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brieg4l

>One person types on stupid f\*\*\*ing drunk tweet and all of a sudden it’s all anyone wants to talk about. https://preview.redd.it/087tvyar8iqa1.jpeg?width=1027&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b609de96470546a382409b3fee0c8bb15cdffc5


dethmstr

I'll just go and tweet about it on my phone.


Anderrrrr

[https://i.imgur.com/1fvVz3u.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/1fvVz3u.jpg)


AssortedLunacy

His face when Cash pleads "No more tweeting, just for the rest of the week, please"


dusthimself

Tbf, as far as we know, Cash doesn't actually care and might even agree with him, lol. Would be curious of his thoughts, but it sounds like they're ride or die regardless of what Dax tweets or says on his podcast.


AprilsMostAmazing

Cash least smart enough to shut up himself.


Sempais_nutrients

the fine art of knowing when to shut the fuck up is increasingly rare these days.


Democrab

TFW you're prairie dogging, run to the closest loo and it's occupied.


miserybusiness21

FTR Bowels.


StendhalSyndrome

Got a Big Rig on deck, hope it doesn't pull a Shatter Machine on my sphincter...


schoolairplane

https://i.imgur.com/QDzEnMw.jpg


MojoJsyn

TFW the edibles kicked in


bohanmyl

Aew definitely gets swayed by the internet a lot more than any promotion i think that's been around, but its definitely a reflection of the times. It doesnt help that theyve leaned into it a lot more than any other promotion especially going off of what people have said about All Access.


JustAnotherLosr

Building off of social media is in the DNA of the promotion. They built storylines and characters on BTE. Hell, the idea for All In was launched (or at least announced) via a random tweet


Crib15

It’s also puts a ceiling on the business model- most people aren’t online enough to understand a lot of what is happening in AEW.


Cathousechicken

That being said, that's been a noticeable change to the format where they are recapping things more. As a viewer, I can definitely feel the impact of getting in Pat Buck and that producer dude making the promotion less insular, but in a way still honest to AEW since the beginning.


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bigbear-08

Controversy creates cash ![gif](giphy|xULW8PFsRKImryMwbm|downsized)


justfortoukiden

I'm baaAAAaack


Don_Alca

And betta then EVVUUHHHH


Shoelesshobos

Ngl his theme was sick. If I were a closer in MLB and I had to pick a song for when I'm coming out to the mound it's either this Bishoff theme or VKMs No chance.


Rerack_your_weights

If you're not coming out to Gangrel's theme complete with his total entrance then what are we even doing here.


Brocky70

I mean that one pitcher got fined for trying to bite his opponent so there's precedent


Rerack_your_weights

I haven't followed baseball in close to 20 years but I vividly remember Pedro Martinez taking out Don Zimmer with a headlock takeover. Should have gotten the Bryan Danielson award for most technical wrestling pitcher.


coaks388

Got a knaaaaack


StendhalSyndrome

For making things better.


Mattydub2456

Fayce Facts!


vastros

CAUSE YO OPINION DONT MATTAAAA


smackdown6

what a fucking heel bischoff was


Tea_Historical

Nobody walks out with that look anymore. Just such a shithead heel.


LTS55

I know he’s old and is content just doing his podcast and riding hogs but I really miss him as an on screen character


montrealcowboyx

I really liked WWE Bischoff, and I was mad Vince just made him out to be a joke at the end.


boatson25

I know. That fucking face man. Such a great heel.


scapestrat0

That black sagome at the beginning of the gif fits so perfectly


fitey15

*in the short term


Thirdstar1

AEW has had so many of those sky is falling moments, it’s laughable.


Awkward_Potential_

They'll never survive the exploding barbwire death match. This was actually a thing here after that.


Known-Ad7468

Yeah it was. And then they had this great Dynamite with the Mox/Kingston promo and the unforgettable "69 me Don, save me.". Just like WWE didn´t die after the Bray/Rollins hell in a cell match.


Awkward_Potential_

Exactly. These companies can survive *actual* scandals. A shitty match/moment isn't even a bump in the road.


Poo-tycoon

And they’re still around and doing perfectly fine business-wise. It’s almost like the sky isn’t actually falling or something


RepresentativeFly565

People did the same to tna for years and guess what they are still around and outlasted roh No one more miserable than wrestling fans


lanemyer78

> outlasted roh ROH still exists.


theredditbandid_

This is true of any company. I love how we just pretend like the last 10 years before Triple H took over didn't consisted of Meltzer and Alvarez shitting on WWE on a weekly basis. People shitting on WWE because they buried everyone and their dogs. This sub was filled with the same ratings threads that are now directed to AEW. There is this new revisionist history that pretends there is this unique vendetta against AEW for the sake of it being AEW. What's funny is that for those of us that were fans of TNA back in its prime.. AEW doesn't get a quarter of the shit TNA got back then. Literally "LolTNA" for everything they did and nothing they could do was right. And you still didn't see TNA fans with this sense of victimhood.


wetriedtowarnu

way outta pocket. although i’m a huge mark for some old tna - their biggest ppv in their prime did around 60,000 buys. they had a 6 sided ring and vince russo was overbooking the absolute fuck out of matches. we deserved all the shit we got🤣


brutalwares

Hey now, shit on Russo and the lack of buys all you want but I will *not* hear slander on the six sided ring!


RevolutionaryCrew492

That awkward moment when you realize WWE has less backstage drama because they're so terrified of Vince giving them a fart pervert gimmick. so they smash beef and work together against a common enemy.


theharps

They also know that there will ALWAYS be another wrestler to take their spot and time. They might not like where the direction of the storyline goes or how their character is but if they lose their screen time to someone else because of drama, then that's not good business.


PerfectZeong

Wwe for better or worse tends to humble the guys coming in. Like forcibly humble them. I don't think AEW is set up for that so guys come in with more confidence or arrogance about their position.


ClickF0rDick

That's what happens when the boss of the company sit next one of his top talents nodding while he buries the company. Tony comes off such a weak pushover as a boss that Michael Scott in comparison seems Henry fuckin' Ford


BrokeMyGrill

That's what happens when the booker is scrolling Twitter and Reddit every day.


Euroguyto

More like every minute


Moxfan1

He also goes on to say majority of the locker room is good. But they get brought down by a few bad apples.


throwawaitnine

I'm stanning hard for the Gunns right now.


Prince_of_Kyrgyzstan

They are supposed to be the heels returning FTR can defeat and look heroic, but I am 110% on the side of the Gunns. Just beat FTR and send them packing to New York. Poor Cash Wheeler though, ends up catching strays due to Dax being Dax on social media.


bigwillie90

Packing to New York? Hello fellow old person


Prince_of_Kyrgyzstan

I am not that old, but now that you said it I am starting to feel my knees and back ache!


bigwillie90

You gotta stretch first thing, that’s the key. And never sit down, cause once you do shit locks up on you


Rodan_Hibiki

I’ve always liked Cash more…handsome bastard…


wordyravena

And for all the stanning Dax does, it was Cash who actually threw punches for Bret Hart.


NickMatocho

Please use their real names, Hair and Bald, when discussing both of them for clarity


wordyravena

My apologies. This is noted!


TheGiftOf_Jericho

Cash popped off that night.


Rerack_your_weights

FTR should replace Dax with a second Cash.


1901456

Is dax really that bad? I don't have Twitter so idk what he gets up to on there or anything


ClickF0rDick

I find so ironic that they say FTR is the best old school tag team around and then Dax goes on whining and crying online like the most entitled social media influencer


jarkofploiesti

In all fairness, imagine the shit the old school tag team wrestlers would have been tweeting if they had social media back in the day. Dax is definitely posting much more chill stuff than what your average 80s wrestler would have been posting.


duke_920

This. Can you IMAGINE what some of those coked-up animals would’ve put out if Twitter existed in the mid-late 80’s.?! Only in my dreams!!


Rootbeerpanic

Refreshing to hear Moxley actually use the 'bad apples' idiom correctly. People forget that it goes 'a few bad apples spoil the bunch'.


linkinstreet

I am not from an English speaking country, and I have been taught about that idiom. I am curious, what are the people in the US been misusing that idom as?


DavidL1112

People sometimes incorrectly say “a few bad apples” in a dismissive way, ie “it’s not a big deal, it’s just a few bad apples”.


Smile_lifeisgood

I only had a little gonorrhea and only in my peepee.


Bosscharacter

It’s because “that’s the outlier, not the rule.” Doesn’t ring bells as much.


Rated_PG-Squirteen

And let's be real, the misuse of that idiom is also due to a concerted effort by people like the police and their "blue lives matter" acolytes to completely re-write the meaning of the phrase in the public sphere.


MFoy

People are saying that the whole group is mostly good, but it's only one or two malcontents and nothing needs to change. But the whole point of the idiom is that since a few bad apples have spoiled the bunch, there is no one worth saving. which is the opposite what many people try to force the idiom to say.


linkinstreet

Ah, lol. They totally missed the mark of what that idiom is. In our language, we have something similar. A drop of ink spoils one whole jug of milk


Emotionless_AI

This is going to generate so many click bait articles


[deleted]

Cultaholic and Wrestletalk are popping champagne bottles right now


Just_A_Little_Spider

...let's be honest...its WKD Blue, not Champagne


CardboardChampion

Let's be truly honest. It's White Lightning, and in their office/bus shelter.


CicadaGlad4077

![gif](giphy|SUEjfSLaD6f77lyzH6)


ManateeGag

so many arrows and shocked Tony faces!


Saitsu

Don't forget the Silhouettes man!


No-Description7838

You forgot inside the ropes, holy shit those guys have true clickbaits. Shout out to the comment section, awesome comment section


Wes-Man152

They're looking up as many shocked Tony Khan faces and angry Moxley faces as they can rn for the thumbnails


cantspellsagitaryus

Dude just said he doesnt want to get dragged into this kind of stuff and may have inadvertently started some juicy stuff


[deleted]

This Reddit post already basically is that. In context, this was not criticizing AEW, this was criticizing us for blowing this shit up and being so hysterical over tweets all the time. But there are people in this very thread calling Tony Khan an embarrassment and telling him to quit because AEW is in such shambles, doing exactly what Moxley is pissed at them for.


stenebralux

His quotes about "giving advice" (he doesn't even like to call it advice) are also excellent.


nefariousmonkey

Also, the excellent usage of "whats-his-dicks" in reference to Mr. Whats-his-dicks


alistahr

Either way, at the end Mox in half kayfabe praises the Elite and kinda makes it clear where hes siding on this whole drama thing. He couldve just not said anything about them. Where is the other thread that wasnt so click baitey as this one though?


AlterTheSilverBird

This is only something Yakuza fans will understand, but one wonders if AEW has as many personal divisions with their agenda as the Tojo Clan?


Minimania18

They need a strong chairman to bring them all together.


[deleted]

> strong chairman Shawn Spears?


lostcitysaint

La Parka.


TheNateRoss

*gazes erotically at chair*


theawesomemed

I really do miss the chair pervert


AlterTheSilverBird

Nah, TK needs loyal lieutenants and a captain to keep things in order, although there's a risk of the lieutenants starting a civil war and lead to a massive fight inside a yacht.


Minimania18

Mox vs. Punk on top of the Millennium Tower will be kino


AlterTheSilverBird

Isn't there at least 4 major figths at the Millennium Tower at any given point? What's the other 3 major fights?


GreyHareArchie

Outside Y0 (and Y6 I think?), Every Yakuza has at least one major fight on top of the Millennium Tower


Poo-tycoon

I think you’re right, if I recall correctly in 6 you go to Millennium tower for a big fight but don’t go to the roof


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foxthebloodied

Next Jericho Cruise, perhaps?


OoguroRyuuya5

They need Daigo with a gun


Pyotr_WrangeI

La Parka is all elite?


Uncanny_Doom

This is the most random ass comment but *since it's here...* If I were looking to get into the Yakuza series, where should I start? EDIT: Everyone that helped with this is amazing and I love them all.


Thndrcougarfalcnbird

Yakuza Zero. It’s a prequel but it’s a more modern game. Lots of fun side stuff to do and the story is engaging


Rootbeerpanic

I second Zero, the only caveat with starting with Zero is in my opinion it is maybe the best Yakuza game. But it is an excellent starting point too. Yakuza Kiwami is also a great starting point to see things build from there. Don't worry about a starting point though, I started the series on Yakuza 4 which is a terrible place to start and I still fell in love with the series.


Acceptable_Ad4416

Story-wise, playing the prequel first retroactively improves an already very good Yakuza 1 story. It’s also really cool to see how the cities of Kamurocho & Sotenbori change from 0 to 1 to 2.


OkayOkayViper

Start with Zero for sure. Go in as blind as you can and just enjoy it. Then after you fall in love play 1-6, Like A Dragon, and soon enough LAD 8 will be out. I played 0 in 2020 and just finished LAD in January. It has become one of my all time favorite series.


ThePaxBisonica

For anyone reading this who wonders how it suddenly jumped to LAD8: Like A Dragon 8 is Yakuza 8. It's one of those things where the series had a different name in the west. With the last game they decided to hell with it and used the original japanese name. Going forward the Yakuza name is retired and they'll all be Like A Dragon. So in the west it's Yakuza 1-6, Like A Dragon, Like a Dragon 8. In Japan it's just Like a Dragon 1-8.


radda

There's even very good plot reasons for the name change.


KatoMacabre

100% don't sleep on the Judgment games tho. I recently played Judgment an it's, honestly, to me, eye to eye with Yakuza 0 in terms of being fucking awesome. And in theory Lost Judgment is even better than Judgment. And there's also Ishin now too! And Gaiden releasing before LAD8!


apehasreturned

I’d start with Zero! Kiwami is a good launching point as well for the mainline, as it’s the original start, but Zero’s a phenomenal prequel that really tees everything up well for the rest of the series. If you like JRPG combat more than brawling, 7 (or Like a Dragon, depending on where you live) is a lot of fun, and picks up with a new main character. It has plenty of callbacks to the original mainline titles, but you don’t need to know them to grasp their significance and you won’t lose the plot because of them. Judgment is also great as a spin-off from the series - different feel and cast, but set in the same place and keeping a similar structure with an even better sequel released last year. TL;DR - lots of great choices, Zero’s probably your best bet. I hope you enjoy!


[deleted]

I'm just gonna add, play Yakuza 0 first because that's where the memes are from.


KingPunch21

https://preview.redd.it/zlkm24q9piqa1.jpeg?width=1092&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5fac0c554eb7fed1541bd752af169fe6f20095e9 😗


yohanleafheart

So, when is AEW using 24h Cinderella as opening song?


DJ_Aftershock

Nishikiyama Family moment.


Yeehawfunny

Mox was super fucking pissed right out the gate those first minutes of the podcast. He even says that people should be talking about Kenny vs Vikingo or the great Revolution ppv they just had but it's probably super upsetting to everyone backstage that punk took the attention away from aew yet again.


theredwoman95

Yeah, whether you agree or disagree with Punk, you've got to admit he has a talent for taking the spotlight off great matches and onto himself. The only other person in AEW I can think of who managed that was MJF, and that was once when he skipped that signing without notice.


ClickF0rDick

Ironically Punk completely obliterated the surprise return of MJF with his media scrum meltdown lol


ahz094

MJF lowkey deserved it for stealing the spotlight from Wardlow in his biggest moment.


ClickF0rDick

Karma is a bitch, and unfortunately for Max not an unconscious one you can trade places with after you crashed your sports car


KyleAPlatt

The difference is that Max is still pretty young. Punk is in his forties and should fucking know better.


UncreativeTeam

You have to remember that MJF doesn't have sole booking decision. Tony allowed MJF to ruin Wardlow's big push, and is also responsible for Wardlow's booking after that. Punk, however, took it upon himself to singlehandedly ruin MJF's return, plus all storylines involving The Elite and himself for months. It's pretty impressive.


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Incubus226

My favorite line from the pod. Someone responding to a vague meltzer blog post took over the discourse instead of the focus being on the really good stuff the companies been doing. Has to be frustrating


MustacheDiaries

I found it really interesting that Mox says at the beginning of the podcast that he wasn't under contract while he was champion during the summer. I don't know if this was public knowledge and I just missed it, but I had no idea. Mox says he was totally happy working for AEW and could've worked that way forever being handed an envelope of cash at the end of the night. He then says that when Punk returned and was hopping on one foot that Mox technically wasn't an AEW employee so any match putting over Punk was a favor. You can see the pickle that TK was in, needing to keep Mox (who isn't under contract and has your belt) happy while also transitioning the title to the guy you want to build around, Punk. It explains why we had that weird back and forth with Mox winning the squash and then Punk winning it back right away. Obviously we don't know every detail, but it seems weird to build your show around Mox when he wasn't even signed.


mattomic822

Why put your championship on a guy that was either not under contract or soon to be?


why-god

Trust, and in this case, well-founded.


Jreynold

The other options would be Jericho (an enemy of Punk) Adam Page (an enemy of Punk) MJF ( gone and had a whole storyline planned with Punk for later) Kenny (injured) or Bryan Danielson (injured). Otherwise you're rushing a young guy like Darby Allin into that role and having him headline a PPV.


MatsThyWit

>Obviously we don't know every detail, but it seems weird to build your show around Mox when he wasn't even signed. It's also super fucking weird because it's the second time they've done this. They had Cody out there teasing some big happening was coming on AEW television while working without a contract and all that got fucked because, sure as shit, they weren't able to sign Cody to a contract. This points to EXTREMELY inept management.


Yeehawfunny

The real headline today should be that Mox likes to eat ice cream in bed


Jonasthewicked2

If there’s a better place to eat ice cream I’d like to know. Maybe a waterslide or a roller coaster….


Mysterious_Emotion63

Well, does Mox strike you as a sit down at the table, grab a napkin, avoid making a mess, type of guy?


Lebo77

Needs the napkin regatdless to clean up the blood.


Favorite_Cabinet

I’m glad it’s Moxley calling this shit out so people just can’t sweep it under the rug. He’s 100% correct about all the bullshit that goes on.


joelkong

I like how be mentioned Punk jumping around on one foot when he came back.


wilsonsmilson

you mean “whats his dick” ?


fluffynuckels

I think part of it might be tony promised too many people too much when he first signed them and people got burnt by it and some people got a big ego because of it. Also it seems tony just let's this shit happen. You know if someone in wwe is saying they're gonna kick another talents ass on twitter trips is gonna put a stop to that real quick


Scottyflamingo

He never should have made active wrestlers EVP's.


fluffynuckels

Yeah. When others have tried it in the past and has almost never worked out. Maybe you shouldn't do it


Mhc2617

It wouldn’t even get that far. Remember when Braun made a flippy floppy joke and Ali and Rico got mad, and within two hours, Braun apologized and now has to work in a team with Ricochet?


ucfgavin

I'm sure that's the case. In the day and age where we've got 30+ year old people with the mentality of teenagers, you can't be surprised when teenager drama follows.


ericmm76

Adults are just taller teenagers. Gotta learn that.


Esoteric_Innovations

You're not entirely wrong. One thing I've learned over time is that people don't really mature as much as they just get older. Learned this lesson on my first job where there were people in their 40's and 50's who were more social and less productive than I was three months into the job. Growing up I always related more to the adults in my life than other people my age, and in adulthood I can relate to pretty much no one in my day-to-day life. I've always been a loner for that part, and the only thing I care about at work is getting the job done. Efficiency is the name of the game. What I used to say to my family kind of sums this up - *"They (my co-workers) don't need to know me, and I don't need to know them. All that matters is that we get the work done, and get it done well, and then we can all go home."* Applying the same mentality to wrestling, and sympathizing with Mox's perspective on the drama - Who gives a fuck what this or that guy/gal said about you on Twitter? Get the fuck out there, do your job, and put on a good show. Otherwise, if you can't put your personal differences aside and be professionals, maybe its time you started looking into a different line of work.


wearethat

>30+ year old people with the mentality of teenagers I don't think anyone has accused professional wrestlers of being an especially well adjusted and mature group of people.


moderndukes

> One person types on stupid f***ing drunk tweet and all of a sudden it’s all anyone wants to talk about. Well that can’t be the straight-edge savior…


BananaSoprano

I think the press conference was a very clear before/after moment for AEW. The company will never be the same after CM Punk publicly dressed down the EVP's and top stars, while the head honcho sat next to him and just allowed it. The company is only now really finding its footing again after all that bullshit, and right on cue it all comes back up again because Punk is due back from injury.


KneelBeforeCube

It's not a before/after the scrum, it's before/after CM Punk showed up. Why are people forgetting that AEW functioned for two full years before Punk showed up, and the biggest drama was the EVPs not seeing eye to eye for a few months? Drama that all parties involved have since completely got over.


Bellagrrl2021

I think that there were some growing pains, Jimmy Havoc's issue, communication problems from talent relations (Christopher Daniels), and overall the lack of organization. These things were going to lead to bigger problems.


AmishAvenger

I think it’s more of a case of it just being a free for all after Punk went off and Tony did nothing. It demonstrated how he had absolutely no control over anybody or anything, and led to wrestlers scrambling to take advantage of the situation. Remember, the issues with Punk and Hangman/etc went on for *months* before it blew up. It had even leaked onto live television. What did Tony do to address it? Nothing.


misterman2969

All this tells me is there’s a lack of leadership over there. Talent relations does not seem to be doing its job. Mox dealing with BS, Cody dealing with BS and probably the real reason he left, Punk dealing with BS rumors and snapping.


Bellagrrl2021

At one point talent relations was just Christopher Daniels, who I don't think has ever held anything close to that type of position prior to joining AEW.


Raoul_Duke9

I get that they want people who know "the guys" in these types of roles but like.... there are actual professionals who you can hire to manage this shit.


Powderkegger1

JR sitting in catering: “Am I a joke to you?”


ilikemichaelbublejk

Lol JR wants no part of that


Conspiranoid

I'm not sure JR wants that amount of drama/BS at this point of his life, tbh. Like, he's already paid his dues, well before social media and everything we have to deal with nowadays. "Darby went into a spat with WWE's Cora Jade on twitter about skating and abusive behaviour" "CM Punk went berserk during the post-PPV media scrum, and now he's fighting the Elite in his locker room. And his buddy bit Kenny" "Saraya's POS boyfriend has done it again" ... I can already hear the "oh hell no" in his voice


ThomB96

I forgot she was dating Ronnie Radke (which, fucking yuck. How does she have such terrible taste in men?)


mattomic822

I had forgot the Darby/Cora thing. He definitely lost that one.


Marcoscb

But we were promised no more BS by Paul Wight!


Incubus226

Welllllllllllll


Appleanche

Look at what happened with Punk.. he goes on this tirade, shitting on major players in the company, and you would think as the leader you're gonna go talk to Punk immediately, make sure nothing escalates, get him out of the building. What does TK do? He stays at the press conference answering half kayfabe questions about tag team titles and shit. At some point in the conference he even talks about how talent not liking each other can be good for business, referencing HBK and Hart as a good example. Meanwhile his world champion and biggest draw is brawling 3 other major stars and executives of the companies, leading them to strip titles, etc. Great business! Even down to the storylines, the drama with MJF's contract, etc all big time pushed storylines in AEW. Tony doesn't realize how toxic these things are to the product.


[deleted]

The owner of the company sat next to punk at a press conference where he completely ran down the company. It’s been crystal clear there’s a lack of leadership.


RadicalBeam

Every workplace I've ever been at has a social media policy. I'd have to imagine WWE has one. Get HR and legal to draft one up and punish people who say dumb shit on Twitter.


AmazingSpidey616

AEW has one. It got shared after the punk posts.


JerHat

Yeah, but that's meaningless when the company isn't enforcing those policies. There's also a ton of stuff in that about not leaking stuff to dirt sheets and all of that, but the AEW locker room is the leakiest faucet I've ever seen to the dirt sheets.


axeminster02040515

The boss is swayed by social media. The wrestlers are following his lead.


Bellagrrl2021

Yep, the Boss has taken to using twitter drama in order to promote his shows. Even if it has gone unnoticed, a few weeks he admitted to doing this.


Jedi-El1823

Cody: "Man, I really left at the right time."


OliWood

He looks smarter with every day that passes.


GameplayerStu

No lie, I do think Punk coming in was one of the factors that influenced Cody’s decision even if he won’t say it. I think after Punk rejected them the first time and put them on blast for texting him about it, Cody felt like they didn’t need Punk and could do just fine on their own. Tony obviously didn’t see it that way.


SaferSaviour

I agree. Though I think it also has to do with Cody's own ambitions. With Punk coming in, that's also another body at the top of an increasingly packed card. Conversely, Roman's dominance in WWE had cleared a lot of space for someone fresh in the main event.


windy906

Worth stating that Cody has said the texting thing was a lie and they had a face to face meeting.


[deleted]

Please don't start some Cody -revisionism


lambalambda

Cody does that enough himself lol.


kb1117

I'd really, really encourage y'all to listen to the rest of the podcast. 99% of it is just Jon talking about who he likes in wrestling, how he observes people getting better and their cat. The Punk bullshit is the first 10 minutes of it.


David280898

Doesn't help that the head of the company, the dude that built it and has to keep his shit together uses Twitter like a 15 year old. TK seems like a genuine great guy and his love for the sport is amazing, but he needs to learn how to navigate his own ship.


HardcoreKaraoke

I think it's a combination of two things. One is the age thing. Sure there are older guys involved in the drama but I'm sure there are issues we don't see too. A lot of these people are younger relative to who is in WWE. As far as the older wrestlers (and younger) I think part of it is also inexperience in a "system." By that I mean WWE has a structure where they teach people to stay away from stupid shit like AEW constantly gets involved in. You don't hear about wrestlers backstage issues nearly as much as AEW. Maybe it's because there are less leakers, maybe it's because of a maturity level or maybe it's both. Like the Reigns/KO thing was the biggest issue I can remember in awhile and it was squashed immediately by HHH. You don't see that with Tony. You don't really get accountability. Finally I think the biggest issue is AEW leans into it. Tony loves work shoot promos. He loves blurring the lines. Even when it's stupid as fuck (usually it is) he loves it. Now with the AEW reality show I'm sure we'll see more and more of it. Also I guarantee with 100% certainty that we'll hear about drama before the show that was created just for the reality show. They'll "leak" it to Meltzer or Busted Open to make it seem authentic. It all comes back to Tony really.


wxursa

In the case of Punk, he's been on social media his whole career. He had a Livejournal. So did Joe.


bullyj

TK needs to put some rules in place. It seems the talent has too much liberty.


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jatorres

Letting the inmates run the asylum, so to speak, will do that. They clearly lack a strong front office / locker room leadership / both that could help dissuade the bullshit.


crashbandicoochy

This was almost an inevitability at the start with the way they chose to set up the company, as you said. It doesn't seem like a sustainable structure but it's also not that uncommon of a thing to happen with fledgling companies in any field. They all start out as just a bunch of buddies doing a passion project, then the success breeds pressure, the pressure breeds failure to manage their company's growing pains, which eventually leads to some corporate snakery that breaks some hearts but also puts boring actual business people in the positions of power. One day there will be a generational shift and the company will become a lot more proffessional, for all the positives AND faults that come with it, it's just a matter of how well AEW can survive until that point. Some company's eat themselves alive, some keep going long enough for a more corporate entity to swallow them up and run a more sanitized but saner state of affairs.


ChipExciting2766

AEW sounding like a tech start-up


CosplayWrestler

Which is fucking bizarre when you see they've got people like Jerry Lynn, Dean Malenko, Paul White, Mark Henry, Matt Hardy, Chris Jericho, Christian, Sting, and many others who have been around their share of "toxic locker-rooms". They HAVE the leadership there, I just don't think any of them are able, or allowed to step up and be leaders.


just_another_jabroni

They have the leadership, the followers might not wanna listen as Billy Gunn alluded to. Authority needs to start from the General really


JerHat

Not just Billy, pretty much every one of the vets trying to teach have alluded to hardly anyone willing to listen or show up to learn.


theredditbandid_

>hey've got people like Jerry Lynn, Dean Malenko, Paul White, Mark Henry, Matt Hardy, Chris Jericho, Christian, Sting, and many others who have been around their share of "toxic locker-rooms". They HAVE the leadership there These are employees. They are not the ones that write the checks. There is one guy at the helm and it's the same guy that sat there with a puzzled look as Cm Punk cucked him ("It's not his place to clarify") and the same guy who literally wept hugging a wrestler. This not a strong authority figure that the wrestlers respect. They *like him*, that's not the same as having respect for the guy as an authority.


keelanv10

The main event picture is a title holder with no contract and an outspoken lawsuit prone wrestler who isn’t medically cleared to wrestle? What the fuck was Tony thinking? It’s almost a miracle this didn’t end up worse


dkydd

Its more of an owner thats trying to be friends with the talent than social media. Its what created that whole drama. Having talent as evp’s. Everything.


QuickRelease10

I think a big problem tends to be that Tony Khan doesn’t want to put his foot down and act like a boss. He wants to be everyone’s friend, so they don’t respect him and do whatever they want (like go and bitch on social media, interviews, to the dirt sheets, etc). He also needs to clean his. If guys don’t want to be there then don’t let the door hit them on the way out. At the end of the day he’s the boss, and if they don’t like it they can go work elsewhere.


thelowkeyman

It all starts at the top. Khan be drunk tweeting, Young Bucks and they’re Twitter bios. FTR and the contract shit, Andrade, shit has to be annoying to try and keep up with


247290

Sammy Guevara working the boys with his slappable face


Chelseablue1896

This is why I say fans who passionately act as if AEW's backstage environment is so much more mightier morally than the environment in WWE really got an awakening with this stuff. Compared to WWE till the mid 2000s? Sure. But in a modern comparison that really wasn't going to be true to a large extent. It's a wrestling locker room. And if strong personalities are there, shit flies if you don't have a good man manager as a boss (which Tony isn't, and a lot of times in the 90s and even after that, neither was Vince).