Official WWE/ECW/WCW/TNA talk, or whatever v2

[CaptainCrunch]

So I was bored, and though that so far the wrestlers going from WWE to AEW have pretty much busted out, also that the roster for AEW is bloated and horrible. So I wanted to put together a list of WWE wrestlers that should go over to AEW, and would probably be highly successful. Now I want to leave alone the top guys because its never going to happen, but the mid and lower card guys that are being ignored or jobbed or misused, that could probably find upper card main event success in AEW. I've also left out the NXT guys as that would be too easy.



1) Cesaro - Unbelievable performer that has it all. He can wrestle, fly, and he has charisma and was getting over with his Swing and Cesaro section. He's a guy that could come in as a huge face and go after the factions or even challenge a guy like Jericho or Moxley.



2) Cedric Alexander - This guy is a fantastic wrestler and again can do it all. He's been largely forgotten in WWE, probably because he's undersized and a cruiser weight. But man you send him to AEW and make his a cruiser weight giant killer as a face and he would be in the words of Lance Storm Money


3) Dolph Ziggler - Kind of a duh one, but after he got double concussed the WWE never trusted him again, as well his mouth tends to get him in trouble. But he's a combination of a guy like Jericho and Lance Storm, in that he's just technically brilliant and brilliant seller and he's a natural charismatic heel. You could bring him into AEW as a heel of heel, as he goes after the bad guys, or even better you throw him into a feud witha kind of boring as dirt Cody Rhodes and its money.


4) Buddy Murphy - He's being wasted as Seth Rollins enforcer and that whole gimmick has gone stale. He's an outstanding performer and a natural heel who could fit into any of the factions there. You could even make him the head of his own faction of undersized guys and make him an absolute killer


5) Ricochet - The WWE has pretty clearly depushed him. But he's the most athletic guy in either company and the stuff he can do aerially is unreal. The problem is with his mic skills and he strongly lacks that. But then again I consider Rey Mysterio to be bad on the mic and his athletic ability and lawn dart aerodynamics made him a star. AEW could bring him in as a hero face, the do gooder for justice, until the fans start bucking against it and he turns hypocritical heel.



6) Sami Zayn - AEW should do everything they can do to sign him when his contract expires. An unbelievable talent, but more importantly can play face or heel. He's become an incredible old school heel instead of the cool heel. He can play a jerk like no one elses business. He can still put on a very good match, though he tends to be a bit more tentative then he used to be.


The Woman Wrestlers



1) Liv Morgan - I'm a big fan of hers because its pretty clear that she's busted her ass training and learning her craft. Every single week she's better and adds on to her arsenal. A little tentative on the mic and she's never nailed down a character, but that's on the people in the back more then Liv.



2) Sonya Deville - She's another one that has transformed and worked unbelievably hard to improve her ring work, and even her mic work. She would instantly to me go to top of the female division in AEW, and she looks like she's beating the crap out of people.


3) Ruby Riot - This is about to be a Riot Squad reunion. Ruby has had a lot of injury problems, but she's a strong in ring performer. Even though she has these periods where she just looks like Elaine trying to dance. Her mic work was ok, she's very charasmatic.


4) Sara Logan - She's been released but I expect her to show on on AEW once her non compete expires. She did a whole body transformation and she can work. Also she's actually a natural heel if you've seen some of her work as Crazy Mary. A not cute faction of Logan, Riot and Morgan could be cool.



Off Air on air


Paul Heyman - He's just been fired from creative and they're trying to fit him into managing though I assume that Brock is pretty much done with WWE now. But having Heyman come in to work with the "Booking Committee" would be the best thing that AEW could do. Having him as a manager for one of the factions, re create the Dangerous Alliance, I've wanted that to come back for a while.

[CaptainCrunch]

And just as I post this Sarah Logan announces that she's done with Wrestling


https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/20...medium=twitter


There is something going on and maybe it attaches to all of the scandals errupting. But you have Becky changing her life direction and getting pregnant and stepping away from Millions, Charlotte deciding she needs time away from the WWE and being gone until next Jan at the earliest. Logan packing it in.



Things are very weird

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

And just as I post this Sarah Logan announces that she's done with Wrestling


https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/20...medium=twitter


There is something going on and maybe it attaches to all of the scandals errupting. But you have Becky changing her life direction and getting pregnant and stepping away from Millions, Charlotte deciding she needs time away from the WWE and being gone until next Jan at the earliest. Logan packing it in.



Things are very weird

I think you're looking way too far into this

Becky got pregnant
Charlotte is having surgery and taking a few months off, during a time with likely no fans in the stands
Sarah logan was released a few months ago....

The only one that is out of the ordinary is becky, and that's because its only new that a woman has been such a huge star. Otherwise, people get injured and take breaks, or people whose career wasnt really going anywhere step away.

None of them seem connected at all to what's going on the last week

It's still a very talented division, and now people like asuka, bailey, sasha etc. Can run with it for awhile, they still have plenty of people who will now get more time too like bianca belair, Sonya deville, nikki cross (they need to get her back to her nxt character asap), the iconics etc.

If they need reinforcements Rhea and Io could be called up, toni storm could be flown over etc., along with a few others who wouldnt look out of place

[Ozy_Flame]

The neutering and/or suppressing of Cross, Baszler, Deville, Rhea, etc. should be reversed. The four Horsewomen can't carry that division alone, and there are plenty of budding stars that can take their place.

To be honest I'm kind of more interested in the AEW Women's division right now, even though they have a thinner roster. Hikaru Shida is awesome, and some great talent mixing it up - like Big Swole, Abadon, Allie and Bea Priestley - gives the division some character and indie cred.

I still think their division has room for one more WWE or Impact! transplant. If they could get a Jordynn Grace, Taya Valkarie, Tenille Dashwood, or even get an underused Ruby Riott or Sonya Deville out of the main rosters - that would be a huge win. I think it's just a matter of time too.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

So I was bored, and though that so far the wrestlers going from WWE to AEW have pretty much busted out, also that the roster for AEW is bloated and horrible. So I wanted to put together a list of WWE wrestlers that should go over to AEW, and would probably be highly successful. Now I want to leave alone the top guys because its never going to happen, but the mid and lower card guys that are being ignored or jobbed or misused, that could probably find upper card main event success in AEW. I've also left out the NXT guys as that would be too easy.

"Sucks" is a pretty strong term. I'd argue that most of the main factions (Inner Circle, Elite, SCU, Best Friends, Jurassic Express, Death Triangle) have strong workers and/or well-developed characters who were resonating with crowds before COVID (not you, Hager). Dark Order has been kind of all over the place but they were generating some heat with live audiences and I think the current recruitment storyline has at least some intrigue to it. Obviously MJF is fantastic.

There is also good, young talent that can elevate the mid-card when pushed correctly (e.g. Darby, Jungle Boy, Private Party). And then you have the career mid-carders and jobbers that every company needs.

I think they whiffed on Brodie Lee and Matt Hardy, but other than that, the rest of the roster has settled into roles they seem suited for.

I'll be honest, none of the WWE guys you've mentioned really intrigue me for AEW except for Murphy and Zayn. They're all good workers but AEW doesn't lack for good workers. They're lacking believable faces who can talk.

Mind you, I think faces who can talk are lacking in WWE too. The best faces in WWE over the last few years have probably been The New Day, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens. Other than that, it's hard to really pinpoint anyone else who has excelled in that role. You could argue that Seth Rollins played a good face during his IC title run a couple of years ago but he's never been great on the mic.

People can crap on Moxley for being "too Stone Cold" if they want to but the guy was/is one of the most over babyfaces in all of wrestling with live crowds. He wouldn't exactly be the first guy to take a previously used gimmick and tweak it to work in a new era either. Guys like Flair and Hogan basically did similar things and it seemed to work out well for them.

The Young Bucks are a divisive team but the majority of AEW fans were also probably Young Bucks fans prior to AEW. They fit the style of wrestling that AEW is putting out. That might not suit what some people are looking for in wrestling but it doesn't mean they suck.

One problem is that, other than Matt Hardy (who looks completely cooked), every person they've brought in in 2020 has been brought in as a heel. Archer made sense as a heel and pairing him with Jake Roberts was a good call, but then they fed him to Cody and killed his heat.

The women would probably fit well but, as Ozy mentioned, I think the AEW women's division is slowly improving. Britt Baker has become a fantastically obnoxious heel. If she can improve her in-ring work, I think she has massive potential.

[SuperMatt18]

This is going to be AEW issue I think.

Brodie Lee was brought in...the put him right in the main event, he flopped a little and was fed to Moxley.

Archer was brought in and looked like a star, then Cody did his best Cena impression and squashed all heat.

Now they are hotshotting Brian Cage, likely just to feed him to Moxley too.

Hardy being part of the Elite never made sense and that has kind of ruined him.

Plus the biggest loss for AEW is going to be Sammy Guevara depending how long they decide to keep him off TV for.

[CaptainCrunch]

I have to admit that I did laugh at the Brit Baker segment where she went missing because she was tossed in a dumpster and couldn't get out, and when she stood up, the edge of the dumpster came up to her waist and she could have literally fallen out, and then she was screaming at the other woman to help her get out.


I mean to me it was equivalent to Jericho getting locked out of the building in WCW when the door was clearly unlocked.

[rubecube]

I think a lot of people who are disappointed in AEW are disappointed because they were hoping it would be a WWE without the kiddie stuff, but that's never the vision that Cody and the rest of The Elite had for it. They wanted to be a largely unscripted, high work-rate company, that allows wrestlers to sink or swim on their own. They also very clearly wanted to emphasize tag team wrestling and import some of the faction elements of NJPW. I think they've largely succeeded in creating that environment, even if that's not what some people want them to be.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

This is going to be AEW issue I think.

Brodie Lee was brought in...the put him right in the main event, he flopped a little and was fed to Moxley.

Archer was brought in and looked like a star, then Cody did his best Cena impression and squashed all heat.

Now they are hotshotting Brian Cage, likely just to feed him to Moxley too.

Hardy being part of the Elite never made sense and that has kind of ruined him.

Plus the biggest loss for AEW is going to be Sammy Guevara depending how long they decide to keep him off TV for.

Yeah, this I agree with.

I don't understand what the rush was to feed Brodie Lee to Moxley right away. Should have had him build up The Dark Order to look like this unstoppable force before going down that road. Feuds with guys Darby, Cody, Kenny, etc., could have elevated everyone involved. Instead they made him look like a chump right off the bat.

Hotshotting Cage made zero sense to me either. He's not a household name and again could have been built up through feuds with various midcarders.

I do think part of the issue is that AEW probably has some big plans for certain wrestlers, but they're waiting for a return to live audiences before they push ahead with them; so they're just kind of putting everyone in a holding pattern for now.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I have to admit that I did laugh at the Brit Baker segment where she went missing because she was tossed in a dumpster and couldn't get out, and when she stood up, the edge of the dumpster came up to her waist and she could have literally fallen out, and then she was screaming at the other woman to help her get out.

I mean to me it was equivalent to Jericho getting locked out of the building in WCW when the door was clearly unlocked.

Actually that's a pretty good comparison. She very much has WCW-era Jericho vibes right now.

[Ozy_Flame]

Regarding AEW. I watch every week as much as I can, and all I pine for is more Evil Uno. That guy is so underrated - great character, solid mic work, and fantastic in-ring psychology. Plus the fact that he's built like a pear makes him all the more hilarious.

Par down The Dark Order to Lee, Uno, and #10, and you've got a solid three-man stable.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I think a lot of people who are disappointed in AEW are disappointed because they were hoping it would be a WWE without the kiddie stuff, but that's never the vision that Cody and the rest of The Elite had for it. They wanted to be a largely unscripted, high work-rate company, that allows wrestlers to sink or swim on their own. They also very clearly wanted to emphasize tag team wrestling and import some of the faction elements of NJPW. I think they've largely succeeded in creating that environment, even if that's not what some people want them to be.

I think to be honest with you they might have had that vision, but its not the vision that they've got as I think its really over booked and over written, and there's too much of what feels like lets do something that entertains the boys on the committee feel.



The work rate is good, the fact that they emphasize tag teams is a favorite thing for me.



I know that they are relying on active guys and Khan to write this stuff, but I think that lack of experience and too much reliance on booking like an independent and what somehow feels on the fly hurts the product. I do think that they need a strong personality filter guy in the back, not a active wrestler, or not a retired guy that never had overall booking control, so not a producer type.


Just my two cents. There is some real genius potential in the roster. I like Moxley, but I think I've been disappointment a bit because before he started in AEW he released a really brilliant creative video that hinted at what could be an amazing character arch, and instead we got a what I would say was a two dimensional, ass kicker which is very much a Stone Cold lite. I love Jericho a lot, he's extremely creative and gifted, but he's starting to get that Rick Flair late career feel to me, where he's nearing 50 and its time to pull the reigns on him.



Mick Foley's best work at times was after he left being an active wrestler, he was brilliant as the Raw GM, and he would do occassional shots to get people over, which legends can do.



Jericho could also be the savior on the broad cast crew, I think its the end of the line for that group. They don't sell story lines, they sit there and joke about things.



I honestly got a little infuriated with them the other day. They introduced that woman wrestler zombie, and instead of selling it, they openly made jokes about it, didn't help the character and pretty much killed it dead. It was to me really stupid and unprofessional.



I mean TNA does a pretty crappy job of things overall, but you look at what they did as a group, broadcasters and bookers with a character like Rosemary.



Instead the whole thing came off as a rift of the ECW Zombie, and maybe it was an inside joke that nobody understood.


I'm going to say this, Jim Ross' time as a broadcaster needs to come to an end, its just not there anymore. The rest of that crew is subpar and they really need to rethink it.

[CaptainCrunch]

Charlotte looking at other opportunities outside of Wrestling according to her dad.


https://wrestlingheadlines.com/ric-f...t-star-in-wwe/

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I think to be honest with you they might have had that vision, but its not the vision that they've got as I think its really over booked and over written, and there's too much of what feels like lets do something that entertains the boys on the committee feel.

I think this is true in main event spots, but doesn't seem to be the case down the card. They've had the tag team brawls the last few weeks, but that also made sense with the introduction of FTR and no clear-cut number one contender.

I'd also add that that problem seems to be exclusive to the weekly show. I think they've largely nailed most of their PPVs. I've yet to feel cheated by an AEW PPV the same way I have with many WWE PPVs.

I honestly got a little infuriated with them the other day. They introduced that woman wrestler zombie, and instead of selling it, they openly made jokes about it, didn't help the character and pretty much killed it dead. It was to me really stupid and unprofessional.

Ross also did this with Kris Statlander's gimmick when she first started. He also had a hot mic during a commercial break were he was just cussing out everyone in production. The guy need a to go.

I feel bad for Excalibur because he's doing his best to get the product and the wrestlers over, but Ross and Schiavone are clearly both just there to collect paycheques.

[KelVarnsen]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1275875343459512321

[Ozy_Flame]

Moxley and QT Marshall also not at AEW tonight because of contact with people who contracted COVID.

Sure doesn't help that these organizations are located in one of the worst states in the country for both number of COVID cases and people who don't see it as a threat.

[Muta]

They should relocate their performance centers to Calgary. Low COVID numbers, good testing rates and lots of wrestling support. Plus, Lance Storm is here.

[Inferno]

Now Terri Runnels is saying Brock exposed himself to her backstage.

https://ewrestling.com/article/terri...out-allegation

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Moxley and QT Marshall also not at AEW tonight because of contact with people who contracted COVID.

Sure doesn't help that these organizations are located in one of the worst states in the country for both number of COVID cases and people who don't see it as a threat.

Mox was renee, she announced she has it

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Inferno

Now Terri Runnels is saying Brock exposed himself to her backstage.

https://ewrestling.com/article/terri...out-allegation

Realistically Orton and HHH should be a bit worried right now. Some of the things that they did to woman back stage was pretty gross.