The All Elite Wrestling Discussion Thread

[Jaysin]

Well the Devil is far less interesting now that Punk returned to WWE.

Adam Cole better not be the Devil at this point.

[FellaLibby]

2 hours ago, Jaysin said:

Well the Devil is far less interesting now that Punk returned to WWE.

Adam Cole better not be the Devil at this point.

Who should it be now?

[aXminster]

The Righteous lost again lol what a shame

[Jaysin]

7 hours ago, FellaLibby said:

Who should it be now?

I don't know. Someone not predictable. All signs point to Adam Cole and it's boring to me. I like Cole, but Meh.

[milamber]

Rampage was good. I didn't expect Shibata to drop the Pure title until Final Battle. Yuta destroyed him 😮

 

- Garcia vs Claudio was good.

- Killswitch beating up Dalton's Boys was fun. Copeland is sinking to Christian's level. Great promo.

- HoB vs Kommander & Gravity was solid. Kommander's rope running spot was cool.

- Dante!

- Frost vs Julia (c) was solid.

- FTR vs Righteous was solid. Cesaro lol. Punk doesn't deserve a shoutout.

- Ricky/Bill promo was good.

- Keith vs Moriarty was solid.

- Brody vs Eddie was my MOTN. Big win for Brody.

[milamber]

18 hours ago, FellaLibby said:

Who should it be now?

 

[parkereddy]

If the Devil is Jack Perry, I will not be watching AEW for the forseeable future

[Jaysin]

13 hours ago, milamber said:

 

I've seen every episode of Dynamite and Collision and that would stop of Jungle Dingus was the Devil. He's an immature child who is mediocre at best in the ring.

[Self]

I would have kept Wardlow off TV for a few more months, and had him be the Devil. On-screen history. A believable physical threat. A legitimate reason to dislike MJF. A new coat of paint for someone who was once really popular, but has been lost in the shuffle. But I guess that ship has sailed.

[MightyDavidson]

5 hours ago, Jaysin said:

I've seen every episode of Dynamite and Collision and that would stop of Jungle Dingus was the Devil. He's an immature child who is mediocre at best in the ring.

Even if Punk did instigate their confrontation, the fact that Perry wanted to use real glass in a wrestling match is something that he deserved to be called out for.  That's incredibly unsafe for not only himself but his opponent after all.

[FellaLibby]

It is really surprising to me how many people would think that Punk would be the devil. Like, sure it would've been cool, but is it really something Punk is known for? To hide his identity while under a mask? To me no, he's a guy who would sooner cut a promo declaring it was him behind the whole thing rather than be the devil. Honestly the choices of the devil are there but it's either Jack Perry, who has justification by being the only one of the "four pillers" to be basically dunked on in that match and overlooked. Or Adam Cole for being someone who promised to get the world championship. I'm not sure there are better options, sans a debuting star.

[Matt_Black]

Jack Perry as the Devil would be a mistake. He's just not interesting enough right now as a heel or a face. Jay White is pretty good on the mic, and he was regularly getting smoked by MJF. Having Jack Perry trying to exchange promos with MJF would be like putting the Carolina Panthers against the Philadelphia Eagles (GO EAGLES!).

[Dalton]

8 hours ago, Self said:

I would have kept Wardlow off TV for a few more months, and had him be the Devil. On-screen history. A believable physical threat. A legitimate reason to dislike MJF. A new coat of paint for someone who was once really popular, but has been lost in the shuffle. But I guess that ship has sailed.

Why would Wardlow, whose gimmick is he's a dominant wrestler, and whose last encounter with MJF ended in the very definition of a squash, hide behind a mask and goons? 

[Dalton]

2 hours ago, Matt_Black said:

Jack Perry as the Devil would be a mistake. He's just not interesting enough right now as a heel or a face. Jay White is pretty good on the mic, and he was regularly getting smoked by MJF. Having Jack Perry trying to exchange promos with MJF would be like putting the Carolina Panthers against the Philadelphia Eagles (GO EAGLES!).

This is the first time I've seen someone say MJF outclassed Jay White. MJF spent two months coming up awful nicknames and call-and-response "please clap" taunts and chants, while Jay White shined every time he had a mic in his hand by seeing through it all and actually building to the match.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Dalton

[ColdBloodedSausageMaker]

I have to think Roderick Strong is under the devil mask. He's been faking an on-and-off injury for a while now and already has goons doing his dirty work. And no one else other than Wardlow has beef with MJF.

If this eventually leads to an Adam Cole heel turn, all the better. He's better as a heel anyway.

[Jaysin]

If they go the Adam Cole route, I hope KOR and Bobby Fish are two of the goons. I hated how injuries derailed the UE stuff in AEW. Maybe a full on UE reunion could spark some life into the shows. 

[Matt_Black]

5 hours ago, Dalton said:

This is the first time I've seen someone say MJF outclassed Jay White. MJF spent two months coming up awful nicknames and call-and-response "please clap" taunts and chants, while Jay White shined every time he had a mic in his hand by seeing through it all and actually building to the match.

Jay White is good at promos... for a guy who's primarily wrestled in a promotion not generally known for promos. MJF was much better, in my opinion.

[Self]

9 hours ago, Dalton said:

Why would Wardlow, whose gimmick is he's a dominant wrestler, and whose last encounter with MJF ended in the very definition of a squash, hide behind a mask and goons? 

Great question.

Because physical dominance isn't enough. For as big and strong and great at powerbombs as Wardlow is, he isn't AEW World champion. MJF is. As you said, he beat MJF, and the guy still became champion. How? Why? Because MJF is the Devil. He plots and schemes and tricks idiots into admiring him and that's worth a thousand powerbombs. Maybe at first Wardlow only put on the mask to frame MJF and remind everyone that he's not someone to be trusted, but now? Wardlow sees that devils make it to the top, and if that's what it takes, he'll be that devil. He watched MJF wreak havoc for years. He'll use those very same tricks against him. 

Why does Roman Reigns; the most dominant wrestler in WWE for the last decade, surround himself with the Bloodline and Paul Heyman to keep himself on top? Because that's what it takes. 

This would be an evolution of the Wardlow character. Loathing MJF, but also kind of revering him, using his old boss's tricks. A 'smart' monster, but who is only really repeating what he's seen another wrestler do before. So how smart is he? Which is how MJF ultimately beats him. There's nothing new or unexpected or diabolical. 

[aXminster]

I never thought it could be Punk. Everything points to being Adam Cole and his goons, which for me it would be disapointing. Jungle Boy would be a colossal mistake.

The other options are:
- Ospreay and the United Empire.
- Swerve and the Mogul Embassy.
- The Don Callis Family, which is a huge stretch but I could see it happening.
- LFI, an even bigger stretch. Don't think they would fit.

Everyone else would make no sense being involved in this angle.

[Jaysin]

Richard Holliday is another possibility, but I doubt even a quarter of AEW's audience knows who he is or what MLW is. Shame Hammerstone resigned with MLW, because I feel like he'd do real well in AEW. 

[Croquemitaine]

1 hour ago, aXminster said:

- Swerve and the Mogul Embassy.

Swerve is actually an excellent choice. He's already been presented as a careful planner with his eye on the big prize, and his visibility and credibility are on the upswing.

In fact, right now I'd say Swerve is a good choice to go ahead and take the belt from MJF (who will be weakened by short programs with Joe and Wardlow, and out-of-kayfabe may need surgery or at least recovery time for his torn labrum).

Another out of the box candidate for the devil? Ricky Starks.

The main downside to Swerve or Starks (or most other credible options) as the Devil is lack of personal history with MJF. The more they play up "this is personal", the more it has to be Cole, Wardlow, Roddy, or Joe (none of whom seem to be popular options with the fans). If they instead start focusing on the Devil being after the championship, that opens up the field.

My gut instinct is that it was always meant to be Cole, and now they're scrambling due to his long-term injury. This is the sort of situation that AEW tends to bungle.

 

 

[The Blonde Bomber]

11 hours ago, Self said:

Great question.

Because physical dominance isn't enough. For as big and strong and great at powerbombs as Wardlow is, he isn't AEW World champion. MJF is. As you said, he beat MJF, and the guy still became champion. How? Why? Because MJF is the Devil. He plots and schemes and tricks idiots into admiring him and that's worth a thousand powerbombs. Maybe at first Wardlow only put on the mask to frame MJF and remind everyone that he's not someone to be trusted, but now? Wardlow sees that devils make it to the top, and if that's what it takes, he'll be that devil. He watched MJF wreak havoc for years. He'll use those very same tricks against him. 

Why does Roman Reigns; the most dominant wrestler in WWE for the last decade, surround himself with the Bloodline and Paul Heyman to keep himself on top? Because that's what it takes. 

This would be an evolution of the Wardlow character. Loathing MJF, but also kind of revering him, using his old boss's tricks. A 'smart' monster, but who is only really repeating what he's seen another wrestler do before. So how smart is he? Which is how MJF ultimately beats him. There's nothing new or unexpected or diabolical. 

Please takeover AEW's booking.

[Fleisch]

If the Devil ends up being Jack Perry then I'll be putting AEW plus on the cancellation list again. I'm already finding the shows to be tedious as every match seems to follow similar trends and overbooking so that will be the straw that breaks the camels back. I already use the Young Bucks as a break to get a drink etc... as they are just insufferable idiots.

[milamber]

19 hours ago, Croquemitaine said:

Swerve is actually an excellent choice. He's already been presented as a careful planner with his eye on the big prize, and his visibility and credibility are on the upswing.

In fact, right now I'd say Swerve is a good choice to go ahead and take the belt from MJF (who will be weakened by short programs with Joe and Wardlow, and out-of-kayfabe may need surgery or at least recovery time for his torn labrum).

Another out of the box candidate for the devil? Ricky Starks.

The main downside to Swerve or Starks (or most other credible options) as the Devil is lack of personal history with MJF. The more they play up "this is personal", the more it has to be Cole, Wardlow, Roddy, or Joe (none of whom seem to be popular options with the fans). If they instead start focusing on the Devil being after the championship, that opens up the field.

My gut instinct is that it was always meant to be Cole, and now they're scrambling due to his long-term injury. This is the sort of situation that AEW tends to bungle.

 

 

I wouldn't want it to be Ricky unless he beats MJF this time. Plus he's busy with Bill so the storyline would probably be dragged out too long and impact the tag division. Swerve could probably make anything work (except Parker & Trench which no one could lol) and he's primed for the main event. I'd be willing to give Perry a chance but he would have to start cutting some killer promos.

Edited November 29, 2023 by milamber

[Dawn]

On 11/28/2023 at 5:41 AM, Self said:

Great question.

Because physical dominance isn't enough. For as big and strong and great at powerbombs as Wardlow is, he isn't AEW World champion. MJF is. As you said, he beat MJF, and the guy still became champion. How? Why? Because MJF is the Devil. He plots and schemes and tricks idiots into admiring him and that's worth a thousand powerbombs. Maybe at first Wardlow only put on the mask to frame MJF and remind everyone that he's not someone to be trusted, but now? Wardlow sees that devils make it to the top, and if that's what it takes, he'll be that devil. He watched MJF wreak havoc for years. He'll use those very same tricks against him. 

Why does Roman Reigns; the most dominant wrestler in WWE for the last decade, surround himself with the Bloodline and Paul Heyman to keep himself on top? Because that's what it takes. 

This would be an evolution of the Wardlow character. Loathing MJF, but also kind of revering him, using his old boss's tricks. A 'smart' monster, but who is only really repeating what he's seen another wrestler do before. So how smart is he? Which is how MJF ultimately beats him. There's nothing new or unexpected or diabolical. 

This is phenomenal stuff.