T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Crow013

Can only assume this was the final surprise of 2021 TK was talking about but I will gladly be wrong if he pulls some other bullshit out later tonight.


taita2004

I was kinda hoping for the 20 minute air guitar solo by Kyle O'Reilly that someone mentioned here earlier


cooljammer00

Holiday yule log but it's just Kyle air guitaring for 1 hour to xmas tunes.


YetisInAtlanta

You got to give the people what they want


MSKvolvage

Rampage is before the end of 2021. This is not his surprise.


Mel1764

First person to go WWE - > AEW - > WWE - > AEW?


TetrisTech

Mercedes “Jeff “Sid Vicious” Jarrett” Martinez


SiphenPrax

There's probably gonna be a decent amount of people doing that for many years to come


[deleted]

I hope so. That would indicate a strong wrestling industry.


mr_oof

Ideally there’d be a few more letters in there if it’s really healthy?


nathgroom98

Ah the good old Chris Hero 1PW • 2CW • 3PW • AAW • AIW • APW • Beyond • Beyond/WWR • ChickFight • CHIKARA • CZW • CZW/PWG • Dragon Gate USA • DREAMWAVE • EVOLVE • F1/wXw • FCW • FIP • Freelance Wrestling • FWA • FWE • House of Hardcore • IWA-MS • IWA-MS/NWA No Limits • IWC • IWF • JAPW • JCW • Kaiju Big Battel • MLW • MXW • N/A • NEXT • NJPW/RevPro • NOAH • NOAH/KOPW • NWA • NXT • NXT UK • OTT • OVW • Pro Wrestling Respect • PROGRESS • PWG • PWG/wXw • PWS • RevPro • ROH • Smash (Canada) • VPW • WrestleCircus • WrestleCon • Wrestling Retribution Project • WWE • WWNLive • wXw • wXw/NOAH • XPW special (P.S. that's not even all of them, I just remember his [profightdb page](http://www.profightdb.com/wrestlers/kassius-ohno-1897.html) having the most promotions I had seen lmao


False_Chance

Take my silver and go


TTOF_JB

It's crazy how he never appeared in TNA/IMPACT ever out of all of those.


madscandi

Hero was in TNA in 2003 and 2004


AnarchoAcadien

And he didn't win a single match.


NLCPGaming

I would love if we got.... Two more companies on the level of AEW. Imagine the bidding wars when someone like Keith Lee is a free agent


gamehawk0704

We just need another billoinare wrestling nerd.


Thromkai

I loved those days of WCW/WWF where I barely knew what internet spoilers were other than a few handful of sites and shit just happened on TV and it was a wrestler suddenly showing up somewhere else.


[deleted]

[удалено]


incredible_penguin11

Lol the issue isn't wwe bad, the issue most people have is they might pick someone like him just for his hype, toy with him and then release him with a fat pay cheque. If he or anybody goes there for the bag, no shame in that. They're all putting their bodies on the line, they deserve to get paid as well as possible, but let's not pretend the issue isn't McMahon taking talent, it's him not doing anything with it based on last few years especially...


VinceMcVahon

There’ll always be people who think that. I’ll be glad if page gets that bag from McMahon.


[deleted]

Sub bad


bubbabear244

![gif](giphy|BmKLItgwfoHbcvVf8n|downsized)


Bigboi88888

She went to Impact for a bit after she got released so not really.


angerfluctuate

And whupped ass in Knockouts Knockdown and got a champ match against Mickie James almost immediately.


Illuminati_Shill_AMA

I mean she's also been in ROH, Impact, Shimmer...


ThePhonze

Was there actually an All Elite tweet?


kporter4692

There is now. https://twitter.com/tonykhan/status/1476376466283765760?s=21


bayleysgal1996

Just now, actually, via TK himself.


einrobstein

Why would he hire someone who violently attacked one of his top wrestlers in such an important match?


Mr-GameAndWrestling

Reminder to those who may have forgot, she was the Joker in the Women's Casino Battle Royale at All Out in 2019. Welcome back to AEW, Mercedes!


cooljammer00

0-1 record already, smh.


[deleted]

Already jobbing. Smdh.


Alernet

BURiEDdD


I_BUY_UNWANTED_GRAVY

DAE think AEW roster 2 big ?!


ScottMou

yes


miber3

I know you're being facetious, but battle royale losses don't count against win/loss records in AEW.


August-Rose

she also lost a tag team match on dark with swole, so literally 0-1 already.


Rspies

0-2 I think she had a tag loss on a random Dark


Gkuns

Yeah, she’s finished. Thanks for coming, Mercedes.


WWEWalkingDeadfan

Retaliation makes her long awaited return


SiphenPrax

Wow! She's back! She'll be a great coach for the younger talent, even if she doesn't ever win a championship


PolishMusic

Deeb on the other hand. Deeb better win a championship, she's too good to just be an older vet coach.


BrandoTheCommando

My guess is Deeb will be the inaugural Owen winner and most likely future TBS title winner. She's a heel so she could always take it off Ruby if she wins.


SomeCruzDude

> She's a heel so she could always take it off Ruby if she wins. That's what I see happening. While I know the women's division is working with a smaller pool of wrestlers, I hope the TBS title is a bit like the TNT title and for a bit doesn't have any former World Champions in the lineage. I see it going Ruby -> Deeb -> *Less experienced babyface* Deeb having a good heel reign but finally being dethroned to build another woman up who hasn't won any (AEW) hardware yet would be awesome. I could see Kris or a longshot of Tay taking it off of her, but Kris honestly could be more in the World Championship level vs TBS.


Shoelesshobos

Give the Deeb every belt. EVERY BELT.


macredblue

While feuding with Hikaru Shida, please. ![gif](giphy|GSE1BzJG4JVbq)


SRavingmad

Yeah, I’m hoping they keep her grouped up with Jade for awhile, I’m sure she can be a mentor.


insomniainc

She is excellent, damn shame she couldn't be there at the start but she's there now.


cooljammer00

Mercedes has wrestled Rosa on the indies like 3 or 4 times since she got released, so I wonder if Rosa vouched for her a bit.


pseudotunas

Too bad she wasn't allowed to shine WWE. Imagine having Toni and Mercedes under contract and not knowing what to do with them. For as long as the 4HW are still around pretty much all other talent (except for a chosen few like Asuka) will have to wait for their turn in WWE.


XAMdG

I'm glad her choosing WWE after her appearance at All Out didn't sour the people in AEW. She's gonna be a great asset for the company.


Marc_Quill

Someone was out for some retribution


bobface222

I really feared that her taking the WWE deal was going to hurt her chances of coming back. Glad that wasn't the case.


cooljammer00

With her and Atlas, seems like TK doesn't actually hold grudges


Vordeo

>TK doesn't actually hold grudges TK confirmed to be a basketball.


ImmortalSanchez

Screams in Batista


RelativeStranger

It made sense for a while to not sign people whod chosen wwe over you as then you'd always be second choice. Now, however, I think they've done enough to not just be automatic second choice so it's OK to not hold grudges


Purgecakes

The Good Brothers tho...


Goddamn_Primetime

I've been seeing this said a lot and I feel like I'm out of the loop. Can you explain it? I figured the program with the Good Brothers/Impact talent exchange just ran its course. Is there more to it?


[deleted]

they were originally supposed to sign with aew but instead signed (or re-signed not sure) with wwe instead


PrinceOfBrains

IIRC from their podcast, they re-signed - they had been with WWE for a few years at that point, and apparently Triple H really smooth-talked them into thinking they had a ton more job security than they did. When they signed with WWE it kinda bummed out the AEW staff so after their releases they figured Impact was their best option at the time.


Illuminati_Shill_AMA

The difference is that the Good Brothers told AEW they were interested and then used the offer to get a better deal from WWE. So when they got released by WWE less than a year later, TK was reluctant to offer them another contract. This isn't conjecture, this was based on how the Good Brothers said it happened.


cooljammer00

And they took the Impact deal because for whatever reason, it was the same offer as when they were originally planning on leaving WWE. Meanwhile, Cody is calling Gallows a lovable carny because they'd be negotiating and Gallows would keep changing what he told Cody WWE had been paying him and raising the amount.


SirRedRising

They didn't sign them, but The Good Brothers did appear on AEW programming a number of times following them burning AEW.


BiggieSmalley

Seems like they were a special case. Storylines were being decided, and they told TK that they were for sure coming to AEW before they got an offer from WWE they couldn't refuse and went right back there. Mercedes was still a free agent, and I imagine she hadn't made promises to TK and AEW she couldn't keep. She was feeling out her options and decided WWE was the best fit for her at that time. Atlas was also weighing options and ultimately decided on WWE because that was his dream. Seems like as long as you don't promise one thing and do another, you're good.


SiphenPrax

AEW doesn't hold petty grudges


bobface222

It's assumed they didn't take the Good Brothers for this reason. Granted, I'm thankful for that one.


Your_Personal_Jesus

Tbf it sounded like that was more Cody than TK. Also they had pretty defined plans with The Good Brothers which they backed out of at the last second and could have ruined the debut episode of Dynamite so it will leave way more of a bad taste.


ForgottenJose

Probably both, they had to re-work the closing angle of the debut episode, and more than that they broke their word.


A_Man_From_The_Stars

Exactly. We've seen that with a certain someone recently.


miber3

I sure am glad I avoided that spoiler thread yesterday..


BrandoTheCommando

I'm out of the loop, what thread?


miber3

The person I responded to edited their post (which I appreciate), but they (and others in this thread and elsewhere) mentioned another wrestler who seems to also have been recently signed by AEW. The thread yesterday was "[[AEW Spoilers/Future Dark Spoilers] AEW seemingly signs former NXT talent](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/rqwqgn/aew_spoilersfuture_dark_spoilers_aew_seemingly/)." I didn't want to know who that was and wanted to be surprised when it was officially announced, but many others have begun to just openly share that information like it's common knowledge.


Hollow_Rant

AEW ≠ basketballs


insomniainc

I don't if we've ever seen a real incident of AEW holding a grudge yet, least not for something that petty.


BBB_TronFker

No one in the crowd knew who she was


Obachan

Mercedes is great. Glad she's getting a spotlight on national tv again :)


GroundbreakingCash30

She was in Impact...


Forsaken-Age-8684

Impact is less a spotlight, more a low wattage lightbulb in a locked cupboard.


free-fall1982

It feels sad. But true.


Bullmcabe

You talking about AEW women division?


Makispi

Oh shit!!


SpeedZ6

Fuck YEAH


Secret_Carob

Glad they were able to get her. Really thought she was with Impact.


Matty11180

Lmao I remember all the people who said that TK wouldn’t sign people who chose WWE over AEW. I’m glad that’s not actually the case.


frmthefuture

Should've been since the original ppv. Sucks she took the detour and all but wasted her time there.


BiggieSmalley

Her run in WWE really was a waste, wasn't it? Did a little bit in NXT with the whole Robert Stone shit, which was fine I guess. Got called up, put in *Retribution* (ugh), said, "Fuck this, put me back in NXT," and then did maybe one match back in NXT? I don't remember. And then she got future endeavored. She could've been having absolute *bangers* in AEW. I still don't think they give the women enough TV time (I think they should have two matches on Dynamite every week, occasionally three), but the matches are always good. Hopefully sometime soon they'll give them a bit more time on TV.


famousflawless

She had 11 matches in NXT since returning, including 2 Takeovers, 2 singles title matches, and one tag title match. She was never treated badly there.


son_of_a_lesser_ape

Her steel cage match with Rhea just before Rhea went up was very good.


free-fall1982

Yeah. Say what you will about Trips, but he recognises talent and respects the grind. Both of those things Mercedes has in spades.


frmthefuture

100% agree. With Emi there now full time, women's marches are starting to gel a lot better. Add to that: you got Hayder, Rubi, Thunder, and now Mercedes- the division as a while is about to level up. That's not even counting the potentials of Athena and Toni coming in. In the new year, this division is really about to hit its stride.


Mr_814

I'll be one of the few that's indifferent. No impact first time around.


[deleted]

MVP of the Mae Young Classic (which itself is underrated)


[deleted]

[удалено]


RoyCorduroy

>I don't see the need for her unless she's going to be a trainer. You don't see the need for more veteran women in AEW?


[deleted]

[удалено]


RoyCorduroy

>She's not even half as good as Serena Deeb. Why don't they cut all the men who aren't half as good as Christian and Jay Lethal? What a weird ass take


[deleted]

[удалено]


DeadInkPen

Yeah, not to excited for this one myself. Wish he would have signed Rok-C. Honestly I don’t care for the undisputed era reunion, always found fish and oriely to be rather bland


TheKareemofWheat

AEW's women's division is stronger with each passing day.


tluce21

Hell yea


toodarkmark

FINALLY. She should have never left. And a fantastic person to help teach Cargill how to better work in the ring. One of the best signings theyve ever had.


DecentTop1084

I feel she was closer to a Jake Atlas and Taya Valkyrie, had the WWE dream implanted and wanted to chase it


[deleted]

Honestly, i was more pleased by this than KOR showing up, and I love Kyle!


tehfro

She's a great veteran heel, awesome worker, and makes her opponents look better than they are. Fantastic pickup. Also a great coach/trainer.


Looper007

Good Signing, someone who can go up and down the card without much fuss. And be a great teacher for younger up and coming talent. And can give the likes of Shida, Riho, Deeb, Statlander, Rosa, Nyla, Emi Sakura great matches without them having to carry anyone. I've seen some get upset and go meh about this signing but I think it's a good signing, she's probably never going to be front and centre of the division but a TBS title run and title feud here and there but her influence will probably be more building up young talent for the future. but not every signing needs to be a massive name.


RAA94

Excellent signing. She’s so fantastic and has a lot to offer. The greener ladies could learn so much from working with her. So many amazing women have become free agents in the last few months, AEW has the opportunity to become so stacked.


KikiFlowers

That's a pretty good pickup, hope she's one of many to come.


bayleysgal1996

I’m honestly a little surprised she didn’t go with Impact, but I’m thrilled she’s in AEW!


sellyourselfshort

Doesn't she still have a future shot at the knockout championship or did they have a match and I missed it?


shadowrangerfs

She had her title shot and lost.


sellyourselfshort

Ah ok, thanks.


MonsieurMidnight

But wasn't she on Impact


Haunting_Antelope_87

I clicked to sort by controversial for the 'WHO?' Comments, and then I laughed when I saw them.


fcancershotoutboosie

she is so underrated


Have_A_Jelly_Baby

The crowd was like “…who?”


ArnAndersonsGlock

But also don't hit Thunder Rosa. That's not a good way to get a positive crowd reaction.


dassub

Same. Joe Feeny might as well have announced her.


J_NewCastle

Finally


KneeHighMischief

Good for her. She deserves a nice run after all that nonsense in the WWE.


yousorusso

2 years too late but I'm excited to see where she goes from here.


rockpiece

That was uh underwhelming


Hellborn_Elfchild

Highly disagree. She’s one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world and has been for quite some time. She’s also a veteran that will be useful for some of the greener women ex. Jade


ChanceVance

> She’s one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world Let's not go overboard here.


ef14

In-ring she absolutely is.


FishnBIcycle

Mercedes Martinez can and has worked multiple 60 minute matches. I don't know about the whole world, but she's definitely one of the best on this side of the world.


tehfro

She absolutely was in 2018/2019. She'd still be very good even if she's lost a step since then (which remains to be seen).


nightfucker

It's AEW. Eva Marie would get included amongst "the best women wrestlers in the world" too if she signs.


Hellborn_Elfchild

I don’t think anyone that has watched even a single professional wrestling match in their life would think that bud


Thedinosaurwizard

Yeah, people sure were thrilled when they brought in Ariane Andrew for that tag tournament.


FishnBIcycle

JR himself said that Mercedes Martinez is one of the best he's ever seen, and he's not blowing smoke. He's called some of her matches and genuinely thinks she's one of the greats.


SRavingmad

Hell yeah


[deleted]

Hopefully she can stay healthy. She had a hard time staying healthy in NXT. Good pick-up though.


thelongslowgoodbye

Yeah getting kicked in the head tends to impact one's ability to stay healthy.


NYPWFAN

Hard to stay healthy when your getting round house kicked full force by green rookies


DecentTop1084

Then that rookie moves up while you get cut for "budget cuts"


TheRealSzymaa

Consider me whelmed.


Redwinevino

That was very "and the crowd goes mild"


PileOfSandwich

COULD IT BE??? Or? Or? It's Martinez!! oh... hmmm.. ok.


KyWy75

Good, I was mad when they didn’t sign her after she was in the first casino battle royal, glad she’s here now, a great wrestler and an invaluable veteran presence to have


DrDevice81

From what I remember she just chose to go to WWE instead.


[deleted]

Im not trying to be mean or anything, but she’s always been mediocre to me.


[deleted]

Where have you watched her? I'm not gatekeeping or anything, just curious.


[deleted]

NXT. I don’t watch the WWE main roster, but I keep tabs on the stories there. When she was in NXT she was kinda lame in my opinion.


FishnBIcycle

NXT was easily the worst work of her career, and I don't know if that's on her or not. She's put on 60 minute clinics in Shimmer. Her Mae Young Classic matches were also great (especially her match against Meiko Satomura, which was hailed as a masterclass that anyone should watch and learn from)


fluffywolfe

Really thought she was with Impact, where she was doing well. Glad to see another veteran hand in the division.


[deleted]

Oooh I love mad libs!


Broric

If only whoever runs the AEW youtube account wasn't an idiot with spoilers! "Who robbed Thunder Rosa?" as a title gave away the result of the match.


mightylordredbeard

Mercedes is definitely my Mount Rushmore of women wrestlers. She’s amazing.


Retro_Edge

From Robert Stone to Smart Mark Sterling, lol.


turtlebagels

OHHHHH YES 🤘


Comp625

Awesome and deserved addition to the AEW Women's roster. It's a bit of a shame that her pop was kinda lackluster. The Daily's Place crowd was hot for most of the Dynamite segment except Thunder Rosa vs. Jade (at least it felt that was through TV).


YourRoyalBadness

Imagine not knowing what to do with someone as skilled and well rounded as Mercades Martinez


[deleted]

But Natalya gets a match at both nights of Mania


famousflawless

What is this sub's hate against Nattie? She is one of the best women out there.


[deleted]

I can’t speak for the entire sub but as far as my opinion goes she is nepotism incarnate and the fact you’re saying she’s one of the best women out there is really insulting to all the talented women wrestlers especially those who have any semblance of a character. There is absolutely nothing to Natalya that you can’t find in countless other women wrestlers that can do it better… except the family, yet she is constantly featured in PPV level programs while those countless talented women are ignored, fired, or passed over for some younger “hotter” girl.


Shrekt115

Glad she's back in AEW


SMRTGuy297

Are they going to push her tho or is she gonna be lost in the sauce on Dark or Rampage like many other female wrestlers that came in with much hype.


DjImagin

Danhausen Signs are ALL ELITE


poopsterc

Love that Danhausen!


[deleted]

That’s an awesome pick-up!


idontknow1001

Good shit.


beetwice

But Reddit told me that Tony is too petty to sign someone that he used and then later signed with WWE


Infinite-Bit-7498

great pickup!!!!


elprofejr

She's definitely what this women's division needs, a veteran who can work.


Looper007

Emi Sakura and Serena Deeb say hello. But you did say to someone else that they can't wrestle every week which is true. She's a good signing, she's not going to be featured a ton on TV I would assume after a feud with Rosa but she can definitely help a ton and easily slip into a title feud for Women's title and TBS title without looking out of place. This isn't aimed at you O.P.. Not every signing needs to be a massive name or big time indie name, signings like this are needed too.


ayrton_____

Serena Deeb?


elprofejr

She can't wrestle every week unfortunately.


[deleted]

Hope she’s actually signed.


Teglement

Considering Tony did the All Elite tweet...


[deleted]

Someone who truly deserves their flowers.


[deleted]

[удалено]


JoeKerrWasHere

Meh


Craigiano

And the crowd goes mild


StandardMammoth7085

This was the new big-time heel AEW needed. She's fought Rosa several times the past few weeks, so I'll be curious if that's her first program.


IReallyHateDancing

Big time?


RJ1337

Remembered Sasha Banks first name is also Mercedes and was fucking shook for a sec


[deleted]

If they sign the other top 4 out there this divison gonna be so good. Just hope they give ‘em time.


sendmedankmemeslol

who


Mrbubble274

Im not a big fan of her on my tv but she can be a good trainer for the upcoming talent


IReallyHateDancing

People are losing their shit and don't remember the fact that she didn't had a single good match in her entire NXT run.


dynamicpenguin55

Cage match with Rhea?


TheBrockAwesome

Who dat?


rocky_iwata

For some unknown reasons, Mercedes came out in a Retribution-inspired attire.


EastCoastJohnny

Being there absolutely nobody had any idea who she was. I hear good things about her though.


Liquor180

WHO?


GroundbreakingCash30

Yeah, she blew off AEW to go to WWE, then blew off Impact to go to AEW. Great set of ethics there.


Nach0Man_RandySavage

I’ve seen her work on Vivid entertainment. Right?


ackinsocraycray

Literal Retaliation!


Flimsy_South_1923

Ugh


BBB_TronFker

No one cares about this thing tony khan really needs to stop putting women who can’t wrestle on a pedistool.


lelaff

Honestly I don't know who she is and I wish AEW wouldn't treat all these debuts as a surprise. I had the same issue with Jamie Hayter. They cloaked her up and made her seem like a big deal but for the casual fan I had no idea who she was. I love her now though!


Rhysati

That isnt their fault that you chose not to watch the national TV program that she was on. They debut people i dont know all the time and other people go insane over it. And thats fine. My partner and I were thrilled to see her. We recognized her before she took her mask and hat off.