Brian Damage
It’s Saturday and today we have ’This Week in Wrestling’, the 50th of 2021. Today Brian talks about Tony Khan, his spending spree for AEW and how that might be starting to aggravate talent already there and shares all the best wrestling content from this week.
AEW: Cracks in the Armor?
There is no question that in the past year or so, Tony Khan has build quite the impressive roster of talent. I dare say, one of the most talented rosters in recent memory. Khan has signed the likes of Adam Cole, Malakai Black, Bryan Danielson, Jay Lethal…he convinced CM Punk to come out of retirement….he has opened New Japan’s so called “Forbidden Door” and has teased even more signings in the week’s to come.
AEW has no shortage of great talent to pick and choose from each and every week. While the roster is stacked and everything seems to be going well for AEW…there does seem to be a few cracks in the armor so to speak. With Khan continouly opening up his check book to sign the next big name talent from WWE, Ring of Honor or the independents….more of the stars he initially signed appear to be getting “lost in the shuffle.” It is understandbly going to happen with just so many hours of programming with Dynamite and Rampage.
The lack of television time has begun to frustrate some of the wrestlers currently on the roster. Brian Cage and his wife Melissa Santos have spoken out on social media about how Cage (who was once a big name signing for AEW) has been improperly utilized in recent months. Some have speculated that Cage might be looking to get out of his contract or at the very least…not re-sign. The tag team of Santana and Ortiz who were major signings for the company in their early days have also expressed some frustration as of late. When a fan questioned why the team hadn’t been used more on TV….Santana responded by tweeting “Kissing ass ain’t my thing. Maybe that’s the problem…”
It will be interesting to see how Tony Khan reacts to these issues and handles them. It may be a true test to see Khan as a booker/promoter handle malcontented talent. As we know from history, some wrestlers have certain egos and sometimes can be difficult to deal with. Khan may be able to win over some with money, but eventually….these wrestlers want to work. Khan continues to sign talent after talent, but how many will consistently get opportunities? With a new wrestler debuting, another wrestler has to be pushed back a bit. I am not saying that AEW is in trouble in any way…but Khan and company might need to be careful here. Too much talent isn’t always a great thing.
Photo Gallery
The Christmas tree HBK style!
Someone was a big ECW fan…
Vinnie Mac loves his Freebird
Virgil at his corporate headquarters 😉
Awesome drawing of Mr. Perfect
Speaking of awesome….
LOL
Congratulations to DDP on his wedding to Payge McMahon (no relation)
A very interesting group…The Iron Sheik Classic Porn star Seka and Captain Lou Albano
A naked Kayla Braxton in bed for whatever reason.
The original wrestling cougar…Vickie Guerrero
Nikki Bella
Paige and the old NXT women’s title
Maryse dressed up as a wooden soldier
Luchadora Reina Dorada
New Japan’s Tokyo Latina Pieter
AEW’s Julia Hart
Video Gallery
Bobby ‘the Brain’ Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon explain the rules of a new type of match called the Royal Rumble.
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Ring the Damn Bell 
I’m as equally mistified why Brian Cage isn’t getting more of a push and why he was suddenly dropped after his last match with Starks. I know his wife got him heat for speaking out on Twitter, but she wasn’t necessarily wrong either though. Yes I know he’s not a good promo and needs a manager-mouthpiece, but skill-wise he’s a heavyweight who can wrestle as a cruiserweight. How is that NOT something that an attribute that isn’t being utilized more?
Didn’t know Santana & Ortiz were unhappy, but I don’t blame for being frustrated either. They looked positioned to have already been the tag team champs by now, especially after their feud with FTR. What happened?
Looks like 2022’s going to hold a LOT of surprises for us when it comes to who stays and who goes when it comes time to resign with AEW. I have a sneaking feeling we’re going to be shocked by who leaves more than who stays. Pretty sure Cage and Janella leave the company, with some others soon following for more opportunities elsewhere. Where, I don’t know, but GCW’s getting bigger, so that’s one possible destination as well as MLW, Impact and I hate to say it , the NWA.
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What’s the point of having a heavyweight who wrestles as a cruiserweight? All you’re really doing is devaluing what the actual cruiserweights do. And you can’t really expect to go places when you have a “Get My Shit In” mentality. Cage and Janella are two of the guys who’ve been holding AEW back, not helping it grow.
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I see you’re obviously not a big fan of theirs…
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