Tag Archives: aew

Yes It Does Make You Look Weak

The Young Bucks Explain Their Unique Twitter Strategy

Body shaming is bad. Nobody should ever be shamed for their appearance. We get that. It still happens and it will forever happen until the end of existence so you can put up all the hashtags you want on Twitter, but that’s not going to stop anything.

The reason why I bring this up is because of the Young Bucks have a new bio on Twitter. It reads, “If we threaten, body shame or say inappropriate things to you, we should lose our jobs. If you do it to us, we need to have thicker skin”.  

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I read this and don’t think the Young Bucks are the toughest team in wrestling. I know that’s not a polite opinion to have, but it ruins the mystique of the tag team. I don’t think wrestlers should be in control of their social medias. Not because I don’t believe in free speech, but because Tweets and posts like this ruin the wrestlers reputation.

Imagine Mike Tyson, arguably the toughest and most feared human being at the time. Let’s pretend Twitter existed back then and Tyson tweets out, “I know I have a speech impediment, but you don’t need to point it out. I know I sound ridiculous so please stop pointing it out”. How would that ruin the image of Tyson? I think immensely.  

Maxwell Jacob Friedman™️ on Twitter: "Fuck that kid." / Twitter

Now when I go on MJF’s Twitter page its all about wrestling. Its all about his brand. Its all about his character. He makes fun of Brodie Lee’s son. He talks shit about CM Punk. He disses Wardlow. But at no point in MJF’s Twitter feed to I see “If we all ate turkey burgers instead of beef climate change wouldn’t be a thing anymore”

Now lets take a look at the Young Bucks in recent weeks on tv….they dress like idiots. I mean they never really had the toughest outfits in wrestling, but it was never a problem for me. They had the Randy Savage tassels on the boots and the pattern was interesting. But now they dress in multi colored onesies and wearing gemmed headbands. So do the Bucks not want me to point out how ridiculous they look? I don’t know and at this point I have no idea what their characters are supposed to be anymore.

AEW Full Gear Results: Falls Count Anywhere Match - eWrestlingNews.com

I saw a very interesting video of Karrion Kross and he was explaining that he went to acting classes to workshop the character he wanted to portray in the ring. And if you look at his social medias it all about his character, upcoming matches, fan art of him and Scarlett and all other things accompanying his brand. And his brand is that he is the biggest toughed guy in the ring and a threat to everyone.

I think every company should have a team of social media managers whose sole job it is to be the voice of the wrestler online. Post about their ongoing feuds, share links to previous matches and things that are relevant to wrestling. Again, not saying free speech is a problem. The problem is how a little thing like banning the username Lets Go Brandon can impact a business. I that because Peloton’s stock has crashed recently because of their political views. Which is now resulting in longer ship dates for customers because so many people have canceled their orders and they are not assembling them fast enough because of the lack of orders. You’re a bike company. Sell bikes. Don’t lecture me on usernames. If I wanted to call myself ChildToucher69 it shouldn’t matter to the company. And if someone is offended by it, they should be able to press a button that says “hide the username”. Peloton I just did your job for you.

My point is that every Tweet that’s sent out and every opinion given should be reread before sending or thought about before speaking. Bully Ray is having a massive heat because of some comments he said about Jon Moxley. Comments that people have made compelling arguments for and against.

New look Young Bucks show off new heel attitude in Tag title defense -  Cageside Seats

Now obviously the Buck’s bio wasn’t as severe as the other examples, but it does show a lack of maturity and business sense from them. I don’t want the best tag team in the world giving me a lecture of how I should behave. You two are not real people to me. I don’t know either of you personally, we are not on a first name basis and when I watch a wrestler, I don’t want to know any of their non wrestling opinions. Essentially your life isn’t

Bryan Danielson is a vegan and when he was in the WWE, he turned the title into a hemp title because it was better for the environment. They took a real-life aspect of his life and turned it into a gimmick that worked. Danielson as a heel talked down to people who didn’t believe with his cause and would regularly lecture fans on their bad decisions. Why did this work? Because it part of his character.

Backstage Reaction To Joe Gacy's Controversial Woke Gimmick In NXT

Joe Gacy’s character on NXT is a social justice warrior. That’s how he’s written. So his social media is littered with inclusive content. And I predict that Gacy will one day be broken and go to the other side, his social medias will reflect that. And its going to work because it makes sense with the character.

Back to the Young Bucks. They are devoid of character development now. They teamed with Don Callis, started dressing like a pair of grandmothers and wearing brand named shoes. If an opponent during a match says they should do more sit-ups will the Bucks cry and leave the ring?

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I watched an entire ECW arena chant “Fuck you” and “Cena swallows” and did John Cena get mad and walk out? Did he cry it to the media? No, he ate up every second of it and used it to make the match better. He played to the fans hating on him and resulted in one of my favorite matches of all time.

Now a hostile crowd has all the ammo they want to hurt the Bucks. They can chant “Do a sit-up”, “Rogaine” or “Bitch tits” and it would utterly decimate them emotionally. Kurt Angle’s “You Suck” and Stone Cold’s “What” chants are still relevant today even though they happened over a decade ago. Why the Bucks are actively choosing to be this socially inept is beyond me.

The Young Bucks Sign New Long-Term Contracts With All Elite Wrestling

But what do you guys think of their new bio and the Young Bucks now?

Simptastic Joe

Control Your Narrative Promotion?

When I first heard of the Control Your Narrative movement, I thought this was just a wrestling faction, but I later learned this is going to be a new failing company in the world of wrestling. The company’s 3 main stars are EC3, Killer Kross (Karrion Kross) and Adam Scherr (Braun Strowman). In their mission statement, the men explained what the company is. They first took shots are shareholders and billionaire owners.  Saying that owners collect wrestlers like “toys”. Clearly these men have never ran a company before. The “toys” they are talking about are employees, not friends and not members of a bigger picture. If a wrestler or “toy” is not putting in the work, not loved by the fans and making for lower ratings, then a change will be made. That’s running a business.

The letter than goes on to name drop popular wrestlers that have joined the company. Names like Moose, Matt Sydal, Matt Cardona and some no names. Now, are you telling me that Moose, a superstar in Impact Wrestling who is probably being paid very well, is planning on leaving Impact to join this company?

Who’s paying for this? You don’t have a billionaire owner like Tony Khan or Vince McMahon, you don’t have or want shareholders, so where is the money coming from? The top 3 wrestlers starting this company I imagine have some savings, so they can go a little while without getting a regular paycheck, but the others can’t. Matt Sydal was never a “run the company” wrestler. He has been bouncing around from company to company since he left the WWE. And more importantly, why would he want to leave AEW in any capacity?

I don’t know what to think about this company after reading this letter. I’m very confused with a lot of wrestling companies these days. The WWE looks like the only real wrestling company and the others are just all working together in some way.

Jon Moxley still does shows in Japan and backyard wrestling promotions, but still works for AEW. This move I find incredibly stupid because why would AEW be ok with letting one of their most popular wrestlers go to other places? More importantly, Mox went to some unknown company for his first match after rehab, kinda dulling the moment of his return. Why would Impact Wrestling be ok with Moose playing in this other company. If he gets hurt that’s a MAJOR blow to your company.

The whole promotion just seems like a great faction idea, one that would thrive on grabbing wrestlers who are lost or on losing streaks to be more, but as a company they are failing before they even got started. My prediction gets stronger when I read their website. Apparently, if I’m reading this wrong, fights (not matches) are decided by Tap Out, Knock Out or Can’t Stand……so not wrestling. Is this a better version of Raw Underground?

Another section of the website says “FTN blends professional wrestling, cinema, and harsh reality”. The cinema part throws me off. Because they are going to have live crowds. Are these planned out fist fights? I HATED the cinematic matches during the Pandemic Era for the WWE. I thought nothing had to change with the style, just put on great matches and you captures your audience interest.

If I was running this show, the first thing I would do is write up a REAL mission statement of their promotion, take it to Rumble and do shows exclusively on there. Rumble was ready to give Joe Rogan $200 million dollars to be exclusively there. I wonder how much they would pay for the exclusive rights to a wrestling promotion? I wouldn’t do shows on the road. Like NXT, I would do shows exclusively in one location. Buy a simple warehouse or property you can make into an arena and that solves where it would be. I would put the arena somewhere in the South or mid-West because it’s cheaper to buy property there. Maybe one day take the show on the road, but when you’re stating a new company saving money is key.

The next step does against everything they believe in, getting shareholders. They NEED some big money bankrolling this operation. Let’s say if the Rumble deal happens, they give, let’s say 10 million dollars, you still have a lot of things to buy. The biggest would be the location. I saw just use one because you don’t have to worry about costs of travel and you can control the environment more than using someone else’s building.  

Getting wrestlers shouldn’t be that difficult. Yes, I crapped on Sydal before, but he’s a good wrestler. Not someone who can lead the company, but a suitable wrestler. Moose would be way out of their pay range, but Cardona might be a great addition. The 3 creators would be taking a pay cut for the first few months so that’ll save some money. There are a ton of unknown wrestlers and released wrestlers looking for a shot to be on tv again. If anything, this new promotion might be a way to help them. But that would be a WRESTLING promotion and not a….whatever this is.

I don’t think the Control Your Narrative promotion will be a success. The idea is enough to get some early viewers, but this doesn’t seem realistic and will fail pretty soon.

World War Joe

Jay White Vs The Best Friends

After Jay White beat Trent in his AEW debut, I saw something that really annoyed me. The camera panned over to Orange Cassidy before the show cut to black……is AEW seriously going to give us Jay White vs Orange Cassidy? Are they really going to push a fight between White, who I say is top 5 in the world, against one of the least imposing threats in AEW? Not only that, I can see White fighting the entire Best Friends group, probably ending in a multi man tag match.

I figure this might be a good idea for a feud in theory, White is very popular overseas, but if you don’t watch him on YouTube then you probably never heard of him. My problem is that this feud is a waste of time, especially for White. I would have White attack Cassidy before he enters the Face of the Revolution Ladder match this weekend. Attack him backstage, knock him out of the match and get White in that match against the best the company has to offer.

You can have Cassidy interfere and cost White’s chances of winning the match, setting up their feud. But having Cassidy in that match is such a waste. Cassidy isn’t equipped to be the face of the company ever, but White is. Maybe White running through all the Best Friends might buy him time until some of the other feuds are finished and he can get inserted into the main title picture or against a higher profile talent like Hangman Page.

Simptastic Joe

The WWE Wants Jeff Hardy Again

Report: WWE Wants Jeff Hardy BACK

I have been a massive fan of Jeff Hardy for the entirety of this WWE career. I saw him in the WWF, go to TNA and back to the WWE and I can really say with certainty that Jeff isn’t worth the trouble anymore. I’m sorry, but the guy has had a massive drug problem for years and its caused him to be released before. He did one of the worst things in wrestling, showing up high to a main event pay per view championship match against Sting. It was one of the worst nights for wrestling ever as a fan.

Yeah, people can get the help they need, people can get better, but people can also relapse back into bad habits and from a purely business standpoint Jeff isn’t worth the risk. Jon Moxley went to rehab for a few months and is now back with a sense of purpose, but he didn’t cost the company money. Moxley wasn’t in any major storyline, he didn’t get arrested, he didn’t do anything that made AEW look bad.

Matt Hardy Reacts To WWE Putting Jeff Hardy In The 24/7 Title Picture

Jeff signing with AEW sounds good on paper, but honestly not the signing they need. It will jump up their ratings, we might get a dream match or two, but in the end, we really don’t need either of them in AEW. The Hardys aren’t the same wrestlers as they were 10 years ago. Both men are slower and can’t move like they used to. And a lot of the AEW big name signings are hot for a week or two and then pushed down to the bottom of the roster. Matt Hardy showed up, had a match against the Inner Circle and now is leading a faction that makes no sense.

Jeff singing will do what? They’ll have some matches against the Young Bucks, FTR, Butcher and Blade, maybe the Inner Circle, but in the end they will have their moment and that’s it. If this is about “one last ride” like Dustin Rhodes, I understand it, but if people think the Hardys will be the longest reigning tag team champions in AEW history they are going to be horribly disappointed.

AEW Rejecting Jeff Hardy For Bad Reason?

The Hardy Boyz were one of the most unique and impressive tag teams in wrestling history. They created some amazing moments and brought in millions of fans, but their time is over now. Matt was never the guy to lead a company and I wouldn’t be able to trust Jeff at this point. And seeing them in one or two matches and pushed to the bottom of the roster isn’t a proper way to end their time in wrestling.

Simptastic Joe

Eddie Kingston: No Plan For Him

I didn’t know much about Kingston and the first time I saw him wrestle was against Cody Rhodes for the TNT Title. It was a good match, but it didn’t warrant what happened next for Kingston. He somehow was leading a team of Butcher, Blade, Bunny, Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr which none of them members helped him in his title match with Jon Moxley shortly after the team was formed. I argued that Kingston should’ve won that title match, even though he wasn’t the better wrestler. Mainly because Moxley was by himself at that time.

Now Kingston is putting on more impressive matches and again being paired off with mix matched wrestlers. Now he’s hanging with Santana and Ortiz, which is again weird because those two should still be with the Inner Circle and now they are with Kingston….because of reasons?

It just seems like AEW, at this point, doesn’t have a direction for Kingston and is randomly pairing him off until something sticks. But how would you book Kingston now and what pairing makes sense?

Simptastic Joe

Why I Love Hook

Update On AEW Training Progress Of Hook - WrestleTalk

I know its doesn’t make any sense. And I know how stupid it is to say it. And I know there’s no reason why I feel this way, but I love Hook. He hasn’t done anything in AEW except a few cheap shots to unsuspecting opponents. But I believe there is a plan for Hook. Team Taz is starting to look VERY interesting with the addition of Dante Martin, but I still hate that they got rid of Brian Cage. Martin is going to be a major player on Team Taz and now is the perfect time to unleash Hook on the roster.

Hooks time in AEW reminds me of Pacman Jones in TNA Wrestling. Jones wasn’t allowed to touch any of the wrestlers, but somehow had matches where he won by distracting wrestlers by throwing money at them or from outside assistance. Hook is being billed just like that, but will soon be in the fold. I would copy his father, Taz’s, move set. Just go all in on suplexes, submissions and power moves.

ftw on Twitter: "My favorite moments of the Street Fight. @MrGMSI_BCage  @starkmanjones @TrueWillieHobbs @730hook #AEWRevolution  https://t.co/ZnFcDIevOh" / Twitter

I think the first feud I would have for Hook would be against Orange Cassidy. Cassidy can make anyone look good with his sloth style and since Cassidy is a fan favorite, you’ll have a great crowd for that match.

But what do you guys think of Hook and what feuds would you like to see him in?

Simptastic Joe

Omos The Next Giant?

The Undertake said “There will never be another Andre (The Giant), but this guy is as close as we’ve come, and that’s a big statement…Omos is special” has the Undertake ever heard of Braun Strowman? I could argue that Strowman is the best big man since The Big Show, who when the Big Show was starting out he was compared to Andrea The Giant.

Omos is ok to me. I think him teaming with AJ Styles has resulted in Styles looking weaker as of late. The pairing seems more like a comedy gimmick rather than a team that will dominate. If they want to put Omos in that top tier of wrestlers than maybe a feud with Styles would be best. Have them win the tag titles, lose them as a result of Styles. Maybe a miscommunication where he hits Omos and then simply have him turn on Styles. Not the most original idea, but it would be effective.

Then have them fight at WrestleMania, make Omos the winner and keep his momentum going from there. I do agree with the Undertaker where if there was someone to eventually be in that Andrea Class then it can be Omos, but you have to book him as the face of the company. Maybe a feud with Roman Reigns would be interesting to see.

But what do you guys think of Omos so far and what would be the best way to make him a superstar?

Simptastic Joe

WWE 2K22

Surprising WWE 2K22 Release Date Announced Plus New Info

I’m hearing bad rumors about the new WWE 2K22. Since the failure of 2K20 and Battlegrounds, the decision has been made to reinvent the wheel and model their game after No Mercy which was released in 2000 for the N64.

Sports games are some of the easiest games to shoot out. Fans are just paying for an updated roster, new moves, and graphics. We aren’t asking the gaming companies to do anything too drastic. I know I can’t speak for all wrestling game fans, but I don’t need much to make me happy. The best addition to the games is the community creations. 

AEW Video Game To Be Better Than WWE 2K Series?

The WWE should embrace AEW as a marketable tool. I still play 2K19 all the time, my created wrestler slots are completely filled with AEW, Impact and NJPW wrestlers from the community creations. The WWE should make it even easier to bring wrestlers from other promotions into this game. Give us all their moves, give us the ability make their gear, give us a ton of slots to build a massive roster. How is this bad for the WWE? Honestly, if their game is better than AEW’s and has the ability to bring in all their wrestlers, then why wouldn’t fans buy this game over theirs?

The WWE’s problem since AEW’s creation has been competition, but making your enemy an asset without having to lose anything is a win.

What do you think?

Simptastic Joe

The Wrestling Merger

AEW has changed the wrestling landscape forever by making deals with Impact Wrestling and NJPW. The WWE has yet been public about making a deal, but I imagine some sort of agreement will be happening soon. It’s a win/win for the WWE and wrestling fans for a deal to be put in place and here’s why.

Wrestler Swapping is the best way to keep fans engaged and stories fresh. The WWE’s biggest mistake is focusing their attention on a select few wrestlers rather than expanding on the talents they already have.

There is Raw, Smackdown, Main Event, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK, AEW Dynamite, AEW Dark, Impact Wrestling and NJPW. After many painstaking hours, I have come up with a potential shakeup of wrestlers and unsigned free agents that can populate those shows and make for compelling matches.

The only issue is bad blood with firings. The WWE fired a bunch of wrestlers during the Covid months. Would wrestlers be willing to come back if it means being put in meaningful feuds and championship matches? ACH left NXT at his highest career point citing racism and burned his WWE bridges, but what if he was to return to a prime spot?

The salary would be easy to negotiate. Let’s say (I don’t know what he makes but using a round number) Johnny Gargano makes 1 million dollars this upcoming year. The writers would write out all the potential storylines for Gargano and ship him around to the companies. Gargano spend some time on NXT, Impact, RAW and rounding out the year on Dynamite. It would get split up evenly be his time in each company. How they would negotiate his time and need in each company while excluding others will have be ironed out before a deal is made. The swapping of wrestlers is to keep storylines fresh in EACH company and making sure ALL have an equal amount of talent to shine.

Main Event, AEW Dark and 205 Live I feel are shows made for wrestlers that don’t have anything major going on and give them a place to show their talents as time slots open up for them to shine. Mojo Rawley and Slapjack are not main eventers, but have had impressive showings on Main Event. I wouldn’t make these shows simple hour long shows with many commercials, but 2 hours with compelling storylines and feuds that fans would like to see.

For some wrestlers, the situation matters more than the company. Most of the time it’s not the companies fault entirely. WWE has made it clear they don’t know what to do or have time for Aleister Black and Andrade. It doesn’t mean they aren’t main eventers; it just means they are preoccupied with their bread-and-butter talents like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman. Now if you take Aleister Black and ship him off to NJPW and have him fight the likes of Okada, Taiji Ishimori, Kenta, Tama Tonga, and Jeff Cobb that can be some good wrestling.

There will be no ratings war. Monday you have RAW, Tuesday you have NXT followed by NXT UK, Wednesday you have Dynamite, Thursday you have Impact, Friday you have Smackdown and Saturday you have NJPW. The potential main event matches for these days can be Seth Rollins vs Jay White, Johnny Gargano vs Marty Scurll, Kenny Omega vs Randy Orton, Hangman Page vs Matt Riddle, Roman Reigns vs Lance Archer and EC3 vs AJ Styles. It would be the ultimate set of dream matches for fans. Every promotion will be filled with a massive amount of talent. Main Event, 205 Live and Dark can be a preshow to RAW, Smackdown and Dynamite featuring matches like Colt Cabana vs R Truth, Stu Grayson vs Kalisto and Tucker Knight vs Chris Hero.

I will be making a massive shakeup video soon and be talking about specific wrestlers’ futures and different shows and also the feuds they can expect to have soon. But what shakeups would you love to see happen?

Simptastic Joe