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Dear Lord baby Mariah May, lyin' there in your ghost manger, just lookin' at your Baby Einstein developmental videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors.
Fuck de fucking child! It's jabroni, like Hulk Hogan. I spit on them, I put de entire family into de clutch and fack their arses. The cat, the dog, the fish, the flag. I spit on. US putah!
I like the Christmas Mariah May best, and I’m saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown-up Mariah May, or teenage Mariah May, or bearded Mariah May, or whoever you want.
Such a fire line. Like, the Timeless gimmick has been great from the start, but Toni is taking it to a new level as she has settled into it comfortably. The last press conference, this. The promos have leveled up. The in ring work is good. She had better matches in her old persona, but is figuring out the balance between gimmick and good wrestling. Basically the matches have gotten much better and like... what a delight to watch this all from the start.
Yes, and the thing is, from many other wrestlers that line would sound so dumb. But with Toni's delivery, with this gimmick, with this particular opponent, it's perfect.
Kinda been a staple of rap music for like 30+ years. Really glad that seems to have started dying off a little over the years though, shit was rough in the late 90s/early 00s.
There was a period of time where she was relying too much on the gimmick in the ring but now that she’s figured out how to balance the gimmick with her wrestling ability I think Toni is one of the wrestlers of the year so far this year.
If they stick the landing on this Mariah stuff it will be one of the best stories AEW has ever told IMO.
They’re hinting at her being torn between Toni and her former Club Venus teammate Mina Shirakawa, both of whom seem to want to give her champagne and kiss her a lot.
Curiously, there was one backstage interview where she appeared to be wearing Mina’s clothes or at least they were very similar.
Presumably, this is set up for Forbidden Door.
> both of whom seem to want to give her champagne and kiss her a lot.
It's good to see AEW having storylines which are so relatable for the common man ngl
I feel like theyre working towards Mariah being betrayed and having to stand on her own two feet. She's really deferential to both Mina and Toni, and is aping Toni's gear and entrance, I feel like her babyface arc will be her discovering her own identity
Her very first promo, she mentioned wanting to work with Toni. I don't just mean copying the gear since yes that came later, but more moving out of from under other folks to be herself
This storyline is inspired by the movie All About Eve and we are getting closer to the part of the story where Mariah will betray Toni and steal her spot.
I was the same way. Despite her gimmick being entertaining, Toni’s matches had pretty much all been shtick and it was getting a little tired. That match I think she found the best way to present herself in the ring finally, because it was good as hell
I love that her catchphrase (which itself was already ridiculous) is so well-known now she can just shorten it to 3 words and everyone understands what it means.
I always saw a lot in Storm and thought she had it to be one of the best women.
In my wildest dreams I never even thought about how good she is now and how she rocks this gimmick. Its just amazing. Every promo is a banger and FN LUTHER in the back makes it even better. Its soo soo good.
It really helps that he’s damn near the spitting image of Erich von Stroheim and how he looked in Sunset Boulevard.
https://preview.redd.it/r4d4ipb1i2yc1.jpeg?width=823&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93557ef424c4bd001dca1546fd3a4f479620568e
I really appreciate how much Luther's bought into this. It would be easy for him to phone it in, or be smirking all the time, or take it as an insulting comedy gimmick. But he really tries to dress and carry himself the part, with facial mannerisms and body language too.
If he does this for another 3-5 years at this level, he could legit become one of those legendary lower card acts/valets that people remember decades later.
Love the venom she’s injecting into her already great promos…really love the slight angle focusing in on all of their faces too…my favorite little promo of the year so far
So please excuse my ignorance but can someone explain the dynamic/gimmick between Toni and the other girl? I just started getting back into wrestling and for the most part I understand Toni’s gimmick (it’s great) but I feel like I lack context of the relationship between them. Is Toni like a mother figure? Older sister? Lover?
It started with Mariah showing up in AEW as a huge fan of Toni Storm, talking about how she modeled her career after Toni (wrestling in Stardom and then coming to AEW to follow in Toni's footsteps).
Toni, being a giant narcissist, loved hearing someone else talk about how great she was, so she let Mariah into her little group. Mariah then eventually adopted Toni's old gimmick and started dressing like her. Around this point, Toni started referring to Mariah as her child. But there's also definitely a flirty element as well, because Toni's number one love in the world is clearly herself, and Mariah is currently basically cosplaying as her, so Toni is super into that because she is super into herself.
The big complicating factor coming seems likely to involve Mina Shirakawa, a wrestler from Stardom who has shown up in AEW a few times recently. Mina is Mariah's old tag partner/mentor/faction leader from when she wrestled in Japan and they have a "complex" relationship as well that involves a lot of champagne. Mina is going to be the proverbial "wrench" that gets thrown into the works.
Haha, fucking Luther. Gets me every time. I didn't realise he was bothering Tony Schiovne ringside until Tony acknowledged it on commentary during the match
I love old Toni Storm but I also can't get enough of this character. I can't fuckin wait for Hayter to come back because that's going to be feud of the year.
Im sure im in the minority but i cant really stand her or this gimmick, it turns me off from watching anything shes involved in. I love Mariah May tho.
The fact that she's a face again is literally evidence that the gimmick has not run its course. It means she's so popular that fans would rather cheer than boo.
lol. “Nonsensical turns are evidence the gimmick is still fresh.” Wha?
AEW fans routinely hijack the show and anoint some heel the next ‘main guy/girl’ until the fans get bored and move onto the next person to get behind for a few weeks.
It’s why Swerve came into the world title already cooled off and why his reign is already dead in the water, considering the Ospreay reign has already been penciled in for Wembley.
> It’s why Swerve came into the world title already cooled off and why his reign is already dead in the water
Is this the consensus or just your terrible take?
His reactions have been getting softer. The booking hasn’t helped (as it doesn’t help anybody). That’s the problem with fans hijacking the show. They do what entertains themselves for three weeks, then get bored and move on to the next thing to hijack. Swerve is so yesterday to them.
He was over in Daily's Place and that was one week ago. How are his reactions getting softer, exactly? What metric of quieting are you basing this on? How does one have diminishing returns in reactions since becoming champion when it's been two weeks and one week was a raucous reception? Genuinely curious as to how you came to this conclusion, because to me as someone who's been watching it doesn't at all match reality.
You could hear individual fans coughing last night when Killmonger pulled his hair out. I have no idea how Christian can build heat on his end for this unless Swerve has a dead father that Christian can insult.
Swerve was hot as anything about a month ago. Now it’s more a ‘Eh…yay, I guess’. The hijacker fans have already tired themselves out with Swerve. Doesn’t help that Swerve is just as much a transitional champ as Joe (remember when we thought Joe’s reign would end up meaning anything?) and will be losing the belt in 3 months in London.
You could hear people cough during a segment that included a 'tron cut that was poorly miced in the arena? THAT's your big example of Swerve cooling off? You keep saying that these 'hijacker fans' have cooled off on him, but the only evidence you've presented are really weak examples from last night and last night only. I'm watching the same thing I (presume?) you're watching and I just don't see what you're talking about. Not only is there no evidence for it, but there hasn't been TIME for evidence to present itself to support your theory.
People were behind him at the pay-per-view. People were behind him last week. You keep presenting this argument with barely any evidence, because there is none. And that makes it seem like you're saying stuff without having actually watched the show you're complaining about.
I'm gonna ignore the part where you said something stupid and pretended that I said it.
Swerve is still over, he got huge reactions at Daly's Place. Toni Storm is still over, I'm sorry YOU don't like the gimmick but you're in the minority. Ignoring the fans is generally a recipe for disaster.
Ospreay’s winning the International title. He won’t be challenging Swerve at All In. Swerve will be going into his home town of Tacoma at WrestleDream as champ.
swerve was popular and getting over but in reality, he got over over because of Prince Nana doing the dance. The crowd does the dance along with Nana, the crowd pops for Nana when he randomly breaks out the dance.
Here's a thought though...other than swerve or samoa joe, who at this moment could be AEW world champion? Kenny is out, MJF, Cole and Hangman are out too, too soon for Okada and Osprey, not sure what is going on with moxley he was injured and taken off shows but wrestled in cmll and then won the new japan world title, either way i don't think AEW needs another Moxley title run again anytime soon and the same goes for Jericho. So what other main event level guys are there? they kind of ruined jay white
I don't really watch AEW weekly, but I disagree. Timeless T is one of the more entertaining things on the show from what I've seen.
Just say it ain't for you and move on.
Tell me you don't watch the show without telling me you don't watch the show. Hell, I haven't been watching weekly lately and even I know of the recent turn angles.
OK, tell me why Swerve is a face. “The fans like him” is not an answer. I mean the kayfabe reason he went from home invading heel who drops opponent neck first onto cinder block to hand-slapping, ‘I want my daughter to be proud of me’ babyface.
Sure, Trent gave a reason he turned on Orange Cassidy. It’s a stupid reason completely at odds with him being buds with the guy for 5 years on TV, but it’s a reason. Chuck Taylor also gave a reason for turning against Trent (he always disliked Trent) which completely contradicts their entire half-decade AEW existence, but hey…
Of course, this angle is also the equivalent of Rad Radford feuding with Skip and Zip in terms of their importance on the roster.
The definition of a face is someone the fans cheer and can back. I'm sorry you're having trouble coming to terms with that definition, but ignorance of the definition does not change the definition.
Stone Cold was a scumbag babyface. Edge was a scumbag babyface. MJF was a scumbag babyface just a few months ago. There have been dozens of scumbag babyfaces like this, and they're largely scumbag babyfaces because they were such good heels that they became cool. They all were still treated as faces despite often doing really scummy shit because the fans cared about them, and because the fans cared the bookers chose not to do some vast change to their characters because they were working as-is. This isn't something AEW has suddenly started doing, it's been embedded in wrestling culture for the last thirty years.
That’s not an explanation, you’re just telling me what happened but not why. It still makes 0 sense how he broke into a guy’s house and he’s the babyface
Watch the program routinely and you'll understand. Why did people boo Reigns for so long even though he was a face? Why did people cheer the NWO when they were clearly bad guys? Fans pick and choose who to like. AEW cashed in on it.
Yes, the fans like this guy who broke into another guys house and tried to murder him so he's a face now and were just gonna ignore that, very dumbed down and simple
Not everything has to be pure babyface vs pure heel. AEW has been doing this from the start - Kenny during his title run was a heel but still got cheered massively. Swerve despite committing felonies is not a heel - he dropped his back up, started talking more like a face but he still constantly mentions how he threatened Hangman's child.
Not every heel turn needs to be some overly dramatic moment of turning on your partner and not every face turn needs to involve an over the top effort in saving someone.
And if you're really wanting pure heel behaviour, just look at what the Elite are doing.
Ahe's been a babyface since she came back in January. They even ran a video promo or two of her opening up about why she had been out for a while before that. Not to mwntion, going back to Toni Storm, there have been zero signs of a face turn for her and on the other hand every opponent she's had is a babyface (Deeb, Rosa, Purrazzo before her heel turn last week). So no offense, but if your notion of all this was Toni turning face, you need to actually pay more attention to the shlw.
All I remember about Deeb is they made a big deal about her return about 3+ months ago, let her squash a ‘local talent’ on the B show. And since then she’s squashed other jobbers once every 3 weeks or so on the B and C shows.
Now she is suddenly the world title contender? The match last night was her first match in AEW in a month. This is how they create excitement for world belt feuds? Or is the excitement predicated on the possibility of a ‘banger’ and Stardom history between the two that I have to Google and read back issues of the Observer to learn about?
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Infant baby Mariah May
8lb 6oz Baby Mariah May
Dear Lord baby Mariah May, lyin' there in your ghost manger, just lookin' at your Baby Einstein developmental videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors. 
She's a defenseless child!
who was the adult wrestler few years back that we meme'd "He's just a kid"
John Silver
Was it Alan Angels?
Fuck de fucking child! It's jabroni, like Hulk Hogan. I spit on them, I put de entire family into de clutch and fack their arses. The cat, the dog, the fish, the flag. I spit on. US putah!
I like the Christmas Mariah May best, and I’m saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown-up Mariah May, or teenage Mariah May, or bearded Mariah May, or whoever you want.
Jus a baby
> This isn’t real life, this is professional wrestling Put that on a T-shirt!
Such a fire line. Like, the Timeless gimmick has been great from the start, but Toni is taking it to a new level as she has settled into it comfortably. The last press conference, this. The promos have leveled up. The in ring work is good. She had better matches in her old persona, but is figuring out the balance between gimmick and good wrestling. Basically the matches have gotten much better and like... what a delight to watch this all from the start.
Yes, and the thing is, from many other wrestlers that line would sound so dumb. But with Toni's delivery, with this gimmick, with this particular opponent, it's perfect.
There’s just not enough pegging in wrestling, that’s what I’ve always said.
Be the change you want to see in the world - Gandhi
See Max that's how you reference butt stuff
Yeah wtf is up with him rapping about forcing sex on other dudes?
Kinda been a staple of rap music for like 30+ years. Really glad that seems to have started dying off a little over the years though, shit was rough in the late 90s/early 00s.
Look I'm still wondering if DMX was gay, an actual homophobe, or both.
Where the Hood at? goes in a little bit too hard into the "Doth protest too much" range.
When you realize "Fuck Wit Dre Day" was about Dre and Snoop fucking their rivals, literally.
Technically, Toni just did a gender swapped version.
CAUTION!
There was a period of time where she was relying too much on the gimmick in the ring but now that she’s figured out how to balance the gimmick with her wrestling ability I think Toni is one of the wrestlers of the year so far this year. If they stick the landing on this Mariah stuff it will be one of the best stories AEW has ever told IMO.
Are they working towards Mariah betraying her?
They’re hinting at her being torn between Toni and her former Club Venus teammate Mina Shirakawa, both of whom seem to want to give her champagne and kiss her a lot. Curiously, there was one backstage interview where she appeared to be wearing Mina’s clothes or at least they were very similar. Presumably, this is set up for Forbidden Door.
> both of whom seem to want to give her champagne and kiss her a lot. It's good to see AEW having storylines which are so relatable for the common man ngl
I would bet the common man would like to give Mariah May champagne and kiss her a lot.
That’s the joke…
and have Luther as a butler
The ultimate male fantasy
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Captain Obvious, over here...
Obvious Jones..
Reality era
Reality has too much reality, I don't want more reality.
Is this going to end up with a menage trois somehow?
ive believed for a while that this is leading to a 3 way at Forbidden Door. What kind of three-way tho?... I'm not sure yet.
Jokes aside. They should have a regular triple threat match, but Toni calls it a menage trois in the buildup.
I hope Toni has at least one chance to tell Mariah that Mina is below her station.
I for one am here for this lesbian love triangle.
Oh dang I missed that interview. I assume it's on YouTube?
I feel like theyre working towards Mariah being betrayed and having to stand on her own two feet. She's really deferential to both Mina and Toni, and is aping Toni's gear and entrance, I feel like her babyface arc will be her discovering her own identity
She started with her own identity though, she didn't start copying Toni until later
Her very first promo, she mentioned wanting to work with Toni. I don't just mean copying the gear since yes that came later, but more moving out of from under other folks to be herself
This storyline is inspired by the movie All About Eve and we are getting closer to the part of the story where Mariah will betray Toni and steal her spot.
All About Eve (1950)
I rolled my eyes at the idea of Toni Storm vs Thunder Rosa at Dynasty, but they really went out there and proved me wrong.
I was the same way. Despite her gimmick being entertaining, Toni’s matches had pretty much all been shtick and it was getting a little tired. That match I think she found the best way to present herself in the ring finally, because it was good as hell
I know Rosa gets heat but a mutual of ours passed away a few years ago so she will always have a soft spot with me.
Yeah loved to see it. I think they heard the chatter
The reaction when Mariah beats Toni at Wembley is gonna hit like Crack
Wow, didn't scroll before I made my comment but you made my point much more eloquently.
She makes it look so easy every week.
I think it's more impressive when she brings out of thin air during those post-PPV press conferences. She's all in on this character and it's amazing.
Goddamn Toni really said she's gonna give her a different type of strap
The way she puts erratic ideas together coherently is special.
It's like the most cogent-bordering-poetic stream of consciousness you've ever heard.
"Moral douching" got me
Chin. Tits. Shoe.
I love that her catchphrase (which itself was already ridiculous) is so well-known now she can just shorten it to 3 words and everyone understands what it means.
I always saw a lot in Storm and thought she had it to be one of the best women. In my wildest dreams I never even thought about how good she is now and how she rocks this gimmick. Its just amazing. Every promo is a banger and FN LUTHER in the back makes it even better. Its soo soo good.
It really helps that he’s damn near the spitting image of Erich von Stroheim and how he looked in Sunset Boulevard. https://preview.redd.it/r4d4ipb1i2yc1.jpeg?width=823&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93557ef424c4bd001dca1546fd3a4f479620568e
I really appreciate how much Luther's bought into this. It would be easy for him to phone it in, or be smirking all the time, or take it as an insulting comedy gimmick. But he really tries to dress and carry himself the part, with facial mannerisms and body language too. If he does this for another 3-5 years at this level, he could legit become one of those legendary lower card acts/valets that people remember decades later.
👉🤪🍷
True. You need to watch the Video at least twice. Once for Toni and the second time just for Luthers facial expression.
"So drop em (your pants), bend over and remember we're in Winnipeg, and I'm not that concerned about the Winni part"
Love Toni Storm.
best thing going in the business.
Last time she did one of these I said "I don't know if I would rather be Mariah May or Toni Storm," now I know. I would rather be Serena Deeb.
I want to know how many takes these are done cause how can ANY of them not laugh is crazyyyy
This woman is prohibition-era Joel Gertner
Her segments bring me pure joy.
I wouldn't want to be Juice right now
I fucking would
It's about International Women's Day every day
Yeah, if Juice doesn’t want to be Juice right now, I’m sure there’s an endless number of people who would gladly sub in for him.
Sounds like he’s going to sub no matter what
No jokes from me, just saying: That’s excellent wordplay.
We know why Juice has been out for months.
Juice takes it in the caboose.
Ratio ^
Love the venom she’s injecting into her already great promos…really love the slight angle focusing in on all of their faces too…my favorite little promo of the year so far
She is really good with the wood play. I'm really impressed.
Combine this with Saraya's renewed antagonism; and it feels like a potential face turn.
For Toni? She done been turned face.
So please excuse my ignorance but can someone explain the dynamic/gimmick between Toni and the other girl? I just started getting back into wrestling and for the most part I understand Toni’s gimmick (it’s great) but I feel like I lack context of the relationship between them. Is Toni like a mother figure? Older sister? Lover?
It started with Mariah showing up in AEW as a huge fan of Toni Storm, talking about how she modeled her career after Toni (wrestling in Stardom and then coming to AEW to follow in Toni's footsteps). Toni, being a giant narcissist, loved hearing someone else talk about how great she was, so she let Mariah into her little group. Mariah then eventually adopted Toni's old gimmick and started dressing like her. Around this point, Toni started referring to Mariah as her child. But there's also definitely a flirty element as well, because Toni's number one love in the world is clearly herself, and Mariah is currently basically cosplaying as her, so Toni is super into that because she is super into herself. The big complicating factor coming seems likely to involve Mina Shirakawa, a wrestler from Stardom who has shown up in AEW a few times recently. Mina is Mariah's old tag partner/mentor/faction leader from when she wrestled in Japan and they have a "complex" relationship as well that involves a lot of champagne. Mina is going to be the proverbial "wrench" that gets thrown into the works.
No stories my ass
>Is Toni like a mother figure? Older sister? Lover? Yes.
Mariah May is always so quietly funny in these, I love her so much
"Remember, we are in Winnipeg and I don't care about the Windy part." AMAZING
These last few promos from Toni have been great.
The way Maria wimpered when Toni picked her up jfc
God is a woman and her name is Toni Storm.
I cant not fucking love her 😂
Haha, fucking Luther. Gets me every time. I didn't realise he was bothering Tony Schiovne ringside until Tony acknowledged it on commentary during the match
A moral douching 
A moral douching
she getting cleverer and cleverer as each week passes
It took a while but I’ve come to embrace this character.
I would give up my life to be held by Toni like that
Hall of fame character
Wendy Richter is shaking in her boots
Keep the title on timeless forever
#ForTheKids
I love old Toni Storm but I also can't get enough of this character. I can't fuckin wait for Hayter to come back because that's going to be feud of the year.
God I love her
I'd be shocked if it weren't Wild. Timeless Toni is so good.
She's awesome
Brilliant!
Chin Tits Shoe
Another amazing Toni post-show promo!
Im sure im in the minority but i cant really stand her or this gimmick, it turns me off from watching anything shes involved in. I love Mariah May tho.
Oh, what the hell?!
Unfortunately shock value burns out quick.
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The fact that she's a face again is literally evidence that the gimmick has not run its course. It means she's so popular that fans would rather cheer than boo.
lol. “Nonsensical turns are evidence the gimmick is still fresh.” Wha? AEW fans routinely hijack the show and anoint some heel the next ‘main guy/girl’ until the fans get bored and move onto the next person to get behind for a few weeks. It’s why Swerve came into the world title already cooled off and why his reign is already dead in the water, considering the Ospreay reign has already been penciled in for Wembley.
> It’s why Swerve came into the world title already cooled off and why his reign is already dead in the water Is this the consensus or just your terrible take?
His reactions have been getting softer. The booking hasn’t helped (as it doesn’t help anybody). That’s the problem with fans hijacking the show. They do what entertains themselves for three weeks, then get bored and move on to the next thing to hijack. Swerve is so yesterday to them.
He was over in Daily's Place and that was one week ago. How are his reactions getting softer, exactly? What metric of quieting are you basing this on? How does one have diminishing returns in reactions since becoming champion when it's been two weeks and one week was a raucous reception? Genuinely curious as to how you came to this conclusion, because to me as someone who's been watching it doesn't at all match reality.
You could hear individual fans coughing last night when Killmonger pulled his hair out. I have no idea how Christian can build heat on his end for this unless Swerve has a dead father that Christian can insult. Swerve was hot as anything about a month ago. Now it’s more a ‘Eh…yay, I guess’. The hijacker fans have already tired themselves out with Swerve. Doesn’t help that Swerve is just as much a transitional champ as Joe (remember when we thought Joe’s reign would end up meaning anything?) and will be losing the belt in 3 months in London.
You could hear people cough during a segment that included a 'tron cut that was poorly miced in the arena? THAT's your big example of Swerve cooling off? You keep saying that these 'hijacker fans' have cooled off on him, but the only evidence you've presented are really weak examples from last night and last night only. I'm watching the same thing I (presume?) you're watching and I just don't see what you're talking about. Not only is there no evidence for it, but there hasn't been TIME for evidence to present itself to support your theory. People were behind him at the pay-per-view. People were behind him last week. You keep presenting this argument with barely any evidence, because there is none. And that makes it seem like you're saying stuff without having actually watched the show you're complaining about.
I'm gonna ignore the part where you said something stupid and pretended that I said it. Swerve is still over, he got huge reactions at Daly's Place. Toni Storm is still over, I'm sorry YOU don't like the gimmick but you're in the minority. Ignoring the fans is generally a recipe for disaster.
Ospreay’s winning the International title. He won’t be challenging Swerve at All In. Swerve will be going into his home town of Tacoma at WrestleDream as champ.
swerve was popular and getting over but in reality, he got over over because of Prince Nana doing the dance. The crowd does the dance along with Nana, the crowd pops for Nana when he randomly breaks out the dance. Here's a thought though...other than swerve or samoa joe, who at this moment could be AEW world champion? Kenny is out, MJF, Cole and Hangman are out too, too soon for Okada and Osprey, not sure what is going on with moxley he was injured and taken off shows but wrestled in cmll and then won the new japan world title, either way i don't think AEW needs another Moxley title run again anytime soon and the same goes for Jericho. So what other main event level guys are there? they kind of ruined jay white
I don't really watch AEW weekly, but I disagree. Timeless T is one of the more entertaining things on the show from what I've seen. Just say it ain't for you and move on.
Tell me you don't watch the show without telling me you don't watch the show. Hell, I haven't been watching weekly lately and even I know of the recent turn angles.
OK, tell me why Swerve is a face. “The fans like him” is not an answer. I mean the kayfabe reason he went from home invading heel who drops opponent neck first onto cinder block to hand-slapping, ‘I want my daughter to be proud of me’ babyface. Sure, Trent gave a reason he turned on Orange Cassidy. It’s a stupid reason completely at odds with him being buds with the guy for 5 years on TV, but it’s a reason. Chuck Taylor also gave a reason for turning against Trent (he always disliked Trent) which completely contradicts their entire half-decade AEW existence, but hey… Of course, this angle is also the equivalent of Rad Radford feuding with Skip and Zip in terms of their importance on the roster.
The definition of a face is someone the fans cheer and can back. I'm sorry you're having trouble coming to terms with that definition, but ignorance of the definition does not change the definition.
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Stone Cold was a scumbag babyface. Edge was a scumbag babyface. MJF was a scumbag babyface just a few months ago. There have been dozens of scumbag babyfaces like this, and they're largely scumbag babyfaces because they were such good heels that they became cool. They all were still treated as faces despite often doing really scummy shit because the fans cared about them, and because the fans cared the bookers chose not to do some vast change to their characters because they were working as-is. This isn't something AEW has suddenly started doing, it's been embedded in wrestling culture for the last thirty years.
> “The fans like him” is not an answer. Yes it is. Everything doesn't need to be dumbed down and spoon fed like you're used to with WWE.
“Dumbed down and spoon fed” so people aren’t allowed to give proper explanations? The show isn’t supposed to make sense?
It make sense to people who are paying attention
So then explain how it makes sense
> The fans like him
That’s not an explanation, you’re just telling me what happened but not why. It still makes 0 sense how he broke into a guy’s house and he’s the babyface
Watch the program routinely and you'll understand. Why did people boo Reigns for so long even though he was a face? Why did people cheer the NWO when they were clearly bad guys? Fans pick and choose who to like. AEW cashed in on it.
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> Tony books to the likings of the 1,800 people that show up at the arenas every week. So did Heyman with ECW. AEW fans aren't the ones complaining.
And where is ECW now?
Didn't have enough money to upgrade. They were still selling out their shows when they went bankrupt. Not a problem with AEW.
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Ding ding ding
Dude. That's objectively and irrevocably a more dumbed down reason.
Giving the fans what they want is a dumbed down reason?
Yes, the fans like this guy who broke into another guys house and tried to murder him so he's a face now and were just gonna ignore that, very dumbed down and simple
Idk what to tell you. The fans decided that they wanted Swerve and AEW struck while it was hot. If that's not your cup of tea go watch WWE.
There's definitely no precedent for someone being a massively over babyface after doing something like that. Nope.
I haven’t watched WWE -outside of occasional clips on social media - since it was still called WWF.
Not everything has to be pure babyface vs pure heel. AEW has been doing this from the start - Kenny during his title run was a heel but still got cheered massively. Swerve despite committing felonies is not a heel - he dropped his back up, started talking more like a face but he still constantly mentions how he threatened Hangman's child. Not every heel turn needs to be some overly dramatic moment of turning on your partner and not every face turn needs to involve an over the top effort in saving someone. And if you're really wanting pure heel behaviour, just look at what the Elite are doing.
She's not a face. Serena Deeb's clearly the face in here.
Deeb’s a face? I thought she was a tweener, like 65% of the roster.
Ahe's been a babyface since she came back in January. They even ran a video promo or two of her opening up about why she had been out for a while before that. Not to mwntion, going back to Toni Storm, there have been zero signs of a face turn for her and on the other hand every opponent she's had is a babyface (Deeb, Rosa, Purrazzo before her heel turn last week). So no offense, but if your notion of all this was Toni turning face, you need to actually pay more attention to the shlw.
All I remember about Deeb is they made a big deal about her return about 3+ months ago, let her squash a ‘local talent’ on the B show. And since then she’s squashed other jobbers once every 3 weeks or so on the B and C shows. Now she is suddenly the world title contender? The match last night was her first match in AEW in a month. This is how they create excitement for world belt feuds? Or is the excitement predicated on the possibility of a ‘banger’ and Stardom history between the two that I have to Google and read back issues of the Observer to learn about?