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This men's rumble feels the closest to 1993 rumble of such a mix of eras. 1993 was the last gasp of territory era, this rumble is multiple gens of ROH and TNA guys, mixed with Cena and all the Samoans that go back to the 70s. And then youtubers.

Also in all the reference heavy shit, Wade really drops a Reno from 2000 WCW reference in the title match.

Fascinated with WWE being so hot and doing John Mellencamp cameo followed by a video package by Papa Roach with a feud over a title belt not used for nearly 30 years. And also direct reference to dirt sheets like it is 1995.

TNA has been weeks away from closing down for a solid decade, and has been actively trying to get bought out by AEW/WWE for years. Of course the current regime is aware WWE is going to gut them, and the hope is that WWE just buys them outright. In a way for the library it might be the best option.

They also sent Nakamura to the 1/1 show that Omos was on. Some NXT dudes too. It certainly is not hurting NOAH to have WWE talent on their shows no matter what they're doing. This is not like NJ at basically peak drawing having bullshit Russo title changes on American TV while also not getting any of the benefits of the relationship like 1991-1997/98 of getting Sting/Hall/Nash/Savage over there on tours. NOAH has been second or even third rate since Misawa died. WWE's random as hell relationship with them has been a complete benefit for their crowd size since they've been on this shit the past couple of years. From sending KENTA for Marafuji's anniversary show to Nakamura for 1/1 shows to whatever NXT dude in the N1 to Omos. No one is thinking "boy WWE really buried NOAH" because Omos didn't do a job, get real.

Yes, gigantic guy a foot taller than the largest guy on the roster who happens to be from WWE in an absolute massive boom period getting a tag title and handing it over is better for NOAH than Russo doing NJ title changes without permission on WCW TV. Certainly is not hurting the NOAH that has been on life support for the better part of 15 years now.

It's not even a WCW/TNA partnership, and WWE sending guys to NOAH for any reason is better for NOAH than anything that could have been and was gained by NJ for partnership with Russo WCW or TNA. Come on.

Not that I have investment in Shelton or Lashley or Hurt things in 2025, but I don't think it is fair to call Shelton a career JTTS. Almost all of his WWE run was IC/US guy, he was a very featured guy for almost all of his first run with WWE. Second run, sure you might be able to make that argument but even then he was just mostly kind of not used at all, but when he was, I believe there were a couple tag title runs.

[WOR] Dave Meltzer: "NJPW New Beginning in Osaka is selling really well and they're cutting back on the staging to open up more sections to the public. The story of Hiroki Goto going for the IWGP World Championship has been a success." My goodness how cooked is NJ if the 30th Goto challenges for the title story is actually selling tickets in 2025

Penta I feel can make a ton of money in WWE with merch, but his very schtick heavy performances and WWE's absolutely terrible record of pushing lucha guys that aren't Rey Jr. leads me to conclude he'll have a similar big early push like Nakamura and then be very, very firmly IC/US title level at best the rest of his run except he'll probably be doing Speed matches by the week after WM. He has the look and La Parka esque charisma that can get him over with the crowds no matter what but like La Parka in WCW, I don't see him getting much of a push beyond the lowest level title and then go into a waiting period for Fenix and then the same thing but with tag titles. But he'll probably make a lot of money from shirts and masks.

Luckily post COVID, there are absolutely no rules for dressing in public. Doesn't matter how tacky or lame your fit is, what the actual content is, no one gives a shit anymore, just be comfortable.

Darby going to be out for his Everest thing report was instant "oh no" where the Deathriders thing is going to have go on many more months and there isn't juice for anyone involved to keep stretching it out. The whole thing seemed built on eventually Darby getting the big win, but I don't think this can go another few months.

Both NXT and TNA are the same THIS IS TOO BUSY AND LOUD shit that makes me feel like an old man, but anytime I've tried to watch NXT 2.0 era is just please be quiet.

Mind you, I also think fuck Taker (and extra fuck Kane), but it isn't some kind of "how could the crowd not react the same to Taker as to Hoga" thing that is totally baffling.

Taker has way more respect within the industry and WWE lore than Hogan, he's also much lower key with his Trump bullshit (despite the podcast with Trump) than Hogan because he isn't doing the RNC and selling Trump merch. Taker endorsing Trump on a podcast not many people listen to vs Hogan doing multiple public rallies with Trump and wearing Trump merch all the time, plus with Hogan's history of being a shithead according to pretty much everyone that's ever worked with him in the industry and then his whole racist thing, are just different things. I don't think it's really that much cognitive dissonance because Hogan has had that kind of mostly fuck you reaction for more than a decade now even before the full on Trumper shit.

It wasn't just for Kenny/Kidd. He also went very hard for Tsuji/Perry (particularly about Okada), and Shota/Claudio where he buried TK personally and also the booking of Death Riders basically being AEW's version of House of Torture (which also shit on NJ booking at the same time). Each time he started yelling during entrances to rage about AEW talent/booking/office was so out of place and his commentary partners were also clearly trying to rein him in. By the end of the show he did more or less apologize for it and said it was just heat of the moment, but that whole thing definitely seems like something that was a heavy cultural no-no in Japan and TK had zero involvement in the suspension. It was very out of character for the AEW/NJ relationship, but also for Charlton himself. Never heard him rage like that in all the years he's been doing NJ shows outside of the general "oh fuck Bullet Club/HoT" groaning that the Japanese announcers also do. I don't know if a suspension or hiatus was needed or not, but I can definitely see why the NJ side would be pissed at him even if the AEW office didn't bring it up.

Agreed that WD was better than WK, but neither were all that interesting or making me want to keep watching NJ. Takeshita was the MVP both nights imo. That dude should be THE dude. Was very :what at Chris Charlton repeatedly going extremely hard at AEW, anyone who left, and Tony Khan. It's not like the AEW/NJPW relationship is an invasion angle like UWFI vs NJ, or even just hateful interpromotional feud like NJ vs NOAH at different times over the years. It's a very cordial, friendly partnership, not a feud. Rocky and the other guy were both so "uhhh hey man" and it was so weird.

WK thoughts as someone so checked out of NJ I didn't watch a single second of G1 last year: Rumbo: Lmao Goto getting yet another title shot to lose Ladder match: Almost every big spot was botched, but god damn how much must it suck to do bumps off those giant ass ladders on those late 80s/mid 90s WWF stiff mats? Also lol that Kushida been forcing all of his partners into BTFF cosplay shit for nearly 15 years now. IWGP Women's: AZM rules, this match was many many levels better on every possible front than the two matches before it. TV title match: Fine I guess. Really seems like Jeff Cobb should be much higher up on the card like 3+ years ago. Tana vs Evil: Dogshit. Tana is beyond old and busted. Shit has been a bummer to watch him the past 2-3 years where he's been well past the "can still bring a classic once a year" level. I'd argue a couple of the NJ dads from the previous gen work and move better than him (Kojima and Nagata, it is a crime they let Tenzan in the ring a couple times a year). Honestly hobbled ass Mutoh with 20 years on him was about the same level. Evil is trash, House of Torture and bullet club shit been trash for AGES. Shibata making the save was a nice moment, though. Shingo vs Takeshita: Best of the show so far but not sure it hit the level it should have on paper. But boy do I love it when Takeshita absolutely starches a motherfucker. Takeshita absolutely rules, both AEW and NJ should be fighting over who can push him harder. Jr title: Who knows what it could have been due to injury, but my feeling of Doukie for years was thought of as indie trash in all the worst ways for years, so I don't know what the expectations were for this. Finlay vs Tsuji: Tsuji was clearly the top out of the last class and probably should be the guy headlining now. Finlay Jr. is very bleh as both a junior to his dad, but also as the fill in for Omega/White/Ospreay. I will say I was pretty late to all three of them, but Finlay is nowhere near their level even when I didn't see their talent, and if his contract is up and he may go to the States, ZZZZZZZ. Hiromu/Naito: Not really sure the story going into this, match was whatever. Naito isn't Tana busted, but he's definitely well out of his prime, and the spamming of Destino is worse than any finisher spam in WWE or AEW. At least there was some genuine emotion in the post match stuff. ZSJ/Shota: This was okay. With as bad of a job NJ has done building up new stars to take over from Tana/Naito/Okada and Omega/White/Ospreay, I can not understand why the story for the new 3 Muskateers is that they can't reach their potential when the company needs them most. It's easy to see why NJ has been so cold. It almost feels like they're intentionally inducing a new dark age or something.

Hey man Netflix loves putting 30 seasons of something no one watches because CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT is the only thing that matters

Caught up on CC stuff. Mark Briscoe is a delight, guy works so well with everyone of any stature of size or on the card, guy is just always super fun. Really enjoyed his Okada match in particular. The Beast Mortos ruling so much that TK had to give him non tournament matches to pick up wins during the tournament rules. Ricochet's heel turn is really needed, because man that guy trying to be cool falls so flat every time. Maybe this can give him a shot in the arm personality wise, but based on his Twitter version of being a heel, I doubt it. I kind of think he should have stayed in WWE, because there are so many more guys in AEW that work his same style and do it as good or better, and he's in pretty much exactly the same position as he was in WWE with the same ceiling. Similar thoughts on Claudio. He's in the exact same spot with the exact same ceiling; it was a lateral move for him unless he's getting paid more. He's also better as a tag guy and all of his singles matches never quite hit the peak they should. Fletcher rules. Ospreay rules. Okada rules but I do think he loses a little something not being a shithead with the Bucks. Move Brodie to top of the cards. Gotta shit or get off the pot with Darby. It's been 5 years of him losing the big matches and then going missing for months. Surely the end game for the nWo 2024 angle is Darby beating Mox for the title, presumably with the power of the punch playing in at some point since he pocketed the brass knux after the match with Claudio. It feels like he hasn't been consistently booked week to week since the first year of AEW. Granted a lot of that was due to being with Sting, but for such a bedrock guy that is so popular, it feels like he's been pretty sporadically and randomly in programs for years now.

Fell out of the habit of watching AEW for a while, just caught up with Full Gear Stat/Mercedes ruled. Best match Mercedes has had in AEW. White vs Page ruled. Fletcher vs Ospreay ruled. Other stuff was okay or kind of flat. The way Mox is booked as Brock Lesnar doing a Terry Funk/Austin pastiche is hilarious. Gotta get caught up on the CC. Seems like it's had a ton of great stuff and was such a delight last year.

WWE sending Omos to NOAH for a genuine excursion at the behest of Mutoh is probably the weirdest but coolest thing WWE has done with their interpromotional relationships these past few years. I know all their stuff with NOAH is to try to hurt NJPW (which is hurt enough pal, no need to take them down a peg now) and co-opt Japanese crowds for tours (which also is unnecessary for 35 years or so), but kind of neat all the same.

What a nightmare timeline we're in where Logan Paul vs The Rock could be a thing

Apropos of nothing other than the Sting Timelines vid getting into my algorithm: Sting is the GOAT super face Sting's AEW run is the GOAT legend run Many adults will be crying when Darby wins the big one and Sting comes out unannounced to celebrate with him Maybe it's a good thing Darby has so many kind of sporadic runs in AEW over the past 5 years because him doing Darby things consistently for 5 years even without house shows would be such a short career. It's more than time for Darby to be the guy for AEW Those good WCW vibes in the first 2ish years are delightful.

Iron Survivor seems like a mix of King of the Moutain without a ladder and the Championship Scramble match. Is that accurate?