Shit's on.

8 minutes ago, WingedEagle said:

This story is phenomenal.  Straight out of the Monday night wars with rumors of the other side interfering with talent and all kinds of open ended possibilities.  I'm intrigued enough that if it weren't for game 7 I'd actually consider going all in on soda tonight and buying the PPV.  I have no idea how it shakes out, what is/was/becomes a work or shoot, but love the open questions.  How does TK handle it from an employer/employee perspective?  How does he handle the PPV and any fallout to the lineup?  How do the rosters of both companies view things based on where this goes?  There is good and bad that can come from this, but its fascinating regardless and that's been sorely missing from the business.

This. I'm thoroughly entertained at a time I badly needed it.

43 minutes ago, El-P said:

This. I'm thoroughly entertained at a time I badly needed it.

Hope everything's okay!

5 minutes ago, C.S. said:

Hope everything's okay!

Thanks ! It's been dealt with.

Very Sicilian of you.

1 minute ago, Timbo Slice said:

Very Sicilian of you.

2 hours ago, El-P said:

The preview has been removed from AEW's Youtube channel.

The preview is back on AEW's Youtube channel.

What are the chances Tony has already paid MJF and all of this is a work by both of them? 

It's a really counterproductive one in my mind. "Let's convince everyone that the most hyped match on the show may not happen" seems more likely to scare people on the fence about buying the show away from doing so.

yup, it's dumb of an idea for me to believe it's been a work this whole time.

Then again, I also think it's incredibly dumb for MJF to do this thinking this is gonna help him. But at least in that case it would be 1 person being dumb, not 2 (or more).

25 minutes ago, Loss said:

It's a really counterproductive one in my mind. "Let's convince everyone that the most hyped match on the show may not happen" seems more likely to scare people on the fence about buying the show away from doing so.

Exactly my thought. If this is a work, it’s the dumbest work ever. I’m no professional, but it is my understanding the whole point of angles is to make people people buy tickets or order a PPV, not to discourage them from doing so.

I mean, Tony's kinda fucked in the sense that the way MJF has been acting you can't be sure the match will happen until it's in the ring. 

The lack of transparency from AEW during this is deserving of major criticism if this is indeed not a work. If it's all been a work, they are also deserving of major criticism, but a different kind.

Yeah, they’re completely on their ass either way here. This kinda explains a lot as to why the hubbub around Tony’s control might be actually more accurate than we thought. 

As Brucie says, "gotta get that match in the ring". In the end, MJF is making things happen. But I don't think it's good things for anyone involved. Jarrett, Warrior... not the greatest move they made in term of follow-ups careers. Of course, different contexts, different company, different boss. Still.

If I'm them, I also do that match as the opening, as there's a chance this might distract the crowd as long as they don't know what's happening for sure. Can you picture an "MJF" (or "Fuck you Maxwell") chant going on forever or something ? This would hurt everybody involved. I'm not sure he's doing himself any favors honestly.

Oh, MJF is absolutely making everything worse. I'm assuming there is no work involved, regardless is MJF appears or not.

If he does appear, it's going to go down like Jarrett/Hogan, and if he doesn't appear, a near three-year long storyline just got the worst possible finale, and he fucked Wardlow's momentum. The company is losing money regardless if he appears or not, because they are not telling us what the fuck is going on, and 50 bucks is not pocket change. MJF is fucked because now he ain't shit to AEW and WWE by extension. AEW as a whole is okay, as other top heel candidates are more reliable, with Starks being also very important for the foundation of the company. 

If negotiations are still up in the air I’m not sure what AEW could say to be more transparent that wouldn’t possibly make the situation worse if it’s not a work. 

So it’s gonna open the show. He’s done. 

He's under contract until sometime in 2024. What the fuck is he thinking ? Jarrett did not even had a contract when he pulled that one off. 

Can you picture TK releasing MJF after this, and him showing up like a hero on RAW *weeks after the Sasha/Naomi debacle* ? The message that would send ? Holy shit.

Tony could just sit on MJF for the rest of his contract and make him stay home. 

3 hours ago, Loss said:

It's a really counterproductive one in my mind. "Let's convince everyone that the most hyped match on the show may not happen" seems more likely to scare people on the fence about buying the show away from doing so.

Generally agree with this, work or shoot.  The only upside is a macro one if it encourages/spurs more roster movement and perhaps thereby generates more interest in the overall product for both companies.  But its a massive win in this little corner.

So... nothing came out of yesterday's shitstorm? There was a whole media scrum after the show and not a single question about MJF was asked. Some are even trying to downplay the whole thing. What the fuck?

Questions were asked. TK said he would not make any comment about it.

Per Meltz, it was a shoot that is currently turning into a work, which is why TK "won't comment about it".

A shoot into a work. And it’s all dumb. 

What’s interesting right now is that AEW’s starting to have problems with their Attitude Era-style “booking to the pop” approach. I had considered that a strength of theirs, but certain wrestlers have a significant gap between live crowd reactions and how they’re received among the wider fanbase.

Britt & Cole are mainly who I’m referring to here, of course.  Apparently at their fan fest for DON the crowds just flocked to Britt instead of Ruby or even Rosa - that seems to be the sort of thing TK bases his creative decisions on.  I just question how wise that is when the Internet wasn’t a huge thing yet in the Attitude Era and had way less influence on overall fandom…

Is there even an argument that Britt Baker is way more over than Ruby Soho or even Thunder Rosa, and that Adam Cole is one of the most over guy on the roster ? Cole vs Page as a PPV main event absolutely worked (although MJF vs Punk obviously also drew, but people who hate Cole will be quick to give him no credit whatsoever).