Welcome to another edition of eWN Round Table, where we gather some of the most active writers here on eWrestlingNews and share the platform to answer some questions surrounding a centralized topic, upcoming event, etc.
This is meant to showcase the potential for both a wide range of perspectives as well as how sometimes, there can be a group consensus no matter what your viewpoint is, so we also invite all of you to join in on the discussion by answering these questions yourself in the comments section below.
For this particular volume, we’ll be focusing on the upcoming All Elite Wrestling Full Gear 2019 pay-per-view.
Participants for this round = Anthony Mango, Robert DeFelice, Richard Staple and Kyle Dunning.
1) “How has having Dynamite positively or negatively affected the build to Full Gear compared to the previous events that had no television lead-up?”
MANGO: On the positive side, it’s allowed more story to develop. Now, The Inner Circle is a thing and I’m getting to know characters like Sammy Guevara, rather than most people just being athletes with minimal personality. However, it’s severely burning me out on this style of wrestling and I don’t feel as though Full Gear is as special now that I’ve seen this action on Dark and Dynamite every week.
DEFELICE: Mostly positively. AEW Dynamite feels like a major presentation and that is something that has been missing from a wrestling alternative for quite some time. However, I will say that weekly television has eliminated that thirst to see some of these names compete.
STAPLE: Dynamite has done a tremendous job of setting the tone for full gear, especially the main event. Omega and Moxley have had the right intensity, the introduction of the Inner Circle as an obstacle Cody will have to overcome has been great, and some of the secondary feuds have had decent time to marinate as well. The only thing I’m a little disappointed in is that the Women’s Championship has gotten little attention relative to the other marches.
DUNNING: Absolutely a positive. The previous PPVs were standalones and still managed to deliver, so having a PPV with real build is just what the doctor ordered.
2) “How do you feel about Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega not counting toward their win-loss records?”
MANGO: I’m not a fan. They aren’t booked in a situation where they have to avoid both of them losing. Either one of them can get pinned (and will) and their win-loss record won’t be unsalvageable or anything. This feels like a cop-out and I hope they’re doing it for a reason more than just not wanting one of them to have an extra point in the loss column.
DEFELICE: How do I feel about them already kind of throwing away the one thing that they’ve said they wanted to build their brand around? I think it’s stupid. Jon Moxley cares about his record. Stop saying hardcore matches don’t count.
STAPLE: It makes sense within the context of their story, and it actually gives their match an extra intensity. Now, there’s no reason for Moxley to not be unhinged, and that’s the best version of himself. And besides, it’s not like everyone is keeping track of everyone’s W-L record anyway.
DUNNING: So long as one of them is not awarded a title shot immediately after, I don’t see anything wrong with it. They can do literally anything to each other and not be afraid of any repercussion.
3) “When should AEW have its next regular pay-per-view and its next major event?”
MANGO: The beginning of January may be too soon, but the end of January and beginning of February is hard because of Royal Rumble. Mid-February might be the best course of action to try to get in there before WWE ramps up The Road to WrestleMania. However, if WWE plans on doing Fastlane as a pointless event in super early March, that could be the best time to show them up. Overall, I’d say something like February 8th.
DEFELICE: Do it in February. WWE is on the road to WrestleMania but it’s nothing major in February.
STAPLE: Once a month or every couple of months is good enough for me. Since they’re having their first PPV event now, they can wait until around Christmas time or the start of the new year to have their next event.
DUNNING: When they’re ready. Honestly I am used to WWE having a PPV every 2-4 weeks, along with Impact who scaled things right back to 3 big PPV events per year. Both approaches have their positives & negatives, but in my opinion, you should only have a PPV when you’ve sufficiently built one up enough to sell. Every 2-3 months would be ideal I think, as it gives more time for storylines to evolve on Dynamite.
4) “Which wrestler do you feel is the biggest omission from this lineup?”
MANGO: MJF. They keep holding that guy back. Why isn’t he in a storyline or doing anything but filling in as an extra member of The Elite for brawls?
DEFELICE: Jake Hager. I don’t know if it’s a contractual obligation issue but I’m surprised he hasn’t been put to work. Also, MJF does not have a match as of the time of me writing this. That seems like an oversight.
STAPLE: I’ll go ahead and say MJF. I feel like him being Cody’s best friend should have played a bigger role in his feud with Jericho, but that’s neither here nor there.
DUNNING: They sure do like their pre-show multi man/woman matches, so I wouldn’t count anyone out yet. MJF doesn’t seem to get many matches (or if he does… they are cut short) while he’s under Cody’s wing/shadow.
5) “If you could add one more match to this card, what would it be?”
MANGO: MJF vs. Sammy Guevara. Get the two cocky guys from this stable feud against each other.
DEFELICE: MJF vs. Jake Hager.
STAPLE: MJF facing one of Jake Hager or Sammy Guevara in singles competition.
DUNNING: Some kind of battle royal with something to win? Showcase as many talents as possible for the newer fans who perhaps didn’t see the other PPVs.
6) “Which match are you most excited to see on this pay-per-view?”
MANGO: Part of me says Jericho vs Cody because it might be more of the style of wrestling that I enjoy, rather than just a constant trapeze show. However, Omega vs. Moxley has a ton of talent packed in and it’s a No DQ brawl. That is working with more, so I have to go with that.
DEFELICE: Without a shadow of a doubt, Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley is the match I’m looking most forward to. It’s the match I was looking most forward to in August and I believe that due to the television exposure, this rivalry has only gotten more intense. I just hope it lives up to the amount of hype that I’ve already given it in my mind. Sometimes with matters like this, they can disappoint because of self-overhype.
STAPLE: Jericho and Cody. There’s a lot of extraneous factors into this match and I’m wondering to see how that will affect the outcome. Match quality wise, Moxley and Omega will be insane.
DUNNING: I think Cody vs. Chris Jericho isn’t going to be as flashy as the tag team match, but the storytelling should be up there on the same level as Cody vs. Dustin. And I kinda want Cody to lose so it shows he’s completely unselfish when it comes to the world title. Don’t end up doing a Jeff Jarrett in TNA; holding the title for incredible lengths just because you’re making the decisions.
7) “What did you think of Cody’s announcement on Wednesday Night Dynamite?”
MANGO: To be honest, as much as I loved the promo, I think attaching this stipulation to the match is a mistake. Either Cody wins and they’ve hindered Jericho and the title by having such a quick change, or he wins by disqualification or something lame just to be a technicality, or he loses and they’ve pigeonholed themselves into having to excuse a retcon later on. These “permanent until we figure out a way around it” things bug me. Don’t do it unless you’re going to stick to it, and I don’t want that, either, as I want Cody as a main event talent in this company that could win the belt at any conceivable moment. No-win scenario.
DEFELICE: Cody’s announcement, well delivered with much passion and conviction, forces the promotion into a corner and I don’t foresee any good coming out of this.
STAPLE: After Cody’s passionate promo, it creates a lot of uncertainty and extra drama the match needed. Does Jericho lose the title only on his second defense or does Cody’s journey to AEW culminate in a happy ending. There’s so many variables and I’m excited to see how it turns out.
DUNNING: Not surprising as this is Cody now. I’m not sure if others ain’t been watching, but Cody has been this passionate for over a year now. Every time he gets on the mic he knocks it out of the park, and I couldn’t be happier for his success and helping to launch AEW. Now he’s changed his focus away from bashing WWE, it’s really helping to make the AEW World Championship mean something. I hope this doesn’t make the result predictable, as it would be far more shocking if he were to lose the right to challenge for the title.
Big thanks to everyone who took part in this edition!
Those are our thoughts, but what do you have to say about these issues? Keep the discussion going by chiming in via the comments section below!
