Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
You can send us questions for the PWInsider.com Q and A at pwinsider@gmail.com.
After watching Collision last night ( July 28th ), it just seems the more things change the more they stay the same.
1. Lance Archer: it looks like another rinse/repeat booking cycle for the talented big man. They bring him back, he kills a few nobodies and they're putting him in there with Ospreay on Wednesday night. Does anyone really expect Will to lose? I'll wait....Lance could really be something special, I feel.
I think you are right on that one. Tony Khan has not showed me that he knows how to book big, tough men and until he does, I won’t believe that he can.
2. Hologram: People are reacting very well to him right now, which is cool. However, we're two weeks in, and once the new wears off, what's left? Another high flyer who does many of the same moves that every other smaller guy on the roster does. And as I watched him last night, the crowd reacted well at each high spot, but got really quiet as they waited for the next one. He's fallen right into the same cycle as other "spot monkeys", where the only thing they can do to get a rise out of the crowd is another crazy spot. If some of these guys took any real time to sell or tell a story, I think they'd lose half the crowd.
That is a major problem for AEW when it comes to appealing to people outside of their current fan base. As you said, there are a lot of wrestlers that do the same exact thing and none of them have a character for people to get behind. They perform moves, and that’s about it. It works for the core fan base, but as we have seen as viewership and attendance continues to erode for the company, that base is getting smaller. I have said for a long time now that if AEW actually booked interesting characters and storylines, they would gain fans, not lose them. I just truly wonder if Tony Khan has the ability to actually do that.
We have seen a Burning Hammer and a Vertebreaker on WWE PLE’s. Are WWE Superstars now allowed to use risky, AEW-style moves in select PLE’s to heighten drama? If so, is the Piledriver still banned? Do you see HHH dusting it off the Piledriver for a big injury angle to get over a main event heel?
I wouldn’t be surprised to see it. They have clearly loosened the rules on what can be used. I don’t see the need for those moves myself, to be honest. I don’t think they are needed given there are so many safe ways to do things.
Do you have any insight into how successful Ric Flair's various non-wrestling related business ventures are? His energy drink, which I have never seen on shelves, no longer has its AEW partnership. I think I recall hearing his wings were a failure, and i'm not a marijuana aficionado so I don't know how well that product is doing for him either.
I honestly don’t know but I shared your observations. That’s how it seems to me as well.
AEW's attendance woes are no secret. Given their struggles to fill even small arenas, would it be a mistake for them to attempt to pull off a stadium show in the US?
They did their best remaining match in Will Ospreay vs. MJF and saw almost no bump in ticket sales after it was announced and they had a little over 3,000 people in the building. I think a stadium show would be an embarrassing disaster for AEW.
You can send us questions for the PWInsider.com Q and A at pwinsider@gmail.com.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
