El-P

Right. Which is why it will be interesting to see how many of these people will actually make it first to the Performance Center, then to the actual roster etc... Yeah, that was precisely my point, or what I was trying to get my finger on. I mean, if I'm a hot young 20 years old girl who's already an influencer on TikTok, WWE sounds like "Yeah, bring me some money, advertisement is my job" but really if I'm not a pro-wrestling fan at heart, why would I bother going further ? Not to mention we have no idea what's next in term of business for these kind of "social media jobs", but I would guess that for the ultra-minority already making big money off of it, the future is more and bigger money (and that's without having to actually work for a company like WWE and just managing you own business).

They have a pretty terrible track record of building people from the ground up. Also, getting non pro-wrestlers (and maybe even mostly non pro-wrestling fans) pretty much garantees an even bigger homogenization of the WWE style, with people only knowing one way to work, which is never good unless you're a prodigy like Kurt Angle. Obviously on paper, if they had Shibata and a dojo system like in Japan it could produce really good results, but we're talking about WWE here, look at their last 15 years... (not to mention the attention span of a coke addict of Vince) The very obvious most star potential you can spot here are the Cavinder Twins : two hot young girls who already are influencers on TikTok. I guess they are inspired by the Bella Twins (just kidding, of course they have no idea who the Bella Twins are, they are 20 years old). The question remains : why are two young hot women who already are influencers on TikTok would even bother, but that's another matter. On WWE's part, it's smart I guess. As a *pro-wrestling* fan, I couldn't give two shits about this, as WWE is obviously gearing itself less and less and less toward pro-wrestling fans, less than ever it seems. The one interesting part though, will be the percentage of people signed to those kinda deal actually making it to the WWE and then actually becoming good and/or actual names, and if some of them would then leave and/or get fired and then work for other companies. In which case, the WWE would have actively contributed to the dynamism of the business as opposed to wanting to crush it from within (since it will also reduce the number of guys/girls getting signed away from other companies just to hurt them).

Cesaro seems like a lifer (unless he gets fired), sadly (yes, selfishly).

Luchasaurus was over as fuck way before Jungle Boy got over. During the first stages of AEW, when Jungle Boy was the guy in the background, Luchasaurus was getting huge reactions all the time before he got hurt. Because he's a dinosaur who does cool spots. Now, as a worker of course he's blessed to team with Jungle Boy, because he's good in a certain role and I don't want to watch a single Luchasaurus match for sure. Gotta say this though, having Christian Cage basically getting Marko Stunt spot is basically having a grown up steal a kid's dessert. That's not nice. But hopefully he turns heel and we get Jungle Boy vs Cage and Marko can come back. I miss Marko ! Jericho is over. Period. There is no goodwill involved, he's a star. I think he gets way too much shit for his work which is still quite good for a 51 years old guy. I do think, apart from the political opinion that taints perception, that his age is totally taken for granted at this point. He's 51, not 41. There absolutely is some goodwill sometimes with some not-so-great women matches, but of course saying that will not sit well with some people. Wether people want to admit it or not, AEW is about having really good pro-wrestling matches, and although I really enjoy girls like Britt Baker, Tay Conti and Anna Jay and such, the fact is they still are pretty inexperienced in the grand scheme of things and it shows at times. Lately there as been a streak of really good TV matches though. But it's always a work in progress.

Could not disagree more about Fish. He's been one of my favorite things about AEW TV since the day he showed up, he's been killing it. As a tag team, there's plenty of bangers on the table for reDragons, in a company where tag team wrestling actually matters. And then, sure they are two not solid but actually great workers for the younger guys to learn from. Obviously Gargano would fit in AEW, there's no doubt about it. Where, is the question though. If the guy wants to settle down a bit, a coaching job is not the worst thing, especially since he can go the Serena Deeb way of coming back after a few years too.

I remember those ones from a VHS tape I bought back in the days. Was never into shoot fights, but these were pretty awesome indeed from memory. This thread really makes me want to rewatch some RINGS too. I mean... I probably haven't watched this in 20 years now. I bet to this day this would be one of my GOAT matches contender. I probably would enjoy it more today, if that's possible.

Well, actually... it already had happened when Adam Cole jumped. The fact they had to bury NXT and replace it with that... thing, pretty much validates that NXT as you knew it got killed by AEW and the main star graduated to the main roster... of the opposition. Whoever follows is just a reminder of what the cool brand used to be. Job well done.

Until you get fired of course. O'Riley in AEW I can see, reDragons vs Young Bucks, FTR, Lucha Brothers, Jurassik Express, so much potential. Gargano ? The roster is already saturated with really good workers. Of course I'd rather have him and Candice over some of the people over there, but really, it's not like he would be a game changer.

It's an annoying trope for sure, but honestly that's not what was the most annoying about this particular spot. I mean, it is kind of a killer looking spot and she sold the cover like she was winning for sure. But the whole crawling back to the ropes like she seen a ghost is what put it over the top into "yeah, a weeeeee bit too much, girl" territory for me. Also, the eyes got WAY too bulgy to the point of being uncomfortable for me to look at ! That being said, she should make this her finisher, as her combination of kicks is just not that good looking.

Well, of course, it was strictly a figure of speech. "That's such good shit", literally. Well, it is knocking them dead. Literally, too.

And people wonder why WWE booking is going nowhere and nothing matters. 90% of the year just doesn't, because the only idea they have is "Let's get Rock against Roman at Mania !". Their only goal is seemingly to get that huge Hollywood actor who used to be a huge pro-wrestling star (the last one of that magnitude), who's gonna get 50 years old (but when Goldberg is apparently an exciting prospect, what difference does it makes) and who hasn't worked in 10 years. And every passing year it's like "Yeah, the goal is The Rock at Mania" and it doesn't happen. The question is, although Dwayne still cares about his pro-wrestling fans, why in the hell would he want to do that when he's the highest paid actor in Hollywood ? What can WWE offer him that he doesn't already have, in much bigger scale ? And what does that do for the company's future apart from a gigantic Mania gate, probably followed by more cuts for "financiary reasons" (unless you're 72 years old Jerry Lawler of course, whom they resigned again despite the guy being useless for years and years and a potential PR liability) ?

So, no report of Fenix getting hurt ? He literally vanished from the match after taking that horrendous head bump on the apron and was never to be seen again apart from freeing Penta's mask. Vickie's outfit was glorious. Match was quite fun but I thought it was kinda underwhelming overall, because, well, Fenix vanished and it seems the match ended early. I dunno, I watch so much great and fun wrestling on a weekly basis, the constant sloppiness of pretty much *everything* only gets you so far. And honestly the one thing I thought about was how I miss CMLL's great Friday shows, and the Dynamitas and Diamante Azul kinda looked out of place to me in AAA's clusterfuck environment. The Cain/Park stuff was fun, but if you don't care about MMA and therefore don't give a fuck about Cain, it really did not register to me as anything special. The interference at the end was soooo AAA in its total lack of efficiency (crowd totally shit on the guy, finish came off flat). The undercard match with the clowns had a few fun spots, but it was also pretty awful overall TBH. Dunno who Estrelitta is, but she was fun though. Monster Clown should just lose the mask. Too much fucking clowns in this promotion, it's unbearable. In other news, Psycosis tried to die again in 2021 and Poder del Norte are still the best trio in AAA in term of making the best of AAA's clusterfuck style, against anyone. Favorite match to me was Dralistico & Dragon Lee vs Willie Mack & Laredo Kid, Mack kinda stole the show too. Dralistico & Dragon Lee vs FTR and/or Lucha Brothers could be awesome, but honestly I would rather see that match in a non AAA setting... Ditto Deonna vs Taya Valkyrie, which is kinda poetic justice as Taya is the one who passed the torch of the Impact title to Purrazzo. Main event was quite fun too, Fish & Lethal looked good, Del Sol and Bandido looked like stars and the right guy won.

Another exhibition match at the Tokyo Dome. You can quote me.

At first when I saw Toyn Neese, I thought that Tommy Dreamer's little brother sure likes to hit the gym a lot, he's quite the young stallion. Then I thought he was quite solid too. By the end of the match I was "holy shit, this guy is something else". I love that every TNT champ have had their own thing, and Sammy thus far is crazy good spot oriented matches against random guys showing up. I want MORE ! Also loving the fact every guy has its own version of the title belt, Sammy's is shiny as fuck. PAC is low-key a consistent AEW TOP 5 worker since the beginning of the promotion. He's just so damn great all the time whatever he does.

One of these names is not like the others... But yeah, Charlotte had the right to be pissed. That's total incompetence.

I guess that settles the whole "Will AEW eventually bring Flair to manage Andrade ?" thingy.

The entire "I was so depressed this week" bit from the last WOR was classic deadpan Meltz. I actually thought about the exact same joke watching Danielson vs #5. Dead on point.

I'm glad I did not spoil myself. What the fuck was Cody thinking ? He clearly took most if not all the fire table bump (although some flames did end up on Andrade's chest). Funny, when I saw this odd stuff on his back, first thing I thought about was "Hum.... fire incoming ?" then I totally forgot about it, especially since the feed went out on the version I watched. And then when Brandi showed up going straight Dudleys Boys circa 98, I was "Yep". Say want you want about Brandi, but the grin at the end just a few seconds after Cody bumped into fire makes me think she must be a fun girl to be around. And that's all I'll say... Hey, Cody going Terry Funk is something I can never not love, especially when the wife is basically setting him on fire. Somewhere Beulah McGillicutty had to be all "You go girl !". Darby & Sting vs the Gunn Club had *no right* to be as good as it was. Colton's Shawn Micheals circa 92/93 tights make me feel all nostalgic and such. Sting has had more good matches since he joined AEW than he had in his entire TNA tenure. Guy is 62. Darby is just one of the most compelling guy to watch in the world. Thought Soho vs Statlander was quite good, that's three really good women's matches in a row. I agree about Soho lacking explosivity though. She has a great look and is cool and all, but in-ring I'm not sold. Statlander is improving though and she always does one or two really impressive spots a match. Orange vs Cole is gonna be my next favorite feud that'll piss people off I guess. The most hilarious moment of the show though was the blopper of Arn basically falling on his ass on the side of the ramp and Jose visibly helping him getting up in the background of Andrade & Cody fighting. I don't know why they think Andrade needs a no-name valet, to me he's adding nothing.

Well, if it could ruin the Winter Olympic Games taking place in a dictatorship currently committing a genocide, it would be a start... On the PWO side, not followed either tournaments taking place right now, I may watch the finals as they happen on the same show, which I guess will give us more of the WK matches to come. After Power Struggle, NJPW's year is basically done for me.

Nia Jaxx : I'm not gonna do pro-wrestling outside of WWE Pro-wrestling board : AEW should not sign her. She sucks Also pro-wrestling-board : AEW could sign her, there's some potential Also pro-wrestling board : AEW better not sign her. She sucks and she's dangerous Also pro-wrestling board : Stan Hansen was dangerous too. How is that different ? Nia Jaxx : As I said, I'm not gonna do pro-wrestling outside of WWE. Like, I'm not gonna Pro-wrestling board discussions.

Honestly it's all irrelevant anyway : she doesn't want work to work elsewhere. She wasn't good when she started, only got worse with time, never was a draw, never much over despite being protected forever, never was a good promo and had a rep for having an ego. Apart from "She's big and she was in WWE", she has exactly jackshit going for her. It's interesting how your social status, including in a micro-society like the landscape of pro-wrestling, gives you more when you already are privileged (yes, she *was* privileged in WWE because of her size and her family ascendance) even when it comes down to just discussion on a pro-wrestling board. I mean, Ember Moon has been released and she would bring about a hundred times the value (actually having matches people want to see, help and teach younger workers, maybe even get up to a good spot for herself as she had a lot going for her when she showed up in NXT at first). Ditto Taya Valkyrie.

Meanwhile on the same day, NWA is selling their PPV at $25. Feel the hype about NWA champ Trevor Murdoch vs Mike Knox and Nick Aldis vs Tom Latimer ? Wonder who will be the TBA tagging with Laredo Kid vs Dralistico & Dragon Lee...

Considering how he has looked in the past, it's safe to say Trip took quite an amount of roids in the past. This is never good for your heart condition.

Totally unrelated, Jeff Jarrett was seen at WrestleCade TNA Tribute show doing the Flair strut with Jay Lethal. I thought he was still employed by WWE but apparently he left in January of this year, very quietly. That's interesting, as a lot of old TNA guys were hired in the last past year or so as agents, the latest being Petey Williams just a few weeks ago (well and of course Sonjay Dutt actually left for the hot new company in a very Jarrett way).