What Should AEW Do With Mercedes Mone? AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 Review | WrestleTalk Podcast

[@JCWolfwood]

I was at the show. Moné was playing up the fact the fans turned on her. Especially the last part when Britt came out

[@JMSK248]

This entire review in a nutshell: This match was great, but not as great as I imagined it would be, therefore it was bad.

[@yarmy9846]

was i the only one who thought the Mone Vaquer match was phenomenal?

[@ritchier3346]

Not even slightly. I watched the PPV with my younger brother and his girlfriend and we all loved that match. Hell, it was my match of the night.

[@harsh_1910]

Ikr, it was soo good, even though the crowd started to switch sides they were at least loud and there for the match(which is more than can be said for most of the night) it really helped enhance an already certified banger

[@4supergamma]

Thank God for Tempest for explaining the obvious reason for the boos for a Bostoner in NYC and boo Pete for falling into the clickbait void.

[@jamesmaskell3743]

But then they discussed how the crowd weren't into the match compared to others. It wasnt just the NY-Boston thing.

[@fscorpion678]

I think it's a bit of both. It's not like Mercedes was really over going into the match.

[@michaelsinger4638]

So the women from Boston, got booed in NYC. Complete with chants about Boston sports teams (including one that just won the NBA finals)? Yeah that’s not really “proof” of anything frankly. Stephanie Vaquer was also just really good here. Mercedes has never really been a babyface in AEW. She’s been heelish the whole time and she was playing into here (and in the media scrum as well). Some people really don’t seem to get that.

[@GrilliamG]

I thought she’d been presented as a heel for a long time too, I don’t see where people think AEW is showcasing her as a face. Especially once the Willow feud got going in earnest

[@briandc]

I almost feel a bit bad if the local city rivalries don’t translate to the international audience. It really was just that. The majority of AEW fans would not have booed this result. It’s just the local rivalries. She should turn heel, though. So not absurd to discuss. But it’s all a bit overstated because of the Boston thing.

[@dastardlywun]

​@@GrilliamGyeah I'm also unsure how people are saying she should "turn" heel when she's clearly been a heel for a while now

[@garrymclaughlan6433]

Yeah I felt she was the heel going into this, she carried on as a heel from the Willow feud.

[@BlaqAdam]

They literally cheered her at the start of the match. They turned when Stephanie outwrestled her. The commentary tried to blame her being from Boston. They didnt do any sports related chants till the VERY end.

[@lgr2284]

There was a banger of a main event, great match with Mox and Naito, great match with Toni x Mina, fckn great match with Mercedes and Stephanie, etc..., etc..., etc... and you chose that cover? Really, guys? Come on. Do better.

[@ahaziahjoshua1397]

The irl crowd is really into the acclaimed idk what to tell yall😅

[@leehazell7633]

Pete, you're my favourite member of the Wrestltalk team, but this is not the thumbnail to have gone for.

[@4supergamma]

Another lovely little Clickbait title/thumbnail after yet another banger AEW ppv. Classic wrestletalk.

[@jamesmaskell3743]

It's a valid talking point. Nothing clickbait about it.

[@AdvyDeven]

​@@jamesmaskell3743Idk. The crowd booing her over a few fans getting all up in their Boston fandom hardly reflects on her act and presentation. The booing didn't happen until then, and they were cheering and chanting Mercedes before then, so not so sure there's much validity in this talking point.

[@cactusjackhausen8508]

​@@jamesmaskell3743it's not valid and IS clickbaity. The NYC crowd wasn't booing Mercedes because "this is not working" as the clickbait title suggests. They were booing her because she's a Boston native and in sports, NYC & Boston are famed rivals.....hence why the crowd were chanting "Celtics suck" last night

[@AyyFuji]

@@jamesmaskell3743It really isn’t. It’s a basic “person from this area doesn’t like person from that area”. It’s another negative thing that is minor, being used as the first thing talked about.

[@Mr-qi2ik]

Thinking all that booing was just from the sports thing is one of the most tone deaf opinions I have heard in a while. Mercedes/Sasha is my favorite women's wrestler of all time and even I felt she was deserving of some heat in this match because of either her performance/character that might not be living up to the hype.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Great show. There was really only one underwhelming match (and that was because Naito is broken down physically these days).

[@Jermaine2099]

So you guys are okay with European crowds chanting and singing random stuff but in NY they can’t say f sports teams? lol ok

[@SleepyGrapes]

The euro fans are chanting songs that have to do with the wreslters the crowd at backlash wasn’t chanting for psg or other soccer teams

[@ChurchOfTUPAC]

@SleepyGrapes yup. What this guy said 👍 We take sports chants (often reworked real songs) and reword them to match wrestlers/wrestling. "CASH HAS GOT A GUN" to the song "baby give it up" being a prime example from last year.

[@Tanim1968]

Except the naito Vs Mox match everything Else was Great for me, The Maint event Was ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[@rahuanch]

I imagine Mercedes reading this thumbnail and going "What I do?" like that one meme I haven't watch the video, but if this is because of the boos, it was a sports thing

[@Mr-qi2ik]

This is so frustrating, no its because she was failing to keep up with Vaquer and a lot of people are not feeling her character.

[@JamieDervish]

Any chance you can lead off with a more positive headline? Kinda disrespectful to the hard work everyone put in on such a great show!

[@mrcorona5175]

ZSJ vs Danielson at All In? Zack did say that the deciding match should be at the UK

[@DMofPuppets]

Wrestletalk AEW bingo was pretty easy this time around. Negative Thumbnail✅️ Complain about length✅️ Ignorant of Product due to only watching Dynamite✅️ Tempest is level-headed✅️ "Not what I would do."✅️ Heavy sighs

[@DMofPuppets]

​@StarLeo_ That's a very fair point. I enjoy the guys' work in general, but like you said, it can get tiring.

[@jameswarren2832]

Pete saying it`s the first time he`s watched Hechicero is a bad look for a wrestle review show, even just with the fact he`s been used multiple times on AEW in the last year, not like they need to watch every company to see these guys

[@GaryOransky]

I would like to remind everyone that it's not just that she was from Boston, but she was posting consistently from courtside during the Celtics Playoff run. She identified with them and flaunted it, and if you have "energetic" New Yorkers who want to voice that displeasure of their team not winning their most recent playoff run it certainly is a good opportunity Plus, Mercedes was not sharp during that match. Even the double kip up where they were to be shown as equals she botched. Stephane Vaquer was doing more dynamic moves much more sharply, and being the weekend Mercedes did interviews talking about her creative control a lot of people saw the writing on the wall.

[@RyanPrasad91]

I love this channel, and the content is great. But you guys are doing yourselves a disservice with these clickbait titles and covers. You're better than this.

[@comahan]

Please dont fall into the void of trashy clickbait that so many others do, this is a unique situation cause of big city rivalries, dont try to make it out to be more

[@robertmcdiarmid4921]

Correction for the main, Will did attempt the tiger driver sevral times immediatly after swerve kicked out of the storm breaker, but swerve managed to escape/counter

[@ChurchOfTUPAC]

@robertmcdiarmid4921 yup. Reversed into a roll-up, due to Will's hesitation. Nice touch.

[@killerpaaji]

no smackdown review this week is wild !!

[@willware5998]

As it was heavily mentioned during the omega chats, New Yorkers don’t like Boston and it’s just another case of AEW misbooking the build into a women’s match (like Tempest mentioned). I’ve had the opinion of Mercedes being the misguided face who’s theme music helps her believe in her phoniness as a face but with Britt back, she should now go full corporate heel against Britt and their match at All In should be great with hopefully a good story backing up the great in-ring work we’re gonna get.

[@diabeticman2194]

The real sickos want Billy Gunn/Okada at Wembley Tempest 😉

[@lazypaladin]

Would be more over than Mone

[@charleszulas4021]

This match was about Mercedes winning the belt made for her. They did have a simple story going into that match as people tend to forget that Mercedes vs. Vaquer was the first round match for her in the New japan Strong tournament. New Japan put the tournament on KZbin months ago to watch. New Japan NEEDS Mercedes with that title for their United States rec center pay per views.

[@ChurchOfTUPAC]

@charleszulas4021 i didn't know Stephanie before this and i was very impressed. She got put over well in defeat and we got Britt return.... pro wrestling 101 goodness.

[@AyyFuji]

Man, like why has this channel slowly fallen into being another clickbait, “AEW bad” pile of slop? Like come on, a Boston - NY rivalry, like the football clubs at home Pete? It’s literally Shawn in Canada “Who’s your daddy Montreal”, but with states.

[@andrewmoeller1987]

I still don't understand why Tempest has this unreasonable hate for Billy Gunn. Seriously, dude, what is your problem with him? What did he ever do to you?

[@gunnersfan111]

So the first 10 minutes of the Forbidden Door review is spent whinging about the same points that have been made multiple times about Mercedes run so far. The answer to the question, what should they do with her I cant think of anything better than a feud with Britt Baker.

[@gthmstlkr]

I don't know if you guys realize this or not but saying a match is "little" or had a fun "little finish" comes off as pretty condescending. It may be a cultural thing, but it just comes off that way.

[@SleepyGrapes]

I don’t care what tempest says I ENJOY THE ACCLAIMED AND THE CHRIS JERICO LEARNING TREE

[@cheddarssalad1230]

I always love when Hook goes for the in match story eventually lifting a huge guy.

[@SleepyGrapes]

@@cheddarssalad1230 it works every time I need Joe hook and shibata in a trios title feud asap

[@Skippingplaces]

Where is smackdown review 😏 why you guys are not doing it. Frustrating

[@gunnersfan111]

This Learning Tree stuff is working, to quote Luke Owen 'The son of a bitch has done it'

[@jayzephyr]

I would quite like Wrestle Dynasty to give us Despy against Daniel Garcia.

[@Shel1221]

"With my entire chest, I need Billy Gunn to f**k off!!" Quote of the day. To you, Tempest 🍺

[@Shel1221]

@@runysaltt Neither do I. It's just so amusing to hear.

[@TriViuM2k22]

He also wants Jericho and the Acclaimed gone. The Acclaimed are over in every arena.

[@NonstopGoose]

Y’all are wild. This match was amazing and as far as I’m concerned, just let her keep putting on bangers and being herself

[@Christian988.]

I love Tempest doing his I'm the Mountie shtick because he's Canadian very funny. but I must say that Tempest is the rudest Canadian person I've ever met in my life.

[@nhlalenhlensibande5435]

I think Mone was supposed to be a heel here seeing that the return of Britt was here

[@AnthonyAutomatic145]

I believe ZSJ used that same submission on Tanahashi and made him tap, and he coined it “Orienteering with Napalm Death”

[@martinpf34]

I think one of the main problems of the Mercedes match was that it was about renaming the banks statement. They did several "crossfaces" which Excalibur just called Crossfaces without any hype or mantioning that was Mercedes finisher. Than in the end they do a money maker into a "crossface" and Excalibur just dropped in a sentence "one could call that a "Statement Maker". I think it`s right to change her finisher. I think it`s right to give the banks statement some shine and impact back (it`s still part of Mercedes/Sashas legacy). I don`t think you should have built a PPV match with the titles of to companys on the linie around transforming a move with out a name or lot of impact back to glory. Maybe you should have done this on TV.

[@Hemis801]

Billy Gunn > Okody

[@ApolloTheLeader]

The 1st half of the Mercedes match was mild crowd reaction because they followed car crash ladder match.

[@gunnersfan111]

Another ridiculous leading story, why not lead with Britt's return or the MOTY Contender main event? Really, really poor, verging on clickbait

[@Power_trip397]

So no review for smackdown huh?

[@KevinSousa-hn8tj]

as someone who went to the show and a huge celtics fan i disagree that the fans werent into the match. They were into Mone early but as the match went on started getting more and more into stephanie and used Fuck the Cetics chants to turn on Mone ans get under her skin. So, the crowd reaction perfectly plays perfectly into the story AEW has been telling IMO.

[@itsshowtime414]

I think they're gonna lean into the "Role Model" tagline, seeing Mercedes' BFF also calls herself "The Role Model"...

[@wt5412]

Mercedes is a huge game changer! She's gonna bring more prestige to the NJPW championship!

[@dancingrabbit6942]

I dont know if its just me but ive noticed whenever mox loses a match, the ending always feels flat and underwhelming

[@Hemis801]

Where's the Smackdown review?

[@manojprabhakar6501]

Will Osprey went for the tiger driver 91 ..he called for it but couldn't do it

[@duketastrophe]

Tempest should always wear the sunglasses. They give him gravitas.

[@letclevespeak3099]

Here’s the truth Mercedes and other Ex wwe wrestlers will go to aew with the hopes that Tony will let them walk all over them and get what they want regardless of if they deserve it or not

[@Remmy_66]

Im pretty sure will did go for the tiger driver. Late in the match the camera pans to him and he screams tiger driver and sets up for it but its reversed.

[@gthmstlkr]

The Mercedes match showed that she isn't as good a wrestler as the hype has indicated, she pretty much got shown up in this match

[@RiverOfBloodX]

Pretty sure tony and Maria aren't going to break up anytime soon they are too endearing together like Brit and Jamie

[@thomassinclair6828]

Mox should not have lost to Naito. I'm an LIJ fan, but Naito can't go anymore. They should have had a young gun beat Mox.

[@pilot7350]

Steph was just better on the day. Mone needs to turn heal but means britt babyface so i duno.

[@owaiscarneiro226]

Tempest demanding too much from aew all matches being 4 stars and not demanding of wwe wow

[@FatsFalafel]

Wrestling analysts missing the basic storytelling.

[@dastardlywun]

That Vegeta/Jay White comparison hit way too close to home

[@Jhakri_]

Hello fellow Canadians, hope everyone is enjoying their stat-holiday & spending it watching some WrestleTalk

[@Mansoor_designs]

He did went for a tiger driver and swerve reversed it

[@doppelganger3992]

Happy Canada Day Tempest.

[@Sacks0314]

#savetempest he’s too good for this show

[@galahadortiz3258]

Wait, Tempest is Canadian?

[@dantorkel7561]

AEW PPVs are held to such a high expectation that starting a show with two 3/3+ star matches is treated like we’re off to the WORST SHOW EVER. Cmon guys. A tad overreaction.

[@edwardreardon6170]

MEOWNTY

[@bad-eye-sight214]

There is an underlying theme here where with African American wrestlers it feel like they are quick to he judged right away "is this working " or "is this the right time/person/place" meanwhile other Champs or acts get time to let thier characters devlop flush out

[@smercurio02920]

I think alot of people not seeing the collision (6/29) ending (not sure if that part was shown on PPV) caused the main event to lose it luster.

[@cheddarssalad1230]

What I love about last night is that they set up 2 tables in the ladder match and Take drove El through both tables. I love AEW but my heart always sinks when I see 2 tables because they have a horrible track record with them.

[@Saintly1234]

The women on this show ruled. Can’t wait for CEO vs DMD and Swerve vs Ospreay was an incredible main event.

[@LuisRdzG10]

Takeshita, Serena Deeb, and Daniel García deserve a reward, a good title run or something.

[@Burwell14]

I’m glad you guys thought it was a bad crowd. I was very disappointed in them most of the night

[@thepeoplesbroker]

Needed more NJPW stars but decent show . Main event was awesome

[@fscorpion678]

Ospreay did try to go for the Tiger Driver. He literally called it out.

[@Cluv22]

Turn her heel, have her join The Elite. Boom!

[@rbimprovision22]

It was too soon for Mercedes to get the belt!

[@matthewdillow558]

I work today temp😂 i need a good day today

[@DravenD1041]

Great positive review can y’all do all the Aew stuff and Luke and Ollie does the wwe Need More positive Aew reviews Kuddos to y’all not every wrestling needs a story and that’s what they did took the show for what it was we need more reviews like that and take it for what it is a great wrestling show

[@mechmudd4102]

I don't understand the glazing of Ospreay, I've just never liked watching him, and because of that, this is probably the worst AEW ppv of the year for me

[@GIW99]

No, no it’s not working. See ya tomorrow for the Raw podcast.

[@topizo4746]

I’m not sure if it’s the combo of tempest and Pete or it’s just what they chose to speak about but this wasn’t it

[@tmac130891]

The company is badly booked. For years now. Everything points to that. There wasn’t a lot to really care for heading into this show. Can’t really blame the crowd if you’re giving them next to nothing to invest in.

[@chocobosage]

Small nitpick, don't say Joshi Girls. Joshi literally means Girls, Joshi wrestlers is the way. Also people would've given a damn about some of these matches, if they'd seen half the wrestlers before the PPV. Could'ce had Tam and Momo be there on Dynamite or Rampage beforehand. Same for Vaquer, give her a couple matches on Dynamite. Get people to care

[@chocobosage]

Saying Naito is Nooj's only star is a dumb take, just tell people you don't watch NJPW anymore lol

[@ramirorodriguez857]

Instead of the EVPs match. AEW should've done a tag tournament over the last two weeks with just four teams with house of black coming in on top and winning the tag belts from the bucks.

[@louquay]

Nup

[@JiKeeY202]

Aew is flopping with the incoming signed superstars, particularly the female ones! They have a chance at this very moment to make Kris Statlander a legit industry star with this character pivot... yet they still have her on pre-shows and don't have any PPV quality story lines for her.. such a shame!

[@Almooriaan]

New York is a causal wrestling crowd now

[@adriannieves6722]

Where's the smackdown reviews?

[@ChristianRamosTheKingSlater]

They gave up a while ago sadly

[@XinwithanX]

They don’t do those or the collision reviews on ppv weekends…been like that for a while now

[@KevinKronkowski-m2r]

Jobber turned on manager

[@Run1tBackTV]

Brits return my god dem abs 😍 almost had Mr drooling 🤤

[@jayhoav2120]

why was the crowd entertaining themselves? theres nothing to be invested in. No stories or the stories suck. In the bad WWE days you guys would point that out and rightfully so but you give AEW excuses constantly SMH

[@AdvyDeven]

Well... that's just not the case. Anyone invested in the product can see that. It's not 2019 WWE no matter how much the bad faith detractors want to suggest otherwise. Plus, there's this whole "entertainment is subjective thing" that people who are too caught up in their fandoms lose track of.

[@ChurchOfTUPAC]

@AdvyDeven yes mate. I just looked at it like there was some a-holes in the crowd, which happens everywhere. As a note; i always find it weird at wrestling shows how ppl spends so much money for the closest tickets yet seem to be the least invested. That's more a people/society thing than purely wrestling. Still.... weird.

[@nalidhardstyle8551]

Anyone who says aew doesn't have stories/their stories suck are simply reciting criticism blindly. This show has SO many stories, but because they are subtle you don't pick up on them. Will vs ospreay was about two mens assent to the top, and establishing why they are the place on the card they are. The Tony storm and Mariah may story has been building for a while, and this was a great piece. MJFs revelations that the company moved on without him, the elite growing in power, okada vs tanahashi in a brand new light, and progression for the learning tree storyline. That's loads of stories for a PPV that's primarily about putting on great matches that'd usually be impossible, which they also did

[@ChurchOfTUPAC]

@nalidhardstyle8551 there's always stories and always have been. What i love about AEW is that it's like a mix of NJPW and western pro wrestling. I'm a fan of 30 years and it's my favourite promotion ever. The ppl who are salty over AEW just chat nonsense. Like "it's just flips!" when we know if we were watching what these ppl say it is....well..... we wouldn't be watching and wouldn't even care to have an opinion. Edit: also... i think the stories are clear, and as seen in this ppv and all others, the story gets laid out before the match to hype it. There's huge amounts of willful ignorance and "copium" that gets self-deflected by these clowns. Nonsense ppl speak their native language.

[@ChurchOfTUPAC]

@@jayhoav2120 i switched on RAW the other month and was amazed how so much noise was generated by ppl sitting on their hands. True story.

[@lazypaladin]

"5 matches on the Preshow, 10 matches on the Maincard." And thats why I dropped off AEW PPVs. I dont care if its once every 3 months, I don't care how good the wrestling is: *_15 matches is way too f'n many for a PPV! Even 10!_*

[@TriViuM2k22]

I always skip the pre show. Makes the viewing experience of the ppv much better. Even when it's a lot of matches.

[@louquay]

Imagine whinging about getting insanely good value for money

[@jameswarren2832]

@@louquay honestly, don`t understand why this keeps getting moaned about. If I`m paying money, I want loads of content. Especially when AEW PPV`s usually deliver a high standard of entertainment.