joeg

Not romanticizing at all. When I think of my favorite wrestling shows of all time, they were both fun weekly episodic TV and completely binge-able. ECW Hardcore TV, AJPW 30, Toryumon, Lucha Underground, Mid South, World Class, etc. All were great weekly shows with great storytelling but also all had at least average in ring action. What we have now is usually quality TV matches without any context or context that is doesn't make sense. The average casual person isn't going to tune in to watch bad TV with some good wrestling mixed in.

Lol no, it was a nice play on words I'll give it to you. But without toning down the violence in the early 2000s, WWE doesn't land the Saudi deal. MBS has been trying to present modern Saudi Arabia as more palatable to western foreign investment while still using the same brutal tactics to control domestic public opinion used by his father and grandfather. Really a have your cake and eat it too take on diplomacy. Having WWE do shows in Saudi Arabia is a small part of that western PR campaign. If WWE had not made the push to appeal to mainstream advertisers, I doubt WWE would have had the same sort of public relations appeal.

No I got the joke. I'm sure Loss did too.

Would have the gore of the late Attitude Era/early 2000s have prevented the big renewal with USA, the Fox deal, the launch of the WWE Network, the Peacock merger, etc? My guess is yeah probably. Even though 20 years ago there were three times as many people watching WWF, none of those deals would have came about as at the time it was just too raunchy.

I mean it has worked out for them. For us fans not so much... the last decade was their most profitable despite putting out a product that was substandard.

The WON stats aren't surprising at all. If you looked at companies who relied on violence and gore to draw, the same thing usually happened. The increase in violence draws but it also drives some people away. Over time the audience drawn in becomes desensitized and moves on while the audience that was driven away never comes back. Its why WWE pivoted away from the violence 15 years ago. It's a trend that's happened over and over with different promotions where an increase in juice is good for the short term but not the long term.

9 months is typical if only the ACL was torn. Sometimes more, sometimes less. If its the unhappy triad (torn ACL, MCL, and PCL) and meniscus that's usually 11 months plus. Its not like 30 years ago where an ACL meant you were done for two years and never came back the same. I'm not a doctor either, just somebody who's had a few meniscus repairs. Edit- Sorry I just saw @Robert S said the same thing.

Huh I never thought of Hangman like that. But I don't watch BTE. Or Dark so I guess I'm missing the nuance to the character. I think we've had this debate before that they can't just assume people watching Dynamite follow the storylines/character development on BTE. He was over like rover out of the gate and a year and a half later is just another guy and not getting much if any reaction. While people can relate to anxiety and alcoholism, nobody is going to cheer for it. Also I don't know any video game nerds who can fight or are good at sports. Nerd culture is in now, but it doesn't make nerdy guys believable pro wrestlers. Another thing I think you and I have debated here.

I think you give the average person far too much credit. I'm joking, but kind of, not really.

Kingston might be the most believable promo ever. Everybody knows an Eddie Kingston. Everybody knows THAT GUY, which is why he is so relatable. I don't know many over emotional cowboys, quirky cult members, video game nerds, lazy bums who rock a demin jacket, etc. But I know plenty of blue collar working class stiffs who came up hard, harbor some resentment for their station in life, and aren't afraid to throw down if provoked. An Eddie Kingston can be found at any dive bar or union hall in any town in the northeastern US. MJF is also a super believable character. If you've ever golfed a round at an exclusive country club, attended an elite private private school, or been to a rubber chicken fundraiser, you've met an MJF. Some of his one liners are vicious, I'm surprised he gets away with some of that as he's often burying the other guy, but it makes me laugh. For two weeks they tease a Cody vs Pentagon Jr feud, with Pentagon Jr being the BAMF he was in the first season of Lucha Underground. I was so excited, now they have pivoted to Cody vs QT Marshall, massive letdown. While I probably won't watch the Cody reality show, any mainstream programing that draw eyes to wrestling is a good thing in my book, even shitty reality shows. I never was able to get behind Kenny Omega as a babyface whatsoever. He's just so dorky and unlikable despite being a freak athlete. But as a smarmy heel, I find myself unable to look away and thoroughly enjoying when he gets what is coming to him. The 6 man tag was not my cup of tea. I get why people would be into it as the dives and spots were spectacular. However, I'm not into one big spot after another with no story and sloppy strikes. Also Brandon Cutler is not good, but not as awful as I was expecting. Almost every match in AEW seems to have a similar formula- heels jump the babyfaces before the bell to get some heat, babyfaces have a comeback, lots of cool spots, cut off, fluky finish, heels beat down babyface after the bell to get their heat back and set something up for the future that may or may not materialize. Darby vs John Silver was fun. What are they doing now with the Dark Order? Other than John Silver and Colt Cabana all of those guys suck. If it was meant to be a vehicle to bring in Brodie Lee it never really worked, and he's gone. So I don't understand why the Dark Order is still a thing, usually if something doesn't work AEW pivots and moves on, buuuut here we are two years later and they are still around.

Am I really considering spending 40 bucks to order a PPV from Impact next month?

Well said. I think any form of censorship is a dangerous slippery slope. When tobacco bowdlerization was a big thing in the 90s and early 2000s it didn't spread awareness of the dangers of smoking. It only tainted the classic films and shows that were edited. In fact, it had an adverse affect as teen/youth tobacco usage increased in the following years with the rise in popularity of dip, ecigs, and vaping. What we are seeing now reminds me of that. For awhile now anything remotely racially insensitive from the past must be removed from any digital platform in the fight against racism. Well it doesn't work that way, racism and racial violence seem to be on the rise not decline right now. But I digress this is prowrestlingONLY not history class.

@El-P Yeah. Its not what I envisioned when AEW was first announced. Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan were doing interviews talking about a sports based wrestling presentation. And Khan talked about being a big football fan and a big Bill Watts fan. I expected something totally different. I was expecting time limits, work that looked believable, weight classes, etc. Basically I was expecting some sort of cross between UWFi, Inokism and Mid South. Had those that early marketing been like we are going for a entertaining product and Khan is a huge fan of Memphis wrestling, ECW, FMW, NWO era Nitro and Vince Russo's booking style, then yeah this is what I would have have expected.

42 is pretty old to be jumping into MMA, even in a freakshow fight. I enjoyed his team with Honma back in the day... I've only seen Sudairo fight once and it was when he turned Dylan James' face into pulp.

No way! That is actually a thing? He had it coming can actually be used as a defense in court not just in musicals?! Where can I find something on such cases?

Better talent or used better? WWE has much better talent in their women's division (Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, etc are head and shoulders above anybody in AEW) but WWE doesn't do anything interesting with them usually. I think wasted talent is a common theme in WWE across the board the last 10 to 15 years. And yeah it sounds ghoulish, I don't care for juice in any women's match. Or thumbtacks in any match. To me AEW is a weird blend of WCW Nitro, FMW and old school studio wrestling, mixed together with a modern twists. Its the entertaining yet disjointed, disorganized TV show that Nitro was. The in ring style is big budget garbage wrestling like FMW. And they run old school angles and have quality promos like old school studio wrestling. They adapted all that to modern wrestling fans taste, with a women's division, an emphasis on acrobatic spots rather than believable in ring work, an inclusive corporate culture, etc...

Wow... that was remarkable... unsettling.... disturbing..... I don't have words.

Great match, but blood and violence in women's wrestling always makes me uncomfortable.

I feel the same can be said the same right now with AEW. WWE is locking everybody into long term deals and refusing a release to anybody for fear they will just ships regardless of if they are being used or not. The vets in AEW just seem happy going through the motions and getting paid fat stacks while the younger guys in AEW who nave never really been anywhere other than indies all appear happy to just be working regularly. And Tony Khan is thrilled to be living out a childhood fantasy.

Not surprised.... anybody over 6 foot and explosive enough to clean and jerk 485 and snatch 400 I would expect to be able to dunk

This thread has me visualizing Billy Jack Haynes hats. The Cornette thread has me visualizing Cornette's attempts to to insert his member into a bathroom urinal's drain. PWO has gotten interesting since Loss came back.

I love it when I hear wrestling jargon used in sports. Just now I was watching CBS Sports coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament seeding during my lunch break. Their nerdy sports analysts said "Oklahoma State was jobbed out by the selection committee, they deserve better than a four seed. I expect them to go over Illinois in the Sweet 16."

This whole thing made me laugh then wonder something out loud. How exactly does Cornette use public restroom facilities? Personally I try to stand as far away from the urinal as possible without spraying the guy next to me. I know Cornette is into some kink, but to actually insert yourself into a public urinal is something I've never heard of and don't comprehend how one would do it. But to each his own.

Oh ok...huh, that makes a lot of sense.

I think you summed it up perfectly. Cornette is an antagonistic troll and great at it. And casual homophobic slurs are commonplace in 80s TV and movies. I never dug any deeper than that into it.