The Wrestling Thread~

But seeing that I'm not frequent on this wrestling thread, I apologize for interjecting your little private party for arguing whatever things you want to say to among your own "fans". Especially since CM Punk entered my wrestling scene, I've barely even cared about anything wrestling.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Next thing you gonna tell me they must be trained in <location> under <named wrestler> to be legit...

Darby Allin was known in the indie scene before but he also debuted on Dark. So were the Private Party but they were also in indie shows before. I guess they can't be "homegrown" either by your definition.


Yeah... I don't know but you guys' stingy definition would makes it so basically everyone comes from somewhere of their own and if they had any success outside they won't be able to be called a "homegrown".

But then again, Real Madrid footb... soccer team barely ever cared for their youth division, most of their trophies were won by bringing in top-level talents in their primes. So I guess the "homegrown" tag really only means something to someone who has put an emphasis on building it and those who want to come up with something negative to say about something on the internet.

* shrug *
Darby Allin and MJF (along with Sammy Guevara and Jack Perry aka AEW's 4 pillars) were the 4 hottest pieces of Indie talent around that AEW signed to build Dynamite around. They were booked as stars from the second they were on screen. What happened with the Acclaimed is thus far unique in AEW, though they have attempted to make other stars from the under and mid-card and failed spectacularly, only to bring in released WWE talent and mis-use those guys.

I don't really understand the argument here.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Next thing you gonna tell me they must be trained in <location> under <named wrestler> to be legit...

Darby Allin was known in the indie scene before but he also debuted on Dark. So were the Private Party but they were also in indie shows before. I guess they can't be "homegrown" either by your definition.


Yeah... I don't know but you guys' stingy definition would makes it so basically everyone comes from somewhere of their own and if they had any success outside they won't be able to be called a "homegrown".

But then again, Real Madrid footb... soccer team barely ever cared for their youth division, most of their trophies were won by bringing in top-level talents in their primes. So I guess the "homegrown" tag really only means something to someone who has put an emphasis on building it and those who want to come up with something negative to say about something on the internet.

* shrug *
I have major issues with both of the major US promos but it’s hard to argue that AEW has done that great a job of developing/pushing talent in the way that WWE has done since the advent of NXT (post-reality show era of course). This isn’t a knock on AEW. They just don’t have the logistics and infrastructure or more importantly the “brand” in place to bring in young “no-name” wrestlers and develop them both as wrestlers and as characters/brands for their bigger shows. There are tons of fans of wrestling but there re probably still even more fans of “WWE”.

Tony Khan had to build up his roster and build it up fast when putting together AEW, which naturally led to him bringing in essentially every big name he could either by signing every ex-WWE guy he could or by simply poaching the top names of every single promo not owned by Vince McMahon. Now that AEW’s matured and some of its bigger draws are getting older/probably not going to be capable of stabbing themselves in the forehead with things in perpetuity, it’s going to be interesting to see if Khan can adjust his talent acquiring/development strategy or just maintain his plan to poach the top wrestlers in Japan every other year.

ALL IN in Wembley was by all accounts a huge success but now AEW needs to build off this instead of getting sidetracked by more CM Punk drama or whatever the hell always seems to happen every single time they seem to be building serious momentum.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
If you want one example of how bad AEW is at pushing undercard talent look no further than the Butcher and the Blade. Those guys came in with the look and were pretty much jobbers from day one. Arguably they've misused some of the WWE talent that should have been easy homeruns (Miro) and then there's the women's division.

I pretty much only watch NXT and the PLE's on the WWE side so let's not pretend I am a fanboy here. I was one of the few people in on AEW from the jump. I just think NXT does a better job developing talent although once they get to the main roster they f it up.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Next thing you gonna tell me they must be trained in <location> under <named wrestler> to be legit...

Darby Allin was known in the indie scene before but he also debuted on Dark. So were the Private Party but they were also in indie shows before. I guess they can't be "homegrown" either by your definition.
Well, First of All™, it needs to be acknowledged that this is not true: neither Darby Allin nor Private Party debuted on Dark. In fact, they both debuted at Fyter Fest I, AEW's equivalent of a Premium Live Event. Hell, Darby's first match in AEW was against Cody, for ****'s sake, and he wrestled him to a time-limit draw. And I can't speak for anybody else, but the first time I heard of Darby Allin was in a feature on Vice TV, before AEW even existed, so mileage definitely varies as to how much credit AEW gets for making him.

Second of All, I would say that Private Party counts as homegrown talent, but I would not say that AEW has succeeded in developing them. Private Party's debut match was for a chance to get a first-round bye in the Tag Team Championship tournament, and their second match was going over the Young Bucks. And since then, they've accomplished not much, despite a couple of attempts to get them over. Their best run to date has been when they were working with Matt Hardy, whom it appears may have been responsible with getting them a tryout with AEW in the first place. And even with getting the rub from Hardy and the Elite, Private Party still hasn't been as successful as The Acclaimed, who didn't even debut as a team, and pretty much got themselves over organically.

All that being said, I will apologize for failing to mention Britt Baker as homegrown talent that AEW has successfully developed (and god knows they've pushed her hard enough). Skye Blue looks to be right there, too, and Red Velvet was on the cusp, before she got stuck in the alternate universe where Jade Cargill resides, and then subsequently got injured.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Yeah their women’s division is lousy but they get credit for Britt and Jade. Which would mean a lot more if Tony treated the division like it deserves in 2023.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Speaking of money, did anyone see Maven has a YT channel and one of them has his counting up all his money he earned with gimmick $100 bills? lol

Funniest part is he is like "well that sounds nice, but first you take out taxes... and if you have a house, you have to pay that. Fancy car, there goes that"... uh yeah we all know how money works.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
... uh yeah we all know how money works.
You'd be surprised. People who are financially literate frequently take financial literacy for granted. In fact, you know how uncommon it is? I don't think that "financial literacy" is even the term that I wanted to use, but I can't actually remember the term I wanted to use, because that's how unusual it is to talk to other people about money.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
You'd be surprised. People who are financially literate frequently take financial literacy for granted. In fact, you know how uncommon it is? I don't think that "financial literacy" is even the term that I wanted to use, but I can't actually remember the term I wanted to use, because that's how unusual it is to talk to other people about money.
I know financial literacy isn't as high as it should be but taking the house and car payment out of your net is something I've never seen done. that's not an expense unique to WWE superstars.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member

My dude does more fighting behind the scenes than in the ring these days. Absolute talent but absolutely toxic as well

I was pretty critical of Punk after the scrum and the Bucks incident but like seriously F Jack Perry if he was told "no" repeatedly by everyone in the company for two weeks and still ignored them. I didn't watch the prelim, just skipped to the ending so didn't see the spot in question maybe I'll go rewatch it. But it was a prelim spot! jesus. why even bother getting color for the pre-show? haha.

I'm not super excited about garbage wrestling in 2023 but I will say Mox's spot with the acupuncture needles(?) was at least funny and I assume harmless for the visual it gave. Goldberg almost lost an arm because of real glass.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Doesn't TK like Punk though? Or is it the network forcing Punk because he's running Collision (which has been the best AEW show since its debut... again critical of Punk but, it just has).
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
why can't he "make amends" with the people in his current company? lol

also what is the svengali hold he has over his marks? Pipebomb was during my lapsed fan period. He's a 9.5 on the stick and sure back in the E he was an 8 in the ring but none of that really excuses his behavior since the time I got back in and most of his ringwork in AEW is subpar at best.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
As long as he puts someone over on the way out, would that be the worst thing?

The only real reservation that I have about Cena is that, at this stage of his wrestling career, neither wins nor losses do anything for him, but a loss to Cena could be damaging to quite a few people. At the same time, you don't want to bring Cena out to pop the live crowd, and just having him jobbing in every match, so who on the roster could afford to job to Cena, that's not currently in the title picture? Dolph and Miz, maybe AJ? But, aside from AJ, who's paying to watch that?

Don't get me wrong, there are dudes on the roster that Cena could have interesting matches with. I'd pay to watch Cena versus GUNTHER, as long as GUNTHER wins the blowoff. I don't think I've ever seen Cena work Priest before... Hell, let 'em wrestle Dom, it'd be worth it just for the interactions with Rhea.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
As long as he puts someone over on the way out, would that be the worst thing?

The only real reservation that I have about Cena is that, at this stage of his wrestling career, neither wins nor losses do anything for him, but a loss to Cena could be damaging to quite a few people. At the same time, you don't want to bring Cena out to pop the live crowd, and just having him jobbing in every match, so who on the roster could afford to job to Cena, that's not currently in the title picture? Dolph and Miz, maybe AJ? But, aside from AJ, who's paying to watch that?

Don't get me wrong, there are dudes on the roster that Cena could have interesting matches with. I'd pay to watch Cena versus GUNTHER, as long as GUNTHER wins the blowoff. I don't think I've ever seen Cena work Priest before... Hell, let 'em wrestle Dom, it'd be worth it just for the interactions with Rhea.
They’d never do it but if they REALLY wanted to keep building the image of Rhea as the most dominant wrestler of either gender on their roster, having her squash Cena suplex city-style would probably do it.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
Tony Khan is still the world's biggest CM Punk mark, but he knew that Collision's ratings are about to go straight into the toilet, because nothing can compete with college football, and "fired" Punk to spare him from being blamed for it.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
They’d never do it but if they REALLY wanted to keep building the image of Rhea as the most dominant wrestler of either gender on their roster, having her squash Cena suplex city-style would probably do it.
I would totally be here for them giving Rhea the push that they didn't have the balls to give Chyna, 23 years ago.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Tony Khan is still the world's biggest CM Punk mark, but he knew that Collision's ratings are about to go straight into the toilet, because nothing can compete with college football, and "fired" Punk to spare him from being blamed for it.
that's an interesting one.

there's also the this is a work conspiracy precisely because of the opposite reason.
Most people seem to believe Collision has been the better product since its debut and attribute that to Punk having creative control, with the strike happening if CFB was the issue, just move nights?