El-P

Actually, I love that spot because the Skull End is probably the worst looking Dragon Sleeper variation ever, so winning with it is kinda flat to me, plus SANADA is always gonna honor his mentor and finishing with the moonsault is very sumoesque mentality of "I have to win doing my mentor's style". I had not seen that analogy but it's really a perfect one, and I totally subscribe to it. There is probably something to be said about some supposedly "smart" work which really isn't that smart and supposedly "dumb" work that really isn't that dumb, but that's for another time...

I said if done *safely*. If I were a pro-wrestler, I'd want to work against Toru Yano every day and that's it.

Disagree. If done right and safely, these are much less painfull and damaging. Having your flesh turned into blue, disgusting bloody mess doesn't seem fun at all, while taking a safe german suplex (Kurt Angle style for instance) or a safe powerbomb is probably a piece of cake in comparison, as you're also in control of your own bumping.

Considering his love for classic Flair vs Steamboat, which was saturated with endless chop sequences, I guess he has nothing against it. I dunno, I totally understand workers who don't like them, because it can come off like a cheap way to get a reaction (and really now, if there was a spot that was bastardized by a guy like Flair, that's it, not that I mind it at all, but it's always funny to hear people complain about this or that move being overdone in modern wrestling...). Interestingly enough, two of the smartest wrestlers in the last 15 years, Okada and Tanahashi, despite working in the country that made stiffness the in-thing, based their style on a totally opposite approach, much more reminiscent of what Bret would do for instance in the US. And yes there are different approaches depending on the context too. You can argue most lucha chops look completely weak and ridiculous, but they absolutely work in a lucha libre context. While the infamous Kensuke Sasaki vs Kenta Kobashi epic chop exchange, which can be looked at a ridiculous display of useless stiffness from the perspective of a guy like Bret or Lance Storm, actually was awesome in the big show japanese context, and really the entirety of Suzuki vs Danielson stems from this philosophy.

Hum... when I see the bloodied, bruised chests of Walter's opponents, I'm not sure I totally buy that. Then again, I remember Meltz said once that an american worker told him that Ishii's work was actually mostly quite light (you can see it in the way he throws his elbows, especially earlier on, but some of these chops to the throat look like hell). I remember watching that Walter vs PCO match and although I did love the sheer insanity of it, the bruised meat of PCO was legit disturbing.

Vince is a sociopath. The crocodile tears when he'll die are gonna be spectacular, but he is a complete sociopath. Talk to me like that IRL and I'm flipping you off and leave immediately, boss or no boss or whoever.

Would they even let Walter do his über-stiff style of work in the main roster though ? I mean Sheamus or Big E. would probably take it without any issue, but apart from those two... He's a guy I'm still on the fence about. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with his style TBH. Even a guy like Ishii doesn't brutalize his opponents like he does. I dunno. Considering I have no issue with some pretty crass hardcore stuff, maybe it's just a cognitive dissonance. That being said, I can't lie about the fact him vs Danielson would probably be something quite special.

That shit was crazy. I basically only knew about the ECW invasion and the Vic Grimes murder attempt. And the fact Rob Black was a piece of shit, even for a dirty porn producer. But I had no idea about the other stuff. That Messiah story is insane.

I will indeed shut the fuck up but *strictly* because it's PWO and not because someone who doesn't know anything about me "firmly invites me to shut the fuck up". And hell, if things go *really wrong* in about six months, ya can all make fun of France for turning into a proto-fascist state. End of the political snide remarks (on a thread that is all about political snide remarks, really) So, no technical difficulties on the plane this time around ?

Shibata !!!! Ibushi !!!! This. Oh and BTW, much respect and thanks to Kevin Kelly, who's always the best pro-wrestling announcer in the world during the G1.

No shit !

I think my reply kinda answered that question. It's not a matter of him playing underdog either. He's great at it. Well he's great at everything, really. It's the whole package in term of how he choses to work, the intensity, the demeanor etc... Agree. And I hope we get these NJPW matches in the future too.

Holy shit ! Well, that's not the case, really, but the put down is brutal !

Did I just say earlier on that I watched back some of his best WWE stuff before he showed up ? I think I did.

Nope. It's absolutely striking. There is no way Brian has the matches he had with Omega or Suzuki in WWE. Not even close. And it's not the same for everybody. Jericho really is not much different as an in-ring performer for instance. Ditto guys like Shawn Spears or Jake Hagger, or even FTR who mainly worked in NXT where the restrictions just weren't the same at all (but that's the thing too, NXT, well, NXT 1.0, and WWE main roster don't have the same house-style).

Not really. Saudi Arabia and Israël are in good speaking terms right now. Which is fitting, since they are both criminal regimes.

What I don't get is that they had Poppy at that NXT Takeover show, but did not bring her back to Crown Jewel when she already had the theme song ready...

He won't. He doesn't want "technical difficulties" on the talent's (except of course Roman & Lesnar) airplane this time around.

Well, I happened to rewatch some of his best WWE stuff before he showed up, including the HHH match and the Kofi match. Yeah. Not even close to the same level. It's so striking how WWE's house style is just the weakest because of how patterned and restricted it is. And really, although I thought his performance was almost magic trick level at Mania against Kofi (who is simply not that good) it changes *everything* when you work in an environment that allows you to do whatever you want, against some of the greatest workers in the world. So yeah, playground shit indeed.

Don't think the expectations were quite the same, and how could they be. Totally different contexts. CM Punk is slowly getting back into the groove and has been mighty fine. Danielson has had two MOTYC against Omega & Suzuki, one of the best TV match of the year against Nick Jackson and yet another excellent one against Bobby Fish. He's back working at a level that makes his best WWE stuff look like playground shit.

Gotta get that Blood Money, retired or not.

YES ! Deonna showing up in AEW or Britt showing up in IMPACT (preferably both) would have me mark the FUCK out. Deonna winning the TBS belt would be quite awesome in a reverse Christian wins the IMPACT title way. 2021, stop hyping me already. I can't take much more.

Yeah, I hope to see more of Serpentico with 2.0 & Garcia and his new color scheme seems to indicate as much. Great dynamics. Actually, I kinda would want to see Cargill win the TBS belt if Thunder can give her a really good match as the final of the tournament. And then Cargill doing the Goldy US champ gimmick. The thing would be to have enough really good girls to work around her limitations (and teach her) and also a bunch of really quick squashes. Then eventually have someone beat her for the title, which would be a win-win in establishing both Jade (with a strong championship reign) and the belt. I just realized those Dark tapings happen in the former Impact Zone. Not gonna lie, I kinda get a kick out of it.

Well, if WWE doesn't change their way, them getting someone made in AEW will only produce disappointment because of restrictions on match styles, scripted promos and most of all, the fact that they will never push correctly a guy they did not make. I have no idea why anyone would trust WWE with (well, anything at this point, really) making a good use of someone from the opposition. They have squandered the potential of 95% of the can't miss guys they got their hands on in the last decade, and they did not come from a successful opposition either (so there was no resentment involved, although even a guy like Bully Ray could never do Bully Ray when he went back, he had to be the Dudleys because that's all WWE ever knew/thought he could be).

Vince is 76 years old and living in his bubble. He won't change. He can't. It's too late. The company has reached a level of brand awareness and financial security which makes them idiot proof for a long while, but as far as perception goes, they are cursed as long as AEW is around and doing what they do. And if AEW is around long enough (and Coach Tony K doesn't lose his mind and/or burn out), they'll change the perception of what a mainstream pro-wrestling company can be. If you're a 20 year old wrestler today, I have no idea why you'd want to work for WWE. If you're a 20 years old watcher today, I have no idea why you'd want to watch WWE (and they don't, NXT2.0 median age the other week, 62 years old). The kids are the future of the industry, both as viewers and workers, and they are not having fantasies about WWE anymore. Cena was the tree that hid the forest for a while, but the seeds were there a long time ago (the fact that the Attitude Era is still considered like the be all and end all by the promotion is very telling). AEW is basically the result of the culture of the internet pro-wrestling hardcore fandom, people who have not only loved all kind of pro-wrestling but also went through the demise of ECW and WCW and learned from it. TNA could not do it because it was too soon and it was created by the very people who already had fucked it up (not to mention the total ineptness of the owners). It took time and maturation and years of frustration (and of course stars aligning in term of the right guy with the right opportunity and the right workers being free at the right time). The best hope for the future is that indeed, the mainstream idea that pro-wrestling = WWE dies once and for all and we have a more flourishing and diverse pro-wrestling landscape that actually can matter on the big stage.