FMKK

See, I actually think WWE has the opposite problem. It's been a long time since they've had consistently good matches on TV imo and have really moved away from 'workrate' guys, as has the hardcore fanbase to an extent. My problem is that the company seems to have a lot of people who are basically overdramatic theatre geeks 'projecting' characters rather than just being charismatic - e.g. Bray Wyatt, Alexa Bliss, Killer Kross, Johnny Gargano, Tomaso Ciampa, Seth Rollins, Retribution and so on

Jay was ropey at first but he's grown into his role and I definitely agree on the look helping him out. At least in his case, he was a fresh guy being pushed and it was understandable that he might not be entirely ready for the spotlight he was given. With EVIL, we've seen him be mostly mediocre for like 4 years, with the odd good match sprinkled in there. It also felt like his turn and push came from nowhere given where he was positioned on the card for the year or so before it happened.

Who are the characterless workrate robots in current WWE? How frequently does anyone get the opportunity to portray any natural charisma on WWE television? When have Eva Marie ever exhibited a single shred of said charisma?

Fire all the good wrestlers and keep all the failed reality stars. Sounds like a business model and a half.

I was a completionist but these B Block shows are wearing me down. I've definitely cherry picking from them from here on.

They basically reiterate it more clearly here.

I knew I'd only have time to watch one wrestling show today so I had to make a choice. And as much as I like Naito and Juice Robinson, I don't need to see them go 25 minutes. Nor do I need to see an EVIL main event with like 50 Dick Togo run-in spots. So I skipped ahead to today's A Block show. Jeff Cobb vs Tomohiro Ishii - ****1/2 Ishii is God. While Cobb has had some better performances of late in the tournament, it's left up to Big Tom Ishii to have his best match by far once again. To an extent, he just plugged Cobb into the usual Ishii formula but him being able to absolutely ragdoll Ishii like I've never seen before added an exciting new element. Jay White vs Yujiro Takahashi - **1/4 More of an angle than a match as Jay expects his Bullet Club underling to lie down for him and Yujiro isn't sold on playing along. White screaming at Gedo and asking if he knew what was going on, or if EVIL had planned it, clues us in to the bigger picture here. Will Ospreay vs Taichi - ****1/4 Will was being such a condescending prick at the start that I almost felt bad for Taichi. But the master of sleaze was happy enough to play along until her could take Ospreay by surprise with some weapons and then get to work on him. This really came alive in the second half when we got the more serious Taichi of the Ishii match going toe to toe with Ospreay for big moves and exchanges. I particularly enjoyed his twist on the Hidden Blade, though him kind of running into place for an Oscutter was a bit dumb. Minoru Suzuki vs Kota Ibushi - ****1/4 The world's meanest grandad vs the world's toughest pretty boy himbo. They wrestled around on the matt for a while before deciding just to take turns beating the shit out of each other with forearms, slaps, kicks etc. You know what you're getting with Suzuki and it's just a matter of taste but I enjoyed it, especially seeing Ibushi being able to go toe to toe with him. Kazuchika Okada vs Shingo Takagi - ****3/4 The best match of the G1 and the best match of the Covid era (disclaimer: I haven't seen the Champion Carnival final yet). We finally had Big Match Kazu back and he was at about 95% of his final form here, except for one infamous move. He's getting closer and closer to it though. I loved how they build the story playing off previous matches in the tournament, particularly with the moves Okada has worked to establish and the ones he's struggled to use. I'm making this seem like it's all about Okada but Shingo was also fucking incredible here, not just with his explosive offence but particularly with his selling in the closing moments. I'll keep it vague though because everyone should watch this as fresh as possible. Sit back and enjoy two of the best in the world going at it.

Pumped for this chain match. I hope there's blood and bullshit and a valiant Cody victory.

Night 11 - A Block Yujiro Takahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii - ***1/4 Yujiro is definitely trying in this tournament but idk, the guy just has no crispness and no fire so there's a ceiling on everything he does. He jumps Ishii early and works on him loads, complete with dramatic neck and arm selling from Ishii. There's also an incredible headbutt spot. Good enough match but a tournament low for Ishii. Kazuchika Okada vs Jeff Cobb - ***1/4 Again, a nicely worked match without being anything special and again Okada doesn't really get out of second gear. Cobb has some impressive athletic and power spots as always and Okada only going for the Money Clip once is hopefully a sign it'll soon be consigned to the past. Minoru Suzuki vs Will Ospreay - **** I have a feeling that this match might be divisive. Suzuki spent most of the first half basically torturing Will's arm. Some people might not like his selling but he did a good job with it imo and although he still did some moves with the arm, I'm happy to believe that Will Ospreay is dumb enough to go for spots that are bad for his health. And tbf, he didn't get all his shit in or anything. Suzuki was game here and Will stepped it up to match him in the strike battles. Very good match. Jay White vs Taichi - **** This was really fun as two of the sleaziest heel bullshitters tried to out-sleazy heel bullshit each other. Jay pointing Taichi's mic at him and telling him to sing when he was lying dead on the floor was great. As was Taichi putting his bullshit experience to good use to overcome the Gedo run in. Taichi is good when he gets into serious fighting mode as well, with great kicks and lariats. You could tell the clap crowd was into it because they stomped their feet on some near falls. I'd like to see these two work a programme in future. Kota Ibushi vs Shingo Takagi - ****1/4 Shingo is awesome because he can play the bully so well in spite of not actually being that big. He dominated Ibushi for most of the first ten minutes. Then they pretty much went toe to toe for the second half. They slowly built things up til the crowd were again stomping their feet for the nearfalls. The actual finish got as close to a pop as we're going to see right now. There were a couple of moments were Kota was a bit less crisp than usual but they didn't really detract. And it felt like they left some stuff on the table for more matches.

Night 10 - B Block Hirooki Goto vs Toru Yano - no rating This was too short to rate. Goto is obviously hurt and I hope he doesn't have to forfeit but it is kinda refreshing to have super quick matches in New Japan. Sanada vs Zack Sabre Jr. - ***1/2 The usual good technical exchange between these two. I love how Zack is never sitting still in a submission, whether he's applying it or being put in it. He's always looking to improve his position. I also love how his ten second dragon sleeper was better than any from Sanada's career. Sanada's move to set up the finish was pretty cool though. Juice Robinson vs Evil - ***1/4 Juice really ought to buy dinner for the young lion (Gabriel Kidd I think) who kept getting the Queen clapping gimmick started up for him. It really made the crowd seem engaged in his comebacks and goofy facial expressions in a way they haven't so far. Evil, as usual, was an absolute charisma void opposite him. Decent basic match. Yoshi-Hashi vs Tetsuya Naito - ***1/2 Quite a few people were going four stars on this and I think there was that level of match in there if they had trimmed the fat. As it stands, I don't need to see 25 minute Y-H matches. I get the Goto match was super short and they were compensating but still. Plus, the Butterfly Lock submission was such a momentum killer. How is it even supposed to be hurting anyone? This company loves shitty submissions. This was another nice underdog performance by Yoshi-Hashi, this time taking to to the champ. But the long runtime held it back. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenta - **** Two experienced pros went out there and had a very strong main event. It was a basic enough babyface vs heel match, with Kenta spending most of his time targeting Tana's knee. Tanahashi had his customary vocal selling and fiery comebacks. His hair was something else here. Very good match.

On today's G1 show they announced a joint World Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors tour to come after Power Struggle.

If you haven't watched anything it'll take a minute to get used to. And there are times when you can tell that something would get a big reaction and the crowds just can't give it. So it knocks like a 1/4* off the matches if you're a ratings guy. But the top stuff is still absolutely worth watching. There's been top quality stuff on almost every show.

Night 9 - A Block Shingo Takagi vs Yujiro Takahashi - **3/4 Shingo tried here and he moved with his usual explosiveness. Unfortunately, Yujiro moved with his usual laxness. Guy is moving through treacle. While there were some nice moments, Yujiro whiffed on like 3 or 4 spots and really has no business ever going past ten minutes. Jeff Cobb vs Jay White - ***1/4 Cobb had some nice power spots here and was a bit more interesting because you had Jay trying to circumvent them with his craftiness. I love the spot where Cobb pulls the guy from the corner by their feet into his arms for a big slam. Jay dumping him on his head with a straightjacket German was sick too. Good match. Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada - ***1/4 As was said before, they did a condensed version of their usual structure. As with lots of Okada matches in this storyline, it feels like we're getting the slow build of his usual big matches but then it ends before it truly kicks into high gear. I'm glad Suzuki didn't tap to that shitty Money Clip and taught him how to hook in some decent looking submissions before it was over though. Tomohiro Ishii vs Taichi - ****1/4 Big Tom Ishii is coming for his MVP crown. This match ruled and Taichi was awesome in it as well. It was pretty much what one imagines from an Ishii G1 match but I love what Tachi can add with his cross between being a sleazy cheating heel and then being an asskicker when required. He hits some great high kicks when he's on. However, his short trunks are grotesque. This was an excellent match from two men who have been performing well so far. Kota Ibushi vs Will Ospreay - ****1/4 This was a nice contrast to their match from last year's tournament, where Kota beat the shit out of an injured Ospreay. This time, the more beefy and way more obnoxious Ospreay imposed himself to start, showing off his new power and his heightened arrogance. Once Ibushi got back into the match, there were some excellent athletic exchanges and hard strikes. These guys are muscular as fuck but can still fly around the ring with the best of them.

I've only seen the top two from today but both matches completely ruled. I'll catch up on the rest later.

Bray Wyatt's emo community theatre fake-deep bullshit being bad has nothing to do with modern fans being allergic to anything that isn't workrate. It's the sort of thing that you hope no one would catch you watching.

Everything The Fiend touches is absolute shit

It's not like she can wrestle anymore so she could probably make more money from the streaming than with sporadic WWE appearances. Also, what's the storyline justification for Jey USO to get another title match when he lost comprehensively the last time?

NIGHT 8 - B Block Juice Robinson vs Toru Yano - *3/4 This was the least of the Yano matches so far and they have a **1/2 star ceiling for me. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Hirooki Goto - *** This was super short so I don't know if Goto's bandaged shoulder is a legit injury. It was nice to see a sprint in New Japan though. After saying I liked Zack playing babyface against Evil, I've enjoyed him even more in his more vicious moments vs Kenta and here. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs YOSHI-HASHI - **** This match was the equivalent of a bottom of the table side playing a top team off the park for most of 90 minutes and still somehow losing 1-0. Y-H continued his hot streak in this tournament, teeing off on the Ace. Tana was in giving mode as well. Very good match. KENTA vs EVIL - **3/4 This was pretty boring for the first half before getting decent when the Togo interference spots started. Evil is just not a compelling working imo. Also, I understand heel psychology etc. but it seems like Evil wouldn't even be able to hit a single move without Togo bullshit, which is not what I would want to convey in a guy who was champion like a month ago. Tetsuya Naito vs SANADA - **** I'm enjoying the new, more vicious Naito in this tournament. He was throwing those stiff elbows, ramming Sanada into the post and just stepping on his face. Sanada is a good worker athletically but his stoicism isn't the most exciting thing in a promotion full of expressive guys. And the Skull End. We've talked about this before. But nevertheless, this was a strong match that build nicely towards the climax. The only downside is that they totally flubbed the set up spot for the finish and had to do it again. That probably lost it 1/4* for me.

Night 7 - A Block Yujiro Takahashi vs Minoru Suzuki - *** Yujiro is no good but he's sleezy so he's at home brawling on the outside with Suzuki. He showed a little more fire than usual as well. Basic match. Kota Ibushi vs Jeff Cobb - ***1/2 The most impressive Cobb has looked so far as he actually worked to his strength and size. It helps that he was in with a world class worker who bumped his ass off. The huge F5 and the bit where he pulled Kota from the corner into a huge slam were impressive. The finish was quite abrupt but that's fine for the second match of the night. Kazuchika Okada vs Taichi - **** Who'd have thought that the first Rainmaker of this G1 would've been hit by fucking Taichi? He worked Okada's back in the early going and hit some really great kicks. He's come on a lot in the last 12-18 months. For Okada's part, he still loves his shitty choke but we're starting to see more glimpses of his staple spots coming back. I'm expected the full Rainmaker experience by the time we get to the Ospreay match in Sumo Hall. This was well worked. Will Ospreay vs Jay White - ****1/4 They put over Ospreay's increased power game by working the opening minutes around White trying to avoid his massive chops. It's meant to be a heel spot but really Jay is the only smart guy in New Japan for actually hitting his oppents instead of offering up free strikes. Nicely worked reversals and fluid spots here as the match escalated. There was some Gedo interference but it was handled well and Will showed almost heelish aggression (Roid Rage) striking White when he was down. With that, his obnoxious promos and his even more obnoxious hair, he's for sure going heel. Tomohiro Ishii vs Shingo Takagi - ****1/2 Two thick slabs of meat aggressively slap together repeatedly. Sounds almost horny. This is what you'd expect from these two and it ruled. At times the strikes and lariats were so loud that the clap crowd gasped and murmured, restrictions be damned. If they could've cheered fully and like three minutes had been shaved off the match, I would have considered going five. A battered Shingo still trying to throw headbutts after the match was awesome.

Night 6 - B Block Sanada vs Yoshi-Hashi - ***1/2 Y-H is having a sneaky good tournament. Nothing has been amazing but every match has exceeded my expectations a bit. This could've been quite dry because these aren't the most charismatic performers but it ended up being a nice, hard fought match. Sanada needs a better submission than Skull End though. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Kenta - ***1/2 This was hard hitting. Zack made like he was offering to grapple and Kenta responded with brutal kicks to the chest. That set the tone. This had lists of nasty strikes, mostly from Kenta but Zack got in some loud slaps to the face too. Zack' said crumple sell off a hard strike is great. Kenta dropping him twice when he was meant to be holding him up was not great. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Juice Robinson - ***1/2 Another solid match that was good but not great. Juice matches never excite me much on paper, and his newest look is trampy af, but he and Tanahashi are both charismatic enough to hold interest through a basic match even with a clap crowd. The finish could've been a bit more polished though. Evil vs Toru Yano - ** They managed to pair up the two bullshit guys in one match tonight, which saves a headache. Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki Goto - ***3/4 These guys have been round the block a million times and could work a good match in their sleep. This was a slow build with Naito working Goto's bandaged arm and Goto fighting back with his typical resolve. Took a little while to get going but it was all good stuff. Naito has worked with an extra viciousness this G1, especially with these back elbows he's added to his repertoire. He's clearly taking the responsibility of being champion going into the tournament for the first time quite seriously and has been one of the MVP

I feel like those Ishii style matches lose the most for me with the clap crowds. I haven't seen today's match yet though.

I guess he's there to just indulge Vince's BS and play to his shitty comedic tastes as opposed to fighting the losing battle and squeezing some good stuff through to the TV.

I think the issue is more to do with predatory behaviour and dodgy DM shit from wrestlers as opposed to the age gap. I hope anyway. But there is this weird cohort on Twitter and the link who act as if a 30 year old dating a 25 year old is basically paedophilia.

Also Bruce. Agree that Ishikawa has been dogshit for All Japan recently. How hard is it to push the heel outsider, give him the belt and then have your ace feud with him?

I don't want their product because it stinks. I checked out the thing that was getting a lot of buzz and gave my honest opinion that the acting and the melodrama was dumb and detracted from the presentation. I engage with WWE so little that there's no reason for me to complain for the sake of complaining. I just happen to think you can tell a story in wrestling without having to stop the matches so the participants can explain it to me with dialogue.