AEW TV 2026 discussion

[thatvinylgeek]

4 hours ago, mim731 said:

I was a bit confused by one thing in Ospreay's mostly excellent promo. He said he had been wanting to climb the mountain for over 10 years, and I took that to mean beating Kenny Omega, but didn't he beat him at Forbidden Door a couple of years ago? I'm probably missing something obvious. but I couldn't quite figure that one out.

Yep...it's all very odd, like how he keeps saying he MUST win at Wembley as that will be huge...already has...he MUST win a title at Wembley cause that will be huge....already has 

So now he is gonna push a ball up a mountain, becausecause an ace needs a ball (or maybe a bull, was hard to tell) , have a go at penalty and then pull the trigger. All to try and accomplish something he has been trying to do for 10 years, beat someone he's already beat clean before...BRUV!

Match will be ace though. 

[Kamran]

With SummerSlam on Saturday, Collision will air tonight:

[LaGoosh]

13 hours ago, BomberPat said:

If they're bringing in the Continental Cup as a tournament separate to the Continental Classic, but still with the Continental Title on the line, then I'm fully on team "Tony Khan has lost the plot".

[DavidB6937]

"Guys I've been reading UKFF and they've said we've got too many titles.."

"They might have a point TK."

"How about.. a cup?"

[LaGoosh]

Kind of weird that they had Fletcher defend his title against a Mexican in Canada and will next be defending his title against a Canadian in Mexico.

[HarmonicGenerator]

43 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Kind of weird that they had Fletcher defend his title against a Mexican in Canada and will next be defending his title against a Canadian in Mexico.

He should continue the pattern by defending it against Okada or Takeshita (or both) at Wembley, then going over to Japan to defend it against Zack Sabre Jr or Gabe Kidd.

[RedTwoster]

I really enjoyed Collision, it felt like they more or less picked up where they left off, going from an exciting Dynamite to a (mostly) exciting and fun episode of Collision. 

I’m very cynical about the MCMG joining AEW. They feel so damaged from their WWE run that it’s hard to feel excited about any potential combination of matches. I do like the AEW tag division a lot, but as it stands, I can’t say I care too much about Shelley and Sabin being part of it. Still, the crowd loved their debut and it helped the show feel hot from the get-go.

I’m kind of liking the approach they’re taking with Hangman - with the pressure of becoming world champion gone, he’s happier than he’s ever been. I’m pretty certain this won’t be permanent, and the weight of being called upon to challenge for the title one more time against a significant heel - whoever that may be - should be really exciting.

I wonder if Swerve Strickland will be part of All In? The benefit of AEW having such a stacked roster is that people like Swerve, Hangman, Toni Storm, Mercedes Mone and MJF can disappear for long stretches and while you miss them, it doesn’t feel like the show is lacking. It’s why I’m completely fine with Sheamus potentially coming in and having slugfests with Brody King, Samoa Joe and Jon Moxley. 

Talking of Moxley, what a weird way to introduce the Continental Cup - having Mox talk about it before explaining what it is the day after. I’m sure it’ll be fun, but I just can’t bring myself to care about the Continental Title.

Tony Schiavone describing Komander beating Jay Lethal as ‘Komander shocking the world’ has to be one of his worst/weirdest calls since joining AEW. Has Lethal even won a match on AEW television?!

The Brawling Birds might be my least favourite act in wrestling that isn’t part of The Conglomeration. They’re both talented - especially Hayter - but the gimmick is a whole new level of cringe. 

[Supremo]

Whilst I’m sure it’ll fade over time, there is a real stink around the Motor City Machine Guns. A sense of your high school crush coming crawling back when it didn’t work out with the girl they originally chose over you.

They’re the last act that should be going the, “finally we’re home,” stuff. Yeah, but only because your last landlord gave you the boot.

[DavidB6937]

They're also a bit awkward. They just give off a slightly weird/stand off-ish vibe, which is fine.. I don't think they ever really mean it in a rude way, but yeah I've always found them a bit awkward to watch in promos.

They're better - especially Alex - leaning into the weird like Paparazzi Productions. Bring in Nash.

[BomberPat]

17 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Talking of Moxley, what a weird way to introduce the Continental Cup - having Mox talk about it before explaining what it is the day after. I’m sure it’ll be fun, but I just can’t bring myself to care about the Continental Title.

I found it hilarious when Mox was talking about it as something that had the locker room abuzz - when is Moxley hearing all this locker room gossip? Don't the Death Riders have their own area backstage, and then enter through the crowd? When is he hanging out in the locker room?

It's mad that Swerve and MJF are both completely out of the picture for All In as it stands, and Darby Allin feels like an afterthought who didn't make it on to the last PPV. FTR and the Hurt Syndicate largely having disappeared into the ether as well.

 

I'm glad that the Motor City Machine Guns have shown up, they have a lot to offer, and Alex Shelley is genuinely one of my favourite people in wrestling. I don't think they're going to be treated like the shiny new toy pushed straight into Tag Title contention (not least because that's pretty tied up with the All In match, and presumably New Day coming in after that), but they're a good team to bolster the division and have meaningful matches with people to keep them busy outside of the title picture. I agree that the "we're home" stuff kind of fell flat, though, given either they or AEW didn't seem particularly interested in each other before now, and they presumably chose WWE over AEW - I don't blame them for doing that, there's a lot of reasons I think Alex would have been a good fit for a post-wrestling career with WWE and I think that coloured their decision, but I wouldn't be doing anything to draw attention to it. I'm just glad they're here, Shelley is a fantastic influence and mentor on younger wrestlers, and any locker room is better for having him in it.

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, BomberPat said:

FTR and the Hurt Syndicate largely having disappeared into the ether as well.

Holy crap, I completely forgot that The Hurt Syndicate even exist. I can’t even remember the last time they appeared on television. 

I expected FTR to be back in time for All In after saying they were going to take a break, particularly since they’re in the UK at that time anyway, but perhaps they really will be away for an extended period.

[LaGoosh]

FTR vs MCMG at All In maybe? I'm not hugely interested in it but I could see it happening.

I assume Hurt Syndicate aren't really booked anymore because they refuse to do jobs which makes doing anything with them fairly difficult. They're a difficult act to book because all you can really do with them is have them smash through everyone.

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

15 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Holy crap, I completely forgot that The Hurt Syndicate even exist. I can’t even remember the last time they appeared on television. 

I expected FTR to be back in time for All In after saying they were going to take a break, particularly since they’re in the UK at that time anyway, but perhaps they really will be away for an extended period.

Or perhaps they'll do a 'surprise' appearance at Wembley...or knowing AEW they'll pitch them against MCMG on the buy-in show or something equally as daft!I

 

Just thought- perhaps a set up of a Casino Gauntlet tag match with a number of the tag teams saying 'we want the winners of C&C and Bucks' then you have the likes of MCMG, FTR, Hurt, Conglomeration, Death Riders (if not elsewhere), New Day, Brodido, DCF, etc. Could be a blast if done right! 

Edited July 31 by Tim Healys Chutney Spoon

[Merzbow]

I wouldn't be surprised if The Hurt Syndicate are being kept off TV as they're just to much hassle, they're great but there are too many stories of them being a bit Malachi Black and going "No Job" when trying to book them in angles.

[LaGoosh]

I was on the fence about getting All In tickets but the excellent Willow/Mercedes and Ospreay/Omega segments sold me and I finally caved and got one. 

Both Omega and Ospreay are very inconsistent and patchy on the microphone so they were lucky that segment on Wednesday was so good. It could have easily gone the other way. Hell, Ospreay nearly fucked it with his endless "ball" metaphor at the end. But Omega in particular was very good and those slaps were really effective. If I was AEW I wouldn't push my luck - no more promo segments with those two. Keep the rest of the build very simple and light touch.

I felt like Willow winning the title at first was a bit too little too late but she fully brought me around this week. She's amazing, just the best and once again I insist that this company is booked entirely around her. She is the next big babyface and needs to be positioned as such. Mercedes was also great at being the complete opposite of Willow - vapid, cruel, petty and selfish.

The C&C/Bucks segment was pretty good and another one you don't want to run the risk of doing more promo bits for as the Bucks are more miss than hit when speaking. Cage's little comments about their wives was good and I think they played the "we respect you but we aren't friends and we will do anything to beat you" line pretty perfectly.