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Is it me or does AEW having an Owen Hart Tournament seem out of place considering he obviously never had any association with Tony Khan/ AEW?? That would be like WWE having a Bruiser Brody tournament. Wouldn’t AEW be better off having something similar for Brodie Lee actually wrestled for them instead Hart?
No, I think for this, it's you. As I have said before, AEW deciding to do this, there had been no outlet, on a major scale where Martha Hart felt comfortable licensing Owen Hart's likeness and using it as a way to benefit the Owen Hart Foundation, which is the entity (not Martha) that signed a deal with AEW. Let's face it, She was (rightfully) never, ever, ever, ever, ever going to work with WWE in any way, shape or form for obvious reasons and had been against WWE even releasing an Owen DVD in the past.
The door to working with WWE is closed forever, so should that have meant Hart should never allow wrestling fans to celebrate Owen or let the wrestling industry at large celebrate Owen? Of ecourse not. There seems to be a narrative that Martha hated and wanted nothing to do with wrestling and/or kept Owen's fans from being able to celebrate him, but let's not forget she licensed his likeness and name in order for it be used in Acclaim's Legends of Wrestling Showdown video game way back in 2004.
AEW has done amazing things in celebration of Brodie Lee and I'd expect that will continue. I see zero reason why they can't celebrate Owen. AEW has done a lot to bring in different aspects of wrestling history and claimed some of that legacy as their own. If the argument is they can't have an Owen tournament because he never worked for them, does that mean they could never celebrate Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Bruno Sammartino or any other talent who passed away before AEW ever existed? I think that's just not a realistic way of approaching things.
Do you know who the main agents are for AEW and do they typically have the same roles like producers for WWE in laying out matches, planning segments, etc?
Dean Malenko, Jerry Lynn, Sonjay Dutt, BJ Whitmer are all Coaches/Producers. Tony Khan, Dustin Rhodes, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks are also intimately involved in laying out matches and segments. The roles would be similar, although there is a lot more freedom in terms of how things are put together in AEW vs. WWE.
After Matt Hardy released the video with Jeff Hardy making light of his WWE release it has many jumping to the conclusion that he was falsifying his condition at last weekends house show. Two things. If WWE got word he was faking it couldn't they just reverse their decision to release him and just bench him for the remainder of the contract. And secondly, why would any other promotion or wrestler trust Jeff Hardy ever again?
The idea Hardy was faking it is ridiculous and untrue. If WWE thought he was doing that, they could have just suspended his contract and left him frozen and unable to go anywhere. WWE can't legally reverse their decision. He was let go They released him and 90 days later, he's legally free and clear. As far as trusting Hardy again, one, he's a star and promotions will always give a star another chance. That happens in all realms of entertainment. As far as wrestlers trusting him, Hardy is universally liked behind the scenes by other talents. I've heard nothing but concern for his well being from other wrestlers. I don't believe that when he returns to the ring, you'll see talents who don't trust him.
Do you think Jeff Hardy lands in AEW?
There's a lot of money to be made with Hardy vs. FTR...Lucha Brothers...Young Bucks, etc. I can absolutely see that happening.
Do you see the NWA traveling some in the New Year? Preferably in the Second market cities?
It almost happened as the NWA was about to sign a touring deal with Live Nation to run events in some of their venues before the pandemic took hold. As far next year, I don't see the company touring regularly while the pandemic is still shadowing over the country. I think they will stay the course on specific taping weekends to keep costs down.
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