The Wrestling Thread

[Reprise]

This is awesome to see happening:

[Markies]

I think Bryan was maybe too hurt to keep going with this title run so they strapped Mox. There were better options though, like a certain cowboy.

I believe all of this was Bryan's choosing. He specifically chose Moxley as the person to pin him in Washington.

Bryan has had several moments throughout his career, so I think he wanted to go out how he wanted. He put over as many people as possible and he specifically wanted Mox to win, so that is how they got to this position. His full time career maybe over, but I think his part time run has just begun. I can see Bryan coming out for big PPV's or big matches. More importantly, I hope he takes up a bigger position in creative. I would love him to be the major mind in AEW alongside Tony Khan.

I think the end set up some interesting ideas. All of the champions are heels and they all look kind of unstoppable. The shot of Hook, Orange Cassidy, Daniel Garcia and Darby Allin looking at Bryan being stretchered out might be a memorable moment. Maybe it is time for a youth movement and for all of them to step up into the main event scene. Add Will Ospreay and (maybe) a Adam Cole and that sounds like a good force.

Unless something big happens with Mox during his reign, I think it will all be about who beats him. I think it is just a matter of time until they pull the trigger on Ospreay and just let him run wild. It's clear he is the biggest attraction AEW has right now.

[Reprise]

One complaint I see about Ospreay is that it feels "forced" that they are keeping him away from the title scene and I can kinda see that. He's clearly the most over guy in the company and he claims he is the best in the world, so I get why some think they should have just strapped a rocket to him. Now he's going to feud with Fletcher, which was predictable. A lot of AEW's stories are a bit predictable at the moment - the hooded person running into the ring at the end of a match is becoming a real trope too - everyone knew Fletcher and Yuta would turn.

The Mox and BCC story still interests me. What is motivating them? Why did Claudio bag the title? Why did they need to turn on Bryan? The story is only just beginning here. The champions all being heels and the shot of Hook, Darby and Orange all looking on in despair to end the PPV was clearly by design and intentional.

I am not crazy about Mox being champion again (I kind of echo actually what Raging said that Hangman would have been a nicer option of having a monster heel champion and he deserves that second run), but the story itself seems good to me. If they can organically and authentically build up some of their young faces now to be the ones to take on these heels, it should be good.

Side note: How is Mox a four time champion? Are they counting his run as an interim champion now or something?

[Raging Justice]

Why can't AEW's women's division be this much fun?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjEqnI4jVOw

[Raging Justice]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inWxus_OvYg

[Reprise]

Am I the only person who doesn't care that Adam Cole returned and they picked up the feud with MJF again and flipped the face and heel roles?

"It MaKeS nO sEnSe. AdAm CoLe wAs tHe HeEl"

That's happened a billion times in wrestling before, including WWE during the heights of the attitude era. It's nothing new. WWE retconned Edge and Christian being brothers and no one batted an eyelid.

Wrestling fans are more annoying these days, because they refuse to suspend their disbelief at every moment.

Don't get me wrong, people can dislike it, dislike the feud/story and dislike Cole or MJF if they like. But I think complaining about the face and heel roles is a bit silly. Especially as the whole reason Cole turned heel was because MJF was an asshole and therefore what I would call a justified heel turn, much like Hangman's. Both are/were villains who the audience has been made to feel sympathy for their actions.

[Raging Justice]

MJF did nothing wrong to Cole, but they are telling the story now like MJF was the asshole. It's bad because it feels like revisionist history. I personally hate it. It's insulting to the fans because its treating us like we have no memory or are just dumb. The promos the two of them did felt bizarre because Cole came across as delusional, MJF came across like the face, but he's the heel. It was terrible. This is one of the worst things AEW has done in recent memory and its burying BOTH guys.

I also hate Mox attacking AEW when he has repeatedly stood up for the company and took pride in being part of it. It's dumb

AEW is playing things fast and loose with their storytelling right now and it's very much like WWE at its worst. Nothing they are doing at the moment makes any sense. Kris Statlander is a face now for no apparent reason. What the hell? Swerve calls himself the most dangerous man in wrestling, but Mox did what Swerve failed to do to Bryan, and Hangman has proven himself to be FAR more dangerous than Swerve. Swerve looks like an idiot right now and the MVP story line is making him look even stupider because MVP is right about Nana.

and why the hell is Max Castor calling himself the best wrestler in the world?

AEW is giving me a headache.

[Reprise]

I also hate Mox attacking AEW when he has repeatedly stood up for the company and took pride in being part of it. It's dumb

I HATE it when AEW does these storylines and includes these kind of meta self-deprecating commentary on the company, by taking common online criticisms and using them. It's stupid and they are burying their own company.

Also this whole thing sounded like it was building to something interesting and now it just seems like they are rehashing the heel Elite storyline from only 6 months ago. "We don't like what AEW has become, we're here to save AEW. We're taking over" blah blah blah.

[Reprise]

Anyone watch night one of Forged in Excellence?

[Raging Justice]

I love Harley Cameron. She is everything that Toni Storm is not.