Timbo Slice

Furthermore, both guys are two of the outright smartest wrestlers ever and can play into those perceptions. Which they absolutely have done here.

I think there a ton of assumptions being made about both guys and how well they’ve performed relative to what most folks see them as in their idealized brain. That’s what I’m getting at essentially. The idea of WWE having such a “controlled” working environment as opposed to the “freedom” of AEW is carrying a ton of water here. New Japan has a lot of freedom, yes, but they also have 25-minute EVIL and Chase Owens matches. I’m trying to look at this objectively because I feel Punk has been under-appreciated while Dragon has been lauded to a degree few wrestlers ever get. Yet both guys have worked the same amount of singles matches, have had variety, and somewhat predictably, the action-focused Bryan work has been held in higher regard while Punk has been seen as “getting his legs under him.” My point is that these are pretty base-level assumptions that carry more weight than they should.

The striking thing about the initial responses is how much WWE vitriol fuels them. If you think Bryan was tampered down tremendously, then you have a baked-in sense of improvement in AEW. Meanwhile Punk has gone Back To Basics, incorporated a few of his old spots, but has wrestled in a style much like his WWE peak. I’m not trying to play “gotcha” here but the “WWE stench” card can only go so far when evaluating folks.

I think it’s interesting to reflect on what each guy’s run so far has looked like after their first four singles matches, which have varied greatly and shown a lot more I think than even most were expecting, even with high expectations. Who have you enjoyed more so far in his singles run? Punk or Danielson?

That was the “Yes, I know.” part, I believe. I guess I’m just trying to figure out how he fits in on the main roster, if at all.

So is WALTER hurt? Him being off TV for this long has been interesting to say the least. He’s in an interesting spot given how he was presented and has a ton of leverage if his contract were to run out. I’d laugh if he went to AEW though, considering how he did his home brand dirty.

The Punk discourse is also a product of fandom becoming so myopic. Not everyone can be a top guy, but everyone can be relevant and useful. AEW’s biggest issue from the start was fans desires for everyone on top, but that’s literally not possible. Punk deciding to go after the belt should be a BIG deal, and it will be when it does eventually happen. But I find it funny that folks are harping on this when they yadda yadda Bryan just checking off his much better Cody dream match list instead of going after the belt. Even after Bryan himself said it in a promo.

I’ll need to give this another watch because live, this felt contrived. I understand Bryan putting his own twist on things but I thought they could have done a lot more than they did. That being said, when they did get away from the strike exchange stuff, it was really fun. I think seeing that just made me want to see more, and then they just went back to it. The stiffness and toughness is one thing, but the output here seemed like folks wanted to give it credit for being a dream match and forget things a bit. The finish also was a bit too cute by half. Hopefully a second watch betters things.

Of all the matches Bryan and Suzuki could have had, that was certainly one of them. Strike exchanges really don’t mean much in pro wrestling anymore; become as overwrought as anything going in the last decade, and yes, there were some wrinkles thrown in, but it really feels they left a lot on the table. It was a bit of a letdown.

Do we know if the YouTube show will be live at 6 PM PST or still be run at 9 PM? My guess is 6 PM?

Tony Khan just booked Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki on a YouTube stream. In the year 2021. My word.

Punk better be careful with Bryan Danielson’s son.

Biggest upset of the night: Punk getting to face Bryan Danielson’s son before Bryan does.

Geno or GTFO

Revisiting this in the wake of Bryan Danielson’s debut shows two distinct ways of getting to the same point. Bryan was put in a situation where he had to face perhaps the most maximalist wrestler on the planet and basically took his style of match and outdid him in it, putting together two decades of his work into an expression of what he wants pro wrestling to be for the remainder of his career. Punk, on the other hand, isn’t as physically gifted or technically sound, and while there was a day in his career where what he brought to the table was A Whole Bunch of Stuff (or rather, much more stuff than his WWE compatriots) the one thing he could always bring to the table was an aura and a sense of story that was practically unmatched. With Bryan, you get the sense you’re watching the most talented in-ring worker ever, but with Punk, there’s a sense that literally anything could happen, and it holds your attention perhaps in a more engaging way. So putting Punk up against someone in Darby, while making all the sense in the world from a storyline perspective given what Darby stands for now based on what Punk stood for at his best, also made sense from an in-ring standpoint, as it led to a match that had a constant state of tension. Darby had been a lightning rod, and making Punk have to think about what he could do against someone who constantly put his body at risk meant he had to figure out ways to stop that unpredictability of overwhelming the match, because at that point, what answers could Punk possibly have? They built to that idea incredibly well, with Punk slowly realizing that even him being at his best with the foundational aspects of pro wrestling were only going to do him so much, and withstanding Darby’s trademark bursts were going to challenge his ability to compete at points. Yet as the match went on and as Darby got more daring, his responses had to be more impactful (aside from the absolutely cheeky sit-up Coffin Drop counter), which led to the fantastic stretch run where, by the end of the match, Punk had to put him down and put him down quick. Inbetween those incremental steps were some amazing nuance from Punk, both from a transition standpoint and especially with his selling. He made Darby’s offense look as impactful as ever, and he made sure everything Darby did look like it was eroding his life force, questioning him even thinking that coming back after seven years was a good idea. Darby’s performance was about seizing the moment and he absolutely did that and then some. The ring post bump was sickening, and it was great to see him starting taking more and more chances when he started making his moves on Punk. His final flurry that ended with the fantastic somersault plancha really made it seem like he had Punk fighting for his life, especially given he had already survived the GTS at that point. I go back and forth now between this and the Danielson/Omega match, and in my review of that match, I said it was the best AEW match. I’m not sure that’s the case anymore, because this match did more with the actual psychology surrounding the match than the other, and the finality here meant more given Omega/Danielson seemed like a natural build to something more down the line. It was just great to see Punk work a match that way given he had been away for so long, and was immediately a memorable performance that added to his legacy.

It would have to be somebody like Owens/Zayn/Claudio. I don’t think it’s possible given folks are all about contract statuses and such, and the Luger debut was unique in that it happened so quickly from a signing standpoint. Not really possible, I’d imagine.

The King’s Road style of booking was based more on hierarchy than history, which allowed folks to pick it apart easier and have a better understanding of roles. The fan base of AJPW was also very strong and loyal, which is what allowed them to do things like Kawada’s trick knee or the orbital bone stuff with Misawa, because those were inherent traits that were learned and not explicit. But those were more decisions based on availability than making them a part of the story. One of the biggest things called out about the start of Hokuto/Kandori was whether or not it was an explicit call out to Hokuto’s previous injuries or not, and the folks who did thought it added multitudes to the match. The problem is that this isn’t known for sure, and really only became apparent due to fans looking for it and connecting the dots. There’s tons of that throughout the tape trading years that got adopted as psychology and discussions that workers are up and implemented, and wanted to pass on to observers who wanted to make the same connections there. The problem is they are more often than not shoehorned in as a reference that can take away from the match itself rather than a true callback. It’s a difference that seems like walking a tightrope, but also divides those who force the issue and those who just work the match as is instead of turning it into wrestling cum Zapruder.

Short answer? His placement and presentation amongst the other guys is perceived as “unearned.”

The point is that there’s a difference between wrestlers creating a story that induces a response as opposed to more Pavlovian responses, which is what wrestling has become. This isn’t a new phenomenon, either. It’s what led AJPW to become more highspot oriented when Kobashi got his singles push, Toyota in AJW, etc. There is a difference between the two, and why in a world where wrestling can be viewed between the lines more than ever before, getting the fans to buy into a story as opposed to getting the big pop with big moves is something that goes by the wayside more often than not with folks like the Bucks or Omega.

Vince bringing back a HOFer after the HBK feud, unbelievable.

Homicide actually said on his IG that he was still freelance, so not sure if he got signed outright or it’s like some of the other deals they have that let him work wherever.

Already taped but it seems like a show that has potential if the crowd isn’t worn out.

I remember reading a report that said he was going to step back and do less on-air stuff so you wonder if he’s going for it in his last few rounds.

They thought they got to come off as “cool” heels, but they clearly have positioned themselves terribly with all this. There’s a part of me that thinks Cody’s days might be numbered a bit, because if the progression of the company is any indication, the crowd was happy to have him around to start, but have clearly moved on to better aspects of the company.

Psychologically, there's many things going against this match, namely that it's Bryan's debut and it's difficult to bring him into the fold and not have him look good. In addition, it was stated from the get go that Omega's AEW Title was not on the line, and the decision to have this match open the show telegraphed that indeed, this was going to go to either a non-finish or a draw. This is a match that's been bandied about for a decade, in front of a super hot crowd of smart fans who expect all of these things, while also leading off the biggest TV broadcast in company history to that point. It's an amazing confluence and a difficult ask to thread such a needle. It's a testament to both wrestlers (yes, both) that this match ended up the way it did, easily the best television match in 2021, and the best match AEW has put out, namely because they decide to give the audience everything they want in a situation where most wrestlers would leave much more in the tank. Kenny's biggest critiques are his mannerisms and his facial expressions, but those are basically culled to the absolute minimum here, even if when they do happen they're as noticeable as ever. This goes back to Bryan asking for the Best Bout Machine, God of Wrestling, etc., and not the jerk that hangs out with Don Callis, and seems like a pretty stark call out for Bryan to make in the lead-up promo to a debut match while stepping to the company Ace. He wants Kenny at his best, and he basically gets that! The things people give Kenny as being one of the best going are shown out in full: His execution and timing are right on, and against perhaps the master of pacing, he knows well enough to turn it on or back off, which is a necessity with Bryan, who is the ultimate in-ring conductor. His control segments were fantastic here, and his big offensive moves were delivered with more vitriol and confidence than you'd normally see from him. Bryan, unsurprisingly, looks like the best wrestler ever. He bumps dangerously at times, he lays it in, he makes Kenny's offense look devastating, and he found a tremendous balance between his familiar WWE-based spots and going back to his old Indy favorites. The Cattle Mutiliation was a tremendous pull here, just to name one, but it was just one of many things that reminded you that, if given the opportunity to show out, there's not a single person alive, even Omega, who can do better than him. This also allows him to do something he's tremendous at but never really showcased that much in WWE save for his main big run, and that was his selling. Omega gave him quite the beating, and sold it as such, especially after the apron power bomb that sent him tumbling over the ropes to the floor, landing on his arm. The whole of this match is unbelievably satisfying, and perhaps the most wild part of all of this is that it's only the beginning. You basically had to go to a draw as the most satisfying conclusion (even if they did mess up the cadence and have the actual end come out of nowhere) but even with all these aspects of the match in which they had to compartmentalize, they still had the type of match that would easily main event any show, while somehow, some way, leaving a ton on the table for matches down the road. Even the teases of the LeBell Lock and the One-Winged Angel were only there for a brief amount of time, and for them to put this match on while not even using their biggest moves is just going to mean that much more in the inevitable rematch. I said privately that this was Bryan's "mission statement" for AEW, and it takes some absolute balls to come into a new environment and do what he did. 17 days after CM Punk's return was about as successful a match as it could have been, it really says something about this pairing that they went out and with all the expectations and telegraphing, still put on a match of this quality while giving the fans something to dream on down the road. This match is not without its faults, as there may have been a kickout or two too many down the stretch, but I also am unsure if the intangibles of this matchup can be topped even with a much more fleshed out match to come. This was as breezy a 30-minute match as you could ask for, either because they owned the pacing or because we were so invested, and the atmosphere might only be topped in a true stadium, which a rematch might actually sell out. Bryan's reputation is that he could make any match of any length compelling, and he is going to have that chance going forward, because if there's anything to know about Omega, it's that he's not afraid to test the limits, and he'd do it against a man much better suited for that match than Kazuchika Okada, who's long matches always seem bloated, especially with Omega. Bring on the rematch.