Jake "The Snake" Roberts on AEW

I just watched Jake come out and cut a killer promo on AEW Dynamite tonight. What did everyone think?

Part of me was super ecstatic. Jake was my guy when I was a kid and seeing him come out looking at least somewhat put together after everything he's put himself through made me happy. Also anyone willing to pay him to get in the ring even as a mouthpiece can't be all that bad.

The other part of me wishes AEW would lean on their fresh talent and young guys more. Guys like Darby Allin and MJF have so much potential to drive the company, and every minute they are not on camera sets them back.

Jake sez he's going to be "bringing a client" to AEW. I'm really hoping it's Luke Harper.

This was a really good show this week.

I think AEW is firing on all cylinders right now. Every show they've done for the past month or so has been incredible.

Loved seeing Jake the Snake out there. Always happy to see that guy has his life together, and he can still cut a sharp promo.

I also think they're doing just fine getting the younger guys like Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, Jurrasic Express, and MJF over. I don't know how they've done it, but everyone in AEW kinda feels like a star.

I like that, aside from Jericho, all the old guys are centered around Cody. They are there for the fans to get a nostalgia kick, but are staying in their own block of the show.

As for Jake, he was always one of my favorites. I thought his promo was a bit scattershot, but still pretty good, considering. I have to assume that Brodie Lee will be with him, and I'm definitely excited about that.

It really is fun. I am pretty sure it is going to be him but who can know? I can't even remember the last time I was really looking forward to next week's show in any wrestling production. I feel like a complete mark again and I am totally here for it. If it is Harper/Lee (whoa I wonder if that's intentional), I hope they make him into just a complete beast.

I don't really want to shit on WWE because they have so many great wrestlers but the show AEW puts on makes me want to watch and not feel like I have to watch it. I finally gave up on WWE entirely the 2nd or 3rd or maybe 4th last time they put the belt on Lesnar and watched him fuck off out of the show for the next six months. They have so much amazing talent that it isn't even funny, but fans have to sit there and watch Bobby Lashley and Lana make out every week.

Said promo for anyone curious. I really like how AEW uses the "legends" sticking them with younger guys as managers.

I hope it's not Harper, but Lance Archer. Harper's good on the mic himself and doesn't need Jake, whereas Archer has charisma but really does need someone to talk for him.

The promo was great and the last line was killer. Happy for Jake.

I could not disagree more. They are doing this the PERFECT way. Bringing legends in as talkers and managers is perfect use of their talents and will make the young talent look better.

Also like @redwing42said they haven't been dominating all storylines. It's been kept to some parts of the show and not others.

And its funny to watch in comparison as WWE has these old guys still wrestling and beating their top wrestlers lol. That's the wrong way to do it.

@stephen_von_cloud: Tully, Arn, DDP, and Roberts, are being used appropriately because they're in their mid 60's and don't have the drawing power of an Undertaker, Goldberg, or Rock. If they did, they would've had them out there front and center with Jericho, or worse.

I chose a good Dynamite to finally sit down and watch.

Jake did wonderfully. The great slow destruction of Cody to shift him away from MJF and onto a new feud.

Overall it's neat to see how AEW books their matches and show. A good mix of established stars and up-and-comers.

Curious to see how they handle introducing Lance Archer and Matt Hardy. I also really enjoyed how they don't just rush these dudes out into the ring the minute they sign them. WWE wouldn't waste a second, AEW knows you might watch for a few weeks out of curiosity.

Yeah you're probably right that they aren't leaning on the old guys too hard. It is just I would rather see their young guy roster most of the time.

@shiftygism: you must be watching a different show week to week. This isn't the WWE and that's the only reason I'm watching. They wouldn't pull this absolute shit that WWE is lately.

@shiftygism: I'm really getting tired of you coming into threads and being aggressive at people. It feels like every week a wrestling thread turns into a toxic flamefest that you're at the center of.

We get it, you love WWE and get angry when somebody doesn't like it. Just let it go, or at least try to be more civil or polite, please.

@stephen_von_cloud: WWE making sure their biggest show of the year has a stacked card isn't a shitty move, nor is taking a prop off a (tiresome) gimmick character that didn't need it to be relevant (which a lot of the same people complained about for months beforehand).

Also, how are we watching different shows? I didn't disagree with what you said, I was just pointing out there's a big difference between their legends and WWE's.

If AEW was ever lucky enough to land a big name that could still go, they would most certainly use them in some main event capacity. Booking 101, it's not about what you or I (the people that are already watching) want, it's about getting as many people that aren't to do so. The nostalgia factor. While it's great they've found seemingly useful spots for the legends they're bringing in and not just having them appear for the sake of an appearance like WWE does during their reunion shows (though this whole thing with Arn is odd), if they landed a Goldberg, or a Sting, or an RVD, don't be surprised for a second that they're tossed in a big ticket match to broaden their audience with the casuals.

@retris: Please don't mistake having differing opinions as being "aggressive" or "toxic." Again, I'm not a WWE fan. I'm not an AEW fan. I'm a WRESTLING fan. In all shapes and forms. I'm just shooting the shit...like I always have, with a neutral view on the industry's interworkings and in this case pointing out we can't really say AEW wouldn't do the exact same thing when they haven't had the opportunity yet. However, given this is how the business generally works, the chances are pretty high.

@shiftygism: Not that your wrong to have a neutral or differing stance, but pretending like AEW would use a Legend, even a big name Legend, the same way WWE does is pretty naive. Absolutely there is a chance they'd use a big name in a main event capacity. But I can promise you from what they have already shown us of their content, there is a 0% chance what happened to Fiend/Riochet at Supershow, or Kofi against Lesnar, would ever happen to a talent on an AEW roster. Maybe in a comedy match they'd squash Cassidy or something.

But imagine a Darby or a PAC going in there and losing in a minute? Wouldn't happen. I think that is more the argument by the way. It's less that WWE uses these legends and is instead more that all they use them for is the pop for what they were. They never leverage them in any effort to elevate, help, or get over new stars. AEW appears to be the exact opposite. Look at this past week on Dynamite no less. Jericho in a tag match Main Event and Mox the new hot champion over name from another company works an injury angle so they can play a huge Darby comeback all match. Yeah sure Mox is the main eventer and will still be feuding with Jericho. But the company doesn't put it's new talent in things lightly, or with the intent to just "have them there." They get stories, they do things. That is the principle difference I think you are just choosing to ignore.

For that reason guys like Lesnar or Goldberg probably wouldn't work at all in AEW. Their ring work is far too limited and honestly they'd probably have the ego's that they wouldn't want to take a single move from some of AEW's younger guys. And that just isn't AEW's approach at all. If AEW put The Rock in the ring against Darby, he'd take a dive and a coffin drop from him. He'd win, but they'd sell that Darby has a chance. WWE can't do that with any of it's current crop unless they feel hot as hell on them and then they get the big moment. It's so cliched.

@devise22: I don't doubt AEW wouldn't be partaking in squashes anytime soon (that's not what I was getting at), but they have a vastly different landscape than WWE with no real monsters to speak of thus far that aren't kept in a limited role or have the need to swap out opponents at the last minute.

With Lesnar and how he has been booked over the last decade, it's about consistency and protecting what they've built. I wouldn't put him in the category in question though, and Ricochet's not someone who'd ever reach the top of the mountain, though occasionally those that wouldn't, Balor for instance, are given solid attempts at pulling off an upset. Still, Lesnar's set to put over Drew in a few weeks, Goldberg's passing the torch to Roman, and Wyatt has landed the best possible opponent he could hope for. Wrestlemania's not really the place to make new stars, it's to solidify the ones they have.

Also, there's only so many legends and so many times you can give somebody a rub. Each time you do, you devalue that person or risk something unfortunate happening like the Jason Jordan storyline. Proven commodities are more precious than talent that are easily replaced.

@shiftygism: I agree with you about protecting monsters, and I think had WWE done that with Lesnar or Goldberg it'd of made sense. But this is like the umpteenth time they've done the passing the torch angle with these guys, and while Drew is a fresh face, Roman is hardly the first time they've attempted this.

It's probably a big part of where our opinion differs here. I don't see Lesnar as being protected especially at all. When he first returned, years and years ago before he broke Takers streak and then they botched and wasted that, I guess? He was doing his MMA shtick more and they had him own Cena fast which was a big deal at the time. But back when he was debating on going to MMA they jobbed him out to Rollins like he was nothing. That was a botched push that did nothing for Seth. They also jobbed him to Goldberg in minutes too. At a certain point you can't keep saying "this person will slay The Beast" as if "The Beast" means anything. Lesnar draw is about the same as it always is, he's no longer a big name even for MMA just "one of the names" and to make matters worse WWE keeps pretending he's this dominant force just because they give him a belt. They then hype it up that he's had these long championship runs, but he only wrestles like what a handful of defenses in that time? A year long title reign means less when you only defend it a few times in that year.

Again, I don't think my issue is that he's winning, or Goldberg for that matter. It's that they don't use them in an effort to get their talent over. At some point there will be no legends for WWE to go to the well with, and at that point what is their business model? Hope they can elevate the stars they never made? I don't disagree with you on Ricochet, or Kofi or other talent WWE has squashed in regards to how big their starpower is. I don't think they will ever be huge main draws in the way Lesnar was or the other big names. But WWE doesn't understand the landscape of modern wrestling and hasn't for so long now. You can't "make" those stars. The stars that are that big happen organically in almost every situation. You also have very little control over what the audience connects with. The purpose of making sure your roster guys like Riocochet and Kofi can continue to look strong is so even if they aren't elevated to that super star status, they don't look out of place facing those super stars. So in a pinch, a Riochcet vs Lesnar match can draw properly, leveraging the starpower of a name like Lesnar. Their approach is absolutely counter to that, and isn't even about business. It's very evident Vince books to make himself happy and to piss people off. The "business" angle of having big names at Mania draw is just a convenient excuse to justify literally making the talent you hype and sign look like shit.

The booking of the Lesnar section of the Rumble is just further evidence of that. They could of used any number of names to have Lesnar squash but they used not only names the crowd likes, but names the company themselves spent time in trying to make look like a big deal, like Morrison for example. It's a big reason why other than the older big star names everyone on WWE's roster is "just another guy" to them. That carries to the casual audiences too. They need to tell the casual audiences that even if these guys aren't The Rock, they aren't that far off. Otherwise even if the crowd does connect with them there is no way organically speaking, they will ever think that they'll get pushed. Ultimately though, I just don't see how anyone can argue WWE's strategy has the long term success. At some point just relying on the brand name WWE won't be enough. We'll see though.

Also, not to derail this thread...

It was great to see Jake honestly, he seemed healthy and was able to cut a pretty sharp promo which is saying something given his time away and his age. Obviously the big rumor being Archer or Harper as his client, I'd probably prefer Harper? I think Archer's look and overall charisma allow him the chance to get over better without a manager, and I think it would make sense to give Harper something a bit more fresh. But given the look that Jake was rocking it probably will be Archer.

@shiftygism: it's completely shit man, even most WWE fans think so. Why in the hell do you think people are loving AEW so much? it's entirely different. there's a reason I stopped watching wrestling and there's a reason I'm back with AEW.

I'm no WWE fanboy so I'll just say the obvious truths, you do whatever you want. It's funny you can try to say squashing young studs like Ricochet and bringing back Goldberg who can't even do his fucking jackhammer is good tho lol. Compare that to AEW putting Darby Allin or Jungleboy in matches with Jericho and making them look great.

It's short term business ahead of any long term development and growth AND the fans.

@stephen_von_cloud: Actually, it's very much about the long term. You bring your legends in for Wrestlemania season, pulling in the casuals or fans that haven't watched in years but remember names like "Goldberg", "Undertaker", "Edge", etc. and use that older, bankable talent to get subs, eyes on their product/current roster, and possibly hook their children in the process, setting them up for the year ahead as the reset switch is pushed the night afterwards and those icons of yesteryear return to a life of semi-retirement.

Jake in AEW is interesting. I was discussing with a friend the other day how the WWF would have looked had Jake been around in Summer 1992 when he was still in shape and on top of his game on the mic, going into 1993. WWF 1993 was so weird, I think Jake in the mix could have been fantastic.

At first I thought you were talking about @alex's pet snake. I didn't know it was named after a wrestling man, but of course it was. Of course.