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Not too long ago, Keith Lee was a can’t miss future star. While WWE certainly botched his call up, his health then derailed a 2nd push. Now, he’s in pointless trios matches, looks way out of shape, and nobody cares about him anymore in AEW. Do you think both promotions dropped the ball with him? Or, is it just a case on Keith Lee not making the most of his opportunities, not clicking with fans, or has gotten the injury prone label - that scares Tony off from not push him stronger. I just can’t believe how crestfallen Lee’s stock has tumbled since his NXT halcyon days of 2019. Whose to blame?
My take on Keith has always been that while he can do amazing things for a man his size, when he does promos he sounds like he is doing a reading on Masterpiece Theatre. The guy looks intimidating and then sounds like he is going to explain the Dewey Decimal system to me. It may make him sound smart but it doesn’t make him seem threatening or even cool. I remember the first time I heard Abdullah The Butcher speak (off camera). I knew right then why he didn’t do promos. There may be more to it than that, but I don’t think his promos help get the character over. The guy looks like a killer. He wrestles like a killer. He sounds like a schoolteacher.
Quick question, why do you guys only do the Tip Sheets for WWE PLE’s but not AEW PPV’s? I would always be very interested in what you all had to say.
We do indeed do them for AEW PPVs! You must have missed them.
WWE and AEW always shy away from inter-gender wrestling. WWE does it mostly because of major sponsors and their shareholders who see it as something akin to domestic violence. My question is if they shy away from actual inter-gender matches then should they not have women like Rhea Ripley interfere in any way in a men's match as it makes them out to be hypocrites.
I don’t think those two things are an apples to apples comparison. A woman can grab a leg or something. That isn’t the same as a man physical beating up a woman. With that said, they have to be careful how far they let Ripley go in her attacks on men.
I looked at the yearly best sellers on PWTees. There wasn't much Young Bucks merch there, or Hangman Adam Page’s. There were a lot of different items for The Acclaimed, FTR and CM Punk. Wouldn't this be a pretty big indicator for who is actually moving the dial foe AEW, who is connecting with the fans?
It’s one of the key indicators, for sure. Selling merch, selling tickers, getting viewers on TV, they are the big ones for sure. I give the Bucks a lot of credit for getting big new deals when they didn’t have much of a bargaining position. They either have a great agent or Tony Khan just has a soft spot for them.
About the latest dust up with The Elite and CM Punk, Dave Meltzer said the following on his podcast: “Everyone believes that it's Punk. I'm sure that Tony will say it's not Punk, just like he did before.” I have a few questions for you. First, can you explain to Dave Meltzer what the word “everyone” means. Could you also explain to him that if he is sure that Tony will say it’s not Punk then he just contradicted himself by saying that everyone will say it’s Punk. And here is my real question, do you think he knows that he is painting a picture that makes his friends and sources look blameless in this who fiasco?
Dictionary.com defines the word “everyone” as “every person”. I have talked to numerous people in AEW that do NOT “believe that it’s Punk”. They believe that some or all of The Elite did things to Punk and he reacted. So that shoots down Dave’s statement right there (and it’s a great example of why we shouldn’t speak in absolutes). Also, numerous AEW talents have publicly stated that they don’t believe the issue is all Punk. Like intelligent, fair human beings, they understand that there are two groups here that don’t like each other and BOTH have done things that have escalated this situation. Punk shot at the press conference. That was preceded by Adam Page shooting on TV. Punk shot on Page after Saturday’s Collision went off the air. That was preceded by The Elite refusing to even speak with Punk, as noted in the ESPN article and never refuted by The Elite or their many lieutenants. I could go one but the point is there is no “all” anyone in this situation. There is blame to be placed on both sides. Clearly Dave Meltzer either doesn’t know the meaning of the word “everyone”, or he is purposely skewing the narrative to fit the agenda that he wants to be the truth, facts be damned. I find it very, very hard to believe that he doesn’t know the meaning of the word “everyone”. I don’t know why he has covered the story in the manner that he has, but to his audience it has worked to paint Punk as the only person in the wrong here, and that is just sad from a journalistic standpoint. In my opinion, when a reporter stops being fair and covering the whole story, not just the facts that he wants to put forward, it’s time to hang it up. I have heard Jim Cornette say he believes that Meltzer is covering the story in this manner to appeal to his audience. If that is the case, maybe he should read the previous question and see who is actually selling the merch for AEW and if the goal is to cater to the larger audience, cater to them.
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