I don't necessarily think losing in UFC is a big issue in theory, but it's the manner in which Punk lost that makes me think it damaged him a lot

But whatever, I'm an old man anyway

Speaking of the Bulls, the latest Observer says that AEW is looking to trademark the phrase First Dance (presumably a takeoff of The Last Dance). The plot thickens.

It'd be even more incredible if Samoa Joe were part of this. But he decided he'd rather wrestle Karrion Kross in NXT.

I can't blame Joe, he's got a backstage gig with NXT and gets to have fun with a roster of people who largely haven't had the passion  beat out of them yet. 

I'm enjoying all the buzz around AEW right now, between the Punk/Bryan talks & the good ratings the last couple of weeks with the return of the jam-packed, rowdy live audience. That being said, bringing in Nick Gage is an awful look, especially after his Darkside of the Ring which just aired. Just seems like a really poor decision.

For a one/off we'll know that Jericho will win, it's not that bad a look. It would be worse if they signed him to a deal.

Nick Gage made a mistake,  by all accounts turned his life around, and has devoted his life to his fans and the business. I understand death match style isn't for everyone, but all the handwringing I'm seeing makes no sense to me. Guy is one of the most positive people around and should be on the Eddie Kingston level of "dudes that deserve their moment in the national spotlight". 

I mean you can't have someone like him around every week since it turns into a watered down "violent ECW guy doing lame versions of what made him popular  in WCW/WWF" kind of deal, but he 100% deserves this one shot. 

Dr. Britt broke her wrist on Wednesday…Ugh. 

She says she won't miss any action. If this means they book her matches to her strengths and keep them short and focus more on her personality, it might actually help her record. Injuries are never a good thing of course, but last year her injury really helped with her character development

Honestly, she would be perfectly fine just being on TV & not working matches anyway. She's a good promo & she's entertaining whenever she's on the screen, she doesn't have to be working. She can just be talking shit or doing vignettes. 

A friend of mine just bought a ticket to Dynamite and is driving 7 hours to get to see Gage-Jericho. 

Honestly, all the open door stuff is so smart... it creates an environment where anything can happen, and a guy showing up doesn't mean he needs to be there for 5 years. Cobb, Warhorse, KENTA... they came in, did a match, added something to the show, and didn't need to stick around. 

I am very curious to see how far Gage gets to go / Jericho wants to go / TNT will allow. I think the idea of Gage as a sort of wild man who shows up occasionally (like a Brody, of sorts) has some legs, but only if they can find the right balance in his working style.

Omega doesn't outright say it and talks about a "what if" scenario, but it sure sounds like at least Bryan has indeed signed with them already.

Yeah it seems pretty clear Bryan has signed and they are trying to keep it under wraps until after the PPV so it doesn't upstage the show and the Hangman story they've spent like a year slowly building. 

I don’t think Coach Tony K needs to be saving Bryan for some future surprise pop.  AEW seems to want to TRY and break with the format of televised wrestling of the last twenty or more years.  He tries…sometimes not succeeding at all at his preferred booking plan.

There was the older way of introducing debutants through Coming Soon…vignettes over a few weeks period.  Punk and Bryan don’t need to be built up for most AEW fans. All AEW needs to do is announce the signing(a) on Dynamite or possibly Dark and  Dark Jr.  They might even get more eyes on the Dark programs by announcing that a big announcement will be made on a Dark episode.  

Wrestling has baited fans with convoluted ideas for surprises since at least the 80s. The new signee(s) can still show up on a PPV but this anticipation can sell more tickets that a secret surprise could not.  Unless it starts to build excitement before tickets are put on sale then a big surprise won’t make them any more money at the gate.  They also aren’t inclined to counter-program opposite competing channels on the same night and theoretically at around the same 15 minute segment as their competitor. 
Without airing simultaneously competing shows Tony K can just stick to putting on the most captivating wrestling TV for AEW fans.  He can still be concerned with netting new fans at the same time.  He is only human after all.  

AEW has fallen into such a unique situation that they can experiment with two philosophies at the very same time.  One can be a surprise at their assumed debuts - All Out for Punk and Grand Slam: The New Batch for Brya…I mean Danielson.  

Poor JR should be unofficially instructed to ALWAYS call “DBry” by his longtime nickname of “The Dazzler”… I mean long lost nickname “American Dragon”.  JR will awkwardly accept those terms before thanking NICK Khan for his patience and understanding.  Hell, he might call the boss Chaka for all we know about how well JR follows 2021 WWE business practices.

NEXT…Murphy, Ruby Soho and Samuray del Sol, eventually.

Here's hoping AEW snatch up WALTER next. 

Danielson ultimately the biggest talent to turn up anywhere these days, so if he has signed it's by far the most substantial moment in this nascent promotional war. The only problem with is it is that he will overshadow a big chunk of the roster without even trying 

Really hope Punk doesn't come in tbh

On 7/22/2021 at 11:30 PM, Jmare007 said:

That's not something WWE can just go ahead and give to him and those are the two big things he wants. It's not like he can go to WWE and say "hey, I can work New Japan and a fuck ton of promotions if a sign with AEW, can you do better?". That's just not realistic "leverage".

If a non-entity like Impact can develop a relationship with NJPW - multiple times, at that - then there's nothing stopping WWE, except WWE itself.

Her track record as a trainer needs no introduction, so I'm sure she'll be a tremendous asset as a player-coach.

EDIT: LMAO my bad

 

 

1 hour ago, Jmare007 said:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/scott-snyder-books-comixology-1234988147/amp/

This is amazing

 

Pretty cool, but does it have anything to do with AEW? 

6 hours ago, Flyin' Brian said:

Pretty cool, but does it have anything to do with AEW? 

HA, totally got the wrong link.

I wanted to post this

I would expect Jericho to either try to make up for how shitty the War Games bump was and do some real stupid and dangerous stuff and get hurt, or go the opposite way and have a bunch of gimmicked stuff that looks like shit and then be a whiny asshole on the internet when people make fun of it later on Twitter.

Nick Gage worked a bloodless brawl at a high school gym and was so over with the kids there that they all came out and were high fiving him the next night. I think he’s gonna do just fine with Jericho. 

14 minutes ago, Timbo Slice said:

Nick Gage worked a bloodless brawl at a high school gym and was so over with the kids there that they all came out and were high fiving him the next night. I think he’s gonna do just fine with Jericho. 

Nick Gage, like Wu Tang, is for the children.

https://www.f4wonline.com/aew-news/aew-sells-10000-tickets-united-center-rampage-show-348571

DAMN

We can quibble about booking decisions, but this is an incredibly hot promotion. And I think they have earned the faith of the fans, and the willingness to let all stories play out. It's why having the goodwill of your fans is so important. This is the best time to be a wrestling fan in at least 20 years imo

Hangman losing and the crowd not having a "Roman Reigns winning the Rumble" freakout over it shows how much the fans are willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt, and they are willing to do that because the company as largely respected the fans and tries to deliver what they want to see. Funny how differently things play out when you aren't constantly at war with your own fans.