Coffey

I won't speak for others or suggest this is the same for anyone else, however I would suggest that WWE, especially lately, is judged on a different scale, so to speak, as it pertains to... expectations in my mind's eye. NXT even more so than the main roster. Much like how there's not as much belief going in when watching AEW Dark that you'll see much. It's the old MadTV Lowered Expectations clip in my head. So I have different ideas of what is acceptable when watching various modern wrestling shows. I've seen so much wrestling in my life, great wrestling at that, that it became impossible to maintain my wrestling standards while watching current wrestling. Eventually, almost subconsciously, I stopped comparing current stuff to the catalog of other stuff in my brain. Inevitably, there was a lot of apathy & then it got to the point where if someone manages to make it through a match without hurting themselves or their opponent, it was considered a theoretical win. Watching wrestling nowadays for me is almost background noise, just a habit of consistency due to a lifetime of maintaining a hobby. I still enjoy something occasionally but more often than not, it's all just white noise placating the need to pass time. I am notoriously a glass half empty person. I often enter shows with a negative mindset & a "prove me wrong" attitude to begin with. I realize it is unhealthy & doesn't make for the best viewing habits - and mixed with nostalgia is a dangerous cocktail - yet I still often will turn on a WWE show, or an AEW show or watching a New Japan event, whatever. Then I end up spending the whole time thinking "wow, this sucks." So, to me, when I see others praising someone like Wendy Choo, my first thought is that they're seeing something that I'm not seeing or they're starting the show is a better mental space than I am in. Johnny Sorrow comes to mind as he's been so much more positive in his viewing habits lately since watching the shows with children. I'm usually watching stuff by myself, at odd hours, in between work shifts where I just don't want to go to bed yet because it feels like all I do is work & sleep. Also after watching wrestling for so many years, longevity plays into my thought process - as if I wasn't already thickheaded to begin with - and I'll often disregard the opinions of others & write them off as "I've watched wrestling longer than they've been alive, what the fuck do they know?" Also not great for being on the internet... I think the death of kayfabe & how professional wrestling turned into just a bunch of "good" matches in a vacuum with everyone being in on the work really hurt my love for the hobby. I can't get drawn into storylines anymore because they're so few & far between. I can't get drawn into characters anymore because we're constantly beat over the head via social media & news stories about how these are people playing characters. So the ability to suspend disbelief is just gone. Bron Breakker is a good example for me because he's good & I can see that he's good... but is he better than Buzz Sawyer or Hercules Hernandez? Or does he just look so much better because everyone else is so lame nowadays? Imagine if Monty Brown just debuted right now in NXT & it was the first time anyone saw him. People would think he was the next Hulk Hogan. So, yeah, Wendy Choo is...whatever. But I mean, are you comparing her to Bull Nakano or to Torrie Wilson? Because at the end of the day, she's a green wrestler wrestling in a onesie on a C-show & ultimately, it doesn't matter whatsoever. Heel/Face, gimmick change, whatever, people will still just care about if she has multiple star matches & talk about how Karen Yu is such a great/nice/genuine/whatever person & deserves more/better/greater things. Social media is a flat circle.

OK, I've had some free time (and a day off) so I actually watched AEW Dark, which I know is pretty much just a jobber show to let people get reps in. Which is great. I used to love the WCW Sunday morning show (Main Event?) and some old WWF shows like Velocity & they were mostly undercard guys but you could still see good stuff. With Dark, to me, I see a lot of potential. But what really stood out to me was that Anthony Ogogo & Nick Comoroto but have great looks. You can tell they're still super green... and on the gas, but I think they have future potential if they keep improving. Also, Nyla Rose kind of comes off as a star too big for that show.

It would be cool if it could lead to a match that I would actually want to see though, like Switchblade Vs. Mox.

The Fiend losing to Goldberg & Seth Rollins as the babyface cowering in the corner afraid of The Fiend are two of the things that I think hurt it the most. EDIT: Oh fuck, the mallet. I can't forget that fucking mallet. Jesus.

Oh man, there's going to be so much body paint...

Britt Baker, to me, along with the entire women's division, isn't even worth writing about because it's an afterthought in AEW. I don't care what they do because it's all white noise. Maybe they can get A.J. Mendez to make an appearance and we'll get a Punk/A.J. Vs. Cole/Baker mixed tag or some shit down the road.

This was one of the things that I used to love about old ECW, even when they got the terrible ECW on TNN show. You would get all kinds of matches involving Little Guido, Tajiri, Jerry Lynn, Rhyno, etc. That Mikey Whipwreck & Tajiri tag team that came out of it was great, too. I would watch singles matches with Christian. We could use seeing Eddie Kingston pick up some victories on television. Dustin Rhodes is always fun to watch. But the TV time feels so short because so much time keeps getting given to people like Adam Cole & Britt Baker. I just don't think that any person needs to be on the show every week. Outside of maybe the TV title (TBS I guess) if you start making it have to be defended on TV. In which case, get that shit off of Scorpio Sky.

Well most wrestling fans can barely read, so that’s not surprising.

The worst thing about the MJF promo is… what is the point? As Dusty would say: “where is the money?” It’s not leading to a match with fucking Tony Khan. And no one wants him as an on-air character like Mr. McMahon either. So what was the fucking point? Pop some fans with stupid shooty shit? Terrible business. Glad Miro is back at least.

Oh great a shitty worked shoot

Man, Punk has never been super athletic but he’s been looking extra sloppy lately.

Damn shame.

If they put the TNT title on Wardlow & the World Title on C.M. Punk, I certainly wouldn't complain.

The Bucks as the Hardyz was great. Good shit. Cutler with the Lita thong killed me.

He really does, yet every time he goes out there & has another banger, for whatever reason, I'm always surprised. Like, I guess I just haven't acknowledged him as a better-than-average worker in my mind's eye yet still or something. My issue with Page is I don't really see him as a main eventer & when he's not actively wrestling, like when he's doing anything else, he bores me to tears.

Losing Penelope Ford would be a mistake, imo. I think she's more valuable than Ruby Soho tbh.

AEW needs a Bam Bam Bigelow. A big man (that works big) that's a good base, that is heel, that can squash little guys whom you have to topple to move to the main event. Brody King might work but he's stuck in the House of Black, which might not even be a detriment since in ECW, Bigelow was in the Triple Threat. Like, Brody King versus Darby Allin would slap.

I think it's a combination of too much ROH stuff & too many ex-NXT guys. AEW is losing their identity.

Just sounds like lip service bullshit to me. I read about the "going to give equal time to men & women" & it's like, how can you say that before you even have a roster? If you have 30 men & 10 women, you're still going to give them equal time? Just pandering to appeal to online fans on social media. If current AEW, as an example, gave equal time to men & women it would be a goddamn disaster. That last episode of Dynamite is a perfect example. The main event bombed, the Julia Hart shit dragged & the Rosa/Serena promo lost the crowd. They have some talented women but they also have women that stink too. The big difference being they have so many more men than women that when the guys stink, they can just move on to the next guy that doesn't stink (ideally). But the women are so thin the options are a lot more limited. Unless they hire a lot more women. Who is Freddie Prince going to be able to get that WWE or AEW didn't get first? It's already spread super thin. There's not a lot of Sasha Banks' out there.

This womens promo segment is fucking brutal.

Fenix/Dante: Pretty decent match. I’ll never like any spot where the wrestlers stand around & wait for crowd approval - and the commercial break hurt the flow early too. It was still entertaining & I liked the finish.

Is Jericho referring to himself as The Wizard so he can feud with Danhausen next to try to leech some of his heat?

…they’re making Hangman the heel in this match?

Old school booking still works, baby! Wardog is mad over!