WingedEagle

Can we have a full time Canadian promotion? Is that really asking so much?

I was unable to imagine a world in which Dominik Mysterio was a compelling television character. And then came Rhea Ripley.

Just Another Guy. But that finish ensure they are both below that level.

Perhaps I have unfairly high standards but unkempt Brock is a JAG. Groom your game and get back to dominating the world. This isn't quarantine, brotha.

Best of luck. Shut off that phone until you make it through the show tonight.

As much as I was all about Cody getting Mania heading into and coming out of the Rumble, last night was incredible and was the first time I felt comfortable with Sami in that spot. And you know what? He should and can still lose tonight, and still have Jey and the Bloodline destroy him, and the Owens comes out to an out of this world massive pop, and then they clean house, and then they hug it out, and blow the absolute roof off the fucking place. KO/Sami get night 1 and Cody gets night 2. Its just so simple, perfect and thereby so rare. LFG!

So what are they doing with the Raw women's scene at Mania? Shoehorning Becky and Bayley into a 4 way? Literal fresh coat of paint Asuka vs. Bianca? Unclear where that leaves Becky but perhaps she's one of the afterthoughts this year? There certainly aren't any Austins or Cenas to bring back on that side of the ledger.

All of this.

Yeah. It doesn't seem that hard. Whether you do Roman vs. Sami to set up KO/Sami vs. Usos or EC with the Bloodline + ??? there are ways to work that match/story and still save Roman/Cody for Mania. There are options beyond simply dropping one story and moving onto the next.

He is the goddamn man. A true all timer.

I still think Mania should be Roman/Cody and Sami/KO vs. Usos.

Roman and KO have great chemistry.

Would rather watch that than him "performing."

This nonsense is enough to turn the best Mania or Wrestle Kingdom into a thumbs down. FFS.

That was a great Rumble. A bit of a lull in the middle, as expected, but it was never dull and the finishing run with Cody and Gunther was great.

Logal Paul is clearly good enough in the ring that I'm not disappointed by him as a surprise, but I'm not sure what he can do here that's all that interesting.

She has absolutely made him acceptable.

Brock vs. Lashley is a Mania match I can get behind. Two dudes that can go and hit hard but yet I'm not really keen on seeing in anything more prominent. Fingers crossed that Gunther gets the run of runs before being tossed and is properly positioned as an important dude. Will happily accept him vs. Sheamus at Mania but I'd like to see him have the opportunity to work higher on the card.

Are there any realistic winners of the women's Rumble? It doesn't seem like anyone other than Bianca, Charlotte & Becky have gotten any kind of a push of late and I don't see them having Becky win again or pairing off the two champions. Ripley could be given a rocket pack but she's hardly been pushed against the women at all of late. Very odd situation.

Mark/Lethal and the post-match were incredible. A fitting tribute that hopefully gave everyone involved the opportunity to honor a friend and colleague. I was 18 when Owen hart died and 25 for Eddy. A bit older for the Benoit tragedy but still immature. I'm now somewhat of an adult as well as a parent, both of which undoubtedly made this death hit me a lot harder than anything comparable. Just an awful tragedy compounded by the loss's impact on such a large and seemingly wonderful family. Be grateful for everything and everyone you have.

The upside to Kross and Bray is if I start TV late I can always count on fast forwarding through their segments to finish the show on time. No surprise that Gunther gave Braun his best match since the original Roman feud.

AEW isn't gun-shy about presenting big matches on TV, but Elite/Death Triangle Game 7, Mox/Page and Dragon/Takeshita is legitimately a mini PPV and I am beyond pumped to see all of it. We'll see where the women's tag goes and like El-P am not expecting a big debut or surprise, but hopefully some progression towards the next big matches in the division.

Will Ospreay and pretty easily so for my money. Plenty of high level years elsewhere between Danielson, Okada, Shingo, Takeshita and a host of others but no one pumping out nearly as many great matches as Ospreay did throughout the year.

Any early have their 2023 MOTYC sheets up yet?