All Elite Wrestling

[Badger]

100% on MJF. The guy was the reason to keep with the product for a long time and the fumble is not talked about enough. You hear about Wardlow etc when it comes to dropping the ball. But MJF is the prime example of having something special and making it less important. The MJF/Cole story is a mess and is lukewarm at best by this point. I hadn't realised it irritated me so much until I read your post.

I think were trying to be too clever having Cole turn on him first before MJF could but probably this could’ve worked out a bit better if they just had Cole show weakness and fall for it. The whole storyline was making me cheer for MJF more which shouldn’t be happening as the guy is a natural bastard.

He should be desperately trying to get his triple B back but him and Mox are both heels though the latter is acting more faceish willingly issuing a fatal 4 way title challenge. Also kinda wish they hadn’t burned OC getting a title shot so early into Mox’s reign.

The lack of Wardlow is also hurting things but he’s got nagging knee injuries. Lack of Omega too is hurting things. Young Bucks “working from home”, may or may not turn face. Private Party…token tag title reign..meh on them. Would’ve much preferred Ouyrunners.

There’s also the arse-backwards booking of Darby Allin. Trying to commit car crash murder and still losing handily to Mox’s second-in-command in Claudio. Also losing to Brody King so early in the CC after beating him (nothing against Brody btw) but he’s being made to look reckless and weak at the same time. Unless they’re trying to make it look like an Eddie Kingston comeback but at this point, leaning towards Fletcher/Ospreay 2.

In short, the wrestling is good but even given the missing big stars, the angles are still all over the shop. But Meltzer still loves it! “Six stars! PS don’t give money to Dutch lol!”

[Nash Diesel]

@VHS At least it wasn't on his neck lol

[VHS]

@VHS At least it wasn't on his neck lol

Fuuuuuuck

[Tempest]

I didn't totally hate the MJF face run, but I did find it very hokey. Fans spent years hating Cena for it but embraced MJF for going full 1980's babyface. I may be biased because my partner hates wrestling but that period was the one time we could sit and watch a show together without getting grief and actually saw interest.

Otherwise I agree on all points. There may have been an endgame, but it didn't pan out. Maybe in part due to injuries, but it got very messy around Wembley and they were booked into a corner. That happens a lot.. where they book to a payoff and then either fail to deliver or cannot see past that.

With Moxley...eh I just haven't felt it since the BCC became a thing. All his edge to me just went and now it all feels forced and quite dull actually. Doesn't help that his team is the work horse but boring as fuck group. Sad when Yuta's involvement and feelings are the most interesting part.

I love and hate AEW. It's for me the 'almost' show. They set up some home runs and then follow up with monumental misses. They should be way better than they are and have wrestlers who could be massive, yet squander them.

However, I still watch every week in hope that it will be better. A little bit like why I still watched WWE in the 2005ish times when I was utterly bored. WWE got better, so who knows if it will fall on a golden spell

[mth]

Regarding Toni reverting to her old persona, having read the spoilers for upcoming shows,

I don't think that's what's actually happened here. Sounds like this is more of a progression than it appeared at first glance...

[Tempest]

Regarding Toni reverting to her old persona, having read the spoilers for upcoming shows,

I don't think that's what's actually happened here. Sounds like this is more of a progression than it appeared at first glance...

Hope so. All I've read is that folk are fuming she had her return match on Rampage

[Nash Diesel]

Regarding Toni reverting to her old persona, having read the spoilers for upcoming shows,

I'm don't think that's what's actually happened here. Sounds like this is more of a progression than it appeared at first glance...

So you're spoilering shit we haven't seen yet? Thanks lol

[mth]

Was trying to be as vague as possible so I didn't think it qualified but whoopsie poopsie. Sorry, boss.

[Nash Diesel]

I didn't totally hate the MJF face run, but I did find it very hokey. Fans spent years hating Cena for it but embraced MJF for going full 1980's babyface. I may be biased because my partner hates wrestling but that period was the one time we could sit and watch a show together without getting grief and actually saw interest.

Otherwise I agree on all points. There may have been an endgame, but it didn't pan out. Maybe in part due to injuries, but it got very messy around Wembley and they were booked into a corner. That happens a lot.. where they book to a payoff and then either fail to deliver or cannot see past that.

With Moxley...eh I just haven't felt it since the BCC became a thing. All his edge to me just went and now it all feels forced and quite dull actually. Doesn't help that his team is the work horse but boring as fuck group. Sad when Yuta's involvement and feelings are the most interesting part.

I love and hate AEW. It's for me the 'almost' show. They set up some home runs and then follow up with monumental misses. They should be way better than they are and have wrestlers who could be massive, yet squander them.

However, I still watch every week in hope that it will be better. A little bit like why I still watched WWE in the 2005ish times when I was utterly bored. WWE got better, so who knows if it will fall on a golden spell

I know this is a bit of a stretch but I liken MJF turning babyface to Austin turning heel in 2001. It's just an easy comparison (I hope lol) I think once you got about 2-3 months into it you realized oh fuck, this is not good. I realize MJF was getting popular, but sadly more often than not we see the promoter go "Oh that means we should turn him babyface!!" No. Sometimes we just appreciate great heel work ala Heath Ledger as the Joker. I also feel like deep down CM Punk was going to be the devil and the whole "Maybe it's Adam Cole!?!" was a diversion. I also can't fucking stand Adam Cole I think he's terrible and everything we're seeing is proof. The angle with him and MJF fucking sucks and it has just made them into midcard acts nobody cares about.

Moxley.....Everything about the BCC was a mistake. It should've just been Mox and Danielson with Regal in the middle and one of them turns heel. Instead we get this HORRIBLE stable. Wheeler Yuta....I like him when he wears ICP shirts and cannonballs onto a microwave from his deck. Cesaro, great wrestler but booked the exact same way he has been his entire career. Now the group is even worse. PAC? Why?? YOU DON'T KNOW ME YOU KNOW ME Chick? Horrible. And I swear to God if Mox isn't back on the sauce he's definitely on the juice. That promo he cut the other night was like watching a meth addict give the street preacher speech from They Live.

I like AEW to the point where as a super fan of wrestling I respect that at the end of the day the talent are getting mad money. That's what it's about for them and at the very least you have to like that about AEW being around. But hey, motherfuckers were making coin in WCW and TNA until even the billionaires said naw I'm out. Actually had Ted not sold his soul we might've had WCW for a little while longer. He said naw, fuck the Braves, Hawks, Nitro, here you go AOL who doesn't even exist anymore.

[Nash Diesel]

Was trying to be as vague as possible so I didn't think it qualified but whoopsie poopsie. Sorry, boss.

If you ever take a trip down to Cobb County GA you'll be in trouble.

[Tempest]

I know this is a bit of a stretch but I liken MJF turning babyface to Austin turning heel in 2001. It's just an easy comparison (I hope lol) I think once you got about 2-3 months into it you realized oh fuck, this is not good. I realize MJF was getting popular, but sadly more often than not we see the promoter go "Oh that means we should turn him babyface!!" No. Sometimes we just appreciate great heel work ala Heath Ledger as the Joker. I also feel like deep down CM Punk was going to be the devil and the whole "Maybe it's Adam Cole!?!" was a diversion. I also can't fucking stand Adam Cole I think he's terrible and everything we're seeing is proof. The angle with him and MJF fucking sucks and it has just made them into midcard acts nobody cares about.

Moxley.....Everything about the BCC was a mistake. It should've just been Mox and Danielson with Regal in the middle and one of them turns heel. Instead we get this HORRIBLE stable. Wheeler Yuta....I like him when he wears ICP shirts and cannonballs onto a microwave from his deck. Cesaro, great wrestler but booked the exact same way he has been his entire career. Now the group is even worse. PAC? Why?? YOU DON'T KNOW ME YOU KNOW ME Chick? Horrible. And I swear to God if Mox isn't back on the sauce he's definitely on the juice. That promo he cut the other night was like watching a meth addict give the street preacher speech from They Live.

I like AEW to the point where as a super fan of wrestling I respect that at the end of the day the talent are getting mad money. That's what it's about for them and at the very least you have to like that about AEW being around. But hey, motherfuckers were making coin in WCW and TNA until even the billionaires said naw I'm out. Actually had Ted not sold his soul we might've had WCW for a little while longer. He said naw, fuck the Braves, Hawks, Nitro, here you go AOL who doesn't even exist anymore.

Agree on Cole. Do not get him other than he has a cool entrance. Keep going back to him but he is average generally and sinks around real talent.

Moxleys promos are horrid. Long and rambly. Like HHH in 02 on coke. He had that Austin edge for a long time but the BCC happened and he flopped between heel and face too much, without the tweener distinction. For me he is flat and it died when they kept playing the best wrestler around angle, because that is not his selling point. Now he bores me and it the reason I started to have to watch wrestling on my own again.

I will keep on with it in the hope they hit a home run. They have the talent so who knows. Collision died when Punk left so now it is one or two good Dynamites to two or three bad. There is always an underlying potential and that's what keeps me coming back

[Badger]

The amount of Guinness missing in the UK equivalent is what’s missing from Darby. All the bells and whistles and crazy character work out of the ring yet losing clean as a whistle inside the ring.

As far as the Death Riders go, the only one really that passes as a heel is PAC. Yuta bleh. I love Claudio donÂ’t get me wrong but better as the arse-kicking uppercutting face. Mrs Strong is just holding the briefcase lol but no real equivalent to take her out.

[MTR]

I swear Darby is going to die in the ring. Watching Darby vs Ospreay right now at lunch and that coffin drop on the apron looked brutal. he didn't land flat his spine hit the edge of the ring. ouch

[Nash Diesel]

He's definitely going to wind up like Foley and Jeff Hardy where once he hits 40 the shit will completely hit him and he'll be fucked up on drugs OR hobbling around for a paycheck to do a Jackass stunt. I think he's a cool character but it's not worth it.

[MTR]

He is such a great technical wrestler. Some of the chain wrestling he does is great. However he also does all that reckless stuff which is going to cut his career short for sure.

[Nash Diesel]

He is such a great technical wrestler. Some of the chain wrestling he does is great. However he also does all that reckless stuff which is going to cut his career short for sure.

I wouldn't call him a great technical wrestler but I'm strict about that label. I've seen probably 100 Darby matches in and out of AEW and not once did I go "that guy is as good as Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Danielson, etc. " With that said he can actually do some shit but I would put $100 of internet money on it that it's all heavily scripted, practiced spots. I mean Mick Foley could actually wrestle but he did what people wanted to see him do and that was impact moves and hardcore spots.

The crazy thing is what will end Darby will be shit unrelated to wrestling. Jeff Hardy, never had an injury and then he's out on his dirtbike, broke his fuckin leg. Or it'll be some stupid shit like Darby will try to go for an armdrag and break his neck.

My main concern is that if he does end up winning the World title, will that mean anything now that half the audience left? And who will even be watching if/when he does finally win it? AEW trying to do too much right now. I'm still wondering what happened to the whole Tony Khan getting tombstoned...nothing has came of that and maybe that's by design lol

[Dreyski]

I swear Darby is going to die in the ring. Watching Darby vs Ospreay right now at lunch and that coffin drop on the apron looked brutal. he didn't land flat his spine hit the edge of the ring. ouch

Yeah I’ve seen Foley on thumbtacks and Jericho take light tubes to the head, but that coffin drop made me wince. I might be making this up, but I read/heard somewhere that he’s aware he’s got a short shelf life, and is planning for an early retirement. Not sure what his fallback plan is though.

[Peter Griffin]

Probably a bed of nails.

[Nash Diesel]

I love deathmatch wrestling to an extent. It really depends on who it is. I used to order those Japanese Deathmatch wrestling ppvs from like 15 years ago all the time, bought the DVDs when they dropped....You'd see dudes like Jun Kasai, Honma, Necro Butcher, etc doing these wild things and sometimes it was cool sometimes it wasn't. Just like anyone who's ever watched the full IWA Japan deathmatch tournament/event where it wasn't just the tournament these guys wrestled in other matches it was nuts. Some of that shit was cool some of it sucked. I never really got into anything post-ECW like CZW or really even XPW. I only liked the hardcore stuff in ECW depending on who it was.

I'm a fan of Darby but again, there are a lot of spots he does that are idiotic. One thing that I think AEW smartened up about was they had way too much hardcore wrestling going on that didn't really feel necessary. Why is Cody Rhodes and Andrade using a flaming table? That's like Hulk Hogan and Macho Man using a flaming table. Hangman/Swerve, why are we using needles and going full blown Evil Dead with blood barf? I like that they've scaled back and now it's pretty much unless you're Darby or Mox, probably not doing any crazy shit unless absolutely warranted. There's enough bullshit backyward style wrestling out there trying to go viral.

[Mazer]

It's one thing to plan for an early retirement when you're young. It's quite another to live with pain for decades.

Particularly when a lot of your life enjoyment has been predicated around being physically active.

[Tainted Eclipse]

i didn't care about ricochet coming into AEW at all but his heel act might really be my favorite thing in wrestling right now. what a turnaround. and last night was the most i enjoyed a dynamite in 2024.

[Badger]

Darby looking like a genius and an idiot on the same night. A genius for helping Komander screw Claudio yet in his own match prior:

Crowd: “Ten…nine…eight!”
Darby: “I’ma hit the top rope now!”

not to mention Justin giving the time warnings as well.

[lotjx]

After seeing the World's End results, I have to ask the question, does AEW just want to be in a holding pattern for the next year? No title changes. No major developments. The only storyline that seemed to end was Cole/MJF which they kinda blew that one with the face/heel turns for MJF this year. Edge coming back is fine. They booked themselves in a corner with Christian being the Money in the Bank winner ie another heel to get the main title. It just feels like Tony is getting a little too precious with Mercedes, May, Okada and Mox being champions. I get you want to do Toni/May again, but that feels like its going to take forever with Toni returning to Mae Young Classic Toni. This Death Rider storyline is the NWO with less interesting characters. I am not sure if having a PPV in the dead time between Christmas and New Years is a good idea either. It would be if you are going to I don't know End things, but this felt like two Dynamites shoved into one long show. Great wrestling. AEW will always have that, but the storylines seem to be dragging.

[Fanny Batter]

I think they're trying to stabilise which isn't a bad thing. It's felt like a bit of a lingering hangover since All Out, with the previous 6 months being a bit of a high point. The Swerve rise, title run and Hangman rivalry, Sting's retirement, Ospreay hitting the ground running, Okada and The Elite, Mone's debut, the Storm/May story, Danielson's retirement tour. They had a lot of moving parts and significant moments during that period and the drop off has been massive.

The big thing for me is clearly Will, Hangman, MJF and Swerve should be the top guys, and Moxley a level below that. They like Darby but he's Tommy Dreamer and not The Man. If Omega is fully healed then obviously he needs to be up there. So Mox CLEARLY having a really long transitional reign kind of sucks, but a necessary one as they need to 'make' the next champion by ending a reign of death.

Another thing - big matches every week! Nearly everybody has wrestled. Look at Ospreay - who hasn't he wrestled yet? He's been there less than a year full time! He's an amazing talent but you need to build that shit. And he loses all the time. Look at how much of a mess the MJF character is after all the good work they did until he got injured last year. Rushed him back into the heel role so he could lose the hometown consolation prize to Ospreay. You can't argue against the Danielson win as it was an all time great moment, so just put Ospreay in a good spot defending his title and keep MJF in that lane then turn him and have him in Mox's position now. But it needed to be built to.

[Tainted Eclipse]

tony is totally spent creatively, has no idea how to shift his booking philosophy to something that works better. i still enjoy watching dynamite every week well enough, but i don't have any hope that the promotion is going to get much better than it is.

[Nash Diesel]

AEW has lost so many fans over the last year+ that they better hurry up before they just become WCW 3.0 TNA=WCW 2.0 It's awesome for the talent to get fat checks by someone other than WWE. The roster is solid and the wrestling is pretty damn good too. But there are so many different issues with this company that while it's cool they got that sweet new deal, does it really matter if you're losing fans?

There isn't one single storyline in AEW right now that's cool. For me it's just about seeing some matches with people we never got to see 10 years ago. Adam Copeland v. Jon Moxley is a match I'm looking forward to. I don't care one bit about the storyline.

[Nash Diesel]

I don't hate the Young Bucks but I'm not a fan of them. I'm a fan of their hustle, but going back to Generation Me I never really got into them but I can tolerate them. Go watch them v. Kendrick/London at Kurt RussellMania for PWG.

I don't think saying you were trying to have bad matches on purpose makes any sense and once you watch that video you'll understand why. *Side bar, it's super tough listening to Disco Inferno.

[Badger]

“Cope”

Fuckin hell!

[Donald]

It's the dumbest wrestling name since Edge

[Nash Diesel]

“Cope”

Fuckin hell!

Someone brought up an interview he did a year ago with Renee saying he likes being called "Cope" and wanted to have a match with Jon Moxley so it could be billed as "Cope v. Mox" I'm just like....No way Edge had any creative input on shit that he did in WWE that was cool because that was just goofy as fuck lol.

Plus, all I hear from AEW apologists when people don't like something they do you hear "cope" "Cope with it!" Ede and FTR are so fucking corny it makes me sick. Never liked Edge and stuff like this is why probably why lol

[Donald]

It was the first Dynamite I watched since the Luke Harper memorial episode. It wasn't bad. They've improved a lot on their presentation since I've last watched. I still want to rip my ears off hearing Justin Roberts announce though. Moxley is awful, what the fuck happened to him.

[Nash Diesel]

It was the first Dynamite I watched since the Luke Harper memorial episode. It wasn't bad. They've improved a lot on their presentation since I've last watched. I still want to rip my ears off hearing Justin Roberts announce though. Moxley is awful, what the fuck happened to him.

I actually forgot they were on Max until my friend from Detroit posted around 10:30 that it was nice to be able to watch AEW again. I had been following it on IG that night while watching a movie called BIG STAN. From what I saw on IG I'm glad I was watching Big Stan and that movie was pretty fucking terrible. It did have Simon Rhee in it though.

My issue at this stage in my life is there is just too much wrestling, it's too accessible and I don't have the time or mental capacity to digest all this modern wrestling. I don't even follow WWE that much, comes with age and responsiblity I guess lol. I just can't devout this much time to pro wrestling. The only way I could I financially can't so yeah....I will definitely be checking out the ppvs as they are free on MAX to my understanding.

[Donald]

I actually forgot they were on Max until my friend from Detroit posted around 10:30 that it was nice to be able to watch AEW again. I had been following it on IG that night while watching a movie called BIG STAN. From what I saw on IG I'm glad I was watching Big Stan and that movie was pretty fucking terrible. It did have Simon Rhee in it though.

My issue at this stage in my life is there is just too much wrestling, it's too accessible and I don't have the time or mental capacity to digest all this modern wrestling. I don't even follow WWE that much, comes with age and responsiblity I guess lol. I just can't devout this much time to pro wrestling. The only way I could I financially can't so yeah....I will definitely be checking out the ppvs as they are free on MAX to my understanding.

Having it all on demand helps, I doubt I'll watch everything live, maybe just the big events like Royal Rumble, Mania, Jan 6 RAW. I was looking to sign up to YouTube TV or something like that to watch NXT and Smackdown on occasion, but then I figured I'll just use the VPN I have to watch them on Netflix in another country.

[Badger]

I actually forgot they were on Max until my friend from Detroit posted around 10:30 that it was nice to be able to watch AEW again. I had been following it on IG that night while watching a movie called BIG STAN. From what I saw on IG I'm glad I was watching Big Stan and that movie was pretty fucking terrible. It did have Simon Rhee in it though.

My issue at this stage in my life is there is just too much wrestling, it's too accessible and I don't have the time or mental capacity to digest all this modern wrestling. I don't even follow WWE that much, comes with age and responsiblity I guess lol. I just can't devout this much time to pro wrestling. The only way I could I financially can't so yeah....I will definitely be checking out the ppvs as they are free on MAX to my understanding.

If Elijah Burke were here, we could’ve gotten Cope vs Pope lol.

But yeah he always sounds so forced as a face. Much better as a heel, especially as Cena’s great rival.

Christian right now is currently wonderful on the other hand. Wouldn’t be shocked if they had Christian to cash in on Cope when he wins the belt given Khan’s love for old school fanboy booking lol.

[Nash Diesel]

I have zero desire to see Christian cash in. I'm hoping Edge cockblocks him and we keep building up these younger cats. Fuck these old white blonde haired Canadians in AEW lol.

[Donald]

Christian vs. Edge vs. Jericho in a retirement match, but they all get counted out.

[Nash Diesel]

Jericho never should've been the first AEW champion. For me that already set the tone that this company didn't take itself serious enough. Should've been Kenny if they wanted an older Manitoba native to be the 1st.

Christian, I won't beat the dead horse I've said this a grip but he doesn't need the World title. Edge, same thing. They have already had a career, they aren't going to elevate anything or anyone by winning/losing the title. Where's the rub beating either of them? It doesn't exist in AEW. And even outside of AEW if this was WWE only beating Edge would (sorta) matter considering how strong he's been booked in that company even after he came back old as shit getting hurt every other match. Shocked he didn't tear his quad or shoulder the other night.

For me, AEW is the in the position TNA was in when they had Sting beat Samoa Joe. I think it was a mistake for Moxley to be the one to end Danielon's career/title run. Their storylines suck. Match quality is fine, you can literally turn on WWE, AEW, TNA, NJPW, etc. and see great wrestling. It's just hard for me to justify taking time out of my life to watch AEW or modern wrestling as a whole.

[Donald]

Hey, all of that is better than Jeff Jarrett. Now that's a guy who should have retired at least a decade ago. Does anyone want to see him feud for the world title in 2025?

[Dreyski]

“Cope”

Fuckin hell!

It sounds like the name he gets called in the gym or locker room. So as a nickname fine, as a ringname it has echoes of the Dark Order wanting to christen Adam Cole 'Budge'

If it was the fitba he'd be getting called 'Copesy' from his teammates

[Fanny Batter]

Moxley betting on himself only to end up doing the goofiest shit on the eve of Rollins and Reigns culminating critically acclaimed storylines in the double main event of the first wrestling show on Netflix is peak 'what the fuck happened in wrestling these last 5 years?!' Like he left because he was given a germaphobe gimmick and was asked to mock Roman's cancer. What's he doing saying yes (or writing himself) to kidnapping the Rock and Roll Express?! He's done some good stuff but WWE clearly backed the right horses.

[Murphy]

Hey, all of that is better than Jeff Jarrett. Now that's a guy who should have retired at least a decade ago. Does anyone want to see him feud for the world title in 2025?

I didn't want to see him feuding for a world title in any year of any decade.

Epitome of mid.

Jarrett could be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Just can't be arsed with AEW anymore. Not with WWE being good now, to me.

Will dip in and out, of course.

Have missed like 5 of their last 6 PPVs as it is.

Jeff Jarrett in 2025.

[Donald]

How can he be the Last Outlaw if I'm pretty sure Billy Gunn is still wrestling?

[Nash Diesel]

I'm just glad even the most die hard AEW fans are coming back to reality. They're realizing that blindly supporting a company does more harm than good. AEW has probably the largest % of fans that tell people to just enjoy all wrestling while being super tribal when you dislike anything. It could be a fucking armdrag and 20 of these weirdos are logging into their burners telling you to go suck a fed dick lol. I'm like dude I'm watching FMW and you're talking strange.

Just like every other company out there, AEW gives out more bad than good. WWE, TNA, NJPW, idc who it is they're not firing on all cylinders. 2-3 good matches, 1 or 2 good storylines, and a bunch of miscast and misused wrestlers.

[Badger]

I’m bored with the whole Death Riders angle which seems at this point a holdover until Darby comes back from Mount Everest.

Couple of positives is MJF/Jarrett drawing heat and love Toni’s gimmick taking the piss out of herself.

There was a great video I saw on Reddit saying she was surprised they had a doctor and said she’d take advantages of all resources and it cuts to her in catering.

[Nash Diesel]

This show last night was so bad that when they said "Ricochet is next" I just shut it off. I was a little hyped to see Omega's return but it was just another match. I hate how so many AEW matches end with 400 people running in and do all their shit it's so fake. I hate Ospreay/Omega doing the "i hate you but we better align ourselves, strength in numbers!" IDC what company it is, that is one of the lamest tropes.

[Donald]

It must be frustrating to be an ex WWE guy in AEW, who probably left WWE because of Vince McMahon, but they are now locked into an AEW contract wishing they were back in WWE under Triple H lol.

[Nash Diesel]

The AEW psychos, sickos, whatever....They don't make it easy being a fan of the company or even being part of the company.