DMJ

I watched the video and I'm not sure that less than 10 untelevised seconds of holding his arms up and circling the ring 1.5 times is that big a deal. Hell, I like the Young Bucks much better as heels (if they're going to be on TV at all, which I'm kinda indifferent about generally) and, in Chicago, that's what they're going to be. Might as well lean into it. The fans in attendance want to engage in this sort of stuff. I sure as hell loved chanting "You Screwed Bret" at Earl Hebner and Shawn Michaels for years after 97' and, in Canada, Shawn sure as shit - even after becoming born again - still didn't seem to mind getting that heat. (And Shawn, post-return, may not have been an executive, but he certainly had some stroke.) But I'll refrain from the what-aboutism and say this... I'm with many here and am definitely bummed that CM Punk is gone and that Collision is likely to become just another version of Dynamite - which is what Rampage was/is - and that it will not have that different "flavor" that set it apart. That being said, pro-wrestling hasn't been run "like the outlaws days" in at least 25 years and the rosters of today are not the rosters of 25 years ago, let alone 35. CM Punk was at the Cauliflower Alley convention and mentioned that Harley Race, Roddy Piper, and Dusty Rhodes all loved him - and that's great and wonderful - but that type of "old school respect" is from guys who worked in an era where being legitimately tough was a prerequisite, where you had to personally iron out contracts and deal with back-stabbing promoters and back-stabbing colleagues, navigate a culture that was filled with sharks and legit criminals. I know the wrestling business isn't perfect in 2023, there are still horrendous things happening (the #MeToo stuff made that abundantly clear), but its really romanticizing the past to say that things were better when punishments were doled out by "the boys" and might include sodomy, being forced to do torturous exercises at the risk of injury, or having your personality property defecated on because you forgot to shake someone's hand or were eating chicken in the locker room. CM Punk physically assaulting somebody for letting an errant "shoot" comment out on a YouTube pre-show is 100% uncalled for, hard ass, thin-skinned bullshit. I'm not saying "violence is never the answer." I'm all about punching Nazis and bigots and actual real-life villains who routinely support and defend fire-bombing churches and racial genocide, but I don't think a workplace conflict over whether or not someone should use real glass for a wrestling match quite measures up. I don't know about you, but I don't come to blows with my co-workers when they use my coffee mug without permission. CM Punk resorted to physical violence over a workplace spat because (a) he wants to show he's a tough guy, (b) he knows Jungle Jack Perry is not a tough guy, and (c) he seemingly feels like any slight against him needs to be handled through physical violence. And then supposedly threatening (verbally, gesturally, or by lunging at) your boss - well, c'mon now, that's just not going to fly in the corporate wrestling world. A world that CM Punk has existed in and knows the rules of for a long, long time and a world that CM Punk has prospered in financially and, at times, creatively. When he's been able to. Which he seemingly can't anymore. Yet there are still people who think CM Punk, who clearly has serious anger management issues, should somehow still have a job despite his serious anger management issues being a recurring problem that lead to suspensions, investigations, bad press, lawsuits, having to re-book events, etc. Like, I get it, I really enjoy CM Punk too as an on-screen character, but you have to be being willfully obtuse to think CM Punk is somehow owed any more chances or was not being an overly aggressive asshole for physically attacking a 26-year old midcarder for showing bad judgment on a YouTube preshow. That to me makes CM Punk look like a child. What the Bucks (who I honestly don't even really like) did? That's just good heel crowd work.

- I too am of the belief that this Perry/Punk is an angle. Just seems to me like Punk and Perry had a slight conflict weeks ago, the story leaked and turned into a big news item even though it was a nothingburger, the "IWC" overreacted, and now Punk and Perry are, like, "Well, if its that easy to work the reporters and the fans, let's just do it." If its true that Punk wants to make money off of the heat with the Elite, but they don't want to work with him, I can totally see him reasoning that if the Elite won't do it, he might as well do it with someone else. I don't even think they're "working the boys" - I think everyone is pretty much hip to it and Miro was just being a little scamp by saying it didn't happen on Twitter because, shit, I dunno, maybe he just finds it all so stupid? - Bringing in Edge to do anything with the Hardys would be awful. I'm far from the biggest Edgehead - in fact, I think he's about as mid as they get - but if I'm bringing him in, I'm doing E&C vs. The Bucks, E&C vs. FTR, Edge vs. Omega (because it does seem like Edge has a boner for working against this generation's "best" workers, specifically AJ and Seth during his last run), and then whoever else Edge wants to work, which I would assume would be folks like Adam Cole and Darby as they seem to be the guys that get name-checked the most. Oh, and E&C vs. Sting and Darby could work too because I imagine Edge might want to scratch that name off his bucket list. But neither Matt or Jeff Hardy is even in the top 30 guys I'd like to see Edge have any involvement with and, honestly, I'm not sure there is even that much nostalgia for it anymore. To me, there's far more intrigue in doing "dream matches" with the younger talent.

Wow. I'm at a loss of words as well. But I'll say this... So sad to hear just because he was still such a young man - 36 years old - and, say what one may about his ideas or his matches or whatever, I don't think anyone could say that this dude didn't love pro-wrestling and strive to entertain and bring something unique to it. I know I haven't always been kind when talking about his stories and his matches, but I never doubted his intention: to entertain his many, many fans and to do something that people talk about and remember. And, yeah, sometimes it veered into the ridiculous, but also, for every "bad idea," there was something like the Firefly Funhouse match with Cena that I thought was absolutely terrific and bizarre and weird and unforgettable and made me laugh and smile. RIP Bray Wyatt. A guy who could strike out 9 times in a row, but still had me wanting to see his 10th at-bat. And I know that's not the nicest thing to say maybe, but damn, as far as what we know about him as a person away from the gimmick, he seemed to be well-liked and someone who rooted for his friends and was a good person. Just terrible, terrible news.

Only halfway through, but if they don't give Ospreay the win, Tony is crazy. As someone who really only watches WWE (PLEs) and AEW TV shows, I'm that 40 year old fan that basically watches the most easily accessible stuff via a Peacock subscription and Hulu Live. I've seen a handful of Will Ospreay matches and probably none of the ones that I should've or would be considered top tier. I don't think I've heard him cut a real promo that wasn't hyping a Forbidden Door show. But that promo, that 60 seconds, was awesome. Passionate and personal and felt real. I want to see this guy every week now. I knew he was a good wrestler, but now, I'm invested in the character too.

Effortlessly charismatic and captivating. A guy who makes wrestling fun because he was always fun to watch. I mean, there's just a joy that one can have watching his work - especially personal favorites (the Flair matches in 89', for example) - that so very few other wrestlers have. He's on the very, very shortlist of best to ever have done it and, the older I get, the more and more I think he really might be the best. He made every feud, every story, every victory, and every loss feel REAL, like it really mattered, like it was always deeply personal. That didn't always result in great matches, but they still mattered because he was in them, even in the most ridiculous of circumstances like his last WCW years or the Chainsaw Charlie stuff.

- Based on her often terrible Twitter X posts (ugh), I'm guessing Lacey didn't endear herself to many backstage either. I can't say for sure as I'm not in the locker room, but sometimes it seems clear when some of the women enjoy working together and when they don't. For example, I was watching SummerSlam 2013 and Battleground 2013 for my blog and there are two Brie Bella matches on these shows - one is vs. Nattie and the other is vs. AJ Lee. Which match do you think was actually pretty good? You might be surprised to learn that the match with Nattie is considerably better and I don't think its because Nattie is some super-worker and AJ is terrible. My theory is that Brie and Nattie planned/rehearsed a match that they were both comfortable with and worked hard to make as good as possible. Meanwhile, I'm not sure if AJ and Brie - who were in the midst of a storyline in which AJ mocked Total Bellas and all the other divas for being phonies that may have struck a real-life nerve - had that same professional respect or trust and their match suffered because of it. Becky at the peak of her popularity may have been a little peeved that the best they could come up with for her after main eventing WrestleMania XXXV was feuding with a still-green ex-Marine who was getting the kind of push that Lynch - and others (Naomi, Nikki Cross, Asuka) - had all worked a comparatively much longer time to get. I could be completely wrong about that, but any which way, if that feud was designed to get Evans over as a top heel, it was an undeniable flop. - As for Theory. I don't watch NXT so I'm not sure what Triple H or the main roster writers did to "strip" Theory of his character. From what I saw, his character was about as thin as wet newspaper. He took selfies. He was vainglorious. He was young. He was yet another agile, well-trained wrestler who can do just about anything he wants in the ring from dazzling aerial moves to old-fashioned suplexes...except he can't do the single most important thing one needs: make the audience care long enough to sustain interest in a wrestling match, to care who wins or loses, to actually mentally invest. His athletic ability carried him through a few good performances and matches here and there, often multi-mans where he was blessed to be working with guys who had way, way more natural charisma (mostly Bobby Lashley, but also Ali and Rollins). If you want to talk about someone who has been stripped of what made his character interesting, my mind goes to Cameron Grimes. The little bits of his work in NXT and Impact that I saw over the years made him come across as a really fun, unique character. Plus, I found his offense to be more interesting than anything Theory does. But, really, is there any reason why they didn't just have LA Knight win the title? I'm a huge Rey fan, but if you're going to give someone the rub of beating an unpopular heel champion like Theory, LA Knight certainly could've been that guy and would benefit much more from it than Rey.

Yup. Been saying this for months now. And the other 50% he lifted from Asuka.

Yeah, I can see that - but I wish they would've had the announcers actually ask "Where's Jimmy?" instead of saying that he was sidelined from getting put through a table the previous night. I mean, by this point of SummerSlam, we'd seen multiple guys and gals take horrific bumps, weapon shots, and even put through tables and were back on their feet, competing and *winning* within minutes. If they wanted Jimmy to be attacked before the show to explain why he wasn't running out, fine, but do it in a backstage segment and have him taken out in an ambulance. Or they could make Jimmy not saving Jey from an endless 2-on-1 beatdown a question that Corey and Cole wondered aloud. I know looking for consistent logic in wrestling is a fool's errand, but the SummerSlam main event booking had less logic than usual and the match itself was nothing special, a formulaic Roman match and a lesser one at that.

- Not a bad show, but Money in the Bank was arguably the best top-to-bottom main roster show (especially if you dug the main event) that the company has put on in close to a decade or more. - I don't watch the weekly TV, but was it always going to be an "MMA Rules" match between Shayna and Ronda? If so...bad idea. Shayna and Ronda are good enough at pro-wrestling that, with the right agent/producer, I believe they could've worked a good pro-wrestling match with elements of MMA. This almost felt like a match designed to show that MMA isn't as entertaining as pro-wrestling, but who even cares about that decades-old debate in 2023 because this was fake MMA on a pro-wrestling show and, ultimately, it just made me think "This match isn't good and this show isn't good and if this is what the WWE came up with and thought would be good, I'm not interested." I have a strong suspicion that Vince or HHH or someone got very bored or disinterested in protecting Ronda and that resulted in her no longer getting the benefit of having her matches properly produced/agented (?). Because that first run, when she was considerably greener, the matches were laid out much better. There's a story there for sure. - Seth/Finn needed to be worked 25% slower because some of the best and coolest callbacks were rushed through, but they definitely had the crowd into it by the end. - Roman/Jey needed to be worked 25% faster because some of the best and coolest moments were separated by 5-6 minutes of Jey or Roman just standing around. I tend to like Roman's matches, even as others have pointed out how grueling they can be, but this match was a misfire. I think there were multiple issues at play. First, it was always going to strain credulity to believe that a lifetime tag specialist like Jey Uso was going to defeat the most dominant World Champion in 30 years even if it was conceivable in non-kayfabe terms that Roman would want to drop the title to him. That wasn't necessarily true of the matches against Drew (at Clash), Sami (in Montreal), and, most importantly, Cody Rhodes, at WrestleMania, where it seemed like there was at least some chance of Roman dropping 1 or both titles (back when there was still vagueness around whether his titles would be unified). Second, as I wrote earlier, I tend to like the "Roman formula" more than others even if it has become a formula. He beats down an opponent early, he walks around and trash talks, he gets cocky and the babyface makes a comeback only to get trounced through interference. But in this instance, that wasn't the story to tell. Jey Uso isn't bad fighting from underneath, but he's not the seller that Sami or Cody are. His gifts are his agility and speedy offense and unmatched ability to build a string of false finishes, a mix of things that helped make the Usos the best WWE tag team ever. At their best, they would work a methodical opening stretch before basically letting loose with a fireworks display. That's the sort of match that Jey excels at and that would've woken up the crowd. Seeing Jey work "Roman's match" was lackluster. Plus, even from a kayfabe perspective, Jey should know Roman's formula and style/pace better than anyone and should've had a much clearer game-plan. He was made to look like any other challenger instead of bringing anything new to the table. Third, Solo Sikoa and the No DQ/No CO stipulation. Again, not having a plan to counteract Solo when you're in a No DQ/No CO match against Roman, who you have personally helped by interfering in nearly every one of his title defenses, makes Jey look like a total idiot. And because the audience has seen so many screwy finishes with Roman, it also made making the match basically a 2-on-1 beatdown for the majority of its final third thoroughly deflating. I get that Jey can no longer rely on the backup of Sami or KO or any other babyface, that he burned too many bridges to still have any friends, and I get that the reason Roman didn't just have his cousins come in and bum rush Jey from the first minute is because Roman wanted to inflict the punishment himself and show his dominance but...man, just feels like one too many holes in the story of this match. A big disappointment when, even if Roman was leaving with the title, they could've at least offered something fresh.

Yeesh. God bless Cody for agreeing/wanting to work with Wyatt, but, man, what a poor decision. I think there was a news blurb many moons ago about Roman not wanting to be involved in anything with Wyatt, correctly seeing that it would force him to do corny overacting the same way he watched Seth and Cena do. For Cena, I'm in the minority that thought the feud worked - but mostly because Cena was way more of a "Hulk Hogan"-type: objectively uncool and geared towards kids. The jorts. The jingoism. The over-the-top "I'm just having fun" attitude he gave off even in feuds that should've/could've been more serious. I think Cena also relished in getting to tap into that Dungeon of Doom cheesiness in a way that Brock or Roman don't see their characters doing. (The same way, say, Ronda would've probably balked at working with Bray while Alexa Bliss saw it as being an opportunity to do something weird and creative, for better or worse.) Seth Rollins had to pilfer pieces of Asuka and Nakamura's acts to reinvent himself after his ill-fated Wyatt feud. And, as much as I've always been willing to acknowledge that Wyatt has his fans and his appeal and that, done right, there's money in the act: if you peruse places like reddit or the "Twittersphere" (gag), where Wyatt had consistently been praised by a respectable amount of fans, he is significantly less popular than he was before his last comeback. It really seems like his defenders were willing to stay on his bandwagon until this last run, which was just so objectively shitty that it is now near-impossible to be a fan of the character. Even his staunchest ride-or-die fans seem to have gone into hiding as, whether its accurate or not, there is a feeling that Bray was given an opportunity to do his whole Wyatt 6 story but that every element we saw was incredibly stupid and lame. I think lots of his fans and those of us who were sometimes on-the-fence about him no longer care that he didn't get to execute his "full vision" because even the glimpses we saw were supremely cringe. Most fans recognize we don't need to eat a whole plate of shit to know what it is. The first few bites were evidence enough of what was on the menu. But good luck to Cody for seeing if he can somehow make it work. I think he'll be fine no matter what...but Wyatt will be back off TV by November.

- I didn't hate the Bloods and Guts match as much as many people here. I didn't think it was great or anything, but I guess it was exactly what I expected? I'm very far from being the most versed fan in the Elite's history, but I've always found that their version, specifically the Bucks' version, of "hardcore" matches tend to include lots of high spots that are a touch too cute and choreographed and based on athleticism rather than punishment. In certain situations, this is great fun because who doesn't wanna see someone fly off of and into a dozen ladders...but if I was looking to hurt somebody, I'd be more likely to just use the ladder to bash their brains in. For example, we saw one of the Jacksons dump thumbtacks into the ring from on top of the cage because, well, no one's ever done that before (that I've seen). The "logic" was particularly atrocious because, at the time, his teammates were actually in a prone position about to get powerbombed/piledriven. The idea is that dumping the tacks was enough a distraction to allow his teammates to then counter with back body drops onto the tacks that had been dumped...but, just like that sentence I wrote, it was very convoluted. Again, though, you don't go to McDonald's for a 4-star meal and I wasn't expected a Blood and Guts match involving the Young Bucks to not have a bunch of convoluted spots in it. - As for MJF/Cole, I don't want to see them beat FTR. I said this before many months ago with the Acclaimed: when an act is this over, you don't need them to be champions. Unfortunately, as good as they are, FTR sometimes seem a bit aimless when they're not either holding the titles or challenging for them. Their gimmick, like their idol Bret Hart's, is basically just being the best. The best means you're the champions. There's plenty you can do with MJF/Cole without them as champs, who are also absolutely killing it as the AEW Tag Team Champions right now after two back-to-back showings like they had against Bullet Club Gold. - I know its not a huge marquee match but Takeshita vs. Omega at one of the big PPV shows seems like a lock. And I'm not mad at it. We could also get Takeshita & PAC vs. Golden Lovers, which is another match I wouldn't be sad to see. Either way, its time to move on from BCC/Elite. - Lastly, on the topic of Ibushi, I'm willing to reserve full harsh judgment. He did not have a good showing, but this isn't the first time that AEW has brought someone in as a TOP LEVEL WRESTLING GOD and thrown them into a mix that wasn't necessarily their best environ. Again, I'm not super schooled in Ibushi's work, but I didn't know him to be famous for stealing the show in multi-man War Games-style matches. I compare it to the first few matches that Jay White had where, being someone unfamiliar with his work, I didn't get what the hype was about. Instead of coming in and dominating or cutting some awesome promo, he seemed like just another good hand in a company full of good hands. Now, having been put in the position of working with CM Punk and FTR, I very much get what makes Jay White terrific and have quickly become a big fan. So, yeah, Ibushi didn't wow me, but hopefully he'll have a few more matches in AEW and maybe get to do something that is a bit more in his wheelhouse?

I wouldn't say its a misfire just yet. I'm a Starks fan, but I'm not 100% convinced that he's ready to get that signature win over CM Punk, who, if we're meant to remember, is basically the Collision World Champion after his promo with the bag (has he brought that thing out again?). Personally, if I had to go with anyone, it might be Jay White. Their moments in the ring together in their 6-man really popped and felt "big." Its kind of why as much as I absolutely loved the FTR/Bullet Club Gold tag match, I'm more than ready for Jay White: Singles Star. I also think a Starks heel turn would be a step back. They just teased a Hobbs face turn (I hope its not a full one and that he's just ditching QT, but I wouldn't mind "tweener" Hobbs either). I don't need Starks back as a heel just yet. If it were me, I'd put Starks up against Miro. That's a fresh pairing between two guys and you can let the crowd decide who they want to cheer on any given night. And, as long as I'm fantasy booking, I'd put an end to the House of Black/Andrade feud as quickly as possible. I know its been years since these guys were in NXT, but this very much seems to me like an NXT rivalry now happening in AEW. One of AEW's selling points should be the fresh rivalries and this sort of booking works against that. I think House of Black would be better served continuing to just steamroll opponents as a trio and, if you're going with a babyface Hobbs, he'd make a fresh rival. Hobbs wrestling all three of the members (and then eventually having to find partners for a 6-man) sounds like potentially good TV and, at the very least, interesting TV just because you'd have a great clash in styles vs. Buddy Matthews, a potentially kick-ass hoss fight against Brody King, and then a big deal "main event" level match against Black.

MF DOOM albums are usually littered with wrestling references, but this one may be my favorite (from the song "Great Day"): "Lookie here, it's just the way the cookie tear Prepare to get hurt and mangled like Kurt Angle rookie year" Just classic, brilliant MF DOOM rhyme style with the way he purposefully mispronounces "tear" to rhyme with "here" and "year," but then also has the uncanny internal rhymes of "hurt" with "Kurt" and "mangled" with "Angle" and "lookie" with "cookie" and "rookie." Just an insane amount of rhymes/assonance within two lines. Anyway, here's the song in all its glory: Madvillain - Great Day

For context sake, this was billed as "Punk vs. Joe IV" and was part of AEW's 2nd Owen Hart tournament. The story coming in was that CM Punk had never defeated Samoa Joe. Early on, the majority of the crowd seems to be behind CM Punk, though you can hear a smattering of "Joe's Gonna Kill You" chants. Obviously, these two have plenty of history, but one needn't know every aspect of their rivalry to enjoy what they did. Joe was tremendous to start after Punk missed a crossbody, at one point chopping Punk off of the top rope and onto the arena floor. From there, Joe went to work on the outside as the match went to a Picture-in-Picture commercial break. That was unfortunate as Joe then hit his signature running boot onto Punk, who had ended up on a chair against the barricade. When Joe went for another, Punk moved, though, and then hit a big clothesline off the apron. I'll give both guys credit for not taking it easy during the "break," but that exchange deserved to be fully spotlighted. The break ended and Joe applied a chinlock and then went for a knee drop. Punk dodged it and the two men exchanged some strikes. Punk hit his running knee in the corner but couldn't really capitalize. He went for a bulldog but Joe countered with a choke, which Punk escaped via a back suplex. Another solid strike exchange and then another trio of running knees followed by a short-arm clothesline. Punk went to the top and landed a big elbow drop, but only got 2 and a half. Punk called for the GTS and attempted it, but Joe escaped by kneeing Punk in the face and then applied a nasty-looking crossface. This drew huge chants for CM Punk, who was able to get a foot on the bottom rope to break the hold. Joe went for a powerbomb, couldn't get it, Punk tried for another GTS, couldn't get it, and Joe sent Punk into the ropes and then hit a big snap powerslam off the ropes for another nearfall. The crowd erupted in an "Owen Hart" chant (as Punk had asked them to do earlier in the show, not because the match was boring). Punk went back to the top, but Joe caught him and looked to be going for the MuscleBuster. Punk escaped and hit a swinging neckbreaker and then went for a GTS, which Joe escaped. Joe applied a choke, but CM Punk countered it with a victory roll and got the 3 count in a bit of a shocker ending. After the match, both Punk and Joe looked a little bit surprised and, in the case of Joe, deflated as well. As the crowd chanted "Owen Hart," Joe offered his hand in respect and, after shaking, Joe choked Punk out, screaming into his face, "I've always been better than you!" Joe went for a chair, but FTR showed up to run him off. In a nice touch, though, Ricky Starks - the man CM Punk would now face in the finals of the tournament - also showed up, staring Punk down too. All in all, a really good match, though not one that I expect will be considered a TV Match of the Year or anything (coincidentally, the FTR vs. Juice Robinson & Jay White from earlier in the show was that quality), but it also left enough on the table for there to be another chapter between these guys. The crowd was hot for this, the action was good, the story made sense, and Punk and Joe's chemistry was still undoubtedly there. Yes, they may move a little slower than they used to, but since when does moving at a super fast pace make a match any better or more personal? Not an all-time classic, but certainly above average and worth checking out if you're a fan of either guy.

I thought this was a really strong match, with great execution, a really great story, good long-term selling and focus on limb work (Chavo's arm at first, Rey's knee for most of the match). I kinda wish the crowd was more into everything as the audience's interest seems to ebb-and-flow despite Chavo and Rey maintaining a good pace and delivering plenty of counters and cut-offs, hope spots, and variety of action. I wouldn't personally consider this to be "formulaic" Rey Mysterio only because, especially in the early going, I found his offense to be really targeted and even vicious - which is not necessarily a word I'd use to describe Rey Mysterio's offense. I haven't seen enough Chavo matches to call this his best, but I'm also not sure I've ever seen a better singles match out of him. Its just too bad that I don't think he or the division itself or the title itself were over enough with the crowd to make this match feel like a big deal (despite all the positives this match has). All in all, I'd recommend this match and would consider it well above-average.

- I don't buy that story about Shawn Michaels interfering in the booking of WrestleMania XV. Occam's razor doesn't always apply to pro-wrestling, but it seems to me now (and it seemed to me back then too) that the WWE was riding high on the "crash TV" style and unpredictability was paramount. Unfortunately, any wrestling fan with a pulse knew that we were heading to The Rock vs. Austin at WrestleMania once Rock joined the Corporation, which meant that from late November 98' to March 99', they had over a dozen weeks of TV to fill, plus PPVs, plus the Halftime Heat show and they needed as many twists and turns as they could get. And so that's how we get Vince McMahon winning the Rumble instead of Austin and the "hot potato" title changes between The Rock and Mankind. Coming into this match, everyone believed The Rock would leave with the title and Austin would win his match later in the night to cement their clash at Mania. Only one of those things came true, though, with the Vinces (McMahon and Russo) attempting to throw one last swerve in the mix. Was it one too many? Was it anti-climactic? Yeah, maybe. But it didn't not work. I find it hard to believe that a doped-up Shawn Michaels' got much traction arguing that WrestleMania should be headlined by the number one babyface (Austin) facing the number two babyface (Mankind) while your hot, mega-despised heel (The Rock) sits on the sidelines with his thumb in his ass. I doubt McMahon, Russo, Pat Patterson, or any other top advisor that was there at the time (JR? Cornette?) would even consider it. Hell, I doubt even Austin would've let that fly and he certainly had more power than Shawn in 99'. - As for this match, its not a bad match because, well, The Rock was super over and Foley was still willing to take some ridiculous bumps to ensure that this match was at least good. There are two spots in particular that are excellent - Foley tacking a back suplex on the floor in the crowd and Foley taking a back body drop off of a table at ringside. But there's really nothing else that stands out as "great." In their defense, though, they were stuck in a bad position having had maybe the most brutal, sickening match in company history at the Rumble in January and then a widely-seen, more "fun," cinematic match at Halftime Heat (which I believe was fought under Falls Count Anywhere rules, but I could be wrong). To make things even harder, Al Snow and Hardcore Holly had had a weapons-filled match that ended up all the way in the river outside the arena earlier on the show. Basically, just in case there was any hardcore territory left on the map that Foley and The Rock hadn't already traversed, in someone's infinite wisdom, they'd let Snow and Holly get there first on the same show. By this point, they were working a style of match that they'd already worked in two different ways and there are just only so many ways to skin a cat. Still, just because of the heat of the match, Foley's efforts, The Rock's crowd-pleasing shtick, and a finish that, at the time, really was unpredictable and a surprise twist, I'd say this is an above-average match, but nothing I'd necessarily go out of my way to see.

Thank god they didn't try to position Rousey as the babyface. Now I'm just hoping that Rousey gives 100% being the heel. I don't think it was a terrible idea to have Shayna "win" that first exchange, but Rousey should definitely regain the upper-hand in decisive fashion and put a hurt on her in response. In my blog, writing about their tag match (before the Shayna turn and before learning that she was leaving the WWE), I mentioned how Rousey has both *lost* some of her star appeal/uniqueness but, in that same time, has become, to my eyes, a more versatile worker. In other words, she went from being this Big Match Only-style attraction to, for better or worse (often worse, but not always), feeling like part of the roster and not above it. That shift meant we never got the big Ronda vs. Becky match that seemed inevitable 4 years ago...but it also means we now get a Shayna vs. Rousey match where it doesn't seem like Shayna, whose basically been a midcarder since leaving NXT, is totally outmatched. Rousey not being booked as an absolute killer means things are less predictable even if it also means the thing that made her so special is no longer really there. As for Shayna, well, she was due for getting babyface reactions eventually. Vocal portions of the WWE audience have consistently been cheering for folks they feel have been "held down" or "underused" for years now and, sooner or later, people were going to remember that Shayna has worked her ass off for the past 3 years and hasn't been pushed since her main roster debut, when she was immediately thrust into a main event spot (which went horribly, but also happened during the pandemic era and was her first program after leaving NXT). Her tag team with Nia Jax was either the first or second best thing Nia ever did. She's put over everybody and anybody on TV with seemingly no ego (she went 14-63 in 2022 according to Cagematch, which is fucking absurd even in a fake sport where being a legitimate martial artist shouldn't matter). And, despite being 42, still feels like someone who hasn't hit their ceiling or had their moment. Kinda like with Rhea Ripley earlier this year, in a world where the lines between cheering for a character and cheering for a person are so blurred, its really hard not to root for Shayna Baszler (for another example, no matter what he does or who he's against, I'm probably never going to actively cheer for a sex creep like Matt Riddle because while the character is a fun babyface, the person seems like a scumbag).

I was genuinely surprised that this match wasn't being hailed as an "instant classic" by everyone who saw it. I'm guessing around these parts, there are plenty of us who enjoyed the hell out of this match even if, in some other places, fans criticized it for starting too slow, relying too much on facial expressions, and emphasizing melodrama over action. To me, those elements were features, not flaws. I don't always love Roman's acting and, against certain opponents, it has looked particularly out-of-place, but here, he was able to share the stage with The Usos and, most impressively, Solo Sikoa (who might have actually stole the match). Yes, they worked the first half of this match at a speed in which nobody in the ring was really breaking a sweat, but the crowd didn't seem to mind (and either did I). Again, I don't always love how that has become part of Roman's act, but here, it worked perfectly because it wasn't just Roman taking walks between strikes - it was all done in service of a face-in-peril stretch and to contrast Roman's cockiness with Solo's intense focus. As soon as Jey got the hot tag, this match picked up and then never stopped. Brilliant false finishes. Really good exchanges. I would hate this style of match if it became something everybody in the WWE was trying to do. I mean, when has a match ever needed to pause so that someone can basically do a soliloquy or cut a promo (as we've seen Roman come close to doing in the past and that, in this match, we saw Paul Heyman basically do)? I hated it when Bray Wyatt did it. John Cena was never as good at delivering this sort of match, though there are examples where he attempted it. The cheesiness factor is inherent. But goddamn, the Bloodline get it just right somehow. Instead of feeling hamfisted, I liked Paul Heyman audibly motivating Roman with lines about his sons having to sit at "his" table (referring to Jimmy) rather than just saying some sort of generic encouragement. I loved the amount of playing-to-the-audience Roman did, even if it meant that the match didn't "get going" until minute 12 or whatever. To me, this was the perfect blend of "old" and "new." Things started much slower than major matches tend to in 2023, but by the end, I don't think anyone can say there weren't a ton of great sequences and false finishes (one of the Usos kicked out of a should-be lethal Spear-and-Spike combo). Yes, there was some undeniable overacting/melodrama, but it didn't feel out of place in this match because they've spent years building the tension. Has all this become somewhat formulaic? Sure....except this match actually went against formula by delivering on a pay-off! This was a masterpiece to me, thoroughly entertaining and engaging from beginning to end with some genuinely shocking moments and a wonderful, crowd-pleasing finish. 5 Stars. A+. A clear WWE Match of the Year candidate and, seriously, in the conversation as the best WWE match of the 2020s.

I went with Cena...though, if the question was, Who do you like to watch more? I'd have said Brock. But the question was who had the better career and John Cena gets my vote just because of the breadth and the duration and the more diverse body of work. From 2002 to present is a full 20 years (though his status as the "ace" doesn't really start until 05' and ends sometime between 2015-2017) and there's really no one else that took on the range of opponents that he did in that time. Cena might be the only guy in WWE history to have had every "dream match" (I guess Randy did too, but Randy's inconsistency means that many of his dream matches fell far short of great). Cena has good-to-great-to-all-time-classics against such varied wrestlers as HHH, HBK, Kevin Owens, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Edge, Jericho, Brock, AJ Styles, Umaga, RVD...and then you have oddball matches that were better than they had any right to be against Great Khali and JBL and even Big Show. Hell, those matches against Bray Wyatt from 2014 ended up proving to be among the top 5 matches Bray ever had (*the Firefly Funhouse "match" was crazy and bizarre and I dug that too, but I'm not calling it a match). Cena could be very corny at times, overact, and have cartoonish matches that didn't quite work - a TLC match against Wade Barrett I saw recently comes to mind and the series against Rusev - but if you listen to the crowds, they were generally very into those matches. John Cena could give you a truly brutal, bloody, violent hardcore match or he could give you an "extreme match" that was PG and broken furniture and still leave the crowd feeling like they got what they paid for. Lesnar is more of a wild card, which makes him more interesting to watch. I think Lesnar has now and has always had an aura that Cena doesn't. But let's not kid ourselves - Brock has some major clunkers on his resume, was not always motivated to give the crowd a show, and while many top guys have a formula, Lesnar's formula could lead to some really disappointing matches. I'm very far from a "Cena is the GOAT" guy, but I do think Cena has a real claim to having the best WWE career ever in terms of sheer quantity and quality of work at a high level. I'm not sure who else would even be in the running. Taker's lows are too low. Austin's WWE run was too short. Ditto for The Rock. Same for Danielson. Brock and Randy were inconsistent, which means their quantity of great matches doesn't touch Cena's. I guess one could argue Shawn or Bret because of their years in tags plus their singles runs, but I think Cena still bests them in terms of quantity. Triple H, Jericho, and Edge are a no from me, dog. Roman has had an all-time great run over the past 2-3 years and has a spattering of great matches before it, but Cena beats him with longevity and variety. If we could include NWA/WCW/Impact runs, you obviously have to think Flair and Mysterio and Angle - but this is WWE only and Mysterio was not always booked at a super high level and had injuries that sidelined him multiple times. Again, not to say that I prefer to watch Cena over many of those guys, but its kind of undeniable what he accomplished.

- Roman has another 5+ years of working part-time and just doing the big shows if he wants to and his body holds up. He's only 38. - Cody is slightly younger (37) and, because this is his first main event run in the WWE, he is very "fresh," moreso than guys like Owens and Rollins, who are in the same ballpark age-wise. Its kinda like how, when AJ Styles showed up, it didn't really matter that he was near 40 and on the back end of his career because, to the WWE audience, he was new (and, not to downplay it, arguably the best wrestler in the world so it didn't take him very long to live up to the hype and get over with the WWE fans who may have only knew him as "the TNA guy"). So, for Cody, I'd say he has at least 8 years of being a main event guy if he stays healthy and wants to do it. - I think the company sees big things in Bron Breakker. He could be in the mix, but you never know. At one point, I thought Braun Strowman would be this era's Big Show/Kane, a guy that's always kind of "in the mix" as a singles challenger for the big belts, but I think we might've seen his peak and Vince/Hunter may have moved on to Omos. - Bobby Lashley is 46 and still looks like he can wrestle and perform for as long as he friggin' wants. That's older than Brock, but with the diverticulitis and years in MMA, I think Lesnar put his body through the wringer a bit more. I'm not saying Lashley can replace Roman, but talk about a guy that can be a very useful piece of the puzzle to help bridge the gap between the current main eventers and the ones coming up over the next 3 years. - Personally, I think Austin Theory has a ways to go and might never get there (kinda like Ziggler). I've got no interest in watching a sex pest like Riddle, but even if he weren't a creep, as an in-ring performer or a promo, I haven't seen any real progression from what he was in NXT save for maybe the feud with Rollins. Which is why I'd put someone like Damian Priest ahead of him (another guy who is 40 years old, but because he's not been in the WWE for long and looks like a million bucks, is still "fresh" enough to get a big run in the next 2-3 years if he can stay healthy and keep improving). - I think the next batch of real main eventers is going to be made up of more than a few current AEW talents. Darby Allin talks about how AEW is the only place that will let him be himself, but he's not "just" a deathmatch wrestler and Triple H could woo him over because, ultimately, Darby is a great wrestler, not just a new Spike Dudley or a blood-and-gore guy. Take away the thumbtack stuff and maybe the outside-the-company stunts, what exactly would WWE prevent Darby from doing? They've never prevented anybody from diving off ladders or going through tables. Darby is a great underdog babyface and Triple H and Vince would be blind not to see the marketing potential too. I think MJF eventually does jump ship, probably Ricky Starks (33 years old), maybe Swerve (32) goes back, maybe even Adam Cole (33). They all have tons of main event potential. I know Guevara is loathed by many, but he's 29, his fundamentals are there...I don't know, we came around to calling The Miz and Mark Henry two of the best heels of their generation, so its not like its impossible that Guevara could put the pieces together in the WWE system.

I was sadder to learn Grand Crew got the axe too. It wasn't a great show, not necessarily worth a "Save Grand Crew" campaign, but Carl Tart is one of my CBB faves so I'm always rooting for him and I liked seeing him on TV. Here's hoping that the door closing on that show means a window is opening for something even better for him and the rest of the cast (Nicole Byer was also a consistent highlight). I think I watched part of a Young Rock once and realized it wasn't at all for me.

If I'm not mistaken, they had previously announced that All Access would be on MAX. The optimist in me is really, really hoping that this means we'll soon see at the very least the old pay-per-views on there (along with maybe all the old Dynamite and Rampage episodes). The real coup would be if they have a deal like WWE/NBC where MAX will also be streaming future PPVs starting with, say, Full Gear in November. I'm not super knowledgeable about how all these sorts of things work, but why I'm hopeful is: From what I understand, the latest WBD deal was a big jump from their previous deal. WBD was also in the midst of trying to cut original programming and, if we're being honest, I'm not sure there would've been much of a bidding war for AEW as I don't see too many other cable networks being interested in it. So, what additional value would WBD be getting for their money? Yes, they're getting an additional show on Saturday Nights, but that doesn't help WBD's big "new" shiny streaming service (which is what most media companies believe to be the future of their content delivery). The thing that makes the most logical sense is that WBD is looking at what is working on other streaming services and, whether its Amazon and the NFL or Peacock and the WWE, having live sports on your streaming service is going to be integral moving forward. For AEW viewers, at least in the US, it'd be a huge win. For Tony Khan, it'd also be a big win. Yes, their PPV business has been undeniably strong compared to what most predicted. Even shows like Forbidden Door exceeded expectations. However, we've seen PPV business crater for other companies and, right now, for AEW, we've seen it plateau or slightly drop. Its a much safer bet to have a deal in place with WBD/MAX that essentially "covers" what you would've made on PPV annually. Plus, I have no doubt in my mind that AEW's PPV price tag does scare away lots and lots of potential viewers (me being one such fan). The WBD/MAX would almost guarantee more eyeballs on your best shows which, theoretically, would mean you'd be converting even more fans from being folks who watch the TV programming periodically to avid weekly viewers to fans who will now pay to come see your events and buy your merch, opening up new markets for live events (desperately needed). Widening the net without changing the core business/content is what a MAX deal does for AEW. So why hasn't AEW or MAX announced this? Again, I'll be optimistic here. Switching over from PPV to having their big shows on MAX means breaking or seriously hurting deals with the PPV providers like FITE. Of course, when you're getting a a billion dollars from WBD (as is supposedly the deal), you kinda don't need to give a shit...but that doesn't mean you can just cut ties abruptly as, I'm guessing, there are deals in place already through All Out and maybe even through 2023 and 2024. If there are already exclusivity deals with FITE and the other providers for some upcoming shows, it would obviously be a terrible business decision to announce that, say, starting with Full Gear, you can watch every past and future PPV on WBD/MAX for a fraction of the price. Anyone straddling the fence is going to opt not to purchase. The pieces all seem to be in place to make this happen. If it doesn't, to be honest, I just see both sides as losing here. Sure, AEW gets to keep their PPV business and get the big cash deal, but they lose the opportunity to expand their reach and get more eyeballs and be fully integrated into MAX, which is now WBD's flagship (or at least they hope it to be). AEW don't get to be what the WWE is to Peacock, which makes them disposable. Meanwhile, WBD loses the opportunity to see that nice bump of subscribers that AEW would bring if they become the exclusive provider of AEW's biggest shows. It just makes so little sense to me that WBD made a (reportedly) 5 year-$1 billion deal just for an additional Saturday Night show and a dirt cheap reality show, neither of which helps their streaming service whatsoever.

- I'm thinking 3 Stages of Hell for Cody/Brock, though I'm not sure what the three individual matches would be. Whatever it is, I wouldn't mind something with a whole bunch of set pieces if they can pull it off like last year's SummerSlam match between Reigns/Lesnar. That was the furthest thing from a classic wrestling match, but it was sure as hell riveting sports-entertainment. - I tried watching Raw for the first time in many, many months as I mostly keep up with the company online and by watching the PLEs. While there were segments/matches I liked (Owens vs. Gunther, for example), I think watching the show has given me even more reason to really dislike Seth Rollins. I don't know how anyone enjoys this guy's act. In the ring, sure, he's very capable and I've come around to at least admitting that he's dependable for a crowd-pleasing workrate match...but this character is absolute cringe and considering every other character he's had in the company has been generic, he's got to be one of the most over-pushed guys in history. The forced laugh? The stupid Joker dance? Its try-hard and unfunny and not cool and I think if I saw a human over the age of 9 wearing a Seth Rollins tee-shirt in public, I'd just feel bad for them. I've given up on even wondering what I'm missing - he's just not for me and I'll never understood who he is for. Also, just to posit this again, singing along to Rollins' theme is over (see "Roode, Bobby" too), but to my ears, Rollins' theme is basically the same notes as Nakamura's (and his dance shtick reminds me of Asuka), so even the undeniably crowd-pleasing parts of Seth's gimmick seem more than a little "inspired" (like when they tried to give Big Show the "Yes" chant, only this time, because Rollins is more over than Asuka and Nak, the audience didn't balk at him basically stealing their bits).

I'm curious about how much time he's going to actually take off. Maybe he's got a major role and will be out for 12+ weeks with additional time off as he is needed for the re-shoots and press tours that usually come with a major studio production. Or maybe he's got a small role where he's gonna miss some house shows but still makes it to 3-out-of-4 RAWs every month all summer and competes at every pay-per-view because really we're talking about maybe a total of 5-10 shooting days in Atlanta, a short plane ride from pretty much anywhere. From what I found online, the movie has been filming since early April too so its even possible he's been quietly filming scenes over the past 6 weeks. Considering this is Rollins' first major acting gig and the movie studio we're talking about, I'm leaning towards this being a small role and not Marvel giving Seth friggin' Rollins (see what I did there?), a completely unproven film actor, a major, integral villain role in one of their bajillion dollar productions. And if I can put my conspiracy theorist hat on for a minute, I think the reason that the news about Rollins possibly taking time off to shoot this movie and there being "hesitancy" about giving him the win over AJ Styles is complete malarkey "planted" and pushed by the WWE so that they can maybe fool some fans into believing that Rollins doesn't have this match in the bag. Its an attempt to add some air of suspense to a match with an outcome that is about as guaranteed as Tuesday following Monday on the calendar.

Daniel Garcia almost needs to go even bigger with the Sports-Entertainment elements in my eyes (the half-shirt is a step in the right direction, but why is he the only guy in the JAS without a stupid hat?). I also thought they should've built to this match against OC more. Building it based on one previous tag match seems like downplaying what could be a good longer-term rival and interesting dynamic considering that Cassidy is the epitome of a guy whose wrestling is terrific, but stands out because of the sports-entertainment elements of his act. Besides, even a fighting champion shouldn't have to defend his title against just anyone and Garcia's last major match was a loss to Adam Cole. But, yeah, looking at OC's past couple opponents that have really shined - Buddy Matthews, The Butcher, Bandido, even Jarrett - we're talking about some larger-than-life characters. Matthews not only looks like a freak, but he's got the dark, brooding House of Black gimmick behind him. The Butcher is a tattoo-covered brute. The Bandido match was built around it being a lucha-flavored defense and Bandido has his share of signature taunts and moves. Jarrett is friggin' Jarrett. Daniel Garcia might be technically better than some or all of them, but he certainly doesn't come across as more interesting than any of them right now.