Opinion

Cook: The AEW Heels “Controversy”

Steve Cook weighs in the AEW Heels controversy…is it a controversy at all?

Published

5 years ago

August 9, 2020

Steve Cook

Steve Cook weighs in the AEW Heels controversy…is it a controversy at all?

My Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration has caused me to do a good deal of looking back at certain aspects of life. I’ve found that the things I regret most in life aren’t things I did…they’re things I didn’t do. If I had taken that chance or made one decision instead of another, things could be vastly different. Most of my regrets in this aspect are big time stuff that I don’t want to discuss here. Some are pretty small though, including one that might sound silly to you…

I wish I joined a fan club at some point.

Back in the day, fan clubs were a pretty huge deal for kids. There weren’t as many ways to get in touch with people with the same interests as you back then. No Internet, obviously no social media, not much except the kids you knew in the neighborhood. So if they didn’t share your interests, you usually ended up doing a lot by yourself.

Fan clubs were a way for you to express that interest. You got all kinds of “free” stuff, there were usually events that would involve meeting other fan club members, and sometimes you’d end up meeting the person/people you were a fan of. I never really thought too much about joining one back then, but looking back, I wish I had.

Especially considering the fact that most of my interests had pretty cool fan clubs. For example: the WWF Fan Club!

You got posters, pins, patches, a welcome letter and a MEMBERSHIP CARD! How cool is that? In later years, the WWF Fan club experience included merchandise coupons, autographed photos, key chains, a newsletter, cassette tapes with theme songs, and even a free ticket to a live event. All within the range of $9.95-$12.95. I don’t know how the inflation works, but it still sounds like a great deal to me.

The Cincinnati Reds, like most sports teams, has a fun array of fan clubs. Most notable is probably the Rosie Reds, which started out in the 1960s with the goal of inspiring fan support in Cincinnati that would keep the team from moving. It was originally a women-only club, but men ended up joining as well.

The benefits of becoming a Rosie Red:

Opportunity to purchase Opening Day tickets
Two free tickets for Guest of the Reds game, plus join our parade on the field before the game
Chance to participate in player Meet and Greets
Ins & Outs Tour of Great American Ball Park
Discounted tickets for designated Reds home games
Road trips to other ballparks
Riverboat Cruise on Ohio River
Opportunity to take part in the Opening Day parade
Discounted membership to Reds Hall of Fame Memberships (with HOF membership, receive 10% off Team Shop purchases)
Chance to purchase Post Season tickets and much more…

Sounds fun, right? $30 is a heck of a deal, and that’s the same price the Reds themselves charge for kids from 3-12 to join the Reds Heads.

I wish they had this going on when I was a kid. You get a jersey, a backpack, a bobblehead, a lanyard, two free tickets to a game, a player autograph session, a player question & answer session, the chance to go to the front of the line when they let fans run the bases, and the chance to run on the field with the players at the beginning of a game. There isn’t a better deal at Great American Ball Park, and I know that since I’ve sold stuff there for years.

Fan clubs seem like fun.

Unfortunately, I’ll never know what it’s like to be in one. See, as an Internet Wrestling Journalist I have to be objective. If I join a promotion’s fan club, or even a wrestler’s, that will be seen by others as a sign of bias. Honestly, I’m kind of pushing it already with the Fave Five column. I’m not supposed to actually be a fan of anybody.

You, dear reader, don’t have that problem. You can root for anybody you like, and you can even join a fan club and get access to all kinds of cool stuff. In fact, if you happen to be female and happen to be an AEW fan, there’s a new fan club wrestling community just for you!

AEW Heels, the new female-focused wrestling community led by AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes and the stars of AEW’s women’s division, today announced the launch of its new fan membership platform. Powered by Wonderful Union’s secure digital platform, female wrestling fans can seamlessly access AEW Heels’ exclusive content and other special benefits — all in a safe environment for engaging in conversation and developing friendships worldwide. With an annual paid subscription of $49, members receive access to a variety of features including virtual meet-and-greets, video conference discussions with industry experts, exclusive AEW talent Q&A sessions, customized merchandise, special promotions, themed parties and more. The secure space enables AEW Heels members to connect, learn and thrive together through shared passions for women’s wrestling. Female fans can subscribe to AEW Heels at: http://alleliteheels.com

Apparently, this made people mad.

Which…I mean, I know everybody likes to get mad on the Internet about everything these days, so I shouldn’t be surprised about anything drawing a fiercely negative reaction. Yet, the vitriol surrounding AEW Heels from people on social media wasn’t something I was quite expecting. Let’s break it down:

– Price Point: OK, so $49 is a little higher than the fan clubs I was talking about earlier. However, this seems to delve even deeper into fan interaction. More importantly, we need to talk about how supporting wrestling costs money, and compare the AEW Heels price tag to other things. Looking at AEW’s shopping website, most of their t-shirts go for $24.99. So I can get two t-shirts, add on a shipping charge, and that’s more than what AEW Heels costs. Heck, they have new Street Fighter X themed shirts that’ll set you back $37.99. I don’t see the same rage directed towards AEW t-shirts.

I have had the WWE Network pretty much since its debut. Sets me back $9.99 per month, which comes to $119.88 per year. I’m ok with that. Maybe that means I’m speaking from a position of privilege, where I can drop that kind of money on streaming wrestling per year and not worry about it. But we’re talking about more than twice what AEW Heels costs, and I’m not interacting with any WWE Superstars.

– The Actual State of Women’s Wrestling in AEW: People have been skeptical about AEW’s women’s division since the promotion started. There’s been definite ups & downs, and there’s still a lot of work to do. I get why they’re doing some of the stuff they’re doing.

The Deadly Draw tournament on YouTube makes sense to me. They want to build up their YouTube account, and women’s wrestling is a draw on YouTube. Ring of Honor’s top six uploads by viewership all feature the Women of Honor. The first Deadly Draw matches did 140,000 more views than AEW Dark this week, so it seems like it’s working from where I sit.

I also see the argument that the matches should be on Dynamite to make them seem “important”. Which I get, but then I have to ask what you would have taken off of Dynamite this week in order to fit 20+ minutes of match time. More likely, the match time gets drastically cut. The Mae Young Classic wouldn’t have been the Mae Young Classic if the matches were shoehorned onto Raw or SmackDown to get more people watching them.

Progress has been made, but there’s a long way to go. I’m patient about these things, but I get why others aren’t. And I can understand why people are making the argument that AEW should do more with their women if they really want a sizeable female audience.

– It’s a fan club: Apparently AEW is reluctant to use the term “fan club”, which kinda sounds like some Vince McMahon stuff to me. “IT’S NOT A “FAN CLUB”, PAL! “WRESTLING COMMUNITY!”” I’m not sure whether that’s entirely the issue, or if some people really aren’t aware of how fan clubs work. People pay money to support their favorite things and get some perks out of the deal. This has happened for generations now, it really isn’t anything new. Then I think some other people aren’t aware of how businesses work, or that at the end of the day, pro wrestling is a business.

Trying to cultivate more female wrestling fans is good business. Wrestling promoters have known this for years, that’s why the Rock N’ Roll Express never struggled to get bookings in the 1980s. Women wanted to see Ricky & Robert, and men wanted to be where the women were at. Sure, there’s some altruistic stuff at work here, I’m sure Brandi Rhodes is serious about wanting to create a positive community. There’s also the fact that there might be some money to be made, and wrestling companies need money to survive & thrive. Especially when they can’t sell tickets to live events.

I don’t know why AEW Heels became this big controversy that caused Brandi to take a time out from social media and a lot of otherwise normal folk to lose their heads. The price plays a role, but there’s more to it than that. Is it a hatred of the messenger, or the message? Honestly, it seems to be a little bit of everything.

All I know for sure is that the people actually taking part in the program are having a good time. I heard nothing but good things about their event on Friday night. At the end of the day, I think that’s what matters the most. As long as the people paying the bill feel like they’re getting something out of it, who am I to tell them that they aren’t?

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

NXT Minus 6: The Metallica Edition

Don't Miss

Tiffany’s AEW Take: Politics Maybe? Mox vs MJF – YES! Cassidy vs Jericho

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY – 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY – The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY – POD is WAR (Los Tres Friends)

FRIDAY – DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network
Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts… Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Listen on your favorite platform!

iTunes | iHeart Radio | Google Play | Spotify
Listen, like, subscribe, and share!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1