Pro Wrestling Contract Season

[JLM]

If it helps with TV time, I would watch the team of Top Flight, Private Party and Sammy Guevara get squashed by Jeff Cobb. 

 

[RedTwoster]

7 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Interesting! With him, Speedball and Jeff Cobb all apparently coming in I have no idea where they find the TV time for these lads. If you’re someone like Top Flight, Private Party or Sammy Guevara you'd have to assume you're never getting booked on Dynamite ever again.

I’d be amazed if Sammy sticks around when his contract runs out. He’s someone who would benefit from a run in NXT, I think. He’s decent, with a few rough edges that need smoothed out; but the raw talent is clearly there. He’s just never found an identity outside of The Inner Circle; maybe a fresh creative landscape would help him in that.

I really enjoy Dante Martin, and given how thin the tag division is, I’m amazed that Tony Khan hasn’t found a use for Top Flight. They’re a hell of a lot of fun to watch in ring.

Private Party haven’t improved enormously since they started out in Dynamite. I don’t know what you do with them at this point. Their tag title run did nothing for them, and in the end it felt - to me at least - like the belts were above them. They never grew into their role as champions, and while you could argue that they weren’t given much chance, I think it was obvious pretty quickly that they were a failed experiment.

[JLM]

Zay is pretty good. He is the king of the extended squash, he bumps brilliantly,  can be sympathetic and show good fire as an underdog, or be an obnoxious/comedic heel who’s enjoyable to watch being destroyed. He can talk, he’s funny, he can do a great hot tag. I’d like him with a better partner than Quen, who is profoundly uninteresting. 

Top Flight are a fun tag team and it has always felt like there’s something there with Dante, but they are so stale and so cold. Neither of them have shown any promo ability or potential to become interesting characters either. I don’t think they’re actively bad but there are so many acts I’d rather see featured ahead of them. 

Edited February 16, 2025 by JLM

[Infinity Land]

4 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I’d be amazed if Sammy sticks around when his contract runs out. He’s someone who would benefit from a run in NXT, I think. He’s decent, with a few rough edges that need smoothed out; but the raw talent is clearly there. He’s just never found an identity outside of The Inner Circle; maybe a fresh creative landscape would help him in that.

I'm the opposite. I don't see him leaving.

He's about to turn 32, with a kid, married to another wrestler who regardless of changes in WWE has gone through the experience of being terminated.

If i'm on good terms with my billionaire boss who appreciates loyalty and handing out 6 figure deals for little work. I'm getting getting paid. Hopefully Jericho gives better investment advice than creative.

 

Edited February 16, 2025 by Infinity Land

[TAFKA Jonny Vegas]

In my opinion now is a fantastic time to re-sign with AEW. Tony Khan will be unlikely to want to lose any of the "four pillars of AEW either in my opinion".

WWE/NXT is quite stacked at the moment, then they have the TNA partnership, Evolve, WWEID all with more faces who may show up or be involved.

As others have said, 6 figure deals for a much lesser workload and seemingly total freedom to do their own side projects seems like a great deal for anyone who isn't being offered a spot on the main WWE roster.

Spoiler

I'll be interested to see how Ricky Starks gets on in NXT. I didn't think he got a huge reaction and for me he doesn't do anything so well that he would stand out in a crowd. 

 

[RedTwoster]

16 minutes ago, TAFKA Jonny Vegas said:

WWE/NXT is quite stacked at the moment, then they have the TNA partnership, Evolve, WWEID all with more faces who may show up or be involved.

See, I don’t know if it is. Both RAW and Smackdown lack depth on their rosters, and there are only a handful of people in NXT ready for a call up to freshen the landscape. NXT itself is a bit thin on the ground too - I think anyone half-decent who comes in has a good chance of making a name for themselves in the company. If I was someone like Sammy or Jack Perry, I’d fancy my chances - and if I were Tony Khan, I wouldn’t feel strongly about keeping them, ‘pillars’ or not.

[TAFKA Jonny Vegas]

Is TK going to want to let go of established names who may go to WWE and be able to make an immediate impact if he can avoid it though?

Personally I don't think there's all that many who would be likely to go that would make an immediate impact.

Edited February 16, 2025 by TAFKA Jonny Vegas

[DavidB6937]

Sometimes it's not even about immediate impact. Sure, that's the ideal situation but there'll be some talent that could just do with a change of scenery and a few tweaks and they become a much better future prospect.

[tiger_rick]

On 2/16/2025 at 12:13 AM, JLM said:

He's been paired with a lot of elite wrestlers in big showcase matches over the past few years, so if you want to sample his work there is quite the selection: 

This'll bring about my least favourite AEW commentary trope. Ex telling us how many times these guys have wrestled "all over the world" or how their rivalry goes back "all the way to <insert no mark Indy here>". Fuck sake.

[TildeGuy~!]

Carmella’s contract hasn’t been renewed and she’s been moved to the Alumni section.

[Chili]

Just now, TildeGuy~! said:

Carmella’s contract hasn’t been renewed and she’s been moved to the Alumni section.

Big drunk tweet from Corey Graves incoming!!!

[Devon Malcolm]

We lose Carmella but Corey Graves is still around, what kind of shit is this.

[Supremo]

They’re gonna hire Vic Joseph’s wife.

[tiger_rick]

So with Carmella going, none of the best act NXT ever made are still in the company. S-a-d.

[RedTwoster]

Hadn’t she been dealing with some pretty significant injuries, alongside the birth of her child?

Assuming it’s not a case of her being unable to wrestle, she’d be a really good get for TNA . I think she’d fit in well in AEW too. She might not be the best in ring, but she has bags of charisma to make up for her shortcomings there. And if wrestling is now a problem for her, I see no reason why she couldn’t be a great manager for the right act.