NintendoLogic

The consensus from medical professionals seems to be that the injury was already as bad as it was going to get and working the match was just an issue of pain management. Exploiting a gruesome-looking but relatively minor injury is just classic pro wrestling. Also, let's get real. If pro wrestlers cared about their physical well-being, they wouldn't have gotten involved in the industry in the first place. If anything, they're more likely to cover up the severity of their injuries to avoid being put on the shelf.

Titles only changing hands by pinfall or submission has led to plenty of lame cop-out finishes, although I maintain that the ending to Angle/Austin at Summerslam 2001 actually enhanced the match. But having a title change hands by countout or DQ would be even worse, as evidenced by the fact that TNA is the only company I can think of that was stupid enough to actually do it. From a practical standpoint, needing a pin or submission for a title change vs. allowing DQ/countout title changes but never actually doing them is a distinction without a difference. For that matter, so is creating an interim champion vs. vacating the title and giving the former champion a title shot immediately upon returning.

I like interim champions because I like the idea of the champion only being able to lose the title in the ring. It's a logical extension of the idea of titles only changing hands by pinfall or submission.

It's not just about win-loss record. Strength of schedule matters as well. Daniel Garcia was a tougher opponent than JD Drake, which is how Moxley leapfrogged Wardlow in the rankings.

Just imagine the promos we'll get from Dan Lambert if it doesn't last. Not that I want that to happen, mind you. OK, I kind of do.

I also saw Madison PAWGthorn and Booty Guiliani.

There was a controversy some years ago when a Simpsons episode that used the word "wanker" aired in the UK during pre-watershed hours.

Morrissey vs. Danielson is the rematch the world has been waiting for.

He even allowed himself to be humiliated in UFC out of desperation to fund his addiction.

I finally succumbed to the hype and watched AITA, and to say it greatly exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. More than ECW or Memphis, it felt like the best possible WarGames match to me. You had the wild bloody brawling and multiple intersecting storylines without the constraints imposed by the cage and staggered entrances. There was even a possible callback to the 1992 WarGames with the use of the turnbuckle hook as a weapon. There was also a bit of New Japan elimination match psychology with Santana and Ortiz sacrificing themselves to take 2.0 out of commission. The plunder spots felt organic and not overly contrived for the most part, which I greatly appreciated. I also popped for Jericho instantly becoming the biggest heel in the arena by smashing the soundboard to cut off Wild Thing. I'm not sure how I'd rate it as a wrestling match, but it was an incredible spectacle that left me thoroughly (sports) entertained.

This pretty well proves Sasha and Naomi's point about the booking of the tag titles.

Alexa was coming off the top rope, and smaller objects reach terminal velocity faster. And the splash targeted Doudrop's midsection, which was vulnerable after the missed Vader bomb.

Let's not forget about the crowning moment of his career: his appearance on Shinkon-san Irasshai (basically a Japanese version of The Newlywed Game except it's a talk show rather than a game show).

I checked out the main event, which is the only match I had any real interest in going into the PPV. I thought it was a good match that approached greatness at several points but never quite got there. Hangman really needs to retire the deadeye, though. I understand wanting to protect your opponent, but leaving as much daylight as he does exposes the business.

Hangman being reluctant to use the belt was surely a tribute to Piper being reluctant to use the ring bell at WM8, right?

In any event, AEW needs to clearly announce what the deal is on the buy-in. Making people purchase the PPV to find out if one of the most heavily promoted matches will actually take place would be a scumbag carny move.

"He took her name..." -JBL

Dave tweeted that MJF "appears to be wanting to be Brian Pillman." Make of that what you will.

Updated top three for 2022.

Pro wrestling selling isn't supposed to be realistic. The whole point is to exaggerate the impact of moves to generate drama and minimize the physical toll of what at the end of the day is a fake fight. Also, pro wrestlers are the world's toughest athletes with access to the world's best medical care. It stands to reason that an athlete of Dustin's caliber would be right as rain after a week of rest and rehab. I finally tracked this match down, and I liked it a lot. Really good story-based match, maybe Punk's best in AEW. For those keeping track of Bret Hart tribute spots, the finish is from Summerslam 1992. And Dustin countering a senton on a leg draped on the bottom rope by booting Punk over the top rope is from Bret/Taker at One Night Only.

SuperClash and WrestleRock both drew massive gates ($288k and $300k respectively according to prowrestlinghistory.com), so they were far from flops. Keep in mind that prior to The Big Event, a wrestling event selling out a stadium would have been considered unthinkable.

The way I see it, heel title reigns should always have a clearly defined endpoint in mind from the get-go because they should only be done with the goal of getting someone over as a strong babyface champion. Babyface title reigns can continue indefinitely. One of the advantages of having an over babyface champion is that not every challenger needs to be a credible threat to win the title. A loathsome heel challenger getting his comeuppance can be enough to build a title program around.

Looks like the dastardly WM7 bomber has struck again.

I thought it was common knowledge that the shooting star press had been banned in WWE for safety reasons. I remembering hearing that they made Evan Bourne do like 100 of them in a row before they gave him permission to use it as his finisher. I can kind of see where Vince is coming from here. If the only people I had seen execute the SSP were Brock Lesnar and Billy Kidman, I'd probably decide the move was too risky too.

The problem with relying on outsiders is that it invariably leads to political headaches, as we saw earlier this year with Keiji Mutoh and NOAH. New Japan's most successful interpromotional programs have been when they were in strong enough a position to essentially dictate the terms. These days, they don't have that kind of leverage over any promotion worth working with.