Big Pete

Whoever debuts, surely they could have come up with something more important than a qualifier for a belt they've established has an open door policy against a Isaiah Kassidy...surely.

Yeah the crowd really helped make the Quiz Bowl and MizTV segments. The latter of which I felt really delivered especially given how thrown together it all was. I'm curious about the direction they're taking with Owens, Rollins and Lashley. Lashley definitely played to the home crowd tonight and I get the sense Owens could be turning babyface. Also Alexa has to be the sixth participant in the RAW Women's Elimination Chamber, right? Curious to see if they pair her up with somebody in the match and the two go onto challenge for the tag titles at Wrestlemania. Liv seems like the obvious choice here.

Starks is an interesting one because he really had to work for his push and even then he's had those neck problems that's really hurt his development as a character. The match with Jay Lethal was a step in the right direction, although it would have been better if Lethal had have been established more on the roster before Starks beat him on the show only half the audience actually watches. What they should do is develop Team Taz and add more members to the stable. I don't think it's a great look to have top talent constantly turn them down, let's make them one of the stronger factions and something wrestlers actually want to be a part of. See, I think a guy like O'Reilly would be a good fit here, or a Jeff Cobb if they can strengthen those NJPW affiliations. I'd try to avoid having Starks work goofy guys since he's pretty goofy himself and pair him up with more serious workers like PAC and even revisit the Darby feud since they're natural opponents and it feels like they could do more with that gimmick.

I'd say Danhausen has the same appeal that Zack Ryder did in 2011 where people didn't necessarily like him for his wrestling, but fans related to him and identified he loved this business just as much if not more than the fans. The bit he does which DMJ nailed is just endearing and mimacable so fans have really taken to it. I think it was his cameos that really launched him, I know my first exposure was through Cornette who actually liked his persona and found him hilarious but refused to watch him wrestle since he didn't want to shatter the illusion. I've only seen the odd match at ROH, but he was fine. How long until Jericho latches onto him?

Ha, Final Destination was my second guess as well. Final RESOLUTION, there we go.

Going in, Roode was considered the all-round talent and fans were annoyed that they invested all that time in the Bound For Glory series only to pull the rug out from underneath Roode. The way they justified it made sense, so fans were willing to give it a go, although ultimately yes they wanted Storm to be THE guy leading TNA forward. In hindsight, I would have preferred that being for the title at Bound For Glory than Jeff/Aries. What was the deal with Final Battle 2012? Storm beats Roode and AJ on the previous PPV for a shot, but on the next PPV it's Roode/Hardy? Yeah...it was a really rough time for the WWE. Even guys who were busting their asses like Sheamus and Ziggler were saddled up with bad gimmicks which really hurt their appeal (Sheamus being pushed as a top babyface, Dolph Ziggler as Vickie Guerrero's boy-toy) so it was really down to Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Of course they never went all the way with them, so they could never carry the show themselves, it was just occasionally they got the opportunity to have good matches and they delivered. From memory, there were two shows fans actually enjoyed from WWE. The first was Proto-NXT where management was clearly not watching the show so the writers were just having a field day writing this fun soap opera storylines for Maxine (Catrina), Johnny Curtis, Derrick Bateman and Kaitlyn that involved a lot of the lesser known talent. They were clearly having fun with it and it went in some really fun directions. There was also a Saturday Morning Slam show which was a kids show and featured more comedic wrestling usually with a top talent working a lower card talent. It was like those fun house show spots put to tape. Then FCW became NXT and the WWE actually had a Pro Wrestling show. I forgot to mention that Chikara was huge around this time as well. I don't think ever had so much hype and then it would go on hiatus early 2013 and never regain it's momentum again.

I haven't watched these shows since they aired but from memory fans were patient with Roode's title reign because TNA had finally pushed somebody and given them an opportunity. Blood Money were one of the few teams that fans actually universally enjoyed so watching them get rewarded for their efforts was a refreshing change of pace. It helped pave the way for Austin Aries and suddenly it felt like you had three main event level talents before Bound For Glory happened and ruined all that good-will they had been building. I can barely remember anything about TNA from here till 2016 other than AJ having the odd quality match. It may have also been a context thing as well. The WWE was really struggling around this time and the show largely focused on guys like The Big Show, Kane, Tensai/Albert facing off against Cena while the Sheamus and Del Rio get into food fights. This was also peak-Cornette ROH. I'm talking Pro-American Pro-Authority Davey Richards vs. French Canadian Anti-ROH Kevin Steen in a feud where the fans completely turned on Davey. At least Steen/Davey got to make a Highspots DVD together to hash their 'legit heat' out where they just talked about how out of touch and psychotic Cornette was. This was also the era where they stopped flying the Bucks in, but pushed The All Night Express to a title win nobody wanted only for Kenny King to dip the next night. There was also a PPV where both Rhino and Mike Mondo were featured in title matches and everyone's favourite wrestler QT Marshall also got actively pushed on the show. At least it opened the door for NJPW, PWG and to an extent Dragon Gate-USA.

That's how I remember it as well and the majority of those acts were relegated to Dark and then quietly taken off of television. Orange Cassidy and The Dark Order are really the only acts of that kin that managed to get over.

I agree but that's often the comparison that's made online. I don't even get a Shawn-Diesel vibe because their friendship came across on television whereas this feels strictly professional. I'm sure there's another old-school comparison and the angle is fine but I think they could come up with a better justification behind why Wardlow sticks with MJF despite MJF treating him like trash for over two years. The whole he's signed to MJF not AEW isn't believable and even then, why wouldn't Wardlow just back himself to get signed by TK? Has he seen who else TK has signed? Like I said, it's fine 'rasslin story-telling that's been effective, it's just a little lazy.

I thought the Mox promo was what it needed to be. He looked in much better shape and expressed himself in a way that was authentic to him. The key was that they didn't over-book it and allowed Mox to play to his strength which is talking. I thought for a moment they were actually going to add some layers to Wardlow-MJF and have MJF actually act like a human being and treat Wardlow with a modicum of respect. Jokes on me I guess. I often see this compared to Batista-HHH the difference is that HHH rarely if ever treated Batista like this. Batista was actually smart to stick around and ended up out-playing the game which is why it worked. Here Wardlow just seems like a low IQ muscle-head and bit of a coward for not backing himself outside of MJF. I'm more selective about what I watch when it comes to Dynamite these days, so the Punk segment was one of the few things I was looking forward to. The whole thing lasted six minutes, confirmed what has already been established and it should end the run of Spears but it won't. Poor Andrew Everett was sacrificed for this slop. I'll give it this, Punk was good staring down MJF and had good intensity behind his facial expressions but the rest? I got tricked into watching the Cody promo. I'm not sure what was worse, the content or the delivery. The way Cody embellishes certain words with this strange warble is so off-putting, I don't know how anyone could ever take him seriously. I'm done with Cody, never again. I'm fine with the PAC-Malakai match, I wish both guys had more momentum but hopefully it can rekindle the fire. The dungeons and dragons content from PAC was hammy but thankfully his Newcastle accent lended itself to it. It was nice to see Team Taz for all of 30 seconds. Does Lio Rush have Covid...or did TK mentor him into another retirement? I miss Danielson.

BPJ playing to the crowd in Cleveland after MJF got into the face of his heavily pregnant sister was the moment it was clear he had no wrestling insticts. Or at least whoever put that segment together. Awful, buried right then and there.

Yeah it's all about cultivating that 'us vs. them' mentality and MJF aligning himself with the WWE is one of the few ways he can get heat without going too far. I do understand your issues with it @C.S., it's lazy to 'bury' the opposition and long-term you'd be better served crafting interesting segments.

Just for clarification, I don't think she would have done anything meaningful heading into Wrestlemania. However coming out of it, when they needed some fresh feuds she would have been in line for a push. We'll never know because she decided after three years it was time to move on but that's typically how they book their championship programs around Wrestlemania season.

Thanks for pointing that out, I honestly spaced on it and when I went to check out the finish again to see if I remembered correctly the WWE YouTube clip cut the post-match out. Even with Toni's display of emotions, it didn't come across as a total burial to me and it was more about how much effort and how close she came to winning the title. Yes, the point of the segment was to put Charlotte over but I saw it as a moment where a seed was planted that they could germinate coming out of Wrestlemania. Obviously that's not how it worked out and that's the legacy but there was room there. She wouldn't be the first star to cry after losing an important match and coming back to win down the line.

It's an era that gets over-shadowed by the Hardyverse stuff but there was also a lot to like. Maria/Allie, EC3/Drake, The Helms Dynasty and the World title scene really made for a well rounded show. Of course there's some great Pro Wrestling absurdity as well like James Storm, Bram and Eddie Kingston forming an elite group of 'annonymous' hackers who continue to wear masks after demasking themselves on television.

Actually it was a flurry of pin attempts that Charlotte started by grabbing onto the ropes. The finish saw Charlotte ultimately reverse an inside cradle but it wasn't a dominant victory or a burial by any means.

I'm pretty sure Cody started off as a babyface on the indy circuits where he worked everywhere and only turned heel in December at Final Battle against Jay Lethal. So there was a situation in IMPACT where he actually came in as a babyface for a brief stint and then resurfaced as a heel months later to have a feud with Moose who was getting too comfortable with Brandi.

I don't know if Toni ever lived up to her potential after winning the 2018 Mae Young Classic. She was over on NXT UK as one of the flag bearers of the show but she didn't really stand out and by the time she came to the States whatever momentum she had was gone. NXT had already moved onto Raquel and Toni wasn't the same performer as before. The worm did appear to be turning on SmackDown and she did force Charlotte who is being pushed as the greatest ever to resort to an inside cradle to put her away. It will be interesting to see what she does next and whether she returns to Stardom or actually does try to break out in the States.

The issue with the show is that brand vs. brand means nothing to hardcore fans, especially because the rosters changed just under a month before the PPV. On top of that, the running theme of the PPV was an advert for Red Notice which led to a nonsensical explanation for Austin Theory to receive a championship opportunity. Even getting away from that, the Survivor Series matches just went too long when you consider the entrances. For instance the men's Survivor Series match lasted 45 minutes from the entrance to Rollins walking up the ramp victorious. When you book long matches you have to consider the emotional investment of the audience and the pacing of the show. I think if they cut the match in half it would have improved the show dramatically. Especially because the trope of uneasy alliances has been done to death in the company. I think fans would much prefer if you just saw two teams giving it their all to make a name for themselves. Then with stars like Lashley, Rollins, McIntyre etc. you can have them face off against one another in other matches. You can book it as the last time these superstars get to settle their scores before the rosters are locked in place and make a name for themselves on their brand. Still, the show wasn't an utter waste of time and I completely agree with you KawadaSmile that those matches were really enjoyable. Charlotte-Becky especially was as tense and personal a match I've seen this year.

I don't think the slow start helped the match at all. A lot of going through the motions and silly 'pro rasslin' managerial spots until Omega teased the buckshot and got Hangman to fire up. I understand why they did it but outside of that brief moment where Kenny turned the Buckshot into a V-Trigger and teased an OWA, Hangman never looked like he was going to lose. I understand they wanted to have Hangman out-perform Omega, but it seemed like Kenny didn't bring his A game either.

If anything I think fans have a tendency to pidgeon hole MJF as a gimmick when he's shown he's capable of more. His matches against Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin have proven he's capable of putting together good matches and executing smooth mat sequences. I certainly wouldn't say he's underrated - AEW know what they have - but he's deserving of his push. I'm not a huge Dark Order guy but they were the break-out stars of BTE and appeal to that specific reddit dwelling audience. Injuries have clearly hurt them as both Anna Jay and Johnny Silver would be fairing better had they not had those disruptions and I think it's stalled their momentum somewhat. I think they could do more with the Dark Order concept and have more members join, some move on and give them more wins. And yeah Inner Circle should have been broken up after the 2020 Stadium Stampede.

The crazy thing about ROH is that they enjoyed their most successful years in the mid-to late 2010s well past their peak. Of course that was on the back of their NJPW relationship and working alongside The Elite who were handling the majority of their own creative. When it came to ROH building their own stars it seemed really directionless and by the time they'd put the belt on somebody like Dalton Castle or RUSH the moment had past. The MSG show was a huge turning point in the company. Not only did it effectively end their relationship with NJPW but the future looked very dim with Matt Taven as champion. In 2019 ROH only seemed to make the headlines for the wrong reasons like the Bully Ray and Kelly Klein incidents. I can't remember fans praising any of the shows or matches and when they'd book a big match-up like RUSH vs. Cobb it was on a random UK show that barely drew any fans when it should have been the big Final Battle match. I was late to the party when it came to ROH and got in around the tail-end of the HD-Net era and the start of the Sinclair. I have to agree with you Laz that the TV format just seemed to hinder ROH and fans started moving onto PWG, Chikara and Dragon Gate USA. Every now and then the American Wolves would have a great match with Future Shock or something like that but slowly but surely guys like Mike Mondo, BJ Whitmer, QT Marshall (LOL) and Rhino would soak up television time while guys like Kyle O'Reilly would be better utilised in PWG for example. Then for whatever reason the shows just never clicked. They had a lot of talent on their roster but the shows never seemed to be building towards anything and there didn't appear to be much meritocracy.

Punk's AEW return has been better than Bryan's WWE return by virtue of them treating it like a big deal whereas Bryan's was an after thought. Bryan spent the majority of his return bout flat on his back as he had to sell a pre-match attack and his role was reduced to a 2 minute hot tag in a segment that lasted 20 minutes. Then they had him face AJ Styles in the post-Wrestlemania edition of SmackDown which should have been a big deal but the whole purpose was for Shinsuke Nakamura to ruin the match. Instead of seeking revenge after having a big opportunity spoiled Bryan was foisted onto Big Cass who in-storyline was upset that Bryan's return had over-shadowed his return from a knee reconstruction. Bryan would anchor that Greatest Royal Rumble match which hardly anyone remembers due to the infamous Titus slipping under the ring spot. The whole purpose is that Bryan would set a record going 76 minutes only for Big Cass to eliminate him late in the match before putting Braun over. None of his matches felt significant but outside of the Cass feud there was that sense that Bryan was a kid in a candy store working stalwarts like Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin. He had worked Shelton before during his 2010 sabbatical but clearly he felt he could do something more with him while he'd never worked Jeff before and that seemed like a bucket list item. Speaking of, he also worked his first and only match against Rusev around this time and I had completely forgotten that this was the first loss Bryan had on return. It was a good television match as you'd expect but again it speaks volumes that the result wasn't that significant. In the end Rusev qualified for Money in the Bank and that was that. I don't think it was any fault of Bryan and having to anchor the longest Royal Rumble match in history is really impressive but the WWE just didn't capitilise on him. In fairness AEW hasn't really knocked it out of the park with Punk either. The return bout against Darby was obviously better than the authority figures vs. the whiney Canadian outlaws Wrestlemania bout but there's that same sense that Punk is just having his fill working guys he wants to work but they don't mean anything in the grand scheme. It really should be a no contest but Punk's run has been pretty underwhelming up to this point.

Not all but you would like to see some representation like the WWE have New Day, Lashley, MVP, Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks, The Street Profits and Hit Row who get to express themselves even in a tightly controlled environment. It's an area AEW could be better in because a lot of African American talent is being paired up with white talent who handle the majority of the talking. (eg. Dan Lambert for Sky, Mark Sterling for Cargill) I don't necessarily think they're being racist, moreso it's 'jobs for the boys'.

Well she deleted the tweet, clearly common sense prevailed because blaming the fans is ludicrous. AEW could present people of colour with more significance and let them represent their community better but they're a start up company and it's going to take time for the Ricky Starks, Will Hobbs, Jade Cargill's to come of age. It's something they should be conscious of but there are bigger fish to fry. As far as Rampage I'm not sure what was more riveting Jungle Boy-Fenix' interactions or Giannis' reactions. That was another slam-dunk segment and Rampage is 3/3. It's really important they establish Rampage as a must-see show and if they can keep presenting matches like the Jurassic Express-Lucha Brothers it'll go a long way. Yes it was ridiculous and I'm not 100% sure about the practicality of some of their moves but in terms of how modern audiences consume wrestling it hit the spot.