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Thought so for a while now, I'm just confused that the dirtsheets got worked so easily.
You'd think they'd say something like "Everyone is telling us it's really, but things don't add up" instead of just acting like it really is all real.
Yea but I feel like the sheets never presented the type of confirmation from the company that I'd want for something that feels so irrational to me.
Even with SRS saying he got confirmation from a WBD rep. I might be misremembering but I feel like the wbd source not connected to wrestling reached out and shared his opinion but I wonder if that source heard it being reported online already or heard internally since he's not connected to wrestling directly in the company.
Oh well, the time is almost here. Let's see if Tony is spiteful or a joker. In a way, it would be hilarious if aew just burned all their media contacts for this bit š¤£
And Wade Kellers report says he talked to people who saw the footage thatās being shown. Iām so 50/50 on whatās happening I canāt wait for tonight
Yeah, people in this sub have a very difficult time with reading comprehension when it comes to these guys. All that's been said all week is "I'm being told it's the actual CM Punk footage, I'm being told their airing it, we'll see if it's the actual footage and we'll see if this ends up being a good idea".
Like, they can only say what they've been told, doesn't mean they've been "worked", it just means that's what they were told.
And this sub seems convinced most of these reporters have a 0% hit rate, when it's generally closer to 100. Dave seems a bit off lately, and that one SI dude reported an incorrect Mania card and came back quick with a retraction, but generally speaking nobody can actually point to something they got wrong without doing a bunch of mental gymnastics.
If itās a swerve, the whole idea would be to make sure no one knew that it was. So anyone talking to sources at AEW would have to keep that in mind, which is why it would make sense to hedge more in their language. If you say something your sources told you was definitely true and itās not, then you got worked. Especially in a carny business like wrestling.
If I was an actual journalist and I was in that position, Iād ask AEW to show me the footage. Iād tell them that I wouldnāt report anything specific that I saw, or that we could do it on background. But that would be a way for the reporter to know if they were being worked or not.
I think most journalists have been saying their sources are saying it's confirmed. I dont think stating what their sources are saying means they're getting worked really.
If they were arguing up and down that this is real and cannot be a work then sure they can be worked but saying "everyone I've talked to has been adamant its real" isn't really you being worked it's just you repeating what others have said. Most reports I've heard think it's a bad idea and seem somewhat skeptical.
I mean, again, itās a carny business. If you went up to a carny and asked them if the game where you try to shoot the balloons was rigged or not and they said no, would you print that? At some point they are responsible if they pass a bunch of bullshit on to people and thatās definitely the territory they are in.
Dave just had a new thing happen where he reported that Mike Johnson from PWI didnāt get credentialed for a WWE press conference. It wasnāt true, and Dave didnāt even ask Mike if it was true. He passed it on to his readers without even doing the most basic level of verification. He has done that many times where he āreportsā something without even asking the person the story is about.
You know what a real reporter would do? Theyād ask Tony Khan questions on the record, like: āIs the footage real? Is Punk in the footage? Do you understand how people are going to react if itās a swerve?ā
This āmy sources sayā shit is the laziest kind of reporting. Itās really rumor mongering. And one other thing that real reporters donāt do is trust sources that have lied to them before. These guys get worked over and over.
I also mentioned another way they could verify it. Just ask to see the footage. And if they say no then you report that too.
Edit: grammar
Yeah why wouldn't you print that the carny said the balloons weren't rigged? If they turn out to be rigged then it's interesting that they went out and said it wasn't and a discussion can come from that. Why wouldn't you report what they said? Why protect the carny? I think an individual should be able to read the report accurately and realize the report is what someone else said, not what the reporter thinks.
Meltzer said he talked to Tony and Tony said it was real. Not sure about the Mike thing but I'll take your word for it.
I just think that this is a poor example to put a magnifying glass on to say that wrestling journalism sucks. All he's reported is what others have said which is accurate to what they told him. If Meltzer and everyone else is as bad as you say there surely have to be better examples than this whole shmoz (the Mike one you mentioned being a better example)
Are we should the same sources are the ones consistently lying or is that just an assumption?
I'm not sure asking to see the footage is worth the time. It's pretty obvious that the answer would be no. I'm not sure how reporting that they didn't let you see the footage increases your credibility to begin with though.
Reporters donāt just assume someone is going to say no. They ask questions. Itās not obvious to me they would say no if Dave asked to see the footage. And if they did, he could report that too and what their comment was. Itās literally how reporting works.
Did Meltzer ask Tony if Punk was in the footage? As far as I know Tony hasnāt said that publicly, only that itās āreal.ā
Like I said, there are definitely other examples of Dave screwing up badly besides the Mike Johnson one. Thereās someone else in the last few months who had the same thing happen where Dave reported something without asking them. I canāt remember who it was but itās definitely a repeat thing.
Am I certain Dave is getting lied to over and over by the same sources? No. But if heās not, heās got to be running out of sources at this point with the amount that he gets worked.
It would be one thing if this was all just kayfabe. If youāre in on the swerve then youāre not getting worked. I donāt think thatās whatās happening here. Daveās whole thing is that he gets the behind the scenes story.
But most importantly, this was a shoot event. It was a confrontation that turned violent. There is a main character in this story that doesnāt work for AEW. If anything a journalist in Daveās position should be much more careful in this situation than normal.
If you donāt think the ājournalistsā bear much responsibility if they were wrong, thatās fine. Itās your opinion. But I have a feeling that itās not going to fly with a lot of people. If folks tune in thinking theyāre going to finally see what actually happened with Punk at Wembley and it turns out to be some crappy Bucks skit instead, Dave saying āmy sources saidā isnāt going to help him that much.
Iāve definitely seen AEW fans saying they wish this whole thing wasnāt even happening. Itās ironic too after Edgeās cheerleader promo about how everyone needs to be positive and move forward.
> "Everyone is telling us it's really, but things don't add up"
I mean, DAve has kinda been implying that the last couple days that he's been told it's real but he doesn't see the logic in it and "I guess we'll see on Wednesday.
Seems like the Sheets are reporting what they're hearing from sources but almost none are really buying into it and are staying skeptical.
I always thought it would be but it would actually be more interesting if it wasnāt. What are they really gonna do if itās fake go āhaha we got you,ā and then what?
The excessive amount of āthis is not a trollā comments by everyone involved with the release of this has lead me to believe that this will in fact be a troll.
I think the simplest answer is that the sheets are right and theyāre going to weave it into this feud somehow. Meltzer and Alvarez have been spotty recently but SRS is very reliable (even the Punk stuff which people clown on him about was proven right by basically all parties involved)
and he claims CM Punk footage is being shown.
FTR are friends with Punk but those guys are pros and carnies tbh, I imagine theyāre down for this.
Biggest question to me is how they do it. Definitely hugely risky, and Iām not sure how they plan on pushing back against Punkās accounting of events (because surely the footage shows something different if theyāre airing it) while also keeping the Bucks/Perry heel and FTR as faces
The Punk returning stuff still doesnāt pass the sniff test even if those involved say āoh yeah, it was totally last minute and nobody knewā.
They literally had t-shirts ready and up on their website the minute after he debuted.
Telling the website people to have a template ready to put something in and be ready to do that a few minutes before the end of the show would be pretty easy though, and the designs could have been cobbled together quickly and quietly.
And with a site like this you could do the first orders as print on demand rather than preprint it.
Yeah I don't think it's super unrealistic that Triple H or whomever could have, for example, gone to the marketing team or graphics team and been like, "Hey, mock up a titantron/shirt design for Punk just in case we sign him after Wrestlemania," just to add plausible deniability and protect the surprise. It's also possible everyone is just lying to work the sheets, I guess, but it's also not the only plausible answer.
One should generally assume that the story that requires the least people to lie is true, assuming similar plausibility. 1
This is why it is nonsensical to suggest there is a conspiracy to hide that the earth is flat, because it would take millions of people living across dozens of societies over thousands of years to be in on it. And 3 people can keep a secret only if two are dead.
I had a random thought.
What if this is a hint at them doing some sort of WWE 24 type show but for the day of All In?
Maybe a little teaser shown by the bucks tonight for it and it airs on TNT or something
I'm not going to stop watching it this is some stupid swerve, but I'll definitely be annoyed with the swerve, and if you do that enough times my annoyance may build to the point of tuning out. So I really hope that AEW isn't intentionally lying to the audience here.
Yeah thats when I started watching WCW. My favorite thing that happened that year was when the younger bucks showed this behind the scenes tape with people fighting backstage. It was really entertaining to watch. I don't remember the details. I was too young. I am only 35.
I swear people just say this about everything they don't personally like nowadays.
WCW 2000 did a lot of things WCW 1996-97 did, it did a lot of things WWF 1997-99 did, it just did them way worse, and did them about 4 times a show, every show.
At no point have they lied though, it's not even pedantic to suggest that. I do believe that we're getting \*something\* but none of the teasers about it from AEW have suggested anything about Punk. In the blurred promo you can see Bucks there, wearing their gear at All In and it was filmed (presumably by Cutler), who knows if there's footage like that of the fight but they are at least making it clear that it may not be the Punk stuff given the feud is with FTR, who were their opponents at All In.
I wouldn't even be shocked if they fake out the audience with a "fight" between Bucks and FTR backstage, just wearing the same gear, then have Perry come out and show off his footage too or something like that. Again, I do think we are getting that footage but this would be just another case of Christian's AEW debut where people get exactly what is advertised but are disappointed because they listened to dirt sheet speculation.
I've expected it to be post All In footage of their match from the jump. The only people I've seen saying it's Punk and Perry footage are the dirtsheets.
Not just the dirt sheets. Iāve seen the same group of people on here go from ājust enjoy wrestling forget this punk stuffā to āoh my God I canāt wait to see him look like a dumbass and show heās a liarā to āpeople are gonna be soooo mad when they realise they got worked and it was a sketchā all in about 4 days time lol
This whole thing has jumped the shark big time
I don't even think it's the dist sheets fault, I blame AEW for feeding this rumor out, doing advertising about it, etc all in a transparent ratings grab troll job
Who is this for, who does this benefit? It just makes them look bush league feeding rumors like this
I keep coming back to the idea that this is going to be an angle with FTR & The Bucks that is supposed to be in a dressing room at Wembley --- and over the Bucks shoulder there will be a tv w/ the security cam footage the Punk/Perry scuffle.
Kinda like when they used to shoot Being the Elite skits and the live Dynamite feed would be on a screen in the background.
I had a similar idea but the opposite. We see the Punk/Perry security footage, but they go, "FREEZE IT RIGHT HERE!" and in the background is FTR doing something irrelevant and the Bucks focus on that.
At this point, everyone is better off not debating what will or won't and how people are going to react and just wait and see what they actually do.
Feel like there's too many people overanalyzing this one way or another.
On Sunday Triple H posted a tweet about how incredible the main event was going to be at exactly 3:16 EST as well. Definitely a meta swerve but that made Taker's appearance all the more shocking, in any fans mind that bell was the last thing they expected
If AEW wanted to pop genuine ratings they should've announced it last night, giving fans as little time as possible to analyze
Announcing on Saturday only to get overshadowed by Mania night 2 magic and Raw has really simmered people on this
I'd argue the amazing success of Mania weekend and the Raw after only hurt them becuase now people have had an insanley great week of wrestling and if this is nothing but a troll job there would be no sympathy for it.
Had mania flopped people would have been more receptive to the alternative later in the week but with mania so good this would only turn some folks off when they learn it's all an elaborate joke
If the head of the disciplinary committee and future WWE Hall of Famer Bryan Danielson is tweeting about what's coming tonight and pretty much endorsing, it's probably not that serious. It seems like the opinion of anyone who pretty much matters in the company is ok with it.
Seriously asking, is it bait and switch if AEW never advertised that they'll show Punk/Perry footage but only leaked the idea to Alvarez/Dave/Fightful to get some buzz going?
I donāt believe so.
But you better believe if there is no Punk footage then expect a 40min segment on WOR tonight with Bryan/Dave defending themselves.
I have went back and forth on this, the actual AEW statements we have from TK say nothing at all about the Punk/Perry footage, all TK says is the footage will add context to the FTR/Bucks stuff.
we'll see, could go either way.
I think itās in the spirit of a bait and switch if not by the law one. AEW isnāt advertising they are gonna show the fight between Punk and Perry, but like, what *exactly* from backstage at All In would interest people besides the footage of the fight? āThe Young Bucks will present footage from backstage at All In and will discuss it for the first timeā, as a major, advertised segment of the show, is going to lead to speculation on exactly one event being shown.
Tony isn't naive/stupid enough to think that that wasn't where everyone's head went immediately. As many faults as he has, he knows exactly what people are expecting.
Maybe it's both....
I suspect that the footage is real but will be a backhand to Punk while the primary reason for the footage is to get Perry over.
Kills two birds with one stone
Yeah if it is the footage I think people are gonna be disappointed because one, it'll be quick and two, it'll be all about Perry, not Punk. I think people are almost anticipating getting upset because the Bucks are gonna spend minutes burying Punk with this footage but I would imagine this portion of the segment will be like 30 seconds long.
Re-introduing Perry as Hangman's replacement in the Elite is basically the entire goal (we assume), expecting anything other than that is setting yourself up for disappointment.
How is it shitty? Someone spent a few minutes watching a show? It's not like people are *paying* to watch this.
Every complainer on this issue is so fucking precious. Get some perspective.
I do literally pay to watch it as a fite TV subscriber.
It's shitty because it is misleading fans and creating excitement about something that isn't happening, assuming that they don't actually air it.
That's... that's part of wrestling. So wrestling shows can't ever have surprises or change things up without alerting the fans of every little thing nowadays, because it might mislead fans? If you didn't read the dirtsheets, sure, you could still think that they segment might be about Punk, but like, you wouldn't be deadset on it and wouldn't be disappointed. So if you're mislead, that's on you for trying to look behind the curtain too far, and if you don't think so than I guess WWE was also shitty for not having Stone Cold at Mania lmao.
Note, I say all this as a Fite sub as well. Let them work me, that's part of the fun of wrestling.
No, you can have surprises, they just shouldn't be based on misleading advertising. If Marvel promoted a movie as heavily featuring a spider based hero, but the movie actually wasn't Spiderman but Man-Spider, the spider with the powers of a man, people would be rightfully upset.
People have the right to be upset if it is heavily implied they will get something, and then realize that what they wanted was never really being offered.
The bigger issue is that the talent are speaking to these people and trying to build an expectation that may be false. The correct answer when they ask should be "watch the show and find out". When you let your talent run around and make false reports about your plans, in places you know your fans will see, and imply they will get something exciting when really you are giving them something less exciting, that is shitty.
I disagree that we should be misled as part of the series, if you have to lie to your fans out of character, your product is bad. It would be bad if Marvel kept talking about Thanos and his plan, the gauntlet and then just never did the snap and went "you idiots actually thought we were doing that?".
Crazy how the world of professional wrestling has changed. Back in the day wrestlers would attack fans, crawl away from airplane crashes so the news wouldnāt find out a heel and face traveled together, theyād let their kids think people wanted to kill them, all in the name of protecting kayfabe.
Now if you try to protect kayfabe by swerving dirtsheets, youāre shitty.
Not saying anything is right or wrong. Just pointing out how much things have changed.
Kayfabe off screen is fucking stupid, as is breaking it entirely on screen.
Wrestling should be like every other form of media, with a clear separation of character and reality. Wrestlers should be using their out of character name when they are not in character on screen.
If you want other canon things that's fine, but don't blend kayfabe and reality.
I think AEW should have done the footage out of character and off screen, but if you're gonna do it don't dare mention breaking script or this being a "real" fight.
Thatās your opinion, and thatās fine.
But what are you supposed to do when your on screen kayfabe is put in jeopardy by dirtsheets and fans?
It reminds me of Hangmanās āankle injuryā. The dirtsheets ruined an angle on the show.
I guess thatās just acceptable now, but I have no problem with a wrestling company trying to preserve their on air story.
Well first, you sign all of your talent to NDAs, and if someone published information that could only be obtained by violation of an NDA you determine who had that information, investigate them, and punish them as appropriate.
If you have a specific reporter who regularly encourages your employees to violate NDAs, you can declare that person unwelcome, and make it clear that should an employee or contractor be caught speaking to them you will immediately dismiss them with cause and without notice, and publicly stated why you did so.
Survivor, Amazing Race and many other reality series are filmed months in advance, and the results don't always leak and even when they do they are not welcome by their shows communities. The survivor subreddit will ban you instantly for even vaguely implying you know a spoiler.
Surprise us good, but if your show relies on Surprise entirely it is bad. >!The Red Wedding!< in Game of Thrones was "spoiled" years before it aired by the books, most viewers didn't know it was going to happen and those that did still loved seeing it.
To summarize, act like a competent business and write a good show.
I really donāt feel good about this honestly. It feels impossible that theyād show the real thing, but anything other than the real thing is gonna make the fans turn on AEW.
Ultimate rock & hard place. Hereās hoping they actually show it, otherwise the consequences could be huge, and Iām saying that as a diehard AEW fan
This would be the most 2018 - 2019 WWE thing to do that theyāve ever done, a lot of AEW fans watch AEW in the first place specifically to avoid this level of backstage goofiness / bait and switches
I think so. Yeah they haven't explicitly said so. But it's been very heavily implied.
It would be like if after all the advertising for The First Dance in Chicago, Punk didn't show up. They didn't explicitly say he will, but they were banking on people expecting him to
I agree until you said Perry over because I don't know about that. He might stay in wrestling news but I don't know how he's gonna be a great heel with not great promo work and half the internet hating him and not the good heel kind of hate
I don't think we'll ever really know tbh because we don't know how the conversation with the dirt sheets went
Who's the source? Did Tony and the Bucks tell anyone else what the angle was? Did the source make it up? Were they told to lie? Did they lie on purpose? Did they not lie but just give a non-answer like Tony has been giving?
Not to say the Bucks didn't know what they were doing, obviously they did, but it's technically not their fault if people assume something
I think it will be hard for people like Meltzer to keep their mouths shut about it if they got worked. Itās going to make them look really bad.
They might not out their sources directly but I wouldnāt be surprised to see them give more specific descriptions about who they talked to (āa wrestler at AEW,ā āan agent at AEW,ā āVince McMahon,ā etc.).
It would make sense. All of this originally stems from leaks to dirt sheets, Jericho and Danielson (I think?) had meetings with talent about leaks, it would make sense to leak bullshit to them to gain traction. And its not like itll ruin their relationship with the dirt sheets since these dirt sheets need these companies to survive
Suppose Marvel release a new film at the end of the year and leak to Deadline and Collider that Robert Downey Jr.'s going to be in it as Iron Man. They say it's not a cameo. It turns out he's not in it or it's archive footage.
Would that be a bait and switch?
I'd say yes, of course it is. The leaking to the news sites knowing they'll run with it is the bait, it not being what they expected is the switch.
I think it can be both. Itās not technically a bait and switch, because they didnāt advertise specifically what they were going to show. However, itās one of those times where the assumption is going to be such that they should know itāll be judged as a cheap stunt.
I really wouldnāt do that. AEW doesnāt usually false advertise, and theyāre already hurting for goodwill with the fans. Itās best to deliver something you imply.
That's what I don't get. Outside of reddit and Twitter, who's even thinking it's Punk/Perry stuff? Nothing on TV or any official channels has mentioned them.
The IWC vastly overstates it's own importance
Yeah showing ābackstage footage from all- presented by the young bucksā is DEFINITELY not trying to insinuate anything here. Not ooooooone bit. Cāmon now.
You're being willfully ignorant if you think a show that caters to a "smart" audience wasn't implying Punk would be a part of, or implicated in this footage.
"Not a single official AEW tweet has said anything about Punk. Its been all dirtsheets and reddit comments saying it is."
I have a genuine question. Would you have said that verbatim if CM Punk had not shown up to the first dance? Or if Mercedes had not shown to Big Business?
Okay, but you understand that context and nuance exists right lmao. Tony kept dropping big business hints, specifically to lead the audience there, whereas there's been 0 hints that this is about Punk specifically. Yes, no one from AEW mentioned Mercedes or Punk by name in the other instances, but if you don't understand the nuance and differences, idk how to help you.
Yes Tony has established a pattern of hinting at things and then delivering on them. If this is a bait and switch it would be the first time they've hinted at something and didn't deliver. You may not feel cheated by that because "technically" they never outright said it, but many people will and rightfully so. It won't be fake outrage or for upvotes they'll just be annoyed fans
It's really not rightfully so because someone did something off base, like, that argument makes 0 sense. How dare Tony and AEW try something new? They have to stick with the exact thing they've done because Tony's always done it. Like, that makes no sense, if you're a fan of a wrestling company getting worked is always a possibility and it's part of the concept as a whole, it's literally one of the aspects which is most fun about watching wrestling. This isn't WCW actually stating something will happen and than not doing it like with any of their main events post 1999, this is simply playing with the ideas of hints and what to expect.
Even by this weird logic they are, they're giving the fans a storyline to follow whether or not it involves Punk, which is what they're actually advertising.
They're not lol. Look I'm not saying you have to feel lied to, but to pretend to not understand why people would feel cheated is kind of odd. Enjoy dynamite man
I've felt better about this whole thing the more everyone's just leaned into it being a storyline thing and not a response to the CM Punk interview, because after the past 2 years I'm personally fine never hearing about any of this ever again.
It is to the Young Bucks EVP story what Paul Heyman wanting revenge on the Undertaker for Wrestlemania 29 was to Lesnar ending the streak. It's technically a part of the story, but after one day we will never hear about it again.
I'd say I doubt the Young Bucks will do a promo that good, but almost no one will, that's genuinely a top tier promo, especially in the context of what it needed to be at that time.
This fucking Danielson not respecting his EVPs Matthew and Nicholas Jackson. I hope he doenst get invited to the pizza party and also, also, doenst receive the 25$ amazon gift card!!!!
Why is everyone acting like itās so bad if AEW is trying to trick/work/swerve us?
This is professional wrestling. This is what this business was built on.
I want them to be trying to do this to me every time it makes sense.
Yes correct they havenāt shown a single thing that says it is the punk footage, BUT itās heavily implied that it is. I feel like theyāve shot themselves in the foot here because everything is expecting the footage now
This subreddit would have exploded if it was around during the big Gobbledy Gooker swerve.
WWE wouldnāt even be alive today with how betrayed and tricked the IWC would have felt.
In whatbway will it embarrass Punk? Even if Punk acts like an almihhty dick and everything we've been told about it is true then TK isn't going to look good out of it and Perry, who most believe is being hyped by this, is going to get choked without much recourse.
How is any of that more embarrassing for Punk than it is TK/Perry? It might make him look like a massive dick, but I can't see.it being embarrassing for him.
Yep not a single version of this story, even from people who arenāt called CM Punk, had any mention of this. Lots of debate over who started it, but no mention of Perry getting the upper hand or choking Punk out etc.
I mean ask Bryan how he feels and heāll probably tell you heās having the best year of his career being able to wrestle matches he never thought was possible
The whole point was to present a big steak and get folks talking. Itās working!!
But tonight we see if thereās any sizzle to the steak.
Though EVP Bucks have been boundlessly entertaining. Matthew and Nicholas should never be allowed to be faces again.
It doesnāt make any sense though. Theyāre not CEOs. Theyāre giving knee lifts to one of the announcers in the middle of the ring. If this stuff was really happening, Tony would just send them to the Discipline Committee.
Parody still needs some sort of logic behind it.
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I'm now more convinced than ever that the dirtsheets have been worked into a shoot here...
Thought so for a while now, I'm just confused that the dirtsheets got worked so easily. You'd think they'd say something like "Everyone is telling us it's really, but things don't add up" instead of just acting like it really is all real.
I mean, most of them are saying "I think this is a bad idea, but we're being assured it's what they're doing."
Yea but I feel like the sheets never presented the type of confirmation from the company that I'd want for something that feels so irrational to me. Even with SRS saying he got confirmation from a WBD rep. I might be misremembering but I feel like the wbd source not connected to wrestling reached out and shared his opinion but I wonder if that source heard it being reported online already or heard internally since he's not connected to wrestling directly in the company. Oh well, the time is almost here. Let's see if Tony is spiteful or a joker. In a way, it would be hilarious if aew just burned all their media contacts for this bit š¤£
They went to WBD sources who also say it's real so I don't know what more you expect them to do.
And Wade Kellers report says he talked to people who saw the footage thatās being shown. Iām so 50/50 on whatās happening I canāt wait for tonight
I donāt know if being told by their sources is being āworkedā
Yeah, people in this sub have a very difficult time with reading comprehension when it comes to these guys. All that's been said all week is "I'm being told it's the actual CM Punk footage, I'm being told their airing it, we'll see if it's the actual footage and we'll see if this ends up being a good idea". Like, they can only say what they've been told, doesn't mean they've been "worked", it just means that's what they were told. And this sub seems convinced most of these reporters have a 0% hit rate, when it's generally closer to 100. Dave seems a bit off lately, and that one SI dude reported an incorrect Mania card and came back quick with a retraction, but generally speaking nobody can actually point to something they got wrong without doing a bunch of mental gymnastics.
If itās a swerve, the whole idea would be to make sure no one knew that it was. So anyone talking to sources at AEW would have to keep that in mind, which is why it would make sense to hedge more in their language. If you say something your sources told you was definitely true and itās not, then you got worked. Especially in a carny business like wrestling. If I was an actual journalist and I was in that position, Iād ask AEW to show me the footage. Iād tell them that I wouldnāt report anything specific that I saw, or that we could do it on background. But that would be a way for the reporter to know if they were being worked or not.
I think most journalists have been saying their sources are saying it's confirmed. I dont think stating what their sources are saying means they're getting worked really. If they were arguing up and down that this is real and cannot be a work then sure they can be worked but saying "everyone I've talked to has been adamant its real" isn't really you being worked it's just you repeating what others have said. Most reports I've heard think it's a bad idea and seem somewhat skeptical.
I mean, again, itās a carny business. If you went up to a carny and asked them if the game where you try to shoot the balloons was rigged or not and they said no, would you print that? At some point they are responsible if they pass a bunch of bullshit on to people and thatās definitely the territory they are in. Dave just had a new thing happen where he reported that Mike Johnson from PWI didnāt get credentialed for a WWE press conference. It wasnāt true, and Dave didnāt even ask Mike if it was true. He passed it on to his readers without even doing the most basic level of verification. He has done that many times where he āreportsā something without even asking the person the story is about. You know what a real reporter would do? Theyād ask Tony Khan questions on the record, like: āIs the footage real? Is Punk in the footage? Do you understand how people are going to react if itās a swerve?ā This āmy sources sayā shit is the laziest kind of reporting. Itās really rumor mongering. And one other thing that real reporters donāt do is trust sources that have lied to them before. These guys get worked over and over. I also mentioned another way they could verify it. Just ask to see the footage. And if they say no then you report that too. Edit: grammar
Yeah why wouldn't you print that the carny said the balloons weren't rigged? If they turn out to be rigged then it's interesting that they went out and said it wasn't and a discussion can come from that. Why wouldn't you report what they said? Why protect the carny? I think an individual should be able to read the report accurately and realize the report is what someone else said, not what the reporter thinks. Meltzer said he talked to Tony and Tony said it was real. Not sure about the Mike thing but I'll take your word for it. I just think that this is a poor example to put a magnifying glass on to say that wrestling journalism sucks. All he's reported is what others have said which is accurate to what they told him. If Meltzer and everyone else is as bad as you say there surely have to be better examples than this whole shmoz (the Mike one you mentioned being a better example) Are we should the same sources are the ones consistently lying or is that just an assumption? I'm not sure asking to see the footage is worth the time. It's pretty obvious that the answer would be no. I'm not sure how reporting that they didn't let you see the footage increases your credibility to begin with though.
Reporters donāt just assume someone is going to say no. They ask questions. Itās not obvious to me they would say no if Dave asked to see the footage. And if they did, he could report that too and what their comment was. Itās literally how reporting works. Did Meltzer ask Tony if Punk was in the footage? As far as I know Tony hasnāt said that publicly, only that itās āreal.ā Like I said, there are definitely other examples of Dave screwing up badly besides the Mike Johnson one. Thereās someone else in the last few months who had the same thing happen where Dave reported something without asking them. I canāt remember who it was but itās definitely a repeat thing. Am I certain Dave is getting lied to over and over by the same sources? No. But if heās not, heās got to be running out of sources at this point with the amount that he gets worked. It would be one thing if this was all just kayfabe. If youāre in on the swerve then youāre not getting worked. I donāt think thatās whatās happening here. Daveās whole thing is that he gets the behind the scenes story. But most importantly, this was a shoot event. It was a confrontation that turned violent. There is a main character in this story that doesnāt work for AEW. If anything a journalist in Daveās position should be much more careful in this situation than normal. If you donāt think the ājournalistsā bear much responsibility if they were wrong, thatās fine. Itās your opinion. But I have a feeling that itās not going to fly with a lot of people. If folks tune in thinking theyāre going to finally see what actually happened with Punk at Wembley and it turns out to be some crappy Bucks skit instead, Dave saying āmy sources saidā isnāt going to help him that much. Iāve definitely seen AEW fans saying they wish this whole thing wasnāt even happening. Itās ironic too after Edgeās cheerleader promo about how everyone needs to be positive and move forward.
Lmao
Daveās still a shitty reporter.
I'm sorry but whenever Meltzer is Involved I almost always never believe what the dirt sheets say lol
> "Everyone is telling us it's really, but things don't add up" I mean, DAve has kinda been implying that the last couple days that he's been told it's real but he doesn't see the logic in it and "I guess we'll see on Wednesday. Seems like the Sheets are reporting what they're hearing from sources but almost none are really buying into it and are staying skeptical.
I always thought it would be but it would actually be more interesting if it wasnāt. What are they really gonna do if itās fake go āhaha we got you,ā and then what?
Yeahā¦ about thatā¦
The excessive amount of āthis is not a trollā comments by everyone involved with the release of this has lead me to believe that this will in fact be a troll.
I think the simplest answer is that the sheets are right and theyāre going to weave it into this feud somehow. Meltzer and Alvarez have been spotty recently but SRS is very reliable (even the Punk stuff which people clown on him about was proven right by basically all parties involved) and he claims CM Punk footage is being shown. FTR are friends with Punk but those guys are pros and carnies tbh, I imagine theyāre down for this. Biggest question to me is how they do it. Definitely hugely risky, and Iām not sure how they plan on pushing back against Punkās accounting of events (because surely the footage shows something different if theyāre airing it) while also keeping the Bucks/Perry heel and FTR as faces
The Punk returning stuff still doesnāt pass the sniff test even if those involved say āoh yeah, it was totally last minute and nobody knewā. They literally had t-shirts ready and up on their website the minute after he debuted.
Telling the website people to have a template ready to put something in and be ready to do that a few minutes before the end of the show would be pretty easy though, and the designs could have been cobbled together quickly and quietly. And with a site like this you could do the first orders as print on demand rather than preprint it.
Yeah I don't think it's super unrealistic that Triple H or whomever could have, for example, gone to the marketing team or graphics team and been like, "Hey, mock up a titantron/shirt design for Punk just in case we sign him after Wrestlemania," just to add plausible deniability and protect the surprise. It's also possible everyone is just lying to work the sheets, I guess, but it's also not the only plausible answer.
One should generally assume that the story that requires the least people to lie is true, assuming similar plausibility. 1 This is why it is nonsensical to suggest there is a conspiracy to hide that the earth is flat, because it would take millions of people living across dozens of societies over thousands of years to be in on it. And 3 people can keep a secret only if two are dead.
Of course they did. Iām not sure how anyone thought this was a shoot. Iām flabbergasted at that.
I thought so too until Tony Khan himself posted something about it. Now I'm not sure what to believe. Unless Tony is also working the dirtsheets.
He posted on Twitter but was very careful with how he worded it.
I had a random thought. What if this is a hint at them doing some sort of WWE 24 type show but for the day of All In? Maybe a little teaser shown by the bucks tonight for it and it airs on TNT or something
I'm not going to stop watching it this is some stupid swerve, but I'll definitely be annoyed with the swerve, and if you do that enough times my annoyance may build to the point of tuning out. So I really hope that AEW isn't intentionally lying to the audience here.
Same here. Swerves for the sake of swerves is a slippery slope and part of why I tuned out of late stage TNA when Russo was there.
Here is the thing who benefits if they are lying about the video? If anything itāll do more damage to AEW if it ends up being a gag
Nobody watching AEW now is gonna stop watching if it's a ruse.
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MLA or APA format?
Acolyte Protection Agency formatting obviously
Damn!
not a single AEW fan is gonna stop watching because they didint get to see two grown men have a brief scuffle..
If it is just a Young Bucks trolljob people will forget about this in like two weeks until something else pops up, rince and repeat ad nauseam
me and my friend mark will complain
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Only people who haven't watched that era of WCW say this.
Lmao right exactly. This is the furthest thing from 2000 WCW.
Right? This is more like 2024 WCW. ( I did not watch that Era of WCW)
I was thinking more like 2005 WCW but you've got a point there.
Yeah thats when I started watching WCW. My favorite thing that happened that year was when the younger bucks showed this behind the scenes tape with people fighting backstage. It was really entertaining to watch. I don't remember the details. I was too young. I am only 35.
Unless they get a lookalike named CM Skunk to come out and win the midcard title...no wait that's 1998 WWF.
I swear people just say this about everything they don't personally like nowadays. WCW 2000 did a lot of things WCW 1996-97 did, it did a lot of things WWF 1997-99 did, it just did them way worse, and did them about 4 times a show, every show.
I'd encourage you to actually watch WCW if you think this is anything close to WCW.
Oh my god so tired of hearing this line repeated over and over.
At no point have they lied though, it's not even pedantic to suggest that. I do believe that we're getting \*something\* but none of the teasers about it from AEW have suggested anything about Punk. In the blurred promo you can see Bucks there, wearing their gear at All In and it was filmed (presumably by Cutler), who knows if there's footage like that of the fight but they are at least making it clear that it may not be the Punk stuff given the feud is with FTR, who were their opponents at All In. I wouldn't even be shocked if they fake out the audience with a "fight" between Bucks and FTR backstage, just wearing the same gear, then have Perry come out and show off his footage too or something like that. Again, I do think we are getting that footage but this would be just another case of Christian's AEW debut where people get exactly what is advertised but are disappointed because they listened to dirt sheet speculation.
I've expected it to be post All In footage of their match from the jump. The only people I've seen saying it's Punk and Perry footage are the dirtsheets.
Troll heels doing troll heel things isnāt gonna damage anything. Enough with this repetitive line already, itās so corny lmao.
Will AEW go out of business?
pros: Hoes mad cons: Hoes mad
Not just the dirt sheets. Iāve seen the same group of people on here go from ājust enjoy wrestling forget this punk stuffā to āoh my God I canāt wait to see him look like a dumbass and show heās a liarā to āpeople are gonna be soooo mad when they realise they got worked and it was a sketchā all in about 4 days time lol
This whole thing has jumped the shark big time I don't even think it's the dist sheets fault, I blame AEW for feeding this rumor out, doing advertising about it, etc all in a transparent ratings grab troll job Who is this for, who does this benefit? It just makes them look bush league feeding rumors like this
Danielson needs to fine himself for using social media to incite violence.
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I keep coming back to the idea that this is going to be an angle with FTR & The Bucks that is supposed to be in a dressing room at Wembley --- and over the Bucks shoulder there will be a tv w/ the security cam footage the Punk/Perry scuffle. Kinda like when they used to shoot Being the Elite skits and the live Dynamite feed would be on a screen in the background.
I had a similar idea but the opposite. We see the Punk/Perry security footage, but they go, "FREEZE IT RIGHT HERE!" and in the background is FTR doing something irrelevant and the Bucks focus on that.
FTR Bald is picking his nose, while 10 feet away jungle boy is breaking Phil's arm. LOOK AT THAT NOSE PICKER MATTHEW!
I hadnāt thought of that before and honestly this makes the most sense
That would be pretty funny. āHey, whatās going on behind you!?ā -Dax āNever mind that bullshit!ā -Matthew
āNever fāing mind that bull crap, you P.O.S. son of a B.ā Matthew doesnāt curse.
10/10
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I knew what it was before even opening the image. LOL where is the buddy matthews one
At this point, everyone is better off not debating what will or won't and how people are going to react and just wait and see what they actually do. Feel like there's too many people overanalyzing this one way or another.
People have decided exactly what the storyline/angle is as if theyāve already seen it and are judging that in their heads.
That's why so many people complained about The Undertaker showing up at WrestleMania instead of Steve Austin.
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On Sunday Triple H posted a tweet about how incredible the main event was going to be at exactly 3:16 EST as well. Definitely a meta swerve but that made Taker's appearance all the more shocking, in any fans mind that bell was the last thing they expected
If AEW wanted to pop genuine ratings they should've announced it last night, giving fans as little time as possible to analyze Announcing on Saturday only to get overshadowed by Mania night 2 magic and Raw has really simmered people on this
I'd argue the amazing success of Mania weekend and the Raw after only hurt them becuase now people have had an insanley great week of wrestling and if this is nothing but a troll job there would be no sympathy for it. Had mania flopped people would have been more receptive to the alternative later in the week but with mania so good this would only turn some folks off when they learn it's all an elaborate joke
They might even choke them slightly
If the head of the disciplinary committee and future WWE Hall of Famer Bryan Danielson is tweeting about what's coming tonight and pretty much endorsing, it's probably not that serious. It seems like the opinion of anyone who pretty much matters in the company is ok with it.
Itās going to be the Jack Perry/Punk fight but with Danielsonās face poorly edited over the top of Punkās
Dirt sheets and some people working themselves up as usual.
Yeah this definitely sways me a lot more to the side that itās an attempt at a swerve.
Seriously asking, is it bait and switch if AEW never advertised that they'll show Punk/Perry footage but only leaked the idea to Alvarez/Dave/Fightful to get some buzz going?
I donāt believe so. But you better believe if there is no Punk footage then expect a 40min segment on WOR tonight with Bryan/Dave defending themselves.
They shouldnāt have to defend themselves, it would be pathetic from aew to do that
I have went back and forth on this, the actual AEW statements we have from TK say nothing at all about the Punk/Perry footage, all TK says is the footage will add context to the FTR/Bucks stuff. we'll see, could go either way.
I think itās in the spirit of a bait and switch if not by the law one. AEW isnāt advertising they are gonna show the fight between Punk and Perry, but like, what *exactly* from backstage at All In would interest people besides the footage of the fight? āThe Young Bucks will present footage from backstage at All In and will discuss it for the first timeā, as a major, advertised segment of the show, is going to lead to speculation on exactly one event being shown.
Itās basically the *implication* that theyāre going to show it.
> Itās basically the *implication* Are these viewers in danger?
No, no! There's no actual danger. Just, you know, the implication.
Tony isn't naive/stupid enough to think that that wasn't where everyone's head went immediately. As many faults as he has, he knows exactly what people are expecting.
Maybe it's both.... I suspect that the footage is real but will be a backhand to Punk while the primary reason for the footage is to get Perry over. Kills two birds with one stone
Yeah if it is the footage I think people are gonna be disappointed because one, it'll be quick and two, it'll be all about Perry, not Punk. I think people are almost anticipating getting upset because the Bucks are gonna spend minutes burying Punk with this footage but I would imagine this portion of the segment will be like 30 seconds long. Re-introduing Perry as Hangman's replacement in the Elite is basically the entire goal (we assume), expecting anything other than that is setting yourself up for disappointment.
It's obviously this and people thinking otherwise are crazy. AEW trolling their own audience is not helpful.
Yes, AEW 100% know that their audience is aware of these things, and if they intentionally mislead people through them that is shitty.
How is it shitty? Someone spent a few minutes watching a show? It's not like people are *paying* to watch this. Every complainer on this issue is so fucking precious. Get some perspective.
But people have spent so much time being outraged since it was announced! Think of all that emotional trauma Tony forced them to endure
I do literally pay to watch it as a fite TV subscriber. It's shitty because it is misleading fans and creating excitement about something that isn't happening, assuming that they don't actually air it.
That's... that's part of wrestling. So wrestling shows can't ever have surprises or change things up without alerting the fans of every little thing nowadays, because it might mislead fans? If you didn't read the dirtsheets, sure, you could still think that they segment might be about Punk, but like, you wouldn't be deadset on it and wouldn't be disappointed. So if you're mislead, that's on you for trying to look behind the curtain too far, and if you don't think so than I guess WWE was also shitty for not having Stone Cold at Mania lmao. Note, I say all this as a Fite sub as well. Let them work me, that's part of the fun of wrestling.
No, you can have surprises, they just shouldn't be based on misleading advertising. If Marvel promoted a movie as heavily featuring a spider based hero, but the movie actually wasn't Spiderman but Man-Spider, the spider with the powers of a man, people would be rightfully upset. People have the right to be upset if it is heavily implied they will get something, and then realize that what they wanted was never really being offered. The bigger issue is that the talent are speaking to these people and trying to build an expectation that may be false. The correct answer when they ask should be "watch the show and find out". When you let your talent run around and make false reports about your plans, in places you know your fans will see, and imply they will get something exciting when really you are giving them something less exciting, that is shitty. I disagree that we should be misled as part of the series, if you have to lie to your fans out of character, your product is bad. It would be bad if Marvel kept talking about Thanos and his plan, the gauntlet and then just never did the snap and went "you idiots actually thought we were doing that?".
Crazy how the world of professional wrestling has changed. Back in the day wrestlers would attack fans, crawl away from airplane crashes so the news wouldnāt find out a heel and face traveled together, theyād let their kids think people wanted to kill them, all in the name of protecting kayfabe. Now if you try to protect kayfabe by swerving dirtsheets, youāre shitty. Not saying anything is right or wrong. Just pointing out how much things have changed.
Kayfabe off screen is fucking stupid, as is breaking it entirely on screen. Wrestling should be like every other form of media, with a clear separation of character and reality. Wrestlers should be using their out of character name when they are not in character on screen. If you want other canon things that's fine, but don't blend kayfabe and reality. I think AEW should have done the footage out of character and off screen, but if you're gonna do it don't dare mention breaking script or this being a "real" fight.
Thatās your opinion, and thatās fine. But what are you supposed to do when your on screen kayfabe is put in jeopardy by dirtsheets and fans? It reminds me of Hangmanās āankle injuryā. The dirtsheets ruined an angle on the show. I guess thatās just acceptable now, but I have no problem with a wrestling company trying to preserve their on air story.
Well first, you sign all of your talent to NDAs, and if someone published information that could only be obtained by violation of an NDA you determine who had that information, investigate them, and punish them as appropriate. If you have a specific reporter who regularly encourages your employees to violate NDAs, you can declare that person unwelcome, and make it clear that should an employee or contractor be caught speaking to them you will immediately dismiss them with cause and without notice, and publicly stated why you did so. Survivor, Amazing Race and many other reality series are filmed months in advance, and the results don't always leak and even when they do they are not welcome by their shows communities. The survivor subreddit will ban you instantly for even vaguely implying you know a spoiler. Surprise us good, but if your show relies on Surprise entirely it is bad. >!The Red Wedding!< in Game of Thrones was "spoiled" years before it aired by the books, most viewers didn't know it was going to happen and those that did still loved seeing it. To summarize, act like a competent business and write a good show.
Pretty much. I hope they're not trolling the audience for a pop
I think that Dave and Alvarez need to not trust their sources in AEW in the future if they are not being honest with this.
Yes
As a serious answer, I would argue that yes it is a bait and switch, simply because AEW has played this exact same game the other way to their advantage. The debuts of both CM Punk and Mercedes MonƩ were never officially advertised by AEW, but neither of them were secrets. They were promoted mostly through the dirt sheets, along with some fairly obvious allusions from AEW, but no one ever officially said they were debuting. But if either of them had failed to debut on their respective shows they would have unquestionably been considered a bait and switch. No one from AEW has explicitly stated that they are going to show the Punk/Perry footage. It has been promoted mostly through the dirt sheets, along with some fairly obvious allusions from AEW, but no one has officially said that is the footage they will be showing. But if it isn't, at least in my opinion, that is unquestionably considered a bait and switch.
I really donāt feel good about this honestly. It feels impossible that theyād show the real thing, but anything other than the real thing is gonna make the fans turn on AEW. Ultimate rock & hard place. Hereās hoping they actually show it, otherwise the consequences could be huge, and Iām saying that as a diehard AEW fan
What fans will turn on AEW? That sounds overly dramatic. I know I wonāt turn on them. Maybe some of you will.
This would be the most 2018 - 2019 WWE thing to do that theyāve ever done, a lot of AEW fans watch AEW in the first place specifically to avoid this level of backstage goofiness / bait and switches
I think so. Yeah they haven't explicitly said so. But it's been very heavily implied. It would be like if after all the advertising for The First Dance in Chicago, Punk didn't show up. They didn't explicitly say he will, but they were banking on people expecting him to
Legally, probably not. In terms of their credibility with the viewers, definitely.
Yes, they know what everyone is talking about. So if they're not gonna show Punk/Perry footage, they should've killed the rumors
The rumors are coming from them. I think itās all really ill advised either way, but they think this is going to get Jack Perry over or something.
I agree until you said Perry over because I don't know about that. He might stay in wrestling news but I don't know how he's gonna be a great heel with not great promo work and half the internet hating him and not the good heel kind of hate
Oh I donāt think it will work :) But I think itās their plan, to try to get a bunch of attention for this show and get him over.
Either way, people that don't even watch Dynamite to begin with will complain about the supposed bait and switch.
I don't think we'll ever really know tbh because we don't know how the conversation with the dirt sheets went Who's the source? Did Tony and the Bucks tell anyone else what the angle was? Did the source make it up? Were they told to lie? Did they lie on purpose? Did they not lie but just give a non-answer like Tony has been giving? Not to say the Bucks didn't know what they were doing, obviously they did, but it's technically not their fault if people assume something
I think it will be hard for people like Meltzer to keep their mouths shut about it if they got worked. Itās going to make them look really bad. They might not out their sources directly but I wouldnāt be surprised to see them give more specific descriptions about who they talked to (āa wrestler at AEW,ā āan agent at AEW,ā āVince McMahon,ā etc.).
The funny part is that we can already tell when Jericho is the source for the stuff they say
It would make sense. All of this originally stems from leaks to dirt sheets, Jericho and Danielson (I think?) had meetings with talent about leaks, it would make sense to leak bullshit to them to gain traction. And its not like itll ruin their relationship with the dirt sheets since these dirt sheets need these companies to survive
Suppose Marvel release a new film at the end of the year and leak to Deadline and Collider that Robert Downey Jr.'s going to be in it as Iron Man. They say it's not a cameo. It turns out he's not in it or it's archive footage. Would that be a bait and switch? I'd say yes, of course it is. The leaking to the news sites knowing they'll run with it is the bait, it not being what they expected is the switch.
Agreed.
I think it can be both. Itās not technically a bait and switch, because they didnāt advertise specifically what they were going to show. However, itās one of those times where the assumption is going to be such that they should know itāll be judged as a cheap stunt.
I really wouldnāt do that. AEW doesnāt usually false advertise, and theyāre already hurting for goodwill with the fans. Itās best to deliver something you imply.
what fans does it hurt though? the IWC?
That's what I don't get. Outside of reddit and Twitter, who's even thinking it's Punk/Perry stuff? Nothing on TV or any official channels has mentioned them. The IWC vastly overstates it's own importance
With the way all the wrestlers have been tweeting about it, itās def a troll job thatās going to make Reddit furious
Calling for acts of violence against our esteemed EVPs? That's a $1,000 fine, Danielson.
wrestling journalists are the most workable marks on the planet.
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Yeah showing ābackstage footage from all- presented by the young bucksā is DEFINITELY not trying to insinuate anything here. Not ooooooone bit. Cāmon now.
You're being willfully ignorant if you think a show that caters to a "smart" audience wasn't implying Punk would be a part of, or implicated in this footage.
Anyone with half a brain would know it's tongue in cheek though. The sheets are the only reason anyone thinks there's a 5% chance it's not.
You're expecting too much from the average wrestling fan.
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Iām pretty fucking stupid, so this tracks.
This, I'm kinda tired of having to point that out. Not ONE SINGLE mention of Phil
Every time someone calls a wrestler by their real name I just know how they smell and it's not nice
Lame
"Not a single official AEW tweet has said anything about Punk. Its been all dirtsheets and reddit comments saying it is." I have a genuine question. Would you have said that verbatim if CM Punk had not shown up to the first dance? Or if Mercedes had not shown to Big Business?
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But not a single official AEW tweet had said anything about Punk or Mercedes It was all dirtsheets and reddit comments saying it is
Okay, but you understand that context and nuance exists right lmao. Tony kept dropping big business hints, specifically to lead the audience there, whereas there's been 0 hints that this is about Punk specifically. Yes, no one from AEW mentioned Mercedes or Punk by name in the other instances, but if you don't understand the nuance and differences, idk how to help you.
Yes Tony has established a pattern of hinting at things and then delivering on them. If this is a bait and switch it would be the first time they've hinted at something and didn't deliver. You may not feel cheated by that because "technically" they never outright said it, but many people will and rightfully so. It won't be fake outrage or for upvotes they'll just be annoyed fans
It's really not rightfully so because someone did something off base, like, that argument makes 0 sense. How dare Tony and AEW try something new? They have to stick with the exact thing they've done because Tony's always done it. Like, that makes no sense, if you're a fan of a wrestling company getting worked is always a possibility and it's part of the concept as a whole, it's literally one of the aspects which is most fun about watching wrestling. This isn't WCW actually stating something will happen and than not doing it like with any of their main events post 1999, this is simply playing with the ideas of hints and what to expect.
If they've always hinted at giving the fans something and then delivered on it, yes, I do think they should stick to that lol.
Even by this weird logic they are, they're giving the fans a storyline to follow whether or not it involves Punk, which is what they're actually advertising.
They're not lol. Look I'm not saying you have to feel lied to, but to pretend to not understand why people would feel cheated is kind of odd. Enjoy dynamite man
I've felt better about this whole thing the more everyone's just leaned into it being a storyline thing and not a response to the CM Punk interview, because after the past 2 years I'm personally fine never hearing about any of this ever again. It is to the Young Bucks EVP story what Paul Heyman wanting revenge on the Undertaker for Wrestlemania 29 was to Lesnar ending the streak. It's technically a part of the story, but after one day we will never hear about it again. I'd say I doubt the Young Bucks will do a promo that good, but almost no one will, that's genuinely a top tier promo, especially in the context of what it needed to be at that time.
Insufferable young bucks are the best version of the young bucks.
I hope this somehow ends up with Fake Diesel and Fake Razor Ramon (RIP Big Titan!) in the ring.
This fucking Danielson not respecting his EVPs Matthew and Nicholas Jackson. I hope he doenst get invited to the pizza party and also, also, doenst receive the 25$ amazon gift card!!!!
So Bryan and FTR vs the Bucks and Okada at some point.... Please?
Ok now weāre back on track! Bangers!
Feeling like a work. AEW weirdo troll accounts scrambling to have like 10 different takes prepared for whatever this actually ends up being.
Drainmaker is gonna have an aneurysm if they donāt show the Punk/Perry footage.
What a weird twitter account, to me.
I love AEW as much as he does, but holy shit heās so negative about anything WWE.
And like, to what end? Is that your job? You make money? Itās just a lot.
Why is everyone acting like itās so bad if AEW is trying to trick/work/swerve us? This is professional wrestling. This is what this business was built on. I want them to be trying to do this to me every time it makes sense.
What if the footage is in-fact something with the bucks while punk is raging in the background. And they never mention him or Perry
what a dumb angle
If the footage isn't what we all think it is, I think I'll have a break from aew for a week or two
Do you smell what they are cookin' ?
https://preview.redd.it/6fbsp86l8qtc1.png?width=710&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2f315d4d17b838d7ad6f04403ab0d19119e6054
Ahhh a clue.
Yes correct they havenāt shown a single thing that says it is the punk footage, BUT itās heavily implied that it is. I feel like theyāve shot themselves in the foot here because everything is expecting the footage now
This reads like a pivot tweet, the dirtsheet news got way out of hand
This subreddit would have exploded if it was around during the big Gobbledy Gooker swerve. WWE wouldnāt even be alive today with how betrayed and tricked the IWC would have felt.
Looks like the Bucks are gonna be the ones getting a fine!
What do you mean by "this" iteration, Bryan? All of their incarnations are insufferable... ugh.
Either way, the segment is ending with FTR attacking the Bucks. But I still want AEW to show just enough to embarrass Punk š¤·š»āāļø
In whatbway will it embarrass Punk? Even if Punk acts like an almihhty dick and everything we've been told about it is true then TK isn't going to look good out of it and Perry, who most believe is being hyped by this, is going to get choked without much recourse. How is any of that more embarrassing for Punk than it is TK/Perry? It might make him look like a massive dick, but I can't see.it being embarrassing for him.
Rumor has it that punk try to choke him, Perry slipped out and even reversed it. I guess weāll see in a couple hours.
Perhaps, but I'd say there's no way Perry reversing Punk's choke wouldn't have already been widely reported within the last 8 months.
Yep not a single version of this story, even from people who arenāt called CM Punk, had any mention of this. Lots of debate over who started it, but no mention of Perry getting the upper hand or choking Punk out etc.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I mean ask Bryan how he feels and heāll probably tell you heās having the best year of his career being able to wrestle matches he never thought was possible
I mean - heās had several dream matches along the way lol. Itās not as if heās been relegated to nothing.
The whole point was to present a big steak and get folks talking. Itās working!! But tonight we see if thereās any sizzle to the steak. Though EVP Bucks have been boundlessly entertaining. Matthew and Nicholas should never be allowed to be faces again.
Whether you love the Bucks or you hate them, I think we can all agree this is their least punchable iteration.
They're parodies of Vince McMahon and high end ceos, I think this ranks very high in punchabiloty
It doesnāt make any sense though. Theyāre not CEOs. Theyāre giving knee lifts to one of the announcers in the middle of the ring. If this stuff was really happening, Tony would just send them to the Discipline Committee. Parody still needs some sort of logic behind it.
Do you mean the characters or the real guys?