AEW TV 2025 Discussion

[Lorne Malvo]

2 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

Moxley has never said that he's going after "WWE style wrestlers", just that he thinks wrestlers in AEW need to toughen up and take themselves more seriously. Which is all bollocks, he's actually a heel manipulating people and saying and doing whatever gets him more power and protects his title reign, and I wish more people on the show would draw attention to that - he's going around cutting promos about how you can't just ask for a title shot, you shouldn't just be handed anything, when this whole run started with him asking Darby Allin to hand over his shot.

 

Excalibur seems to be the only person in the entire company who has said 'Moxley doesn't really care about the future of AEW, it's all bollocks and manipulation to keep his title'. Whereas, as much as I love Schiavone, his commentary seems to be actively pushing against the story at times - I think it was Big Tone who came out with the 'who is Moxley working for?' line which lead everyone to think Shane McMahon was coming in.

Essentially, Khan needs to sit everyone down and explain to them exactly what this story is because it seems everyone involved is pulling in different directions.

[The King Of Swing]

Honestly I'd rather everyone involved in the EVP storyline just ignored it and moved on. It's not worth going back to, imo. 

Just look at how trying to tie together the MJF/Cole mess turned out. Not worth the hassle. 

Just pick a direction and stick with it. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I'm expecting the Young Bucks to return in that segment, and it's obvious that they're going with Omega vs. Okada at All In: Texas, but they need to wrap up the dregs of the Elite storyline now that Kenny's back.

I've got some hope for that, purely because it's Kenny. In the same way Hangman seems to have a firmer grip on his character and telling stories over a period, I think Kenny does too. 

 

And frankly, if they're going to hold on to MJF and Adam Cole for that long, surely this one is worth tying up.

[LaGoosh]

If they even hint at a Golden Jets reunion I'll never watch this fucking company ever again.

[WeeAl]

3 hours ago, The King Of Swing said:

Just look at how trying to tie together the MJF/Cole mess turned out. Not worth the hassle. 

I don't even know why they did that either. They had tied it up. MJF was the babyface. Cole was still buggered. When MJF returned in the leather jacket and gave Cole the brainbuster that seemed at the time like they were drawing a line under it.

For the strangest of reasons that I don't understand, they went back to it yet again when Cole was finally healthy, despite having already put a bow on it, as far as anybody with eyes is concerned. 

[The King Of Swing]

Also turning MJF heel again turned out be a huge mistake imo.

Fans were clearly still well up for face MJF and the resulting Adam Cole shit, just had MJF revert back to his worst heel habits. 

Shit promos and hiding behind roadblocks despite not really having anything worth chasing. And in the end he won anyway so Cole came out of the feud looking like a total scrub.

MJF's recent promo on Dynamite was a step in the right direction but I can't help but think how things could have been, if MJF had just stayed face. 

[LaGoosh]

They seem to be setting up a Christopher Daniels/Hangman programme which for the life of me I can't understand why. Firstly, Hangman should be World Champion and should have been after All Out so basically everything they have done with him since has been a massive waste of time and a massive waste of the All Out finish. Secondly, Christopher Daniels wasn't even that good when he was an active wrestler so why the fuck is he all over TV now when he's retired? No one has been asking for him and if he disappeared forever no one would care at all. Thirdly, when you have THIS roster with insane talent up and down it that is being so underutilised what possibly justification can there be to have Christopher Daniels beating up one of your top guys?

I feel like at least 75% of this company needs a hard reset right now.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

I feel like at least 75% of this company needs a hard reset right now.

Bloody hell, not another one.

[tiger_rick]

I think that's a bit OTT. The top angle doesn't seem to be working for a lot of people. I think there is a clear end goal with Darby that they have in mind but I'd probably call an audible and fast forward either to Darby or just one of the stars they have. Otherwise, I think a lot of things feel more natural now they've blown off some other stuff that wasn't working.

I'd probably be alright with them binning 75% of the male roster. Probably still only be about 3 people we actually see each Dynamite.

[LaGoosh]

11 minutes ago, Duke said:

Bloody hell, not another one.

Well that's the thing. They keep announcing new eras but don't actually change anything or learn from their mistakes.

7 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Otherwise, I think a lot of things feel more natural now they've blown off some other stuff that wasn't working.

I think fundamentally it's all very messy. No clear totem pole of main eventers, upper and lower carders. Additionally we have three singles titles with no clear title scene for each, the tag division is in the shitter and the trios title have completely disappeared. I'm not saying they need to do a Bischoff/Russo WCW reset but they really need to establish a proper hierarchy, choose who/what they are getting behind and really stick with it. Clear out a lot of the dead weight and stuff that adds nothing to the shows. As good as AEW often is what makes it so frustrating is knowing how good it has been and how much better it could be if they just sorted out the incredibly obvious issues.

Edited January 7, 2025 by LaGoosh

[BomberPat]

I don't mind Hangman having a brief programme with Daniels that he's definitely going to win; it's not what I'd do, but they've dropped some mentions for a while of Daniels being some kind of a mentor to Page, so it gives him an emotionally charged feud, which Page is great at, and one that he can actually definitively win this time, and does the job of keeping him busy to justify why he's not involved in the World Title picture, or with a returning Omega.

That's one of the problems of the Death Riders story - it doesn't feel as all-consuming as the show tells us it is, and it doesn't feel as important as the show tells us it is, and a big part of that latter point is that a lot of top stars don't seem to care. You can justify Will Ospreay not going after Moxley yet, because he was involved in a feud with Kyle Fletcher, and that's more important to him. Whereas Swerve was mixed up with the Hurt Syndicate, and that felt like something that conceivably could distract him from Moxley, but then at the PPV he was content to just throw some toilet roll at Ricochet, and (before Ricochet's attack on Dynamite) that didn't feel enough to take him away from the title picture. 

Now, if instead of the guy they're pretending is Hangman's biggest mentor, they brought in the guy who actually trained him, and had him wrestle an 82 year old Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant, then I would be 100% on board.

[Guest]

I'd call an audible and get the belt straight on  Osprey. AEW needs a top babyface, and he's it. He's their most over star, he's almost guaranteed the best match of the night, people are invested in him. It's a star driven business and he can go full Ric Flair and make stars with every title defence. I advocated doing it at All In, and I still think that would've been the right call. If you ultimately want him to lose to Darby, he still can, but he should've been the face of the company months ago.

Quote

I don't mind Hangman having a brief programme with Daniels that he's definitely going to win; it's not what I'd do, but they've dropped some mentions for a while of Daniels being some kind of a mentor to Page, so it gives him an emotionally charged feud, which Page is great at, and one that he can actually definitively win this time, and does the job of keeping him busy to justify why he's not involved in the World Title picture, or with a returning Omega.

Me neither, as I think it's the beginning or a key part in Hanger's redemption arc, at the end of which he should win the World Title.

Edited January 7, 2025 by Duke

[BomberPat]

A long time ago, I predicted that we'll get Omega & Hangman vs. The Young Bucks at Revolution 2025, for the fifth year anniversary of that match, which for a lot of people was Hangman's coming out party. I still think it's quite likely that's what they end up doing, and maybe on the same show they have Darby finally beat Moxley, then lose it to Christian Cage when he cashes in. I'd have Hangman or Omega beat Christian soon after, unless the plan is for Omega to have a substantial run as Continental Champion and make that belt mean something after beating Okada. Not sure where that leaves Darby Allin, but given that he's apparently planning on climbing Everest in April anyway, it's not like they should be giving him a proper title run until after that anyway.

[tiger_rick]

15 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

No clear totem pole of main eventers, upper and lower carders. 

I don't really agree with that. I think it's clear who the main stars are and it's blindingly obvious who the low card shit is. I just think it's not a very obvious triangle hierarchy.

WWE did a great job in the latter Vince years of establishing that very obvious hierarchy with Reigns at the top. It seemed pretty boring month to month as he was so clearly number one that no-one was beating him, and with my inquisitive wrestling fan hat on, I still wonder where that ever goes if they don't snare Cody, but it was very clear.

It's not that clear in AEW. Mainly because they don't have one top star. They have Moxley, Swerve, Hangman, Ospreay, Kenny, Copeland, Darby, OC, MJF and Okada. They have a next level of the likes of Garcia, Takeshita, White, Fletcher, Brody, Cole, Jericho, Pac and Cesaro (and Ricochet) who generally, but not always, lost to the top stars and who have all had a fleeting go at moving up or will at some.

They've got newcomers like Lashley and Benjamin who fit somewhere around there too.

I think that's far more interesting. It's harder work to book and to follow but, and only speaking for me, I like the reward for following it and for caring about all of these guys.

You're right about the tags. That's a shambles. Hopefully Lashley and Benjamin smash through everyone and hold the belts while they build it back up.

Edited January 7, 2025 by tiger_rick

[RedTwoster]

18 hours ago, The King Of Swing said:

Also turning MJF heel again turned out be a huge mistake imo.

Fans were clearly still well up for face MJF and the resulting Adam Cole shit, just had MJF revert back to his worst heel habits. 

I don’t think the problem is the heel turn, as much as it was MJF not offering anything new. It’s been a greatest hits of the worst aspects of his previous heel character. What made MJF’s previous heel character work is that there were always hints as to why he behaved as he did - whether it was calling William Regal out for rejecting him or opening up to CM Punk, he was clearly bitter and broken. 

And for someone who had previously been quite savvy about his character, I’m surprised MJF didn’t realise the opportunity to tap into that was there on a plate.

He turned babyface, and his instinct not to trust anyone was justified through Cole’s actions. Rather than having Cole say ‘you were always an asshole and that’s why I did this’, they should have had Cole say ‘I made you this way, and I was wrong to do what I did - but this isn’t you’, and attempt to bring MJF back over to the good side, ultimately failing and left haunted by the idea that he may be responsible for breaking MJF beyond repair, and turning him into someone who is darker and more dangerous.