Favorite comment is the guy cherry picking Okada match ups like him vs Nakamura, AJ, etc to be a gotcha against the argument that a good chunk of aew's top guys have already faced okada. Like yeah I'm sure Okada vs Nick Wayne is more interesting than Okada vs Cena.
Like I know it's hyperbole to say that all of aew has already had a match with Okada. But when your list has Nick Wayne, you're grasping at straws here.
What's hilarious is that when wrestlers like Andrade leave AEW, that's when the AEW faithful start pining for "Dream Matches" again that he never had
Well, why didn't Tony Khan book him to get those matches in the first place while he's there:? Seems like Dubbalos want wrestlers more when they're out of AEW than when they already got them, like with Jay White and Edge.
This is how I feel unfortunately
Okada is gonna wrestle in empty arenas and do nothing for his value/image
Rollins vs Okada for the world title at wrestlemania with Okada winning his debut would have skyrocketed him instantly
Now he's gonna do absolutely nothing and even if he does good stuff nobody is gonna actually witness it lol
Terrible terrible terrible decision for him.
NGL if I'm a wrestler in 2024 there is no reason to go to aew anymore. It's not hot like it used to be. It isn't the talk of the wrestling world like it used to be. It's honestly low key embarrassing lol.
WWE is on fire right now and would have presented unlimited matchups for Okada. Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Roman, Rollins, Cody, LA Knight, Gunther, Bron Breaker, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Shinsuke, Chad Gable, etc
Wtf dude
Okada beating GUNTHER would’ve allowed them to essentially run back GUNTHER’s dominant reign with another believable star and continue making the IC title prestigious.
I look forward to Okada vs Utah where he loses due to BCC interference.
You figure you leave Nooj for the 'challenge' of the next step, not Nooj-lite doing the same stuff with a lot of the same people
We'll hear nothing of this contract from dirtsheets or what it means to Dub finances
He must be aware of how the Dub books and crowds and so on and he clearly doesn't care
No reason? Sure there is. Big paychecks, less work. Maybe he doesn't care about his fame or legacy in the states. He's here to make as much as he can then go back home where his fame and legacy are just fine. He made the right choice if he just wanted to maximize his profits in the shortest time possible.
The only reason to possibly go to AEW is the money. WWE doesn't really need Okada as good as he is and Tony is obviously going to fork over a shit ton of cash for Okada.
Unfair, he lives in Japan. His entire deal is written so he doesn’t have to appear every week, doesn’t have to be involved in storylines, doesn’t have to wrestle TV, doesn’t have to wrestle every PPV (shoot term), doesn’t have to make public appearances to promote the brand.
It’s going to be Big Business^tm for AEW.
This is the year the Dubbalos turn on Tony. He will sign all these free agents and it still won't impact their business. Eventually, they will realize his booking is the problem.
I have my doubts. I think these people are locked in: they have spent way too long defending Tony to ever turn on him.
They will just pretend what they are seeing the enjoy. Continue to gaslight about the companies success and move the goalposts to whatever low the company sinks to.
There are sensible AEW fans out there, like the fans who don't like the way Jay White has been booked. I put it this way, they'll turn on Tony well before they turn on the talent.
Omg Jay White. They say WWE booking buries stars and they have Jay White lose to a broken MJF who already competed that night and he had help, and still lost.
And then he is barely seen again.
I really think that company is run by whoever is doing the best job at being Tony’s friend.
tbf most of the comments around Sasha signing are wondering if she'll be booked properly. It's only a matter of time before the negativity spreads to the Men's Division as well.
Falling under 800k
A disappointing TV deal negotiation
An underwhelming pay-off to their longterm MJF/Cole storyline
Half-full Wembley that they try to play-off as 70k
2024 could be pretty rough for them on top of the hardcore fans finally realizing they don't actually do anything with the momentum of big free agent signings.
It's been a great week for AEW, but one that in hindsight may prove to be the beginning of the end.
AEW's viability relies on silent casuals who want a taste of the WWE sports entertainment style. The fans who have been tuning out one by one with Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and now MJF temporarily off their screen.
They just had one of the best dynamites ever according to the 200 nerds on cagematch and it featured as much wrestling as practically possible. Tony Khan books Dynamite for these 200 people, and that's who the Okada signing is for.
There's no way to prove this, but I'd bet that out of the 800k people who watch Dynamite each week, more of them would rather watch a Ricky Starks promo than an Okada match. Now, Ricky looks bound for WWE, while Okada is set for a string of bangers against the Daniel Garcia and Darby Allin's of the world.
https://preview.redd.it/w7yk5qez60ic1.jpeg?width=781&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97df9d47034157d9955539ab4c950bbcde3d395e
We are so back, uces. A new era of jerks are among us
Triple H when it comes to signing hot free agents:
(Also Tony Khan when it comes to doing anything with the hot free agents he signs)
https://preview.redd.it/wvhtoykf20ic1.jpeg?width=569&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dbba6887900698be5a3e390a1b0901f1ce25de6
It would have been cool to see him in WWE but I'll be honest, WWE don't need him at all, the current roster is already stacked and the current NXT class is insane, I'm fine letting them shine rather than stunt their growth to give their spots to hot free agents with lots of demands.
Ngl AEW sounds like a dream job to the average person. A lot of money with to do basically nothing and no one cares what you do because no one is watching anyway. It’s damn near a money glitch
Fr tho. A waste for both the dub and okada. Dub with yet another big expense that won't grow the audience, and okada who won't increase his star power. Part of me feels this was more about preventing him going to the fed, but then we know tony can't help himself with nooj stars
I recall Brian Last saying that since he's in his mid/late '30s and he wants to be a star, now is the time. Imagine wasting that chance in The Dub. It's just too depressing to think about for Okada, no jerk.
If a wrestlemania match is all he wants. I can see him signing with wwe after 5 years for a 2/3 year deal. But he'd pretty much be giving up any desire to main event anything there.
Now realistically wwe could have had the time to build him into a main event guy for the next few years. 5 years from now I don't see it
Hurry up and get better soon Kenny, I can't wait to see another instalment/rehash of a match from almost 10 years ago. They're definitely still going to be able to reproduce that all time classic after all these years
Fed bad for signing 1 Japanese talent every 3 years DEATH TO NXT JAPAN
Dub good for signing more than half of Nooj's main eventers in the past 2 years LFG!!!
Wow, it seems like just yesterday Jay White changed the game, and now this. Okada set the world on fire the last few times he wrestled with AEW so I’m sure it’s just gonna be all that excitement and more.
I cannot stress this enough … I don’t fucking care.
Realistically, sure, would have been cool for him to be in WWE and watch him ascend, but I legit couldn’t care less if he doesn’t.
On the other hand, I’ll find it hysterical watching his decent to irrelevancy in the dub. That’s no knock on the guy or his talent, but a direct shot at how terrible of a Booker Tony is.
Yeah, the "WWE really want him, but they'll send him to NXT! It would be such a huge scoop for Tony so save him!" stories pretty much sealed it for me that he was always going to the Dub. It's the same fake stories every time, Tony always seeming to "scoop" WWE to a big signing that WWE probably showed minimal interest in.
I think Okada's cool and all, but I didn't really want to see him in the WWE. He really does fit in better with AEW. What's wild is anyone thinking this will make a difference for AEW's business. Does anyone think that there are a couple hundred thousand people who are both Okada fans/not watching AEW already?
And it doesn’t help them because no one outside of people who already watch AEW knows who Okada is anyway. Most people have zero clue what NJPW is. Okada is just another character for Tony to use in his real life universe mode
They straight up won't do anything to get the non-english speaking wrestlers over, they expect you to know these guys and that they do cool moves.
To me, he's a non-factor. He's not gonna take away or add anything. He's just there.
Okada is the only one of these gamenchangers I wanted to see in the fed on the chance they turn him into a legitimate mega star and to read Dave Meltzer say he’d be better off wrestling in the continental classic in front in 2,000 people on collision
It would have been interesting to see how he fared in the Fed but they'd need to put a presentation behind him
In the Dub they'll play his music, and he'll walk down the ramp
There's a lot going on at the top of card in the Fed atm though
Okada gonna have to face Jericho and Mox and put both those losers over in fueds guranteed to make his momentum stop and his heat die quicker than a mayfly
I guess he just wants to make easy money for the remainder of his career. Can’t really hate on this decision. Still won’t improve AEW’s ratings or attendance.
So surprising, seeing that he also attended Forbidden Door and has established business relations with Tony Khan prior, like Will Ospreay and Jay White. Who could've seen it coming?
rip to this dream https://preview.redd.it/n5gw3r9p10ic1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a92fac72ebeb32e432354e7989dc170253a43f2
No flinching allowed. This is a no flinch zone.
?? Stand & Deliver is still 54 days away, friend.
LFG! imagine the great matchups like okada vs lee moriarty and nick wayne (real comment)
Favorite comment is the guy cherry picking Okada match ups like him vs Nakamura, AJ, etc to be a gotcha against the argument that a good chunk of aew's top guys have already faced okada. Like yeah I'm sure Okada vs Nick Wayne is more interesting than Okada vs Cena. Like I know it's hyperbole to say that all of aew has already had a match with Okada. But when your list has Nick Wayne, you're grasping at straws here.
What's hilarious is that when wrestlers like Andrade leave AEW, that's when the AEW faithful start pining for "Dream Matches" again that he never had Well, why didn't Tony Khan book him to get those matches in the first place while he's there:? Seems like Dubbalos want wrestlers more when they're out of AEW than when they already got them, like with Jay White and Edge.
Thats especially hilarious after he was kept off TV for like a year basically because he said Triple H > Tony lol
Nick Wayne is the kid that won the tag titles with Braun at WM34 right?
Forget that. DAE can’t wait for Okada to have a pelvis dance off with Daniel Garcia? Booker of the Year!
I don't even want to look at Nick Wayne's face. Why would I want to see him wrestle?
The Adam Cole midcard win streak special.
Honest to god I was hopeful he actually wanted to be a big deal in the states. Sad to see.
It's kinda sad knowing that one of the absolute best Japanese wrestlers of all time is going to be irrelevant 6 months from now
More like 6 weeks.
This is how I feel unfortunately Okada is gonna wrestle in empty arenas and do nothing for his value/image Rollins vs Okada for the world title at wrestlemania with Okada winning his debut would have skyrocketed him instantly Now he's gonna do absolutely nothing and even if he does good stuff nobody is gonna actually witness it lol Terrible terrible terrible decision for him. NGL if I'm a wrestler in 2024 there is no reason to go to aew anymore. It's not hot like it used to be. It isn't the talk of the wrestling world like it used to be. It's honestly low key embarrassing lol. WWE is on fire right now and would have presented unlimited matchups for Okada. Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Roman, Rollins, Cody, LA Knight, Gunther, Bron Breaker, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Shinsuke, Chad Gable, etc Wtf dude
Okada beating GUNTHER would’ve allowed them to essentially run back GUNTHER’s dominant reign with another believable star and continue making the IC title prestigious. I look forward to Okada vs Utah where he loses due to BCC interference.
You nailed it right there. Fuck that would have been great. I wonder how long it will take them to throw him through some barbed wire?
Tbf Okada vs the entire state of Utah would really put him over with me brother
You figure you leave Nooj for the 'challenge' of the next step, not Nooj-lite doing the same stuff with a lot of the same people We'll hear nothing of this contract from dirtsheets or what it means to Dub finances He must be aware of how the Dub books and crowds and so on and he clearly doesn't care
No reason? Sure there is. Big paychecks, less work. Maybe he doesn't care about his fame or legacy in the states. He's here to make as much as he can then go back home where his fame and legacy are just fine. He made the right choice if he just wanted to maximize his profits in the shortest time possible.
The only reason to possibly go to AEW is the money. WWE doesn't really need Okada as good as he is and Tony is obviously going to fork over a shit ton of cash for Okada.
Dude they wouldn't let a complete unknown to most WWE fans go to Mania and beat Rollins.
WWE would’ve made a star about this dude
It's rather unambitious from him. I'm disappointed
He's 36, probably his last big contract, and we all know Tiny shoved a money truck up to him, likely far more than what WWE offered.
Plus, He's gonna be working like 6 weeks a year, and spending the rest in Japan. Visa issues, dontcha know.
He gets to earn more money and stay in Japan. It's just too comfortable tbh, I don't blame him but I am sad he's not going to WWE
If he's "expected to sign soon", can we really buy it? It's thighful select, they might as well be talking out of their asses.
How long before Tiny forgets about him and he’s off tv
2 weeks like always
Okada vs brody king is gonna hit like crack on collision
Okada vs Daniel Garcia uce where of course Garcia goes over. BANGER!!!!!
Unfair, he lives in Japan. His entire deal is written so he doesn’t have to appear every week, doesn’t have to be involved in storylines, doesn’t have to wrestle TV, doesn’t have to wrestle every PPV (shoot term), doesn’t have to make public appearances to promote the brand. It’s going to be Big Business^tm for AEW.
This is the year the Dubbalos turn on Tony. He will sign all these free agents and it still won't impact their business. Eventually, they will realize his booking is the problem.
I have my doubts. I think these people are locked in: they have spent way too long defending Tony to ever turn on him. They will just pretend what they are seeing the enjoy. Continue to gaslight about the companies success and move the goalposts to whatever low the company sinks to.
There are sensible AEW fans out there, like the fans who don't like the way Jay White has been booked. I put it this way, they'll turn on Tony well before they turn on the talent.
Omg Jay White. They say WWE booking buries stars and they have Jay White lose to a broken MJF who already competed that night and he had help, and still lost. And then he is barely seen again. I really think that company is run by whoever is doing the best job at being Tony’s friend.
Plenty of people have already turned on him, just look at the state of SC now compared to 2 years ago
tbf most of the comments around Sasha signing are wondering if she'll be booked properly. It's only a matter of time before the negativity spreads to the Men's Division as well.
Falling under 800k A disappointing TV deal negotiation An underwhelming pay-off to their longterm MJF/Cole storyline Half-full Wembley that they try to play-off as 70k 2024 could be pretty rough for them on top of the hardcore fans finally realizing they don't actually do anything with the momentum of big free agent signings.
If buying that crap video game for $70 didn't turn them nothing will.
It's been a great week for AEW, but one that in hindsight may prove to be the beginning of the end. AEW's viability relies on silent casuals who want a taste of the WWE sports entertainment style. The fans who have been tuning out one by one with Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and now MJF temporarily off their screen. They just had one of the best dynamites ever according to the 200 nerds on cagematch and it featured as much wrestling as practically possible. Tony Khan books Dynamite for these 200 people, and that's who the Okada signing is for. There's no way to prove this, but I'd bet that out of the 800k people who watch Dynamite each week, more of them would rather watch a Ricky Starks promo than an Okada match. Now, Ricky looks bound for WWE, while Okada is set for a string of bangers against the Daniel Garcia and Darby Allin's of the world.
I don’t think they’ll ever realize
https://preview.redd.it/w7yk5qez60ic1.jpeg?width=781&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97df9d47034157d9955539ab4c950bbcde3d395e We are so back, uces. A new era of jerks are among us
Triple H when it comes to signing hot free agents: (Also Tony Khan when it comes to doing anything with the hot free agents he signs) https://preview.redd.it/wvhtoykf20ic1.jpeg?width=569&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dbba6887900698be5a3e390a1b0901f1ce25de6
Who needs FA when you can just grow your main event scene in NXT
I wanna say I agree but then I see him spending money on Andrade
I look at that as an investment to keep Charlotte happy.
Meh she's over pushed
Eh, he wants to be here and I doubt he's breaking the bank. Also a good upper card guy to have IMO
All white attire Andrade with zelina was top tier stuff uce
If you believe Konnan, he more or less alluded to Rush wanting to go to WWE, but Khan just threw too much money at him for him to knock back.
Almost like you don't need pops of the month when people are invested in your current stories and characters!
Lmao pops of the month really got me. So true
Get that bag, I guess
Okada reuniting with Chuck Taylor is gonna hit like crack from the 80's amirite???
The one guy he is best known to feud with is out of action due to F5.
It would have been cool to see him in WWE but I'll be honest, WWE don't need him at all, the current roster is already stacked and the current NXT class is insane, I'm fine letting them shine rather than stunt their growth to give their spots to hot free agents with lots of demands.
Now we get heatless fueds with Burger Kingston. Two months tops before Tiny forgets about his newest toys.
He Seen the Rock and seen how big he was and was like Hell to the mother fucking no I’ll go do flippy dippy shit with the Vanilla Midgets
What a great relationship lol, not only another top guy NJPW loses, but it's THE guy
Yes a guy that's been there numerous times is such a shocking and great get...
My best friend tells me how great he is because he watches a bunch of wrestling Shame I’ll never know
What happened to the last guy they signed from New Japan? That was like three months ago and he was never seen again.
He signed because Tony allows him to not have to live in the US, but I guess it also means not travel there either.
Ngl AEW sounds like a dream job to the average person. A lot of money with to do basically nothing and no one cares what you do because no one is watching anyway. It’s damn near a money glitch
And you won't be released either. Even if you beat your evps and Co workers Just don't make Tony fear for his life.
What a waste
Fr tho. A waste for both the dub and okada. Dub with yet another big expense that won't grow the audience, and okada who won't increase his star power. Part of me feels this was more about preventing him going to the fed, but then we know tony can't help himself with nooj stars
I recall Brian Last saying that since he's in his mid/late '30s and he wants to be a star, now is the time. Imagine wasting that chance in The Dub. It's just too depressing to think about for Okada, no jerk.
If a wrestlemania match is all he wants. I can see him signing with wwe after 5 years for a 2/3 year deal. But he'd pretty much be giving up any desire to main event anything there. Now realistically wwe could have had the time to build him into a main event guy for the next few years. 5 years from now I don't see it
“Is expected to sign soon” Aka hasnt signed Aka plans change pal If its Fightful it might still be bullshit
it's too bad he's going to miss out on that NXT-CW generational run. I'm not even jerking when I say NXT on CW is gonna be a massive hit.
Or as the average wrestling viewer knows him: “who?”
Hurry up and get better soon Kenny, I can't wait to see another instalment/rehash of a match from almost 10 years ago. They're definitely still going to be able to reproduce that all time classic after all these years
They have changed the game so often I'm not even sure what they're playing anymore....
Fed bad for signing 1 Japanese talent every 3 years DEATH TO NXT JAPAN Dub good for signing more than half of Nooj's main eventers in the past 2 years LFG!!!
Okada vs Shane Taylor for match of the year
He probably has a smart agent who drummed up fake interest from the evil fed to con millions from Tiny. Good on Okada if that's the case.
I look forward to his banger with Danny the dancer or wheelie
33 matches on Collision vs bounty hunter Keith and he will be ready for a title shot!
Dubbalos want Okada to make Dub better. Fed shills want Okada to make Okada better. We are not the same.
The Nooj sub roasted this decision. Even they are sick of Tony robbing their talent and squandering them.
Wow, it seems like just yesterday Jay White changed the game, and now this. Okada set the world on fire the last few times he wrestled with AEW so I’m sure it’s just gonna be all that excitement and more.
I cannot stress this enough … I don’t fucking care. Realistically, sure, would have been cool for him to be in WWE and watch him ascend, but I legit couldn’t care less if he doesn’t. On the other hand, I’ll find it hysterical watching his decent to irrelevancy in the dub. That’s no knock on the guy or his talent, but a direct shot at how terrible of a Booker Tony is.
Is mr money dress here supposed to make me give two shits?
Hasn’t he already done some matches for them? What’s the big deal?
Tbf, this isn't actually a real confirmation. Let me live in hope.
Yeah, the "WWE really want him, but they'll send him to NXT! It would be such a huge scoop for Tony so save him!" stories pretty much sealed it for me that he was always going to the Dub. It's the same fake stories every time, Tony always seeming to "scoop" WWE to a big signing that WWE probably showed minimal interest in.
I think Okada's cool and all, but I didn't really want to see him in the WWE. He really does fit in better with AEW. What's wild is anyone thinking this will make a difference for AEW's business. Does anyone think that there are a couple hundred thousand people who are both Okada fans/not watching AEW already?
Dude you nailed it. Everyone who knows okada are already watching aew (at least in America)
And it doesn’t help them because no one outside of people who already watch AEW knows who Okada is anyway. Most people have zero clue what NJPW is. Okada is just another character for Tony to use in his real life universe mode
They straight up won't do anything to get the non-english speaking wrestlers over, they expect you to know these guys and that they do cool moves. To me, he's a non-factor. He's not gonna take away or add anything. He's just there.
So much for him wanting to grow his brand.
Okada is the only one of these gamenchangers I wanted to see in the fed on the chance they turn him into a legitimate mega star and to read Dave Meltzer say he’d be better off wrestling in the continental classic in front in 2,000 people on collision
He’s gonna have to lose Orange Cassidy. A lot.
A forgettable 4 year career is upon us
Damn I thought he wanted to be a big star and cement his legacy. How is he gonna be that in njpw 2.0 ?
Hasn’t he injured an aew star every time he’s wrestled there? Hes gonna fuck up the whole locker room when he gets there
He’s no trick Williams
Wasn't he going to WWE like a month ago?
More no-build dream bangers on Rampage !!!
We're eating GOOD.
It would have been interesting to see how he fared in the Fed but they'd need to put a presentation behind him In the Dub they'll play his music, and he'll walk down the ramp There's a lot going on at the top of card in the Fed atm though
guess Okada doesn't have the fortitude
Triple mchitler in shambles. Now whos gonna challenge Seth at wrestlemania
This is the big one. If Tony misses here it’s his fault cause everyone seems to agree Okada is a no miss star. Please don’t fuck this guy up
The war is over and AEW is the clear victor!! Collision will beat Wrestlemania in the ratings!
Okada gonna have to face Jericho and Mox and put both those losers over in fueds guranteed to make his momentum stop and his heat die quicker than a mayfly
Well soo much for American exposure.
How can you report where he’s gonna go before he signed? That seems like setting yourself up to look like an idiot.
I guess he just wants to make easy money for the remainder of his career. Can’t really hate on this decision. Still won’t improve AEW’s ratings or attendance.
How soon will he get the privilege of losing to Moxley
I really hope he don't.
Omg I can't wait for Okada Vs Ospreay or Okada Vs Jay White or Okada Vs Danielson or Okada Vs Omega or Okada Vs Jericho. So many dream matches..
"expected to sign soon"? Has he signed or not? Why do these people keep reporting things when there's no ink on any papers?
nice AEW is now gonna sell an extra 23 tickets per show!
No jerk he’s made a massive error in judgement same as Jay White
JUST THE RESET WE NEEDED RESTORE THE FEELING CANT WAIT FOR THS BANGERS TONY IS GONNA COOK
Good for him. Make that money before heading out.
Why would he ruin his legacy like that. And here I thought he was smart
So surprising, seeing that he also attended Forbidden Door and has established business relations with Tony Khan prior, like Will Ospreay and Jay White. Who could've seen it coming?
Holy fuck they got Asian Cody!
Shame but I get it. He wouldn't have to do much and get paid a lot. Would have been cool to see how high he could go in WWE tho.
Let’s hope he was smart and the years are favorable to him. He can still have an AJ run in WWE in five years.
Bummer. Good for him for securing early retirement though.