The All Elite Wrestling Discussion Thread

[crownsy]

I honestly think Cody was doing fine until Tony Kahn took complete control of the booking. The whole product changed when that happened and I think Cody lost the creative outlet that being on the booking committee gave him. The only place he could do it was his own storylines - hardly surprising given it’s exactly what TK wants from his roster — their creative is completely in their own hands.

 

Then Tony made the right call, because Cody's storylines and Brandi's stuff is easily the most out of place stuff on the show. Cody's lacked direction other than "get myself and Brandi on TV" for a solid year.

 

AEW completely changed from what is was pre-pandemic. I’m not surprised there were creative differences between the two. Cody clearly is more interested in traditional style booking and storytelling - whereas TK just kinda wants to showcase great matches and bring in surprises. That’s why Cody’s stuff always seemed out of place.

 

Maybe, I've honestly just noticed that Cody's stuff is very tired and shoehorns Brandi into everything. Brandi seems like a fine person, but every moment she was on my TV I wanted to change it/ thought of all the other talented women in AEW I'd rather see get the time.

 

I’d been considering doing a save — maybe even trying a diary — based on Cody keeping the book using the Before The Fall 2020 mod where there’s no pandemic. I don’t really like AEWs current direction so thought it might be interesting to see how different things could have been. But I was thinking ahead and wondering if I could see a scenario where Cody would eventually leave to start his own promotion cos their creative differences are obvious, that and TK strikes me as the kinda guy who always wanted to get his hands completely on the booking regardless.

 

I'd read this, sounds cool as hell.

 

I still never imagined he’d ever actually leave for real, though. Ever. Whilst I know money is also an issue he’s gotta be feeling pretty alienated to consider going back to WWE. Good luck to him, though.

 

I dunno, he's always stated they are on good terms and it was mutual when he left. I don't think there is really as much bad blood here as people seem to assume. HE left WWE for very similar reasons to what is being reported with AEW. Contract time had come, and he felt he was worth Main Event Money. Vince said no, I don't see you that way and Cody said "then let me go prove you wrong" from all accounts. Seems to me he Did, and Vince tends to respect people that do that.

 

It’s not a good look for AEW to be honest. On screen, him leaving will have zero impact, but the implications it has backstage and for the company’s reputation will be interesting. If Cody can leave for WWE (potentially) any one can.

 

I mean I don't know about that. I think Wrestlers are conditioned to see people come and go from a company without much animosity. Its not like Cody left because he was off TV or something, he left because he wants more money. That happens everywhere, doesn't mean the person is suddenly persona non grata or the company they left is to blame.

[Mootinie]

I would think that Johnny Ace being back as WWE's Head of Talent Relations has something to do with Cody re-signing there. It was Laurinitis that first hired him back in the day, I'm sure they have a good rapport and at the end of the day, that's the person you deal with the most. Now it's Johnny Ace, Bruce Prichard, Nick Khan and Vince, that might be more attractive for an ex-employee like Cody than it was when Canyon Ceman was heading up talent relations.

 

Creative wise, it's a better company for the two of them. I think he and Brandi are tailor made for rivalries against Miz and Maryse, and Edge and Beth Phoenix. I don't know what else Cody could have done as a talent in AEW given that he's not allowed to compete for the World title and he's held the midcard belt three times already.

 

If the stories about him losing backstage pull are to be believed, I'm not surprised he's decided to maximise his earnings when taking bumps on somebody else's dime. AEW aren't going to spoil their pay structure or compromise their budget to keep Cody Rhodes, he's just not worth it. He wasn't even on Dynamite last week and they did like 1.15 million viewers. I think they'll be fine.

[Matt_Black]

Another problem is that Cody insists on being a face, while Brandi prefers being a heel. And when they keep having stories together, it's a mess. As evidenced by that Lambert bit. UGGGH.

[Jaysin]

Man, what a friggin show this week. Seems like they're finding their balance between promos and matches.

 

Punk and MJF in a dog collar match is going to be nuts.

 

Moriarty is such a fantastic talent that is gifted beyond his years. Incredible performance tonight.

 

I'm genuinely intrigued by this Mox/Bryan angle. I love both men and the idea of them mentoring young talent is great. I'd almost prefer Mox leading his own group of guys and Bryan leading his leading two Blood & Guts II.

 

Wardlow vs Caster was fun while it lasted. Max is such a great talker and has a punchable face. Acclaimed has a bright future either as singles stars or as a main event unit.

 

PnP vs Hager/Jericho was one of Jericho's better matches in AEW, but the ending was weird. He kicked out of the Street Sweeper, but loses to a discus lariat? I love the fact that PnP won though and I love that Eddie is back. He was wearing a shirt, but he appeared to have lost some weight. Might not be the case, but that's what it looked like at least. It's still heartwarming hearing an arena chant Eddie's name after following nearly his entire career.

 

Rosa and Martinez was awesome. Rosa's Bruce Lee/The Bride attire was gnarly. I really want women's tag titles and would honestly love Rosa and Martinez being the first champs. Again, seeing a person you've followed for ages like Mercedes, it's great seeing them in such a high profile spot on a mainstream wrestling show.

 

Darby and Sammy was fun as heck and they continue to push their bodies to the brink. I know Sammy just unified the TNT titles, but I really hope Andrade takes the belt off him. Sammy is gifted, but I just don't like his face character and Andrade really needs direction. He's a superstar waiting to happen and much like Miro, he's been directionless far too often since coming to AEW. I know not everyone can be in a featured storyline all the time, but Andrade deserves better in my opinion.

 

Also, where the hell is Miro? Sloppy ass Archer returns and gets a title shot, but someone as over as Miro just disappears. It's weird.

 

To me the only way to salvage Archer is to bring in DBS Jr to reunite KES. Archer and Hangman was good, but literally zero people thought of him as a threat to a world champion. KES would be a great addition to the already stacked tag division though.

[BrokenCycle]

Also, where the hell is Miro? Sloppy ass Archer returns and gets a title shot, but someone as over as Miro just disappears. It's weird.

 

He was injured during or a little before his last match against Danielson, but he's going to be back soon.

[Jaysin]

He was injured during or a little before his last match against Danielson, but he's going to be back soon.

 

Not sure how I missed that, but thanks! It's been driving me nuts how they had those vignettes going and then they just stopped out of nowhere.

[milamber]

- Great Punk promo. MJF speechless lol.

- Bryan vs Moriarty was great. Loved Mox's promo. Limitless.

- Wardlow vs Caster was solid. Spears was a poor accountabilibuddy.

- Sensei Kreese! No Mercy!

- Good back and forth between the 2 Adams. Vance on a rampage. Donate blood.

- Jericho & Hager vs PnP was good. Kingston! Elite arguing over their children lol.

- Mercedes vs Rosa was great. Hayter's not turning yet.

- House of Black recruiting a new member? Breathe with the Switchblade.

- Darby vs Sammy © was my MOTN. These guys are so good it's hard to tell if they are legit injured or selling. Hoping for a triple threat with Andrade at Revolution.

[Derek B]

That was some quality Dynamite, good to see AEW pulling things together more after what has been a little bit of a rough spell.

 

Good shout from Jaysin on bringing in Davey Boy Smith Jr to team with Lance Archer again, that would be an awesome addition and I'd love to see that. Both guys can do with more focus, and having them losing tag matches as appropriate is much easier to book than having to try to protect them both in singles matches. Would be cool to see

[Croquemitaine]

- Great Punk promo. MJF speechless lol.

You know you've built something special when a guy can come out, say absolutely nothing, and pop your crowd.

[crownsy]

https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2022/02/big-swole-says-tony-khan-used-to-smoke-her-weed/

 

God, I want to hope Big Swole really looks at her self, gets better in the ring, and becomes a star, but then here she is being like

 

"He could have told me my ring skills weren't that good and I needed work, but we were such brrrrroooooo's, he smoked weed with me! How could he be so mean and say I needed more work in ring!"

 

Hun, it's 2022. Smoking weed with someone isn't a big deal or make you besties.

[milamber]

- Cole vs 10 was good. Lots of selling practice for Vance.

- Hobbs vs Dante was great. Hobbs looking more polished in his last few matches.

- Love Jade with the Dollar Sign jumpsuit and green hair. Matt still teasing the Hardy Boyz.

- Deeb vs Risk was a solid squash.

- Trent vs White was my MOTN. Knife Pervert wins. G1 Climax vibes.

[Makhai]

Another problem is that Cody insists on being a face, while Brandi prefers being a heel. And when they keep having stories together, it's a mess. As evidenced by that Lambert bit. UGGGH.

 

I don't know man. Finding a way to turn Dan Lambert into a babyface is quite the achievement. And Cody playing this tweener character has turned him into the hottest act in the company by quite a bit. He was hotter than Punk and MJF. Anybody he got in the ring with was automatically over. You can work with that. Everyone looks at the Cena era when the crowd was sick of his act, but as long as you pay it off at some point, its a white-hot character. I mean that match with RVD at ECW ONS 06 will literally live forever, and Cody and Brandi had that heat, I don't know how you let that walk away, yes it was awkward, yes it was non-sensical. But it was still very recoverable at this point and I was very intrigued in where it could go.

 

I haven't been able to understand anything Cody has done since the neck tattoo though. He's absolutely 300% jobbing clean at Mania to Olmos or w/e. I remember that road story he'd always tell. "I'll never put the trash bag on again" well he put the trashbag back on. I'm willing to bet a lot that he's Stardust on Main Event by the end of the year. It has to be completely burned to consider going back there.

[Captain Kayfabe]

Another solid episode of Rampage.

 

I like how AEW makes some guys look solid/like a real threat, even in defeat (10 vs Cole last night, Wardlow vs Punk a few weeks ago).

 

Jade looks like money and smells like money!

[Jaysin]

I love that we are getting a ladder match full of hoss type workers. Sure, it's sensational watching lighter workers fly all over the place, but for the life of me, I can't remember a ladder match that had all big dudes. I'm sure the last three slots will have some lighter workers, but man, a beefy ladder match sounds so dope.

 

Really hope Rosa takes the belt off Britt, but I doubt it.

[Matt_Black]

 

Really hope Rosa takes the belt off Britt, but I doubt it.

 

If not Rosa, who? Britt has gone over every other babyface on the roster. They're teasing a Hayter turn, but she isn't nearly as over as Rosa is.

[Jaysin]

Man, on paper, Revolution has the potential to be a show of the year contender

[milamber]

- Tag Team Battle Royale started OK and got good near the end. Happy to see Silver, Trent, Santana & Kyle get some shine. Hangman going ham!

- William Regal namedrop.

- Masterful promo from MJF, painting Punk as the villian in his life. Even Tony was sympathetic

- Kings of the Black Throne vs Death Triangle was good. I assume AEW don't have the rights to the Pentagon Dark name and his LU theme. Buddy!

- Kingston/Jericho segment was great. Kingston is for the women. Eddie Edwards... What's His Name lol. Jericho is better as a heel.

- Starks vs 10 was solid. Big fan of Starks but I wanted an all-beef ladder match.

- Bunny vs Jade © was solid... except for the pin botch. Who's next lol. Shame Tay's going to lose.

- Garcia vs Danielson was my MOTN. Fun ending with Mox.

[Derek B]

Thought that was another really strong Dynamite overall, things are kicking into high gear for the upcoming PPV and that looks like it's going to blow WRestlemania out of the water at this rate

[milamber]

- Andrade vs Sammy © was my good. Surprised it ended clean. Hardy wants the TNT title for himself.

- QT fears Hook. Scorpio waiting for his annual push.

- Wardlow vs Comoroto was good. Spears lol.

- Deeb vs Sparks was an OK squash. Hopefully it leads to a debut.

- DMD/Rosa contract signing was fun.

- Cassidy vs Bowens was my MOTN. Danhausen with the assist. Caster's rap was weak.

[Matt_Black]

- Andrade vs Sammy © was my good. Surprised it ended clean. Hardy wants the TNT title for himself.

- QT fears Hook. Scorpio waiting for his annual push.

- Wardlow vs Comoroto was good. Spears lol.

- Deeb vs Sparks was an OK squash. Hopefully it leads to a debut.

- DMD/Rosa contract signing was fun.

- Cassidy vs Bowens was my MOTN. Danhausen with the assist. Caster's rap was weak.

 

Apparently, the rap was edited in post.

[milamber]

Apparently, the rap was edited in post.

 

The unedited version included a

Putin joke

. I'm surprised Tony let it get that far. The rap sucked either way.

[aXminster]

So AEW just bought ROH including the video library dating back to 2002. This is actually HUGE!

[milamber]

- The ROH tape library will help with a streaming deal. I only care about Gresham, Bandido and some of the women but there are plenty of underutilized AEW wrestlers who could be sent to ROH to get their reps in. Shane's not here lol.

- Danielson vs Daniels was my MOTN. Mox more amped up than Tony Khan.

- Tag Team Battle Royale was good. The division is ridiculously stacked. Nice to see Darius wrestle again. Caster back on form with that rap.

- The Punk/MJF feud is great. Wasn't expecting a crimson mask and a hanging

- More of Lee & Ricky please.

- DMD & Hayter vs Mercedes & Rosa was solid.

- Statlander/Hirsch finally going to happen.

- Wardlow vs Bononi was OK. Spears backing down and Wardlow getting lippy with Max lol.

- The House always wins.

- Cole & reDRagon vs Hangman & Dark Order was good.

[ironfist]

So that three way TNT Title match between Sammy, Darby, and Andrade was straight fire last night. I'm so pumped for this pay per view!

[milamber]

- Darby vs Andrade vs Sammy © was my MOTW so far. Surprised at the result but I still think Andrade wins the TNT title soon.

- Alex getting a bit too cheesy. Redbeard WTF! Arm snap. PVZ is All Elite.

- Lee vs Drake was good.

- MJF lit a fire under Punk's ass. Conti is too good to lose to Jade

- Deeb squash was OK. Holy Shida!

- Kingston lol.

- Ego vs Christian was good. Kyle air guitar lol.