El-P

Hitler was born is what is now Austria. But yeah, I know. I mean, WALTER already had that kind of gimmick in the indies anyway.

Plus, Vince would pretty much make WALTER a German character. I mean, do you really think these people now where Austria is ? (German-speaking Swiss, yeah, forget it for Cesaro)

Doesn't WALTER want to stay in Europe anyways, which is why he's in NXT Uk and not the main NXT brand ?

Historically, blood & guts never drew women. It would be hypocritical to consider that magically, we don't know what's happening in the last few weeks when what used to be household watching turned into 1 unit per household as the big matches really had that heavy ECW style to them.. Meltz never said he did a super-scientific analysis either, so no need for a strawman here. On the other hand, they did their best PPV numbers with Omega vs Mox (all to Mox credit, I'm sure because... well I am and Omega can't apparently be credited for anything ever because he sux) in a historical blood match. So like I said, the issue here is more complex than "who is losing women", but rather, which direction they want to take. It can be risky to go all in blood & guts because you can go for so long without people becoming accustomed to it. Maybe they'll do adjustments, maybe they'll go straight into that direction still. I mean, they'll do that Wargames match in a few weeks, so, that's a hint for the short term at least.

So, per Meltz they showed footage of another black women wrestler during Ethel Johnson induction. Either honest mistake, either... *facepalm facepalm*

Ok great argument. Clap clap clap. I just made fun of Matt Jackson's "acting ability" in my post about the show and have criticized AEW a shitload lately, but whatever. Yeah, he's kinda Shawn Micheals like when he tries to act emotional and shit, not nearly as bad but not exactly very good either. But anyway, this is neither here nor there. The evolution of the promotion into a more ECW-like style (which I don't mind) is what's been seriously talked bout. You wanna just throw out "lol it's Omega and the Bucks because they sukz, Meltz is defending his friendz" line despite evidence in the last few weeks trends, ok, whatever works for you.

Really now you're just working on your own confirmation bias here because you hate Omega and the Bucks angle, which you repeat each and every week over and over again. But there's exactly zero sign that there's a correlation between Omega at the top and the Bucks storyline which has been going on for months now and the current evolution. Like none. Metz went in details about how things have clearly evolved *in the last few weeks* and how the violence & gimmicks have been basically driven away the other viewers in the house (ie the women and teenagers). On the other hand, the ultra-violence promise of the barb-wire did draw their best PPV number. There was nowhere near the same level of gimmick & violence and blood even during Mox & Kingston feud. Not even close. Same for Cody when he was doing the TV title reign, yeah, he bled from time to time, but it was not an orgy of gimmick shots and spots & bloods like it's been lately. Baker vs Rosa was a terrific match. It was also clearly a defining moment in which the audience kinda switched, much like with the promise of barb-wire. This is a matter of direction they want to follow or not. And I mean, we get it people, you don't like the Omega & Bucks storyline. Well, though shit because that's what's the top of the card is gonna look like for a long time because that's the kind of stuff these guys have been working for years (Cody leaving the Elite, the Ibushi reltationship etc...). And they will remain the top/near-the-top guys because, well, they are the best workers having the best matches and that's what AEW's core audience wants (yeah, I know, let's not go into the whole "core fans don't matter" argument again). This is not the issue here. The one other issue that was interesting in Meltz long-ass analysis about some charts he got from whomever, is the number of people on Dynamite in the last few months. It's huge (like, 92 people !). And it has really affected the focus and time allotted to the main event guys and the young guys they need to push. That's a much bigger issue in term of getting people over and that's coming back to the "faction" issue, there's too many people on TV. Do we really need Max Caster and JD Drake on long single matches when Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, the guys from the Inner Circle & the Pinnacle are not getting matches ? No we don't. They absolutely need to choose their core 20 people they want to focus and and, well, focus on them. I wonder how long the bullshit "Meltz is defending his AEW friends" line of thinking is gonna keep on though, as he's been super critical on a lot of things AEW lately, meanwhile, he gave absolute praise to the NXT show. And really now, people bitching about drama, this damn promotion started with "I want my brother" with cries and shit. I guess that was "good drama", but honestly it was the same kind of pro-wrestling heavy handed pathos as what the Bucks are doing. Only, these were Dusty's kids, so it had to be great... (hey, I loved it too, but let's not act like this was Academy Award acting either)

*facepalm* Those damn WWE fans almost put WWE out of business...

If Tessa had not vanished from the radar, she would have been a given for me. I miss watching her work for sure.

Yep. Blood & guts indeed.

Yeah, I really completely fail to see why they even get TV time. To have a so-so match with Hangman Page at this point, with sloppy spots, poor bumping, boring offense and timing, yuck... I know the guy is green, but I don't see any potential whatsoever. He's a better rapper than a worker, and yet that doesn't say anything. Omega ain't losing the title. He's gonna collect more belts and that is gonna be awesome. As far as the dorama goes, well, I don't care as long as the matches are awesome, and they mostly are. Omega & Callis are just awesome at everything right now. Matt Jackson is better than Shawn Micheals at acting (yes, that is a backhanded compliment). The Bucks & Omega stuff is compelling on a very long term scale, they're not gonna do basic heel/face stuff, they're acting more like actual human beings with contradictory actions and feelings, and I do enjoy that (it helps they are just the best workers too). Bear Country I want more, but damn, Luchasaurus is not looking good at all, they really need to give Jungle Boy momentum now. A fun thing about this week is it shows how aware they are of their criticism. The whole Death Triangle/Best Friend (which should be terrific) segment almost was a direct response to Meltz criticism of them not doing follow-ups. Also, I got a kick ouf of Jake Roberts actually pointing the running gag of the Sting segments being him not saying anything and being interrupted. Archer also basically blasted the lack of focus in the way he's being booked... I like the QT Marshall group. I understand the whole -1 thing, but I really don't want to see much more of this. Not because it makes me uneasy, but because I don't want to see a kid around my pro-wrestling stuff, thank you. I mean, maybe in ten years he'll debut as an actual pro-wrestler and he'll be awesome because of this experience, so who knows, but I don't really like it now. So true. He's having a thing for Tay Conti already. Too soon young padawan. I mean, I expected a nothing show and I got an angle with Mike Tyson. Gonna tank in the ratings still but hey, they are not lazy. Love the Bunny back in the ring. I just love that girl. Greatest annoying laugh ever.

Nick & Matt Jackson. Well, I don't exactly "look forward" to it because they get so much unwarranted hate around this place, but there you go. The real question for me will be to determine who is the better one of the two. And once I get to it, the French Catch guys and the women that were either forgotten last time or just weren't around for long enough.

Have you seen his TNA stuff ? I can't really recommend anything specific, but he showed up in late 2011 (along with Aries) and from the few weeks of TV I've seen, he was really really good as a grumpy bitter veteran. Best version of Kid Kash I've seen.

No I don't. I mean, I'm not gonna argue endlessly like I did in the past to "defend" my picks and tastes, I don't feel I have to anymore. If someone gets something, anything, out of whatever I put the focus on, good for that person. I'm glad I was able to share the love. I also don't think I'm able to express myself as well I'd want to sometimes in term of explaining why this or that. And I probably don't have the energy anymore either honestly, although I still get bursts of posting like a maniac (which is never a very good sign in term of what it says about my mental state at that time, really ) ! Like I said, I don't intend on doing any negative posting in the context of the next GWE. And I won't feel obligated to do anything really. It has to be fun, and that's about it.

The same. I'm too old for the arguing. I'm not too old yet for the sharing of what I love.

Which is why they really aren't trying. On paper, this is a one match show (the main event). Max Caster ? JD Drake ? Is this a Thunder episode of Dynamite ? Oh anyway, this is Mania week, the spotlight is not gonna be on them anyway. Better off putting on a great show for their first week unopposed instead.

I know. Did not make more sense to me then ! (EDIT : I KNOW what you mean, I just don't agree with it)

It's genius used for getting yourself over and draw crowds and be a big star.

Agreed. And he was also really good in the first UWF, and the way he used to mix the burgeoning shoot-style stuff with straight pro-wrestling spot really foreshadows the bizarre mix of later years in UWF-I or Battlearts. Tiger Mask had issues for sure (yeah, he was sloppy, yes, he did not like to sell a lot although that's how you made yourself a star like Inoki), but there's something about him that goes beyond the gimmick. As far as Brody goes, there's something about what you project. And Brodie projected a dangerous aura. And yes, the fact he did not like to sell much and no-sold after taking bumps absolutely contributed to that aura. All of which made him a star. Maybe that's the "genius" of Brody. (I don't love his stuff, but I always had a soft spot for him)

The constant patronizing is unbearable. This poll is not about giving good taste lessons to people. And some wonder why the GWE last time kinda killed the board...

It's human nature. I understand it on an intellectual level, as I understand nostalgia (although I hate it), but it doesn't make any sense. It's true of pretty much everything. It's just more comfortable, and the "objective" truth of it is just rationalization and confirmation bias. At some point, you either choose to learn from the new generation of adults coming after you, or you just choose to begin every sentence with "Back in my days" and end it with a *sigh*, with an air of disdain for the world of today.

One thing that may play is that there will be more than 25 years of post WCW/Crockett US pro-wrestling then, and almost 35 years of post-territory US pro-wrestling. That's huge. The idea that you always have to come back to what happened 30 to 40 years ago will be such a ridiculous boomer claim (pardon the use, as a boomer myself) that there should be a clean swipe from a generation that won't feel obligated to vote for a now very distant "golden age", from which all candidates will seem as distant to them as the stuff from the 60's were to us ten years ago. (not to mention other elements like a more feminist take on things inducing the rediscovery of classic women wrestling in Japan and current, as in from the past 15 years, US stuff)

No one is a better anything than Hansen, so it's not fair.

His brawling that he wasn't very good at made him one of the biggest draw of his eras and a huge star. I mean, if the argument works for Hogan...

Parts of me would be kinda interested to check out some of this stuff again, because there was a sense of total randomness , which is someone I can always enjoy. Back then I really disliked all these crappy pseudo-MMA guys like Ogawa (who suuuuuucked the life out of Hash, thanks for nothing) and Murakami (who was only good for punching people in the face), as a UWF/RING fan. This was really an odd period with the Zero-1 stuff happening at the same time, Choshu having his little crappy promotion for a while, the Wrestle-1 (the first one, not the Mutoh promotion) stuff with Bob Sapp. Yeah, kinda crazy when you think back. I'm sure there are some hidden fun stuff in there.