DMJ

Not that I was the first to raise the idea here, but just for the sake of debate, I think the idea here is that Danielson being the fighting champion at the top would offer more stability and not potentially burn MJF (the way Hangman's reign seemed to do for him) while giving MJF some further character progression. Yes, Danielson being the fighting champion in and of itself doesn't sound like a super hot storyline, but it is very easy to book, very easy to deliver big matches with, and, in my opinion, there would be more suspense in individual title defenses because we know Danielson is not going be "The Guy" forever. As for there not being potential challengers...that's malarkey to me. Takeshita would be a great opponent on Dynamite. There's Malakai Black. There's Miro somewhere, right? Samoa Joe would be a badass challenger. I could see a match with Swerve down the line - maybe even on a PPV if they let Swerve cook for awhile and score consistent big wins. Run back Eddie Kingston vs. Danielson on Dynamite. Danielson vs. Omega is still a PPV-caliber match. Seems like TK has no problem getting Ospreay on TV, how about Danielson vs. Ospreay? We may be bored to tears with his shtick, but Moxley is still mega over with most AEW crowds and is right there as a challenger. Wouldn't HOOK be a fun TV match? Wouldn't Jungle Boy be an interesting TV challenger? If Christian can still go, I'd love to see Danielson/Christian. Even Wardlow could be an interesting dynamic. The common denominator is Danielson, the GOAT who is going to deliver a potential MOTY almost any time he gets in the ring and it never feels forced. And the current model means you only read need 1-2 "big" matches on PPV out of him and the rest can just be fucking killer TV matches. And because of this, it would buy TK a bit of time because you could do Omega/Bryan at the next PPV and design adequate builds for Starks, Adam Cole, Swerve or even a re-emerging MJF as the guy to dethrone Danielson in 6-7 months. You know the top of the card is in good hands till then. That being said, I still see ways to turn MJF's title reign around...but it involves recalibrating and, in a sense, giving him the same kinda run that I just laid out for Danielson. Stop relying on this "MJF only works the big shows for big money" part of his gimmick or that MJF only faces people that have been through a gauntlet. Let someone like Kingston come out, shoot his mouth off on TV about MJF, and MJF says, "Fuck it, you think I'm soft? You got your title shot in 2 weeks time on ___(insert big Dynamite special)___." Give me a HOOK/MJF confrontation building to a TV match a month later. Give me MJF vs. Omega on a PPV. There's Miro somewhere, right? Fans love Darby Allin and would get behind him huge as a TV challenger. There's Keith Lee as a TV challenger. Give me Dustin Rhodes getting one last shot on TV. There's still Starks and Adam Cole as challengers and maybe even as the next champion with the right build.

^ Danielson getting the title in the ways outlined above sounds so good. I doubt TK has even considered it, though, which is a shame. Also, Flyin' Brian mentioned Kingston's misuse and I must say, watching the ladder match, one thought I immediately had was that while Hobbs is awesome and deserved the W, a feud between Kingston and Joe seems like a no brainer and maybe should've been what we got here (as Kingston getting a win would be a much-needed bump for his credibility too). Kingston and Joe are two guys that are great on the mic, physical as all hell, undeniable ability to connect with audiences. Its can't miss. I get that they have longterm plans for Wardlow and Hobbs and all...but, right now, in March 2023, AEW needs some guaranteed hits on their shows. Let your All Stars be All Stars.

I'm hoping Roman is off TV for a little bit after Mania, but him vs. Jey Uso is a big time match waiting to happen. There is also a non-zero chance of Roman vs. Rock sometime in the next few years and I could see a situation where Vince/Triple H/Nick Khan/whoever realizes that while that match screams "WrestleMania main event," if the schedules only allow it to happen at a B-show, its probably still worth running for the Peacock viewership and the TV ratings (if Rock were to show up for the build) and the massive gate. I'm not saying its eventually going to be happen...but its within the realm of possibility the same way Sting/Undertaker was one of those matches that could've happened for like a decade. And it certainly doesn't need a title. Obviously, they could do another Sami/Roman match. It might take some re-heating, but is anyone going to doubt Sami's ability to heat that feud up again at this point? Also doesn't really need a title because their issue is so personal. They could always run another Roman/Brock match. There's also Seth Rollins, another guy that feels like a "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass" feud for Roman anytime they need it. My biggest question is actually what happens with the rest of the Bloodline. Roman will be fine, but if they split the Usos, I can see them both fledgling a bit. Solo is cool, but he's going to find himself in the midcard, having to carve out his own space, and could end up the straight man in a comedy tag team. With the Usos, whoever turns face is going to have a built-in feud with Roman and then with their brother...but after that? Is it back to being happy-go-lucky babyface with the big smile and "This is all so fun!" attitude? I hope not.

I had a lengthy post that I was writing when the page crashed so here it is, rewritten much faster: The MJF/Danielson match needed some suspense and question as to the outcome. I don't think it has any. Its really hard to sell any match when the only real questions are will it be good/bad and how it is going to be worked. Those questions are enough when Bryan is wrestling on TV, in the midcard, against a guy like Big Bill (Cass in WWE) or Bandido. As a genuine PPV main event (not a PLE), I want a big fight feel. MJF is the new World Champion that they have hitched the AEW wagon to. Daniel Bryan is the veteran who has made it clear, through actions and in some interviews IIRC, that he's in AEW to put over young guys and just wrestle, anywhere on the card, stakes or not, art for art's sake. I don't think the outcome of their match is in question. If I were TK, and I know that many here hate the idea of "working the sheets" to get a match over (a discussion that might be worth its own thread), but I would've maybe done a few things: 1) Had Danielson do a few interviews where he states that its a misconception that he's just in AEW to "put over" younger guys. Have him say something like, "When I signed, I couldn't be away from my kids to devote my time to AEW, but the plan was always to be that guy once the kids are older. The kids are now at an age where I can be used more for the brand and Tony knows that now." 2) Leak a fake story about TBS/TNT being upset that the guy who main evented WrestleMania two years ago hasn't been prominently featured and that CM Punk is likely not coming back. Mox is due for a vacation and Kenny Omega's deal is unclear so TBS/TNT has now put pressure on TK to utilize Danielson more. Basically, Danielson is who TBS/TNT want in the "CM Punk role." 3) Leak a fake story about TBS/TNT not being happy with how MJF has essentially put over the WWE with all his free agent talk. I don't think this would've necessarily saved the program and I typically think this sort of "working the sheets" stuff is not a great idea compared to actually building a story on-screen, but with the hand they were dealt, I wish they would've tried something.

On the topic of Trish Stratus not appearing... Why does this woman even bother with the WWE? Why does Lita? I know the answer is $$$, but, man, I wish some of these Hall of Famers would use their star power and name to make some sort of statement about not only Vince's improprieties, but also stick up a bit for folks like Lillian Garcia, who "the new boss" once mocked, on-screen, as a "horse face." (Also, just a note, Lillian isn't in the WWE Hall of Fame, which is ridiculous considering her tenure is as close as anybody will likely ever get to The Fink's.) It'd be great to see them all show up, even for a one-off and a big pop, in AEW. I get that Becky Lynch and Charlotte and Bayley still have many years ahead of them in the business and don't want to publicly diss Vince or call out Triple H, who probably has changed a bit over the past 10 years since having daughters and no longer being "one of the boys" (and this Triple H is the one these women met and work for, not the misogynist prick of 10+ years ago), but what do Trish and Lita owe this company? Its why I'm kinda loving Nikki Bella's recent shots at the WWE too.

^ Absolutely. It helps when you've got a catalog of 9-10 signature moves compared to 3-4. Even Taker, by that point in his career, had an arsenal of stuff that included "high flying" (The Old School and the dive), submissions (the Triangle Choke), two signature strikes (the Big Boot, the legrop on the apron, and the uppercuts), and then, like, 3 power move finishers (Tombstone, Last Ride, Chokeslam). Meanwhile, Michaels had a couple of "classic" bumps, the Superkick, the elbow from the top, the flying forearm, and also was doing the Sharpshooter/Figure Four at times IIRC. Basically, they had a bunch of things they could do inside and outside of the ring to stretch 20+ minutes. Again, I'm not saying Roman needs more moves just for the sake of having moves, but, y'know, whatever happened to the Drive-By? Didn't he used to do a flying clothesline from the top rope? Didn't he used to do a powerbomb or was that just a Shield thing? It would've been a great visual to see him apply a nasty abdominal stretch once Sami had that huge cut down his chest. It wouldn't hurt for Roman to add a few more signature moves to his arsenal.

I'd disagree here a little, though it may be seen as splitting hairs. I'm not a "movez" guy, but I did find last night's main event to be lacking a little bit. I mean, it felt like every single Roman cut-off was an uppercut and the rest of the offense was spears. Sami spent most of the match selling, but his offense also seemed to comprise of mostly Exploders and Helluva Kicks. We did see a Blue Thunder Bomb and a sunset flip powerbomb at one point, but I dunno, I think that's where the CM Punk/Cena match at Money in the Bank 2011 or the Cena/Bryan match at SummerSlam 2013 (?) had this one beat in terms of actual in-ring action. I'd add the Kofi/Bryan match from WrestleMania a few years back to that list too. Fuck, I haven't seen it in ages, but Rob Van Dam/Cena at ONS II hit the mark in ways this didn't. I know that, character-wise and storyline-wise, this match was worked correctly and I was definitely engaged in it from beginning to end (as were the live audience), but I don't think this was a Match of the Year Candidate match as much as this was a "must see" match because of the storyline and the crowd. Playing armchair producer/agent, I might've asked "What is Sami's strategy? What is Sami going to do that Roman doesn't expect?" I go back to that Finn Balor/Brock Lesnar match from a few years ago. There was a great moment there where Lesnar nearly seppeku'd himself on the corner of a table (IIRC) and Balor instantly knew his killshot Coup De Gras could actually slay the Beast. It didn't end up working out that way, but I would've loved to see something similar here where Roman, despite dominating the match and having the power advantage, now finds himself extra vulnerable to a Helluva Kick or unable to hit the Spear because Sami figured out a way to bust his ankle or something. It was a very good match because of the intangibles that are rare in WWE, but it wasn't a match that I think will be talked about 5-10 years from now. That may be the biggest knock against what has undoubtedly been a stupendous run for Roman. He's had some great matches over the past 3 years, but true masterpieces? I dunno if he has more than 2 or 3 as the company ace, while Cena has anywhere from 8 to 12.* * And, yeah, I know we're comparing apples to oranges a bit here, but if comparing WWE aces over the past 20 years isn't a valid PWO discussion, nothing is.

I wasn't expecting Sami to win, so I wasn't disappointed at all with the finish. However...I do think the fans (myself included) wanted to see that KO/Zayn hug, especially with Zayn nearly crying in the ring to end the show. It would've been a cool moment to see KO slide in the ring and give him that literal shoulder to cry on and then raise his hand, in front of their hometown crowd, as if to say, "You may not have won, but fuck that, you won!" I dunno. If you're going to go with schmaltz in wrestling, its okay to lay it on think when the moment comes for it. Other missteps on the show... - Terrible mistiming during the Judgment Day match as Beth Phoenix was a full second late during a late-in-the-match nearfall save. Fortunately, the crowd was so damn hot for the babyfaces and were so damn hateful towards Dominik and Rhea that they didn't shit on the rest of the match. In front of a more hostile crowd, that would've deservedly been met with "bullshit" chants. - Where was GUNTHER? Where was Bianca Belair? Where was Charlotte Flair? Becky? Let's start with GUNTHER. He just had a huge showing at the Royal Rumble. To me, you gotta give that man a backstage segment (maybe a face-to-face with Brock? Or Lashley?). He went 70 minutes at the Rumble, give the dude 70 seconds on your most anticipated B-level PPV in years. Similarly, no Belair and no Charlotte felt like another missed opportunity to give some screen time to your champions (I would've had Belair and Charlotte also do a backstage bump-into-eachother segment, with each claiming their title is the most important). Really, this show was built around the main event so you didn't necessarily need all the star power on your roster to show up...but, yeah, with the Chamber matches being kinda thin, I would've liked to see more capital-S Superstars featured in cameos. - Weird booking for Montez Ford/Austin Theory/Rollins, though I do think I "got it." Rollins hits the Curb Stomp to incapacitate Ford and reinforce that the Curb Stomp is an instant match-ender (remember when the F-5 was that?). Theory makes the pin. Ford sells it like a legit injury and does such a good job that the audience clearly thought it was a legit injury. Rollins and Theory don't interact while they take him out of the ring - opening the door for Logan Paul to come in. But when the match "restarts," I thought it was noticeable that there was a little bit of heat on Rollins as he was the guy who put Ford out. I know that Rollins is a "tweener," but still, kinda deflated what should've been a moment where the babyface is about to capture the title. Logan Paul comes in, hits the Buckshot, and then a Curb Stomp of his own - further cementing the move as lethal. I thought they kinda sacrificed Ford to re-establish a move that didn't need re-establishing, killed the flow of the match and made Rollins unsympathetic, and didn't put any heat at all onto Austin Theory. Just seems like nobody in this match came out of it stronger at all. Not Theory. Not Priest. Not really Gargano. And, with Ford, unless this is leading to some long-term story, we've now got him having to sell a kayfabe concussion/neck injury caused by the most over babyface on RAW. They should've had Theory be the one to do something horrendous to Ford because, honestly, a Ford/Theory rivalry would probably serve both guys really well this spring/summer.

Dang. They just had Bray and Uncle Howdy take out Hit Row and then Bray challenged the winner to Lesnar/Lashley. Talk about living in the worst possible timeline. Lesnar/GUNTHER or Lashley/GUNTHER or Lashley/Lesnar/GUNTHER, there's really no misstep possible. Fuck. Let Sheamus come out and say he wants the winner and we're still in A+ possible match-ups. I'm not even the biggest hater of Bray. I just feel like he's a guy you give a 15-minute segment to against someone that makes sense in his universe and that will allow him to sell merch and that's all you need. Book him like Taker in 93'-95' in his own little box for the fans who love the gimmick, but keep him separate from everyone else. Like, here's a pitch, have Bray destroy Karrion Kross. Kross is going nowhere anyway. Or have him destroy Corbin, who is also directionless. Let them be the piss break match on Mania.

- Even on paper this show looked like it was go to be abysmal. I'm not surprised to read the bad reviews and see the bad rating. I'm guessing TK isn't either. This felt like a "heat check" show designed to see what the basement would be for a completely phoned-in show. The fact that it only sunk 150k viewers is actually not that bad when this show was basically a 2-hour long Rampage with special guest appearances from Jon Moxley and MJF. - The Saraya/Toni stuff absolutely sucks, but I'm not going to heap all the blame on Saraya. Even in the WWE, Saraya had charisma and a natural ability to connect with the audience, but she was never a ring general and her run as a manager/SD GM showed she wasn't really a fit in those roles either. The AEW Women's Division - hell, the entire AEW - needs writers (not 30 writers, but maybe a smaller brain trust like Vince used in the 90s). This idea that the wrestlers and TK can brainstorm great storylines and angles and write and deliver their own promos only works when the talent involved are able to do that well. Not every wrestler has Mick Foley's cinematic vision. Not every wrestler has Pat Patterson's mental catalog of finishes and swerves. Not every wrestler knows how to get emotion out of the audience like Bret Hart. TK needs to put someone in charge of this division who has a great wrestling mind. I'm not sure who that is, but I'm also not super knowledgeable about backstage producers and writers. Hell, aren't they paying CM Punk to nurse an injury right now? Its out-of-the-box thinking, but maybe he'd be interested in taking on some sort of role for the next few months? What's the worst that could happen? A Serena push? - When The Acclaimed won the titles, I criticized the decision as being unnecessary. I then flip-flopped on that after reading others' counterpoints here about how you have to strike when the iron is hot. I'm back to thinking it wasn't the right idea. The Acclaimed are a good team who get great responses because of their interactive presentation. They are an act that is going to pop the crowd and entertain viewers and while those two things are obviously the two most important things for pro-wrestlers to do on TV, there's also that tricky thing about pro-wrestling being presented as a sport and wrestlers needing a certain level of credibility. And so here we are now with an Acclaimed/Gunn Club feud that doesn't need the titles, while the actual best tag teams on the roster aren't doing all that much. There was a time when the AEW Tag Team Championships were arguably *the* top Tag Team Titles in all of pro-wrestling and that whoever held those titles had a valid claim of being the best tag team on the planet. But that hasn't been the case for awhile now. - I know I'm not using the phrase right, but TK should consider "quiet quitting" the 6-man titles. Kenny Omega should be a singles star engaged in singles matches as part of singles feuds. The Young Bucks should be tag team stars engaged in tag team matches as part of tag team feuds. Tying these guys together on occasion is great and makes for great TV matches...but them being a combo deal seems like a waste of star power that is sorely lacking in other areas of the card. Omega should see MJF as easy pickings to get the title off of. I mean, he's KENNY friggin' OMEGA and the champion is MJF. The Young Bucks should view The Acclaimed/Gunn Club the same way, as greenhorns that can be easily defeated for the titles. When the 6-man titles were announced, everyone said they'd be vanity titles for the Elite. Then, on TV, it became clear that was exactly what they were. Omega should be in the mix with any number of other number one contender types (an Omega/Mox/Page triple threat to declare the next number one contender seems like a no-brainer). The Young Bucks should be doing something similar against other teams in the company who are trying to get tag title shots (Top Flight, Yuta/Cesaro, Garcia/Guevara, etc.). Right now, the Elite are irrelevant when they could be anchoring storylines.

I didn't hear or see anything on RAW this week or last week that makes me think we're not getting Sami & KO beating the Usos on Night 1 (probably main event) and Cody beating Roman on Night 2. Yes, Sami is over. But so is Cody. They're not running Montreal every night between Saturday and April 1st. The WWE audience is behind Cody and will only be more behind him as we build to Mania if Roman continues to be regarded as "unbeatable." Based on the card now, they're also (wisely) keeping Cody off of the Elimination Chamber. They're not even going to give the audience the chance to boo him. Its a wise move and maybe shows they learned something from having Batista appear so frequently in the build to WrestleMania XXX (when the audience saw him as a usurper to Danielson) and, the next year, when they brought out The Rock to endorse Roman (who was also seen by a vocal portion of the audience as undeserving and "forced"). The comparisons of Sami with Mick Foley are apt. But let's remember that Foley was never booked as a world beater either. His first title win came from interference by Austin as a wa to build to Austin/The Rock for WrestleMania. And because Foley was so good on the mic and so beloved by the audience, he remained popular and could be inserted into main events for years despite not really ever being seen as the true top babyface. Sami will be fine. So much of this talk seems like its based on the idea that the WWE audience will turn on Cody even faster than the AEW audience did and, I dunno, I just don't see it happening between now and April. It will take awhile. It would also take at least a few more gaffes on Cody's part and, so far, he's been really, really good. He's not "one bad promo" away from losing steam. He's built up some goodwill over the past year that won't just evaporate overnight. And even if a sizable portion of audience does turn on Cody, that doesn't necessarily mean the WWE will change direction anyways. The WWE did perfectly fine with John Cena at the top even as he wrestled countless televised shows where he was getting mixed reactions or outright booed. In the end, he sold merch, he delivered in the main event, and he kept the company's house show business afloat. If Cody can do those three things for the next 2 months, he's getting the strap. I'm thinking that Triple H is seeing that he has two guaranteed home run moments at Mania and there's simply no reason to do anything shocking or to try to "swerve" the fans. The audience is clamoring for Sami and KO to reunite and they're clamoring for the Usos to get their comeuppance (and maybe even tease a real split?) and they're also clamoring for Cody Rhodes to get his emotional victory and for Roman Reigns to be defeated. When you can do all four of those things, why fuck around just to appease the keyboard bookers who are going to criticize things no matter what they do? I know nobody here is coming outright and saying it, but this idea that they're missing out on making a star out of Sami Zayn unless he's the one to beat Roman are really underselling how fucking good Sami Zayn is. This dude is already a star now. If they don't capitalize on him after WrestleMania, then that's stupid. And if you allow me to put my own keyboard booker hat on, I see Zayn as maybe the next Eddie Guerrero post-Mania. The Master Strategist who might just have come so close to the title that he now believe he deserves it more than anyone else. A guy that learned its a dog-eat-dog world in the WWE and is now willing to lie, cheat, and steal his way to being a World Champion. A guy that once tied his fortunes to the Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns of the world, but is now going to be the puppet master and not the doll on the string. Sami has that kind of range and could very well go from being a pseudo-ally to Cody Rhodes to someone who will burst Cody's wholesome and naive bubble.

Yes, but its not a Peacock original/exclusive. Paramount+ somehow botched having the rights to the previous seasons, but it airs on the Paramount Network (and, based on one article I read, new episodes also get played on a number of other channels) and then Peacock gets the latest season some time soon after. So, for true Yellowstone fans, your best bet is still regular ol' cable or Hulu+ (which gives you the Paramount Network). I could be wrong, but there is also the option to buy it episode-by-episode via Amazon and Roku and while that may seem ridiculous to you or I, I know that some of the (awful) people in my extended family who watch Yellowstone are exactly the type who reason that $2 for a single episode of a show they watch is better than paying $5/month for a whole bunch of "liberal shit" they don't watch (by "liberal shit" they somehow mean any show based in a major metropolitan area and featuring POC in starring roles*). * Which is why they also like Blue Bloods. Its based in NYC (boo), but most everyone on the show is white and straight (yay!).

At $4.99/month, I'm thinking the WWE fans will most likely stick with it and that number will be more than what the WWE Network had at its own peak...but I'm not sure Peacock's originals or Peacock-only content is strong enough to keep everyone else.

Thanks for the clarification, I wasn't sure and just kinda based it on whatever came up on Google. And, just to make clear too, I'm a fan of Alexa as well. I think her last stint with Bray was an example of how she is able to elevate pretty bad writing into something fun and different and the right level of B-movie cheese. As far as in-ring skills go, I also think she's a bit underrated. She's not a ring technician or the smoothest worker ever, but when she's "on" and involved in a meaningful storyline, she's engaging and gets reactions and the audience usually cares. Maybe the best comparison is The Miz? My issue - and maybe hers? who knows? - is that what should've been a 4-week angle building to the return of Evil Alexa and Lilly the Doll on RAW as Bray's surrogate has instead been a repetitive, aimless ever-lasting eye-roll. Its not "Will she/won't she?" anymore, its "Who the fuck cares?" If she's not frustrated, that's great. But as a fan, I'm frustrated for her. I love a good slow burn storyline, but this is like watching someone fumbling to even get the matchbook out of their pocket.

Not sure if its the tweet in question, but it might be: "Good she's boring anyway" "Hopefully she's gone for good" "She doesn't care anymore" Y'all don't know what you're even talking about. #StayToxicMyFriends I can totally see her wanting to delete that because it does come across as "anti-fan" rather than the positive, pro-WWE Universe, "our fans are the best fans in the world" message that the company wants to project (especially from its women's roster). As much as I'm not a Wyatt fan or necessarily a fan of Wyatt and Alexa's work together, it doesn't take a Lanny Poffo to see that the current storyline leading to their reunion has been woefully mishandled and unnecessarily drawn out to the point of parody. It would be comparable to the Hogan/Warrior "Man in the Mirror" segments from WCW if this were building to a main event angle like that was. But this is arguably more pathetic because all the segments and teases they've done don't seem to be in the service of any purpose beyond just filling time. Alexa probably recognizes this most of all as she gets yet another week's script with yet another segment that is exactly the same segment they did 10 weeks ago. I can totally see how that might be frustrating to her and how moronic fans would somehow blame her for it too.

Yikes. On paper, that's not even a SmackDown main event. I'm sure Ronda doesn't care since that just means she's the highest paid midcarder on the roster, but ultimately, its a bit damning that going into WrestleMania, you couldn't find a way to make a Becky/Ronda match happen even under the guise of a RAW vs. SmackDown brand representative match.

A few thoughts I'm not sure I saw yet... - One of the best Rumbles in forever. This felt very much like a "Triple H" Rumble in the sense that it didn't feel particularly overbooked, maybe a bit "hands off" even compared to some of the Rumbles in recent memory that relied so much on comedy spots, nostalgia surprises, and stunts. It felt like a "let the wrestlers wrestle" approach. And, hey, when you let two absolute beasts like Sheamus and Gunther serve as your bedrock, that approach can absolutely work. Extra points for treating Karrion Kross like the jobber he is. - I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see Santos Escobar around much longer. He looked completely lost and awkward and I think he botched every spot/sequence he was involved in. Just an awful showing for the guy. - How long has this "Is she possessed/is she not possessed?" storyline with Alexa Bliss been going on now. Good god. I don't watch the TV shows regularly, but I watch the PLEs and I could've sworn that they did some this same nonsense at Survivor Series (?). That was 2 months ago. Just fucking reunite her with Bray or don't. Whatever intrigue this story was supposed to add to this feud was clearly non-existent because this match was completely cold and even the announcers seemed uninterested. - The Mountain Dew Black Light match was awful. The best thing about it was its brevity. People seem to like LA Knight but I didn't see anything in this match that leads me to believe he's anything special (and the few clips I've seen of the build to this match didn't blow me away either). - The Rhea Ripley face turn that I ranted about earlier this week has begun. The Alamadome seemed to be cheering to my ears, even if it was only a vocal minority. Right now, she's the villain we love to hate...but the audience cheers ass-kickers who say they're going to do something and then do it. Ripley outlasted 29 other women, has been the MVP of Judgment Day for months now, devirginized Dom Mysterio, and legitimately climbed the ranks over the years. Nobody's going to boo that, especially with Belair coming off some pretty lackluster, hamster wheel-ish feuds with Alexa Bliss and Bayley lately. Plus, as the Women's Battle Royal showed us, there really is no one else to get behind. The crowd might've rallied behind Raquel if she'd been in the final 2-3, but Liv's moment has passed and Asuka, while always awesome, didn't come into the match with nearly enough momentum to be a viable winner. - Speaking of Rhea, I watched some of the post-show conference. It is weird. The wrestlers answer questions in semi-kayfabe, but don't necessarily stay in character. Bray Wyatt, for example, wasn't in-character at all. Rhea was kinda half-and-half as she spoke about partying with the Judgment Day boys and how rowdy they can get (if you believe the stories about Damian Priest, I'm just hoping they use protection), but was also complimentary to Liv Morgan in a way that you wouldn't think a heel would be. Then there was Cody Rhodes who was super duper charming. Listening to Cody control the media room makes it 100% clear why the WWE would want him to be their top brand ambassador as he came across as both incredibly polished and confident, but also affable and upbeat and, well, natural in that role. There weren't any bombshells dropped or anything, but it was mildly interesting to see.

I forgot if I posted it here or at DVDVR - and I hate to repeat myself in either/both forums - but as lame as it sounds, Rhea is almost too good right now to give the Rumble win to. My fear is that Rhea has been killing it as a heel, but winning the Rumble is almost a de facto babyface thing. I can see Rhea getting cheered by a large portion of the fans who would view her as representing (a) someone new after relatively 2 years of Bianca Belair at the top of the RAW brand and (b) because her actual story of putting in hard work for years and years and climbing the roster and getting herself over is organic and undeniable. And, again, she's been the MVP of Judgment Day by a country mile. Put her in the Rumble, she's arguably the most over character in the thing with the most recognition from the audience as "deserving." I don't see how her winning would result in anything but cheers. In this scenario too, Belair, who has also done nothing but good work, is kinda forced to play the role that Chris Benoit played in the build-up to SummerSlam 04' (or, and I know its more of a stretch, Bret Hart in the build to WrestleMania XII). Belair has done nothing wrong, she's been a fighting champion, she's 100% the babyface, but in the world of fickle fanbases, she's also headlined the last two Manias and could now be seen as the "establishment" choice (as ridiculous as it sounds). Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley winning the Rumble gives her the momentum, gives her the status of being the "newer" star, and also cements her as a bad-ass who outlasted 29 other women and is now gunning for the top spot. To me, it'd be short-sighted to sacrifice one of the best heels on your roster - male or female - when there is still money on the table for her to have a huge tag match at Mania involving Edge & Beth Phoenix or Rey Mysterio & (insert female babyface) or even just as Dom's 2nd in a Mysterio vs. Mysterio match. Ripley is good enough that her eventual climb to the top of the division can happen any time they want it to.

Definitely a 50/50 comment from the WBD COO. On one hand, it seems like they're happy with AEW's ratings on both networks (which surprises me because Rampage is far from the hit that Dynamite is). On the other hand, it shows that the people at the top don't really know a single thing about wrestling and its fandom, how broad the fanbase is and how many fans there are across the socio-economic spectrum, race and ethnicity, and age. Hell, I'll readily admit myself that I still largely ignore the number of women who watch wrestling and have always assumed that the audience is 90% men and 10% their wives/girlfriends/mothers. As was summarized in the Nitro book, they did studies at one point and found that so many of the preconceived notions of what a wrestling fan is were incorrect. This genius didn't even realize that families watch wrestling, I'd hate to know what he thought the average median income level was when, if you look at the prices of tickets (and even to watch AEW via cable), being a pro-wrestling fan has never been more expensive.

Any thoughts on the report from the Observer that FOX is losing $150m+ annually on having SmackDown? I plead ignorance on where these numbers are coming from or their validity, but I'm guessing that, pre-SmackDown, FOX was airing either repeats of shows they already owned (Gordon Ramsay shows, second-run movie "premieres") at way, way less money and were getting the same advertising revenue? If that's the case, this report might be the most damning thing to come out this week for WWE. Nobody is going to pay NFL prices for Master Chef: Kids Championship numbers.

I don't think its that crazy to think that Vince wants to both "cash out" and "take over." Let's say he does strike a deal to sell to Fox - in this scenario, RAW somehow ends up on Fox Sports and the Network on Tubi or some shit - as Fox says, "Hey, we're already paying for SmackDown, let's just buy the whole company outright and put it across our channels/platforms." But really, it could be any major media group. In this scenario, I'm not sure Vince doesn't also include - as part of the deal - some sort of reinstatement of himself in a top position. I don't think Vince sees himself as ready to retire and once this deal goes through, the only thing he'd potentially have any real power in would be the creative side. And while one could argue that Fox would want to insert its own person at the top, its not like with Star Wars or Marvel Studios even where literally everyone agreed that new directions were needed in the 2000s/2010s after things went off the rails a bit in the 90s/early 00s. With the WWE, Vince is still not just the "best" promoter in history, but in some ways, the only promoter that has mattered for 25 years now. The heirs apparent - Steph and Triple H - just got publicly put in their place as still being subservient to "the old man" with one single press release. Fox will let Vince do Vince as long as the money's coming in. ...and the WWE under Vince over the past few years, despite the pandemic, has wildly successful financially.

I really enjoyed a whole bunch of what I saw this week. Us fans are going to nitpick stuff, for sure, but its impossible to put on a perfect show for a wrestling audience now, then, forever. - For example, as much as I loved the Darby/Joe match and Darby's victory, I'll never get behind someone like Joe "taking" a Code Red. The physics don't make sense...but, hey, the live crowd popped for it, Darby still finished him with two Coffin Drops, and we got a genuinely shocking win as I don't recall seeing anyone anywhere posting that Darby was leaving with the TNT Championship. I'll gladly admit that there are just certain moves that I have to "play along with" in 2023 as much as I did in 1998 when The Rock could debilitate an opponent for upwards of 40 seconds in order to hit the most basic of elbow drops. Same bullshit, different era. Joe had to "cooperate" to take that move just like dozens of guys had to cooperate every single time The Rock took inordinate amounts of time to cock his eyebrow, remove an elbow paid, wait for the crowd response, run the ropes, and then deliver an elbow. - I really enjoyed the Danielson/MJF segment, starting with the Tony Nese squash. Many of us complained about how much a Danielson/Nese match was going to just be them showing off their cardio, but it wasn't that at all. Instead, Danielson dominated and we then got an exchange that felt, to me, like what I've wanted Danielson to be for better or worse (and, to be honest, based on everything I've heard/read about the guy, Danielson is known for making stupid dick jokes backstage so you can't blame "the writers" for the 90s-era "yo mama" jokes if that is legitimately what Bryan finds funny and wants to do which, by the way, again, did pop the live crowd). A guaranteed 60-minute Daniel Bryan match is still a draw to me too even if I get that others are less excited. People are calling this whole angle repetitive - and it is - but what we also know now is that Bryan is going to be wrestling a whole bunch of singles matches this month and that, at Revolution, he's going to put MJF to the test (much like CM Punk put him to the test). I kinda dig the subversive way that MJF's gimmick is that he "can't work" but then has to go out and try to eke out a victory in matches that ostensibly favor the other guy and, more often than not, even in a loss, proves that he's tough (in kayfabe) and, to us nerds, not at all a bad "big match" worker. - That Dusty finish was exactly what a Dusty finish should be. I'm not a huge Acclaimed guy, but damn, they got me with that bullshit finish and I was legitimately about to stop my workout to post on here like some keyboard warrior about how dumb TK is...and then the finish was reversed and Acclaimed won. And, as someone else mentioned, there was some good logic there too as there were a whole slew of referees on the scene at the time. It wasn't like they reviewed the tape, it was literally that other referees were there and caught what the official referee missed. To me, that makes sense the same way that if you go to your job on your day off and you catch a co-worker making an honest mistake, you might chime in. Lame analogy aside, I appreciated the way that was laid out (I appreciated less how the guy in the Acclaimed took Jarrett's finisher, which looked horrible). - Not sure what to make of Saraya naming Toni Storm her tag partner. Was obviously lackluster, but maybe the necessary thing to just go ahead and take the L if Mercedes Mone isn't coming in. It would be worse if they kept a mystery until next week and then had Toni Storm come out. No reason to hold in a fart. While I obviously hope this is a swerve, if not, I'm fine with them moving on to the two natural feuds that are coming out of this - Shida vs. Storm and probably re-igniting Hayter/Baker. Let Saraya go after Jade Cargill or something. - Speaking of swerves, Swerve Scott is great. I hope they give him the W over Lee and then have him challenge Darby down the line. That match against AR Fox is the kind of match you can show someone and say, "This is what AEW is. Its not for everyone, but if you dig this, you'll like AEW." Was it "too much"? Probably...but that's kinda what AEW is and it isn't for everyone. - I think its funny how much people see ratings in the 800k-900ks and think this company is doing poorly. If AEW gets pulled off the air, it will be because the people in charge of TBS/TNT just don't want wrestling (a tale as old as time), not because these ratings are objectively "terrible." I feel like when AEW first started, people were throwing around ratings in the 300-500k range as being the goal. I think their ceiling is closer to 1.2-1.3m and it will take time to even get back there a couple times, but its not that out of reach. It'll be interesting to see how next week's show does because it is definitely a stacked card. I could write a ton more but nobody wants to read it and my wife wants me to put away the laundry and start helping with dinner.

What's so great about this is that I will readily admit that I don't fully understand the actual financial and stockholder aspects of this. But like my previous post alluded to, I could say the exact same thing about the Waystar mergers and powerplays that go on in Succession. For any other company, knowing these details and actually understanding the legality and logistics of what Vince is doing would absolutely matter...but like watching Succession, it is inessential when we're talking about a company like the WWE and a man like Vince McMahon. This carny MFer doesn't give a single shit about the SEC, what stockholders or Wall Street have to say about it, or even what this means regarding his relationships with his own daughter and son-in-law, arguably the two people who have been his most devoted acolytes in his entire life. And threatening not to approve any TV rights deals? Talk about the nuclear option. It's also a bonkers threat to make when, if I'm not mistaken, a week ago the company got praised in a big article on Deadline about how they were one of the best-performing media companies in the US in 2022 and had brilliantly navigated a transfer of power into a remarkable level of stability.

Wow. This is the kinda thing that makes me feel bad for everyone working on the Vince documentary/bio-film that I feel like was in the pipeline at Netflix and/or elsewhere over the years (if its still being made). I have 0 interest in watching a documentary about Vince McMahon prior to 2021 anymore. I feel like I know it all anyway. Plus, up until 2021, the story was that Vince won, that Vince evaded multiple scandals that should've buried him, that at the end of the film, it would be Vince smiling and laughing that classic Vince laugh. It was a movie that I didn't care to ever watch because I not only knew the story, I knew that it would end with Vince being triumphant. But then in 2021, the story changed. He was forced out unwillingly. And while he's still a billionaire and still never really got the true comeuppance he deserved, he was still forced out. And now he's desperately trying to return to power (reminds me of his ex-President buddy). And this is the story I hope gets told some day - not The Vince McMahon Story that the WWE would produce, focused primarily on his life up till 2021 and all his victories against the government and the PTMC and Ted Turner - but the Vince McMahon Story from 2021 on. That's where the intrigue is for me. That's where you get your Succession-level drama.

I don't watch the weekly TV often but I'm still on winter break so I did catch a good amount of RAW this week. Alexa/Bianca was not the match I wanted it to be as an Alexa fan. It was a weird pairing from the jump, at least to me, because Alexa has had one foot in the babyface pool and one obviously in the Fiend mode again for awhile now based on my irregular viewings. Based on their interaction 2 weeks ago (that was replayed prior to the match), the story seemed to me to be that Alexa feels disrespected as a highly-decorated former champion and Bianca is the fighting champion who isn't going to lay down for anyone. Its a dynamic that can work, but fans need to buy into Alexa Bliss as "crafty ring veteran" the way, say, fans can buy into Natalya (or Naomi even at one point) as seasoned pros who can sneak a win over anyone on any given night (even though, more often than not, they don't). Maybe I've missed it, but that just doesn't seem like a role Alexa has ever successfully played or been seen as. They end up wrestling an okay-at-best match that felt heatless and went too long just to end with Alexa turning heel after being re-programmed via a strobe effect on the TitanTron. A long walk to get nowhere really interesting because it had been telegraphed for weeks. I'm all about giving the women more than 6 minutes to have a match...when the purpose of said match is to be a competitive display of skill. But this match played out more like a really long walk to an underwhelming destination. As a fan of Alexa and Bianca, I wanted to like this match despite my misgivings, but this was bad writing/bad booking and I hope they just pull these two apart next week and have Alexa do her own thing while Bianca feuds with anyone else. There's just no chemistry between these two as characters or, sadly, even as workers (as much as Bianca's power moves mixed with Bliss' tumbling did result in at least one or two cool spots, it just wasn't enough). Its Rumble season and we know that typically means a few legends may appear soon, why not have some of them do some segments with Bianca? This potential feud with a supernatural Alexa is going to hurt them both.