Timbo Slice

I couldn’t actually believe the match I was seeing. They hit their usual notes and callbacks, but the ending, where Okada realized if he was going to bring the Old Man down he HAD to become the Rainmaker in the Dome if not for just a moment, was poignant as all hell. Everyone is gonna compare this to Cena/Gunther and it obviously blew it away, but it’s wild they had THAT match, and it’s the bigger story to me. The sneaky comparison is Okada/Kenny from All In last year, as it was clunky and felt like they wanted to do something different from what they usually do with the story/character beats (which was the wrong call). That was not an issue here. It was a marvel to watch and the last stretch, from when Tana locks in the sleeper to the finish, will be rewatched endlessly. The political reasons behind Nak not being there, but then Naito doing what Naito did, is hilarious to me. Especially with him being the last one to pay tribute (Tana tapping his nonexistent watch seemed more like a shoot than one would think); kinda took the wind out of my sails a bit, but the trip around the Dome was a nice touch, and they were sure to show Wolf being one of the Young Lions who was there pushing the cart. The fact the Boston Crab won a World Heavyweight Title match in 2026 fucking rules, and Okada trying to make Tana tap out to it was a fantastic touch. And yeah, they do have something with Wolf. Enjoyed the selling immensely, had stream issues so I missed the finish, but happy he won. You wonder if he gets a Supernova push given Tsuji is so clearly above his peers and they proved they weren’t on his level, but at the very least, NJPW is interesting in 2026.

It’s obvious that via the reports out there, interviews from Cena, etc, that Cena wanted this to be a true retirement tour. He wanted to essentially work a full schedule knowing he could essentially do it and give his all, and leave it in the ring. Empty the cup, so to speak. He was then told by management that they did not want to do that, they wanted him to be a special attraction, and that the stories weren’t EXACTLY what Cena was looking to do. People in power positions (Paul, Dwayne) pulled the rug out from under him basically throughout, either because Dwayne didn’t want to do it or Paul didn’t want to do it at the expense of his guys. Both of them did that KNOWING how Cena would respond the vast majority of the time; that he would either take it in stride, work within the system, or in some cases not even raise a stink about it. The most symbolic thing about this entire run was the AJ Styles intro that was done spur of the moment at Crown Jewel. He wanted it to be a surprise, and it was authentic, touching, and unlike anything else he did this year. And it was for someone the crowd would appreciate it happening with! Afterwards? He went back and apologized for going into business for himself to production because in his mind their input may have made it come off better than it did and “that’s not how things worked.” Cena had the instincts to make this entire retirement tour distinct and meaningful, but at the end of the day, he was beholden to the idea of the team he worked with putting both the team and him on equal footing, when there was literally several months of hard evidence where that wasn’t the case.

Jericho isn’t a free agent until 2026, so he’ll be a Rumble surprise. Cena’s fine in ring; he was taught a shit style and up-kept it because of who told him to make it look a certain way, and his best attribute was that when in there with someone who knew how to work, he could at least hang. He wasn’t great, but he wasn’t made to look like a fool and was smart enough to play up the difference. He’s beholden to the company even when the storyline was shit, and the majority of his final year was shit. The interviews lately have been trying to rewrite things and gloss over terrible decisions, but the fact that Cena isn’t having his last match on a stadium show and that WWE couldn’t make an event around it is telling about how the company sees even the folks who helped prop it up for the terrible management there is now. He was the fucking lead draw on top for a decade-plus and his career ends on a Saturday Night Main Event. Literally leaving money on the table. Cena WAS a fucking singular talent. Making him like one of the UFC fighters that gets exploited at every turn is rich. Tanahashi was a draw, but was not a Cena-level draw, and the decision was made to make sure his final match was at the Dome. And it’s the biggest crowd the company has had since BEFORE Tanahashi even started. The fact the company couldn’t even show Cena the same respect and he just went along with what the story was while he was undercut and shortchanged left and right, and THEN he did the media rounds biting his tongue while waxing poetic is as Cena as it gets.

The Dome is sold out to max capacity. The largest ever Wrestle Kingdom crowd and the largest in the Dome in at least a quarter century. An absolutely amazing thing to happen for New Japan.

Theory is a dude who will do whatever the company wants and that has value to them. The Cena stuff is wild; absolutely looks like he wanted to have more input, then told the Crown Jewel story I assume as a way to piggyback the “not gonna stir up any drama” angle, but it really seems like they missed the boat with this from top to bottom.

It’s gonna be Austin Theory and it’s going to flop miserably. Jey doesn’t really fit at the top right now given what they’re trying to do with Bron since they already feuded after the IC belt. So they gotta keep him hot somehow. This company is just a random number generator at this point. UFC fighters have become faceless and replaceable; that same mindset has become as grating in WWE as it has there.

No, you can run Okada/Tanahashi semi main. If you put Tsuji over, you have to do it at the end.

Tana/Okada is official after he showed up in Anjo last night to challenge him at WK20. Id put money on it getting to 40k + walk up. Good for them.

I imagine it also became something to not have to engender it with “6-man”. “Men’s trios” or “women’s trios” and the like.

Hell yeah. Stoked to see the talent you add leading up to it.

TKO deciding to run the UFC model they slammed out with ESPN when they don’t understand the audience is different is some hilarious shit.

Yeah, Naito not being in Mexico right now seems very strange. I also don’t understand why he thinks AEW would want to sign him given they are filled to the brim and he wouldn’t be able to coast.

My guess is Cena asked for it but man, if you watch this product now, how does getting spit in your face repeatedly feel and then being told it’s raining?

Dustin knows how to make a young guy, and it’s going to be a Dustin bloodletting. Kyle as young stud heel champ is going to be amazing, too. He should get a long reign and tear up the under card, especially on PPVs. He is already such a complete package, and when he eventually turns on Callis way down the line (when necessary if they need a face turn), it’ll be huge. I get why they won’t wait until All Out because Tony had plans for Kyle right away, but even though he won’t have the big Moment, it won’t matter after the first big title defense. Love how things are setting up going forward.

The other thing about the weight designation in the US was that eventually, most outfits stopped trying to do multiple non-heavyweight weight divisions. Some territories may have had two non-heavies (I believe it was rare), but most decided to name their juniors welter/cruiser/light heavy as the non-heavyweight wrestlers for the most part. The biggest thing that is probably missing here from a cultural standpoint that might help David (or at least I didn’t see when I skimmed this thread) was that in America in the early part of the century, boxing was king, and being the heavyweight champion of the world meant you were the most popular athlete in the country. As big as Babe Ruth was, there was a level of fame being the heavyweight champion that was unmatched. With pro wrestling being presented as trying to be somewhat legit relative to boxing around that time, and those earlier matches were seen as competing against the big boxing fare, wrestling tried to mirror that to bring in a lot of the same crowds when they could, and that meant they needed heavyweights to draw against. Thats not to say the lighter wrestlers weren’t featured, but as heavyweight boxing took off and became the defining sport of the first part of the 20th century (while baseball was popular, the biggest boxing matches were normally more popular), I feel there was a template in place once the NWA took hold and tried to match up similar to the boxing federations.

And Hodge crushing too many apples with his double-tendoned hands only made fewer pieces of fruit for folks.

Danny Hodge was a star, especially in the Oklahoma territories, after finishing his amateur career and was highly regarded even though junior heavies weren’t highly featured in the 60s and 70s. He’s probably the best analogue for the majority of the French footage we have, but he was an outlier for the time.

Both guys being so beat up means this doesn’t have the kinetic energy the matches in Japan had, and while this is fundamentally sound, it’s not what a lot of folks wanted it to be.

I just now read that and boy, that is dumb.

They are and they’re being combined to become the United title?

Kenny needs to pick a damn theme song already.

HELL YES TONI TIME

Put the belt on Goldberg, you cowards

DUSTIN!!!!!

Yeah, I imagine with his concussion history, it has to be that, or maybe even neck-related. Either way, that’s not the way for anyone to go out, sadly.