Welcome back to another Monday Morning Q&A where I toss out some questions to get a feel of how you guys and gals are feeling about certain topics.
So here are 5 questions I’d like to toss out for this week. I’ll give my answers, too, but the key here is that I want to know what YOU think! So make sure you chime in!
1) What other matches do you think will be added to the card for AEW Full Gear 2023?
Practically every time I think the AEW card has enough matches on it, I find out that 4 or 5 more have been added to the lineup. At the time I’m writing this, we’re at 7. Typical AEW events have closer to 14. Clearly, some more bouts will be inserted.
What stands out to me the most is the lack of a tag team title match. Maybe Ricky Starks and Big Bill against Rush and Dralistico?
Paul Wight vs. Powerhouse Hobbs feels like a good bet. They keep teasing that fight, and we’re not getting the street fight on this card, so that’s a likely follow-up.
It wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if Kris Statlander is just put on the show against a random opponent. AEW loves doing “Person X versus Person Y because, well, c’mon, isn’t it going to probably be at least decent?” without any actual build or storyline. Frankly, that could end up being 3 or 4 matches, especially if more are added to the Zero Hour. And those are impossible to predict, because you can just pick arbitrarily and the combination might be the same as what Tony Khan goes with. Never count out the idea that we get something like Blake Christian, Penta El Zero Miedo and Ethan Page against The Butcher, Aaron Solo and Jay Lethal. It’s all a crap shoot.
2) Who should be the next ROH World Television champion now that Samoa Joe vacated the title?
When this happened, my immediate thought—after the natural reaction of “Wow. WTF? What a way to bury that championship as meaningless. That’s weird.” was to think that Mark Briscoe is the next in line to win this title.
I was surprised he didn’t win either this or the ROH World Championship in prior months this year. While that might come off as a reason to suggest he won’t be the champion, as Tony Khan could have just simply booked him to beat Joe before if he wanted the belt on Briscoe, I just can’t imagine Joe holding the title all this time just to vacate it now was the game plan all along. This feels like some random idea that probably sprung up in the past week or so, instead, just to drum up some buzz or to move on to the next thing without having to see Joe take a pinfall—or, alternatively, book a three-way or four-way match where he loses the belt by someone else taking the pin.
My guess is we’ll see a tournament of sorts in the coming weeks leading up to ROH Final Battle crowning the next champion, and it will be between Briscoe and someone like Juice Robinson. Granted, Robinson wouldn’t be a bad choice, either.
For that matter, there are a handful of guys on the AEW roster I could see being viable options. Daniel Garcia’s always a solid pick. Shawn Spears could be fun, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Sticking it on a guy like Colt Cabana for the time being likely wouldn’t be too frowned upon by the core audience. You can’t go wrong with giving a title to someone like Miro or even Lance Archer, temporarily. Even though he lost, Keith Lee could simply win it—but that would call into question why he couldn’t just beat Joe on Dynamite. Santana would be interesting, too.
In a world where MJF is defending the ROH World Tag Team Championship by himself, I wouldn’t count anyone out, but I do think we’re looking at a guy like Briscoe or Robinson more so than Kip Sabian or Preston Vance.
3) There was some buzz this week that NXT Stand & Deliver could swap to being on Thursday night, rather than Saturday before night 1 of WrestleMania. Would you have preferred this?
My ideal lineup for WrestleMania Week, if I had full control over everything out there, would be to bump SmackDown to Thursday night, air the Hall of Fame on Friday, and make Stand & Deliver a special episode of NXT on Tuesday rather than a pay-per-view. However, given the current lineup of television programming, it makes sense to do the Hall of Fame right after SmackDown, at least.
When it comes to NXT, I hate having Stand & Deliver on Saturday morning/afternoon. It makes the weekend feel so jam-packed, and not in a good way. SmackDown goes on for 2 hours, the Hall of Fame follows it, and a few hours later, you have to make sure you’re awake for what is essentially a 12+ hour gauntlet, before taking a little break, and then going into night 2 of WrestleMania, also. By the time Raw comes around, and then NXT again on the next Tuesday, it’s overload.
I would DEFINITELY prefer Stand & Deliver, if it has to remain a pay-per-view, rather than just a special TV airing on Tuesday, to be a Thursday premium live event, instead of Saturday. It’s not like I’m going to be watching Ring of Honor and have to choose between them on Thursday evening.
4) Who do you think will be in the remaining 4 spots in the men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenge matches to join Dijak and Tiffany Stratton? Or, alternatively, who are you hoping will be in there, if you don’t necessarily predict it will happen?
I’m assuming Baron Corbin gets the title shot against Ilja Dragunov at the pay-per-view, and Xia Li fights Lyra Valkyria, so I’m taking them out of the running entirely to even participate in qualifying matches.
For the men, I think Carmelo Hayes is an obvious addition. For that matter, I think Trick Williams essentially has to be in there, too, in order to see those two continue their tension. The only way around that is to have one of them cost the other a chance to qualify, but that’s too similar to what we just saw with Trick being attacked.
I would keep Lexis King out of this. He should win the NXT Breakout Tournament, instead. Frankly, I’d go with him being the one to dethrone Dragunov, too, so I’m fine with waiting until that’s done to give him the push that way, instead of incorporating him here, having him come up short, and then needing to shoehorn some lesser talent in as the winner of the tournament. I don’t care to see some big splash about Luca Crusifino or Kale Dixon fighting Dragunov, for instance.
Normally, I would suggest Bron Breakker for a spot here, or that Von Wagner would beat him to qualify. But since that feud’s still going on, I think we’re getting some kind of Last Man Standing type match between them on this event, ruling them both out of this, from my perspective.
While I’m not his biggest fan, especially of these promos he’s been cutting lately, I think Joe Gacy is probably a lock. This match needs another heel, and I already mentioned I want King to sit this out.
Lastly, this could use some more main roster treatment. Given the current feud, why not book Chad Gable against Drew Gulak or Charlie Dempsey for a qualifying match and put Gable in there? He would be a valuable asset to make the Iron Survivor Challenge a standout bout. That would make the match Dijak, Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, Joe Gacy and Chad Gable.
When it comes to the women, Roxanne Perez is a guarantee. It looks like Kiana James is probably a lock, too.
Lola Vice already has a title shot down the line, so she doesn’t need to be in this. It would be odd if Gigi Dolin is overlooked, considering she’s one of the bigger names left to pick from. She’s my #4 pick.
The fifth woman could very well be Cora Jade, but I think Blair Davenport stands a better chance, since she’s at least active and Jade’s been MIA for so long.
Tiffany Stratton, Roxanne Perez, Kiana James, Gigi Dolin and Blair Davenport is my projection.
5) Allie aka The Bunny is gone from All Elite Wrestling. Where would you like to see her pop up next?
It’s sad to see how much of the original look and feel of AEW keeps going away with more of these roster releases. Allie was one of those primary women who felt like she was going to be considered a big deal, but promptly was pushed aside in favor of others and never bounced back.
At 36, I doubt WWE would be interested in signing her. She likely would’ve been picked up years ago if they were looking at bringing her on board. However, if I had it my way, I think she (and Penelope Ford, Kip Sabian, The Butcher and The Blade, frankly) could be good fits for NXT, especially given the upcoming move to the CW network next year. Not everyone in NXT is a young upstart rookie and the 2.0 era is gone, keep in mind.
Where I think she’ll show up, though, is some combination of TNA and NWA. If she signs an exclusive deal, it would likely be with TNA, more so. But if she’s allowed to work other promotions, an appearance here and there for NWA isn’t out of the realm of possibility. TNA just seems like it is her future home to me, though, and they’ll resurrect her character and give her a “welcome back” type vibe.
That is, of course, if she even wants to wrestle anymore. She might be done with it and just want to run her OnlyFans. I wouldn’t blame her for cashing in on her looks and avoiding the travel and the bumps. It seems to be working out well for Mandy Rose, Paige VanZant, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke and plenty others. Take advantage of that while the market is there, girl!
Let us know your thoughts about these questions by answering them in the comments!
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The wrestling world is buzzing with excitement as fans eagerly anticipate the upcoming AEW Full Gear 2023 event. With a card that already boasts an impressive lineup, fans are speculating about what other matches might be added to the show.
One notable absence from the current lineup is a tag team title match. Many fans are predicting that Ricky Starks and Big Bill will face off against Rush and Dralistico in what could be an exciting and high-stakes match.
Another potential addition to the card is a match between Paul Wight and Powerhouse Hobbs. The two have been teasing a fight for some time now, and with no street fight scheduled for Full Gear, this matchup seems likely.
AEW is also known for throwing in surprise matches without much build or storyline. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kris Statlander face off against a random opponent, as AEW has done this in the past. In fact, there could be multiple matches of this nature, especially during the Zero Hour pre-show. The unpredictability of these matches adds an element of excitement for fans.
In other news, Samoa Joe recently vacated the ROH World Television Championship title, leaving fans wondering who will be the next champion. Many believe that Mark Briscoe is the frontrunner for the title, as he has been overlooked in previous championship opportunities. Others suggest that Juice Robinson could be a strong contender. Additionally, there are several talented wrestlers on the AEW roster who could be viable options for the title, such as Daniel Garcia, Shawn Spears, Colt Cabana, Miro, Lance Archer, Keith Lee, and Santana.
There has also been speculation about a potential change in the schedule for NXT Stand & Deliver. Some sources suggest that the event could be moved from Saturday before night 1 of WrestleMania to Thursday night. While opinions on this vary, many fans would prefer this change as it would alleviate the jam-packed schedule of WrestleMania weekend.
The Iron Survivor Challenge matches have been generating a lot of excitement, and fans are eager to know who will fill the remaining four spots in both the men’s and women’s matches. Some predicted participants include Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, Lexis King, Joe Gacy, Chad Gable, Roxanne Perez, Kiana James, Gigi Dolin, Blair Davenport, and Cora Jade.
Lastly, fans are curious about the future of Allie, also known as The Bunny, after her departure from All Elite Wrestling. While it is unlikely that WWE would sign her at this stage in her career, many believe she could find a new home in promotions like TNA or NWA. Alternatively, she may choose to focus on other endeavors outside of wrestling.
As the anticipation builds for AEW Full Gear 2023 and other upcoming events, wrestling fans can look forward to more surprises, exciting matches, and the ever-evolving landscape of the wrestling world.