sek69

Wrestling in general is better with a heel champ IMO. It may be from me being raised on a steady diet of Harley and Ric coming to town to make the local hero look good, but there's a lot more that can be done booking wise. Babyface runs tend to quickly turn into "challenger of the month and/or PPV cycle".

I'd be surprised if they didn't at some point. That's one of those "it MUST have happened" things. As far as managers go, there's really several types that have been used in the past that can work today: The Jimmy Hart: annoying pipsqueak who you would pay big money to see get knocked on his ass, can take all sorts of bumps. I could see Kip Sabian in this role, and it would be a twist on the usual expectations if he ended up being the manager for Penelope instead. The Woman: hot lady you first think is just eye candy but is actually a devious mastermind. Selina de la Renta has this role on lock at the moment, but I think it's something Brandi could have pulled off if she wasn't put in that weird Bray Wyatt-ish role. The Paul Ellering: the former wrestler who can still put on the boots if needed, but is primarily concerned with getting his men to the top. MVP is killing this role in WWE, but there's always the fear they'll end up botching it before it can reach the level it could. AEW seems to like this type but so far all the guys they've put in this role are too old to do it effectively. The Bobby Heenan: an elite level talker who either never wrestled or it was so long ago no one remembered it. It's a high bar since there's only been a few people in wrestling history who would even qualify to be in that position. I agree that Larry Sweeney probably would have been at this level if he was around today, but I think Stokely Hathaway could be that guy if he was allowed to do what he does best on TV. I suppose that he managed to get put on WWE TV in a male manager role that isn't complete comedy is a testament to his skills though.

Tony does have that wrestling message board background, he probably can't help himself lol

I mean it's not an accident Ricky understands keeping up with the times and the Rock n Rolls were able to work matches in 2019 and not look completely out of place. He was able to take things that worked in his day and things that work today (albeit adapted so someone his age can do it) and get over with a modern crowd.

Using managers is definitely something AEW should capitalize on, since it's something WWE refuses to do and can be beneficial to the wrestlers if done right. My only issue is Nya isn't someone I would peg as needing a manager. Her promos are usually pretty good (this one was less so, but I would blame that on the material), and having anyone comedic like Vickie would water down her bad ass potential. I could see someone like Missy in the role, or wouldn't it be wild if Tully still had Dark Journey's number on a Rolodex somewhere?

Didn't Kong slap the shit out of him? She'd have got a job for life with me if I ran a wrestling company just for that.

That alarms me. On what planet is Keith F'N Lee still a work in progress unless they mean they haven't completely WWE-ized him yet? Dude is better than nearly everyone on the main roster and the company thinks he still needs some time in the oven?

Chris Jericho has been so valuable to this company making guys look like stars. I know he's past his prime in terms of workrate (and that was never really his strength anyway) but no one is better at professional wrestling in 2020 than him.

Gail Kim?

I mean, in kayfabe they are. They've won tag titles in several promotions all over the world (PWG, ROH, NJPW, AAA) so that should mean they are in the short list for best in the world.

It does, yet it's a million times better than the one it replaced.

Wasn't the robbery due to him having drug issues at the time? If he's cleaned up that would probably remove the main motivation of him being a scumbag.

So in other "belts being redesigned" news, the guy who broke the news of the US belt redesign in December mentioned that WWE has had new Smackdown tag belts ready to go since Mania 35 and isn't sure if they will ever use them. He also pointed out that the NXT title is getting an upgrade, but it's the same design only made larger

Yeah I know the ship has long past sailed when it comes to WWE and stip matches, but how is anyone supposed to buy that this match will end in someone getting their eyeball squished?

Not sure if I find it endearing or annoying that Nikki Cross's whole gimmick is basically "little kid hyped up on tons of sugar".

Yeah it's getting to the point it's becoming unbelievable that guys don't join him because he speaks only real facts.

Kairi and her recorder > Edge & Christian and their kazoos.

Andrade with the Tranquilo shirt

Much better than the previous one.

You know, Rey's an idiot for working with no contract in the covid pit that is the PC.

It does kinda, but its just another example of WWE not able to let a babyface be a babyface without making them into some kind of asshole.

This whole thing is so weird in that this whole storyline makes supposed babyface hero Drew look like a punk bitch who doesn't help his friends.

Heath Slater is supposed to be on the show, because apparently WWE can't get enough of releasing people during a pandemic and turning it into an angle.

The US title got a redesign that is set to debut tonight, which I'm pretty happy to hear since the current one looks like a knockoff toy.

He was in one of the pre PPV battle royal deals so it's not his first AEW match.