The Main Event Racial Diversity Is Getting Better In AEW

[J is Justice]

I was watching an episode of Dark wondering what the heck Ricky was doing on there and now he's gonna main event a PPV? Let's go.

[ghost]

Starks (as a face) and Swerve (as a heel) are two guys who I see as can’t miss. Give these guys the chance and they’ll knock it out of the park. Hopefully even in a loss, Starks can be elevated in that MJF match.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2022 10:59:43 GMT -5 mc74 said:

There's a reason Starks draws comparisons to Rock in terms of how he presents himself. He has that ability to get the crowd in the palm of his hand, which is one of the most important attributes for a wrestler to have.

Starks has comparisons to The Rock because he looks and dresses like him.

In terms of charisma or talent, he's nowhere near.

Rock had more size aswell. He was believable as a main eventer, facing the likes of Kane, Big Show and Taker.

People can say what they want but I am never buying that this guy could beat the likes of Hobbs, Archer and Cage. And neither were my casual friends who in their words said "That's embarrassing" when Archer lost.

Imagine what the rest of the casuals are thinking when they tune in and watch AEW for the first time? If AEW want to grow their brand, that's who they need to be impressing after all.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2022 11:39:24 GMT -5 ghost said:

Starks (as a face) and Swerve (as a heel) are two guys who I see as can’t miss. Give these guys the chance and they’ll knock it out of the park. Hopefully even in a loss, Starks can be elevated in that MJF match.

Swerve as a heel has potential. There's clearly something there in terms of how he carries himself.

But I'll go back to my previous point. He needs more size.

Why is the wrestling industry these days so intent on pushing Cruiserweights into the main event?

Bodybuilding seems to be a lost art in this industry. It used to mean everything. Now it means seemingly nothing. A guy who looks like my neighbours could main event.

And we wonder why wrestling has declined rapidly in terms of popularity. Can you imagine if Hulk Hogan was some scrawny pasty guy with a skullet and a mustache? Can you imagine a skinny Ultimate Warrior?

[lucas_lee]

^ Honestly your schtick of body shaming and talking about size and the casual fan is starting to get old and nauseating. Most of everyone on this board except for a lot of old school wrestling fans dont agree with you. Your obsession with muscles and size it really weird and your obsession with the casual fan is weird too. And you act all hurt when people call you out on your views

[Fade]

Nov 24, 2022 11:45:38 GMT -5 @negan said:

Nov 24, 2022 11:39:24 GMT -5 ghost said:

Starks (as a face) and Swerve (as a heel) are two guys who I see as can’t miss. Give these guys the chance and they’ll knock it out of the park. Hopefully even in a loss, Starks can be elevated in that MJF match.

Swerve as a heel has potential. There's clearly something there in terms of how he carries himself.

But I'll go back to my previous point. He needs more size.

Why is the wrestling industry these days so intent on pushing Cruiserweights into the main event?

Bodybuilding seems to be a lost art in this industry. It used to mean everything. Now it means seemingly nothing. A guy who looks like my neighbours could main event.

And we wonder why wrestling has declined rapidly in terms of popularity. Can you imagine if Hulk Hogan was some scrawny pasty guy with a skullet and a mustache? Can you imagine a skinny Ultimate Warrior?

Bro a skinny ultimate warrior sounds incredible

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

The "land of the giants" is gone and dead

Your basic heavyweight is a 6'1 or 6'2 guy with a good body. The Braun Strowman, Omos guys are few and few between and your muscle guys are Drew McIntyre, Hobbs etc. The biggest difference is muscle mass but that really isn't the end all be all. Starks is in good shape and can get in great shape as he continues to train his body. Look at MJF now compared to AEW Day 1.

Focusing on size and body is old news and something that has been dead since the 90's

Kofi doesn't fit the body guy mold, he's plain and simple and one of the most decorated wrestlers ever

[Nosnorb]

Nov 24, 2022 11:45:38 GMT -5 @negan said:

Bodybuilding seems to be a lost art in this industry. It used to mean everything. Now it means seemingly nothing.

If by "Bodybuilding" you mean "Injecting roids into your arsecheek" then I agree. And thank f*** for that.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2022 11:59:01 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

The "land of the giants" is gone and dead

Your basic heavyweight is a 6'1 or 6'2 guy with a good body. The Braun Strowman, Omos guys are few and few between and your muscle guys are Drew McIntyre, Hobbs etc. The biggest difference is muscle mass but that really isn't the end all be all. Starks is in good shape and can get in great shape as he continues to train his body. Look at MJF now compared to AEW Day 1.

Focusing on size and body is old news and something that has been dead since the 90's

Kofi doesn't fit the body guy mold, he's plain and simple and one of the most decorated wrestlers ever

And ironically, the 90's is when wrestling was at its peak.

Ever since they started focusing on smaller guys, it's done nothing but decline.

The thing is, internet fans don't like admitting this because they "relate" more to guys who look like them.

In reality, fans don't pay to see guys who look like them. They want guys that look and act larger than life.

AEW might "get by" but it will never be groundbreaking doing what it's doing. And to be honest, neither will WWE right now. They're making the same mistakes. I could walk up the street and see a guy who looks just like Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for example.

But I can't remember the last time I saw somebody who looked like Batista.

[Fade]

Nov 24, 2022 11:59:01 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

The "land of the giants" is gone and dead

Your basic heavyweight is a 6'1 or 6'2 guy with a good body. The Braun Strowman, Omos guys are few and few between and your muscle guys are Drew McIntyre, Hobbs etc. The biggest difference is muscle mass but that really isn't the end all be all. Starks is in good shape and can get in great shape as he continues to train his body. Look at MJF now compared to AEW Day 1.

Focusing on size and body is old news and something that has been dead since the 90's

Kofi doesn't fit the body guy mold, he's plain and simple and one of the most decorated wrestlers ever

MJF really do be looking like Wolverine these days.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2022 12:02:44 GMT -5 Fade said:

Nov 24, 2022 11:59:01 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

The "land of the giants" is gone and dead

Your basic heavyweight is a 6'1 or 6'2 guy with a good body. The Braun Strowman, Omos guys are few and few between and your muscle guys are Drew McIntyre, Hobbs etc. The biggest difference is muscle mass but that really isn't the end all be all. Starks is in good shape and can get in great shape as he continues to train his body. Look at MJF now compared to AEW Day 1.

Focusing on size and body is old news and something that has been dead since the 90's

Kofi doesn't fit the body guy mold, he's plain and simple and one of the most decorated wrestlers ever

MJF really do be looking like Wolverine these days.

MJF isn't big but he looks more credible than most.

I link him to guys like Roddy Piper and Ted Dibiase. They were never in crazy good shape but I always bought them as a threat to Hulk Hogan.

Now imagine somebody like Ricky Starks standing in the ring across from Hulk Hogan in the 90s. They crowd would laugh their ass off and wonder why a fan was standing in the ring.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Nov 24, 2022 12:02:15 GMT -5 @negan said:

Nov 24, 2022 11:59:01 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

The "land of the giants" is gone and dead

Your basic heavyweight is a 6'1 or 6'2 guy with a good body. The Braun Strowman, Omos guys are few and few between and your muscle guys are Drew McIntyre, Hobbs etc. The biggest difference is muscle mass but that really isn't the end all be all. Starks is in good shape and can get in great shape as he continues to train his body. Look at MJF now compared to AEW Day 1.

Focusing on size and body is old news and something that has been dead since the 90's

Kofi doesn't fit the body guy mold, he's plain and simple and one of the most decorated wrestlers ever

And ironically, the 90's is when wrestling was at its peak.

Ever since they started focusing on smaller guys, it's done nothing but decline.

The thing is, internet fans don't like admitting this because they "relate" more to guys who look like them.

In reality, fans don't pay to see guys who look like them. They want guys that look and act larger than life.

AEW might "get by" but it will never be groundbreaking doing what it's doing. And to be honest, neither will WWE right now. They're making the same mistakes. I could walk up the street and see a guy who looks just like Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for example.

But I can't remember the last time I saw somebody who looked like Batista.

That has nothing to do with Giants tho. Stone Cold and The Rock dominated that era along with others but even Hogan wasn't a Giant anymore 

90s is as popular because of wrestling mainstream not because dudes were roided to the gills. No fan can relate to a MJF or AJ Styles. Dudes in peak condition in the gym everyday, That's way farfetched

[Feargus McReddit]

Nov 24, 2022 11:41:21 GMT -5 @negan said:

Imagine what the rest of the casuals are thinking when they tune in and watch AEW for the first time?

I could say a lot about your posts, the fact you don’t listen to anything anyone says, the body shaming aspect, the lack of research and reading of rooms but honestly, the worst crime is that they’re boring. You’ve never said who the casual fan is, what they like and dislike, their age, gender, race etc and I have asked you this question so many times, I’m going to ban myself from asking it to you ever again after this. The fact you don’t even understand geek culture when Black Panther 2 is the No 1 movie in the world, Japanese manga sells like hotcakes and video games make billions is mind boggling to me.

So I’m going to set you a challenge that you’re free to ignore but I want to give you some rope to even try and prove your point. You live in Ireland, as you’ve said previously. Go to the City Centre of where you live (Dublin, Cork etc), bring a tablet with matches from the 80s and now, pictures of wrestlers and find about 100 people who haven’t watched any wrestling. Get them to put their details down, survey what they think and come back with your findings. You seem to know the questions to ask and the findings you want so I won’t help you with that.

If you are not going to do any of that, then stop acting like you’re an expert on the casual fan, stop body shaming people who don’t look different from Olympic athletes and MMA fighters and find out about wrestling history after 1995.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2022 12:07:45 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

Nov 24, 2022 12:02:15 GMT -5 @negan said:

And ironically, the 90's is when wrestling was at its peak.

Ever since they started focusing on smaller guys, it's done nothing but decline.

The thing is, internet fans don't like admitting this because they "relate" more to guys who look like them.

In reality, fans don't pay to see guys who look like them. They want guys that look and act larger than life.

AEW might "get by" but it will never be groundbreaking doing what it's doing. And to be honest, neither will WWE right now. They're making the same mistakes. I could walk up the street and see a guy who looks just like Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for example.

But I can't remember the last time I saw somebody who looked like Batista.

That has nothing to do with Giants tho. Stone Cold and The Rock dominated that era along with others but even Hogan wasn't a Giant anymore 

90s is as popular because of wrestling mainstream not because dudes were roided to the gills. No fan can relate to a MJF or AJ Styles. Dudes in peak condition in the gym everyday, That's way farfetched

Austin was bigger than a lot of fans give him credit for. In comparison to most of the guys today, he looks huge.

Rock back then wasn't as big as he is now, but he was still a credible threat when he facing big tall guys like Taker.

Anyway, this thread is going off topic so I'll leave it here. My opinion on Ricky Starks isn't gonna change. I still think Hobbs would be a much better option in terms of attracting casuals and mainstream attention.

[mc74]

Nov 24, 2022 11:59:01 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

The "land of the giants" is gone and dead

Your basic heavyweight is a 6'1 or 6'2 guy with a good body. The Braun Strowman, Omos guys are few and few between and your muscle guys are Drew McIntyre, Hobbs etc. The biggest difference is muscle mass but that really isn't the end all be all. Starks is in good shape and can get in great shape as he continues to train his body. Look at MJF now compared to AEW Day 1.

Focusing on size and body is old news and something that has been dead since the 90's

Kofi doesn't fit the body guy mold, he's plain and simple and one of the most decorated wrestlers ever

Plus, look what happened when the WWF tried going against the way wrestling was evolving. The New Generation era could've been so much more had they not been so stubborn in their ways.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Nov 24, 2022 12:07:45 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

Nov 24, 2022 12:02:15 GMT -5 @negan said:

And ironically, the 90's is when wrestling was at its peak.

Ever since they started focusing on smaller guys, it's done nothing but decline.

The thing is, internet fans don't like admitting this because they "relate" more to guys who look like them.

In reality, fans don't pay to see guys who look like them. They want guys that look and act larger than life.

AEW might "get by" but it will never be groundbreaking doing what it's doing. And to be honest, neither will WWE right now. They're making the same mistakes. I could walk up the street and see a guy who looks just like Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for example.

But I can't remember the last time I saw somebody who looked like Batista.

That has nothing to do with Giants tho. Stone Cold and The Rock dominated that era along with others but even Hogan wasn't a Giant anymore 

90s is as popular because of wrestling mainstream not because dudes were roided to the gills. No fan can relate to a MJF or AJ Styles. Dudes in peak condition in the gym everyday, That's way farfetched

It wasn’t the size of the wrestler, it was the size of the personality that mattered.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2022 12:09:13 GMT -5 Feargus McReddit said:

Nov 24, 2022 11:41:21 GMT -5 @negan said:

Imagine what the rest of the casuals are thinking when they tune in and watch AEW for the first time?

I could say a lot about your posts, the fact you don’t listen to anything anyone says, the body shaming aspect, the lack of research and reading of rooms but honestly, the worst crime is that they’re boring. You’ve never said who the casual fan is, what they like and dislike, their age, gender, race etc and I have asked you this question so many times, I’m going to ban myself from asking it to you ever again after this. The fact you don’t even understand geek culture when Black Panther 2 is the No 1 movie in the world, Japanese manga sells like hotcakes and video games make billions is mind boggling to me.

So I’m going to set you a challenge that you’re free to ignore but I want to give you some rope to even try and prove your point. You live in Ireland, as you’ve said previously. Go to the City Centre of where you live (Dublin, Cork etc), bring a tablet with matches from the 80s and now, pictures of wrestlers and find about 100 people who haven’t watched any wrestling. Get them to put their details down, survey what they think and come back with your findings. You seem to know the questions to ask and the findings you want so I won’t help you with that.

If you are not going to do any of that, then stop acting like you’re an expert on the casual fan, stop body shaming people who don’t look different from Olympic athletes and MMA fighters and find out about wrestling history after 1995.

It's not body shaming to say he doesn't look big enough to be taken seriously against big tall muscular guys.

It's up to Ricky Starks to put the work in the gym. His weight and muscle is not permanent. Only his height is.

I said the same thing about guys like CM Punk. The numbers don't lie. Wrestling always fails in the ratings when small guys are on top. Only Internet fans have a problem admitting this and that's because internet fans relate more to guys who look like them. They always detest guys who are in way better shape than them.

Name me one super jacked up bodybuilder type wrestler who the internet fans absolutely loved. I bet you can't.

That's not a coincidence though?

[polarbearpete]

Nov 24, 2022 11:41:21 GMT -5 @negan said:

Nov 24, 2022 10:59:43 GMT -5 mc74 said:

There's a reason Starks draws comparisons to Rock in terms of how he presents himself. He has that ability to get the crowd in the palm of his hand, which is one of the most important attributes for a wrestler to have.

Starks has comparisons to The Rock because he looks and dresses like him.

In terms of charisma or talent, he's nowhere near.

Rock had more size aswell. He was believable as a main eventer, facing the likes of Kane, Big Show and Taker.

People can say what they want but I am never buying that this guy could beat the likes of Hobbs, Archer and Cage. And neither were my casual friends who in their words said "That's embarrassing" when Archer lost.

Imagine what the rest of the casuals are thinking when they tune in and watch AEW for the first time? If AEW want to grow their brand, that's who they need to be impressing after all.

How many of these mysterious “casual” fans do you think exist and are sampling the product still, and also are not okay with someone decently sized like Starks being presented as a main eventer, and that would be the reason they don’t continue watching religiously? I think you’re overstating things if you think this is in any way a sizable amount of people.

[Deleted]

Nov 24, 2022 12:12:35 GMT -5 Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story said:

Nov 24, 2022 12:07:45 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

That has nothing to do with Giants tho. Stone Cold and The Rock dominated that era along with others but even Hogan wasn't a Giant anymore 

90s is as popular because of wrestling mainstream not because dudes were roided to the gills. No fan can relate to a MJF or AJ Styles. Dudes in peak condition in the gym everyday, That's way farfetched

It wasn’t the size of the wrestler, it was the size of the personality that mattered.

Hogan and Warriors personality isn't worth shit if they were built like your next door neighbour.

Deep down, everyone knows this.

It was the whole package that drew the money. Too many wrestlers don't put the work in the gym.

[Feargus McReddit]

Nov 24, 2022 12:12:35 GMT -5 Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story said:

Nov 24, 2022 12:07:45 GMT -5 Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) said:

That has nothing to do with Giants tho. Stone Cold and The Rock dominated that era along with others but even Hogan wasn't a Giant anymore 

90s is as popular because of wrestling mainstream not because dudes were roided to the gills. No fan can relate to a MJF or AJ Styles. Dudes in peak condition in the gym everyday, That's way farfetched

It wasn’t the size of the wrestler, it was the size of the personality that mattered.

Exactly. I live in Dublin, I could go to any pub tonight and find a dozen Stone Colds walking around with bald heads and goatees but what made Steve Austin Steve Austin was his attitude and fire that got the crowds on side and that look made him relatable to most people because, like, THEY were a Steve Austin or they knew a Steve Austin and this guy, like them, was kicking his boss’ ass on a weekly basis. That was right place, right time that the company hasn’t gotten since.