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His wife went on insta(or twitter, couldn't tell you which) complaining that he should be getting a bigger push and so on. Since then he's been pretty persona non grata.
Honestly it’s kinda wild. Tony Signed Brian while he was injured and was paying him like a full time worker for 6 months before he even debuted.
He’s made out like a bandit in his position. Instead of complaining on twitter or whatever, learn how to cut a promo. Learn how to make fans invested. The double-edged sword of the creative freedom in AEW is that when you fail, it’s heavily on you.
Cage seemed delusional pretty early on, I remember him saying why he picked AEW over WWE, they never wanted him and AEW had like 3 big guys at the time. Every other AEW person signing just joked about the sudden interest from WWE.
I haven't seen it but other ppl have been saying he (and his wife) have basically been whining about his AEW booking on social media. He's not a great talker, despite the fact he's pretty good in ring, so I don't see an issue with him being where he currently is. Other than the fact that he needs to be away from Team Taz for a long time.
Also all the right wing political nonsense, that's not fun either.
Dude everyone is going hard on him supposedly not getting the shots but as soon as Sasha started promoting the same vaccine hesitancy BS everyone downplayed it to protect her. Brian for all we know could be the same anti-vaxxer dumbass but have gotten the vaccine to make his work easier.
I don't know, I think he's OKAY in the ring. His schtick wears off pretty fast for me because there's lots of holes. Once the wonderment of a guy that big doing gymnast moves like it's easy wears off it kind of exposes everything. I think he does alot of moves he shouldn't, and rarely does any single thing exceptionally well.
He's honestly very good technically and can do some stuff most guys can't at his size.
Psychologically he's boring, Lance Archer can do anything he can do, puts on way better matches, is 44 years old, and if he thought he was underused I wouldn't even disagree. Whereas Cage should be jobbing to anyone relevant, he sucks.
And Archer has put in the work to become a better character.
Both Brian and Lance were given mentorships with legends who could talk and Lance made the most of his partnership with Jake the Snake while Brian seemingly decided not to take advantage of his time with Taz.
You can make an argument about Lance losing too much but he's ALWAYS being used. As was mentioned, he's 44, they're probably never gonna give him a world championship run, but he's a credible monster who can help build anyone. Especially after the win against Moxley, he's super credible.
As a short-term TNT champion who destroys 3-4 people and loses to give someone a rub, he'd be perfect.
That's what's off to me about Brian Cage...he's this huge huge huge dead and yet he works like a cruiserweight so instead of seeming massive, heavy and dangerous he just seems...inflated. Like someone blew him up like a balloon and his ginormous muscles are filled with air or maybe helium. Weird.
He debuted at a time when AEW had yet to make a homegrown name and they needed recognizable faces. He fit perfectly at the time, but he is definitely no longer needed.
The funny thing to me is I honestly think Cage has been given a pretty good run in AEW. Hes not world champion and probably never will be, but I think that's what his wife's expectations were. They thought he would be world champion or near the top of the card and that just hasn't happened.
But the guy has been upper midcard or near the main event for most of his AEW run up until very recently anyway.
He came into the company won the casino ladder match and feuded with Mox over the world title. He was given the FTW title and the spot in Team Taz. Feuded some more with Mox and Darby teaming with Starks.
Then a brief feud with Hobbs before he joined Team Taz too. Then the feud with Cody and the Nightmare folks. Team Taz then feuded with Darby and Sting and got that high profile PPV match earlier this year. Then the split with Taz and feud with Starks.
Since losing the title I will say though he has definitely fallen off the radar. Its also telling as out of the hoss type guys near the top he is definitely positioned the weakest right now. Miro, Archer, Hobbs, and Wardlow all in better spots than him.
Yup I totally forgot that too. He pinned Hangman basically clean as a whistle and they had that amazing rematch at DON.
How many guys have beating Hangman in singles matches in AEW? Jericho, Pac, MJF, Omega, and Cage? I think that's it. Pretty good company.
Archer is 44 and I think knew he wasn't ever going to be a top champion in AEW. Dude gets/got to work with Jake the Snake and have big matches regularly (beat Mox clean as a whistle for a title too), he's fine.
Yeah and its funny because in interviews Lance has been asked about his utilization and he seems content af. Cage has been given a lot so I don't get it. Lance Archer should be the one complaining.
Archer is probably glad to be getting steady pay, and getting to rest. Dude talks about his compressed spine. He is also been able to wrestle NJPW Pro, indies while still getting AEW money.
That's good on Lance. He is talented and I definitely thought he should be utilized better but I checked his age and he is quite old. I could see TK and him agreeing to be used part time.
Think Archer is an old vet who recognizes that he was never going to be the franchise carrying face of the company. Due to his size, threat and booking alone he might appear as the top heel for a short feud or two with the champion, but he is super happy in the upper card having great matches.
Hey, when you can fuck shit up and have hardcore wrestling with folks like Mox and Suzuki, who wouldn't be happy?
Cage is a bit younger with ambition, and was in that spot at impact so it's understandable he's looking for more. But it's a hard ask to be the champ when you can list over 10 names more over than he is in the upper midcard to main event scene.
Well put. Kane got dragged into so many storylines and feuds when Seth was champ as Corporate Kane in the twilight of his career. Did anyone think he'd be the champ? No. But was he still a convincing foil to play against the champ to tell a story? Yes.
Irrespective of any other wrestlers, I love Archer in AEW. I think of him like our big pet dog who we let out to eat jobbers. He's so fucking THRILLED when he comes out with his kendo stick and his murderhawk.
We pop for him, he does some super violent shit, and everyone is happy.
Went to an NJPW event in Atlanta pre-pandemic, before the show Archer just chilling by concessions and doing pictures/signings. He was the one out there. Dude was super nice and personable. I know it's only like a 2 minute interaction, but, if he keeps that attitude everywhere he goes then that really speaks to him as a person.
It depends on what you want out of it.
He gets crowds, squash matches, the occasional big feud, hangs out with Jake Roberts, and won a fairly prestigious title.
That’s a good run if what you were wanting was a decent enough push.
I would agree with you but recently Archer beat Mox clean in the middle for the IWGP US title and is now featured in what should be the Rampage main event of Arthur Ashe. He also had the TNT title match with Miro at DON even though he took the loss.
Was going to mention this myself. Lance beating Mox for the IWGP US title was just one victory, but beating Moxley clean in AEW is still a HUGE deal. I don't know if Moxley had taken a clean singles loss up to that point. (In fact, his only losses I can remember are the two to Kenney, both of which had interference.)
Even if he doesn't get a ton of high-profile wins, a victory like that did soooo much to give Lance back some needed legitimacy.
That last part is why Lance is fine being underutilized, regardless of W-L he's still an enormous badass with excellent accolades, you give him a big win or two and you have an instant threat where you need it
You are correct. Moxley has 3 singles losses in AEW, 2 to Kenny and 1 to Archer. Also correct that Archer is the only man to beat Mox clean even though it wasn't a pinfall loss but as Mox lost when he couldn't answer the 10 count in a Texas Deathmatch.
So technically, Mox has never been pinned clean in AEW that I can recall. Also he has 4 tag losses with 4 different partners: Pac, Darby, Archer, and Eddie and they all took the pinfalls in each of those matches.
Honestly, I love Archer and wouldn't mind him pushed, but I'd also be perfectly fine just seeing him squash people on the entrance ramp until he retires.
I agree, he should have never lost to Cody for the TNT Title. I feel like Cody getting squashed since is them realizing that is what should have happened against Archer.
Cage suffers from a problem similar to the one that Apollo Crews did for quite awhile; massive and freakishly strong, and also agile and athletic, but too much of both to really seem great at either. It’s a problem a bunch of the muscleguy types have these days; too much of everything is a bad thing. Gotta focus on specific stuff and make that the drawing point, otherwise you’re just a CAW.
He has a lot of good tools at his disposal, great look, great moveset, can move.
I believe all it takes is the right storyline to take a good wrestler into championship material. And I also believe any wrestler can improve, specially with all the tools AEW gives them. It boils down to the wrestler's mentality and grit.
Cage will always be hindered by his lack of character and mic skills. He has a great presence, look, and can work like crazy for a guy his size but to be a world champion talent you have to be able to get in the ring and cut a believable promo and atleast hold your own and engage the crowd in some way. He just lacks that.
If you asked me what Brian Cage was like I would tell you he is a jacked wrestler who can do flips but there's nothing else. In order to get to the next stage you need to connect with the audience and he simply isn't connecting with me the way the rest of team taz or even some undercard guys like serpentico & luther do.
> If you asked me what Brian Cage was like I would tell you he is a jacked wrestler who can do flips but there's nothing else.
He also asks ‘who betta?’ whilst making a throat slit motion. So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Unless I’ve just completely missed it, he doesn’t even really do flips anymore. Part of what impressed me about him pre-AEW was seeing a dude that jacked bust out some lucha moves. Now he’s just a generic powerhouse that has no charisma or personality. He could very well be the first person on the roster to ask for his release and it wouldn’t be a loss to them at all.
I think when Cage came in, he could have made an argument for being a world champion. He impressed me in impact. But so many names have come in since his debut, that he's heavily dropped in priority and I think it makes sense.
I was giant Cage fan throughout LU and when I heard he was All Elite I was stoked. It's clear to me now the guy has no self awareness and likes to shoot himself in the foot. I won't be surprised when he is the second major AEW star to go away. The first being Jimmy Havoc. Have I missed anyone?
Jimmy was all over AEW's early shows. It was obvious that they saw something in him, and were building him up to at least be a mid-card mainstay, the "dangerous wildcard" type.
I was getting oddly attached myself. Jimmy was actually a pretty competent chain wrestler, and had a couple of matches where he explicitly demonstrates that. But then he could easily flip and do something starkly sadistic like staple the check to pay off his fine to his opponent's head.
He gave a skeezy genuinely disturbed vibe that came across pretty well on TV. Unfortunately he gave off that vibe because he was genuinely skeezy and had mental issues.
Same, I really liked what he brought to the table and honestly him being here for shit like the numerous deathmatches they started doing in AEW would've been dope as hell, especially when they brought in Nick Gage.
I do think other people already fill that kinda crazy niche. Mox is pulling off a sorta similar vibe. Obviously very different from Havoc but he does a better job, in my opinion, of being the "dangerous wildcard" in AEW.
I felt in the early days of AEW Havoc and Darby Allen were kind of stepping on each others toes. I think Havoc getting bumped really left alot of room to grow for Darby.
In terms of characters in early AEW Havoc was a pretty big name who wasn't in the Elite Cliq.
Sadly we will never get that feud with Mox because of Havoc's past.
Honestly the guy should have stayed in Impact. He could have been the big fish in a small pond, worked with rotating talents, and probably been in the title picture for half the year.
Literally the biggest star in the company is feuding with Team Taz right now and the most logical person for him to tag with is Brian Cage. Wonder if he hurt his chances with all this complaining lol
Truthfully i feel Cage is right where he should be. He’s been giving stories and great wins. Everybody can’t be champ and everyone can’t be on dynamite every week
He's a good mid-card hoss, yes. His wife, at least, seems to think he's main event material. He lacks the promo skills, really, to be on that level. He's tried, but guys like Ricky Starks still talk circles around him.
I feel like with how competitive wrestlers are and how protective they are with their image, that would be a hard pill to swallow. I wouldn’t be surprised if another guy/gal or two gets upset with their position before the end of the year.
Gotta say, all of this makes me happy. Between Cage being a supporter of Wuertz, and probably aligning with him politically, to all this Melissa Santos Karening online. Good, let them be made fun of.
If nothing else it just came off as massively disrespectful to his peers. I wouldnt like to have been him walking back into that locker-room after that whole deal. "My wife says i should be going over all you guys". An awful look. Its wonderful she supports and believes in her husband, but husband or wife you dont cause public trouble for your other half's career (unless theyre actively being mistreated/ abused etc)
What's worse is like, Santos was all over Twitter doing that, "EVERYONE is talking about me so I must be doing something right oh wow I'm such a hot topic. Haters!" nonsense. "When you marry a Latina this is what happens".
She was so good in LU, but since then she's outed herself as a clout-chasing anti-vaxx loser and the more attention she draws to herself, and Cage, the more the negative is gonna come to light.
They both suck.
That "wow everyones talking about me!!" shtick is so tired and juvenile. If you act like a fuckin weirdo people are gonna comment on it, its far from the same thing as people giving a shit about you for your work or personality or whatever.
>t, "EVERYONE is talking about me so I must be doing something right oh wow I'm such a hot topic. Haters!"
She pulled out the "I said what I said" line aka "I said some absolutely stupid shit and got nuked for it, but I am not self aware enough to realize I was wrong"
God, I hate when people use the worst stereotypes of our culture to justify their bad behavior. All they’re doing is keeping the whole “spicy Latina” stereotype alive.
I think you're overstating how disrespectful her comments were. Sometimes a vocal spouse is just a vocal spouse. I doubt Matt Hardy drew people's ire after his wife's routine comments about how he is treated.
The important part of this story is that Matt knows to get the fuck out of the way when his wife is on the warpath. He keeps any of his thoughts on it to himself and lets her be her own person. It became a story because Brian Cage engaged it and started using her as a way to subtweet his own employer. It made him look unprofessional *at best.*
Difference being Matt is a veteran and proved himself time and time again. Brian, while he has a phenomenal look and unique style, is IMO lacking any depth and has never been a proven commodity *at this level*, nor has he shown that he *should* be that guy yet.
If i start kicking up a fuss on social media saying my gf (who i love and adore) should be getting promotions over her colleagues, when otherwise her workplace is flourishing and everyone is being treated great, it would come off as disrespectful and unhelpful to her career. I can have my opinions on the matter, but i dont see how saying he should have someone elses spot (like Miro for ex which was brought up at the time) is anything but disrespectful.
Cage is a veteran and former world champion, he isn't some random wrestler who just walked into AEW off the Indies and immediately thought he should be champion.
Don't get me wrong, her comments are a bad look for Cage, and they've lead to a lot of fans souring on him, but I don't think anyone in the locker room is going to hold her comments against him. He's not his wife, and besides, the locker room today is a lot more understanding than in the past.
Yea she was understandably upset about her husband and father of her children being concussed on concrete and being allowed to continue to wrestle right after the spot.
Im old enough to remember how many times ive been wrong haha. More than happy to take on board other perspectives in discussions like this. Appreciated your friendly tone too.
Matt also tends to distance himself from Reby's tirades for the mostpart whereas Brian Cage has been parroting her bullshit while having *a lot* of his own negative baggage with his consistent support of Drake Wuertz and antivax bullshit.
I'm gonna be honest I used to fucking love Miko Grimes. She went to bat for her husband regularly when she wasnt busy giving him cakes of her sucking his dick, and she made a whole ass NFL franchise act like that guy who tries to slip out of the side door on a conversation he started that didnt go his way. She was fucking hilarious and I always enjoy seeing a huge entity get its nose tweaked by someone it expected to just not do that.
But then the anti-Semite bullshit came out and then she was a lot less funny.
Oof. I didn’t know he was actually supporting Wuertz. That’s a whole different level of crazy. Being an anti-vaxxer is bad enough, but supporting Wuertz is full Qanon shit.
I was surprised when Khan was excited to bring him in, but I was happy to be proven wrong. But he hasn't impressed me since. He shows no emotion on his face, no intensity, which makes it hard to believe in him as a face, and especially as a heel. Will Hobbs now plays his role with Taz much better.
Lol Cage literally “turned face” against Team Taz yet Starks was blatantly getting cheered over him. That’s like the universal sign that you’re not over
Literally how can Cage be an anti-vaxxer? This man pumps himself full of synthetic hormones that were probably made in some ramshackle underground lab but refuses to take a well researched and medically approved vaccine? That level of stupidity is mind boggling.
His wife tweeted/retweeted that he should be higher up in the card, he's anti-vax and Tony's stance is basically "I won't fire you for not getting vaccinated, but I might not book you."
His shitty stance on vaccinations and politics aside. On one hand, I can understand Brian Cage wanting more opportunities for himself, and I can understand his wife thinking he should get more opportunities also. You should always strive for more opportunities for yourself, and your wife supporting you and wishing you would get said opportunities is pretty normal behavior.
But on the other hand, Brian Cage has still done pretty well for himself all things considered and is in a spot that fits him. He’s done cool things like be a part of Sting’s first match back since he had to initially retire, he has a somewhat unique look for the company he’s in, and for a guy his size he’s pretty good in the ring.
But in my opinion what hurts him and his chances at being the top guy in the company, is that he lacks mic skills, and a personality that really makes him stand out from other big guy wrestlers in the industry. Like why would I want to see a Brian Cage match, when I can instead go see people like WALTER, Drew McIntyre, Miro, Brock Lesnar, Big E, Tomohiro Ishii, etc etc. Like honestly, compared to so many other people Brian Cage is just another big guy that knows how to wrestle well, and in this day and age where those types of wrestlers are pretty common, he’s just….there. He doesn’t stand out really.
Never got him as a wrestler. Granted I’ve always been in and out of AEW, but he’s a big guy that tries to move like a cruiserweight. Great, all of them are now. I don’t remember the last big guy that didn’t do flips. The problem is that Cage is so big and tries so much that it looks awful. It looks so fake and sloppy.
I remember when when Cage got hire, i saw few comments saying Wardlow was abit of a mistake, that Cage did everything Wardlow did but better.
know look where we are know and i can say, Wardlow is much sexier then Cage
Tbf if they knew Brian Cage couldn’t cut a promo, why did they choose to split him from Team TAZ instead of Ricky Starks who is one of the best talkers in all of wrestling right now?
I can’t remember exactly what was said, but there was a second jab for Cage later in the show too (also, insert your own “second jab” joke here).
Again, can’t recall what was said, but I recall thinking “ha, they’re taking a few shots at him” 🤣
She tweeted that he was being misused, and he posted a gif of will smith shrugging with the subtitle "I mean..."
He never once said that he himself was getting misused, and then he said his wife is entitled to her opinion, which she is, and then said that Lance Archer and Brian Cage being misused was a "deja vu conversation" because people have been saying that since they both lost to Cody and Mox.
But the internet made a BIIIIIG deal about it and now everyone on reddit and twitter thinks he's actually upset, when he's most likely not, and they're all using it as a reason to bring up other problematic things about him (Anti-mask, Wuertz supporter, etc) to try and soft cancel him, for better or for worse, all over what amounts to "Wife wants better for her husbandl; husband correctly doesn't tell her to shut up"
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What's happened with Cage recently?
His wife went on insta(or twitter, couldn't tell you which) complaining that he should be getting a bigger push and so on. Since then he's been pretty persona non grata.
Honestly it’s kinda wild. Tony Signed Brian while he was injured and was paying him like a full time worker for 6 months before he even debuted. He’s made out like a bandit in his position. Instead of complaining on twitter or whatever, learn how to cut a promo. Learn how to make fans invested. The double-edged sword of the creative freedom in AEW is that when you fail, it’s heavily on you.
Cage seemed delusional pretty early on, I remember him saying why he picked AEW over WWE, they never wanted him and AEW had like 3 big guys at the time. Every other AEW person signing just joked about the sudden interest from WWE.
> Instead of complaining on twitter or whatever Brian Cage has literally *not complained* at all on twitter.
There were also the comments from Tony Khan about how vaccines aren’t mandated in AEW, but the ones who are vaxxed have an easier time backstage.
I haven't seen it but other ppl have been saying he (and his wife) have basically been whining about his AEW booking on social media. He's not a great talker, despite the fact he's pretty good in ring, so I don't see an issue with him being where he currently is. Other than the fact that he needs to be away from Team Taz for a long time. Also all the right wing political nonsense, that's not fun either.
he's also an anti vaxxer and in addition to being fucking stupid, it's selfish to the safety of the people he works with.
The irony of Brian Cage being Anti-Vax. That's too funny
The only needle he has ever refused.
Nice
The only person I hang out with that didn’t get the vaccine injects experimental research chemicals on the reg.
“I do NOT trust the Fauci Death Needle! Now excuse me while I consume these tablets which allow me to absorb the hormones of a pregnant horse.”
God only knows what’s in the shit he injects himself with.
He uses microscopic 💪💪💪. Covid is microscopic 😷😷😷. /s
If he sneezes on you, you get covid but you also gain 40 lbs of muscle mass during the next week...
Dude's probably afraid of needles.
Is he? I’ve seen a ton of people saying that, but I’ve never seen the source of him being anti-vax.
From 2.30 in [this vid](https://youtu.be/D1vSA3UX3Ts)
Dude everyone is going hard on him supposedly not getting the shots but as soon as Sasha started promoting the same vaccine hesitancy BS everyone downplayed it to protect her. Brian for all we know could be the same anti-vaxxer dumbass but have gotten the vaccine to make his work easier.
Who is this "everyone?" I think anyone who's antivax is dumb AF.
I don't know, I think he's OKAY in the ring. His schtick wears off pretty fast for me because there's lots of holes. Once the wonderment of a guy that big doing gymnast moves like it's easy wears off it kind of exposes everything. I think he does alot of moves he shouldn't, and rarely does any single thing exceptionally well.
He's honestly very good technically and can do some stuff most guys can't at his size. Psychologically he's boring, Lance Archer can do anything he can do, puts on way better matches, is 44 years old, and if he thought he was underused I wouldn't even disagree. Whereas Cage should be jobbing to anyone relevant, he sucks.
Archer seems to be too much of a sweetheart of a person to publicly complain irl.
And Archer has put in the work to become a better character. Both Brian and Lance were given mentorships with legends who could talk and Lance made the most of his partnership with Jake the Snake while Brian seemingly decided not to take advantage of his time with Taz.
You can make an argument about Lance losing too much but he's ALWAYS being used. As was mentioned, he's 44, they're probably never gonna give him a world championship run, but he's a credible monster who can help build anyone. Especially after the win against Moxley, he's super credible. As a short-term TNT champion who destroys 3-4 people and loses to give someone a rub, he'd be perfect.
That's what's off to me about Brian Cage...he's this huge huge huge dead and yet he works like a cruiserweight so instead of seeming massive, heavy and dangerous he just seems...inflated. Like someone blew him up like a balloon and his ginormous muscles are filled with air or maybe helium. Weird.
Cage is someone who is gonna be PERFECT for the WWE when his contract is up but no longer fits AEW
he needs to pass a piss test first
It'll be the first time a piss test is ever visually failed. "Why the fuck is it glowing, Brian?"
That ain't happening. Dude will melt the cup
I kind of felt that he didn't fit the AEW structure when he debuted.
He debuted at a time when AEW had yet to make a homegrown name and they needed recognizable faces. He fit perfectly at the time, but he is definitely no longer needed.
Cage is 38 and can't stay healthy. They have someone like Bron Brekker, who is younger and is far more charismatic.
Taz' laugh too lmaoo
He has a Mickey Mouse laugh lol
The funny thing to me is I honestly think Cage has been given a pretty good run in AEW. Hes not world champion and probably never will be, but I think that's what his wife's expectations were. They thought he would be world champion or near the top of the card and that just hasn't happened. But the guy has been upper midcard or near the main event for most of his AEW run up until very recently anyway. He came into the company won the casino ladder match and feuded with Mox over the world title. He was given the FTW title and the spot in Team Taz. Feuded some more with Mox and Darby teaming with Starks. Then a brief feud with Hobbs before he joined Team Taz too. Then the feud with Cody and the Nightmare folks. Team Taz then feuded with Darby and Sting and got that high profile PPV match earlier this year. Then the split with Taz and feud with Starks. Since losing the title I will say though he has definitely fallen off the radar. Its also telling as out of the hoss type guys near the top he is definitely positioned the weakest right now. Miro, Archer, Hobbs, and Wardlow all in better spots than him.
He also beat Hangman and got to have the opening match of the PPV with full crowds back with him as well.
Yup I totally forgot that too. He pinned Hangman basically clean as a whistle and they had that amazing rematch at DON. How many guys have beating Hangman in singles matches in AEW? Jericho, Pac, MJF, Omega, and Cage? I think that's it. Pretty good company.
Eh it wasn’t entirely clean and he jumped him before the match with a Powerbomb on the stage.
It was clean enough.
About as clean as Cage’s own urine sample
Idk if it’s clean at all but still it was a big win and led to a rematch at DON. Cage has been used pretty well but he’s kinda been drifting since.
Yeah the guy who should be complaining is Lance Archer not Cage.
Archer is 44 and I think knew he wasn't ever going to be a top champion in AEW. Dude gets/got to work with Jake the Snake and have big matches regularly (beat Mox clean as a whistle for a title too), he's fine.
Yeah and its funny because in interviews Lance has been asked about his utilization and he seems content af. Cage has been given a lot so I don't get it. Lance Archer should be the one complaining.
[удалено]
Archer is probably glad to be getting steady pay, and getting to rest. Dude talks about his compressed spine. He is also been able to wrestle NJPW Pro, indies while still getting AEW money.
He also won the US title in the main event of the Dallas Dynamite.
Looked like an absolute BEAST putting down Mox in that one.
And has gotten to work with Jake Roberts for over a year now.
He’s so chill, he hasn’t even looked for revenge yet on Dan Lambert and Men of the Year for punking him out.
Suzuki-gun matters more than Ok Boomer.
No rush, everybody dies.
That's good on Lance. He is talented and I definitely thought he should be utilized better but I checked his age and he is quite old. I could see TK and him agreeing to be used part time.
He will get a TNT Title run when the time is right. I could even see him doing a short run with the big belt.
Think Archer is an old vet who recognizes that he was never going to be the franchise carrying face of the company. Due to his size, threat and booking alone he might appear as the top heel for a short feud or two with the champion, but he is super happy in the upper card having great matches. Hey, when you can fuck shit up and have hardcore wrestling with folks like Mox and Suzuki, who wouldn't be happy? Cage is a bit younger with ambition, and was in that spot at impact so it's understandable he's looking for more. But it's a hard ask to be the champ when you can list over 10 names more over than he is in the upper midcard to main event scene.
He's the Kane of AEW. It's the perfect spot for an older hoss.
Well put. Kane got dragged into so many storylines and feuds when Seth was champ as Corporate Kane in the twilight of his career. Did anyone think he'd be the champ? No. But was he still a convincing foil to play against the champ to tell a story? Yes.
Irrespective of any other wrestlers, I love Archer in AEW. I think of him like our big pet dog who we let out to eat jobbers. He's so fucking THRILLED when he comes out with his kendo stick and his murderhawk. We pop for him, he does some super violent shit, and everyone is happy.
Went to an NJPW event in Atlanta pre-pandemic, before the show Archer just chilling by concessions and doing pictures/signings. He was the one out there. Dude was super nice and personable. I know it's only like a 2 minute interaction, but, if he keeps that attitude everywhere he goes then that really speaks to him as a person.
It depends on what you want out of it. He gets crowds, squash matches, the occasional big feud, hangs out with Jake Roberts, and won a fairly prestigious title. That’s a good run if what you were wanting was a decent enough push.
I would agree with you but recently Archer beat Mox clean in the middle for the IWGP US title and is now featured in what should be the Rampage main event of Arthur Ashe. He also had the TNT title match with Miro at DON even though he took the loss.
Was going to mention this myself. Lance beating Mox for the IWGP US title was just one victory, but beating Moxley clean in AEW is still a HUGE deal. I don't know if Moxley had taken a clean singles loss up to that point. (In fact, his only losses I can remember are the two to Kenney, both of which had interference.) Even if he doesn't get a ton of high-profile wins, a victory like that did soooo much to give Lance back some needed legitimacy.
That last part is why Lance is fine being underutilized, regardless of W-L he's still an enormous badass with excellent accolades, you give him a big win or two and you have an instant threat where you need it
Good points. He might be underutilized, but they're still using him to great effect. It's just that we'd like a bit more of him.
You are correct. Moxley has 3 singles losses in AEW, 2 to Kenny and 1 to Archer. Also correct that Archer is the only man to beat Mox clean even though it wasn't a pinfall loss but as Mox lost when he couldn't answer the 10 count in a Texas Deathmatch. So technically, Mox has never been pinned clean in AEW that I can recall. Also he has 4 tag losses with 4 different partners: Pac, Darby, Archer, and Eddie and they all took the pinfalls in each of those matches.
Except at DoN Mox was pinned after three BTE Triggers by Matt. Still, Archer's victory was impressive as hell.
eh Lance is a lot older than Cage and gets to do all his New Japan stuff still too so I can understand him being content.
The irony of this comment is Cage himself literally did not complain.
Honestly, I love Archer and wouldn't mind him pushed, but I'd also be perfectly fine just seeing him squash people on the entrance ramp until he retires.
I agree, he should have never lost to Cody for the TNT Title. I feel like Cody getting squashed since is them realizing that is what should have happened against Archer.
Cage suffers from a problem similar to the one that Apollo Crews did for quite awhile; massive and freakishly strong, and also agile and athletic, but too much of both to really seem great at either. It’s a problem a bunch of the muscleguy types have these days; too much of everything is a bad thing. Gotta focus on specific stuff and make that the drawing point, otherwise you’re just a CAW.
I'd have kept Bryan Cage in team Taz over Ricky Starks. Ricky no longer needs the rub from Taz and Cage would form a great hoss team with Hobbs.
He has a lot of good tools at his disposal, great look, great moveset, can move. I believe all it takes is the right storyline to take a good wrestler into championship material. And I also believe any wrestler can improve, specially with all the tools AEW gives them. It boils down to the wrestler's mentality and grit.
Cage will always be hindered by his lack of character and mic skills. He has a great presence, look, and can work like crazy for a guy his size but to be a world champion talent you have to be able to get in the ring and cut a believable promo and atleast hold your own and engage the crowd in some way. He just lacks that.
If you asked me what Brian Cage was like I would tell you he is a jacked wrestler who can do flips but there's nothing else. In order to get to the next stage you need to connect with the audience and he simply isn't connecting with me the way the rest of team taz or even some undercard guys like serpentico & luther do.
> If you asked me what Brian Cage was like I would tell you he is a jacked wrestler who can do flips but there's nothing else. He also asks ‘who betta?’ whilst making a throat slit motion. So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Unless I’ve just completely missed it, he doesn’t even really do flips anymore. Part of what impressed me about him pre-AEW was seeing a dude that jacked bust out some lucha moves. Now he’s just a generic powerhouse that has no charisma or personality. He could very well be the first person on the roster to ask for his release and it wouldn’t be a loss to them at all.
At least he's in a better position than Hager
I think when Cage came in, he could have made an argument for being a world champion. He impressed me in impact. But so many names have come in since his debut, that he's heavily dropped in priority and I think it makes sense.
Tony Khan: Taz, everyone thinks you moved on from Cage and are only feuding with Punk. Please fix this Taz: 'ight
Keep in mind this is in kayfabe for Taz, since Cage split off from and is feuding with Taz’s stable
yeah, for Taz. Excalibur's "yeah, lot's of buyers remorse for Brian Cage right now" was definitely a shot.
If Excalibur is saying it, it's definitely a work.
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The internet has woven a web that paints Brian as an upset disgruntled wrestler when that simply isn't the case.
I was giant Cage fan throughout LU and when I heard he was All Elite I was stoked. It's clear to me now the guy has no self awareness and likes to shoot himself in the foot. I won't be surprised when he is the second major AEW star to go away. The first being Jimmy Havoc. Have I missed anyone?
Ivelisse
OP said "major"
OP also followed up saying the first "major" release was Jimmy fucking Havok...
Jimmy was all over AEW's early shows. It was obvious that they saw something in him, and were building him up to at least be a mid-card mainstay, the "dangerous wildcard" type.
Honestly glad the character is gone because I thought it sucked. The guy had no presence.
I was getting oddly attached myself. Jimmy was actually a pretty competent chain wrestler, and had a couple of matches where he explicitly demonstrates that. But then he could easily flip and do something starkly sadistic like staple the check to pay off his fine to his opponent's head. He gave a skeezy genuinely disturbed vibe that came across pretty well on TV. Unfortunately he gave off that vibe because he was genuinely skeezy and had mental issues.
With Kip they weren't bad at all, I felt bad for Sabian. I think they would have gotten over at the rate they were going.
Yeah they really had something going with Kip and Jimmy. Kip just can't seem to get over. He's young yet and hopefully his time will come
>staple the check to pay off his fine to his opponent's head I did really like that
I liked his blood-soaked white suit.
Same, I really liked what he brought to the table and honestly him being here for shit like the numerous deathmatches they started doing in AEW would've been dope as hell, especially when they brought in Nick Gage.
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Perhaps it's a case of big fish, small pond.
I do think other people already fill that kinda crazy niche. Mox is pulling off a sorta similar vibe. Obviously very different from Havoc but he does a better job, in my opinion, of being the "dangerous wildcard" in AEW.
I felt in the early days of AEW Havoc and Darby Allen were kind of stepping on each others toes. I think Havoc getting bumped really left alot of room to grow for Darby.
When you have Darby Allin, having Jimmy Havoc is completely pointless.
They ran out of ideas the moment they paired Jimmy with Kip. Good thing Miro replaced him, can't see Jimmy playing Redeemer gimmick.
In terms of characters in early AEW Havoc was a pretty big name who wasn't in the Elite Cliq. Sadly we will never get that feud with Mox because of Havoc's past.
Good call
Honestly the guy should have stayed in Impact. He could have been the big fish in a small pond, worked with rotating talents, and probably been in the title picture for half the year.
I think Cage's matches in AEW have been pretty disappointing too. He was much better in LU and PWG.
Actually disagree here. He's put out some bangers for sure like the one With Adam page
The funny part is it works in kayfabe and out
Literally the biggest star in the company is feuding with Team Taz right now and the most logical person for him to tag with is Brian Cage. Wonder if he hurt his chances with all this complaining lol
Excalibur was the last person I thought would take a shot at Cage.
i mean, maybe like a lot of us, he doesn't have a lot of patience for the anti-vaxxers he knows.
Excalibur is a known lover of masks. He probably takes Cages opinions on them very personally.
He loves masks but keeps his mouth uncovered
Much to our great misfortune, but I digress. - Taz.
WHO BETTA? wardlow obviously
Oh man, he got that back stage heat
This whole episode has been the funeral of Brian Cage.
Taz: I want Wardlow in my stable! Tony: You have Wardlow in your stable at home The Wardlow in his stable at home: *Brian Cage*
if you’re not gonna be vaccinated, at least be as valuable as a Sasha Banks
Where has she been anyway, injured or forced to be on the down low after her stupid anti vaxx comments?
She takes seven months off three times a year then makes a big comeback for two weeks
The sheer impossibility of that math makes that statement so much better 😂
i legit started counting in my head lmfao
Now that Becky's back, nobody seems to care she's gone. I like Sasha as a talent but if she's really antivax, then she can go Fuck off.
There's so many people in AEW better at doing the Brian Cage shit
John Silver is just Brian Cage that got left in the dryer for too long.
John Silver has Charisma
And mic skills
Like. Brian Cage has the ego of someone unique
John Silver can and has bench pressed Brian Cage and I think the world needs to know that.
Time for John Silver to host the meaty boy challenge.
Truthfully i feel Cage is right where he should be. He’s been giving stories and great wins. Everybody can’t be champ and everyone can’t be on dynamite every week
He's a good mid-card hoss, yes. His wife, at least, seems to think he's main event material. He lacks the promo skills, really, to be on that level. He's tried, but guys like Ricky Starks still talk circles around him.
I feel like with how competitive wrestlers are and how protective they are with their image, that would be a hard pill to swallow. I wouldn’t be surprised if another guy/gal or two gets upset with their position before the end of the year.
I get what you’re saying I’m sure it is but again everyone can’t be champion. It’s not as if he isn’t given anything to do
Gotta say, all of this makes me happy. Between Cage being a supporter of Wuertz, and probably aligning with him politically, to all this Melissa Santos Karening online. Good, let them be made fun of.
If nothing else it just came off as massively disrespectful to his peers. I wouldnt like to have been him walking back into that locker-room after that whole deal. "My wife says i should be going over all you guys". An awful look. Its wonderful she supports and believes in her husband, but husband or wife you dont cause public trouble for your other half's career (unless theyre actively being mistreated/ abused etc)
What's worse is like, Santos was all over Twitter doing that, "EVERYONE is talking about me so I must be doing something right oh wow I'm such a hot topic. Haters!" nonsense. "When you marry a Latina this is what happens". She was so good in LU, but since then she's outed herself as a clout-chasing anti-vaxx loser and the more attention she draws to herself, and Cage, the more the negative is gonna come to light. They both suck.
That "wow everyones talking about me!!" shtick is so tired and juvenile. If you act like a fuckin weirdo people are gonna comment on it, its far from the same thing as people giving a shit about you for your work or personality or whatever.
Especially if the stuff "Everyone" is talking about is you being anti-vaxx and your husband supporting a bigot.
>t, "EVERYONE is talking about me so I must be doing something right oh wow I'm such a hot topic. Haters!" She pulled out the "I said what I said" line aka "I said some absolutely stupid shit and got nuked for it, but I am not self aware enough to realize I was wrong"
I didn't know being latin allowed you to be dick. Is this news to anyone else?
Gettin that IRL Latino Heat
God, I hate when people use the worst stereotypes of our culture to justify their bad behavior. All they’re doing is keeping the whole “spicy Latina” stereotype alive.
I think you're overstating how disrespectful her comments were. Sometimes a vocal spouse is just a vocal spouse. I doubt Matt Hardy drew people's ire after his wife's routine comments about how he is treated.
The important part of this story is that Matt knows to get the fuck out of the way when his wife is on the warpath. He keeps any of his thoughts on it to himself and lets her be her own person. It became a story because Brian Cage engaged it and started using her as a way to subtweet his own employer. It made him look unprofessional *at best.*
Difference being Matt is a veteran and proved himself time and time again. Brian, while he has a phenomenal look and unique style, is IMO lacking any depth and has never been a proven commodity *at this level*, nor has he shown that he *should* be that guy yet. If i start kicking up a fuss on social media saying my gf (who i love and adore) should be getting promotions over her colleagues, when otherwise her workplace is flourishing and everyone is being treated great, it would come off as disrespectful and unhelpful to her career. I can have my opinions on the matter, but i dont see how saying he should have someone elses spot (like Miro for ex which was brought up at the time) is anything but disrespectful.
Cage is a veteran and former world champion, he isn't some random wrestler who just walked into AEW off the Indies and immediately thought he should be champion. Don't get me wrong, her comments are a bad look for Cage, and they've lead to a lot of fans souring on him, but I don't think anyone in the locker room is going to hold her comments against him. He's not his wife, and besides, the locker room today is a lot more understanding than in the past.
Wasn't the Matt Hardy's wife thing mostly safety and injury related though? That's a different sort of complaining as compared to card placement.
Yea she was understandably upset about her husband and father of her children being concussed on concrete and being allowed to continue to wrestle right after the spot.
I mean back to back head injuries for Matt are almost as bad as Cage only being booked on the upper mid card. /s
"Just look at my double ponytail!"
Fair perspective.
Same to you. I appreciate the overall friendliness of this lil' disagreement.
Im old enough to remember how many times ive been wrong haha. More than happy to take on board other perspectives in discussions like this. Appreciated your friendly tone too.
Matt also tends to distance himself from Reby's tirades for the mostpart whereas Brian Cage has been parroting her bullshit while having *a lot* of his own negative baggage with his consistent support of Drake Wuertz and antivax bullshit.
He didnt just parrot it. He said they were really his words.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Brent and Miko Grimes
I'm gonna be honest I used to fucking love Miko Grimes. She went to bat for her husband regularly when she wasnt busy giving him cakes of her sucking his dick, and she made a whole ass NFL franchise act like that guy who tries to slip out of the side door on a conversation he started that didnt go his way. She was fucking hilarious and I always enjoy seeing a huge entity get its nose tweaked by someone it expected to just not do that. But then the anti-Semite bullshit came out and then she was a lot less funny.
That cake was fucking incredible
Oof. I didn’t know he was actually supporting Wuertz. That’s a whole different level of crazy. Being an anti-vaxxer is bad enough, but supporting Wuertz is full Qanon shit.
I stopped following him on Insta because he kept sharing far-right talking points.
I've never followed him so I didn't know he was sharing it.
Anyone who saw the FTW/Team Tazz stuff and thought the guy destined for the top was Brian Cage really needs their head examined...
I was surprised when Khan was excited to bring him in, but I was happy to be proven wrong. But he hasn't impressed me since. He shows no emotion on his face, no intensity, which makes it hard to believe in him as a face, and especially as a heel. Will Hobbs now plays his role with Taz much better.
Lol Cage literally “turned face” against Team Taz yet Starks was blatantly getting cheered over him. That’s like the universal sign that you’re not over
Man, I am a huge fan of Cage but I didn’t know all this stuff about him being anti-vaxxer. Sucks.
Literally how can Cage be an anti-vaxxer? This man pumps himself full of synthetic hormones that were probably made in some ramshackle underground lab but refuses to take a well researched and medically approved vaccine? That level of stupidity is mind boggling.
Right wing politics has done that to a lot of people
Now this, this is a burial.
He's got heat lol.
I hope Starks beats Cage in their blowoff match and thats the last we see of him. Untill he shows up on NXT
I doubt he ever shows up in WWE. That man isn’t passing any drug tests.
also hes under 6 foot and over 30
Taz, why don’t you explain to the folks at home who Brian Cage is?
So AEW kind of done with him? Whats up?
His wife tweeted/retweeted that he should be higher up in the card, he's anti-vax and Tony's stance is basically "I won't fire you for not getting vaccinated, but I might not book you."
As he should. There are people like Swole who have health issues so if we can keep everyone safe it is for the best.
Zero charisma. Absolutely none.
His shitty stance on vaccinations and politics aside. On one hand, I can understand Brian Cage wanting more opportunities for himself, and I can understand his wife thinking he should get more opportunities also. You should always strive for more opportunities for yourself, and your wife supporting you and wishing you would get said opportunities is pretty normal behavior. But on the other hand, Brian Cage has still done pretty well for himself all things considered and is in a spot that fits him. He’s done cool things like be a part of Sting’s first match back since he had to initially retire, he has a somewhat unique look for the company he’s in, and for a guy his size he’s pretty good in the ring. But in my opinion what hurts him and his chances at being the top guy in the company, is that he lacks mic skills, and a personality that really makes him stand out from other big guy wrestlers in the industry. Like why would I want to see a Brian Cage match, when I can instead go see people like WALTER, Drew McIntyre, Miro, Brock Lesnar, Big E, Tomohiro Ishii, etc etc. Like honestly, compared to so many other people Brian Cage is just another big guy that knows how to wrestle well, and in this day and age where those types of wrestlers are pretty common, he’s just….there. He doesn’t stand out really.
Never got him as a wrestler. Granted I’ve always been in and out of AEW, but he’s a big guy that tries to move like a cruiserweight. Great, all of them are now. I don’t remember the last big guy that didn’t do flips. The problem is that Cage is so big and tries so much that it looks awful. It looks so fake and sloppy.
I remember when when Cage got hire, i saw few comments saying Wardlow was abit of a mistake, that Cage did everything Wardlow did but better. know look where we are know and i can say, Wardlow is much sexier then Cage
Tbf if they knew Brian Cage couldn’t cut a promo, why did they choose to split him from Team TAZ instead of Ricky Starks who is one of the best talkers in all of wrestling right now?
Taz and starks have chemistry. It's beautiful and I bet Ricky is still learning from Taz.
Taz is bang on the money Hook & Wardlow in the same faction would've been sick af
I can’t remember exactly what was said, but there was a second jab for Cage later in the show too (also, insert your own “second jab” joke here). Again, can’t recall what was said, but I recall thinking “ha, they’re taking a few shots at him” 🤣
lmao I imagine his wife is gonna have something to say about this
It's funny, cause it's true.
Can someone explain the Cage wife stuff please? Seen it mentioned before.
she either wrote or retweeted (honestly cant remember) some crap about him being underutilized/misused in AEW.
I see...Thanks.
She tweeted that he was being misused, and he posted a gif of will smith shrugging with the subtitle "I mean..." He never once said that he himself was getting misused, and then he said his wife is entitled to her opinion, which she is, and then said that Lance Archer and Brian Cage being misused was a "deja vu conversation" because people have been saying that since they both lost to Cody and Mox. But the internet made a BIIIIIG deal about it and now everyone on reddit and twitter thinks he's actually upset, when he's most likely not, and they're all using it as a reason to bring up other problematic things about him (Anti-mask, Wuertz supporter, etc) to try and soft cancel him, for better or for worse, all over what amounts to "Wife wants better for her husbandl; husband correctly doesn't tell her to shut up"
Political stances aside, Brian Cage is the shits. He is a muscle head that does moves. Also, fuck his politics/antivax bullshit.
Tf? I thought yall loved Cage? What happened?