AEW TV 2025 Discussion

[Infinity Land]

36 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Another new men’s title? What on earth is Tony Khan playing at. What’s the point in this? It seems to be his go-to tactic when there’s a creative lull, but who on earth could possible care? I mean fuck, why bother creating the Unified title if you’re going to create a new singles title in short order. 

You could see it coming when he did the whole: Unified title isn't unified it's still the International and Continental titles. I was expecting them to eventually split. Then this happened with a new National title. For the stupidity of it, I'm hoping it follows the rules of the All-Atlantic title when it's defended in 3/4 countries and becomes the new International title. 

[RedTwoster]

30 minutes ago, Infinity Land said:

You could see it coming when he did the whole: Unified title isn't unified it's still the International and Continental titles. I was expecting them to eventually split. Then this happened with a new National title. For the stupidity of it, I'm hoping it follows the rules of the All-Atlantic title when it's defended in 3/4 countries and becomes the new International title. 

I hope they do something a bit more unique with it. It’s a Casino Gauntlet match, meaning you could do something a bit more unique as far as the winner is concerned. I’d like to see them have a stronger female wrestler win - it would be a great way to redebut someone like Bozilla, and have her look like a devastating monster from the start. The Casino format means you don’t have to do much in the way of intergender wrestling, and you can make the win look plausible. Have a woman win, turn it into the women’s version of the Unified Title, defended in its own version of the continental classic. 

What I think might actually have happened is that Bobby Lashley had it stipulated in his contract that he had to win a singles title within a certain timeframe, Khan doesn’t want Page, Okada or Fletcher to drop their belts, so he’s created this pointless title to meet that obligation.

[Infinity Land]

12 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

What I think might actually have happened is that Bobby Lashley had it stipulated in his contract that he had to win a singles title within a certain timeframe, Khan doesn’t want Page, Okada or Fletcher to drop their belts, so he’s created this pointless title to meet that obligation.

I think it's more Fletcher's the pet project holding up the TNT title. Okada/Takeshita is going to hold up the Unified TItle. Hangman as World champion with MJF lurking with that contract.

Then here's a sea of people TK struggles to book meaningful matches for without a title on the line. 

[Supremo]

Andrade defending the National title on Smackdown for the next two years.

[The King of Old School]

Getting to the point where you must be an absolute loser if you haven't got a title in AEW.

Completely unnecessary to have all these.

Mens World, TNT (as more like a TV title), Tag, Trio's, Womens World & TBS is more than enough.

Continental should just be defended in the end of year continental classic, so when you win it you are the continental champion for a year.

 

[Infinity Land]

https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-roster

According to their website. Okada is still considered the International and Continental champions in addition to the Unified champion.

[poetofthedeed]

A national championship, that can be defended in other nations, which makes it an international championship, which can be defended on different continents, which makes it a Continental championship.......

[Hannibal Scorch]

The way it’s presented is like the old national title. A title that can be defended in different territories as a way of promoting the company in other places. The fact they said it’s going to be defended in CMLL, NJPW, and other Indy’s suggests that’s exactly what it’s going to be.

If they stick to that, I honestly have no issue. But I did initially eye roll when they announced it on Social Media before the show. Wrestling has too many titles. I think AEW had 21 (with ROH) and WWE had 24 at my last count. Regardless far too many belts for just TV.

Anyway, thought it was a good episode (sorry if that was too predictable Callum1993). I wasn’t shocked Mercedes and Athena lost, I had predicted it, but was glad they lost, especially to the Babes of Wrath. To the moon with them!

I enjoyed the FTR segment. Just good silly fun with a funny new meme 

Toni’s always a  delight on commentary so that was fun. The blood and gut matches were all decent but I think OC vs Claudio was my favourite. The main event was decent but why we’re getting Page/Hobbs next week I don’t know. The epitome of treading water. I’m sure it will be a good match but absolutely no danger of the result.

Shelton to win the National Title. Bookmark this.

Oh and Schiavone is overdue a beating isn’t he? Thought Joe was going to get his hands on him. MVP later feeling his face to make sure it wasn’t Hangers in disguise… Beautiful.

Edited November 6, 2025 by Hannibal Scorch

[Infinity Land]

58 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

The way it’s presented is like the old national title. A title that can be defended in different territories as a way of promoting the company in other places. The fact they said it’s going to be defended in CMLL, NJPW, and other Indy’s suggests that’s exactly what it’s going to be.

If they stick to that, I honestly have no issue. But I did initially eye roll when they announced it on Social Media before the show. Wrestling has too many titles. I think AEW had 21 (with ROH) and WWE had 24 at my last count. Regardless far too many belts for just TV.

Genuine question: Are you already counting the AEW Women's Tag titles, ROH Women's Pure Title, and AEW National title in that total count? That's without worrying about the whole: Unified/Continental/International situation.

The sales pitch for the National title sounds good. Heard it all before with the All-Atlantic. The potential and the reality of a new title tends to diverge pretty quickly. The TNT isn't a secondary title. The new American Triple Crown. The ROH 6-man and AEW Trios titles being unified. The Unified (International/Continental) title might not be permanent, although hopefully will be now.  

[The King of Old School]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

The way it’s presented is like the old national title. A title that can be defended in different territories as a way of promoting the company in other places. The fact they said it’s going to be defended in CMLL, NJPW, and other Indy’s suggests that’s exactly what it’s going to be.

Didn't they already have this with the "AEW All-Atalntic Title"? Certain that was meant for these reasons too before they gave up on it.

[Chili]

I find the product incredibly dull at the moment. Just YouTubing any potential highlights recently. I love a good match but at the moment I wish there was more. It just feels weirdly dull. There are two Blood & Guts matches coming up and I have barely any interest in it. Just feels like there are options they could have gone down but we're persisting with some drawn out stories. 

[BomberPat]

thank God the wrestling on this show was good, because I'm finding the booking a complete slog. I loved Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli, as I always do when those two wrestle, and Daniel Garcia vs. Darby Allin was a really good showcase of both men's strengths - all I ask for from wrestling these days is to show me something I haven't seen before, and Danny tying Darby to the tag rope by his chain was great.

Beyond that, I found it hard to find much to like about this show. Introducing a new singles title, blagging its heritage to the old NWA National Title, then immediately having MVP flub his line and call it the International Title isn't a good start. More titles isn't inherently a bad thing, but those titles need to have purpose and identity to actually make them offer something new, and I have no faith that the National belt does. It's just another men's singles titles, a matter of months after they unified the last two men's singles titles, and introduced before they've even finished a tournament for the last new title they brought in. The moment they brought out the Hurt Syndicate to talk about it, my instinct was that it's basically a Hurt Syndicate vanity belt. I was reminded of a story about how Jim Crockett Promotions booked Jimmy Valiant and Paul Jones to feud for years, and that it was basically because Crockett knew Valiant was a draw and wanted to keep him around, but nobody else wanted to work with him or Jones, so they were just joined at the hip forever - the Hurt Syndicate clearly enjoy working The Demand, and are slightly less fussy about putting them over, so it's just going to be that feud for the rest of time. And to repeat a point I've been making for weeks, it's a feud that should always have been for the Trios belts, and they should have taken the opportunity of Shibata's injury to vacate those titles and get them on one of these two teams - at the moment we have a Trios feud that has been going on for months with nary a mention of championships, that's now looking towards a singles title, while the Trios titles are muddled up in a feud over a singles title. Make it make sense. 

 

It's just unclear what the focus is at the moment. Samoa Joe and Hangman Page doesn't feel like a main event storyline. For everything else, is the priority building to the PPV or building to Blood & Guts? Because Mark Briscoe is doing backstage promos to heat up a cold feud with Kyle Fletcher and beg for a shot at a title he's already lost every shot at, rather than being focused on the Blood & Guts match he's in next week. Which would be fine if that was the story, if there was a question mark over whether the babyface team was as focused as the Death Riders because they had other shit going on, but that's not really happening. Everyone else in the men's Blood & Guts doesn't have a match booked for the PPV, which means almost certainly there's going to be frantic last minute booking to get another dozen matches on the card in the week after Blood & Guts. I'm hoping Blood & Guts is finally the end for the Death Riders, but at this point I honestly wouldn't rule out them just dragging them on even further and doing another Darby/Moxley gimmick match at the PPV. This never ends.

Same thing times ten for the women's match. In the women's tag on this show, there were way too many moving parts storyline-wise, so nothing had time to sink in. They spent months on a story about whether Statlander or Willow could work together, and now two weeks in a row they have helped each other out in matches and that story hasn't even been mentioned on commentary because they've got too many other bullet points to tick off. In the finish of this match alone, not only did you have Stat helping Willow, you also had Athena getting pinned, Willow & Harley progressing in the tournament, a reminder that Statlander is wrestling Moné at the PPV, and at least the suggestion that the odd couple team of Athena and Moné will probably fall out over this loss, and then not even getting to the fact that almost everyone involved in this match is also in Blood & Guts next week! In kayfabe, why would you agree to enter the most dangerous match in the promotion and risk injury right in the middle of a title tournament, when Blood & Guts has zero stakes. 

 

Lastly - you've got Hangman Page, Hook, and Eddie Kingston in the ring, and Eddie's the only one not given any promo time. There is something going on with his booking, and I don't get it.

Edited November 6, 2025 by BomberPat

[gmoney]

Can I just ask, has it ever been confirmed that Hurt Business refused to put people over? I see this mentioned all the time and now people are speculating that a belt has been created for Bobby Lashley because it's in his contract? So what's the story here? How are they completely bumming Tony Kahn like this if it's true? 

[BrodyGraham]

2 hours ago, gmoney said:

Can I just ask, has it ever been confirmed that Hurt Business refused to put people over? I see this mentioned all the time and now people are speculating that a belt has been created for Bobby Lashley because it's in his contract? So what's the story here? How are they completely bumming Tony Kahn like this if it's true? 

How I imagine it:

"HEY MVP!!!!"

"Hey Tony."

"DID I EVER TELL YOU ABOUT THE TIME I WENT TO THE ECW ARENA TO SEE CHRIS JERICHO VS SABU!!????"

"Did I ever tell you about the time I went to prison?"

"................."

"My boys aren't holding any gold."

"Ok"

[Supremo]

It’d be funnier if Lashley hasn’t been politicking and it’s an actual character trait he and Tony have worked on that his biggest nemesis in AEW is the length of the entrance ramp.

Not being fast enough to run back and break up a finish has now cost him the Tag Titles at Forbidden Door and the World Title Number One Contendership last week. Man just does’t have the cardio to get involved in these match finishes. As luck would have it, he’s always three seconds too late. Shame.

I can’t remember how the Trios matches against The Demand ended. The one where The Hurt Syndicate lost, I’m going to guess Lashley was once again stuck in the Entrance Ramp Vortex when MVP took the pin.

In his defence, this is the same man who pitched to Vince McMahon that his character would gain 70 pounds of fat due to depression, then also pitched to Triple H that he should call Gunther a nazi on television, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Job-shy whopper.

Edited November 6, 2025 by Supremo