How should AEW address its roster bloat?

[schizo]

Worlds biggest human centipede

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Feb 25, 2022 14:57:21 GMT -5 Georgina's Fancy Water said:

Squid Game

With Banana crème pies.

The giant robot girl looks like Nyla Rose.

[Kalmia]

Absolutely off-seasons. Give every wrestler 2-3 months off per year so the rosters are constantly refreshing and they can rest their bodies and get small injuries fixed before they become big ones.

Also, I think AEW would benefit from creating stronger ties with other promotions now that Covid is less of an issue. Loan some greener talent out to other companies for a few months for seasoning, or let someone like Danielson take off for a month+ to do the G1.

I agree that promoting Dark more and making it a place for storylines to flourish is a great idea, too. There's been some good work on those shows (Sonny Kiss and Joey Janela comes immediately to mind), but most people don't even know it's happening. A couple of minutes on Dynamite for Schiavone to recap matches and show a couple of clips of the big matches would go a long way.

[Chuck Conry]

Buy Ring of Honor.

[Mr Mario Mario]

They need to make some tough decisions and not renew some contracts

As others have said, make Dark matter more.

The roster size has pluses and minuses but for me one of the big things is that because of how they juggle the roster that stories don’t have the impact that they should

[Citizen Snips Has Left]

I think it was a double-edged sword that AEW arrived and then a year later WWE decided they only really needed like 10 wrestlers. They could really beef up their roster but to the point of possible bloat at this point. Just because all these wrestlers are available doesn’t mean you need to sign all or even most of them. They’ve shown restraint in not gobbling up every single name out there but guys like Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese…solid hands to be sure but they’ve already got plenty of them.

Start looking at free agents as “Do we need them?” rather than “Do we want them?” at this point, I guess would be the gist. Bryan Danielson? Absolutely. Andrade? Maybe let it pass.

[bob]

another hour of TV that matters

[bob]

Feb 25, 2022 16:21:28 GMT -5 schizo said:

Worlds biggest human centipede

[Legion]

They will eventually have to cut, or let people expire.

I frel sorry for some of the guys who were, or could have been, something in the earlier days, but AEW is embracing name value while still taking some time to build new names and that will only allow for a handful or people.

It is what it is, but even if AEW does have to cut, the business is still in a better place now than it was a few years ago. There are more options for people, and more spots available

[THE FVNKER]

At this point I'm not sure if "bloat" is something I'd be worried about.  TK knows his budget so I'd say he's clear there.. getting everyone on TV might be a challenge but time will tell.  But as far as the roster goes, I'll tell you exactly what my concern is...

It's not the number of signings.. but the frequency of them.  I've never been (even when everyone shit on TNA for it) the type to say someone is a WWE reject or whatever.  WWE barely knows how to book talent so letting someone go doesn't make them a reject (it probably helps them since WWE's product is total ass), but even saying that.. perception is reality some times.  I'm not saying AEW should just arbitrarily let people go, but I don't think it would be a bad move on their part to let someone (hell it may be Cody, we'll see) who WWE has interest in hop over there for a few years.  Maybe even multiple people.  Someone going from AEW to WWE needs to be just as newsworthy and important as AEW signing a guy that just left WWE.  It would be a good way to make the playing field seem level.  They've shown some discretion in not signing Wyatt, Strowman and tons of other guys from over there so I know TK has some restraint but if I'm Tony Khan I seriously would consider letting someone who has been elevated in AEW go give WWE a shot.  I understand that seems like terrible business, and in reality it probably is, but I've always maintained that I don't want AEW to fall into TNA's old trap where a surprise debut becomes the "gimmick" of the promotion.

[Celexa Bliss 54]

Feb 25, 2022 15:10:28 GMT -5 chazraps said:

AEW's roster is a good size. You don't get sick of anybody on the television shows, rematches are rare and nothing feels stagnant.

I really don't think roster bloat is an issue. I think we're all just so conditioned to WWE's roster presentation on TV over the last two decades that we subconsciously believe their approach is the only possible way.

I agree. The other part is, a lot of guys who were key to AEW very early on have been transitioned into backstage roles or given non-wrestling positions on TV:

Billy Gunn is basically his sons' manager nowadays and rarely wrestles

Brandon Cutler is the Super Kliq's lackey and seldom competes anymore

Christopher Daniels hasn't been on TV since SCU were split up

Colt Cabana, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson are mainly just there for Dark Order segments, but most of the in-ring time is being given to Silver, Reynolds, Ten and Angels

Dustin Rhodes is more of a player-coach for the Nightmare Factory guys now

Frankie Kazarian mainly works Dark and occasional enhancement matches on TV

Jake Hager is mostly the muscle man for the Inner Circle and barely even around anymore

Joey Janela (and Sonny Kiss, since they were associated for a time) exclusively work Dark these days (and Janela may be leaving soon?)

Kenny Omega is off TV healing injuries

Luther exclusively works Dark with Serpentico

Marko Stunt hasn't been around in months and may be leaving soon

Matt Hardy is more a manager than an active wrestler these days (and for that matter, Andrade's current persona means he doesn't have to wrestle very often and can be saved for big matches, like facing Sammy tonight and the six man at Revolution)

Nakazawa is basically Dark exclusive

Miro is off TV healing injuries

Paul Wight is a commentator and only a very occasional wrestler

QT Marshall is more or less a player-coach for The Factory

Fenix is injured

Ricky Starks is in a great position where he's on TV every week but doesn't have to wrestle too often, plus, unlike Jericho, Team Taz get to build their storylines on commentary

Shawn Spears is working essentially a non-wrestling role, as the accountabilibuddy

Sting is a special attraction

Then in the women's division, Leva Bates is more or less part-time, since she has an off-camera role (not sure if this continues since her immediate superior, Brandi Rhodes, has left the company), plus you have a lot of the Joshi talent splitting their time between AEW and Japan, so when they do return, they feel like a breath of fresh air


Also, I know people are down on the rankings system, but it serves a purpose and there's a reason why matches on Dark and Elevation matter. The Gunn Club are a good example, because they were non-entities on Dynamite and Rampage, even after the heel turn. But they won on the YouTube shows consistently, so when they suddenly showed up to challenge the Jungle Express, at least you could look at the rankings and go "yeah, OK, they deserve it". And it helps make all four shows matter, even you don't watch Dark or Elevation (like me, I admit that).

[EP 54 is banned from Collision]

I think they need to let the roster stabilise a bit. They've got Swerve, apparently, they should get Claudio, then see who they want to keep on deals that are expiring... Then let the roster stand pat for a bit and settle down.

The whole "sign someone, they feature for a couple of weeks then kinda disappear for a while" thing doesn't really help anyone, and is disruptive to the booking in general.

[Deleted]

They could easily let half the roster go.

Sounds harsh but they have way too many wrestlers doing nothing.

[Hypnosis]

Feb 26, 2022 7:26:56 GMT -5 @negan said:

They could easily let half the roster go.

Sounds harsh but they have way too many wrestlers doing nothing.

Brian Cage having his contract extended is a head-scratcher since he hasn't been on TV in months, and there are better big men in AEW with more personality.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

On one hand, being signed but not being regularly used in AEW isn’t the same as it is in WWE. All these guys are still able to take indy bookings so they’re not sitting around doing nothing but collect a cheque. But at the same time, I’m sure some would like to be booked more often so they don’t have to take indy bookings to make up the difference and use up a bit more of their bump cards in the process.

That said, the rotation thing that keeps getting brought up seems to be the best solution that doesn’t involve making cuts or adding more TV time. You’ll have fans that are like “Well, my favourite guy is off for a couple of months, so I’m turning this off”, but that’s a risk that they’ll have to take if they want to rotate people in and out properly.

[bearned]

Feb 26, 2022 11:56:52 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

On one hand, being signed but not being regularly used in AEW isn’t the same as it is in WWE. All these guys are still able to take indy bookings so they’re not sitting around doing nothing but collect a cheque. But at the same time, I’m sure some would like to be booked more often so they don’t have to take indy bookings to make up the difference and use up a bit more of their bump cards in the process.

That said, the rotation thing that keeps getting brought up seems to be the best solution that doesn’t involve making cuts or adding more TV time. You’ll have fans that are like “Well, my favourite guy is off for a couple of months, so I’m turning this off”, but that’s a risk that they’ll have to take if they want to rotate people in and out properly.

I can’t imagine there would be that many people deciding not to watch AEW because, say, CM Punk is away for a couple of months when you have the likes of Daniel Bryan and Mox who are arguably on the same level still around? For me I think there’s enough depth with ‘top guys’ to keep people interested if some of them are off TV.

Without turning this into a WWE bashing post, the depth of talent on AEWs roster of guys who can easily move between midcard and main event is much better than WWE who can’t push anyone other than Lesnar and Reigns, with everyone else treated as cannon fodder.

[kingoftheindies]

I think for a lot of it, the transitioning older stars they sign to managers/coaches help. I also do think as Japan travel sanctions lighten you'll see people sent to the promotions AEW has partnerships with for tours. Wouldn't be shocked to see some of AEW's young talent in DDT or Noah or their established stars go to New Japan

[Dave the Dave]

Whatever they need to do to get Colt Cabana on tv more, that’s what needs to happen

[Bo Rida]

Finally introducing that damn trios title is the main thing. Would allow more guys to be featured doing something meaningful. Hell I honestly think it would become the best part of the company.

Bad week to say it given the strong promos but limiting MJF, Jericho and Lambert's mic time would free up so much time. One great promo a month is better than having their material stretched over weeks.

That said I think they're mostly fine because even if guys aren't in a featured fued they're still booked as important. This week Best Friends Vs pnp got a massive reaction based off an old fued and I think that shows they can retain overness long-term, it's not like WWE where only your recent work counts.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

Feb 26, 2022 7:21:59 GMT -5 EP 54 is banned from Collision said:

I think they need to let the roster stabilise a bit. They've got Swerve, apparently, they should get Claudio, then see who they want to keep on deals that are expiring... Then let the roster stand pat for a bit and settle down.

The whole "sign someone, they feature for a couple of weeks then kinda disappear for a while" thing doesn't really help anyone, and is disruptive to the booking in general.

Think that’s a wonderful point and made it click in my head what’s been bothering me about the product lately: it feels scattered, roster-wise. Like I think for two or three chunks of time, we got use to seeing the same crop of guys and now the roster’s constant fluctuation makes it hard to kind of “get a feel” for the roster, for lack of a better point.

Feb 26, 2022 17:28:50 GMT -5 Bo Rida said:

Finally introducing that damn trios title is the main thing. Would allow more guys to be featured doing something meaningful. Hell I honestly think it would become the best part of the company.

Bad week to say it given the strong promos but limiting MJF, Jericho and Lambert's mic time would free up so much time. One great promo a month is better than having their material stretched over weeks.

That said I think they're mostly fine because even if guys aren't in a featured fued they're still booked as important. This week Best Friends Vs pnp got a massive reaction based off an old fued and I think that shows they can retain overness long-term, it's not like WWE where only your recent work counts.

I have thought they could use another title. Doesn’t matter if it’s a lower card title, a gimmick one, trios, intergender, they could use a new trope.