The Thread Killer

I’m not going to argue that AEW has not improved creatively a great deal over the last six months, but let’s not pretend that they are drawing anything resembling “strong gates.” They can’t even sell the same amount of tickets to a huge stadium pay-per-view like “All In” that WWE usually draws for B level PLE or even an episode of TV. Last I checked, AEW are still hovering around 15,000 tickets sold for Texas Stadium.

I don’t disagree with you that being forced to fit into the “WWE style” does a lot of damage to a lot of guys, however, contrast Jeff Cobb with Jacob Fatu. They basically came into the exact same angle under the exact same circumstances, but Fatu looks like a killer and he has gotten over like gangbusters. The fans are literally chanting for him even though he was supposed to be a heel, and it looks like they are about to turn him because they don’t have any choice. Jacob Fatu hasn’t changed his style or moveset at all from what I can see, if anything he has cranked up the intensity a notch since I last saw him in MLW. I will grant you that it will take some time for Cobb to adjust to WWE I guess, but he also has to bear some of the responsibility for how soft and ineffective he has looked since his debut. And again…I don’t dislike Cobb at all. I really liked what I saw of him in AEW, and the limited amount I saw of him in New Japan. And I’m not “body shaming” him either, but compare what he looked like when he was in AEW or even New Japan last year, to what he looks like now, and I think you will notice a definite difference. Whereas they are saying that Jacob Fatu dropped almost 60 pounds before he came into WWE because he knew how much was riding on this. I really wanted to enjoy Jeff Cobb in WWE. Hell, they have even managed to make some sense of the fact that he is not directly related to the rest of the guys in Sikoa’s version of the Bloodline, as referenced by Fatu’s “I don’t know him, I don’t like him, and he ain’t family” promo last night. All I’m saying is some of the responsibility for this lame debut has to fall on Cobb, just as much as it does WWE.

So Meltzer is apparently reporting that WWE actually wanted to call Jeff Cobb “JC Matanza” as a hybrid of his real/NJPW name, and his name from Lucha Underground, but they discovered when they bought the main ownership interest in AAA that did not include the intellectual property from Lucha Underground, and on top of that, apparently Cobb didn’t like the name, so they settled on JC Mateo. Tonight, at least he wore his traditional Jeff Cobb ring gear, but in my opinion, he still didn’t look great. He still looked chubby and out of shape, and he still broke out the useless rear bearhug during the commercial break.

If they ever do Wrestlemania in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government is going to have to pay TKO an absolute fortune to do it. And that’s taking into consideration the fact that the Saudi shows usually actually generate more income for WWE than Wrestlemania does already. People come from all over the world to attend Wrestlemania, but there is always a huge contingent of fans who come from all over the United States and Canada. If they ran the show in Saudi Arabia, obviously that would no longer be possible, because even the most diehard of fans is not going to travel to the Middle East just to see a Wrestling show. So that will eliminate all the extra income they generate from the fanfests, and all the other promotional crap they do the week of the show, not to mention all the extra TV shows like Raw and Smackdown and the NXT shows and other stuff they shoot in the city at the same time. If you add all the production equipment and all that stuff to the equation, it would probably be a logistical nightmare to pull off. So the government would really have to make it worth their while. I’m not saying they won’t do it because they have definitely shown their willingness to spend ridiculously stupid amounts of money on entertainment, but it’s probably going to have to be a lot more than they normally shell out. I know the Royal Rumble is already going to be held there next year, but I always figured that was going to be about the biggest show they’re going to get. But then again, who knows. TKO certainly seem capable of doing just about anything if the price is right.

So they just announced All Out is going to be in Toronto in September at the Scotiabank Arena. You can seat around 18,000 people in that arena for Pro Wrestling but it depends how they configure the place, of course. They have only sold about 15,000 tickets for All In Texas, and that’s a stadium show, so I assume they will be draping off part of the arena for All Out. I guess that All Out being in September means Tony Khan figured out that doing All In and All Out on consecutive weekends isn’t going to work, especially if you don’t offer some sort of discount for people who purchase both shows. I have a buddy who really wants to go, but I don’t live in Toronto anymore, I’m a few hours outside the city now, plus there’s no way I will be able to afford a ticket anyways. Last time they ran Toronto, the tickets were $1,200. They finally came down a few days before the show because they didn’t sell out, but I honestly can’t be bothered. I think my days of going to Live Pro Wrestling shows are over, for a variety of reasons. EDIT: Oh shit…I just saw somebody mention online that the fact that they are doing the show in Toronto could indicate that this is where they are planning on having the big Cope & Christian vs. FTR match finally. That makes sense.

You could try contacting Charles via DM on Twitter, he will probably get back to you and maybe have some input about adding some new mods, at least.

When they initially started calling him “JC” at the start of the show last night, I didn’t think it was a big deal. I figured they were going to just keep calling him Jeff Cobb, but use JC for short. But then when he had the match, that’s when they rolled out the “Mateo” part, and I had the same thought as you…he was Jeff Cobb last Saturday, so what changed?

I have seen very little of Jeff Cobb. I saw every appearance he made in AEW, and a few select matches in New Japan back when I subscribed to New Japan World. The Jeff Cobb I saw back then did not resemble the “JC Mateo” I saw last night, believe me. There is a 3 minute or so highlight clip of his win over LA Knight last night on YouTube so people who don’t agree with me can feel free to check it out for themselves. After the show last night, I checked out the reviews and show recaps at a couple of different sites, and there was more than one reviewer who agreed with my opinion. His debut was not impressive. Like I said, I know Cobb was stocky before, and that’s fine, it was part of his look. But I don’t remember his belly hanging out like that. Either his old gear was a compression singlet to hide his gut, or he has put on weight lately. The bigger problem is that he was sucking wind like a vacuum cleaner, huffing and puffing after executing even the simplest moves. Mind you, I saw the commercial free version of the show where they stuck with the action during the commercial breaks, but still, Cobb spent a large portion of the match trying to hold Knight in some sort of weird rear bearhug or bodylock. Not only was it boring, but it was obvious that he was doing it because he needed to catch his breath. He managed to execute an impressive looking standing moonsault, but in my opinion, for the most part, he looked like total crap in that match. The stupid new name and the crappy new ring gear are definitely on WWE. They are hardly setting him up for success with that stuff, but if he keeps wrestling like he did last night, I don’t see him going very far.

OMG Cobb looks like shit. He took his shirt off and his gut is hanging out something serious, and he’s sucking wind like he’s out of gas already. I’m sorry this guy does not look good.

I can’t believe that the basis for the burgeoning rivalry between Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa is that Solo is upset that when Jacob tells Solo that he loves him, he doesn’t sound like he means it. I once had the exact same basis for a feud with one of my ex-girlfriends!

Jeff Cobb is shorter than I remember him being. He’s shorter than LA Knight! And his belly sticks out more than I remember. And now his name is JC Mateo. And he wrestles in his street clothes?

Jim Ross has colon cancer and is going in for surgery this week. Considering his age and his medical history, that is not great. Thankfully, JR no longer works for Vince McMahon otherwise we might be subjected to another hilarious “Dr. Heinie” comedy routine.

So apparently Billy Jack Haynes has been declared mentally unfit to stand trial for his wife’s murder. He has been sent to a mental hospital until he is deemed able to stand trial. I have already seen some people freaking out about this like he is getting away with something, but from my experience working in the system, life is a heck of a lot easier in prison than it is in a secure, state run mental hospital. Those places are a nightmare.

The fact that AEW wrestlers are also using the phrase “Championship Opportunity” instead of just saying “Title Shot” makes me sad. I know it’s MVP, who is a former WWE guy, but still. It’s like these poor guys need to be deprogrammed or something after they leave WWE. It’s like getting out of a cult or something.

This sucks. I freaking love Sabu. He was the only Pro Wrestler I followed on Twitter, and actually had a couple of brief back-and-forths with him. I was his high vote in the last GWE and I’m proud of it. He holds a record for me, being the one guy I actually went out of my way to see the most times live. I even have an autographed piece of broken table from an independent show he did, the only autograph I ever bothered to get in all my years as a Pro Wrestling fan. Between ECW shows in Buffalo and independent shows in the Toronto area, I have lost track of how many times I went to see him perform live, just because it was him. The highlight was when he fought Terry Funk in Funk’s final Canadian match and final appearance in Toronto. If you can find it, I highly recommend the “Breaking Kayfabe” interview he did with Sean Oliver. He was an innovator and he never got the true credit he deserves. I’m sad for him that he never got his wish, to die in the ring. This one hurts.

That match reminded me of an old TNA Main Event. Too long, too many ref bumps and a dumb finish. I guess they did the best they could, considering everybody’s limitations, but it’s a good thing I didn’t go into this expecting much, cause I sure didn’t get it.

Gunther came out of that looking fine, it’s not like it hurt him any, but I’m not sure what the point of it was.

If Gunther beats up Michael Cole, I’m voting him #1 in GWE.

That suicide dive into the DDT was very impressive.

Just when you thought Michael Cole couldn’t be any more annoying…

I think Tama Tonga has some limited potential, but Tonga Loa? Yeesh. Mind you, if you are even indirectly related to Dwayne, you are probably safe.

Yeah, with Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Bronson Reed all out with injuries, I guess Solo has to re-staff.

Welp, Jeff Cobb is here, and Jacob Fatu doesn’t look entirely pleased with that. Fun match otherwise, not surprising considering the participants.

You know what I have found really interesting, is how the crowds have reacted to the Lucha Brothers as individuals in WWE. If you had asked me beforehand, I would have told you that for sure Fenix would be a massive star in WWE and definitely outshine Penta. I know Penta has a headstart on Fenix, but to me it seems like the fans are way more invested in Penta than they are in his brother. I would assume that has something to do with Penta’s look, and all his theatrics with the whole “Cero Miedo” thing (because Lord knows WWE fans just LOVE to act like trained seals and repeat things) but I always looked at Penta as the weaker brother. Of course, in my opinion Penta has been booked way better on Raw than Fenix has been on SmackDown. This whole angle with Fenix and Legado Del Fantasmo is going nowhere fast and that’s not helping anybody. I saw an interview with Nick Khan this week where he was talking about their internal metrics and ratings and stuff like that and he said that Penta has been a needle mover for sure, both in terms of merchandise, but also fan interest from the Latino market. I am definitely looking forward to the eventual day where they bring the two back together, but in the meantime, I’m definitely enjoying Penta’s solo run.

I hear what you’re saying, but to be honest the way they had booked that angle, Jey pretty much had to win at Wrestlemania, otherwise there’s no way he would ever be taken seriously again. He was 0-3 against Gunther already and after that beating Gunther laid on Jimmy, Pro Wrestling logic pretty much dictated that Jey had to get revenge. Besides, as much as I like to knock the WWE creative team, I can’t honestly say they haven’t done a good job with Gunther. From the minute he showed up, he has been pretty much unbeatable. He has held a title pretty much the entire time he’s been there, whether it was the NXT UK title, or the Intercontinental title, or the World title. He has been booked so strong that he’s pretty much bulletproof at this point. Having said that, I have to assume this whole deal with McAfee is being done as either a way to write McAfee off WWE TV (as in Gunther pretty much destroys him tonight) or they are using it as a segue into Gunther’s next feud. I don’t expect this match to be 50-50, if I recall correctly a couple of years ago they did pretty much the same thing where McAfee was around for the “road to Wrestlemania” but then afterwards he left because of his other commitments. I assume they are going to use this to get him out of the broadcast position and move Corey Graves back in. If everything I am speculating about is wrong, and this is just some bizarre match they decided to book for no reason, then I will take back everything I said. But my hope is that this is going to be used to make Gunther look like a total killer and move him into his next angle.