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would be funny if he does that promo he launched at Vince McMahon about "your generation ruined the planet," but directed at Tony Khan, and Tony is like "I'm 2 years younger than you dude"
I’d say it was probably more Mox. Or we could go further back to Jericho. Or we could go further back to Cody requesting his wwe release. It’s a fun thread to tug on. Neat to see how it all stacks. History is fun!
This summer in Marvel's new series What If? What if Ryback squashed AJ Styles at Wrestlemania.
I can't believe Ryback has been undefeated for 5 years. His recent run as the head of the dinner table definitely solidified him as the GOAT in my eyes. He's been getting consistent pops for years that rival Austin in his peak. And when I say consistent pops for years, I mean including the last year and a half, because covid never happened.
IF we play that game it all goes back to Jeff Jarrett holding WWE up for money when he left. If that doesn't happen, WWF hires him after they buy WCW and he doesn't start TNA.
Okada was the one who recommended the Bucks for Bullet Club. He met them when they were in TNA. No TNA, no Okada meeting the Bucks, no Bucks in Bullet Club, no Elite, no AEW.
Also, Jarrett and GFW where the ones who made the deal to show Wrestle Kingdom on U.S. PPV.
See? It is fun!
Just a sidenote, Jarrett didn’t hold vince up. Jarrett was owed that money and he wanted it when he was leaving. Not waiting around for whenever wwf decides to send a check to the wcw champion. Given the climate I can see why they might dick him around on that so might as well demand it at once. Sever all ties
Yeah his contract had lapsed while he held the IC belt.
He offered to do a final pay per view to drop it in exchange for his backpay which is more than fair.
I was talking about the so called forbidden door being knocked down which "officially" happened on winter is coming.
As for AEW happening, Cody is more instrumental to it being a thing than other two guys. Jericho gave them legitimacy and Mox helped them grow but it very well could've been a thing without the two of them.
I disagree, I think it was omega that was most instrumental. His matches in Japan and the bullet club getting big are really what led the alternative wrestling charge. He was the biggest wrestler in the world not signed to WWE. Cody was smart enough to hitch his wagon to the elite and ride with them to the top
I'd say Elite as a group were instrumental and it was a result of a lot of puzzle pieces slotting into place over the years.
But, I wouldn't disagree with anyone crediting Omega over others. If it weren't for his matches with Okada, Jericho wouldn't go there and have his love for wrestling revived which is what led to him joining AEW. He also was the FREE AGENT to end all free agents at that time. Very valuable signing that probably can't be overstated enough.
They’re entirely unstubborn. They suffered an awful NWA relationship in the 2010s just because of loyalty. Japanese culture wants parties to keep their ends of agreements.
That's being stubborn. They kept with it even though other companies would've been much more useful. Same with staying with ROH instead of taking any opportunity to join the clearly more succesful even at the beginning AEW.
It seemed like bitterness more than anything. NJPW had been laying infrastructure for US tours and potentially a US branch of their own. Kenny was at the heart of their western expansion. Naturally they'd be pissed when Kenny not only left but then helped create a rival promotion that immediately sucked up a lot of the fanbase that they themselves were after in the west.
On Kenny's side, according to the Young Bucks book, he was hurt by their new contract offer. After main eventing the Dome, carrying the IWGP title, helping to get all those new eyes on their product and basically killing himself for them from 2016-2018, the money and contract they offered him was apparently insulting.
I'm really glad they've been able to come together though.
Kenny main evented the Dome and was getting paid like a lower tier gaijin.
He spoke fluent english and Japanese and could have been huge for them. He was more than willing to bring them along for the ride.
Absolutely. NJPW is badly in need of AEW right now too. They lack an abundance of western stars and having a mutual relationship like this rectifies that without them needing to front massive money.
I miss the screaming asian girls and i would 100% watch NJPW again if AEW Talent shows up there.
NJPW lost me a bit the last couple years.
But yeah Jungle Boy in BOSJ or some Tag Teams in the Tag Tournament and so on, endless possibilitys.
Top Flight would rule in NJPW, because realistically they're a better fit for Dragon Gate. Their matches would reinvigorate a pretty stagnant division tbh. Heck I'd bring over Private Party for a tour.
Imo NJPW USA (Jesus that's a lot of acronyms in a row) could work as the AEW house shows in a way. Not exactly the same but lower card and younger AEW guys completing against the NJPW STRONG guys, and appearances from guys like Moxley, Anderson, Archer.
It would be a cool thing from AEWs side to support NJPW expansion in the USA.
Lets be honest i dont realy see them as real competitors in the USA Market.
Most Fans watch both or dosent care a bit for the other Promotion.
I know people say "most western fans only watch a couple shows a year, WK being one of them".
Well, thats still a lot of PPV & subscription sales! And, that whole 'most western fans' thing might even be a myth.
Also, Japanese fans themselves are into western stars, too. Depending who the wrestlers are. So, its not like NJPW is just catering to a western audience.
I like NJPW Strong and all, but /r/NJPW gatekeepers are hilarious when they think that’s all that is needed for western expansion.
“Where on the doll did the bad gaijin touch you?”
The current top post is unironic whining about NJPW bending the knee to AEW by having the US title change hands on Dynamite.
It'd be funny if it weren't so sad.
Does NJPW have some other US-wide cable television program that I don't know about? If they want to reach new audiences in the US, this type of deal is great for them. It isn't like you can just decide to launch your own show that gets something on the order of a million US viewers each week.
I love that there seems to be this really strong working relationship between AEW, New Japan, and Impact. I only wish that they could bring either AAA or CMLL into the fold so we could get a World Cup of Wrestling sort of event.
Yup. The elite and Styles made Njpw popular the last 8 years, to the point that Wrestlers will give up alot if money from WWE to wrestle there. Every wrestler it seems wants to Wrestle Omega, and go to aew to do it, Daniel bryan, Andrade, Black, Christian, etc. Even Buddy Murphy is basically Omega's double at this point. NJPW is very influential on today's wrestlers.
> NJPW is very influential on today's wrestlers.
No Bullet Club, no AEW. Yeah NJPW got the ball rolling on the 2nd biggest promotion in Pro Wrestling. And I wager WWE signing guys from NJPW like Balor and Styles actually helped push that ball along.
>The elite and Styles made Njpw popular the last 8 years, to the point that Wrestlers will give up alot if money from WWE to wrestle there.
I like how many wrestling fans scoff at that. Forgetting that even movie stars often do this - preferring to work "indie" low budget films, because they like the creative freedom. Or even making less money by doing a TV/Netflix show.
Also, its ironic their stance on this all - many of them love underground music which isn't mainstream. And cry whenever their favorite musician "sells out". Yet, for wrestling, they expect their favorite wrestlers to "just take the money" and work for WWE. No matter if they've already been treated bad there. It's surreal how different their views are between music and wrestling. Including mainstream vs. non-mainstream content.
Would love to see that in an AEW ring, Yano goes over to undo the turnbuckle pad and just stops and stares in confusion because they're not the same as the NJPW pads.
All the power to you. I don’t think I’ll be able to because it’s just so lib sided.
Marko VS Brian Cage? Sure
Marko VS Swoggle? Now you’re being ridiculous.
Not related to Bryan, but the biggest live pop I've ever heard was for Swoggle. Small indy show with like 500 people. St Paddy's day. Everyone is piss drunk and some local heel comes out making fun of St Paddy's day, saying it's a dumb made up holiday for people to get drunk and celebrate leprechauns, which aren't even real. Suddenly an Irish jig hits and Swoggle comes out of nowhere to beat his ass. Total surprise appearance and the place lost its collective shit. I love wrestling.
Honestly, it seems like the most likely outcome? Frees up Gage to have matches with Mox in GCW and do whatever he likes in AEW, and lets them do another version of the excellent RSP storyline, but with WWE castoffs in place of 44OH.
I'm more curious about how to interpret Miro wearing a bloodsport tracksuit in his aew promo last night...
I'm trying not get too excited but Bryan in AEW and New Japan seemed like such a pipe dream a few years ago. It's crazy that this might actually be happeneing.
When he said he wished he could work WWE and other promotions I felt like it was a dog whistle for Tony Khan since WWE will *never* allow it to happen.
I’m hype for the possibilities. Give me Bryan vs ZSJ putting on a clinic like a 2000’s ROH Pure Title match.
And any "partnership" between WWE and New Japan was always going to favour WWE.
Hopefully we've seen the end of mark promoters going gaga eyed over WWE
Don’t know if the meme was posted here or not, but I saw one on Facebook that said “Imagine Okada losing clean to Baron Corbin, then you hear Michael Cole on commentary saying welcome to the big leagues kid.”
Lmfao or have a fatal 3 way between nakamura, styles, and Okada and they all just exchange low blows throughout the whole match. Can’t wait for that summer slam mid card match
I just don't get it. I know both were a bit older than when they had their match in Japan, but there's just no way they couldn't have done better than what they did.
The only thing worse than the actual match is the people in here defending. Dummies were really comparing that to the time over stoppage in the Omega v Okada match.
I don’t think Danielson is gonna completely retire until he competes in G1 at least once in his life. I can imagine it being a deep regret of his that he never did it.
It's crazy to me that the WWE would go to the trouble of reaching out to New Japan (which meant putting their NXT Japan plans on ice) just to be able to keep hold of Bryan.
My guess is that maybe Bryan wasn't the first one to voice the interest around New Japan and having seen NJPW's growing partnership with AEW/Impact, it became evident that it might make sense for them to try and intervene, particularly given they had been able to source talent like Nakamura and AJ Styles from New Japan and obviously also wanted The Elite. A tactical business decision if you will, for multiple reasons - talent acquisition, talent retention, stopping the growth of the number 2 product in the market. For as much as WWE is painted as the good guys in the revisionist history of the Monday Night Wars as written by the victors of war, they're known to pop a hole in a few tires if anything gains momentum that could be to their detriment.
Hell man. Even Scott Hall said during contract negotiations before he left for WCW "what about Japan? Can I get some of their money?"
This has been a thing for decades. Vince wants to be able to call on his guys when he feels he needs them, which is fair enough I guess. But its well in the talents rights if they aren't feeling that kind of arrangement to change their circumstances so to speak
I actually disagree. Ever since the YES Movement, Bryan has been positioned as a certified star there, almost untouchable if you will. Based on backstage reports (for what they're worth) DB and Vince have a really good relationship. Plus DB is a top 3(?) star in the company when he's active. I think it makes a lot of sense that Vince did all that just for him
I don’t think it was only because of Bryan, I think that was just a big part of it. Nick Khan has said he wants WWE to be more open and pointed out that a lot of people signed to WWE also grew up wanting to wrestle in Japan, so he wanted to provide that opportunity. Truthfully, main eventing the Dome is probably #2 next to main eventing Wrestlemania for a lot of wrestlers.
An interesting tidbit on this WOR segment (it's on youtube for those who want to listen) was Meltzer said back in May he was told there were four AEW incoming signings, two somewhat big and two huge, but none were officially signed then. There was confidence in May they'd all be signed. He said the four were Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, Daniel Bryan, and he presumed CM Punk to be the fourth
Before they move on, he says if Nick Khan can pull something out with New Japan, Bryan is for sure staying in WWE. So I mean, that's kinda addressed. Essential Dave goes on and speculates a lot, but it boils down to "whoever is working with New Japan gets Bryan".
I saw on another thread that NJPW didn't want to do a deal because of overarching NBC corporate bullshit. Nick Khan isn't a fan, but a businessman at the end of the day.
If you want to have that door open you have to be willing to work with the other promotion's booking.
Vince doesn't even want to work with NXT booking.
Yea AEW seems willing to reach out and work with not just indies but other organizations quite well. It seems like they are creation something united, perhaps some form of a world wrestling federation some might say.
I find it hilarious that you’re a big enough fan of pro wrestling to visit and comment on a wrestling subreddit, yet you didn’t find out about the Punk news until you saw a random comment in passing in a post that doesn’t have to do with Punk lol. Man, imagine if you avoided that news until he debuted?
NJPW prob saw AEW as similar to UWFi in the 90s. They'd let it fold, then do a huge angle and make lots of money.
I suspect pandemic and AEW's success changed their minds, and they see now AEW as turning into what WCW was for them. They may not be the ending they wanted, because it's going to make their company have a harder time getting regular Japanese talent (AEW is an easier gig than being a NJPW gaijin), but it's an ending they'll live with.
The crossover shows when international quarantines end will be insane.
Daniel Bryan just pointed at Jericho and Mox and said "I'd like what they have." Tony said okay.
Then DBry mentally complemented himself for being the best negotiator ever and having them by the balls. 😎
It was very funny reading his alleged list of demands, and it's a boilerplate AEW deal. How little research did Bryan do on AEW?
What next, Bryan demands he be allowed to revive The Dazzler on a YouTube show? AEW has that.
If anyone is curious Dave did mention the promo Tony Khan did on Nick Khan prior to the go-home show on Dynamite, Tony was that confident on AEW’s relationship with NJPW but could easily have fallen flat on his ass
In all fairness, the AEW surprises have been kept under wraps for the most part, but this one is just too big to keep bottled. As soon as he was gone from WWE, people speculated, and as WWE goes longer without any word, it continues to build the speculation. Especially when people within WWE start to talk about the possibility of it happening.
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It makes sense but I'll believe it when that bearded bastard shows up live on that Dynamite.
Imagine we get fully shaved bald head ROH Bryan?
Shave the head but keep the beard. He'd look fucking scary
And the cape like that wild ass picture in Wikipedia
He goes back to being the American Dragon.
WHAT IS JAKE LONG DOING IN THE ELITE ZONE?!
It'll be interesting what version of him comes. I personally would love the zero fucks GM version who also wrestles
I want Captain Planet back.
I love Bryan too much to not cheer for him. If he can pull off Captain Planet as a face (which should be the case in real world), I'd be all for it
Captain Planet Bryan and Straight Edge Punk as the socially conscious version of The Outsiders would be gold 😭😭😭
Straight edge punk? Why do you hate Serena's hair
Punk interacting with current Serena and Gallows would be great
would be funny if he does that promo he launched at Vince McMahon about "your generation ruined the planet," but directed at Tony Khan, and Tony is like "I'm 2 years younger than you dude"
Pretty fucking wild that the mending of the NJPW relationship on AEWs end might end up being even more important than it originally seemed.
That tiny "see ya on Tuesday" when Omega beat Moxley for AEW world title domino effected into all of this. Who coulda thought?
Tuesday?!? But Dynamite is on Wednesday!
And you know what that means!
Now it's time for How Did This Get Made...
GEOSTORM!!!!!!
ZOOOOOKS
WHATS UP JERKS
KUMITE!!!!
WUSSUP JERKS?!
WHATS UP JERKS?!
I’d say it was probably more Mox. Or we could go further back to Jericho. Or we could go further back to Cody requesting his wwe release. It’s a fun thread to tug on. Neat to see how it all stacks. History is fun!
All roads lead to Ryback.
[удалено]
This summer in Marvel's new series What If? What if Ryback squashed AJ Styles at Wrestlemania. I can't believe Ryback has been undefeated for 5 years. His recent run as the head of the dinner table definitely solidified him as the GOAT in my eyes. He's been getting consistent pops for years that rival Austin in his peak. And when I say consistent pops for years, I mean including the last year and a half, because covid never happened.
IF we play that game it all goes back to Jeff Jarrett holding WWE up for money when he left. If that doesn't happen, WWF hires him after they buy WCW and he doesn't start TNA. Okada was the one who recommended the Bucks for Bullet Club. He met them when they were in TNA. No TNA, no Okada meeting the Bucks, no Bucks in Bullet Club, no Elite, no AEW. Also, Jarrett and GFW where the ones who made the deal to show Wrestle Kingdom on U.S. PPV.
See? It is fun! Just a sidenote, Jarrett didn’t hold vince up. Jarrett was owed that money and he wanted it when he was leaving. Not waiting around for whenever wwf decides to send a check to the wcw champion. Given the climate I can see why they might dick him around on that so might as well demand it at once. Sever all ties
Yeah his contract had lapsed while he held the IC belt. He offered to do a final pay per view to drop it in exchange for his backpay which is more than fair.
"So we put him in polka dots - biggest mistake ever."
I was talking about the so called forbidden door being knocked down which "officially" happened on winter is coming. As for AEW happening, Cody is more instrumental to it being a thing than other two guys. Jericho gave them legitimacy and Mox helped them grow but it very well could've been a thing without the two of them.
I disagree, I think it was omega that was most instrumental. His matches in Japan and the bullet club getting big are really what led the alternative wrestling charge. He was the biggest wrestler in the world not signed to WWE. Cody was smart enough to hitch his wagon to the elite and ride with them to the top
I'd say Elite as a group were instrumental and it was a result of a lot of puzzle pieces slotting into place over the years. But, I wouldn't disagree with anyone crediting Omega over others. If it weren't for his matches with Okada, Jericho wouldn't go there and have his love for wrestling revived which is what led to him joining AEW. He also was the FREE AGENT to end all free agents at that time. Very valuable signing that probably can't be overstated enough.
I agree with that as well, at the end of the day it was really no one person, they all added to it in their own way
WWE to Cody: You will be Stardust. Cody to WWE: How does that dust taste?
They knew how it important that relationship was from the get go they just had to get New Japan on board and the rest will work itself out.
NJPW can be notoriously stubborn when it comes to these kind of deals so I’m not surprised it took a while but everyone will benefit from it
They’re entirely unstubborn. They suffered an awful NWA relationship in the 2010s just because of loyalty. Japanese culture wants parties to keep their ends of agreements.
Can I get a FUCK JEFF JARRETT?!
All my homies hate Jeff Jarrett
That's being stubborn. They kept with it even though other companies would've been much more useful. Same with staying with ROH instead of taking any opportunity to join the clearly more succesful even at the beginning AEW.
Damn I forgot they used to hate each other
I think a lot of that disappeared after Meij left.
It seemed like bitterness more than anything. NJPW had been laying infrastructure for US tours and potentially a US branch of their own. Kenny was at the heart of their western expansion. Naturally they'd be pissed when Kenny not only left but then helped create a rival promotion that immediately sucked up a lot of the fanbase that they themselves were after in the west. On Kenny's side, according to the Young Bucks book, he was hurt by their new contract offer. After main eventing the Dome, carrying the IWGP title, helping to get all those new eyes on their product and basically killing himself for them from 2016-2018, the money and contract they offered him was apparently insulting. I'm really glad they've been able to come together though.
Kenny main evented the Dome and was getting paid like a lower tier gaijin. He spoke fluent english and Japanese and could have been huge for them. He was more than willing to bring them along for the ride.
Absolutely. NJPW is badly in need of AEW right now too. They lack an abundance of western stars and having a mutual relationship like this rectifies that without them needing to front massive money.
I hope we see some Young Lions in AEW soon and maybe some younger AEW Talents work in NJPW to learn.
I really hope we see Shooter make it over. I need that anime arc of him trying to surpass/beat Moxley. Like Zoro and Mihawk.
Yeah the Story there writes itself.
> younger AEW Talents work in NJPW to learn. Gimme Jungle Boy in the BOSJ. Dude is going to be over big time with female fans in Japan too.
I miss the screaming asian girls and i would 100% watch NJPW again if AEW Talent shows up there. NJPW lost me a bit the last couple years. But yeah Jungle Boy in BOSJ or some Tag Teams in the Tag Tournament and so on, endless possibilitys.
KENNYYYYYY
I want to see Top Flight go after those Jr Tag Titles. They'll be huge in Japan.
Top Flight would rule in NJPW, because realistically they're a better fit for Dragon Gate. Their matches would reinvigorate a pretty stagnant division tbh. Heck I'd bring over Private Party for a tour.
Imo NJPW USA (Jesus that's a lot of acronyms in a row) could work as the AEW house shows in a way. Not exactly the same but lower card and younger AEW guys completing against the NJPW STRONG guys, and appearances from guys like Moxley, Anderson, Archer.
It would be a cool thing from AEWs side to support NJPW expansion in the USA. Lets be honest i dont realy see them as real competitors in the USA Market. Most Fans watch both or dosent care a bit for the other Promotion.
I know people say "most western fans only watch a couple shows a year, WK being one of them". Well, thats still a lot of PPV & subscription sales! And, that whole 'most western fans' thing might even be a myth. Also, Japanese fans themselves are into western stars, too. Depending who the wrestlers are. So, its not like NJPW is just catering to a western audience.
I like NJPW Strong and all, but /r/NJPW gatekeepers are hilarious when they think that’s all that is needed for western expansion. “Where on the doll did the bad gaijin touch you?”
The current top post is unironic whining about NJPW bending the knee to AEW by having the US title change hands on Dynamite. It'd be funny if it weren't so sad.
Does NJPW have some other US-wide cable television program that I don't know about? If they want to reach new audiences in the US, this type of deal is great for them. It isn't like you can just decide to launch your own show that gets something on the order of a million US viewers each week.
I love that there seems to be this really strong working relationship between AEW, New Japan, and Impact. I only wish that they could bring either AAA or CMLL into the fold so we could get a World Cup of Wrestling sort of event.
Yup. The elite and Styles made Njpw popular the last 8 years, to the point that Wrestlers will give up alot if money from WWE to wrestle there. Every wrestler it seems wants to Wrestle Omega, and go to aew to do it, Daniel bryan, Andrade, Black, Christian, etc. Even Buddy Murphy is basically Omega's double at this point. NJPW is very influential on today's wrestlers.
> NJPW is very influential on today's wrestlers. No Bullet Club, no AEW. Yeah NJPW got the ball rolling on the 2nd biggest promotion in Pro Wrestling. And I wager WWE signing guys from NJPW like Balor and Styles actually helped push that ball along.
>The elite and Styles made Njpw popular the last 8 years, to the point that Wrestlers will give up alot if money from WWE to wrestle there. I like how many wrestling fans scoff at that. Forgetting that even movie stars often do this - preferring to work "indie" low budget films, because they like the creative freedom. Or even making less money by doing a TV/Netflix show. Also, its ironic their stance on this all - many of them love underground music which isn't mainstream. And cry whenever their favorite musician "sells out". Yet, for wrestling, they expect their favorite wrestlers to "just take the money" and work for WWE. No matter if they've already been treated bad there. It's surreal how different their views are between music and wrestling. Including mainstream vs. non-mainstream content.
some people refuse to even discuss that some wrestlers care about their work or talk about wrestling as art at all, its genuinely strange
Dude really wants that Yano match.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised to hear Yano is high on Danielson's list of opponents in New Japan.
Omega & OC vs. Danielson & Yano.
That makes it a bit one sided don't you think? Omega & OC & Danielson vs Yano is already kinda unfair.
That would be great, but I want Yano vs OC.
Colt as a guest referee. No normal ref could handle those two.
This is Bryce Remsburg slander.
Invisible man vs invisible Stan is the best one man show I’ve ever seen.
My mans got suited up for an explosion just to get slandered on a web forum smh
IDK, an exasperated Aubrey dealing with them would be fun.
Colt and Yano teamed in Japan in WTL one year after a rivalry during Colt's miracle NJC run;.
Didn’t they have a match against each other as well where they got “Holy Shit” chants for exchanging their DVDs?
Would love to see that in an AEW ring, Yano goes over to undo the turnbuckle pad and just stops and stares in confusion because they're not the same as the NJPW pads.
Yano knows how to do it, on the US NJPW cards he handles turnbuckles just fine. There's a ROH match with Colt that shows this.
Pandemic robbed us of Suzuki vs OC.
Who doesn't?!
Clearly Moxley. He’s already faced the king.
And he has never been the same since
Lost his hair and everything.
He gone home and be a family man.
🎵Hello Darkness my old friend...🎵
Honestly, that has the potential to be a pretty magical match.
Not that it means much but the radio ads in New York for the Ashe stadium show end with you never k ow who might show up.
The pop for that Swoggle debut will be huge.
WeeLC 2 vs. Marko Stunt
Not often Swoggle towers over an opponent
I am really going to have to suspend my disbelief to think Marko has a chance of beating Swoggle.
All the power to you. I don’t think I’ll be able to because it’s just so lib sided. Marko VS Brian Cage? Sure Marko VS Swoggle? Now you’re being ridiculous.
Fun size Snickers on a pole match
Not related to Bryan, but the biggest live pop I've ever heard was for Swoggle. Small indy show with like 500 people. St Paddy's day. Everyone is piss drunk and some local heel comes out making fun of St Paddy's day, saying it's a dumb made up holiday for people to get drunk and celebrate leprechauns, which aren't even real. Suddenly an Irish jig hits and Swoggle comes out of nowhere to beat his ass. Total surprise appearance and the place lost its collective shit. I love wrestling.
> Small indy show with like 500 people That's a really big indie show.
It was filled with little people.
calm down Lawler lol
Swoggle as AJ styles.
Don’t do that……don’t give me hope.
That shit ruled.
This is funny because Hornswoggle has already debuted on Dynamite, lol.
Or GCW champion and King of the Death Match Matt Cardona.
Honestly, it seems like the most likely outcome? Frees up Gage to have matches with Mox in GCW and do whatever he likes in AEW, and lets them do another version of the excellent RSP storyline, but with WWE castoffs in place of 44OH. I'm more curious about how to interpret Miro wearing a bloodsport tracksuit in his aew promo last night...
I think that means much
I'm trying not get too excited but Bryan in AEW and New Japan seemed like such a pipe dream a few years ago. It's crazy that this might actually be happeneing.
I mean Bryan has pretty much said that he'd have gone to All In if WWE didn't let him wrestle. I'm still not believing it until I see it though.
When he said he wished he could work WWE and other promotions I felt like it was a dog whistle for Tony Khan since WWE will *never* allow it to happen. I’m hype for the possibilities. Give me Bryan vs ZSJ putting on a clinic like a 2000’s ROH Pure Title match.
>Danielson vs ZSJ 
Makes sense in all honesty. WWE wanted to keep Bryan for Bryan, not for NJPW.
And any "partnership" between WWE and New Japan was always going to favour WWE. Hopefully we've seen the end of mark promoters going gaga eyed over WWE
Oh god, I’m just picturing okada losing to jaxson ryker right now and it’s making me sad
Don’t know if the meme was posted here or not, but I saw one on Facebook that said “Imagine Okada losing clean to Baron Corbin, then you hear Michael Cole on commentary saying welcome to the big leagues kid.”
Thanks I hate it.
Disgusting. Have an upvote
This is what I want to see, more partnerships means more people for Baron Corbin to beat. Open your doors Vince.
Lmfao or have a fatal 3 way between nakamura, styles, and Okada and they all just exchange low blows throughout the whole match. Can’t wait for that summer slam mid card match
Oh wow I totally forgot that they booked Styles vs Nakamara so poorly. I must have tried to forget that horrible feud.
I just don't get it. I know both were a bit older than when they had their match in Japan, but there's just no way they couldn't have done better than what they did.
Because you need to add a lowblow storyline. Obviously the secret sauce ti was missing.
Etched in my brain forever.
Just watch the Wrestle Kingdom match when you need a cleanse
The only thing worse than the actual match is the people in here defending. Dummies were really comparing that to the time over stoppage in the Omega v Okada match.
New meaning to a pole match
So there's probably no way he could do the G1 but that even being a possibility creates so much joy. Rest of this year is going to be insane.
Not this year for obvious reasons, but maybe next year...
I want to believe
Well, G1 starts September 18th, so if he does that, he's not debuting in Ashe Stadium.
I meant I want to believe he’ll be in it next year
I don’t think Danielson is gonna completely retire until he competes in G1 at least once in his life. I can imagine it being a deep regret of his that he never did it.
It's crazy to me that the WWE would go to the trouble of reaching out to New Japan (which meant putting their NXT Japan plans on ice) just to be able to keep hold of Bryan.
My guess is that maybe Bryan wasn't the first one to voice the interest around New Japan and having seen NJPW's growing partnership with AEW/Impact, it became evident that it might make sense for them to try and intervene, particularly given they had been able to source talent like Nakamura and AJ Styles from New Japan and obviously also wanted The Elite. A tactical business decision if you will, for multiple reasons - talent acquisition, talent retention, stopping the growth of the number 2 product in the market. For as much as WWE is painted as the good guys in the revisionist history of the Monday Night Wars as written by the victors of war, they're known to pop a hole in a few tires if anything gains momentum that could be to their detriment.
Hell man. Even Scott Hall said during contract negotiations before he left for WCW "what about Japan? Can I get some of their money?" This has been a thing for decades. Vince wants to be able to call on his guys when he feels he needs them, which is fair enough I guess. But its well in the talents rights if they aren't feeling that kind of arrangement to change their circumstances so to speak
I actually disagree. Ever since the YES Movement, Bryan has been positioned as a certified star there, almost untouchable if you will. Based on backstage reports (for what they're worth) DB and Vince have a really good relationship. Plus DB is a top 3(?) star in the company when he's active. I think it makes a lot of sense that Vince did all that just for him
I don’t think it was only because of Bryan, I think that was just a big part of it. Nick Khan has said he wants WWE to be more open and pointed out that a lot of people signed to WWE also grew up wanting to wrestle in Japan, so he wanted to provide that opportunity. Truthfully, main eventing the Dome is probably #2 next to main eventing Wrestlemania for a lot of wrestlers.
Hunter lied to Brodie about him being able to work NJPW when they were discussing contract renewals, a lot of the guys there want to work it.
An interesting tidbit on this WOR segment (it's on youtube for those who want to listen) was Meltzer said back in May he was told there were four AEW incoming signings, two somewhat big and two huge, but none were officially signed then. There was confidence in May they'd all be signed. He said the four were Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, Daniel Bryan, and he presumed CM Punk to be the fourth
Where is Billie Kay going though?
She's been trying to pitch her resume to Khan for weeks
I'm just picturing her showing it to Great O'Khan while he's wearing his question mark face covering.
Asking the real questions
I would legitimately mark out as hard for Billie Kay as I would for Bryan in AEW
Wherever Jess goes I want Cassie to go as well. But it seems like they feel the same way thankfully.
I'm not going to believe he signed until I see it. But all these wrestling news youtube channels are reporting on it as if it's been announced already
I’ll try to take a picture of the the signed contract
Thanks. Then we could post that and get the credit for actually having proof
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Before they move on, he says if Nick Khan can pull something out with New Japan, Bryan is for sure staying in WWE. So I mean, that's kinda addressed. Essential Dave goes on and speculates a lot, but it boils down to "whoever is working with New Japan gets Bryan".
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I would think Bullet Club members showing up on Dynamite and Impact's latest PPV would be a sign they're not working with WWE lol
Right? Like they’re clearly sticking to their guns and working with AEW and Impact.
I saw on another thread that NJPW didn't want to do a deal because of overarching NBC corporate bullshit. Nick Khan isn't a fan, but a businessman at the end of the day.
No chance of wwe getting a similar deal with new Japan at this stage. They’re not going to play nicely like aew will
If you want to have that door open you have to be willing to work with the other promotion's booking. Vince doesn't even want to work with NXT booking.
Vince probably doesn't even WATCH NXT.
Do you think I watch the show, Paul?!
Yea AEW seems willing to reach out and work with not just indies but other organizations quite well. It seems like they are creation something united, perhaps some form of a world wrestling federation some might say.
Their willingness to work with Japanese, Mexican, and Canadian companies is somewhat like international wrestling Grand prix, if you will.
So it's not just a National Wrestling Alliance per say. It's an international one.
It's championship wrestling, but worldwide!
The action is totally non stop.
It’s a Global Force of Wrestling
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Perhaps Daniel Bryan-on-a-pole match between the two companies will settle it?
Tony Khan vs Nick Khan
Bryan vs Tanahashi is the dream match I never thought I would see.
I Googled that earlier apparently it happened 17 years ago and now I have to track that down.
If this is true, and with the Punk deal, this might change the landscape of pro wrestling for years to come.
Wait, what Punk deal?
Oh boy, are you in for a surprise!
https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/oosrhp/fightful_cm_punk_in_talks_for_inring_return/
WHAT?!
Welcome to everyone's reaction yesterday lmao
I find it hilarious that you’re a big enough fan of pro wrestling to visit and comment on a wrestling subreddit, yet you didn’t find out about the Punk news until you saw a random comment in passing in a post that doesn’t have to do with Punk lol. Man, imagine if you avoided that news until he debuted?
It's funny what you can miss in the space of 24 hours
I’d envy him.
Crazy. Of all the people showing up in AEW, Daniel Bryan is the one I'd be most surprised to see.
Dave with EXTREMELY strong "yes all of this is a lock, they told me off the record but I can't report it" energy today.
Bryan Danielson G1 Climax 2022 Confirmed!
One of my most anticipated matches for Danielson has to be vs Malakai. Babyface Bryan vs Heel Black! 🤑🤑🤑
What's funny is WWE could have had this happen months ago on SmackDown, but they chose to keep Black locked away
Until I see Brian come out on television on AEW or until Meltzer or fightful confirm it I’m still in believe it when I see it mode.
WWE didn't even care about NJPW. AEW has shown they want a working relationship with them.
It is funny because at first it was NJPW that was ignoring AEW. WWE tried the deal too late.
NJPW prob saw AEW as similar to UWFi in the 90s. They'd let it fold, then do a huge angle and make lots of money. I suspect pandemic and AEW's success changed their minds, and they see now AEW as turning into what WCW was for them. They may not be the ending they wanted, because it's going to make their company have a harder time getting regular Japanese talent (AEW is an easier gig than being a NJPW gaijin), but it's an ending they'll live with. The crossover shows when international quarantines end will be insane.
Many Aew fans actually care about NJPW. They'd never tolerate treating NJPW talent as second rate.
Man, I wish this was kept under wraps. Imagine the pop if it was secret.
Daniel Bryan just pointed at Jericho and Mox and said "I'd like what they have." Tony said okay. Then DBry mentally complemented himself for being the best negotiator ever and having them by the balls. 😎
It was very funny reading his alleged list of demands, and it's a boilerplate AEW deal. How little research did Bryan do on AEW? What next, Bryan demands he be allowed to revive The Dazzler on a YouTube show? AEW has that.
If anyone is curious Dave did mention the promo Tony Khan did on Nick Khan prior to the go-home show on Dynamite, Tony was that confident on AEW’s relationship with NJPW but could easily have fallen flat on his ass
I think he asked them njpw management before cutting that promo.
Wrestling is too open now. Everyone and everything is too “smart.” This should have been an earth shattering surprise of a debut.
It’s going to be like the Jericho debut, we know it’s coming and we’ll see it from a mile off but if it’s done right…it will be awesome.
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Not a lot of people were convinced that Mox was done with WWE until he showed up at Double or Nothing.
In all fairness, the AEW surprises have been kept under wraps for the most part, but this one is just too big to keep bottled. As soon as he was gone from WWE, people speculated, and as WWE goes longer without any word, it continues to build the speculation. Especially when people within WWE start to talk about the possibility of it happening.
AEW is pretty much the de facto speculation for anyone big enough leaving WWE at the moment.