Chop-stars

[tiger_rick]

Whichever is "your" promotion or promotions of choice, who do you think it's time to bin off? Whether it's AEW, WWE or you're the forums last TNA fan, they all count.

I'm only interested in clearing up AEW.

Speedball Mike Bailey - Feel like I might be alone in this one but I really don't like this fella. The karate gimmick is daft, his hair annoys the shit out of me and his promos aren't as good as Pat Patterson's. He can work and some of the stuff he does is quite thrilling but as a package, he's not for me.

Josh Alexander - Boring as shit wrestler in a bloated Callis Family act. Like Bailey, he's only been around about 5 minutes and I'd sack them both now rather wasting everyone's time.

Copeland - Done to death this one but, as soon as the reunion with Christian is done, get him gone. He's never fit this environment.

Jericho - Too much to ask that he's already gone? Either way, bye guys.

Outrunners - A fun act who've run their course. I don't dislike these fellas but there's no way it's ever going anywhere. Give the spot to something with more promise.

Rush - Fella seems like an absolute bellend. He's brilliant in the ring but worthless out of it both in kayfabe and non-kayfabe sense. Adios.

Sammy Guevera - What a flop this fella is. Must be about 4 years now since he had any spark of life and any hint of potential. 

Hook - Never, ever going to be anything. Let him go to WWE and see if they can find whatever they found in Dom Mysterio.

Strong & O'Reilly - I hate these lads. I'd normally throw Adam Cole in with them but he's got issues so I'm cutting him some slack.

There are probably another 30 completely inoffensive guys who are rarely on TV that I could easily sack off too but I guess someone has to lose. None of them annoy like when most of the above turn up. Not including The Outrunners in that, they're fine, I just think they're done.

Edited August 14, 2025 by tiger_rick

[BomberPat]

I only really watch AEW these days, so I'll stick with them. I'm usually a lot more forgiving of most wrestlers, and generally think it's worth taking a punt on repackaging or finding a new angle on someone rather than releasing them, but I'll try and be more ruthless...

• CRU - I don't get it, probably never will. Not taken seriously enough for a win over them to mean anything, not self-aware enough to lean into that and just be obnoxious shitheads that you enjoy seeing get beaten up.
   
• Brian Cage - years and years out of having a roided up look but doing indie-tastic moves, and never making any of it matter. A psychology-free spotfest guy who doesn't know who or what he is, and doesn't do anything better than anyone else on the roster to justify keeping him around.
   
• Cope - I've tried to keep an open mind, but it just doesn't work. He's the down point on too many shows; while he's never quite reached the level he was at in his last WWE run, where practically every feud involved him doing a moody promo about how it was "time to get serious", and I was left wondering how much more serious this fucker could get. Comes across as self-important and not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. Doesn't seem to realise that all of his career highlights were as a ha-ha guy, and is adamant on presenting himself as a double-tough hard man instead. I assume he's done after the Christian Cage reunion run, and that's for the best, because that's the only value he has left.
   
• Top Flight - the babyface equivalent of CRU. They're good at what they do, but they're on a roster where you could throw a stone and hit someone who does it better.
   
• Dralistico - the weak link of LFI, a generic luchadore who stands out like a sore thumb when they have much better lucha acts either under contract or as regular visitors through CMLL. Difficult to see what he offers that they can't.
   
• Sammy Guevara - hopelessly miscast as a babyface, and not good enough as a heel. Insane to think he's been considered a "pillar" of this company, and now it's weird if they even bother booking him. They've tried everything and none of it's worked. Probably the only wrestler that was better off in the Jericho vortex than outside of it. Like other people I've named, has just been eclipsed at everything he does - as a babyface high flyer he's no Kevin Knight let alone a Will Ospreay, as a risk-taker he's no Darby Allin, as a slappable faced obnoxious heel he's no Ricochet.

 

If you'd caught me before this week's Dynamite, I'd be tempted to say MJF. He's a frustrating wrestler when you reminds you that he still has it in him to be good, because the entire length of the Hurt Syndicate storyline he was consistently the worst thing on AEW TV, and honestly wanted me to see the back of him, and not for the first time; the "Devil" story was even worse. It would be a big loss, even if just in terms of perception, for him to leave AEW, but I'm increasingly convinced that getting shot of him and the need to find ways to use his diminishing return edgelord material would work out better for them in the long run.

[westlondonmist]

New Japan

EVIL: Why the fuck is he still there, let alone winning lots of matches and being one of the top heavyweights. I get they're a bit thing but fucking hell he's dog shit. I actually didn't mind him at one point, passable 10 minute Openweight match or fine in a tag match but they made him Champion and it was so obvious he was dogshit.

Yoshi-Hashi: I actually don't dislike the guy, I just feel he's had his time and someone else could probably fill it. He's never been a star though and I think as lower midcard person he's fine, but New Japan need to try and find new stars.

Gabe Kidd: Just find him really fucking annoying.

Sanada: I used to love Sanada, he used to look cool. Now he looks a bit lame and his title reign flopped.

[RedTwoster]

AEW:

Jericho, Rush, Strong and O’Reilly - @tiger_rick has outlined the reasons why, but I agree with them. Jericho may be gone already, and it’s no coincidence that AEW television has improved significantly since his departure. I hope Tony Khan agrees.

Don Callis - I don’t enjoy him or his family. The allegations made against him are also horrible.

Jay Lethal - one of the company’s worst ever signings, and not just because of his talent. I never want to see this guy on screen again. 

Darby Allin - Yeah, you’re not getting a pass, Darby. But even ignoring the allegations against him and the stupid things he’s said, I don’t think he adds much to the TV show anymore. There are better alternatives and I don’t think they need him, particularly when you consider the baggage.

Okada - I’ve gone back-and-forth on this one, but the ‘bitch’ gimmick has run its course and his matches haven’t been good enough to make me want him stick around. If he goes away, then someone better will almost certainly take his place.  
 
PAC - I feel a bit guilty about this one. He was pretty good during the early years of AEW, but he’s so stop-start that I no longer see a purpose in keeping him around. Injury has played a part for sure,  but his value has decreased to the point he no longer has any. I don’t really enjoy him anymore.

Daniel Garcia - I find him incredibly boring. I don’t think he adds much of anything when he appears on screen.

Private Party - as above, but multiplied by two since there’s two of them. 

Nick Wayne/Kip Sabian - as above, but multiplied by four as they’re even worse than Private Party

Action Andretti - Surely to goodness I don’t have to explain this one. 

WWE

Alexa Bliss - I don’t think she’s very good, it’s as simple as that. 

Charlotte - they’ll seemingly never resist the temptation to push her to the top at the expense of everyone else. AEW probably would sign her, but I think I’m ok with that - if nothing else, Charlotte/Toni Storm would be interesting. 

Seth Rollins - I’m conflicted about this. I’m almost certain that AEW would sign him and I don’t want that to happen. But I also don’t want to see him dominate WWE television for another decade. Maybe a reunion with Jon Moxley would be better? I’m not saying it would be good, mind.

Nia Jax - as with Bliss, I don’t think she’s very good.

The entire Smackdown tag division - I’d keep the Wyatts and the Street Profits (pushing Montez as a singles star) but the brand needs a clean break from this tedium. 

Austin Theory - for various reasons, he’s very lucky to still be there. 

Brock Lesnar - I’d be perfectly happy to never see this guy wrestle ever again. 

I’m sure there are others, but this post is already long enough for me to feel the need to apologise for it.

[DavidB6937]

I'll just stick with WWE for now:

Seth Rollins - he's done everything he possibly can for a man who has no idea what he is. Outside of a Shield reunion, I have no particular interest in anything he does.

Becky Lynch - again, I'm not entirely convinced there's anything left she can do that would be of much interest to me. I find her one of the worst on the mic too.

Aleister Black - already bored of him and that's quite impressive.

Apollo Crews - let him go and do something somewhere else. He's fine as a TNA or indies guy.

Austin Theory - they tried. It wasn't worth it. Done now.

B-Fab - she's not getting any better.

Bayley - her shitty new music makes me angry every time I hear it, which probably isn't fair on her but tough. Again someone who could probably do with a break.

Carmelo Hayes - I think he'd do better elsewhere. I don't think the crowd are ever going to get behind him in the way they did in NXT, but he's a talented guy.

Dragon Lee - I forget he's on the roster until he pops up and then I think he's Rey Fenix anyway.

Grayson Waller - not as pushed as Theory thankfully, but he's pointless.

Kairi Sane - they've got far better than her.

Michin - does anyone care? I don't think so.

Myles Borne - nothing original about what he does.

Nikkita Lyons - there was a point where she was over but they have so much talent now and she's barely progressed.

Noam Dar - I know he's injured but still. Get rid of him when he's back.

R Truth - he was better off released.

Raquel Rodriguez - I think she always looks incredibly awkward and confused and I don't get it.

Ridge Holland - not sure what they see in him but he's never convinced me.

Shinsuke Nakamura - would be nice to see if he could have a couple of actually motivated matches elsewhere before he retires.

Tamina - I don't know where she's hiding but someone needs to find her and fire her.

Tony D and anyone family related - the worst thing about NXT now, and that's saying something when Lexis is there

Tyler Bate - the future looked promising but it's not for him and WWE.

Zelina Vega - you know how no one cares about Michin? People care even less about Zelina.

 

 

 

[hallicks]

1 hour ago, RedTwoster said:

Seth Rollins - I’m conflicted about this. I’m almost certain that AEW would sign him and I don’t want that to happen. But I also don’t want to see him dominate WWE television for another decade. Maybe a reunion with Jon Moxley would be better? I’m not saying it would be good, mind.

Chris Hero is with AEW, right? For bantz purposes, you could bung him and Seth with Moxley and the world could finally get to see Punk’s original lineup for the Shield do their thing.

Please note: no.

[RedTwoster]

2 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

Tamina - I don't know where she's hiding but someone needs to find her and fire her.

I had to google to see if she was actually still employed and I’m amazed to see that she not only is, but according to various reports she’s literally doing nothing, not even a backstage job, and hasn’t wrestled a match since early 2023. If Gallows and Anderson were stealing a living, this is an armed heist. Inexplicable stuff. 

[tiger_rick]

14 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I had to google to see if she was actually still employed and I’m amazed to see that she not only is, but according to various reports she’s literally doing nothing, not even a backstage job, and hasn’t wrestled a match since early 2023. If Gallows and Anderson were stealing a living, this is an armed heist. Inexplicable stuff. 

Why wouldn't you keep paying the off-spring of a renowned murderer out of loyalty? Makes total sense.

[Lorne Malvo]

I feel like the lower-card / ROH-mostly guys need a bit of a culling as I've seen them do nothing for years on end.

Just going through the AEW roster page alphabetically; 

Aaron Solo - Shite, never done anything, never will. Didn't even stand out on AEW Dark when everyone got a chance to shine.

Alex Abrahantes - A fucking dork who detracts from anyone he's aligned with.

Angelico - I'd sack him off from AEW and make him ROH-exclusive in a futile atttempt to keep the two brands as seperate as possible. 

Anthony Ogogo - The ship has sailed, he's still got the Cody feud stench on him 4 years later and it's quite tragic everytime I see him return to zero reaction.

Ariya Daivari - Premier Athletes are crap and Mark Stirling should have a better stable of guys than this.

Chris Jericho - Give him a little fairwell tour then have him do the honours in a major way to someone in his last AEW match.

Danhausen - Forgot he was employed!

Dante / Darius Martin - I feel like I've seen a billion Top Flight matches and I feel for Scorpio Sky that he's now slumming it with these pair. Very good on their day but those days get fewer and further between.

Dralistico - He's rubbish. LFI are rubbish. Sack them off.

Jay Lethal - Sign him to an ROH-exclusive contract.

Johnny TV - No amount of MXM partnerships or Dalton Castle feuds can make this guy interesting to me.

Josh Alexander - I don't think anyone has ever gone from 'new signing!' to 'just another guy' as quickly as this boring bastard. Don Callis family wouldnt miss him, nobody would miss him. And I liked him in TNA!

Lee Johnson - Make him ROH-exclusive.

Luther - Doesn't add anything to the Toni Storm act for me.

Mark Davis - Had a run of rotten luck with injuries so I feel harsh in getting rid. I just don't see much in him.

Marq Quen - Shite. Keep Isiah Kassidy as a singles, I feel he'd make a fun lower-card heel.

Matt Sydal - How the fuck is this boring bastard still under AEW contract?! Stealing a living.

Michael Nakazawa - See above.

Ortiz - Another one AEW has left behind, the ship has sailed on Ortiz.

Pac - Maybe a controversial one. I really struggle to get into any of his feuds due to his 'I'm off for 3 weeks' part-timer contract and due to this he just dilutes everything he's involved in.

Rush - See Dralistico.

Satnam Singh - No point keeping a giant on your roster if they never wrestle. 

Serpentico - I fucking hate Serpentico. However, I do like him as jobber comedy-heel Jon Cruz so I'd probably keep him but just drop this rotten gimmick.

Stokely - I'm not a fan and I think everything he does, Smart Mark Stirling does better.

The Beast Mortos - I actually quite like him but he's got too much LFI stink on him.

Tony Nese - Crap.

 

Britt Baker - No idea what's even going on with her but she seems a bit of a nightmare. The days of her being the fifth pillar are long gone. 

Diamante - She's rubbish.

Kamille - Also rubbish.

Mercedes Martinez - Rubbish again!

Madison Rayne - Forgot she was employed.

Tay Melo - She's not actually bad in-ring, but I find something really really annoying about her. One of my least favourite on the roster at the moment.

Edited August 15, 2025 by Lorne Malvo

[HarmonicGenerator]

Also going through the AEW roster page, again it'll mostly be lower-carders, ROHgulars, non-entities and 'they're still employed?'s I'd cut.

Aaron Solo, both of Cru, Angelico, Blake Christian, all of Shane Taylor Promotions, all the Premier Athletes (including Sterling), all of Skyflight (except Christopher Daniels maybe), Griff Garrison, Private Party, Jay Lethal, Johnny TV, Josh Alexander, Keith Lee, The Matriarchy (once they've wrapped up the Christian storyline), Kota Ibushi, Lee Johnson, Matt Sydal, The Kingdom, Nick Comoroto, Ortiz, Preston Vance, Sammy Guevara, Satnam Singh, Serpentico, The Blade (but keep The Butcher), The Outrunners (they've had their moment) and Wardlow.

Of the bigger deals... unless he's able to turn things around quickly, I'd be tempted to lose Anthony Bowens as well. It's going to take quite the heel turn to get me invested in him again. Now the Acclaimed are done and The Gunns are their own thing, I'm not sure if there's much value in keeping Billy Gunn around either. 

I don't think I'd miss Daniel Garcia if he went. He's become progressively less interesting over the course of about the last two years now. I used to love Hook, but probably wouldn't miss him now if he got cut too - I'm not 100% what it is, but maybe it's the same as Garcia and since he got out of months of Jericho, I just can't get interested.

I ummed and aahed about Jericho himself and I think probably it's time for him to go as well. Unless his break is such a long one he does come back reinvigorated.

I'd keep Pac, but for a similar "he's so stop-start" reason, I'd probably cut Rush. Which might mean losing Dralistico too.

On the women's side, Britt Baker, Deonna Purrazzo (who doesn't seem to have clicked in AEW at all), Diamante, Emi Sakura, Kamille, Mercedes Martinez, Rebel, and Riho.

(I'm assuming Brandon Cutler, Chuck Taylor, Colt Cabana, Madison Rayne, Michael Nakazawa and Peter Avalon all work backstage and that's why they're still listed? If they don't have other jobs, see ya bye to that gang too.)

So, being ruthless, that's around 60 cuts and still leaves a really strong roster...

Edited August 16, 2025 by HarmonicGenerator
I remembered Trent and Rocky Romero were a team at the moment so have un-cut Trent

[TheBurningRed]

1 hour ago, Lorne Malvo said:

but I find something really really annoying about her.

Yeah, it’s Sammy Guevara.

[tiger_rick]

43 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

Nick Comoroto

I really like him. Dunno if it's just warm memories of AEW Dark or longing for more big fellas who look like they could walk into a dressing room in 1985 and not shit their pants but I really like the way he looks and works. I dunno if you could ever justify pushing him, especially when you've got guys like King and Hobbs with way more upside but I'd love to see him doing far more on a slimmed down roster. Even if it's just a prolonged run of smashing up little blokes until he gets upset and they make a big deal of the person who beat him. Get more of Big Nick on telly.

[Chili]

18 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

I really like him. Dunno if it's just warm memories of AEW Dark or longing for more big fellas who look like they could walk into a dressing room in 1985 and not shit their pants but I really like the way he looks and works. I dunno if you could ever justify pushing him, especially when you've got guys like King and Hobbs with way more upside but I'd love to see him doing far more on a slimmed down roster. Even if it's just a prolonged run of smashing up little blokes until he gets upset and they make a big deal of the person who beat him. Get more of Big Nick on telly.

They should have listened to Taz when on Dark comms he fantasy booked Nick as a caveman mate of the Jurassic Express.

[RedTwoster]

3 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

(I'm assuming Brandon Cutler, Chuck Taylor, Colt Cabana, Madison Rayne, Michael Nakazawa and Peter Avalon all work backstage and that's why they're still listed? If they don't have other jobs, see ya bye to that gang too.)

At least some of them are, and apparently Angelico is now working as a producer. Matt Sydal is surely also someone who would be doing something like that.

[Chili]

1 minute ago, RedTwoster said:

At least some of them are, and apparently Angelico is now working as a producer. Matt Sydal is surely also someone who would be doing something like that.

All of them have off screen roles. Nakazawa's main gig obviously is that he's a translator for a lot of Japanese talent.