TJR Q&A #74: Best Feud in WWE This Year So Far, AEW’s Next World Champion, Early Royal Rumble Picks, More
It has been a long time since I have done a Q&A post here on TJRWrestling. It’s not because I hate doing it. I actually like doing it quite a bit. Things were hectic in the last few months with building the new look site and a lot of PPV-style shows to write about in the last three weeks. The questions come from the Facebook page right here. Let’s roll.
1. Daniel Mount
When do you see MJF winning a title in AEW and which one?
Maybe 2021. I think they need to get away from the six-month title reigns at some point and maybe book two or three-month title reigns. That way more people can win the title. I get why they do it that way, but I think MJF is a guy that would benefit from being AEW World Champion. I will say it’s AEW World Title before TNT Title for him. Just a hunch on my part.
2. Shane McCulley
Who do you think will be the next WWE star to leave and join AEW? Who will be the first AEW star to join WWE?
I assume most AEW people have at least three-year deals, so it’s hard to guess who might jump in 2022. No way I can answer that. I think somebody leaving WWE would be like Mustafa Ali or Ricochet whenever they’re free. I just think they’d thrive elsewhere.
3. Geoff Landtbom
Removing all biases (she’s your friend) how do you think Mickie James will be remembered in 40 years?
I think she was very good for the majority of a 20-year career if you count the ten combined years in WWE and three years in TNA too – the heel run in TNA was awesome. I think her ability to have good matches with anybody whether heel or face is pretty cool and also promos have always been strong whether heel or faces. She’s also a better actress than most women in wrestling history. She is one of the best ever. Oh and please support mickiejames.com which I help to run along with her Facebook page.
I think Mickie’s a better overall performer than Lita, for example, but since Lita was associated with a main event act like Edge that helped her. I just think in terms of promos and matches, she’s not as good as Mickie. As for others, I think some of the current top women in WWE are as good as there’s ever been, but they also get more opportunities. I’ll just say that I think is definitely one of the best women’s wrestlers ever and she’s got a great mind for the biz too.
I’m not saying this to brag because to me they’re just regular people with jobs that I admire. I’m friends with several people in WWE now. A lot of people have read my stuff, which is pretty cool. One of them called to talk to me about fantasy football today. I talk about a lot of non-wrestling stuff because most of the time they don’t know what they’re doing until they are at Raw, Smackdown or NXT anyway. I don’t have any interest in breaking news. You guys just don’t know their names and that’s my choice.
4. Eric Hay
What big name do you think will end up as the leader of retribution? I feel they need a name attached to them to be any kind of relevant.
I’m not sure what the plan is. I think the guys like Dominik Dijakovic being in it is a good thing and whether he’s a leader or not, I have no idea. I do think having a good talker is something that is needed, but it depends on how far they go with it too. I feel like trying to guess who is in a group of masked people is a waste of time anyway. The reveal matters, but everything before that doesn’t matter.
As for a leader, who knows? There are rumors that Mojo Rawley could be part of it. He’s actually a good talker if they let him be a serious character. I’m not saying he’s the leader. I just think they have a lot of choices and trying to guess who it could be is just a guessing game that’s a waste of time.
5. Joel J-money Wood
Out of all the world champions during the pandemic. Not counting Roman because he just won the belt. So I’m talking AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Universal Champion Braun Strowman, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Impact Champion Eddie Edwards, NXT Champions Adam Cole and Keith Lee. Who do you think has had the best overall run as Champion as far as feuds, matches, promos, etc during the pandemic era?
I think Drew McIntyre would be first and then Jon Moxley. I like Moxley a lot, but the matches/feuds with the likes of Brian Cage and Brodie Lee weren’t that interesting. McIntyre’s matches with guys like Seth Rollins and Randy Orton were outstanding while the way he was booked leading to the Lesnar match was awesome. Plus, the match with Bobby Lashley was pretty solid too. Drew has been the best WWE superstar this year in my opinion and I’m genuinely proud of the guy. I don’t watch Impact without the crowds.
6. Daniel Hill
Do you think coronavirus put a stop to AEW momentum? I remember early days and it was fresh with a big buzz and we’d get Omega and Bucks on tv weekly etc but it just feels a bit flat at the moment. Obviously guys and girls are trying and putting shows in under terrible circumstances but just feels a bit flat from my perspective anyway.
I think COVID-19 has hurt every company and business except like Amazon and grocery stores lol jk. But yes, it hurt AEW because their crowds were so great, they made their product fun to watch to see who people would react to and it is better for the performers to be in front of a crowd. They also are losing out on money they would have made through tickets and merch at the arenas. I think it’s fair to say that the quality of AEW shows have gone down a bit due to not having fans because fans are such a big part of wrestling and when that is taken, that’s going to lead to some things being different.
7. Damie Sinanan
If you were to book the main event of Mania… what would you have? I would say Keith Lee vs Roman Reigns.
I think Big E beating Roman Reigns would be pretty cool to see. I’m not sure if it’s the plan or what. I would be fine with Keith Lee in that spot too.
8. Emory Cantstopmyswagg White III
Will we ever get Brock vs. Lashley?
I hope so. They should do it. Lashley has talked about wanting to do the match for a long time, so why not? Lesnar has nothing else at the moment. Build it up and make it mean something. Lashley getting featured on Raw more is a good thing, so hopefully we do see it soon.
9. Kris Doss
What are your thoughts on the NXT Talent that want to stay there? With the recent track record of nxt guys I can see their trepidation, but they should also want to reach the pinnacle of wrestling, right?
If they want to do it then WWE should think about honoring requests, but I’m not sure if that sort of thing happens. I know Tommaso Ciampa said he wants to be in NXT forever, but if he gets offered a raise and they tell him he’s going to work with McIntyre or Orton or whoever then I wonder if he would change his mind. I think every person and situation is different. Plus, things can always change at all times in WWE as we know.
10. Jeremy Bennett
Who do you wish to dethrone Moxley and who do you think AEW will have to do it (if different)?
I don’t really think about it much. I think what matters is telling the right story like when Jon Moxley beat Chris Jericho, it made sense since it was after a long story where Jericho injured his eye and Moxley overcame that to win the gold. As long as it is something that makes sense within a story that’s what matters to me. If I had to one person then I would like to see Kenny Omega as a heel champion. I think it would be fun. I also think that’s who AEW will have do it.
11. Adam Symes
What was the best ever Hardcore Title match?
I think Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam at Invasion 2001. I don’t remember that many that were that great. Here’s my Invasion 2001 review.
12. Justin Irok
What are you top 3 years for Raw only, excluding 2000?
Off the top of my head I would say 1997 because it provided a lot of fun memories, I’d add in 1998 as well and then go with 2011 or 2012. Something like that, but 2011 after the Punk promo lol. I do remember 2012 and 2013 being pretty good. I can’t remember exactly, but I think something like 2005 or 2006 was really good too.
13. Dangelino Ochoa
Is there a tag team or stable that you feel either broke up too soon or shouldn’t have broken up at all? I was a big American Alpha fan. I was happy for both of them having success, but I feel that team had more mileage on it.
I’m with you on American Alpha for sure. I think it was dumb to break up Cryme Tyme and Prime Time Players as two examples that are within the last decade. I didn’t think either team was going to thrive as singles guys, so I think keeping them as teams would have helped. Also, a more recent split would be Enzo & Cass, who were great together, never won tag team gold and were split up before they had a title run.
14. Parker Solseng
Would you like to bring back the classic PPV colors and designs? Like the old Black and Gold WM logo. Or the Blue and Orange Summerslam logo?
Sure. I like that, but I understand wanting to make new history with newer logos. I would love to see Halloween Havoc brought back as an example of a show from the past.
15. Charlie Pérez
Do you think over doing tag matches hurts AEW instead of helping?
They have too many tags, but also it’s a way to get more people on the show, so that’s why they do it. I just think overdoing it feels repetitive as a viewer. If you watch a two hour show with five matches and three of them are tag team matches, it feels like too much to me.
16. Jared Jackson-Ferrans
What are your thoughts on major companies like WWE and AEW using other means besides TV (YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, etc) to start or continue storylines? On one hand, it gives more wrestlers a chance to have a meaningful story, but it also locks some casual fans out of what’s been going on.
It’s fine to keep a story going and I’m sure the wrestlers have fun talking trash on Twitter to advance a storyline. I’ve actually seen two wrestlers sitting at the same table having beers talking to each other about what they would tweet to each other and laughing about it. It’s okay as a way to get people interested in a feud. It’s been over ten years for Twitter and WWE using it as a platform to push storylines, so it’s been a long time now.
17. John Mezzio
What is the best wrestling match that Edge has been a part of?
I think TLC 2 at WM17 is the best one. Second best is No Mercy 2002 tag with Rey Mysterio against Angle and Benoit. The SummerSlam 2000 TLC match is another of the best ones for sure as well.
For singles matches I would go Unforgiven 2006 with Cena, SummerSlam 2008 with Undertaker, WM24 with Undertaker and probably some matches with Jeff Hardy too. Too many to remember! I’ve reviewed most of those too.
18. Jay Hinchey
Is it safe to say Tony Khan isn’t as smart as alot of people think he is? Say what you want about Vince at times but there’s a reason he’s still on top.
I think Tony has done pretty well for a guy that’s in his late 30s that has created a profitable wrestling company and had a pretty good amount of success in the first two years of the company. I’m not sure why people trash him when it’s pretty hard to run wrestling shows with no fans at this point.
With that said, AEW could have and should have handled the Matt Hardy injury situation better at All Out. It looked scary, but I’m glad Matt is okay.
19. Ed Eastin Jr
Based SOLEY on booking up to this point, who would be your picks for both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumbles in January?
Probably Big E or Keith Lee. I’m not sure who else might have momentum in January, though. I’m not sure if last September I would have picked Drew McIntyre, but then by January it seemed like Drew was the best choice.
For women, maybe Sasha Banks if she doesn’t beat Bayley for the Smackdown Women’s Title before that. Perhaps Rhea Ripley as a future star.
20. Michael Uong
Been dipping in and out but the Mysterio/Rollins story has kept my attention. How well have they done this story in your opinion?
I think it’s very good and probably underrated by fans that like to bitch about things too often. It has been a long term that has worked well. I thought the eye thing was ridiculous and Eye for an Eye was silly, but I have liked most of it. It’s been a lot of fun watching Dominik Mysterio thriving as a regular WWE superstar now as well.
21. Daison Thomas
How would you build the roman and Heyman storyline? What reason would you give for the alliance and how would it culminate in the end?
I think Roman needs to say that he has tried to be the person that YOU (the fans) wanted to be, but now he’s the man he needs to be and he’s indestructible since he has Heyman handling his business now. Then I would book Roman to win every match until WrestleMania when he loses to Big E or Keith Lee or whoever it is. As for the end, it would be easy for Reigns to tell Heyman to screw off and fans would cheer Roman for it, so it’s back to square one when we get to that point.
22. Paul Samuel
Do you think a wrestler’s career is hurt if they are exclusively a face or heel for the majority or whole of their career?
I don’t think a career is hurt if you are mostly a heel or mostly a face. I just think if you’re great as a face and as a heel then that’s something to be proud of. It’s pretty impressive to be the top good guy or bad guy. A lot of big names like Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Triple H and so many others thrived in both roles.
23. Lucas Oppelt
Best wrestler turned commentator? Taking in to account both their wrestling and commentating skills.
Bobby Heenan, Jerry Lawler (the heel announcer version from mid-1990s until around mid-2000s before they turned him face) and Gorilla Monsoon as a play by play guy. Jesse Ventura was pretty good too. I think was also really good for a long time too.
24. Jason Weber
What’s your all time favorite cage match from WWE?
Bret vs. Owens at SummerSlam 1994. Some people may not like it as much as me, but I thought it was a great match. Technical classic for a cage match. The recent NXT Takeover WarGames matches are great too.
For WCW, WarGames matches in 1991 and 1992. Probably some others, but those two are well regarded.
Also I love Rock vs. Mankind vs. Shamrock from Breakdown 1998 because I was there and the crowd was amazing. I had so much fun that night. It’s not a classic match like the others, but still really good.
25. Quincy Waycoolq Rich
What do think of Samoa Joe on commentary?
I think he’s doing great. I like how there are times when he’s hellish, but then other times where he’s like a face that stands up to heels like with Dominik against Rollins. With that said, I wish he was still wrestling right now. He’s 41, which is older, but not THAT old. I’d like to see him wrestle for another few years and then maybe once he’s past 45 then he can be full time announcer.
26. Kelsey Graham
Do you think since AEW pride themselves on fan service that maybe the young bucks or even Tony Khan should come out on Dynamite and address everyone about how the Matt Hardy situation was handled? I just think a “we messed up, we apologise and we will work to make sure this never happens again” could go a long way.
I think if you wanted to then you can have Matt Hardy doing a promo on Dynamite saying it was him trying to convince the bosses to let him compete and he doesn’t blame the company. I don’t think they need to address it. People on social media whine and complain about things too much to begin with. You don’t have to spend TV time on it.
27. Shay Smithers
What do you think has been the best feud of the year so far in wrestling this year? I know all of us vs Covid-19 has been the biggest real life one, but try not to count that one, lol.
If Drew vs. Randy produces another very good match at Clash of Champions then that might be my pick. I think if Rey vs. Seth had a better stipulation than the Eye for an Eye then I might pick that. I don’t think there’s one feud in AEW that has really stood out this year like Jericho/Cassidy – it’s not as good as they think it has been.
28. Roderick Walker
Which woman in WWE history do you think should have been a bigger star?
I thought Maxine (Karlee Perez who was Catrina in Lucha Underground) should have been a much bigger star in WWE and I hate that she left when she did, but she was frustrated about her spot. Another one that comes to mind is Jillian Hall, who was saddled with comedy gimmicks first with the “mole” on her face and then as the singer, so that hurt her. If she was presented as a serious wrestler, I think she would have had a better run in WWE.
29. Richard Rue
Million Dollar Man not winning the big one (WWE Title) – mistake? Or did he just not need it?
I think a mistake because of how good Ted Dibiase was a performer and a top heel, but Vince loved keeping that title on Hogan for years at a time. Savage had for it a year and then it was back to Hogan. I think Dibiase and Perfect each should have had title runs. However when you think about it, business at that time was carried by the live events and having Hogan with the WWF Title as the main event is going to sell more tickets than if Hogan is the challenger, so that’s part of the reason why.
30. Rusty Rowe
What’s your take on Matt Hardy being clear of concussion after that fall onto concrete?
I think they should have stopped the match because the fans would understand. It was obvious he was knocked out and not doing well. I know they had a stipulation that if he loses he retires, but if you say it’s a No Contest with no winner then you can just end it and do it in the future.
31. Van Wilhoite
In your opinion what was the best year for WWE newcomers as a whole?
I think that 1995-96 period with Austin, Triple H, Mankind, Rock as a newcomers (and others) is pretty impressive. Then there’s also 2002 with Lesnar, Cena, Orton and Batista as some of the rookies. That’s impressive. Either of those is a good choice.
32. Andy Rif Sheriff
Who made the biggest impact in wrestling: Dennis Rodman or Mike Tyson?
Mike Tyson because after he showed up in WWF and interacted with Austin, that’s when WWF really got a boost and that’s when things started to take off. Rodman was pretty good too.
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That’s all for now. Thanks to everybody that participated and to you for reading. Check out our Q&A archives here as well.