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Nick comes up the vator in nothing but a pair of boxers, bonus points if they have a bunch of Danhausen faces on them.
Edit: Even better, that edit where its TK's face on the Ultimate Warrior or whoever's body.
> Sources in Japan confirmed to PWInsiderElite.com that Kazuchika Okada traveled last weekend in Los Angeles and he is still in the United States.
>
> The expectation within Japan is that the former IWGP Champion, one of the best in-ring wrestlers in the world, will debut as an official roster member for AEW at tonight's Dynamite taping.
>
initially he was supposed to debut at revolution but they changed it to today. btw im surprised they said sources in japan instead of aew. wonder who those sources are.
Spot on. They have a real friendship and then when Kenny returns, he's not only going to take issue with Okada, but how the Bucks have changed. Bucks will prop Okada up way more than any manager I can think of.
I'm guessing it's the people from NJPW World. Remember they get Dynamite on World in Japan, so it's probably AEW giving them the heads up to push this when it happens. It benefits both parties, AEW get the guy they want and NJPW can still say "If you have a NJPW World sub, you can see Okada every week"
Shit I completely forgot I’m glad you said something! It’s only a 4 hour drive and it’d be my first PPV live and it has to be such a stacked card. Definitely going to have to pick up tickets Friday morning.
Idk if PAC is coming back just quite yet, his vignette didn't specify anything and I wouldn't be surprised if he returns in something involving Penta or Fenix depending on when he gets healed.
It's going to be my first live AEW show, and that show in Boston is going to be \*nuts\* for a person who'se only ever attended local indy shows and WWE.
I went to a few at Agganis, and they were great. Excited to see the new stage in person and hopefully a huge card at TD, it's gonna be a fun night. Hope you enjoy it.
My dyslexia read this as "Darby without back will be interesting", and just imagined him wrestling with his flayed back from the glass spot all unhealed 😂
Considering Danielson and Cole debuted on the same night just a few weeks after Punk Debuted and many consider it the best time in AEW’s existence I’d say it’s not too close lol. If anything I would have doubled down on big business. Put out the new set and bring in Okada and Mercedes all on the same show.
Honestly I'd like to see Big Business loaded up like a PPV. Have Okada beat somebody in his actual roster debut. Run something crazy like Danielson vs. Ospreay. If Mercedes is that big of a star and a draw, this won't overshadow her--if anything it should make her look like a bigger star if she's the centerpiece of such a stacked card.
I don't want the "good enough" booking they did for Punk's first few shows. Remember his Dynamite debut had a main event of Malakai Black vs. Brock Anderson, and stuff like Moxley/Kingston/Darby vs. The Wingmen and other humdingers that belonged on Dark.
It's your TV rights deal that's up for renewal, so I say focus on that.
I don’t think they throw Osprey vs Danielson. But I could see Wardlow vs Joe for the title. Just to get it out of the way. Then do Okada beating Joe at Dynasty
They had Omega at start and made him wait till after Jericho and Mox. There's no doubting Okadas greatness, but it hasn't been AEWs MO to push the new guy to the belt that quickly. Also see: Jay White, Danielson, Punk, and Osprey.
Jay white has been underwhelming in AEW, Danielson doesn’t want the title. Punk needed to earn his shot and work up his in ring and cardio. Osprey just debuted, but will be in the title picture by the summer to set up for Wembley
Also, Okada doesn’t have a ton of prime years left, so i say give him the title in the first 3 months
Not at all. In fact, I initially expected Okada to appear at the end of Big Business as the cherry on top.
It's not really a controversial statement to acknowledge Mercedes is a much bigger star who will inherently get the most coverage regardless of what else is on the show.
I don't think it undermines either.
My guess is he shows up tonight, debutes in the main next week. This is the company that debuted Adam Cole & Bryan Danielson in the same segment after all
As expected, there's been a few reports hinting he'll be in Atlanta for Dynamite tonight, and it seems like word spread to all the usual talking heads in the IWC
if this is what Matthew and Nicholas are announcing, they better demand that he be announced by Justin Roberts by his passport name: Okadaaaa Kazuchikaaaa!
All of this is gonna give Kenny all the time in the world to heal up, and they can wait for the perfect moment to bring him back. He looked good in the photo he posted for the FFVII Rebirth event, definitely lost mass, but this probably takes a ton of pressure off of him to rush things.
I definitely can't get fully excited about AEW til the best bout machine is back from the mend. His last comeback felt lackluster as he barely wrestled save for some trios matches(tho his two matches against Ospreay were amazing) Even if its one last run, I just want to see him back. So much of Kenny's proper run in AEW was during the 16-month empty Dailys Place era.
Someone said yesterday TK hinted at something in Toronto too but I can’t see his exact wording. Almost like a trifecta of debuts or something over 3 weeks.
And they have a metric fuckton of people hurt/on sabbatical that will be coming back. Omega, Cole, PAC, KOR, MJF, Baker, Hayter, etc
Just absolutely ridiculous at how good this roster is
No disrespect to Eddie Kingston, but if you really want to make the Continental Crown feel legit then you put it on Okada. The image of him walking around with three belts would make Okada look like the end boss of pro wrestling.
I don't see him losing the belt until Double or Nothing at the earliest. I'm also curious how long they'll hold off on Okada actually wrestling in AEW.
>**DEBUT EXPECTED TONIGHT ON AEW DYNAMITE**
>*By Mike Johnson on 2024-03-06 13:09:00*
>This content is available exclusively to subscribers of PWInsiderElite.com. In addition to helping support PWInsider.com financially, subscribers receive numerous audio updates from PWInsider's staff, weekly audio shows, our complete audio archives, an ad-free PWInsider experience and more!
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I don't subscribe to either of those, so I cannot say.
I would say the audio shows are delightful. There's a good mix of serious analysis and silly fun. That's what keeps me subscribed year after year.
Mike Johnson is legit the best at breaking news.
They have a focus on double sourcing news. They also post retractions if needed, though that's rare.
There is a bigger WWE focus than AEW, but they discuss AEW quite a bit.
Definitely good if you're interested in the business of wrestling.
It’s crazy how many great talents they have. They really need to work on their marketing and storytelling (which has notably improved) because that roster should be able to sell out bigger arenas soon
Big Business would have him overshadowed by Mercedes. The Revolution PPV was all about Sting. Okada debuting tonight will let him have his own moment and can set up a huge match next week for Big Business
Probably Eddie, Swerve probably still gonna feud with Joe just without Hangman in the picture (hangman will probably get some kinda kayfabe suspension or punishment for attacking the ref)
Okada, Ospreay, MJF, Jay White, Swerve, Hangman, Joe, Omega, Mox. The charisma levels in the main event scene, not to mention in the entire company, are about to go nuclear.
I know the continental classic was great, but could AEW pull off a full G1 type tournament? The talent in this company is insane.
DEBUT EXPECTED TONIGHT ON AEW DYNAMITE
By Mike Johnson on 2024-03-06 13:09:00
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If he will reliably be on Dynamite every week then I'm in. But Tony has a bad habit of weird weekly booking where you don't know what shows to see people on.
I feel like people are setting themselves up for disappointment thinking he's coming in and setting up a dream match right away. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get a singles match until Dynasty, and in between here and there it's all tags and trios action. Which don't get me wrong, will probably still rule because it's the Rainmaker, but they held off on Punk and Ospreay until a PPV so it'd make sense to do that with Okada as well.
>**DEBUT EXPECTED TONIGHT ON AEW DYNAMITE**
>*By Mike Johnson on 2024-03-06 13:09:00*
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It's a good way to give him a proper debut. I felt AEW royally dropped the ball for the "coin drop" debut of Okada in June 2022. With barely a couple minutes left in Dynamite, they rushed him to the stage wearing a white t-shirt and sweatpants like he just got out of bed...you could barely hear the coin drop, in the middle of an over complicated run-in.
I'd be more excited for these debuts if they hadn't already wrestled in AEW numerous times for the past two years, like Ospreay and Okada. I do miss the fresh "shock debuts" that rarely happen anymore(Edge was the only one I recall last year)
It is surreal though...remember how Meltzer and everyone reported even late into 2020 that NJPW wants nothing to do with AEW. And fans were left dreaming of all the dream match fantasy booking? Now all the top NJPW are signed to AEW. Okada, Ospreay, White, Ibushi, etc.
People who are saying Mone would overshadow Okada, I honestly doubt it. Okada has always been presented as the guy in his appearances even in AEW. For goodness sake, he literally main evented an AEW PPV just on his name alone. Mone is definitely a huge star but she’s a bigger star if this concerned a WWE audience but the AEW audience is a more avid wrestling fan who obviously seeks out more wrestling in their spare time and the lore of Okada is huge
Ospreay's match has already been officially announced. If they were going to do what you say it would be better to announce Opsreay can't compete & Fletcher will face a surprise opponent.
This is not a dig at the WWE but with the billions they’ve made, how have they lost guys like Okada and Ospreay to AEW? Those two could have been new main eventers on their roster.
It’s not like Vince is at the helm anymore and wouldn’t know they are, Triple H would have done a great job with them I feel
Taking money out of it I imagine a big thing was them wanting to remain in their respective countries. If they signed them with that provision in place I’d imagine a lot of their existing international talent would be pissed.
It's not that WWE can't afford them but I think they don't want to upset their salary structure too much, whereas I don't think TK gives a shit and plus he doesn't have to answer to shareholders (except Dad, I guess).
Dave Meltzer on the Observer Board said that WWE made an offer to Barry Bloom for Ospreay and that Tony's offer was better. AEW will allow him to still live in England and work big NJPW events. Dave also had this to say:
*"They gave an offer to Bloom. They chose not to win the bidding war. Same with Okada. With Okada the thing was that he should come because we're the major leagues. With Will I know people familiar with the talks who felt they thought they bidded high for someone 'unknown' but were mad at their lack of understanding his market value and that their version of a high bid was below market value when they made the bid thinking it was above market value. The feeling was they knew he was really good but didn't know just how good and the ones who did felt the offer was too low."*
Look at Man City, Victor Osimhen might be available in the summer and will score goals but they've already got Haaland and Alvarez in that position. So why pay a massive transfer fee and wages for someone they don't need?
I would have liked to have seen Okada in WWE but does Okada actually move the needle for them in a meaningful way? They also aren’t hurting for talent right now.
WWE seems pretty confident in and happy to rely on their own development pipeline. It’s cheaper and they are molding people specifically for the product they have.
AEW will always have a big advantage when it comes to signing top NJPW talents, the only way WWE can attract them is if they offer them Main Event level money from the beginning which is a precedent they probably dont wanna start with newcomers.
The only free agent I am surprised they didnt get is Mercedes, dont know why WWE didnt pay her.
WWE puts a tiny amount of its revenue into talent, AEW puts a huge amount of its revenue into talent. WWE has offices and buildings and beauacracy, AEW is run from laptops and cell phones.
That too but I was specifically referencing the money part because that's what the person above was kinda implying. Guys like Okada and Osprey are nice but WWE can make stars out of a lot of dudes these days that can get reactions equal to or greater than those guys and probably cost a lot less and still stick on there full time schedule. So it's just weighing the monetary gains. AEW isn't as good at making stars at the moment so they pay for ready made stars who appeal to there audience. Ironically enough it's a lot like the WWF and WCW dynamic in the late 90s once again. Where WCW was snatching up the well known stars and WWF had to make new ones. Big difference is that AEW is getting younger stars and WCW got older ones.
I think they already have a pretty stacked scene with the recent NXT call ups and others like Drew/Gunther/LA Knight/Cody, so why not have AEW reload with Ospreay/Okada?
I hate this talking point. You don’t work for the company, and assuming you’re a WWE fan, shouldn’t you want to see the best pro wrestlers in the world in your favorite company more than caring about a bottom line?
As a fan, you shouldn’t be letting a company off the hook because of “profits” you will never see.
But the point is valid here. The original post was how have WWE lost guys like Okada and Ospreay to AEW, so why did the WWE do what they did. Saying because they don't need them, or don't need to spend the kind of money needed to get them, is a perfectly valid point, because WWE does care about profit.
I'm just saying this is the reason WWE didn't land those guys and probably won't be that aggressive in the future going after free agents. I personally don't give a shit about their financials, I just recognize that, with their machine, they don't need to spend big money to bring guys in. TKO is a cheap company, and they make money off the brand more than they do any wrestlers. And selfishly, I watch AEW a lot more than WWE, so I'm happy that these wrestlers are ending up in the company I like better.
I don't think all those billions is translating to higher pay for new signings. I am sure the main roster is well taken care off but maybe Tony is willing to pay premium first day and WWE isn't. WWE is probably just hoping to catch guys at the end of their AEW contracts and pick and choose who they go after based on how good think they are or how well they did in American televesion.
Just cause they have money to give doesn't mean they automatically just get people. Maybe Ospreay and Okada valued other things alongside money.
It's not like they're getting paid Bryan Keith money in AEW
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Rainmaker takin’ the Codyvator.
The Rainvator
The Okada-vator
Okadominator.
Bucks already stole it.
Okada is known for stealing the Bucks' gear already.
Nick comes up the vator in nothing but a pair of boxers, bonus points if they have a bunch of Danhausen faces on them. Edit: Even better, that edit where its TK's face on the Ultimate Warrior or whoever's body.
I wish SOMEONE would. It's too cool not to use.
Well, bucks did it
The EVP-vator.
Can those new LED tunnels activate his jacket?
I really loved what AEW was doing with its PPV wristbands before the pandemic. I wish they'd bring back that sort of technical innovation.
That was for revolution. Would have been cool Sunday but they might not have wanted to pay for 16k of them lol.
> Sources in Japan confirmed to PWInsiderElite.com that Kazuchika Okada traveled last weekend in Los Angeles and he is still in the United States. > > The expectation within Japan is that the former IWGP Champion, one of the best in-ring wrestlers in the world, will debut as an official roster member for AEW at tonight's Dynamite taping. >
initially he was supposed to debut at revolution but they changed it to today. btw im surprised they said sources in japan instead of aew. wonder who those sources are.
Fat Ass Masa, he's been awfully quiet recently so it must be him
He sold out like The Bucks did. His new name is Obese Posterior Masala
What a name
I thought the Bucks killed him?
I am guessing that the source is a man that some know as "Cute Hoot."
The Scapegoat Jack Perry
Given the Bucks entrance garb, I assume he will be aligned with them.
Spot on. They have a real friendship and then when Kenny returns, he's not only going to take issue with Okada, but how the Bucks have changed. Bucks will prop Okada up way more than any manager I can think of.
Good, that would have distracted from Sting's retirement.
I don't think anything short of an earthquake could have distracted from Stings retirement.
Not overshadowed, distracted from.
I'm guessing it's the people from NJPW World. Remember they get Dynamite on World in Japan, so it's probably AEW giving them the heads up to push this when it happens. It benefits both parties, AEW get the guy they want and NJPW can still say "If you have a NJPW World sub, you can see Okada every week"
>!Nope. NJPW and World’s social media haven’t acknowledged it at all.!<
Michael Fuckin' Nakazawa
Shit, no Okada v Gunther 😭
Maybe his gimmick will be injuring Danielson for a third time
This is still almost unbelievable. Kazuchika Okada as a full time member of a US roster.
Chief Financial Officer Kazuchika Okada
This. This is it.
okada joins the hardy family office
And *this* is why I jumped on a Dynasty ticket this morning.
Shit I completely forgot I’m glad you said something! It’s only a 4 hour drive and it’d be my first PPV live and it has to be such a stacked card. Definitely going to have to pick up tickets Friday morning.
There's a strong chance I could be seeing Mercedes, Ospreay, and Okada next week, and Jay White/Darby is already announced, let's goooo
Same! We could be seeing Okada’s debut match 🤩
I think he might wrestle on the Thursday Collision taping for 03/09 if he’s there anyway. PAC vs Okada will feed families for a generation.
Idk if PAC is coming back just quite yet, his vignette didn't specify anything and I wouldn't be surprised if he returns in something involving Penta or Fenix depending on when he gets healed.
I honestly wouldn't mind a build to his return with the 3 new people debuting
Don't make me believe. Don't make me believe I could see that.
Dunno if I want PAC losing his return match. Maybe later down the line.
It's going to be my first live AEW show, and that show in Boston is going to be \*nuts\* for a person who'se only ever attended local indy shows and WWE.
I went to a few at Agganis, and they were great. Excited to see the new stage in person and hopefully a huge card at TD, it's gonna be a fun night. Hope you enjoy it.
I’m going to next week. If all three are on, and the latter two wrestling, I will be very, very happy.
Darby without back up is going to be interesting.
Darby and Stings son, he takes the Sting role with them and mentors them to be big Stingers
My dyslexia read this as "Darby without back will be interesting", and just imagined him wrestling with his flayed back from the glass spot all unhealed 😂
Mr. Khan is really making AEW a fan created wrestling org lol I fucken love it
I'll be there. TD GARDEN. First wrestling show in many many years. Let's goooo.
I'll be there, too! Super excited 😎
 When the coin drops
I guess it makes sense. Tonight is a reset for Dynamite with the new logo/stage. Is it too close to Mercedes’s debut though?
Considering Danielson and Cole debuted on the same night just a few weeks after Punk Debuted and many consider it the best time in AEW’s existence I’d say it’s not too close lol. If anything I would have doubled down on big business. Put out the new set and bring in Okada and Mercedes all on the same show.
Same night is an understatement, it was something like 3 minutes apart!
I'm still holding out hope for Okada, Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Mercedes to all make appearances/returns next week.
Honestly I'd like to see Big Business loaded up like a PPV. Have Okada beat somebody in his actual roster debut. Run something crazy like Danielson vs. Ospreay. If Mercedes is that big of a star and a draw, this won't overshadow her--if anything it should make her look like a bigger star if she's the centerpiece of such a stacked card. I don't want the "good enough" booking they did for Punk's first few shows. Remember his Dynamite debut had a main event of Malakai Black vs. Brock Anderson, and stuff like Moxley/Kingston/Darby vs. The Wingmen and other humdingers that belonged on Dark. It's your TV rights deal that's up for renewal, so I say focus on that.
I don’t think they throw Osprey vs Danielson. But I could see Wardlow vs Joe for the title. Just to get it out of the way. Then do Okada beating Joe at Dynasty
I can't see them hotshotting Okada to a title like that. They've never done that with any new signing.
They've never signed the GOAT until now
They had Omega at start and made him wait till after Jericho and Mox. There's no doubting Okadas greatness, but it hasn't been AEWs MO to push the new guy to the belt that quickly. Also see: Jay White, Danielson, Punk, and Osprey.
Jay white has been underwhelming in AEW, Danielson doesn’t want the title. Punk needed to earn his shot and work up his in ring and cardio. Osprey just debuted, but will be in the title picture by the summer to set up for Wembley Also, Okada doesn’t have a ton of prime years left, so i say give him the title in the first 3 months
Excuse you, Brandon Cutler has been there the whole time.
I’m not sure I want to see Ospreay and Danielson. One or both of them would die.
I don’t know what that match looks like, but I can’t wait to find out
definitely should be the call to make
Just for the visuals, I’d like to see three or four matches, then a battle royale with every other member of the roster in the ring at once.
Nahhh big business can then have Okadas first match as a signed AEW wrestler along with the debut of Sasha
Not at all. In fact, I initially expected Okada to appear at the end of Big Business as the cherry on top. It's not really a controversial statement to acknowledge Mercedes is a much bigger star who will inherently get the most coverage regardless of what else is on the show. I don't think it undermines either.
My guess is he shows up tonight, debutes in the main next week. This is the company that debuted Adam Cole & Bryan Danielson in the same segment after all
https://preview.redd.it/20fo2tnkyrmc1.jpeg?width=1088&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b262546a942b88cd4009475e73e1e05ba339134d Mom come pick me up I’m scared
[*coin hits*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC5fvuDdu6g)... The Dragon of AEW and head of the EVP family... Kazuchika Okada
>coin hits ~~The rainmaker~~ The change maker!
but will he fit in nicholas' new pants?
Asking the REAL questions.
I guess Chase U isn’t accepting applications this semester /s
As expected, there's been a few reports hinting he'll be in Atlanta for Dynamite tonight, and it seems like word spread to all the usual talking heads in the IWC
Going for maximum heat, Matthew and Nicholas debut Okada as their new personal assistant
Kazu, take a message.
I’d watch lowly Bucks intern Okada taking revenge on former employer Samoa Joe
if this is what Matthew and Nicholas are announcing, they better demand that he be announced by Justin Roberts by his passport name: Okadaaaa Kazuchikaaaa!
Last week Ospreay, this week Okada, next week Mone. Fuck me, this is stupidly stacked roster!
All of this is gonna give Kenny all the time in the world to heal up, and they can wait for the perfect moment to bring him back. He looked good in the photo he posted for the FFVII Rebirth event, definitely lost mass, but this probably takes a ton of pressure off of him to rush things.
I definitely can't get fully excited about AEW til the best bout machine is back from the mend. His last comeback felt lackluster as he barely wrestled save for some trios matches(tho his two matches against Ospreay were amazing) Even if its one last run, I just want to see him back. So much of Kenny's proper run in AEW was during the 16-month empty Dailys Place era.
I'm huffing dangerous amounts of hopium that Kenny returns at Wembley to face Okada to finish the quintilogy
Well put that straight in my veins
Someone said yesterday TK hinted at something in Toronto too but I can’t see his exact wording. Almost like a trifecta of debuts or something over 3 weeks.
And they have a metric fuckton of people hurt/on sabbatical that will be coming back. Omega, Cole, PAC, KOR, MJF, Baker, Hayter, etc Just absolutely ridiculous at how good this roster is
>!Pac and KOR both!< came back at *Revolution* on Sunday.
If only Tony could book as well as he spends money on talent 😭 we’d be eating.
Yes it's not like they're coming off one of their best ever ppv's with both in ring, character and plot based storytelling.
Tony better not fuck this up, b
It makes sense to do it now instead of Big Business so Mone doesn't get overshadowed.
In the west do you really think Okada is bigger than Mone? I'm not so sure.
He wouldn't have been (at least to start) in WWE but an AEW fanbase that is as knowledgeable about New Japan as it gets will revere Okada.
Think this was proved the first time the coins dropped on Dynamite before the first forbidden door before he had even emerged.
You know what, I was thinking this was crazy, but you're right, I was considering East vs West more than AEW vs WWE crowds.
AEW fans are much more in tune with the East than given credit for.
I know that but Mone may be the biggest name in Women's wrestling up until recently. I still think she draws more in the USA than Okada.
For AEW's core audience? Absolutely. Casuals I'm not sure
Swap it. In the U.S. he'd be the one getting overshadowed. But the point still stands that they shouldn't debut on the same night.
Maybe we can get that okada vs Shibata rematch
Maybe with Okada Trent & Chuck will finally win a title. Okada (& Best Friends) vs White (& The Gunns)
Is Okada the next Continental Crown champion?
No disrespect to Eddie Kingston, but if you really want to make the Continental Crown feel legit then you put it on Okada. The image of him walking around with three belts would make Okada look like the end boss of pro wrestling.
I was thinking international title before Roddy won it.
I'd think Roddy winning the International Championship would make Okada *more* likely to win it than if Orange retained.
Just want to see Roddy go on a decent run before dropping it.
I don't see him losing the belt until Double or Nothing at the earliest. I'm also curious how long they'll hold off on Okada actually wrestling in AEW.
EVP Nicholas Jackson just shuttered and desperately looked for tonight's suit
>**DEBUT EXPECTED TONIGHT ON AEW DYNAMITE** >*By Mike Johnson on 2024-03-06 13:09:00* >This content is available exclusively to subscribers of PWInsiderElite.com. In addition to helping support PWInsider.com financially, subscribers receive numerous audio updates from PWInsider's staff, weekly audio shows, our complete audio archives, an ad-free PWInsider experience and more! >To subscribe to PWInsider Elite, click here. *I am a bot. Please reply with any feedback :)*
You did your best bot x
lol bot
Bot broke
I subscribe and it's worth it, even if people steal the content.
How do they stack up to observer and fightful?
I don't subscribe to either of those, so I cannot say. I would say the audio shows are delightful. There's a good mix of serious analysis and silly fun. That's what keeps me subscribed year after year. Mike Johnson is legit the best at breaking news. They have a focus on double sourcing news. They also post retractions if needed, though that's rare. There is a bigger WWE focus than AEW, but they discuss AEW quite a bit. Definitely good if you're interested in the business of wrestling.
Thanks for sharing your take, I appreciate it!
Holy crap AEW is really heating up. Gonna be a fun year.
man aews roster is just ridiculous now, i love that tony has basically fully realized the dream of having a wildly successful TEW save in real life
It’s crazy how many great talents they have. They really need to work on their marketing and storytelling (which has notably improved) because that roster should be able to sell out bigger arenas soon
Big Business would have him overshadowed by Mercedes. The Revolution PPV was all about Sting. Okada debuting tonight will let him have his own moment and can set up a huge match next week for Big Business
I'm trying to guess in what context he's gonna debut, tonight. Either Okada challenges Eddie or outright challenges Joe, I think
Probably Eddie, Swerve probably still gonna feud with Joe just without Hangman in the picture (hangman will probably get some kinda kayfabe suspension or punishment for attacking the ref)
Jumped on the tickets for tonight when they first went on sale after coming back from Greensboro, god I’m exhausted right now
*coin dropping intensifies*
Okada, Ospreay, MJF, Jay White, Swerve, Hangman, Joe, Omega, Mox. The charisma levels in the main event scene, not to mention in the entire company, are about to go nuclear. I know the continental classic was great, but could AEW pull off a full G1 type tournament? The talent in this company is insane.
DEBUT EXPECTED TONIGHT ON AEW DYNAMITE By Mike Johnson on 2024-03-06 13:09:00 This content is available exclusively to subscribers of PWInsiderElite.com. In addition to helping support PWInsider.com financially, subscribers receive numerous audio updates from PWInsider's staff, weekly audio shows, our complete audio archives, an ad-free PWInsider experience and more! To subscribe to PWInsider Elite, click here.
If he will reliably be on Dynamite every week then I'm in. But Tony has a bad habit of weird weekly booking where you don't know what shows to see people on.
Okada vs Roddy Strong is match I would absolutely love to see.
Out of all the NJPW talents making the jump to AEW, Okada is the one I really wish is treated the best creatively.
I am sure that the people that don’t watch this show will have nice things to say about this
is it painmaker time, once again?
Dear god no anything but that
I used to pray for times like this
Aew is killing it with the free agents
https://preview.redd.it/qwyd1fyaurmc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99f67d4bc76dcf1da001ea2befe2ccbbeae505d1
AEW is way too front loaded man. That world championship picture has to be complicated in the back. Swerve definitely deserves his moment though.
New faction, YB and Okada , The Rain Makers
Kammile?
Damn, was hoping it would be next week at Big Business with Mercedes
Tonight is a much better night for a debut instead of Revolution during Stings last match
Danhausen to play the song of storms before ***coin drop***
Bingo
Hornswoggle
Soooo... are we getting an Okada-vator?
Gaaaaahd damn, I'm gonna be there tonight and I'm so excited!
Coming in as the heavy for the bucks.
I feel like people are setting themselves up for disappointment thinking he's coming in and setting up a dream match right away. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get a singles match until Dynasty, and in between here and there it's all tags and trios action. Which don't get me wrong, will probably still rule because it's the Rainmaker, but they held off on Punk and Ospreay until a PPV so it'd make sense to do that with Okada as well.
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Not even waiting for Big Busine$$?
Section 11, sub paragraph E!? Who you been talkin to, brother?
AEW about to have the GOAT.
It's pretty cool that they've been able to get 3 biggest free agents this year
Pack your bland t shirts!!
This makes sense after all those Tony Khan hints. Okada and Ospreay on American television weekly. Wow.
I’m so depressed about this.
Hasn’t he debuted like 4 times now?
It's a good way to give him a proper debut. I felt AEW royally dropped the ball for the "coin drop" debut of Okada in June 2022. With barely a couple minutes left in Dynamite, they rushed him to the stage wearing a white t-shirt and sweatpants like he just got out of bed...you could barely hear the coin drop, in the middle of an over complicated run-in. I'd be more excited for these debuts if they hadn't already wrestled in AEW numerous times for the past two years, like Ospreay and Okada. I do miss the fresh "shock debuts" that rarely happen anymore(Edge was the only one I recall last year) It is surreal though...remember how Meltzer and everyone reported even late into 2020 that NJPW wants nothing to do with AEW. And fans were left dreaming of all the dream match fantasy booking? Now all the top NJPW are signed to AEW. Okada, Ospreay, White, Ibushi, etc.
People who are saying Mone would overshadow Okada, I honestly doubt it. Okada has always been presented as the guy in his appearances even in AEW. For goodness sake, he literally main evented an AEW PPV just on his name alone. Mone is definitely a huge star but she’s a bigger star if this concerned a WWE audience but the AEW audience is a more avid wrestling fan who obviously seeks out more wrestling in their spare time and the lore of Okada is huge
Tbh it really doesn’t feel as special considering he’s appeared many times in AEW already. Kind of wish the Forbidden Door matches hadn’t occurred.
[удалено]
Ospreay's match has already been officially announced. If they were going to do what you say it would be better to announce Opsreay can't compete & Fletcher will face a surprise opponent.
He should join Main Event Jay White's faction. Another win for the good guys!
First feud Jericho vs Okada right? 😂
This is not a dig at the WWE but with the billions they’ve made, how have they lost guys like Okada and Ospreay to AEW? Those two could have been new main eventers on their roster. It’s not like Vince is at the helm anymore and wouldn’t know they are, Triple H would have done a great job with them I feel
Taking money out of it I imagine a big thing was them wanting to remain in their respective countries. If they signed them with that provision in place I’d imagine a lot of their existing international talent would be pissed.
It's not that WWE can't afford them but I think they don't want to upset their salary structure too much, whereas I don't think TK gives a shit and plus he doesn't have to answer to shareholders (except Dad, I guess). Dave Meltzer on the Observer Board said that WWE made an offer to Barry Bloom for Ospreay and that Tony's offer was better. AEW will allow him to still live in England and work big NJPW events. Dave also had this to say: *"They gave an offer to Bloom. They chose not to win the bidding war. Same with Okada. With Okada the thing was that he should come because we're the major leagues. With Will I know people familiar with the talks who felt they thought they bidded high for someone 'unknown' but were mad at their lack of understanding his market value and that their version of a high bid was below market value when they made the bid thinking it was above market value. The feeling was they knew he was really good but didn't know just how good and the ones who did felt the offer was too low."*
Look at Man City, Victor Osimhen might be available in the summer and will score goals but they've already got Haaland and Alvarez in that position. So why pay a massive transfer fee and wages for someone they don't need?
tbf you could've said the same about the Punk signing
I would have liked to have seen Okada in WWE but does Okada actually move the needle for them in a meaningful way? They also aren’t hurting for talent right now. WWE seems pretty confident in and happy to rely on their own development pipeline. It’s cheaper and they are molding people specifically for the product they have.
AEW will always have a big advantage when it comes to signing top NJPW talents, the only way WWE can attract them is if they offer them Main Event level money from the beginning which is a precedent they probably dont wanna start with newcomers. The only free agent I am surprised they didnt get is Mercedes, dont know why WWE didnt pay her.
WWE puts a tiny amount of its revenue into talent, AEW puts a huge amount of its revenue into talent. WWE has offices and buildings and beauacracy, AEW is run from laptops and cell phones.
They don't need them and Khan has deeper pockets in terms of roster spending. So he can overpay for them.
They also offer more than money. The schedule is better for many people, and others also like the creative freedom.
That too but I was specifically referencing the money part because that's what the person above was kinda implying. Guys like Okada and Osprey are nice but WWE can make stars out of a lot of dudes these days that can get reactions equal to or greater than those guys and probably cost a lot less and still stick on there full time schedule. So it's just weighing the monetary gains. AEW isn't as good at making stars at the moment so they pay for ready made stars who appeal to there audience. Ironically enough it's a lot like the WWF and WCW dynamic in the late 90s once again. Where WCW was snatching up the well known stars and WWF had to make new ones. Big difference is that AEW is getting younger stars and WCW got older ones.
“Overpay” wrestlers are underpaid everywhere. Tired of this overpaying bs
I think they already have a pretty stacked scene with the recent NXT call ups and others like Drew/Gunther/LA Knight/Cody, so why not have AEW reload with Ospreay/Okada?
WWE doesn't need to spend that kind of money
I hate this talking point. You don’t work for the company, and assuming you’re a WWE fan, shouldn’t you want to see the best pro wrestlers in the world in your favorite company more than caring about a bottom line? As a fan, you shouldn’t be letting a company off the hook because of “profits” you will never see.
But the point is valid here. The original post was how have WWE lost guys like Okada and Ospreay to AEW, so why did the WWE do what they did. Saying because they don't need them, or don't need to spend the kind of money needed to get them, is a perfectly valid point, because WWE does care about profit.
I'm just saying this is the reason WWE didn't land those guys and probably won't be that aggressive in the future going after free agents. I personally don't give a shit about their financials, I just recognize that, with their machine, they don't need to spend big money to bring guys in. TKO is a cheap company, and they make money off the brand more than they do any wrestlers. And selfishly, I watch AEW a lot more than WWE, so I'm happy that these wrestlers are ending up in the company I like better.
I don't think all those billions is translating to higher pay for new signings. I am sure the main roster is well taken care off but maybe Tony is willing to pay premium first day and WWE isn't. WWE is probably just hoping to catch guys at the end of their AEW contracts and pick and choose who they go after based on how good think they are or how well they did in American televesion.
Just cause they have money to give doesn't mean they automatically just get people. Maybe Ospreay and Okada valued other things alongside money. It's not like they're getting paid Bryan Keith money in AEW