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Post by Feargus McReddit on May 30, 2022 5:26:29 GMT -5
Srs is paid by khan so anything he says should be taken with a LOT of salt. Unless he starts rubbing your inner thigh as you do. Then you know it just got real. SRS is paid by tony khan ? That’s news to me. He’s not, ignore him. EDIT: Unless he subscribes to his Patreon then, in that case, totally and technically true.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on May 30, 2022 5:29:13 GMT -5
Also, great to know that, potentially, instead of the company doing a work, it was a worker doing a work without the company knowing which is somehow worse.
Again, hopefully more comes out but that doesn’t sound great.
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Burst
El Dandy
*inarticulate squawking*
Posts: 8,617
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Post by Burst on May 30, 2022 5:32:58 GMT -5
I'm reminded of all the anecdotes of method actors in Hollywood crashing and burning after holding a specific character for too long or rubbing their co-stars the wrong way one too many times, and how long-term method acting nearly always ends up being horrendous for the actor's mental health. Heck, I think part of the reason Daniel Day-Lewis said he retired was because he was exclusively a method actor and it was just getting too mentally exhausting for him.
I'm really wondering if that's what we're starting to see here, because it otherwise seems very weirdly out-of-character (yet in-character?) for someone who's otherwise shown themselves to have approached wrestling in a very intelligent way.
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clifford
King Koopa
Shingo Takagi stan
Posts: 10,690
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Post by clifford on May 30, 2022 5:43:32 GMT -5
Sick to death of the whole situation. Only good thing to come out of it was Wardlow got his roses. Work, shoot, shoot work or worked shoot, this gimmick stretching of MJF needs to just go away.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on May 30, 2022 6:20:43 GMT -5
I'm reminded of all the anecdotes of method actors in Hollywood crashing and burning after holding a specific character for too long or rubbing their co-stars the wrong way one too many times, and how long-term method acting nearly always ends up being horrendous for the actor's mental health. Heck, I think part of the reason Daniel Day-Lewis said he retired was because he was exclusively a method actor and it was just getting too mentally exhausting for him. I'm really wondering if that's what we're starting to see here, because it otherwise seems very weirdly out-of-character (yet in-character?) for someone who's otherwise shown themselves to have approached wrestling in a very intelligent way. This is also a fair point considering the stuff with MJF not playing MJF are few and far between. They exist but clearly he wouldn’t want to show it because of that character. And yeah, I don’t want to speculate on that stuff but it also wouldn’t surprise me considering how long he’s been on as this character.
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Post by HMARK Center on May 30, 2022 6:24:25 GMT -5
Ok, gonna go with "simplest answers are probably the most accurate" here, so here's my blind stab at a couple possibilities of what's going on:
-If this is a work, it makes plenty of sense. Last night was basically the culmination of three years of MJF as one of the top heels in the promotion: so often he'd schemed and manipulated and even occasionally cleanly won his way to the top, but he did it too often by using Wardlow, and now Wardlow made him pay for it. He's been teasing on TV that he might jump ship, and it's only riled fans up against him even more. The match really could only play out one way: uber heel MJF finally, after three long years, gets what's been coming to him and is annihilated by the guy he's been treating like an abused pet; the pet bit back to the point of Max being stretchered out with an oxygen mask placed incorrectly over his face. Given that this part of MJF's story is likely over, you've now built in an excuse why he might be gone for a little while, then can come back either with a new "post ass-kicking reassessment of things" perspective on himself or still as a heel but refreshed a bit after some time away. Meantime they allow the sheets to play around with the "he's got heat with the boss" story to keep his heel heat high, and since the guy is so often working people I get why he'd want to try it.
Granted, what that doesn't explain is the Fan Fest no show; if that happened due to a miscommunication ala the Samoa Joe situation and they tried to make lemons out of lemonade then fine, but if it was a genuine no-show that's not right to do to paying customers.
-If it's not a work, it's entirely possible that MJF is going through some things, which could well include dealing with negotiations over more money than he possibly ever thought he'd make. For a guy barely in his mid-20s, that can be daunting, and it's possible that with some of MJF's real life mental health issues it's getting to him in some way, which when combined with his penchant for staying in character as much as possible while in public could be taking a toll on him; easy to forget that it was likely easier for him to separate his real life personality and his on-screen persona when he was working the indies, but now he's on international TV as a top name. After all, if what he's hearing from Khan is "I want to give you more money!" and his response is some weird flex that involves starting unnecessary drama over this Fan Fest situation, that comes off less as "watch me pull a power move" and more like "I'm making a potentially self-destructive choice due to who knows what (e.g. anxiety, fear, whatever else)", at least to me. If this is the case then I hope he's ok, and giving him a chance to be off TV for a bit could be good for him.
The report saying that this isn't a case of MJF turning down an extension for more money is what makes it tough to pin down; the earlier speculation was that he just wants to get to free agency, period, and I can't blame him for that, but if that's not actually the case then it's why my mind goes to this potentially being something more akin to the Kylie Rae situation, in the event this is all for real.
Naturally, I could be 100% wrong about all of this, but it's pro wrestling so I'm always open to the possibility I'm being worked, but I'm also always open to the possibility that some of the performers have issues they work through a lot and it can become trouble sometimes. Time will tell, just hoping everything works out well for everyone involved.
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Post by Mid-Carder on May 30, 2022 6:38:38 GMT -5
So who do we think was backstage taping their fists to make sure MJF did the job?
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Post by Feargus McReddit on May 30, 2022 6:40:10 GMT -5
So who do we think was backstage taping their fists to make sure MJF did the job? Leva Bates, clearly.
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on May 30, 2022 7:06:54 GMT -5
SRS is paid by tony khan ? That’s news to me. He’s not, ignore him. EDIT: Unless he subscribes to his Patreon then, in that case, totally and technically true. I’d assume TK would subscribe to Fightful Select not for the scoops, but for Sour Graps.
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Post by Natural Born Farmer on May 30, 2022 7:33:28 GMT -5
That "someone" booked a flight for him that he never took is such a weird detail. Feels like he must have done it himself knowing that he was planning to stick around.
If he's working Khan doesn't seem amused, and it still isn't clear who it would be for.
If MJF is willing to leave his boss in the dark about his actual motives, how is any promoter supposed to trust him with anything?
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Post by Citizen Snips on May 30, 2022 7:47:24 GMT -5
So who do we think was backstage taping their fists to make sure MJF did the job? Hager, I guess? Is he the most “legit” toughie they got?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2022 7:58:56 GMT -5
So who do we think was backstage taping their fists to make sure MJF did the job? That feels like a job for Joe, but he's only just got there... probably Punk but with Joe standing behind him looking nonplussed.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,763
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Post by nisidhe on May 30, 2022 8:02:08 GMT -5
I'm still not convinced that it was a work. I do think someone got into MJF's ear, however, and laid it all out as to what would happen if he didn't knock it off. Given the numbers of ex-WWE guys there who a) would know what Vince would do with such a stunt and b) had the means to ensure that MJF played ball, I'd suggest he got the message and did the job.
What happens now is anyone's guess, but it's absolutely clear that he lacks the maturity and self-discipline to be trusted with any major angle or top-of-the-card feud for some time. A feud with Spears over loyalty might help jerk the curtain for the next little while - let's see how he does with that before we push him any higher or send him packing as another Tessa.
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Mecca
Wade Wilson
Posts: 25,181
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Post by Mecca on May 30, 2022 8:15:58 GMT -5
Srs is paid by khan so anything he says should be taken with a LOT of salt. Unless he starts rubbing your inner thigh as you do. Then you know it just got real. Just like Big Dave too right? This type of shit amuses the hell out of me.
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Post by Natural Born Farmer on May 30, 2022 8:17:42 GMT -5
So who do we think was backstage taping their fists to make sure MJF did the job? Hager, I guess? Is he the most “legit” toughie they got? You mean other than former UFC competitor CM Punk?!
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Post by kingoftheindies on May 30, 2022 8:19:17 GMT -5
SRS is paid by tony khan ? That’s news to me. He’s not, ignore him. EDIT: Unless he subscribes to his Patreon then, in that case, totally and technically true. SRS is a personal friend of MJF and MJF's family and even he isn't really sure what's going on
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Burst
El Dandy
*inarticulate squawking*
Posts: 8,617
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Post by Burst on May 30, 2022 8:20:57 GMT -5
So who do we think was backstage taping their fists to make sure MJF did the job? Hager, I guess? Is he the most “legit” toughie they got? I mean, in terms of an "actual" "shoot" record, yeah, maybe, though arguably that depends on if the rest of the America's Top Team entourage was around. In terms of toughies without a "legit" record, I mean you've got Rugal and Danielson to kick things off.
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Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on May 30, 2022 8:24:50 GMT -5
So who do we think was backstage taping their fists to make sure MJF did the job? That feels like a job for Joe, but he's only just got there... probably Punk but with Joe standing behind him looking nonplussed. I can’t imagine a less intimidating thing than CM Punk threatening to beat me up for real.
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Post by jimmyjames on May 30, 2022 8:37:32 GMT -5
If this was a work, what was the point? Everything went down the day before AEW's biggest PPV so there's no long build to drum up excitement or interest. The only explanation I could think of would be if sales for Double or Nothing were really, really low and you do this to get people to buy it at the last minute with the "Will MJF be there or not" storyline, and with the people's pocketbooks hurting and at the end of the month that's probably not going to be a huge number of buys.
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khali
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,857
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Post by khali on May 30, 2022 8:52:44 GMT -5
On Observer Radio, Meltzer and Alvarez note that it was not a work, but the MJF showing up at the building at the last second was a work. Basically, they know that Tony Khan would have had to have given him an ultimatum about showing up at some point in the afternoon. Once an agreement was made, showing up at the last minute was part of it. They think he’ll be back.
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