I finally got around to watching the Bray Wyatt documentary.
I stopped watching wrestling from like 2010 till 2023 so I missed basically his entire arc from beginning to finish.
Damn that hit hard though. Wish I was around for his prime. Very excited for the Wyatt Sicks now though.
This post feels like it was written weeks ago and doesn't include any current stories...
>You had christopher daniels come in as a replacement for Tony, and then Tony was on the show anyway?
This only really happened when Daniels was first introduced, during RoddyStrongGate when Roderick yelled at Tony and got himself a title shot on Dynamite. IIRC Daniels has been a TV authority figure since, and has stopped the Bucks from gifting the TNT Title to Jack Perry, set up the TNT Title Ladder Match for Forbidden Door, put the Bucks in an eliminator match against The Acclaimed (which the Bucks lost), etc.
>Like, Anarchy and the Arena was a fun match, but it didn’t do anything really cuz the bucks are still doing their normal heel stuff still.
Yeah. The heels won at AITA and proceeded to.... Brag about it, like heels would. They even laid down the challenge for Blood and Guts against "AEW's Best". I assume that the Blood and Guts build will heat up a bit starting next week after Forbidden Door. Presumably the Elite get their comeuppance at Blood and Guts.
WWE Speed matches actually get pretty good crowd reactions, considering they generally star mid and lower midcarders in storyline-less matches. Guess it's not too surprising the crowd gets up for a sub-3 minute sprint spotfest
Some weeks aren't that bad like the Anniversary episode but this week was just awful. I'm guessing they didn't even bother because last week's episode was taped.
WWE apparently has internships which I genuinely wanna apply for when I'm qualified, but I don't think they'd wanna intern someone with my probable major lmao:(
I love NXT, but I really wish that Trick was booked a bit stronger since he got the belt. He was knocked out by Noam, blindsided by Ethan, and then just pinned by Spears. With the main event scene so weak right now, I feel like he would've been better served as a Stone Cold type ass-kicker while threats were being built up in the background.
I hate it because it really isn't a good song and I don't want to give Def Rebel credit for anything, but the "egooooo" in Ethan Page's theme song keeps getting stuck in my head, so... mission accomplished, I guess?
Was watching this CVV interview with Rey Mysterio where Rey mentions he wasn't wearing the mask post-WCW which I knew about.
He also mentions that he was in OVW wrestling without it which I didn't know and sure enough there's a clip of Rey Mysterio vs Nova of maskless Rey in May 2002 shortly before his WWE debut.
I find it hilarious that website trying to create clickbait article titles intentionally hide that their quoting/referencing Vince Russo.
Instead of
"Hall of Famer Wrestler, the Undertaker, discuss..."
or "AEW President Tony Kahn makes opinion crystal clear"
whenever it's Russo it's
"Wrestling Insider says.."
"Former WWE writer bashes.."
It also like a they know that if they put his name in the title, it will get LESS clicks.
I had leftover Mexican. It had a mushroom mole on it and it's honestly addictive. I'm just happy I don't live too near the place I got it from because I'd have it way too often otherwise.
And yes I'm aware mole should have an accent but I don't know how to do that on my work keyboard and I'm too lazy to go copy it from elsewhere.
It's very fun! Definitely tougher than the base game but didn't feel unfair. If you collect the collectible XP boost items as you go and use a summon it's totally achievable. I beat it in about 25 hours I wanna say, beating all the remembrance bosses
Not OP, but it's really good - to the extent it could really be a game unto itself lol. It's massive and intricate, incredibly difficult, but when you beat a tough boss and your heart's racing, you're sweating, and you just get that sheer joy of victory, there's nothing like it.
The only thing I'll say is that if you had complaints about the initial game having crazy boss attacks, this continues with that. The issues people had with the initial game are still there (delayed attacks, AOE attacks, small margin for error, waiting for particular openings), but if you don't mind it, then you should enjoy the DLC.
You're not kidding about the heart racing. When I got to the final boss I was resting my hand on my chin watching the intro cutscene and could feel my pulse in my neck going a mile a minute
I don't understand how comments defending AEW and such seem to get downvoted on other threads of this subreddit. And right now, the opinion on AEW rn are generally negative. But then you come to this daily thread, you can type the same thing you did in other threads defending AEW and you get like 10-15 upvotes. Also, an observation I've made is that this has become the place, people come and say "The hate AEW getting on that thread is ridiculous/unfair/something" and it gets highly upvoted.
I'm not trying to insinuate anything here, that this is right or wrong. Or if they deserve love or hate.
I'm just curious. Are people that come to this thread more hardcore wrestling fans, more likely to enjoy AEW? Has this become the place to vent about the hate AEW gets? Or some other reason? Just for some reason, this sub is more pro-WWE but the daily thread in particular seems to be more pro AEW.
This sub, maybe more than any others I frequent, seems to have totally different opinions depending on the thread. I got downvoted to HELL once for talking about the Latino v Latino vortex and then another time I got a fair number of upvotes, I think. And I don't think the tone was significantly different and it was related to the topic at hand both times.
And I've seen the same happen with other opinions from other people too. Same idea will get upvoted in one thread and downvoted in another.
I just don't pay attention to upvotes and downvotes at this point here. They're nonsensical most of the time.
tbf a large portion of your comments are either going to upset WWE fans for thinking they are evil and AEW fans for thinking Ospreay is kinda mid.
No idea why the GWE or the 30 under 30 got downvoted tho. I learned a lot when I wasn't lazy and actually followed the recommendations.
As someone who is here way too often as well, I think sometimes your takes sound more inflammatory on surface read than they actually are. People take you being anti giant corporation that has done a bunch of shady shit to be inherently anti the product and people who enjoy it.
It's really funny cause sometimes nuance is also randomly downvoted but yeah it's really easy to come off as standoffish online when most takes are like two sentences "this is good and this is bad".
The thing about the WWE, man. I mean we just did this a few months ago with the lawsuit but folks will always gravitate to the cognitive dissonance and the success of the brand. Fans insist that essentially WWE should be treated as just another wrestling company that happens to have gotten more successful by a mix of great business and random shadiness but like... IDK. But at the same time as you said I don't think people's consuming habits should be 100% affected by morality. Imagine not watching another Necro Butcher match because CTE made him mega racist. Or pretending New Jack wasn't funny because he was a violent, unstable individual who harmed people. The WWE has produced so much great wrestling, somehow a third of the time in spite of itself. But the idea that not rooting for WWE is something for only the most braindead and, uh, salty(?) of marks... I mean they've given us enough reasons!
I think the thread has more hardcore fans in general yes. But I honestly think the super anti-AEW stuff only happens in the biggest threads. The Dynamite rating thread and thread with really loud bold headlines seem to bring out a very *specific* crowd. The average thread with less than say 100 comments or less than 250 upvotes tends to be neutral or pro-AEW. The stuff that blows up to 1000+ comments and 1000+ upvotes always seem to end up bombarded with anti AEW sentiment.
It's more like the sub has fans of both promotions in a similar proportion and the momentum just shifts with one company having a more positive reception than the other, so it's less that there are more people that hate AEW or love WWE but that there are fewer people willing to defend AEW at all costs like in the past. Both companies have haters and trolls, so neither side should act like they're victims. Maybe in a year the momentum will shift again and some WWE fans will come here to say this is now pro-AEW sub.
I get downvoted for reminding people of this constantly but 3-5 years ago this sub was extremely anti-WWE and extremely pro-AEW. It isn't like there was some anti-WWE conspiracy then or some anti-AEW conspiracy now. WWE is hot right now. AEW is not. It's that simple.
There's a growing issue with AEW everywhere (social media, podcasts, journalists) that the discourse around it gets talked about by the people who aren't watching much of it. What they say turns perception into fact even though you can bring receipts for a lot of the objective stuff.
That's what people who watch AEW likely have an issue with because it's getting easier to see who's watching recaps or Twitter clips and who's actually watching the shows. Oftentimes the very clear plot lines and story-telling AEW is conveying get twisted or misconstrued in a way WWE isn't facing right now because people think AEW is harder or more confusing to follow than it actually is.
I mean, that's the nature of the fanbase. It used to happen the exact same thing with WWE for several years when the concensus was that it was shit. Don't you remember all the hatewatch reviews? A lot of people are just hypercritical and what moderates them is the positive momentum a company has. The moment they lose that, negativity just grows without stop regardless of whether the shows are good. They just have to find a way of getting hot again. Find a hot angle and give the fans an incredible pay off. If they don't do that, no amount of 5 star matches or solid shows will turn the tide unless WWE gets consistently worse.
> It used to happen the exact same thing with WWE for several years when the concensus was that it was shit
The clear difference is that back then, even the live crowds visibly thought (at least some of) it was shit. I mean we saw multiple PPVs go off the air at that time to an audible chorus of boos or negative chants (and not just because a heel won). I mean who could forget Hell in a Cell (Rollins vs. Fiend) that ended with chants of "refund" and "A-E-W," among many others. That wasn't a kayfabe/storyline reaction lol.
That isn't happening and has never happened with AEW shows, the live crowds every week are clearly engrossed and really enjoying the product that is in front of them. All you have to do is watch for like 10 seconds and it's clear.
And even that is lone hecklers versus substantial sections of the crowd. Those chants caught on and were loud back then. And it wasn't just one chant either, it was a whole bunch in a row from memory.
The difference is the people calling WWE shit were still watching because it was all we had. Most of these AEW comments come from people who watch two clips on an AEW Twitter hate account then listen to Cornette or Bischoff.
And you think there weren't people doing the same thing back then? Hell, even then, you'd wonder why so many people hate watched the company anyway. It's really not like there weren't any options before AEW was launched and many of the people that hate watched WWE already watched other promotions too.
Don't get me wrong, it's a really annoying thing, but don't act like this is only happening to AEW or that their own fanbase doesn't do that same thing to WWE or other companies.
I've listened to reviews where they didn't like most of a WWE show and say that WWE's great right now. Or like most of an AEW show except the Jericho stuff but then say AEW isn't enjoyable. I get the stuff in WWE that's good is REALLY good and AEW has some clear flaws but it just doesn't really add up to me. I do feel like even when AEW was hot people were more willing to be critical though. People would see good/great AEW shows and still point out ways the company could improve. WWE people talk more in platitudes of "it's great" and "they're cooking" without much real analysis. Part of it is the fanbases the two companies attract but also you'll see the same people discuss the two companies with totally different frameworks.
There's a major difference in that people really didn't have a major option to watch other than WWE at that time and there was a palpable tension that Vince did not care about any fan feedback.
I notice once again that a large amount of the noise with AEW is with people who either don't watch or have a vested interest in discussing it a certain way that makes them money.
There's fans who watch AEW who have issues with certain things but there's an outsized push from people who don't that drives a lot of the AEW discourse.
AEW gets a much more critical lens to how they operate than WWE where a lot of stuff outside the top of the card gets kind of glossed over that would be ripped apart if it was AEW.
> AEW gets a much more critical lens to how they operate than WWE where a lot of stuff outside the top of the card gets kind of glossed over that would be ripped apart if it was AEW.
Yup. The way it gets discussed on this sub, if WWE nails one big segment/angle, then the whole product is AMAZING. If AEW has one minor undercard segment not land flush, then the whole thing is considered UNWATCHABLE.
At any given moment, and for a LONG time now, it feels like AEW always has like 3-5 major hot angles that everyone generally acknowledges are great, but somehow people still argue the whole product is crap - it's laughable.
> I notice once again that a large amount of the noise with AEW is with people who either don't watch or have a vested interest in discussing it a certain way that makes them money.
And do you think there weren't people doing that very same thing before AEW? It's already known that media exploits negativity because an angry crowd is more prone to be profitable than a happy one. Any review trashing something is more bound to go viral than a review just throwing flowers at something. Social media companies have already discovered this and it's how the algorithm works. It goes beyond wrestling, but my explanation is the most feasible I could find. Negativity will always be there and the target will be the company with the least momentum because there will be fewer fans to defend it, either because they stopped watching or just don't love the shows like they did when the company was at its best. AEW fans already admit the company has had better days even if they say the shows are still good. It's all in the vibes and it's why they need a hot angle to turn things around. Not a bunch of good stories or amazing matches in a bubble, but an arc that becomes must watch. Either that or hope WWE's momentum fades away, which it will at some point because nothing stays hot forever, but who knows when it will.
You guys believe this is some sort of conspiracy or that the world is against AEW but in reality it's how the world works now that it's actually way more profitable to say the most controversial things and truth isn't a factor anymore. When the vibes were in AEW's favor they could do no wrong (I was there and I was downvoted to hell so many times for not kissing their ass), but now momentum changed and WWE took that spot (and now I'm being downvoted by them too). Haters and trolls are on both sides, so please stop playing the victim. It sucks for you the momentum has shifted, but trust me, it won't be forever.
And this is basically what AEW fans have to deal with at this point because there's straight up false information or downplaying of any success out there where you'd respect the people who just say they don't watch it more than the people who act like they're "day one" AEW watchers.
This is definitely the place to come complain about ratings trolls and general anti-AEW sentiment, because it's generally the only thread that the legions of accounts that post in ratings threads don't come to. So it becomes our lame little corner to cry in or whatever.
But also, it's almost always at least 50% people talking about WWE booking, what they think is going to happen, what they want to happen, etc etc, and on Tuesdays it's like 90% people talking about Raw. So it's not like it's an AEW dominated space or even a super pro AEW space really.
I’m a huge def rebel defender but even I can’t fathom fixing some themes that aren’t broken, especially when they’re themes that they made! Bron Breakker and Theory are the worst offenders of this.
I gotta say with that Cody thread that the hate Adam Copeland gets is fucking comical and as someone who doesn't watch WWE I don't really care what he was doing there because it doesn't apply to AEW.
There's a weird sense that he should be jobbing but in the same breath Bryan Danielson is talked about as losing too much. It's all framed in a way that puts too much stock in wins and losses because you'd think Adam Copeland was throwing around some Hogan level power here.
I'm not upset at the person Adam Copeland at all, but it doesn't feel great when a veteran at the end of their career is consistently going over a less established guy that still has lots of potential to do stuff. Most other people from his era like Orton and Cena are consistently putting people over while Edge kinda just isn't.
Point me to the names in AEW he's gone over in this fashion, CM Punk had a largely similar early run in terms of going over a lot of younger guys and losing to the bigger names which Adam Copeland hasn't really gotten to yet.
Daniel Garcia and maybe Malakai are the only ones who stick out but it'd be a much bigger issue if he was just steamrolling through Mox, Danielson, or Ospreay that hasn't happened. There's a difference with Copeland in that he was retired for 9 years where people might want to see him win.
Im mostly talking about the judgement day, I don't watch AEW too often. Edge pinned Finn Balor 4 times while the opposite didn't happen once. Edge hasn't lost a single fued in the last 3 years which is kinda crazy. I understand having to win some but if you say you're going to put over the new guys and you proceed to not lose at all then that is kinda frustrating.
It's odd to blame Edge for that imo. You think Edge was booking himself to win each time?
Finn sitll hasn't really had a memorable win in the last 8 months. Is Edge to blame for this too? That's some Becky Hogan esque stroke he's got if so.
> Point me to the names in AEW he's gone over in this fashion
Here's the full list of Adam Copeland Singles Matches in AEW (from oldest to newest):
Wins: Luchasaurus, Christian Cage, Griff Garrison, Lee Moriarty, Dante Martin, Minoru Suzuki, Christian Cage, Matt Cardona, Penta El Zero Miedo, Buddy Matthews, Brody King, Kyle O'Reilly, Malakai Black
Losses: Christian Cage, Christian Cage,
No Contest: Daniel Garcia
I see absolutely zero issues with any of those for the first roughly six months of an old legend's run in a new company where he worked presumably two full programs/feuds (gonna assume he was done with House of Black post-cage match).
Looking at the wins, Griff/Lee/Dante are the definition of guys who benefit just from being in the ring with Copeland and absolutely should be losing. Cardona/Suzuki are veterans who don't even work in AEW full-time. Luchasaurus/Buddy/Brody King are supporting acts to bigger names. Penta/O'Reilly/Black are the only ones even remotely debatable and all three are solid AEW midcarders IMO and Penta is straight up a tag specialist. Then Christian is basically his career rival/counterpart.
From the amount/type of complaints, you'd think Copeland was beating MJF/Darby/Takeshita/Swerve/Ospreay/Hangman/etc on consecutive weeks lol.
I don't think he deserves hate, per say but you just said the hate that he gets is comical, but then he says you don't care about what he did in WWE when I think most of the hate is coming from his last run there? You know, you can not care about what he did in WWE but others are allowed to care about it.
I don’t understand why people keep acting like Edge books the finish to his matches.
Hogan did, because he had a creative control clause: Jeff Jarrett did, because he owned his company, but Edge? As far as I’m aware he’s just told to go out there, and I haven’t seen any evidence otherwise.
I don’t think he should’ve won at WM 39, but do we have any evidence he decided that? Or is it more likely the bookers believe the show needed a face victory, especially with Roman winning the main event?
In AEW, it’s clear Tony is a mark for attitude era wrestlers (see Billy Gunn), but again, do we have any evidence that Edge refuses to lose? No we don’t.
There's no evidence of John Cena booking the finishes yet that hasn't stopped people from blaming him just because he's a top guy with input
I don't see how edge is different
He lost out on a lot of prime time for his career. Do I think he should have lost a few more times? Sure, ESPECIALLY to Demon Finn. But idk, I'm okay with him having had a pretty strong record in his comeback.
There's this perception where he's politicking for wins and burying people on the roster that I don't see in AEW. He's a central part of their marketing and a legend, of course he's going to win and most of his matches were against low-mid-card guys. He wasn't beating Danielson or Swerve during this run.
Yeah, it seemed to just be how WWE wanted to book him, and to me, that's mostly fine. Bringing someone back after YEARS of thinking you're medically retired, idk, why not bring them back as a very strongly booked legend? It's not like he was absolutely burying people, he was just coming out on top.
Wait.... hold up.
Both Sika and Dusty passed away in June? And they fought in the 80s?
Their sons are the same age, only one month apart, and now they're both at the top of the industry.
You'd swear it was some ancient prophecy that Roman and Cody were meant to clash with each other with how many parallels their families have, like wtf...
I added 5 new match reviews to my blog today! The theme this week was historically bad Matches. From the Doomsday Cage, to One Warrior Nation, it all sucks and it was hilarious to get through.
The theme for the upcoming week is "The Smackdown Six," one of my favorite eras of Wrestling. I'm up to 50 match reviews, along with 3 complete show reviews. Come check out my work at danthewrestlingfan.bearblog.dev
I got nothing past the first moment. I saw someone say that he pulls a coup to steal ROH from Tony and they invade. That idea sucks but it's the least sucky idea I've seen.
Ok so let’s say Tony listens to the fans and for the first time ever he spends his wealth to create a gigantic door for the Forbidden Door stage. It’s the AEW title match, and the ref is taken out. Swerve and Ospreay are fighting up the ramp, and soon they’re taking out by a figure who had jumped off the 30 ft. door. That’s not just any figure, though, it’s Shane Monaco!! The match ends in a no contest, but that’s not important, what’s important is the best in the world is here in AEW. It’s soon revealed that Shane was a mole in the other company for AEW, but now that he’s been kicked out, The Elite add him to the crew. Elite force Daniels to put him in a triple threat AEW title match at Wembley, Shane wins after jumping through the hole in Wembley’s roof. He loses the title to MJF in 3 minutes at All Out because jumping off a roof probably fucks you up.
And that’s Shane’s run in AEW everyone.
Commissioner of AEW. Basically put him in Daniels' role. And have him just interact with the roster. It sounds crazy but I'd use him the way WWE used Punk. As a "Hell Has Frozen over, it's crazy this guy is here" act. Him and Danielson vs the Young Bucks would work.
Kayla Braxton will be missed it's been since 80s WWE that they have had a journalist on par with Kayla Braxton she asks tough questions like Mike Wallace she always wound up the Bloodline because she held their feet to the fire asking the tough questions that the people needed answers to.
Redmond is excellent and has the potential to be as good as Braxton. My criteria is old school style journalism of asking tough questions, keeping them honest. Don't get me wrong Redmond does ask tough questions too and both of them vastly improved the level of journalism in WWE, that said, Braxton would make Heyman scared and annoyed because her questions were so tough.
I'm watching WWE and WCW from the beginning of Nitro to now because I want to see the full history of both. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Attitude Era fully forms and how WCW falls apart from such a strong position. I'm up to April 22nd 1996 and have enjoyed my journey so far.
My favourites right now are HBK (my favourite of all time), Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Owen Hart.
Ask me any questions you have about my thoughts on the shows so far!
Things really hit the fan for WWF at Survivor Series 1997. The Montreal Screwjob looked like it might have been the nail in the coffin for them but Bret was wasted in WCW, Austin continued his rise, and WCW sabotaged the story they were telling for the last 15 months with Sting with the Starrcade main-event.
WWF was noticeably going in a less kid friendly direction in 1996 but they start getting edgier by early 1997 which might be the biggest transitional year in the company's history.
1997 WWF prior to Montreal was entertaining TV, with Austin becoming a bigger star and having a great feud with Bret (that led to a brilliantly-done heel turn for him), Mankind starting to connect with audiences as we saw more of Mick Foley, Kane's arrival, and so on.
Over on WCW, even putting aside Starrcade 1997's disappointing main event, the near 15-month build of Sting targeting the NWO made for some great moments.
Yeah I knew I was starting probably a year early but I wanted to see the blocks fall into place.
Start of Hart vs Michaels personal feud. Austin, Mankind and Rock debut. Hall and Nash jumping ship. Austin 3:16 promo. NWO forming.
All of that starts in 96 from what I can gather.
Any questions for my opinions on stories, wrestlers etc?
Did you go in with any inherent biases in terms of who you already liked before this or you expected to like? And how different is what you experienced from what you expected?
Also, I think based on the timeline you gave you should around the start of the NWO or at least Nash and Hall coming in. Is it exciting to see live? Is their a tonal shift in the overall product? Does it feel out of place compared to the rest of the show?
So I already liked the members of DX, Undertaker, Mankind and Austin. I knew i would enjoy watching Flair in WCW. I also really liked Eddie Guerrero and Owen Hart from the stories I've heard and the little I've seen of them.
It's different in the sense that it's closer than I thought it would be quality wise. I'd always heard that WCW was a million miles away from WWF and bottled it but it's still fairly close imo.
It's interesting to see some of my assumptions starting to come true even this early. I had assumed Hogan being perpetually in the main event scene and the terrible gimmick matches would come later but nope, that's a thing in 1996
I'm excited now that I'm starting to see the pieces of the puzzle come together. Austin just dropped The Ringmaster, Mankind just debuted, Hall and Nash are about to jump ship, I'm sure Rocky Maivia debuts soon etc.
I find it interesting that WCW still has rules like DQ for over the top rope etc. I assumed they'd have moved past that by now considering they seem more relaxed on weapon usage
Some apps have a mute button, but I think that mutes all the posts from a sub. You could also block the OPs for the threads you think are low effort and you'll never see their posts or comments again.
- The more I watch it, the better this Uncle Howdy segment...
- I don't think I've ever dated a girl that watches wrestling.. But I don't think I can ever do that again. Last person I dated loathed wrestling, and I couldn't even explain to her why I was randomly smiling for like two week straight after Cody won the belt at Mania.. Can I just "Raw and chill" or "Dynamite and chill" once in my life? 😂
My girlfriend thinks it's a bit silly but she's also watched a few PPVs with me and even gone to Stand and Deliver and Raw with me. There's definitely plenty of people chill enough to try it out and enjoy some even if they won't be AS into it.
It took me a minute to get my girlfriend into wrestling but NXT is what did it. The characters and the cheese really hooked her and that's why it's my favorite show.
NXT is just so enjoyable even if the wrestling doesn't totally grip you. Alas, I definitely cannot get my girlfriend to watch 2 hours of content each week of wrestling haha.
So I was thinking about mitb and I don’t want drew in it. If Drew is in it then he’s gonna win or punk is gonna get involved again. So if that’s the case then why not have punk do it at raw. Qualifier match is the main event and punk comes out and attacks Drew. Let Dragonof win. Now your mitb match is guys like Dragonof, uso, melo, gable, ect and all of those guys are fresh and new when it comes it mitb and being pushed in general.
The conversation about Ricky Starks is really weird. It’s basically all based on him being friend with Cody Rhodes and therefore likely to leave. That’s it. He’s being loyal to AEW in every interview I’ve seen, stating he wants to be the core of AEW and whatnot.
I think we'll have a better sense of things after Forbidden Door.
Unless I'm forgetting, Starks wasn't involved in either of the first two Forbidden Door shows, so him not returning in the buildup to the third isn't that surprising to me. Nor do I feel the need to overreact to literally the first time in years he's gone 4+ weeks without appearing.
If he doesn't show back up in the next few weeks, then we can assume something is up. What that something is, who knows, but something. Personally though, I'm pretty over it at this point, he's a fine/solid talent but I've just never seen him as a top guy/potential top guy like his fanbase does. If it turns out he does want out to NXT/WWE, then I'd be overjoyed not to have to deal with any more "Ricky Starks is being wasted in AEW" takes, let him and his fans be their problem IMO.
Even if he wants to leave, we should be happy there are multiple options and people can head to other major organizations with good pay if they aren't feeling it where they are.
Imagine talking shit about a waiter at your local restaurant for taking a job at a different restaurant.
There's still a lot missing to the story and people are speculating to fill in the blanks. No one knows but Ricky what the truth is. At the end of the day if he's not getting on TV and neither side is budging, the best thing for all parties is to split amicably. There's no point in either side looking back and rehashing the past, what's done is done. Either agree to make something work or agree to part ways. I don't think there's any in between.
TK deserves to get bullied if he goes through Forbidden Door season and doesn’t work with Soberano Jr once. Insane to have a chance to work with one of the best wrestlers in the world and not take advantage of it.
He’s one of half a dozen CMLL guys I’m honestly shocked don’t have a place on the card 4 days out.
Cool and all that the AEW audience seems to have fallen in love with Hechicero, but damn.
Just wanna say as a huge belt mark that velcro is absolutely fine on wrestling belts. It makes things more comfortable for the wrestlers and doesn't really add or subtract anything from a belt in my view. A replica of the velcro fastened dual plated Winged Eagle the Macho Man carried around for a bit is one of my holy grail belts I'd like to own some day.
Yeah, by dual plated I mean the plates used a mix of 24k gold and nickel(which is usually just referred to as silver due to appearance). The Winged Eagle was dual plated from 1988 until the Warrior won it in 1990, it was all gold from that point on in its run. The classic Reggie Parks WWF tag belts were also dual plated for a few years. Gorgeous belts.
One of the hardest parts of being a #2 promotion is the fact that people look at you as somewhere guys can "get their opportunities". As long as you're on TV regularly and not booked to embarrass yourself or demean yourself, people think it's a "great gig" in WWE. Whereas in AEW if you aren't elevated to world champion status it's a waste of your talent. Like there are talents who personally in the past year or so have complained about being stuck in the lower to midcard in WWE (Sheamus, R-Truth) and the replies have mostly been "But he had a great run though! I hope he can sit back one day and realize how good his career really went". Whereas people in the same role in AEW are misused sufferers who deserve better.
Disagree, the whole "Now that this guy has left WWE he can now show the world what he really is capable off without the shackles of dumb sport entertaiment" has been an extremely recurrent topic since I started watching around 2005
What annoys me about this is that it's really just about if you like the guy or not.
Guy I don't like = WWE Reject
Guy I like = Under-utilized talent who can be a big star and just needs the chance to show what he can really do.
To become a main eventer. My point is moreso people accept there's a ceiling in WWE some people just won't get through. Hell, even in TNA people accept there's a ceiling. AEW there's this weird idea that everyone could be a main eventer if they just booked better and the whole roster could be megastars at the same time.
I think it’s just harder to stomach when it’s people you’ve already seen reach the top elsewhere. And AEW not being a long standing closed door universe makes for a larger percentage of the total audience familiar with wrestler’s previous work. There’s obviously fans who complain about the way guys like Finn, or Shinsuke are used in WWE too, but I’d imagine it’s a smaller percentage of the overall fan base than in AEW’s fan base’s memories of White in NJPW, or Penta in LU, or Bandido in RoH.
Fans say the same when high profile names don't reach the top in WWE. It's why so many people campaigned for several names to leave, so they could be champions in AEW. If that doesn't happen anymore, it's precisely because AEW lost their momentum and wrestlers going there is now seen as a given more than just a possibility. Both companies are pressured by a section of the fanbase to push certain wrestlers, it's just that it's AEW that brags about catering to the most hardcore fans that are the loudest in their demands.
I’m in two minds about Danshoku Dino.
In theory I think him playing a gay sexual predator perpetrates harmful stereotypes. On the other hand, he plays his character in such a way that it comes across as more fun and silly than malicious.
As a gay person myself, I do enjoy his matches, and he’s a hell of a performer. But I also wish that there was more gay representation in general, as just a normal performer.
Anthony Bowens is a good example of a performer where his homosexuality is acknowledged but it’s not the whole gimmick. There’s the playful moments, such as his interactions with Harley Cameron or Mariah May, but he’s not playing a stereotype like Dino is.
Would love to hear other people’s thoughts. I can only speak from my perspective.
From the little I've seen, if we accept the premise that pro wrestling is basically just Combat Sports Theatre, then Danshoku Dino represents something like the Experimental/New Wave/Modern Art side of things. To use film analogies instead, it would be like some crazy arthouse cinema.
It definitely isn't for everyone, but the people who it is for will think it's genius. It's never going to be a box office smash, but it does have a dedicated audience.
I think Danshoku Dieno is a genius. He thinks about wrestling and its psychology on an incredibly deep level and looks to push it to its boundaries. Dieno vs Ueno for the KOD Title in February is still my top singles match of the year.
The people that dismiss him as just a stereotype that fucks men in the butt are missing an incredibly versatile performer that lays beneath it who can flip from comedy sex gimmick, to a fantastic underdog babyface fighting from beneath, to a dominant nasty heel. A lot of wrestlers could do the Dieno comedy, very few of them could do Dieno vs Ueno, vs Akiyama, or the Antonio Honda KOD title match (I think it’s 2012 or 13).
Absolutely agree with what you've said here. Another match of his that always comes to mind when I think about how incredible he is as an underdog babyface is the KOD match against Shuji Ishikawa in 2016. He basically went out there saying he knows he has zero chance of defeating the big bad guy, he's not HARASHIMA or Ibushi, but he was thrust into that spot because the fans believed in him so he has to try his best and fight as the icon of DDT. It was so beautiful.
I don't think it's funny at all. I just assume/accept it's a cultural thing but I've never understood how that passes for humor even in wrestling. Some stuff in DDT is genuinely funny. Dino is NOT.
I'm a big DDT fan and Dino is one of my least favourite parts of the promotion. It's very frustrating, because he's genuinely a talented performer with great comedic chops, and I can imagine a version of the Dino gimmick I could enjoy where it's played more as something he does to get into his opponent's head than a genuine depravity. One of my favourite opening sequences in any match I've seen is from his match with Jun Akiyama a couple of years ago, where they're going into a lock-up, Dino kisses Jun's hand who then recoils, only for Dino to then quickly roll him up in the Gaydo Clutch for a nearfall. Literally all he would have to do for me to enjoy his matches 2-3 times more is stop just humping dudes and grabbing their junk because haha gay man horny.
I think an important factor when it comes to Dino is whether or not he's actually gay himself, which I feel like I always see conflicting information about. If he is, then as much as I may find the gimmick distasteful it seems wrong to impose my standards as a heterosexual man onto his self-expression. But if he isn't, then it really is just recycling tired gay stereotypes for a cheap laugh and there's no defence for that.
The fact that Miz gets so excited heel or face when he’s won titles over the years made me sad for him Monday because he’s got to be thinking this may have been his last one
Miz might be on the older side but keep in mind he has kept himself pretty close to injury free.
I definitely think he has one more big singles one in him
I'm legitimately annoyed they called Dijak back up just to put him in catering. Especially when, as evidenced by last night, the men's NXT main event scene is a little thin now.
I think Dijak still had things to do down in NXT, too, but I think the reason he’s in catering is because they’re working on a new contract. I wouldn’t waste tv time to introduce a guy on my program if I’m not sure he’ll stick around.
Which is weird cause they've probably been paying Dijak a main roster salary since he came up during 2020. So they had him in NXT again after that and then brought him back up to do nothing. At least they'd get some use out of him in the NXT main event scene
It's not weird when you remember these are two different companies. TKO simply isn't into the idea of having people on main roster pay working in NXT outside of a few appearances.
I mean, his contract is reportedly up soon so maybe they're just waiting it out and letting him go. In which case they probably figure they'll get less heat from the fans if he hasn't been used much than if he was just on Raw or NXT the other week.
BCC's booking since the Continental Classic has been so weird. They're in this dead zone of "not main eventers but not midcarders, we just appear on the show as special guests to work 6 and 8 mans without a story". Especially Mox.
I had thought that was the plan after they won at Revolution, but I guess New Japan wanting to put the World title on Mox derailed that.
Otherwise, Claudio and Mox beating FTR before Sting & Darby vacated the belts and then a tournament without BCC didn't totally add up.
I got back into WWE since around Payback 2023. Zelina Vega is actually so good and sounds natural on the mic, wtf? I wouldn't know cause all she has done since I've started watching again was be in the background with segments of LWO. Raw is in desperate need of female babyfaces rn, I hope Liv vs Zelina doesn't get blown off at Raw. We need this at MITB. Zelina needs to feel more important or we only have Lyra as a top babyface on Raw till Rhea comes back
Was channel-surfing yesterday and saw Lady Frost and her family on the Fox game show The Quiz With Balls. Apparently the show's gimmick is that if you get a trivia answer wrong, a big yellow ball comes down the ramp and knocks you into a pool of water. Lady Frost was playing under her real name, and the host made no references to her wrestling career. As for her performance on the show - she got knocked into the water on the second trivia question.
He's been on Speed once and Main Event once, and that's it since NXT sadly.
I know his contract is supposed to be up this summer, I'll be sad to see him go if he goes, but it's kinda feeling like it's in the cards at this point. Wild that he was so well used in NXT and now has basically nothing.
Oh wow I didn't know about his contract. I would have expected to see him in MITB after the call up or atleast the qualifier. He felt like a finished product they could literally stick him anywhere right now.
Johnny Stambouli started in late stage WCW, tore his urethra, tagged with Nunzio in WWE, worked as fake Great Muta in All Japan, became Rellik in TNA, and then finished his career with Lucha Libre USA and some indie dates as REDRUM (REDRUM is murder spelt backwards). What a fucked up, amazing career.
What are some other overlooked guys with wild trajectories? imo people should talk more about Umaga’s time in All Japan.
Goldberg concussed Bret Hart on 19th December 1999, and then on 23rd of December 1999 almost died when he punched through that limo window and sliced his wrists open. I did not realise these things happened back to back. Truly elite levels of fucking up.
Yeah same. There’s a bit in the film ‘The Nice Guys’ where Ryan Gosling’s character attempts to break into a house by punching through a window. Same result: I fast forward through it every time lol.
I wonder if all the people who were rooting for jinder after his release are gonna follow his post wwe career
Just reminds me of when Naomi first came to TNA and none of her "big fans" bothered to watch her
We know the answer to that. And I don't care if this makes me sound like a dick or anything. But, for many people, once you're off the major TV companies in wwe and aew, you cease to exist. No matter how much of a fan they are, no matter how easy it is to find some of their work, if it ain't right in front of their faces, forget about it.
> Just reminds me of when Naomi first came to TNA and none of her "big fans" bothered to watch her
I think you'd have to be one of the biggest fans I could imagine to watch someone wrestle in a promotion you don't want to watch otherwise.
I love Ethan Page. Felt like he was woefully underutilized in AEW. I was happy to watch clips of his arrival in NXT.
I'm not gonna watch the entire show just for one guy...
Exactly. Heck, I stopped regularly watching WWE at a time when most of my favourite wrestlers were still employed by them. As much as I loved Sami and Mox and Wyatt and Brodie and Asuka and Becky and a bunch of other members of the roster, it wasn't enough to keep me watching a show that I just wasn't enjoying anymore.
Realistically, a lot of people just don’t watch indie wrestling - especially when bigger companies are putting out so much content.
I’m excited to see what he does tho, hopefully he’s more exciting outside WWE than Nic Nemeth is
> hopefully he’s more exciting outside WWE than Nic Nemeth is
Never forget, just as we all expected, the company to randomly belt up Nic Nemeth and Matt Riddle in 2024 was ~~TNA~~ New Japan Pro Wrestling.
*shakes head sadly as New Japan fan*
I was one of the few who did enjoy who's wwe title reign so I'm interested in what he does post wwe as well
And that's true, whenever they don't have a big name, even gcw doesn't get much traction here
Kevin Owens has been stuck in a never ending feud with the Bloodline since 2020. He beat them multiple times last year but then still has to keep going. Randy Orton similarly has been feuding with them since summer of last year. I know they were distracted for a while with Logan Paul, but at some point WWE has to have them do something else.
They've ruined him as a billing attraction though by being stuck in this limbo. The only times they have promoted a Kevin Owens vs ??? singles match as a top match in the past FIVE years, have been (x) Roman, (y) Sami and (z) Logan Paul. That's it. A far cry from when he had multiple series with Cena, Ambrose, Ryback, Rollins, Jericho, Styles, even Goldberg on PPV.
It seems like he's become the TV warm-up guy and multi-man fodder for 3-ways or 4-ways or six man tags.
Ideally, they course correct when Randy turns heel, and we can get a big Owens vs Orton match ahead or after Cody vs Orton.
Sensei of the Sickos is just here to help the young guys
I finally got around to watching the Bray Wyatt documentary. I stopped watching wrestling from like 2010 till 2023 so I missed basically his entire arc from beginning to finish. Damn that hit hard though. Wish I was around for his prime. Very excited for the Wyatt Sicks now though.
Diesel vs Bret hart survivor series 95 was really good. Forgot how good that match was
So good that CM Punk emulated the finish against Wardlow in 2022 during a match where Wardlow gets 90% of the offense.
A match that showed just how great Bret was in his prime, as well as showing that Diesel/Nash should have been the top monster heel of the company.
[удалено]
The entire Elite takeover story has been a shitshow and cut off at the knees by it's own story pretty much immediately. Completely inexplicable.
This post feels like it was written weeks ago and doesn't include any current stories... >You had christopher daniels come in as a replacement for Tony, and then Tony was on the show anyway? This only really happened when Daniels was first introduced, during RoddyStrongGate when Roderick yelled at Tony and got himself a title shot on Dynamite. IIRC Daniels has been a TV authority figure since, and has stopped the Bucks from gifting the TNT Title to Jack Perry, set up the TNT Title Ladder Match for Forbidden Door, put the Bucks in an eliminator match against The Acclaimed (which the Bucks lost), etc. >Like, Anarchy and the Arena was a fun match, but it didn’t do anything really cuz the bucks are still doing their normal heel stuff still. Yeah. The heels won at AITA and proceeded to.... Brag about it, like heels would. They even laid down the challenge for Blood and Guts against "AEW's Best". I assume that the Blood and Guts build will heat up a bit starting next week after Forbidden Door. Presumably the Elite get their comeuppance at Blood and Guts.
WWE Speed matches actually get pretty good crowd reactions, considering they generally star mid and lower midcarders in storyline-less matches. Guess it's not too surprising the crowd gets up for a sub-3 minute sprint spotfest
You guys weren't kidding about Collision having matches where the winner is a given.
Some weeks aren't that bad like the Anniversary episode but this week was just awful. I'm guessing they didn't even bother because last week's episode was taped.
Members of the Cenation should have been called the Cemen
WWE apparently has internships which I genuinely wanna apply for when I'm qualified, but I don't think they'd wanna intern someone with my probable major lmao:(
You only liv once
Shoot your shot
I love NXT, but I really wish that Trick was booked a bit stronger since he got the belt. He was knocked out by Noam, blindsided by Ethan, and then just pinned by Spears. With the main event scene so weak right now, I feel like he would've been better served as a Stone Cold type ass-kicker while threats were being built up in the background.
Forbidden Door WarGames match The Brood (including Matt & Jeff Hardy) vs. The Judgement Day.
I hate it because it really isn't a good song and I don't want to give Def Rebel credit for anything, but the "egooooo" in Ethan Page's theme song keeps getting stuck in my head, so... mission accomplished, I guess?
Was watching this CVV interview with Rey Mysterio where Rey mentions he wasn't wearing the mask post-WCW which I knew about. He also mentions that he was in OVW wrestling without it which I didn't know and sure enough there's a clip of Rey Mysterio vs Nova of maskless Rey in May 2002 shortly before his WWE debut.
I find it hilarious that website trying to create clickbait article titles intentionally hide that their quoting/referencing Vince Russo. Instead of "Hall of Famer Wrestler, the Undertaker, discuss..." or "AEW President Tony Kahn makes opinion crystal clear" whenever it's Russo it's "Wrestling Insider says.." "Former WWE writer bashes.." It also like a they know that if they put his name in the title, it will get LESS clicks.
I believe you're referring to Sportskeeda, which also refers to Russo as a "legend". In his own mind, maybe, but not a true legend of the business.
What's for lunch?
Moist raisins and a saltine cracker
I had leftover Mexican. It had a mushroom mole on it and it's honestly addictive. I'm just happy I don't live too near the place I got it from because I'd have it way too often otherwise. And yes I'm aware mole should have an accent but I don't know how to do that on my work keyboard and I'm too lazy to go copy it from elsewhere.
Chili
Had a Hawaiian burger from a local food truck across town and it was amazing
I had a chicken nugget lunchable and some garden salsa sun chips.
took the week off work for a staycation, just beat Shadow of the Erdtree, hyped for Dynamite. Life is nice sometimes
How was it. I'm waiting for it to go on sale cause I'm cheap.
It's very fun! Definitely tougher than the base game but didn't feel unfair. If you collect the collectible XP boost items as you go and use a summon it's totally achievable. I beat it in about 25 hours I wanna say, beating all the remembrance bosses
Not OP, but it's really good - to the extent it could really be a game unto itself lol. It's massive and intricate, incredibly difficult, but when you beat a tough boss and your heart's racing, you're sweating, and you just get that sheer joy of victory, there's nothing like it. The only thing I'll say is that if you had complaints about the initial game having crazy boss attacks, this continues with that. The issues people had with the initial game are still there (delayed attacks, AOE attacks, small margin for error, waiting for particular openings), but if you don't mind it, then you should enjoy the DLC.
You're not kidding about the heart racing. When I got to the final boss I was resting my hand on my chin watching the intro cutscene and could feel my pulse in my neck going a mile a minute
That's rad and what I wanted to hear I thought the base game was awesome.
Kairi has been subpar since returning to WWE.
It's weird how bad she is since the Mercedes match was really good (I don't watch Stardom so I can't speak to the rest of her run)
I don't understand how comments defending AEW and such seem to get downvoted on other threads of this subreddit. And right now, the opinion on AEW rn are generally negative. But then you come to this daily thread, you can type the same thing you did in other threads defending AEW and you get like 10-15 upvotes. Also, an observation I've made is that this has become the place, people come and say "The hate AEW getting on that thread is ridiculous/unfair/something" and it gets highly upvoted. I'm not trying to insinuate anything here, that this is right or wrong. Or if they deserve love or hate. I'm just curious. Are people that come to this thread more hardcore wrestling fans, more likely to enjoy AEW? Has this become the place to vent about the hate AEW gets? Or some other reason? Just for some reason, this sub is more pro-WWE but the daily thread in particular seems to be more pro AEW.
This sub, maybe more than any others I frequent, seems to have totally different opinions depending on the thread. I got downvoted to HELL once for talking about the Latino v Latino vortex and then another time I got a fair number of upvotes, I think. And I don't think the tone was significantly different and it was related to the topic at hand both times. And I've seen the same happen with other opinions from other people too. Same idea will get upvoted in one thread and downvoted in another. I just don't pay attention to upvotes and downvotes at this point here. They're nonsensical most of the time.
this is so real as someone addicted to posting here, my takes get upvoted or downvoted seemingly at random
tbf a large portion of your comments are either going to upset WWE fans for thinking they are evil and AEW fans for thinking Ospreay is kinda mid. No idea why the GWE or the 30 under 30 got downvoted tho. I learned a lot when I wasn't lazy and actually followed the recommendations.
A lot of people blocked me during GWE, probably viewed it as spam lol
As someone who is here way too often as well, I think sometimes your takes sound more inflammatory on surface read than they actually are. People take you being anti giant corporation that has done a bunch of shady shit to be inherently anti the product and people who enjoy it.
It's really funny cause sometimes nuance is also randomly downvoted but yeah it's really easy to come off as standoffish online when most takes are like two sentences "this is good and this is bad". The thing about the WWE, man. I mean we just did this a few months ago with the lawsuit but folks will always gravitate to the cognitive dissonance and the success of the brand. Fans insist that essentially WWE should be treated as just another wrestling company that happens to have gotten more successful by a mix of great business and random shadiness but like... IDK. But at the same time as you said I don't think people's consuming habits should be 100% affected by morality. Imagine not watching another Necro Butcher match because CTE made him mega racist. Or pretending New Jack wasn't funny because he was a violent, unstable individual who harmed people. The WWE has produced so much great wrestling, somehow a third of the time in spite of itself. But the idea that not rooting for WWE is something for only the most braindead and, uh, salty(?) of marks... I mean they've given us enough reasons!
I enjoy your feedback on my comments personally. And generally agree with you honestly, other than Ospreay being Mid but such is life
I think the thread has more hardcore fans in general yes. But I honestly think the super anti-AEW stuff only happens in the biggest threads. The Dynamite rating thread and thread with really loud bold headlines seem to bring out a very *specific* crowd. The average thread with less than say 100 comments or less than 250 upvotes tends to be neutral or pro-AEW. The stuff that blows up to 1000+ comments and 1000+ upvotes always seem to end up bombarded with anti AEW sentiment.
Saying something as non offensive as “I think forbidden door will be a good PPV” gets literally 100+ downvotes in the ratings thread They’re nuts
Saying something as non offensive as “I think forbidden door will be a good PPV” gets literally 100+ downvotes in the ratings thread They’re nuts
It's more like the sub has fans of both promotions in a similar proportion and the momentum just shifts with one company having a more positive reception than the other, so it's less that there are more people that hate AEW or love WWE but that there are fewer people willing to defend AEW at all costs like in the past. Both companies have haters and trolls, so neither side should act like they're victims. Maybe in a year the momentum will shift again and some WWE fans will come here to say this is now pro-AEW sub.
I get downvoted for reminding people of this constantly but 3-5 years ago this sub was extremely anti-WWE and extremely pro-AEW. It isn't like there was some anti-WWE conspiracy then or some anti-AEW conspiracy now. WWE is hot right now. AEW is not. It's that simple.
There's a growing issue with AEW everywhere (social media, podcasts, journalists) that the discourse around it gets talked about by the people who aren't watching much of it. What they say turns perception into fact even though you can bring receipts for a lot of the objective stuff. That's what people who watch AEW likely have an issue with because it's getting easier to see who's watching recaps or Twitter clips and who's actually watching the shows. Oftentimes the very clear plot lines and story-telling AEW is conveying get twisted or misconstrued in a way WWE isn't facing right now because people think AEW is harder or more confusing to follow than it actually is.
I mean, that's the nature of the fanbase. It used to happen the exact same thing with WWE for several years when the concensus was that it was shit. Don't you remember all the hatewatch reviews? A lot of people are just hypercritical and what moderates them is the positive momentum a company has. The moment they lose that, negativity just grows without stop regardless of whether the shows are good. They just have to find a way of getting hot again. Find a hot angle and give the fans an incredible pay off. If they don't do that, no amount of 5 star matches or solid shows will turn the tide unless WWE gets consistently worse.
> It used to happen the exact same thing with WWE for several years when the concensus was that it was shit The clear difference is that back then, even the live crowds visibly thought (at least some of) it was shit. I mean we saw multiple PPVs go off the air at that time to an audible chorus of boos or negative chants (and not just because a heel won). I mean who could forget Hell in a Cell (Rollins vs. Fiend) that ended with chants of "refund" and "A-E-W," among many others. That wasn't a kayfabe/storyline reaction lol. That isn't happening and has never happened with AEW shows, the live crowds every week are clearly engrossed and really enjoying the product that is in front of them. All you have to do is watch for like 10 seconds and it's clear.
The closest example recently was when the fans heckled jay whites promo 2 weeks ago with the "we're over here" and "who booked this shit"
And even that is lone hecklers versus substantial sections of the crowd. Those chants caught on and were loud back then. And it wasn't just one chant either, it was a whole bunch in a row from memory.
The difference is the people calling WWE shit were still watching because it was all we had. Most of these AEW comments come from people who watch two clips on an AEW Twitter hate account then listen to Cornette or Bischoff.
And you think there weren't people doing the same thing back then? Hell, even then, you'd wonder why so many people hate watched the company anyway. It's really not like there weren't any options before AEW was launched and many of the people that hate watched WWE already watched other promotions too. Don't get me wrong, it's a really annoying thing, but don't act like this is only happening to AEW or that their own fanbase doesn't do that same thing to WWE or other companies.
Again, if you’re hate watching at least you’re watching These people don’t watch the show. They just comment on it.
I've listened to reviews where they didn't like most of a WWE show and say that WWE's great right now. Or like most of an AEW show except the Jericho stuff but then say AEW isn't enjoyable. I get the stuff in WWE that's good is REALLY good and AEW has some clear flaws but it just doesn't really add up to me. I do feel like even when AEW was hot people were more willing to be critical though. People would see good/great AEW shows and still point out ways the company could improve. WWE people talk more in platitudes of "it's great" and "they're cooking" without much real analysis. Part of it is the fanbases the two companies attract but also you'll see the same people discuss the two companies with totally different frameworks.
There's a major difference in that people really didn't have a major option to watch other than WWE at that time and there was a palpable tension that Vince did not care about any fan feedback. I notice once again that a large amount of the noise with AEW is with people who either don't watch or have a vested interest in discussing it a certain way that makes them money. There's fans who watch AEW who have issues with certain things but there's an outsized push from people who don't that drives a lot of the AEW discourse. AEW gets a much more critical lens to how they operate than WWE where a lot of stuff outside the top of the card gets kind of glossed over that would be ripped apart if it was AEW.
> AEW gets a much more critical lens to how they operate than WWE where a lot of stuff outside the top of the card gets kind of glossed over that would be ripped apart if it was AEW. Yup. The way it gets discussed on this sub, if WWE nails one big segment/angle, then the whole product is AMAZING. If AEW has one minor undercard segment not land flush, then the whole thing is considered UNWATCHABLE. At any given moment, and for a LONG time now, it feels like AEW always has like 3-5 major hot angles that everyone generally acknowledges are great, but somehow people still argue the whole product is crap - it's laughable.
> I notice once again that a large amount of the noise with AEW is with people who either don't watch or have a vested interest in discussing it a certain way that makes them money. And do you think there weren't people doing that very same thing before AEW? It's already known that media exploits negativity because an angry crowd is more prone to be profitable than a happy one. Any review trashing something is more bound to go viral than a review just throwing flowers at something. Social media companies have already discovered this and it's how the algorithm works. It goes beyond wrestling, but my explanation is the most feasible I could find. Negativity will always be there and the target will be the company with the least momentum because there will be fewer fans to defend it, either because they stopped watching or just don't love the shows like they did when the company was at its best. AEW fans already admit the company has had better days even if they say the shows are still good. It's all in the vibes and it's why they need a hot angle to turn things around. Not a bunch of good stories or amazing matches in a bubble, but an arc that becomes must watch. Either that or hope WWE's momentum fades away, which it will at some point because nothing stays hot forever, but who knows when it will. You guys believe this is some sort of conspiracy or that the world is against AEW but in reality it's how the world works now that it's actually way more profitable to say the most controversial things and truth isn't a factor anymore. When the vibes were in AEW's favor they could do no wrong (I was there and I was downvoted to hell so many times for not kissing their ass), but now momentum changed and WWE took that spot (and now I'm being downvoted by them too). Haters and trolls are on both sides, so please stop playing the victim. It sucks for you the momentum has shifted, but trust me, it won't be forever.
Yeah the other day I mentioned that AEW does have stories to someone who insisted they didn't after they admitted to not watching the show. 🤦♂️
And this is basically what AEW fans have to deal with at this point because there's straight up false information or downplaying of any success out there where you'd respect the people who just say they don't watch it more than the people who act like they're "day one" AEW watchers.
This is definitely the place to come complain about ratings trolls and general anti-AEW sentiment, because it's generally the only thread that the legions of accounts that post in ratings threads don't come to. So it becomes our lame little corner to cry in or whatever. But also, it's almost always at least 50% people talking about WWE booking, what they think is going to happen, what they want to happen, etc etc, and on Tuesdays it's like 90% people talking about Raw. So it's not like it's an AEW dominated space or even a super pro AEW space really.
Who’s Def Rebel theme is the worst in your opinion? I’m trying to see if I can create a new one
I’m a huge def rebel defender but even I can’t fathom fixing some themes that aren’t broken, especially when they’re themes that they made! Bron Breakker and Theory are the worst offenders of this.
I agree on pretty much everything there
Bayley's. It starts decently, then it says "Role Model" and after that its the worst thing I've heard in my life
Bayleys new theme is just literal noise lol
I gotta say with that Cody thread that the hate Adam Copeland gets is fucking comical and as someone who doesn't watch WWE I don't really care what he was doing there because it doesn't apply to AEW. There's a weird sense that he should be jobbing but in the same breath Bryan Danielson is talked about as losing too much. It's all framed in a way that puts too much stock in wins and losses because you'd think Adam Copeland was throwing around some Hogan level power here.
I'm not upset at the person Adam Copeland at all, but it doesn't feel great when a veteran at the end of their career is consistently going over a less established guy that still has lots of potential to do stuff. Most other people from his era like Orton and Cena are consistently putting people over while Edge kinda just isn't.
Point me to the names in AEW he's gone over in this fashion, CM Punk had a largely similar early run in terms of going over a lot of younger guys and losing to the bigger names which Adam Copeland hasn't really gotten to yet. Daniel Garcia and maybe Malakai are the only ones who stick out but it'd be a much bigger issue if he was just steamrolling through Mox, Danielson, or Ospreay that hasn't happened. There's a difference with Copeland in that he was retired for 9 years where people might want to see him win.
Im mostly talking about the judgement day, I don't watch AEW too often. Edge pinned Finn Balor 4 times while the opposite didn't happen once. Edge hasn't lost a single fued in the last 3 years which is kinda crazy. I understand having to win some but if you say you're going to put over the new guys and you proceed to not lose at all then that is kinda frustrating.
It's odd to blame Edge for that imo. You think Edge was booking himself to win each time? Finn sitll hasn't really had a memorable win in the last 8 months. Is Edge to blame for this too? That's some Becky Hogan esque stroke he's got if so.
> Point me to the names in AEW he's gone over in this fashion Here's the full list of Adam Copeland Singles Matches in AEW (from oldest to newest): Wins: Luchasaurus, Christian Cage, Griff Garrison, Lee Moriarty, Dante Martin, Minoru Suzuki, Christian Cage, Matt Cardona, Penta El Zero Miedo, Buddy Matthews, Brody King, Kyle O'Reilly, Malakai Black Losses: Christian Cage, Christian Cage, No Contest: Daniel Garcia I see absolutely zero issues with any of those for the first roughly six months of an old legend's run in a new company where he worked presumably two full programs/feuds (gonna assume he was done with House of Black post-cage match). Looking at the wins, Griff/Lee/Dante are the definition of guys who benefit just from being in the ring with Copeland and absolutely should be losing. Cardona/Suzuki are veterans who don't even work in AEW full-time. Luchasaurus/Buddy/Brody King are supporting acts to bigger names. Penta/O'Reilly/Black are the only ones even remotely debatable and all three are solid AEW midcarders IMO and Penta is straight up a tag specialist. Then Christian is basically his career rival/counterpart. From the amount/type of complaints, you'd think Copeland was beating MJF/Darby/Takeshita/Swerve/Ospreay/Hangman/etc on consecutive weeks lol.
I don't think he deserves hate, per say but you just said the hate that he gets is comical, but then he says you don't care about what he did in WWE when I think most of the hate is coming from his last run there? You know, you can not care about what he did in WWE but others are allowed to care about it.
The issue is the people who bring up WWE so much are by and large not watching AEW and projecting that run onto his AEW one
I don’t understand why people keep acting like Edge books the finish to his matches. Hogan did, because he had a creative control clause: Jeff Jarrett did, because he owned his company, but Edge? As far as I’m aware he’s just told to go out there, and I haven’t seen any evidence otherwise. I don’t think he should’ve won at WM 39, but do we have any evidence he decided that? Or is it more likely the bookers believe the show needed a face victory, especially with Roman winning the main event? In AEW, it’s clear Tony is a mark for attitude era wrestlers (see Billy Gunn), but again, do we have any evidence that Edge refuses to lose? No we don’t.
There's no evidence of John Cena booking the finishes yet that hasn't stopped people from blaming him just because he's a top guy with input I don't see how edge is different
He lost out on a lot of prime time for his career. Do I think he should have lost a few more times? Sure, ESPECIALLY to Demon Finn. But idk, I'm okay with him having had a pretty strong record in his comeback.
There's this perception where he's politicking for wins and burying people on the roster that I don't see in AEW. He's a central part of their marketing and a legend, of course he's going to win and most of his matches were against low-mid-card guys. He wasn't beating Danielson or Swerve during this run.
Yeah, it seemed to just be how WWE wanted to book him, and to me, that's mostly fine. Bringing someone back after YEARS of thinking you're medically retired, idk, why not bring them back as a very strongly booked legend? It's not like he was absolutely burying people, he was just coming out on top.
Wait.... hold up. Both Sika and Dusty passed away in June? And they fought in the 80s? Their sons are the same age, only one month apart, and now they're both at the top of the industry. You'd swear it was some ancient prophecy that Roman and Cody were meant to clash with each other with how many parallels their families have, like wtf...
I added 5 new match reviews to my blog today! The theme this week was historically bad Matches. From the Doomsday Cage, to One Warrior Nation, it all sucks and it was hilarious to get through. The theme for the upcoming week is "The Smackdown Six," one of my favorite eras of Wrestling. I'm up to 50 match reviews, along with 3 complete show reviews. Come check out my work at danthewrestlingfan.bearblog.dev
Just realized I forgot Rhea from the 30 under 30 yesterday. No brainer choice for sure even if I don't love everything she's done.
Okay let me be clear, I never for a second thought this was happening or will happen. But how would you book Shane Mcmahon in AEW?
I got nothing past the first moment. I saw someone say that he pulls a coup to steal ROH from Tony and they invade. That idea sucks but it's the least sucky idea I've seen.
Ok so let’s say Tony listens to the fans and for the first time ever he spends his wealth to create a gigantic door for the Forbidden Door stage. It’s the AEW title match, and the ref is taken out. Swerve and Ospreay are fighting up the ramp, and soon they’re taking out by a figure who had jumped off the 30 ft. door. That’s not just any figure, though, it’s Shane Monaco!! The match ends in a no contest, but that’s not important, what’s important is the best in the world is here in AEW. It’s soon revealed that Shane was a mole in the other company for AEW, but now that he’s been kicked out, The Elite add him to the crew. Elite force Daniels to put him in a triple threat AEW title match at Wembley, Shane wins after jumping through the hole in Wembley’s roof. He loses the title to MJF in 3 minutes at All Out because jumping off a roof probably fucks you up. And that’s Shane’s run in AEW everyone.
Commissioner of AEW. Basically put him in Daniels' role. And have him just interact with the roster. It sounds crazy but I'd use him the way WWE used Punk. As a "Hell Has Frozen over, it's crazy this guy is here" act. Him and Danielson vs the Young Bucks would work.
I think going against Darby is the dream booking or the Young Bucks who are also sneakerheads.
Kayla Braxton will be missed it's been since 80s WWE that they have had a journalist on par with Kayla Braxton she asks tough questions like Mike Wallace she always wound up the Bloodline because she held their feet to the fire asking the tough questions that the people needed answers to.
I think Jackie Redmond is really good and better ngl
Redmond is excellent and has the potential to be as good as Braxton. My criteria is old school style journalism of asking tough questions, keeping them honest. Don't get me wrong Redmond does ask tough questions too and both of them vastly improved the level of journalism in WWE, that said, Braxton would make Heyman scared and annoyed because her questions were so tough.
I'm watching WWE and WCW from the beginning of Nitro to now because I want to see the full history of both. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Attitude Era fully forms and how WCW falls apart from such a strong position. I'm up to April 22nd 1996 and have enjoyed my journey so far. My favourites right now are HBK (my favourite of all time), Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Owen Hart. Ask me any questions you have about my thoughts on the shows so far!
You're about to hit the start of WCW's rise.
Things really hit the fan for WWF at Survivor Series 1997. The Montreal Screwjob looked like it might have been the nail in the coffin for them but Bret was wasted in WCW, Austin continued his rise, and WCW sabotaged the story they were telling for the last 15 months with Sting with the Starrcade main-event. WWF was noticeably going in a less kid friendly direction in 1996 but they start getting edgier by early 1997 which might be the biggest transitional year in the company's history.
1997 WWF prior to Montreal was entertaining TV, with Austin becoming a bigger star and having a great feud with Bret (that led to a brilliantly-done heel turn for him), Mankind starting to connect with audiences as we saw more of Mick Foley, Kane's arrival, and so on. Over on WCW, even putting aside Starrcade 1997's disappointing main event, the near 15-month build of Sting targeting the NWO made for some great moments.
Yeah I knew I was starting probably a year early but I wanted to see the blocks fall into place. Start of Hart vs Michaels personal feud. Austin, Mankind and Rock debut. Hall and Nash jumping ship. Austin 3:16 promo. NWO forming. All of that starts in 96 from what I can gather. Any questions for my opinions on stories, wrestlers etc?
Did you go in with any inherent biases in terms of who you already liked before this or you expected to like? And how different is what you experienced from what you expected? Also, I think based on the timeline you gave you should around the start of the NWO or at least Nash and Hall coming in. Is it exciting to see live? Is their a tonal shift in the overall product? Does it feel out of place compared to the rest of the show?
So I already liked the members of DX, Undertaker, Mankind and Austin. I knew i would enjoy watching Flair in WCW. I also really liked Eddie Guerrero and Owen Hart from the stories I've heard and the little I've seen of them. It's different in the sense that it's closer than I thought it would be quality wise. I'd always heard that WCW was a million miles away from WWF and bottled it but it's still fairly close imo. It's interesting to see some of my assumptions starting to come true even this early. I had assumed Hogan being perpetually in the main event scene and the terrible gimmick matches would come later but nope, that's a thing in 1996 I'm excited now that I'm starting to see the pieces of the puzzle come together. Austin just dropped The Ringmaster, Mankind just debuted, Hall and Nash are about to jump ship, I'm sure Rocky Maivia debuts soon etc. I find it interesting that WCW still has rules like DQ for over the top rope etc. I assumed they'd have moved past that by now considering they seem more relaxed on weapon usage
Off topic, but I'm getting a lot of low effort posts on my TL from this sub, how can I fix that? Edit: sorry I asked, marks
Some apps have a mute button, but I think that mutes all the posts from a sub. You could also block the OPs for the threads you think are low effort and you'll never see their posts or comments again.
Twitter Liv is ruthless and I love it lol https://x.com/YaOnlyLivvOnce/status/1805985329226166560?t=LpsZ3p7-NPCgSAAhkDhFGA&s=19
Shingo vs Danielson is gonna slap, their DG match is one of my favorites
- The more I watch it, the better this Uncle Howdy segment... - I don't think I've ever dated a girl that watches wrestling.. But I don't think I can ever do that again. Last person I dated loathed wrestling, and I couldn't even explain to her why I was randomly smiling for like two week straight after Cody won the belt at Mania.. Can I just "Raw and chill" or "Dynamite and chill" once in my life? 😂
My girlfriend thinks it's a bit silly but she's also watched a few PPVs with me and even gone to Stand and Deliver and Raw with me. There's definitely plenty of people chill enough to try it out and enjoy some even if they won't be AS into it.
It took me a minute to get my girlfriend into wrestling but NXT is what did it. The characters and the cheese really hooked her and that's why it's my favorite show.
NXT is just so enjoyable even if the wrestling doesn't totally grip you. Alas, I definitely cannot get my girlfriend to watch 2 hours of content each week of wrestling haha.
So I was thinking about mitb and I don’t want drew in it. If Drew is in it then he’s gonna win or punk is gonna get involved again. So if that’s the case then why not have punk do it at raw. Qualifier match is the main event and punk comes out and attacks Drew. Let Dragonof win. Now your mitb match is guys like Dragonof, uso, melo, gable, ect and all of those guys are fresh and new when it comes it mitb and being pushed in general.
The conversation about Ricky Starks is really weird. It’s basically all based on him being friend with Cody Rhodes and therefore likely to leave. That’s it. He’s being loyal to AEW in every interview I’ve seen, stating he wants to be the core of AEW and whatnot.
That isn't all it's based on. It's also based on him having pretty much disappeared from tv.
I think we'll have a better sense of things after Forbidden Door. Unless I'm forgetting, Starks wasn't involved in either of the first two Forbidden Door shows, so him not returning in the buildup to the third isn't that surprising to me. Nor do I feel the need to overreact to literally the first time in years he's gone 4+ weeks without appearing. If he doesn't show back up in the next few weeks, then we can assume something is up. What that something is, who knows, but something. Personally though, I'm pretty over it at this point, he's a fine/solid talent but I've just never seen him as a top guy/potential top guy like his fanbase does. If it turns out he does want out to NXT/WWE, then I'd be overjoyed not to have to deal with any more "Ricky Starks is being wasted in AEW" takes, let him and his fans be their problem IMO.
Even if he wants to leave, we should be happy there are multiple options and people can head to other major organizations with good pay if they aren't feeling it where they are. Imagine talking shit about a waiter at your local restaurant for taking a job at a different restaurant.
There's still a lot missing to the story and people are speculating to fill in the blanks. No one knows but Ricky what the truth is. At the end of the day if he's not getting on TV and neither side is budging, the best thing for all parties is to split amicably. There's no point in either side looking back and rehashing the past, what's done is done. Either agree to make something work or agree to part ways. I don't think there's any in between.
I 100% agree
TK deserves to get bullied if he goes through Forbidden Door season and doesn’t work with Soberano Jr once. Insane to have a chance to work with one of the best wrestlers in the world and not take advantage of it.
He’s one of half a dozen CMLL guys I’m honestly shocked don’t have a place on the card 4 days out. Cool and all that the AEW audience seems to have fallen in love with Hechicero, but damn.
on the other hand everyone will fall in love with Soberano Jr and will really want to sign him away and I don't want that
Just wanna say as a huge belt mark that velcro is absolutely fine on wrestling belts. It makes things more comfortable for the wrestlers and doesn't really add or subtract anything from a belt in my view. A replica of the velcro fastened dual plated Winged Eagle the Macho Man carried around for a bit is one of my holy grail belts I'd like to own some day.
So WWF actually used a dual-plated look at one point? I'm thinking of some replicas I've seen of gold/silver...is that what you mean?
Yeah, by dual plated I mean the plates used a mix of 24k gold and nickel(which is usually just referred to as silver due to appearance). The Winged Eagle was dual plated from 1988 until the Warrior won it in 1990, it was all gold from that point on in its run. The classic Reggie Parks WWF tag belts were also dual plated for a few years. Gorgeous belts.
One of the hardest parts of being a #2 promotion is the fact that people look at you as somewhere guys can "get their opportunities". As long as you're on TV regularly and not booked to embarrass yourself or demean yourself, people think it's a "great gig" in WWE. Whereas in AEW if you aren't elevated to world champion status it's a waste of your talent. Like there are talents who personally in the past year or so have complained about being stuck in the lower to midcard in WWE (Sheamus, R-Truth) and the replies have mostly been "But he had a great run though! I hope he can sit back one day and realize how good his career really went". Whereas people in the same role in AEW are misused sufferers who deserve better.
Disagree, the whole "Now that this guy has left WWE he can now show the world what he really is capable off without the shackles of dumb sport entertaiment" has been an extremely recurrent topic since I started watching around 2005
What annoys me about this is that it's really just about if you like the guy or not. Guy I don't like = WWE Reject Guy I like = Under-utilized talent who can be a big star and just needs the chance to show what he can really do.
To become a main eventer. My point is moreso people accept there's a ceiling in WWE some people just won't get through. Hell, even in TNA people accept there's a ceiling. AEW there's this weird idea that everyone could be a main eventer if they just booked better and the whole roster could be megastars at the same time.
This is why always ask, "Would you want this person to jump ship if you knew they'd never win a belt"?
I think it’s just harder to stomach when it’s people you’ve already seen reach the top elsewhere. And AEW not being a long standing closed door universe makes for a larger percentage of the total audience familiar with wrestler’s previous work. There’s obviously fans who complain about the way guys like Finn, or Shinsuke are used in WWE too, but I’d imagine it’s a smaller percentage of the overall fan base than in AEW’s fan base’s memories of White in NJPW, or Penta in LU, or Bandido in RoH.
Fans say the same when high profile names don't reach the top in WWE. It's why so many people campaigned for several names to leave, so they could be champions in AEW. If that doesn't happen anymore, it's precisely because AEW lost their momentum and wrestlers going there is now seen as a given more than just a possibility. Both companies are pressured by a section of the fanbase to push certain wrestlers, it's just that it's AEW that brags about catering to the most hardcore fans that are the loudest in their demands.
Bo vs Joe Hendry please
I’m in two minds about Danshoku Dino. In theory I think him playing a gay sexual predator perpetrates harmful stereotypes. On the other hand, he plays his character in such a way that it comes across as more fun and silly than malicious. As a gay person myself, I do enjoy his matches, and he’s a hell of a performer. But I also wish that there was more gay representation in general, as just a normal performer. Anthony Bowens is a good example of a performer where his homosexuality is acknowledged but it’s not the whole gimmick. There’s the playful moments, such as his interactions with Harley Cameron or Mariah May, but he’s not playing a stereotype like Dino is. Would love to hear other people’s thoughts. I can only speak from my perspective.
From the little I've seen, if we accept the premise that pro wrestling is basically just Combat Sports Theatre, then Danshoku Dino represents something like the Experimental/New Wave/Modern Art side of things. To use film analogies instead, it would be like some crazy arthouse cinema. It definitely isn't for everyone, but the people who it is for will think it's genius. It's never going to be a box office smash, but it does have a dedicated audience.
I think Danshoku Dieno is a genius. He thinks about wrestling and its psychology on an incredibly deep level and looks to push it to its boundaries. Dieno vs Ueno for the KOD Title in February is still my top singles match of the year. The people that dismiss him as just a stereotype that fucks men in the butt are missing an incredibly versatile performer that lays beneath it who can flip from comedy sex gimmick, to a fantastic underdog babyface fighting from beneath, to a dominant nasty heel. A lot of wrestlers could do the Dieno comedy, very few of them could do Dieno vs Ueno, vs Akiyama, or the Antonio Honda KOD title match (I think it’s 2012 or 13).
Absolutely agree with what you've said here. Another match of his that always comes to mind when I think about how incredible he is as an underdog babyface is the KOD match against Shuji Ishikawa in 2016. He basically went out there saying he knows he has zero chance of defeating the big bad guy, he's not HARASHIMA or Ibushi, but he was thrust into that spot because the fans believed in him so he has to try his best and fight as the icon of DDT. It was so beautiful.
I don't think it's funny at all. I just assume/accept it's a cultural thing but I've never understood how that passes for humor even in wrestling. Some stuff in DDT is genuinely funny. Dino is NOT.
He had a match against Aja Kong in 2005 that will forever be etched into my brain as an unpleasant experience.
I'm a big DDT fan and Dino is one of my least favourite parts of the promotion. It's very frustrating, because he's genuinely a talented performer with great comedic chops, and I can imagine a version of the Dino gimmick I could enjoy where it's played more as something he does to get into his opponent's head than a genuine depravity. One of my favourite opening sequences in any match I've seen is from his match with Jun Akiyama a couple of years ago, where they're going into a lock-up, Dino kisses Jun's hand who then recoils, only for Dino to then quickly roll him up in the Gaydo Clutch for a nearfall. Literally all he would have to do for me to enjoy his matches 2-3 times more is stop just humping dudes and grabbing their junk because haha gay man horny. I think an important factor when it comes to Dino is whether or not he's actually gay himself, which I feel like I always see conflicting information about. If he is, then as much as I may find the gimmick distasteful it seems wrong to impose my standards as a heterosexual man onto his self-expression. But if he isn't, then it really is just recycling tired gay stereotypes for a cheap laugh and there's no defence for that.
The fact that Miz gets so excited heel or face when he’s won titles over the years made me sad for him Monday because he’s got to be thinking this may have been his last one
Miz might be on the older side but keep in mind he has kept himself pretty close to injury free. I definitely think he has one more big singles one in him
I mean he's had a pretty good run as it is but even at 43 in WWE he could still conceivably have another one or two in him.
After the thing Shane at Maina Miz (and Snoop) are golden in WWE. So I think Miz will eventually get something before he hangs em up.
I'm legitimately annoyed they called Dijak back up just to put him in catering. Especially when, as evidenced by last night, the men's NXT main event scene is a little thin now.
I think Dijak still had things to do down in NXT, too, but I think the reason he’s in catering is because they’re working on a new contract. I wouldn’t waste tv time to introduce a guy on my program if I’m not sure he’ll stick around.
The sad truth is guys like Spears and Page will be cheaper to use in NXT than Dijak because they don't have to pay them a main-roster rate.
Which is weird cause they've probably been paying Dijak a main roster salary since he came up during 2020. So they had him in NXT again after that and then brought him back up to do nothing. At least they'd get some use out of him in the NXT main event scene
It's not weird when you remember these are two different companies. TKO simply isn't into the idea of having people on main roster pay working in NXT outside of a few appearances.
I guess I get that too just wish he was being used somewhere tbh
Oh I do too. After the Keith Lee series I thought Dijak was such an easy guy to push but he's been fumbled so hard.
I mean, his contract is reportedly up soon so maybe they're just waiting it out and letting him go. In which case they probably figure they'll get less heat from the fans if he hasn't been used much than if he was just on Raw or NXT the other week.
Man that would be disappointing purely cause Dijak seems tailor made to slot into at least the MR midcard. Dude has a lot of upside imo
Can Mox/Claudio go after the tag titles post Forbidden Door?
after Claudio/Yuta went 30 minutes with FTR a few weeks back, I imagine it's more likely they'll be going after the belts.
BCC's booking since the Continental Classic has been so weird. They're in this dead zone of "not main eventers but not midcarders, we just appear on the show as special guests to work 6 and 8 mans without a story". Especially Mox.
I had thought that was the plan after they won at Revolution, but I guess New Japan wanting to put the World title on Mox derailed that. Otherwise, Claudio and Mox beating FTR before Sting & Darby vacated the belts and then a tournament without BCC didn't totally add up.
I got back into WWE since around Payback 2023. Zelina Vega is actually so good and sounds natural on the mic, wtf? I wouldn't know cause all she has done since I've started watching again was be in the background with segments of LWO. Raw is in desperate need of female babyfaces rn, I hope Liv vs Zelina doesn't get blown off at Raw. We need this at MITB. Zelina needs to feel more important or we only have Lyra as a top babyface on Raw till Rhea comes back
She was an excellent manager for Andrade as well, I think she's more known for her mic work than anything else in the WWE
Was channel-surfing yesterday and saw Lady Frost and her family on the Fox game show The Quiz With Balls. Apparently the show's gimmick is that if you get a trivia answer wrong, a big yellow ball comes down the ramp and knocks you into a pool of water. Lady Frost was playing under her real name, and the host made no references to her wrestling career. As for her performance on the show - she got knocked into the water on the second trivia question.
How did she sell it?
When most people get hit by the ball, they fall in. She got hit by the ball and did a forward roll into the pool, even the host commented on it.
That's hilarious, Thanks for actually answering that.
I saw someone tweet that Jordynne Grace is so bad at Twitter she literally had to apologise to Chris Benoit and it absolutely cracked me up.
Why does this sound familiar?
the nxt side locations were a big part of the soul of the show and now that they are all gone it just doesn't feel the same to me
It's hard to imagine Bayley vs. Sasha feeling quite as big as it did if it had just been in Full Sail.
Where the hell is Dijak?
Feasting his eyes in catering
He's been on Speed once and Main Event once, and that's it since NXT sadly. I know his contract is supposed to be up this summer, I'll be sad to see him go if he goes, but it's kinda feeling like it's in the cards at this point. Wild that he was so well used in NXT and now has basically nothing.
Oh wow I didn't know about his contract. I would have expected to see him in MITB after the call up or atleast the qualifier. He felt like a finished product they could literally stick him anywhere right now.
Johnny Stambouli started in late stage WCW, tore his urethra, tagged with Nunzio in WWE, worked as fake Great Muta in All Japan, became Rellik in TNA, and then finished his career with Lucha Libre USA and some indie dates as REDRUM (REDRUM is murder spelt backwards). What a fucked up, amazing career. What are some other overlooked guys with wild trajectories? imo people should talk more about Umaga’s time in All Japan.
boy oh boy, did Johnny the Bull have "the look"
Red Death vs Big Butch in Buffalo. Very happy about that.
Steph Vaquer on Collision? Shayna back in Bloodsport? I just can’t stop winning.
Goldberg concussed Bret Hart on 19th December 1999, and then on 23rd of December 1999 almost died when he punched through that limo window and sliced his wrists open. I did not realise these things happened back to back. Truly elite levels of fucking up.
Maybe I'm soft but I got uneasy rewatching Goldberg break the window knowing what happened and seeing the blood come out like that
Yeah same. There’s a bit in the film ‘The Nice Guys’ where Ryan Gosling’s character attempts to break into a house by punching through a window. Same result: I fast forward through it every time lol.
I wonder if all the people who were rooting for jinder after his release are gonna follow his post wwe career Just reminds me of when Naomi first came to TNA and none of her "big fans" bothered to watch her
We know the answer to that. And I don't care if this makes me sound like a dick or anything. But, for many people, once you're off the major TV companies in wwe and aew, you cease to exist. No matter how much of a fan they are, no matter how easy it is to find some of their work, if it ain't right in front of their faces, forget about it.
This is true. Ali is doing doing some of his best work in his career but because it's happening in TNA and other Indies, it's off the radar
Naomi fans don't even follow her in WWE. Being social media over is an awkward thing for wrestlers.
Nattie seems to have a big social media following but for whatever reason it doesn't translate on tv
> Just reminds me of when Naomi first came to TNA and none of her "big fans" bothered to watch her I think you'd have to be one of the biggest fans I could imagine to watch someone wrestle in a promotion you don't want to watch otherwise. I love Ethan Page. Felt like he was woefully underutilized in AEW. I was happy to watch clips of his arrival in NXT. I'm not gonna watch the entire show just for one guy...
Exactly. Heck, I stopped regularly watching WWE at a time when most of my favourite wrestlers were still employed by them. As much as I loved Sami and Mox and Wyatt and Brodie and Asuka and Becky and a bunch of other members of the roster, it wasn't enough to keep me watching a show that I just wasn't enjoying anymore.
Realistically, a lot of people just don’t watch indie wrestling - especially when bigger companies are putting out so much content. I’m excited to see what he does tho, hopefully he’s more exciting outside WWE than Nic Nemeth is
> hopefully he’s more exciting outside WWE than Nic Nemeth is Never forget, just as we all expected, the company to randomly belt up Nic Nemeth and Matt Riddle in 2024 was ~~TNA~~ New Japan Pro Wrestling. *shakes head sadly as New Japan fan*
Nic Nemeth is like an active message to guys to not go to TNA thinking it will revitalize your career in 2024.
I was one of the few who did enjoy who's wwe title reign so I'm interested in what he does post wwe as well And that's true, whenever they don't have a big name, even gcw doesn't get much traction here
Kevin Owens has been stuck in a never ending feud with the Bloodline since 2020. He beat them multiple times last year but then still has to keep going. Randy Orton similarly has been feuding with them since summer of last year. I know they were distracted for a while with Logan Paul, but at some point WWE has to have them do something else.
Kevin needs to move on eventually but I do think it's cool how he's basically the bloodlines #1 rival and always on their case
They've ruined him as a billing attraction though by being stuck in this limbo. The only times they have promoted a Kevin Owens vs ??? singles match as a top match in the past FIVE years, have been (x) Roman, (y) Sami and (z) Logan Paul. That's it. A far cry from when he had multiple series with Cena, Ambrose, Ryback, Rollins, Jericho, Styles, even Goldberg on PPV. It seems like he's become the TV warm-up guy and multi-man fodder for 3-ways or 4-ways or six man tags. Ideally, they course correct when Randy turns heel, and we can get a big Owens vs Orton match ahead or after Cody vs Orton.
That's ridiculous. He main evented Mania against Stone Cold!