MoS

RIP DEAN~! Thank you for the many many hilarious reviews over the years, which I both enjoyed as well as used as a crutch and a means of support when I was fighting with depression. You will be forever missed.

I get where you are coming from, and apologies for initially calling that logic shitty. I had not understood it properly - my bad. I take it back

Sorry for being a bit snarky before, but have any of them been treated and/or booked like actual top stars? Cuz by this logic, I can also say that Coke 2.0 were focal points on AEW TV for many weeks and that the Battle Royale was "a good showcase for all parties involved", and that Starks-White, "at worst, is the 3rd most important in terms of card placement and built". Does that negate the complaints we rightfully have about AEW's booking? Or, going in another direction, do such criticisms only apply to AEW, for some reason? And do the defences to such booking only apply to WWE? This will obviously not convince anyone that 2.CokeZero and Starks are being treated as massive stars. Which is fine. But when we start comparing pushes of midcarders as against pushes of main eventers in both companies, we find that WWE has no locus standi to boast of.

3 years can be a lot in pro-wrestling terms, man, as we saw during the beginning of the Attitude Era. And during Ruthless Aggression. And during the Cena era. If you are in that position, you need some contacts to truly succeed, and we do not know if Ricky really has those contacts in WWE (how influential is Cody right now?)

Being signed is one thing, but are any of them treated like actual top guys though? WWF/E has always had smaller wrestlers to put over their actual stars in the main event or right on rop of the midcard, without actually becoming stars themselves. Don't think Balor or Ricochet or Escobar are anywhere different in that regard. Balor for instance has mostly been used to put over Edge and then to enable Rhea Ripley (an actual star) to reach the next level. I haven't watched WWE TV consistently for years now, so I might of course be wrong.

Not saying you aren't right, of course he might be wanting to get signed to the Fed and might get pushed, but again, his size does work against him. Cody himself is bigger and stronger, and also wrestled reasonably successfully in high school so he has more "cred" to go against WWE's huge guys. You are totally right about the age thing though, I was thinking of a much older WWF, one that no longer exists. I take that point back, it's not a valid point.

He doesn't have the size (a HUGE factor, no pun intended, same goes for MJF), the age, or the absence of injuries that he would need to get prominently pushed in Vince McMahon's WWE. His choice at the end of the day of course, if he is offered a shitload of money, arguably none of the above-mentioned things matter.

The only things I can think of is age and general health - Ricky has a lot of injuries that can put him on the shelf at any time. In my book though, that's even more reason for Starks to be immediately be in main events consistently, because there is less time and they need to capitalize on his gifts and elevate him to the main event immediately. He certainly should not be a stepping stone for fucking Jay White, I totally agree with that.

Being better than the Bucks at promos isn't much to be impressed about imo (and I am sure you don't disagree). The only memorable promo I remember Kenny cutting in his 3.5 years on American TV is the one he cut the last time he and Hangman got face to face before their PPV match. Maybe a couple more during that build. That's a very low strike rate for one of AEW's main event mainstays, especially given how many excellent, great promos have been cut on AEW TV in these 3.5 years.

I re-watched, and despite the extraneous factors, the crowd would get excited and loud whenever MJF and Darby would wrestle one on one in the ring, and didn't really care about anyone and anything else, including the stipulation for the match. It is obvious to me that AEW made a mistake by not booking MJF v. Darby singles match for the world title as the main event for Double or Nothing, that's the only matchup that excites the fans. The other two are not at that level and the fans correctly see them as not being on that level (and probably just being in the match to eat a pin). Jungle Boy might get there one day, not sure if Sammy is capable of doing so.

I think he is better as a heel because his natural smarminess and unearned too-cool-for-school demeanor can be used in service of both his character and for the feuds in which he is booked. Also allows him to make grand flashy entrances which, combined with focused booking, makes him look like a superstar and a can't-miss event, something he struggles to look and be when left to his own devices.

They were kind of quiet the whole day, only making a lot of noise for the announcement of next week's cage match, even though that one must have disappointed a bunch of fans in the arena.

I don't like Jarrett but that Briscoe farm vignette was great

Omega can't cut a good promo to save his life. I mean, I am not asking him to cut a promo as good as the one Dragon and Mox cut earlier in the episode, but at least like, be good. Ricky Starks is the man.

Good call on Athena, she has been killing it. The post-match brawl with Jericho and Cole was cool, and hopefully both of them can feud for months so Jericho doesn't leech off the heat of someone I like. Shida!! Always love to see her. This Outcasts angle started disastrously, but if it leads to some good tags and trios with more original stars like Shida, Riho, etc, then it can be salvaged. Julia Hart is awesome and I am liking the trios title matches getting different stipulations than other tag matches. Makes them stand out more.

Orange Cassidy has been the AEW TV worker of the year, maybe the TV worker of the year across promotions

There are certainly reports of him having drawn 50k+ crowds IIRC. Even Dara Singh is supposed to have drawn 50k+ crowds here in India, but given Londos was Greek and Singh obviously Indian, not sure whether they would come under the "American promotions" criterion.

WCW's highest was around 41k for the Hogan-Goldberg match (that btw got sold beforehead, before the pronouncements cluld take shsape, the careers of Ken Shamrock, alongside both Vince AND Hogan suffered in terms of and most tickets were sold), right?

Roman is better than Sika. Rock?

Most long-time posters here would know who DEAN is. Hope he makes a full recovery. Thinking of him and his family and wishing them all the best with everything I have.

That's really impressive, and makes me think they might sell 50k or even 60k by the day of the event

No way Punk allows Jericho to make the feud all about Jericho though. He has been around too long, is way too savvy, and for better or for worse, knows how to make things about himself.

He had a non-match with Juice Robinson that was a setup for Jay White's debut. He has a tag match on tonight's Rampage. Seems like he is being set up for White's first victory, which sucks

El Generico deserves a shout-out for excellent body language and great communication while wearing a mask

Much stronger Dynamite than last week's, even though it will get killed in the ratings, what with going against both the Knicks and the Lakers. (Some chokejob by the Bucks eh)