The All Elite Wrestling Discussion Thread

[milamber]

<p>Road to All Out 01 -

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/C8sKy0veFfY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="AEW - The Road to All Out - Episode 01"></iframe></div></div><p>

Road to All Out 02 -

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dq0t8bfb3aY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="The Road to AEW All Out - Episode 02"></iframe></div></div><p> </p><p>

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[Greylocke]

Caught the show 2 weeks late due to having too many events to catch up on for the past weeks. Definitely a better show than Fyter Fest overall, and the best match of the night was arguably better all the matches on DoN (although DoN had more good matches), so very well done for a B-level event! If only they hadn't chosen the wrong match to main event, I might even consider it to be as good as DoN.

 

- Librarian vs Kiss was.....weird. They had 2 guys with over-the-top gimmicks and then send them out there for a perfectly mundane 5-minute regular match. I guess this was to introduce Kiss to those who don't know him, but if you have 2 guys like this in the ring you might as well go over the top with the comedy hijinks.

- So I heard early on that Britt got concussed early in the women's tag match and turned out a bad match as a result. Having watched it, I don't think it was even that bad. Other than the obvious point where Britt went to the wrong corner for the tag, she actually fared better than I expected for the rest of the match. Her movements become a bit sloppy only towards the final minute of the match. If anything, it was Bea's involvements that were low points of the match. Anytime she gets tagged in the match grinds to a halt. This further convinces me that Stardom chose the wrong gaijin to put their top title on. Winners was a little obvious when you have 2 top champions from another company on the same team and they were obviously not going to job here (just ask PAC).

- 6-person tag match was solid and a nice opener, but the guy whom they are pushing for a major match at their next major event (Spears) looked the least impressive. Nice interaction between all the characters though (except Guavara....I can't remember anything significant from him character-wise). This match actually make me want to see MJF vs Spears more than Cody vs Spears. These minor interactions between characters are so much more effective at building heat than cumbersome chairshots to the head. Slightly surprised at Darby taking the pin here after the build-up last month. He got the loudest pop when he first entered the ring. I'm still not completely sure about him yet, but major props to Cody getting a completely new star over, something WWE has struggled to do for the past few years.

- Despite the concussions in the pre-show women's match, I have to say they still did better than Brandi vs Allie. I don't get the point of the pre-match video package, which seemed to be portraying Brandi as a babyface fighting to prove that she belongs as a competitor in the business, both to herself and the critics....and then as soon as the match starts she immediately becomes the heel Boss lady using her hench-woman to win matches. It's not even a heel turn since Kong was already established as her lackey back at DoN. I guess being the heel was the right way to go, since Brandi's skills sure as hell wasn't convincing as a wrestler to play that face role, but again, I think it was better for them not to use that video package in the first place.

- And they're teasing Kong vs Kong, of all things?? In 2019?? Like, 8 years too late, man.

- 3-way tag match was the MotN up till this point. Jungle Boy is now officially the first "AEW original" that made me a fan. There are other guys/girls that I like, but the rest were all people that I watched in other companies and followed them here. I still think he lacks the look to ever be a top singles star, but the Boy and his Dinosaur can be a very marketable tag team to build the division around. Pity the wrong (and blandest) team won here. Jack Evans just taking bumps and selling for 90% of the match without getting a single offense until like the last 3 minutes was pretty funny.

- I praised Cody for making Darby a star in his first match, but sadly the same thing can't be said for the guy they're pushing for their World Title match. I know Adam Page was originally a last-minute Plan B guy because of the issues with PAC and Dragon Gate, but they've had 2 months to build him up till the next big event and they're not really doing much with it. All the guys he's beaten so far weren't even big enough names to appear on DoN's main show. What, none of his Elite buddies could spare any time to do a job and put their own buddy over? Not even for the company?

- As for the match with Sabian....way too long, and it felt like it was stretched to fill 20 minutes. Reminds me of many of the WWE PPV main events last year where 80% of the matches felt like they were just padding to fill time in order to give the illusion of it being a "20-minute Epic" and all the interesting things only happen in the last 3 minutes. Neither guy ever look like he was close to winning the match. It's kind of like like CIMA vs Daniels last month were the entire match was like a flat line, except this one is twice as long and involving less-skilled wrestlers. The spill out on the entrance ramp in the last minute of the match was the ONLY point when it felt like the match went into next gear....and then it fell flat again.

- I think I'm starting to see what the critics mean when the Lucha Bros decide to be lazy and phone it in, and I guess this is where they decided they can do it since it's just a "house show". I do kind of like how the referees in AEW seem to prefer ejecting the interferer instead of going for an automatic DQ. Too bad once Daniels leaves I can care less about the rest of SCU. I do think they're working harder than the Lucha Bros tonight though, so props to them.

- Now, this is more like the CIMA I know. Awesome match, exciting action, consistent and logical storytelling, not much more I can ask for. Best match of AEW so far, IMO. I know a lot of fans give that honor to Cody vs Dustin, but I think this is a notch better.

- Jericho had the unenviable job of trying to make Page sound like a threat, and it says a lot when he's not really making me feel it. This was the guy who was literally the lifeblood of the Roman Reigns/Kevin Owens title feud and even he can't quite carry Page here. My strongest memory of this segment was thinking about how it was a missed opportunity that the Librarian didn't try to get between the 2 and shush them both (and get punched out by both) when he was sent with the others to break up the lackluster brawl.

- Main event was....solid. It was a match where 2 teams used to working at different paces trying to adjust themselves to each other and the result wasn't too bad, although it wasn't brilliant. I think this would have been perfect as the semi-main event. In stark contrast to the 20-minute Page vs Sabian match, this match lasted over half an hour and never outstayed its welcome. The length was perfect, didn't leave me wanting more or waiting for it to end. Kind of hoping that the Rhodes would win, though, as the newly reunited duo should benefit more from this. They probably want to protect the Bucks for their title match next month, but I really don't think it would hurt them for the Rhodes to get the win here. I actually think it sort of hurt Dustin, with them pushing the narrative of "should he have just retired at DoN?".

[Jaysin]

Kenny and The Young Bucks are facing Jericho and two mystery partners at the first AEW tv show.

 

I’ve seen a lot of people predicting LAX.

[Warhawk8492]

I might try to go

[TheGhost]

<p>So looks like they are really stacking the first TV show. They announced that they will be crowning their first Women's champion on the very first show as well as the already announced matches.</p><p> </p><p>

All I can say is please don't screw this up and put it on Brandi, I am already not a fan of the heel Brandi/Awesome Kong duo, it screams corrupt GM to me and we just don't need that.</p>

[Warhawk8492]

So looks like they are really stacking the first TV show. They announced that they will be crowning their first Women's champion on the very first show as well as the already announced matches.

 

All I can say is please don't screw this up and put it on Brandi, I am already not a fan of the heel Brandi/Awesome Kong duo, it screams corrupt GM to me and we just don't need that.

 

Kong would be a better choice.

[Mootinie]

The first Women's Champion will be Britt Baker if she's healthy. She was signed from under ROH's nose, she appeared on the rally show thing they did, she's been front and center on promo material and I believe she's appeared regularly in Being the Elite. It was pretty telling how quickly Britt made her Twitter profile pic the one of her on an AEW background and started pimping the promotion way before Double or Nothing happened. Kylie Rae and Nyla Rose were signed at the same time but were still using old profile pics and pimping upcoming indie appearances. I feel like Britt was always earmarked for something greater.

 

Of the female talent they have, Britt has the best profile too. She can carry the character of a confident champion, the very best of a competitive division far better than any other talent they have. She comes across as that person, somebody that can be brash and arrogant when heel, but capable and credible when face.

 

Kylie Rae is going to be better chasing, she's obviously compared to Bayley too often but the role of bridesmaid and never the bride suits her down to the ground. From a story perspective, starting her off at the top doesn't make much sense. She's got that underdog charisma, somebody that is going to resonate more with audiences the more the odds are stacked against her.

 

Nyla Rose will win the belt within the first couple of years just so they can have a monster champion "of sorts" but she's not polished enough yet to carry a burgeoning division that will live or die on match quality at first. It's dead in the water if it starts on the wrong foot. Britt is more reliable and more malleable a talent. She reminds me of Tessa, both of them can have a decent match with anybody but you have to put some serious talent in there with Nyla to get a good match out of her. She can work but she's not at the level they need her to be to be setting the standard.

 

As for Brandi and Awesome Kong, they'll do the Aja Kong match and then I'm not sure after that. Kia Stevens has been a revelation in Netflix's GLOW so I'm holding out for her branching away from the Awesome Kong gimmick and doing more. I get the impression that Brandi has signed her specifically to work with her so I could see a long-term Brandi and Awesome Kong storyline, perhaps with some moving parts, over either of them winning the belt at first.

[milamber]

I think Britt vs Kylie would have been booked but Kylie was in a car accident in June on the day of her university graduation so she's been MIA.

 

Britt has said that she hopes to be cleared soon and they hinted at FFTF that she would be feuding with Bea. I expect Kong & Brandi vs Kong and Allie to be a match at All Out so that would put them all out of title contention barring a stipulation.

 

Based on win/loss records, only Riho has 2 wins. Everyone else has 1 or 0 so I have no clue what they intend to do.

[Jaysin]

I hope Tessa Blanchard ends up in AEW.

[milamber]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I hope Tessa Blanchard ends up in AEW.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> When she leaves Impact she's going to have a lot of bargaining power.</p>

[Warhawk8492]

<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>When she leaves Impact she's going to have a lot of bargaining power.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yes she will gotta give Impact credit for booking her well along with credit to Tessa for her effort and talent.</p>

[milamber]

<p>Big news for the women's division:</p><p> </p><p>

 

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/H5_bODS2130?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="The Road to AEW All Out - Episode 04"></iframe></div></div><p> </p><p>

And Boston & Philly confirmed for weeks 2 & 3 of the show:</p><p> </p><p>

 

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HvQIi7-5Tbo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="AEW on TNT Episodes 2 & 3 will broadcast from...."></iframe></div></div>

[Jaysin]

<p>Ivelisse!!!!</p><p> </p><p>

Just watched the contract signing for Cody vs Spears, really liking Tully as Spears’s manager. Gives him some legitimacy</p>

[Jaysin]

Apparently WWE is in talks to buy Fite.

[Warhawk8492]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Apparently WWE is in talks to buy Fite.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Hopefully they don't sell.</p>

[milamber]

<p>Road to All Out 4, 5 & 6:</p><p> </p><p>

 

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/H5_bODS2130?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="The Road to AEW All Out - Episode 04"></iframe></div></div><p>

 

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mqdmj3ouwQM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="The Road to AEW All Out - Episode 05"></iframe></div></div><p>

 

</p><div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo"><div><iframe width="200" height="113" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/rzKr9jUkyJk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" title="The Road to AEW All Out - Episode 06"></iframe></div></div>

[CQI13]

Tony Schiavone to AEW. That's the biggest news in the history of our sport!

[fullMETAL]

If Tony Schiavone joins the commentary booth and replaces Alex Marvez, I think we're going to end up seeing the rise of Excalibur of all people possibly becoming the actually objectively best commentator OF ALL TIME.

 

WHY? (slaps head, then arms, then snaps fingers)

HERE'S WHY:

(raunchy guitar riff)

So, according to his wiki entry (I've actually never watched PWG, so bear with me there), when Ex retired in '07, he became a commentator full-time.

Nothing new, nothing special, right? Wrestlers become commentators all the time, with varying results.

So then apparently he winds up good enough (again, since I've never watched PWG, I wouldn't have first-hand knowledge of how good he was at the table there) that he gets tapped to man the booth at All In with Don Callis, as well as working with Sean Mooney, both seasoned vets with lots of experience and highly-regarded talking skill, and lots of wisdom and knowledge to pass down.

(I DID see All In, and happened to agree with the majority consensus that Excalibur was quite awesome at commentary.)

So then he calls Double Or Nothing, with none other than Jim Ross, one of, if not THE, greatest storytelling commentator in the HISTORY of professional wrestling.

And surprise of surprises, you could've knocked me over with a feather (/s), Excalibur not only held his own, but excelled.

 

 

I mentioned over on a Discord chat the following scenario with Schiavone at the table:

I think if it's just Ross, Ex, and Tony, they COULD wind up being quite good -- at this point, JR's the Storyteller type of the group, the guy to connect the current workers to the past workers, Tony will carry most of the load for Play-By-Play and take some of the burden off of JR, and then Excalibur can provide the Color Analyst role, basically being a much much MUCH better Matt Striker, instead of Ex having to carry his own AND Marvez's loads.

 

Btw, in this particular context, I refer to Matt Striker as actually quite knowledgeable (I'm one of those people who thinks Striker is in fact quite good), and when he's not trying to read from a script, he can actually keep up and hold his own when calling a match. I thought the earlier days of his WWE commentary were better than the end of his run there because at the end it felt like he was doing the "getting told in his ear what to say" thing (but that's just me).

 

 

So, now that Tony Schiavone's in AEW, that means Excalibur, who's already quite good himself at commentary after more than a decade doing it, has another very experienced, very competent voice of wrestling to work with regularly and learn from.

 

mark my words, by the time Excalibur reaches Tony Schiavone's age, and then Jim Ross's, he'll likely become the BEST commentator EVER somehow

 

I'm definitely gonna double down on my prediction that Excalibur will, within 20 years, become the objectively best wrestling commentator ever, even if opinions will still put others ahead of him

 

 

Basically, the TL;DR of what I'm saying is that the biggest beneficiary of Tony Schiavone signing to AEW is/will be Excalibur, because working with JR AND Tony will only IMPROVE Excalibur's already excellent booth-work to the point where he can elevate basically anybody else just by being next to them...and that even INCLUDES...Alex Marvez.

 

 

Tony Schiavone just might be the missing piece of the puzzle that can actually make Alex Marvez into a better, more confident commentator, if only just by secondhand osmosis through Tony working with Excalibur, let alone firsthand help directly FROM Tony.

[dvdWarrior]

I was thrilled to see Tony Schiavone join AEW's commentary team. He was one of the voices of wrestling when I was a kid in the 80s, and then, he was a big part of the Monday Night Wars as well. Plus, you never know what might happen during those commercial breaks. With Schiavone on board, at least we can all rest assured that those tape machines will indeed be rolling.

 

 

Can't wait to start watching the TV show every week. Good times coming.

[scmurph01]

With Schiavone on board, at least we can all rest assured that those tape machines will indeed be rolling.

 

 

Just once I wanted them to come back from commercial and the match be over. Damn you Schiavone!!

[Jaysin]

LAX is done with Impact. Hopefully AEW is able to secure them.

[milamber]

Moxley has staph infection in his elbow and can't make All Out. Omega will now face PAC. Should be a good match but Omega/Mox was the match I was most lookng forward to other than Riho/Shida.

[TLCJR4LIFE]

<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 has staph infection in his elbow and can't make All Out. Omega will now face PAC. Should be a good match but Omega/Mox was the match I was most lookng forward to other than Riho/Shida.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Omega/PAC doesn’t have he same heat but should definitely be a better match. Not only is PAC a much better overall worker than Moxley his style fits with Omegas better.</p>

[DatIsraeliGuy]

<p>Still not over the fact Jericho will be the champion despite being older than Brock Lesnar.</p><p> </p><p>

I definitely won't be watching as long as he's champion. </p><p>

PAC/Omega/Cody are all much better options to show that AEW is an alternative, hell I'd rather see Page win it.</p>

[cappyboy]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="DatIsraeliGuy" data-cite="DatIsraeliGuy" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46243" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Still not over the fact Jericho will be the champion despite being older than Brock Lesnar.<p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Well, he certainly can't ACT any older or more out of place in wrestling than the days when he was he was trying to play the heel and the completely broken man whose spirit had been crushed at the same time. I can't imagine a version of Chris Jericho that could ever be worse than his scalded dog period. That was pure agony to watch.</p>