MJF could go to WWE in like 5 years and just wrestle in pants all the time. Problem solved!

Jake Hager’s hat is going to seek opportunities in a place that can actually use stars.

I heard a lot of black fans express distaste at the blatant tokenism of AEW shamelessly using Swerve Strickland for some PR. A lot of them were dubious that Swerve would make it through Wembley as champion. Looks like he might not even make it through Forbidden Door. :lol:

TK is thinking about adding more titles to AEW. I’m not joking.

Where'd you hear that?

Okada's gifted Lamborghini Huracan 580-2 Spyder in Nero Nemesis is sick as hell.

Lol, MJF wasn’t on the Dynamite after the PPV? Will Ospreay defeats a bunch of jobbers and comedy wrestlers in a Russonian gimmick match for the World Title shot at the PPV? It doesn’t seem possible for this shit to get worse.

They waited a whole month to run the exact same match with the exact same winner with the almost exact same prize! Tiny is such a bad booker he forgot her JUST did this lol

Hello? Hello?!

They live in Canada, you wouldn't know them.

(but more likely Noid read someone else's post somewhere saying one person was complaining and decided that counts as "a lot" lol)

It is hilarious they ran the same terrible gimmick so close together. But did Tony forget or is he just that fucking bad?

Kayfabe: Imagine being a wrestler going for the World Title. You get your gear on. You’re all stretched and ready to go. The #1 contender is decided before you even get to the ring. Time to go back home and twiddle your thumbs.

It’s totally emblematic of AEW, but it’s hilarious in the context of pro-wrestling. And Tony obviously think it’s a good idea. Even the Reverse Battle Royal gave the losers a chance to try and get into the ring.

I used to be a fan of Cesaro, but I’ve got to admit that Claudio does not look out of place with The JOB Squad and Los Boricuas in 2024.

I'm sure their match will be great, but I don't love the idea of doing Swerve vs. Ospreay already. Swerve shouldn't lose the title yet, so the drama isn't there for me.

Having a great match for the sake of it is fine, but that shouldn't be a PPV main event. Make that an attraction for TV.

(I also just don't like champion vs champion matches in general.)

Bookers have forgotten how damaging babyface matches can be. When people give a shit about your product (it’s lucky very few people do about AEW), it’s a risk to put two of your supposed attractions against each other when they necessarily have to step on each other’s goals.

Swerve is either going to have to have his balls cut off like a good token champ, or Ospreay has to lose a high profile match this early into his “run.” Great booking, Tony.

The match itself is going to be pretty bleh too. Swerve and Will are both guys that work up to the standard of their opponent. Left to their own devices, they get kind of spotty. Samoa Joe and Christian were good opponents, at least on paper, for Swerve.

Coming off a PPV, MJF’s return and there being no NBA competition, Dynamite did a whopping 787k.

This shit is dead, folks.

AEW's fall from grace has been insane.

It was one of Alfred Konuwa's things. Now it's trying to get Tiffany Stratton fired over a dumb tweet.

The correct answer Rogerer, is the Smart People Forums.

It’s what happens when 5 years of bad television sets in.

Collision looks pumping. Will Ospreay defends his mid-card belt against Kyle O’Reilly. Another babyface match. Kyle’s done nothing since returning off a >1 year layoff. Fuck’s sake.

Speaking of misused Canadians, WWE has already done more with Ethan Page in a single night than AEW did in years.

And on the subject of Collision, they’ve currently sold <1700 tickets to next week’s show.

At least Konuwa gets paid for this shit

Frankie Kazarian has spoken out against the company. Inmates running the asylum, no creative vision, nonsensical storylines being the things he cited as informing his decision to leave. Kind of a “no shit” reveal, but still worth sharing. Kaz was figured in at the start and I think he had to wake up to how stupid the people he was in business with were.

Its def no shit. Especially the creative vision front. Even the die hards can tell. Theyve shifted their argument to things like "you just want there only to be one company again" when faced with valid criticism. And to he fair there are definitely people who do. Some claim otherwise but the vendetta in their soul is obvious. The point though is thats not a defense of the product. Its an argument about the argument occurring at all which is a type of admission in its own right.

You’re also getting arguments about whether something is actually a story or not — not whether that story is any good.

Any criticism of the promotion is waved away by some as “bad faith.” Chris Jericho basically came out and said that recently. A healthier attitude would be a commitment to continuous improvement and to actually learn and grow from criticism.

But it’s been that way for 5 years lol. It’s not going to change. That’s why I have no sympathy for the promotion or its fate.

I’m done with the “AEW is good for wrestling” argument too. More bad wrestling is not good for wrestling. Tony overpays for talent, which is a bad thing even if we’re supposed to pretend that wrestlers getting rich is the goal. Talented individuals will find work elsewhere, and might not have to waste years of their careers, amass injuries, develop bad habits, lose the motivation to continue after a well-paid cycle or two.

I’d definitely like a good product that is not WWE. AEW ain’t it.

Dave Meltzer and his little stooge came to the conclusion that WBD is going to give AEW a 50% rights raise to renew them. This is based solely on nothing but the two of them telling each other they heard Tiny say AEW is great.

Shows that have lost half their total audience and about 55% of the "key demo" over 5 years don't really warrant a deal worth 1.5 times what they were getting.

What is even better is all the other wrestling "journalist" are now reporting it as fact that AEW's new deal is worth over $115 million a year.

No new deal has been signed, WBD stock is down 30% since last year, they lost $3.1 BILLION in 2023. They are scrapping films that have already been completed JUST for tax breaks, and they just lost NBA games on TNT because they couldn't afford to match Disney or NBC Universal, which means they will not be able to demand as high of a price for their cable channels package, nor as much in advertising revenue.

ALL OF THIS somehow means AEW is going to get a massive raise, according to Dave Meltzer's opinion and other journalist reporting Dave Meltzer's opinion as fact.

At this point why are they still pretending this company is an actual business? Just say you love pro wrestling and you are willing to fund it yourself for the love of the sport. Instead part of Tony's pro wrestling hobby/fantasy is that he needs everybody to believe he is a successful businessman so he can go on NFL Network and Rich Eisen and fawn over how successful he is.

Make no mistake, Tony Khan is the reason AEW is such shit. He is so awkward and unlikable and delusional that it is impossible to take anything AEW does seriously. At the end of the day, he does not deserve the false sense of accomplishment, he is nothing but a manchild with a very rich father who never told his kids no.

You’re spot on the money there. I’m still thinking WBD just drops them. It doesn’t sound like they make a profit on the show (from Alvarez and Thurston’s own lips), and the content is needlessly violent. Skye Blue wrapped in barbed wire is not a good look. Neither are belts with your corporate logos on them being trotted out in front of 10% full buildings.

A new deal is also going to see decreasing ratings over the duration of that time, and that doesn’t even factor in what happens if WWE decides to play harder opposition and/or TNA gets a reputable deal. Who wants to be the executive that signs off on that just to see the bottom fall out?

Plus they have to know what a pain it is to deal with Tony Khan and what a mess AEW is politically.

No one else wants it. No one picked up ROH. If you were interested in getting Dynamite from WBD’s clutches, why wouldn’t you pick up ROH for some sort of bargain in order to begin a relationship with TK? Every single entity (except for allegedly CW) passed on ROH. Good luck landing a deal with the CW now.

I’m sure people will tell me that I’m wrong and I just don’t understand television like Dave Meltzer — just like I didn’t understand video games like Kenny Omega — but we’ll see.

I just heard the funniest excerpt about TK talking about Bryan Danielson’s contract coming up. Tony said he hopes he and Bryan can talk to each other every day for the rest of their lives. :lol:

Just saw a photo of Jericho with the FTW title....... why is that still a thing.................

Are you sure about that? It doesn't sound right. I can't imagine a reason that WBD would lose money on the deal. I suppose there could be requirements for original programming or something, but even if it's out of contratual obligation there's not many shows that can pump out that much live TV and perform that consistently in ratings. Even in that made up scenario where they're losing money on AEW it still wouldn't make sense to get rid of it. Does that make any sense to you?

Jericho’s ego. They’ve got to think of ways to shoehorn him onto programming. Has he helped out one single wrestler in the last 4 years?

It’s funny to hear Meltzer and Alvarez still defend Jericho every chance they get. Gotta keep those Christmas gifts coming. It’s made me reflect on the coverage Jericho has ever gotten, and how bullshit it all was. Dave has been doing his bidding since 1998.

Jericho’s probably always been a political animal and piece of shit. It just didn’t get covered.

Help me I think I'm a ghost


aaaaaaahhhhh

So Ricky Starks let it be known he is not injured and doesn't know why he isn't being booked.

A reporter asked Tony Khan about this.

Tony Khan said:

"I think Ricky Starks is tremendous,"Khan said. "I'd love to get him involved and back in AEW anytime. He's been a huge part of what we've done here for about four out of the five years"

This dumdum forgot he is the booker, Ricky isn't there because Tiny stopped booking him...

Good job, XRod!!

Cody guy.

Punk guy.

Presumably didn’t sign an extension even after receiving the gift of working Jericho.

Invited guest to WrestleMania.

Careful, AEW — your bullshit is showing.

I think this and all other conversations are moot when they’re losing TV, no?