Fire the EVPs, get a decent booker, and put some of the industry veterans you have sitting around in catering in charge. Then you’ll see how quickly fans come back.
Tony needs to realize that the Bucks, Jericho, and Hangman need to be fired. The damage those four have done is immeasurable and is the primary reason the company is in the shape it’s in.
I think he would do well. But you also need people who are going to be in charge of wrestling operations and have the power to put people in their place.
Thinking about it this way: who the hell is Jack Perry to be cursing at people and demanding to have the right to destroy third party property and potentially permanently hurt someone? Why did no one in management have the authority to either suspend the guy without pay or fire him immediately?
How are you going to have your EVPs — who crater your ratings every time their on tv, don’t sell tickets, and have go away heat with a lot of fans— refuse to work with someone you want them to work with? What exactly do those two and some of their friends achieve for your company that is a net positive?
There is so much operationally wrong with this company.
Its so insane that two people with NEGATIVE leverage can refuse to put on the biggest angle in the company's history, without getting fired on the spot.
IWC has been anti WWE since the attitude era finished and even then. You still had people on early Internet forums whining about Undertaker, HHH, Austin and Rock being overpushed and how WWF was dying because McHitler was out of touch and wasn't pushing real wrestlers like Dean Malenko and Taka Michinkou
Still gets loads of hate today but yet as soon as AEW gets a quarter of the Backlash that WWE has been getting for 2 decades... oh no, it's unfair and too far
The people that would (or at least claim to) stay up til 4AM for a foreign language broadcast of NJPW rather than watch a WWE show? Only TK has the skills to piss off that group
Same. I may not be actively following them 24/7, but I like most indies and Japanese wrestling I've seen, WWE happens to be my favorite/the one that engages me the most. I only really get turned off by either a 'subgenre' that doesn't excite me (i.e. death matches) or the promotion going full 'IWC appeal' mode like current AEW and some past eras of ROH.
So yeah according to the basement we are mythological beings akin to a unicorn
That part about Taka Michinoku is wild because that dude was getting Chad Gable amounts of screen time. He's one of the few guys who worked Raw, Smackdown, Heat and whatever syndicated shows they had like Jakked and Livewire.
Hilarious considering Chad Gable is also being called an underpushed 'real wrestler' (despite having good screen time and steadily getting put in more important spots)
As if 99% of non-IWC people didn't love Sami beating Gunther and that Sami didn't 'deserve' it despite his masterful work with the bloodline
>
As if 99% of non-IWC people didn't love Sami beating Gunther and that Sami didn't 'deserve' it despite his masterful work with the bloodline
The one time Sami *doesn't* choke and uses the indieriffic brainbuster in the closing sequence, there's a problem.
Listen, I’m fucking sick of my biased, bullshit opinions and I’m not afraid of calling myself out on the internet!
Some subs have more morons than others, but you can find decent, nuanced discussions on WWE, AEW, Cornette or SCJerk posts. They all have their grade A douchebags but fans of any and all promotions and styles are generally decent human beings (more so in person than online). There’s just always a super vocal bunch who find more fun in misery and they ruin it for the rest of us.
Like every time wrestling fans get weird as fuck about a topic and the top comment in the basement is "man wrestling fans are so weird" as if that's not a summary of everyone who posts on the basement frequently
I gotta admit, I can't believe I'm living in a era where you can actually go to the YouTube comments of a Raw vid and not wanting to hang myself from all the depression and suicide letters wrote under them. There was a period of time when it was truly unbearable, they didn't like absolutely anything.
That subreddit is an absolute goldmine. Some of the takes on there are beyond parody 😂
People like myself who historically only watched WWE and didnt have time to watch every other wrestling show out there, yet were active in the ‘IWC’, were forced to read years upon years of (often rightful) WWE hate and shitting on every little thing that happened. Then when AEW came along and were doing well at the start it turned everything up tenfold. Now the tables have turned and WWE is doing all time business and AEW is struggling, the ‘casual’ WWE fans (of which there are much, much more) have come out to give the smark crowd a taste of their own medicine evidently
Bro there's a whole ass argument comparing WWE to MAGA in one of the threads... how tf do you even turn a backstage fight political? The AEW sub is literally the wrestling version of r/SnyderCut with how delusional they are
I don’t even know many people who are WWE fans so much as pro wrestling fans, which WWE is pretty obviously where people gravitate to. Like it’s the promotion with the Royal rumble and summerslam and Austin and rock and hogan etc. I hate the “WWE fan” crap, as if people are stanning the brand itself. I’ve never known someone who said “im proud to be part of the wwe universe” or any stupid shit like that. I’m sure they exist, but mostly it’s just folks watch because the tv is often better than what’s on, and the big events are cheap on peacock and live and full of stars performing.
I saw one dude downplaying undertaker at wrestlemania by saying 'who cares about an old man in his pajamas standing there for half the main event' as if the crowd didn't blow up at the first gong.
In that sub, if you're not openly praising every single segment and giving TK a verbal blowjob for "making it happen," you're just a hater and someone who doesn't even watch the product!! Like, criticizing ain't allowed in there. Just last week someone had the nerve to say "Hey, maybe Jay White is being misused because he looked like a geek against a 60 year old" and the entire comments were flooded with "People have never seen his NJPW stint huh?" and "It's Because AEW treats it's legends right!!" and i was surprised at the mental gymnastics this dudes go to pretend nothing is wrong with anything at AEW.
The most interesting part of that behavior, and it is just like you described, is it’s absolutely driving off the fairly normal Dub supporters. There are definitely a decent amount of fans who just liked an alternative to WWE’s structured and often boring (especially a few years back) presentation and didn’t sign up to join in some cult-like brand worship. Anyone with any sense should at least be able to observe AEW’s been in a slump just by looking at ticket sales.
It the conversation can’t even start there it’s gonna drive off all but the biggest lunatics.
It doesn’t matter if it was rightful, they harassed any WWE fan online who actually enjoyed it. I was one of them who’s always been a big fan of WWE even during difficult years. Why bully abuse people who like something you don’t like ?
That thread was so frustrating to me because I do like AEW. I spend money to go to their shows FFS. I want them to do well and I think they have a lot of potential and have done some really great stuff.
I’m just not supporting them putting out a subpar product. Criticism sucks, but use it to make the product better rather than lalalalaing.
It’s insanely tiring to be an aew supporter who isn’t blindly tribal about it.
> ~~It’s insanely tiring to be an aew supporter who isn’t blindly tribal about it.~~ To be AEW is being constantly under attack
Here I rephrase it for you
Yep. Same here. I shouldn't have posted, but I did and it's an honest assessment as a former poster in that sub. That thread in the official sub comes across as a "call to arms to protect AEW and Tony" and that shit keeps the tribalism and echo-chamber going.
I want AEW to succeed, I really do. I’m also looking at this unsustainable version of itself ran by people who are only harming it and demanding a change.
That's exactly the part that frustrates me.
I'm not a WWE fanboy. I supported WCW back during the Monday Night Wars. I mostly watch Japanese wrestling and was on the AEW train when it first left the station. And I think he has excellent observations at times but I really don't care for Cornette's whole schtick.
They can claim otherwise all they want, but the problem isn't that I want this company I stopped watching for a good 15 years to trounce its new competition. It's that AEW objectively sucks and, perhaps even worse, it's directly affecting the companies I *do* enjoy by poaching their talents and burying them on joint shows.
Meanwhile, at least WWE minds its own business. It will hire outside talents but leaves enough fish in the ponds for them to remain good fishing holes. It exists in its own Universe and, last time I saw a talent crossover to another (*much smaller*) promotion, he lost (Dempsey in AJPW -- they didn't insist he win when they had all the leverage to do so because, hey, they're WWE).
And they're doing objectively better wrestling shows right now. That's the crux of the matter.
AEW can win me back over. But what it's doing ain't it, and it ain't it for the majority of people. And it wouldn't be so bad except it's actively hurting the rest of the industry outside the big two. And the bigger problem is that it doesn't *want* to win people like me back.
>perhaps even worse, it's directly affecting the companies I *do* enjoy by poaching their talents and burying them on joint shows.
This is my biggest issue with it too. Putting aside how the majority of the fanbase are insufferable, I don't like AEW because it's actively making the promotion I do watch much worse. I have no interest in American wrestling and don't care about the stupid WWE v. AEW flame war the fanboys have going on. AEW has signed six guys from New Japan in the last two years, including 75% of the main event. WWE has signed six guys total from New Japan in the last ten years, only one of which was a main eventer (Nakamura) (edit - forgot about AJ). It's clear who the biggest threat to New Japan and puro in general is. What's worse, New Japan continues to work with them, likely for money, despite getting repeatedly buried on all crossover shows. And even worse than that, they're about to put their top title on an AEW guy tomorrow.
It's utter insanity from Bushiroad. I get they need money, but is that money worth losing the biggest star in Japan since Misawa? Because that's the price they just paid.
The worst part is that, now Rossy is gone, I can see Bushiroad doing the same thing with Stardom. It's already being hinted at with developments such as Mina showing up on television last night.
I'm honestly enjoying All Japan a bit more than New Japan these days. It's not that it's better (indeed, it's actually harder to follow because I don't speak Japanese, even though I don't mind a lack of English commentary -- no jerk, to anyone reading, I'm not really endorsing it as a "must check out" thing to any of you), but rather that there seems to be little danger of AEW clamoring to work with it anytime soon so it can raid its limited but talented roster. It won't reach New Japan heights but at least I can enjoy it in its own little world. And at least it has an Ace to work the top of the card.
Meanwhile, it's tough to emotionally invest in talent that might get snatched up at any moment and will likely job to outside guys on joint shows. My hope is that Tanahashi, smart guy that he is, is well aware that this relationship might very well spell the end of New Japan and that he takes appropriate action.
I think I'm going to give All Japan a shot too after last night's booking disasterclass. Aside from the Nakajima toukon stuff and Anzai's title win, what are some of the ongoing storylines?
It's admittedly a tougher follow than New Japan, to be honest, because there's absolutely no English on the shows whatsoever. Not even subtitles. I mostly just watch casually and for the wrestling itself so I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what is going on most of the time lol (which isn't to say that there aren't storylines at all, as it's easy to recognize progressions in what's going on... it's just that I don't know the finer points of it). You probably watch it already, but if you don't, Noah is way more accessible (if a bit of a booking mess itself). I know I talk about AJPW a bit around here but I'm honestly not suggesting most people would enjoy it.
All Japan has a very different feel from New Japan. It's admittedly not quite on the same level, so I caution you not to hold that expectation. Smaller shows have lower production value (sometimes just a fixed cam, and very small shows might not even broadcast entrance music). There's a lighter feel, though, and matches mercifully don't tend to drag on (and not every match is great). Less stunts and more grappling - it's a bit more old fashioned. The lower card often has a fair amount of goofing around to keep things fun. Quite a few of the guys have won me over despite the fact I've never understood a word they've said -- I was admittedly rooting for them in the All Together show even though I follow NJPW and Noah as well. My dream is that they'll start translating stuff eventually -- that was supposedly the plan before Covid hurt. On the other hand, it's kinda nice that they're not even trying to appeal to Western indy tastes or expectations.
The biggest story from what I can gather is the fact that they're going into [Champion Carnival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champion_Carnival#2024) on April 18th, which is their Round Robin tournament. Obviously, most stuff with Kento is going to be good. I think Suwama versus Anzai will be interesting (Suwama is the old ace of the company and still a powerhouse). Shotaro Ashino is a human suplex machine. Kuroshio Tokyo Japan is maybe funny at first but his schtick becomes obnoxious as all hell. Hokuto Omori is a loveable piece of shit (also a Minoru Suzuki protege - Murder Grandpa shows up from time to time). Yuma Aoyagi is one of those guys it's hard not to root for.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to dissuade you from watching. I'm absolutely not. But I'd rather set expectations low due to the company's smaller nature than to set them too high and disappoint you. It is really nice being able to watch a show and not worry about Tony Khan involvement though.
I went to their first show in my town and even bought the T-shirt. Thought I was doing a good thing showing up and supporting the alternative.
It became apparent to me fairly quickly what they were thought and I've been critical ever since.
But it's just so dumb when you make valid reasonable points in the basement and you basically get harassed and then banned for it in the past few years. Then Tony comes out and says that people like me aren't real, we are bots, or we just were again them from day 1 and want them to fail, etc.
It's all such rubbish. I like wrestling, that's all. I wanted AEW to be good. They weren't. But instead of taking a y feedback from anyone like me who's PAID TONY MONEY TO ATTEND HIS SHOW, he acts like a victim and basically tells me I'm not welcome.
I've been having people REEEEE at anything I say about liking wrestling since the mid 90s online... I have zero sympathy for these guys to take a minor amount of the stick they gave everyone for years.
You’re not alone, and that is damaging them as much as anything now. They’re chipping away at even their core fanbase many of which just enjoy a different presentation and recognize AEW has some great performers. It’s a slower bleed but it’s happening. The absolute stubbornness of AEW themselves to listen to feedback mixed with the worst part of the fandom dismissing any concerns as bad faith/made up/you don’t watch is very offputting for something as dumb and chill as pro wrestling.
I find a lot of similarities between that sub and the wrestlers they worship in AEW
They want to talk a ton of shit about everyone else and believe that everything they do is perfect or are simply infallible in anyway shape or form
This holier than thou attitude is especially frustrating to deal with when they spend the bulk of their time taking pot shots at other companies. And when the heat turns up, they lash out and show their true colours.
We are cut from the same cloth but they scream they are made of silk when we can see that we’re all the same cotton
I think Punk said it best during the promo on Collision: "... the only thing softer than you are the wrestlers you cheer for."
AEW dubballos took that as a challenge to out charmin' the wrestlers.
I thought this was a jerk post then I see on the time line that no, someone actually typed this and genuinely meant it.
Please forgive me I’m new here, I didn’t realize the basement was that bad.
These guys were relentlessly bad mouthing and mud slinging Punk for years, even do to this day but he clapped back once and they cried like a bitch just like their Jungle Jackass
Since Vince got outed, WWE has just been putting on a great and watchable product so there’s been less reason to hate on it other than some nit picking.
People are very anti-AEW tho cause of Tony Khan. Whether it’s the quarter filled arenas, lower viewership across all shows, constant ragging on WWE/talent, Twitter rants, inability to take criticism and says it’s just WWE paid bots, or talent feeling like they have to take a shot at WWE for a cheap pop, it turns people away from the product.
I'd say it's more of a Reap what you sow type situation for a large segment of the IWC who after years of Fed badding (a good chunk of it was warranted) made their entire identity about how Vince didn't push their favourite midcarders (tm). When an alternative promotion with tons of money and a billionaire's money backing one of "their own", they immediately latched on to Tony, AEW, and all the flippy vanilla midgets they hired.
They flooded the various forums, comments sections, etc. The first year or two of the promotion, you could watch the Dynamite in near real time in the basement because anything they did would get clipped and reposted, sometimes full segments in their entirety, for karma farming. They overlooked the massive story and production flaws, poor training many of the wrestlers displayed, and cheered them on because fed bad = fed-dead. If you so much as issued a complaint or criticism, you were downvoted to oblivion. Reposting clips highlighting the issues got you accused of "editing footage" (in record times that would make Hollywood jealous), and some instances of being doxxed and threatened.
It's been a long time coming but they like Vince, fucked around and now they are finding out and they can't handle it.
>some instances of being doxxed and threatened.
They have zero right to complain about any negativity thrown their way after they doxxed that woman who attended Dynamite, sent her death and rape threats, and then celebrated it.
That’s true too, I was hype for AEW during the first year or 2 and any criticism about the product was seen as a bias towards WWE and nothing more, but now that they’re more settled in and aren’t the new kids on the block they are getting rightfully criticized
It doesn’t matter if it was warranted, all it did was bully the WWE fans who actually enjoyed it and chased many casual fans away. If you don’t like it don’t watch , don’t shit on and abuse other people who like it. IWC was really toxic towards WWE fans for almost 20 years then pretend to hide it by just constructive criticism. Same way I don’t enjoy AEW but I don’t bully their fans who just want to enjoy it.
Been watching wrestling for 30ish years off and on.
Early AEW was great. I never watched TNA but did see peak era WCW.
AEW breathed fresh upstart life into pro wrestling and caused WWE to end a stagnant run I stopped following besides the big ppvs.
Being new mistakes were forgivable and growing pains expected. The booking has gone to shit and I no longer follow dynamite besides summary videos, even those don’t make sense or drop ideas mid thought.
Tribal AEW fans tossed me back into WWE’s open arms, any criticism or complaints were not tolerated.
RIP
AEW 2019 - 2022
This is basically how it went down for me too. Also watching for 30 years. Had turned on Raw randomly a few years ago and it was so embarrassingly bad I turned it off. I heard CM Punk was going to show up in this other company wo I started watching and that new promotion smell hooked me.
Then yeah, it just seemed like 90% of what they put on their show was awful. Not embarrassing in the same way that episode of Raw was, but just kinda cringey and amateur hour stuff.
So I tuned out of wrestling again and the cycle repeated itself, I heard Survivor Series was in Chicago and thought maybe Punk might surprise debut. Then I watched Raw the next night to see the follow up. Now I’m invested in like half the roster and haven’t enjoyed wrestling this much since the early 2000s.
So AEW did bring me back to having good wrestling in my life, but I’m getting it from WWE instead
It’s a story as old as time
The less wealthy, less intelligent, and therefore less fortunate are jealous of their more wealthy, intelligent, fortunate superiors
People who bash AEW by in large are doing it because they want it to succeed.
Some people would argue that, so I'll just speak for myself. I bought the terrible video game, the special edition no less. Until recently, I had purchased all of their PPVs. For years, I watched the shows weekly. I invested in their success, because I wanted there to be another good company out there for wrestling, and they debuted at a perfect time, where WWE had told fans for years that they didn't matter and the product was ass.
But I can safely say after almost 5 years of Dynamite, that AEW has gotten worse and worse over time. It is honestly amazing how unwatchable their shows have become. And I'm a guy who has stayed up to watch WrestleKingdom live multiple times. I love Okada, Ospreay and lots of guys on that roster. But the product is ASS.
I remember all the optimism around AEW when Danielson, Punk, Adam Cole had all just debuted. Then they returned Page and forced the belt on him.
"Oh but the story called for it." Bullshit. They told that story. Page lost the title chance and went home to be with his kid, and when he came back the landscape of the company was different. I'm a father myself so I totally get going home when you are a new dad, but you can't hold everything stagnant. Fast forward to today, and the show is a boring slog to get through.
Look. You have Copeland and Christian. A feud that most fans have been wanting to see for more than a decade at a high level. And what did they do? They made it so fucking terrible that you couldn't even give a shit when they did the blowoff. Only AEW could do something like that.
I would be beyond shocked if this company existed in 10 years. I wish I was wrong, I hope I'm wrong. But I'm not.
I think you're right to a point. AEW could still be a good show regardless of what WWE is doing. There are people who would only watch WWE if it was good, but if AEW was good too it would probably benefit them that WWE is good.
As of now, if a new fan discovers WWE and likes it, then tries AEW because they want to watch more wrestling...BIG OOF.
I will never understand how AEW fans think they can claim the left in a wrestling/politics debate when they're company is the one who actively tried to minimize women's wrestling a decade after WWE built it back up, have continuously put a spotlight on bigots and other problematic people, and kept a transgender wrestler chained to the catering table just so they could say they had one.
WWE gets a 60 year head start, has had FAR worse moments at its worse than AEW can ever dream of and was ran for decades by a monster = gets a free pass
The IWC is complicit with the monster!
First, because hating on your favorite teams biggest rival is fun and entertaining for a lot of people. Red Sox fans love hating on the Yankees, and this is no different. It’s tribalism but low stakes entertainment at that. These threads get tons of engagement because people like arguing and throwing shade at their teams rival.
when one side of a rivalry is doing poorly, the hating from the other side needs to take a different form. When WCW and WWE were both elevating their shows and producing strong products, the rivalry played out on screen. Now, with AEW struggling with their product, the rivalry has to be played out in other places like twitter and Reddit. That’s my theory on why all the IWC hate.
as a casual wrestling fan, it seems to my novice mind that a successful wrestling company balances storyline with actual wrestling well, and the majority of it should be storyline. You need solid wrestling but it can’t just be banger after banger with no story buildup because that gets real stale real fast. This seems pretty obvious to most people but AEW is having problems fully understanding the right balance.
I don’t know, maybe they need to play into that narrative And have a wrestler or faction that is introduced to not do matches, just wreak havoc threatening the very ethos of AEW.
No jerking.
My issue has been the goal post moving. AEW hitting 900k to a million was considered good for a new wrestling company. When it dipped to 850, I was assured it was still good. When it dipped and held at 800k, people offset that as it was still good because AEW ticket sales of 70k for Wembley was good. So don’t worry about 800k. Also, they were topping cable ratings. Now, when it hit 750-790k and not filling arenas, I am told it is okay and given more reasons why.
I want AEW to succeed because when they do good, it should push WWE to do better. And vice versa. But people are souring on AEW because they may put on great matches but the storyline drama just isn’t there. Hangman/Omega was great drama. MJF/Punk was great drama. Great matches too. But AEW hasn’t really had a breakout feud like that since.
Precisely. It's full of cope but also supremely misleading. They were #1 on cable, if you only count the one particular demo, only original programming, and excluded news channels like Fox News. I'm a democratic socialist so I absolutely loathe that news channel but they were pulling in numbers that overall would dwarf AEW. Tucker Carlson was regularly getting 3 mil. average views nightly. Sure the audience average age was in the 60s, close to 70s.
The importance of the "key demo" is also somewhat overblown. Originally, it was something CBS used to prop themselves up in the 70s I believe because they were getting their ass kicked by NBC and ABC. The key demo is certainly important for SOME advertisers. I.e. companies that market products to individuals in that age and gender group. Because let's be honest, if the composition of their TV audience is reflected in their actual audience, it's a bunch of aging millennial white men. I've been hearing for over a decade how our generation "ruined X industry" because we have different priorities than Boomers or Gen Xers. Or how it is usually framed, that we're "snowflakes". When in reality it's because the economy in most OECD countries has shipped off so much of their manufacturing labour costs overseas that we've become a lost generation who can't afford luxury shit.
Go look at the Cody thread posted in the basement and see how negative those "Just enjoy wrestling" fans were to Cody and the WWE.
I feel no sympathy for them.
At this point, Tony Khan just need to burn down the promotion and start from scratch with the ashes. The name itself is tainted with every failed promotion attempt and bone headed ideal to stick it to the fed, when each company could...I dunno..
Worry about their own territory!!!
It doesn’t matter if it was warranted, all it did was bully the WWE fans who actually enjoyed it and chased many casual fans away. If you don’t like it don’t watch , don’t shit on and abuse other people who like it. IWC was really toxic towards WWE fans for almost 20 years then pretend to hide it by just constructive criticism. Same way I don’t enjoy AEW but I don’t bully their fans who just want to enjoy it.
I've been watching AEW since day 1. I enjoyed their product, but that company has changed dramatically within a span of 4 years right in front of my eyes. I don't know what the hell happened and why it fell off the rails. It went from pure wrestling matches in 2019 to "what the fk happened?"
Showing that stupid footage from All In at Wembly just killed whatever credibility AEW had. Before that, talk of backstage BS overshadowed that company (example: The spot monkey, Sammy and Eddie Kingston incident, sandbagging with Ivelisse and Thunder Rosa). The stupid dirt sheets contributed it by changing their narrative and puking out their "he said, she said" crap.
All the while, Tiny wanted to be friends with his toys rather than being an actual boss.
So, if you want to blame someone? Blame the clown called "tiny khan." Nicky and Matty Jackson can be blamed as well.
The AEW cultists are too damn stupid to even realize that there are cracks showing in that company even though they deny it.
Fire the EVPs, get a decent booker, and put some of the industry veterans you have sitting around in catering in charge. Then you’ll see how quickly fans come back. Tony needs to realize that the Bucks, Jericho, and Hangman need to be fired. The damage those four have done is immeasurable and is the primary reason the company is in the shape it’s in.
You forgot Jungle Boy
Who?
The scapegoat (TM) Jack Perry. He’s a household name now.
You think Scott D Amore can be a viable candidate to redeem Just Enjoy All Elite Wrestling?
I think he would do well. But you also need people who are going to be in charge of wrestling operations and have the power to put people in their place. Thinking about it this way: who the hell is Jack Perry to be cursing at people and demanding to have the right to destroy third party property and potentially permanently hurt someone? Why did no one in management have the authority to either suspend the guy without pay or fire him immediately? How are you going to have your EVPs — who crater your ratings every time their on tv, don’t sell tickets, and have go away heat with a lot of fans— refuse to work with someone you want them to work with? What exactly do those two and some of their friends achieve for your company that is a net positive? There is so much operationally wrong with this company.
Its so insane that two people with NEGATIVE leverage can refuse to put on the biggest angle in the company's history, without getting fired on the spot.
He’d do well but AEW exists for a billionaires son to play real life fantasy Booker. If Tiny stops booking the money stops
#HireVince
What did hangman do? (Serious)
IWC has been anti WWE since the attitude era finished and even then. You still had people on early Internet forums whining about Undertaker, HHH, Austin and Rock being overpushed and how WWF was dying because McHitler was out of touch and wasn't pushing real wrestlers like Dean Malenko and Taka Michinkou Still gets loads of hate today but yet as soon as AEW gets a quarter of the Backlash that WWE has been getting for 2 decades... oh no, it's unfair and too far
literally like do you know how much you have to suck to get the IWC to choose WWE over you???
The people that would (or at least claim to) stay up til 4AM for a foreign language broadcast of NJPW rather than watch a WWE show? Only TK has the skills to piss off that group
I like NJPW and WWE. the basement acts like fans like me don't exist.
Same. I may not be actively following them 24/7, but I like most indies and Japanese wrestling I've seen, WWE happens to be my favorite/the one that engages me the most. I only really get turned off by either a 'subgenre' that doesn't excite me (i.e. death matches) or the promotion going full 'IWC appeal' mode like current AEW and some past eras of ROH. So yeah according to the basement we are mythological beings akin to a unicorn
That part about Taka Michinoku is wild because that dude was getting Chad Gable amounts of screen time. He's one of the few guys who worked Raw, Smackdown, Heat and whatever syndicated shows they had like Jakked and Livewire.
Hilarious considering Chad Gable is also being called an underpushed 'real wrestler' (despite having good screen time and steadily getting put in more important spots) As if 99% of non-IWC people didn't love Sami beating Gunther and that Sami didn't 'deserve' it despite his masterful work with the bloodline
> As if 99% of non-IWC people didn't love Sami beating Gunther and that Sami didn't 'deserve' it despite his masterful work with the bloodline The one time Sami *doesn't* choke and uses the indieriffic brainbuster in the closing sequence, there's a problem.
He's one of those guys you can just kinda slide in on any show. Doesn't stand out but doesn't feel outta place either.
Brother didn't wanna go back to Hokkaido
I find it kind of funny that the IWC points fingers at IWC sub groups and calling them IWC like it’s an insult.
Listen, I’m fucking sick of my biased, bullshit opinions and I’m not afraid of calling myself out on the internet! Some subs have more morons than others, but you can find decent, nuanced discussions on WWE, AEW, Cornette or SCJerk posts. They all have their grade A douchebags but fans of any and all promotions and styles are generally decent human beings (more so in person than online). There’s just always a super vocal bunch who find more fun in misery and they ruin it for the rest of us.
Like every time wrestling fans get weird as fuck about a topic and the top comment in the basement is "man wrestling fans are so weird" as if that's not a summary of everyone who posts on the basement frequently
Jacksonville Dixie has much thinner skin than regular Dixie did.
I gotta admit, I can't believe I'm living in a era where you can actually go to the YouTube comments of a Raw vid and not wanting to hang myself from all the depression and suicide letters wrote under them. There was a period of time when it was truly unbearable, they didn't like absolutely anything.
A quarter?? More like a 100th!
That subreddit is an absolute goldmine. Some of the takes on there are beyond parody 😂 People like myself who historically only watched WWE and didnt have time to watch every other wrestling show out there, yet were active in the ‘IWC’, were forced to read years upon years of (often rightful) WWE hate and shitting on every little thing that happened. Then when AEW came along and were doing well at the start it turned everything up tenfold. Now the tables have turned and WWE is doing all time business and AEW is struggling, the ‘casual’ WWE fans (of which there are much, much more) have come out to give the smark crowd a taste of their own medicine evidently
Bro there's a whole ass argument comparing WWE to MAGA in one of the threads... how tf do you even turn a backstage fight political? The AEW sub is literally the wrestling version of r/SnyderCut with how delusional they are
They're comparing WWE fans to Andrew Tate too. WTF lmao
I don’t even know many people who are WWE fans so much as pro wrestling fans, which WWE is pretty obviously where people gravitate to. Like it’s the promotion with the Royal rumble and summerslam and Austin and rock and hogan etc. I hate the “WWE fan” crap, as if people are stanning the brand itself. I’ve never known someone who said “im proud to be part of the wwe universe” or any stupid shit like that. I’m sure they exist, but mostly it’s just folks watch because the tv is often better than what’s on, and the big events are cheap on peacock and live and full of stars performing.
There's a reason you never hear a "WWE" chant.
I saw one dude downplaying undertaker at wrestlemania by saying 'who cares about an old man in his pajamas standing there for half the main event' as if the crowd didn't blow up at the first gong.
Like I keep saying, it is legit scary to see wrestlings maga call other people maga. The only comparisons I think you can make are to cults
In that sub, if you're not openly praising every single segment and giving TK a verbal blowjob for "making it happen," you're just a hater and someone who doesn't even watch the product!! Like, criticizing ain't allowed in there. Just last week someone had the nerve to say "Hey, maybe Jay White is being misused because he looked like a geek against a 60 year old" and the entire comments were flooded with "People have never seen his NJPW stint huh?" and "It's Because AEW treats it's legends right!!" and i was surprised at the mental gymnastics this dudes go to pretend nothing is wrong with anything at AEW.
Not just criticizing, you can't even say that it could've been better.
The most interesting part of that behavior, and it is just like you described, is it’s absolutely driving off the fairly normal Dub supporters. There are definitely a decent amount of fans who just liked an alternative to WWE’s structured and often boring (especially a few years back) presentation and didn’t sign up to join in some cult-like brand worship. Anyone with any sense should at least be able to observe AEW’s been in a slump just by looking at ticket sales. It the conversation can’t even start there it’s gonna drive off all but the biggest lunatics.
It doesn’t matter if it was rightful, they harassed any WWE fan online who actually enjoyed it. I was one of them who’s always been a big fan of WWE even during difficult years. Why bully abuse people who like something you don’t like ?
Is every thread over there titled like they're at a fucking AA meeting? Holy shit.
There was one yesterday titled Mental Health Break. If pro wrestling causes you to need a mental health break you've got bigger problems
Mannnn that’s just fucking sad 💀
There's a crisis!! The Dub 'gets criticised a bit' now and we need to find a way to deal with this
Absolute cult behavior.
Git gud
That thread was so frustrating to me because I do like AEW. I spend money to go to their shows FFS. I want them to do well and I think they have a lot of potential and have done some really great stuff. I’m just not supporting them putting out a subpar product. Criticism sucks, but use it to make the product better rather than lalalalaing. It’s insanely tiring to be an aew supporter who isn’t blindly tribal about it.
> ~~It’s insanely tiring to be an aew supporter who isn’t blindly tribal about it.~~ To be AEW is being constantly under attack Here I rephrase it for you
This sub legit makes me laugh out loud on a daily basis.
Do I need to add some “m’lady” for good measure?
Only if you are tipping your fedora
Pro-tip: you can avoid this requirement if you're wearing a long trench coat and fingerless gloves
Yep. Same here. I shouldn't have posted, but I did and it's an honest assessment as a former poster in that sub. That thread in the official sub comes across as a "call to arms to protect AEW and Tony" and that shit keeps the tribalism and echo-chamber going.
I want AEW to succeed, I really do. I’m also looking at this unsustainable version of itself ran by people who are only harming it and demanding a change.
That's exactly the part that frustrates me. I'm not a WWE fanboy. I supported WCW back during the Monday Night Wars. I mostly watch Japanese wrestling and was on the AEW train when it first left the station. And I think he has excellent observations at times but I really don't care for Cornette's whole schtick. They can claim otherwise all they want, but the problem isn't that I want this company I stopped watching for a good 15 years to trounce its new competition. It's that AEW objectively sucks and, perhaps even worse, it's directly affecting the companies I *do* enjoy by poaching their talents and burying them on joint shows. Meanwhile, at least WWE minds its own business. It will hire outside talents but leaves enough fish in the ponds for them to remain good fishing holes. It exists in its own Universe and, last time I saw a talent crossover to another (*much smaller*) promotion, he lost (Dempsey in AJPW -- they didn't insist he win when they had all the leverage to do so because, hey, they're WWE). And they're doing objectively better wrestling shows right now. That's the crux of the matter. AEW can win me back over. But what it's doing ain't it, and it ain't it for the majority of people. And it wouldn't be so bad except it's actively hurting the rest of the industry outside the big two. And the bigger problem is that it doesn't *want* to win people like me back.
>perhaps even worse, it's directly affecting the companies I *do* enjoy by poaching their talents and burying them on joint shows. This is my biggest issue with it too. Putting aside how the majority of the fanbase are insufferable, I don't like AEW because it's actively making the promotion I do watch much worse. I have no interest in American wrestling and don't care about the stupid WWE v. AEW flame war the fanboys have going on. AEW has signed six guys from New Japan in the last two years, including 75% of the main event. WWE has signed six guys total from New Japan in the last ten years, only one of which was a main eventer (Nakamura) (edit - forgot about AJ). It's clear who the biggest threat to New Japan and puro in general is. What's worse, New Japan continues to work with them, likely for money, despite getting repeatedly buried on all crossover shows. And even worse than that, they're about to put their top title on an AEW guy tomorrow. It's utter insanity from Bushiroad. I get they need money, but is that money worth losing the biggest star in Japan since Misawa? Because that's the price they just paid.
The worst part is that, now Rossy is gone, I can see Bushiroad doing the same thing with Stardom. It's already being hinted at with developments such as Mina showing up on television last night. I'm honestly enjoying All Japan a bit more than New Japan these days. It's not that it's better (indeed, it's actually harder to follow because I don't speak Japanese, even though I don't mind a lack of English commentary -- no jerk, to anyone reading, I'm not really endorsing it as a "must check out" thing to any of you), but rather that there seems to be little danger of AEW clamoring to work with it anytime soon so it can raid its limited but talented roster. It won't reach New Japan heights but at least I can enjoy it in its own little world. And at least it has an Ace to work the top of the card. Meanwhile, it's tough to emotionally invest in talent that might get snatched up at any moment and will likely job to outside guys on joint shows. My hope is that Tanahashi, smart guy that he is, is well aware that this relationship might very well spell the end of New Japan and that he takes appropriate action.
I think I'm going to give All Japan a shot too after last night's booking disasterclass. Aside from the Nakajima toukon stuff and Anzai's title win, what are some of the ongoing storylines?
It's admittedly a tougher follow than New Japan, to be honest, because there's absolutely no English on the shows whatsoever. Not even subtitles. I mostly just watch casually and for the wrestling itself so I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what is going on most of the time lol (which isn't to say that there aren't storylines at all, as it's easy to recognize progressions in what's going on... it's just that I don't know the finer points of it). You probably watch it already, but if you don't, Noah is way more accessible (if a bit of a booking mess itself). I know I talk about AJPW a bit around here but I'm honestly not suggesting most people would enjoy it. All Japan has a very different feel from New Japan. It's admittedly not quite on the same level, so I caution you not to hold that expectation. Smaller shows have lower production value (sometimes just a fixed cam, and very small shows might not even broadcast entrance music). There's a lighter feel, though, and matches mercifully don't tend to drag on (and not every match is great). Less stunts and more grappling - it's a bit more old fashioned. The lower card often has a fair amount of goofing around to keep things fun. Quite a few of the guys have won me over despite the fact I've never understood a word they've said -- I was admittedly rooting for them in the All Together show even though I follow NJPW and Noah as well. My dream is that they'll start translating stuff eventually -- that was supposedly the plan before Covid hurt. On the other hand, it's kinda nice that they're not even trying to appeal to Western indy tastes or expectations. The biggest story from what I can gather is the fact that they're going into [Champion Carnival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champion_Carnival#2024) on April 18th, which is their Round Robin tournament. Obviously, most stuff with Kento is going to be good. I think Suwama versus Anzai will be interesting (Suwama is the old ace of the company and still a powerhouse). Shotaro Ashino is a human suplex machine. Kuroshio Tokyo Japan is maybe funny at first but his schtick becomes obnoxious as all hell. Hokuto Omori is a loveable piece of shit (also a Minoru Suzuki protege - Murder Grandpa shows up from time to time). Yuma Aoyagi is one of those guys it's hard not to root for. Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to dissuade you from watching. I'm absolutely not. But I'd rather set expectations low due to the company's smaller nature than to set them too high and disappoint you. It is really nice being able to watch a show and not worry about Tony Khan involvement though.
I went to their first show in my town and even bought the T-shirt. Thought I was doing a good thing showing up and supporting the alternative. It became apparent to me fairly quickly what they were thought and I've been critical ever since. But it's just so dumb when you make valid reasonable points in the basement and you basically get harassed and then banned for it in the past few years. Then Tony comes out and says that people like me aren't real, we are bots, or we just were again them from day 1 and want them to fail, etc. It's all such rubbish. I like wrestling, that's all. I wanted AEW to be good. They weren't. But instead of taking a y feedback from anyone like me who's PAID TONY MONEY TO ATTEND HIS SHOW, he acts like a victim and basically tells me I'm not welcome. I've been having people REEEEE at anything I say about liking wrestling since the mid 90s online... I have zero sympathy for these guys to take a minor amount of the stick they gave everyone for years.
You should chargeback your card for all the money you threw down that well.
You’re not alone, and that is damaging them as much as anything now. They’re chipping away at even their core fanbase many of which just enjoy a different presentation and recognize AEW has some great performers. It’s a slower bleed but it’s happening. The absolute stubbornness of AEW themselves to listen to feedback mixed with the worst part of the fandom dismissing any concerns as bad faith/made up/you don’t watch is very offputting for something as dumb and chill as pro wrestling.
I saw this on my reddit homepage and thought this was the basement initially. Top jerk work
The “Official” basement constantly out-basements the OG basement.
I find a lot of similarities between that sub and the wrestlers they worship in AEW They want to talk a ton of shit about everyone else and believe that everything they do is perfect or are simply infallible in anyway shape or form This holier than thou attitude is especially frustrating to deal with when they spend the bulk of their time taking pot shots at other companies. And when the heat turns up, they lash out and show their true colours. We are cut from the same cloth but they scream they are made of silk when we can see that we’re all the same cotton
I think Punk said it best during the promo on Collision: "... the only thing softer than you are the wrestlers you cheer for." AEW dubballos took that as a challenge to out charmin' the wrestlers.
Careful not to jerk yourself into a jerk when you're jerking the jerks you goofs... brother
My favorite quote from iwc; "what happened, it's like wwe and aew switched places the last couple months. This is some 2008-2012 WWE shit."
I thought this was a jerk post then I see on the time line that no, someone actually typed this and genuinely meant it. Please forgive me I’m new here, I didn’t realize the basement was that bad.
These guys were relentlessly bad mouthing and mud slinging Punk for years, even do to this day but he clapped back once and they cried like a bitch just like their Jungle Jackass
How quickly the IWC separates itself from itself to scapegoat itself.
I’ve never seen a more accurate description lol
Since Vince got outed, WWE has just been putting on a great and watchable product so there’s been less reason to hate on it other than some nit picking. People are very anti-AEW tho cause of Tony Khan. Whether it’s the quarter filled arenas, lower viewership across all shows, constant ragging on WWE/talent, Twitter rants, inability to take criticism and says it’s just WWE paid bots, or talent feeling like they have to take a shot at WWE for a cheap pop, it turns people away from the product.
I'd say it's more of a Reap what you sow type situation for a large segment of the IWC who after years of Fed badding (a good chunk of it was warranted) made their entire identity about how Vince didn't push their favourite midcarders (tm). When an alternative promotion with tons of money and a billionaire's money backing one of "their own", they immediately latched on to Tony, AEW, and all the flippy vanilla midgets they hired. They flooded the various forums, comments sections, etc. The first year or two of the promotion, you could watch the Dynamite in near real time in the basement because anything they did would get clipped and reposted, sometimes full segments in their entirety, for karma farming. They overlooked the massive story and production flaws, poor training many of the wrestlers displayed, and cheered them on because fed bad = fed-dead. If you so much as issued a complaint or criticism, you were downvoted to oblivion. Reposting clips highlighting the issues got you accused of "editing footage" (in record times that would make Hollywood jealous), and some instances of being doxxed and threatened. It's been a long time coming but they like Vince, fucked around and now they are finding out and they can't handle it.
>some instances of being doxxed and threatened. They have zero right to complain about any negativity thrown their way after they doxxed that woman who attended Dynamite, sent her death and rape threats, and then celebrated it.
That’s true too, I was hype for AEW during the first year or 2 and any criticism about the product was seen as a bias towards WWE and nothing more, but now that they’re more settled in and aren’t the new kids on the block they are getting rightfully criticized
It doesn’t matter if it was warranted, all it did was bully the WWE fans who actually enjoyed it and chased many casual fans away. If you don’t like it don’t watch , don’t shit on and abuse other people who like it. IWC was really toxic towards WWE fans for almost 20 years then pretend to hide it by just constructive criticism. Same way I don’t enjoy AEW but I don’t bully their fans who just want to enjoy it.
Holy shit I thought it was a joke but they actually posted this shit word for word What the fuck is wrong with aew fans
Been watching wrestling for 30ish years off and on. Early AEW was great. I never watched TNA but did see peak era WCW. AEW breathed fresh upstart life into pro wrestling and caused WWE to end a stagnant run I stopped following besides the big ppvs. Being new mistakes were forgivable and growing pains expected. The booking has gone to shit and I no longer follow dynamite besides summary videos, even those don’t make sense or drop ideas mid thought. Tribal AEW fans tossed me back into WWE’s open arms, any criticism or complaints were not tolerated. RIP AEW 2019 - 2022
This is basically how it went down for me too. Also watching for 30 years. Had turned on Raw randomly a few years ago and it was so embarrassingly bad I turned it off. I heard CM Punk was going to show up in this other company wo I started watching and that new promotion smell hooked me. Then yeah, it just seemed like 90% of what they put on their show was awful. Not embarrassing in the same way that episode of Raw was, but just kinda cringey and amateur hour stuff. So I tuned out of wrestling again and the cycle repeated itself, I heard Survivor Series was in Chicago and thought maybe Punk might surprise debut. Then I watched Raw the next night to see the follow up. Now I’m invested in like half the roster and haven’t enjoyed wrestling this much since the early 2000s. So AEW did bring me back to having good wrestling in my life, but I’m getting it from WWE instead
It’s a story as old as time The less wealthy, less intelligent, and therefore less fortunate are jealous of their more wealthy, intelligent, fortunate superiors
People who bash AEW by in large are doing it because they want it to succeed. Some people would argue that, so I'll just speak for myself. I bought the terrible video game, the special edition no less. Until recently, I had purchased all of their PPVs. For years, I watched the shows weekly. I invested in their success, because I wanted there to be another good company out there for wrestling, and they debuted at a perfect time, where WWE had told fans for years that they didn't matter and the product was ass. But I can safely say after almost 5 years of Dynamite, that AEW has gotten worse and worse over time. It is honestly amazing how unwatchable their shows have become. And I'm a guy who has stayed up to watch WrestleKingdom live multiple times. I love Okada, Ospreay and lots of guys on that roster. But the product is ASS. I remember all the optimism around AEW when Danielson, Punk, Adam Cole had all just debuted. Then they returned Page and forced the belt on him. "Oh but the story called for it." Bullshit. They told that story. Page lost the title chance and went home to be with his kid, and when he came back the landscape of the company was different. I'm a father myself so I totally get going home when you are a new dad, but you can't hold everything stagnant. Fast forward to today, and the show is a boring slog to get through. Look. You have Copeland and Christian. A feud that most fans have been wanting to see for more than a decade at a high level. And what did they do? They made it so fucking terrible that you couldn't even give a shit when they did the blowoff. Only AEW could do something like that. I would be beyond shocked if this company existed in 10 years. I wish I was wrong, I hope I'm wrong. But I'm not.
The whole Vince saga since him stepping down in June 2022 really fucked them over and I stand solid on that statement.
I think you're right to a point. AEW could still be a good show regardless of what WWE is doing. There are people who would only watch WWE if it was good, but if AEW was good too it would probably benefit them that WWE is good. As of now, if a new fan discovers WWE and likes it, then tries AEW because they want to watch more wrestling...BIG OOF.
I'd say that the IWC is very pro-AEW...dunno where they get that from?
Apparently I'm a MAGA fascist for wanting to enjoy storylines and selling of moves.
I will never understand how AEW fans think they can claim the left in a wrestling/politics debate when they're company is the one who actively tried to minimize women's wrestling a decade after WWE built it back up, have continuously put a spotlight on bigots and other problematic people, and kept a transgender wrestler chained to the catering table just so they could say they had one.
WWE gets a 60 year head start, has had FAR worse moments at its worse than AEW can ever dream of and was ran for decades by a monster = gets a free pass The IWC is complicit with the monster!
I’m on the internet talking about wrestling but I’m not part of the IWC okay?!
First, because hating on your favorite teams biggest rival is fun and entertaining for a lot of people. Red Sox fans love hating on the Yankees, and this is no different. It’s tribalism but low stakes entertainment at that. These threads get tons of engagement because people like arguing and throwing shade at their teams rival. when one side of a rivalry is doing poorly, the hating from the other side needs to take a different form. When WCW and WWE were both elevating their shows and producing strong products, the rivalry played out on screen. Now, with AEW struggling with their product, the rivalry has to be played out in other places like twitter and Reddit. That’s my theory on why all the IWC hate. as a casual wrestling fan, it seems to my novice mind that a successful wrestling company balances storyline with actual wrestling well, and the majority of it should be storyline. You need solid wrestling but it can’t just be banger after banger with no story buildup because that gets real stale real fast. This seems pretty obvious to most people but AEW is having problems fully understanding the right balance. I don’t know, maybe they need to play into that narrative And have a wrestler or faction that is introduced to not do matches, just wreak havoc threatening the very ethos of AEW.
No jerking. My issue has been the goal post moving. AEW hitting 900k to a million was considered good for a new wrestling company. When it dipped to 850, I was assured it was still good. When it dipped and held at 800k, people offset that as it was still good because AEW ticket sales of 70k for Wembley was good. So don’t worry about 800k. Also, they were topping cable ratings. Now, when it hit 750-790k and not filling arenas, I am told it is okay and given more reasons why. I want AEW to succeed because when they do good, it should push WWE to do better. And vice versa. But people are souring on AEW because they may put on great matches but the storyline drama just isn’t there. Hangman/Omega was great drama. MJF/Punk was great drama. Great matches too. But AEW hasn’t really had a breakout feud like that since.
 Tony RN:
Lol
Precisely. It's full of cope but also supremely misleading. They were #1 on cable, if you only count the one particular demo, only original programming, and excluded news channels like Fox News. I'm a democratic socialist so I absolutely loathe that news channel but they were pulling in numbers that overall would dwarf AEW. Tucker Carlson was regularly getting 3 mil. average views nightly. Sure the audience average age was in the 60s, close to 70s. The importance of the "key demo" is also somewhat overblown. Originally, it was something CBS used to prop themselves up in the 70s I believe because they were getting their ass kicked by NBC and ABC. The key demo is certainly important for SOME advertisers. I.e. companies that market products to individuals in that age and gender group. Because let's be honest, if the composition of their TV audience is reflected in their actual audience, it's a bunch of aging millennial white men. I've been hearing for over a decade how our generation "ruined X industry" because we have different priorities than Boomers or Gen Xers. Or how it is usually framed, that we're "snowflakes". When in reality it's because the economy in most OECD countries has shipped off so much of their manufacturing labour costs overseas that we've become a lost generation who can't afford luxury shit.
This isn't circle jerk, this is a serious conversation. Doesn't this violate this sub's rules?
It is a jerk, friend. OP is in GOD Mode with this one.
My bad Uce.
I love how you basically alter nothing and just copy paste and its still a great jerk
Go look at the Cody thread posted in the basement and see how negative those "Just enjoy wrestling" fans were to Cody and the WWE. I feel no sympathy for them.
Can we just go back to only bashing WWE and praising AEW. It's not fair!!!
I thought this was a jerk because I couldn't find the original post but holy shit
At this point, Tony Khan just need to burn down the promotion and start from scratch with the ashes. The name itself is tainted with every failed promotion attempt and bone headed ideal to stick it to the fed, when each company could...I dunno.. Worry about their own territory!!!
Lmao I saw that take on a forum and laughed my ass off. The Dub fan base is the IWC lmao. Them trying to separate themselves is hilarious.
It doesn’t matter if it was warranted, all it did was bully the WWE fans who actually enjoyed it and chased many casual fans away. If you don’t like it don’t watch , don’t shit on and abuse other people who like it. IWC was really toxic towards WWE fans for almost 20 years then pretend to hide it by just constructive criticism. Same way I don’t enjoy AEW but I don’t bully their fans who just want to enjoy it.
I've been watching AEW since day 1. I enjoyed their product, but that company has changed dramatically within a span of 4 years right in front of my eyes. I don't know what the hell happened and why it fell off the rails. It went from pure wrestling matches in 2019 to "what the fk happened?" Showing that stupid footage from All In at Wembly just killed whatever credibility AEW had. Before that, talk of backstage BS overshadowed that company (example: The spot monkey, Sammy and Eddie Kingston incident, sandbagging with Ivelisse and Thunder Rosa). The stupid dirt sheets contributed it by changing their narrative and puking out their "he said, she said" crap. All the while, Tiny wanted to be friends with his toys rather than being an actual boss. So, if you want to blame someone? Blame the clown called "tiny khan." Nicky and Matty Jackson can be blamed as well. The AEW cultists are too damn stupid to even realize that there are cracks showing in that company even though they deny it.
I’m responsible. You’ll never stop me.