DMJ

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.

Starks vs. Jay White has gotten plenty of time and is booked like a significant feud for both guys, but I'm not sure its resonating with every fan that way. I think the reason is because, for all the talk of AEW only having "smart" fans who follow all the indies and Japan and Mexico, that's just not true. There's a portion of the AEW audience (and I consider myself part of it) who are excited and generally positive about the company as an alternative to the WWE and came into it as WWE-centric viewers who, because of the ease of finding and following AEW on TV (compared to Impact, ROH, NJPW, etc.), were introduced to a whole new world of talent when AEW started. We may have known by name and reputation who some of the bigger "indie" signings were, but weren't necessarily knowledgeable of their work. So, for example, I didn't really know anything at all about Darby Allin or MJF or Eddie Kingston or the Lucha Bros before I started watching AEW. But then you see a Kingston promo or a Darby match or a Lucha Bros tag and you go, "Goddamn, these guys are incredible!" I think that's why Jay White's debut has been a bit flat (to me, at least). Yes, the fans who know him and love him will tell you how great he is, but I haven't been blown away by any segment or match I've seen with him yet. Pairing him with another guy who most fans like me don't know or care about in Juice Robinson didn't help either. The TV crowds certainly haven't made me feel like I'm in the minority either, compared to, say, when Nakamura or Balor debuted in NXT and within the first two minutes, the crowd responses made it abundantly clear to me (as someone who'd never seen them before) that they were huge deals and I had already missed out on a ton of their best stuff (in Nak's case, maybe all of his peak years). And so it feels like Starks' momentum has been halted by a guy that Tony Khan might think is really cool and great, but doesn't come across as a big deal to anyone not "in the know." I'd have preferred Starks feud with the House of Black or maybe they could've inserted him into the Hobbs/Wardlow rivalry or it may have been cool to see him somehow added to this BCC/Elite feud in place of Takeshita (who is a great wrestler and all, but Starks getting thrown into the mix would've put him into the orbit of true tip-top AEW main eventers in Bryan, Mox, Omega, the Bucks, and to a lesser extent Cesaro). Hell, Starks vs. Swerve feels like a bigger feud than Starks vs. White to me. (And, just to be clear, I have no hate towards Jay White. I'm just indifferent to him right now. He should've had a bunch of spotlight victories, gone on a hot streak, maybe culminating with a PPV win over a guy like Jack Perry rather than going right into a feud with Starks for no apparent reason.)

No thread yet for this week's show yet? I couldn't resist starting one just to dunk on a racist con artist.

To me, its all in the specifics of the question being asked. Who is a bigger star? I think Jericho is historically. That doesn't necessarily mean that in 2023, he's a bigger draw, though. Hulk Hogan is, historically, one of the top 3 biggest stars of the past 40 years but I don't think his appearances on RAW or anything are going to move the needle more than, say, Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes. Jericho was a featured upper midcard/main event talent in the WWE from the late 90s on, main evented a WrestleMania at a time when the WWE was still doing monster ratings , had a high-profile feud with Mickey Rourke, did Dancing with the Stars, and also has found some success as a musician, author, and podcaster (though all of those ventures have been based on his wrestling success). I think it really comes down to the level of popularity wrestling had in the 90s/early 00s compared to what it is today. I have an older cousin who hasn't watched wrestling since the Attitude Era and he probably could still tell you who Chris Jericho is, while I'm not sure they'd be able to pick CM Punk or Bryan Danielson or Seth Rollins or Jon Moxley out of a line-up. In other words, I think if you asked 100 people aged 8 to 80 who identified as "past or present wrestling fans," 100% would know Hulk Hogan, less would know Chris Jericho, and the least would know CM Punk. But who's better is a different question. To me, that question is a matter of taste/personal preference, though I'd love to hear someone try to argue it objectively. To me, if I were tasked to watch one performer for 10 hours straight, I'd go with Punk. Granted, I've also seen probably 10 times as many Jericho matches as I have CM Punk matches. That's bound to happen if you, like me, have basically been watching Chris Jericho on national TV since WCW. Aside from the years he took off, this is a guy who probably averaged 40+ televised matches a year for the past 25 years. Punk, on the other hand, has an "aura" to me that has always set him apart, or at least has always set him apart to me since I first saw via ROH DVDs in the mid-00s. Once he got to the WWE, that aura stuck with him. I don't think Jericho has ever had a run or storyline or angle that felt as hot as CM Punk's Pipebomb/Money in the Bank 2011 storyline (maybe his closest being the feud with HBK in 2008?). In AEW, Jericho has had good segments and good matches, but Punk's appearances and matches tended to be "must see" for me. I don't think I've ever fast-forwarded through a CM Punk match or appearance. Interestingly, looking at my 100 Wrestlers list for many moons ago, I had Jericho ranked #23 and CM Punk at #30. (Don't @ me, as I explained back then, my list was based on my admittedly skewed and limited viewing of mostly just WCW and WWE at the time, with a relatively small amount of ECW/TNA/modern US indies thrown in).

Yea, I'm only about a quarter into the Vince book (Ringmaster) and I think its really, really good and would strongly recommend to anyone and everyone here. I wasn't sure what new groundbreaking info the author would have - I mean, if you've read as many books and columns about wrestling and listened to as many shoots and podcasts about wrestling that many of us have over the past 20 years, its not like there's this huge treasure trove of revelations that the author somehow found. But what makes it worth reading is: (a) I'm not sure anybody's ever woven together all the various aspects of the "Vince story" in such a thorough, engaging and "no holds barred" way. So, yes, you get the Snuka stuff and the Moolah stuff and the war with the NWA, but its all told as part of one piece without losing any of the critical details. (b) The author raises some PWO-level discussion points. I'm not giving anything away here, as in the first chapter (maybe even the preface or introduction), he describes a concept called "neo-kayfabe" that we've all discussed before but I'm not sure has ever been described in a major book or even been boiled down as well as the author does. Later, he addresses the idea of "smarts" and "marks" in a way that I also found to be, if not groundbreaking, still thought-provoking (positing that the idea of "marks" may have actually been an invention by promoters to work the wrestlers, not the audience). As I get through the book, I'm sure there'll be more (or at least I hope so). (c) There are details that even the most knowledgeable wrestling historian would probably be surprised to learn. For example, there's quite a bit of research into Vince's childhood that I'd never read about in such detail before - probably because, as the author exposes, its not necessarily clear what's true, what's false, what's been embellished, what's been hidden, and what just got lost in the passing of time due to poor public records. Worth reading, even if you think you've heard the story a million times before. This will likely go down as the definitive story of the WWE.

I don't even hear so many people saying "Let the story play out..." as I do "lolz at the Cody stans" and "Of course Cody was never gonna win, he started AEW." What's more interesting to me is that nobody I've talked to, read a review from, heard on a podcast or whatever has given a good defense for the booking decision. To me, that makes it different from Lesnar ending the Streak which was definitely controversial but not at all indefensible. McMahon's reasoning was pretty apparent from the second the match ended. This was a Luger-in-93'-level loss or, if you're a more recent fan, Booker T jobbing to Triple H at WrestleMania or, even more recently, the losses suffered by Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn. Cody Rhodes losing put him at that same level that McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Zayn, Lashley, and Rollins and others are, which is a step below Roman. Its not a bad spot to be in. Its higher up than I think fans ever expected Cody to get when he left the WWE. But what's irritating is that they have multiple guys in that spot and when they have the opportunity to pull the trigger on moving a guy up to that highest level (even just for a little while) and that guy checks so many of the boxes that the company seems to value most, its almost frustrating to watch them just create another Sheamus. As for Bron Breaker, Jay White, or GUNTHER being the ones to end this reign, I don't see it. Bron Breakker is champion of the minor league and is completely unknown outside of that portion of the audience. Jay White doesn't have the body of work, on a national level in the US, that AJ Styles had when he debuted or even a Kenny Omega/Young Bucks would have if they were to jump ship. GUNTHER is a mega heel and I don't see him becoming the big hero who takes down the Bloodline. But back to my first point...aside from just saying that Roman Reigns is awesome (and I agree), is there any real defense for why Cody losing was the right call?

Sadly, I'm guessing the people in that district voted him in because he's an ignorant nut.

I'm not too sure about that. Cena/Theory pops on a "poster" that was featured on a mainstream ESPN show more than the Usos/KO & Zayn, but I don't think that necessarily means its on last...especially as I expect its going to end in some sort of screwy fashion that keeps the US Title on Theory, but that ends with Cena planting him with the AA. You get the "feel good" moment of Cena hitting his finisher, but at the end of the day, I'm not sure you want to end Night 1 with something half-hearted when the Usos losing clean is just such an obvious and well-earned feel-good finish. I think Rhea winning will also get a big babyface pop if she beats Charlotte if you want to go with that as your closer (and if she helps Dom beat Rey the next night, she's right back to being a heel), but to me, that muddies the waters needlessly. The right answer is the Tag Team Championship for your Night 1 main event. (Which also, as thin an argument as it would be, may also send the message to a team like, say, the Young Bucks, that in "Triple H's WWE," the ceiling for tag teams is considerably higher than it was when Vince was in power).

I wrote what I think is the explanation when the story first break: Tony Khan, Moxley, and CM Punk viewed the "match" differently. I'm guessing that Moxley believed CM Punk getting squashed in under 2 minutes was more "angle" than match and not a huge risk to his rehab. Maybe one or two bumps total. I could see Moxley getting in a cheap shot to Punk's foot within the a minute and then hitting the Death Rider. Moxley might've also believed he could execute everything very safely and that Punk should trust him as an experienced colleague/peer. To CM Punk, the guy who is rehabbing a totally destroyed foot who also was clearly not 100% convinced that this first match/angle even needed to happen, the risk was much greater. Moxley believed that Punk was healthy enough to shoot what he saw as more an angle than a match and, maybe Punk was thinking, "I have to look like I'm in fighting shape and about to wrestle a title match (which means training, which might have not been appropriate yet), the bell is going to ring, even if we're going to do just 60 seconds of "work," this is going to be a match and I'm not physicall ready for that." Then you add in the people who have TK's ear. Mox might deny that he was pushing for this, but it seems like he was according to Punk's post. Maybe TK even checked in with the EVPs, specifically legendary tough guy Chris Jericho. TK might've heard - or may have just personally believed because, at the end of the day, he's not an athlete himself and has no idea what a real athlete goes through to get on the field/in the ring - that Punk wasn't being asked to do anything he couldn't do. This certainly wouldn't be the first time that a wrestling promoter asked one of their wrestlers to put their health at risk to do "what's best for business." Where TK's naivete comes in, though, is that of all guys to ask do that, CM Punk has been 1000% clear that he is not that guy anymore and will never be that guy again. But there's plenty of guys that would've done it. Hell, isn't Paige even being on the roster at all based on her outright denial of the WWE's medical team's expert opinions?

I'd never seen this before and enjoyed it. As I wrote in my (not yet published) blog review, I wondered, as others seemed to do above, why this match would go on last when you had two viable main events - Sabu vs. RVD and Dreamer & Raven vs. The Impact Players - right before. I mean, its not like the ECW World Championship always closed the show. But watching it, I think I get it. This match is a sugar-filled, too sweet dessert. It has little to no nutritional value. (Though, there's actually some surprisingly smart choices made - from Spike basically setting up an obstacle course right from the start ala Schwarzeneggar at the end of Predator to the fact that, as repetitive as it is, Spike recognizing that the only two things he can really do to Awesome are hit him with chairs and the move that put down other giants in the past, the Acid Drop). And like a decadent dessert, there's really no way to top it when you're planning out a meal. Its the last bite and it leaves you with a smile on your face - or at least it did for me. What can I say? There's still some visceral enjoyment that I get watching one big monster guy toss a 150-pound cruiserweight through countless tables. And when you think they've gone through all the tables, well, here's another one. The gratuitousness becomes part of why it works (like the Mr. Show sketch "The Story of Everest"). The first couple times we got Suplex City out of Brock, I had a similar feeling. At first, I wondered, "So, is this all there is?," but then, by the end, I was almost giddy watching Spike Dudley get put through yet another table. "Giddy" is not an emotion that one often gets watching a wrestling match, but this hit that same button as watching one of those YouTube compilations of guys getting thrown through windows from the original Walker Texas Ranger series. Its an undeniably one-note match - to the point of absurdity even - but it was just so fun...aside from, y'know, seeing Mike Awesome take some stiff chair shots to the head and recognizing that the CTE he probably suffered from may have played a role in his death. But aside from that, I enjoyed this match like chocolate lava cake a la mode.

The way I read it was that Mox wanted to get the first win several weeks before the PPV (likely on an episode of Dynamite) - which would legitimize his title reign and also falls in line with the Rocky III storyline where Clubber Lang gets the first victory and then Rocky trains and gets the big comeback win. This would also put them 1-1 against each other so you could ostensibly do a 3rd match down the line. Plus, if you're Mox, and you've put the company on your back multiple times, there might also be a feeling of, like, "Why again is Punk being pushed as a step higher when I'm just as important to the week-to-week TV?" I don't know the timeline, but I'm guessing this would've been a big summer angle, maybe 4-5 weeks before the PPV. As Punk wasn't cleared yet, he felt pressured to come in and do the squash. Mox and TK were wrong to put that pressure on him, especially Tony Khan, but let's not pretend that wrestlers who had no business in the ring haven't done similar angles in the past (whether its Shawn Michaels gutting his way through WrestleMania XIV or Bret Hart putting on the charade of being able to do anything but stomp and punch in 2010 or, if I'm not mistaken, Steve Austin showing up to drop Stunners just a few months after SummerSlam 97' but still well before he could actually wrestle a match and I'm sure you long-time fans can rattle off all sorts of other examples of very-injured guys coming in to "do business"). CM Punk was absolutely justified in putting his own health first, but there's been times when wrestlers have made the other choice and I'm not necessarily surprised that Moxley may have felt like Punk was capable of doing this sort of angle, trusting him not to hurt him, and wanting to do what was "best for business." So, when Punk was finally cleared, he came in and they did the angle...and it went over like a fart in church because it felt really, really rushed. It deflated the hype of their PPV match and felt, even at the time, like Mox was getting the victory just to make things 1-1 at the PPV. What maybe disappoints me most about this is that, based on his appearance on Renee's podcast, I was under the impression that Mox and Punk were friends. This may have been why Mox felt comfortable asking him to come in, when he was still not cleared, to shoot an angle. Punk, meanwhile, might be thinking, "This fucking guy is supposed to be my friend, but now he's pressuring me into putting my recovery at risk and he's got the boss pressuring me too. Some friend." I dunno. Just kinda sucks to hear about another friendship-gone-bad when, at one point, there seemed to be mutual respect and good will. As for his comments about Jericho, thanks for reminding us water is wet. Remember 25 years ago when people thought Kevin Nash was a cancer in the industry and that guys like Jericho who were being held down would, given the power, not play politics or be a stooge and then pro-wrestling would be this perfect meritocracy based on Bret Hart-level integrity? We were so, so wrong.

Yeah, this isn't a great match or anything, but its probably better than people remember it being. Jericho was clearly motivated to carry Chyna to a "real" match and, on this card, the match going 10+ minutes makes it feel like a war compared to the multiple sub-5 minute matches on the card (kinda reminiscent of how certain matches seem/feel like a bigger deal on a show like WrestleMania IV just because they make it past the 6 minute mark). Jericho does a bunch of little things to try to draw heat and put sympathy on Chyna and, in front of this crowd, that was no small task...but, as a viewer watching 20+ years later, I appreciated the effort and did find Chyna to be sympathetic. Speaking of Chyna, I don't think I'm being too tough on her to say that she wasn't a great worker. At this point, her mystique had evaporated too. In a way, she'd become a victim of her own success. When she first debuted and for the first couple years in WWE, she had undeniable presence and did get huge responses - especially when it came to almost coming to blows with the big stars of the day (Foley and Austin, specifically). She was a tremendous asset to Triple H in his rise to the main event. But then, when she went off on her own, two things became clear - first, her promo skills did not match her physical charisma. Second, she wasn't a good bell-to-bell wrestler. That made her babyface run one that could only have worked (and only did work) as a short-term as, after the usual Chyna vs. Misogynist Heel storylines, I don't think the male audience (which was even more of the audience then than now) was going to cheer her. Things got better for her when she was paired with Eddie Guerrero, but I'm not sure both of them really invested all they could into that partnership (or that the WWE really pushed it to the level it could've gone to either). ANYWAY...this is a more physical match than one might expect, Jericho's heel work is terrific, and I felt like the finish was earned via the low blow and then the pedigree from the top (which didn't look perfect, but I kinda like when a move doesn't look perfect because its the first time anyone's delivered it and the person receiving the move is getting struck with a maneuver that they're not expecting). I'd give it a solid 3-out-of-5 on my scale.

I'm really hoping this is true and that, maybe, hopefully, TK will think about having it be more like a "classic" 80s/90s B-level wrestling show. Granted, I have no clue how that would work out for the company ratings-wise, but I have some thoughts. While WWE being the big fish has given it what I'd guess is near-total market share of younger viewers, its remarkable that the WWE looks at their toy sales, video games, etc. and says, "No reason to make more, we're good." I've never understood how the cost of producing content for WWE is more than the potential of syndicating a show (or making another deal with USA) with the intention of airing it on Saturday or Sunday mornings. Look at a show like the 2009-2011-era Superstars: there was no reason that show needed to exist except to recap feuds and have wrestlers appear on TV in meaningless matches. It was never going to be a ratings hit during primetime. But on a Saturday/Sunday morning? WWE programming wouldn't sell toys and breakfast cereals? Just confusing to me why the WWE hasn't really tried to produce some cheap throwaway show designed for kids when they seemingly have no problem producing cheap throwaway shows for no one. Now, AEW would have to really, really produce a different, much cleaner product to try to get younger viewers. Also, 6:05 is not 10:00 AM/11:00 AM, so we're not talking apples-to-apples, but 6:05 PM is still early enough that a show like this shouldn't be as graphic/bloody/violent. I get that AEW wants to offer an alternative to the WWE's PG/PG-13 content, but y'know what would be even better? Differentiating your own company's content so that Dynamite is the more adult-focused show and your potential Saturday Night show is tamer, more "classic." (And that doesn't necessarily mean less "indie," it just means, this could be the show where you feature folks like Danhausen, Dark Order, Top Flight, Bear Country, etc. rather than Mox cutting his forehead to shreds and MJF cutting promos that involve him getting road head while drunk driving). Plus, you can fill the rest of the hour with edited, cleaned-up recaps of your big feuds. I have no idea if this could work in 2023, but I'd only add that children's programming hasn't really changed all that much - to my eyes - since I was a kid. Its colorful animals singing and dancing. Its toys and breakfast cereals. Its winking nods to pop culture for the parents watching along. There was a time when pro-wrestling shows were right there next to your Saturday morning cartoons and WMAC Masters. I'm genuinely curious and a little dumbfounded that WWE has seemingly never really tried to position some of their content back in that space.

For some reason, my Hulu Live only taped the second half. I'm not too sour on it as I was mostly tuning in for Hobbs/Wardlow. - HOB/Elite/JAS is enticing to me. As tired as I am of the JAS, I'm willing to accept that Jericho is not going to be taking time off - which is what I'd really want for him - and so therefore he is going to be on the show and involved in a storyline that gets considerable TV time. So, of all the potential feud partners, House of Black is the best I can come up with. We don't need the Starks/Jericho story to continue in any way. We definitely don't need more JAS/BCC stuff. Plus, aside from Jericho (who does, respectfully, often "bring it" when needed), there is some potential in Guevara, Buddy, Brody King, Garcia, etc. mixing it up. Similarly, House of Black had an endless feud with Death Triangle and then...that was kinda it, right? Cuz Black took time off? Regardless, House of Black should be a big deal and get good responses and I'd much rather than feud with credible opponents than just do "great match-for-great match's sake" stuff against random teams. - As for the Elite...maybe them not regaining the titles (I don't expect they will) is how we get to Omega back in the singles scene and the Bucks back doing tags. I wrote it weeks (months?) ago, figuring that Kenny was still not completely 100%, but if you've got those separate entities on your roster and your card's sometimes lack star power, I'm not sure why you're packaging them together long-term. - Something I didn't like: Hangman and Moxley still tussling. Just a total head-scratcher to me. Dark Order are goofs. Page and Mox just had a whole series of matches and did everything they could possibly do to eachother (the fact that Mox even wrestled on this show seemed like underselling the Death Match to me). I just don't get it. I know Claudio is ROH Champion and ROH has its own shows and all, but, to me, you can still have him on AEW as a tag specialist...only, to do so successfully, you have to give him a consistent partner. BCC tag in so many various amalgamations that it never feels like any particular duo is really in the title hunt, which is a shame because Claudio is a fucking fantastic tag wrestler and Yuta especially seems directionless (at least on AEW TV, I can't speak for Honor Club stuff). Also, again, why the fuck isn't Moxley taking time off? He's still arguably the biggest star on the roster, but wasn't this dude supposed to take a few months off after the last last PPV? I get having Mox on your upcoming house shows for the drawing power, but its time for this guy to come off TV for awhile. And, once again, there was the perfect opportunity to do it after the Deathmatch, but Tony bungled it by having him wrestle on Dynamite. - Loved Danielson's little taped promo. That's how you explain a guy's absence for 3-4 weeks. He just gave it his all, came up short, and is now forced to reflect on his future. Some might say having Mox or Jericho do the same thing would've been repetitive on a show like this, but there are multiple ways to skin this cat. For example, how about if the rest of JAS showed up on the show, but Jericho himself was nowhere to be found? Now you've got a power vacuum at the top for maybe a couple of weeks as Jericho, frustrated that he couldn't beat Starks, is now questioning his own greatness. With Mox, the dude just lost like 4 pints of blood this weekend. A simple throwaway line from Excalibur about him needing to recuperate would've sufficed. - I liked everything about the Hobbs/Wardlow match except the finish. Another example of 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. Hobbs/Wardlow in the main event seemed like a big deal. Hobbs becoming the new champion in front of an approving crowd was the right call. Why the hell do you need QT involved? If you're going to have Wardlow get screwed, have it be by a name wrestler. It doesn't even need to make logical sense. Have it be a returning Miro. Have it be PAC. Have it be Christian. I think it'd be a mistake, but have it be Eddie Kingston as a heel turn. It could've been Andrade maybe. But QT fucking Marshall is a jobber. Just a totally fucking stupid booking move and I don't care what "longterm booking" bullshit explains it. There are STARS in your company. QT Marshall isn't one of them and will never be one of them. Let a star be the guy that screwed that Wardlow. Then you can have Wardlow, a guy you're trying to build, feud with an actual star while Hobbs, your new champion, can go on to feud with another star on the rise (Starks? Jungle Boy?). But now you're stuck with a Wardlow vs. QT Marshall story that absolutely nobody could ever give a single shit about and makes Wardlow look like an Elevation/Dark-level talent. Just an absolutely terrible finish to a match that had the crowd going crazy and really felt like another star-making performance out of both guys to me.