Pro Wrestling - Aew/wwe

The only wrestling related activity that I indulge in these days is to listen to Jim Cornette's podcasts every week

Can't recommend it enough, even for people who don't know anything about wrestling. I have no idea who he is talking about 90% of the time, but the man can't half tell entertaining stories

 

AEW's Brodie Lee - Luke Harper in WWE - has died at 41. Only as recently as October he was a champion in AEW before suddenly disappearing from TV, without a word really being said since. Obviously he and his family wanted to keep his illness as private as possible. Leaves behind a wife and two young sons.

Terribly sad news.

 

Very sad. Seems to be a short term non-covid related lung issue. At least he did have some time to show what he was capable of. Many wrestling obituaries all with hugely nice things to say about him, but the sheer quantity and variety tends to suggest he was a cut above the rest.

Also this thread is over 10 years old!!!!!

 

Time for my yearly get back into WWE for rumble and Manina. Lot of new names I don't recognize, but excited for them to have Brock win the rumble because WWE.

 

NXT continues to be excellent.
The Rumble doesn't have enough slots to showcase all the decent talent, especially when you consider the number of legends slots. It's a shame as it used to be my favourite.

AEW and Impact wrestling are doing some very interesting cross over stuff at the moment.
Theres also been some NWA mixed in. We are getting to the stage when there could be some serious competition for the E.

 

I try to keep up with AEW, but without cable, it's a lot easier to access WWE with the network. Even more so when the deal with NBC's streaming service goes through and the price drops in half.

 

Yep not happy about the network. Us mugs in the UK Pay £9.99 and since the BT TV deal have now got an NXT & NXT UK delay of 7-10 days. Not really interested in the legacy stuff or the unique programming now and I think a lot of that will go the way of Miz n Mrs. The PPVs just about make it viable but I'm sure people will start to look elsewhere for them again as the quality drops.

 

Spoiler alert.......







No need to learn new names it seems, Happy for Edge hope he can stay healthy

 

God damn Monday night raw is absolute turd at the moment. WWE programming has been in the duldrums for absolutely years but the last 6 months has just been absolute cringe. I haven’t watched in ages but listen to the whatculture wrestling podcast and occasionally watch highlights but dear god it’s farking terrible.

Some of the smackdown and nxt highlights are just about bearable, but it is nothing compared to AEW at the moment. I thought Double or Nothing was a solid 7/10 but it had three matches that absolutely banged.

The pre show match of Serena Deeb vs Riho is free to watch on the AEW YouTube channel and if you a haven’t seen it is phenomenal. The storytelling in that pre show match is more than WWE have managed in years. Good god Serena was wasted in WWE, because this match alone has me believe that she is possibly one of the best most complete wrestlers in the world at the moment.

Hangman Page against Bryan Cage was also brilliantly executed, although it went about two minutes too long, and the tag match between the Young Bucks and Moxley/Kingston was just phenomenal. WWE dropped an absolute clanger letting Mox walk, he is probably the most entertaining male wrestler in the world at the moment.

The rest of the matches were fairly average to be honest, although Jungle Boy is so over you can’t help but smile.

Long live AEW at the moment.

 

Yep RAW is pretty dire, takes me about an hour to get through pre-recorded and generally it's only on in the background.

I don't get the AEW PPVs just watching Dynamite weekly and I can't get into AEW in all honesty. For me NXT is still pick of the bunch, NXT UK has lost the plot, a lot of decent names have gone and they're just not using the best of their roster.

 

I think with AEW you have to read behind the storylines a little bit more at the moment. Unlike WWE they don’t seem to ram the storyline down your throat and leave it to the viewer to come to their own opinions on storylines. Generally the booking appears to be very good, with several wrestlers well and truly over with the crowd.

Moxley is the best thing in wrestling at the moment, followed by Omega and the Young Bucks. Roman Reigns and the Uso’s are the best thing about WWE but the rest of the storylines at the moment are just tripe.

Honestly how have they managed to ruin both Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in the same feud. Even Sheamus who was absolutely flying at the start of the year involved in some ridiculously hard hitting matches with McIntyre, has become a cowardly heel since winning the US title. It’s loopy.

 

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan both going to AEW. That's absolutely massive. The roster they have now is insane.

 

tbh never really saw the appear of Punk. Maybe I caught the end of his WWE run when he was phoning it in / injured. Bryan, I liked but again I don't think he's the mesiah a lot of die hard fans consider him to be. There's some criminally under uitilised talent out there in all promotions that get shoved to the back because of a big name or returning legend.

 

AEW Rampage Spoilers:

Spoiler

Punk returned, Cult Of Personality included. Was like he hadn't been away to be honest. I actually subscribed to Fite TV to watch it. Decent show overall, first time I've properly watched AEW. Will probably carry on for a while.

 

Rename thread to AEW. WWE is done.

 

The Punk debut was f**king amazing. Just one of those moments you'll never forget as a wrestling fan. So many fans have been clamouring for his return for almost 8 years now and you could feel the emotion and importance of it all. The crowd absolutely exploded in a way that just about equals anything else I can ever remember in the business.

AEW is a billion miles ahead of WWE in terms of the on screen product (and supposedly as far as how happy and well treated their staff are, too). WWE has been declining for 15 years and is mostly unbearable at this point. I stopped watching consistently about 6 years ago now because I just couldn't take it any more. A sterile, over produced, cringeworthy, directionless mess, for the most part. Sad, considering what it was, but it's done.

AEW is a fan service company. It's definitely not perfect, but it exists for the fans and for the talent, which WWE long since moved beyond. It's more adult, more exciting and just more fun, and the level of talent on the roster - both in terms of big names and up and comers - has got to be verging on as good as any roster at any point in wrestling history, and that's before Daniel Bryan's impending debut has happened too.

Helps as well that it felt and was "big" basically from the off. Big stars, big arenas, big production values, big surprises. The start up investment from the Khan family was such that it instantly felt like a genuine big time rival to WWE, and that's only been reinforced more and more over the last two and a half years. AEW likely won't ever reach WWE levels of profitability, commercial success or mainstream attention, but when you're watching it it'd be easy to believe you're watching the number one company.

 

Petition to change the thread title to "Pro Wrestling - AEW/WWE".

 

Ive tried changing it 'Pro Wrestling - AEW/WWE' as you suggested Nath but it appears I dont have the ability as the thread creator. It probably needs a mod to do it @Smudger .

 

Man, I just watched it on YouTube and that crowd when he walked out took me back to being a kid with Rock and Austin in their prime.

That was cool. Made me throw on last episode of Dynamite.

 

Yep, not seen or heard a reaction like that in many, many years.

Very much looking forward to the next Dynamite now!

 

thanks smudge

 

The problem with WWE is Vince McMahon messing about with creative. Either changing stuff up at the last minute, dropping stories mid build or hiring and firing too quickly. Samoa Joe for example. Why he was fired, 're hired and then hotshotted to the title all within a month, just shows how chaotic it all is.

NXT which by and large is outside of Vince's control is excellent, although it looks like it is about to be buggered up too.

Summerslam was particularly problematic. Bianca Bellair who should be being built as the next big thing was effectively squashed by a returning Becky. Fine to drop the title but it was a huge match in the making. Charlotte again? Really?

WTF have the done to Killer/Karrion Kross. He was an absolute monster on NXT. He lost his manager and first match again in a squash to Jeff Hardy who is basically a mobbed these days. Then on Raw they bring him out watering some sort of **** mask and bondage gear.

I can't really get in to AEW though. The women's division is weak apart from a couple of gems like Brit Baker. Never really was a Punk fan and like WEE the ageing names are getting too much screen time. There's great talent on the roster that need to be used more.

Maybe I'm just finally growing up, but I'm getting close to being done with it all.

 

The Becky and Charlotte thing is because they've shat the bed over ratings. Fox aren't happy with the likes of Bryan and Punk going to AEW and the ratings are dropping week on week. I read today that the average age for people watching Smackdown is 56. Shocking stuff.

Basically, every champion is currently a 'big name', with maybe the exception of Lashley. They have Saudi coming up so have thrown cash at Lesnar, who looks ridiculous and has lost to everyone now. There's no one left that's a credible threat to Reigns so it'll be a Big E cash in for him to lose the title.

The destruction of NXT has begun because Vince suddenly wants it as the testing ground for the main shows as it can't compete with AEW. They destroy virtually every talent that moves up and they've done it with Killer Kross by not having Scarlett with him, despite her being the main thing the fans love about him and her being virtually the entire gimmick. I read today that he was dressed up as some sort of viking on Raw. Absolutely mindless - just like they were with Bobby Roode, Keith Lee and the endless cycle that John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler seem to be on.

And I don't even watch WWE, I just read the spoilers now and then and stay in touch with the news.

Having watched and enjoyed Punk's return, I'm wondering now if I have really 'grown out' of wrestling or was it just the WWE with their scooters, use of the word 'moist' and their 50 writers.

 

Agreed. The thing is they don't have any big names because they give up on building them up. The answer isn't firing those up and comers and dropping huge sums of cash on part timers, but to build sustainably.

Riddle, Kross (With Scarlet who is a good wrestler herself), Keith Lee, Damian Priest, Fin Balor (with & without Demon) Bray Wyatt, Braun Stroman, Bronson Reed all have been let go or are criminally under used. How the hell can they missmanage a wrestler like Ricochet for example.

No wonder the likes of Walter, Pete Dunne, Adam Cole don't want a call up to the main roster. If Vince has his way with NXT any chance they had of developing any more will be gone. NXT UK has been plundered for anyone half decent and I can see that folding.

 

Are they? All of the champions in AEW are comfortably under 40, MJF - one of the biggest rising stars in the company who is 25 - has just gone over Jericho, there's been huge focus on Darby Allin who's under 30. There seems to be an obsession amongst wrestling fans in regards to age. If they're still good, who cares how old they are? For a start Punk is only 42, he's hardly "old" as far as wrestlers go.

You cannot build a company on borderline unknown, up and comers only. You need some name value and some older heads to A. bring in the audience and B. help the youngsters to get better and establish themselves. The older talent in AEW has been used mostly to enhance the younger talent on the roster.

 

No capital letters for AEW and WWE? What is this, amateur hour?!

 

I've not watched WWE for about 20 years but tried to get back in. The big push of Roman Reigns was enough to put me off. Utter no move, no personality nonsense. After John Cena as well. Just embarrassing. Awful.

 

Most wrestlers in Wwe don't live to see a 45th birthday once Vince has mashed them up and squeezed them out. The life expectancy is shocking.

 

All Out was one of the best PPV's since the demise of WCW (since which the quality of WWE's product has been steadily declining). AEW are taking wrestling back to a time where it was actually easy to get invested in and excited about it.

Spoiler

Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson both debuting in the same segment at All Out to close the show... mental.

The current AEW roster has a strong argument for being the best ever. It's just ridiculous.

 

Just wish it was available on the too many streaming services I subscribe to

 

Dynamite and Rampage are both on Fite, live and on demand. Costs me about £4 a month.

 

Danielson/Omega was one of the best matches I've seen in years and years, maybe ever.

 

Yep. Amazing.