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WWE Hall of Famer Booker T believes that while AEW's gimmick matches have been exciting, they need to be reserved for pay-per-views.
Recently, Lance Archer and Hangman Page's World Championship match clash came in the form of a Texas Deathmatch, Sammy Guevara and Cody Rhodes unified the TNT Championship in a ladder match, and Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez settled scores in a No DQ bout. These are all proof that AEW is unafraid of hardcore gimmick matches.
However, not everyone enjoys the free usage of these stipulations, as WWE Hall of Famer Booker T explained during a recent episode of The Hall of Fame podcast. His initial statement appeared to recognize the gravitas of the product among the fandom, as he explained that he sees AEW as the "place for it".
"The thing is I really think it's a place for that, doing those types of matches: tables, ladders, blood, it's a place for it," said Booker T. "Fans have always gravitated towards that in professional wrestling it's always been a part of the culture. I know things changed along the way as far as the blood thing goes but I'm sure that's something that AEW fans, it's something that's pretty appealing to them." [0:30-0:54]
The former world champion continued to explain his belief that the gimmick matches should be held for the pay-per-views. He believed giving the fans the stipulative matches on free TV negates the impact of the premium events.
"Your TV is where you're gonna go work your a-- off but you're gonna give them only so much and then when you get to that PPV, that's when we really had to go out and give them their money's worth," Booker T added. "I just don't think giving it to them on television and then being able to give them the same thing on PPV, I just think they're missing something. I just think they could be getting so much more." [3:57-4:22]
Booker T believes matches like Moxley/Punk vs. FTR should be regular on AEW Dynamite
Booker T went on to offer an alternative route in light of his criticism, and he praised the clash between FTR and CM Punk and Jon Moxley in the process. As can be expected from the four men involved, they waged war in a physical affair that delivered remarkable storytelling.
To the WWE Hall of Famer, this bout was an admirable component of AEW programming. He expressed his belief that contests like this could offer fans enough to retain their interest while the company should keep gimmick matches fresh for premium events.
"I watched the match with Moxley and CM Punk versus FTR, that match was very entertaining and it was very high-impact, it had a lot going on," said Booker T. "I think a lot of that could actually fuel your show on a weekly basis if you give them enough of that, like those type of matches without the blood and gore I think people still buy into that and I do think with the PPVs they could actually be much more valuable if you did save that kind of stuff." [2:37-3:13]
Do you agree with Booker T's comments? Sound off below.
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