RedRooster Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 41 minutes ago, LaGoosh said: Adam Cole or MJF are the likeliest options and make the most sense but also I'm not really interested in either of them being heels again. Both are considerably better babyfaces at this moment in time. I think Swerve Strickland would be a good option and be the instigating angle that gets him in the main event and leads to him getting the title. As a dastardly heel it would be pretty easy to explain the whole thing being Swerve's master plan. Additionally I think there is enough goodwill towards Swerve from the fans that they would accept him as The Devil. Given that the reception to this angle has been lukewarm at best, I would question whether it would be sensible to associate him with it. His inclusion in the tournament also makes it seem less likely to me - particularly if the idea is to win. I've heard a good number of wrestling journalists suggest it would be sensible to turn Swerve face. I'm not sure I agree, but I would't be shocked if they opted  a double turn with Hangman, furthering that storyline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members unfitfinlay Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 As daft as it sounds my ideal scenario would be Britt Baker. She watched Cole come back from a devastating injury (caused by Switchblade, who was targeted first) and come very close to achieving his dream, only to have it snatched away by MJF. The main thing is that it’s a logical way to split up Adam Cole and MJF without undoing the excellent character work they’ve done. Cole turning reluctantly to protect his girlfriend from MJF is far better than if he was pretending all along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Healys Chutney Spoon Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 14 hours ago, TheScarlettChad said: Why would it be Regal? He hasn't been fired. No,.but NXT fired a load of guys recently and wasn't he supposed to be working with NXT so he could have quietly quit and then come over with his proteges to go after MJF for a little while. Too far fetched I think now I've thought about it a bit more.  The thing with Blue Blazer was that wrestling fans didn't notice stuff like that obviously at the time, whereas now we're much more 'microscopic' about things and would pick up on these things.  Tully Blanchard with FTR and Shawn Spears could be a logical grouping as The Pinnacle reforms to protect MJF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 56 minutes ago, unfitfinlay said: As daft as it sounds my ideal scenario would be Britt Baker. She watched Cole come back from a devastating injury (caused by Switchblade, who was targeted first) and come very close to achieving his dream, only to have it snatched away by MJF. The main thing is that it’s a logical way to split up Adam Cole and MJF without undoing the excellent character work they’ve done. Cole turning reluctantly to protect his girlfriend from MJF is far better than if he was pretending all along. Interesting. ...I don't hate this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 Ziggler's free soon, isn't he? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 19 minutes ago, Big'Olympic_Hero'Pete said: The thing with Blue Blazer was that wrestling fans didn't notice stuff like that obviously at the time, whereas now we're much more 'microscopic' about things and would pick up on these things. That wasn't the case at all. With the Blue Blazer, the commentators and other wrestlers made it extremely clear that it was Owen Hart, and stuff like Koko B. Ware showing up as the Blazer was explicitly shown as a bad misdirect on Owen's part. There was never any mystery about it at all, because that wasn't the point of the angle. 1 minute ago, Chris B said: Ziggler's free soon, isn't he? I know AEW have done this before, but it would be a very "lol TNA" move to be building an entire mystery story around someone who wasn't under contract when it started, with no guarantee that they'd actually manage to bring them in. It turning out to be MJF feels like the worst possible outcome, though the fact that you never actually saw him attacked does at least suggest that it's a possibility. If it is him, it's a completely pointless misdirect, and a bit of a slap in the face to fans who got invested in his babyface turn to just go "he was actually still a prick all along, none of that mattered". The only logical outcome for the whole MJF/Cole story, if one of them has to turn has always been Adam Cole being the one to go heel, and that feels the most likely outcome to me - though the injury has put a spanner in the works there, not only because it probably means they've had to skip over parts of the story, but also because he's a broadly well-liked wrestler and this would mean missing out on the "babyface returns from injury" story in favour of a heel turn, when AEW needs some feelgood stories at the moment. I'm not sure any other suggestions I've seen make sense. Swerve Strickland, for example, has already done some pretty despicable things and made it abundantly clear what his motivations for doing them are - so why would he bother disguising his identity and sneaking around in the shadows to do all of this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 2 minutes ago, BomberPat said: It turning out to be MJF feels like the worst possible outcome, though the fact that you never actually saw him attacked does at least suggest that it's a possibility. If it is him, it's a completely pointless misdirect, and a bit of a slap in the face to fans who got invested in his babyface turn to just go "he was actually still a prick all along, none of that mattered". The only logical outcome for the whole MJF/Cole story, if one of them has to turn has always been Adam Cole being the one to go heel, and that feels the most likely outcome to me - though the injury has put a spanner in the works there, not only because it probably means they've had to skip over parts of the story, but also because he's a broadly well-liked wrestler and this would mean missing out on the "babyface returns from injury" story in favour of a heel turn, when AEW needs some feelgood stories at the moment. I think you could frame it as being a case of MJF falling back to the dark side, because Adam Cole wasn't there to keep him on the straight and narrow. Adam Cole seemed to be working well as a babyface, but I've personally never thought much of him as a heel. Had they done the Cole turn at All In, I'd have been completely on board with it; it felt like the right time, but given the strengths and weaknesses of both wrestlers, turning MJF back heel and keeping Cole babyface seems a better long term direction to me at least. 5 minutes ago, BomberPat said: I'm not sure any other suggestions I've seen make sense. Swerve Strickland, for example, has already done some pretty despicable things and made it abundantly clear what his motivations for doing them are - so why would he bother disguising his identity and sneaking around in the shadows to do all of this stuff? I agree with this. If he's going to break into someone's house unmasked, why would he dress up as a devil to go after MJF? I suppose they could frame it as Swerve viewing himself as the real devil in AEW, but it would still seem a little off. For me, the main issue with this angle is that it's been drawn out longer than necessary, with devil appearances being so thinly spread that the momentum from that initial attack died pretty quickly. It was a good idea that wasn't executed particularly well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 Has there even been a "mystery man" angle that's worked? I can’t think of one that wasn't an eventual disappointment but surely there must be at least one good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 41 minutes ago, Big'Olympic_Hero'Pete said: The thing with Blue Blazer was that wrestling fans didn't notice stuff like that obviously at the time, whereas now we're much more 'microscopic' about things and would pick up on these things. People definitely noticed that the Blue Blazer was black and Owen Hart wasn't. 5 minutes ago, LaGoosh said: Has there even been a "mystery man" angle that's worked? Angle and reveal were great. The follow up let it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lion_of_the_Midlands Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 32 minutes ago, Chris B said: Ziggler's free soon, isn't he? Tomorrow isn't it. Weren't they all let go September 21st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted December 20, 2023 Awards Moderator Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, SaitoRyo said: Haven't been watching closely but my money is on PAC. He's out injured at the minute (with some unspecified 'internal injuries') and this could be a way to bring him back in a big way. Also, not too much of a stretch to go from being a self-proclaimed bastard to thinking he's the devil himself. I hadn't thought of PAC but I don't mind it being him at all. You could easily justify him thinking he missed out on being at Wembley, and sitting at home injured while the biggest show ever happens just down the road* would drive a bastard mad and make him a devil. How does he guarantee main eventing Wembley next year? Target the champion, take the title. There's no brilliant answer for the Devil identity, but I'm more happy with it being PAC than pretty much any other candidate.  *I know there's more than one road between Gateshead and Wembley Edited December 20, 2023 by HarmonicGenerator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 27 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said: *I know there's more than one road between Gateshead and Wembley Hell of a lot by the traditional route. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 Bloody hell, even Google Maps is using the Matthew Bus To Birmingham Joke now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted December 20, 2023 Awards Moderator Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) 35 minutes ago, air_raid said: Hell of a lot by the traditional route. Â He'd have just taken the train straight down the East Coast Main Line if it hadn't been for trains to King's Cross being off that weekend. Edited December 20, 2023 by HarmonicGenerator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JLM Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 (edited) My initial thought about this thread was “it has to be Cole and anything else is stupid and I will not hear it.” However, I am now at least partially sold on the Britt Baker and PAC suggestions. Good work lads. I don’t have any good suggestions but really really really really really really really really hope it’s not Jungle Boy. Edited December 20, 2023 by JLM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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