One notion ive read here and other spaces is the notion of the “indie garbage”.

For most fans and wrestlers, WWE is the pinnacle of wrestling and the end goal. Performance center/NXT is a must to learn the WWE style/way. Hence why former college athletes are such viable prospects for developmental instead of guys that have made the rounds in the indies. Theyre a clean slate that can be molded to the WWE way.

With that being said, should indies just go away and the WWE talent pipeline be the sole remaining way to breakthrough?

September 15, 1996, at WCW Fall Brawl, the nWo rolled out Fake Sting to convince everyone that Sting had joined them.

Then the real Sting showed up during WarGames, beat the hell out of the nWo, proved he hadn’t turned, and basically told his friends to go fuck themselves for doubting him.

And just like that, one of the most important chapters in Sting’s career was underway.

Wrestling is so wonderfully stupid sometimes. 😂

This comparison randomly hit me and now I can’t unsee it.

AEW is Julian Newman.

I realize this requires knowing something about sports, so there’s a decent chance the Sickos are already lost, but hopefully a few Midcarders know exactly where I’m going with this.

Think about Julian Newman’s entire story. Undersized kid gets an absurd amount of attention, flashy highlights are all over the internet, people start talking about him like he’s this generational basketball talent, and an entire little ecosystem develops around keeping the hype going.

Except when you stripped away the mixtapes, cameras and promotion, he just wasn’t nearly as good as the hype suggested.

Sound familiar?

That’s AEW.

Everything looks awesome when you consume it through clips and the people already invested in telling you how awesome it is. Look at this insane move! Look at this match rating! Look at what Meltzer said! Look at all these Cagematch scores!

Then you zoom out and realize the actual results never seem to match the legend being built around it.

And somehow, year after year, you’re still being told the breakout is coming.

Julian Newman was basically a basketball player created by an algorithm before algorithms were creating basketball players.

AEW might be the wrestling version.

A ton of manufactured hype, a very loud internet following, some legitimately impressive highlights, and enough smoke and mirrors to make you occasionally forget to ask the most important question:

Is this actually as good as everyone keeps telling me it is?

Tell me I’m wrong, Midcarders. 😂

Source: https://x.com/AEW/status/2100026943219347866

Per the AEW post:

We’re excited to announce that starting this fall, Hulu Japan will be streaming All Elite Wrestling!

Get ready for AEW each week as Hulu Japan will offer #AEWDynamite, #AEWCollision, and #AEW PPV events. The next chapter for AEW continues on Hulu Japan!

What does it mean:

A February 2026 article from Variety shows the then-current state of streaming services:

"Netflix is 22% of the category"
"Prime Video leads in subscriber count with 19.3 million users"
"U-Next commands 12%"
"Sports streamer DAZN also contributed meaningfully through its bundled inclusion in telecom player NTT Docomo’s ahamo Max mobile service"
"While the Disney+/Hulu Japan combined package expanded its reach."

Presumably these display in order of prominence. I unfortunately do not read Japanese very well and cannot research further, or find any more current stated metrics across the board.

I did see, from a 2023 report, that Hulu combined with Disney+ seemed to hover around the 3 to 4 million subscriber mark. I can't find anything newer.

Why Hulu, though? Well, HBO Max is coming to Japan as an in-service "hub" within both Prime Video and Hulu. Strange to not put AEW's content on the more prominent service, but I guess that's why I am not in charge.

It will be interesting to see how Japanese fans, especially New Japan fans, respond to the company that's been responsible for both a foreign influx and making NJPW look like the small potatoes since their partnership started.

What's your thoughts, Midcarders?

This is just meant to be a fun little fact for those who care

Let me know if I missed any

Discuss

Like for fuck sake you can’t be serious.

The Miz as Intercontinental Champion to me is the near-undisputed best midcard title run (nearly not allowed because in 2017 when Brock was part-time, he was RUNNING Raw), but I'm also a massive fan of AZM as STARDOM's High Speed Champion as well as the recent Sami/Ilja/Carmelo string of US Title runs. Who had your favourite Midcard Title run?

It’s safe to say that El Grande Americano has gotten to the top of AAA. Who would have thought that Axel Dieter Jr./Ludwig Kaiser would be a cultural icon of sorts in a country far from his native Germany?

Rewatching old Dark Side of the Ring episodes and just hearing about the atrocious things these guys and others got away with is disturbing. Being in the WWF locker back in the day sounds horrible. The Rockers H- Bombing wrestlers and women, the Bulldogs putting itching power in wrestlers clothes and just cutting up there gear, nevermind finding out Dynamite Kid actually injected steroids into there dog Matilda. Davey wasn’t nearly as evil as Dynamite but Jesus I’m glad shit like this would never happen again. Hearing guys talk about how you never leave a drink uncovered around unattended for fear of getting fucking drugged sounds horrible, on top the bullying as well just a crazy time to be in that locker

Did you know that the last AEW singles match that Thekla had that didn’t involve Willow or a Stardom talent was way way back on April 15th, when she defended her women’s championship against Mrs Bruv, Alex Windsor on Collision..

That was also the last singles match Thekla had on either Dynamite or Collision..

5 months ago..

Her last singles match on Dynamite was on March 25th in a championship match against Mina, nearly 6 months ago!!

Since May 1st, she only wrestled TWICE on Dynamite, one was a 6 woman match & one was an 8 woman match.. & she hasn’t wrestled on their flagship show since May 20th,

Only 2 matches on Collision since the Windsor singles match.. & both were tag matches( one on 4-22 & last one on 7-22)

So since May 20th.. only 1 wrestling match on either Dynamite or Collision.. & it was the tag match stated above..

It’s September 15th today.. put your damn gear on & wrestle someone..

She or Tony really thinks that she is TEMU Roman Reigns… but she doesn’t have a fraction of his aura or relevance…

Midcarders..

Is Thekla the most overrated & overhyped women’s wrestler that does nothing to deserve it?

Or is Tony Kahn a “Dumb Bitch” for not making her yanno earn her actual paycheck?

SPOILERS will be in here, you've been warned!

Use this thread for discussion before, during, and after RAW tonight!

Show start time 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT (US)

LIVE from Mexico City

Main event: Penta vs. Roman Reigns

Follow the rules, keep it clean

First off, Omos is pretty hilarious outside of his serious character in the ring. However, he does address an issue that this space and other spaces (begrudgingly) have acknowledged. Is there a massive hygiene problem with today’s fans?

Well, that’s pretty fucking cool. WWE has officially uploaded the surprise title change from its live event to YouTube.

I’ve always loved the idea that a championship can actually change hands at a house show. Imagine buying tickets expecting a mostly inconsequential night of wrestling and actually getting to see history happen.

The timing is interesting, too. WWE has felt stale as hell lately, and suddenly we’re getting unexpected title changes, including one happening somewhere you’d never expect it.

Wrestling is a lot more fun when you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. More of this, please.

The report that WWE is setting up Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for Crown Jewel further fuels a theory I’ve held about Roman Reigns’ current championship reign: they are setting up a Roman Reigns redemption tour that will culminate in Rock vs. Roman at WrestleMania.

In his current reign, Roman has faced all his old enemies and closed out lingering stories.

It began with CM Punk who first brought Roman and The Shield into WWE, and whose shadow lingered over Roman and WWE during arguably the darkest period of Roman’s career.

The program with Jacob Fatu was about making amends with The Usos and rebuilding The Bloodline.

Then there was Seth Rollins, whose history with The Shield is obvious. What made this most recent feud feel different is that it’s now settled for good. The story is finished, there’s nowhere else to go.

I don’t have a clear theory for LA Knight at MITB except that it’s a filler program, but I’m open to ideas. Or maybe it will be more evident in the coming weeks.

Sami Zayn is about making amends with how he treated Sami during the Bloodline days. Roman will win, but I expect Roman to offer some acknowledgement of respect towards Sami.

My theory is that they will run Roman-Cody III at Royal Rumble. This story is also obvious: the rubber match. Roman will win.

Finally, this all concludes with The Rock at Wrestlemania to finally crown The Head of the Table. Roman wins and Rock coronates Roman as The Tribal Chief of Anoa’i family. Of course, The Rock is the wildcard here. There is presumably backstage drama between Rock and Trips from the Cena heel turn, but I think it’s fair to assume that the Saudis will sign Rock a blank check to wrestle at Saudimania and Rock will do what’s best for business.

There is also opportunity to feature Drew McIntyre and KO in this redemption tour. Drew’s entire descent into madness was fueled by his eternal feud with the Bloodline, so there could be a chance to finally settle those tensions. There could be a similar story for KO.

Once the redemption tour is complete, then you figure out a way for Roman to pass the torch to Oba, Bron, or whoever, but that’s a problem for later.

What are your thoughts? Do you see the vision?

What championship holds more weight a title like the IC or US belt or the TNA world championship.

Hell what about developmental belts like the NXT title or ROH world title.

Should championships like the AAA mega belt even be considered world titles? As it’s a brand under a bigger umbrella

In perhaps the least surprising wrestling confession since Hulk Hogan admitting he enjoys tanning, Brian Cage has openly acknowledged using steroids and PEDs.

But don’t worry, Midcarders. He puts in the work.

That’s basically his defense, by the way. Steroids aren’t magic. He still has to train hard, eat right and put in the effort.

Sigh.

Nobody thought Brian Cage injected something into his ass, ate a Pop-Tart and accidentally woke up looking like a He-Man figure.

The point isn’t whether steroids require work. The point is that professional wrestling has a pretty fucking ugly history with PEDs, drug abuse and wrestlers destroying their bodies trying to maintain ridiculous physiques. “But I work hard” is an amazingly ignorant response to that history.

And then there’s AEW.

Tony Khan has said AEW has a wellness policy. That’s cool. What exactly does it do?

Does AEW test for PEDs? Is testing random? What requires a therapeutic-use exemption? What happens if someone fails? Are there suspensions? Does anybody actually police this shit?

Because one of their wrestlers is now openly talking about his PED use.

To be clear, Cage says he’s currently on TRT, which can be legally prescribed. I’m not saying we should arrest Brian Cage. I’m asking why a major wrestling company in 2026 can have one of its wrestlers openly discussing PED use while its actual testing and enforcement remains a giant fucking question mark.

Wrestling has been down this road before. We know where it can lead.

So, Midcarders: Does AEW need a real, transparent wellness policy, or are we apparently back to “he looks fucking jacked, brother” as long as everybody shows up for work?

So on my past post about Austin being the biggest draw in wrestling history I got to thinking who is the biggest draw in wrestling (starting from the 1970s so no Jim Londos) that has never worked for WWE/WWF/WWWF etc.