RedRooster

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?

Come on now, no one here is ‘loving them some Triple H’, or ‘shitting on Ospreay’. Suggesting that his dated jibe shouldn’t have made it to air is not unfair or ill-judged comment; and as tragic and awful as this situation is, the context doesn’t really change that. I suspect someone within AEW recognises this too - we’ve also had it ‘leak’ that Ospreay’s lines were fed to him. Although I take the Observer with a pinch of salt given Meltzer’s spotty track record, if the context is that Ospreay was annoyed by the comment - which, it has to be said, may not have been directed at him - said he wanted to address it and was fed this line; he was badly advised. There is a better way of responding to something like this, that doesn’t involves wrestling promo. A carefully worded statement posted to social media would have been much more effective; though sometimes it’s just best to ignore these things.

I think that’s bang on; but I also think Tony Khan has taken on more than he can cope with (ROH, Collision, Rampage) and is unwilling to relinquish control of any of it. It’s a flaw loads of people have - myself included - it’s hard to hand over your own projects to someone else, placing faith in them to handle something you care a lot about correctly. Ultimately though, the more you stretch yourself, the weaker the end result will be. Vince McMahon had the same issue with delegation, it’s not uncommon.

I’d love to know what Tony Khan makes of WWE’s current approach to storytelling; and if he recognises how similar it is to how it was handled during the golden era of AEW. I’m also curious as to who was responsible for that approach - was it Cody? The wrestlers involved? Tony Khan himself? A combination of the above? And what led to the change in approach? Rather than invest in more big name stars, I would love to see him invest in strong creative voices and appoint a new lead booker. Scott D’Amore is available, but im sure there are others. Maybe he could steal a few writers from WWE to work with the wrestlers, or launch a recruitment drive to identify promising talent from the creative industries who may be able to ensure storytelling is consistent and that plot threads are followed through. I absolutely think that AEW can remain the home of great wrestling; while improving the aspects of the promotion that are weak - but it would involve Tony Khan accepting his own limitations and making difficult decisions about his own involvement.

While there’s definitely criticism of Khan with very little nuance, I think it’s more the idea that AEW only exists so that he can ‘play booker’ that some (including myself) find frustrating. @IANdrewDiceClay worded it better than I will; but Tony Khan seems unable to do much more than identify good matches. At this point, I think it’s apparent that AEW probably needs a change of approach from a booking perspective; and to be very vocal about that change to encourage people to give it another chance. That doesn’t mean Khan can’t steer the ship as far as what matches they’re building towards goes, but it may allow for more coherent and consistent storytelling. It’s not like AEW hasn’t done that before - but it’s been a while since they were firing on all cylinders. I think they’d benefit from a new creative lead, providing fresh ideas. What about him do makes you definitively say that he’s too nice, as opposed to not being want to be viewed as ‘the bad guy’; or adverse to potential confrontation (eg. when he’s actively avoided people whose contracts are expiring)? I’m not saying you’re wrong - I don’t know Tony Khan; just that I’m more cynical about the idea of his niceness based on his actions.

You’ve clearly been watching more closely than I have, but I can’t recall any instances of that outside of Chicago; and certainly not recently. You might be able to point to specific instances, and fair enough if so; but it’s not something I’ve noticed, so it’s certainly not been a regular thing.

If Tony Khan really was looking to embarrass Punk, releasing footage that not only seems to back up what he claimed in the Helwani interview, but causes the fans in attendance to chant his name is an interesting approach. What was the point in that? Absolute worst case here is dooming The Bucks and Perry to being followed around by ‘CM Punk’ chants, and that you’ve done damage to how some perceive the company. And how do you even begin to square that with the storyline world? That scuffle was a sackable offence, but Joe doing what he did to Swerve (and vice versa) was not? Obviously they didn’t air the whole thing, but still… Then you had Ospreay taking shots at Triple H. Why? Just stop already. Further encapsulating what I dislike about AEW was the Mariah May stuff. I’m sure it meant something to the small number of people who watch Stardom, but it clearly meant nothing to the live audience, and I myself had no idea what the fuck was going on. If you’re going to do crossover feuds, fine - but have them play out in a way that means they get a reaction. I really do hate being negative about AEW, but I genuinely believe Khan is making decisions that are doing damage to the company that will be difficult to recover from. AEW had such a feel-good factor surrounding it at one point; it’s really sad to see what it’s become.

Not at all, I enjoy your posts - but you do tend to view him in a positive way to the point it’s hard to identify what your criticisms of him are. Which is absolutely fine, and perhaps you feel these issues have been adequately addressed by others. As I say, I’m not trying to catch you out - I was just curious about what your stance was. I’m happy to - although I’m not so sure others will be interested! 1. Samoa Joe - for whatever reason, neither TNA or WWE got everything they could have out of Joe. He’s been absolutely brilliant as champ, to the point I don’t know if having him drop the belt any time soon is a good idea. 2. Christian Cage - he’s shown how underrated he’s been; even by the fans, who questioned the wisdom of giving him the billing that Khan did. Tony Khan was right about him, the doubters were wrong - he’s on the run of his life. 3. Sting’s run and retirement- he’s obviously gone now, but it’s hard to fault anything about his run. Everything about it was perfect. I’ll throw in a fourth and fifth for good measure… 4. Toni Storm - she’s just tremendous. 5. Hey Ew - Khan seems to let RJ City do his own thing with very limbo interference, and I’m glad he does - it’s consistently hilarious.

They sure do, and he’s been part of an angle on Dynamite before:

That seems probable, actually. I’m not entirely sure what the ‘scapegoat’ gimmick is, but I really hope this isn’t doesn’t begin and end at being a ‘wrestler vs the company’ type-storyline. I promise I’m not trying to catch you out or be an arse here, but could you list three negative traits you’ve noticed in Tony Khan, specifically in relation to his booking or handling of talent? It’s perfectly valid to say you don’t think you can, but I’m genuinely curious as to how you’d answer this; given your overwhelmingly positive opinion of the guy.

I know you’re not advocating this, but it would be so counterproductive. Fans know it’s a company decision to air the footage - so having Edge rag on The Bucks for doing so would be extremely odd. A real life decision to air real life footage being criticised by a babyface because it’s ’not why he came to AEW’? Maybe I’m being extremely naive, but I just can’t imagine that they’d do something so daft. There certainly wouldn’t be ‘layers’ to it as described in the tweet, it would simply be a bad decision. They could use it to transition into Jack Perry’s return; but how do you square that with the storyline world? Backstage assaults happen all the time in the fake world of wrestling. I can’t see a way of doing it without acknowledging the fakeness of it all. We’ll see, I suppose. Even though I think it’s stupid to air the footage, perhaps they have a fantastic idea for a next step that I’m just not considering right now.

This was after you posted this (so you wouldn’t have been aware), but Khan has explicitly said that it is (link to Sports Illustrated). While I think it’s face-palmingly petty to air the footage, I think, at given that they’ve advertised it, they can’t pull a bait and switch without damaging their ability to promote; in the sense that it would add a layer of uncertainty as to how genuine future announcements are. If they were going to air a parody, I think they’d have to do it unannounced. I think that’s reading into something that isn’t there at an extreme level, I’m afraid. In reference to the tweet, the only ‘layer’ that exists is a thin layer of skin that has caused Tony Khan to do this. I know you like Khan, so view him differently than I do - but if you’re trying to rationalise why he might do this and don’t want to put it down to being petty; maybe view it as nothing more than a misstep. One, due to advertising, he now has no choice but to make.

Have they also signed Jacob Fatu? I imagine they’ll debut on Smackdown; where we’ll also, I guess, hear something from Reigns, or Heyman at the very least. The draft is going to be really interesting this time round; as they prepare for the Netflix era. It’ll be interesting to see if Smackdown goes back to being the B show, or if Triple H attempts to keep things relatively balanced.

Carmello Hayes seems a likely option; even though he’s already made a few main roster appearances. It’s a bit of a difficult one to call though, given that some of the obvious options (Cargill, Andrade and Breakker) debuted pre-Mania. Tama Tonga, maybe? Maybe it’ll be more about keeping the momentum going. I could see Rock turning on Reigns, and assuming the role of the leader of The Bloodline. Or maybe we’ll see the opposite happen; although I’m not quite ready to see The Final Boss character disappear, it’s a tremendous gimmick.

I’d be flabbergasted. I don’t think he’s going anywhere before the Rock match happens. I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw more of Rock than Reigns in between now and Wrestlemania 41, though.

God knows how many times I’ll rewatch that final stretch of the main event in the coming days and weeks. It was just magical. I know a few people have said it already, but thank god for Michael Cole. When I started watching wrestling, it was Smackdown on Sky One. I loved the team of Cole and Tazz, and in 2024, I honestly think he’s one of the best things about how WWE presents pro wrestling. He’s really bloody good at what he does.

I don’t think you missed anything - I don’t remember seeing that, but presumably contracts will have been signed and switching would be a challenge given the magnitude of the event (assuming it’s due to take place somewhere that’s on the chillier side). When do tickets typically go on sale for the following year?

Isn’t that just a fan video? Even if it’s not, it doesn’t really matter, they film everything. Why would she bother faking it? I’ve I’d been at ringside witnessing all of that unfold in front of me, I’d be overcome by emotion too; if anything, credit to Cole and co for keeping it together. The fact Roman revealed after that he’s still undergoing oral chemotherapy and likely will be for the rest of his life added a whole new layer of amazing to it for me. Credit to Cody for making us all care, but credit to Reigns for everything he’s achieved in spite of what must be terrifying circumstances.

No, I think you know by now I have a lot of time for you; but sometimes it’s worth repeating - tone doesn’t always come across in the written word as you acknowledge! See, I think this is an understandable thing to do - distance yourself from what came beforehand. As you say, Vince allowed terrible things to happen and his own actions were often monstrous. From a PR perspective it makes sense to say ‘we’re not him, not anymore’ - bit an optimist could view it as a statement of intent; the intent to do better. But the benefit of the doubt can only last for so long. If it emerges that any other senior figures knew the extent of what Vince was up to, I would expect them to be sent packing pretty quickly. Hopefully my response to Chris sheds a bit more light on that for you. Me too - I don’t watch Collision or Rampage, and NXT is just abysmal - it feels like Vince McMahon won booking duties in his divorce from WWE. I briefly gave up on Dynamite before giving it another chance; but there’s a good chance I’ll stop watching again. I want to love it in the way I once did, but it’s a frustrating watch on a number of levels.

No, this is totally fair - you’re not being contrarian at all. I’m maybe being a bit more broad with what I’m saying, and likely not clear enough - outside of the petty feuds and Khan’s behaviour, when I say problems, I’m referring to things like the dogged insistence to push on with Jericho, the use of people like Ric Flair and Jericho, Jim Ross (though he’s all but gone now) feeling all too comfortable insulting the product he’s watching alongside the Punk/Page/Perry nonsense and Baker’s ‘sandbag’ nonsense with Thunder Rosa etc. I didn’t particularly mind the digs they would take at WWE, but on reflection, Khan would be better off discouraging tribalism; saying something like ‘they’re doing good things, so are we; watch what you enjoy, I certainly do…’ But yeah, your point about social media is entirely fair; whether it’s a wrestler complaining or Khan being an ass, it feels very constant - I’d be lying if I said I don’t let a wrestler’s (…or owner’s) social media behaviour affect how I feel about what I’m watching. It plays a significant role in how I feel about AEW at the moment.

I admit, I was expecting him to turn up after Undertaker; but presumably he'd have been there if it were possible - and they had to make do. Either way, that's probably my favourite ever Wrestlemania main event. It was overbooked in the way I'd hoped it would be and I loved every second of it. Was it worth Cody losing last year so that this could happen? You betcha it was. This was sublime. I absolutely loved Seth/Drew on top of that - Drew calling for the photographers to take a photo of him trolling Punk with the belt so he could hang it on his wall made me laugh out loud. I really hope we get Drew/Punk in Glasgow; but I could excuse them for delaying that until Summerslam or a much later date. Drew's just sensational right now. Knight/Styles really surprised me for how good it was, Knight more than held his own in that match. And...the Karrion Kross match was actually pretty fun! Perhaps it's because it surpassed my low expectations, but I had a blast watching it. What a show. Bring on tonight's Raw!

Jeez, that’s a pretty extreme response to a fairly banal opinion. I think you’re a tremendous poster - and person, for that matter; but I think you tend to defend AEW in a way that has a tendency to feel a bit angry at times; I totally accept that might not be your intention, so I’m not going to dwell on that. I’ll respond to your point though, and what I’d say to that is that I think the difference is pretty clear. WWE has parted ways with its problematic billionaire; while AEW’s identity has very much become wrapped up in theirs. That doesn’t mean there aren’t problematic people backstage in WWE; and it also doesn’t mean I won’t feel down on those people for allowing truly awful things to happen. But for whatever reason - and it may just be better PR - WWE feels like it’s cleaned up, whereas AEW hasn’t been able to capture that feeling. Khan generally goes on the defensive, and often fails to acknowledge problems in a way that feels satisfactory to me. It goes without saying though, that although I think Tony Khan is an issue for AEW, unlike Vince McMahon - who is truly despicable - the issues Khan has are rooted in poor decision making skills and personality flaws. I also think AEW’s problems make their way on to television far too often, and it’s not fun to watch. WWE doesn’t do that. If you simply want to enjoy the mad wrestling world and forget about the politics of it all; AEW can make that difficult. Again, Scorchers, I think you’re a top guy. And I wish I felt as passionate about anything as you do AEW. But how can telling someone to switch off because they have a problem with something ever be beneficial to a company you clearly love? Unfortunately, AEW is often struggling to attract an audience - and while that might not bother you, it’ll eventually result in downsizing of some form. That’s not good for the wrestlers who work there, or the wider industry. If I want to watch AEW in spite of Tony Khan, I will. If or when I feel done with it, I’ll switch off. I can enjoy a good episode of Dynamite because of its performers; and simultaneously roll my eyes at its utter berk of an owner.

This is pretty much how I feel. I’ve come to realise that all I want from my wrestling shows is to feel like I’ve had fun watching them. That’s why I really enjoyed Wrestlemania last night in spite of its flaws. I felt similarly around the early years of AEW, there was a feel-good factor surrounding the promotion which made each show a delight to watch. The undercurrent of negativity and backstage drama is something I find more than a little exhausting. And it can pretty much all be traced back to Tony Khan. Any good intentions he may have are lost in the leadership skills he appears to lack, along with his ridiculous behaviour on Twitter.

I dunno, for me the split has only demonstrated that Jey is the better wrestler. Jimmy hasn’t impressed in any context - no stand-out singles matches and his character work hasn’t been particularly good either. Jey has been good to the point there were people who wanted to see him beat Roman before Summerslam happened.