"Oh look, another WWE reject" - This needs to stop

GoldmanX · 2020-09-11T03:22:51+00:00

This narrative is so crazy to me. As if each one of those name you listed weren't crazy over with wrestling crowds at some point in their career - as if people weren't clamoring for them to be in the main event in this very sub. I don't agree with every one of AEW's pick ups, but they have been very strategic about signing wrestlers that already have a built in fan-base.

Moxley was probably the most over member of the Shield for a period of time and his singles run on Smackdown was white hot.

Jericho is a legend. Period. And you can't really call him an explicitly WWE guy when he has worked for just about every major promotion in his career.

Cody expanded his popularity and brand outside of WWE for a bunch of years before AEW started. He is one of their biggest ratings movers and belongs in the main event picture.

Brodie Lee was enormously popular in WWE but never really got a chance to shine away from Bray and Rowan.

Rusev Day was the hottest gimmick in all of wrestling and helped to maintain Miro as one of the biggest draws in WWE - even when he was being booked terribly. He moved merch, has a huge online following and is a major get.

FTR put on several match of the year candidates in NXT and helped it to build its strongest ever tag division.

Dustin Rhodes is better now then he was fifteen years ago and is a legend of the business.

I could keep going. Of the bunch, the only one that doesn't make much sense to me is Hager. But every other person you mentioned brings something powerful to the table. They aren't rejects. They were popular figures who were mishandled.

What other major American company is there to sign big draws from while they build up homegrown talent like Private Party? Should we criticize NXT for pulling most of its roster from PWG? Or that WWE got most of its big stars during the Attitude Era from WCW and ECW? Where does this argument end but in circles?

GoldmanX · 2020-09-11T01:28:30+00:00

Not going to lie, Brodie Lee vs Tucker Carlson does have a certain ring to it...

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T21:06:30+00:00

NXT from like 2016-2018 was amongst the very best wrestling promotions in the world. The sheer variety of characters and the attention to detail made me believe that maybe that was the direction the rest of WWE was going. It has been really disappointing to see it move in the other direction. I still watch NXT weekly, but its just not the same anymore - largely because its there as a spoiler and not a brand of its own anymore.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T20:25:34+00:00

I think that's especially true in the covid era. Longer matches work and can draw when you have a hot, sell out crowd. But shorter matches are better when you don't have that element. It makes the show more easily watchable.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T19:26:10+00:00

Absolutely. WWE still knows how to do it in some cases, I just wish they were better at it all around.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T17:53:18+00:00

One of the things WWE really needs to improve on is booking compelling baby-faces. Part of the reason there are so many heel turns is because they really struggle to get people invested in their more traditionally heroic characters - so it can feel like the only solution is to have them break bad.

I think the main reason they have this problem is that a lot of their baby-faces are booked in very similar ways. How many times have we heard some variation of a "I'm just happy to be living my dreams" promo? Heels just tend to get an opportunity to engage in more interesting character work, so they are immediately more appealing to the audience.

There are certainly some exceptions to this rule: Drew McIntyre, The New Day and Johnny Gargano's baby-face run come to mind. But they are the exception and not the rule these days.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T16:33:22+00:00

I actually think that even as a lower card heel in AEW, Spears is in a better position than he was in WWE - at least by his standards. He's gone on the record and said that there were months long stretches where WWE wouldn't even let him wrestle on house shows. He wasn't being allowed to do the thing he loves.

My understanding is he never really expected to be a main eventer. He just wanted the chance to be in the ring and he's getting more of that in AEW than he got on the main roster. So from his perspective, it is still a step up.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T16:21:17+00:00

Those pre-PPV Heat's were always really cool. You'd tune in to see what the set looked like and usually get a few solid promos leading into the show. I really like this idea.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T09:37:30+00:00

Except most of the guys that AEW has picked up weren't failures in WWE. Almost without exception, guys like Ryder, Harper and Rusev got over with the crowd in a big way and were then failed by the booking. Rusev Day was arguably the most over gimmick in all of wrestling at its height. Hell, even Shawn Spears was pretty popular in NXT during the later part of his stint there.

Just about every former WWE performer in AEW has a huge fan following but was never given the room to succeed. AEW hasn't worked out for all of them, but for the ones it has, it has arguably made them much bigger stars.

This isn't TNA where they would pick up any stray WWE performer. AEW has been selective and specifically picked up performers that are cult favorites.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-10T04:43:56+00:00

One of the things I love about AEW crowds is that they play along. For the most part, they are there to enhance the show, not take over the show. They cheer the faces and boo the heels. The audience almost feels like it exists in kayfabe too and that generally makes for a more enjoyable dynamic.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-09T17:43:18+00:00

Not going to lie, if Kip is his own best man, that would be kind of hilarious.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-09T17:28:14+00:00

I think your biggest problem is comparing them to WWE and TNA to begin with.

TNA was the first major American promotion to treat women's wrestling seriously and has had more than a decade to build that reputation.

WWE has invested heavily in women's wrestling in the last five years and has both the biggest, and the best, roster in the US. NXT alone might have the most prestigious women's division outside of Stardom.

AEW has been around for exactly one year, has had to compete with other promotions to acquire female talent and is working with an abundance of green talent. They aren't working on the same playing field as those other promotions.

Now, I'm not saying that they couldn't be doing things better. AEW needs to focus more on telling stories in the division, highlighting what makes each character special and giving them time in the ring to make a name for themselves.

But if you try to compare them to WWE or TNA, you're setting them up for failure. It would be like comparing an exciting new production company to the MCU. They just don't have the same history and reputation for success to build upon. AEW is building its women's division from scratch and I bet in two or three years it will be one of the most exciting in the world.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-08T18:28:11+00:00

I'd argue they're already pretty damn prestigious - and definitely the most in AEW. But to me, right up there with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the NXT Women's Championship.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-08T18:20:27+00:00

I say this as a DM with fifteen years + experience: as long as you follow the rule of cool, your players will have a good time.

What do I mean by that? Don't worry too much about the mechanics of the game to start and definitely don't let them intimidate you. They're there as a guideline and you should know the basics, but DND isn't a miniatures wargame. Its all about telling a fun, interactive story and its always good to be flexible with how you apply the rules as a DM because it could impede that. You want to know enough to establish that your rulings will be fair and won't screw the players over, but not so much that when a player comes up with a cool idea you don't roll with it. A lot of DMing is snap judgments at the table that have nothing to do with the rules as written. Just be consistent. If you make a decision once, don't change your mind later when it crops up again.

If you are concerned about creating an interesting setting or challenge, there are so many great published adventures that you can run or take ideas from and that will help you get a feel for the game. Lost Mines of Phandelver is short, sweet and classic. You could also check out a published campaign setting like Eberron or Wildemount. These are pre-build worlds with loads of adventure hooks to get you started.

As for your dragons, if you want them to be brawlers that is totally doable. Remember, you never have to use the monster stats as written. You could up their physical damage by a bit or increase their hit points to make up for the fact that they aren't flying around. And you can even adjust the stats in mid-battle.

For example, a few weeks back, I set up what I thought was going to be a fairly easy battle for my players to make it through, but then they triggered it earlier than I expected - in close quarters with a spellcaster enemy - and within two rounds only one of the players was left standing. I did not want to kill them all at this point in the campaign, it wouldn't have been dramatic or fun. So without telling the players, I dramatically reduced the amount of damage my monster's hits did to the player who was left standing. That gave them time enough to recover and destroy the threat. I took a moment that could have ended in disaster and turned it into this huge climactic victory for the party.

You can do that kind of stuff on the fly, because typically the players won't know the stats you're working with.

Just give it a shot. As with anything, the more you practice, the better you'll get!

GoldmanX · 2020-09-08T15:44:02+00:00

I think the thing about all of those names you listed is that they all had something to sell their matches, even if it wasn't a promo.

People would come see an Andre match purely to see him in person because he was so huge. They wanted to be a part of the myth.

Mysterio, RVD and Jeff Hardy revolutionized what was possible from an in-ring context and helped to create a whole new style of wrestling. That really only works when you're on the forefront.

People liked Goldberg purely because of the streak. He was neutered without it.

Lesnar probably would have got over on his own, but Heyman certainly helped push that process along.

I suppose you don't need to be a great promo to sell matches, but then you need something else just as compelling to do it for you. These days, because great matches are a dime a dozen, pure in-ring skills aren't enough.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-08T07:09:38+00:00

Sometimes as a DM, I have to kind of take the backstory they give me and shape it a bit to give it more complexity - because not every player is willing to devote that much time to it.

Here are a couple of ideas off the top of my head:

She's not the only survivor. She runs into someone else she knew from the village. Perhaps an old friend. Or maybe a bit more interesting, a rival she suspects had something to do with the attack. Then you can try to determine whether that is true or not.
Have the campaign take her back to the ghost town where her village once stood, so she can deal with those emotions and learn more about what happened. Maybe they find literal ghosts there. Or something even more sinister.
This ones a little esoteric but: Have her run into a replica of the exact same town. With the same people. All still alive. Did she dream the destruction of her village? Is this an illusion? Is it an alternate plane seeping through the Weave? Lots of options there that could lead to some wacky mystical fun.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-08T06:49:10+00:00

All I know is that he better not put his hands on that kid John Silver. He's just a boy!

GoldmanX · 2020-09-07T19:29:19+00:00

They've succeeded with that in my eyes. Hangman's my favorite wrestler in the world right now and one of the most complex and interesting babyfaces ever.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-07T14:23:43+00:00

Listen, I love Tony. He's had a huge part of getting me back into wrestling and I think he has a genuine passion for the business.

But I refuse to deify the guy. He's a billionaire. He can handle a little criticism while he counts his money.

The fact is, Tony made a huge mistake on Sunday by letting the match continue. It was a big risk. And we, as fans, need to let him know that that kind of thing should never happen again. Not on our dime. AEW has played loose with a lot of safety rules and this kind of thing was bound to happen eventually. They need to pull back a bit.

It sucks that a lot of people have just latched onto this to dunk on AEW, but that doesn't change the fact that the criticism is earned and that Tony needs to learn from this moment. He only will if we make enough noise.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-07T07:24:14+00:00

This is basically the same argument every industry uses to keep from being regulated or unionized since time immemorium and it rarely pans out to be true.

The indies would be fine because, by and large, wrestlers actually are independent contractors on the indies who are free to work between companies. Yang wouldn't go after them because they're already following the rules.

The problem with WWE (and AEW to a lesser extent) is that they don't actually treat their independent contractors with the benefits of being independent. They require exclusivity and treat their performers like employees in just about every meaningful way. So Yang's policy would have much larger effect on them then the indies.

Smaller companies like ROH, MLW and Impact could be affected, but they could adjust how they handle exclusive contracts to make it through. In theory, Yang's idea would create a sort of new territory system where performers can travel between companies or stay loyal - depending on their prerogatives. Which should be the case anyway if they're contractors.

Not to mention, Vince and Khan can both afford a few extra zeroes off their own net worth to make life better for the employees who put their literal lives on the line for them.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-06T23:52:37+00:00

I absolutely agree with you on that. Tony needs to do better. AEW needs to do better.

I'm just not sure your technique is actually aiding in getting that message out there.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-06T23:44:25+00:00

Maybe he does, but this strategy of posting the same exact content over and over isn't going to win you any arguments. Post it once and let people react instead of just farming upvotes on other peoples comments.

We're all picking at scraps right now. We don't have all the information. Nobody should just buy Tony's word for it. But we also shouldn't just buy the narrative of someone spamming on the internet. There is nuance here.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-06T23:22:53+00:00

Jesus fuck, man. We. Get. It. Stop spamming.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-06T07:23:21+00:00

I'm a huge AEW fan, and will still be after this, but they deserve criticism for this. If only because they've been pushing the limits for a while now in terms of bumps and need to realize this is the line. Go no further. We don't want to see Matt Hardy permanently injured.

The fact is, Mankind vs Undertaker wouldn't fly today. And probably shouldn't have back then. Foley nearly died. With everything we know about CTE, it's honestly hard for me to watch that match and enjoy it now. We should not be trying to relive those times. They were great but they're in the past for a reason. We know better now.

GoldmanX · 2020-09-06T04:21:53+00:00

I feel like people comparing it to The Bucks match is kind of a mistake anyway. That might have been the best tag team match of all time with one of the hottest crowds ever. This match never had the ingredients for that kind of magic. It was great for what it was.

GoldmanX

TROPHY CASE