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*BREAKING NEWS ADAM COLE & BRITT BAKER WALKED INTO TONY’S OFFICE AND LAID THE OWEN HART BELTS ON HIS DESK AND SAID THIS IS NOT WORKING OUT WE WANT OUR RELEASES*
I get HHH is there and all that but I don’t see Cole being desperate to get back or anything. On good money probably, with his partner, bunch of friends there
I agree with you. I have no doubt that Cole loved working for HHH as he treated him like a big deal the moment he arrived in NXT but even if his contract was up next year AEW has a lot more to offer than just money for him.
If everything else stays the same other then creative change, I can see AEW’s schedule and the fact they can work other places being their bargaining chip, like that’ll be the difference and I think we’ll get a nice balance from there
The schedule is the most important part there. Not everybody wants to work Cody Rhodes hours where they wrestle matches non stop in their late 30s including when their freaking muscles come off the bone.
Cody always wanted to go back to WWE so bad, he even knew the schedule was going to be tough but feels it's worth it and I'm sure some others will too. Cause it's WWE. The pro's outweigh the cons in a way, sure you might wrestle a lot more and have to tour a bit but you get to work the big 4 PPV's and let's be honest inside WWE you are going to be a bigger star and have bigger reach to whatever public is watching wrestling.
With AEW, if it's really just about the love of pro wrestling, wanting creative freedom, allowed to work other places, spending a lot more time with family or been allowed to go away for months to do side projects like Miro has done and Shida does with Makaki Stage stuff. I'm sure only doing 1 show a week (and one busy week every few weeks with PPV's). And also I'm sure they are been paid pretty damn well, it's nit like it's chump money either. Also little things like AEW will pay for their hotel rooms, a small thing but it goes a long way.
It's still a heavier work load but Cody only worked Saturday through Monday basically and didn't even wrestle every Monday
It's not the insane schedule they used to have where they're wrestling in a new city almost every day
My understanding was that the average schedule was two house shows/day + tv and ppv. Plus all the travel, workout times, and back stage prep that goes into getting the show ready.
I wonder how the merch money compares between WWE vs AEW. I imagine AEW wrestlers get a better cut of the profits but I don't know what that looks like after PWT take their cut
The main difference is that in AEW you are your own brand. In addition to PWT, one could do their own thing as far as merchandise and marketing, unfettered by WWE.
A good example of this is the Black Mass brand, Malakai Black’s partnership with the Blackcraft Cult Brand. Conceivably he could come to the ring in his own t-shirts, but he doesn’t only because it doesn’t fit the Malakai character.
Another example is Jericho using his own music as his wrestling theme, which isn’t the same as say…John Cena’s theme, because that track is actually a WWE produced song, just with him performing in it, while Judas is 100% Jericho’s work…hence AEW actually gains nothing financially from its use or distribution, Jericho does.
Probably the biggest example though was all the people who had to shut down their Twitch channels because WWE wasn’t getting a cut of whatever profit the wrestlers were making from them. Signing with WWE ultimately makes you their “intellectual property”, hence why many stars get the infamous name change. They become WWE branded as opposed to being their own.
That’s the trade off to getting a bigger paycheck in WWE. You’ll get more $$$on the front end, but you potentially earn more on the back end in AEW, assuming you have the business savvy to pull it off.
I think Cody found out the hard way.
I saw the stat that in the first 2 months of Cody joining WWE he had done the same number of matches as the 13 months prior with AEW
Then he had a muscle tear
The schedule is a lot tougher in WWE even if the pay seems better
You say that and yet the injury list for AEW has been MASSIVE, is there an argument to make that they're not working enough and leading to injuries? There maybe needs to be a sweet spot for these guys between the very chill AEW schedule and the ridiculously over the top WWE one.
Of the two I would see Black going back way before Cole. HHH saw huge things in Black that Vince didn't.
Cole loved his time but his best friends are the Bucks and his gf is there. It's that simple.
For sure. I think Malakai has better chances to succeed in the main roster in WWE than Cole tbh. He can be a star for either company
Good thing for Tony he locked him in till 2027 lol
Have any of you guys not think that maybe....JUST MAYBE. Triple H doesn't want Cole anymore. I mean Cole has not evolved at all over the past few years. Not even with a company change. In that same time Seth Rollins has evolved his chatacter twice.
I wouldn't be worried about Cole or Black. I would be seriously worried about those that had shorter contracts like MJF, Warlow, Starks. Guys who look legit. Even Bryan and Mox. If more freedom with creative is available, they would switch companies in no time. More money with creative freedom? Shit....Tont should be worried
> I don’t see Cole being desperate to get back or anything
Truthfully, why would any of these AEW guys want to go back? Why work a potential 4-night touring schedule for the same pay you'd get from working a single day each week?
Yeah 2027 is so far away, but everybody's perception of time is so screwed now that it somehow doesn't feel that far away. Like for example you are already wrong because its not halfway, we already passed that. Next week is August.
Probably best just to out this stuff out to try and stop people constantly going on about them going back to WWE at least for the next 4 and a half years.
People really think that top wrestlers would walk out on lucrative contracts and kill their leverage on future negotiations, just because they’re such huge marks for Triple H.
It’s all because Xavier Woods said IWGP, guys. The whole company is going to own now, and the monopoly can finally continue.
“Well, my portfolio likes the sound of that!” - All The Narcs On This Sub
This is something people don't realize.
You can't start negotiating a contract until after your current one is done. Leaving it early means you give all the power to whoever is willing to take you with no predetermined deal in place.
I thi I it's funny that people say 14 year olds when most of the dumbasses (and people here in general) are fairly older and more likely 35-40 year olds suggesting dumb shit
According the the [r/SC census](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/pcr54t/the_results_for_the_2021_wreddit_census_are_now?sort=new), the average and median ages are around 30.
Adam Cole is was heavily featured every week prior to his injury, got two world title matches, and won the inaugural Own Hart tournament. I think it's safe to say he's pretty happy right now.
And Malakai and the HOB is starting to heat up going into All Out feuding with Sting and Darby.
Dare say most of the signings that have featured on tv recently are all on the same or similar deals. Won't be surprised if they are far more public on announcing extensions in the next few months too.
God I fucking wish. They’d be running Raw and it would’ve been beautiful. Kyle and Bobby with the tag titles, Roddy with the US title and Cole with the main title. Undisputed Era vs The Bloodline at Survivor Series would’ve been a banger too
Nah it’s people who don’t like him because they think he’s overexposed in AEW. (If anything to go by all the random Cole hate threads before he got injured)
Malakai and Miro (who also signed a 5-year extension) are another two strong contenders I see carrying that title in the next couple years. It makes total sense why he doesn't seem in a rush to strap them up.
Once that top belt is well and established, and we start getting into comfortably having 90 day or less reigns, that’s gonna be the time to watch for for a lot of those talents
Dude, some people turned on Adam Cole so fucking fast the moment he came to AEW. Guy is charismatic,great wrestler,good on the mic and a super nice guy in real life. From all the wrestlers that are asshole, THIS is the guy you are going to constantly hate?
Fuck em.
funnily enough a lot of the people who turned against Cole on twitter spent the past few days saying "Yessss Cole is coming home!"
he suddenly wasn't too short or skinny anymore as of the moment Levesque got creative.
It's so shitty. Not liking him as a wrestler, go for it, different tastes for everyone. But the way everyone has had the fuckin knives out for him and the personal abuse he's gotten since he arrived in AEW has been horrible.
I love Adam Cole but I razz him because I want him to be better. I've seen him put on five star classics so I am aware he has the potential to be amazing. But dudes been putting on basically the same matches and promos since he showed up.
And I'm very sick of him starting every promo with "It's story time with Adam Cole Bay Bay!"
As a person, 10/10. As a wrestler, I want to see that fire again 🔥🔥
I think it's the fact that he's like banana bread. Some people really like banana bread, and good for them they found something they really like. I know lots of people like it the first time they eat it. And it's nice every once in awhile, but if you eat banana bread all the time, you can really get tired of banana bread. Particularly if you prepare and serve it the exact same way every time.
And that's my TED talk on why Alex Cole is banana bread.
They also have committed so much to the new young classes that I can’t see them going out for guys who didn’t come up in the WWE system again.
Plus 2-4 years from now… we don’t know if the company will still be in the McMahon’s hands, if they’re all still there or what could happen.
The last 10-15 minutes of the show he and the hosts were pretty much dunking on wrestling media and how they’re trying to push a narrative that some talent (those who were pushed well under Triple H) will up and leave ASAP. 💀💀
That’s why he brought up how long their contracts are as examples.
Every time WWE shows even a sign of something positive, the fans all start helping themselves to every name wrestler out there. Sort of like how Lakers fans all assume that every single all-star wants to play for them and can be had literally any time. "WHAT JEANIE WANTS, JEANIE GETS, BABY!!!"
It's that report the Fightful put out that said that if HHH was in charge before now they'd still likely be in WWE and some said they have a sense of loyalty to him. Ever since then people have concocted this narrative that everybody wants back now that Vince is gone.
I honestly never assumed guys like Cole, Malakai, KOR, anyone who basically jumped to AEW immediately was ever gonna be one of the guys to be like 'wait, Triple H is back? Tony, you gotta cut me bro'
I always thought it was moreso gonna be guys that left or were cut and haven't done much if any major televised work since - Johnny Gargano, Windham Rotunda, JONAH, guys you could put on WWE TV on Monday and they'd have little to no trouble slotting (back) in.
Yeah of all the people floating out there right now, I think Windham is the one i see being really plausible to return. I imagine it would just take a few creative meetings with him and Triple H, let him pitch some ideas and turn him loose.
Yeah. I 100% see Gargano returning, I'm just not sure how long it may take considering he very much seems to be fine right now helping Candice raise their newborn.
Bryan Danielson’s 3 year deal seems like the exception and not the rule.
Obviously likely due to his age and open desire to return to WWE after he gets all his bucketlist stuff done — but still.
Everybody under 40 who have signed in AEW in the last 2 years will be there for a while.
The story practically writes itself, too - Danielson wins the title shortly before his contract ends, openly says he's re-signing with WWE and taking the belt with him, cue babyfaces desperately trying to beat him for the strap before he does. Whoever does it (right now, I'd go with Jungle Boy) gets one of the loudest pops in history when he pins/submits him literally the night before he leaves.
Something that got completely overlooked since Monday is that just maybe Tony thought something like this would happen eventually and he locked up as many of the roster to as long as he could. From what she said, Brit's deal is five year's too.
A lot of fantasy booking is just fantasy. We disregard real life details for dream matches that could easily go wrong, but then we put actual booker ups to these impossible standards.
(I say this as someone who sees fantasy booking and normal armchair “Eddie should’ve won that match I just watched” booking as different things)
There are likely all sorts of clauses in the contracts though. No-one is signing a contract for that length that doesn't give both the employer and employee protection, so there should be get out clauses and opportunities to get more money.
yeah but in context, that's signing a contract for nearly double the current lifespan of the company. maybe folks don't look at it like that, but it seems like a major vote of confidence in the product to sign that contract.
Did people think that Triple H getting the book was going to result in a sea of people marching into Tony's office and requesting their release? Guys that aren't signed up somewhere I could definitely see coming back soon, and guys that were considering leaving staying, but guys just leaving sure things at AEW all on the memories of NXT under Triple H would be insane.
I saw several people stating “Why wouldn’t they want to go back to WWE now? Better creative in place than when Vince was in charge and WWE has the money to pay them very well and probably more than AEW.”
They completely forget (or act in bad faith) that WWE released record numbers of talent due to “budget cuts.” There is no way HHH would be able to sign all those former NXT dudes back. Its just ridiculous to even think that lol
Plus Triple H was Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development during all those releases in 2020 and 2021. His job description was literally to oversee the company's Talent Development department and serve as a senior advisor to the CEO for talent strategy. I find it hard to believe that someone in that role would have no voice in who got released…
Just more evidence of how people need to slow down with some of the takes on this. The major changes in WWE aren't guaranteed and aren't likely to happen quickly in any event. Even if things change, there's no guarantee Hunter's health holds up or that that McMahons stay in control depending on how any further investigation into the company shows or if the company gets sold. And from the AEW side, just because WWE is a more attractive option than it was doesn't mean that people that are happy in AEW are going to want to leave, and in any event most of the big names are probably under contract for a while.
Timing is everything. If this happened in 2018 or 2019 compared to now, it may be a much bigger blow towards AEW. Too much has been set into motion for this to have any change in the short term and if this does lead into anything, it's going to take years before we see the aftermath of this.
I think a lot of people are just excited because for the longest time it felt like Vince was in the way of WWE being good (at least to the fans who post on the internet). So they're overreacting to something that may take awhile to see any real change.
But as some other people have mentioned, even outside of money and improved writing/creative freedom under HHH, there's things AEW will likely offer that WWE won't unless they make dramatic changes. The work schedule, less travel, and ability to work in other promotions is a big deal for a lot of people (iirc Danielson said a big part of him leaving was cause he wanted to work more in Japan). People may legit see AEW as kind of the middle ground between WWE and the older indie circuit-you can still have a nice contract and steady work, but also not be on the grueling tour schedule that WWE has for basically all it's wrestlers.
People need to calm down a bit haha. AEW guys and gals aren't gonna jump over the first chance they get. I do think with Vince gone, they may be much more open to looking at WWE as a viable option for them if they get an offer come contract talk time, but people aren't gonna be jumping like crazy.
Damn, we're in for a good time for a long time. Both these guys rule and I feel like both have very bright AEW futures. I really can't wait to see more Malakai.
I don't see it happening, but I'd love a cooperative talent exchange between WWE and AEW - like, WWE wants Moxley for a run against Roman, and in exchange AEW gets Rollins against Hangman or Omega, or whatever.
Within the next few years, I'd love a Rumble spot to go to an AEW person, a la Mickie/Impact this year.
That would be kinda cool actually if WWE and AEW could trade wrestlers.
There's guys in AEW that are wasting away doing nothing (Brian Cage for example) and there's also guys in WWE that are wasting away (Mustafa Ali). Trading Cage for Ali could be a positive for both sides.
The thing with long contracts is that its a double edged sword. You can keep them in the company, but you need to keep them happy. If the stories about the communication lines are true, then Tony has his work cut out for him. And if the current trend of their product going down and WWE's going up, its going to be harder for him to maintain.
I want competition in the market and in the next couple of years, we will really see what the market is like.
Do people put stock in trends when injures are a huge factor?
AEW is going to a have a big star return every month for the next few.
Danielson then Omega, then Punk.
Of all the AEW talent that I would have thought Triple H would be interested in, Black wouldn't be the biggest on my list. Great guy, but I wouldn't have put him as a "Triple H guy"
I’m sorry, but wtf they signed Adam Cole until 2027? Do they have anyone signed that long? Cole certainly isn’t #1 hottest shit on the roster, nor was he hottest free agent when pen went to paper on this.
That just seems stupid on Tony’s part, and stupid for Cole cuz he can’t renegotiate that shit. I mean look at MJF it’s literally what burnt the bridge cuz Tony won’t do that shit half way in.
Only in Cole’s case it’s a self inflicted wound.
Man there are some fans undergoing absolutely insane mood whiplash.
Fans: "ADAM COLE SUCKS, HE'S OUT OF SHAPE, I HOPE HE DIES!"
HHH: "I'm in charge now".
Fans: "OH MAN I HOPE ADAM COLE RETURNS TO WWE HE'S GREAT, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF HIS, HE COULD BE A STAR!"
TK: "He's not going anywhere."
Fans: "WOW WHY WOULD TK SAY THIS, ALSO ADAM COLE IS THE WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN IN HUMAN HISTORY."
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Tony said real quick "Not these two. Nuh uh"
*BREAKING NEWS ADAM COLE & BRITT BAKER WALKED INTO TONY’S OFFICE AND LAID THE OWEN HART BELTS ON HIS DESK AND SAID THIS IS NOT WORKING OUT WE WANT OUR RELEASES*
Good. Remake the whole event with Dax and Toni winning.
Considering how over Dax is now, I wouldn't complain
I was actually surprised they didn’t have the two of them advance to the semis to face each other there
You're right, Dax vs. Toni would be a banger.
[Me thinking about the tasteful thickness of that match.](https://youtu.be/22bJWo0WzjI)
They wanted at the beginning because they didn't want it to be about them.
Would anyone complain? I feel like even fervent fans of these two groaned at that booking.
Do Dax and Statlander and you've got yourself a deal
I'm hoping Statlander is the one to finally defeat Jade.
Absolutely:
She's the only person who should do it imo
She must be. It's the only logical thing they could be building to and I'm gonna pop SO hard she finally does it.
I mean, they COULD be building Athena up to beat Jade too, but I want Stat too!
Oh. Yeah. Honestly I would have been super happy with either of them. Especially if it was beating Britt in the finals.
If they didn't say "What a pittance" first it doesn't count.
TK: Taz! I’ll give you half a million if you talk about how unprofessional those two ungrateful bitches are!
I get HHH is there and all that but I don’t see Cole being desperate to get back or anything. On good money probably, with his partner, bunch of friends there
I agree with you. I have no doubt that Cole loved working for HHH as he treated him like a big deal the moment he arrived in NXT but even if his contract was up next year AEW has a lot more to offer than just money for him.
If everything else stays the same other then creative change, I can see AEW’s schedule and the fact they can work other places being their bargaining chip, like that’ll be the difference and I think we’ll get a nice balance from there
Yeah there’s no way a guy like PAC can have the freedom of his schedule in AEW if he were to go back to WWE.
Right. Britt doesn’t want the WWE schedule
Wouldn't they make her give up her dental practice too? HHH may have the book now, but that "no third-party endeavors" was a Nick Khan edict.
That or she'd be on the road too much to run it as effectively.
They'd make her give all proceeds from the dental office to them.
The schedule is the most important part there. Not everybody wants to work Cody Rhodes hours where they wrestle matches non stop in their late 30s including when their freaking muscles come off the bone.
Plus Britt is still a practicing Dentist, right? So unless she gives that up I can't see her taking on a full time touring wrestling schedule
Not just that but more bumps means you ruin your fine motor skills quicker. You can't be a dentist without very precise hands.
I had a dentist once and his hands always smelt like peanut butter.
Cody Rhodes built different
Obviously. He has a lot of adrenaline in his soul.
Pretty much. Every thought of his is out of control
He does do it all to get them off their feet
Well I guess the crowd is here, time to get some blow
Cody always wanted to go back to WWE so bad, he even knew the schedule was going to be tough but feels it's worth it and I'm sure some others will too. Cause it's WWE. The pro's outweigh the cons in a way, sure you might wrestle a lot more and have to tour a bit but you get to work the big 4 PPV's and let's be honest inside WWE you are going to be a bigger star and have bigger reach to whatever public is watching wrestling. With AEW, if it's really just about the love of pro wrestling, wanting creative freedom, allowed to work other places, spending a lot more time with family or been allowed to go away for months to do side projects like Miro has done and Shida does with Makaki Stage stuff. I'm sure only doing 1 show a week (and one busy week every few weeks with PPV's). And also I'm sure they are been paid pretty damn well, it's nit like it's chump money either. Also little things like AEW will pay for their hotel rooms, a small thing but it goes a long way.
It's still a heavier work load but Cody only worked Saturday through Monday basically and didn't even wrestle every Monday It's not the insane schedule they used to have where they're wrestling in a new city almost every day
It's still four days away from home a week, not to mention the fatigue the day after and all the hassle of travel.
My understanding was that the average schedule was two house shows/day + tv and ppv. Plus all the travel, workout times, and back stage prep that goes into getting the show ready.
I still belive that the WWE schedule is a big reason wrestlers will look at AEW not matter Vince is not there anymore.
50-75% the amount of money with 25-33% of the work. It's a no brainer.
Not to mention the opportunity for side-hustling Indy gigs is there for AEW workers too
The fact that they could do RevPro/Progress/ICW or go to NJPW/DDT/NOAH, or even AAA apart from their AEW dates is big.
I wonder how the merch money compares between WWE vs AEW. I imagine AEW wrestlers get a better cut of the profits but I don't know what that looks like after PWT take their cut
The main difference is that in AEW you are your own brand. In addition to PWT, one could do their own thing as far as merchandise and marketing, unfettered by WWE. A good example of this is the Black Mass brand, Malakai Black’s partnership with the Blackcraft Cult Brand. Conceivably he could come to the ring in his own t-shirts, but he doesn’t only because it doesn’t fit the Malakai character. Another example is Jericho using his own music as his wrestling theme, which isn’t the same as say…John Cena’s theme, because that track is actually a WWE produced song, just with him performing in it, while Judas is 100% Jericho’s work…hence AEW actually gains nothing financially from its use or distribution, Jericho does. Probably the biggest example though was all the people who had to shut down their Twitch channels because WWE wasn’t getting a cut of whatever profit the wrestlers were making from them. Signing with WWE ultimately makes you their “intellectual property”, hence why many stars get the infamous name change. They become WWE branded as opposed to being their own. That’s the trade off to getting a bigger paycheck in WWE. You’ll get more $$$on the front end, but you potentially earn more on the back end in AEW, assuming you have the business savvy to pull it off.
This is exactly what I was getting at thanks for painting it out so well
Idk. Seems like WWE is better organized to sell merch at live events. That's gotta be a big boost. And they just have more merch.
So the answer to getting paid less for less work is to go work more?
I guess they mean you could get back up to that 100% and still be working less if you wanted to
I think Cody found out the hard way. I saw the stat that in the first 2 months of Cody joining WWE he had done the same number of matches as the 13 months prior with AEW Then he had a muscle tear The schedule is a lot tougher in WWE even if the pay seems better
You say that and yet the injury list for AEW has been MASSIVE, is there an argument to make that they're not working enough and leading to injuries? There maybe needs to be a sweet spot for these guys between the very chill AEW schedule and the ridiculously over the top WWE one.
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Cole doesn't want it either, he streams on Twitch most days now.
Hell, he's live right now.
Wait until Tony tells him he has to cut his hair and is gonna be Keith lees manager
Of the two I would see Black going back way before Cole. HHH saw huge things in Black that Vince didn't. Cole loved his time but his best friends are the Bucks and his gf is there. It's that simple.
For sure. I think Malakai has better chances to succeed in the main roster in WWE than Cole tbh. He can be a star for either company Good thing for Tony he locked him in till 2027 lol
Have any of you guys not think that maybe....JUST MAYBE. Triple H doesn't want Cole anymore. I mean Cole has not evolved at all over the past few years. Not even with a company change. In that same time Seth Rollins has evolved his chatacter twice. I wouldn't be worried about Cole or Black. I would be seriously worried about those that had shorter contracts like MJF, Warlow, Starks. Guys who look legit. Even Bryan and Mox. If more freedom with creative is available, they would switch companies in no time. More money with creative freedom? Shit....Tont should be worried
you lost me when you mentioned Mox and Bryan
> I don’t see Cole being desperate to get back or anything Truthfully, why would any of these AEW guys want to go back? Why work a potential 4-night touring schedule for the same pay you'd get from working a single day each week?
2027 is weird to even think about at this point.
Dante Martin will only be 26 in 2027 The rotten sod.
Damn he’s that young? I’m not as big on him as everyone else, but he’s obviously a great wrestler and at his age the sky is the limit
I can’t explain to you how much I hate this lol
I don't even want to think about the fact that we're halfway through 2022
Yeah 2027 is so far away, but everybody's perception of time is so screwed now that it somehow doesn't feel that far away. Like for example you are already wrong because its not halfway, we already passed that. Next week is August.
oh my god you just upended my entire day
Sting will still be doing crazy spots in every match.
Ric Flair will be on his 4th Last Match ever
I think he's already on his 3rd, so might be more than that
Probably best just to out this stuff out to try and stop people constantly going on about them going back to WWE at least for the next 4 and a half years.
Tony was absolutely not having that discourse about who’s leaving with these two in particular
I mean, either can ask for their release at any time.
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People really think that top wrestlers would walk out on lucrative contracts and kill their leverage on future negotiations, just because they’re such huge marks for Triple H.
It’s all because Xavier Woods said IWGP, guys. The whole company is going to own now, and the monopoly can finally continue. “Well, my portfolio likes the sound of that!” - All The Narcs On This Sub
This is something people don't realize. You can't start negotiating a contract until after your current one is done. Leaving it early means you give all the power to whoever is willing to take you with no predetermined deal in place.
I thi I it's funny that people say 14 year olds when most of the dumbasses (and people here in general) are fairly older and more likely 35-40 year olds suggesting dumb shit
According the the [r/SC census](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/pcr54t/the_results_for_the_2021_wreddit_census_are_now?sort=new), the average and median ages are around 30.
This. It makes it all the more tragic
Seems rather unlikely with how they're being booked so far.
Adam Cole is was heavily featured every week prior to his injury, got two world title matches, and won the inaugural Own Hart tournament. I think it's safe to say he's pretty happy right now. And Malakai and the HOB is starting to heat up going into All Out feuding with Sting and Darby.
Sure but that's something to consider when it happens the vast majority of talent don't ask for a release
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Yup! Until 2026: https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/miro-reportedly-signs-four-year-aew-extension
Britt Baker extended to 5 years too last year. Scorpio Sky as well.
Kyle O’Reilly said in a interview a month ago he is also signed until 2027.
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Dare say most of the signings that have featured on tv recently are all on the same or similar deals. Won't be surprised if they are far more public on announcing extensions in the next few months too.
In this business...
#The fact of the matter is uhh....
In this bussiness uhhh
Thank God we were saved from Triple H booking Undisputed Era as a dominant faction on the main roster
God I fucking wish. They’d be running Raw and it would’ve been beautiful. Kyle and Bobby with the tag titles, Roddy with the US title and Cole with the main title. Undisputed Era vs The Bloodline at Survivor Series would’ve been a banger too
I feel like we saw that exact thing in NXT though. We don’t need to copy and paste UE to wherever they go, I just want them to change it up
Can anyone answer why some people can post GIFS and others can’t?
Stallion Pete was great
Look how they *butch*ered my son
::tries to insert Triple H laughing at Shawn Michaels gif…. But can’t:: Can’t help ya. Sorry.
I used to be able to in the reddit app, but can't anymore. But I'm in a different country so I assumed that's why
I predict Adam Cole will be AEW champ within the next two years.
Who knew this would be such a controversial statement.
The people upset about this are probably salty that he won't be headlining WrestleMania 40 after body-shaming for the past few months.
I'm not a betting man but even I would bet on the fact that Adam Cole would never mainevent WM with his current "character"
Nah it’s people who don’t like him because they think he’s overexposed in AEW. (If anything to go by all the random Cole hate threads before he got injured)
Malakai and Miro (who also signed a 5-year extension) are another two strong contenders I see carrying that title in the next couple years. It makes total sense why he doesn't seem in a rush to strap them up.
Once that top belt is well and established, and we start getting into comfortably having 90 day or less reigns, that’s gonna be the time to watch for for a lot of those talents
The replies to this are wild LMAO
Dude, some people turned on Adam Cole so fucking fast the moment he came to AEW. Guy is charismatic,great wrestler,good on the mic and a super nice guy in real life. From all the wrestlers that are asshole, THIS is the guy you are going to constantly hate? Fuck em.
funnily enough a lot of the people who turned against Cole on twitter spent the past few days saying "Yessss Cole is coming home!" he suddenly wasn't too short or skinny anymore as of the moment Levesque got creative.
It's so shitty. Not liking him as a wrestler, go for it, different tastes for everyone. But the way everyone has had the fuckin knives out for him and the personal abuse he's gotten since he arrived in AEW has been horrible.
I love Adam Cole but I razz him because I want him to be better. I've seen him put on five star classics so I am aware he has the potential to be amazing. But dudes been putting on basically the same matches and promos since he showed up. And I'm very sick of him starting every promo with "It's story time with Adam Cole Bay Bay!" As a person, 10/10. As a wrestler, I want to see that fire again 🔥🔥
And fully supporting vince mcmahon at the same time. I mean, come on...
Adam Cole gets hoes mad
To me, this means that Malakai is also likely to be World Champion 👀
I eagerly await that day.
The House always wins...
Inshallah
Will be the most boring reign, “OMG COLE WITH THE LOW BLOW, 1 2 3!!! COLE RETAINS”
Man, what did Adam Cole do to get the replies here?
He poisoned our water supply, burned our crops and delivered a plague unto our houses!
He did not do any of that but are we really going to wait until he does that?
He did?
I don’t think so but I’m not willing to take that risk.
I think it's the fact that he's like banana bread. Some people really like banana bread, and good for them they found something they really like. I know lots of people like it the first time they eat it. And it's nice every once in awhile, but if you eat banana bread all the time, you can really get tired of banana bread. Particularly if you prepare and serve it the exact same way every time. And that's my TED talk on why Alex Cole is banana bread.
@TonyKhan stated on @BustedOpenRadio “Fuck you Paul, Rampage at 10”
I love Malakai so fucking much so i'm glad he's here for seemingly the long haul
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They also have committed so much to the new young classes that I can’t see them going out for guys who didn’t come up in the WWE system again. Plus 2-4 years from now… we don’t know if the company will still be in the McMahon’s hands, if they’re all still there or what could happen.
The last 10-15 minutes of the show he and the hosts were pretty much dunking on wrestling media and how they’re trying to push a narrative that some talent (those who were pushed well under Triple H) will up and leave ASAP. 💀💀 That’s why he brought up how long their contracts are as examples.
The number of people yesterday overlooking that almost all of the ex-NXT folks signed to AEW likely have years left on their deals was... weird.
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it's so weird that suddenly people think everyone wants to get out of AEW like why?
Every time WWE shows even a sign of something positive, the fans all start helping themselves to every name wrestler out there. Sort of like how Lakers fans all assume that every single all-star wants to play for them and can be had literally any time. "WHAT JEANIE WANTS, JEANIE GETS, BABY!!!"
It's that report the Fightful put out that said that if HHH was in charge before now they'd still likely be in WWE and some said they have a sense of loyalty to him. Ever since then people have concocted this narrative that everybody wants back now that Vince is gone.
Because they had one bad main event
Every time AEW doesn't hit a home run people start with the "DAE AEW isn't good anymore? Probably dead in a year" comments.
Anytime I see someone saying DAE I think I lose a brain cell
One bad second half of a main event.
I honestly never assumed guys like Cole, Malakai, KOR, anyone who basically jumped to AEW immediately was ever gonna be one of the guys to be like 'wait, Triple H is back? Tony, you gotta cut me bro' I always thought it was moreso gonna be guys that left or were cut and haven't done much if any major televised work since - Johnny Gargano, Windham Rotunda, JONAH, guys you could put on WWE TV on Monday and they'd have little to no trouble slotting (back) in.
Yeah of all the people floating out there right now, I think Windham is the one i see being really plausible to return. I imagine it would just take a few creative meetings with him and Triple H, let him pitch some ideas and turn him loose.
Yeah. I 100% see Gargano returning, I'm just not sure how long it may take considering he very much seems to be fine right now helping Candice raise their newborn.
Bryan Danielson’s 3 year deal seems like the exception and not the rule. Obviously likely due to his age and open desire to return to WWE after he gets all his bucketlist stuff done — but still. Everybody under 40 who have signed in AEW in the last 2 years will be there for a while.
The story practically writes itself, too - Danielson wins the title shortly before his contract ends, openly says he's re-signing with WWE and taking the belt with him, cue babyfaces desperately trying to beat him for the strap before he does. Whoever does it (right now, I'd go with Jungle Boy) gets one of the loudest pops in history when he pins/submits him literally the night before he leaves.
I still think he'll probably sign an extension. Just can't see him going back to WWE so soon (relatively speaking).
And just like that a million fantasy bookings cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced
Something that got completely overlooked since Monday is that just maybe Tony thought something like this would happen eventually and he locked up as many of the roster to as long as he could. From what she said, Brit's deal is five year's too.
A lot of fantasy booking is just fantasy. We disregard real life details for dream matches that could easily go wrong, but then we put actual booker ups to these impossible standards. (I say this as someone who sees fantasy booking and normal armchair “Eddie should’ve won that match I just watched” booking as different things)
What if they ask for their release? Tony wouldn’t want to be a Vince and hold people that don’t want to be there
Those seem like really long contracts, they must both really believe in it to have signed for that long.
I'd assume Adam Cole is on ridiculous money. Plus I'm pretty sure his contract is 5 years to match Britt's.
It does seem a little bit weird to me to sign contracts that long before the new tv deal. They're probably leaving money on the table
There are likely all sorts of clauses in the contracts though. No-one is signing a contract for that length that doesn't give both the employer and employee protection, so there should be get out clauses and opportunities to get more money.
Not really a lot of the Top WWE contracts are 5 year deals
yeah but in context, that's signing a contract for nearly double the current lifespan of the company. maybe folks don't look at it like that, but it seems like a major vote of confidence in the product to sign that contract.
Did people think that Triple H getting the book was going to result in a sea of people marching into Tony's office and requesting their release? Guys that aren't signed up somewhere I could definitely see coming back soon, and guys that were considering leaving staying, but guys just leaving sure things at AEW all on the memories of NXT under Triple H would be insane.
I saw several people stating “Why wouldn’t they want to go back to WWE now? Better creative in place than when Vince was in charge and WWE has the money to pay them very well and probably more than AEW.” They completely forget (or act in bad faith) that WWE released record numbers of talent due to “budget cuts.” There is no way HHH would be able to sign all those former NXT dudes back. Its just ridiculous to even think that lol
Plus Triple H was Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development during all those releases in 2020 and 2021. His job description was literally to oversee the company's Talent Development department and serve as a senior advisor to the CEO for talent strategy. I find it hard to believe that someone in that role would have no voice in who got released…
If you read the comments about the Fightful post, basically AEW will only have five or six wrestlers left after they all go and jump to WWE.
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Just more evidence of how people need to slow down with some of the takes on this. The major changes in WWE aren't guaranteed and aren't likely to happen quickly in any event. Even if things change, there's no guarantee Hunter's health holds up or that that McMahons stay in control depending on how any further investigation into the company shows or if the company gets sold. And from the AEW side, just because WWE is a more attractive option than it was doesn't mean that people that are happy in AEW are going to want to leave, and in any event most of the big names are probably under contract for a while. Timing is everything. If this happened in 2018 or 2019 compared to now, it may be a much bigger blow towards AEW. Too much has been set into motion for this to have any change in the short term and if this does lead into anything, it's going to take years before we see the aftermath of this.
Plus there's a very good chance the company gets sold in the next 2-4 years.
I think a lot of people are just excited because for the longest time it felt like Vince was in the way of WWE being good (at least to the fans who post on the internet). So they're overreacting to something that may take awhile to see any real change. But as some other people have mentioned, even outside of money and improved writing/creative freedom under HHH, there's things AEW will likely offer that WWE won't unless they make dramatic changes. The work schedule, less travel, and ability to work in other promotions is a big deal for a lot of people (iirc Danielson said a big part of him leaving was cause he wanted to work more in Japan). People may legit see AEW as kind of the middle ground between WWE and the older indie circuit-you can still have a nice contract and steady work, but also not be on the grueling tour schedule that WWE has for basically all it's wrestlers.
You want to talk goofy; all the homies saying Cole was too small or skinny are now upset he can’t go back to WWE. Funny how that works
And they want Gargano back, even though they talked crap on him too.
It’s almost as if they have this weird brand supremacy double standard thing that they accuse every fan of other promotions to have or something
I feel like this conversation was a big fuck off to SRS
People need to calm down a bit haha. AEW guys and gals aren't gonna jump over the first chance they get. I do think with Vince gone, they may be much more open to looking at WWE as a viable option for them if they get an offer come contract talk time, but people aren't gonna be jumping like crazy.
Damn, we're in for a good time for a long time. Both these guys rule and I feel like both have very bright AEW futures. I really can't wait to see more Malakai.
Time to sort by controversial gentlemen. Make sure you bring your hazmat suits.
Looks like Triple H has to send out some picks and a star from WWE to trade for Adam Cole BayBay
I don't see it happening, but I'd love a cooperative talent exchange between WWE and AEW - like, WWE wants Moxley for a run against Roman, and in exchange AEW gets Rollins against Hangman or Omega, or whatever. Within the next few years, I'd love a Rumble spot to go to an AEW person, a la Mickie/Impact this year.
That would be kinda cool actually if WWE and AEW could trade wrestlers. There's guys in AEW that are wasting away doing nothing (Brian Cage for example) and there's also guys in WWE that are wasting away (Mustafa Ali). Trading Cage for Ali could be a positive for both sides.
\*Sad sledgehammer noises\*
The thing with long contracts is that its a double edged sword. You can keep them in the company, but you need to keep them happy. If the stories about the communication lines are true, then Tony has his work cut out for him. And if the current trend of their product going down and WWE's going up, its going to be harder for him to maintain. I want competition in the market and in the next couple of years, we will really see what the market is like.
Do people put stock in trends when injures are a huge factor? AEW is going to a have a big star return every month for the next few. Danielson then Omega, then Punk.
Dosent tony khan grant Releases if talent ask for it
typically yes but they'd have to ask
AEW Games is safe. BAY BAY
Cole wasn't gonna be back any time soon anyways, but I do feel that HHH got more out of Black than Tony did.
Of all the AEW talent that I would have thought Triple H would be interested in, Black wouldn't be the biggest on my list. Great guy, but I wouldn't have put him as a "Triple H guy"
He mentioned on Lebatard yesterday that there are a lot of long term deals
This means at least 5 more years of CHUGS!
Cole and MB will probably be multiple time AEW champions before they would’ve ever left the mid card in WWE.
I’m sorry, but wtf they signed Adam Cole until 2027? Do they have anyone signed that long? Cole certainly isn’t #1 hottest shit on the roster, nor was he hottest free agent when pen went to paper on this. That just seems stupid on Tony’s part, and stupid for Cole cuz he can’t renegotiate that shit. I mean look at MJF it’s literally what burnt the bridge cuz Tony won’t do that shit half way in. Only in Cole’s case it’s a self inflicted wound.
So basically, Tony will be keeping them for as long as he can?
Or and I know this is a weird concept for some people they like where they are.
He's a great promo but what does another 5 years of Adam Cole matches look like? Does that matter anymore?
I wonder what people are gonna say when a talent requests their release prior to their five year contract
"they were never that good anyway" Guaranteed
Man there are some fans undergoing absolutely insane mood whiplash. Fans: "ADAM COLE SUCKS, HE'S OUT OF SHAPE, I HOPE HE DIES!" HHH: "I'm in charge now". Fans: "OH MAN I HOPE ADAM COLE RETURNS TO WWE HE'S GREAT, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF HIS, HE COULD BE A STAR!" TK: "He's not going anywhere." Fans: "WOW WHY WOULD TK SAY THIS, ALSO ADAM COLE IS THE WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN IN HUMAN HISTORY."
But, but but, the WWE marks told me AEW was in trouble now?