El-P

Not gonna lie, all the "Wow, Cody in WWE is so awesome, he' such a star, such a huge loss for AEW" from the same people who were going "Cody was a midcarder in WWE and is a midcarder for life" is really fucking ironic. Won't even mention the whole music thingy (cf Hardies & Punk debacles). Really now, it's a matter of choice. Of course he would get a huge pop at Mania. Will he sustain it ? Will the booking sustain it ? If Vince wants to send a message to guys he might want to get like MJF, he sure needs to keep Cody in the top spots forever, and Cody has to know this. Now, is he right to think that way (because Vince making sense is an irrational bet at this point), only time will tell. But hey, he got "an absurd amount of money" (I think we got that point), which also validates AEW as serious competition, so good for him for playing his cards. Now, in the long-term, who the hell knows.

"I had to come back to accomplish my true dreaaaaaaaaaams"

Actually, it's just a matter of context. 5-6 years ago, NXT was the hot product in the US pro-wrestling landscape. Of course AEW has changed the perception since there was no other alternative back then, and WWE had produced its own alternative of sorts (which was great). Sure it is. Especially after the last few years. It's just interesting how after years of Mania being perceived as this slog of a show and NXT was the hot shit, this year's Mania was very well received (although let's be honest, it's been talked about as a 3 matches show, and that's including the Austin stuff which is strictly nostalgia). But, NXT on the other hand went from a hot brand name to an after thought (putting it on the same day pretty much tells the whole story too). And yeah, I know they have changed the philosophy behind it, but they also have lost the hype that used to go along.

Funny (not really, actually predictable) how Mania thus far has been very well received while there is exactly zero hype about NXT's show. Remember a few years ago when the Takeover before Mania was always the peak of the week-end and everybody was going crazy about it ? Of course it was also before AEW existed, but still.

Nick is indeed better than Matt. But both are awesome pro-wrestlers in their own way. And together they are the greatest tag-team ever (encompassing all styles) and really genius minds at work. Some aspects of their work will still look ahead of their time in 20 years probably (including the subtle or non-subtle, depending on the context, play on tropes and meta stuff). Having them in my weekly TV pro-wrestling diet has been the greatest thing, really. I could not be a happier pro-wrestling fan. That FTR match with a new dynamic will be quite the match. And yeah, that Top Flight match already, holy shit... And the reDragon matches coming up. Really now. Their tag team scene is ridiculous (just get the Acclaimed, Varsity Blondes and Gunn Club out of the way now, please, no offense). Well, D-Von kinda did. But yeah, Hobbs would be pretty cool doing it.

Meanwhile : Funny mofos.

Pretty much exactly where I am. I honestly wasn't *that* hyped up about the whole show because I had no idea where this would go. But holy shit. FTR vs Briscoes was a legit MOTYC. Just ridiculously great match, maybe the best FTR ever had. Gresham vs Bandido was great as well. Man Gresham is such an awesome and unique talent, kinda like ZSJ I feel I'll never get bored watching him. Joe sure looks his age, but still in the ROH context his presence takes another meaning, and it's really a cool arc. When you think last year he was under the rain at Mania just before getting fired ! The undercard was also really fucking good, top to bottom, apart from the woman's match, I was not overly impressed by Willow, who was kinda sloppy at points. Mercedez vs Deonna should be really good though. Suzuki's match was nothing special either really, but the old guy already had a few wars in the last day or so, and the fact he won is just terrific. The Jay Lethal heel turn was wonderfully done, and once again I've been super impressed by him. Seems like I was sleeping on this guy because of his kinda underwhelming TNA stuff (he does have the last really good Flair match though, so he was coming around just before he left for ROH). The Brian Cage squash was pretty great too, interesting way of giving him a fresh start (if you're gonna resign him, might as well get your money's worth). Yuta winning is a clear sign he's gonna get a push in AEW under Regal too. All in all, now I'm interested in ROH. Damnit.

From the feedback, I would watch the two women matches (one for the hype, the other for the lulz) and Austin vs Owens. The Cody debut, some people are acting like it's that awesome surprise when it's been in the books literally for weeks now, just odd. Plus, apparently they forgot where he was when he left AEW. The idea that AEW letting him go is a mistake is just head-scratching. Sure he got the huge Mania entrance. See ya in 6 months though. He's still Cody Rhodes, people, and I say that as someone who really enjoyed his work in his last 6 months in AEW a lot, but I haven't forgot the Codyverse either. And also, and even more importantly, it's still the WWE in 2022.... What did you expect ? Honestly that's a really good promo for his WWE debut.

That's actually hilarious.

Until the main event, which displayed one again why Low Ki could never stay employed anywhere in a legit company, as he managed to waste everybody's time getting annoyed with a fan at ringside, to the point Veda Scott was irked enough to mention on commentary that the match was against the Briscoes and the the fan and that he should focus (which clearly was a kayfabe way of pointing out he was being unprofessional). Also, during the match, Jay actually got the cookie plate the guy was carrying to bash Low Ki's head with it (which was pretty funny), and gave a high five and a friendly tap to said fan after the match. But Low-Ki's bullshit actually kinda killed the mood of what had been a good spirited, fun-oriented show until then. What a fucking dweeb this guy is.

"I feel your pain" Raven (sometime in the 90's)

Let me guess. Ziggler beat Bron ?

I know he did. Still did a Canadian Destroyer though, because of course. But really, I wasn't putting the blame on him, honestly... (and I have enjoyed some of Janela's clusterfucks in the past). Waltman actually apologized after the match, so that tells a lot about him too.

From what I've seen in NXT2.0 and dating back to his IMPACT days, he's pretty much exactly what he has always been. I don't see any difference at all, apart from the name (which obviously has changed his gimmick promo too).

Joey Janela's Spring Break (night1) clearly isn't what it used to be. The chaotic charm is kinda gone honestly. Mickie James vs Allie was quite good (says a lot about Mickie too, as the Ruby Soho match wasn't), AR Fox vs Blake Christian was a cool indie spotfest. X-Pac vs Janela was.... not very good, let's be real here. Mox garbage match was kind of a waste of time too against a guy who clearly belongs in GCW... The Wrestlecon show on the other hand... Tons of great and fun stuff.

No offense, but that says everything about NXT2.0 to me. The guy was in IMPACT forever doing the exact same stuff and yeah, he used to get good reactions, but still, it's piss-poor Rock cosplay, and he's *okay* at best as an in-ring worker. If that's what gets over big in NXT 2.0, shhhhhh.....

They should have gone the whole way with the Günther thing, really.

SRS has always been dubious as a journalist anyway (he's not Ryan Satin level either though). Denise Salcedo is basically an influencer/interviewer (and she's been doing ring announcing too) more than anything else. What's the issue with her or any other kind of wrestling-related "celebrity" doing a spot on a goofy meta indie show anyway ? Alicia Atout is now a heel manager is MLW. Chill the fuck out people, really.

Interest, zero. Hopes, zero.

Bloodsport8 was the best top to bottom to me. Always cool to see Masha Slamovich in any context. Shafir vs Zhang was quite good and yeah, AEW should definitely push Shafir in a very MMA way and not make her just another girl. Fine stuff on the undercard, with the highlights being Tim Thatcher vs JR Kratos and Mike Bailey vs Yuya Uemura, in very different ways. John Hennigan being called Johnny Bloodsport got a laugh out of me, I mean, of course he would. Kinda cool to see him in this context too. Barnett vs Jonah was a different flavor for sure, and although there was a lot of headlock spots(that did look heavy though), it developed into quite a good match. Suzuki vs Dickinson was terrific, Suzuki touring the indies is always a blast. Mox vs Busick was *awesome*. talk about making it look like a fight, it sure was the best of what Bloodsport is supposed to be. Busick bled a bucket too. Very fun show top to bottom. And yeah, Busick & Thatcher really should be on TK's radar at the very least for ROH, but really they would be perfect fit for the Blackpool Combat Club. Dickinson too, but I guess he's signed with GCW.

Before jumping on CSRO, or whatever he's gonna be called, I would rather sign Tim Thatcher and Biff Busick after watching both of them in Bloodsport. Considering Cesaro did not want to leave and has trademarked CSRO, there's a "risk" that he's more interested in living off his WWE name rather than going back to his roots, and since he would not come cheap, I would prefer get some guys who may be hungrier and don't have the "in WWE for 15 years and never was more than a midcarder" stigma at this point. Let him show some stuff elsewhere beforehand. (of course, I say that but if he showed up on AEW TV I would obviously be pretty happy about it, especially if he kills it)

Toni Storm ! YES ! Now we're talking. Really good debut (Bunny <3). Also, throwing Marina Shafir in the mix is quite interesting. I've seen her Bloodsport stuff, it was pretty cool. She's unique and will bring another flavor to the division. Lethal vs Mox was excellent, but Yuta vs Danielson was awesome. And yeah, crazy how Yuta is getting over in the span of two matches. Andrade vs Darby was also an excellent main event, these two are made to work with each other, they compliment each others game really well. Young Bucks vs Top Flight.... holy shit. CM Punk vs Max Caster was pretty ok in a Ric Flair vs Hugh Morrus opening Nitro match. The Gunn Club are absolutely the American Males of 2022.

So many great stuff on paper during Mania week, including Atsushi Onita's team vs PCO's team at Wrestlecon in maybe the most WTF booking moment of 2022. That being said, I feel like I'm already going through a burn-out (only watched two NJPW Cup matches and one of the Stardom shows, and did not get into it like I would have otherwise), so I dunno what I'll end up watching.

Watched those two, and yeah, these were great matches. The Ospreay one in particular was amazing, and really it's legit N°3 MOTYC for Ospreay, in three totally different styles. He put on a selling clinic in this one too. And ZSJ absolutely rules and remains one of the most fun pro-wrestler to watch anywhere.

They look like two of Legolas' nephews getting ready to track down some orcs or something.