King Pitcos Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 Who is their top guy? I know that Jericho, Moxley and the Elite are their top tier, but it doesn’t seem like they have a Hogan/Bret/Shawn/Austin/Rock/Cena/Reigns that they’re properly building around as the main star. Maybe the title match at the PPV and the first few weeks of TV will establish it, but right now I don’t see anyone on their roster that can be the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted August 19, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted August 19, 2019 I think it's difficult to have that guy without a regular timeslot - or even sufficiently regular PPV events. That'll come into focus with TV. One thing they're doing differently is really putting focus on the tag division in a way no major US promotion has done in decades. In a lot of ways, the Bucks could end up being their key main event talent if they manage to maintain that degree of focus. It's clear they want Adam Page to be their top star, but he's not there yet. And he's a Bret/Shawn before he's a Hogan - a reliable main event hand for those of us already following the promotion, but not going to draw any new eyes. Cody is definitely trying to position himself as the top guy, but interest levels in Cody live or die on the individual stories - he's not someone that can reliably carry a match, let alone a promotion, without the right narrative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted August 19, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 19, 2019 I think Omega should be their top guy but it’s never going to happen if he’s having long, 50/50 matches with guys like CIMA. When the TV starts he needs to be smashing some chumps and then posing for photos and shaking hands with kids afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironic Indie Lad Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 3 minutes ago, Supremo said: I think Omega should be their top guy but it’s never going to happen if he’s having long, 50/50 matches with guys like CIMA. When the TV starts he needs to be smashing some chumps and then posing for photos and shaking hands with kids afterwards. I'm not so sure that's true. I'll preface this by saying I'm not that big an Omega fan and I think NJPW has been way better since he left. Omega got over on the quality of his matches. His nickname was literally "The Best Bout Machine" What are you basing your opinion that Omega squashing jobbers would get him more over on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted August 19, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 19, 2019 9 minutes ago, Ironic Indie Lad said: What are you basing your opinion that Omega squashing jobbers would get him more over on? Mainly, the fact that he doesn’t feel like a big star at all in AEW so far. That match with CIMA might have earned another two and a quarter stars for going as long as it did, but it would’ve added far more momentum to Kenny and made him feel like a far bigger deal if he’d won in half the time. There’s a reason Goldberg feels like such a megastar now, maybe even more than he did in his heyday and it’s because he’s the only fucker smashing people up. Long matches with cool moves doesn’t cut it when everyone does that. I’m not saying Adam Page or Kenny Omega should be beating guys in one minute with a Jackhammer, but they sure as fuck shouldn’t be going twenty plus minutes with CIMA and that British guy I’ve already forgotten the name of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironic Indie Lad Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 1 minute ago, Supremo said: Mainly, the fact that he doesn’t feel like a big star at all in AEW so far. That match with CIMA might have earned another two and a quarter stars for going as long as it did, but it would’ve added far more momentum to Kenny and made him feel like a far bigger deal if he’d won in half the time. There’s a reason Goldberg feels like such a megastar now, maybe even more than he did in his heyday and it’s because he’s the only fucker smashing people up. Long matches with cool moves doesn’t cut it when everyone does that. I’m not saying Adam Page or Kenny Omega should be beating guys in one minute with a Jackhammer, but they sure as fuck shouldn’t be going twenty plus minutes with CIMA and that British guy I’ve already forgotten the name of. Easy enough to say, definitely way more difficult to actually do. I think based on how Omega got over and what fans expect, if you have Omega picking up quick wins instead of putting on high quality competitive matches then the core 'Elite' fanbase would be very disappointed. You might also have newer fans tuning in based on the hype and wondering what all the fuss was about. Wasn't the CIMA match marketed as a first time ever dream match? He's only had singles matches on standalone events so far and I've not had a particular problem with either. Neither has been particularly memorable though. I do agree that he's way colder than he was before AEW got up and running. Problem is, he was absolutely red hot from the NJPW run. That run definitely wasn't based on a bunch of quick wins over lower tiered opponents. I don't think its the length of his matches that's the problem as much as the overall presentation. I agree that long matches with all the big moves don't cut it when everyone does it. I would be asking the lower and mid carders to reign it in way, way before I asked a top guy to calm down though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted August 19, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 19, 2019 Booking to appease the hardcore Elite fanbase isn’t going to cut it on national TV. If that’s their approach then it’s never going to succeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members DEF Posted August 25, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2019 (edited) Moxley is off All Out with a MRSA infection then. That sucks. Was really looking forward to that match. Still it's great that PAC is back as his replacement. Edited August 25, 2019 by DEF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TildeGuy~! Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 (edited) With Fenix also nearly breaking his leg on the weekend isn’t it time they just call it a day on letting their talent do indie dates? I see Kenny Omega is Wrestling for DDT in November too. Edited August 25, 2019 by TildeGuy~! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted August 25, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2019 Just now, TildeGuy~! said: With Fenix also nearly breaking his leg on the weekend isn’t it time they just call it a day on letting their talent do indie dates? I wonder if they'll get the same sort of backlash from fans that WWE gets for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted August 25, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2019 Moxley being out of the match is disappointing, but bringing in PAC is a great replacement. I suspect they’ll have a killer match. Wasn’t this supposed to be the Title match on this show originally? I wonder if they’ll do Moxley vs. Omega I’m the first TNT show, now? Seems the perfect fit to compete against NXT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamaras-Tash Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 The Jericho/Hangman match is for the title Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TildeGuy~! Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, Kamaras-Tash said: The Jericho/Hangman match is for the title Yea he’s aware of that. The rumoured title match previously was PAC/Omega Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted August 25, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 25, 2019 I’m sure it was reported that the original plan was for Omega and Pac to win at Double or Nothing, with Kenny then beating Pac for the Title at All Out. However, once they realised Pac wasn’t losing to anyone whilst he was holding that Dragon Gate belt they switched direction to Jericho vs. Page. This video is quite good, with them seemingly playing off UFC 200 when Embedded cameras caught Daniel Cormier learning that Jon Jones was out of their fight. Bloody hell though. It really hammers home how campy and fake Kenny’s delivery can be, especially when contrasted with Moxley. That’s something he’s really going to need to work on when the TV show starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philjax Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 I actually thought Pac would turn up to cost Hangman the belt. Now it's even more possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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