AEW World Championship - Texas Deathmatch
"Hangman" Adam Page (c) vs. "The Muderhawk Monster" Lance Archer w/Jake Roberts & Dan Lambert

Face of The Revolution Qualifying Match
Isiah Kassidy vs. TBD

PLUS!

The Inner Circle have yet another group therapy session

Starting this thread a little early because A) there's lots to talk about, B) they've only announced two matches so there's bound to be some announcements tonight and tomorrow, and C) MORE FORBIDDEN DOOR SPECULATION!!!

From Fightful.com... (I'm not posting a link because in order to read it you have to donate to their Patreon)

But thankfully wreddit has our back!

SRS asked around backstage at AEW and got the following....

-Nobody knows who it is, or if they do they aren't saying.
-Speculation is that it is Keith Lee.
-Everyone shot down the Jeff Hardy rumours and said he won't be there due to his no compete.

So we get one of two things:

-Keith Lee debuts and it's awesome, however Tony Khan once again completely oversells the debut via twitter.
-It's someone so out there that nobody is going to expect who walks out.

Someone in the comments pitched the idea of another double debut a la All Out, where Keith Lee answers the challenge like everyone expects, but there's another debut.

Either way, I'm excited for this week's show. Hope it delivers.

Here Comes the Money!!!

And Matt confirmed it is not Jeff. Several times.

Feb 8, 2022 2:36:22 GMT c said:

Here Comes the Money!!!

And Matt confirmed it is not Jeff. Several times.

Jeff Hardy confirmed.

I'm 100% convinced it's going to be Keith Lee and I'm going to write a long post about how Tony Khan once again oversold a new debut, only to end up eating my words two weeks from now when Keith Lee has the best match of his career and we all forget his debut was *sad trombone noise*

I hate Tony for making me think it's going to be Mustafa Ali/Kota Ibushi/John Cena/Triple H/The Rock/literally god himself.

Ugh. wreddit is pissing me off.

There's a thread on the main page basically saying "look Tony Khan hyped up a huge debut before and it was Christian. Temper your expectations," and every comment is like "thank you, Tony Khan just said he signed someone and nothing else." And they're downvoting everyone that is quoting the tweets Tony himself posted. I swear wreddit does half of AEW's work for them.

Uhh, no. He specifically used the term "forbidden door" and talked about a company they don't have a good relationship with. Up until now the "forbidden door" has always pointed at someone who is under contract with a different company other than AEW. His tweets were super misleading and now he's conflated "signing a free agent" with "OMG FORBIDDEN DOOR" and he's super fucked himself here. He's given the anti-AEW crowd a lot to work with this Wednesday when Keith Lee walks out and the debut is already a let down because of said tweets.

If WWE were smart they would bring back someone they released and have Michael Cole scream "THE FORBIDDEN DOOR HAS OPENED" over and over again just to stick it to Tony.

Unless the 'forbidden door' lets Okada work for AEW, the entire hype train was worthless.

He's the only star out there on a megastar level, at least he was at some point.

Free agency is a different thing.

My bet is Jay White, or Will Ospreay if not a free agent.

Emperor more Danhausen fun:



Gotta assume he shows up in some capacity this week. I just hope he does more than curse someone. Give him a spot or a promo. Gotta strike while that ironhausen is hothausen.

Now so hoping this is just Lince debuting because that would be hilarious with how overhyped people are.

I just think it highlights how silly the forbidden door branding is. When fans think of the forbidden door, they think of what Tanahashi said in the lead up to his 2020 WrestleKingdom match with Jericho and the frosty relationship between AEW-NJPW. That's since been misconstrued as any free agent from previous companies coming into AEW so now fans feel like they're being lied to, just like when they referred to Christian Cage as a Hall of Fame worthy opponent. Or another time where Tony promised the balance of power was going to shift when it was merely just PAC returning.

Now there is that rumour that Turner told AEW to announce their signings ahead of time after they were left in the dark on a few big name signings. So I understand the need to announce them ahead of time but they really need to retire some of these brands, especially the ones they didn't come up with.

The other thing is, if the rumours are true, why would you debut a star the calibre of Keith Lee, a potential AEW Champion by putting him against small potatoes like Isaiah Kassidy in a qualifier match for the mid-card title? I know what Cody said, but until it main events a PPV, it's a mid-card title. Especially when they've established that free agents get to skip the cue and challenge the champion right away?

I think the face of the revolution match is the one match fans can all agree doesn't make a ton of sense and just feels like an excuse to have this multi-man car-crash match. They really need to find a way to promote it properly and with a stronger stipulation.

On top of that, the major focus of the match appears to be Wardlow winning and handing the TNT Title over to MJF which is an issue in of itself but if that's the case, why blow a marquee debut on that?

If it's Keith Lee, my idea would be to have Punk crash MJF's celebratory segment and right as MJF sends his underlings to deal with Punk, Keith Lee emerges from centre stage and BAM shit is on. I wouldn't have Keith Lee necessarily squash them right then and there but make a point that he's holding his own against this group of guys. Instantly Keith Lee is elevated, he's got a serious direction and it's an established storyline that could do with an extra element. It's not completely random either because Punk put Keith Lee over huge on WWE Backstage - so it's an authentic storyline. That's how I would do it just putting my cards on the table.

Christian Cage is Hall of Fame worthy though, so uh no lie was told there. It's not Tony Khan's fault people were expecting Kurt Angle or Rob Van Dam.

And everyone assumed it was Christian until the internet insisted that could not be the case and it had to be someone bigger.

Tony Khan always used the forbidden door to refer to people coming from other feds, it was also the fans who keep limiting the term to specific things that Khan is not, then getting disappointed.

The problem is, there are very few major players any more.

I'm certain now, it's not anyone from NJPW, as they are running a similar angle with this " United States of Jay " open challenge for their Rivals Show.

And most of the former WWE/NXT guys aren't game changers, thus their releases. AEW had already signed the biggest of all the recent WWE free agents in Adam Cole, and he's doing what.. feuding with Orange Cassidy?

So, if it is Jeff Hardy, you get a 40+ year old, with a broken body, history of drug dependency and inability to promo. Who's skill lies in falling off things. Nostalgia trip, yes. Neat new T-Shirt to sell, yes. The Young Bucks jerking each other off giggling while posting Spiderman memes pointing at each other, definitely.

It’ll be Keith Lee. Not sure what’s forbidden about signing a free agent, but as long as the fans are happy Khan won’t care.

New prediction: Samoa Joe or Windham Rotunda.

Joe was released, brought back, then released again, and still speaks highly of WWE. Windham was released and it seems like every two weeks there's a rumour that he's going to go back to WWE.

Not sure if Joe's non-compete still applies or not but Windham is definitely a free agent. Maaaaybeeeeee?

Feb 8, 2022 19:09:03 GMT Lony said:

Christian Cage is Hall of Fame worthy though, so uh no lie was told there. It's not Tony Khan's fault people were expecting Kurt Angle or Rob Van Dam.

No but it was a miscommunication. Especially since Hall of Fame could have been referring to the Wrestling Observer where he stands practically no chance of making it.

Tony Khan always used the forbidden door to refer to people coming from other feds, it was also the fans who keep limiting the term to specific things that Khan is not, then getting disappointed.

Tony Khan didn't coin the phrase and has been using it incorrectly. Can't blame the fans on that either.

Feb 9, 2022 3:09:27 GMT Big Pete said:

Feb 8, 2022 19:09:03 GMT Lony said:

Christian Cage is Hall of Fame worthy though, so uh no lie was told there. It's not Tony Khan's fault people were expecting Kurt Angle or Rob Van Dam.

No but it was a miscommunication. Especially since Hall of Fame could have been referring to the Wrestling Observer where he stands practically no chance of making it.

Tony Khan always used the forbidden door to refer to people coming from other feds, it was also the fans who keep limiting the term to specific things that Khan is not, then getting disappointed.

Tony Khan didn't coin the phrase and has been using it incorrectly. Can't blame the fans on that either.

Thank you.

This is a Tony Khan problem and nothing more. The fans interpret things as they are presented to them. He’s blatantly over-hyping this debut to pump up ratings and probably already has a plan to deal with the fallout when the surprise debut is underwhelming thanks to his own doing. It’s not a sustainable business model. He should know better.

Feb 9, 2022 0:43:11 GMT RT said:

New prediction: Samoa Joe or Windham Rotunda.

Joe was released, brought back, then released again, and still speaks highly of WWE. Windham was released and it seems like every two weeks there's a rumour that he's going to go back to WWE.

Not sure if Joe's non-compete still applies or not but Windham is definitely a free agent. Maaaaybeeeeee?

Bray is not in ring shape so def not him.  Joe was released with the NXT group so he is under 90 days still.

I feel sorry for the poor bastard that walks out, and his name isn't Joe, Windham or Kross.

Lol, I secretly hope it's John Morrison, so I can get a good laugh out of the AEW fanboys trying to convince themselves, it's awesome.

Feb 9, 2022 7:22:18 GMT NATH45 said:

I feel sorry for the poor bastard that walks out, and his name isn't Joe, Windham or Kross.

Lol, I secretly hope it's John Morrison, so I can get a good laugh out of the AEW fanboys trying to convince themselves, it's awesome.

I hope its Lince Dorado and everyone loses their minds.

Lince 100 percent is coming. No way he does not end up in AEW with all the CHIKARA guys.

I would be super excited for Morrison.  More the Lee or Kross.

Feb 9, 2022 6:51:43 GMT c said:

Feb 9, 2022 0:43:11 GMT RT said:

New prediction: Samoa Joe or Windham Rotunda.

Joe was released, brought back, then released again, and still speaks highly of WWE. Windham was released and it seems like every two weeks there's a rumour that he's going to go back to WWE.

Not sure if Joe's non-compete still applies or not but Windham is definitely a free agent. Maaaaybeeeeee?

Bray is not in ring shape so def not him.  Joe was released with the NXT group so he is under 90 days still.

If he signed an NXT deal, it's only 30 days.

That's how Malakai was able to defect so quickly. The WWE still had him signed on his NXT deal.

Not all NXT deals were 30 day deals. Some were longer, and Joe likely got a longer one. Besides sounds like Joe is getting back into ring shape himself. With Punk and Dragon in AEW Joe is def coming in and would be shocked to see AEW do some round robin matches with the three.

Was there anyone else who had a longer non-compete clause?

If Joe was released with backstage personel then his non-compete could be a 30 one.

Punk just took his first loss so it could be time for a certain return. As the crowd starts chanting all bask in his glory. The music begins to play feed me more.

I was feeling bored (but somehow not bored enough to tally the Royal Rumble - scores and ladder update will be soon!) so I decided to tally up the number of matches each wrestler has had on Dynamite since 2022.

By my count we have a four-way tie with CM Punk, Malakai Black, Wardlow and Pentagon El Zero Miedo all having 3 matches. 15 wrestlers in total have had more than 1 match, and 52 total have worked Dynamite so far in 2022.

I decided to check out Rampage for 2022. Adam Cole sat alone with 3 matches, 8 wrestlers have worked more than 1 match and 47 wrestlers have worked the show total.

Adding up Battle of the Belts, Cole has worked the most televised matches with 5 and Sammy Guevara was just behind with 4.

Still feeling bored, so I decided to go back as far as the post-Full Gear episode. Since mid-November, 105 wrestlers have worked televised matches, Adam Cole is the only wrestler to have worked double digits with 11.

The ladder as it stands
Adam Cole - 11
Penta El Zero Miedo - 8
Wardlow - 8
Anthony Bowens - 7
Jungle Boy - 7
Orange Cassidy - 7
Sammy Guevara - 7

24 wrestlers have worked 5 or more matches.

In contrast Adam Page has only worked twice and the Young Bucks have only worked twice as well (with Nick Jackson having a singles against Trent Beretta). Andrade hasn't worked a match on TV since the street fight with Cody.

Still bored, I decided to see how the WWE stacked up. I only included RAW & SmackDown since NXT 2.0 is treated as a spin-off and ignored PPVs since AEW hasn't had that luxury.

The ladder going from post-Full Gear was...

Big E - 11
Kevin Owens - 11
Angelo Dawkins - 10
Bianca Belair - 10
Damian Priest - 10
Dolph Ziggler - 10
Robert Roode - 10

47 wrestlers have worked 5 or more matches with a total of 73 wrestlers featured in that time.

Interestingly, Roman Reigns has only worked 1 televised match and it was a 15 second bout against Sami Zayn. Drew McIntyre who is arguably the biggest babyface in the company has only worked three matches.

You'll notice they're all RAW (or were RAW superstars in Big E's case) stars. For SmackDown, Cesaro, Angel, Sheamus lead the pack with 9 matches with Madcap Moss and Erik being just behind with 8.

What does it all mean? I think it highlights how much AEW likes to rotate their talent to create fresh-match-ups while the WWE's tendency to book the same matches over and over again shows up. Page only working two matches since becoming champion I think is a concern and could lead to fickleness. He should win them back tonight with Archer, but he needs to assert himself as the top guy on the show. Because right now, the show seems to belong to everyone else but him.

I also think it highlights why fans are so conflicted on SmackDown. SmackDown has the rep as the 'better show' but it's mostly built around their tag team division which led to a poorly received Royal Rumble.

Tony Khan appeared on Busted Open Radio this morning. Two things of note:

-AEW is “officially on the Road to Revolution.”
-there will be multiple announcements tonight.

HYPE DADDY GETTING ME ALL HYPED N SHIT

Seriously though tonight should be a good show no matter what happens. I’m grabbing a six pack and ordering a pizza. Let’s goooo

Imagine if it's Cody. And he's signed a new contract.

And wonder why people jumped to this will be a guy that should be a world champion in the WWE. When everyone who was consider a midcard by WWE still is one in AEW. And this is for a shot at a no matter what Cody says a secondary champion. One that regularly has open challenges.

So who ever this is could instead of going to a qualifier and a ladder match could just send out a tweet that they would like to challenge for the title and will get one.

He’s really doing the rounds to hype this. I don’t have a prediction but unless it’s Shane McMahon I think people are going to be disappointed. Just judging off Reddit, Keith Lee is not going to satisfy this hype. Jeff Hardy neither.

Feb 9, 2022 21:10:21 GMT Todd said:

He’s really doing the rounds to hype this. I don’t have a prediction but unless it’s Shane McMahon I think people are going to be disappointed. Just judging off Reddit, Keith Lee is not going to satisfy this hype. Jeff Hardy neither.

This is what I’ve been saying all along and people keep disagreeing with me. I’m going to feel so vindicated when the debut is a let down because Tony just had to throw out tweets about Forbidden Doors and other companies.

Another quote from this morning is interesting:

“I remember when I was a kid and The Higher Power turned out to be Vince, and that was very disappointing because at school we spent so much time speculating who it might be. I think our big fear is that it was just going to be Vince. So I don’t want that to happen here.”

You kinda already oversold it bro, but at least he’s aware enough that the debut has to blow people away now. I’m a little more optimistic.

He was also asked if there is more than one debut tonight and he dodged the question. He said there is definitely one surprise and “some other fun stuff too,” whatever that means.

I can’t believe we still only have just two announced matches. Usually we know the entire card by now.