# Meltzer: Recent AEW "backstage drama" nearing "breaking point" with some wrestlers



## EvilDead (Apr 15, 2014)

Recent AEW 'backstage drama' nearing 'breaking point' with some wrestlers


Dave Meltzer gave some insight into the recent backstage problems with AEW.




www.f4wonline.com


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## TD Stinger (May 9, 2012)

I've said this other places, but let's say this is all a work, which it easily could be. What is the benefit to going this far for a work?

AEW was created on and has thrived on the "negative energy" produced by WWE for several years. Now, WWE is a position where it's riding a wave of positive momentum. Meanwhile with AEW, you have the most well known guy in the wrestling media talking about how there is so much drama right now behind the scenes. What good does this do them?

Does it get people talking? Sure. But honest question, what is the point of making your locker room look negative? What kind of tangible positive ownership is to be gained from this? Is this going to lead to increased buyrates? Or increased attendance? Or increased TV ratings? My guess is no. But hey, you get people talking when you already had people talking about you. So.......yay?


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## Saintpat (Dec 18, 2013)

TD Stinger said:


> I've said this other places, but let's say this is all a work, which it easily could be. What is the benefit to going this far for a work?
> 
> AEW was created on and has thrived on the "negative energy" produced by WWE for several years. Now, WWE is a position where it's riding a wave of positive momentum. Meanwhile with AEW, you have the most well known guy in the wrestling media talking about how there is so much drama right now behind the scenes. What good does this do them?
> 
> Does it get people talking? Sure. But honest question, what is the point of making your locker room look negative? What kind of tangible positive ownership is to be gained from this? Is this going to lead to increased buyrates? Or increased attendance? Or increased TV ratings? My guess is no. But hey, you get people talking when you already had people talking about you. So.......yay?


Yeah I’m not sure I understand why all this ‘backstage angst work’ is necessary to turn CMP heel.

He’s a natural heel. Hand him a mic and say ‘make them hate you’ and he’s like a fish in water. He doesn’t need a bunch of ‘ooohhh, him and Hangman have beef over a minor character guy who hasn’t been seen on TV in ages’ to make people not like him.

All he needs to do is put WWE over (which he just did) in front of a live crowd and say it’s better than AEW (or that its top guys are better than AEW top guys) and … instant heat.


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## zkorejo (Jul 2, 2010)

TD Stinger said:


> I've said this other places, but let's say this is all a work, which it easily could be. What is the benefit to going this far for a work?
> 
> AEW was created on and has thrived on the "negative energy" produced by WWE for several years. Now, WWE is a position where it's riding a wave of positive momentum. Meanwhile with AEW, you have the most well known guy in the wrestling media talking about how there is so much drama right now behind the scenes. What good does this do them?
> 
> Does it get people talking? Sure. But honest question, what is the point of making your locker room look negative? What kind of tangible positive ownership is to be gained from this? Is this going to lead to increased buyrates? Or increased attendance? Or increased TV ratings? My guess is no. But hey, you get people talking when you already had people talking about you. So.......yay?


I think it makes things interesting. It gives it a wild west vibe to it. You never know what's real and what's not. 

People talk about Bret/Shawn to this day because it was interesting. Hbk not wanting to job to Austin at wm14 and Taker taping his fists as a warning to HBK. Stuff like Triple H and Rock not liking each other made their rivalry that much better. 

It's not negative IMO, its realistic.


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## 3venflow (Feb 3, 2019)

I assume this is Meltzer's version of SRS' Punk discord story.

Because Moxley, Jericho, Omega, Hangman have been together since day one and are known to all get along. Danielson doesn't do backstage wars. Cole is reportedly the nicest guy in the world and an Elite guy. MJF is AWOL. So that leaves Punk and maybe FTR vs. others?

Roster expansion always carries this risk. You start with a tight knit group with one objective but by doubling it, you bring different personalities and more competition.

Tony should take them all to Disneyland on a team bonding sesh. Or get his newly expanded talent relations team to earn their money.


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## Good Bunny (Apr 10, 2021)

I think it’s being overblown that Punk put WWE over. He’s shitting on Mox, who was a BIG name in WWE as well, and he’s shitting on Eddie, who is always the underdog. So it’s not like Punk is saying an AEW original is beneath a bunch of WWE guys. Kingston is not what I would call homegrown.

It’s a good roast too. Kingston isn’t better than Guerrero or Kofi, but it’s not a deep cut that’s gonna bury him. It’s just funny.


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

Good Bunny said:


> I think it’s being overblown that Punk put WWE over. He’s shitting on Mox, who was a BIG name in WWE as well, and he’s shitting on Eddie, who is always the underdog. So it’s not like Punk is saying an AEW original is beneath a bunch of WWE guys. Kingston is not what I would call homegrown.
> 
> It’s a good roast too. Kingston isn’t better than Guerrero or Kofi, but it’s not a deep cut that’s gonna bury him. It’s just funny.


The guy carrying the AEW title and who just got the Hulk Hogan booking a week prior isn’t as good as WWE.

Fuck Punk. That line does he, Mox, nor AEW any favors.


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## Saintpat (Dec 18, 2013)

Good Bunny said:


> I think it’s being overblown that Punk put WWE over. He’s shitting on Mox, who was a BIG name in WWE as well, and he’s shitting on Eddie, who is always the underdog. So it’s not like Punk is saying an AEW original is beneath a bunch of WWE guys. Kingston is not what I would call homegrown.
> 
> It’s a good roast too. Kingston isn’t better than Guerrero or Kofi, but it’s not a deep cut that’s gonna bury him. It’s just funny.


Wonder what the internal reaction will be when Punk says, ‘I work for a Khan, and he’s the second-best Khan running a wrestling promotion.’


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

Saintpat said:


> Wonder what the internal reaction will be when Punk says, ‘I work for a Khan, and he’s the second-best Khan running a wrestling promotion.’


Goddamn that is a perfect analogy and precisely why TK needs to nip it in the bud.


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## TD Stinger (May 9, 2012)

zkorejo said:


> I think it makes things interesting. It gives it a wild west vibe to it. You never know what's real and what's not.
> 
> People talk about Bret/Shawn to this day because it was interesting. Hbk not wanting to job to Austin at wm14 and Taker taping his fists as a warning to HBK. Stuff like Triple H and Rock not liking each other made their rivalry that much better.
> 
> It's not negative IMO, its realistic.


I don't see how giving things a "wild west vibe" in the way your describing it helps their business in any way.

Look at the examples you gave. Bret/Shawn's personal rivalry, Shawn potentially not wanting to lose to Austin at Mania, HHH & Rock having their beef. Did any of that stuff really make a positive impact on business? Not really. Hell, Shawn & Bret's tiff did more to hurt business considering how many times they were supposed to face each other and then didn't because of personal issues.

And then the Shawn at Mania 14 and the Rock/HHH beef, what are those moments? They are fun stories to tell years later, and nothing more. The stuff that really made the product interesting at the time was Austin being the biggest bad ass in the world and Vince being the evil boss to a cartoon degree. In other words, it was the fake shit that drove the business. These little stories make up fun documentaries but they didn't drive the business in a positive way as they were happening in real time.

And what we're talking today is guys talking about how there's a bunch of drama in the locker room when (if this is a work) you can tell compelling stories without trying to work people and make your locker room look toxic.


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## TheDraw (Jun 27, 2019)

TD Stinger said:


> I've said this other places, but let's say this is all a work, which it easily could be. What is the benefit to going this far for a work?
> 
> AEW was created on and has thrived on the "negative energy" produced by WWE for several years. Now, WWE is a position where it's riding a wave of positive momentum. Meanwhile with AEW, you have the most well known guy in the wrestling media talking about how there is so much drama right now behind the scenes. What good does this do them?
> 
> Does it get people talking? Sure. But honest question, what is the point of making your locker room look negative? What kind of tangible positive ownership is to be gained from this? Is this going to lead to increased buyrates? Or increased attendance? Or increased TV ratings? My guess is no. But hey, you get people talking when you already had people talking about you. So.......yay?


It's to get people talking exactly as you said.

The problem is that you expect Tony Khan to not be as short sighted as the average fanboy when in reality that's what he is. He hasn't done anything yet to prove that he isn't just a wrestling fan with deep pockets.

Everybody was happy getting a check and to have an alternative place to work the past two years so it was cool. Now there's pressure because certain numbers are expected to be hit each week and Khan can't just throw out his personal favorites anymore without losing numbers.


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## TKO Wrestling (Jun 26, 2018)

TD Stinger said:


> I don't see how giving things a "wild west vibe" in the way your describing it helps their business in any way.
> 
> Look at the examples you gave. Bret/Shawn's personal rivalry, Shawn potentially not wanting to lose to Austin at Mania, HHH & Rock having their beef. Did any of that stuff really make a positive impact on business? Not really. Hell, Shawn & Bret's tiff did more to hurt business considering how many times they were supposed to face each other and then didn't because of personal issues.
> 
> ...


Shawn/Bret absolutely changed business, will disagree there. It was the spark that got WCW eyeballs on WWF again. 4 months later WWF won a night v WCW. But it was also a gigantic deal. This isn't...yet.


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

TKO Wrestling said:


> Shawn/Bret absolutely changed business, will disagree there. It was the spark that got WCW eyeballs on WWF again. 4 months later WWF won a night v WCW. But it was also a gigantic deal. This isn't...yet.


Your memory is off a good bit on the timelines, bud.

Edit: my apologies. MY memory was off. Was thinking of Mankind’s title win, which was when the ratings war flat ended with Raw never looking back.


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## ThunderNitro (Sep 16, 2021)

Time to hang it up. It is all over for AEW. Time to break out the champagne bottles with all the E drones!


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## TKO Wrestling (Jun 26, 2018)

bdon said:


> Your memory is off a good bit on the timelines, bud.
> 
> Edit: my apologies. MY memory was off. Was thinking of Mankind’s title win, which was when the ratings war flat ended with Raw never looking back.


Yes sir. Mankind was the same night as the Finger Poke of Doom and 2 weeks before The Giants last WCW appearance. It was all over at that point. 2 months later the lead was wide.


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## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Apr 21, 2014)

*It's concerning when the #1 AEW shill is reporting this, because he usually goes out of his way to spin stories in their favor. I guess SRS took his spot and he feels some type of way about it.*


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## Geeee (Aug 9, 2010)

I kinda hope All Elite Women is a reality show. Could be good or could be annoying based on recent reports


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## BIIIG Nige (5 mo ago)

It's all good. You're all talking about it. This is a good strategy to get the views, whether its on TV or through social media. A win for them.


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## thorwold (Dec 19, 2015)

I mean, the Punk and Cabana stuff is real, and predates AEW. Cabana was part of the Dark Order, Page is obviously close with those guys. It doesn't take much to connect the dots as to exactly why there would be genuine tension, and how it could easily branch out from those guys. As to how serious it all is and whether or not it is genuinely near any kind of breaking point, that is another matter.


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## JasmineAEW (Oct 19, 2020)

It's pretty amazing how two grown men like Punk and Cabana can't work things out and restore their friendship. It's a silly feud.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

“Meltzer didn't go into details about which other top talents were having issues and with who or what.”

ok… so i read that article….

and it basically says nothing - except Hangman / Punk which he got from Punks promo….

have we all found out Dave thinks wrestling is real?


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## Ockap (Jun 11, 2021)

Fire the entire dork order and that Karen amanda huber, issue solved.


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## rich110991 (Aug 27, 2020)

There was drama at my old job too.


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## Araxen (Oct 10, 2019)

It's really weird that all the dirt sheets this time have some dirt to report regarding this. That never happens. This is exactly why I think it's all a work now.


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## Irish Jet (Nov 15, 2011)

> Meltzer didn't go into details about which other top talents were having issues and with who or what.


LOL I wonder who be telling Meltzer about how much of an issue Punk is without revealing themselves. Couldn't be his buddies?

I'm delighted to see someone standing up Twinkle Toes and his merry band of dipshits. I think Cabana was treated badly by Punk but once you make the decision to sign Punk you know that there's a problem. And Punk makes money, no one is choosing Cabana over him.

Punk is a notorious asshole but that promo was glorious and made for amazing TV. Also one of the very few guys who references people he isn't feuding with, the lack of which has always pissed me off with AEW. It would be interesting to see who else is for/against him. We know The Elite will back their boy and Jericho already had a fractured relationship Khan. I'd be interested where MJF would land.

It would be hilarious if Khan backs those guys instead of Punk and FTR.


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## Irish Jet (Nov 15, 2011)

Good Bunny said:


> I think it’s being overblown that Punk put WWE over. He’s shitting on Mox, who was a BIG name in WWE as well, and he’s shitting on Eddie, who is always the underdog. So it’s not like Punk is saying an AEW original is beneath a bunch of WWE guys. Kingston is not what I would call homegrown.
> 
> It’s a good roast too. Kingston isn’t better than Guerrero or Kofi, but it’s not a deep cut that’s gonna bury him. It’s just funny.


"These people aren’t #1 in anything" is literally what he said.

If he wasn’t trying to imply WWE was better then he chose his words pretty poorly.


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## AthleticGirth (Jul 25, 2020)

As gossip dumps go this does all seem to be very coordinated. Scoop hungry 'Journalists' like Dave proving to be the wrestling business' useful idiots.

So here we are, Wednesday afternoon no one cared what Adam Page had to say or had any interest in a Punk rematch. Wednesday night everyone wants to hear what Adam Page has to say and wants to see his beef with Punk play out in the ring.


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## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

It went from

"1 of the reasons AEW is going to be great because it's not going to have a toxic backstage environment like that carny WWE "

To


"1 of the great things about AEW is it might have a toxic wild west environment. Folk may really hate each other and that's great"


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## Art Vandaley (Jan 9, 2006)

JasmineAEW said:


> It's pretty amazing how two grown men like Punk and Cabana can't work things out and restore their friendship. It's a silly feud.


Cabana nearly fucked over CM Punk pretty badly by attempting to do a deal with WWE during the court case, then after Punk won anyway had the gall to ask Punk to pay his legal bills, bills Cabana had run up helping WWE against Punk.


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## Prince Devitt (Mar 21, 2020)

As a hockey fan first and wrestling fan second I have a tendency to look at wrestling stuff with a team sport bias, but if aew were my favorite hockey team and one of our better/best players were fucking with locker room chemistry and being a cancer you get rid of him you don't want that around the young guys,you are going to alienate your other top players, divide the support staff etc, the short term pain of getting rid of him will not be as bad as the potential long term pain could be if you keep him. Of course this isn't the a team sport so the above might not be as impactful in a wrestling locker room vs team sport locker room


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## CM Buck (Sep 2, 2012)

Meh the we are one big family was always bullshit. You can't bring a large group together and expect it to be all love. Wrestling companies like forums don't work that way. You're going to make friends, enemies, bury hatchets or fantasise about burying hatchets in skulls. 

If you're in an environment where everyone loves each other then the sex and koolaid better be good.


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## AthleticGirth (Jul 25, 2020)

Art Vandaley said:


> Cabana nearly fucked over CM Punk pretty badly by attempting to do a deal with WWE during the court case, then after Punk won anyway had the gall to ask Punk to pay his legal bills, bills Cabana had run up helping WWE against Punk.


The civil lawsuit was brought by Dr Chris Amann independent of the WWE. The dirt sheets falsely reported Colt attended a WWE show backstage after Amann's lawsuit had been filed - which wouldn't really have compromised the case anyway. There were also reports Punk was angry that Colt took the podcast down so quickly.

What we know is Punk paid $1.2 million in legal fees for both himself and Colt to be represented in the Amann case. For whatever reason, Colt hired his own legal representatives and broke away from Punk's legal team.

After winning the lawsuit Colt tried to sue Punk for $1.2 million in damages, claiming Punk entered into a contract with him to pay his legal costs, Punk counter sued for $600k. Both parties eventually filed to dismiss the case without prejudice. Any settlement they might have agreed hasn't been disclosed. 


Neither Punk or Colt have really spoke about it. On joining AEW Punk did speak about squashing some beef he had inside the locker room and name checked Serena but not Colt. It is sad because listening to The Art of Wrestling the friendship between the two men was genuine - and that's seemingly been lost.


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## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

Firefromthegods said:


> Meh the we are one big family was always bullshit. You can't bring a large group together and expect it to be all love. Wrestling companies like forums don't work that way. You're going to make friends, enemies, bury hatchets or fantasise about burying hatchets in skulls.
> 
> If you're in an environment where everyone loves each other then the sex and koolaid better be good.


No you see other wrestling companies had toxic and dysfunctional backstage because they were carnies with egos. That's not happening in AEW because they're not egotistical like the previous generation of wrestlers.


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## KrysRaw1 (Jun 18, 2019)

When the owner has balls tucked in his ass and hires every talent eventually those inside the company get upset for not being on each week. AEW had it coming


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## Shining_Wizard1979 (Sep 8, 2009)

Firefromthegods said:


> Meh the we are one big family was always bullshit. You can't bring a large group together and expect it to be all love. Wrestling companies like forums don't work that way. You're going to make friends, enemies, bury hatchets or fantasise about burying hatchets in skulls.
> 
> If you're in an environment where everyone loves each other then the sex and koolaid better be good.


True, and a strong leader can even make a situation like that work.


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## Art Vandaley (Jan 9, 2006)

AthleticGirth said:


> The civil lawsuit was brought by Dr Chris Amann independent of the WWE. The dirt sheets falsely reported Colt attended a WWE show backstage after Amann's lawsuit had been filed - which wouldn't really have compromised the case anyway. There were also reports Punk was angry that Colt took the podcast down so quickly.
> 
> What we know is Punk paid $1.2 million in legal fees for both himself and Colt to be represented in the Amann case. For whatever reason, Colt hired his own legal representatives and broke away from Punk's legal team.
> 
> ...


WWE was funding the suit and using Amann as a proxy to get at Punk. 

Colt was always going to have his own legal team, because it would be a conflict of interest for one lawyer/law firm to represent both of them. 

My recollection is that Colt tried to settle with Dr Amann separately from Punk, in a way that would have screwed Punk over and that caused the initial dispute between them. I'm struggling to find a source for it though.


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## Hephaesteus (Aug 20, 2018)

remember when most of these people supposedly beefed with Cody, now they're beefing with punk? Seems to be a mob mentality thing over there, jess sayin


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## Jets4Life (Aug 20, 2012)

zkorejo said:


> I think it makes things interesting. It gives it a wild west vibe to it. You never know what's real and what's not.
> 
> People talk about Bret/Shawn to this day because it was interesting. Hbk not wanting to job to Austin at wm14 and Taker taping his fists as a warning to HBK. Stuff like Triple H and Rock not liking each other made their rivalry that much better.
> 
> It's not negative IMO, its realistic.


That can work in limited amounts of negativity. However, working in a toxic environment is never good, and will only hurt the company in the long run. Look at WCW, for example. By 1998, it was well known that the locker room was divided into factions, and was incredibly toxic. When a company lets guys like Nash cut shoot promos on national TV, it underscores the problems in the locker room.

The problems went unresolved, and Scott Steiner would take this to a whole different level by 1999, often ignoring his in-ring opponent, and shooting on Flair, DDP, or Hogan. It did nothing positive for the company, and at the end, most of the talent wanted to be in the WWE. In Raven's case, he got a release from his contract, only to return for a year to ECW, making far less money.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

RapShepard said:


> No you see other wrestling companies had toxic and dysfunctional backstage because they were carnies with egos. That's not happening in AEW because they're not egotistical like the previous generation of wrestlers.


man, i’ve never seen someone so eager to go ‘see, Dub bad just like fed’










it’ll still take some years, way more toxicity, a couple hundred shoot interviews, at least 10 scandals and at least 500 fired or leaving wrestlers for Dub to catch up mate

don’t worry, it should happen in your lifetime and then you can come here and say what you’ve been burning to say since day 1 - ‘see, i told you, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side’

😂😂🤣🤣🤣


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## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> man, i’ve never seen someone so eager to go ‘see, Dub bad just like fed’
> 
> View attachment 130996
> 
> ...


It's not my fault businesses are going to business


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## CM Buck (Sep 2, 2012)

RapShepard said:


> No you see other wrestling companies had toxic and dysfunctional backstage because they were carnies with egos. That's not happening in AEW because they're not egotistical like the previous generation of wrestlers.


Show me a humble businessman and I'll show you a clown who names his child something stupid and who wants to buy twitter to fight robots


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## PhenomenalOne11 (Oct 2, 2016)

"AEW is like a family, we love creating a positive working environment."

I see that lasted a whole 3 years.


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## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

Firefromthegods said:


> Show me a humble businessman and I'll show you a clown who names his child something stupid and who wants to buy twitter to fight robots


Elon is such a weirdo lol


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## Don Draper's Ghost (Sep 22, 2021)

BIIIG Nige said:


> It's all good. You're all talking about it. This is a good strategy to get the views, whether its on TV or through social media. A win for them.


Except we have proof all this is it a work or is it a shoot stuff doesn't help business: the MJF saga is doing the same thing where no one knows if it's real or not for sure. Ratings haven't gone up since the MJF situation started despite it getting lots of online chatter on forums like this. If anything ratings are down from last year where they had less stars and didn't spam the worked shoot shit so much.

Smarks talking online doesn't help the bottom line, the AEW section is way more active than the WWE section but WWE probably makes more money in a month than AEW does in 2 years. It's like thinking film nerds gushing about Blade Runner 2049 means it's going to dethrone Avatar as the highest grossing movie ever. 

The internet isn't real life, do casual fans really give a fuck if Punk's being a dick for real or not?


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

Don Draper's Ghost said:


> Except we have proof all this is it a work or is it a shoot stuff doesn't help business: the MJF saga is doing the same thing where no one knows if it's real or not for sure. Ratings haven't gone up since the MJF situation started despite it getting lots of online chatter on forums like this. If anything ratings are down from last year where they had less stars and didn't spam the worked shoot shit so much.
> 
> Smarks talking online doesn't help the bottom line, the AEW section is way more active than the WWE section but WWE probably makes more money in a month than AEW does in 2 years. It's like thinking film nerds gushing about Blade Runner 2049 means it's going to dethrone Avatar as the highest grossing movie ever.
> 
> The internet isn't real life, do casual fans really give a fuck if Punk's being a dick for real or not?


you can’t enjoy their money bruv, but you can enjoy their story

money marks are kinda the worst of worst type of fans TBH - only supporting monetary success is silly


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## Don Draper's Ghost (Sep 22, 2021)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> you can’t enjoy their money bruv, but you can enjoy their story
> 
> money marks are kinda the worst of worst type of fans TBH - only supporting monetary success is silly


Does that go for AEW fans who shoot their loads everytime Dynamite does an impressive rating or the company sells out a venue too? You know the ones, people who popped champagne when Dynamite won the Wednesday Night Pillow Fight as if their favorite sports team won a championship.


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## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

I don't understand the problem here.

I mean i don't know 1 company with a lot of employee where everybody like each other.

It's obvious and normal that there is going to be some drama backstage when you have so many people with a lot of ego. For me let them do what they want as long as it doesn't have an impact on their work.
.


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## Londonlaw (Sep 16, 2009)

Just going to leave this here:

If you can bear it, of course 🤣






It’s not just a discussion devoid of detail, but there’s an examination of where AEW and WWE stand as of now. And it’s not the ‘Rah, Rah AEW, bad WWE’ tone he seemed to take a year or 2 ago.

What might not go down well in these parts is that Dave is sort of admitting/saying the things people like Jim Cornette and Brian Last have been hinting at or saying for those same 1-2 years. In terms of the actual backstage atmosphere and the idea of personality clashes.


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## RogueSlayer (Mar 31, 2021)

Signing Cm Punk was AEW's equivalent of TNA hiring Bischoff and Hogan, Vince had made amends with a lot of wrestlers who he burned bridges with the past but the one guy he never rehired was Cm Punk because The WWE knew that Cm Punk being in a wrestling company destroys your locker room moral as Punk is an egotistical arsehole who thinks he's better than he actually is.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

Don Draper's Ghost said:


> Does that go for AEW fans who shoot their loads everytime Dynamite does an impressive rating or the company sells out a venue too? You know the ones, people who popped champagne when Dynamite won the Wednesday Night Pillow Fight as if their favorite sports team won a championship.


well, that is celebrating in addition to the show being good

if they celebrated while the show was shit, then yeah - same thing goes

of course


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## BigRedMonster47 (Jul 19, 2013)

PhenomenalOne11 said:


> "AEW is like a family, we love creating a positive working environment."
> 
> I see that lasted a whole 3 years.


^^^ THIS ^^^ 😂😂😂


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## FrankieDs316 (12 mo ago)

This is what happen when the boss lets his employees call the shots. Egos clash and things become chaotic.


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## JeSeGaN (Jun 5, 2018)

It's amazing how quick you AEW fanboys turn on Meltzer as soon as he isn't sucking AEW dick.


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## Chan Hung (Dec 28, 2011)

Backstage Drama will always happen but the more important thing is how will this be handled? Will Tony do the 'ignore' deal? Will he grow a pair finally and be a stricter boss? Or will he likely just have some yes-man do his part and speak on his behalf? Me thinks option 1 or 3, not 2.


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## FrankieDs316 (12 mo ago)

Tony Khan will not be a strict boss like Vince was and HHH is. Tony wants to be friends with all the wrestlers. He doesn't want them to hate him. So this is why things only get worse backstage


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## kingfunkel (Aug 17, 2011)

It's a work. For whatever reason Meltzer treats aew like his baby. If there was real heat, I don't think he'd report on it. Either Meltzer is in on the work and working the fans or someone is working Meltzer. 

Bradshaw once said they used to feed him bullshit, to serve the fans and feed the fans their narrative. With how friendly Bucks/Omega are with him, I think he's working us. I enjoy wrestling where it blurs the lines of reality. So I'm happy. Seeing CM Punk rattle fans, is fantastic. The only way for him to get booed, at this stage is for "leaks" like this from backstage.


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## Omos=Next Big Thing (7 mo ago)

And I thought AEW was the place to be for every wrestler. Because all persons there are friends with each other and it is simply a so much better place than toxic WWE.


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## Serpico Jones (Aug 19, 2018)

Londonlaw said:


> Just going to leave this here:
> 
> If you can bear it, of course 🤣
> 
> ...


Wow, Dave even somewhat buried the Forbidden Door ppv. Pointed to the build as the time when ratings started going south for AEW because viewers weren’t accustomed to seeing unknown Asians in the ring. No shit.


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## Riddle101 (Aug 15, 2006)

Honestly, this is fairly typical of Meltzer. For years he has talked about WWE lockerroom morale being low at different times and nothing really happened, now he's doing the same with AEW. He's having a field day with this because he knows people will buy into it. I doubt anything will really come of this though. Yes, people are probably unhappy behind the scenes, but unless people actually start walking out because of it, then it will just stay the same.


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## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Apr 21, 2014)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> “Meltzer didn't go into details about which other top talents were having issues and with who or what.”
> 
> ok… so i read that article….
> 
> ...


*Dave's living the dream by getting paid a strong six figures to post bullshit speculation about wrasslin.*


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## CovidFan (Aug 19, 2020)

JeSeGaN said:


> It's amazing how quick you AEW fanboys turn on Meltzer as soon as he isn't sucking AEW dick.


Also amazing how all the haters believe him whenever it's negative news but never believe when it's positive. Hypocrites on both sides


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

CovidFan said:


> Also amazing how all the haters believe him whenever it's negative news but never believe when it's positive. Hypocrites on both sides


You beat me to the punch. Meltzer is just a shill and saying what AEW wants him to say when it is good news, but he is Tom fucking Brokaw with the Nightly News when it is a negative story.

And I say that as someone who believes Punk really HAS wore out his welcome.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

The Legit Lioness said:


> *Dave's living the dream by getting paid a strong six figures to post bullshit speculation about wrasslin.*


lets start our own news site Legit

we’ll call it ‘Legit Class Rasslin News’

and we’ll obvs employ @Prized Fighter


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## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Apr 21, 2014)

CovidFan said:


> Also amazing how all the haters believe him whenever it's negative news but never believe when it's positive. Hypocrites on both sides


*Not me. I consistently say he's full of shit and that stance will not change.

*


LifeInCattleClass said:


> lets start our own news site Legit
> 
> *
> *
> ...


*

Man, I wish I could get paid a smooth $400K to lie about Sasha Banks going to STARDOM and post fantasy booking.*


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## mazzah20 (Oct 10, 2019)

Pretty sure it is all aligned for MJF to come back after Punk as the AEW Original Anti-Hero. 

These two are going to tear down the house.


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## Dr. Jones (Jan 3, 2012)

Phil Brooks just doesn't come off as a very happy person. He's got bad energy to him. Sure, every once in a while he will appeal to the angsty 15 year-old still inside me that says "yeah, fuck you and everyone else", but that shit gets old quick.

Even if this is getting worked up to draw some interest.... at some point Punk is going to get butthurt about something, pitch a shitfit, and try to bail


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## Prized Fighter (Aug 31, 2016)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> lets start our own news site Legit
> 
> we’ll call it ‘Legit Class Rasslin News’
> 
> and we’ll obvs employ @Prized Fighter


LFG! I think we need to add @bdon as our opinions section writer.

Let's shake (scissor) on it to confirm the partnership.


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## TD Stinger (May 9, 2012)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> lets start our own news site Legit
> 
> *we’ll call it ‘Legit Class Rasslin News’*
> 
> and we’ll obvs employ @Prized Fighter


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## JasmineAEW (Oct 19, 2020)

I think the “new car shine” that AEW had has worn off. It happens to every company in every type of business. AEW has successfully established itself as a top pro wrestling promotion, and with that comes the usual headaches and obstacles that are bound to creep up - especially in a business that is full of big egos. 

With his involvement in the NFL and that soccer team, I’m sure Tony is well familiar with locker room conflicts and stuff like that. We’ll see what happens.


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## 3venflow (Feb 3, 2019)

JasmineAEW said:


> I think the “new car shine” that AEW had has worn off. It happens to every company in every type of business. AEW has successfully established itself as a top pro wrestling promotion, and with that comes the usual headaches and obstacles that are bound to creep up - especially in a business that is full of big egos.
> 
> With his involvement in the NFL and that soccer team, I’m sure Tony is well familiar with locker room conflicts and stuff like that. We’ll see what happens.


Considering he just upgraded his talent relations team, you'd hope this kind of stuff is sorted or else they're failing at the jobs.

My armchair view is that AEW's corporate/hierarchical side needs expanding to correlate with the growth of the company since 2019. I haven't seen/heard/read much evidence of any real corporate expansion from AEW besides the appointment of Shane Emerson as Head of Global Programming & Partnership. Was Brandi Rhodes ever replaced as Chief Branding Officer (which seems a very important role)?

Things like expanding the live events team could also help. They have done incredible organic ticket sales, but they have stagnated in certain regions lately (doesn't help they keep revisiting the same areas) and advances are not as big. WWE has a *huge* live events team in comparison. I'd like to see AEW take some chances and if it ever gets a streaming deal, even attempt short tours with each show connecting to the big picture and airing on their platform, like NJPW World does with their events.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

he hates it 😓😓😓


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## Prized Fighter (Aug 31, 2016)

LifeInCattleClass said:


> View attachment 131024
> 
> 
> he hates it 😓😓😓


My sources have confirmed to me that the people who don't watch baseball will not understand the end of this post.


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## Lurker V2.0 (Feb 2, 2021)




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## JasmineAEW (Oct 19, 2020)

Prized Fighter said:


> My sources have confirmed to me that the people who don't watch baseball will not understand the end of this post.


Yes, I have no idea what he meant.


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## BestInTheWorld312 (Dec 31, 2013)

3venflow said:


> .
> 
> Tony should take them all to Disneyland on a team bonding sesh. Or get his newly expanded talent relations team to earn their money.


I have a feeling you're serious here lmao


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## Don Draper's Ghost (Sep 22, 2021)

JeSeGaN said:


> It's amazing how quick you AEW fanboys turn on Meltzer as soon as he isn't sucking AEW dick.


Yep, they bragged about Tony winning Booker of the Year as voted on by Meltzer's cult but the second he starts reporting on the bad in AEW he's a hack who doesn't know anything.


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## fabi1982 (Jun 28, 2011)

ThunderNitro said:


> Time to hang it up. It is all over for AEW. Time to break out the champagne bottles with all the E drones!


Is that you @LifeInCattleClass ?


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## DUD (Feb 21, 2021)

I dont think its a coincidence that all these reports about morale dropping have emerged since Cody left.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

fabi1982 said:


> Is that you @LifeInCattleClass ?


we have more than 1 person living in South Africa brother xD


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## ThunderNitro (Sep 16, 2021)

fabi1982 said:


> Is that you @LifeInCattleClass ?


How did you know? Come to think of it,it is extremely difficult to be incognito when you are the only AEW fan in a country of 60 million people.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

ThunderNitro said:


> How did you know? Come to think of it,it is extremely difficult to be incognito when you are the only AEW fan in a country of 60 million people.


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

Don Draper's Ghost said:


> Yep, they bragged about Tony winning Booker of the Year as voted on by Meltzer's cult but the second he starts reporting on the bad in AEW he's a hack who doesn't know anything.


And Meltzer reporting negative shit is suddenly lapped up and treated as gospel by those such as yourself. Two sides to every coin.


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## Don Draper's Ghost (Sep 22, 2021)

bdon said:


> And Meltzer reporting negative shit is suddenly lapped up and treated as gospel by those such as yourself. Two sides to every coin.


I take everything Meltzer says with a truckload of salt regardless but you're right people do pick and choose when to take him seriously depending on how his reports fit their narrative. People who heavily criticize AEW will treat his word as gospel even if they previously shit on him and AEW fans who treated him like a God will now say he doesn't know what he's talking about.


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## LifeInCattleClass (Dec 21, 2010)

Don Draper's Ghost said:


> I take everything Meltzer says with a truckload of salt regardless but you're right people do pick and choose when to take him seriously depending on how his reports fit their narrative. People who heavily criticize AEW will treat his word as gospel even if they previously shit on him and AEW fans who treated him like a God will now say he doesn't know what he's talking about.


who are these ‘people’ Don?

just tag them and be done with it - time we put some names to all these accusations folks have on here


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

Don Draper's Ghost said:


> I take everything Meltzer says with a truckload of salt regardless but you're right people do pick and choose when to take him seriously depending on how his reports fit their narrative. People who heavily criticize AEW will treat his word as gospel even if they previously shit on him and AEW fans who treated him like a God will now say he doesn't know what he's talking about.


Fair enough. He’s always getting worked and willing to tell anything Kenny, Bucks, or TK sell him. Or whoever his favorites are at any given time.


LifeInCattleClass said:


> who are these ‘people’ Don?
> 
> just tag them and be done with it - time we put some names to all these accusations folks have on here


I agree with him, but I couldn’t name anyone specifically. People who talk in absolutes And prefer being right to having discussions are not worth the effort it takes for me to remember. Heh, I get quoted by people I didn’t even know existed and just brush it off, curious where these stalkers have come from.. lol


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## Dickhead1990 (Aug 31, 2016)

RapShepard said:


> It went from
> 
> "1 of the reasons AEW is going to be great because it's not going to have a toxic backstage environment like that carny WWE "
> 
> ...


Absolutely not the way I see it at all.

I love AEW but they have too many wrestlers. I was hoping to have a regular ROH show by now to combat this, but the TV deal is clearly proving challenging to secure more content.

With that said, we've seen complainants like Swole before, who were themselves the problem. How many of these current grievances are legit?

It's never ideal for people to hate each other and in an ideal world it won't happen. The issue here is that you've got a grassroots company that started with the perfect ethos, which suddenly grew a lot bigger than many of us realistically expected (don't anyone bother bringing up ratings like a snarky little rat faced know it all). 

But the reality is that these things happen in workplaces. What TK will do about it will be the telling part. Let's give him a chance to challenge this and sort it out. These things take time, people will leave and many will be upset in the process - it's just how change leadership works. I'm sure many of us have experienced it from one end or the other.


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## Wolf Mark (Jun 5, 2020)

TD Stinger said:


> I don't see how giving things a "wild west vibe" in the way your describing it helps their business in any way.
> 
> Look at the examples you gave. Bret/Shawn's personal rivalry, Shawn potentially not wanting to lose to Austin at Mania, HHH & Rock having their beef. Did any of that stuff really make a positive impact on business? Not really. Hell, Shawn & Bret's tiff did more to hurt business considering how many times they were supposed to face each other and then didn't because of personal issues.
> 
> ...


I believe it does help, though. Vince always fostered and cultivated an air of rivalry in his company, of competition. Always talking about taking the brass ring. 90s WWF had a toxic lockerrroom with guys always trying to back stab each other. And that created legends and guys willing to do anything to take the top spot(it's not just Vince, though WCW was doing the same but not willingly lol). AEW is too friendly with everybody trying to job to give their friends the wins. Just like Danielson jobbing to that jabroni.


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## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

Dickhead1990 said:


> Absolutely not the way I see it at all.
> 
> I love AEW but they have too many wrestlers. I was hoping to have a regular ROH show by now to combat this, but the TV deal is clearly proving challenging to secure more content.
> 
> ...


Well what makes the complaints legit or not? 

But I do wonder how ROH spots will be viewed by talent. I wonder how good the TV spot has to be for it not to be viewed as a demotion. Because it least the way fans discuss it, they seem to want it to essentially be where the talent they don't really care about and are green go.


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## Dickhead1990 (Aug 31, 2016)

RapShepard said:


> Well what makes the complaints legit or not?
> 
> But I do wonder how ROH spots will be viewed by talent. I wonder how good the TV spot has to be for it not to be viewed as a demotion. Because it least the way fans discuss it, they seem to want it to essentially be where the talent they don't really care about and are green go.


Usually someone internal is a good start. 

As for the ROH spots, it's possible many may view it as a downgrade. But let's see what they can secure first.


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## JeSeGaN (Jun 5, 2018)

Dickhead1990 said:


> As for the ROH spots, it's possible many may view it as a downgrade.


That's cause it is.


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## Dickhead1990 (Aug 31, 2016)

JeSeGaN said:


> That's cause it is.


Clearly, yes.


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## Hangman (Feb 3, 2017)

AthleticGirth said:


> As gossip dumps go this does all seem to be very coordinated. Scoop hungry 'Journalists' like Dave proving to be the wrestling business' useful idiots.
> 
> So here we are, Wednesday afternoon no one cared what Adam Page had to say or had any interest in a Punk rematch. Wednesday night everyone wants to hear what Adam Page has to say and wants to see his beef with Punk play out in the ring.


Heel Punk is GOAT tier 😆😆😆


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## Hotdiggity11 (Aug 24, 2006)

Jets4Life said:


> That can work in limited amounts of negativity. However, working in a toxic environment is never good, and will only hurt the company in the long run. *Look at WCW, for example. By 1998, it was well known that the locker room was divided into factions, and was incredibly toxic. *When a company lets guys like Nash cut shoot promos on national TV, it underscores the problems in the locker room.
> 
> The problems went unresolved, and Scott Steiner would take this to a whole different level by 1999, often ignoring his in-ring opponent, and shooting on Flair, DDP, or Hogan. It did nothing positive for the company, and at the end, most of the talent wanted to be in the WWE. In Raven's case, he got a release from his contract, only to return for a year to ECW, making far less money.



Same with WWF’s down period around 1994-6. You had the Kliq, BSK, and the assortment of Hart-related members in backstage factions, which had several incidents of politicking (Most notably by the Kliq].


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

Hotdiggity11 said:


> Same with WWF’s down period around 1994-6. You had the Kliq, BSK, and the assortment of Hart-related members in backstage factions, which had several incidents of politicking (Most notably by the Kliq].


Exactly. Real heat and shoot interviews are proven to tear a company apart.

I’m not as well versed on wrestling facts and figures on that time between WCW’s fall and AEW’s creation, so I may be wrong on this one…but didn’t Punk’s pipebomb kind of mark the beginning of a massive downturn in WWE ratings? Not immediately, but within a few years, half the audience had checked out?


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## The Raw Smackdown (Jan 8, 2017)

Whatever the Drama is I just hope that TK has the leadership and level head to deal with it all.


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## bdon (Nov 12, 2019)

For this drama to be “real”, isn’t it a bit odd that AEW released the post show speech with what amounted to Omega drawing a line in the sand for what AEW will be..?


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## One Shed (Jan 7, 2014)

bdon said:


> Exactly. Real heat and shoot interviews are proven to tear a company apart.
> 
> I’m not as well versed on wrestling facts and figures on that time between WCW’s fall and AEW’s creation, so I may be wrong on this one…but didn’t Punk’s pipebomb kind of mark the beginning of a massive downturn in WWE ratings? Not immediately, but within a few years, half the audience had checked out?


No, that would be LOLCENAWINS chasing off the adult males.


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## Dr. Jones (Jan 3, 2012)

bdon said:


> And Meltzer reporting negative shit is suddenly lapped up and treated as gospel by those such as yourself. Two sides to every coin.


Meltzer said a few weeks ago that AEW Rampage was "skippable". He never would've said that a year ago. He's definitely not drinking the AEW kool aid as much as he used to. Wonder if he had a falling out with some of his friends there


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