#90 – AEW’s Bad Summer

Much Ado About Wrestling

The scholars regroup to discuss the lackluster summer inside and outside the ring for AEW.

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The scholars start things off by looking at the life and career of the recently departed Antonio Inoki. They dig a little deeper into the life of the man they both mostly knew as the creator of New Japan Pro Wrestling, and explore his life as a politician, pioneer of mixed martial arts, hostage negotiator, and more! (04:00)

Read the Ringer article about Inoki that our hosts reference multiple times

Then, the scholars talk about the AEW’s very bad summer. They talk through all the incidents that plagued them; CM Punk’s media scrum and backstage fight, Sammy Guevara’s multiple backstage incidents, injuries galore, and lackluster storytelling. They discuss Andrew’s experience attending AEW Grand Slam, and identify issues they think Tony Khan needs to change and address in his company. Then they talk about their confidence in some headline-grabbing statements about the state of AEW. (20:10)

Finally, the scholars throw off the bad vibes and talk about all the things on the wrestling horizon that they are excited for and feeling positive about. They talk about how quickly WWE has changed direction after the departure of Vince McMahon, if Sami Zayn could be the one to dethrone Roman Reigns, and why we expect AEW’s console video game to be a crossover hit. (1:04:13)

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