Loss

I enjoyed Rampage way more than the last two Dynamites or last week's Rampage. Great show! Jon Moxley-Ethan Page is not going to change the world and it's not a MOTYC or anything, but that was a really excellent professional wrestling match that I hope everyone will see.

Dave was actually bothered by Okada not getting 100% of the vote. He claimed every reason to vote no that he'd heard from anyone had amounted to strategic voting. He had harsh words for strategic voters, claiming that they are being manipulative and dishonest, have no business voting and are attempting to rig the system. Bryan disagreed, saying that if someone has one vote left and has to choose between Okada and someone they're worried will fall off the next year, maybe they'll try to at least keep their other pick on the ballot. Dave said that entire way of thinking is wrong and that voting should be based solely on who the best candidates are.

Oh. I had read on Twitter that he was just gone because he didn't want to risk Omicron.

Honestly, if Danielson is in a meaningful role having long TV matches every week, they can do whatever they want with the rest of the card as far as I'm concerned.

Interesting that even a hint of relationship stuff (Adam and Britt) results in a noticeable increase in women watching the show.

Video games have also meant that consistency in mannerisms and moves make wrestlers more marketable too, I suppose.

Supposedly, he asked for time off because he doesn't want to risk COVID right now.

Have they said for sure that he's not under contract to AEW? If that's the case, how does he get matches?

Felt like the wrong team won that main event. The Acclaimed are the #1 ranked team and that win would have really catapulted them. At some point, they have to start pulling the trigger on some of these guys.

They don't come much lamer than Brian Pillman Jr. And wow is this show several steps down when Bryan Danielson isn't wrestling and talking for 20+ minutes every week.

Another bad Dynamite. Not sure what's going on right now.

It seemed like something similar to Rock throwing his elbow pad for the People's Elbow. We'd always get a wide shot.

And the Okada thing was ripped off from late 90s/early 00s WWE, or at least it always seemed that way to me. Before WWE, had any wrestling company in the history of the United States ever had crowd fill-in-the-blank style chants like that? I can't think of any. I guess that's why I think of it in my head as a purely WWE thing that has spilled over elsewhere. That may just be me. I'm not trying to come down hard on it.

I don't have an issue with chant-a-longs, but if I was aiming to distinguish myself from WWE, I wouldn't encourage them from fans. I see sing-alongs and routines as part of an entrance as more something part of the WWE house style. It's not a big deal to me either way, but probably something I'd steer away from. I see WWE style stuff seep into other wrestling all the time. The Best Friends camera zoom on the hug is one of the most glaring examples in AEW.

I think there's an interesting conversation here on what people value. In some ways, you could argue that what Misawa did is more challenging than what Kawada or Kobashi did because so few are capable of pulling it off successfully -- being The Guy, as opposed to being a great worker in the top mix, which feels like a more accurate description of Kawada and Danielson, and for most of his career, Kobashi. I don't know that it's as important for The Guy to be versatile as much as it is to have a style that's broad and accessible, and produces good results with anyone in any style. There's also the issue of being able to balance making the other person look worthy while usually winning in the end. It's not a hard role in the sense that plenty of people have pulled off that dynamic in one-offs, but it's hard in the sense that doing it year after year after year is a challenge. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think working on top as the #1 guy in a company carries more showcase opportunities and more time and platform, but it also has constraints in the sense that it's not as simple as always just making the best choice to produce the most excitement or the best possible match in the moment. Kawada, Kobashi and Danielson have spent most of their time on top purely worried about the aesthetic instead of trying to balance the aesthetic with doing what's right to develop others and protect yourself. As a result, they are all-time greats and real top-tier contenders. I just think we shouldn't downplay the pressures and competing interests that come with an extended run as the champion/number one wrestler in a company. This is me trying to elaborate on my card placement point earlier, and I'm not sure if I have done so or not.

I agree that regional success is downplayed by HOF voters, in part because many of them weren't alive at a time when regional wrestling mattered.

I realize he has a broader case than just being a promoter (although even a lot of that feels built on rep and the success of Bret), but is Don Owen's case as a promoter noticeably worse than that of Stu Hart, who was part of the original class?

The most interesting thing Dave said on WOR was talking about the need for AEW to do a branding campaign to differentiate themselves from WWE and low-class wrestling to advertisers and set themselves up for a major increase when they renew. This is who we are, this is our audience, they're not a poor or uneducated audience, etc. WWE did something similar years ago when it became clear TV rights was becoming more important to the future.

I think there's a card placement thing factoring into it that's hard to articulate. As amazing as Danielson is, I can't think of a single promoter who's ever used him to his full potential.

I relate to this a lot. I made a case for Danielson as a #1 pick just a few days ago, but when I think about him compared to some other top contenders, it feels like there's no way to justify that. Misawa is probably the one more than any where it's hardest for me to see it. FWIW, I'd have Misawa above both Kawada and Kobashi, but Danielson as a comparison to both of those guys feels more even. It becomes hard at the very top levels in history, because there are a good 5-10 wrestlers with a #1 case and their vulnerabilities have to be magnified to discuss and compare them, sometimes in a way those tiny flaws or gaps seem far more important than they even were.

The Acclaimed video was tremendous. I wish it had been on Dynamite.

I will agree with that.

I understand that Angle is more liked in other places. My point is that he spent several years working in a company no one cares about, and I think I heard some good things about a cage match with Joe and an MMA gimmick match with Jarrett in that entire run.

It's funny you say that because it feels like one of the problems the WON HOF has is that pretty much everyone who should be in was already inducted years ago.

Kurt Angle was not even a strong candidate and got in, where I think if he was eligible now he wouldn't get 60%. He's the main reason I think the age requirement is too young -- he started at an older age and was evaluated in real time just a few years into a career that kind of trailed off into disappointment.