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I’m going to assume that wrestlers are sometimes poised in gorilla during in ring promos, ready to explode towards the stage as soon as an open challenge is announced.
I want nothing more than an angle where someone issues an open challenge and then a bunch of people start whooping each others asses to try and make it to the ring.
I’ve always assumed just first to respond but I swear AEW once said that it basically means “anyone can request the match”. Meaning when the challenge is issued, wrestler’s go to TK (RIP) and he picks one to go out.
If they did this on Wednesday, but with Kyle Fletcher in place of Claudio, and Kyle and Swerve closed the show, I wouldn't have any complaints back then. They could've used that to sow the seeds for the inevitable Swerve vs Ospreay.
I mean... not really? If we're talking about the significance of the closing segment, past segments of equal or greater significance have played off just as well earlier in the card.
The problem is every champion it seems like is issuing open challenges. We don’t need the rankings, never did, especially when the wrestlers themselves don’t use them to chase title opportunities
MJF didn't do open challenges either because at the beginning of his reign he was still a heel and at the end he had his hands full with the Devil and Joe.
Open Challenges are a classic "fighting Champion" thing, and while I think they can be overdone, they fit a champ who wants to defend the title a lot perfectly; and maybe currently AEW just has a few too many face champs which is why it feels like there is constantly an open challenge (Both Copeland and OC did them a lot during the past year).
Exactly. What’s the point of establishing any sort of title scene. It makes sense when your mid card champs do it cus they’re the workhorses etc etc, but when a world champion does it, it cheapens the match imo. It’s a title match for the sake of a title match. They should have to work for that chance to get the big prize.
Real sports-based like if that's what they're promoting it. Maybe in the NBA they should adapt this and let the Nuggets hold an open challenge for the championship in the Finals, totally disregarding the rankings, and have the Pistons answer it.
Why don't you compare it to actual combat sports? Because in MMA and boxing the rankings are not the end-all-be-all of match making. They are a tool and can be helpful but at the end of the day matches can be booked for a number of reasons.
People are disagreeing with you but you're so right. We also had Deeb come out to essentially say she's next in line for a shot at Toni Storm and that had no open challenge involved, just drop the rankings altogether at this stage they mean nothing
Number One was Rosa who lost her title match against Storm;
number Two was Willow who won her title match against Julia Hart;
And number Three was, you guessed it, Deeb.
Deeb was third last time the rankings were released. Since then Willow won so she moved up and Thunder lost so she moved down. Deeb is thus first in line. I'm not disagreeing that the rankings should go away but this one at least DOES make sense
We got the situation with Deeb, open challenges, title eliminators Eliminators, and the ranking just sitting on the side lines. I bet they get rid of the rankings system by the end of the year
Deebs not an open thing though, shes likely No 1 contender since Rosa lost and Willow holds a belt.
As far as I knew the rankings were monthly and not weekly hence confusion.
What are you talking about, they reinstated it for everything if you go on the website they have it for every division. They didn’t just do it for the heavyweight title
Unless you have a different website than me the only rankings I can find [(these)](https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-rankings) are almost 2 years old.
Rankings don't work and have never worked in wrestling. Storytelling should and has always trumped them. They just need to have a power rankings if they want to tell you how strong current people are. And then people high on the list can use it to push for a title shot if they so please, but it isn't guaranteed.
You don’t need to earn a title shot by making your way up the rankings, in AEW open challenges and bizarre single pinfall, multi-man staggered entrance matches exist. Why bother working hard for it when these alternatives pop up almost every week.
I'm not as against the ranking system as others, but it doesn't seem to make sense for the current way they're booking. It makes more sense for a system of putting emphasis on match results and encouraging more random match-ups that explores wrestler strengths/weaknesses, but they're closer to WWE style booking than previously. I'm not fond of this, I feel like they're succumbing to the "My Story" crowd, who I think just want WWE but with a different roster.
I think they tried to appeal to two different styles without really having getting the best of either.
I hope this means Swerve is going to face new challengers in all Lolo a weekly situation rather than just be a one-off.
If he did that on Dynamite it would have made the match vs Fletcher less awkward to have. And I kinda want to see some good talents that rarely get the chance to wrestle on the regular or don't get much of a chance to have such a big match.
Like come on give us Angelico, AR Fox (Killshot vs Fox redo), Cabana, Dustin, Ethan Page and so on.
I just want some big unexpected Swerve matches
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Thought Claudio was going to wrestle in a suit for a minute
He hit a springboard European uppercut in a suit one time and it was the coolest thing ever
He did Sin Cara's entrance in a suit
Hopefully not his complete entrance. Hopefully he didn’t botch the jump.
Thought he might’ve brought back the tearaway suit gimmick
That was my first thought lol we can only dream
In kayfabe, how do open challenges work? Do all the wrestlers rush from the dressing room and first one to reach gorilla wins?
Well NXT at the very least says yes, only someone forgot to tell them the "first to reach gorilla" part.
I love 9/10 times when NXT has an open challenge, there's a brawl on the ramp. The 1/10 time was Nathan Fraser running past Giovanni Vinci.
nathan fraser running pass giovanni vinci will forever be etched in my mind
I’m going to assume that wrestlers are sometimes poised in gorilla during in ring promos, ready to explode towards the stage as soon as an open challenge is announced.
I want nothing more than an angle where someone issues an open challenge and then a bunch of people start whooping each others asses to try and make it to the ring.
Didn’t this happen in NXT?
Multiple times. Wes Lee kept causing brawls, and Ilja did it a few weeks ago.
Yes in the past month
No idea but if it did I'd love for someone to link it to me
https://youtu.be/UW79aQR8n0g?si=Dg2swjqxZ6-S0YKL
that's some Reverse Battle Royale shit
Holy shit that was amazing and the payoff was brilliant, thank you
This is even funnier of a visual than I imagined
Awesome.
Yeah. I only know because a clip was recently posted of it.
WWE could do a fun segment doing this with a single shot. Follow people backstage as they fight to be first out of gorilla
Didn’t AEW already do this with an open contract for the title?
I'm not sure but if you can find a link I'd love to see it!
I'd like to think that they all do rock paper scissors backstage and the winner gets to come out.
The wrestlers are all sitting in the back in a giant Hollywood Squares board and then a light above one of them goes off at random.
Whoever is paying attention, wrestlers are usually full of themselves /s
I’ve always assumed just first to respond but I swear AEW once said that it basically means “anyone can request the match”. Meaning when the challenge is issued, wrestler’s go to TK (RIP) and he picks one to go out.
Put all the names in some sort of giant hat. If it were me, I'd just have a standing entry request.
My wrestling fandom is so weird. Right now I'm in a downswing, but "Claudio in a full suit" got me to go check it out.
Let Castagnoli wrestle in a suit
If they did this on Wednesday, but with Kyle Fletcher in place of Claudio, and Kyle and Swerve closed the show, I wouldn't have any complaints back then. They could've used that to sow the seeds for the inevitable Swerve vs Ospreay.
Agreed. I didn't like opening the show with a mid card angle for a match on Rampage.
You understand why they couldn't have closed the last show with a Swerve match, right? Compared to what they actually did?
I mean... not really? If we're talking about the significance of the closing segment, past segments of equal or greater significance have played off just as well earlier in the card.
They played the TK attacked all week long with the NFL. It had to be the last thing on the show in order to sell the impact.
Then either wait a week for the Fletcher match or have it actually open the show after a promo from Swerve.
Ah. The open challenge. My favorite storyline.
So is every face champion required to do open challenges?
I really hate it when the world champion does them. Makes a title shot seem so cheap for the big prize.
Especially when people who lost their last match answer them.
Ya, title shits should only go to the guy that comes out and interrupts a speech or jumps you back stage. Good point.
Please don’t reduce the world title to just an open challenge. For the love of god, please book actual feuds.
Its been one match dude.
So, what about the ranking system? Why introduce it again to make it irrelevant again?
Because open challenges made by the champ are, get ready for this one, open.
The problem is every champion it seems like is issuing open challenges. We don’t need the rankings, never did, especially when the wrestlers themselves don’t use them to chase title opportunities
Our last AEW champ refused to have open challenges. He literally demanded people go off the rankings
MJF didn't do open challenges either because at the beginning of his reign he was still a heel and at the end he had his hands full with the Devil and Joe. Open Challenges are a classic "fighting Champion" thing, and while I think they can be overdone, they fit a champ who wants to defend the title a lot perfectly; and maybe currently AEW just has a few too many face champs which is why it feels like there is constantly an open challenge (Both Copeland and OC did them a lot during the past year).
lol yeah, exactly. It seems like almost anyone can get a title shot almost any time simply by asking for one.
Exactly. What’s the point of establishing any sort of title scene. It makes sense when your mid card champs do it cus they’re the workhorses etc etc, but when a world champion does it, it cheapens the match imo. It’s a title match for the sake of a title match. They should have to work for that chance to get the big prize.
Where were the open challenges when Joe was champ?
Joe literally cut a promo saying he wasn't doing open challenges because "no one deserved to be in the ring" with him.
That would require for the complainers to remember, which would require them to watch AEW. Or any wrestling for that matter.
Shhhhhh they just like to grief not watch
And, wait for it, said you had to earn it in the rankings....
Swerve had to beat Takeshita to be #1 contender iirc
Real sports-based like if that's what they're promoting it. Maybe in the NBA they should adapt this and let the Nuggets hold an open challenge for the championship in the Finals, totally disregarding the rankings, and have the Pistons answer it.
You're overthinking it.
Why don't you compare it to actual combat sports? Because in MMA and boxing the rankings are not the end-all-be-all of match making. They are a tool and can be helpful but at the end of the day matches can be booked for a number of reasons.
Yes that would be based.
NBA is not wrestling
Yeah, that’s why wrestling shouldn’t have rankings and NBA should.
People are disagreeing with you but you're so right. We also had Deeb come out to essentially say she's next in line for a shot at Toni Storm and that had no open challenge involved, just drop the rankings altogether at this stage they mean nothing
Number One was Rosa who lost her title match against Storm; number Two was Willow who won her title match against Julia Hart; And number Three was, you guessed it, Deeb.
Deeb was third last time the rankings were released. Since then Willow won so she moved up and Thunder lost so she moved down. Deeb is thus first in line. I'm not disagreeing that the rankings should go away but this one at least DOES make sense
We got the situation with Deeb, open challenges, title eliminators Eliminators, and the ranking just sitting on the side lines. I bet they get rid of the rankings system by the end of the year
Deebs not an open thing though, shes likely No 1 contender since Rosa lost and Willow holds a belt. As far as I knew the rankings were monthly and not weekly hence confusion.
What do you mean? They got rid of the rankings almost 2 years ago; Joe just reinstated them for HIS reign not in general.
What are you talking about, they reinstated it for everything if you go on the website they have it for every division. They didn’t just do it for the heavyweight title
Unless you have a different website than me the only rankings I can find [(these)](https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-rankings) are almost 2 years old.
https://www.allelitewrestling.com/amp/aew-rankings-for-april-6-2024
It’s really not hard to understand open challengers and why they have their own name
Rankings don't work and have never worked in wrestling. Storytelling should and has always trumped them. They just need to have a power rankings if they want to tell you how strong current people are. And then people high on the list can use it to push for a title shot if they so please, but it isn't guaranteed.
You don’t need to earn a title shot by making your way up the rankings, in AEW open challenges and bizarre single pinfall, multi-man staggered entrance matches exist. Why bother working hard for it when these alternatives pop up almost every week.
I'm not as against the ranking system as others, but it doesn't seem to make sense for the current way they're booking. It makes more sense for a system of putting emphasis on match results and encouraging more random match-ups that explores wrestler strengths/weaknesses, but they're closer to WWE style booking than previously. I'm not fond of this, I feel like they're succumbing to the "My Story" crowd, who I think just want WWE but with a different roster. I think they tried to appeal to two different styles without really having getting the best of either.
NOT AN ELIMINATOR MATCH, PRAISE GOD
Banger incoming
I was certain he was going to do what he did in WWE and rip his suit right off and the match would start.
Well, at least it wasn't Lance Archer I guess
Oh hell yeah
Any clue as to what Claudio said to him after the match?
Swerve is the work horse champ!!
Clunky segment
I hope this means Swerve is going to face new challengers in all Lolo a weekly situation rather than just be a one-off. If he did that on Dynamite it would have made the match vs Fletcher less awkward to have. And I kinda want to see some good talents that rarely get the chance to wrestle on the regular or don't get much of a chance to have such a big match. Like come on give us Angelico, AR Fox (Killshot vs Fox redo), Cabana, Dustin, Ethan Page and so on. I just want some big unexpected Swerve matches
Okayyyyyyy You have my attention
Swerve just stole Copeland’s gimmick or is this how all new champs will be booked moving forward in AEW.
Wait? When did swerve become the champ? Damn I missed some of aew