AEW 2023: Scissor Me Daddy!

Ospreay is interesting because for years he represented the "worst excesses" of modern wrestling and was for a time an absolute pariah in certain circles as a result. he reined it in a bit and got quite a lot better but I must confess i'm kinda bemused that he has gained this rep as the undisputed best wrestler in the world. Omega went through a v. similar arc a few years earlier

Danielson would (and god willing will, before he calls it quits) wrestle rings round them both

i assume they know we’ll all need omega/danielson 2 before the latter retires

i mean if he is for really for real about hanging it up next year (and it feels like he probably is) and the Okada match is already pencilled in for the fourth of Jan (which is basically THE MATCH at this stage looking at it from the artistic POV) then yeah we can only hope that they've prepared a short list for the other big PPVs, Omega and Ospreay at the top of that list

Also fascinated that what you think that the MJF storyline you dont care for needs is a fingerpoke of doom.

I mean I’m only half serious about it, but… It’s weird that Adam Cole is the only guy with an injury who’s still on TV every week. Even for a main eventer. Him stepping in for MJF with a gammy ankle (if it’s really that gammy) would have been the perfect set-up: imagine if he had laid down in the ring for Jay White! And I don’t mean it merely from a ‘rile everybody up’ perspective; there’s storyline substance there too. If you’re an MJF guy, don’t you want to see him up against his toughest challenge yet? But nah, they kept the friends-till-the-end thing going and I have no interest in that (nor Bullet Club Gold as they are now, for that matter). Meanwhile, ROH tag teams have no championship to fight for.

ROH should always have been kept separate and run as its own thing. i remember I posted on here around the time that the buyout occurred that it would be a good thing thing that would benefit everyone, cause i really thought it would

a proper developmental brand that only the geeks would actually watch weekly and that would therefore provide the necessary space for people to work on their act in front of ok-sized and reasonably invested crowds, working longer matches higher up the card than they would] be able to on the main AEW shows, good mix of veteran (but not superstar) talent and ppl from the indys looking to get a shot in AEW maybe.

They've gestured towards this iwith guys like Samoa Joe and Eddie Kingston but fundamentally it has all felt a bit pointless. the new AEW Dark. where have the big standalone non-AEW ROH angles been since TK took over?

I did not get to Funk Flair, but i've seen it before.

The ROH botch job is basically key to all of the mess at AEW, isnt it? Too many shows, too many titles, too many wrestlers, creative spread too thin etc.

I'm kinda fascinated by the backlash to the MJF stuff. "People" have called for more sports entertainment type storylines, for "the casuals" etc. and now it is happening, toys are being from out of the pram. I think the reality seems to just be that wrestling fans just don't like wrestling (not MacDara, thinking the more general internet backlash.) I presume it can be broken down by someone much smarter than me as to why.

Like I don't generally watch WWE because I don't care for the style (Seth Rollins brings me out in hives), but I can appreciate what's happening over there. The weird internet ever changing hatred for AEW seems like a whole different kettle of fish though. Like the recent "they only care about Japanese wrestling and obscure indie guys and never sign anyone!" turnaround post signing Edge to "eurgh they are just old wwe guys". I've never listened to Cornette's podcast but he is the ringleader, right? He must be raking it in advertising dick pills. I just had a look on spotify and his weekly podcasts are over 3 hours long! That's longer than Raw! Imagine listening to the 80s nonce with a tennis bat in sparkly trousers for half a work day, that's insane.

where have the big standalone non-AEW ROH angles been since TK took over?

there are a few on the show right now. the big one being athena mentoring billie starkz (prob the best storyline in wrestling rn just imo)

idk i think it’s basically become the developmental brand you described. was dark not developmental? the only missing element is a real tv deal

of course i mention athena and ppl will inevitably complain that she’s not on aew tv or ppvs

the cards for roh have been straight up amazing for months now. it just needs to not be locked behind a paywall that only marks like me subscribe to

i do think mjf and cole not giving up the tag titles when cole got injured was a mistake, and now it’s like the belts are a gimmick just for mjf to wrestle twice per ppv (not something i’m exactly complaining about bc i *liked* the ambulance angle, but it does like completely sideline the title)

I don't watch ROH but FTR-Briscoes seemed like a massive deal that wasn't really shown on AEW tv and is seen as possibly ROHs best tag team feud.

ROH isn’t promoted on the TBS or TNT shows. Maybe they’ve done an onscreen graphic for Final Battle once or twice, but that’s about it. There’s no 60-second recap to boost interest in the show, which I think would help a lot. Maybe that’s a weird contractual thing, like WBD doesn’t want them promoting their own thing, save for PPVs (which are on an WBD-owned app in North America anyway)? So they put the ROH belts on Dynamite and Rampage and Collision but that doesn’t translate to eyes on the show, it only reinforces the idea that the champs are AEW guys you’ll see on the shows you’re already watching so why bother? It sucks because they’re people on the show are trying to give it its own personality beyond a mere Dark replacement (and the women there are killing it, especially).

there are a few on the show right now. the big one being athena mentoring billie starkz (prob the best storyline in wrestling rn just imo)

This much we agree on! I mean, maybe it’s not my absolute favourite thing, but it’s up there.

it’s really amazing character work all around, elevating a young talent, etc. it should always be like this