Pro Wrestling! (For Everything WWE, Impact, Indies, AEW, & Japan !) 2021

[Celgress]

Jeff Hardy is still around because he had an injury that left him on the shelf for over a year. WWE freezes time on a contract when guys get hurt. His contract would have expired the same time Matt's did if he didn't get hurt. He probably would joined Matt in AEW.

The Jeff situation is trickier but I still think Vince sees more value in Jeff (if not by much) than he does in Matt due to the former always having been more over than the latter (likely due to Jeff's unique look and higher levels of charisma).

The above said, my overall point stands. AEW isn't going to sign away anyone Vince thinks might actually benefit them. They aren't snagging a Brock or a Cena-level talent anytime soon (Vince learned that lesson from his battle with WCW). Vince will throw any amount of money he has to at those talents to keep that from happening.

[Jcogginsa]

The Jeff situation is trickier but I still think Vince sees more value in Jeff (if not by much) than he does in Matt due to the former always having been more over than the latter (likely due to Jeff's unique look and higher levels of charisma).

The above said, my overall point stands. AEW isn't going to sign away anyone Vince thinks might actually benefit them. They aren't snagging a Brock or a Cena-level talent anytime soon (Vince learned that lesson from his battle with WCW). Vince will throw any amount of money he has to at those talents to keep that from happening.

They've already signed away a talent that Vince wanted to keep: Jon Moxley. He hated WWE too much for any amount of money to get him to stay

[BigLbo]

Andrade got his release denied. I don't see any point of holding on to guys who don't want to be there. Let him go back to Mexico.

if they thought he was just going to go back to mexico they probably would've gave him his release. isn't he engaged to charlotte

Vince is afraid someone else namely AEW might stumble upon the next megastar or megastars among the wrestlers he is hoarding. Remember, guys like Austin, Foley, Jericho, and Eddie G were seen as nothing but "worthless jobbers" by WCW before they released them.

i wouldn't go that far, but they didn't see them as anything more than midcarders 44444-life.

The Jeff situation is trickier but I still think Vince sees more value in Jeff (if not by much) than he does in Matt due to the former always having been more over than the latter (likely due to Jeff's unique look and higher levels of charisma).

The above said, my overall point stands. AEW isn't going to sign away anyone Vince thinks might actually benefit them. They aren't snagging a Brock or a Cena-level talent anytime soon (Vince learned that lesson from his battle with WCW). Vince will throw any amount of money he has to at those talents to keep that from happening.

to be honest they don't have a brock or cena level talent since brock and cena left.

anybody check out sacrifice?? i tuned in for a sec and it was some shit i didn't care about, forgot to go back to it.

[marshal88]

aew sign up big slow and christian , both in their late 40s , close to retirement age supposely to help elevate their younger talents but who has has=been sting elevate other than burying cage and starks, tony khan can be the new dixie carter and sign up hogan, nash and hall next.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Its a weird time in wrestling. Some of the talent roster wants out and they aren't happy , so lets bring back Johnny Ace as VP of Talent relations again because he didn't make things terrible in 2000's run. Which had him run off a good bit of talent comically.

This is a case where Vince wanted yet another YES MAN and unless he's changed how he runs things ...expect way more talent to be wanting out.


Cornette detailed just how bad Ace was as VP of Talent. That in 2000's he holds the only record ever of signing the WRONG 1 legged wrestler that Vince wanted to a contract then.

[BigLbo]

aew sign up big slow and christian , both in their late 40s , close to retirement age supposely to help elevate their younger talents but who has has=been sting elevate other than burying cage and starks, tony khan can be the new dixie carter and sign up hogan, nash and hall next.

big show's not even wrestling, christian's not going over on omega, and i believe darby is supposed to be elevated by sting.

comparing kahn to dixie is laughable at this point.

[Immortal Weapon]

The Jeff situation is trickier but I still think Vince sees more value in Jeff (if not by much) than he does in Matt due to the former always having been more over than the latter (likely due to Jeff's unique look and higher levels of charisma).

The above said, my overall point stands. AEW isn't going to sign away anyone Vince thinks might actually benefit them. They aren't snagging a Brock or a Cena-level talent anytime soon (Vince learned that lesson from his battle with WCW). Vince will throw any amount of money he has to at those talents to keep that from happening.

They wanted to make Matt a producer when his contract was ending. They clearly saw value in Matt but in a different capacity. Matt left feeling he still had more to give as an active performer. We've already seen jumps from people fans had assumed would be lifers. I wouldn't discount anybody jumping ship.

if they thought he was just going to go back to mexico they probably would've gave him his release. isn't he engaged to charlotte

He's engaged to Charlotte. I doubt that will factor into anything.

[Celgress]

They've already signed away a talent that Vince wanted to keep: Jon Moxley. He hated WWE too much for any amount of money to get him to stay

I've heard the reason Vince didn't make a better play for Moxley is that he felt Moxley is "crazy" because of the obsession with ultra-hardcore matches. This is why WWE allowed the Dean Ambrose trademark to lapse. Roman is the main person Vince wants to keep at all costs from that group.

[Immortal Weapon]

I've heard the reason Vince didn't make a better play for Moxley is that he felt Moxley is "crazy" because of the obsession with ultra-hardcore matches. This is why WWE allowed the Dean Ambrose trademark to lapse. Roman is the main person Vince wants to keep at all costs from that group.

That's not how Moxley tells it. They were hellbent in keeping him around. They wanted him to work the European tour even though he technically wasn't under contract anymore. He did get that send off on the WWE network with the Shield's final match and all.

[GozertheGozarian]

aew sign up big slow and christian , both in their late 40s , close to retirement age supposely to help elevate their younger talents but who has has=been sting elevate other than burying cage and starks, tony khan can be the new dixie carter and sign up hogan, nash and hall next.

Daniels is 50.

[godisawesome]

I've heard the reason Vince didn't make a better play for Moxley is that he felt Moxley is "crazy" because of the obsession with ultra-hardcore matches. This is why WWE allowed the Dean Ambrose trademark to lapse. Roman is the main person Vince wants to keep at all costs from that group.

That's not how Moxley tells it. They were hellbent in keeping him around. They wanted him to work the European tour even though he technically wasn't under contract anymore. He did get that send off on the WWE network with the Shield's final match and all.

Vince McMahon is a being of contradictory visions and a hatred of things working when they don’t work the way he wanted them to.

I wouldn’t be surprised if to Vince, Moxley was “too crazy” to be a main-eventer at WWE but still too clearly a talent that he wouldn’t make a splash elsewhere. As much as Vince probably blamed the hardcore and casuals for generally liking Moxley/Ambrose “too much” he almost had to know people liked him and that any promotion that nabbed him would get a pop and publicity commiserate with his popularity on WWE.

And that, more than anything, is probably Vince’s worst case scenario for a departing wrestler - that they as a performer are bigger than the place he wants them for under his brand. The brand is what Vince wants praised, not the superstars - probably at least in part because he knows that enough superstars jumping ship successfully could genuinely create a rival, since he seems to believe that people who haven’t wrestled for him aren’t real threats.

Which is where the question about AEW is in the current marketplace - is it a real rival to WWE, or a pumped up minor leagues? Are the WWE talent it’s acquired genuinely stars on their own, or are they disgruntled employees who aren’t a threat to him and his company?

Moxley and Jericho are probably the two biggest actual stars who could argue their value has increased from an already considerable place when they were at WWE. Guys like Dustin Rhodes, Big Show/Paul White are only possible losses for WWE given their lower value when they left WWE.

But someone like Sasha Banks, or any of HHH’s “projects” from NXT aren’t really anyone Vince wants to lose and see pop up on AEW upstaging where they were on WWE.

[choptop]

So anyone looking forward to Swann vs Omega? At Rebellion? Is omega going to Unife both Championships?

[BigLbo]

They wanted to make Matt a producer when his contract was ending. They clearly saw value in Matt but in a different capacity. Matt left feeling he still had more to give as an active performer. We've already seen jumps from people fans had assumed would be lifers. I wouldn't discount anybody jumping ship.



He's engaged to Charlotte. I doubt that will factor into anything.

i disagree. i think being engaged to an american citizen living in the US will play at least a small factor in where andrade wants to live and work.

So anyone looking forward to Swann vs Omega? At Rebellion? Is omega going to Unife both Championships?

not really. swann is a good talent and all but it's far from a dream match for me.

[SpiderTBliss]

That's not how Moxley tells it. They were hellbent in keeping him around. They wanted him to work the European tour even though he technically wasn't under contract anymore. He did get that send off on the WWE network with the Shield's final match and all.

well yes, guy who left WWE says "WWE were hell bent on keeping me" I'm shocked...!

Both Vince and Ambrose probably believe their versions to be true and its more than likely somewhere in between

[choptop]

i disagree. i think being engaged to an american citizen living in the US will play at least a small factor in where andrade wants to live and work.



not really. swann is a good talent and all but it's far from a dream match for me.

Doesn't have to be a dream matche to look forward to it.