Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted July 11 Paid Members Share Posted July 11 3 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said: BuT aEw DoN’t TeLl StOrIeS, tHaTs WhY tHeY nEeD a PrOpEr BoOkEr! But that segment proves their point, doesn't it? If it was concocted by RJ City and Toni Storm then it highlights the need for more voices on the booking 'team'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted July 11 Paid Members Share Posted July 11 20 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: But that segment proves their point, doesn't it? If it was concocted by RJ City and Toni Storm then it highlights the need for more voices on the booking 'team'. No it proves they can do REALLY long term storylines, but they have multiple ones going on, and have for the last few months such as the return of Hangman, The Owen Cup, Willow and Statlander, Mone and Britt and the learning tree (shudder) to name a few. The other issue is we don’t know who the writing team are. We know it’s not just Tony and hasn't been for a while. You can absolutely argue the booking team need more voices, but it’s not a one man writing team any more and I would say the quality over the last few months is evidence that they are doing more with storylines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 12 hours ago, RedTwoster said: Clearly this can change, but I’m starting to feel a sense of dread when I see MJF. I was really hoping he’d shift his heel character, but so far, he’s not done that and I’m finding him a little groan-worthy. Me too! AEW is currently in this weird position it seems where they have loads of acts who feel fresh and exciting (Ospreay, Willow, Garcia, Swerve to name but a few) but they have longer term acts in prominent spots who are absolutely dead, sucking the air out the room and doing the same tired old shit (Jericho, The Acclaimed, MJF). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 Saddest part is how Jon Moxley has become one of those tired acts. I don’t know what the answer is with Mox, but he’s a shadow of his former self. I’d honestly prefer him back in WWE right now. He does nothing for me in this current form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 Mox just looks absolutely exhausted whenever he turns up these days. I think putting his body through the ringer non-stop for 4 straight years has finally caught up with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 Speaking of tired acts I never want to see again… I fear this is setting up Natalya’s debut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedTwoster Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 35 minutes ago, LaGoosh said: Me too! AEW is currently in this weird position it seems where they have loads of acts who feel fresh and exciting (Ospreay, Willow, Garcia, Swerve to name but a few) but they have longer term acts in prominent spots who are absolutely dead, sucking the air out the room and doing the same tired old shit (Jericho, The Acclaimed, MJF). I really hate that I feel that way about The Acclaimed, and I don’t actually know for certain when they became a pair of Zigglers for me, although I think that feeling set in during their trios title run. The thing is, I still think very highly of both Bowens and Caster. A heel run might refresh the act, alongside a bit of distance from Billy Gunn (although I wouldn’t rule him out doing quite well as a heel character), but I think they’d benefit more from going their separate ways. Both have shown the kind of qualities you need to succeed as singles wrestlers, although I think Bowens in particular has potential to develop into someone who could headline PPVs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 I didn't know Kris Statlander had turned heel. God, I don't want to start watching wrestling again, I just started Hotline Miami. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 I still like The Acclaimed more than most on here but I really wish they'd fuck Billy Gunn off. Ever since that match where he massacred Jay White he's been one of the most protected acts on the roster and nobody can ever get any heat on him. It's infuriating. It's staggering how on a show that had an absolutely brilliant Hangman/Danielson match with a genuinely surprising finish, 90% of the conversation online is about Toni/Mariah. That's how good that heel turn was. Excellent stuff. Statlander and Willow both excel in plunder matches so I'm hoping they're building up to one against each other. Still no idea what the majority of the All In card will look like yet. Thought Ospreay/MJF would be a shoe-in after last week, but maybe they will do MJF vs Garcia? Either way, Swerve vs Danielson and Mariah vs Toni is enough for me to buy a ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedTwoster Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 5 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said: Still no idea what the majority of the All In card will look like yet. Thought Ospreay/MJF would be a shoe-in after last week, but maybe they will do MJF vs Garcia? Either way, Swerve vs Danielson and Mariah vs Toni is enough for me to buy a ticket. Whatever they end up doing, I hope it’s not a triple threat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factotum Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 The issue I have with MJF is they did superb character work with him last summer. The nuance of WHY he was like how he was, the vulnerability. His 'face' turn was so organic he barely changed his act but it layered it. It was like when he was against Punk. Now he's just gone back to being 'edge lord' MJF and it's shit. I like Max a lot and he's got it in him as we've seen, but he needs to go away from his worst urges. Lean into WHY you've gone back to that horrible self. Look at Hangman, the guy switches between roles perfectly. Anyway essay over. Toni Storm is fucking great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 13 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said: maybe they will do MJF vs Garcia? All Out is a couple of weeks after All In and takes place in the same building where MJF attacked Garcia so I'm assuming that match will take place then. 14 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said: 90% of the conversation online is about Toni/Mariah. That's how good that heel turn was. Excellent stuff. I've watched it back about 10 times now. I think it's genuinely one of the best heel turn angles ever done. 8 minutes ago, RedTwoster said: Whatever they end up doing, I hope it’s not a triple threat. I also had this concern. AEW doesn't do them often so I don't think they will but it'd be a massive shame as it'd massively dilute the story of the match and also triple threats are almost always not very good at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinity Land Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 13 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said: Still no idea what the majority of the All In card will look like yet. Thought Ospreay/MJF would be a shoe-in after last week, but maybe they will do MJF vs Garcia? Either way, Swerve vs Danielson and Mariah vs Toni is enough for me to buy a ticket. Even with the extra week between All In & All Out, some of the stories are possibly probably being planted to fill both shows. Not just Wembley. I could see MJF v. Ospreay at All In and then one of them against Garcia at All Out. Which is maybe what they're doing with Swerve/Danielson/Hangman. Danielson wins the title at All In and Hangman v. Swerve happens at All Out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted July 12 Paid Members Share Posted July 12 MJF and Ospreay touched on something I should like; building the feud on differing approaches to wrestling - MJF saying that Ospreay needs to do a hundred flips to make the crowd love him, whereas he only needs to speak. That's a good foundation to build a feud on, but it's buried under lazy trope-y MJF promos, it coming off the back of him calling Ospreay a "talentless hack", and just generally, despite only having been back a few weeks and only been heel for one, MJF feeling like a tired act. On Toni/Mariah, I love a story where you can look back on it and see everything that led to this point, without it really feeling like it did at the time, you need the conclusion for it to all become clear. Given the All About Eve influence, it's safe to assume that from the beginning, with Mariah talking up how Toni was her hero and inspiration, she was always lying and manipulating her way into Toni's good books. But it wasn't until Mina Shirakawa started showing up - in what initially felt like a bit of a diversion for Forbidden Door season - that their relationship changed; Toni generally didn't care about Mariah at all, until there was someone else vying for her affections. It was the prospect of losing Mariah to Mina that made Toni start treating her as an equal rather than an underling, and to start really supporting her. That support helped Mariah get into the tournament, and now, All About Eve style, Mariah is able to step in and "replace" Toni as the star performer the moment she doesn't need her any more. I don't know how much mileage the story has beyond their All In match, and don't particularly have any interest in Mariah May outside of this story so I'll be rooting for a Toni Storm win, but I'm interested to see how they pull off the ending, and if subsequent angles and the eventual match(es) between them can match the brutality of the set-up. As much as she's a highlight of every show she's on, I hope they give Toni a bit of time off to sell this one - a couple of weeks of not appearing at all, and then some video packages in full Sunset Boulevard/Greta Garbo "I want to be alone" style; she should be heartbroken before she's out for revenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 As much as I was happy to see the back of all the Adam Cole stuff, I do feel like MJF basically back to how he was feels like a big misstep. It would've been nice to continue with the evolution of the character. I get why they've done it but he had a lot more potential and complexity rather than just jumping straight into MJF Heel 101. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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