AEW making script decisions day of - WOR / Mr JL on leakers

[Deleted]

"If you follow AEW, you know that a lot of the stuff is being decided at much later periods than previous. Guys are getting their information on what they're doing later, and decisions are being made later.

"There's times the day of the show sometimes you don't even know (what the plans are). It's almost at times like we used to talk about #WWE. Which is also very frustrating for talent.

"A lot of guys have a lot of input on what they're doing, but they don't really know a long-term direction. So they're doing stuff and they're coming up with ideas, but when you don't really know exactly a long-term direction, you're kind of coming up with ideas week-by-week too, but you don't know where the ultimate thing is and maybe the ultimate thing hasn't even been decided.

"So that's one of the reasons that the shows are like the shows are."

(Dave Meltzer on WOR)

I didn't see a Khan related thread that hasn't been closed to post this in but it definitely highlights just how busy Khan is.

The changes or decisions made day of are things we have complained about before with Vince but I highly doubt he is making the changes 30 seconds before going live like Vince either.

Will be interesting to see how this evolves.

This also kind of leans into the booker vs. creative team aspect too


- updated to include the full quote

[UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm]

if there has been a big change relating to that in recent times, i would bet it mostly has to do with the whole pivoting issue. not that they aren't pivoting (they usually don't) but that he wants to have as few situations like AR Fox not being able to make it to England type of situations as possible

issue with that is that it kinda puts you on immediate defense as a booker and we all know he is overworked anyways

[dbsot]

[mrpeacock]

Oct 30, 2023 12:59:32 GMT -5 dbsot said:

Jerry isn’t wrong, you gotta think ratings and interest would be up for everyone if companies were still allowed to surprise the fans without worrying about it getting out.

[kingoftheindies]

I kind of wonder how much of that is ya know... out of necessity?

Adam Cole has a freak ankle break. That's gonna change plans

Fenix and Mox both get injuries that has gotten the International title back to OC

AR Fox and Fenix couldn't travel to the UK

Bryan Danielson just broke his orbital bone

Sammy got a concussion

Jayme's injury being worse than they initially thought

Jack Perry got suspended

The whole CM Punk situation.

Like that's... not an insignificant amount of things that changed plans

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Meltzer's definitely been harsher on AEW in the last year but I think this kind of feels like...not a non-story, but I think there are things that explain it, as others have pointed out. It'd make sense that he's keeping stories closer to the vest if the company's a leaky faucet. It also makes sense that things are happening last minute given the injury issues we've seen. If we're in a place where six months from now and things feel just as chaotic, then maybe it's a trend.

[KME]

Oct 30, 2023 13:15:52 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

I kind of wonder how much of that is ya know... out of necessity?

Adam Cole has a freak ankle break. That's gonna change plans

Fenix and Mox both get injuries that has gotten the International title back to OC

AR Fox and Fenix couldn't travel to the UK

Bryan Danielson just broke his orbital bone

Sammy got a concussion

Jayme's injury being worse than they initially thought

Jack Perry got suspended

The whole CM Punk situation.

Like that's... not an insignificant amount of things that changed plans

Was going to say the same thing, they've had loads of reasons to have to pivot lately and considering that's not always one of Tony's strengths I think they've done really well the last few weeks with some of the best multilayered stuff they've ever done

I don't pay particularly close attention to him but Meltzer's headlines I do see are liquid shit these days, this one honestly sounds like HHH wrote it.

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2023 12:59:32 GMT -5 dbsot said:

Jerry is not wrong and I agree it damages the product no matter what team you play for...

In the past leaks were always used to get in the good graces of the sheet writers or to feature the leaker more etc but with the scene as open as it is I don't even understand it and Khan seems like a truly easily approachable dude if you have issues but then again everyone has communication problems occasionally so maybe he isn't as available to talent as he appears

[markymark]

I wonder if the leaker is Bald because he doesnt know the direction of the tag titles.

[Dub H]

Oct 30, 2023 13:38:52 GMT -5 markymark said:

I wonder if the leaker is Bald because he doesnt know the direction of the tag titles.

I dont think Bald knows the direction of north in a compass

[dbsot]

Oct 30, 2023 13:07:54 GMT -5 mrpeacock said:

Oct 30, 2023 12:59:32 GMT -5 dbsot said:

Jerry isn’t wrong, you gotta think ratings and interest would be up for everyone if companies were still allowed to surprise the fans without worrying about it getting out.

Your point is fair. There is something to be said for leaks giving fans a reason to tune in as well. The CM Punk debut was all Fightful reporting and online hype. If done right, it can be a major asset to a company. 

[Moppy]

Oct 30, 2023 13:38:52 GMT -5 markymark said:

I wonder if the leaker is Bald because he doesnt know the direction of the tag titles.

The Chatter Machine!

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

For context - Dave said this right after talking about the current tag title situation and how the plans have been evolving. I don't think this is necessarily because Tony is too busy. There can be injuries + creative changes. People for years said that Tony needs to learn how to pivot from his long term direction. This could be part of that. He might have had to make other title changes recently and wanted to hold off on another for now. I'm sure this is frustrating for some talent but you're also not going to always have everything laid out months in advance even in the best of circumstances.

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2023 13:43:49 GMT -5 dbsot said:

Oct 30, 2023 13:07:54 GMT -5 mrpeacock said:

Jerry isn’t wrong, you gotta think ratings and interest would be up for everyone if companies were still allowed to surprise the fans without worrying about it getting out.

Your point is fair. There is something to be said for leaks giving fans a reason to tune in as well. The CM Punk debut was all Fightful reporting and online hype. If done right, it can be a major asset to a company. 

That's fair...I believe that Rampage got as huge of numbers as it did because it was like you said the worst kept secret in wrestling

[Bo Rida]

Oct 30, 2023 13:15:52 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

I kind of wonder how much of that is ya know... out of necessity?

Yeah Vince changing things on a whim or because he saw a heroic dog on TV is different to forced changes and their knock on effects. Plus sometimes last minute tweaks are a good thing, one of the few good late Vince changes was ditching the Shield carrying actual shields on their debut.

That said I will continue to think Collision and more ppvs is a mistake partially for this very reason. They have 1200 minutes of TV to fill a month without any specials or ppvs, that's more than the all the Harry Potter movies combined (1,179 minutes), TK basically handles all of it, plus roh and other jobs, it's too much for anybody.
It's a miracle things have been as good as they have been really.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Yeah I don't think this is creative changes happening because Tony is simply ripping up scripts a la Vince, but the year has simply had A LOT happen in AEW, and a lot of it was freak accidents or moments that changed a lot of things. You can point as far back as Brawl Out, with how much shit Tony has had to actually redirect or change, so it wouldn't shock me if he's been scrambling a bit to keep things coherent and moving along without it feeling too much like whiplash

Being a booker is a job I do not envy, having to account for so much stuff, injuries, travel, CM Punk's entire existence, like... it's really a wonder how Tony Khan is a legitimate sober man, because I think if most of us had to deal with this shit, we actually WOULD be snorting cocaine to keep up lmfao

[Perd]

Just a matter of time until TK has people kissing his bare ass in the middle of the ring.

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2023 14:04:59 GMT -5 Perd said:

Just a matter of time until TK has people kissing hugging his bare ass in the middle of the ring.

[kingoftheindies]

Oct 30, 2023 13:53:02 GMT -5 Bo Rida said:

Oct 30, 2023 13:15:52 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

I kind of wonder how much of that is ya know... out of necessity?

Yeah Vince changing things on a whim or because he saw a heroic dog on TV is different to forced changes and their knock on effects. Plus sometimes last minute tweaks are a good thing, one of the few good late Vince changes was ditching the Shield carrying actual shields on their debut.

That said I will continue to think Collision and more ppvs is a mistake partially for this very reason. They have 1200 minutes of TV to fill a month without any specials or ppvs, that's more than the all the Harry Potter movies combined (1,179 minutes), TK basically handles all of it, plus roh and other jobs, it's too much for anybody.
It's a miracle things have been as good as they have been really.

I think Collision is fine but basically making it the island of misfit toys was a bad decision (and I will admittedly say I downplayed it being an issue and will accept egg on my face there). Ever since Punk was fired though? I think they've done a much better job with Collision and making it feel unique.

More PPVs? I go back and forth on it. I think a big issue Tony has always had is trying to stretch certain things to PPVs and that has led to certain acts or angles getting cold and then feeling like a 2-3 week build at best for PPVs. I think the builds have admittedly gotten better but I think adding more PPVs should more every other month to give angles time to breathe but also be built up

[Kalmia]

Yeah, I think comparing the situation to how things were in WWE is a bit disingenuous on Meltzer's behalf. Khan isn't throwing out scripts and plans that others have worked hard on and we're still getting the majority of matches and segments announced in advance of the shows, even if it isn't quite as far in advance.

I can understand why some wrestlers might find it frustrating though.