AEW TV 2025 Discussion

[LaGoosh]

21 minutes ago, Duke said:

Personally, I don't need to see Hangman and Swerve again for at least another year, particularly because you know it needs to go the ultra-violent route,

I don't think it needs to. It'd be easy to put in a "who's the best wrestler, let's find out once and for all" story to get around the expectations of ultraviolence. I don't think another deathmatch is what the story would need, they've covered that all off. For me the natural progression is a straight World title match that leads into some kind of progression for Hangman's redemption rather than another bloodbath. 

[RedTwoster]

18 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

World Title: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Hangman Page (winner of the Owen Hart Cup)
International Title/Continental Title Unification: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada
TBS Title: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Athena
Women's Title: Toni Storm (c) vs. Jamie Hayter
Stadium Stampede: The Death Riders vs. Assorted Babyfaces - maybe Darby Allin, The Young Bucks and Orange Cassidy or Jay White, throwing in Willow Nightingale to counter Marina Shafir. Maybe Eddie Kingston on the babyface side if he's back.
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. either FTR or Nick Wayne & Kip Sabian, depending whereabouts that story has got to.

No Will Ospreay on the card? 

I reckon Danielson will wrestle at the show - and I think your suggestion of a Stadium Stampede match might be a great way to include him, the Death Riders versus a selection of babyfaces with a vacant slot, with us all knowing who will fill it, but not being told until the show.

Babyfaces win, humiliating the Death Riders and bringing an end to that dud of a storyline. 

[Supremo]

I can’t let it go.

Hangman Adam Page is righting all the wrongs. There was no bigger wrong than how rubbish the last Exploding Barb Wire Deathmatch ended. Hangman. Swerve. Texas Stadium. Five million dollars spent on special effects.

[tiger_rick]

I'd forgotten the Owen Hart Cup aspect since yesterday. Ospreay, Hangman and Jay White declaring just adds to the feel of this massively babyface promotion where everyone is gunning for the title. Should be incredible.

 

[Chili]

If they do a Stadium Stampede then if Bryan or the Mad King is fit then one of them with Darby, Jay White, Orange Cassidy, Willow and people around that level. You could swap in and out any of them if you wanted a bigger showcase match for them away from the Stampede.

[BomberPat]

38 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

No Will Ospreay on the card? 

There definitely has to be something for him, I just couldn't come up with anything in the card I was putting together. Ricochet is another notable missing, and I could see them getting back around to doing that match again now that Ricochet is much more established in his heel persona. More outside of the box, I could see Ospreay doing something with The Young Bucks depending when and how they end up coming back.

I'm not convinced Danielson will wrestle there, or necessarily ever again; his last run felt like it was cut shorter and rushed through more than intended, and as much as you should never trust anything Bryan Danielson ever says, he does seem pretty genuine about it being around 50/50 whether he'll ever wrestle again, and that he's trying to avoid needing neck surgery. I would be more confident in predicting Danielson to do a run-in to take out the Death Riders in the main event than him actually wrestling.

 

I really like the idea of Swerve and Hangman not going the ultra-violent route, though. The perfect thing for Hangman Page's redemption arc is for him to not need to take it that far, and for the match to ultimately be about the World Title, not about trying to punish Swerve for his sins. And as much as everyone talks about how that feud shaped Hangman, Prince Nana has been doing great work in reminding people that it shaped Swerve Strickland too - it took Swerve far too long to get back to challenging for the World Title, because he couldn't let the simplest of grudges go, he had to pursue every feud and rivalry to its bitter end to stop it turning into Hangman all over again. I never want the two of them to like each other, but to earn a begrudging respect where they just wrestle to prove who's the better man rather than killing each other is the sort of story that I think those two are pretty uniquely positioned to be able to tell.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, LaGoosh said:

I don't think it needs to. It'd be easy to put in a "who's the best wrestler, let's find out once and for all" story to get around the expectations of ultraviolence. I don't think another deathmatch is what the story would need, they've covered that all off. For me the natural progression is a straight World title match that leads into some kind of progression for Hangman's redemption rather than another bloodbath. 

I agree with all that of that, but I don't think it works by All In, where it will be less than a year since Hangman burned Swerve's house down.

What a sentence that still remains, by the way.

The feud moved long past "who's the best wrestler" and got as personal as physically possible. That's why I'm really not on board with all this "well have him save Swerve from the Death Riders because it's the right thing", stuff. Why? Hangman has no particular quarrel with the Death Riders. When they first started plastic bagging people, sure, but they haven't actually done that for a while. Meanwhile he's vowed to not let Swerve ever win the belt, and while he could do the Young Bucks nod thing for him, it doesn't feel earned yet, and one of the things that makes Hanger's character so great is how much he earns his character beats. They need to spend some more time apart, Hangman needs to continue to grow rather than step back. 

Make it next year's All In main event, and I'm with you.

[Chili]

Unrelated to the product but I discovered Big snoo snoo Megan Bayne is dating Joey Janela. Just clocked she's teaming with his ex too isn't she. Cracking personality that Janela must have, fair play.

[TheBurningRed]

Penelope Ford, Brandi Lauren and now Megan Bayne. Hell of a salesman. 

[The King Of Swing]

Solid episode of Dynamite. Nothing mind blowing, but a lot of good build towards Dynasty.

[Tennessee Moltisanti]

On 3/28/2025 at 12:07 PM, BomberPat said:

 

Keeping the fantasy booking hat on, I'd look to an All In card that looks like this:

World Title: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Hangman Page (winner of the Owen Hart Cup)
International Title/Continental Title Unification: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada
TBS Title: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Athena
Women's Title: Toni Storm (c) vs. Jamie Hayter
Stadium Stampede: The Death Riders vs. Assorted Babyfaces - maybe Darby Allin, The Young Bucks and Orange Cassidy or Jay White, throwing in Willow Nightingale to counter Marina Shafir. Maybe Eddie Kingston on the babyface side if he's back.
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. either FTR or Nick Wayne & Kip Sabian, depending whereabouts that story has got to.
 

With my fantasy booking hat on and to expand on your point, how about, for a Stadium Stampede build, you have Ospreay beat Mox in the semis of the Owen. Mox then screws Ospreay in the final (or he attacks Ospreay after the Semi Final and Will goes in to lose the final to Hangman because of the after effects).

Then for a couple of weeks, Ospreay tries to take on the Death Riders with a bunch of rag-tag teams, maybe Private Party and Garcia. Then maybe he gets The Undisputed Kingdom to try and help, or a group of luchadors. And The Death Riders keep coming out on top.

D Riders (unbelievable name) come out and say Ospreays got no one left to call, and we get a rehash of Austin and his team before Canadian Stampede - https://youtu.be/sAE3-vHo8oE?si=yD4-tVyngZGWFM3r

And out comes Darby, Eddie and Danielson, while Ospreays music plays.

Everybody marks out, the place goes bananas. Team AEW win at the PPV.

Edited March 29, 2025 by sukhy

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

If you can't get Eddie fit enough for it, someone like Brody King or Mark Briscoe.

 

Real fantasy booking here but, Darby comes out and tells Ospreay he'll fight with him at Stadium Stampede. Then Danielson's music hits and he says he'll join alongside the two of them and that he's been talking to a friend of theirs and he's agreed to join too. Sting's music hits and the roof comes off and Mox and Co go scampering off into the night.

[LaGoosh]

Opening segment was a perfect bit of business. 

- top star pop for Toni.

- incredible outfit that should be in regular rotation. 

- fantastic promo.

- "took a piss".

- that beautiful crane shot leading into a wicked sneak attack by Penelope. What a shot!

- Toni immediately kicking arse with great babyface fire.

- Bayne's sneak attack and hair flip after hitting her finish. 

You could use it as a textbook example of a basic meat and potatoes segment that successfully accomplishes everything you need in less than 10 minutes. 

[RedTwoster]

5 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Opening segment was a perfect bit of business. 

- top star pop for Toni.

- incredible outfit that should be in regular rotation. 

- fantastic promo.

- "took a piss".

- that beautiful crane shot leading into a wicked sneak attack by Penelope. What a shot!

- Toni immediately kicking arse with great babyface fire.

- Bayne's sneak attack and hair flip after hitting her finish. 

You could use it as a textbook example of a basic meat and potatoes segment that successfully accomplishes everything you need in less than 10 minutes. 

Toni Storm might actually be the top star in AEW right now, and it’s brilliant to see. Any time she appears on screen, you know something brilliant is about to happen.

I’m absolutely delighted to see Athena make her return to the main show, and she’s absolutely the right person to take the belt from Mercedes, freeing her up to face Toni in the near future.

Collision was a great show once again, and the only negative I have to offer up is Roddy bloody Strong. His name shouting is beyond stale, and he has neither the wit nor personality to make the character he’s trying to play work. I would rather watch Chris Jericho than any of Adam Cole’s pals, which is pretty much the ultimate condemnation. I shudder every time they appear on screen.

[Supremo]

Match of the year. Wrestler of the year. Character of the year. And now spot of the year, finding a way to actually improve on the Luigi Primo/Ethan Page spot.

Timeless Toni Storm is the tits.