5 worst non-contract guys for AEW

[Vastardikai]

I am going to bring up some mistakes and missteps here. It's subjective and keep that in mind. Also, I am not including jobbers. I am talking about actual named talent that AEW brought in, didn't sign to a contract, and for some reason or other, it was bad. Some of these actually broke my heart.

5. Takeshita. This one is as low as it because he wasn't really featured on anything more substantial than the Wrestlemania week house show and the one episode of Dark. At the time, he was the Champion of DDT. Why is he on this list? Well, someone showed people his name, but didn't take the time to pronounce it to the commentators. So, we had Schiavone and Wight calling him "Take a Shit."

4. Kierra Hogan. I love seeing this young lady in action when she worked for the local indy in Thomson, GA. She had a pretty good run in Impact. So, why was she only used a couple of times in a promotion that desperately needs female talent that can work and not kill themselves or their opponent? Only thing I can think of is that she has a bigger butt than Tay, and we can't have anyone infringing on her gimmick.

3. Good Brothers. Karl and Doc are funny guys. But why were they the only Impact folks walking through "The Forbidden Door" from Impact? Why not Moose? Why not Callihan? You know, the folks who were actually feuding with Omega when he held the Impact Belt? Why? I mean, I know why, but Why? And as entertaining as they were, they didn't really add a whole lot to the show.

2. Maki Itoh. Why was she brought to the US? She pissed off Jim Cornette, who found her irritating. Then, come to find out, she was a shitty wrestler, to boot. The whole singing her song during a fight was funny, but it led to the worst mic shots ever seen. And it involved her wrestling. Seriously, she made Kelly Kelly look like Mildred Burke.

Honorable Mention: Minoru Suzuki. This broke my heart. I am a huge Suzuki fan, and I liked his match with Okada better than the first Okada-Omega match the month prior. He was the guy I thought that, if people saw him, he'd get over. AEW proved me wrong. I now know that if a guy is special, you need to play up what makes him special (a 30 second spot of Suzuki being Suzuki would work perfectly), and you need to give people a reason to WANT to see him (see: Jushin Liger in NXT). Throwing him out there with Moxley, who he has no chemistry with and fucking with his theme just didn't get the job done.

1. Nick Gage. Everyone else on this list, while it cost the company money to bring them in and book them, didn't actually cost them future revenue. Then there's Mr. Murder Death Kill. The idea was there. He was featured in DSOTR, and the name recognition could give both them and him a boost. By the way, Brian Pillman's episode was shown before this, with his son heavily featured. AEW (and the Bucks specifically) made Pillman Jr. look like a complete bitch. However, back to the Bank Addicted Drug Robber. He was brought in during the whole Trials of Jericho angle. He wrestled Jericho in a Death Match. During that match, broken glass ended up in the crowd, which could have led to a major lawsuit. But it was the Pizza Cutter that cost them the most. A combination of poor timing and the parties involved being morons led to Jericho getting his head cut open with a Pizza Cutter during a Dominoes Ad. A moment that went viral for all the wrong reasons. And, that cost them some Ad revenue. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason why AEW is headed to TBS, rather than staying on TNT, either. People will claim "WWE sabotage." but with what? The thing that actually happened? It was all over Twitter, and Dominoes maintains a Social Media presence. If anything, Bruce Pritchard called after the fact and said "I guess you saw that thing with the Pizza Cutter. We don't do that in WWE. We are a professionally run organization."

Any other Rando's brought in that were flops? Mention them. I didn't add Juvi because it was somehow not as bad as everything else.

[ron the dial]

no comment on how she's been used, but i'm pretty sure hogan is under contract with AEW.

[Bad News Gertner]

I'm pretty sure the WWE were pressuring journalists to report the pizza cutter/Domino's thing to hurt AEW. Bix reported it in detail.

Also, Nick Fucking Gage rules lol

[xrodmuc316]

Ivelisse may have been under contract at one point, not sure, but she flamed out pretty spectacularly.

[Vastardikai]

She was signed after the Rosa farce, IIRC.

[Tom Guycott]

4. Kierra Hogan. I love seeing this young lady in action when she worked for the local indy in Thomson, GA. She had a pretty good run in Impact. So, why was she only used a couple of times in a promotion that desperately needs female talent that can work and not kill themselves or their opponent? Only thing I can think of is that she has a bigger butt than Tay, and we can't have anyone infringing on her gimmick.





That statement is hilariously ironic to me, because Kierra accused Athena/Ember Moon of "stealing her gimmick"... because another black girl wrestler in a different promotion with a different entrance and a different working style but dying her hair the same color is apparently also "gimmick infringement".

And I guess if Tay supposedly has the AEW monopoly on a great backside, we won't be getting the likes of, say, Marti Belle in AEW anytime soon.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Thoughtful thread, and I wish I could engage, but…it’s AEW. Sadly, if they’ve worked for AEW because they are free and willing and have been given a shot, the only reason they aren’t under contract is because they suck so fucking bad that even Tony Khan doesn’t want that stink.

[#1-norm-fan]

I'm pretty sure the WWE were pressuring journalists to report the pizza cutter/Domino's thing to hurt AEW. Bix reported it in detail.

:nono:

[drave]

lol, but they aren't a threat

[Mr. Nerfect]

If AEW weren’t a threat, then why does the WWE go out of their way to no-sell them? They obviously haven’t changed a thing because they’re scared. AEW is just 22 international TV deals and a few million people shy of being on equal footing as WWE.

WWE is getting lazy and complacent. They’re serving up people crap like Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns again. They are going to run off millions of their fans, and when they discover the focus on fresh matches and the 2005-esque feels of AEW, they are going to have a new home and there is no coming back.

I can’t wait for the move to TBS. The Big Bang Theory gets about 1.7 million viewers on Wednesdays there. Can you imagine what AEW is going to get in that slot? :eek:

[drave]

I don't understand why they would go outta their way with @Domino'sGate if they weren't a threat.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don't understand why they would go outta their way with @Domino'sGate if they weren't a threat.

I’m not sure they did, but it is low-hanging fruit. Why did AEW do the pizza cutter thing in the first place? A rare low-brow moment for them as a promotion.

[Mr. Nerfect]

People claim that the WWE leak the fast national numbers too. They are available by request, lol. It’s not like WWE hacked some top secret database to get sensitive information.

[Mr. Nerfect]

If someone constantly taking swipes at me went around kicking puppies, I’d probably point out they are a piece of shit that kicks puppy.

[xrodmuc316]

WWE is all powerful, they are the only company in the world that has access to Fast National ratings, thus they are clearly the ones who leak those ratings solely to make AEW look bad. If it wasn't for the evil all powerful WWE, AEW Rampage ratings would not come out until Monday, which is like a safe day or something, because learning about 475,000 Friday viewers on a Monday is better than learning about 475,000 Friday viewers on a Saturday, DUH!

Also, yeah WWE absolutely caused AEW to lose their Domino's sponsorship. Again, WWE is all powerful, so they booked a deathmatch on Dynamite, got a guy to use a pizza cutter with perfect timing of when WWE booked TNT to air a Dominos commercial. WWE is also solely responsible for Twitter and how all those people Tweeted about the pizza cutter spot, then allowed a bunch more people who don't watch wrestling to retweet it, just to hurt AEW.

Poor ole little AEW always getting picked on by WWE using their game genie codes and unlimited power!

[Mr. Nerfect]

WWE is all powerful, they are the only company in the world that has access to Fast National ratings, thus they are clearly the ones who leak those ratings solely to make AEW look bad. If it wasn't for the evil all powerful WWE, AEW Rampage ratings would not come out until Monday, which is like a safe day or something, because learning about 475,000 Friday viewers on a Monday is better than learning about 475,000 Friday viewers on a Saturday, DUH!

Also, yeah WWE absolutely caused AEW to lose their Domino's sponsorship. Again, WWE is all powerful, so they booked a deathmatch on Dynamite, got a guy to use a pizza cutter with perfect timing of when WWE booked TNT to air a Dominos commercial. WWE is also solely responsible for Twitter and how all those people Tweeted about the pizza cutter spot, then allowed a bunch more people who don't watch wrestling to retweet it, just to hurt AEW.

Poor ole little AEW always getting picked on by WWE using their game genie codes and unlimited power!

Even with all of that, that obsessed freak, Vince McMahon, couldn’t keep AEW down! He tried by absolutely loading NXT to the brim with top name stars. Remember when he sent Charlotte Flair there? Them’s fighting words. They also went out of their way to book NXT to destroy Raw and SmackDown at Survivor Series, with the only goal possibly being to destroy AEW and put it out of business forever. Anyone who argues otherwise is clearly trolling.

But AEW not only survived, but thrived. Now it routinely beats Raw in the ratings, and the only reason it doesn’t beat SmackDown is because SmackDown is on FOX. When they are on even playing fields, and SmackDown airs on cable juggernaut, Fox Sports 1, guess who wins?

The WWE tried, but they lost this war. Even their plans to put AEW Rampage in the graveyard slot and move Dynamite to TBS are going to come back to bite them.

[xrodmuc316]

Even with all of that, that obsessed freak, Vince McMahon, couldn’t keep AEW down! He tried by absolutely loading NXT to the brim with top name stars. Remember when he sent Charlotte Flair there? Them’s fighting words. They also went out of their way to book NXT to destroy Raw and SmackDown at Survivor Series, with the only goal possibly being to destroy AEW and put it out of business forever. Anyone who argues otherwise is clearly trolling.

But AEW not only survived, but thrived. Now it routinely beats Raw in the ratings, and the only reason it doesn’t beat SmackDown is because SmackDown is on FOX. When they are on even playing fields, and SmackDown airs on cable juggernaut, Fox Sports 1, guess who wins?

The WWE tried, but they lost this war. Even their plans to put AEW Rampage in the graveyard slot and move Dynamite to TBS are going to come back to bite them.

Not to mention how AEW trademarked Tuesday Night Dynamite, and in response Vince took NXT from airing at 8:00pm on Wednesdays and suddenly changed it to airing at 8:00pm on Wednesdays, and also made USA Network pay him $100 million over 3 years. Vince can just schedule his show to air on many different Networks whenever he feels like it, cause he is scared.

[Mr. Nerfect]

And Vince FAILED with NXT, lmao. Never mind how many international streaming deals he signs for it, look at how old its audience is on USA. He had to go out of his way to try and hijack the night that AEW ended up with to be nice to the NBA and football, and he got run off like a feral dog.

[drave]

scalded dog.

[drave]

beat like a gubment mule!

[drave]

boy oh boy where there some slobberknockin barn-burning BBQ!!!!

[#1-norm-fan]

Man, I bet Gertner regrets reporting that fake newz now after this VERBAL EVISCERATION by Noid!

WWE NO SELLS AEW AND THERE WILL BE NO REPORTS TO THE CONTRARY ON HIS WATCH!

[hb2k]

I can tell you for a fact that WWE tried hard to get that AEW/Domino's thing to be a big story.

I can also tell you for a fact, in a detail that doesn't seem to have been reported anywhere, that Sonic stopped advertising with WWE earlier in the year after Orton RKO'd Alexa Bliss.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I can tell you for a fact that WWE tried hard to get that AEW/Domino's thing to be a big story.

I can also tell you for a fact, in a detail that doesn't seem to have been reported anywhere, that Sonic stopped advertising with WWE earlier in the year after Orton RKO'd Alexa Bliss.

I’ll take your word on the Domino’s thing because you seem so damn certain. Even so, it doesn’t really get AEW off the hook for doing it in the first place. Bush league shit.

The Orton/Alexa stuff was so fucking stupid and the idea of that sort of thing is just mind-boggling in the first place. I don’t blame any sponsor for dropping any promotion that promotes intergender violence (simulated or not).

Do you guys have a Christmas show coming out this year? I’ve been missing SCG Radio.

[xrodmuc316]

I can tell you for a fact that WWE tried hard to get that AEW/Domino's thing to be a big story.

WWE absolutely caused AEW to lose their Domino's sponsorship. Again, WWE is all powerful, so they booked a deathmatch on Dynamite, got a guy to use a pizza cutter with perfect timing of when WWE booked TNT to air a Dominos commercial. WWE is also solely responsible for Twitter and how all those people Tweeted about the pizza cutter spot, then allowed a bunch more people who don't watch wrestling to retweet it, just to hurt AEW. :yes:

[hb2k]

Okay.

[Vastardikai]

My question is this, when the whole Sonic thing went down, was Orton trying to force-feed Alexa a Footlong? :naughty: :shifty:

The whole thing went viral because the juxtaposition between the Pizza Cutter and the Dominoes Ad. Like I said, I totally believe WWE said something after the fact, just to cover their ass. Because the news isn't going to (and at the time didn't) report "Guy at AEW Show gets his head cut on with a Pizza Cutter during a Dominoes Ad." It reported "Guy at Wrestling Show gets his head cut on with a Pizza Cutter during a Dominoes Ad." And, despite what a relatively insignificant amount of people think, Wrestling is associated with WWE. So, for brand recognition and self preservation, I absolutely believe WWE said something to the advertisers, AFTER the whole thing went viral.

Going back to something I said during the initial litigation of this situation. I was a huge fan of New Jack (R.I.P.), but there was a reason why he never showed up on Mainstream WWE Television. And, after the Nick Gage incident, we see what that reason was. Similar reason as to why the Fred Blassie we know was the one who was a manager calling people "Pencil Necked Geeks," and not the maniac who was biting plugs out of people (That and it was for the paying audience and different times and all that).

I get it, you want an alternative to WWE. So do I, believe it or not. I actively seek out Roman Reigns stuff and that's it right now. But I'm not going to settle for a different variety of bad just because it isn't WWE's brand of bad.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Okay.

It’s not a bad point though. Getting ratted on might be dirty, but if you do the thing you’re being thrown under for, then where is your culpability in that?

How did the WWE fan the flames, out of curiosity? I genuinely skipped a week of wrestling news around this time.

[Mr. Nerfect]

My question is this, when the whole Sonic thing went down, was Orton trying to force-feed Alexa a Footlong? :naughty: :shifty:

The whole thing went viral because the juxtaposition between the Pizza Cutter and the Dominoes Ad. Like I said, I totally believe WWE said something after the fact, just to cover their ass. Because the news isn't going to (and at the time didn't) report "Guy at AEW Show gets his head cut on with a Pizza Cutter during a Dominoes Ad." It reported "Guy at Wrestling Show gets his head cut on with a Pizza Cutter during a Dominoes Ad." And, despite what a relatively insignificant amount of people think, Wrestling is associated with WWE. So, for brand recognition and self preservation, I absolutely believe WWE said something to the advertisers, AFTER the whole thing went viral.

Going back to something I said during the initial litigation of this situation. I was a huge fan of New Jack (R.I.P.), but there was a reason why he never showed up on Mainstream WWE Television. And, after the Nick Gage incident, we see what that reason was. Similar reason as to why the Fred Blassie we know was the one who was a manager calling people "Pencil Necked Geeks," and not the maniac who was biting plugs out of people (That and it was for the paying audience and different times and all that).

I get it, you want an alternative to WWE. So do I, believe it or not. I actively seek out Roman Reigns stuff and that's it right now. But I'm not going to settle for a different variety of bad just because it isn't WWE's brand of bad.

Excellent post. :y:

The WWE, for all their faults, has gone out of their way to clean up the image of wrestling. They’ve battled that negative brand perception. And when it comes to certain things, yeah, they’re no doubt doing it for their bottom line. But I can absolutely see the argument that the WWE SHOULD be trying to shut down people who do this sort of thing.

Things like Ian Rotten’s hardcore stuff, the clips of backyard stuff being juxtaposed with Mick Foley and even some of the Attitude era stuff the WWF rode alongside its popularity are things that can get in the way of wrestling and ruin it for everybody.

There’s truth in the need and desire for an alternative. When you’ve only had a declining WWE presenting something you’re passionate about for two decades, you can get frustrated. Case in point: me. That want for something different can make people hyper-critical of the WWE. I totally get that. I’ve been there. The acceptance an AEW finds with that is part of working, I guess. But to me, it’s just frustrating when the alternative is also garbage. Sometimes in ways worse than WWE. I’ve dubbed it Anything Else Wrestling, since it gets such a pass for just being anything other than the WWE.

[drave]

I would say you could call any promotion "anything else wrestling" because WWE has been "wrestling" for so long that anything "not WWE" will always come off "bush league".


Weird brain stuff at play, but this is definitely a thing happening.


I find WWE digestible in incredibly small segments, and with all the breaks and pacing of a "weekly show" that seems to be what they want. Each superstar/match is heavily "segmented" so you can almost piecemeal what you want to watch.


The music industry has done the same for quite a while, since major streaming services took off. It can work well for some things, but I think this is partly why things feel "short term" in WWE for the most part.






*on topic:


Billy Gunn
Brian Cage
Eddie Kingston
QT Marshall


On a side note, I would love to see Nick Comoroto become the next "Brusier" type character. He 100% has the build and look. Also, Powerhouse MF'in Hobbs.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I would say you could call any promotion "anything else wrestling" because WWE has been "wrestling" for so long that anything "not WWE" will always come off "bush league".


Weird brain stuff at play, but this is definitely a thing happening.


I find WWE digestible in incredibly small segments, and with all the breaks and pacing of a "weekly show" that seems to be what they want. Each superstar/match is heavily "segmented" so you can almost piecemeal what you want to watch.


The music industry has done the same for quite a while, since major streaming services took off. It can work well for some things, but I think this is partly why things feel "short term" in WWE for the most part.






*on topic:


Billy Gunn
Brian Cage
Eddie Kingston
QT Marshall


On a side note, I would love to see Nick Comoroto become the next "Brusier" type character. He 100% has the build and look. Also, Powerhouse MF'in Hobbs.

I disagree. I think AEW comes off as bush league because it is bush league a lot of the time. People are willing to cut it so much slack because it’s not WWE though.

Lol, forgot about Brian Cage. He’s probably going to be released when his deal is up, if he lasts that long.