Booking Archer and Lee so soon to lose their title chances seems perplexing. Same with Cage. They just throw a guy right away into the midst of a title chance, which completely downplays their whole "Your record ranking is the sole importance for title opportunity" Schick. Seems contradictory. Cage won that MITB thing which was iffy to even give him that opportunity but Lee?

Why is Scorpio Sky or Warhorse getting TV title chances over say a Cage?

Because Cody is picking fights with these ham and eggers so he can go throw the motions, 'put on a show' and put together a win-streak.

It's like a boxer who just fights a bunch of bums, builds up a 30-0 record to try and build some significance. All the while all those who know what's going on aren't overly impressed. In fact, I'm mad that he's stealing television time from other wrestlers who could build a solid case for a championship opportunity and be better champions than Cody.

He's nearly as bad as Brandi who has hogged all the limelight and tried to make herself the face of the women's division because she can't handle a real woman like Shida having all that well deserved attention. Nobody would have a bad word to say if Shida was treated properly and allowed to be the star of the promotion, instead of finding herself in the ring with these jabronis while Marko Stunt gets more screen time.

You've got me wound up now Blindy!

Why does Brandi Rhodes have a action figuerine ahead of Shida or Nyla Rose or Riho, former champs of the division? I don't get it. Even Britt Baker.

Brandi Rhodes is just about the worst wrestler in the women's division, and that's saying something. She shouldn't be wrestling at all.

The Rhodes are the worst thing to happen to AEW.

But Brandi Rhodes is at least super hot, right?

Aug 17, 2020 23:50:09 GMT NATH45 said:

The Rhodes are the worst thing to happen to AEW.

Dustin is fine, he has put over tons of talent and still can put on a solid enough show despite pushing his mid 50's. Seems like he is a key hand backstage too. He is doing what someone at his age should be doing, sharing his info to the talent and using his ring psychology which is still A+ to help less experienced talents out.


His little brother and sister in law? Nah.

Aug 18, 2020 2:54:36 GMT 🤯 said:

But Brandi Rhodes is at least super hot, right?

Smoking, she's going to be amazing when she lands that Tarantino role she's obviously been auditioning for in recent weeks.

Aug 18, 2020 3:14:14 GMT Big Pete said:

Aug 18, 2020 2:54:36 GMT 🤯 said:

But Brandi Rhodes is at least super hot, right?

Smoking, she's going to be amazing when she lands that Tarantino role she's obviously been auditioning for in recent weeks.

As long as she ultimately gets nekkid on screen, she can do whatever she wants as far as I'm concerned.

Moxley and Cody are getting all the shit slung at them. Sure they're not perfect but they are among the least of AEW's problems.

Remember when Cena did his weekly open challenge and everyone praised it because it was a great idea and helped put wrestlers on the map? How's this any different? Maybe the execution isn't quite as good, but the principle is the same.

Aug 18, 2020 9:59:28 GMT Emperor said:

Moxley and Cody are getting all the shit slung at them. Sure they're not perfect but they are among the least of AEW's problems.

Remember when Cena did his weekly open challenge and everyone praised it because it was a great idea and helped put wrestlers on the map? How's this any different? Maybe the execution isn't quite as good, but the principle is the same.

Fans were receptive to it initially because it was a novel idea. Cena had worked every stiff and third generation superstar on the planet in the Heavyweight division, after 10 years of putting in the work, it was nice to see Cena take on the next generation of talent. The matches were actually well put together, it didn't seem like Cena was just going through the motions like Cody is, more it felt like these underappreciated talents finally got an opportunity to show what they were made of and Cena had to bust out new moves to beat them. Cena never took on anybody the level of a Warhorse, his outside opponents were Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, two of the best workers on the independants and they were great. Even then, while it seemed like a good idea in theory, Cena just started getting 'too cute' with the new moves and his matches lacked the emotion they otherwise should have had. Then when Alberto Del Rio came back and beat him, it just seemed like a huge waste. Beaten by another bland second generation good-looking problem child.

This is a just a copycat idea, 5 years on, with a lesser star who is in a weird place. Cody had shown a ton of improvement in 2019, but as soon as he got that dumb mid-life crisis tattoo his stock plummeted dramatically and now he's working this style where he just sleepwalks through matches against total jabrones. It's not like this is the WWE either, there isn't decades of history to fall back on. AEW is barely a year old and I'd say over half the roster are still nobodies in the grand scheme of things. Instead of giving them the opportunity to impress and build a following, we're getting these Cody matches where he goes through the motions, pulls it out at the death and ultimately finds himself battling the leader of the JOB Squad.

Aug 18, 2020 9:59:28 GMT Emperor said:

Moxley and Cody are getting all the shit slung at them. Sure they're not perfect but they are among the least of AEW's problems.

Remember when Cena did his weekly open challenge and everyone praised it because it was a great idea and helped put wrestlers on the map? How's this any different? Maybe the execution isn't quite as good, but the principle is the same.

I think, when you talk a BIG (MASSIVE) game and you don't deliver, the critism is fair. TNA copped it for years for their constant big-noting and poor delivery.

I for sure was expecting a company built around the best bout machine delivering a more accessible Elite era NJPW. Instead we got social justice warriors and a roster of former WWE employees that can't keep their former employer's name out of their mouths.

Great points Big Pete, although I'd argue that he's not just beating jabronis every week. Sonny Kiss, Ricky STarks and Warhorse are the only two who are perhaps not near Cody's level. Scorpio Sky was the first guy to pin Jericho and did pretty well in his AEW World Title shot. Eddie Kingston has been one of the biggest names on the indies for at least a decade. Jungle Boy is an established midcarder/upper midcarder. Jake Hager is Jake Hager.

Interesting though how Cody booked himself to lose to Jericho and never receive another World Title shot, but now he's created his own title to become an unbeatable champion.

If he had have left it at Jungle Boy or Scorpio Sky (which was a pretty ordinary bout) it would be fine but once you fill your record against these other guys and take away the opportunity from active members on the roster it becomes a hinderance. Kingston is a bigger star than those other names, but he sold himself as this nearly retired veteran who at the end of the day was never really at the level of Owens or Zayn. Sure they worked each other, but he was largely a step below those two.

That's my issue as well. I actually liked that Cody made that promise and I was looking forward to how he'd be able to sell fights without relying on a title. I thought he'd pick his opponents carefully and really sell his fights. I don't think he's capable of just saying Cody vs. *insert wrestler* and it working, the only member of the roster capable of that is Omega which is why I think Cody is being miscast.

The idea was OK with Cena because Cena was the last wrestler who resembled a star. Reigns should be a star but was just a victim of terrible god awful marketing.

Aug 18, 2020 9:59:28 GMT Emperor said:

Moxley and Cody are getting all the shit slung at them. Sure they're not perfect but they are among the least of AEW's problems.

Remember when Cena did his weekly open challenge and everyone praised it because it was a great idea and helped put wrestlers on the map? How's this any different? Maybe the execution isn't quite as good, but the principle is the same.

1) Cody vowed this would be defended every single week and that was quickly disregarded when he tagged with Cardona two weeks ago vs Dark Order. Could have defended the belt on AEW Dark and technically got away with it there but alas. Or made that tag match one where if his team lost, Dark Order(Essentially Lee) gets the belt regardless if Cody got pinned or not, gives Cardona more pressure to carry his weight. 

2) If you are pimping out the fact that these wins and losses dictate the opportunity a said wrestler gets, than how can you sell giving your 2nd(or 3rd if the tag belts are higher) biggest belt in the company opportunities vs unsigned talent like Kingston or Warhorse or Starks. Why did Marq Qwen of Private Party as a singles competitor get a match and not his partner Cassidy? That was the 2nd overall title defense. Scorpio Sky got his opportunity by looking at the belt and telling Cody he wants it with his facial expression. There have been better wrestlers with better records who haven't gotten a sniff of an opportunity.  

It's false advertisement basically to me. Neither of these are sins but when you proudly say that your an alternative to the industry leader and say wins and losses truly matter and that this belt will be defended on TV every single week than well......you have to hold it to your word. Cody did it when he lost to Jericho and vowed to not challenge for the Title belt for as long as Jericho was champ but these two nope. Broken promises, he backed himself into a corner and could not keep this up. 

Aug 13, 2020 13:55:16 GMT Blindy said:

Aug 13, 2020 13:33:34 GMT Todd said:

Well Janela is dreadful so I can understand that. Allin on the other hand is very talented. To have that level of identity at that young an age is unusual in the wrestling business. Very high on him.

He has to do away with the leggings and bulk up a little bit but he's cool. I am surprised Cornette doesn't call him cosplay Jeff Hardy because he's doing so much Jeff Hardy charismatic enigma lite.

I'm reminded of a comment I read once (this is pre-Allin so was not explicitly about him) where someone was venting about e-fed character self inserts, "like the Undertaker but also a cruiserweight" and that's what I think of every so often when I see Allin.

Also he's a skater!

Aug 13, 2020 17:11:23 GMT Emperor said:

I do agree about the more general complaints about every match going to the limit, no matter the difference in caliber between the wrestlers. But this is hardly AEW-specific, it's a trope of modern wrestling as a whole. They are going for the whole make-both-wrestlers-look-better-than-they-did-going-in logic, but that mindset isn't appropriate for every single match in the company. You gotta have some squashes or semi-squashes otherwise every wrestler is on the same level and what's the point?

What AEW have done is put all their squash matches on Dark, which nobody watches, and Dynamite has almost no squashes. Everybody takes Cody to the limit no matter how shit or how green they are.

Prone to being wrong, of course, but at least for Cody it could be part of the long-term angle.

Dude's defending his title every Dynamite. It's a (kayfabe) insane pace, and whether he admits it or not (he never will) it's wearing on him. Guys he would otherwise stomp are managing to hang because he's physically and mentally exhausted. Title matches are supposed to be once a month, so the champ can physically recover and make scouting reports on the next opponent but here's Cody showing up barely rested and with only a few days to make up a gameplan so every defense is harder than the last.

Michinokudriver, as for Cody.. how does that differ to every wrestler on the planet who shows up and works every week? Consider the WWE pre-covid schedule - working 5 nights a week, title matches included. What Cody is doing once a week is nothing. And he's the fucking booker.. he knows who's next. 

If Cody was working 40 minute slugfests against guys like Omega, PAC, Moxley.. even The Bucks and Swagger - higher calibre talent - yes, you could easily run an angle seeing the durability of the champ waning week after week. Smart booking might see someone like MJF remain a consistent opponent for the title, preying on a weakened Cody and eventually taking advantage of a depleted Rhodes. You might see MJF come close a number of times in the weeks prior, then MJF eventually beats the champion when Rhodes is more or less a broken man. 

The irony would see a man destroying himself to create a legacy. 

The return match would play up the previously depleted durability of Cody vs a rested MJF. The new champ would need to work that same weekly defence schedule and in return, Cody can rest until he challenges again.. reversing the roles. A third party could claim, they weakened Rhodes for MJF the week prior and challenge for the belt. MJF through all of this, and 6 or 8 week succession of defences could harden the boy and make him a man. Playing up the durability of the champion angle again, MJF would be forced to work smarter, not harder and be less forgiven and more deliberate to remain champion. Psychology. 

The problem with The Elite is, they put over every nerd and dork they hired from the independents to the point, a lot of the credibility they had coming into AEW has been washed away. Imagine how different the scenario would be if Okada was carrying young boys for 30 minutes a night and selling like Dolph Ziggler to every piece of shitty offence. How credible does the champion look, if he's dragging jobbers around for a near half hour to pop Dave Meltzer? Kick, Punch, Rainmaker. 1-2-3.

Aug 20, 2020 5:14:11 GMT NATH45 said:

Michinokudriver , as for Cody.. how does that differ to every wrestler on the planet who shows up and works every week? Consider the WWE pre-covid schedule - working 5 nights a week, title matches included. What Cody is doing once a week is nothing. And he's the fucking booker.. he knows who's next. 

If Cody was working 40 minute slugfests against guys like Omega, PAC, Moxley.. even The Bucks and Swagger - higher calibre talent - yes, you could easily run an angle seeing the durability of the champ waning week after week. Smart booking might see someone like MJF remain a consistent opponent for the title, preying on a weakened Cody and eventually taking advantage of a depleted Rhodes. You might see MJF come close a number of times in the weeks prior, then MJF eventually beats the champion when Rhodes is more or less a broken man. 

The irony would see a man destroying himself to create a legacy. 

The return match would play up the previously depleted durability of Cody vs a rested MJF. The new champ would need to work that same weekly defence schedule and in return, Cody can rest until he challenges again.. reversing the roles. A third party could claim, they weakened Rhodes for MJF the week prior and challenge for the belt. MJF through all of this, and 6 or 8 week succession of defences could harden the boy and make him a man. Playing up the durability of the champion angle again, MJF would be forced to work smarter, not harder and be less forgiven and more deliberate to remain champion. Psychology. 

The problem with The Elite is, they put over every nerd and dork they hired from the independents to the point, a lot of the credibility they had coming into AEW has been washed away. Imagine how different the scenario would be if Okada was carrying young boys for 30 minutes a night and selling like Dolph Ziggler to every piece of shitty offence. How credible does the champion look, if he's dragging jobbers around for a near half hour to pop Dave Meltzer? Kick, Punch, Rainmaker. 1-2-3.

They're house show matches, they don't count in continuity unless expressly stated.

And Cody is wrestling championship matches every week. He's taking on his opponents' A-game every week because they're fighting for the title, there's no load management matches in his schedule.

Aug 24, 2020 1:00:55 GMT Michinokudriver said:

Aug 20, 2020 5:14:11 GMT NATH45 said:

Michinokudriver , as for Cody.. how does that differ to every wrestler on the planet who shows up and works every week? Consider the WWE pre-covid schedule - working 5 nights a week, title matches included. What Cody is doing once a week is nothing. And he's the fucking booker.. he knows who's next. 

If Cody was working 40 minute slugfests against guys like Omega, PAC, Moxley.. even The Bucks and Swagger - higher calibre talent - yes, you could easily run an angle seeing the durability of the champ waning week after week. Smart booking might see someone like MJF remain a consistent opponent for the title, preying on a weakened Cody and eventually taking advantage of a depleted Rhodes. You might see MJF come close a number of times in the weeks prior, then MJF eventually beats the champion when Rhodes is more or less a broken man. 

The irony would see a man destroying himself to create a legacy. 

The return match would play up the previously depleted durability of Cody vs a rested MJF. The new champ would need to work that same weekly defence schedule and in return, Cody can rest until he challenges again.. reversing the roles. A third party could claim, they weakened Rhodes for MJF the week prior and challenge for the belt. MJF through all of this, and 6 or 8 week succession of defences could harden the boy and make him a man. Playing up the durability of the champion angle again, MJF would be forced to work smarter, not harder and be less forgiven and more deliberate to remain champion. Psychology. 

The problem with The Elite is, they put over every nerd and dork they hired from the independents to the point, a lot of the credibility they had coming into AEW has been washed away. Imagine how different the scenario would be if Okada was carrying young boys for 30 minutes a night and selling like Dolph Ziggler to every piece of shitty offence. How credible does the champion look, if he's dragging jobbers around for a near half hour to pop Dave Meltzer? Kick, Punch, Rainmaker. 1-2-3.

They're house show matches, they don't count in continuity unless expressly stated.

And Cody is wrestling championship matches every week. He's taking on his opponents' A-game every week because they're fighting for the title, there's no load management matches in his schedule.

He's wrestling jobbers.

Cody is awesome. He's the best babyface promo in wrestling, and his work has always been significantly underrated.

I love him having a workman's title.

Aug 24, 2020 1:06:24 GMT NATH45 said:

Aug 24, 2020 1:00:55 GMT Michinokudriver said:

They're house show matches, they don't count in continuity unless expressly stated.

And Cody is wrestling championship matches every week. He's taking on his opponents' A-game every week because they're fighting for the title, there's no load management matches in his schedule.

He's wrestling jobbers.

I don't completely disagree, and again that's part of the story. Some jobbers, some legit talent, and the legit talent wear him down enough to where he can't dispatch jobbers as quickly and easily as he should.

I forget which opponent it was, but even the announcers were like "Cody's facing him?!? Should be a night off, he'll have him wrapped up in three minutes tops." "...wait, this match is still going?"

Aug 24, 2020 1:23:02 GMT Michinokudriver said:

Aug 24, 2020 1:06:24 GMT NATH45 said:

He's wrestling jobbers.

I don't completely disagree, and again that's part of the story. Some jobbers, some legit talent, and the legit talent wear him down enough to where he can't dispatch jobbers as quickly and easily as he should.

I forget which opponent it was, but even the announcers were like "Cody's facing him?!? Should be a night off, he'll have him wrapped up in three minutes tops." "...wait, this match is still going?"

Not sure if the times are right but looks like Ricky Starks took the shortest time to beat at 8:34 and Hager took the most time at 14:15

He really hasn't faced that many jobbers.

Upset at the insinuation that Stroke Daddy is a jobber and the fact that he had the shortest match.

@admin, Baker-man... Think it's time we repurpose the #NWAPowerrr Parrrty into a vigilante justice posse.

Aug 24, 2020 16:58:39 GMT 🤯 said:

@admin , Baker -man... Think it's time we repurpose the #NWAPowerrr Parrrty into a vigilante justice posse.