Migs

The first section felt way to rushed. It picked up a bit with Ki-Lynn, although there were some rough patches in that. The final stretch with Styles and Lynn was pretty fun, and it felt like they ended it at the right time. Interesting moment historically for Styles, but not a highly recommended match.

Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi SHOCKINGLY rejoining Bullet Club didn't set the world on fire.

I didn't think this was as bad as the original poster, but it wasn't great. Why the fork and the other objects were hidden in a presumably no rules cage match was dumb (and then ignored later when the babyface use them). The overall work is reasonably entertaining, but the big spot section at the end felt lacking in creativity. Not terribly painful to watch, but not recommended at all.

I think the best thing at this point is to give some focus to what's really working for you (in the last year for me, mostly New Japan, ROH and MLW) and let that flow out into other things. There's so much intermixing in the wrestling world now that you can get a really good sampling just by checking out other work from the people you enjoy (Penta on MLW led me to see some PCW Ultra, which led me to see some weirdly good late period RVD matches...). And don't let missing some stuff get you down - everyone at this point is bound to have blind spots, and it'll always be easy enough to correct them when the time comes.

This would be something of a blow for MLW, since it seems like the match they want to get to is Low Ki vs. Penta, and presumably they've been saving it for Mania weekend. Hopefully it at least happens, even if it's sooner than anticipated.

But is it really that different than say, WWF Superstars? It's basically an updated version of any of those shows minus squashes.

Since we're pretty sure they've negotiated a bit before, you have to think it's a wad of cash plus some promises of the matches he'd want, right? Styles is the one he's called out, but I assume there's a decent number of guys there at this point he'd like to work a big match with.

Very good show. Top two matches and Ibushi-Ospreay got the focus and delivered. White-Okada was very good, although it felt like they kept some stuff in the tank for the rematch (and maybe to give White a cleaner win). The undercard was all brisk but very enjoyable. Five hours (including pre-show) that flew by.

The best build to any ROH match this year (Cody-Omega) was almost all done on Being the Elite. You don't have to enjoy the show, but this dismissal of it as "guys fucking off" is absurd. It makes you less interested in the product (which is fine) because it's become a part of the product.

It's the build for everything they do, and has been for the last year and a half (really ever since the Scurll turn on Cole). Cody-Omega, Bucks-Lovers, the main matches on All In - the story is all in those episodes. That's why while the above post is a little hyperbolic, I'd agree it's hard to review something like All In without watching the show - you're missing key pieces.

So, um, who are these two dozen indie talents? Sounds like a pretty cool scoop.

Dropped into the last Observer... "It is not a secret that there were forces attempting to sell Impact to AEW a few months ago, but that proposal was turned down."

Totally possible, and perhaps even likely. But because of the MSG show, it seems like that won't be true in the short term, and it seems like everyone except maybe Omega (and Scurll) is going to be treated as if they're finishing up at the Dome. And I'm definitely a bit less excited for MSG because Cody and the Bucks won't be on the show (although I still anticipate them putting together a great show).

If the Elite guys don't continue working there (still up in the air, it seems), it removes a number of the favored gaijin of a lot of fans. Losing Omega would be the largest blow, obviously, but all the rest have been a key part of the big shows. Cody's main evented a bunch of times this year, and the tag team division looks a lot worse without the Bucks (although the weakness in the heavyweight tag team division is in part a reason why they can afford to lose the Bucks - there's not many obvious matches for them at the moment). And I think the step down in gaijin is huge - I have far, far more interest in Cody and the Bucks than in Jay White and Juice Robinson.

I think there's a bit of an uneasy feeling because of how unknown so much is at this point. While I have a lot of trust in Cody and the Bucks in terms of producing a product (the build to Cody-Omega and then to All In were terrific), the new venture guts ROH (maybe no big loss) and potentially NJPW (a bit more concerning). I think it's all going to work out and the people primed to enjoy AEW will, and NJPW will probably be fine, but there's a sense of loss that hasn't been immediately replaced with something new to enjoy (and it seems like the promotion is at least many months away from real launch).

Whitmer tweeted the logo, so that seems like a pretty safe bet.

Press conference January 8 in Jacksonville.

The Being the Elite that announced it was great. A showcase of why these guys are the best at telling stories in new media and why I trust them on this. More from the Dave-cast - confirming everyone is still attempting to work with / for New Japan.

The revelation from Dave that the main event of Final Battle was cut by over 20 minutes, because they couldn't pace out a four hour show was... distressing. Especially when they opened with a Kenny King match no one needed.

He's also gotten better by pretty big leaps in the last year in lots of ways - even the matches he's had already could be a step up by the time of the G1.

Yeah, it looks like it's about a week behind.

For whatever it's worth, the recent shows are free on their app.

The whole show was released by RF a few years ago. It's pretty dull other than this match.

I've chosen reading tax regulations over paying attention to this match.

The main show appears to only be slotted for 3 1/2 hours.