NintendoLogic

Yeah, he's turning heel.

I will say that my view of the claw is colored somewhat by the fact that I simply can't stand the Von Erichs. They were dumb jocks, spoiled rich kids, Bible-thumpers, druggies, haters of cats-in short, they possessed every single quality in a human being I find repugnant. Taker used it during his days as Mean Mark Callous. He'd resurrect it on occasion in WWE, perhaps most notably at One Night Only when he used it to attack Bret Hart's chest after Bret did his sternum-first bump into an exposed turnbuckle.

I have no problem buying a man the size of Fritz Von Erich squeezing someone's temples as a legitimate match ender. My issue with it is that it's hard to build a compelling match around because it's so simple to apply. At least make it so it only works with a loaded glove or something.

It makes sense he'd be watching WWE since he fits the demographic profile of a typical viewer.

Matt's wife posted and then deleted a tweet accusing him of abandoning his family. Recall he once "joked" that he smokes weed to prevent him from beating his children. Let's hope this clown never ends up in AEW. He and WWE deserve each other. Also, Raw is tonight. They're running some tournaments or something. Watch, if you must.

Dax Harwood recently said that American Alpha was the best team he ever faced. It's a shame they never made it to AEW.

Probably the biggest thing that prevented Angle from becoming a bigger star was the sharks (or should I say sHHHarks?) outmaneuvering him politically in the early years of his career, the love triangle storyline being the most notable example. He was also involved in far too much comedy to be effective as a top star. By the time he had smartened up to the political aspects of the business, the damage was done. Foley showed that a top guy can do comedy and still draw, but only after they've been established as a killer. They went in the opposite direction with Angle, and it didn't work nearly as well. Steveson has Heyman watching his back, so hopefully that won't be an issue for him.

Jericho on commentary has entered so bad it's good territory for me. I popped when he put Punk over as a trained MMA fighter as well as for his Grapplers Anonymous dad joke. By the way, is there any rhyme or reason to when Punk wears trunks and when he wears longboys?

I previously said that Henry had a great eye for talent and would be a tremendous asset for AEW as long as he didn't have a stick up his ass about Respecting the Business. But if this is the kind of attitude he's bringing to the job, he needs to be shown the door. By the way, Luchasaurus was one of the whistleblowers who exposed Bill DeMott's abusive training practices in NXT. I wonder if Henry would tell him to his face that he's weak and doesn't deserve to be in the business.

I'm reminded of when the Godwinns' ring names went over some people's heads here.

Omega/Danielson doesn't need the belt, but the belt needs Omega/Danielson. If they're feuding over who the best in the world is, one of them should be the champion. Otherwise, Page looks like a paper champion. And dethroning the guy who beat Danielson will mean a lot more than dethroning the guy who went to a time-limit draw with him.

I checked out Sabre/Ishii. Good match, but Marty Asami is complete dogshit. He's as bad as Earl Hebner when it comes to telegraphing kickouts. He killed every single near fall by blatantly holding up after the two count.

For what it's worth, Bix has cautioned against jumping to conclusions about Fish. There doesn't seem to be any record of him being involved in anything QAnon-affiliated other than that one OUR fundraiser. The fact that he deleted the IG post with him and Drake suggests that he initially got taken in by innocuous-sounding rhetoric about fighting child trafficking and bailed once he realized what the real deal was.

That and working to the hard camera.

In his interview with PWInsider, Coach Tony K promised "one huge announcement on the show." He said it wasn't about the identity of the Joker and that "it's been something a long time coming. I'm very excited about it and proud of it, and it'll really add a lot to the company, I think." So there you go.

Gigi Dolin is Darby's ex-wife, so maybe she gave Cora some pointers while they were teaming.

Man, Smackdown kind of got fleeced in the draft. Their #2 star right now is Charlotte, which is just lol. So much for the notion that they're the A show. That, or Fox has a terrible eye for talent.

Roman was the guy the fans were behind in 2014. He was over huge at the Rumble when he set a record for eliminations and was the last man standing in the way of Batista's coronation. And at the end of the year, he won Superstar of the Year in a legitimate fan vote despite having been off TV the previous few months. The backlash didn't begin until the 2015 Rumble where he won and Bryan was treated as a complete afterthought. The fans supported him when he clashed with the hand-picked would-be corporate champion, but he became the avatar of fan resentment when he assumed that role himself. That's the inherent contradiction with modern WWE. On the one hand, they have to be in control of everything so nothing is allowed to get over organically. On the other hand, they've presented themselves to the fanbase as the heel for so long that being seen as the company pick inevitably invites a backlash.

Yo, fuck Smash. Discerning wrestling fans know the real deal.

Roman has main evented Wrestlemania five out of the past seven years. And he would have main evented a sixth had he not pulled out for health reasons. Come on now.

History suggests the opposite. Total Divas and Total Bellas played a major role in drawing female viewers to WWE at a time when male viewership was collapsing. The target audience for this show isn't wrestling fans. It's women who watch reality TV and wouldn't normally be interested in wrestling. For all of AEW's success, it continues to struggle with women viewers. And Cody fits the mold of the pretty-boy type that has traditionally drawn women to wrestling. If it works, great. If it doesn't, no big deal. Either way, it's not the kind of thing to get worked up over since it's easy to ignore if you don't like it.

I vehemently reject the notion that a match needs 25 minutes and main-event status to be a proper match. In fact, I'd say extra time to work is usually an active detriment because it leads to them killing time by sitting in armbars and the like. I'd rather watch a high-end 80s WWF tag than a high-end 80s NWA one precisely because they tend to offer more bang for the buck. In a world where Blood on the Sand didn't exist, Hart Foundation/Killer Bees would be a strong contender for best American tag match of the 80s. It's certainly a cut or two above other matches from the period in terms of storytelling depth. For what it's worth, Tanahashi has said on many occasions that Shawn is his favorite wrestler.

I've never cared about FMW or anyone in it, but the footage of Hayabusa walking to the ring after his injury hit me right in the feels. Also, I was taken aback by how casual Onita's tone was when discussing Arai's debts. He sounded like a man who's had to bullshit his way out of sticky situations with the yakuza on many an occasion.