When is the right time………

[Agent_Ro]

For someone to return or a big name to debut for a new company?

There is currently an argument about Saraya wrestling for the first time in 5 years at Full Gear vs Britt Baker. While the match wasn’t critically acclaimed, it was Saraya finally back wrestling again for the first time in a long time. Should she have wrestled on TV beforehand or was it the right call to have her first AEW match at one of their featured PPVs?

When is the right/wrong time to reintroduce someone back to a wrestling ring?

 

[already home_17]

if a star hasn’t wrestled in a minute, they shouldn’t have their first match back on tv. you put it on ppv

 

[OGDirtyD]

Right time to being back at a ppv is when they are showing signs of being back in 5th gear and can jump right back into the mix based on their training/performance check ins.

If they are going into it with just basic training then they should probably have their first match on tv so just incase its a little iffy by the time they get to the ppv marltch they can tune up the errors.

All based on name value, if its a huge star then id have fake matches during training til he ready so they can save it for ppv.

 

[Chi-Town B]

That chick was not ready for no ppv so tuneup matches should have been on her schedule

 

[Agent_Ro]

In 2001, the Rock returned from a 4 month “suspension” and chose to side with team WWF. The next week, he fought Shane McMahon in a street fight on Raw and was part of a tag team match the following week. On the Smackdown before Summerslam, he faced his Summerslam opponent, Booker T, in a lights out match.

I understand why the WWF made the decision to have Rock wrestle as much as he did before Summerslam because the ratings were falling and the Invasion angle fell apart once Steve Austin turned on team WWF but I may have had Rocks first match back on Summerslam but that’s just me

 

[Iceberg_Taylor]

I think it can work either way depending on the situation. Obviously you probably should have the debut / return at a ppv but if the is justified reason (just like what Ro mentioned with The Rock) I totally understand that decision too

 

[Iceberg_Taylor]

Shit HBK’s return match was at Summerslam

 

[OGDirtyD]

Shit HBK’s return match was at Summerslam

HBK is god tier status. Nobody is going to compare. Lol

Edge return match stands out as one that wasnt that great either. Shit happens.

 

[Iceberg_Taylor]

HBK is god tier status. Nobody is going to compare. Lol

yeh man Shit was just the first example off top lemme live lol

 

[IP360]

PAY...per...view. Keyword...PAY. This is where the business side of pro wrestling comes in

At the end of the day...you tryin to sell tickets. You tryin to sell buy ins for the ppv. It's not good business sense for a returning star have their 1st match on "free tv." Or have "warm up" match b4 a ppv.

This isn't anything new. So I'm not sure why this even a discussion when this has been going on for DECADES. Again...you tryin to sell tickets/buy-ins 1st & foremost. ESPECIALLY for returning stars.

 

[Loneshot]

I don't think it mattered much with Saraya as they sort of botched the initial return. When she left WWE, we all assumed she could no longer wrestle. This was a huge missed opportunity to push whoever was going to feud with her, such as Britt Baker. While We were all still under the assumption that Saraya could no longer wrestle, they should have done a spot where Britt Baker attacked her. When HHH attacked HBK's back after he returned, I thought HBK would never walk again. There had been so much said about HBK's back being the reason he had to retire, so to see HHH brutally attack him there completely shocked me.

Saraya has a similar story where everyone knows/or believes she can never wrestle again and could never risk it. It was easy heat to have her first feud be the one where she forces herself out of retirement, risking it all for revenge. Once she got her revenge, it would still be in air if she would continue wrestling, leading to more storyline opportunities.

As it stands, I didn't care about the match from the get-go because Saraya returned for no reason other than to be just another body on the roster.

 

[Shenco]

Law of diminishing returns. There’s a reason you don’t see folks like Reigns or MJF in the ring every week

 

[Chi-Town B]

There's a reason Jade is still bad in the ring cause she's not in the ring every week

 

[already home_17]

HBK is god tier status. Nobody is going to compare. Lol

Edge return match stands out as one that wasnt that great either. Shit happens.

i disagree but we don’t have to get into this again lol

as far as HBK is concerned, dude acknowledged he wasn’t confident in himself when he returned. he eventually grew comfortable and they put on a classic, but HHH carried him for most of that match and was able to protect him

 

[TonyDubbz]

It did depends on who it is and how big they are imo

a paige return in my opinion is no where near as big as a CM Punk return or a Edge return or HHH, etc.. so a tv return would of been aight

If the match was as bad as some are saying it was then they probably should of held off on her debut for the next ppv. Since they dont do theirs monthly it would of gave her more time to train

 

[OGDirtyD]

It did depends on who it is and how big they are imo

a paige return in my opinion is no where near as big as a CM Punk return or a Edge return or HHH, etc.. so a tv return would of been aight

If the match was as bad as some are saying it was then they probably should of held off on her debut for the next ppv. Since they dont do theirs monthly it would of gave her more time to train

Exactly how I feel. The match wasnt bad. It was just not exciting at all and slow. Probabaly played it safe even tho they were doing neck shots to Paige.

 

[Shenco]

It did depends on who it is and how big they are imo

a paige return in my opinion is no where near as big as a CM Punk return or a Edge return or HHH, etc.. so a tv return would of been aight

If the match was as bad as some are saying it was then they probably should of held off on her debut for the next ppv. Since they dont do theirs monthly it would of gave her more time to train

It also woulda killed the interest and momentum if we would have had to wait longer for her in-ring debut. It's only so long promos and segments can get you before fans want to see some in-ring action/wonder if you'll ever get in the ring.

 

[PhenomTheMac]

You coulda put Paige in a tag match with Toni against Britt and Jamie before the ppv. Limit Paiges ring time but give her a couple shine spots against Jamie to help knock off some ring rust/1st match jitters.

Give Britt a heat spot to raise a question of is Paige truly healthy enough for their match. And then give a non finish to not have to beat anyone before the big show.

You can still promote the PPV as Paiges 1st singles match and anyone who actually bought the ppv to see her return could still do so. Though to be really that's gotta be a pretty small number in comparison to MJFs title win.

 

[Based Dave 96]

if a star hasn’t wrestled in a minute, they shouldn’t have their first match back on tv. you put it on ppv

i disagree.... imo in the case of someone like Saraya who's been gone for 5 years i would let her wrestle some house shows with lesser talent b4 i would stick them on ppv.

 

[IP360]

Exactly how I feel. The match wasnt bad. It was just not exciting at all and slow. Probabaly played it safe even tho they were doing neck shots to Paige.

I had no issue wit them playing it safe. Why wouldn't they? She has plenty of time to shake that ring rust off.

She actually did better than I expected tho. But I always give props to the person who takes care of the returning wrestler. Cuz that means they give af about their well-being. So props to Britt.

I think once Saraya finally gets back into the swing of things...we'll see her go hard in the paint.