Well, this is the big day. AEW is holding a live rally, and I'm anxious to see where things go from here.
AEW Rally Thoughts
- First thing I noticed when turning on the live feed was that Conrad Thompson was helping introduce the rally. Interesting.
- A bad moment for the promotion as the live stream dies before 5pm. And it takes until 5:05 to get it back up. That's not a great way to start off. I don't care how you sell it (life happens, production errors). Perception is everything. And this was a junior league development.
Finally, this stream is working. Kudos to whomever got it to work.
- SCU is introduced as being new additions to the roster. Scorpio Sky does his "Worst Town" gimmick, but he doesn't feel that way about Jacksonville. Christopher Daniels does a cheap plug for their T-Shirt in Jaguars colors. December 31 at midnight, their contract came up. They decided to sign with AEW. Jacksonville Jaguar cheerleaders are on stage with SCU to celebrate.
- Next, the Executive Vice President of AEW, Cody, comes out. Cody talks about All In and "Change the World." Cody talks about wrestlers being the "least paid" entertainers. All Elite Wrestling is supposedly going to change that. Fans come first. Wins and Losses will matter like they've never mattered before. There will be no set heels or faces either. (He said there will be no grid for who to cheer or who to boo. I interpret that as saying the company itself will not define heroes or villains, faces or heels.) He introduces The Young Bucks.
The Young Bucks are on stage. "All Elite, All All Elite" chants break out as do "Thank You Young Bucks" chants. Matt Jackson talks about All In again and how it broke all the rules. The Elite was approached by the Khan family, asking if they really wanted to "change the world." They don't care about religion, race, gender, etc. The doors are open to any Elite athlete.
Matt Jackson has a big announcement: He has wrestlers in China that are coming to AEW. O.W.E., a promotion in China, will be working with AEW. Matt teases making another announcement.
The Bucks and Cody argue about who gets to make the announcement. They agree to make the announcement on 3: DOUBLE OR NOTHING will be on May 25th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. (That's a great destination area for a big event. And it fits with the logo. So, awesome announcement here.)
- AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi comes out. "Chief Brandi Officer" is her nickname on Twitter. She wants Pro Wrestling Tees to make her a shirt with that on it. She promises to put AEW at the level it deserves to be at. She announces that there will be a "women's division." She teases wrestlers from Japan coming in. Women will be paid equally in AEW. She puts over the Women's Fatal Four Way at All In. She signed one of the talents there for the AEW brand: Dr. Britt Baker.
Britt Baker comes out and puts over everyone involved with AEW. She talks about what AEW will bring. Britt Baker puts over being one of the first athletes signed by the company. She's both a wrestler and dentist. She says that she wants to set a good example and take a chance on yourself.
- Conrad Thompson is on the mic talking about All or Nothing. Then, MJF comes out to interfere and puts down Conrad Thompson. MJF tells Conrad to get off the stage. MJF puts gum on his face and calls him something I won't repeat on here. MJF goes on a heel heat-seeking promo. He puts himself over and announces that he's signing with AEW. He shoots on Jacksonville being a dumpster fire. MJF says he's better than everyone.
Out comes a Jacksonville Jaguar mascot. Joey Janella shows up from behind and attacks MJF with what looked to be a crutch. Penelope Ford and Joey Janella announce their addition to the AEW roster.
- Hangman Page is announced as being the next to come on stage. Page walks up to the crowd and back around up the stage. He talks about this being his first day on the job. This is his favorite first day on the job anywhere. No corporate structure or mindless minions telling him what to say or what to think. His boss is the fans. Page promises to make the promotion a success for the fans. Page mentions that he's hungry to be the first All Elite Champion.
IT'S PAC (THE FORMER NEVILLE)! OH MY GOD! This is huge for the company. He's got bad news for Page: He's going to be in AEW. He's already a champion. And Page has no chance. PAC just walks off before any fight can happen. Page tells the crowd that if that was a challenge, he accepts. (Nice little tease of things to come. AND A GREAT ADDITION FOR AEW!)
- Cody and The Young Bucks come back out. They have another announcement to make. Cody teases that the second show will be in Jacksonville, FL. Large portions of the gate will go to support victims of gun violence.
- Conrad gets on the mic to tease the future of AEW...
AND IT'S JUDAS PLAYING! OH MY GOD! IT'S CHRIS JERICHO!!!!!!!
Jericho announces he is "ALL IN" with All Elite Wrestling. He's not in it for the money. He wants to do something different and new. He's a maverick, outlaw, pariah... lol. (God, Jericho can work a crowd.) This is the day that AEW starts. He'll be at Double or Nothing.
He's not here to Change the World. AEW will change the whole universe! Fireworks go off from the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium.
Overall Thoughts
There were a couple technical issues during the show here that hurt its overall presentation (as I mentioned/vented about earlier). But let's be clear here: The result at the end was that AEW set up the future extremely well for their first year. For starters, we know that Double or Nothing will be the beginning of the company, and that Jacksonville, FL will be the company's second show. While no TV deal was officially announced, we at least have that basis set up... a road map, if you will... for the future of the company.
We also got some big roster announcements including the addition of SCU, PAC, Joey Jannela, MJF, and Chris Jericho. The Jericho announcement is huge as Jericho had previously said he wouldn't work against Vince McMahon in the United States. Apparently, that mindset has changed.
Overall, this was a successful rally to get the wrestling world buzzing. There are still some things they need to work out and do to flesh out their product. They also need to work on some of the production issues that plagued them here. If they try to do a livestream again, hopefully, the technology will cooperate. AEW lives. Here's hoping it will thrive and prosper.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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