RedRooster

I couldn’t agree with you more with any of this. I’d also point to Steve Maclin in Impact, and, looking further back, Bobby Lashley. Remove his TNA run from history, and I’m not sure he’d have ever been WWE champion; never mind have had people calling for WWE to resign him. Same goes for Matt Hardy - as stale as he is now, his TNA run reinvigorated him in a way very few would have predicted. Aaron Stevens, in NWA, also managed to prove that there was more to him than the Damian Sandow character. It may well be that the most interesting switches are wrestlers you simply wouldn’t consider as being ‘big gets’.

I don’t assume that at all. I really don’t mind people disagreeing with me - heck, I’ve changed my opinions on a lot of things based on posts on here. At the risk of sounding like Iike a big-headed arsehole, I feel like I’m pretty open-minded and happy to admit when I’m wrong. However, like I said, if you're having to justify the context of a hypothetical thread - a thread that, ultimately, is just a bit of fun, it’s hard not to roll your hold your hands up and call it what it is. We all have our individual blind spots and biases, and I totally understand why some people have that when it comes to AEW. The company gave a lot of people permission to love wrestling again, after years of awfulness and - at times - actual evil in Vince McMahon’s WWE. But fuck me, we’ve gone three pages before someone made choices of their own, my picks weren’t that controversial - the whole point of the thread was to force people to trim the upper card to remove bloat. I think you misread or misunderstood my question, Scorchers. I meant who would you shift from AEW to WWE, to remove bloat and free up space for those who remain to shine, and for others to break through. Arguing against the premise, of course, is perfectly valid. The suggestion that AEW has too many wrestlers didn’t originate with me, although I do agree with it. No, but it can be used to argue against the suggestion that WWE isn’t doing a good job of building/creating stars. It’s an ensemble cast for sure, but evidently people care about that ensemble - and merchandise sales and crowd reactions back that up. In the McMahon era, your suggestion had merit. And I do think they need to recruit well (hence the very point of this thread) as the current NXT class is very uninspiring. On paper, AEW has a better roster - but they’re having difficulty making that count. EDIT: Although I disagree with this assessment, the guy has only been champion for a week!

That's what AEW was - but I think it's moved on from that; with its identity - at least its current identity - being the home of great wrestling. Eddie Kingston is a good wrestler, but he's also a very authentic character; who has the ability to get over via his mic work. Pit him against Paul Heyman, Drew McIntyre, Sami or Cody and you have a compelling segment. He's the kind of wrestler who would have worked brilliantly well in a Brock Lesnar match - taking a vicious beating, yet continuing to get up regardless. I suppose you could apply the same formula to Gunther. I'm not entirely sure that Vince McMahon would have understood the appeal in Kingston, but I'm pretty sure Triple H would - I'm not only confident that Kingston would be a prominent wrestler in WWE, I think he'd end up being one of the most over wrestlers in the company. I wouldn't have said this a few years ago, but I think he'll struggle to consistently feature in the main events in AEW. He absolutely should; but with wrestlers like Okada, Ospreay, Joe, Strickland, Omega, Jay White and MJF waiting in the wings, he's facing an uphill battle when it comes to holding a World title. In WWE, with the roster split, I could easily see audience support carrying him to a World title win - or, alternatively, a tremendous heel run in which he feuds with some of the biggest stars. Cody vs. Kingston? Cody Vs. Kingston? Cena vs. Kingston? I could see it, and I'm totally on board. Weirdly, I think there are more opportunities for him to be prominent in WWE.

It was a disc version I used on PS1, I had no idea that there was a plug-in version of this! It came with a memory card, although I can't remember how exactly that was used.

That's fair - I don't mean to accuse you specifically of being defensive, I should have been clearer with my wording. But I think - in a general sense - a blind spot exists with AEW, that hurts people when it comes to answering questions about AEW that suggests weakness. Part of the challenge is ensuring both companies benefit - meaning that ditching people like Lethal or Jericho to WWE wouldn't really work; particularly on the back of the McMahon allegations as they try to show that they've changed. If Jericho didn't have NDA-related mutterings surrounding him, I'd absolutely suggest he move to WWE. If he's going to have a final run, it's best he does it a landscape where he might feel refreshed. I'm not sure that was ever going to happen in AEW, even if allegations hadn't been made. Even if you accepted this as true, the current regime hasn't been in place long enough to undo much of the damage caused by Vince McMahon. But every metric I could throw at you would suggest you're wrong - live attendances, revenue, TV ratings - they're on a hot streak. But the attempts to make wins and losses count, and to build wrestlers that matter are there - I'd point to Rhea Ripley, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Sami Zayn and even Ricochet. Well yeah, this was pretty deliberate. Cody was the first major jump to WWE, and they wanted to signify that by keeping his presentation intact, so that it would feel like a jump. I'm not sure why you view having similar music as being a problem as far as Jade is concerned? Both of them are bigger deals for being in WWE - and I think you'd struggle to argue otherwise. I'm genuinely not trying to be 'rah-rah-WWE' here, but I'm not sure there's a wrestler who feels bigger because they're in AEW, such is the damage that has been done to the brand - and that wasn't always the case, and doesn't have to be the case going forward. Firstly, not all talent needs to be top tier. Secondly, LA Knight is shifting merchandise like nobody's business, and is popular to the point he's appearing in adverts for Slim Jims. I don't necessarily understand the appeal, but there's little doubt that he's had cut through. When did they pivot with Sami, Owens or Gable? Sami didn't win the World title, but he ended Gunther's historic IC title reign and main-evented Wrestlemania. Owens has main-evented two Wrestlemanias, one of which was against Steve Austin. Chad Gable isn't gaining a huge crowd reaction, so it would have been hard to justify pitting him against Gunther at 'Mania, but it's pretty clear he has a longer term storyline going on with Zayn, and attempts to give him more prominence haven't finished. Again, it's relatively early in the new regime - but it's far from the best batch of NXT talent they've ever had. Hence the point in this topic. Who would you shift over to WWE, following the rules of the original post?

I'm genuinely surprised I'm being asked this question; and I honestly think it points to the level of defensiveness people have about anything AEW-related. Again, it's hypothetical, so when they leave is totally irrelevant. It's not actually going to happen. The idea is a challenge based around the idea the AEW roster is too bloated - to debloat it, in a way that forces people who would rather not see talent shift to WWE, to move talent to WWE. I don't mind people questioning my choices or thinking it's a shit topic, but fuck me, when you have someone suggesting that Penta - who has only wrestled twice on Dynamite this year*, and has never (as far as I can recall) had a PPV singles match - is indispensable, how can I not roll my eyes? The answer to your question is in the original post: I think AEW would be better off with less multi-person matches, and more singles feuds - and I also think AEW was at its best when it was all about watching new faces emerge, and when the focus is on singles feuds. Most of the wrestlers I chose to shift are undercarders, or barely feature - but to free up space, you have to move some wrestlers who actually do feature. I really buy into the idea Paul Heyman had for TNA - turning it into the young, hungry alternative; where the main event scene predominantly consists of wrestlers who have not wrestled for WWE before. Personally, I think a main event scene involving wrestlers like Ospreay, MJF, Takeshita, Darby, Fenix, Okada, Rush, Bowens, Garcia, Swerve and Hangman - with a few older talents who have carved out their own identities in AEW such as Christian Cage, Samoa Joe and FTR is far more exciting than what we get now. Yes, you lose top level talent - but you have a better show, that over time, has the potential to be much more enjoyable. *Yes, I'm aware that he's wrestled on Collision and Rampage.

Because it's a hypothetical topic, WWE is the other major company (the bigger names aren't going to TNA, are they?) and I disgagree with your assessment of WWE's roster - they could do with a few more stars to pad out RAW, Smackdown and even NXT. The perfect example to illustrate this is by removing Cody from the roster. If he's not there, who does Roman lose to? There's no obvious choice - although you could make a case for people like Sami or Drew, they're not as 'nailed on' as Cody is. WWE, simply put, does not face the same problem as AEW, as far as having too many wrestlers go. It's the opposite problem, and they could do with a refresh.

I managed to get swept away by the story up until the final, final boss (the one-winged Angel Sephiroth) - with a few stumbling blocks along the way. I struggled with Dyne as Barrett was under-levelled, and Proud Clod was a pain in the arse, but I got past him in the end. First time round, I completely missed Vincent and I may also have missed Yuffie - I can't quite remember.

Why was that match significant? Why is Penta integral to AEW? He's literally there to lose to big name wrestlers. Has he ever had a featured singles match on PPV? He has, but I think he's dispensable - of course, you're free to disagree, and I'd be interested to see who avid AEW viewers would part ways with. I'm not saying you're doing this - but people seem more keen to explain why AEW couldn't possibly part ways with certain talent as opposed to pointing out who should go - the whole point of the thread is making hard decisions to make room on the card. That's not to say the people in question aren't valuable - obviously they are. But the point of the thread is to tie into the idea that AEW would be better off with a less bloated upper card.

What's the last significant thing Moxley or Penta did in AEW; and what's the last significant storyline that Kingston was involved in that didn't involve ROH? And why would losing them be damaging to AEW? I'd wager that most people, sadly, wouldn't even notice if Penta disappeared. I think you've missed the point, though. There are so many main eventers in AEW, that there is little room for exciting younger wrestlers to break through (eg. Takeshita, Rush, Bowens, Hobbs, Garcia) and there's also little room to maximise the value of the main event wrestlers that they do have. So therefore, it's about making difficult decisions to ensure that this can happen. I'd argue that there's a stigma around the Ambrose name and character - and bringing him back as Moxley would differentiate him from 'wacky' Dean Ambrose character; much as they had Diesel return as Kevin Nash and Razor Ramon return as Scott Hall, following their stints in WCW. I reckon there's more value in the Moxley name than there is the Ambrose name - I'd also not want to transport him into The Shield - you'd want to build up to that. That said, I wouldn't have a massive problem if he did return as Ambrose - I'm not sure that he'd want to do that though, and again, I think there's something to be said for signifying that this isn't the same person that left the company.

I didn't have a Game Genie (I was an Amiga kid), but I did buy an Action Replay for the PS1, to help me beat the final (proper) Sephiroth boss fight in Final Fantasy VII, as I just couldn't get past him. I've since legitmately beaten him several times, but when I was younger I didn't consider level grinding as being something I might need to do - and I missed a lot of the side quests that might have helped. I also used it, on a separate play through, to resurrect...well, you know who. Weirdly, there is still character-specific dialogue for the character in question even after their death. I'm not sure why that ended up translated, but it's there. You could also use it in Driver to drive around Newcastle. As far as I'm aware, there's no way outside of a cheat device to do that.

It's often suggested that one of AEW's biggest problems is a bloated roster; leading to a general lack of focus. With that in mind, here's my challenge - move as many wrestlers as you deem necessary from AEW, adding them to the WWE roster. However, the moves you make must improve the company the wrestler is moving to - it can't be a barrage of dead weight jumping ship (eg. if you move Chris Jericho to WWE, justify why this would be a good thing for WWE...) Similarly, you want AEW to be in a better place by the switches you make - so it can't be a case of moving people simply because you'd like to see them in WWE, or because you'd like them to be gone from AEW. Hopefully all of that makes sense...with that in mind, I'd shift the following wrestlers: Danhausen - Probably an unusual choice to list first, but he's massively underutilised in AEW, and I could see him fitting in well as an undercard act in WWE. Now that Vince McMahon is gone, the fear of him turning into a zany supernatural irritant is also (hopefully) gone. Pénta El Zero M - I thought Penta and Fenix would both end up being main eventers for AEW when the promotion started; but it just hasn't worked out that way. While they would both prove positive additions to the WWE roster, I think splitting them up would benefit both companies - Tony Khan would be forced to use Fenix as a solo act (Fenix vs. Ospreay? Fenix vs. Hangman? Fenix vs. Joe? Yes please to all!) - and hopefully with a smaller roster, he'd do just that. I also think Penta would end up being a main event wrestler in WWE; breaking out due to his intimidating look and general intensity. Jon Moxley - There was a time when he felt like the heart and soul of AEW; but his association with the Blackpool Combat Club has ripped that soul out of him and he feels pretty dispensable. In short, he's served his purpose in AEW. Moving him to WWE would allow him to interact with Reigns, and for a Shield reunion. There's no reason for him to return to being Dean Ambrose either - Cole could explain that he rebranded himself when he left the company to give himself a fresh start, allowing him to keep a name that arguably has more value than the name he left behind. Britt Baker - I've no idea what's going on with Britt right now, but she seems to be out of favour with Tony Khan. As far as development goes, a stint in NXT before moving to the main WWE roster might do her a world of good. Thunder Rosa - Another wrestler who I think would be a huge star in WWE, but is kind of floundering in AEW. I don't think losing her would hurt AEW, but gaining her would benefit WWE. Eddie Kingston - a controversial one maybe, but now that Cody has won the belt, WWE needs an underdog of sorts who fans can get behind. In AEW, there seems to be a ceiling for Kingston; but in WWE, I think there's a very good chance he'd end up in a high profile match at Wrestlemania at some point, either as a face or a heel. Sammy Guevara - A lot of people are down on Sammy these days, but I still think he has a lot of potential in the right environment - and I think that environment could be WWE. He'd have a new set of opponents, and much more support as far as scripting and development goes. Ricky Starks - I mean, this is going to happen anyway - might as well throw him in there. Max Caster - His stock has fallen massively, but I think there's something there - he just needs to find an identity outside of the rap gimmick. And he can do that in NXT, while freeing up Anthony Bowens to go on a singles run in AEW. And finally... Jay White - I very nearly sent MJF over instead, but I think losing a star of his magnitude would be pretty damaging for AEW. The 'MJF is returning' card is one they can play to pop a rating, and with the signings of Okada, Copeland and Ospreay, there are fresh opponents for him; alongside the conclusion of his story with Adam Cole - which can still work out positively, if the booking is good. Any who wouldn't want to see MJF/Christian? White, on the other hand, has been handled pretty poorly - with the icing on the cake being the Billy Gunn match. Although his stock may have fallen in AEW, I don't think that would end up affecting him in WWE, and I imagine he'd get quite a healthy push. It's hard to stop at 10 wrestlers, given how bloated the AEW roster is - but my vision for the brand would be forward looking - you watch AEW, and you see the next generation of megastars emerge. And Dustin Rhodes.

Given that they want to make Wembley an annual thing, perhaps they'd look to hold off on an Ospreay title match for as long as they can - perhaps until next year, as a potential drawing card. I felt similarly about Swerve losing, but I also feel like it's too soon to put the belt on him. It's not that I don't think he's ready for it, it's that his journey to the top would feel remarkably short. Plus, Joe is doing a really good job as champion. It would feel like a premature end to his title reign also.

I could see it being Ospreay/Joe for the title. I don't think Swerve will win at Dynasty, and I'm not sure he should - it just seems too soon. I reckon Hangman will cost him the victory, given that he's been out-of-the-picture for so long.

Apparently so, I'd also missed that news until someone pointed it out. I've no idea if he's any good, though. The one area in which Solo is lacking for me, is his mic skills. I'm not sold on him as a long term top level wrestler for that reason. I guess you can work around it; perhaps a fearful Paul Heyman could act as his manager even after Reigns returns.

I'm not completely clear on how this works in the US, but wouldn't laws surrounding parody protect him? Regardless, if he were to be snapped up by WWE, he could probably base at least a portion of his parodies on their massive library of theme songs - things they already own the rights to. Given that he was with ROH when Tony Khan bought it, I assume he would be under the AEW banner if Khan actually wanted him; so presumably he doesn't. Given how bloated the AEW roster is, I don't think he'd be a good fit there anyway; particularly when you consider how they've underutilised other comedy acts such as Danhausen.

Not to answer for @garynysmon, but I think he’s brilliant. He has a gimmick and character that is easy to understand and would fit comfortably on either WWE or AEW television, and while he’s not spectacular in ring, he’s decent. But he more than compensates for that with his charisma. Wrestling should be fun, and that’s exactly what Joe Hendry is. His gimmick probably has a shelf life, but that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with getting the most out of a wrestler before they run out of steam.

That’s clearly not what I’m saying. I’m saying he’s rich enough to say no to the sponsorship, and keep Flair off television. He could also have said no to Sting’s request to work with Flair on AEW television. If Sting really, really wanted to work with Flair one last time, I’m sure there’s an indie show somewhere that would have been happy to accommodate this. I mean, I hate to say it, but Flair wasn’t really booed. If anything, the response was tepid at worst; but a lot of people were still willing to cheer him. As far as being a ‘people pleaser’ goes, surely this is more a case of Khan being unwilling to say ‘no’ to his idols. Because I’m sure there were plenty of women backstage who felt uncomfortable with the idea of a serial flasher coming in. Same goes for Lethal, while there are members of the AEW roster who would have been happy to see him get that opportunity; there would have been others who felt massively upset by it. Then there’s the Kylie Rae situation. I’m not sure an NDA is pleasing anyone; aside from the person it’s designed to protect. To me, it simply points to an environment where people of higher status and pay are protected, and people of a lower status are going to feel unwilling to speak out.

I think that’s irrelevant. You don’t have to accept the cash - especially when you’re a billionaire who can afford to spend one wrestler’s salary to license a song.

I don’t buy into that logic. If you don’t want to watch someone it’s not an example of a ‘great heel’ - you should want to see them get their arses kicked; but you can be entertained by them along the way. Look at other strong heels in modern wrestling - Christian Cage, Roman Reigns, Swerve Strickland and Dominic Mysterio - entertaining for sure, but you absolutely want to see them get their arses kicked. Same goes for villains outside of wrestling - if you don’t want to watch them, that’s not an example of a great character. You can hate them, but feel compelled to watch. I don’t feel that way about Stratton. Again though, I’m not in the majority here - most people seem massively entertained by her, so she’s clearly working. Not in everything in wrestling needs to appeal to everyone. She’s clearly going to be an enormous star, my opinion is irrelevant- if I was Triple H, I’d be giving her an enormous push too in spite of how I feel about the character.

Well yes, but a character like that should still be entertaining. I find her character work grating to the point I don’t want to watch it. Judging by the reaction she gets though, I can totally accept that I’m not only in a minority in feeling this way, but an extreme minority.

I suppose the distinction here is whether or not that makes him ‘too nice’ - these are examples of him doing the right thing and being a good boss; providing the courtesy is extended to anyone and everyone within the company - whether they’re high-profile on-screen wrestlers, or someone who works in catering. But that’s a separate matter, this may well happen. That said, I would point to his track record with instances of sexual harassment and employing people with serious allegations made against them as negating any suggestion that he’s ’too nice’. He seems willing to overlook or to bury allegations if they’re made against a wrestler he either idolises or pays handsomely. That’s a pretty significant blot on his track record. It’s probably fair to point out that toxic environments are far from unique to wrestling, as we’ve found out in recent years - you could point to Buffy, feuds between the Desperate Housewives, how Hannibal cast members felt about Michael Pitt, the relationships between some of the actors on Succession - it’s about how you manage these relationships and ensure serious allegations are handled correctly - Khan seems to be failing badly at all of this, and that’s even before we get to his booking. EDIT: You’re not being a tit - I actually think you’ve demonstrated a much more rounded view of Khan and AEW recently. Doesn’t mean I agree with everything you’re saying, though!

People (in real life) can be hypocrites, and view the source of the problem as being those around them as opposed to themselves. Someone can point out Solo’s track record, and then he can prove his own point by winning matches. It doesn’t necessarily mean (in storyline) that he was right; but it allows him to prove the point in his own head. Again, I might be totally alone on this, but the prospect of Roman and Jimmy facing off against Solo, Tama and Jacob only for Jey to come to the rescue gives me goosebumps. Then the prospect of Rock revealing he was behind it all? That’s a year of programming I’m definitely into. Heck, they could even do a 4 vs 4 match where Rock wrestles, and Sami returns to aid Roman.

Yeah, this is surely where it’s all heading - I don’t mind them slowly building to the reveal of Rock masterminding the ‘new’ Bloodline, or whatever it ends up being called. I’m all for heel Rock vs face Roman. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but a Reigns/Usos vs Solo/Tonga/Jacob Fatu match definitely interests me, if it’s the precursor to Rock revealing himself as the mastermind behind all of this. Again, I reckon I’m in the minority - but am I the only person on here that finds the Stratton character massively irritating? She’s tremendous in ring; but the gimmick really grates on me.

Could you give examples of this happening?