MoS

Checked out and I eat everything I said about Rock. This is GOAT-level shit, yeah. It's funny cuz in 2013, he seemed wildly out of place while Punk and Cena sort of ran circles around him, yet in 2024, it's him who is so much better than Punk, who is still doing shooty stuff in 2024, while Rock seems to have embraced his heel side and that's unlocked a new level to him. My biggest complaint with his 2010s run was what another poster described as the entire thing being Dwayne Johnson playing The Rock, and that has completely disappeared. Also has to be said, Cody was perfect too. Drew was also fantastic

Bruno was a 275-pound strongman but due to both his shoot background and his wrestling story, he was often a folk hero who would find himself the underdog against impossible odds, but would find a way to fight back and get on top. The way he threw punches and kicks, the way he would show his fire, the way he would sell - even if in his most famous matches, it was very little - everything he did in the ring, he absolutely felt and came across like a hero of the masses who came in massive numbers cuz they adored him. Every single thing he did told you clearly who he was and what he was supposed to be. Same with Dusty. Dusty was also a man of the masses, but he had a different kind of swag, he was far more flamboyant, but was ultimately still a working class hero, and the way he would throw his elbows, would sometimes hit crossbodies, would sell when he was locked in the figure four or when he was getting his ass handed to him by the Andersons and the Koloffs, everything encapsulates who he is supposed to be. We talk about matches needing to be distinctive and memorable, just the way these people approached wrestling immediately took a big step towards accomplishing that.

Austin, Dusty and Bruno are the American wrestlers absolutely best at incorporating their gimmick/character into their matches, and their matches being a thousand times better due to it. You watch their matches and you immediately know what they are supposed to be - and Stunning Steve Austin is diametrically opposite to Stone Cold Steve Austin, and his matches are worked that way. This is a trait severely lacking in modern wrestling and modern wrestlers.

Should have sold it strongly for two hours like "We have been told Mercedes might appear! She has a massive interest in this match!" As it is, there were hints, but @Loss has pointed on Twitter multiple times that presenting wrestling and promoting wrestling are two separate things. That's a lesson TK needs to learn. In any case, as brother NintendoLogic pointed out, they were still number 3 for the night, so while the number is definitely disappointing, it's not disastrous or bad. Eric Bischoff panicking about a few disappointing ratings was how the downfall of WCW really started after all

Yeah, booking the United Center and not announcing Punk's debut and just being cute about it works when you are hot. It doesn't work when you are cold and in your rebuilding phase. They should have had ads about her debut running on every TV space they could find

What an outstanding episode of wrestling television

What did Mercedes say?

Kurt did a number on pretty much all of them. As brother @PeteF3 pointed out, it bit him in the ass and nearly caused major embarrassment to Angle when he tried to do it to Puder, cuz when Angle took him down, Puder put him in a tightly locked kimura. If Kurt didn't tap, the kimura would have broken his arm. A ref saved Kurt when he counted to three when Puder was applying the kimura and called it a pinfall, even though Puder's shoulders were clearly up. I am not sure if that Smackdown episode aired live, if it was taped they would have definitely edited out that segment if Kurt had actually tapped out or ended up with a broken arm. Word would have got out though. I remember Meltzer strongly calling for booking a feud between the two based on this incident.

Tony Khan, I know you read this board. Please throw the fucking bank at Sting's boys to convince them to take up pro wrestling. Just look at them!

He didn't even go to hospital! He is having a singles match in 10 days! He is not human

In hindsight, the Bucks were the perfect opponents for Sting's last match. I love FTR far far more than I love the Bucks, and the previous FTR-Sting/Darby match might have been "better" as far as a wrestling match simpliciter goes, but as a spectacle, this was far beyond anything I can imagine wcould have happened with the FTR, especially in light of the fact that, vocal Twitter minority aside, fans boo the Bucks far more than they do FTR

It's between this, All Out 2021, and All In 2023

That was absolutely incredible

WTF HOLY SHIT

Sting's sons

WTF IS HAPPENING

Excellent finishing stretch. Joe is still the man, Hangman hates Swerve and will lose if it means Swerve cannot become champ

Crowd is loving this spotfest

Cuz Dax can be an idiot on Twitter sometimes and he likes CM Punk. That's enough for a bunch of people

Hey, FTR with yet another tremendous match, much to the dismay of a bunch of dorks who hate them for some reason

Orange Cassidy with yet another great match. Shocker

Incredible match between Dragon and Kingston

Is this the best build to a PPV AEW has ever done? I think the closest is Revolution 2020. Main event is very intriguing. Swerve is so fucking over, but Joe is just doing such a good job as champ. It seems like I have often been the lone Hangman defender on this board, but his new heel shtick seems to be liked by pretty much everyone, almost in an unexpected way.

A "major" WCW star buried the shit out of Ole in Meltz's obit of him. I was going to guess who it might be, but tbh the list of people Ole pissed off is so long, it would be easier to speculate who wouldn't trash talk him even anonymously

Hangman "The Liar and Hater" Page