AEW All Out - 9/4 - Live On PPV

[KawadaSmile]

I would complain about MJF's luster being taken away by the media scrum insanity, but he himself took the luster out of Wardlow's big moment, so fuck him. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

 

Also worth noting, Adam Cole seems to be a really great guy. Everyone likes him, both the EVPs and Punk!

[Embrodak]

4 hours ago, subatomic_elbow said:

This is where I get off. AEW brought me back but the run from Punk beating Hangman to now tells me that this isn't the company for me, anymore. I hope everyone enjoys what it has become, but I'll find something else to watch.

Godspeed, brother. Don’t understand it a bit, but much better to just not watch something you’re not interested in than hate watch like so many wrestling fans have become accustomed to.

[Jmare007]

At this point what intrigues me the most is if Punk is aware that all the shit he's doing (if it's a worked shoot) can very possibly make him the HHH of AEW. The asshole heel that beats the younger stars because he knows what's best for business. Him becoming the type of veteran he hated during his 30s is so evident that I wanna believe it's intentional. But he's the sorta guy that could very well be not that self aware.

[The Thread Killer]

WARNING: The following post is dripping with snarkiness!

So...yeah.  I saw the show, and have opinions which I'm sure nobody wants to hear, but I'll share them anyhow.

Sammy & Tay vs. Ruby & Ortiz

Ortiz with the combination Taka Michinoku/FMW Headhunter look...very nice.  I get what they were going for, trying to get right into the action.  Not sure about the spot with the golf cart, that seemed a little contrived, but whatever.  Also, I hate intergender matches, so I wasn't predisposed to enjoying this.  I was glad to see Sammy and Tay wearing championship belts, because if there is one thing AEW doesn't have, it's enough recognized champions.  Sammy and Tay are gold as an annoying heel act, but I am still legitimately stunned that anybody ever thought they wouldn't be hated or seen as an obnoxious "it couple."  I'm sorry, but Sammy is about as natural a heel as you're ever going to find.  I'm not saying he's not capable of a great babyface run...but you'd really have to build up to it.  I also love Ruby Soho. I know she's not real popular around these parts, and I get some of the criticism (especially of her Kenny Omegaesque facial expressions) but I still think she's pretty damn great and should be in the Women's Title mix.  She had that match with Kris Statlander a few months ago that everybody shat upon, but I thought was great (aside from the aforementioned theatrical expressions.) This match was what it was.  I felt for poor Ruby, it was pretty obvious she got busted up in the face. This was okay as an opener, although the old school fan in me questions the wisdom of having the very first match on your free pre-show be an intergender match that starts with a golf cart spot.  I'm not sure if I stumbled across this that it would persuade me to order the show...but what do I know?

Hook vs. Angelo Parker

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw Parker & Menard (are they still called 2.0?) in a straight up, normal Tag Team match.  AEW has an unbelievably stacked Tag Team division, so I really don't get why we don't see a large number of their decent Tag Teams booked in Tag Team matches more often.  I know we have to reserve a large amount of TV time for Daniel Garica every week...but still.  You'd still think that a team like Parker & Menard could get some TV time as a team somehow.  I almost fell off my sofa when Excalibur referred to Parker as a 20 year pro.  I never heard of nor saw these guys until they showed up in NXT, and I assumed they were rookies.  Guess not.  Much like the previous match, this was what it was.  Not a great match.  Not even really a good match.  I honestly confess that I don't have any idea who "Action Bronson" was, so when he made the save, my first thought was "Man, Taz has REALLY let himself go."

PAC vs. Kip Sabian

I don't like Kip Sabian. I don't find him entertaining.  He can take two years off, he can put a box over his head, he can dye his hair pink, he can wear black eye liner, he can rip off Al Snow's head gimmick with his aforementioned cardboard box...I still don't care.  I don't see anything in him, and I don't understand why he is taking up space on an incredibly bloated roster, and why PAC (who is criminally underutilized) is getting wasted in matches like this.  PAC belongs on the main card, fighting somebody decent (and that doesn't mean Orange Cassidy...again.  I didn't mind their first go around, I actually quite liked it, but why do you have to repeat rivalries when you have such a massive roster?  Makes NO sense.) There was a couple of flashes of typical PAC greatness, but this was essentially a waste of time.

Eddie Kingston vs. Ishii

I freaking love Eddie Kingston.  I really hope all this backstage drama lately and the whole deal with him getting suspended and all that doesn't derail his career, because I really believe Tony Khan has something special and organic with him.  If booked properly (and that's a big ask of Tony Khan) I still think they could have a once in a lifetime Main Event run with Eddie.  But that depends on TK being able to book it, and Eddie being okay backstage.  If you believe the rumours, Eddie can be his own worst enemy politically. As far as this match?  I don't know.  It was a spectacle. A big part of me loves Eddie for his King's Road fanboy style.  The flip side is, the whole "two guys chopping each other to death until they're bleeding and then no-selling a bunch of bombs, suplexes and clotheslines until somebody gets pinned" thing is in serious danger of being overdone. And with all due respect, Gunther and Sheamus pretty much wrote the book on that style already this weekend.  Having said that...like I said, this was a spectacle, and an entertaining spectacle, and a big win for Eddie (which are rare) so I hope Tony Khan builds on it, and he doesn't just end up stuck in a pointless feud with Jake Hager or something after this.  He deserves better.  Push this guy to the top, already.  The fans are ready for it.

Casino Ladder Match

This was okay.  Pretty much what I expected, right up until the end.  A bunch of car crash ladder spots, and this match had the guys to do it. I'm glad nobody (apparently) got injured here.  I think doing matches like this just for the sake of doing them is dumb, though.  It makes these types of matches too common place and meaningless and devalues their impact long term. And I thought the ending was stupid.  So the idea is, if there is a Casino Match, anybody can just run in and interfere, and grab the giant poker chip...and they win?  So why isn't this match just a free for all, why have designated participants. (I know...I am attempting to apply logic to an illogical situation, but still.  Having a manager grab the chip just seemed stupid to me.) My biggest beef is that this was a massive waste of Claudio.  You just brought the guy back, he's unquestionably one of the best in the world, and the best spot you can come up with for him is working in a pointless trainwreck ladder match, in the opening spot?  How is that any different than how he was being used in WWE?  As far as Stokely and his stable...I remain open minded.  Morrissey, Moriarty, Page, and the Ass Boys make one hell of a heel stable.  I (along with everybody else) was pretty sure that was MJF under the mask, so I don't know. This whole thing seemed like it was intended to be something a lot better than it was, but it came across as a bit of a misfire to me.

Kenny & The Bucks vs. The Dark Order and Hangman

Ugh. The minute they announced that there were going to be Trios Titles, my first thought was that (assuming Omega was healthy) "So Kenny and The Bucks will be winning those, then."  And then they did. This match was probably better than it had any right to be, considering the participants.  But did anybody here for a minute honestly think that Reynolds and Silver were going to be part of the very first Trios Championship team?  They have been essentially presented as enhancement talent since they came to AEW, so although this match had a million near-falls, there was no drama and suspense to it...at all.  And I really honestly don't give a crap about this ridiculous melodramatic nonsensical story that is apparently NEVER going to end between Hangman Page and The Elite. Is he with them? Is he against them? Is there anybody who actually gives a shit at this point?  Excalibur doing his best to try and explain all the subtleties of the story and the "callbacks" was just laughable.  WHO CARES. They should really keep this crap to their stupid YouTube show, where only people who care about it will seek it out.  The match was fine...a typical Elite match, where the referee basically stands there serving no purpose, while everybody flips, flops and dives to their hearts content.  I've already seen this from them a million times. Didn't like it when I saw it when AEW first started and I like it even less now.  Same old shit from these guys...first they annoyed me, now they just mostly bore me.

Jade Cargill vs. Athena

I didn't hate this anywhere near as much as other people seem to have.  It was a bit rough looking and sloppy, but what do you expect from Jade?  I didn't see poor Athena winning, and she didn't.  This wasn't long, and it was inoffensive to me.  I honestly don't see anybody on the women's roster who is going to take Jade down, unless they do a champ vs. champ match with her at some point?  I would have loved to have seen an extended program between Jade and Statlander which ended with Kris winning the title, but the poor girl can't seem to stay healthy and that sucks for her and for us.

Wardlow and FTR vs. Lethal & The MCMG

I have mixed feelings about this.  This was a hell of a lot better than that hot mess with Kenny and The Bucks.  The referee actually served a purpose in this match, it wasn't just an acrobatics exhibition.  But I don't know. There were too many damn Trios matches on this show, and let's be honest...this show was WAY too damn LONG. I liked this match fine...I don't think FTR are capable of having a boring match. But this went almost 17 minutes.  And I still don't get the logic behind bringing in the Machine Guns and not just putting them in a straight up Tag Match with FTR.  The whole thing with Dax's daughter was cute, especially the way Dutt heeled it up and sold the whole thing.  But I still think Wardlow should have had a singles match defending the TNT title against a decent contender, and FTR should've just had a straight match with the MCMGs. They are the best Tag Team in all of Pro Wrestling, and they are red hot. Just let them do their thing, dammit. I guess I should at least be happy they made it on the show.  Best way to sum it up...I love FTR but I didn't love this angle or this match.

Starks vs. Hobbs

Starks is a guy like Eddie Kingston to me. (Not at all similar is style I know.) He has all the tools. He has proven he is a Top 5 level guy with the microphone, he can work his ass off, and he is super popular with the fans.  He's there...he's ready to be pushed to the next level.  So why beat him flat, in like...five minutes? And I'm not complaining about Hobbs winning, because he is also awesome and shouldn't be losing any big matches right now either.  But I don't think he is as ready as Starks is.  I am really worried Tony Khan is not going to pull the trigger on Starks and he's going to miss his window.  As far as this match...I'm not sure why they couldn't have shaved five minutes from the previous match and given it to these guys, to have a more competitive match and make both of them look good...not just Hobbs.

Swerve & Lee vs. The Acclaimed

WTF. I honestly didn't care about this match all that much going in, and it ended up stealing the whole damn show and being the match of the night.  This was just one of those special, magic moments you sometimes get to see as a Pro Wrestling fan, where everything just clicks with the right competitors, the right fans, the right atmosphere and the right moment and you end up getting to see something you never suspected you would. This was pretty much the dictionary definition of exceeded expectations. Yeah...there were a couple of rough spots, but come on.  Keith Lee is not the most mobile of guys, and The Acclaimed are still learning as they go. It wasn't 100% polished but it was 100% awesome. The popular narrative seems to be online that Tony Khan probably should have listened to the crowd, called an audible and put the belts on The Acclaimed...and I can't honestly disagree with that opinion.  I don't think it was so much that the crowd was turning on Lee and Swerve, it is just that The Acclaimed have gotten over huge and the fans really, really want them as the champs.  I am probably hoping for too much, but I hope Tony Khan learned a serious lesson here.  I have bitched here at PWO (and elsewhere) long and loud about how TK books the AEW Tag Team division.  For whatever reason (and I think I have a pretty good idea of that reason, and let's just they they are brothers who like to throw superkicks) Tony Khan seems almost afraid to book normal, old school Tag Team matches. Just two teams, four guys in there, having a Tag Team match.  He has been obsessed with booking Tag Team Triple Threat matches for the titles on PPV, and street fights and every other goddamn thing except normal Tag Team matches.  And I hope this match (and the matches FTR have had in ROH) have proven to him that yes...you can have an actual Tag Team match, with just two teams, where the guys actually tag in and out, and do all the traditional stuff like get heat and hot tags and all that...and it can still be fucking entertaining and not every match has to be a damn gymnastic diving through the ropes with no old school psychology. These guys all built themselves one hell of a classic Tag Team match, and I want more of this, dammit.  If AEW has to do the other stuff...fine. Do that in the Trios division, and let the Tag division do stuff like this.  And in the meantime...I think it's clearly time to put the belts on The Acclaimed.  I like Keith Lee and I really like Swerve, but let's be honest...both those guys are singles.  I appreciate them as a team, and I am guessing TK booked them together to give Lee a chance to build up his endurance and get back in ring shape after his serious health problems, but listen to that crowd.  Everyone loves The Acclaimed.  Even me.

Women's Interim Title Fatal 4 Way

I agree with @Jimmy Redman in that it's kind of bullshit how the AEW Women keep getting stuck in the cool down matches right after the scorchers. It's not fair to them.  As far as this match...this match to me was one of those rare instances where stupid backstage bullshit and gossip and rumours kind of ruined the stuff in the ring for me.  If you are to believe what is being reported, Thunder Rosa has developed an awful reputation backstage for not only being a bit of a diva and not wanting to lose, but for hurting people in the ring.  I read the reports that both Baker and Hayter are pretty much refusing to work with Thunder Rosa from this point onward.  Now sure, that could be bullshit.  But my first thought when I saw this match was that IF that is true, then either there is no way Baker or Hayter win this, or that means Thunder Rosa doesn't come back because how could they unify the title?  So I didn't see either Baker or Hayter winning (which is a shame, because I kind of would have liked to have seen Hayter win.  I'm kind of over Baker's act in general at this point.)  I also didn't see poor Shida winning, because she kind of got dumped into this deal and wasn't really in the title picture leading up to it. Rumour has it that Toni Storm was supposed to beat Thunder Rosa for the title anyhow, and that Rosa got boo-boo face and got "injured."  You hear conflicting reports about that...but if you read between the lines even Storm might think Rosa isn't as injured as she has claimed, based on comments Storm made at the press conference.  Which left Toni Storm as the only logical person to win this match...and she did.  The match was pretty damn good...I especially enjoyed the whole deal with Baker screwing Hayter out of the title because that leads into a potentially great story with them. But I feel a bit bad for Toni Storm. She totally deserves to be Women's Champion and to have a big moment, especially after getting away from WWE.  But the backstage bullshit kind, and the placement of this match on the card kind of overshadowed what should have been the biggest moment of her career. I only hope that Thunder Rosa comes back, puts Storm over clean to unify the titles, and then Storm goes on to have a good title reign. She deserves it. And so do the fans, honestly.

Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy

So I gotta be honest, by this point I was starting to burn out on this show a bit. I love Pro Wrestling, but I had already sat through Clash at the Castle earlier in the weekend, and this show started to feel like it was dragging on.  So I'm not really at all upset about what happened here. I guess Cage has an injured elbow or arm (although I'm not sure how, because the dude barely ever wrestles, does he?)  So they basically shot an angle.  I'm a bit confused by the booking (which is a hallmark of Tony Khan booking.)  Luchasaurus was angry at Cage for betraying Jungle Boy so he attacked Cage who managed to turn him against Jungle Boy who was secretly working with Luchasaurus all along except he really wasn't because he turned on Jungle Boy after all?  Makes perfect sense to me.  Obviously they had to pivot because Cage can't wrestle, so they're probably going to do Jungle Boy vs. Luchasaurus for a while until Cage heals up, which is going to suck because Luchasaurus sucks.  I'm sorry for being bitter and smarky, but for me Luchasaurus fits in the Jake Hager category. Yes, he's experienced, and yes he's really big, but no he's not entertaining, and there are a million guys on the AEW roster who deserve more TV time than him. If you must keep him, send him to the YouTube show.  Anyhow, huge respect to Jungle Boy for taking that SICK bump.  You can't take that, you could see the burn marks and cuts on his back. The dude looked like a grilled Whopper from Burger King.

Chris Jericho vs. Brian Danielson

I fucking hated this.  Jericho couldn't keep his damn pants up, the match was way too long, it was slow, it was plodding and the wrong guy won.  I don't give a shit about two guys fighting over the soul of Daniel Garcia, who clearly has embarrassing pictures of Tony Khan in a compromising position and is threatening to release them if he isn't the focal point of everything that ever happens in AEW, ever. Danielson only has X number of matches left in him, why is he wasting them on fucking Blood and Guts (and getting injured) and rematches with Daniel Garica and losing to Jericho. If he has to lose to somebody, I at least respect losing to a guy like Garcia who he (wrongly) sees as a future superstar. Does Chris Jericho really need the rub from beating Bryan Danielson? Do we really need to see it? Please, let this angle be over now. Except it probably isn't, because Garcia is fighting Yuta on Dynamite this week, and I'm sure Jericho and Danielson will be involved somehow, because God hates me.

Sting, Darby and Miro vs. The House of Black

This is the show that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends. Some people started watching it not knowing what it was and they'll keep watching it forever just because this is the show that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends...sorry.  I actually wanted to see this match, but by this point I was over it. I like House of Black, a lot. I really enjoyed the Darby/King rivalry, especially because (unlike they usually do) Darby didn't end up coming out of it looking like a total goober. This is yet another match that was partially ruined by the outside the ring nonsense of the previous week.  If reports are to be believed (which apparently they are) Black has requested his release, either because he has a bad back injury, or he is having some mental health issues, or he wants to go back to WWE to work with Triple H and be around his wife.  All of which make sense, and I don't blame him for that.  But I expected him to lose the match, and so he did. I was very much looking forward to a match or series of matches between Miro and Black, which we apparently aren't going to get and that sucks.  Even though he isn't as good, I can only hope they substitute Brody King in for Black and keep the rivalry going.  I echo the people who have laughed at the dark, demonic stable with names like Malakai, King and...Buddy?!  Seriously, if they're going to stick to this gimmick, change the dude's name already! Full points to Julia Hart for her stellar Stevie Nicks cosplay. If this match had to go this way, at least Darby got a big win over a big name.  They are saying that Black embraced his teammates and waved goodbye to the crowd after the match ended, so I guess that's that.  I hope he gets better if he does have health issues of any kind.  Add Black to the ReDragon list of guys who I was really excited to see in AEW that didn't pan out, I guess.

Punk vs. Moxley

I wasn't looking forward to this, because I am starting to loathe Jon Moxley. I haven't always. I thought he was okay at best in WWE as Dean Ambrose, but he has shown me nothing in AEW that I like. He's a wannabe Stone Cold who isn't the slightest big convincing when he tries to act tough. He's a brawler who can't throw a decent looking punch, elbow or kick. He's basically a glorified garbage wrestler who is only good a bleeding.  I just don't care about the guy. I used to be lukewarm about him, but the more I see of him, the less I like him.  There are a TON of guys in AEW who should be elevated to Main Event level spots, all this guy is doing is taking one of those spots up. Go away, go back to GCW and have a pizza cutter on a pole match with Nick Gage or something, FFS.  Guys like Moxley and Jericho are perfect examples of guys who actually did benefit from their time in WWE.  They clearly contributed ideas, but they had somebody to tell them no.  We have seen what both guys can do when they are left to their own devices and are given creative freedom, and it ain't pretty.  Crashpads and matches in orange juice and mousetraps and pointless crap. The match was just okay.  I probably would have liked it a lot more, but it was 20 minutes long and I was totally burnt out by this point. I might go back and watch it again with fresh eyes later. I think both guys did their best, and I think the right guy definitely won. Now Punk can go own to have the reign he was supposed to have before he got hurt, and Moxley can go back and have another match with Effy in GCW.  As far as MJF being back?  I don't know.  I think the world of MJF, I think he's money.  Now that Triple H is in charge of WWE, to be honest I'd probably rather see him go there, but a continuation of the Punk feud could be good, so long as it isn't overshadowed by the stupid backstage crap, which it probably will be.  Speaking of which...

The Post Show Press Conference

Once again, @Jimmy Redman is right.  Nobody comes out of this press conference looking good. NOBODY.

Tony Khan looks like a total dweeb, because his entire roster is basically melting down in real time in front of the "Pro Wrestling media" and the best he can come up with is a lame statement about how the roster not getting along is good?! How about put your foot down, dumbass?  How about telling your roster that the first guy who opens his big fat yap and says something derogatory about anybody else on the roster is either suspended without pay, or fired? How about putting in a rule that if you get caught leaking information on the internet or to reporters, you're fined, fired or suspended?  How about if you're not happy with your contract and you don't show up for work, then you sit at home without pay until you do show up?  The fact that the entire internet knows everything that goes on backstage in AEW, including about what is said in closed door meetings a minute after they happen, is a fucking joke. That's what happens when you make friends with the reporters. Jericho had a point last night...that kind of shit never would have ever happened in WWE in a million years.  Not only is Tony Khan showing that he is in way over his head as a booker, he is clearly in way over his head as an executive.  I read all the rumors about how much the Khan family screwed up the soccer team they own, but what the hell do I know about that, so I ignored it. We all saw how smoothly the Khan family handled the coaching situation with the Jags last season...that was basically a master class in how NOT to manage a situation.  Nice to see the tradition is continuing in AEW.  This guy needs to pull his head out of his ass and surround himself with people who are actually going to help him, not add to the problem.  The best Tony Khan has done so far as try and work what is really going on backstage into the angles on screen, and that's just plain stupid. You know who thought that kind of thing was a good idea?

VINCE RUSSO.

Tony Khan, don't act like Vince Russo.  Please.

It's now been confirmed that Hangman Page really was "shooting" in that promo he cut on Punk on live TV, so fuck that guy. He's upset that he thinks Punk is hurting the company or got one of his friends fired or demoted, so he basically goes into business for himself and cuts a promo which makes ZERO sense from a storyline perspective.  I vividly remember that promo, and mentioned to my friend at the time that it made no sense, because it felt like they were turning Page heel or something, but Punk reacted strangely to it.  Turns out he reacted strangely because it wasn't planned at all.  What an unprofessional dickwad.  And it also turns out that the infamous interview that Page gave where he bragged about not needing to take advice from veterans in AEW because he helped building the place...that was actually REAL!  I can see why they kept Page around, to get the belt off him.  But he should have been fired or at least had a lengthy suspension after that, because you just don't go off script on live television because your feelings have been hurt.

Who should have helped smooth all of that over?  You would think the so-called "Executive Vice Presidents" except they happen to be personal friends with the guy who did it, and if Punk is to be believed, they actually helped exacerbate and encouraged the problem rather than deal with it.  So fuck them, too.  Nice to know that not only are Kenny and The Bucks ridiculously overrated as talents, they also suck as executives too.

I guess the guy I have the most sympathy for is Punk. He came out of retirement to try and make some money but also help this company, and he is basically getting hamstrung and sandbagged by guys who are supposed to be on his team. AEW is turning into amateur hour.   But honestly, that's no excuse for what he did last night at that press conference. In a way, what he did last night was just as unprofessional as what has been done to him.  But why shouldn't he do it? The boss was sitting there, right next to him, nodding his head.  It's hilarious.  And then supposedly the minute he goes backstage, The Young Bucks get into a fight with him.

The main issue here is clearly that Tony Khan is in WAY over his head and he needs to put his foot down and start taking control of his business like...yesterday.  And he needs to realize he can't run everything by himself and get some damn help with creative, and with HR and PR. Or shit like this is going to keep happening, and probably get worse.  Step one should probably be no more press conferences, to be honest.

Final Thoughts

I went into this PPV with pretty high expectations because for the last year or more, AEW has generally over-delivered. I couldn't really stand AEW when it first launched, and then the pandemic hit so it wasn't fair to judge anybody on the content they were producing.  But pretty much since the pandemic, I have been pretty impressed as a fan with AEW. They have made some great signings, although they probably should have done some house cleaning to make room for all the new talent. Tony Khan clearly doesn't want to do that, and I respect why...but now he has way too much talent and he can't use what he does have to his advantage with only three hours of TV a week and quarterly PPV's. And no, I don't count the YouTube shows, and neither should you.

This show was the first time all the stupid backstage crap that has apparently been going on overshadowed the actual product. If Tony Khan is smart, he'll put a stop to that and very quickly.   Because AEW is going to start giving off some heavy duty WCW vibes and that's not good for anybody.  And the timing couldn't be worse for him either, because it's starting to become very obvious that Triple H really is in charge in WWE now.  Which means two things...people are actually going to want to work there that might not have wanted to before, and also for the first time since AEW came into existence, WWE might actually start to produce a product that is better than AEW.  I never would have thought that was possible just a few months ago...but it is.  Clash at the Castle was the very first PPV that Triple H was totally in charge of and guess what?  There was some shit on there, but there was also some very good stuff.  Tony Khan needs to give his head a shake.

[southofheavy]

Couldn't agree more, Thread Killer. 

[KawadaSmile]

Did you sneak in an Emerson, Lake and Palmer reference, bubba?

[Stiva]

PPV as a whole felt like the flattest AEW show since that one where they almost killed Matt Hardy and that one had the excuse of being a COVID lockdown show. The whole booking direction feels like Khan is completely burned out and if his response to that is to lay on the work/shoot bullshit thicker than ever, then no thanks. I’m good, especially with MJF coming back who literally cannot cut a promo without slipping in “shoot” comments.
 

If these are a potential work, Punk is a good enough worker to get himself over as a heel without this shit and if it’s all shoot, this company is a total shitshow behind the scenes and that’s not something I’m interested in because the shows are beginning to suffer in a big way. To have a Chicago AEW crowd be so quiet for vast portions of the show is maybe a sign that something isn’t working. I’m not big on the Bucks, Page and Omega but at least they’re all on the same page and their shit is coherent. Everything else in this company is making me hugely frustrated and confused.

Says something when WWE can lose VINCE MCMAHON and all the craziness that entails and CATC was way more logical and coherent than All Out. If you’d said that 6 months ago, you’d be laughed out the room

[sek69]

Details of the backstage dust up are coming out, seems like Punk came in swinging at the Bucks, Ace Steel hit one of them in the eye with a chair and either tried or did bite Kenny when he was pulling them apart. 
 

You'd think if nothing else Tony would have to suspend Punk based on the precedent he set with Kingston, let alone what kind of legal fallout there may be.

Also it's funny in all this how beloved Adam Cole is, since Punk took the time to put him over in the middle of lightning the rest of the company on fire.

[Jmare007]

Well shit, if Punk doesn't get suspended then Eddie Kingston is gonna cause major trouble too

[ohtani's jacket]

Why do they call it a media scrum? It's a god damn press conference. A media scrum is like those scenes from television where the media swarm around a figure on the courthouse steps.

[sek69]

I suppose the one thing that press conference established is that everyone's assumptions were right and everyone there hates Punk and Rosa. Toni Storm was able to just shit all over Rosa and her injury claims and no one batted an eye at that. 

[The Thread Killer]

As bizarre as all of this stuff is, the whole “Ace Steel bit Kenny Omega” part of it may just take the cake.

[C.S.]

6 minutes ago, The Thread Killer said:

As bizarre as all of this stuff is, the whole “Ace Steel bit Kenny Omega” part of it may just take the cake.

Ace "Armie Hammer" Steel.

What a joke!

This is why you shouldn't hire indie nobodies for major backstage positions.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

From the live perspective, it was a fun show.  Obviously not All Out 2021 but the crowd never *completely* died, that I noticed.  The Jade match was pretty awful but that’s still kind of a given at this point.  Jericho/Bryan was pretty heatless, sadly.  

I don’t think I have ever experienced a hotter crowd than during the Acclaimed match.  Absolutely off the charts.  That was my MOTN, followed by the trios final.  Crowd was quite rabid at times during the Punk match but the way it played out really made the TV match pointless and more of a headscratcher.

Fifteen matches was definitely too much, but it felt well-paced from my seat in the arena.  It’s essentially their Wrestlemania so I get that they wanted to squeeze more people onto the card.  It was the fifth AEW PPV I’ve attended in person (all of the Chicago ones) and I’d probably rank it 5th.

[sek69]

22 minutes ago, The Thread Killer said:

As bizarre as all of this stuff is, the whole “Ace Steel bit Kenny Omega” part of it may just take the cake.

It's funny that Kenny got sucked in to all this, as there's a poster on the WO board who's a Canadian indy promoter who mentioned Kenny used to get shit from the veterans when he was starting up and he never said a word even when he would have every right to tell them to GFY. 

[strobogo]

Wild that SIOG vs The Acclaimed was the match of the night. I'd actually say that was the second best match of the weekend of shows, behind only Walter vs Sheamus. A couple of random thoughts:

 

Wardlow's straight up video game clothesline looks way, way more devastating than any of his powerbombs.

The ladder match was a disaster. Might not ever have been a match with so much talent that went so poorly. 

Punk comes back from his injury with a noticeably bigger upper body, suddenly appears to have developed gyno at the same time. Are steroids straight edge?

Really have no idea what the deal with Kip Sabian is. They had him do that box head gimmick for like a year and a half, he didn't take any outside bookings either, and now he looks like Kizzarny and treats the box like Al Snow and Head.

The Christian/Jungle Boy thing was real weird to do on a PPV with so much build up. Hobbs/Starks really should have had another 5, maybe even 10 minutes. The Jericho/Bryan match certainly didn't need that much time, and the women's 4 way felt like it was a half hour.

I'm really not at all interested in a Punk title run as a face or heel. Mox has had so much more momentum and juice, and while I'm not a big fan of Moxley, he's clearly better for the role of top guy of AEW in 2022 than Punk.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

Realistically that ladder match was more angle than match and that pretty much sucks.

[strobogo]

Sure but the spots didn't make any sense even by multiman ladder match standards, most of them did not go off well (like what the fuck was the Claudio/Andrade spot supposed to be lmao), and the announcers pointing out things not making sense hurt it even more. Matches like that can certainly go off the rails pretty easily, but that one never seemed to be on the tracks to begin with.

 

Also, MJF's intro was so bizarre. Playing the phone call from TK was just...what in the world

[Embrodak]

The last thing we saw from MJF was him cussing out Tony Khan, him playing a voice mail from Tony Khan begging him to come back on exactly his terms is perfectly in keeping with MJF’s character. Actually MJF being in cahoots with Hathaway is filling in the question of why all these midcard guys would get on board with this nobody manager.

[strobogo]

Oh it made sense it was just super weird to me

[The Man in Blak]

18 hours ago, strobogo said:

Punk comes back from his injury with a noticeably bigger upper body, suddenly appears to have developed gyno at the same time. Are steroids straight edge?

[DR Ackermann]

If you can't walk you are going to gain weight. And that will include fat and muscle mass if you are working out. 

[Coffey]

On 9/5/2022 at 2:19 PM, The Thread Killer said:

Nice to know that not only are Kenny and The Bucks ridiculously overrated as talents, they also suck as executives too.

I just want to say that I acknowledge that without The Elite, AEW wouldn't exist. I also acknowledge that they have a lot of fans. That being said, I actually think I would enjoy AEW more if Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks & Hangman Adam Page all left the promotion. 

[Matt D]

1 hour ago, Coffey said:

I just want to say that I acknowledge that without The Elite, AEW wouldn't exist. I also acknowledge that they have a lot of fans. That being said, I actually think I would enjoy AEW more if Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks & Hangman Adam Page all left the promotion. 

Losing Punk is honestly worth it for that. 

[The Man in Blak]

I’m actually more inclined to attribute a lot of AEW’s initial success to Cody rather than the rest of the Elite. Maybe it’s coincidence, but when Cody was locked in — before he drifted into the Codyverse and into his own bizarre saga of palace intrigue before exiting stage left — the promotion as a whole seemed on point. And so many of those iconic moments from the early days centered around him.

The rest of the Elite has had great matches following that early period, but none of them have ever struck me as having that presence as a next-level star. Omega is one of my favorite modern wrestlers but, even when he was draped in three different world titles and on top of the world, he still didn’t seem to touch the same level as the guy standing the opposite corner from Okada in New Japan.

To me, it feels like a big reason that Punk’s return to wrestling (and, to a lesser extent, Danielson’s signing) seemed to subsume the entire promotion — for better AND worse, apparently — is also a referendum on the Elite: the promotion needed a star. Punk and Danielson did a pretty good job of playing ball when they came in, up to the point where Page decided to work himself into a shoot during the Punk feud, but I think Page’s defensiveness there betrays an anxiety from the Elite as a whole.