C.S.

I think Punishment Martinez is a badass name and Damien Priest is generic CAW 101. I kinda like Tommy End too, but I can see why others wouldn't. With that said, some of the NXT/WWE names have definitely been better than the originals. As mentioned: Finn Balor > Prince Devitt Hideo Itami > KENTA It's weird how they go back and forth on whether to use original names or rebranded names.

Steph actually did one of those shows. It was a P.R. puff piece, of course, but still entertaining for what it was.

I forgot about this part. Right after that, they cut away to the replay. I was wondering why Gable never said anything after the replay. I didn't notice the ref telling him no.

Maybe, but there's no reason Vince can't have ten more "Enzos" to repopulate the CW division with. He could, but no one is booked to matter anymore. I also preferred the singlet and long hair. Not sure what to believe with the finish. On the other hand, it was so much more creative and impactful than WWE's usual finishes, so it almost has to be a botch, right? Then again, the finish in the main event was also something we haven't seen in a while, or at least done effectively like it was there.

People criticized the Enzo reign, but it got more eyeballs on the Cruiserweights (good luck if you think Tony Nese will ever do that), and more importantly, Vince actually gave a shit about the division when Enzo was champ.

I came here to post about 205 Live, so I'm glad to see everyone else is talking about it already. Chad Gable vs. Jack Gallagher was quite an awesome match. Everyone is always singing the praises of Gable (including me), but I agree with all of you that Gallagher shouldn't be slept on either - he has always been one of my favorites. With that said, 205 Live may as well be Jakked or Metal for how much it matters, and that's sad. But don't take my word for it... (BTW, since it seems no one realizes this: Both 205 Live and NXT - yes, even TakeOver - is on Hulu. That's how I was able to watch it without a current Network subscription. You just can't watch it live on Hulu.)

Yeah, it worked 20 years ago with Vince. No one else is Vince. The formula has had diminishing returns with lesser performers ever since. Shane is good in his own way. Being a Vince Redux isn't one of those ways.

Yeah, I don't get it. Even when Miz and/or Roman do win, it won't do anything for them, because of course they won against Shane. This formula works with full-time wrestlers, not the part-time owner's kid.

The Miz and Roman vs. Shane, McIntyre, and Elias feud would be good if Shane weren't involved. I actually like Shane as a face and don't buy him as a heel at all (even a "chickenshit" heel).

Not to defend Sullivan or Mansoor, who both seem absolutely useless in every way, but what about those stories you hear of hardened tattooed Neo-Nazis, Klan members, racist gang members, etc. - presumably much more extreme cases - changing their ways? It's not unheard of. But yeah, when it comes to the entertainment industry - and wrestling, in particular - it definitely reeks of "cover my ass" bullshit. BTW, this is the first I've heard of Mansoor being an antisemite. Did he grow up in Saudi Arabia? Well, that whole country and culture unfortunately seems fucked. I mean, I hesitate to paint the people with the same brush as the politicians, royal family, and/or whoever else makes murderous decisions, but there are obviously some deep-rooted issues there. Edit: One site referred to Mansoor as a "Californian." So, he's an American citizen, I guess? I literally know nothing about him other than what's posted here and the few stories/clips I've seen. Found this that's supposedly from him: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8fiwI7WwAYoatT.png:large

Fyter Fest will stream for free. https://411mania.com/wrestling/aew-fyter-fest-to-stream-free-on-b-r-live/

Shane was all over TV long before the NBA playoffs though. (Unless they've been going on for months? I wouldn't know...)

WWE is so boring. Every main event is some combination of Seth, Corbin, KO, Drew, and/or a wasted and misused Sami Zayn.

Is Drew a bad promo or just bad with bad scripted promos?

How much of that Alexa promo was the absolute truth about Bayley? I remember her tweeting similar things about Banks before.

Lucha House Party is Mexicools 2.0. Not even Rey is getting treated well these days. So much for wanting to grow the Hispanic audience.

I thought KO and SZ were on SDL? Yes, I know - "Wildcard Rules." "That's some good shit, pal!" The brand split is officially a joke.

I can't stand Seth's "babyface" promo style. I actually didn't mind his heel promos that everyone else took a shit on.

Yeah, I think the STARDOM episode simply focused on way too many people in way too short a timeframe. The owner, Kris Wolf, the 14-year-old wrestler, etc. could have easily each filled up their own episode, so cramming them all into a tiny 40-minute window meant that there simply wasn't enough time to go as in-depth as possible. With that said, I thought it was an interesting overview of Japanese wrestling and culture overall. In a way, it would've been the perfect pilot for a series dedicated solely to STARDOM and/or Japanese wrestling. Alas, that isn't what this show is.

I kinda like the logo. At the very least, it shows more imagination and creativity than 99% of WWE's current storylines.

That's awful. I think the documentary should have gone into slightly more detail then (while still protecting her privacy), because a viewer could easily be misled into thinking Mayu has a criminal past.

I watched Episode 3 of The Wrestlers about Japanese women's wrestling - STARDOM, in particular. "Impenetrable" is the word Damian uses to describe the Japanese culture to outsiders, and I felt the same way as a viewer - even though the show did its best to "crack the code," so to speak. Man, the owner of STARDOM is a real cold fish and pretty much buries his talent on the show. For whatever people have said about Vince, this guy makes him seem warm and fuzzy. But I guess he's okay because he has a bitchin' collection of Lucha masks? Yeah, no. Kudos to Damian though for at least trying to show more than one side. The American representative on this show is Kris Wolf, and it's kind of heartbreaking that she still feels like an outsider even after years in Japan. One of the Japanese wrestlers had an incident with policemen, which was reported in the newspaper, but the documentary didn't go into any detail. I'm torn between whether that was the right thing to do, to protect her privacy, or if they should've explained what she was referring to because it's apparently already public knowledge. (Note: I haven't looked it up, so I don't actually know what happened.) The 14-year-old wrestler selling "revealing" photos of herself to nerd fanboys was unsettling, as Damian himself admits, but the fans apparently claim there's nothing sexual about it. Is that true? I have no idea. The wrestler's mother seemed okay with it, so either she's the worst stage mom ever or Japanese culture is completely different. Maybe both? The owner of STARDOM came across like a total sleaze too, talking about how she's not as popular because she already has the face of an adult and acts more mature than her age. Ugh! A weird episode, but very interesting too. Japan really is an entirely different world.

I think I speak for everyone here when I say you're in our prayers and/or we're all sending good thoughts and vibes your way. Please update us after the operation. Here's hoping Super Showdown ends up being the worst part of this experience for you.

Not ROH related, per se, but I don't know where else to put this... Sinclair Broadcasting's Bullshit Strikes Again This is exactly why, no matter what ROH does, they will never be a major league organization. The minute they get "too big" (hah, fat chance of that), the media scrutiny will be a lot more intense because of who their parent company is. While WWE can withstand it because they have enough money and no one gives enough a shit about wrestling to truly escalate anything they do, ROH is not in the same plum position. With that said, ROH is lucky that Sinclair is so (seemingly) hands-off. Something like Dalton Castle probably doesn't happen if anyone from Sinclair is actually paying attention to their investment.

That gif made me legit recoil. Thank you, BTW, @The Thread Killer, for your ongoing play-by-play. It was very handy for those of us who didn't watch this show (and/or don't have the Network anymore, like me). I hope you put your health issues behind you soon. You're one of the good ones here. (Not that there are really any bad ones, but you know what I mean!)