El-P

Wow, that was quick. This company is ridiculously stacked though. I mean, remember they signed Tony Neese a few months ago. And Jay Lethal. These guys have barely been on TV (and I don't keep track with the Dark shows anymore, they are cool but just too much to watch at this point). Just. Not. Enough. Spots. It's actually an issue because you just can't give everybody enough time, even if it's in a straight midcard feud. On the other hand, it keeps things a lot fresher, so that's undeniably a big plus.

Funny how the halo effect works....

He managed to work some of the greatest matches ever for ten years and get many many MANY guys their single best matches ever (like this year again in the G1 with Tama Tonga or Chase Owens, not exactly world beaters) and who knows how many of those "boring same matches" that actually are gonna be all-time classics he'll have under his belt in the next years. If some (some, not "a lot", the consensus of him maybe being GOAT is very real) people are bored, it's on them in term of perception, really (which is understandable to a degree, like getting bored of *anything* that you watch for too long, even if it's great). Also, he had no reason to deviate from his approach when facing Scurll, why would he ? People at All In probably also paid to watch an *Okada* match, and he delivered a great Okada match against a guy who already was familiar with the NJPW style. Deviating from a style that has produced arguably the greatest matches ever just for the sake of it makes no sense, and even less when he's working in front of an audience who rarely get to see him work to begin with. And his style absolutely has evolved over the years. Not huge variations, but variations nonetheless. Also, it's not like he's always imposing his style of match either, his matches with Omega were very much dominated by Omega's approach.

True, sadly. But porn still is the sleaziest of the sleazy. A few years back there was this question asked about whether the pro-wrestling industry was better of worse than the porn industry. Back then the answer did not seem very clear. Now things have really gotten better with pro-wrestling though. The irony is when guys like Randy Orton talk about "back in my days" shit.

I've never seen the 5 superplexes in a row spot (I've seen the trading superplex spot which was a Masa Chono staple though), and it seems hell of a lot cooler than doing porn, which is mostly a horrible business filed with horrible people exploiting other people. (I'm not against it of course, but I don't think there's anything particulary cool about it especially in today's landscape where the workers, again mostly the women, are treated like pieces of meat and exploited more than ever before. End of off-topic) Also, apparently it's a leak of a private video, so it actually sucks for him.

So, this pathetic rich daddy's boy attention whore basically booked himself to eliminate Kevin Owens, whom they just have signed to a fat-ass contract. It's hilarious. This guy is such a joke and the fact he's seen by the WWE audience as the "cool" McMahon is such a con-job. He's gonna crap Mania again with yet another one of his shitty match and get TV time that should be allotted to build new stars. Not to mention get some Blood Money because he really needs the paycheck, ya know. I wonder if that also doesn't mean he's slowly getting actual power back now that Lesveque has seemingly been wiped out of the picture. Can you picture Shane-O Mac running the creative ? Holy shit, the horror.

Agreed. I haven't watched a WWE show since the first night of Mania last year, and when you're not used to complete and utter stupidity (which you don't have when you watch AEW or IMPACT), it seems even dumber. So basically. Roman vs Rollins I thought was excellent. Before the shit finish. Like I said, Ronda won the Diva Memorial Royal Rumble so it did not matter that the match wasn't very good. Like, really now, watching this it looks like there isn't anyone new *at all*. Pretty much all the old-timers who aren't big stars (Bellas, Lita) or Taker's Wife got treated like dirt. Much respect to Mickie James and Scott D'Amore BTW, they ain't nuthin' to fuck wit : IMPACT title belt with graphic and a mention by the announcers, Hardcore Country music theme, elimination of Taker's Wife, staying for quite a bit and notable elimination by a legit WWE star and not some jobber. I applaud. So yeah, Ronda vs Charlotte is gonna be interesting if only to see when Ronda starts to melt down and if Charlotte pulls a "Doesn't work for me brother" moment. BTW, remember when Becky Lynch was the hottest wrestler in the world, was gonna main event Mania against Ronda ? Man, they have done a number on her. No one gave a shit about this match. Doudrop is about a thousand times better than Nia Jaxx, and I mean by that she's pretty good, but this match was kinda there. And everytime I heard "Doudrop" I cringed. Poor Becky. Lesnar vs Lashley was... there. Lashley bumped straight on his shoulder, no idea how he did not injure himself. Match was nothing after the first few suplexes. Then of course another shit finish with a swerve, because hey. Miz & Maryse vs Edge & Beth was ok I guess if you don't mind Miz godawful execution. After all these years, he still can't make one kick look worth a shit, it's crazy. Yeah, he does funny faces and the act with Maryse is fun, but he's only tolerable when his wife is around, really. Also, Phoenix really is a product of looking good in the Divas era, much like Victoria, because really she isn't very good at all. Edge got a paycheck, but at least there was one good worker in the match to make it look watchable. Damn, he looks every bit of his age though, especially with that beard. Maryse est super, merci pour elle. By this point, I admit I only paid half-attention to the men's Rumble, as I was watching something else on Twitch. Just wanted to see the big surprises, ya know, people chanting Judas or Cody Rhodes showing up because he's NOT UNDER CONTRACT (yeah Fightful, we got the clickbaiting point, I mean, how did those ridiculous rumors even started ?), or even I dunno, GUNTHER or Bron Breakker. I got Bad Bunny doing an exploder (which was cool) and Shane-O-Mac (which sucked and will suck even more when he gets yet another unbearable Mania match). Looking from afar, it looked dull as dirt. The finish made it completely irrelevant too, so there. Worst major show I've seen in forever. Rollins vs Reigns was the best match. Before the shit finish. Enjoyed the Ronda part of the Rumble too. Hey, I tried, and I even got in with a positive mindset. One thing is for sure though, Mania is gonna be on fire. Literally.

30 years ago Ric Flair won the Rumble in what is still considered one of the best. First PPV I ever watched too. Crazy to think that neither MJF, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy or Sammy Guevarra were even born then.Sasha Banks was one week old. Charlotte was five. Charlotte's in the Rumble, right ? There's no way this isn't referred a thousand times tonight, her possibly winning 30 years after the legendary win of her father.

That would be more akin to TNA actually ! All I remember is that godawful Glorious song which was gimmicky as hell (really, only to have him do like he used to in Beer Money during his matches) and musically reminiscent of that amazingly horrible Paul Orndorff theme in WCW at the beginning of the Nitro days. I did enjoy te KENTA hIdEO HiTaMI match though, from memory, although with the PTSD I got now from watching his TNA main event stint, no idea what I'd think about it today.

Edge won in 2021, I guess Lita can win in 2022. Building the future, always.

Symptons are just that though. Laugh and fear aren't the same thing, one actually supresses the other one (the infamous "Laugh kills fear" quote from the Name of the rose" is very true). Plus, not talking about nervous laughs here, there are really a lots of different laughs. But anyway. I don't think the whole Danhauser gimmick is supposed to be scary or creepy in the least.

Very eloquently put I must say ! Basically a clown is a living, breathing cursed image. That being said, some people still find clowns to be funny. Yeah, I have no idea either. I'd love to get an "uncanny valley" character in pro-wrestling. Would be difficult to do though, because it usually takes special effects and digital visual work. But even a character like what Poppy used to do would be a pretty interesting proposition. That would not fly with most of the older fans of course but who cares. I mean, even Kris Statlander being an alien kinda bothered some people. Now I have no idea what she's supposed to be, she's just a girl who boops people on the nose I guess.

On me too, although this is their best version : Bowens (who really has gotten really good) in the ring and Caster as a manager. I also like this Andrade the best thus far. They have really struggled with him (totally screwed up his debut did not help), but Andrade vs Darby could be awesome. The Anderson double duck spot was really cool. Yeah, Brock is getting better. Lee Johnson is already there, hopefully he gets a bigger role soon (I mean, if the Gunn Club can...). Of course working against FTR helps looking really good. Main event was a good spotfest orgy. Private Party have been kinda forgotten about despite being much better now, especially as heels. This company has just TOO MANY TALENTED PEOPLE. I mean, where is the Bunny ? After that great garbage match, you'd think she'd get some more TV time. Jade Cargill getting the straight-up Goldy Count is exactly what she needs. Odds on her reaching, say, 50 before she loses a match ? I don't think they'll go to 100, especially since they won't cheat like WCW did.

Rousey doesn't need to be in the Rumble, but the Rumble badly needs Ronda to be in it. I would totally throw Bron in the Rumble and give him the monster push there. Odds on some guy who was in AEW showing up and the WWE fanboys going crazy about it ("lul AEW iz dead" and the likes) ?

I've seen the interview he did on Twitch the other week, he looked to be doing fine and pretty happy to do his music stuff. Came off really well and likable too in that more intimate setting (he was with Reba & Matt). Yeah, his past played against him it seems (which is understandable too). As far as getting a Hardy reunion in AEW, why the hell not at this point. That Danhauser stuff gives me Andy Kaufman vibes. This PWO regular approves Danhauser already (now let's see him in the ring).

Yeah, this really has been my take from what I saw of his TNA stint as the lead of creative (6 months left, won't get better now). Amazing that he has been able to convince people he was more than a useless yes-man during the first years of his podcast because he's (was) a good storyteller. His comeback to WWE (and his MLW stint where apparently the workers there thought Corny got modern wrestling more than he did, ponder that for a second) really has exposed him completely too.

On this week's IMPACT, Dan Lambert was showed in the crowd (referred to as an "AEW star") during the Jonah squash of Swinger. Now, since Jonah is only short-time with IMPACT, could that mean Lambert could bring Jonah in AEW eventually ?

Mickie James talking about winning the Royal Rumble and going to Mania for a title vs title match on IMPACT was pretty surreal. Of course this is not happening and D'Amore not being an idiot, the segment did not end on that note but instead planted the seeds for many upcoming title defenses, including Tasha Steelz and maybe Chelsea Green (I can sense a hell turn in the futur maybe). Still, between this, the ROH invasion and Gresham having killer matches on the show, this is quite the interesting beginning of the year.

Not only have I never seen Danhauser, but I have none of those ref either. So, if I ever get that guy (no idea), everyone can.

Yeah, Roode was certainly the most solid in-ring talent, but he was a mediocre promo and had no charisma at all (the "intense" shit he was pulling when he attacked Dixie was hilariously laughable). Plus, it seems like Brucie told him to work like a dull 00's WWE guy, stripping him of everything that made hin good before. He was a great feeding and bumping heel and dynamic offensive babyface. And now here's there working at a snail pace, putting people to sleep with prolonged rest-holds, working as dull-as-dirt as possible. Very few times would he display his former spirited self. And the cheap, shit finish in *every* main event because Brucie's idea was that Roode was lucky (not getting that at this point, people would just annoyed by the booking). Awful stuff that goes for months and months and months and NEVER FUCKING ENDS. The audience was SO ready for Storm to win at Lockdown and they had this typical WWE idiotic shit finish. After that point it's obvious they don't have any plans and just want to have Roode on top until Jeff Hardy takes it, Aries almost looks like an accident. Final Battle is ROH. Yes, after they have this great blow-off match at Bound for Glory (only Storm coud get it out of his former partner), they put them back against each other like the following week (how dumb is that ?), Storm wins the three way at Turning Point, but then they put them BACK AGAINST EACH OTHER AGAIN on TV with the title shot on the line and Roode wins, because of course he does, leading to yet another super boring PPV main event with a shit finish involving Aces & Eights (especially since they have to follow AJ vs Daniels tearing it up again for the 1000th times). And the first PPV of 2013 is a three-way with Aries and ROODE, AGAIN. Now I get why people totally crapped on his NXT run. The "It Factor" tights never get old in its ridiculousness, because if there's something that Bobby Roode never had, it's the It Factor, whatever that is. Super solid hand for sure and excellent tag team wrestler. Single main eventer ? Fuck no, not even as a big fish in a small pond.

Agreed. They should replay that shit endlessly and make it a staple, cult moment of the promotion for the ages. I replayed it quite a few times. In AWE.

Yeah. Except it was the wrong guy. No charisma, dreadful boring sub-Randy Orton-like long-ass matches with shit finish *every time*. Bobby Roode was never a main-eventer. The charismatic guy in Blood Money, the guy who could cut a promo and connect was James Storm. Fans were ready for Storm and then they decided to not do the switch for whatever reason, because it's obvious Aries wasn't designed to be the guy at all to finally get the belt off Roode. They just noticed he was getting over as fuck all despite being a heel so they actually gave the him belt, then he had an afterthought of a reign because Aces & Eights was the focus and gotta pass that belt to the ex-WWE guy. The fact Brucie told in his podcast back in 96 or so that Roode was gonna be a huge star in WWE (he just made the jump to NXT) shows how delusional and out of touch he was. And is, obviously. Damn. I know I was pretty much out of the game back then apart from watching the yearly Mania big matches and I don't remember anything from that period, but it looks deadfull indeed. Kinda crazy when you put things in perspective that TNA was under Brucie and ROH under Corny in the *early 10's* and I wonder why it did not work (yeah, those Young Bucks suck and will never make it, uh Corny) ? As far as pre-Shield WWE, the less said the better I guess. Lord Tensai, Alberto Del Rio... Holy shit. The Shield saved that company quality-wise for a few years.

Nothing is creepier and scarier than a dressed up clown though. Wardlow looks like a meathead who does a lot of push ups and lifts heavy, not a monster. A clown scares the fuck out of children, adults and any reasonable human being. Dressed up clowns are the most traumatic monsters.

Yeah, I saw those. But nothing come close to the ladder match with Jeff Hardy later in the year though. Just unbelievable stuff. As far as TNA being any good in 2012... well my thoughts are in the classics TNA thread already and... But yes, those few weeks when Aries got the major push was the only time where you could see the light and maybe the prospect of a positive change before, oh well... I absolutely consider Aries. He may be a douchebag and an anti-vaxx idiot, but that's a whole lot less bad than tons of people who are being talked about. I would need to watch the rest of his TNA runs (I mean, I've seen the ending of his last one, pretty hilarious stuff in term of douchebagery) and also some ROH to be quite sure, but yeah, the guy was just too good.

Probably Tanahashi, yes, but damn if Austin Aries doesn't have a case. Awesome all year long in a very non-favorable environment (TNA) to the point he legit looks like the greatest worker anywhere.