Taven on Wardlow’s knee injury:
I mean, Wardlow’s out with a knee injury and as a guy with plenty of knee injuries in the past, they can be tricky. You start to think they’re one thing and then you think they’re another and then you think, oh, I can get away with doing this or that and it seems to be more serious so, I think he’s just trying to figure out exactly what the best kind of treatment plan is to get him back on track with that knee.
Taven on Adam Cole’s recovery:
Well here’s the funny thing, it’s like, (Adam) Cole won’t even be online for weeks at a time and you’ll just go on Twitter and he’ll be trending. You’re like, ‘What is happening? Did something happen that I don’t know of?’ I mean, it’s crazy that it’s been a year but again, he had a pretty serious ankle injury as well and I think everyone’s just trying to make sure that their long-term health is the most important thing because I’ve had four surgeries. It sucks and the worst thing to do is come back too early and then need something else to get fixed. I mean, I think I came back a little too early with my original knee surgery, causing me to have to get part of my meniscus removed altogether. So, it’s just stuff like that where you just really don’t want to rush and with (an) injury so serious, you can’t rush it. You have to give it its time to heal. So, as the internet would like to think that they know Adam Cole’s HIPAA — it’s a HIPAA violation what they try to say about Adam Cole on the internet (he laughed). No, as they try to think they’re his doctor or something but he’ll be back when he’s ready. That’s something I think now, at this point in our careers is way more important to me where back in the day I’d be like, ‘Oh, when are you gonna be ready?’ Now, I’m like, don’t even tell me. Just get healthy, dude. The last thing we need is for you to go out, you tweak your ankle and you go out again or whatever the case may be. That’s the last thing you need, that’s the last thing anyone needs so it’s like, it’s funny I think now being so deep into it. I never ask people when they’re coming back. I ask them how they’re doing.
He also needs a good long run of actually kicking peoples asses when he comes back. By that I mean do not fucking repeat the never-ending-11-second-squashes-of-enhancement-talent, he needs to have actual wrestling matches again.
Injuries aside, it’s been long enough. Wardlow is in ‘sink or swim’ land. Giving him quick squashes with local chuds builds a bit of a mystique, but does SFA for gaining experience and growing.
Kinda seems to be a common problem for most of AEW’s “monsters”. I get it, big guy crush little guy, but competitive matches, even if they’re only 3-6 minutes, would be far more interesting.
But then people complained when he had a competitive match with Orange Cassidy, and said it made him look weak, so I don’t know.
I think the takeaway is: People are dumb.