AEW goes for the easy, predictable option too often. My interest in a particular match or angle wanes if I know what's going to happen. Makes the product more sterile and boring than it should be.

Two recent examples.


Jon Moxley vs Ethan Page from Rampage.

Jon Moxley is the returning hero. He's leaner, clear-headed, but also rusty. The commentators point out repeatedly that he's working with much less body weight than before. Combined with over three months out of the ring, we have a weaker Moxley.

His opponent: Ethan Page. A guy who talks a big game, but doesn't have a significant result to his name. Why does Dan Lambert back this guy? He's not a good return on investment. However, this is a great chance to put some shine on Ethan Page.

Scenario 1

Page beats Moxley. Clean. Yes, you could argue it's a weakened Moxley, but that doesn't hurt Page so much. If anything, it protects Moxley: he doesn't lose much credibility from being defeated by a guy beneath him. Page gets a huge win over a top star and former World Champion. Now Lambert has a great reason to talk up Ethan Page and get him some title opportunities. Another bonus is that this adds a new layer to Moxley's character, who needs to reflect on this loss and figure out what's gone wrong. Instead of being the badass who never loses or looks vulnerable.

Scenario 2

The all-conquering hero takes a beating, survives the villain's offense, and chokes him out clean in the middle, as he has done many times before. Just for added measure, Moxley hits his finish on Page after the match, unprovoked, just to make him look like even more of a shmuck. Nothing changes. Moxley is still awesome, Page still sucks. Back to midcard purgatory. Creative has nothing for you.

Guess which happened?

Darby Allin and Sting vs The Acclaimed

Darby Allin and Sting are heroes. Allin is one of the company's top stars. Sting is a legend. Everybody loves him and he makes a great partner for the loner Allin. They haven't lost as a team. Sting is 60+ years old but in kayfabe appears to be the strongest wrestler on the roster.

Their opponents: The Acclaimed. A team who talk a big game, but don't have a significant result to their name. They single-handedly hyped this match with some awesome vignettes mocking their opponents, displaying a level of creativity, originality and commitment matched by few others on the AEW roster. This is a great chance to put some shine on The Acclaimed.

Scenario 1

The Acclaimed defeat Darby Allin and Sting. They cheat, but they get the job done. Hell, have one of them pin Sting after a foreign object shot. The Acclaimed are suddenly a massive deal. They talk all this shit, now they have proven it's not just empty words. They defeated a legend, a man who in kayfabe appears to be the strongest wrestler on the roster. Darby Allin and Sting lose their undefeated record, but it doesn't matter. They're not a long term tag team. Just gives Sting something to do.

Scenario 2

The all-conquering heroes take a beating, through the rule-breaking shenanigans of the villains. The Acclaimed assault Darby Allin before the bell, forcing him to be removed from the match. Sting has to fight his enemies two-against-one for most of the match. No problem for Sting, he could survive against fifty men. In the end, good triumphs over evil. Allin returns late in the match to save the day, and they beat up The Acclaimed and win the match. Nothing changes. Allin and Sting are still awesome, The Acclaimed still suck. Back to midcard purgatory. Creative has nothing for you.

Guess which happened?

I'm not saying AEW should make, I dunno, Fuego Del Sol the World Champion just for the sake of shaking it up. Do something unpredictable. Use your established stars to elevate new stars. The fans win because matches are more exciting and have more stakes if the underdogs win once in a while. Everyone wins.

The lack of rematches is annoying. I detest using the terms always & never. Rematches shouldn't be 1 size fits all.

Emperor you hit on my biggest gripe with AEW so far. Thank you for bringing this up.

The Acclaimed vs Allin/Sting is a very good example, especially because of how they booked the match. The Acclaimed have been on a hot streak and should be rocketed towards the tag team titles. They come out for the biggest match they've had yet and they immediately do the smart thing and remove Darby Allin from the match. From there, it should have been Sting trying to hold his own, but eventually the old timer gets dismantled and The Acclaimed pin him for the (controversial) win.

Instead, they fall on the old trope of someone getting carted out, then returning to the match like nothing ever happened and helping get the win. I absolutely hated how that match went and the wrong team won.

...

Another example I'll bring up is Eddie Kingston vs CM Punk at All Out. Never in a million years should Kingston have lost that match. He's been unreal for AEW since he joined, he was basically invincible when teaming with Moxley, then when he went solo he couldn't win a match to save his life. Fuck that. Kingston came out, dropped CM Punk with his street smarts, and that should have been the advantage to give Kingston the biggest win of his life.

CM Punk did not need to win that match, and Kingston deserved to get a big win. If they're not going to put a title on him, fine, but that match (and a lot of stuff since) has left a sour taste in my mouth as far as booking goes.

I'll go one further and say OC/Statlander vs. Cole/Britt. You have an established stable that has recently been accepted into CHAOS that has experience under their belt versus Cole and Britt who are teaming in the ring together for the first time. AND ON TOP OF THAT, if you're going to do OC vs. Cole this week anyway, why not have Statlander pin Britt and create some controversy around the Women's title? There's literally nothing going on with Britt Baker right now other than "she's Adam Cole's girlfriend," and you could have had Statlander rocket herself to a title shot, alongside the nonsense going on with her and Velvet and Hirsch.

This shit writes itself until AEW's creative team decides to do the obvious and shoot themselves in the foot. I'm getting sick of it.

My pet peeve is this backwards booking. Twice recently, they have booked their hottest segment for the show in the opening minutes - blown their loads early - and the ratings decline because there's nothing worth sticking around for. Now that Moxley v Page is over. Who's sticking around for two of the greenest women in the company to walk through a basic match?

Take this Mox v Page match. Sure, they could have kept Moxley returning as the opening segment with the audience seeing a leaner, cleaner Jon Moxley cutting a real promo. The audience then gives him all the sympathy in the world. He tells the guy in the audience to fuck off, and now he's established he's still edgy and cool. Lambert and Co come down and pretty much say what the guy in the audience said to some great heat. They then beat Moxley down, and then cut to the first commercial break. 30 minutes later, Moxley cuts a promo backstage on murdering Ethan Page and maybe 100,000+ don't stop watching, maybe. Because now they have an incentive to see the show out. The main event concludes with Moxley beating Ethan Page to close this forgettable chapter. But at least they gave you a reason to stick around. 

That, and this " I've just got released from WWE and now I've put a list together of people I want to wrestle in XYZ type of match, with minimal context " type booking.

CM Punk for example has rolled two of the bigger stars ( Allin, Kingston ) in the company with next to zero build, or fallout and instead wrestled a handful of guys he thought it would be cool to do so. It's only now, he's stopped grinning like an idiot and locked himself into an angle that extends beyond 2 weeks with MJF.

On a bigger scale. It is more or less Cody's calling card. He figures out a cool match or moment he wants to do and rushes a 4 week who-cares program to get to his big fantasy moment. I'm sure a month ago, he text TK with " Razor/Shawn Ladder Match w/Sammy = awesome  " and once the bell rings and he takes both titles, he'll text TK with " Bret/Austin, double turn /w Adam Cole = awesome " or something similar and give use 4 weeks of out of context build that no one cares about, a match. And then he'll text TK with his 'new' idea. 

A few months ago he was working with Black and despite trying to murder each other, they've moved on... onto the flaming-table-botch, because I guess 2 week prior to that, he text TK with " Street Fight w/Andrade + flaming table spot = awesome " and of course, within the last few years, there's been Strap matches and Dog Collar matches and Cage Matches.

And this is what AEW does. 

NATH45 finally you and I agree on something re: Cody

I was hoping the House of Black would be a build towards Malakai forming an evil super group that would force Cody to make some kind of Avengers style group of AEW originals to combat him, but instead it looks like they're done with each other and we're just getting yet another meaningless stable.

Unfortunate if that's what is happening.

Jan 26, 2022 4:55:08 GMT RT said:

NATH45 finally you and I agree on something re: Cody

I was hoping the House of Black would be a build towards Malakai forming an evil super group that would force Cody to make some kind of Avengers style group of AEW originals to combat him, but instead it looks like they're done with each other and we're just getting yet another meaningless stable.

Unfortunate if that's what is happening.

What would be cool would be seeing Black turn Cody into 'Dark' Cody ( Black hair, black suit ) and becoming, wait for it... the devil's advocate. Black's advocate of course, his tag team partner and co-leader of the House of Black. 

Really thought they would have Julia too. Not turning people really guts Black's gimmick, but I assume now he got his old partner back they will rework things quite a bit.

Jan 26, 2022 6:22:53 GMT c said:

Really thought they would have Julia too. Not turning people really guts Black's gimmick, but I assume now he got his old partner back they will rework things quite a bit.

All I know is PAC is probably going to wrestle with a blindfold on and I'm so here for that.

However how cool would it be if they set something up where Julia, PAC and Cody were somehow ringside and they got "activated" while House of Black was surrounded, like brain worms or something.

Jan 26, 2022 6:57:54 GMT RT said:

Jan 26, 2022 6:22:53 GMT c said:

Really thought they would have Julia too. Not turning people really guts Black's gimmick, but I assume now he got his old partner back they will rework things quite a bit.

All I know is PAC is probably going to wrestle with a blindfold on and I'm so here for that.

However how cool would it be if they set something up where Julia, PAC and Cody were somehow ringside and they got "activated" while House of Black was surrounded, like brain worms or something.

I want to steal a magical Seth Rollins/Buddy Murphy moment.

Somewhere along the line Cody loses the titles on Dynamite to Sammy (assuming he wins at Beach Break) he then sits at ringside while the show continues, absolutely broken. Black is wrestling PAC and PAC's giving Black a beating. He's neutralized Brody and with Black in a moment of desperation, he reaches out... to Cody of all people. And the fucker gets up and attacks PAC. Siding with Black and becomes as I said, the devil's (Black's) advocate.

Here's my second attempt at this post

My view is that due to the pandemic, AEW entered a holding period where they had to really stretch things out due to the unpredictability of the pandemic. There were some rivalries like Omega/Page that lasted longer than intended and on the otherside of the coin, they signed a couple of talents they didn't expect to. I don't think in a million years they expected they could sign Malakai Black so when they did and they only had 30 days to come up with something, they had to rush a few things and they had to trust Cody to work a good program with him, which your mileage may vary whether he succeeded or not.

Same deal with Ring of Honor and Jay Lethal. Sure they could have waited, but the ROH news was hot, Jay Lethal was one of the more recognisable names so it's better to strike while the iron is hot and come up with something later on coming into the next PPV event.

As a result, the booking tends to be safer because the company is gaining its bearings and trying to position everyone accordingly.

While I agree that AEW could do a better job of booking more competitive and meaningful matches, they also have to be careful about booking upsets. If Ethan Page beats Jon Moxley, what does he do with that win? Is it merely just one extra notch on his belt or are we building to a match against Hangman Page? Where is the value in beating your most protected star on a B show? Same deal with Sting, arguably the most beloved guy on the roster. What value do you get out of him losing to the Acclaimed who have barely been on television and seemingly aren't in line for a featured PPV match?

Let's talk about Ethan Page for a second. I've been critical of his run in AEW, but I don't think he was brought into be a featured star on the show. When I see Ethan Page I see a guy in his young 30s about to hit the prime of his Pro Wrestling career who ticks all the boxes of a Pro Wrestler and he isn't locker room cancer. When he was brought in, I don't think AEW had any plans for him, he was just another body because AEW had a serious depth problem, especially with the pandemic. So bring him in, pair him up with Scorpio and use him to give guys like Darby something to do.

With Sting/Darby it may seem monotonous at this point, but fans really seem to respond to Sting. So they keep lining up these tag teams because it allows Sting to be the best version of himself and the fans enjoy it.

I agree moving forward I hope they take more risks but I can understand why they've been so tentative.

Jan 26, 2022 8:26:22 GMT Big Pete said:

While I agree that AEW could do a better job of booking more competitive and meaningful matches, they also have to be careful about booking upsets. If Ethan Page beats Jon Moxley, what does he do with that win? Is it merely just one extra notch on his belt or are we building to a match against Hangman Page? Where is the value in beating your most protected star on a B show? Same deal with Sting, arguably the most beloved guy on the roster. What value do you get out of him losing to the Acclaimed who have barely been on television and seemingly aren't in line for a featured PPV match?

This is the overly cautious attitude I'm critical of.

You ask "what value do you get?" I laid this out in my previous post. More unpredictability equals more fan interest. Isn't the "anything can happen" format one of the big drawing points of the sacred Attitude Era?

Specifically, you elevate Ethan Page, a good talent who could do with some relevancy. Ditto with The Acclaimed. You could use Moxley's loss as character development, that's something interesting and different. Do fans really tune out because Moxley loses a match? Doubtful.

Another take on the same problem is that AEW handpicks a handful of wrestler to book like gods and overprotect them at the expense of everyone else. Adam Cole. Moxley. Cargill. Hook's getting there. There are some benefits to this but I feel AEW leans too much on the sacred undefeated streak which makes the product predictable.

To be fair they booked Danielson perfectly, book him super strong and have your newly crowned babyface champion defeat him to boost his credibility.

Jan 26, 2022 10:31:13 GMT Emperor said:

Jan 26, 2022 8:26:22 GMT Big Pete said:

While I agree that AEW could do a better job of booking more competitive and meaningful matches, they also have to be careful about booking upsets. If Ethan Page beats Jon Moxley, what does he do with that win? Is it merely just one extra notch on his belt or are we building to a match against Hangman Page? Where is the value in beating your most protected star on a B show? Same deal with Sting, arguably the most beloved guy on the roster. What value do you get out of him losing to the Acclaimed who have barely been on television and seemingly aren't in line for a featured PPV match?

This is the overly cautious attitude I'm critical of.

You ask "what value do you get?" I laid this out in my previous post. More unpredictability equals more fan interest. Isn't the "anything can happen" format one of the big drawing points of the sacred Attitude Era?

Specifically, you elevate Ethan Page, a good talent who could do with some relevancy. Ditto with The Acclaimed. You could use Moxley's loss as character development, that's something interesting and different. Do fans really tune out because Moxley loses a match? Doubtful.

Another take on the same problem is that AEW handpicks a handful of wrestler to book like gods and overprotect them at the expense of everyone else. Adam Cole. Moxley. Cargill. Hook's getting there. There are some benefits to this but I feel AEW leans too much on the sacred undefeated streak which makes the product predictable.

To be fair they booked Danielson perfectly, book him super strong and have your newly crowned babyface champion defeat him to boost his credibility.

It was also what led to Russo becoming a joke in the industry. While the WWF pushed boundaries in the Attitude Era and created an unforgettable product, the way they booked their top stars was largely predictible.

Here's the problem. Let's say Ethan Page goes over Jon Moxley for the sake of the swerve what's the direction for Ethan? Social media is blowing up, stories are now circulating about how you've punished Moxley for seeking treatment and there's even speculation that he could be going to the WWE and even as soon as their next PPV! Subscribe to the Peacock to find out more. So now we've just given some disgruntled AEW fans who had given up on the WWE a reason to check that show out, maybe Mox doesn't appear, but they're dropping hints, I better check it out so I can be a part of the social media conversation.

etc. etc.

I agree that AEW has to take more chances moving forward but in this particular instance the result was set in stone and rightly so.

Case in point, upcoming Texas Death Match.

Because, why not.

Jan 27, 2022 3:10:35 GMT NATH45 said:

Case in point, upcoming Texas Death Match.

Because, why not.

Because it will be an awesome match

Texas Death Matches are one of the gimmick matches I just cannot stand. The whole pin, then start a 10 count is just excessive and leads to a ton of downtime.  Think the only ones I liked were Flair vs Funk and Foley vs Vader.  

Jan 27, 2022 13:29:21 GMT nazzer said:

Jan 27, 2022 3:10:35 GMT NATH45 said:

Case in point, upcoming Texas Death Match.

Because, why not.

Because it will be an awesome match

These guys are two weeks into a program.. it will be less than 4 weeks by the time they have this match. Things escalate too quickly in AEW.

Mark my words. Adam Page wins, and by the next week, the entire angle is seemingly forgotten about, apart from being a talking point notch in Hangman's belt. No follow-up match, no revenge plot, nothing.

I kinda agree with Nath, doing a Texas death match between Hangman and Archer seems way to early. On the other hand this "feud" is only ever gonna be a one and done match up, before Hangman moves on to his next challenger.

Having said that, I have no problem with Rhodes/Guevara being in a ladder match, as it makes sense given the circumstances.

Jan 27, 2022 13:47:27 GMT c said:

Texas Death Matches are one of the gimmick matches I just cannot stand. The whole pin, then start a 10 count is just excessive and leads to a ton of downtime.  Think the only ones I liked were Flair vs Funk and Foley vs Vader.  

Yep, the start and stop just kills anything they build. Shame too as the name itself sounds so badass, but it's pretty lame. Can't remember the first one I saw, but I had big things in my head like it's gonna be a bloodbath game changer. And then you see it...

Jan 26, 2022 11:28:58 GMT Big Pete said:

Here's the problem. Let's say Ethan Page goes over Jon Moxley for the sake of the swerve what's the direction for Ethan? Social media is blowing up, stories are now circulating about how you've punished Moxley for seeking treatment and there's even speculation that he could be going to the WWE and even as soon as their next PPV! Subscribe to the Peacock to find out more. So now we've just given some disgruntled AEW fans who had given up on the WWE a reason to check that show out, maybe Mox doesn't appear, but they're dropping hints, I better check it out so I can be a part of the social media conversation.

That's a reach. If they're going to factor social media "what ifs" into every booking decision they make...well, no wonder AEW is as safe as it is. Yeah if Mox loses his first match back, I could imagine some cynical wrestling "journalist" making up that nonsense story. Would such a story even gain traction? Even if it did, doubt it would have much negative impact on AEW. They've had far worse social media shitstorms and they're still doing OK.

I'm not saying AEW should book the upset victory every time. That would defeat the purpose. Mox did and should have beat Bowens. But imagine if Page beat Moxley and Acclaimed beat Sting/Darby. Suddenly Mox/Bowens is a much more interesting contest, where Bowens could possibly win, instead of the foregone conclusion it was. It'a small thing but it helps make a more exciting, must-watch product.

It's not so much social media but pandering to their fanbase instead of challenging them. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving the fans what they want, it's smart business. I also think it's smart business to promote your star talent and to protect them instead of using their status to give somebody a win for the sake of unpredictibility. Especially when this was something of a feel good moment for Moxley who was going through tough times. I think him coming back and losing right away would hurt his momentum, especially when there's bigger fish to fry in Danielson.

I do think unpredictability is important, but it needs to done wisely. PAC beating Omega was a great early surprise, especially in the way that it was executed and I agree they should do more of it. Context is key and in this situation, they hadn't laid the foundation.

The match layout and outcome on Rampage is predictable. I know interest in watching Bowens or Caster lose again.

We're 2 or 3 years into AEW, from a storyline perspective, it's time to do something revolutionary. I'm not suggesting they replicate The nWo or The Shield or Austin 3:16... but they need a long term angle that makes a lot of heads turn. ( so it means booking something beyond 4 weeks, something they struggle with )

Their early success came because they were new and cool, and had a rub from Bullet Club and were able sign a cohort of established friends. Further success came with the unpredictability of "whos going to show up next?" But eventually you run out of people worth getting excited about.

But there's also no solid build within the company. The 4 pillars are awful, if that's who their going with. ( except for Brit, who lacks a credible rival )

If I could take you back nearly 20 years, I remember a point when Edge was just a little bit too big and too good for his position in the company and you knew he was next in line for the opportunity. He had ticked all the boxes, and completed everything there was to complete.. you're done everything, you're ready kid. Theres no one in AEW in that position ( I know it was reserved for Brock ) but there's no 'Next Big Thing'

Allin is too small and is a glorified spot monkey, Sammy looks like a 15 year old boy still, MJF isn't your guy - he's Roddy Piper, he's the guy who gets is ass kicked by 'The Guy' so, who at 6'0 minimum and loaded with charisma and talent is the guy to take the ball and run with it? Adam Cole? Maybe...

So they're missing two things, a hot angle and a future superstar/s

I don't understand the Texas Deathmatch complaints. It makes perfect sense considering the last time Lance Archer was in one, he won the IWGP United States Championship from Jon Moxley. On top of that, the whole thing with Dan Lamboomer saying Hangman isn't a real cowboy, so he has to "prove" his toughness.

There's two very good storyline reasons for this match happening. They're not just doing it for no reason.

Too soon Junior.

Jan 29, 2022 23:12:25 GMT NATH45 said:

Too soon Junior.

Too soon in a filler feud? please. This will be their only match. So your complaint holds little water.

Jan 30, 2022 19:08:19 GMT Ed said:

Jan 29, 2022 23:12:25 GMT NATH45 said:

Too soon Junior.

Too soon in a filler feud? please. This will be their only match. So your complaint holds little water.

You've summed up the complaint perfectly. Rapid-fast build with little depth, and blown off within a few weeks with a forgettable gimmick match even Hangman wont remember he was in.

Jan 30, 2022 20:46:00 GMT NATH45 said:

Jan 30, 2022 19:08:19 GMT Ed said:

Too soon in a filler feud? please. This will be their only match. So your complaint holds little water.

You've summed up the complaint perfectly. Rapid-fast build with little depth and blown off within a few weeks with a forgettable gimmick match even Hangman won't remember he was in.

Page just went to war with Danielson. What would you have him do next?

Drop the belt to System.

I don't share the mindset that every feud, not even every championship feud, has to have a long, deep storyline. A short feud like this, with a simple premise, is perfectly OK.

No see NATH45 would rather that the feud drags on for two months, Archer and Page trade victories in meaningless matches, all the while Dan Lambert runs his mouth for 15 minutes a night to build "heat." That way everyone will be so bored and sick of Lance Archer that when Adam Page inevitably beats him people will be forced to cheer for Page because he's the lesser of two evils.

Fighting champions that are super over with the audience are dumb, guys. Why strike when the iron is hot when you can milk a sure thing for far too long and ruin it?