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Post by stc13 on Sept 10, 2020 10:55:42 GMT -5
I've seen the topic come up semi-regularly here and elsewhere online, particularly as AEW has brought in WWE talent after the spring releases, so thought it might warrant its own conversation.
I might be in the minority, but I've really enjoyed the way AEW has built and utilized their roster on the whole. I think people are so dialed in to comparing everything to WWE without looking.
For me, the larger roster has created a more fresh and interesting product. They rarely repeat matches, and talent like Darby or OC feel more special when we see them every other week or so. You're also putting less mileage on talent, since they're only working 2-3 matches a month in many cases. I do think long term this will add years to people's prime career compared to the WWE 300 dates a year schedule (pre-pandemic).
I don't get the "they're signing WWE guys" attitude. Talent is talent, and if you have a chance to upgrade your roster, you do it. If the Red Sox sign a Yankees player that's an upgrade over whoever they had playing right field, everybody cheers and life keeps moving. They've consistently elevated young talent - MJF, Darby, Shida - while building the new additions. The roster is always going to be fluid, and I think it makes a lot more sense to judge talent on how they're used and their performance rather than what company they came from.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2020 11:15:34 GMT -5
TK definitely alluded to your point about it being fresh by cycling talent near the start of the company. He made it very clear from the start that it wasn't a company where you'd see every guy every single week. The idea was exactly as you said; it feels special when the talent shows up, not repetitive. Plus, the talent that isn't on as consistently is generally free to also work indy shows, and a lot of them do as a way to keep their reps up and not get too rusty. There are multiple AEW guys working the Warrior Wrestling show this Saturday for example.
One very important thing to note, and I did do the calculations a while ago when I had a similar thread (months ago now), was that the amount of tag teams really warps the number. The roster is large, but it is less large when you consider how many tag teams there are. While we do get some singles matches with tag team guys, like Angelico this week for example, overall they show up in pairs. Combining that with the 2nd show coming, and the roster isn't quite as large as it seems at first glance.
I've said it in a few other threads so I know I'm getting repetitive, but it fits exactly with your narrative. I've given TK a lot of credit for not insulting our intelligence with the whole ex-WWE guy thing. By that, I mean that he's not afraid to sign them if they're the right fit for the company. I think AEW kind of puts its trust in us to understand exactly what you've said, and overall I think it's worked. I know a lot here (myself included) aren't exactly big on Matt Hardy, but he got a hell of a reaction yesterday, as did Jericho. So did Orange Cassidy & Luchasaurus. That's pretty much mission accomplished in terms of having the talent blend in and not be TNA 2.0 or WCW 2.0, but rather AEW 1.0. Doesn't matter where your came from, it matters who you are.
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Post by Yambag Jones on Sept 10, 2020 11:18:48 GMT -5
Soon they'll have Dynamite, Dark, and the 2nd TNT show to fill. Roster depth is important. Even if some people are on every show, they don't have to WRESTLE on every show which will prolong their careers.
"tHEiR SiGniNg tOo mAnY eX-WwE tALeNt" is a very stupid and shallow comment. WwE has spent decades unopposed and signed every person with indie credit. Hiring people from that promotion is unavoidable. AEW has done a great job at pushing talent that most are unaware of.
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Post by stc13 on Sept 10, 2020 13:02:22 GMT -5
Soon they'll have Dynamite, Dark, and the 2nd TNT show to fill. Roster depth is important. Even if some people are on every show, they don't have to WRESTLE on every show which will prolong their careers. "tHEiR SiGniNg tOo mAnY eX-WwE tALeNt" is a very stupid and shallow comment. WwE has spent decades unopposed and signed every person with indie credit. Hiring people from that promotion is unavoidable. AEW has done a great job at pushing talent that most are unaware of. To your first point, they also have a new tv contract that gives them more financial flexibility. As a startup, they probably had some top heavy contracts and had to go budget shopping to fill out the roster. Having a larger contract with dollars locked in gives them a ton of flexibility. The reality is not all of the "AEW originals" will be here long term. People like MJF and Darby have taken off. But there are definitely some acts who haven't caught on or developed as expected. Odds are some of those folks won't be brought back when their deal is up and new talent will be brought in. So is life. But I think some people expect the roster to be nothing but indie guys forever, and that's just not realistic. |
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Post by bababooey on Sept 10, 2020 13:09:32 GMT -5
I personally feel like what adds fuel to the fire of people pointing out that they sign a lot of WWE guys is that AEW seems to constantly be talking about WWE. Also, when guys come over from WWE, a lot of them go straight to bashing WWE.
I agree that if good talent is available, it’s a good idea to sign them. Just don’t constantly compare yourself to WWE. In my mind, it makes them seem inferior and like they are trying to get the rub from WWE.
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Post by Yambag Jones on Sept 10, 2020 13:16:40 GMT -5
Soon they'll have Dynamite, Dark, and the 2nd TNT show to fill. Roster depth is important. Even if some people are on every show, they don't have to WRESTLE on every show which will prolong their careers. "tHEiR SiGniNg tOo mAnY eX-WwE tALeNt" is a very stupid and shallow comment. WwE has spent decades unopposed and signed every person with indie credit. Hiring people from that promotion is unavoidable. AEW has done a great job at pushing talent that most are unaware of. To your first point, they also have a new tv contract that gives them more financial flexibility. As a startup, they probably had some top heavy contracts and had to go budget shopping to fill out the roster. Having a larger contract with dollars locked in gives them a ton of flexibility. The reality is not all of the "AEW originals" will be here long term. People like MJF and Darby have taken off. But there are definitely some acts who haven't caught on or developed as expected. Odds are some of those folks won't be brought back when their deal is up and new talent will be brought in. So is life. But I think some people expect the roster to be nothing but indie guys forever, and that's just not realistic. Going through the roster, there's obvious people to not bring back. TK has made it a point that he'll do this as long as AEW is making money. Live gates took a HUGE cut from their business, but he still hired a lot of people to job on Dark and he's even signed bigger names. He's handled the pandemic hit very well. Only a few were cut, but that was largely due to Speaking Out and that talent being stuck overseas. Even then, we don't know the whole situation. My point is, Khan is very aware of their budget but is more than willing to invest in talent. It'd be silly to expect everyone to stay, but talent is well aware of how AEW's competitors are run. When things open back up, there's going to be a ton of options out there besides going to Connecticut. |
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Post by Yambag Jones on Sept 10, 2020 13:18:22 GMT -5
I personally feel like what adds fuel to the fire of people pointing out that they sign a lot of WWE guys is that AEW seems to constantly be talking about WWE. Also, when guys come over from WWE, a lot of them go straight to bashing WWE. I agree that if good talent is available, it’s a good idea to sign them. Just don’t constantly compare yourself to WWE. In my mind, it makes them seem inferior and like they are trying to get the rub from WWE. It'd be one thing if people who move over shoot on the last place they worked. I actually like that stuff. Unfortunately, AEW's product is far too similar to their main competitor for my tastes and that shooting is less effective and gets long in the tooth. |
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Post by cordless2016 on Sept 10, 2020 15:10:31 GMT -5
I love the roster they built and it reminds me of the early and mid 90s where you may not see a performer for a week or two. I think it helps to keep things fresh and we get a ton of different matches. This is one thing AEW has been excelling at.
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walkingturtles
Main Eventer
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Post by walkingturtles on Sept 10, 2020 16:28:36 GMT -5
Soon they'll have Dynamite, Dark, and the 2nd TNT show to fill. Roster depth is important. Even if some people are on every show, they don't have to WRESTLE on every show which will prolong their careers. "tHEiR SiGniNg tOo mAnY eX-WwE tALeNt" is a very stupid and shallow comment. WwE has spent decades unopposed and signed every person with indie credit. Hiring people from that promotion is unavoidable. AEW has done a great job at pushing talent that most are unaware of. They aren’t signing old washed up guys. Brodie Lee, Miro, Moxley, Cordona are still young guys with a lot of gas who were severely underused. If anything I see AEW as WWF 99-2000, were they were getting undercard guys and building them up from WCW. |
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Post by Yambag Jones on Sept 10, 2020 16:31:19 GMT -5
Soon they'll have Dynamite, Dark, and the 2nd TNT show to fill. Roster depth is important. Even if some people are on every show, they don't have to WRESTLE on every show which will prolong their careers. "tHEiR SiGniNg tOo mAnY eX-WwE tALeNt" is a very stupid and shallow comment. WwE has spent decades unopposed and signed every person with indie credit. Hiring people from that promotion is unavoidable. AEW has done a great job at pushing talent that most are unaware of. Brodie Lee, Miro, Moxley, Cordona are still young guys with a lot of gas who were severely underused. If anything I see AEW as WWF 99-2000, were they were getting undercard guys and building them up from WCW. Besides Matt, you're entirely right. I have no issue with it because the people they've signed have 1) gotten themselves over before 2) a ton of untapped potential and are eager to use it. They haven't signed 1 person out of spite to try and play keep away from anyone. Here's to that staying true. |
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Thunder Chunky
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Post by Thunder Chunky on Sept 10, 2020 19:28:01 GMT -5
My problem is that because the roster is so large, it seems like every show has a million tag matches. Admittedly, I haven't watched much AEW the past few weeks, so maybe it has changed. The last few episode that I watched in full almost every match was a tag match, and the only ones that weren't was Cody's weekly title match against that Ultimate Warrior guy and the womens match. And then they advertised a 12 man tag match for the next week.
It really takes me out of it. It's cool if all the tag matches are your thing, but it's not for me. It's really turned me off of the product.
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walkingturtles
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Post by walkingturtles on Sept 10, 2020 19:36:52 GMT -5
My problem is that because the roster is so large, it seems like every show has a million tag matches. Admittedly, I haven't watched much AEW the past few weeks, so maybe it has changed. The last few episode that I watched in full almost every match was a tag match, and the only ones that weren't was Cody's weekly title match against that Ultimate Warrior guy and the womens match. And then they advertised a 12 man tag match for the next week. It really takes me out of it. It's cool if all the tag matches are your thing, but it's not for me. It's really turned me off of the product. Well you might be out of luck, because one of the tenets of AEW is tag wrestling. |
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Thunder Chunky
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Post by Thunder Chunky on Sept 10, 2020 19:53:28 GMT -5
My problem is that because the roster is so large, it seems like every show has a million tag matches. Admittedly, I haven't watched much AEW the past few weeks, so maybe it has changed. The last few episode that I watched in full almost every match was a tag match, and the only ones that weren't was Cody's weekly title match against that Ultimate Warrior guy and the womens match. And then they advertised a 12 man tag match for the next week. It really takes me out of it. It's cool if all the tag matches are your thing, but it's not for me. It's really turned me off of the product. Well you might be out of luck, because one of the tenets of AEW is tag wrestling. Not every single match has to be a tag match. I get that tag team wrestling is one of their main focus points, but it's not everything has to revolve around that. |
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Post by Ministry of Darkness on Sept 13, 2020 6:32:58 GMT -5
Probably signing more talent for the rumoured 2nd show.
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acranz
Jobber
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Post by acranz on Jan 15, 2021 15:34:54 GMT -5
I think that stuff only works for well-established characters (appearing every other week or so, wrestling 3 matches a month, etc.). For me to care about a wrestler and their character, I do feel the need to see them frequently (at least as their character develops).
I do not watch Dark. I haven't seen a single episode. Maybe this is where the disconnect comes in? I would assume that, with so many matches happening, they throw in some character development and promos, etc. With such a large roster, I'm not too invested in any particular character.
I also agree that the tag wrestling is just way too much, but also understand that they said that AEW would focus on tag wrestling since the very beginning. So maybe that just isn't my thing.
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 17, 2021 22:18:35 GMT -5
Put me in the group that doesn't get the gripe over signing ex WWE guys.
They are experienced performers & in many cases disgruntled with how they were used by Vince & busting a gut to work & show what they can do.
The AEW roster needs some depth to keep it's product fresh too..from what I see? It's working
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