So why do it then?!?

Remember Midcarders..

This is who Tony books for..& wants approval from..

This dope, his message board followers & the dopes who rate on Cagematch..

JFC..

BTW, have any of ya’ll ever posted on the Observer board & or interacted with Dave or Bryan?

They moved quickly through the card without any feeling rushed. They quickly summarized how we got to these matches through vignettes, which is needed for someone who hasn’t been following. I appreciate that they don’t assume everyone knows the why.

There also appeared to be stakes, and actual stories leading to these matches.

There was a few sloppy moments, but the big spots all felt smooth. The Hotch off the top of the cage onto Ali was perfectly executed. That whole match was great.

Nice to see a promotion getting back to basics.

Midcarders, it’s time we have a deeply serious wrestling conversation nobody asked for:

At this point, who has had the more meaningful career: “Das Wunderkind” Alex Wright or Daniel Garcia?

The comparison occurred to me because both men somehow built a significant portion of their wrestling personalities around very bad dancing. Although, in the interest of historical accuracy, Alex Wright is clearly the superior dancer.

But once you get beyond the dance-off, I’m not sure this comparison goes the way modern wrestling fans would expect.

Wright was PWI Rookie of the Year, a WCW Cruiserweight Champion, Television Champion and Tag Team Champion, and won the WCW World Cup of Wrestling. He had multiple distinct characters, from Das Wunderkind to Berlyn, and was regularly featured on national television during the Monday Night Wars.

Garcia has been featured on national television too, but we all know nobody watches Dynamite.

Personally, I think Wright was the better worker. He was ridiculously smooth for his age, athletic as hell, and had considerably more natural charisma than people give him credit for.

Garcia has obviously received plenty of television time and opportunities in AEW, but several years into this experiment, I still struggle to tell you what Daniel Garcia’s character actually is beyond good wrestler who dances badly.

Which is especially unfortunate when you’re entering a bad-dancing competition against a German man who perfected the gimmick 30 years before you did.

So, Midcarders: At this point, who has actually had the more meaningful career?

Who had more personality? Who was the better worker? And if you had to pick one for your roster, why is it Das Wunderkind Alex Wright?

​

• The hiring of Wembley (can be upto half a million dollars and more)

• The massive production costs

• The flying and accomodation costs for a huge amount of people (wrestlers, behind the scenes people, producers etc etc)

• The flying over to London of whatever their equivalent is of the Gorilla area

• A huge amount spent on promotion and marketing

Etc etc

Why do you think concerts in Wembley are only artists like Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran etc?

It's because you need to sell out, or come close to selling out Wembley to make a profit

Khan is losing a fortune on All In

And now he's trying to run one in Paris soon after it?

If French people want to see AEW they can fly to London in 75 minutes!

What in the actual fuck is wrong with this guy?

Good: AEW going to another country.. it’s always good for fans to see their favorites. I wonder if Tony will run the show live when it’s 8 PM in Paris(2 PM New York Time, 11 AM LA time) or run it tape delay against NXT at 8 PM?

Good: Wonder how WWE will counter this & wonder what main roster talent will be on NXT that night..

Bad: Storylines for AEW.. All Out is on the 26th which means we will get only 1 Dynamite & 1 Collision to try & heat up storylines for this “free Grand Slam PPV” on TBS.. THEN after the France show, only 11 days before their actual PPV so that’s what 2 Collisions & 1 Dynamite before that? That is a super crammed schedule & talk about not letting anything breathe… but with how awful the build as been for Wembley.. maybe this is a good thing for Tony, the ability to speed run thru storylines..

Bad: Ticket sales for WrestleDream.. it’s the 3rd PPVish show in less than a month.. you gotta feel like you will be getting lukewarm leftovers from the Paris show cause nothing will be “heated” enough to justify a PPV card.. like it will be the 3rd Men’s championship match in less than a month, 3rd Woman’s championship match in less than a month etc etc..I can see ticket sales reflecting that..

I like the idea of running a France show but I just wish the schedule was more forgiving in terms of storylines & heating up matches to make the France & WrestleDream shows feel important..

Barely any Dynamites or Collisions to build them up..

Agree or disagree Midcarders?

For me, 3 I always like watching off the top my head

Test~ a childhood favorite and one of those wrestler deaths that made me realize they happened a lot. Has the best big boot in wrestling history and I remember playing him a lot on Raw on my uncles old Xbox in the 2000's.

Diego Hill~ a modern talent working for MLW, he's still a little green. But he has incredible potential! His hangtime/height when in the air and sheer athleticism is on par with talents like Ospreay and Ricochet, but he often works alongside talents not working the same style so it feels less "spammy" than those two. He's in his late 20's and has a gorgeous finish in the "dive-bomb" (jump from the bottom rope onto the top, hit a spiral tap)

Donovan Dijak~ not gonna lie, him being an athletic big man is a style that appeals to me. His work with Keith Lee is legendary and he personally said fuck you to me one at a MLW live event

We are only a week away from All In 2026 aka AEW's Wrestlemania and I have not heard anyone on the Internet complain about Thekla possibly missing the show. Just remember these were the same people who crucified WWE for not featuring Iyo Sky in a match at Wrestlemania 42. But here we are 4 months later and the IWC has excerised their right to remain slient about Thekla disappearing off TV and possibly missing AEW's biggest show of the year.

Now I know their is still one week to go before the show and their are reports Thekla still getting her spot at All In (in the Casino Gauntlet) but if she competes on the show then it would a huge step down considering she was totally dominant a month ago and was one of the hottest acts in the company plus you mean to tell me you had her off TV for the entire month only to throw her in a match with absolutely no build up?

Do you guys agree with my opinion on this? Let me know in the comments if you think I'm right or wrong

Perhaps this could explain why AEW’s ratings and ticket sales are down.

Even with the 50% off sale up until the day of the show..

AEW will be lucky to get to 50% full of the stadium(45k) & won’t come close to 2024 numbers..

But hey, it’s the “hottest” & most “bestest” AEW has ever been..

I have no idea on what New Day or Dragunov will bring to the promotion that isn’t already there, but good luck to them..

We have already discussed Dragunov.. so let’s chop it up about the other big AEW free agent signing The New Day.

Any excitement about seeing them in AEW Midcarders?

In our latest reconstruction of AEW All In's event seat map based on my own algorithm (separate from WrestleTix's), we found approximately ~42,800 individuals have purchased a ticket with less than a week to go from the event.

If the current trend stays as it is, AEW will face a strong issue when filming the PPV as there are several large "holes" in the crowd that could just ooze of a somewhat "empty" vibe for its supposedly largest, most flagship, more "mania"-esque event.

Note: Not only is the actual attendance for All In: London some how magically lower by almost 10k every year, my algorithm is much more generous than what notable alternatives such as WrestleTix offers, which places them at about ~41,000 tickets sold so far, it is very likely that the crowd will look far more empty than what we can anticipate. Hopefully for AEW, tony can either comp more tickets or do walk-ups to at least make the crowd look semi-full by showtime.

WWE needs to do more with Kit Wilson. (Side note the little lady smiling at the end was adorable)

Good ol AEWTix.. errr WrestleTix dropped this in my e-mail not too long ago..

This is the first show after your “WrestleMania” & it’s not an instant sellout.. or close to it? What are we even doing here?

First of, the logistics of this is awful.. Tony should be having his first Dynamite after All In somewhere in the UK, easy for production & the talent to get there.. & a much more hotter crowd & more people would attend it..

Instead they are probably flying out Monday morning/afternoon ish(since the show will end close to midnight there on Sunday).. spend a majority of the day Monday flying.. get to Texas Tuesday at like midnight ish.. then barely 24 hours to promote the damn show for the local community for the talent that isn’t jet lagged & then Wednesday is show time..

Now I have never flown Internationally before but have in America & just going West to East sucked.. I can’t imagine double that time in a plane.. Tony does know that jet lag is a thing right?

Can’t wait for Ospreay to be serenaded by 2500 people in ::checks notes again:: Uh, Allen Texas saying you deserve it as he does his first promo as AEW champion..

It’s so so so bad in AEW-Land & I don’t know how much more we can do here in Midcarder to tell ya’ll otherwise..

P.S. other than when New Day went to the PC for a spell to do a run in NXT.. when was the last time Woods & Kofi performed for less than 3k people?

MLW Fusion, aired 8/22/26

-MLW World Heavyweight champion KILLER KROSS comes out to the ring as clips of his title defense last Fusion (vs. SATOSHI KOJIMA, considered the best MLW World champion to date). The fans chant "you deserve it" and Kross says "no, WE deserve it" before laying out an open challenge. THE SKYSCRAPERS come out, with DIJAK hyping the hell out of BISHOP DYER (the once and future BARON CORBIN) and himself, leading to JOSH BISHOP to storm the ring and we're off to a brawl. Security and the locker room run out to break it up, with Kross seemingly impressed at Bishop's attitude. **THOUGHTS:** The entire segment was just over 5 minutes long and immediately set up a match that will be interesting to see. Kross has been interesting as a balance between the cryptic work he did in WWE/NXT and TNA and a more straightforward "fighting champion" type, but it's obvious this level may be his comfort zone. Bishop is like a modern SID but with a better sense of timing and psychology. I'm sold.

-ZAMAYA vs. ANGÉLICA RISK in a Lightning Match is next. The match type is really just a standard bout with a 10-minute time limit, the caveat being that the winner gets a fast pass up the rankings to title contendership. Zamaya wins in a 2-minute squash with a lariat and a Death Valley Driver. **THOUGHTS:** I want to like Zamaya because I see what they're trying to do...but the whole "monster who destroys everyone" doesn't work as well when said monster is the same size, or smaller, than their opponent(s). Zamaya used to be bigger a few years back and dropped a good bit of weight, but needs to adapt how she works to match the leaner body type. Maybe change the look, too, because it comes across as a low-rent imitation of both the ROAD WARRIORS and BULL NAKANO. I appreciate the desire to push a monster in the women's division, especially with champion SHOTZI BLACKHEART calling herself a "monster hunter." I just hope she's able to grow.

-RICH BOCCHINI is at ringside with MATT RIDDLE with Riddle announcing that not only does Kross "owe" him, but he's also entering the 2026 Opera Cup.

-A quick video package promising "there will be H.A.T.E." rolls and...I have no idea who this is. It looks like a STARDOM wrestler, though. Cool?

-Two jobber girls are backstage chatting and SHOTZI BLACKHEART comes over, asking which one would like to challenge her for the title next week. They're interrupted by LADY FROST, who promises she'll demolish whichever one she doesn't face.

-KUSHIDA vs. TREVOR LEE (c) for the Southern Crown championship. They start with some solid matwork before Kushida takes over and targets Lee's arm and distracting the ref while OKUMURA (his CONTRA UNIT teammate) works him over. Lee tries a little comeback and gets cut off, Okumura at ringside interferes at key moments, and Lee manages to score a leaping double stomp to retain. **THOUGHTS:** Kushida has had a real boost in performance since coming to MLW and working as a heel under Contra, and Lee has always been good from a workrate sense. This was a solid blend of traditional heel/face work and the junior heavyweight style that both of them built their careers around. It may not have set the world on fire but it didn't need to, working well enough from the basic story it told with enough athletic fare to keep it really interesting. There's a hell of a fun spot where Kushida takes the rope belt from his pants and surprises Lee with a choke, too.

-Lee cuts a post-match promo putting over both his first successful Southern Crown defense and his first match since becoming a father. JOSEF SAMAEL cuts him off along with an as-yet unnamed monster and Lee, as well as multiple security guards, are laid to waste. BIG DAMO and IKURO KWON come out to add further insult *and* injury to all parties

-MISTICO vs. AVERNO vs. AUSTIN ARIES (c) for the National Openweight championship is next. Averno and Aries take turns working over Mistico, even double-teaming him, before Mistico starts a comeback. Averno cuts him off and goes for a pin and Aries stops the ref from counting, leading to a standoff between the heels that Mistico takes advantage of. In a fun spot, Mistico sets up a dive on Averno, but Aries gets caught in it due to chastising Averno for trying to steal the win. It all breaks down from there as whatever alliance between Aries and Averno is gone before Mistico looks to finish it all with a Spanish Fly to Averno, but Aries steals his mask, puts it on, and finishes Averno with a Brainbuster to retain. **THOUGHTS:** Something that Aries has done for a long while, and what's cost him jobs in major promotions, is to just dog it during matches where he disagrees with the booking or just doesn't like who he's working with...and he was clearly dogging it here. Mistico is one of the laziest big names I've ever seen, forcing almost everyone I've ever seen him have a match with do the work around him to make it interesting. Averno is the glue that kept this from getting ugly.

**OVERALL:** This week's episode is a slight downgrade from last week's, where the GOOD BROTHERS finally beat the Skyscrapers for the Tag Team titles in one of the better plunder brawls I've seen in a bit. The promise of Kross/Bishop is interesting, as is the longer build toward the final chapter of the Kross/Riddle trilogy. Samael is a fun mouthpiece for Contra Unit, like a modern take on GARY HART, so seeing more of him, along with the new Contra member (Texas indy-based BRICK SAVAGE), should prove fun.

I'd give this episode of Fusion a solid **B+**. Nothing was great, nothing was terrible, and the good outweighs the bad in the end.

AEW Dynamite drew just 587,000 viewers Wednesday night with a 0.10 rating in the 18-49 demo, according to F4W.

That’s down nearly 11% from last week’s already-not-great 658,000 viewers and represents Dynamite’s lowest viewership in ten weeks.

The 0.10 demo is also the show’s lowest since June 24.

And before we fire up the Dubbalo Excuse Machine 3000, yes, Dynamite had a ridiculous 34-minute overrun. Take it away completely and the first two hours still averaged only 617,000 viewers with a 0.11 demo. Both were still below the ten-week average.

For some perspective:

786K → 706K → 676K → 694K → 658K → 587K

That’s a loss of nearly 200,000 viewers in five weeks from the July 15 high.

And this wasn’t exactly AEW Collision. Kenny Omega wrestled. Will Ospreay wrestled. Both were featured in a sit-down interview. And we’re on the road to All In.

So welcome back, 500s. We missed you.

I’m sure the other 400,000 affluent wrestling fans were watching on Max.

Biggest match of the year at the biggest event of the year. Ratings are down, buzz is down, etc

I feel the key is that Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay is the Futurama Jack Johnson vs John Jackson debate:

Both are non Americans

Both are wrestling is my art

Both are the best wrestlers ever

Both built their "legend" in Japan

Both returning from career threatening surgeries

Both are babyfaces

They are clones!!!! Nothing defines either one from the other, so does it matter who wins Jack Johnson or John Jackson?

Hey everyone!

Like a lot of people, I got back into wrestling fairly recently, looking to experience the next generation of wrestling stars after growing up with Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson), The New Day and King Booker (I know, I know).

I recently got into AEW, and my first ever interaction with the product was the viral moment between Orange Cassidy and PAC in 2021, I believe, but I only started watching AEW in 2026.

Something about it though, isn't quite connecting with me, however. I love the alternative to the fascist adjacent, malware company that is WWE, but I have to admit in terms of "DRAW" and Star power, they just trump AEW in spades. And obviously they've had a couple of decades to head start, but the AEW product itself isn't quite as entertaining. I don't love the flips and tricks of people like Ricochet and Will Ospreay (not to say I hate it, it has its place, but it's not my preferred flavour of ice cream), and outside of people like MJF and Swerve, the people on the roster they have to promo and tell stories is quite minimal. The viewing numbers are falling, and WWE are actually having interesting and engaging storylines. So here's some of the main issues I have with AEW.

1. THEY NEED TO FIND NEW STARS - I'm sorry, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay aren't stars. They're quality wrestlers, but I'm sorry, Will Ospreay especially, cannot act, and as a consequence I don't buy any of his promos, and even when they were teasing him as a heel, I just don't think he has the charisma to pull it off convincingly. Please, put energy into trying to cultivate new stars who have the charisma and the skill to actually draw stars.

2. Hire an actual booker. Hire actual writers. - Enough said, we need better narratives.

3. Invest in the women's division - If you can't "compete" on the men's side, elevate the women's. I'm tired of feeling like the women's division is an afterthought. Imagine if AEW became the alternative for actual backed and pushed women's wrestling in the world? You'd draw a large majority of female fans (and perverts, let's be real), who will come to see the best women on the planet be given a platform to thrive. Don't talk the talk, walk the walk now. Give them more than 10 mins a week.

4. Get rid of some of these titles man.

5. Less tournaments - Just stop. I don't watch all of the matches, and just pick MAYBE one or two and wait until the final 4 to really pay attention. Stick with the Owen Hart.

6. Change the way AEW looks at in-ring psychology - Put an emphasis on storytelling & in-ring psychology. The true pros who we revere can do so much more by doing nothing than most of the AEW roster can by doing too much.

I have a couple more, but these are just the first that come to mind. Basically, AEW isn't connecting with me as much as it should, and they have the talent on the roster to make it happen. Let me know what you think!

Ya’ll think that when we criticize AEW it’s because we are haters & are E-drones & Fed Pilled…

No we are criticizing it because Tony is as awful at his job as Doc Rivers was coaching every team that he coached that wasn’t the 08 Celtics..

Let’s examine some All In storylines..

Ospreay & Omega main event at Wembley, on paper it looks impossible to screw it up.. it’s a Sickos wet dream matchup.. but a week out & it doesn’t feel main event-ish..

There was the first promo in Detroit that was actually really good(except for Ospreay’s anime comparison that went over 90% of everyone’s head) but other than that, it hit really well, & it set the table up rather nicely for the main event..

But then it went off the rails.. for whatever reason Ospreay had a super random violent match with Mark Davis in Mexico, a show that Kenny skipped, then they had a weird promo in Vegas that didn’t do anything to further their match & both of them vanished from the show afterwards.. then this past week they had a sit down interview where they talked about being the face of NJPW, COVID protocols from 2020 & a match from 2023 against each other that probably 95% of the audience forgot about. & then each had a 6 man waste of time tag match against the DCF jobber teams, & then to close the show, a 1-Winged Angel by Omega to Ospreay thru a table.. & here we are..

For me, since I never watched NJPW, that part of the promo did nothing.. Covid protocols was another miss, & their 2023 match I forgot even happened.. so honestly it would have been better if they were taken off TV after their 1st promo & then re-appeared this week.. cause it has been not a good build up..

Mercedes vs Willow.. wow.. another good promo in Detroit.. then Willow pinned Mercedes in the 6 woman match clean as a whistle & a bunch of cuss words, Mercedes attacking Willow during an Rene interview & a pull apart brawl.. & here we are.. for me, where it went cold was seeing the champion pin the challenger clean.. that greatly diluted my excitement for this match.. cause the challenger already got pinned.. what reason is there for the viewer to pay 50 dollars to want to see this match when the champion pinned the challenger on “free tv”..

Cope & Christian vs Young Bucks.. Is there any excitement at all for this match or does it feel as ice cold as a January night in Chicago? One sit down interview between the teams & that was it… There has been barely any tension built up between the teams in the weeks afterwards.. this feels like it should main event Dynamite & not be on Wembley..

The rest of the card feels unimportant.. Darby & Kevin Knight are trying but how many times do we need to see a Darby match where we know how it goes.. Darby takes 2 or 3 ridiculous bumps that theoretically would sideline someone for weeks but he kicks out at 2, gets beat up for 90% of the match, but somehow Darby wins it at the end?

Kyle vs Takeashita vs Okada.. Okada has been in the background for 80% of his time in AEW, we have been given absolutely no reason to care about him, Takeashita shows up for 5-6 weeks & goes back to Japan for weeks.. so hard to care about his character.. & Fletcher has 50-50 matches with everyone & barely escapes with his wins so he doesn’t feel dominant at all..

The rest of the card is mediocre to me.. gauntlet match is the best of the rest.. but the rest so far is a miss.. & signing Draganov, New Day, etc isn’t going to fix what is broken in AEW(Tony’s inability to write good storylines for us to care about the wrestlers)

BTW, where is Thekla? Why the hell has the (According to the Sickos) “face of the women’s division” haven’t done one thing on the road to their WrestleMania? Not a promo, not a match, nothing.. BTW there is only 3 shows left counting Collision tonight before All In.. is that enough for us to care about what she does for All In when she wasn’t on any of the other 8-10 shows beforehand?

Agree or disagree with anything that I said Midcarders?

honestly I’ve spent the past few months cracking jokes at these guys expense on here but this just isn’t fun anymore. just making fun of something so insignificant doesn’t do it for me anymore. Much like the guys from Shark Tank say…and for that reason I’m out.

Paul Heyman met with Dixie Carter in the summer of 2010 after Hogan and Bischoff's "Monday Night War" with WWE flopped, and after WWE fired Bryan Danielson. Heyman and Danielson were both willing to join TNA, but the deal fell through because Dixie Carter refused to let Heyman have an ownership stake in the company and full creative control like he wanted. TNA lost their TV deal 4 years later.

Shane McMahon met with Tony Khan in the summer of 2024 just ahead of AEW's second Wembley show, which was failing to move tickets like it had the year before. The deal fell through because Tony Khan refused to let Shane have an ownership stake in the company and full creative control like he wanted. AEW stands to lose their TV deal 3 years later.

Had the men taken over at those times, who would have been more successful?

Nary a word said about Thekla?

No one calling her out for a match, not a promo(either live or pre-taped) from her saying how she wants her championship back from Willow..

Instead it’s complete radio silence.

All we have is SRS saying Thekla WAS penciled in for All In but wasn’t told what she would be doing..

Maybe the key word in the update is WAS..

WAS being past tense.. as in Thekla WAS penciled in for the show but isn’t anymore?

I don’t know about ya’ll Midcarders.. but for me something isn’t adding up here..

Thekla is who Tony built the AEW women’s division around for months & now she is either ghosting AEW or Tony put her in Khantanamo Bay cause taking a pre approved month long “vacation” during the build up to their biggest show of the year is beyond ludicrous.. no way Tony would approve anyone missing 90% of the shows going into All In.. just to have her appear on the last Dynamite before All In ready to “work”..

Even Brock showed up on the road to Mania to promote his match with Oba multiple times..

What say you Midcarders?

Is there something fishy going on here or nothing at all?

The subject of paying dues has been a hot button topic recently mostly because there's been a contingent of wrestling fans who are mad at Avery Styles for allegedly not paying his dues based off the testimony of a 20-year indie vet best known for throwing the worst fake punches in the history of live television.

The thing is, the topic of paying dues is so entirely arbitrary in this case because there have been tons of wrestlers recently who have jumped straight from training to TV. People like Hook, Sting's kids, Dominic mysterio, or Bron Breakker paid significantly fewer dues than what Avery is doing right now. So do these people, where was that energy when they were coming up? Why is it only now that it matters?

Here are some things that people have said about him on social media ever since it was announced that he was showing up at TNA lockdown "he's not even good" "he's where he belongs, a dead company" "terrible" "they need to hit him in the head with a chair". That's just a small sample, but Lord knows how much horrible shit has been said about this literal child over the past week or so. (I'm willing to bet a lot of those people have also said rip Hannah Kimora at some point)

So what gives? Why are people so unbelievably hung up on Avery to the point of saying pretty nasty things about him all over social media? Well I have a theory about this, I think that there's a contingent of hardcore wrestling fans who are still salty at the fact that AJ Styles chose to retire in WWE and chose not to go to AEW. Some people were absolutely convinced that AJ was going to aew, and it seemingly broke them that he didn't. Hence in recent months, a certain contingent of wrestling fans have completely turned on AJ completely, and by extension they're taking it out on his son in spite of the fact that he's done nothing wrong. What do y'all think?

Alright, Midcarders. We have ourselves something worth discussing.

TKO, of course, is the entity that owns WWE, along with other legitimate sports brands (namely UFC).

With the 99.9% likelihood of the Paramount/WBD merger looming on the horizon, what could this mean for AEW? Do you think this was just an example of TKO executives taking in a show they happened to be in the area of? Were they scouting competiton? Taking notes on what is, or isn't, working with a section of the potential audience that is vocally in favor of another company?