Opinion

Cook: Can Shaq Make People Learn About AEW?

The hype segment may have people divided, but they’re still talking. So Cook raises the simple question: Will this Shaq angle draw more eyes to the product?

Published

5 years ago

November 13, 2020

Steve Cook

I’ve been impressed with most of what All Elite Wrestling has accomplished since its founding. Programming on a major cable network. PPVs that from all reports are exceeding expectations from a viewership level. From a personal standpoint, I’ve been entertained by most episodes of Dynamite. After all, as the Alpha Male Monty Brown taught us, the first question to ask of any wrestling viewer is pretty simple:

ARE YOU NOT…ENTERTAINED?

I was entertained by Monty Brown’s squash matches on early episodes of TNA Impact, much like I’m entertained by most of what AEW presents. A perfect wrestling show does not exist, but I find that more Dynamite segments hit with me than miss. It’s a perfectly good show for folks like me, but there’s a minor flaw in the system.

AEW has won over the wrestling fan. Those of us that are addicted to this stuff, and aren’t as old as Jim Cornette and can’t remember the territory days…we’re ok with what AEW gives us on a weekly basis. Apparently the people that are as old as Jim Cornette prefer NXT, and I’m not going to knock them for it. I’m not going to knock a show with Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Shotzi Blackheart & Pat McAfee. They got some good talent there.

Not the point. The AEW/NXT ratings war is pretty much non-existent at this point. NXT gets a bump when they build to shows with WCW brand names. We’ve accepted this for what it is, and AEW kind of brought it on themselves by getting the rights to Bash at the Beach and getting a bump off of that. People like WCW names.

It’s also not relevant to AEW’s ultimate goal. Sure, they can beat NXT in viewership most of the time barring rare occasions. They’re killing NXT in THE DEMO. That’s not the goal. The goal is to become the pre-eminent brand in pro wrestling. Tony Khan would probably admit this after a drink or two. He wants to run the number one promotion in all of professional wrestling. Why wouldn’t he? If you’re a man with access to money that loves pro wrestling, why wouldn’t you want to beat Vince McMahon’s WWE? It’s an admirable goal. I give Tony Khan all the respect in the world for that, as he has the same goal that I would try to attain if my father was a billionaire. Man, if I was born into money, I’d be booking some fed somewhere. Tony Khan is living my dream.

That’s why he gets a lot of scrutiny. I don’t blame people for it. We all want a viable competitor for WWE. Back in the 2000s, a lot of us sunk our hopes into TNA. That didn’t work out, even though Impact Wrestling has become an entertaining product in 2020. They were never going to compete with WWE. Ring of Honor never was either. Those groups are on that Triple-A level. The rung you overcome before making it to the big leagues. For too long, WWE has been that one big league. We’ve been hoping for somebody else to come along and make things interesting. To their credit, AEW has done that more than any other fed in the 21st century.

There’s still a missing part to all of this. While AEW has cemented their own audience, and made those folks happy for sticking around, there’s little to no evidence that they’ve won over new viewers. I know Cody likes to quote lapsed wrestling fans on Twitter from time to time, and that’s an audience they’ve tried to win over by featuring Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone, but there’s little evidence that’s a large portion of their fanbase. Largely, it’s people that already liked the Elite (Cody, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, Hangman Page) due to their antics on social media, and people that got drawn in by the likes of Chris Jericho & Jon Moxley, who did pretty well for themselves in WWE.

There hasn’t been that mainstream moment.

The folks out there still think that WWE = pro wrestling. Heck, I remember Chris Jericho making an appearance at a hockey game and getting identified as a WWE Superstar. He wasn’t at that point, but people still thought he was. Maybe that could come in handy for AEW if people want to say that WWE Superstar Chris Jericho held a concert at Sturgis and spread the coronavirus, but I think they would prefer that the average guy knew there was another brand.

AEW has tried some things. We thought that Mike Tyson’s AEW appearance might be that moment. Honestly, I was skeptical at first. I thought people might be over Mike Tyson in 2020. Even if he was one of the greatest boxers of all time, and had one of the most interesting careers of all time, I thought people might be over it. I changed my mind when I listened to some ESPN Radio with people marking out for the guy, and when I saw his standoff with Jericho on Dynamite. I don’t know what it is about Mike Tyson, but there’s something there that will always make people care. He’s got that it factor, even at this later stage of his active career.

Unfortunately for AEW, he changed his focus to an “exhibition” against Roy Jones Jr. at the end of this month. I feel like a worked wrestling match against Chris Jericho could have done better business, but boxers are gonna box. Maybe Iron Mike will come back to AEW after winning this thing, but there’s no reason for them to count on that. You just never know.

AEW didn’t get their mainstream moment with Mike Tyson.

They looked to other folks TNT had under contract, and there’s Shaquille O’Neal. We’ve heard the Shaq teases forever. WWE really wanted to book Shaq vs. Big Show. Nobody ever really understood why, as we’ve already seen Big Show put celebrities and outsiders over. Maybe I’m speaking for myself here, but I never wanted to see Shaq vs. Show.

WWE teased it off and on, and eventually we gave up on it. Well, some of us didn’t. It’s still being talked about now that Shaq might be doing something with AEW. Probably the closest call came at WrestleMania 33, where there were talks about Shaq coming in to build off that WrestleMania 32 appearance in the battle royal. It didn’t get done, with the reasons depending on who you choose to believe. Shaq said that WWE kept changing their story on what exactly he’d be doing. WWE folks say that Shaq didn’t want to get in shape. Honestly, the truth is probably a bit of both. WWE changes stuff a lot, and Shaq was notorious during his basketball career for not wanting to get in shape.

So that never happened. Shaq still likes him some wrestling though, and TNT certainly doesn’t mind their shows crossing over to create some buzz. So, we ended up with this:

I appreciate the idea of making a new star out of Jade Cargill. The execution left a little bit to be desired, and the announcement of Shaq’s name seemed a bit anti-climatic. You know what didn’t seem anti-climatic? Brandi’s response!

The only downside is that this continues the trend of Brandi wanting to play a different character every week. I like this one though, so we’ll let it slide. We also got random appearances from Jerry Lynn, Team Taz, Darby Allin & Will Hobbs, as seemingly everybody wanted in on this mainstream buzz.

The big question…will this lead to any buzz?

Can celebrity appearances still lead to buzz in 2020? Who moves the needle? I’m skeptical anybody does at this point. Sure, WrestleMania I showed that celebrities can make people care about wrestling…but that was over thirty-six years ago. Times have changed, right?

I’m not sure that adding Shaq to the mix suddenly makes everybody in the world know what an AEW is.

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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!

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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

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

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

Published

3 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!

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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

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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)

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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

2 months 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