mikey Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 I don't disagree with anybody posting but everybody is making different points from different angles, which is part of the problem with AEW. What sort of territory is it? A babyface territory or a heel territory? With Jericho as champion, they did excellent stuff in those feuds and the problem was elsewhere. With Moxley (and with everything Cody has done except MJF), it suffers from the same issue as everywhere which it's a babyface territory that needs to understand how to book a babyface to draw. It's nice to see the good guy win but he also has to overcome something, which is part of what made the Moxley title win memorable and good. Too often, I watch AEW and I am unsure as to what they're trying to achieve. I can guess they're trying to achieve something, like trying to turn tag teams into a draw and somewhere you can develop singles stars, but I'm not sure they've gone about it in completely the right way. I watch it, it's not a turn off but I don't think everything is pulling in the same direction and it's not doing everything successfully as a result. Hope that makes any sense, it's just a brain dump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted July 12, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted July 12, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, LWOLeN said: Please elaborate. Because you don't pay Jon Moxley 2 million dollars a year to drop the title this early into his reign to Brian Cage whose been around for about 5 minutes and isn't on his level. AEW has been entertaining but unfocused for awhile now and that's mainly because the Champion hasn't been the main focus. Moxley as Champ has all the potential in the world but it definitely seems like they haven't even got started with him yet. Edited July 12, 2020 by LaGoosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrodyGraham Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 For me, and I don't know if it's him or just me but Moxley is infinitely more interesting in New Japan than he is in AEW. It might just be a fish out of water situation where he stands out more in that environment but Moxley facing off against Suzuki, Ishii fucking hell, even Yano, felt like events in the G1. Nothing he's done has felt that vital in AEW. Of course the fact that crowds disappeared about a fortnight after he got the big belt in AEW hasn't helped. I thought his match with Brodie Lee was a banger though and would have been even better with a crowd. I reckon he gets a decent match out of Cage regardless of result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted July 12, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted July 12, 2020 (edited) The build up to the Jericho match was really great but pretty quickly after that everything went to shit with the outbreak and that combined with various injuries means he's barely been on the shows since winning the title. I really hope they can go full steam ahead with him after the Cage match. Edited July 12, 2020 by LaGoosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 10 hours ago, BrodyGraham said: For me, and I don't know if it's him or just me but Moxley is infinitely more interesting in New Japan than he is in AEW. It might just be a fish out of water situation where he stands out more in that environment but Moxley facing off against Suzuki, Ishii fucking hell, even Yano, felt like events in the G1. For me, this comes down to the style of wrestling and presentation. Moxley, with his western background, going east to Japan was interesting because I wanted to see how he would do in that environment. It's a different game in NJPW, with so much being told in the ring, as opposed to around it or backstage, as we were used to with Ambrose/WWE. Jericho was the same. After so long in WCW/WWE, how was he going to fair in Japan? And then the opposite (which has so far been a bit of a dud), how does Kenny Omega fit into the US presentation of wrestling?  On the Moxley/Cage note, I'm in the minority that hopes Cage takes the title, or takes a DQ win, at least. I've been a fan of his since Lucha Underground, and I like the Taz pairing. Take the title off Moxley for a short time, keep the Cage momentum rolling for a while, and have Moxley win it for the second time a ways into next year. AEW has been treading water for what seems like a long time now. Hopefully, when/if they get back into a paid audience environment, we'll see some of the better stuff like they were putting out in Jan/Feb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 11 hours ago, BrodyGraham said: I thought his match with Brodie Lee was a banger though and would have been even better with a crowd. Yeah see I really didn't get what some people saw in that match. It didn't feel like anything either guy couldn't have done in WWE. It wasn't a bad match per se, but I wasn't exactly blown away by it. I guess I don't really watch AEW to watch two ex-WWE guys go at it unless they're going to do something substantially different. It is tough though, and your point about these guys going to NJPW is absolutely right. It's easier for it to be more interesting/intriguing because it is just such a different environment to begin with. They don't even really need to try. There's already that intrigue there before they even start doing anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iPumaPants Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said: I guess I don't really watch AEW to watch two ex-WWE guys go at it unless they're going to do something substantially different. Do you watch WWE to watch two former Evolve wrestlers go at it, or two former PWG/RoH/NJPW guys? If that WWE stench is the reason you can't enjoy a match between two fairly talented wrestlers, then the problem isn't with the wrestlers. Maybe it's with the presentation, and AEW is too similar to WWE in the way that it's shown? Either way, it's only going to continue. AEW won't be able to become 'big time' without at least a couple of big name jumps from WWE, IMO. So ex-WWE guys are going to be popping up more and more in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 17 minutes ago, iPumaPants said: Do you watch WWE to watch two former Evolve wrestlers go at it, or two former PWG/RoH/NJPW guys? If that WWE stench is the reason you can't enjoy a match between two fairly talented wrestlers, then the problem isn't with the wrestlers. Maybe it's with the presentation, and AEW is too similar to WWE in the way that it's shown? Either way, it's only going to continue. AEW won't be able to become 'big time' without at least a couple of big name jumps from WWE, IMO. So ex-WWE guys are going to be popping up more and more in the future. For me, it depends how much I've seen the guys wrestle and also how different their work might be now. Jericho for example - he's extremely adaptable and he's really made the most of being outside of WWE. But I have little interest in Moxley/Hager or Moxley/Lee unless they really bring something different to the table. Guys like PAC are much better outside of the WWE bubble for example. I wouldn't call it a 'stench' as such, but it's just not what I'm personally looking for in AEW. I haven't consistently followed Evolve or NJPW or any indies so that's all quite fresh for me if those guys run through NXT or WWE etc. It was the same with TNA really. I watched it because I enjoyed AJ Styles or Joe or Daniels etc. My favourite thing about TNA was always the guys that were quite different from what WWE was offering. They're the ones that kept me tuning in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_3165 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I'm perplexed as to why they haven't had Cage tear through lower midcarders for six months on his way to the top. They haven't got a huge roster but it could be done. Brutulise Jungle Boy and Stunt, rip through luchasaurus on his way to the title. The Goldberg push always works. It also gives him time to develop some sort of character that makes sense. The only guy w any credibility for being a bad-ass in US wrestling is Lesnar. He is also by far the biggest draw. We need More mean fuckers who can kick your arse and Cage looks like a beast. They need at least one on their roster so use him properly imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_3165 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 4 hours ago, DavidB6937 said: For me, it depends how much I've seen the guys wrestle and also how different their work might be now. Jericho for example - he's extremely adaptable and he's really made the most of being outside of WWE. But I have little interest in Moxley/Hager or Moxley/Lee unless they really bring something different to the table. Guys like PAC are much better outside of the WWE bubble for example. I wouldn't call it a 'stench' as such, but it's just not what I'm personally looking for in AEW. I haven't consistently followed Evolve or NJPW or any indies so that's all quite fresh for me if those guys run through NXT or WWE etc. It was the same with TNA really. I watched it because I enjoyed AJ Styles or Joe or Daniels etc. My favourite thing about TNA was always the guys that were quite different from what WWE was offering. They're the ones that kept me tuning in. Same for me esp Moxley and Hager. Moxley nonsense walk to the ring is off putting. Hager is still bland as fuck. I can see why neither were pushes by Vince. Moxley in particular has been a damp squib compared to the hype he had leaving NJPW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LWOLeN Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) Very fun conversation between Eric Bischoff and Tony Khan.  Edited July 14, 2020 by LWOLeN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted July 14, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted July 14, 2020 How can Conrad Thompson have been doing this for so long and still makes all his video and audio production so shit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 DDP says QT Marshall has Covid. Just when you thought he couldn't get any worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buba3d Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) 29 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said: DDP says QT Marshall has Covid. Just when you thought he couldn't get any worse. ddp has it, something about his daughter and a bridal party came down with covid symptoms  Edited July 14, 2020 by buba3d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LWOLeN Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Very intriguing match tomorrow for a random Wednesday night: Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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