The All Elite Wrestling Discussion Thread

[overthetop2]

Not sure why AEW is getting dogged online for this?  The footage clearly shows that they were in the right to be fearful of Punk's continued presence in the locker room, because all I'm seeing is a nutjob sucker punching another worker after trying to play road agent instead of focusing on his own match.

[ColdBloodedSausageMaker]

(Not using the AEW official clip because AEW cut the fight footage from their official Youtube channel. Hope this doesn't mean AEW is risking potential legal issues to show this footage)

I don't hate the concept here, I do think the execution here was flawed. 

The angle wasn't very good and the footage itself was underwhelming. There was also no sound on the footage at all. 

Matt and Nick dragged the promo out far too long. The Bucks could've easily summed up in one minute what took them four. 

I think Matt and Nick were trying to compensate for the mediocre fight footage. I don't think them dragging the angle out worked. 

I also think Matt and Nick could've taken a more serious approach to the angle. I think playing the EVP characters this way came off as "cheap heat".

Edited April 11 by ColdBloodedSausageMaker

[FellaLibby]

As far as I'm concerned, AEW gained nothing by airing this footage. The Bucks showed this to do... What? Show what we already know? It didn't show Jack Perry in a good light at all, if anything he looked like a complete loser, getting pushed, punched and choked out by Punk. The footage didn't contain audio, so it can still be misleading and we don't know if Perry offended Punk by saying anything to him right there. Punk meanwhile won't suffer for this, as he already has. (technically). Punk's not AEW's problem anymore, which was why I never liked this idea in the first place. Punk may be a jerk in this footage but it doesn't tell the whole story like people wanted to believe. Perry meanwhile suffers even more. Not only is he still under suspension from AEW, but this footage doesn't help his case neither. If this was an attempt to bring him back, this failed.
In my opinion, the time to show this footage should've been around Survivor Series. It could've, in theory, drum up interest that maybe Punk was still in AEW. Maybe cause doubt for those who thought he'd never go back to WWE and maybe even WWE could've been like "Oh no, lets not deal with this." Tonight? It was far too late, and pointless. Nobody gains anything from it. Bucks look dumb for showing it, Perry looks stupid in the end, Punk isn't in AEW, and Joe is the only one in the footage who doesn't look out of place. All in all, this was a bad idea for AEW to do.

[eayragt]

1 hour ago, overthetop2 said:

Not sure why AEW is getting dogged online for this?  The footage clearly shows that they were in the right to be fearful of Punk's continued presence in the locker room, because all I'm seeing is a nutjob sucker punching another worker after trying to play road agent instead of focusing on his own match.

Because there is little to gain from this outside a small trend. It doesn't advance The Young Bucks, or Perry, or Khan. It doesn't damage Punk anymore than when the incident happened. It doesn't stoke an AEW WWE war, as WWE refuse to be at war (Trips lazy comments were stupid, but he rightfully hasn't doubled down on them).

I guess the hope is that eyes from last night stay on AEW, so we'll have to wait until next week's rating to see if that happend. 

[Wrestling Machine]

After watching the video, I really struggle to understand what benefits AEW expected from putting it in the public domain.

Punk proven to be right about it, Jack Perry looked like a b**, what were they expecting outside of mockery?

 

[Fleisch]

Wrestling is full of ego - always has been and always will be due to the nature of the profession and these things are going to happen when arrogance and ego collide (it's inevitable). I've seen more violence in a pub fight where the 2 guys then shook hands afterwards than what is being shown as Tony Khan "fearing for his life"! Clearly he doesn't go to any pubs after Fulham matches!

Unfortunately, as someone who likes parts of both WWE and AEW at the moment, watching (supposed) adults on both sides try to blame one or the other is pathetic. This tribalism is Caveman levels of stupid.

Should Punk have choked Perry? No. Should Jack Perry have goaded Punk into doing so? Again no. It is literally handbags and people are acting like its Bruiser Brodie stabbed to death level of news. No one died, Punk got his release and Jack Perry is gets to pretend he got to NJPW on his own and no doubt a future Elite spot is waiting upon his return.

Unfortunately showing this footage didn't bring back the fans who Punk brought in. All it did is give more ammo to the likes of Bischoff and Cornette for their podcasts.

[overthetop2]

In response to people who ridicule Khan's claim that he "feared for his life"...

Tony Khan is NOT a fighter!

If CM Punk, who has professional fight experience even if he lost those fights, starts beating up another worker and then makes a lunge for Khan, the latter has a right to feel vulnerable in that situation as Punk could have easily caused bodily harm had he not been dragged away.  To ridicule Khan for that is toxic masculinity in my opinion.

[Self]

"Feared for my life" just seemed like a legal move. Something he was advised to say to help protect the company from unfair dismissal charges.

I assumed AEW were showing the footage because it would contradict something Punk said in his interview, but it didn't. Unless I'm missing something? Without audio it's still pretty inconclusive. So the whole thing seems more to pop a rating than anything. I was certainly more interested than usually to read what happened this morning. 

[Fleisch]

1 hour ago, overthetop2 said:

In response to people who ridicule Khan's claim that he "feared for his life"...

Tony Khan is NOT a fighter!

If CM Punk, who has professional fight experience even if he lost those fights, starts beating up another worker and then makes a lunge for Khan, the latter has a right to feel vulnerable in that situation as Punk could have easily caused bodily harm had he not been dragged away.  To ridicule Khan for that is toxic masculinity in my opinion.

You literally used the term "nutjob" which is a derogatory term for people with mental health issues so don't act superior. Toxic masculinity is just a term thrown out when you have no real argument... especially when I've seen more than just men mocking him. What would you call my friend who is female that said even she wouldn't have used that term if she were there? 

[overthetop2]

26 minutes ago, Fleisch said:

You literally used the term "nutjob"

That is a tame descriptor compared to what I could've called a man in his 40's whose cantankerous attitude towards everything in life make me look like a zen master by comparison.

[eayragt]

Hey, Tony Khan could have feared for his life for a split second. I've feared for my life for a split second before on the road. Doesn't mean that at any point there was any risk of that, and doesn't necessarily justify using the language publicly (unless you want to justify a firing), but there's nothing wrong with him feeling that way for a brief moment.

It's neither really here or there. Perry did wrong and was banished. Pink did wrong and was sacked. This we all knew last summer. Nothing's changed, nothing's gained apart from stirring up promotion diehards. Maybe that was the point, but the diehards are already diehards so, meh?

Although imagine this wasn't wrestling, this was any other industry. You sack a worker for threatening you. Fine. The worker is interviewed about it and puts forward his side, which doesn't seem to be in dispute (or even claim that his sacking was unfair). Fine. You then circulate the video of the incident that got the worker fired. Er, what? Imagine your work place and someone gets fired, and then your boss sending round a video of the incident that got the person fired. It just shouldn't be done, it's extremely unprofessional. Wrestling have to acknowledge it due to storylines, and I have no issues with how it was dealt with at the time. But I still scratch my head at this.

But we are talking about it. No publicity is bad publicity, eh?

[milamber]

4 hours ago, FellaLibby said:

As far as I'm concerned, AEW gained nothing by airing this footage. The Bucks showed this to do... What? Show what we already know? It didn't show Jack Perry in a good light at all, if anything he looked like a complete loser, getting pushed, punched and choked out by Punk. The footage didn't contain audio, so it can still be misleading and we don't know if Perry offended Punk by saying anything to him right there. Punk meanwhile won't suffer for this, as he already has. (technically). Punk's not AEW's problem anymore, which was why I never liked this idea in the first place. Punk may be a jerk in this footage but it doesn't tell the whole story like people wanted to believe. Perry meanwhile suffers even more. Not only is he still under suspension from AEW, but this footage doesn't help his case neither. If this was an attempt to bring him back, this failed.
In my opinion, the time to show this footage should've been around Survivor Series. It could've, in theory, drum up interest that maybe Punk was still in AEW. Maybe cause doubt for those who thought he'd never go back to WWE and maybe even WWE could've been like "Oh no, lets not deal with this." Tonight? It was far too late, and pointless. Nobody gains anything from it. Bucks look dumb for showing it, Perry looks stupid in the end, Punk isn't in AEW, and Joe is the only one in the footage who doesn't look out of place. All in all, this was a bad idea for AEW to do.

I have the opposite view. Perry showed maturity by not being the aggressor or stupidly risking his job by turning it into a fist-fight. That's the type of people AEW need backstage not immature hotheads. I'm not a violent person and would only ever hit someone in extreme self-defense to avoid serious injury or death.

[milamber]

3 hours ago, Wrestling Machine said:

After watching the video, I really struggle to understand what benefits AEW expected from putting it in the public domain.

Punk proven to be right about it, Jack Perry looked like a b**, what were they expecting outside of mockery?

 

Well the video was underwhelming because of the lack of audio and only 1 camera angle but Punk was not proven right. He failed to mention the sucker punches and downplayed the choke attempt. Still hasn't admitted he did anything wrong or acted unprofessionally either.

[eayragt]

Let's be fair to Punk for a moment - he probably hadn't seen that footage, and in the heat of the moment he probably didn't remember exactly what happened. He didn't deny doing wrong, but left out some parts that he may look at the video and go "huh, didn't remember doing that".

[Wrestling Machine]

3 hours ago, milamber said:

Well the video was underwhelming because of the lack of audio and only 1 camera angle but Punk was not proven right.

Punk said he walked up to him, they talked for a bit, Perry provoked him verbally (w/out audio we can not confirm/deny it), he then put Perry in a hold and Samoa Joe was there and told him to stop. The footage shows exactly this lol 

I don't really get how an attempted punch as they separated them (not multiple sucker punches as you mentioned) might change something, since until a moment before he was choking him out.

Again, how could AEW thought this was a good move for them? It does nothing for them.

 

3 hours ago, milamber said:

 Still hasn't admitted he did anything wrong or acted unprofessionally either.

It's obviously wrong to put your hands on another person, I don't think we need CM Punk to understand that lol but locker room fights always happened and always will, depending on the tensions inside it. One of the biggest responsibilities of AEW and Tony Khan to me is not being able to prevent these tensions from arising.

[Wrestling Machine]

3 hours ago, milamber said:

I have the opposite view. Perry showed maturity by not being the aggressor or stupidly risking his job by turning it into a fist-fight. That's the type of people AEW need backstage not immature hotheads. I'm not a violent person and would only ever hit someone in extreme self-defense to avoid serious injury or death.

So ... Jack Perry told off multiple staff members who advised him against breaking a rental car window, Jack Perry shot at AEW biggest star live during their biggest PPV ever, coming backstage and inviting CM Punk to "do something about it" when confronted ... And Jack Perry showed maturity? I'm sorry, at this point it's like talking to a brick wall.

Edited April 11 by Wrestling Machine

[overthetop2]

10 minutes ago, Wrestling Machine said:

So ... Jack Perry told off multiple staff members who advised him against breaking a rental car window, Jack Perry shot at AEW biggest star live during their biggest PPV ever, coming backstage and inviting CM Punk to "do something about it" when confronted ... And Jack Perry showed maturity? I'm sorry, at this point it's like talking to a brick wall.

Whilst I understand that there is always an understandable motive for CM Punk's behaviour, I judge him more harshly in this situation because;

A: The physical instigator is still assumed to be the primary guilty party in any altercation that turns violent.

B: CM Punk is the far older and more experienced worker and is hence expected to be a cooler, more mature head.

C : He also had a match immediately afterwards that he should've been getting ready for, and didn't need to confront Perry right there and then.

Now if Perry is still ignoring smarter people backstage 3-5 years from now, then you can say he's no better than Punk.

[guyver3]

 

not mine but I’m just gonna leave this here. The video pretty much confirms Punks story but also Perry was standing at “gorilla” for a short time before punk came up to him. TK had the chance to do something before punk approached him but TK would have to be a boss which he keeps showing he isn’t. 

[Wrestling Machine]

@overthetop2 I think CM Punk obviously has a big ego and he has no problem going face-to-face with those who behave badly (from his point of view) to confront them. Things tend to get out of control with this attitude. It's ok to judge him harshly! It's ok to think he made a mistake.

I just don't get how you can lash out at CM Punk's actions and turn a blind eye to the obvious responsibilities of others just cause you like them. It's intellectually unfair. Midcard acts at best that never draw a buck in their life going into business for themselves by verbally attacking the major draw of the company and jeopardize your business. IRL EVPs physically attacking one of their company's worker. It's a clown show, and that's all thanks to TK.

[Jaysin]

This entire thing is embarrassing for everyone involved. Everyone looks immature and childish. Airing the footage is braindead and in line with something Vince Russo would do on his worst day. I was enjoying the heel Buck schtick at first, but now I just want them to go away. I've always found them incredibly overrated, but now I just outright have negative interest in seeing them on my screens.

[ColdBloodedSausageMaker]

Love Julia Hart's character work here. She's become the top star in the Women's division -- she's absolutely someone who could headline a PPV one day for AEW.

The production here was great as well.

[Fleisch]

9 hours ago, ColdBloodedSausageMaker said:

Love Julia Hart's character work here. She's become the top star in the Women's division -- she's absolutely someone who could headline a PPV one day for AEW.

The production here was great as well.

Agreed. She has made incredible progress from the cookie cutter cheerleader. Still room to improve but when she does finally reach her potential, the World is hers!

[Matt_Black]

She's okay. She's not doing anything we haven't seen from Creepy Alexa Bliss. The catchphrase needs to change, because at this point it's factually untrue, though admittedly, "The House usually wins" lacks the same punch.

[milamber]

- Swerve's house! Penta vs Copeland (c) was my MOTN. Nice to see Cope bust out new moves. Brody smash! Willow!
- Jericho sounds so condescending lol. Could be interesting if they don't drag it out.
- REAL FOOTAGE! Cry me a river. Good Dax passion promo.
- Ospreay shooting. Another hype promo from him. More Julia videos please.
- LionHook & Shibata vs STP was solid but the finish could have been better executed. Big win for Moriarty.
- Okada squash was OK. Bastard! What idiots buy AEW tickets and chant for CM Skunk?
- I wonder how Deonna will factor into the Toni/Rosa feud.
- Anna vs Mariah was good. Mina! Now book them in a tag match at Dynasty.
- Statlander or Skye attack on Mone?
- Joe vs Dustin was good.

Fairly entertaining show for such a weak card.

[Matt_Black]

It should be noted that Dynamite saw a significant ratings bump over last week.