{"id":154503,"date":"2023-02-27T08:58:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T14:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=154503"},"modified":"2023-02-27T08:58:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T14:58:16","slug":"falls-count-anywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/02\/27\/falls-count-anywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"COLUMN: Falls Count Anywhere &#8211; Weekly analysis on WWE, AEW, and whatever else"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2428605578\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>WWE<\/h3>\n<p>-I guess it\u2019s worth starting with the big talking point of the business. Sami Zayn. Here\u2019s my 2 cents (that\u2019s why you\u2019re reading this, right?!). Why not? WWE missed out on a big time, special moment at Elimination Chamber. Cody Rhodes won\u2019t receive the type of pop and reaction that Sami would\u2019ve gotten in Montreal. You can\u2019t persuade me enough to believe that. Also, in recent years we\u2019ve seen major titles change in February right before WrestleMania so you also can\u2019t tell me that \u201cyou can\u2019t change the title this close to Mania!\u201d In recent years we\u2019ve seen Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg each win World\/Universal Titles in February. Heck, Goldberg did it twice in four years between \u201917 and \u201920! The biggest one of this century was Eddie Guerrero beating Lesnar before WrestleMania 20. If you\u2019re reading this, you love pro wrestling. There are no \u201crules.&#8221; Maybe just one and it\u2019s to do what\u2019s best for business. Changing the title this past Saturday wouldn\u2019t have cost WWE a dime. WrestleMania 39 is mostly paid for at this point and anything else added to the bottom line is gravy. At WrestleMania, you could\u2019ve had Rhodes beat Sami. You could\u2019ve had Roman Reigns regain the title. Is anyone really that invested in the 900+ day streak? I\u2019ll tell you one streak that fans were invested in at one time\u2026The Undertaker\u2019s; Vince had him put the wrong superstar over to end that streak. But that\u2019s another argument for another time.<\/p>\n<p>-Why am I supposed to like Charlotte Flair? That\u2019s a serious question. She still acts like a heel. She still cuts promos like a heel. Granted, I feel that coming out of WrestleMania, this ship will right itself and Flair will be the heel and Rhea Ripley will be the big time babyface (while also distancing herself from Judgement Day). But, right now this feels way off. There\u2019s five and a half weeks left until WM39. I\u2019d like to think that the roles can and will be flipped before then, but with Ripley still clinging to Dom Mysterio and Judgement Day, I\u2019m betting it\u2019s not until after.<\/p>\n<h3>AEW<\/h3>\n<p>-Why aren\u2019t The Elite featured on AEW Dynamite more prominently? These guys founded the company; technically the company is even named after them! Something feels off. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, If the rumors are to be believed, contracts are expiring at the end of 2023. They won the Trios Titles at the end of last summer and then had to go on \u201chiatus\u201d due to the \u201cBrawl Out\u201d incident. But, they returned to major fanfare that included a great (from an in-ring perspective) best of 7 series with Death Triangle that resulted in them regaining the Trios Titles. Since then? A lot of nothing outside of some random appearances. Yes, they\u2019ve defended the titles a few times. But, we haven\u2019t seen one big Dynamite segment involving them talking about their title win, what their plans for the future are, etc. Kenny Omega had, thus far, what many consider an early Match of the Year with Will Ospreay. Nothing on that end either. I know New Japan is a different company but there is a working relationship there. In a strange way, The Elite have been featured more on Rampage where the audience is typically half of what Dynamite gets. I was actually quite excited when the Trios Titles were finally announced. I went against that grain. But, AEW does have a deep, if not bloated, roster and I really believed this would help more of that talented roster get into some programs. It hasn\u2019t gone that way and it has pulled from the tag division, which was once considered an embarrassment of riches. It doesn\u2019t feel that way so much anymore. You can run a competent Trios and Tag Division without one hurting the other. Your wresters can participate in both and it still can work. So far, I think it\u2019s fair to say that the booking of the Trios and Tag Division since All Out last year has been disappointing overall and it\u2019s shown in the quality of the overall product.<\/p>\n<p>-The best story AEW has going right now is MJF and Bryan Danielson. It doesn\u2019t take a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion. However, I am very intrigued to see the story they tell at Revolution. Bryan Danielson is a star that has been proven throughout his career that he can have long matches whether they are technical classics or just brutal fights. MJF isn\u2019t known for that although his in-ring work is very underrated. I feel like it\u2019s way too early to take the AEW Title off of MJF and that\u2019s what makes this so intriguing. When you look at the history of these two, MJF is the underdog. I guess I\u2019m really interested to see how he comes out of this with the title because I don\u2019t think I could be talked into the idea that MJF loses it yet at Revolution. For my money, I think MJF retains at Revolution. My guess is that MJF finally loses the title at All Out this year to Adam Cole after we get the \u201cSummer of Cole (bay bay).\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Other Promotions<\/h3>\n<p>-So, Jay White eh? Where\u2019s he going next? From a selfish standpoint, I\u2019d love to see him in AEW. I think he works best with their roster and would be able to maintain the edge that has made him so good over the past so many years in New Japan. But, on the other side of that, I&#8217;ve already stated earlier that I feel as though the AEW roster is still bloated. If The Elite is getting lost in the shuffle, what happens to Jay White in a few months? Jay White in WWE could be a lot of fun if his presentation isn\u2019t changed too much. I had reservations when AJ Styles made the jump to WWE in \u201816 and he gave them some amazing programs and matches since. With Paul Levesque in charge, White would also get more than a fair shake (although, as stated, Vince McMahon didn\u2019t fumble the ball with AJ Styles). I still think a lot could be done with White and his former Bullet Club mates if he chose AEW. That could also be a ton of fun (assuming The Elite also doesn\u2019t leave at the end of the year). Either way, Jay White is poised to make a United States based company very happy in the next few months.<\/p>\n<h3>Non-Wrestling<\/h3>\n<p>-Does anyone really believe that the USFL or XFL can exist in the long term without somehow striking a deal with the NFL as a developmental system? I\u2019m sure PWTorch Columnist Greg Parks would love to talk about this topic more as he also writes about the XFL on XFLBoard.com. The last time a secondary football league really worked was the original USFL in the 1980s. It only sunk because they (or should I say Donald Trump) got greedy and wanted to go head-to-head with the NFL and run Fall and Winter games. Even then, who knows if it would\u2019ve lasted? Prior to that, the American Football League (AFL) was the only true secondary league that was successful and they were able to force a merger. Throughout the years, we\u2019ve seen various versions of the Arena Football League, various versions of the World Football League, various versions of the XFL, various versions of the USFL, and (not to be forgotten) the Alliance of American Football (AAF). None have worked. If I\u2019m Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, Brian Woods, and FOX Sports, I\u2019m constantly on the phone with someone at the NFL offices about my respective league becoming a feeder\/developmental system.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to ask me questions about pro wrestling, this column could turn into a partial \u201cmailbag\u201d type feature in the future! See below for contact details and maybe I\u2019ll write about your question! If not, I\u2019ll at least answer you via Twitter!<\/p>\n<p><em>Tony Donofrio is a Contributor for PWTorch.com. You can contact Tony at TonyDonofrio@icloud.com and follow him on Twitter @TonyDonofrio.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1840812557\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/02\/25\/2-22-womens-wrestling-army-report-janai-kai-vs-ashley-damboise-alisha-edwards-vs-vita-vonstarr-gia-scott-vs-brooke-valentine\/\">2\/22 WOMEN\u2019S WRESTLING ARMY REPORT: Janai Kai vs. Ashley D\u2019Amboise, Alisha Edwards vs. Vita VonStarr, Gia Scott vs. Brooke Valentine<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-656967134\"><div id=\"pwtor-197084531\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE -I guess it\u2019s worth starting with the big talking point of the business. Sami Zayn. Here\u2019s my 2 cents (that\u2019s why you\u2019re reading this, right?!). Why not? WWE missed out on a big time, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/02\/27\/falls-count-anywhere\/\" title=\"COLUMN: Falls Count Anywhere &#8211; Weekly analysis on WWE, AEW, and whatever else\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":151721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,27],"tags":[6121,71],"class_list":["post-154503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists","tag-aew","tag-wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2022\/12\/Sami-Zayn-vs.-Johnny-Knoxville-WM38.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154504,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154503\/revisions\/154504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}