The All Elite Wrestling Discussion Thread

[BHK1978]

2) MJF really impressed me tonight he may not be a 5* match guy but he had the crowd hating him and in a good way this goes back to my first observation sumbody from the ME should work a program with him.

 

It was the scarf. Anyone who wears a scarf indoors should be booed. It is the clothing equivalent of the goatee.

 

Yeah MJF impressed me as well. I have heard of him, but I have never had a chance to see him. That promo he cut on Adam Page was excellent.

 

I was shocked to find out that MJF is still pretty young. Not sure why, but I would not automatically think someone as young as he is could deliver a promo like that. Good stuff.

 

Seemed like a pretty good show, but I fell asleep during Cody/Dustin, and was in and out during the 2 matches before that. Hoping B/R Live allows me to watch the replay today once ots up without shelling out more money.

 

Same here, I fell asleep during parts of the six women match and Cody/Dustin. From what I saw of the six women match (that looks odd typing that, but that is what it was) I did not miss much.

 

My question is what could they possibly do with that guy that has no legs? I mean this has to be a one-off, because I cannot picture him in any actual matches.

[Makhai]

It would appear that Moxley can work NJPW dates, like Jericho. And he will be on the June card in some capacity. So, you've gotta think ROH have warm liquid running down their leg right now, and strongly regret that Enzo and Cass angle.

[milamber]

<p>Moxley 1st AEW promo - <a href="https://youtu.be/y5-ClCQdLwA" rel="external nofollow">https://youtu.be/y5-ClCQdLwA</a></p><p> </p><p>

Moxley New Japan teaser -

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/TMeI87nEyv0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="TIME'S UP: Jon Moxley is coming to NJPW June 5!"></iframe></div></div>

[Mootinie]

<p>I loved everything about the show, no complaints about anything. Very excited for the next one!</p><p> </p><p>

Edit: Just a small thing but David Bixenspan mentioned how well AEW handled the media for the event and how different the experience the was compared to how WWE handles their media.

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedOther">

<iframe data-embedid="ed42e49248afa2c7b292e14cc40bc637" allowfullscreen="" data-embed-src="<___base_url___>/index.php?app=core&module=system&controller=embed&url=https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1132725988565983232"></iframe>

</div>

[milamber]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Mootinie" data-cite="Mootinie" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I loved everything about the show, no complaints about anything. Very excited for the next one!<p> </p><p> Edit: Just a small thing but David Bixenspan mentioned how well AEW handled the media for the event and how different the experience the was compared to how WWE handles their media. </p><div class="ipsEmbeddedOther"> <iframe data-embedid="9c57de11a53c2c19beb920684f311bdc" allowfullscreen="" data-embed-src="<___base_url___>/index.php?app=core&module=system&controller=embed&url=https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1132725988565983232"></iframe> </div></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> The press conferences and interviews are something they copied from New Japan to give AEW more of a sports vibe. WWE would be smart to do the same before SD moves to Fox.</p><p> </p><p> For anyone who cares about social media metrics:</p><p> </p><p> 3 of the post-match interviews on youtube (2 with Cody, 1 with Jericho) have a combined 1 million views already. Compare that to 573,000 views for WWE's MITB Results video and 860,000 views for their MITB Behind the Scenes video after an entire week.</p>

[scmurph01]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Makhai" data-cite="Makhai" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It would appear that Moxley can work NJPW dates, like Jericho. And he will be on the June card in some capacity. So, you've gotta think ROH have warm liquid running down their leg right now, and strongly regret that Enzo and Cass angle.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I've always thought that Impact & ROH have needed to be worried about AEW right now. Can't help but think NJPW will eventually end up ditching ROH and work solely with AEW in the near future.</p>

[Makhai]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="milamber" data-cite="milamber" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The press conferences and interviews are something they copied from New Japan to give AEW more of a sports vibe. WWE would be smart to do the same before SD moves to Fox.<p> </p><p> For anyone who cares about social media metrics:</p><p> </p><p> 3 of the post-match interviews on youtube (2 with Cody, 1 with Jericho) have a combined 1 million views already. Compare that to 573,000 views for WWE's MITB Results video and 860,000 views for their MITB Behind the Scenes video after an entire week.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> NJPW mostly does it for show, they're very tight-lipped and scripted, and they only really do it so they can use the media to work angles. This is much more a direct copy of the UFC media scrum model and it's brilliant and is paying immediate dividends with the media. </p><p> </p><p> As far as the social media metrics, it's important to filter these through the fact AOC goosed these with a retweet when Cody(while still covered in his brother's blood) talked about AEWs view on race and his interracial marriage with Brandi. So a lot of left-wing sites, who got big content views off of the John Oliver WWE story, were given a fat juicy thing to leech onto. </p><p> </p><p> If they hold these going forward, wonderful. But do keep this in mind, I don't see The Hill and Mother Jones readers hanging around long-term. Still a great achievement.</p>

[Makhai]

InsideTheRopes put up the scrum with The Young Bucks, and it confirmed some of my worst fears. They said Tony Khan is the architect of the goofy stuff. They said he was the one behind "The points system" meaning my worst fears are confirmed. They're doing the AWA tournament thing as a company-wide narrative device.

 

There were time-limits on all of the matches at DoN. And my guess is this is going to be how they determine contenders and things. They're going to have a table with points, and it's going to be like the PFL. The Bucks clearly didn't want to talk about it either, which tells me this is a Tony Khan bigfoot like Marvez.

 

God help us all.

[milamber]

New BTE - Backstage at Double or Nothing:

 

[Jaysin]

Cody Rhodes's coffee cup when he got out of the car had "FTR" written on it

 

Revival will be there as soon as they get out of their contracts.

[fullMETAL]

This show and their match against the Lucha Bros finally managed to accomplish the one thing all of their previous work never did, and that's turn me into a Young Bucks fan.

 

Before, I couldn't stand their matches (though I did and still do respect their hustle as two of the hardest working guys in the entire industry), but Double Or Nothing felt...DIFFERENT, in the best way possible.

It could partially be attributed to them facing Penta and Fenix at close to their best, partially because of the molten-hot crowd, and partially due to a bunch of other factors, but I'm now finally a fan of the Young Bucks as a whole rather than just appreciative of their hustle and hard work.

 

I'm still gonna say that they were overrated when they initially joined Bullet Club though.

[milamber]

<p>UPDATED CARDS</p><p> </p><p>

AEW/CEO Fyter Fest:</p><p> </p><p>

- Michael Nakazawa vs Jebailey (Hardcore Match)</p><p>

- Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs Pentagon Jr., Fenix & Pac's replacement (CIMA would make sense)</p><p>

- Jon Moxley vs Joey Janela</p><p>

- Cody vs Darby Allin</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

Fight for the Fallen:</p><p> </p><p>

- Brandi Rhodes vs Allie</p><p>

- Kenny Omega vs CIMA</p><p>

- Cody & Dustin Rhodes vs. The Young Bucks</p><p>

- (probably Page vs MJF but not yet confirmed)</p><p>

- (Bea Priestley is confirmed to appear)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

NEW SIGNINGS:</p><p> </p><p>

Luchasuarus and Sadie Gibbs have officially signed.</p>

[Makhai]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="milamber" data-cite="milamber" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>UPDATED CARDS<p> </p><p> AEW/CEO Fyter Fest:</p><p> </p><p> - Michael Nakazawa vs Jebailey (Hardcore Match)</p><p> - Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs Pentagon Jr., Fenix & Pac's replacement (CIMA would make sense)</p><p> - Jon Moxley vs Joey Janela</p><p> - Cody vs Darby Allin</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Fight for the Fallen:</p><p> </p><p> - Brandi Rhodes vs Allie</p><p> - Kenny Omega vs CIMA</p><p> - Cody & Dustin Rhodes vs. The Young Bucks</p><p> - (probably Page vs MJF but not yet confirmed)</p><p> - (Bea Priestley is confirmed to appear)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> NEW SIGNINGS:</p><p> </p><p> Luchasuarus and Sadie Gibbs have officially signed.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> They should really just slap that bad Jericho vs. Hangman match on Fight for the Fallen. Cuz if they're holding it for All Out, they're making a big mistake.</p>

[milamber]

<p>Moxley opens up about WWE and why he jumped ship on Talk is Jericho:</p><p> </p><p>

<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/the-emancipation-of-jon-moxley" rel="external nofollow">https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/the-emancipation-of-jon-moxley</a></p>

[Jaysin]

<img alt="uBxxFez.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/uBxxFez.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

[Makhai]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="milamber" data-cite="milamber" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Moxley opens up about WWE and why he jumped ship on Talk is Jericho:<p> </p><p> <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/the-emancipation-of-jon-moxley" rel="external nofollow">https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/the-emancipation-of-jon-moxley</a></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Exhibit 1,502 your honor, of why Vince McMahon is a crazed, individual. Did I mention he pushed this disgruntled turncoat like the biggest star on the roster so he could get a better pop for AEW? And he might have believed he's going to come back after getting a crap payout for that network special?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> P.S It's my favorite, I met my wife here. I love WWE, but... let us bury the company for an hour straight. My jam.</p>

[Blackman]

<p>Interesting times indeed. I've only seen the free part of the AEW show as - again - there's never been a PPV culture in Belgium (and mainland Europe for that matter). 50$ is a lot, but I wish they succeed. But the free matches were nice. Seems like a vivid athmosphere and that's already worth a bundle.</p><p> </p><p>

The Samy segment is interesting, and some even claim they are working with WWE in secret. Ridiculous, as these raw emotions seem too strong to fake, though you never know. Maybe the head of the company has some deal with Vince in secret, but they'd never let other people in on that so the backstage reports on Vince being furious won't really back up that theory.</p>

[Makhai]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Blackman" data-cite="Blackman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Interesting times indeed. I've only seen the free part of the AEW show as - again - there's never been a PPV culture in Belgium (and mainland Europe for that matter). 50$ is a lot, but I wish they succeed. But the free matches were nice. Seems like a vivid athmosphere and that's already worth a bundle.<p> </p><p> The Samy segment is interesting, and some even claim they are working with WWE in secret. Ridiculous, as these raw emotions seem too strong to fake, though you never know. Maybe the head of the company has some deal with Vince in secret, but they'd never let other people in on that so the backstage reports on Vince being furious won't really back up that theory.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Why in gods name would Vince have a working agreement with AEW? Let's say they did for a second, yes it would give them contract power again, as AEW wouldn't be able to sign anybody exclusively. and Tony Khan getting access to WWE guys also sounds viable. But why would the WWE, a Billion dollar grossing company, give AEW that kind of legitimacy for free? This is a company that is renown for playing dirty as can be and winning. It would be an extraordinary lack of faith to put these guys over like that. And from AEWs perspective, you're in the drivers seat in every potential negotiation from now until the end of the year, why wouldn't you just take instead of rent? And if this gets out it's going to chill talent on AEW like you wouldn't believe.</p><p> </p><p> This is clearly just BS from the people who bit really hard on "Dean's a company guy, he'd never do something like this. Vince is putting him over huge because he's going to comeback after resting up his body." and need to save face with a good ole' conspiracy theory. The Sami comment was undoubtedly written to get a big reaction, that would then get converted into a babyface pop for Seth and when they realized AEW got a big surprise pop and Seth got a confused "but it was just getting good" heel boo. Vince lost his mind in gorilla because he just put over the rival company and started doing what he always does, blaming everybody else for his "good stuff".</p><p> </p><p> All of these Jericho is Vince's secret agent, and Jon is there to sabotage the company from the inside garbage is just that. Probably the same clowns that think The Screwjob was a giant work.</p>

[fullMETAL]

<p>I think Janela's a good "first match in a new company" opponent for Mox, and a good litmus test for his overall "how will he fare in AEW?"-ness.</p><p> </p><p>

On a different note, I think that, while definitely a unique twist on the formula, having groups of 5 entering the Casino Battle Royale at each interval definitely diluted the impact that individual entrances (at, say, 60 second intervals) would've made, though I understand if it was done that way in the interest of time constraints on the broadcast.</p>

[Makhai]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="fullMETAL" data-cite="fullMETAL" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I think Janela's a good "first match in a new company" opponent for Mox, and a good litmus test for his overall "how will he fare in AEW?"-ness.<p> </p><p> On a different note, I think that, while definitely a unique twist on the formula, having groups of 5 entering the Casino Battle Royale at each interval definitely diluted the impact that individual entrances (at, say, 60 second intervals) would've made, though I understand if it was done that way in the interest of time constraints on the broadcast.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I agree 100% for Moxley vs. Janella. You book this match to be the bloodbath of the night, you have Janella get squashed for 15mins and everybody chants at the sicker and sicker bumps he takes and everybody gets over. He's going with the "I wanna be the first wrestler to die in the ring, because that man becomes a legend, and that's what Joey Janella was born to be." character so this works for everybody's needs.</p><p> </p><p> I'm sure Cody would have preferred to just been able to steal the Royal Rumble, but due to the magic of copyright laws, they can't. I doubt they'll do this format again, it was less than ideal.</p>

[milamber]

<p>From Big Dave:</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>AEW was the second most searched item on Saturday night on Google, topping 220,000, trailing only the Toronto Raptors. All In, New Japan Tokyo Domes, and ROH/NJPW in Madison Square Garden never cracked the top 20. NXT has only once done so, hitting 50,000 for the most recent Takeover show in Brooklyn. It beat the last UFC show by 12 percent and beat Money in the Bank by 35 percent. However, when it came to second-day interest, it more than quadrupled Money in the Bank and was more than six times greater than UFC 237, and that’s with Raw the day after Money in the Bank and ESPN news coverage the day after UFC 237.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The Observer reports that Double or Nothing is currently estimated at having done 98,000 PPV buys, with a 50/50 split between traditional PPV and streaming. ECW's best performance was 99,000 buys. Trending near the most successful non WWE/F or WCW PPV.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> And his match ratings:</p><p> </p><p> Casino Battle Royal ***</p><p> Sabian/Guevara ***1/4</p><p> -------------------------</p><p> SCU/Strong Hearts ****</p><p> Baker/Rae/Kong/Rose ***</p><p> Best Friends/Angelico & Evans ***3/4</p><p> Riho, Mizunami & Shida/Kong, Sakura & Sakazaki ***3/4</p><p> Cody/Dustin *****</p><p> Young Bucks/Lucha Bros ****3/4</p><p> Jericho/Omega ****1/4</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="qmG5CFB.gif" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qmG5CFB.gif" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[BlueStar]

Jericho's waistline has certainly got bigger but he can still entertain a crowd like few others. No matter how much Vince pushes Roman Reigns, Jericho always looks more at ease on the stick. (Hey, he even carried a non-existent feud with Goldberg in WCW by himself).

[Makhai]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BlueStar" data-cite="BlueStar" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Jericho's waistline has certainly got bigger but he can still entertain a crowd like few others. No matter how much Vince pushes Roman Reigns, Jericho always looks more at ease on the stick. (Hey, he even carried a non-existent feud with Goldberg in WCW by himself).</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> It's clear Jericho's back is a complete mess, and he's in the process of transforming into a straight-ahead brawler. His Liontamer looked absolutely awful in that match because he can crane his back with his legs straight anymore.</p>

[BlueStar]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Makhai" data-cite="Makhai" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It's clear Jericho's back is a complete mess, and he's in the process of transforming into a straight-ahead brawler. His Liontamer looked absolutely awful in that match because he can crane his back with his legs straight anymore.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Give the guy credit...he's nearly 50 (!)... When a few of the superstars of the past reached fifty, all they could do was throwing punches (and an eye gouge). Well, that's Roddy Piper but most of the others as well.</p>

[Greylocke]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="fullMETAL" data-cite="fullMETAL" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>On a different note, I think that, while definitely a unique twist on the formula, <strong>having groups of 5 entering the Casino Battle Royale at each interval definitely diluted the impact that individual entrance</strong>s (at, say, 60 second intervals) would've made, though I understand if it was done that way in the interest of time constraints on the broadcast.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Personally, I'm inclined to think that they did multi-man entrances because they were afraid that most of the individual entrances will receive crickets for reaction since there was no big names in that match. It was a way to "pack" the reactions for multiple competitors together to garner a more responsive crowd.</p>