Just curious what people’s thoughts are on AEW signing any of the guys released today.
Released were:
Samoa Joe
Kalisto
Bo Dallas
Iiconics
Mojo Rawley
Mickie James
Tucker
Wesley Blake
Chelsea Green
Personally I think Samoa Joe is a no brainer if he can get cleared to go in the ring. He could step right into the main event scene and be one of the top guys on the roster.
I have to imagine Peyton Royce is signed given she’s married to Spears, and if she’s signed by proxy I can see Billie Kay being signed.
I’ve said that AEW have to be careful with signing too many former WWE talent so they don’t get that TNA vibe to them, so as far as the rest go, I think the smart move for now at least is to pass. Maybe James can help mentor the woman’s division, but I don’t think I’d sign anyone else.
2 Likes
I’d say Joe if he can wrestle and Peyton Royce.
Possibly Chelsea Green. She appeared only a couple times on the main roster and they didn’t do much with her in NXT.
1 Like
I don’t know man, aside from Joe, who will be a real asset for them? I’ve never been impressed by Chelsea in ring ever, maybe she was hold down, as I know she was trained by Lace Storm and he usually speaks highly of her, but AEW has plenty of talent that are building skills right now (see Red Velvet, Jade Cargil). Do you need another person to build? I mean, they do a great job with that (Britt Baker is someone who progressed tremendously the last year, I can actually say that Nyla Rose did too, Tye Conti for just few short months blew through the roof). It is impressive to watch and shake head to what they are teaching them in the WWE PC, but can we see some more focus on certain people for a bit? Introducing new wrestlers constantly can be really distracting and AEW are pretty much at this point right now with me.
Tucker is a great worker, Mojo has size and has skills, Wesley Blake?
AEW’s roster is bloated as it is, getting in new guys is always a good thing, but at some point you should also start releasing people as well. BTW I watched Elevation this week and was utterly impressed with Zack Clayton. They have a lot of guys that they are building and getting more “WWE guys” to do this with… I don’t know, I think it’s too much at this moment.
I would LOVE to see TUCKEEEEEEYYY do something, but geesh - on Dynamite we have 200 people showing on the show every week. It’s too much as it is. Sorry to say this, but aside from Joe, I wouldn’t look around too much. 
Fair point about a Green. Most fans won’t even k ow who she is, and I say that as a good thing.
1 Like
Chelsea Green was part of the four way at the All In PPV. I think they will consider signing her.
2 Likes
Good point. I totally forgot that.
IIconics would fit the type of comedy in impact; I think
While Joe is a natural fit on aew im sure he would LOVE to work in njpw. Can you imagine him versus ishii or shingo?
If he does new Japan he can also do roh, where he first made his name…
So…
He will probably wind up on aew fighting at all out.
1 Like
Ultimately, if you want someone and have a plan for them, you can add anyone. Khan hasn’t been above luxury signings. But if you’re asking me who will actually benefit AEW’s programming in a way that the existing roster can’t, that leaves me with a very short list:
I can figure out a way to make a case for maybe Mickie James, as that’s a division that doesn’t have a past star in it that would be an example-setter and show them how to get over and how to stand out because she has the experience to do so. Obviously she’s still as good in the ring as anyone they have there.
I think that’s it. The IIconics offer a bit in the character-development side that AEW has struggled with, but that feels far more at home in something like Impact than there. They both could use a lot more ring time before moving up/back to one of the big two but their personalities would give them far more rope in an Impact until that caught up. On the other end, AEW has about 10 women who fit a similar mold of situation as Green that they should probably develop first.
Joe is obviously a different beast, but other than specific matchups we might want to see, there’s almost no difference between why you’d sign Joe and why you signed Christian and with limited TV time, I don’t know why you’d tell that story twice. Same thing if you want to have him as a monster - you’ve been spinning your wheels with Miro this entire time when he’d fit that role perfectly. If I’m looking at Joe, if we’re looking at difference-making - he’d be a huge cog for ROH. If I’m looking for dream matches and the best place for his style - NJPW and doing a G1 would be incredible.
I think the IIconics and Green should have a home in Impact the very second their 90 days are up. The rest - kind of just a roll of the dice that I don’t have any sort of strong feeling for. I think Kallisto in ROH would be kind of interesting though.
For me the obvious answer is the IICONICS. Let Peyton wrestle as a singles star and have Billie Kay manage/second her similar to what we see with Britt Baker and Rebel. As for as female wrestlers go, is there a bigger “draw” available on the open market than those two together? People will tune in for those promos.
1 Like
Just wanting Joe in AEW with a Jon Moxley like deal that lets him work NJPW, and, more importantly, GCW Bloodsport shows. If Joe still wants to wrestle, and do what he does best on the largest platform available to him, that would make the most sense to me.
And also, I can’t help but fantasy book Joe and Punk as a modern Hall and Nash, showing up in AEW once crowds are back in the fall perhaps… And then a month or so later, their “third man” joins them, as “Final Countdown” starts to play in the arena.
2 Likes
You are joking, right? A “draw”? They couldn’t draw a stick man if you gave them a box of crayons. They are both pretty awful in the ring (and god knows AEW have enough female wrestlers like that) and their “schtick” was mildly amusing for a couple of weeks but then quickly became grating and repetitive to most adults.
If people were tuning in for their promos do you think Vince would have let them go?
There’s room to assume anyone might grow in a different situation, but if we’re basically talking about circling the wagons to do the same thing with them again, yeah, we kind of know if they draw or not at this point. Those who move the needle are few and far in between…and if I have questions about Joe in this situation, I find it hard to make a case for anyone else on the list.
2 Likes
Peyton can go pretty well in the ring. She is at least on par with a lot of the women’s roster in AEW, for whatever that is worth. Billie is more limited but that’s why I suggested her in the manager role where she can make the most of her promo abilities. She can take bumps and sell, which is all you need her to do physically as a manager. As for the promos becoming repetitive… you are aware who writes these promos, right? The IICONICS didn’t just get to freestyle live on RAW. These are SCRIPTED promos. If you have a problem with the SCRIPTED promos becoming repetitive, maybe you should take that up with your boy…
Oh yea, Vince. Now there’s a guy with his finger on the pulse of the wrestling industry in 2021. 
He alone understands who can and cannot cut quality promos. That’s why he let noted promo king Braun Strowman go live, unscripted during the WM rain delay to embarrass himself live on pay-per-view.
To answer your question, yes, I do think Vince would let them go despite having great promo abilities and an actual fanbase who will follow them. Unless you are over 7’ tall and willing to get Nickelodeon slimed or involved in a cuck angle, Vince has no fucking idea what to do with you.
1 Like
I’m not saying Vince has his finger on the pulse of the wrestling business. That hasn’t been true for about 20 years. But even in his current shadow of his former self, he is still astute enough to know if they were that big a commercial property not to let them go.
As for their promo skills, the flip side of the argument is they might have zero ability to cut a non-scripted promo. From the reviews I heard of the start of WrestleMania night one, that appears to be the case with every except Kevin Owens.
You know what, I know most people weren’t a big fan of it, but Drew McIntyre’s promo got me hyped as FUCK for that match. His whole thing like he got screwed out of his big match last year because of covid and now he’s getting screwed again because of the rain so just give me Bobby Lashley right here backstage… maybe it didn’t work for everyone but personally that did more to pump me up for the match than anything they did on RAW in the weeks leading up. It’s a shame they had to piss all over the little fire they got going by making us sit through Titus and Hogan for 10 minutes.
1 Like
Peyton is good in the ring and Billie is funny so it should work for them.
Mickie James would definitely benefit AEW’s women’s division. I like Shida but AEW’s shit booking with her means no one really cares about her. Britt Baker should’ve become champion a while ago and after she is made champion, you can build a feud between her and Mickie. Baker calls Mickie a has been and herself the present and the future, Mickie acknowledges Britt is very good but she still has plenty left in the tank, etc. Hopefully they don’t go to that feud straight away though, otherwise Mickie might be done within a month like Brian Cage.
Samoa Joe is an obvious one. Wasn’t a big fan of the Iiconics but they can add some more life into the women’s division. You’re starting from zero with a lot of the others which isn’t always a bad thing.
1 Like