sek69

The Chyna ep is a different show, DSOTR is on a mid season break at the moment.

I mean Dom should be in traction for weeks after Roman yeeted him into the stratosphere last week.

It's kind of comforting to know at least Cody is that way IRL and not just playing it up for a gimmick.

It's not just you, so much of pre nWo WCW was just deleted from my brain. I think it's some kind of primordial defense mechanism to prevent us from getting a rage stroke at how stupid all of it was.

It's really something how 1997 was a really great year for both WWF and WCW, and then both fell off a cliff at the end of the year (Montreal and Starrcade respectively).

Not directly, but if a promotion is full of people trying to get the best rating from him then if those people become draws it kind of does mean something.

Bumping a main title match from PPV to TV on a day's notice is a normal thing done by normal companies for sure. It's one thing to bump a match that would have been on the pre-show or some other low part of the card, but when you do it with the match involving your show ending angle from last week it comes off as mass confusion.

Most revealing thing is that there's an account devoted to the Young Bucks' twitter bios and they follow it.

If you stop to think about it, "the boss brings in someone to choke the shit out of his workers who get out of line" sounds like something from Vince's spank bank. After the buzz of Joe's return faded It occurred to me how messed up the actual story being told is.

Agreed. Someone like Darby I'd just tell him how much time he has and what points he needs to hit and let him do his thing.

Sometimes an idea sounds good on paper/when it's being pitched and just falls flat in practice. Ever since the infamous show-ending Dark Order angle that everyone hated, it's been stated that Tony not only made sure he had final say but that not everyone's idea is going to get an automatic green light. Some things just don't work when you try them, which is fine. They've been good at recognizing when things don't work and move past them quickly. I think telling talent that we can try things but if it goes over like a fart in church we're not going to keep plugging away at it seems like the better way to run things and still allow people to have input.

The stadium is also across the bay from LaGuardia Airport (as anyone who's ever watched a Mets game can attest to), so it would be real convenient for fly in attendees too.

This is really understated IMO. I'm OK with a boss who gives maybe a little too much freedom since it gives everyone the chance to explore what works best for them Not everything is going to be gold, but sometimes the bad ideas lead to the good ones. Giving the talent the ability to see what works and what doesn't seems like a much better way to do things than "if you can't get this gimmick over that we gave you, you'll forever be a jobber in our eyes".

Also having Joe's role basically be a physical manifestation of Regal's "I Wish a MF Would" is just great too. Love that they were setting all this up with the endless out of control pull-aparts and they pay it off with Joe saying he'll choke a bitch if they don't show the GM some respect.

That image is from the story Forbes did on Tony Khan, not sure why they used it for the announcement other than it was probably the first group shot the social media guy had on hand.

Is it me or does NXT somehow quietly have the best tag division? MSK, GYV, LDF, Thatcher/Ciampa, Imperium, even Breezango in the "jobbers, but they can go" category all putting on bangers.

So last night's NXT was pretty solid up and down, but Regal putting on a clinic in the opening segment was amazing.

JR is JR, in all the good and bad that entails. I do think he is largely out of his element but when they do more old school style elements he shines. As much I would like to see JR improve its clear that is not going to happen and at this point it would be silly of me to expect it at this point. Luckily for them, the rest of the announce crew is top notch. Excalibur is a pretty good play by play guy and he is able to fill the Mike Tenay role of educating the fans who the new people are and why they are interesting. Of course Tony being in love with wrestling again is the best thing to happen to wrestling and it's pure joy to watch. One of the big pluses AEW has is how different their shows have looked. in WWE, everything's essentially looked the same for over 20 years with the only difference being one show's red and the other is blue. AEW shows all had a unique look to them, and Daily's Place was a different looking venue no one was running in. Of course seeing it every week for a year plus kind of killed that, but now that both companies are ramping back up to tour again it will again be something they can capitalize on. I think they are making good use of everyone they bring in now, but like everything else there was a learning curve. Shawn Spears was the only name brought in that I side eyed, but its not like he was being pushed down everyone's throats. He's been a mid level guy/person to take the fall in tag matches and I don't think anyone would argue that isn't what he should be doing. I admittedly don't watch the Youtube stuff, but plenty of people who do have said Paul Wight has been good on those and if Mark Henry's main roles outside of announcing is going to be training and scouting we probably can't fairly judge his signing for a few years. I don't think AEW relies on comedy at all, there's a place for it in wrestling and nothing really leaps to mind if I think if there's a time I thought anything comedic seemed forced. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with factions or stables as long as they have a purpose to exist and are just bloated messes like having 100 people in the nWo B team. None of the factions in AEW have that feel to them, and it allows the company to give more people time to shine. You never know when someone in a group will unexpectedly get over like a John SIlver. There was certainly an issue with a glut of managers, but like the wrestlers, it seems like the wheat has separated from the chaff. Tully and Taz are out there like its 1985 and 1997 respectively and haven't missed a beat. Arn with Cody reminds me of Arnold Skaaland with Bruno. You get the impression this guy doesn't need a manager but he's just humoring him. Plus my JCP-raised brain just thinks an Anderson aligned with a Rhodes is morally wrong. I think Tony Khan has a done a good job navigating the pitfalls of running a wrestling company so far. Having the ability to recognize something isn't working or missed the mark and take steps to correct course is something a lot of other companies weren't nearly as good at. A lot of people before the company launched were figuring he was just another rich money mark, and why not, everyone else who's tried to do this since Ted Turner has been just that. Stubbornness has hurt or outright killed companies in the past and the willingness to adapt will pay dividends. I also push back at the notion that Dave gives them the benefit of the doubt. That's 100% an Eric/Bruce/Cornette thing they use to work up their fans when Dave points out they are just doing a gimmick to make money. I will say he absolutely tends to overrate matches that guys like Omega and the Bucks are in, but (and I know I sound like Dave responding to Twitter eggs here) if you actually read the Observer and/or listen to the shows he is critical of the company if a match isn't good or an angle/segment falls flat. I suppose you could argue he criticises WWE more than AEW, but with the current WWE product being what it is you are going to have more things to have issue with in WWE. As far as Corny goes, he is what he is at this point. HIm ignoring the good stuff in AEW just to keep podcast kayfabe makes him look silly every time he does it. I think AEW has done the best job they could promoting the women considering how snakebit the division is. Pre-launch, Kylie Rae was going to be the focal point and then that whole thing happened with her. Then after trying t square-peg Britt into a babyface spot she wasn't suited for, they were just starting to find a groove bringing in women from Europe and Japan when the pandemic hit and no one could travel. Certainly things floundered for a while and the company clearly was trying to figure out WTF to do until they made the deal with the NWA to use their women. That allowed them to build back up and now I think it's one of the better parts of the show. I don't think they rely too much on gimmick matches. Maybe Dustin likes bullrope matches too much, but usually when they do a gimmick match there was a reason for it or it makes sense for the feud. In all, when I watch AEW I see a company that really seems like they are trying their best to give the fans what they want and if they fall short of that, it at least it was a good faith effort. As opposed to other shows where it seems like you're getting what *they* want to see and you better like it or else, and don't even think of asking them to change or you're an ingrate. It's just refreshing to watch a show that doesn't feel like it's constantly fighting their fans. Not every match has to have a happy ending, but not every babyface needs to be ground into paste to get endless HEAT.

The answer is almost always "someone felt he was being paid too much for the role he was in" . Plus the talk was his role would be mainly behind the scenes so perhaps he's signed an actual employee contract with benefits and whatnot.

My only quibble with matches deemed classics now is the idea that they all have to be at least 45 minutes now. Not every great match needs to be that long, and more often than not there's a section where it's obvious they are padding to add time. It's kind of a chicken and egg thing too, are people doing it to win praise from Dave and get the max amount of snowflakes, or is it the result of a generation raised on WWE Self Important Epics, which were doing the long drawn out main events before Dave started breaking out the 6s and 7s.

In theory an Eva/Piper team could be money, but I'm extremely wary of how WWE handles any bigger woman that isn't being pushed as a monster heel.

It was indeed very good.

How dare AJ cockblock Omos like that.

It occurs to me the greatest knowledge Dusty could have given his "kids" in NXT would be "how to take the embarrassing shit Vince gives you and get it over anyway"

I loved New Day and RIddle all jamming out to Randy's theme while he just stood there with a "I can't believe this bullshit" look on his face.