AEW All Out 2022

[LCJ]

What a dumpster fire this promotion has turned out to be. No wonder Cody left.

[Hannibal Scorch]

18 minutes ago, Infinity Land said:

 

Malakai Black - His name has been thrown out there during the run up to the show. It has been rather messy and there isn't a single narrative to it. Rumours ranging from a lingering back injury seeing him consider retirement, mental health concerns, the fact his wife is in the WWE and he's friendly with HHH. He bowed and mimed a kiss to the audience. Break, departure, retirement? Nobody knows.

He ain't going nowhere. Unless Tony allows him to buy himself out of his contract of course. Mental Health has been the main narrative I have seen, and one thing both companies have seemed to take more seriously is giving people time off to sort out personal issues and if that is what it is here, I assume he'll be back when he feels better. If he just wants to go back to WWE with HHH back in charge, I just can't see him being granted a release.

[garynysmon]

With Vince McMahon well known for micro managing absoloutely everything, well, there might have been a method to the fucker's madness. 

Edited September 5, 2022 by garynysmon

[DavidB6937]

If it is a plan to get towards Punk/The Elite as a feud (with Hangman?!), then it's another misfire for me in Punk's AEW story. It was working really well. The stuff lately with Mox was overcomplicated unnecessarily, and now this. It's as if they're trying to do something new and out there and while I admire that, it doesn't guarantee that it's good.

Either that or he's just a dick which is just as possible.

[RedRooster]

7 minutes ago, LCJ said:

What a dumpster fire this promotion has turned out to be. No wonder Cody left.

I think you have to be fair here, this kind of thing has clearly gone on in WWE in the past, and perhaps continues to do so; it's just that it's rarely played out in such a public way. You could point to JBL and his bullying; Triple H, Michaels and pals; FTR being mocked by HBK; the HBK/Bret Hart fiasco; the 'plane ride from hell'; Brock Lesnar allegedly exposing himself to Terri Runnels; the allegations made by Ashley Massaro; the allegations made by Shelly Martinez; the Batista/Melina/John Morrison nonsense - there are countless other examples too, and clearly some of what I've listed is far more serious than what is unfolding in AEW right now. 

This kind of thing is not unique to AEW, although a wrestler laying it all out in the middle of a press conference, sat next to the company's owner is certainly a bit different. 

[Nick James]

What's been said isn't really the issue, it's the public nature that's fascinating. Punk hasn't said anything in particular that's wrong, but to do it in such a public way after being asked a random question that didn't even involve Colt Cabana is the strange part.

Tony sat at the side of him looking like Punks lapdog has done more damage to his credibility.

 

 

[69MeDon]

This isn't "last days of WCW" shit, here. Let's not get crazy. AEW, as far as I'm aware, isn't losing $60m a year. This backstage stuff becoming public is a problem, one that Tony Khan needs to deal with, if he's capable of doing so. The issues with the booking and utilisation of the roster need to be dealt with, too. But I think it's hyperbole to claim the promotion is a "dumpster fire". The ratings are fine, the PPV buys are fine, the shows - generally speaking - are good, if uneven. This is not WCW 1999 - 2001.

[LCJ]

1 minute ago, RedRooster said:

I think you have to be fair here, this kind of thing has clearly gone on in WWE in the past, and perhaps continues to do so; it's just that it's rarely played out in such a public way.

WWE have had their faults too (lots of them) but if a lot of what’s been going on lately in AEW is a shoot, then it’s a case of Tony Khan being a mark for certain members of his talent roster and allowing the inmates to run the asylum. He’s losing control from what I can see. He needs to lay down the law, stop trying to be one of the boys and punish bellend behaviour (which he probably won’t when it’s someone like Punk). Not to mention that there are too many people on the talent roster with not enough TV time for everyone. It’s a mess. Don’t get me wrong, I want AEW to succeed. I want them to be better and to turn things around but I’m yet to see signs of improvement.

[Keith Houchen]

Fucking hell, even Vince the Evian chewer drinks water better than Toot Doggy Dogg. 

[Guest]

Just watched Swerve in our Glory's part in the presser and I thought they were great. They're different men but united by the chips on their shoulders and convinced they're the best. Loved the swagger, hope to see more of it.

 

Quote

This is a really annoying one for me, because her line about "let me know when you're not injured and I'll beat you" is being misinterpreted by some bellends that Thunder Rosa just wanted to avoid doing the job, whereas the line is clearly an in-character line where one wrestler says they'll beat another wrestler - in a match, you know, in the story. Not that "Oh, when you're not injured you can come back and put me over like you were meant to" which quite frankly is some WCW shit

IT's the "Thunder Rosa says she's injured" bit. It's not like those rumours haven't been doing the rounds all week. She's either done that deliberately or she's worded that very weirdly and badly. 

 

Edit: Oh yeah, why are they letting a 12 year old into this scrum? Embarrassing.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Duke

[RedRooster]

4 minutes ago, Duke said:

Just watched Swerve in our Glory's part in the presser and I thought they were great. They're different men but united by the chips on their shoulders and convinced they're the best. Loved the swagger, hope to see more of it.

I totally agree with this. I think there's a red hot heel tag team coming from their match with The Acclaimed. Grant Caster/Bowens a rematch at Arthur Ashe, have Lee/Strickland turn definitively along the way, and eventually build up to Swerve in their Glory vs. FTR at Full Gear. 

[The Gaffer]

30 minutes ago, garynysmon said:

With Vince McMahon well known for micro managing absoloutely everything, well, there might have been a method to the fucker's madness. 

Bit of a tangent, but from your point there's this trend amongst wrestling fans that the wrestlers themselves are brilliant at coming out with stuff if only they are allowed, unabated. A world where bookers and suits are forever the baddies trying to stifle their creative flow.

The thing is a lot of the ones who are actually driven enough to do it- as opposed to autopilots like Orton - aren't exactly all there and you wind up with promotions looking like that bit in Walk Hard where all the band are on acid trying to work didgeridoos and theramins. That's the world where Control your Narrative, Tony getting pie faced at his own pressers and latter day WCW stuff starts to thrive. 

There's got to be a balance and some serious controlling factors. 

[Nick James]

Wrong thread. 

Edited September 5, 2022 by Nick James

[air_raid]

19 minutes ago, Duke said:

IT's the "Thunder Rosa says she's injured" bit. It's not like those rumours haven't been doing the rounds all week. She's either done that deliberately or she's worded that very weirdly and badly.

That part I didn't have any issue with, if we're kayfabing then its Bret taking the piss out of Shawn's "pussyfoot injury" in 97 again. In fact, nothing Toni said is problematic if its in the context of a worked wrestling interview. The problem they've got is that the events of this presser have baffled everyone into not knowing whether its a work or whether EVERYONE is just going into business for themselves.

[Cousin Jim Bob]

27 minutes ago, Nick James said:

What's been said isn't really the issue, it's the public nature that's fascinating. Punk hasn't said anything in particular that's wrong, but to do it in such a public way after being asked a random question that didn't even involve Colt Cabana is the strange part.

Tony sat at the side of him looking like Punks lapdog has done more damage to his credibility.

 

 

 

To be fair to Khan he was blindsided here and letting the top guys run their own things has been working for AEW.

 

Punk being his normal self has just thrown a massive spanner in the works though. It will be interesting to see how AEW recovers from this.