C.S.

Agreed. I meant there have been worse moments, but top to bottom, WWE has never been this bad and dull. Even the mid-'90s - when every character had a side job - was more entertaining than this.

So, like, you don't remember when a guy actually hatched out of an egg at Survivor Series? In other words, this is nothing new, and it's been much worse.

The HBO show The Newsroom actually referenced Rock's announcement (and I think, but could be wrong, made a joke about Triple H in the process). If you're not familiar with it, it starred Jeff Daniels and featured a bunch of other big names - such as Sam Waterson and Jane Fonda. I never really took to the show though, because it was so hamfisted, clumsy, and thought it was way smarter than it really was. A pity, because Jeff Daniels is amazing and the rest of the great was great too. Maybe I'll give it another chance one day.

It was Rikishi. He did it... ...for The Rock!

Hell of a match.

This egg angle is totally atrocious WrestleCrap, but I can't lie, it's put Red Notice at the top of my list just so I can complete this insanity.

And here I was thinking we'd get a Jeff Hardy-Austin Theory finale, with Austin being the sole survivor. So much for building young talent.

Teamwork from Jeff and Sheamus a year after that horrid drinking and driving storyline, or whatever it was, between them. Edit: Well, Sheamus attacked Hardy afterward, so I guess it's fine.

Why is Theory favoring his back? Did I miss something?

Booker T comes across as someone who talks just to hear the sound of his own voice.

Pretty sure Cody is playing the AEW audience like a fiddle and knows exactly what he's doing. Maybe that wasn't the case during the Ogogo promo - probably not, since the one episode of the reality show I did watch made that out to be an awesome moment - but he has since adjusted and course-corrected.

I don't entirely agree. You're right in that there's been no real gain that I can see. But there's been no real loss either. At worst, it's cancelled after one season and everyone forgets about it. Exactly what I've been saying this whole time. To me, it's no risk if it doesn't work and all reward if it does. The exposure, if there's any, can't harm AEW - it can only help. If non-fans are still indifferent to AEW after this, no loss from before.

QT does his job well. I liked his match with Big Show at All Out. It was exactly what it needed to be - get in, get murdered by a giant, get out.

Meaning what exactly? That he'd be forced to vax up? Not quite sure what you're trying to say. If he does have to get vaxxed, good - one less ignorant asshole running around spreading a contagious disease.

Supposedly he's looking to re-sign for a big money deal (by Impact standards), so we'll see what happens.

W. Morrisey's contract has apparently expired.

Isn't Ogogo an anti-vax lunatic? So fuck that guy. Glad he got "Codyed" (which is a bullshit ICW thing anyway, because Cody has made everyone he's ever stepped into the ring a better wrestler who has shined brighter after being in his luminescent light - including and especially Malakai Black). I'll go one step further and say Brandi is a better character than most (not all) of the women on their roster! They could learn a lot from all the little things she knows how to do so well.

According to Monet, she was lied to - repeatedly. Then they fired her husband two weeks later. All of this after they packed up and moved from Southern California - where they loved - to Florida just so she could be closer to the PC, all while thinking she had job security, which was apparently promised to her. I'd say she has a strong reason to be pissed off.

I 100% side with Top Dolla here. AJ Francis could have been an asset for years to come. He was great on that A&E show, and Hit Row was a modern act that could have helped get WWE out of mothballs.

They weren't enough like Men on a Mission for Vince's liking?

Taker's retirement, yes. Two matches where the result was a foregone conclusion (both Brock matches), no. "But they were good wrestling matches." That doesn't matter by itself. Never has. Never will. A good wrestling match in a vacuum is next to useless. A good wrestling match with compelling characters, a great build, and (hopefully) an uncertain conclusion is what makes a good match into a great and meaningful one.

Crossbones too? Gotta have crossbones!

Even if he could, how would he undo all the massive changes? New logo, new set, new wrestlers, new PPV names. 95% of "his" guys have been phased out or released.

I'd argue the ones with the returns of Sting and Angle felt important too. After that, I got nothing.

This is a fun interview with Jimmy Hart, but man oh man, it is jarring when someone outside the company - the interviewer, in this instance - uses WWE-speak like "sports entertainment" and "WWE Universe." https://411mania.com/wrestling/411-exclusive-interview-jimmy-hart-wrestlemania-38-ticket-party/