MoS

This was an excellent match. I really love Bryan getting over multiple submissions as finishers. He is channeling his mentor and becoming a stretcher too.

Cuts from boxing bleed differently due to the more blunt nature of the strikes, but cuts from elbows in MMA can definitely lead to a classic Ric Flair-esque crimson mask. Watch Cain Velasquez cut up Bigfoot Silva and tell me you don't get strong Muta vibes from Bigfoot's gash

Wasn't Dave writing in 1981 and 1982 too? There are Observer awards for those years. I don't know how frequently he would publish in the early 80s, but IIRC he switches from a magazine style to a newsletter style sometime in 1985(?)

Dustin v. Danielson should rule hard.

From the F4W site (https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/report-flair-lynch-had-confrontation-after-wwe-smackdown-357161) : Charlotte was right to be pissed at the stupid title exchange, and it seems Becky wasn't too happy about it either. But if she sandbagged Becky in the middle of that segment, then that was an unprofessional trash move. The WON report crediting TalkSport says though that the "timing was off" when Charlotte did the back and forth, which makes it feel milder and a timing issue, unlike what PWI is reporting.

Dave has said that Vince relied heavily on the New Japan checks until all the revenue from the first Wrestlemania came in and he could finance the expansion on his own. Those TV bills were coming up around Wrestlemania and he had a lot of debts due to the expansion; a New Japan check shortly thereafter was crucial in giving him some breathing space to execute his grand vision. It's a pity very few of those 80s Observers survive; there would be so much info there.

Love how Florida is the only place Cody still gets cheers now. That match lost me for a while in the middle but an excellent finishing stretch. I wish PAC the winner hadn't looked like just a setup for Cody though. Arn has clearly decided to embrace the Armed Anderson memes so good for him lol

These women's matches need better agents. Too often there seem to be disparate parts in every match, none tied structurally together, weak transitions like the particular one that led to the finisher. I don't know if Britt botched that little Bret-Piper/Austin tribute spot or whether she was always meant to fail, but they did recover from it well.

lol a grudge match between Anna Jay and Britt Baker because there is "so much bad blood" between them? What bad blood? They had one brawl? What is this shit lol. Like I clicked on a WWE stream by mistake.

This entire thing is making the Lucha Bros look like dumbass babyfaces, one of my least favourite wrestling tropes. First they didn't realize it was clearly FTR under those masks in their match, now they didn't realize these crowd masked geeks were not FTR even though they looked nothing like FTR? Fuck out of here with this shit.

Give me the PENTA fist-bumping Schiavone gif NOW

Catching up on Rampage. Hobbs-Orange was disappointing. The finish was crap, and I got tired of Jericho bickering with Taz on commentary. Remove him from there now please.

It's his chops that do the most visual damage. Some wrestlers like Bret Hart despise chops, some love them. Dunno how Corny feels about them.

Danielson hasn't been unleashed in terms of a wider moveset, unless by that you just mean hitting hard. Yes, there is more to wrestling than moves and action, which is precisely why Bryan looks far more comfortable and at home, while Punk feels tentative and unsure of himself. It's about how you move, your intensity, how you carry yourself, how snug and convincing your offence looks, how well you bump and sell, etc. Danielson has been better than Punk at all those things. There seems to be a false binary between "smart work" and "performative work that plays to what the crowd wants." The idea that Danielson hasn't wrestled smart matches or that his matches are just fan service are a disservice to the stories he has been trying to tell with his matches in the ring. There's more to smart storytelling than pointing your fingers at your head. Bryan's match with Omega was nothing like his match with Suzuki, which was nothing like his match with Nick Jackson. All matches had different stories. You are pointing to good logical work in Punk's matches, but there was similar logical work in Danielson's matches too. You are making it sound as if he is out here wrestling Davey Richards-Eddie Edwards matches. If you want to defend his WWE run and the matches these, sure, do so, (I love so many of those matches too, and a couple of them I have above Danielson-Omega) but just saying "Punk isn't being appreciated more than Danielson because these fans appreciate the wrong things in matches and don't get why Punk is being so great" can only take you so far. There have been plenty of articles written about the storytelling in Danielson's matches, how it feels different from Daniel Bryan matches, how his selling and storytelling have been top-notch. There was an excellent review of the Suzuki match by Jimmy Redman in the Rampage thread, for example. You might disagree, but you are acting as if these Danielson matches have been praised for action and workrate alone, which is just not true.

Meltzer writes about how Cornette in his local regional promos would constantly make inside jokes and other things designed to pop the crowd. It isn't surprising that some of the more acclaimed and beloved people in wrestling smarkdom are the ones who realized early on the power of the written word, even in a medium as despised as dirtsheets. Ironic, given Meltzer's own stance on re-evaluating past performances.

Yeah, I mean it isn't a presumption based on an image in my idealized brain that Danielson feels more dangerous and badass here than he did in WWE, or that Punk has had better runs than he has had here. It is simple reality. Point to individual matches and little things Danielson did all day long, it doesn't change his overall booking pattern. I am honestly not sure what this means. Nor the point about EVIL. Yeah, freedom when misused by bad workers is bad. What does that have to do with Danielson? Danielson doesn't need base quality control. He can actually make good use of the lack of restrictions, unlike EVIL. The reason people say Punk is trying to get his reps back in his matches, is because he is clearly trying to get his reps back in. There have been numerous times when he has blown up and needed to grab a hold, or when his opponent has been working around him, etc etc. He isn't doing a back to basics approach, he is getting his basics in order. It isn't about moves either; as mentioned, Bryan hasn't come close to utilizing his full moveset in WWE. I honestly don't see how you can watch Punk move and feel he is anywhere near his best. For Bryan, he has had two matches right out of the gate which have been considered MOTYcs. Is it a surprise that his run has been more lauded? You can think the matches are overrated, but that's an argument about the merits of WWE house style vis a vis the modern AEW/NJPW style; that's a larger point beyond Punk and Danielson.

His case status as a HOF manager is certainly better than his promoter one. Booker one I can still understand although it can be debated, but ECW lost money every year of its existence, and a lot of it was due to Heyman's financial mismanagement and his inability to strike the right deals at the right time, which are part of being a HOF promoter.

You got to respect how no matter how many times he loses favour, he always finds a way to get right in the middle of whatever is the biggest thing going on in WWE.

Did you watch that particular match? He has had a few matches where he wasn't just a plucky underdog. That said, I do think he is definitely presenting himself in a way he never was allowed in WWE. I think he has a few matches in WWE I prefer over the Omega match, but he was never the American Dragon in WWE. Not really. He never felt so dangerous as he does here. I have enjoyed Punk's run so far, but I have seen better versions of Punk before, while this is the first time we are properly seeing Dragon on a major stage in a big-time setting. His run has been very special so far.

Hopefully this means Ibushi can properly recover from his pneumonia as well. I can't imagine that had no role in his injury.

Apparently, TNT has changed Dynamite's airing schedule due to their recent NHL deal in such a way where Western and Mountain time zone viewers will no longer be able to watch it at 8 PM, which will have a significant impact on ratings. As of now, it is only for one week, but it seems to be planned until the move to TBS. Given this modification as well as the numerous pre-emptions throughout the year, the TBS move increasingly seems like the best possible move for them. TNT might be more prestigious due to NBA, but TBS will have a stronger lead-in. Sports will always be more prestigious than wrestling, and constantly getting shafted due to hockey and basketball must not be fun for TK.

What was the agenda for the show? Austin and Jeff's heat?

One way to heat up Smackdown and give Roman a fresh lease of main event life would be a double turn at Saudi. Fans are ready to cheer him without backlash now. I think that's what they are planning on doing too, if Heyman's comments are any indication.

It was the least rated FS1 show in the demo (and probably also overall viewership, although I haven't checked) in Smackdown history, all having big games on Fox, including one that went against a big college football game. None of those SD shows were as loaded as this one.

Forgot about Roman-Wyatt (not complaining though), that is also another good example. I should check out Rollins-Dominick.