or more recently, Mark Henry & Paul Wight? 

I don't really have an issue. Hager was initially well cast as the muscle of the Inner Circle until they became a joke. It's difficult to form an opinion on Henry and Wight since neither have been featured that much. I presume both will be good to have around in a backstage capacity and I like having Wight there just for thematic purposes. There is definitely a WCW-revival theme to the show and as somebody who grew up on the N64 games he's one of those guys I instantly associate with that promotion. Same deal with Sting who I'm glad was able to give himself a better ending than what he got in the WWE. Yeah, the Darby can get repetitive but he's a living legend who the crowd loves. Also it's a smart investment for their video game.

I think fans get a little too carried away. Yeah, if Matt Sydal came in and beat Darby Allin in 4:20 clean that would blow but as long as the ex-WWE guys are cast well then I don't see an issue. The vast majority that have been hired were hired based on their ring-work, not their look which is the key.

Quote

Do you think that AEW relies too heavily on comedy? 

No, isn't that the point of AEW? Pro Wrestling was based on fooling the audience, AEW is about including them in on the joke.

For my taste I wish the promotion was more earnest and they didn't have guys chewing the scenary but that's the point of the show. It would be like getting upset with This Is The End for not being a serious drama.

Quote

What about their abundance of factions/stables

I feel like they could utilise them better and make a point about how impactful these stables can be. At times I actually think they play it a little safe, like I would really like to see the Pinnacle exist outside of the Inner Circle and be about how they're looking to take the reigns off of The Elite.

Quote

Managers/Valets?

No issue with them, even with Vickie I think it's just a way to honour Eddie and look after an absolute sweet heart in the business. With guys like Arn, Tully and Jake it just gives the promotion some kind of legacy and introduces these guys to a whole other generation of fans. They could be utilised more but they're relatively harmless.

Quote

How do you feel about the decisions Tony Khan has taken, or how Dave Meltzer seems to give AEW the constant benefit of the doubt where as Jim Cornette will barely acknowledge when something is good?

I really don't get the sense that TK is that hands on with the promotion. I feel he chips in and gives things the final thumbs up, but for the most part he just trusts the performers.

I'm really disappointed in Dave's coverage of AEW, it feels like a lot of juicy stories have just gone to the keeper because Dave just refuses to break anything. I find his ratings system if anything has hurt a lot of the show's hype because he'll go high on some really unmemorable matches. It's a shame because there has been some noteworthy matches, but they get lost in the shuffle because Dave goes bananas over certain wrestlers.

Cornette has run out of things to say with AEW. I think he made some salient points at a time where everyone was being extremely supportive but what else can he say?

Quote

Are AEW presenting the women well? How about the tag team division?

About as well as they can. There isn't a ton of talent there, to the point where they had to bring in the NWA Women just to put together some quality match-ups. The division is slowly growing, but it's been a slog.

Quote

Is AEW relying too much on gimmick/stipulation matches? 

I'd say they're guilty of doing too many number one contendership battle royals/ladder matches and the like when they book much better matches if they were between the two top contenders. That ladder match at Revolution in particular really was a waste of time that dragged that show down, and that was on the back of that awful tag team battle royale that should have just been PAC/Fenix vs. Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy.

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tbh i'm OK with Tony giving the talent a little too much free reign compared to the alternative of "corporate decides what your character is and if your ideas don't go along with that we'll just complain about the talent not having any ideas".  Cody is the one who concerns me the most atm, he's bigger channel-changing material for me than Jericho at this point and he exists entirely in his own universe story-wise.  As long as they keep anyone from going Full HHH i can deal tho

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1 hour ago, funkdoc said:

tbh i'm OK with Tony giving the talent a little too much free reign compared to the alternative of "corporate decides what your character is and if your ideas don't go along with that we'll just complain about the talent not having any ideas".  Cody is the one who concerns me the most atm, he's bigger channel-changing material for me than Jericho at this point and he exists entirely in his own universe story-wise.  As long as they keep anyone from going Full HHH i can deal tho

This is really understated IMO. I'm OK with a boss who gives maybe a little too much freedom since it gives everyone the chance to explore what works best for them Not everything is going to be gold, but sometimes the bad ideas lead to the good ones. Giving the talent the ability to see what works and what doesn't seems like a much better way to do things than "if you can't get this gimmick over that we gave you, you'll forever be a jobber in our eyes". 

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2 hours ago, funkdoc said:

tbh i'm OK with Tony giving the talent a little too much free reign compared to the alternative of "corporate decides what your character is and if your ideas don't go along with that we'll just complain about the talent not having any ideas". As long as they keep anyone from going Full HHH i can deal tho

I agree with this but only if those are the two scenarios available & we have to pick one or the other. Ideally, I would prefer something more in the middle, where like Blehschmidt said, you have someone willing to tell the talent if an idea is terrible instead of just giving the green light to everything. If it's just all freedom or zero freedom of character, that a boring wrestling landscape. 

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Sometimes an idea sounds good on paper/when it's being pitched and just falls flat in practice. Ever since the infamous show-ending Dark Order angle that everyone hated, it's been stated that Tony not only made sure he had final say but that not everyone's idea is going to get an automatic green light. Some things just don't work when you try them, which is fine. They've been good at recognizing when things don't work and move past them quickly. I think telling talent that we can try things but if it goes over like a fart in church we're not going to keep plugging away at it seems like the better way to run things and still allow people to have input. 

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I would be more hands off with those who have not spent most of their careers in WWE, and be very hands on with those who have. AEW's biggest challenge is and will be to make itself different from WWE in every possible way. You cannot break away from WWE tropes if you give free hand to those wrestlers who are not just wedded to WWE tropes, but also do not know anything different.

As annoying as the Bucks are, their heel run has made me enjoy them more than I have enjoyed any of their other work in AEW. So I am okay with having a hands off approach to them, even though I would personally tell Nick Jackson to ask his brother to chill the fuck out. Omega is a different issue. I don't think it's unfair to say that he has shown over his career that he needs a good booker giving him focus and direction and supervising his run for him to achieve his potential. When Gedo had him booked in a long chase of Okada's title, then his incredible athletic gifts and his talent at thinking of good creative finishes were moulded and used to give him an excellent main event run. But when he is just fucking around with Don Callis, then he can be unbearable. It is even more jarring because the previous world champion was a kickass smash mouth babyface who, regardless of what you think of his in-ring work, was excellent at cutting promos and out-of-ring stuff. Perhaps more importantly, Mox's promos used to be short and to the point, while Omega and Callis sometimes talk for 15 minutes and you will have no ide what they are trying to say 

So it has to be looked at on a case to case basis. More free hand to people like Darby - seriously, his videos and montages are excellent, and very true to his character and personality, and it is not surprising to see how he has become perhaps AEW's biggest homegrown draw - and Taz and Tully, less of the free hand to Jericho and Big Show and even Miro, who hasn't shown himself to be a creative genius

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