The Thread Killer

Time for my weekly rant about ROH. Here is the lineup for Thursday’s show: * ROH World Championship Match: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. Metalik * Mike Bennett vs. Darius Martin * Skye Blue vs. Kelly Madan * Wheeler Yuta vs. Tracy Williams * Willow Nightingale vs. Little Mean Kathleen * Mark Briscoe vs. Ari Daivari * ROH Women’s World Championship Proving Ground Match: Athena (c) vs. Ashley D’Amboise * Katsuyori Shibata & Alex Coughlin vs. The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) * Tony Nese vs. Stu Grayson Okay seriously…what the actual fuck is this garbage? Did a drunk monkey book this show? There is not one match on this card that isn’t either totally uninteresting, or the result is a foregone conclusion. Like I said in last weeks thread, the first month of the ROH TV show was outstanding in my opinion. As soon as they moved away from the matches they taped at Universal Studios, the quality has gone right down the crapper. They taped these matches before the Rampage/Battle of the Belts show last week. Apparently they are trying to continue the Kingdom/Top Flight feud which has been building since the show started. The only problem is that Dante Martin is going to be out for ages with a broken foot. So either Darius gets a new partner, or this whole thing seems kind of pointless. They are basically using Tracy Williams as an enhancement talent at this point, or in a Tag Team with Rhett Titus. There isn’t much doubt that Wheeler Yuta is going to beat him. Tony Khan seems determined to make Yuta a big deal, but I just can’t take that guy seriously. He is technically skilled I guess, but his promos make me laugh. He sounds like an angry kid who is upset that he got ripped off on his paper route. If you have seen the ROH show since the relaunch then you know that Ari Davari is ALL over these damn shows. Between him and Mark Sterling, they are on every episode, sometimes more than once. Obviously, Mark Briscoe is going to beat him but this ridiculous feud between Mark Briscoe and the so-called “Trustbusters” needs to end…now. I am definitely down for Shibata and Coughlin as a team but The WorkHorsemen? Come on. There are three women’s division matches on this show, and I have no interest in any of them. They have been pushing the hell out of Athena and she has been great in the role, but they seem to be picking some very strange opponents for her who are either totally obscure or people we are supposed to know, but I don’t. I have no interest in any of those three matches. Which brings us to one of the most egregious matches on this card. I pay $10 a month for Honor Club. So that basically means I am actually paying money to watch Tony Fucking Nese fight Stu Fucking Grayson. I can hear @C.S. laughing at me from here. The Main Event is probably going to be awesome, but as much as I love Metalik, does anybody think he has a hope in hell of beating Claudio Castagnoli? I will watch it because I’m sure it will be a great match, but come on. Call me old fashioned but if you are asking people to pay $10 a month to watch your damn show, shouldn’t you be putting something out there that is worth watching? I don’t know what the hell is going on, if Tony Khan deliberately booked an excellent first month of shows, and then made the decision to stop trying or stop putting as much effort into the matchmaking, but if he does not pull his head out of his ass, and start putting on better shows, I am definitely cancelling my subscription at the end of the month. It’s only been one month and look at that lineup. ROH has already become a version of Dark or Elevation except you’re expected to pay for it.

Tonight’s show could be alright. Cassidy vs. Buddy should be pretty good. Apparently TK has figured out from looking at the ratings that Orange Cassidy is guaranteed to bring in good numbers and he is featured now pretty much every week. I think they could be doing a lot more with Buddy, but you could say that about half the roster. i’m not crazy about Swerve fighting Darby. It could be and should be a great match, but Darby is being pushed towards the World Title so I can’t see him losing and I would hate to see Swerve lose this one. I am very curious to see how Keith Lee looks against Jericho. Based on those guys, that could be a very slow, lumbering match. Anything that gets Silas Young on TV is also good with me, but truth be told, he is basically nothing more than an enhancement talent at this point.

Tonight’s lineup so far… AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Buddy Matthews * AEW TNT Championship: Powerhouse Hobbs (c) vs. Silas Young * Keith Lee vs. Chris Jericho * Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin * Riho & Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho & Toni Storm * Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brandon Cutler & Michael Nakazawa * MJF’s presence is mandatory

So there’s a news story going around that claims Vince McMahon’s new WWE contract has a morality clause or “Code of Contract.” Smart move by Endeavour, and hilarious if true.

True. I just saw him in the A&E Dusty Biography. Any man that is still rocking a mullet and Sam Elliott moustache over 30 years after stealing his biggest rival’s wife is clearly winning at life.

I agree. Swerve is fine the way he is. He really doesn’t need to be part of a stable or group or whatever. Just push the hell out of the guy, he’s awesome.

There is a horror movie called Candyman where if you look in the mirror and say his name three times, he shows up and starts killing everybody. (Which leads to the question of why anyone would ever do that, but that’s neither here nor there.) I was afraid if you said shodate three times, he’d suddenly appear and start posting his gibberish again. He was also one of those special people who managed to see political arguments where none were needed. EDIT: Upon further examination it turns out you had to say his name 5 times, not 3.

Dude…come on. Don’t even say that name. I am afraid if you say it three times, he will suddenly appear.

Did you hear the segment when Cornette and Brian Last reviewed that McMahon/Emmanuel interview on Cornette’s podcast? When Cornette and Last were making fun of Vince’s new look and then imitating the way he talks now with that grumbling growl…it had me in stitches I must admit.

I wondered the same thing when I watched that interview with the two of them on CNBC. Emmanuel kept talking about how he has been totally hands off with the UFC since Endeavor bought them out. He keeps talking about how he lets Dana White run UFC however he wants. The big difference is, UFC is doing great business right now. I know Endeavor went in there with an axe and cut a bunch of UFC office jobs right after the purchase, but since then they have been pretty much hands off. I am not confident that Vince McMahon will not fuck things up if he gets involved with WWE again, which might necessitate Emmanuel dealing with him. Then again, if WWE gets a good enough deal on their next round of TV rights, who really cares I guess? I don’t know if they will be driven by ratings as long as they are generating revenue, regardless. And if that interview is anything to go by, Ari Emmanuel seems to think that Vince McMahon is some sort of visionary and genius or something, so who knows if he would be willing to butt heads with him.

This entire situation is making my brain cry. If I never hear the name of Vicki Guerrero again, I could die a happy man. And congratulations, you people have totally ruined the word “Auschwitz” for me. Please make it stop.

Pretty much. It’s all the same formula and the same stories over and over again. Foley and Jarrett’s podcasts are entertaining once in a while depending on the topic, but for the most part it has all become very predictable and samey.

Meh, I just assume pretty much every Pro Wrestler is full of crap and is a lying carny at this point. Ted’s biggest problem is that he’s really really boring and isn’t even remotely entertaining when he lies. He has that monotone voice which is going to put people to sleep.

So it’s been announced that Ted DiBiase is starting a podcast on Conrad’s Ad Free Shows/Podcast Heat Network. Conrad won’t be the cohost, it’s going to be that guy Marc DeAngelo who cohosts the Jake Roberts podcast. But for those keeping track, that’s now 15 Pro Wrestler podcasts on Conrad’s network, not counting the spinoff shows like Strictly Business and Title Chase. I assume the show is going to suck. Although DiBiase has had a very interesting career, I have seen him interviewed and as a guest on other podcasts, and he is about as exciting as watching paint dry. The best part about this announcement, however is the title of his show, it is very fitting somehow. ”Everybody Has A Pod.”

The only real man left is Silas Young.

I have actually seen some people trying to defend it, saying that it is “long term storytelling” because of some angle they started with Marshall and Hobbs months ago. Who cares. It doesn’t change the fact that pretty much since the day AEW started, QT Marshall has been presented as a joke/enhancement talent at best. I’m sorry, but from where I sit the guy is just not that good. He might be a decent trainer sure, but that doesn’t make him a compelling talent to watch. You don’t stick him with a guy who is supposed to be one of your biggest up and comers. It does not elevate Marshall…it devalues Hobbs. Those gawd awful QTV segments just prove that. I don’t really see how this helps anybody.

I strongly agree. What the hell is the point of the Lucha Brothers defending the ROH Tag Titles against Powerhouse Hobbs and QT Fucking Marshall? Does anybody think there is an even a 0.1% chance of them winning? Or even that it would be a good match? What’s the point? Then again, I am still totally baffled at the fact that they have saddled Hobbs with Marshall to begin with.

I wondered about that after seeing the episode. The crowd seemed pretty loud for the Takeshita/Tony Nese match, but aside from that and the aforementioned Six Man, they seemed pretty subdued. They really need to do their own tapings.

I sure hope so, because I just watched this week’s show and there seemed to be a notable drop off in quality from the first month. For the most part…this week’s show was just another episode of Dark.

The first month of the new ROH TV show on Honor Club was taped over two nights, at Universal Studios. They did an excellent job of creating a unique atmosphere. The soundstage layout was great. It was a small crowd, but very vocal and passionate. I really loved those first four episodes, there were some great matches and it was a lot of fun. The other obvious advantage of taping an entire month worth of TV in two nights was that it forced Tony Khan to plan ahead. You could tell where he was going leading into Supercard of Honor. A lot of stuff built up over those shows, the feud between Top Flight and The Kingdom, the alliance between AR Fox, Blake Christian and Metalik against The Embassy, and especially the angles with Mark Briscoe/Samoa Joe and Eddie Kingston and Claudio for the World Championship. Unfortunately, it now looks like Tony Khan is going to be taping the weekly ROH TV show in arenas before Dynamite every week. I guess the advantage to that is that the show will be taped in front of a much larger crowd, and because it is before Dynamite goes on the air, the fans are pretty amped up. The problem is, it really makes ROH feel like the AEW “B Show.” Don’t get me wrong, I definitely know and understand that is what the new ROH really is…but I do believe he is trying to keep the brands somewhat separate. I was hoping he would be letting them do their own independent TV tapings least. Tony Khan has done a great job integrating the ROH Legacy talent and mixing them with the young up-and-coming guys from AEW. I hope that continues. I just wish the TV product was a little bit more distinguishable.

Eddie and Vicki’s other daughter Shaul Guerrero (who used to be a talent in WWE and is married to Aiden English, I believe) issued a statement today. She seemingly legitimizes some of the claims made by her sister, but also confirms some of the counterclaims made by her mother. She also bemoaned the fact that this entire situation is being played out in front of the “fans” on Social Media.

The best Wrestling family was either the Graham family (Dr. Jerry, Eddie, Mike, Crazy Luke and Superstar Billy) or The Andersons (Gene, Ole, Lars, Arn, CW, Karl and now Brock.)

Didn’t he shoot a documentary of his retirement tour where that was the entire point of it?

Hook better win this match.

After everything that has happened over this week, I am very disappointed in the content of Max’s rap. The best he can come up with is taking shots at George Santos?