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Just Close Your Eyes! AEW is EXPLODING into Spring 2021!

Baby Shoes

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Not trying to bring the negativity but I watched probably 3/4 of tonight’s show before I had to take care of something else. The only thing that stood out for me was how much I disliked the QT Marshall promo. Not in the “grrr, bad guy” but just it was a bad promo.

He uses all the smark buzzwords, buries the guys who are basically guaranteed to beat him in Cody and Dustin, as even old man Dustin should not be jobbing to him. His group I just can’t buy as a threat. I think the boxer has potential but they did no favors for the others. The fact they called out Aaron Solow with YOU WON’T KNOW HIM AS SOMEONE’S BOYFRIEND is just begging people who don’t know to look up that he recently ended his long term relationship with Bayley. I don’t see who that helps at all. Just overall bad. And AEW is starting to have so many factions, these guys may be gunning after Cody but I don’t think they even make the Top 10 current AEW factions.
 

909

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It was a terrible show tbh. And I think most people watching objectively would say that.
 

Tino Standard

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I’m still trying to figure out WTF the Sting-Archer segment was supposed to be.

Sting: Well, Tony—

Archer: I’M MAD. I SHOULD BE A MAIN EVENTER.

Sting: I agree with you. So, go do it.

Archer: *leaves*


Umm, ok?
 

geniusMoment

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The main event angle was just a mess. The Bucks are terrible at acting, and I don't even think AEW loyalists give two shits about "the elite" at this point.

Max Caster sucks in the ring. Is one of the guys who should be in a developmental program (make a deal with OVW if you want to keep guys like him)

It's one thing to have him backstage, or even have him do stuff on BTE. But, I really don't want to see Brodie's 10-year-old on tv weekly.

Sting promo was a mess.

Only thing I liked on the show was the Jericho promo.
 

Hawk 34

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Nothing like a babyface group challenging a heel group to a war games the week after they already attacked them and literally flushed them down a toilet.

Does Tony Khan have a stamp card for every stable he creates?
 

King Kamala

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Max Caster sucks in the ring. Is one of the guys who should be in a developmental program (make a deal with OVW if you want to keep guys like him)
Max Caster was such a surprising signing cause he was JUST getting to the level that major indies were starting to use him then suddenly he's on national TV. I get wanting to keep talent away from WWE snatching them up but he's really not anywhere near ready to be working singles matches on national TV regularly. Even Beyond Wrestling was mostly just using him in six man tags or as a lackey before AEW snatched him up.
 

Tino Standard

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The main event angle was just a mess. The Bucks are terrible at acting, and I don't even think AEW loyalists give two shits about "the elite" at this point.

Max Caster sucks in the ring. Is one of the guys who should be in a developmental program (make a deal with OVW if you want to keep guys like him)

It's one thing to have him backstage, or even have him do stuff on BTE. But, I really don't want to see Brodie's 10-year-old on tv weekly.

Sting promo was a mess.

Only thing I liked on the show was the Jericho promo.
Agree on all of this. Caster has something with his promos on the way to the ring, but he looked completely blown up and couldn’t even get up on the ropes for the superplex spot.

And while it was nice of AEW to involve Brodie’s kid in the tribute show, continuing to trot him out there is just weird.
 

HSJ

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So the deal with Caster - he was about to sign a NXT deal when he was able to turn that into an AEW deal because MJF is his irl best friend. They started training at the same time (which wasn't that long ago) which really should tell you how good MJF really is.

Guys have been able to work contracts out of the AEW/WWE battle so easily.
 

Baby Shoes

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A lot of Brian Myers’ students have been used by AEW. I’ve always assumed it was the MJF ties. MJF, Caster, Bear Country, Mark Sterling (MJF’s “lawyer” that worked against Moxley). Guys who have worked Dark like VSK are too. It’s kinda interesting Myers was one of the guys that AEW never took a look at but he’s got some students having success there.
 

HSJ

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It's a mixed bag because Caster could really use that NXT training, but I don't see them using him really. He is young, though.

They paired him with Bowens since he is also a Pat Buck student and Bowens would be the workhorse of the two. But Bowens is always injured.
 

muzzington

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The fact they called out Aaron Solow with YOU WON’T KNOW HIM AS SOMEONE’S BOYFRIEND is just begging people who don’t know to look up that he recently ended his long term relationship with Bayley
Looking that up would just make me sad, less likely to watch and a tad resentful.
 

Big Beard Booty Daddy

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It's a mixed bag because Caster could really use that NXT training, but I don't see them using him really. He is young, though.

They paired him with Bowens since he is also a Pat Buck student and Bowens would be the workhorse of the two. But Bowens is always injured.

That was exactly the idea behind it. Max can talk, while Bowens is the worker. If Bowens wasn’t hurt all the time, they could be a really good team.
 

geniusMoment

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Listening to his latest show even Meltzer has admitted there are major issues with the booking and AEW featuring too many people. This makes it impossible for anyone to get over. And if Dave is saying that, considering his AEW bias, it's a pretty big issue.

It's a drum I've been beating for months. But, AEW simply has way too many people. If you ever want people to become stars they need to be featured on the show week in and week out in matches and promos. How many matches has Sammy Guevara worked in 2021 on Dynamite? Maybe 1? How about Starks? Maybe 1?

You need to pick about 30 guys and go with them.

Now the above means you are probably releasing about 30 guys from your company, and upsetting tons of people. I don't see Tony being willing to do that. So, things will just continue as is.
 

geniusMoment

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Mox
Omega
Miro
Jericho
Starks
Sammy
Darby
Cody
Thunder Rosa
Britt
Adam Page
PAC
Penta
Fenix
Christian
Bucks
Santana and Ortiz
JungleBoy
MJF
FTR
Wardlow
Brian Cage
Hobbs
Eddie Kingston


That is basically my crew I'm featuring in matches and promos week in and out. Now, you need to mix in some job guys and people like Kaz to put people over now and then. But, all the above would be featured pretty much every week, and with people like Mox in multiple segments a lot of weeks.
 

Baby Shoes

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I think they are cycling guys to help the win-loss record but there is a problem when the jobber trio of Nemeth, Bonani and Drake are getting more Dynamite ring-time individually than Scorpio Sky. There has to be some middle ground compromise.
 

geniusMoment

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No one gives a shit about the win-loss record thing. Just drop it and feature the people you want to be stars every week. That is the only way they will become stars.
 

HSJ

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The win-loss thing bothers me a lot because you have jobbers on Dark that are 0-7. If wins/losses are important, why are these people still getting shots?
 

Big Beard Booty Daddy

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The win-loss thing put them in a bind. I was all for the idea that wins matter, but you don’t need records to do that. NJPW does that fine, and I thought that would be how they did it.
 

geniusMoment

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The type of stuff I'd love for AEW to do is stuff like a best of 7 series between Darby and Starks. Where every week they get 15-20 minutes in the ring, and promos in-between where they build up their rivalry. By the end of the 7 weeks maybe Starks wins thanks to interference from Taz. That sets up a bloody cage match between the two to stop the interference at a ppv.

That is how you build two stars. By the end of the program I guarantee they would both be bigger stars than they are now. And ultimately having stars on your show will drive ratings and business. Week in and out featuring them. With their roster that will never be an option for AEW. You're lucking if you get to work once a month on dynamite.
 
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Laz

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For AEW to create actual stars, they need to focus more on what made Cody stand out early on and less on the teeheeLOLOLOL "insider" booking that permeates the Elite.

And cut half the fucking roster from weekly appearances. Pay them and retain them for national TV rights, but let them work elsewhere and get seasoning.
 

909

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For AEW to create stars they need to put on more good shows than they've had in the last month. This is the worst period of the company as of yet. Also I don't mind JD Drake getting TV time because he fuckin rules. It's just a lot of the other stuff and the way they don't have their best people work on Dynamite for long stretches of time. Kinda tiresome.
 

King Kamala

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I don't watch AEW TV but it bums me out to see the Useless Moron Scott Keith's of the world call JD Drake a jobber lackey cause he freaking rules on the Indies. But I also probably deserve to feel bad for wanting to read Useless Moron Scott Keith's thoughts on wrestling in 2021.
 

tekcop

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I'd never seen Jake wrestle before this week's show, but I was super impressed.
 

909

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I don't watch AEW TV but it bums me out to see the Useless Moron Scott Keith's of the world call JD Drake a jobber lackey cause he freaking rules on the Indies. But I also probably deserve to feel bad for wanting to read Useless Moron Scott Keith's thoughts on wrestling in 2021.

He does need to improve his look but I don't think it's a big deal. He's a big imposing guy who works like it. It's just weird the shit people complain about. How about rehashing a Bullet Club angle from 7 years ago that nobody gives a fuck about because in a lot of ways the current version of BC is better than the original? Like I don't know anyone except a few people that are asking for this shit, and it's killing the ratings too, so nobody wants it. Or QT Marshall in a larger featured role than Miro? That last one really bothers me. I don't care how hard someone works when they aren't that good. Pushes should be doled out based on talent, not effort level. That's the kind of shit that's plagued WWE, because they give pushes to guys like Baron Corbin because they try hard. I don't want it.

I also don't even remember the last time Santana and Ortiz worked a match much less one against anyone good.
 

tekcop

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I also don't even remember the last time Santana and Ortiz worked a match much less one against anyone good.
When they started brawling with FTR I got a little excited because it's been a lifetime.
 
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