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TJR Q&A: CM Punk Main Eventing In AEW, Heyman With Reigns Or Lesnar In WWE, More

cm punk applying the anaconda vice submission hold in aew

The question and answer session also known as the TJR Q&A is back for the 81st time on TJRWrestling. It’s been a few weeks since the last one and now it’s time to do it again.

As always, the questions come from the Facebook page right here where I chose some of the best questions about WWE, AEW, wrestling’s past and the future. Let’s roll.

1. Gary Lund
So who does Paul Heyman leave Crown Jewel with?

I like the pairing with Reigns and I like Lesnar as a babyface. Listen to the crowd response for Lesnar. They like cheering for smiling, kick ass Brock so I don’t think there’s any reason to do some swerve or change things up. Whether Brock wins the title is another story, but I think as far as Heyman goes, he should still be with Reigns long-term. That’s nothing against Heyman with Lesnar, which I liked a lot, but I think Heyman is better with Reigns right now.

2. Ram Naui
Who will have the next great heel turn after Roman?

I think Drew McIntyre could be a monster heel if they go down that path with him again, but probably not until next year or so. Maybe Finn Balor if he went heel although the crowd genuinely likes the guy. Kevin Owens stands out to me although I don’t know if he’ll be around long term.

3. Kenny Brophy
How would you book Breakker/Ciampa?

I think either Breakker should dominate him and win in under ten minutes. If they don’t do that then have a competitive, close match that goes around 15 minutes with Ciampa winning. Then you can build to a rematch down the road after Breakker turns heel or something. Maybe they don’t put the title on Breakker, put him in the Royal Rumble and go from there.

4. Erin Somers
Do you think Kevin Owens will actually leave WWE when his contract ends in January???

I’m leaning towards yes, but I don’t have any inside information or anything like that. WWE hasn’t been using Owens well, his friends in AEW have a lot of power and seem happy, so I can see him going to AEW.

5. Jorge Palacios Jr.
How long before CM Punk is in the main event picture with AEW?

I think Punk will be in the main event picture of the February Revolution PPV or May Double or Nothing PPV. I just don’t think they can keep him away from that kind of spot for long. I don’t know necessarily if Punk is going to be AEW World Champion at that point, but I get the feeling he’ll have a hot feud with some heel like MJF or Kenny Omega at some point next year. I look forward to it.

6. Adam Symes
What (actually possible) dream matches are currently on your Wishlist for WWE & AEW?

With AEW I mean there’s so many involving Danielson and Punk. I’d love to see them as a team against Young Bucks. I think Danielson vs. so many guys like Adam Cole, Pac, Adam Page, MJF and so on. Same with Punk with all those guys plus Omega.

With WWE, I’d love to see Big E vs. Rollins as a WWE Title match. I know they’ve wrestled but I want to see them have a proper feud. Drew McIntyre vs. Walter as reader Shay Smithers chimed in with is another one I’d love to see. I can probably think of more, but I think AEW has more dream matches right now.

7. Darrius Gaddy
I know Tony Khan has made some headlines lately for different comments he’s made about WWE and you’ve even had Eric Bischoff and speak out on it, my question is do you think he should tone it down some and does it do more of a disservice or ultimately do you think what he’s doing is working by getting people talking.

I think people like seeing a boss speaking out like that. What people have to remember is Tony Khan is a 39-year-old guy that grew up reading about wrestling like the majority of us, so to him he’s just speaking out to people that grew up following wrestling the way he did. He’s just really rich lol.

I don’t understand the obsession with ratings that some fans seem to have, but as an owner of a wrestling company, I get why Tony cares.

To finally answer the question, I’m in support of Tony saying stuff to get people talking and create a buzz, but maybe tone it down a bit too.

8. Parker Solseng
Do you enjoy Corey Graves as a commentator?

Sure. Sometimes he isn’t heelish enough for my personal tastes, but I think he does a good job in general. Sometimes he screams too much, though.

9. Jeremy Barnes
Should Steve Austin vs Triple H have been a WM 18 match?

I would have been fine with Austin vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 18. I think WWE did a disservice to Austin at WM18 by not putting him in a bigger match considering he basically carried the company in 2001. Austin and Kurt Angle both deserved bigger matches at WM18, but I was happy for Jericho too.

10. Paul Samuel
Do tag matches still generate that ‘big match’ feel we had in the days of LOD, Hart Foundation or even Edge & Christian and the Hardys? I mean, I can see a 1v1 or a woman’s match be the last match of the night but for a long time, I can’t think of a time where a tag match could be positioned to go last.

Some do. The Usos vs. Street Profits on the last Smackdown was outstanding. Lots of AEW tags are very good to great. If you think about WWE history, there really aren’t that many title matches that headlined TVs or PPVs. Still plenty of great matches, though.

11. Mark Tallentire
I don’t doubt it’s way more complicated than this, but I feel Roman Reigns mic skills have improved so much since Cena destroyed him in that epic promo battle a few years ago on Raw. Do you think that forced Roman to look at his mic work, or forced WWE to change what they were giving him? Or at least play a part?

I think he worked at it and got better. A lot of wrestlers don’t reach their peak performance until their mid-30s and Roman is at that point now. He was a nervous guy earlier in his career, but he’s a lot more comfortable and better as you said. You get better by having more experience, maybe he took acting classes (I have no idea if he did) or sought advice from great talkers like Heyman or Vince and maybe he figured it out. For sure, Roman is awesome on the microphone now.

12. Jay Hinchey
Who you do you have winning KOTR on Thursday? I am torn and love both guys.

I hope Xavier Woods wins because I know it means a lot to him and maybe he won’t become a WWE Champion like Kofi and Big E, but to be KOTR at this point in his career would be cool. I don’t think Balor “needs” it as much.

13. Roderick Walker
Out of Shemaus, Corbin, Jinder, Isiah, Ricochet and Cesaro who would you love to see win the IC title next?

Cesaro. He needs a singles title run. Ricochet would be cool too. I want Sheamus to get it at some point so he can say he’s won every title.

14. Alejandro Rodríguez
Has social media ruined the “super natural” wrestling gimmick? I think the gimmick worked for Undertaker because there wasn’t any social media in the early 1990’s, but it’s hard for me to buy Alexa as this psycho witch when she is like a Disney princess in social media.

Absolutely. It’s too hard to do those kinds of gimmicks in present day wrestling. If the Undertaker came around 15 years later or something like that, I doubt it would have worked. Some stuff is okay like what Malakai Black is doing now, but I don’t think The Fiend is a great idea in today’s wrestling. With Bliss, she was good on screen, but it’s hard to ignore what she is like on socieal media too.

15. Shay Smithers
I haven’t seen any news about Braun Strowman wrestling in any Indy promotions or anywhere else since he was released from WWE. Has he just been wanting a break from wrestling and does plan on returning somewhere at some point?

Braun has wanted to take a break and heal his body. He wrestled his buddy EC3 recently, but he hasn’t done much wrestling. Braun’s active on Instagram along with girlfriend Raquel Gonzalez. I don’t know if there’s going to be an opportunity for Braun to go back to WWE, but if it’s an option then maybe we’ll see him back there again. Perhaps Impact Wrestling is a possibility too.

16. Marlon Nedd
Besides Bron Breakker, who is another breakout star in NXT 2.0 we should keep an eye on?

I’ll go Carmelo Hayes. The guy has so much in-ring talent and I think they are trying to work on his character a lot. I think as he gets more experience, he’ll be better in terms of promos and acting segments. I like Hayes a lot.

17. Daniel Lerma
Do you think it’s physically harder to have great matches at Saudi Arabia because of the weather?

Yes that’s probably part of it, but likely not the only reason. The crowd isn’t as engaged, but sometimes they are into it.

18. Marc Madison
Do you think the format of NXT 2.0 is here to stay or will they tweak as they go along?

It seems like it is here to stay and I don’t mind it. They are trying to find the right balance. I think it was last week they had 3 matches over 10 minutes that made it a better show. But they are always going to keep having shorter matches with different people. I like what NXT was before, but I don’t blame them for trying to change.

19. Nxt Fan
Which hypothetical memoir would you want more, Undertaker or Vince McMahon?

Vince for sure. I did enjoy The Undertaker doing a lot of interviews and telling stories last year when his documentary series came out. Learned a lot about him.

20. Zenny Jack
Which superstar in your opinion has all the tools to be a MEGASTAR but is just missing the height?

Adam Cole when he was in WWE, but at least in AEW he should get a shot. My point with Cole is that he was in WWE for four years, he remained in NXT the whole time and I think if he was taller then he would have been a big deal on Raw/Smackdown. With that said, he still should have been a big deal.

I’d say Johnny Gargano is one guy and yeah Finn Balor too. I think Big E will be fine because even though he’s not tall, he’s a big body guy so he looks credible.

21. Amber Lewis
What do you think the AEW women’s division needs to be on same level as WWE’s women?

Give them more time. It’s tough to get into it sometimes when they only get 7-minute matches on a two-hour show. Britt Baker has evolved into one of the biggest stars. People loved the match with Thunder Rosa. They also got 20 minutes on Dynamite. How many women’s matches get over 10 minutes on TV? It’s rare. That’s where they have to improve.

22. Eric Hay
When is the right time for Roman Reigns to lose the title and who is the one that should take it off of him?

I get asked this one every Q&A and I don’t blame you guys for asking it! I don’t really know when or who as long as the story is right. Sorry for not being specific, but my main answer is just to say do it when it feels right based on the story. If you force it and it’s not the right guy to beat Reigns then why do it? It has to feel like the right time and the right person. It was easy in 1997 to say Steve Austin was ready in 1998 or in 2004 to say that John Cena was ready in 2005. Is there that guy right now in WWE? I don’t know. I can’t think of anybody for sure.

23. Tyler Mills
Does Hangman Adam Page finally win the championship at Full Gear?

I think he should for sure. Why not? Timing is right. That’s going to be an amazing match. Check out Joel’s column on Hangman Page from Monday right here.

24. Tommy Mondschein
Will WWE stans and AEW stans ever STFU and just enjoy this time we have?

It’s weird how people argue and obssess over ratings or whatever, but that’s how some people are. I just support the talent.

25. Shon Wheeler
Do you ever get as bored with the current WWE product as the some of us do? Do you feel like you’d like to take a break once in a while?

I don’t really do breaks. The last vacation I had was in 2017. I left on a Tuesday and flew back on a Monday so I wouldn’t miss a Raw Deal review. It’s my job and I want to be the best at it or do it the best of my abilities. I think the WWE product was down on Raw during the Thunderdome era, but it has improved since then.

To answer that question in another way, I was definitely bored at times in the Thunderdome Era (and before that when shows were at the WWE PC), and I nearly took a break at one point, but wanted to keep going. It’s better now that fans are back.

26. Matt Livingstone
Will Crown Jewel end up being a standard PPV or will it descend into shenanigans like these Saudi Shows tend to?

Looks like a regular PPV to me. A great lineup I think. Our PPV Preview goes up tomorrow!

27. Larry Yadao
Do you think if Brock Lesnar landed that shooting star press at WrestleMania 19, would it have been more of an impact and importance than missing it like he did?

I think Lesnar hitting the SSP at WM19 would have been incredible. There were plenty of videos out before that of him doing the move, so we know he can do it and I just wish he was able to do it. Of course, the fact that Lesnar missed and didn’t even get hurt is amazing too. Glad that he and Kurt Angle were able to finish the match.

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That’s all for now. Thanks to everybody that participated and to you for reading.