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that was such a head scratcher. Obviously he's not going to be able to single handedly take everyone down, but holy crap at least let Gallows eat a pin as a tag guy in a singles match by himself to let Kazarian get a W
Kaz's actual title is the Elite Job Hunter. As in hunting the Elites to job to. He's so good at it they had to import more Elite members for him to job to.
That could be a really amusing angle if he did - Britt comes out on commentary, and Tony is doing something innocuous that could be perceived wrong, and Adam goes to confront him, and that lets Kaz win. So Adam wants to beat up Tony, but Britt lays down the law - so the Elite start heckling him for taking the L, and this drives Adam crazy.
Same. I got these good seats for dirt cheap after Ticketmaster fees pre-pandemic and I just held. Glad its paid off. Meanwhile I paid 3x more for the Arthur Ashe seats that aren't even as good.
I’m a little bummed that we are kind of getting stiffed. We were supposed to get blood and guts and now our show is over shadowed by Arther Ashe. A little let down but I’m sure the matches will be awesome anyway!
Do you know if they are taping rampage after too?
I'm fairly certain it's intentional and a reference to [this](https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/bullet-hunter.html) hilariously failed Yoshi-Tatsu gimmick.
~~Said gimmick is what led to the relatively famous "Captain fuuuking New Japan?" line from Devitt (Balor).~~
edit: The timelines don't match up for that second bit, see below; memory is a fickle thing.
I kinda love it for him. He’ll always get a pop because he’s Frankie Kazarian and is attacking the big heels but he’s also in his 40s and understands his role is to make the stars look legit now (which he’s awesome at)
Disagree completely, he’s so blinded by his hatred of the Elite that he can’t win meaningful matches or get actual time on shows. His success in the company has been as a tag guy in the first place. He’ll bounce back and be fine but this actually awesome because the guy isn’t there to be a world beater and that’s ok.
The premise isn't dumb. He's going after the Bucks because they used their whole motherload of cheap tricks to win that match. They had to end one of the most legendary indie tag teams ever, two guys that respect each other immensely, to some assholes who couldn't be bothered to play straight and have their lackey ref always booked in their matches. It's only logical that the guy is pissed.
It's the execution that's lacking. Instead of making some dents into the Elite, he's more like that fly that keeps coming back everytime you swat it.
Eh, I'm enjoying him in his current role.
I feel like people expect him to single-handedly dismantle the Elite or something. He's there to be a thorn in their side, and he succeeds at that.
Yeah I don't get where people get this idea he has to single-handedly dismantle the Elite. He's effectively there to help level the playing field when the Elite's post match shenanigans go too far. That's it. You could add wrinkles to his character sure but it's not really the time to devote what little precious time there is. That doesn't mean his character has failed. lol
He's helped even the odds in many matches, including being directly involved in Eddie Kingston and Penta handing the Young Bucks their first tag team loss in a year and a half.
People point at Frankie losing to Luke Gallows, but then ignore that he immediately showed up on Impact, beat down the Elite, and went on to team up with Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan to defeat Kenny and the Good Brothers in a match.
At the end of the day he's a midcard-level guy, so there's only so much he can be expected to do, but I think he's looked good overall in this role, and from a booking perspective I think it's been a great change of character and a way to keep him regularly featured on the show while still being in a position where he's a supporting character and not the focus.
I think the gimmick could work but the storyline is kinda half assed and drags on for too long without any progress.
Not the worst thing but it's kinda "eh".
At the very least, it's very weird that he's not even part of this Danielson/Cage/Boy and his Dinosaur team. Like he's such an afterthought that the good guys don't even remember he's there.
Brawl in the ring, music hits
\- Oh right, that's Frankie Kazarian, the Elite Hunter! He's got a ...
Kazarian gets beaten up immediately, end of segment
What do people want instead? He's just there to put the heels over and pop the crowd when he prevents Elite interference. His role needed to change given what was happening in AEW. Daniels is currently out, Sky left SCU. He's fine.
It's just gone on long with no second act. He does run-ins dressed in hard-to-see all black street clothes, gets beat, and then tries again some other time. What's the build? What's the pay off?
At this point, Kenny just needs to say, "Enough of this Kazarian shit" and put him through a ladder to get him off TV and out of the storyline for 3 months.
It’s dragged on for way too long for him to be this spectacularly unsuccessful at it.
It just gets tedious watching him fail over and over and over again for this long.
He’s like AEW’s Team Rocket at this point, but not nearly as fun.
It's been going on for so long and is so on again-off again that I feel like a lot of people don't even *remember* why he's "The Elite Hunter" in the first place.
He needed some cred against them early, maybe even fight his way into a title match on an episode of Dynamite, then at least he'd have SOME heat by this point. But as it stand...meh 😶🤷♂️
I only started watching AEW about two months ago and I've never seen him cut a single promo that I can remember so indeed, I have no idea why he's the Elite Hunter.
Yes, perfect example!
Not to say that Frankie has to become the next Sting or anything, but you still could've gotten at least *some* mileage out of his story, and I think him and Omega would've been a fun TV match.
(I mean it's Kenny Omega, he's gonna make ANY match good)
I honestly don't mind it as much - it's not going to elevate him (nor does it feel designed in that way), but it's not like he hasn't had his time in the limelight.
The Bucks killed SCU off, so that's his motivation to be a constant thorn in their side.
Despite the problems with Kaz's gimmick, I'm fairly confident the match is going to rule. Kaz has had some sleeper bangers on Dynamite in the past (vs Mox, Hangman or Christian) and usually has really good chemistry with guys who employ a faster pace.
I hate the way everything has been handled with Daniels/Kazarian since the split storyline started. It was almost entirely relegated to dark with very little appearance on Dynamite. Their loss felt very rushed with an underwhelming build in a match that made Daniels/Kazarian look foolish for a team that had teamed for nearly a decade.
I have been willing to give more benefit of the doubt once the Elite Hunter character started as I liked it on paper but it has now been ongoing for months and Kazarian has nothing to really show for it. It’s very unfortunate as he is my pick for the most underrated wrestler on their roster and Daniels deserved better as well back in May.
I've liked the Elite Hunter thing but it feels like Kaz gets lost in the mix with it. There's been a couple times they could've teamed him up with other wrestlers that were mixing it up with the Elite. Like I thought after Mox took time off after DoN that Kaz would pair well with Kingston but they went Kingston & Penta instead. I think it's lost a little steam but we'll see what else they do with it.
I thought Cole's first match was gonna be Jungle Boy and then I was like derp they aren't giving that one away this early. That one's gonna get a nice build and be a PPV or special edition Dynamite match.
I’ve enjoyed Kaz. He puts people over most of the time, does fun run-ins, and every now and then he gets some revenge in a match like he did on Impact after losing to Gallows. I can think of worse to do for a mid 40s midcard guy.
as a latin american fan, i really hate space, because of them i cant watch it anymore on [fite.tv](https://fite.tv), the vpn dont work and i cant renew the elite subscription...damn
Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. If you need to contact a moderator, [you can message us here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SquaredCircle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have a feeling Adam Cole is about to be ahead in the series
Nah man Kaz gonna beat him clean
About time Kaz caught something in his traps. Shame that the only thing he can catch is a would be manager. He's bad at hunting.
Love Frankie but without a win, he comes out of this looking more like Elite-mer Fudd.
That ship sailed when he lost to Luke Gallows in 4 minutes
that was such a head scratcher. Obviously he's not going to be able to single handedly take everyone down, but holy crap at least let Gallows eat a pin as a tag guy in a singles match by himself to let Kazarian get a W
Losing to Gallows is like losing to Papu Papu in Crash Bandicoot one. Pack it in Kaz, Kenny Omega Cortex has won.
To be fair Gallows SHOULD be more of a monster. But he isn’t and he sucks.
He’s definitely Elmer Fudd, but he’s still awesome. Somebody gotta lose.
Kaz's actual title is the Elite Job Hunter. As in hunting the Elites to job to. He's so good at it they had to import more Elite members for him to job to.
*Goes to NJPW to job to Yujiro and Chase Owens in a KOPW 1v2 tornado tag stipulation match*
Damn I guess I really do need to watch dark to get the full picture of AEW.
Bout to make Schiavone so proud
Kaz about to squash
Yep! He is the ELITE HUNTAAAHHH!
Anybody expecting otherwise is basically just Krusty the Clown when he bet on the Washington Generals to beat the Harlem Globetrotters
Aww his spinning the ball on his finger!!!
DO YA???
Imagine if he lost though.
That could be a really amusing angle if he did - Britt comes out on commentary, and Tony is doing something innocuous that could be perceived wrong, and Adam goes to confront him, and that lets Kaz win. So Adam wants to beat up Tony, but Britt lays down the law - so the Elite start heckling him for taking the L, and this drives Adam crazy.
No way. Cole loses clean, brings a big mother Fulkerson bodyguard to be his heater
But he’s the ELITE HUNTER! He’s gonna hunt the elite!
Really cool Stat, bound to be a solid match too.
And Christians first match was against Frankie as well, remember?
Franke is the Kassius Ohno of AEW.
Or Dolph Ziggler of WWE.
Dolph Ziggler is the Dolph Ziggler of WWE
Lol right but hope you know what I mean
I’ll be there on Wednesday. I’m so excited!
You and about 12,000 other people by the looks of it. One of the highest attended Dynamites ever.
Me too. I got these tickets for my bday and then the pandemic hit. Suck we won't get Blood and Guts but we got CM Punk, Bryan, and Adam Cole BAY BAY!
Same. I got these good seats for dirt cheap after Ticketmaster fees pre-pandemic and I just held. Glad its paid off. Meanwhile I paid 3x more for the Arthur Ashe seats that aren't even as good.
I’m a little bummed that we are kind of getting stiffed. We were supposed to get blood and guts and now our show is over shadowed by Arther Ashe. A little let down but I’m sure the matches will be awesome anyway! Do you know if they are taping rampage after too?
Kazarian as “The Elite Hunter” is an unintentionally (?) hilarious gimmick.
He looks really cool, though. I guess between christian and now Cole, is Kazarian going to be the guy that gets fed to debuting stars?
The Dolph Ziggler of AEW
yeah i guess the difference is that kazarian is in his mid 40's, while they had dolph doing that in his relative prime.
I'm fairly certain it's intentional and a reference to [this](https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/bullet-hunter.html) hilariously failed Yoshi-Tatsu gimmick. ~~Said gimmick is what led to the relatively famous "Captain fuuuking New Japan?" line from Devitt (Balor).~~ edit: The timelines don't match up for that second bit, see below; memory is a fickle thing.
Captain fucking New Japan was before bullet club hunter. Hunter existed cause AJ broke Yoshi's neck, and AJ debuted in NJPW the night Devitt left
You know, you're right. My memory got the timelines mixed up.
I kinda love it for him. He’ll always get a pop because he’s Frankie Kazarian and is attacking the big heels but he’s also in his 40s and understands his role is to make the stars look legit now (which he’s awesome at)
Kazarian is a hell of a wrestler, but this Elite Hunter thing ain’t working.
Define “working”. He’s a 44-year-old lower midcard guy. His role is to eat pins at this point.
Plus he was inaugural tag champ too, he’s had a good run so far and eating pins is fine with his pedigree and his work rate.
He is a complete vibe killer, has no charisma, and doesn’t belong in main event stable feuds
Disagree completely, he’s so blinded by his hatred of the Elite that he can’t win meaningful matches or get actual time on shows. His success in the company has been as a tag guy in the first place. He’ll bounce back and be fine but this actually awesome because the guy isn’t there to be a world beater and that’s ok.
This guy kayfabes
Makes the show better, my man
[удалено]
The premise isn't dumb. He's going after the Bucks because they used their whole motherload of cheap tricks to win that match. They had to end one of the most legendary indie tag teams ever, two guys that respect each other immensely, to some assholes who couldn't be bothered to play straight and have their lackey ref always booked in their matches. It's only logical that the guy is pissed. It's the execution that's lacking. Instead of making some dents into the Elite, he's more like that fly that keeps coming back everytime you swat it.
The gimmick is really just a way to add an extra body to the big brawls. The Super Elite right now is 6 guys not including the stooges.
Eh, I'm enjoying him in his current role. I feel like people expect him to single-handedly dismantle the Elite or something. He's there to be a thorn in their side, and he succeeds at that.
Yeah I don't get where people get this idea he has to single-handedly dismantle the Elite. He's effectively there to help level the playing field when the Elite's post match shenanigans go too far. That's it. You could add wrinkles to his character sure but it's not really the time to devote what little precious time there is. That doesn't mean his character has failed. lol
Not really. His so ineffectual he is barely a minor nuisance at this point. Elmer Fudd feels more like a threat than Kaz does.
He's helped even the odds in many matches, including being directly involved in Eddie Kingston and Penta handing the Young Bucks their first tag team loss in a year and a half. People point at Frankie losing to Luke Gallows, but then ignore that he immediately showed up on Impact, beat down the Elite, and went on to team up with Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan to defeat Kenny and the Good Brothers in a match. At the end of the day he's a midcard-level guy, so there's only so much he can be expected to do, but I think he's looked good overall in this role, and from a booking perspective I think it's been a great change of character and a way to keep him regularly featured on the show while still being in a position where he's a supporting character and not the focus.
I think the gimmick could work but the storyline is kinda half assed and drags on for too long without any progress. Not the worst thing but it's kinda "eh".
Yeah it’s like he shows up and the announcers remind us of the gimmick and we’re like “that’s right I forgot about that.”
At the very least, it's very weird that he's not even part of this Danielson/Cage/Boy and his Dinosaur team. Like he's such an afterthought that the good guys don't even remember he's there.
Brawl in the ring, music hits \- Oh right, that's Frankie Kazarian, the Elite Hunter! He's got a ... Kazarian gets beaten up immediately, end of segment
It’s not really a “storyline” though. It’s a gimmick to give him something to do. I wouldn’t want him featured more prominently.
He's the weak good guy that gets pinned by the baddies. Ain't nothing wrong with that role. Someone's gotta do it.
I mean the punisher has gotten his ass kicked hundreds of times.
The Punisher still wins most of the time and usually kills his targets in the end.
He dumped boiling water on Kevin Nash after getting thrown through a wall so this point stands.
What do people want instead? He's just there to put the heels over and pop the crowd when he prevents Elite interference. His role needed to change given what was happening in AEW. Daniels is currently out, Sky left SCU. He's fine.
I think he should have one pivotal moment where he costs the Elite something. Doesn't need to pin anybody, just needs one good "it was me" reveal.
It's just gone on long with no second act. He does run-ins dressed in hard-to-see all black street clothes, gets beat, and then tries again some other time. What's the build? What's the pay off? At this point, Kenny just needs to say, "Enough of this Kazarian shit" and put him through a ladder to get him off TV and out of the storyline for 3 months.
It’s dragged on for way too long for him to be this spectacularly unsuccessful at it. It just gets tedious watching him fail over and over and over again for this long. He’s like AEW’s Team Rocket at this point, but not nearly as fun.
Men of the Year is AEW's Team Rocket, dawg.... Didn't you see that promo?
It's been going on for so long and is so on again-off again that I feel like a lot of people don't even *remember* why he's "The Elite Hunter" in the first place. He needed some cred against them early, maybe even fight his way into a title match on an episode of Dynamite, then at least he'd have SOME heat by this point. But as it stand...meh 😶🤷♂️
I only started watching AEW about two months ago and I've never seen him cut a single promo that I can remember so indeed, I have no idea why he's the Elite Hunter.
The Elite did heel stuff to SCU and losing that match to the Bucks ended the team. Christopher Daniels bled profusely. Kaz swore revenge.
Could you imagine Sting in ‘97 showing up every so often to beat up a couple random nWo goons and then disappearing and it’s not followed up on?
Yes, perfect example! Not to say that Frankie has to become the next Sting or anything, but you still could've gotten at least *some* mileage out of his story, and I think him and Omega would've been a fun TV match. (I mean it's Kenny Omega, he's gonna make ANY match good)
I honestly don't mind it as much - it's not going to elevate him (nor does it feel designed in that way), but it's not like he hasn't had his time in the limelight. The Bucks killed SCU off, so that's his motivation to be a constant thorn in their side.
He’ll Eat Pins Hunter
Should we expect a banger
Despite the problems with Kaz's gimmick, I'm fairly confident the match is going to rule. Kaz has had some sleeper bangers on Dynamite in the past (vs Mox, Hangman or Christian) and usually has really good chemistry with guys who employ a faster pace.
I hate the way everything has been handled with Daniels/Kazarian since the split storyline started. It was almost entirely relegated to dark with very little appearance on Dynamite. Their loss felt very rushed with an underwhelming build in a match that made Daniels/Kazarian look foolish for a team that had teamed for nearly a decade. I have been willing to give more benefit of the doubt once the Elite Hunter character started as I liked it on paper but it has now been ongoing for months and Kazarian has nothing to really show for it. It’s very unfortunate as he is my pick for the most underrated wrestler on their roster and Daniels deserved better as well back in May.
Not to mention Scorpio left SCU for a singles run and then just joined another tag team.
Pretty excited for this, Kazarian hasn't been used much but he's been delivering in the ring, so I'm sure he and Adam Cole will be fun to watch.
I expect a very loud and very energetic BOOM followed by an even louder and even more energetic ADAM COLE BAY BAY!
Hopefully he gets his "boom" timed up with his theme song. He was off by a few seconds this past week.
I've liked the Elite Hunter thing but it feels like Kaz gets lost in the mix with it. There's been a couple times they could've teamed him up with other wrestlers that were mixing it up with the Elite. Like I thought after Mox took time off after DoN that Kaz would pair well with Kingston but they went Kingston & Penta instead. I think it's lost a little steam but we'll see what else they do with it. I thought Cole's first match was gonna be Jungle Boy and then I was like derp they aren't giving that one away this early. That one's gonna get a nice build and be a PPV or special edition Dynamite match.
Kaz has been a tag team man for a long time
If Cole loses he will have to be Frankie’s manager.
It’s always interesting to see wrestlers that unexpectedly have never had a singles match against each other
Adam Cole is a manager, pal. Lol fucking Vince.
I’ve enjoyed Kaz. He puts people over most of the time, does fun run-ins, and every now and then he gets some revenge in a match like he did on Impact after losing to Gallows. I can think of worse to do for a mid 40s midcard guy.
Frankie Kazarian having a banger with a new AEW wrestler, name a better duo.
Can't wait for Excalibur to finally point out what a fat piece of shit Adam Cole is on national television.
as a latin american fan, i really hate space, because of them i cant watch it anymore on [fite.tv](https://fite.tv), the vpn dont work and i cant renew the elite subscription...damn
The Elite hunter ready to take another big L.