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Post by THE FVNKER on Feb 10, 2023 21:51:13 GMT -5
The internet wrestling community is often super divided (except for here, sometimes, which is why I hang around. This place is generally pretty low key.), and a lot of times it seems like the focus gets shifted to chasing the negatives about something that we all constantly watch and love, which is kind of funny if you think about it. I thought it would be cool if we all listed a few reasons, no matter how big or small, that we like AEW. This isn't to shit on WWE in the least. Like what you like, but AEW has really filled a void for me with professional wrestling so I thought this would be a good shift in tone.
I'll go first. These are all probably stupid lmao. - I dig that the refs put on gloves when workers gig.
- The general production of it is honestly phenomenal, not quite as high as WWE (which by no means needs to be the goal), but you can tell they are trying. Not only is it especially high, it still maintains its own identity. Maybe compare it to how TNA basically tried to go WWE-lite and it just came off cheap looking.
- The card is definitely getting better. Throwing RUSH and Danielson on in the middle of this past week's Dynamite was a good idea. I didn't see the quarter hours, so it might not have worked, but it's so smart to put such a high profile match on during the middle of the show to try and keep viewers.
- Whoever is in the Go Position talking to the announcers is doing a great job, or MJF is a natural born commentator. During RUSH/Danielson, he went from doing his heel work, into putting over how violent and brutal the match was. Top tier work by whoever is responsible.
Anyway, there's more I'm sure I'll add but thanks for coming to the TEDtalk.
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deezy
Don Corleone
Posts: 1,692
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Post by deezy on Feb 10, 2023 22:25:37 GMT -5
Sting
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coleslaw
Don Corleone
Steve Sniffs
Posts: 2,028
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Post by coleslaw on Feb 10, 2023 23:01:10 GMT -5
-The talent pool AEW has access to is incredible
-I enjoy that wrestlers get more freedom in AEW. I think things generally leaning towards being less scripted leads to a more entertaining show
-On a similar line, commentary in AEW feels like everyone gets to "breathe" more and not be so robotic.
-Their set designs are pretty sweet
-Obviously, I don't know the full extent of this, but it does seem like wrestlers are generally taken care of in AEW. Seems like if workers need something, TK gives it to them
-They are doing a hell of a job of building up young talent
-Booking in AEW can be a mixed bag, but I'd say it's good more often than not
-Maki Itoh is always a plus
edit: also wanted to add that, on a personal note, AEW rejuvenated my interest in wrestling. At the time in May 2019, I pretty much gave up all hope on WWE ever being good again, and then with Double or Nothing, AEW reminded me that I actually f***ing love wrestling. And I'd say it's had a positive impact on the industry as a whole since its inception.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 236,212
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Feb 10, 2023 23:09:37 GMT -5
Helped change American wrestling as we've known it for 20 years, as a monopoly, and that's not hyperbole or me trying to be bias or whatever, having a second nationally televised wrestling promotion with a lot of eyes on it, has essentially given careers and opportunities to dozens upon dozens of wrestlers who may have never actually gotten that opportunity in their entire careers, or definitely not at the level AEW's given them. On top of that, wrestlers have another place to thrive if they burn out on another company, or the big one we all think of, and they get reinvigorated and have great new career arcs they did not have elsewhere
The crossover appeal is also something they've given us most others couldn't (In ROH/New Japan's case... executed poorly), the whole concept of The Forbidden Door and most anyone outside of WWE being able to fight anyone, on Free TV or a PPV setting, has made wrestling all the more fun, exciting, and unpredictable from my standpoint, and I welcome every bit of it
Are they perfect? No. But they came at the right time and hit the ground running. I'm very happy they're here, and I hope they never go away.
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schizo
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 3,538
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Post by schizo on Feb 11, 2023 0:23:18 GMT -5
It’s an alternative to WWE, variety is always a good thing
Another company many wrestlers could work at and be on TV
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ASYLUMHAUSEN
Fry's dog Seymour
GIFs | Shitposts | Fun
Posts: 24,417
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Post by ASYLUMHAUSEN on Feb 11, 2023 0:35:36 GMT -5
Other than the first 2 bullet points (which remains the most important parts for me) none of these are in particular order….
•Since the very first Dynamite through literally today I finally, after years in the wilderness - only showing up for raw and smack down live threads to MST3K the shitty product and shitpost gifs - I finally had a weekly appointment viewing wrestling show to watch again. The fact that the weekly show was anchored by the guys who had been a port in the storm during my years in the wilderness (The OG Elite; Bucks, Omega, Cody, Hanger) was a big help. Adding Mox (who had long been one of the lone areas of enjoyment in the E bubble during those years in the wilderness) was like getting a 2nd delicious dessert after a tremendous meal and excellent first dessert. Dynamite absolutely and fully renewed my love of wrestling to levels that have exceeded where I was as a fan in my early 20’s during the peak of OG DX & the Rise of Austin.
•they hired - and gave a national platform to - Danhausen. My love of Danhausen is absolutely unlimited. Full stop.
•The First Dance. Yeah shit went haywire after Scrumgate (long live The Thread) and I definitely soured on Phil Brooks the person after that. But for a while there? Goddamn. Plus, f*** what happened with Scrumgate; AEW gave us that amazing dog collar match complete with Basketball shorts, sXe track jacket, and AFI entrance.
•the hangman chyrons when those were still around.
•Eddie Kingston. Giving that man a contract and letting him do his thing and helping him fulfill some bucket list things in his professional career is some legit feel good stuff. I loved Eddie from the moment he showed up…but after reading his spill his guts in digital ink in that Players Trib piece? I want all the good things to happen for him. And AEW hiring him was the first steps in that.
•Self Aware Tazz on commentary combined with Man In Mask is a damn joy.
•Bringing back Schiavone into the wrestling world and letting him have the freedom to be the GOAT we never realized he was because WCW broke him.
•having Andy Williams & Troy Blauvelt on the roster. I am an old “hardcore kid” (the music, not the wrestling genre)…so having members of Every Time I Die AND God’s Hate on the roster at the same time is perfection because it combines 2 of the things I love the most in this world. Also, God’s Hate is one of my absolute favorite bands right now full stop. Easily my most listened to jams of 2023 so far. Well them and GEL (another awesome hardcore band…no ties to wrestling but I highly recommend them.)
•80’s Coke Fiend “I AM THE FORBIDDEN DOOR” Dirtbag TK “memes.” Yeah…”memes.” 😉
•being a legit, viable, long term alternative for major, non-indie, professional wrestling. Just the mere presence and continued overall success of the company is literally everything so many of us pounded the table for for 20 years. Well, it’s here now. And thank JAH that it is.
•making “wearable in public” tshirts. Not everything that comes out of PWT/ShopAEW is a home run…but more often than not they knock it outta the park. I’ve spent more money on wrestling T-shirt’s for myself in the last 4 years (to say nothing of the money I’ve spent on shirts for Mini-Asylum) than I had spent on any/all wrestling related stuff for 20 years prior to AEW. To say nothing of the money I’ve spent on other stuff (PPV purchases, the two Dynamites my son and I have gotten to attend, etc)
•Orange Cassidy/MJF/Jungleboy/The Acclaimed/Britt/Jamie Hayter/Swerve If THIS is your foundation for the next god knows how many years? You’re in a really goddamn good place. Every single one of the people listed could be The Face of The Company on multiple levels and be HUGE with bringing in new fans, or pulling in people who might not like AEW without having seen it because all they’ve heard is negative online shit from certain…Kentucky Fried Cult-ish…corners of the internet.
•Taking care of Brody and Jay’s families permanently. Not for publicity but because it was the right thing to do. Nuff said on that bullet point.
I’ll stop here because I could easily type a War and Peace sized tome on all the reasons I love this goddamn company.
And, no, it’s not some blind devotion either…there are def things over the span of the time the company has existed that I flat out didn’t like (lookin at you Dan Lambert), that annoys me (Jericho’s late career, Hogan with a work rate that will put dudes over eventually but not before the feud drags on well past it’s shelf life late career push that I’ve grumbled about in live threads and such), or straight just didn’t land the way someone thought it would (Cody Rhodes - Ender of Racism.)
But this is a positive good vibes thread. Forget all that, just wanted to head it off at the pass hahaa
•
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r.
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Bye
Posts: 16,481
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Post by r. on Feb 11, 2023 3:16:34 GMT -5
1: Each storyline feels important on its own. When PPV's come obvious the titles take center stage but as an example, Danielson v Omega tore the house down with no other story than (Who is the better man). Compare this to the E which has had one and only one main story for the last 3 years (Roman).
2: I love their commitment to tag team/Trios wrestling.
3: Their resiliency; Despite only being around for a few years they've had to deal with a Pandemic, Losing their founder to the competition, Losing a beloved wrestler due to their passing, and high visibility backstage drama.
4: Amazing homegrown talent. They have a crop of guys who are going to carry the company into the future.
5: They listen to the fans. From pushing guys like OC or featuring Danhausen.
6: Forbidden Door, nuff said.
7: Pushing guys the E threw to the curb. Malaki black, Miro (Before he disappeared forever) Keith Lee, Swerve etc.
8: Best commentary team. I love Tony, Excaliber, and Taz. Second place to Paul White and Matt Menard
I think it's because I enjoy it so much that I get really down when a Dynamite that was fire only gets 900k while a plodding 3 hr raw that goes nowhere featuring awful celebrities and wrestlers with shit for brains will on it's worst day pull in 2m. I know it's been around longer but I still hate it.
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Post by This Player Hating Mothman on Feb 11, 2023 7:04:05 GMT -5
People do Canadian Destroyers in AEW like all the time
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,589
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Post by Bo Rida on Feb 11, 2023 9:15:06 GMT -5
In the nicest possible way aew is basically wrestling on it's default settings. Production is watchable, in-ring is strong and covers multiple styles, something for everyone* approach without being a lite version of anything. I think it's under appreciated just how difficult that is to achieve.
That helps makes the crossovers work and they've directly or indirectly led me to follow many other promotions/wrestlers and attend shows.
Even if it's a bit of a slump atm they've still revitalised tag team wrestling in my eyes with the deepest division seen in some time.
Fan reactions are listened to and they pivot accordingly.
Basic human decency from management. Especially honouring contracts and the way they handled Brodie Lee's passing and his family.
They've raised the bar massively. I doubt Takeshita Vs MJF or Danielson Vs Rush will be remembered when it comes to moty voting but there been times you'd struggle to get two matches of that quality across several ppvs let alone 1 episode of TV.
*Nearly. Fans of supernatural shenanigans seem to be the exception.
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Post by polarbearpete on Feb 11, 2023 10:01:05 GMT -5
The presentation and feeling as almost the spiritual successor to WCW. This has ebbed and flowed at times but I think they’ve gotten back to it in more recent months.
Being a place to learn about and become a fan of unfamiliar talent (as I am not much of an indie or New Japan watcher) like Jungle Boy, Hangman, Darby, MJF, Wardlow, Eddie Kingston, Ricky Starks, Rush,
Being a place to watch some of my favorites keep their careers going in the national spotlight - Danielson, Moxley, Malakai, Penta, Fenix, PAC, Keith Lee, Punk, Samoa Joe, Dustin.
And overall, I love that there is a legitimate number 2 company as it gives more talent jobs and also pushes both companies to be better.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Feb 11, 2023 10:19:59 GMT -5
They've shown absolute class in how they've handled the deaths of Brodie Lee and Jay Briscoe. Brodie's tribute show might be my favorite show they or anyone else has ever done.
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Post by Natural Born Farmer on Feb 11, 2023 10:37:53 GMT -5
TV-14
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Post by Doo Doo Dickhead on Feb 11, 2023 11:36:20 GMT -5
The matches rarely, if ever, feel like a chore for me to get through.
Great tag division and also a really strong women's division now.
I like Tazz, Excalibur and Tony a lot as a commentary team and I usually dislike 3 person teams.
Tony Khan seems to learn from most of his mistakes and knows how to bounce back in a big way when a show or certain part of it isn't received well.
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Post by Doo Doo Dickhead on Feb 11, 2023 11:44:29 GMT -5
4: Amazing homegrown talent.
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FinalGwen
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Particularly fond of muffins.
Posts: 16,436
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Post by FinalGwen on Feb 11, 2023 12:29:40 GMT -5
Things I've appreciated about AEW: - Early on, spotlighted LGBTQ+ talent like no other company really did. I don't think WWE would have ever given us Nyla Rose as women's champion despite how amazing she is, and I applaud AEW for taking that leap. (Could probably put a bit more effort into that kinda spotlight nowadays, mind, rather than just giving us a video package on Sonny Kiss during Pride month while not using her on TV and calling it a day.) - Match quality is generally fantastic, even on regular shows. - Introduced a ton of fresh talent to the mainstream, and still does to an extent. - Had a few real successes with long term storytelling, like the Hangman saga and the evolution of the Dark Order. There have been some clunkers too, and stories cut short by circumstance, but when it works it really works. - At its best - and that feels like an important caveat atm - the tag division feels like it could legit deserve the main event as much as a world title, that it's just as important.
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,294
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Post by Fade on Feb 11, 2023 12:53:11 GMT -5
Mo’ Dudes and Ladies making moolah.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2023 12:54:44 GMT -5
Shew. I could borderline write a novel, but I suppose the key things to me are:
- A willingness to try anything at least once. Yes, AEW has had some cringe moments (the exploding barbed wire deathmatch, the Cody Rhodes/Ogogo weigh-in, whatever the hell it is that Saraya and Toni Storm are doing right now), but Tony Khan is way more willing than most to let you go out there and try your idea.
- Balancing established talent with up and coming youth. AEW has a LOT of well-established workers if you really think about it: Sting, Dustin Rhodes, Chris Jericho, Moxley, Danielson, The Elite in general, etc.
What I will say though is that, especially as of late, Tony's made sure that his new guys, his young lions, his up-and-comers get their shine, too. Hell, the champ is somebody under 30 that's never worked for a major promotion prior to AEW. Guys like Hook, Jungle Boy, Darby Allin, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia... they're all presented as absolute big deals despite not always being in the main even scene, simply because AEW has trained the audience to think that these guys will be world beaters once they have the reps.
- An absolutely unmatched talent roster (at least in my opinion). Only in a place like AEW could a roster that includes Danielson, Adam Cole, Kenny Omega, the Bucks, Moxley, Claudio, Samoa Joe, and a who's-who of world class workers have DANHAUSEN be the biggest merch mover. That's not an insult to anyone, either. It means that while Tony may know what kind of wrestling he personally likes, he also books for his audience and not for himself. To put it bluntly, while I absolutely love Danhausen, he's not getting the platform he has in anywhere else BUT AEW.
- The production and commentary are professional, but loose enough to look and sound human. Yes, we all enjoy Excalibur trying to cram in 30 sentences into 20 seconds, but on the whole, he, Taz, and Tony Schiavone just sound like 3 friends who came up in the business in different places in different generations and all bring their own thing to the table in terms of tone, experience, and style. Also, the camera angles don't always get everything at the right time... but real sports don't either, until you see the replay. I dig that kind of thing.
- This one is probably controversial but it's just my opinion: TK is not the monster VKM is. Time has shown Vince to be such a terrible human being and monster that I personally made the choice to not give WWE any of my money and barely any of my attention.
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XIII
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,570
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Post by XIII on Feb 11, 2023 13:12:28 GMT -5
DANHAUSEN. I’m far from the biggest Jeff Jarrett fan but I need a Danhausen vs. Jarrett feud. lol
I like that there’s a good mix of sports entertaining to workrate wrestling with many able to do both.
Commentary teams are very good. The regular team is good of course, but I actually really enjoy the Rampage team as well, especially when Jericho is there.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2023 14:55:36 GMT -5
DANHAUSEN. I’m far from the biggest Jeff Jarrett fan but I need a Danhausen vs. Jarrett feud. lol I like that there’s a good mix of sports entertaining to workrate wrestling with many able to do both. Commentary teams are very good. The regular team is good of course, but I actually really enjoy the Rampage team as well, especially when Jericho is there.
I never thought about it before, but Danhausen's whole shtick is that he's a self-aware Memphis gimmick.
So double J would be perfect to feud with him and sell it lol
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The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
Posts: 37,305
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Post by The Ichi on Feb 11, 2023 15:40:07 GMT -5
It feels like it actually respects me as a fan.
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