MLB

Brian Jr.'s departure from AEW reminded me that Brian Sr. only had one match with ECW in 1994 (a tag with Shane Douglas vs. Ron Simmons and Scorpio). He never officially wrestled a match in ECW as the "Loose Cannon" persona in 1996.

Perhaps it is worth mentioning in this thread that WWE has not been impacted by the ongoing WGA strike because they are non-union. One wonders how different the shows would be if WWE were affected by a work stoppage. This topic might deserve it's own thread, but it raises some of the issues that WGA is striking over. Will we eventually get AI wrestlers and promotions? Can machines book angles? How do you think WWE will incorporate this technology into their product?

Probably best for Pillman Jr. and AEW to part ways for now. I'm guessing he goes back with MLW.

Agreed on this.

I never envisioned Cody reaching these heights. Putting weight on definitely helped. His gruesome pec injury made him look tough and helped cement that he wasn't only a Ken doll. I know the tattoo shocked people, but again he needed to look tougher. Cody's earlier career failures have actually worked out because smart fans have seen him overcome those gimmicks and it has given him an underdog appeal (despite his "royal status"). Cody managed to get over outside of WWE, whereas Cena or Reigns got more polarized reactions as faces because they were seen as "too big to fail". Older fans loved Cody's dad and a lot of his goodwill is inherited, they want to see him succeed for Dusty. He's almost like Bruce Wayne in the suit. People who lost parents relate to him. Kids absolutely love Cody, he reminds me of Surfer Sting in his current iteration (Bleach blonde, the Sgt. Pepper jacket, colorful long tights). I'm probably not the first to draw that comparison. John Cena is receiving a lot of crowd love nowadays, but at his peak he wasn't as universally over as a babyface as Cody is right now.

After remarking on Vader's steep decline in the vs. Mysterio thread, I decided to give this match a view. @Superstar Sleeze did a great recap. I've lurked at pWo for a long time and always dug the write-ups, Sleeze. Vader looked better than his WWE exit would've suggested. The German Suplex is insane as advertised. As noted, Vader appeared anxious walking out to the ring. This was his last world title shot and he knew it. Akiyama tested him at the start with the blistering slaps in the face off the collar and elbow. I wouldn't say the match picked up on the outside, Vader seemed blown up about 5 minutes into it. Vader tossed a chair from the crowd at Akiyama in frustration after getting slammed on a table, which Jun picks up and repeatedly rams into him directly in front of the ref, and then goes back in the ring to break the count. The match was exactly the right pace for Vader's remaining abilities, with Akiyama doing some arm work for rest to setup the Armbreaker finish on his back. Akiyama's strikes are always on point and he took some bombs from Vader. Akiyama just barely got him over on the Exploder. Vader proved a lot here, and it was a more fitting note than the sour WWE one I had been left with previously. Vader went on to wrestle for another 16 years(!?) after this, in Japan and mainly Indies, which is wild to consider. A reminder to look closer at some of Vader's final years in NOAH, however this was probably his last singles match that went over 10 minutes.

Cardi B has a lot of Salt-N-Pepa in her act, WWE has been begging her for years to eventually perform. Not sure what the hold up is, she seems totally into it. Maybe the time has passed, she's still A-List. Eminem proclaiming himself "the best thing since wrestling!" Wasn't Soulja Boy training with Rikishi? I don't know if he followed through on any of it. Flavor Flav hosted RAW in 2010.

Riff Raff and Yelawolf put out a song called "Million Dollar Mullet" that brings up Ted in the opening line. At one point, Riff was supposedly training with Hulk Hogan, talked with WWE, and appeared at an independent show where he interfered in a Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio match. Riff uses "Texas Tornado" as an alias.

Recently, I caught wind that Lil Uzi Vert's latest release, Pink Tape, features a song entitled "Nakamura" that is dedicated to the King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura. I checked out the lyrics and there really isn't any reference to professional wrestling aside Uzi declaring himself, "the king of the ring". Then you have Travis Scott referring to himself as Cactus Jack and Drake photographed in a Razor Ramon shirt. Snoop enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame. The recent success of Bad Bunny. This got me thinking about how pro wrestling friendly rap has always been dating back to Run DMC's appearance at WrestleMania 5 (and later on remixing DX's theme). From Master P, to Wu-Tang Clan, to "Ric Flair Drip" there's always been a link between rap with it's heavy emphasis on fashion/beefs/battles and professional wrestling promos. Currently, we have R-Truth, Hook, Hit Row and The Acclaimed as hip-hop tribute acts. Of course, John Cena made his name off a rap persona inspired by Vanilla Ice. Funkasaurus and the Hip-Hop Hippo.There was the Def Jam wrestling game. In the 90's, you have Public Enemy, The Gangstas, ICP, PN News, PG-13, K-Dawg, and Kid Kash. Since we have a thread covering the connection between rock and wrestling, I figured I'd start one about rap and hip-hop because there's so much history and representation in both genres with a lot of crossover appeal.

Haha ok, for some reason I thought the kicks didn't come in earnest until he started wearing pads.

I'd say the latter, I think it's cool and vicious. You don't think he lays them in enough?

I went with Big Van Vader here (that said, Andre is the best big man ever). Rey's overrated around pWo, Eddy was better (I don't think it's even close). Rey with the 619 and the bronco buster, meh. I think people remember Nash tossing him like a dart into the WCW production truck more than their actual match that Rey won. Let's be real, WWE put the world title on Rey and the fans revolted. Not that I dislike Mysterio at all, certainly a great fan favorite, yet I don't see all of the major matches like with Vader. I will grant that Rey is still performing at a high level, stayed in shape and relevant, whereas Vader's mediocre run in WWE and severe decline ("I'm a fat piece of shit!") hurts his overall GWE case for me.

I have never considered Danielson a cosplay wrestler. Early on, he was wearing Regal's boots and doing a lot of his shit. Every wrestler has their influences, I'm curious where exactly does it cross the line into cosplay? I remember watching Bryan vs. Lesnar and thinking to myself, "Bryan definitely watched Tamura vs. Vader to prepare for this." HBK is known to have created the "American Dragon" name because he thought Bryan "wrestled like a Japanese guy," which I still don't fully understand what HBK meant by that. Bryan didn't start integrating the kicks and MMA moves until much later on, so I'm not sure what Shawn was referring to back then? Young Danielson reminds me more of Bob Backlund than any Japanese performer. Maybe Shawn was thinking about Dynamite Kid and attributed that to Japan? I'll confess, I am in the camp that eats up the 'hammer and the anvil' elbows.

AEW already has a handful of one-off matches: Gage, Juvi, Warhorse, Glacier. Mance Warner had two matches and disappeared, what was up with that? Also, one-off appearances from Greg Valentine, Homicide, Raven, Erick Rowan and Gangrel.

Perry has come off heelish during some of his personal appearances. At a convention, a fan asked him for advice on becoming a wrestler and he bluntly told him, "don't." He's also talked about not being into wrestling growing up at all. Says he brushes off veteran's advice that doesn't work his style, arrogant stuff. It's possible they decided to run with it a bit on this turn. I'm certain losing his father at a young age affected Jack deeply, but he already sounds pretty jaded about the business when he's not in a great mood. I've seen other appearances where he came off better, however I believe his attitude might've influenced his booking. Another thing Jack has mentioned is his habit of vomiting before matches, which sounds intense and stressful.

This is one of the reasons I still follow deathmatch wrestling because it's loaded with those types like Necro, Alex Colon, and Masada.

Ok thanks, I wasn't aware she had been dealing with an injury. That makes sense. I'd think even an injured Mercedes cutting a promo at FD would've gotten a lot of buzz, no? Then again, seeing the context now it would be awkward for her to be like, "Hey America! Haven't seen you in a while but I lost my title in Japan and now I'm hurt, see ya soon!" Probably better to leave her off, I get it.

Then why wasn't she at Forbidden Door? Meanwhile, Naomi has already resurfaced with Impact.

I'm dumb or I missed something but I still don't understand how Sasha ended up in NJPW. Did WWE actually release her from her contract? That is what I am missing...why did they allow that to happen? It feels like she's still under contract with WWE, and they just told her they'd allow her to get the Japan stuff out of her system. That's why she hasn't appeared on Forbidden Door or teamed with AEW talent.

Dragon's toughness has never been up for debate, hard as nails. People have been begging the guy to slow down since he started, at times I am concerned for his mental health because he's out of his mind. I remember he got into it with HHH backstage over a risky spot. Contrary to popular belief, Vince always loved Dragon and once said he wished he had a locker room full of Bryan's.

Also, Jeff Hardy showing up and immediately disappearing. It's ironic of all wrestlers that Darby Allin hasn't been hurt or missed time since the inception of AEW. Jericho, despite a brief health scare and a broken nose, is another iron man that hasn't been injured or taken any leave of absence since day one.

AEW has way, way more injuries than WWE. Hard to think of talent that hasn't missed time in some form or another. Then you have guys like Malakai Black and Moxley taking mental health breaks, MJF disappeared for a while. It is a luxury and necessity for them to have a large roster and work with outside promotions.

Young? Are you talking about Renee Moxley-Good?

No sign of Kota Ibushi at FD, is he still in negotiations with NJPW?

Yikes, Danielson feigning convulsions.