Howdy!
I’ve been having some trouble writing something long form about AEW even though I’ve had a few ideas. I decided the best thing would be instead to just do like one big article that contains 10 questions.
I could have pretended that people sent me in these questions like I’m Dave Scherer but I’m not going to do that. I have standards, and one of them is not pretending people are asking me the questions. At least two or three of these were actually asked to me in a discord and I answered short form, but I’m really just treating it as these could have been long form articles and I’m instead just doing them as a few paragraphs here.
If you do ever want to ask me questions to answer you can at mail@grappro.com
Also just a note on AEW Double or Nothing 2026: Unlike the last two pay per views I will be doing previews but because I’m going camping and internet connections will be limited around the 22nd, I will be having as much as possible written up prior to May 22. Anything AEW announces after that date? I won’t be previewing or including in my predictions. I won’t be getting home until the 25th of May so I might not even catch the pay per view live.
Let’s get it!
How do you feel about Darby Allin taking on anyone? Should the AEW Men’s World Championship just be anyone having a title shot?
Back when I did e-wrestling (lifetime ago) I once ran an e-fed where the champion could choose whether they were doing a “Champion’s Road” or “Champion’s Fight” reign. The Champion’s Fight was a fighting champion where every week they would be facing someone with no sense of rankings and could hand pick their challengers. The Champion’s Road meant they only had to defend once every 30 days (every PPV) but they had to face whomever was the number one contender.
This choice meant every reign could be different. Heels could take the Champion’s Fight to try and avoid a babyface and face weaker competition, or take Champion’s Road and avoid the hard work but unfortunately likely meet the best opponents once a month. Babyfaces could take the Champion’s Fight to prove they are a fighting champion, or take Champion’s Road to add credibility to their defences.
Only reason I say this is that I think both are completely valid ways to take, but my brain prefers it to be laid out. AEW is essentially allowing Darby Allin to just open up the championship to anyone. They haven’t really played with number one contender’s matches because anyone can challenge Darby and he just has to accept. Tony Khan hasn’t had to step in and say he is stopping Darby or he has to face someone like MJF because he won a contender’s match.
That said, not everyone should be able to do it or it isn’t very special. The traditional route should be with contenders. The problem is that AEW in their very first year with their very first champion allowed situations where there were two number one contenders at the same time. Chris Jericho had Darby Allin as a number one contender on Dynamite and Cody Rhodes as a number one contender for Full Gear at the exact same time. AEW has had guys be number one contender and someone else got a shot. So AEW has told you there really isn’t any hard rules.
If you prefer hard rules? Hey me too. We’re not getting it. And you’re not getting it anywhere else. So you’re literally complaining about AEW not doing something nobody does because you want to hold them to a standard nobody meets.
As for if Darby taking on anyone devalues the championship? Come on. Be reasonable.
Remember Okada’s fourth title reign? You know the 780 day one that Omega eventually beat him for? That reign included title defences against Bad Luck Fale, Cody Rhodes, and EVIL. Complaining about Sammy Guevara getting a title shot but being fine with Bad Luck Fale is pretty silly.
Out of the recent WWE releases who do you think should come to AEW?
If it was up to me?
Nobody.
I don’t really think AEW needs any of them.
That said… I’m sure Motor City Machine Guns (right before the Dynamite in Detroit) and New Day come in. I also expect Kay Lee Ray to get a phone call. I absolutely see Harlem Bravado working in Ring of Honor. Joe Gacy possible too. Did you know he used to be in the Switchblade Conspiracy with Sami Callihan and Jon Moxley? If you don’t know now you know. There’s probably people who could get ROH invites.
Am I saying nobody who worked at WWE can come to AEW? Heavens no. That’s silly. I’ve explained for years why that’s silly. If you take that attitude that means you’re against Jon Moxley in AEW. You’re against Swerve Strickland in AEW. You’re against Toni Storm in AEW.
I think AEW has a very big roster and I’m acutely aware that there is only four hours a week for wrestling with two of them premium on Wednesday. Pay Per Views can only have so many matches. None of these wrestlers are going to bump Will Ospreay, MJF, Jon Moxley, or Chris Jericho of their designated quarter hours each week. So that means any TV you give to a former WWE guy coming in? That’s less for someone currently on the roster.
So if it was up to me? I wouldn’t really sign someone. But I do see where it makes sense. New Day is a home run in terms of two guys that the roster would embrace and would give AEW some exceptional positive PR.
Would I love to see Kairi Sane in AEW? Sure. Have I talked for years of King Cuerno (Santos Escobar) as a want in AEW? Yes. But there’s only so many spots. As I said to some on Discord, if there’s people you want in AEW? You better be fine when someone of your long time favourite’s have to be shuffled out to make room for them.
Should AEW fans be worried about the future of AEW TV?
No.
I discussed this in more detail here.
I don’t say no because I know the future. I say no because it’s not up to you and not something you control. It’s in the hands of Tony Khan and All Elite Wrestling, and the networks they will be shopping to if Paramount Skydance does complete the sales of Warner Bros Discovery and doesn’t want them on the network anymore.
You’re going to hear a lot of speculation which is fine. People are allowed to speculate. I speculate. You will also hear a lot of unfounded rumours from people you wouldn’t listen to for advice on anything.
As AEW gets closer to the end of their TV deal you’re going to hear more things, and much of it won’t be true, or will just be tire kicking from either side, until something gets signed.
Hey, remember when Paul Levesque of WWE was going to fashion shows with Amazon owner Jeff Bezos in 2024? Who has a deal with Amazon now? It’s not WWE. It’s AEW.
My point is anything you hear right now is premature. Don’t worry about it now. It doesn’t matter until it does.
Who do you think should be pushed more in AEW? Who should be pushed less?
When it comes to not being pushed enough? For the men I would say Wheeler Yuta. There was a point before he joined Death Riders that Wheeler Yuta was the most compelling interesting character in all of AEW. I think him getting his head shaved and such he got such great heat from that whole situation and then… nothing. He’s just one of the guys in Death Riders again.
If it was up to me? The plan would be getting the Best Friends back together. Yes, Trent too. I know The Conglomeration is doing great right now but I think Best Friends can still happen with The Conglomeration. I think it would get one of the biggest reactions in all of AEW and would be a fantastic piece of fan service for long term fans. You got to give the people what they want. Babyface turn Wheeler Yuta leaving Death Riders.
For the women I would say Yuka Sakazaki. I figure Riho is injured so that’s why she isn’t on, but Yuka? She’s an excellent wrestler. I’d like to see more of her on the main roster. She’d be a good opponent for Thekla.
So who should be pushed less? For the women it’s Marina Shafir. I get it. She has improved. She’s associated with Death Riders. There’s a shallow pool of AEW heel women. But it’s time to shuffle her out. There’s women in ROH working at a higher level than her as heels. Switch it up.
For the men it’s absolutely HOOK. HOOK is death television.
He isn’t a good wrestler. He might be young but he’s no longer a prospect. His development stalled years ago. He has only NOW agreed to work indie dates. Remember his heel turn was the reason Hangman Adam Page is no longer AEW Men’s World Champion and they never even had a singles match about it. They blew the feud off in a tag team match on TV.
After that tweet, Hook would lose on TV finally to Kevin Knight for the TNT Championship on Collision. It was a Kevin Knight carry job. So Hook has ONE loss since January of 2024 and it was a TNT Championship match. Nobody else is protected and given so much like him.
I love Taz. He’s hilarious. He’s a good play by play. If the cost of HOOK leaving is losing Taz? See ya Pete.
What do you think Hangman Adam Page does when he returns?
Speaking of Page.
This is a good question because I really don’t know.
The only thing cooking in my mind is for Page to come out Richmond, Virginia Dynamite on June 3. Crowd with a big reaction to their Virginia boy. Hangman thanks them, and then boom. Hitting the ring is a returning Jay White. Who hits Page with a Blade Runner and proceeds to run him down for the fact that he can no longer one day defeat Page for the AEW Men’s World Championship because Page is such a dumbass he lost his chance to ever win it again.
Am I seriously booking Jay White versus Adam Page for the sixth time in AEW alone? Yes. I could watch those two wrestle forever.
Don’t ask me what else they can do. I don’t know. This isn’t Fantasy Booking corner.
What are your thoughts on Hikaru Shida’s return as a Shida fan?
Shida’s return might be one of the more polarizing things in AEW right now.
I have loved her return. I think she’s making the women’s division far more compelling and her slow burn turn has made the division more interesting since they don’t have an idea who will feud with Thekla and have Willow in this never ending return opponents run with the TBS Championship.
I’ve also heard a lot of criticism on her matches because she has slowed down since 2022 and has been a bit sloppy at times.
Maybe I’m just a biased fan but I think matches she’s in just have better starts, middles, and finishes than most women’s matches in AEW. She clearly has some influence on the structure and is basically a producer in-ring. I’ve enjoyed all of her matches, even if the speed and execution isn’t always high level.
Once she executes the heel turn I’m curious to see where it goes. I still think Syuri comes in and they tag team to face the Brawling Birds eventually for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship. That’ll give that division at least three strong tag teams.
What do you think the plan is for All In London 2026? Should AEW continue to run Wembley shows if attendance continues to drop?
After The Owen said Kenny Omega wasn’t in it? I feel like when Kenny Omega returns? He’s winning the AEW Men’s World Championship against either Darby Allin (unlikely) or Maxwell Jacob Friedman (more likely) at the July pay per view that’s rumoured to be in Montreal.
Will Ospreay I expect to win the Owen and get his big crowning moment at All In London at Wembley. I think once he wins it, the Death Riders, particularly Jon Moxley, will demand he give the shot up after all the work they put into him to eventually win it. That gives you a Moxley versus Ospreay match at the July PPV.
Where does that leave Darby Allin, MJF, Swerve Strickland, and anyone else? Not sure yet.
As for Wembley, I do think they might need to take a break. Tony Khan has already hinted it another U.S. Stadium show, which I figured would be a break from Wembley in 2027.
I asked online why AEW still hasn’t run Craven Cottage, which is owned by Shahid Khan and Tony Khan as they own Fulham. It was originally the dream before AEW was conceived and Tony was just trying to convince the Young Bucks to sign to his new project. Apparently there’s difficulties with the noise in the neighbourhood and you have to run the show to end before 10PM, but the better answer was that they just did a lot of renovations to it.
I think them running Craven instead of Wembley in 2028 would make a lot of sense, and maybe allow them to plan some crazy Darby Allin spot where he falls in the Thames.
What are your thoughts on ROH and why don’t you cover it on GrapPro more?
Easy answer is time. Right now I’m focused on the NHL playoffs and that’s meant I’ve missed half of Dynamite and still have to catch up on Fairway to Hell. ROH on HonorClub still feels a lot like AEW Dark on the last few times I’ve watched. It’s very loose, which makes it harder to focus on.
I’ve had big thoughts on ROH in the past, but I mostly leave it to the fans of the show. I think it should stay a streaming show instead of getting a traditional TV deal, even if that means less money. We don’t need people tracking the ratings on something like ROH. I would prefer a development focus to it over it just being a “spill over” promotion, but there’s advantages to the current spill over format. A big one being it gives you room for a guy like AR Fox to finally have a big moment and win the ROH TV Championship which makes me very happy.
I know some people who love ROH on HonorClub and I wish the best for it but unless someone is willing to pay me to watch it? I just don’t have the time.
Do you think there’s an issue with the women’s division? It’s often complained about the amount of time the women get.
This will be the least popular answer I got here but here goes.
When I complained about the women’s division in the past it was because it had unique booking issues the other divisions did not. The AEW Men’s Tag Team division got time and storylines that the women did not. Now? The problems of the women’s division are problems everywhere else. Thekla is struggling for babyface contenders because they spread things thin with the new Women’s Tag Team Division and are currently missing their top two stars in Mercedes Moné and Timeless Toni Storm.
The division doesn’t get more time because it’s missing those stars. The time it gets for Thekla, for the tag division, for Shida, and for Willow is about the best you can ask for a division that doesn’t boost quarter hour ratings. Once it gets the stars back, if TV time doesn’t increase? I’ll be right there with you.
But the complaints for more TV time and more PPV time, when even men’s divisions are often lacking with titles not represented or top wrestlers disappearing? I’m sorry, I just don’t think the women are getting uniquely hurt on this. There’s a lot of men right now who are top stars, top merchandise pushers, and they struggle to get TV time week to week. We’re currently running TV without Swerve, without Kenny, without Hangman.
I’ve heard the argument that if you don’t give women that TV time they won’t get over. Except the women who actually have something to provide end up getting moved up and get more TV time if they prove something. That’s why Thekla is the AEW Women’s World Champion. She made the best of every moment they gave her, AEW saw momentum, and gave her more. If a woman gets over the way Thekla did, or hey, if they are really lucky, catches fire like Toni did? They will get the TV time.
So I don’t think there’s an issue with the women’s division that’s unique to AEW. It has the pros and cons of every AEW division struggling for TV time with four hours per week.
How do you feel about Will Ospreay going 50/50 with Ace Austin? Do you think that’s a problem in AEW?
This was a popular argument over social media, on Wrestling Observer Radio, on discord, etc.
So there’s two parts of this.
The first part is the Will Ospreay story.
The story is that he returned from his neck injury, declared war on Jon Moxley and the Death Riders, and lost. His neck still has issues, so Jon Moxley offered to help him as a part of the Death Riders. Make him the killer he’s meant to be.
This all while keeping in mind Jon Moxley is a wrestling terrorist.
There’s this wild segment before the match with Ace Austin where Jon Moxley is basically running his terrorist cult boot camp and Moxley motivates Ospreay in telling him he can still fly like he used to, he’s just now a dangerous bird of prey. “Don’t go out there to protect something, go out there to give something.”
And then what does Ospreay do? He has a good match with Ace Austin that’s very 50/50 and ends with a submission instead of a pinfall win.
That was counteractive to what they should have been doing. Will Ospreay should have been a beast in that match. He should have manhandled Ace Austin. He should have been a bit heelish. At some point, Ace could have been mounting a comeback and maybe hit an Enziguiri to the back of Ospreay’s head. That leads to Mox coming out with a towel and telling Ospreay it’s time to be that bird of prey or else Ace Austin is going to take your neck from you. And that, that springs Ospreay to action to take out Austin clean.
That would sell the story that Jon Moxley and his terrorist boot camp has an alluring magic to it. It’s working. It’s going to make Will Ospreay a deadlier wrestler. The influence is going to get deeper into him. He’s using his fears against him. One side of his mouth he’s telling him not to go out to protect something while the other he’s pushing him to believe someone is going to do to Will what JON did to Will.
Instead we got a 50/50 match.
The second part to this is the AEW style.
For some reason I hear people say stuff about how top stars should just beat midcarders and lower carders and they don’t like seeing low carders get any offence. Sorry that’s bullshit. Even jobbers on WWF Superstars of World Championship Wrestling in Jim Crockett Promotions got a few shots in before the superstar took it over. 100% squashes are rare.
What’s funny is that even a 70/30 split was controversial even in the early 1990s. Mick Foley, at the time just an American low card guy in All Japan Pro Wrestling, famously whined to Dave Meltzer that “lazy” Jumbo Tsuruta, the ace of AJPW at the time, didn’t give him enough offence in their one on one singles match. So even back in the 90s you had low card guys thinking they deserved more offence.
But back to AEW style.
The AEW style, the “All Elite” style, is similar to pro sports. Go watch the NHL playoffs. You’ll see fourth liners score goals. You’ll see fourth liners match up against first liners. There’s a parity in the league. The difference is that the superstars can be leaned on more. They are expected to be stars. They are expected to carry the load. You can beat them a shift or two but in a seven game series? The star is supposed to shine brightest.
In AEW, the style pushes that any two wrestlers for the most part, even if one is a tippy top star and the other works ROH most of the time, that other guy is going to put up a challenge. They are going to make it an exciting fight. The advantage comes in the finish. The stars come out on top.
Jon Moxley once went 13 minutes against Robert Anthony on AEW Dark. I bet you forgot about that. I didn’t.
Now, I’m not saying I love the AEW style and it’s the best way to do things. I think some power separation (or “hierarchy”) is a good thing. Very few complained as loud as I did when Adam Page needed more than five minutes to pin Ryan Nemeth on Dynamite back in 2021. But AEW fans absolutely care less about the hierarchy of “top guys win fast against low guys” and care far more on whether the match was great or not.
If AEW brings in a guy they’ve never seen before and they have an incredible match with a top guy, the first question they ask isn’t why that guy got to fight a top guy without first proving himself with five squash wins and a formidable match against a midcard to slowly rise the ranks. They just ask when is the next time that awesome wrestler will be working in AEW.
That’s why the AEW style lends more to “Everyone is very good, the best win” similar to pro sports than an old hierarchy of top guys always make quick work of lower guys.
The problem isn’t Will Ospreay went 15 minutes with Ace Austin because Ospreay is a future ace of AEW and Ace Austin is just named Ace. The problem is they ran it when also running a story that needed Will Ospreay to convincingly beat Ace Austin so it feels like Jon Moxley’s plan is working. This wasn’t the time to do a good exhibition match. This was the time to tell a good story.
Anyway, I’m pushing 4,000 words here so I’ll call it a day. Hope you enjoyed!
