Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

El-P

Members
  • Posts

    18062
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by El-P

  1. Meanwhile, WWE did not let Lex Luger, that super relevant TV character in 2024, appear on camera for Sting's retirement. If I'm Tony Khan, I don't give a shit. Just be better (it's not hard at all). Plus, really, Keith Lee really is not exactly a big part of AEW's programs anyway and probably won't be either in the future. I would not be surprised if the guy ends up retiring soon, so many health issues. He's also one guy I could see jumping back to WWE as soon as his contract ends (if WWE wants him back).
  2. Ospreay has never been in WWE. So he's early in his career from the point of a WWE brain. Whatever he did before doesn't matter. He's not talking about Okada (or is he ? ) and certainly not Mercedes. The funniest part is that in three years, WWE will probably throw a shitload more money if they want Ospreay and by then they'll have no issue whatsoever giving him a lighter schedule if he wants it. Also, WWE is promoting Logan Paul. DAS GRIND
  3. They are so petty and insecure it's crazy. They are in such dominant position, with idiot-proof money for years, and yet they just can't help themselves. It's so fucking pathetic. Also, there was a big MJF chant behind Levesque at one point.
  4. That's an interesting point. Personally, I just want ONE thing out of AEW : don't be WWE. That's fucking it. Be WCW, be NJPW America, be PWG, whatever. Just don't be WWE. On so many levels. Whatever else you are, I'm fine with it as long as you deliver great wrestling. The WAR Randomizer promotion is totally fine with me.
  5. Yeah. Sure. You're glad you did not get Will Ospreay. And I'm sure Jade Cargill is totally up for "the grind". These people are so full of shit. Totally unbearable. I can't.
  6. I did not think about it at all. Now that you said it, I just can't unsee it. Time to play the game, I guess.
  7. Toni Storm showed up at the Stardom show (which was a fun, short and easy to watch ECW Arena show) to salute Mariah May. She then confronted Mina Shirakawa and talked Forbidden Door business. Oh yeah. Gimme more Mina in AEW. I wonder if and when Megan Bayne will debut in AEW, since there was talks before that she actually was contracted to the company (which has never been confirmed I don't think). She sure is still green, but she has some really impressive stuff to showcase and looks so physically impressive. Maika did one hell of a job in that main event. As far as Swerve goes, of course he needs to win, unless they have a very VERY smart booking trick up their sleeves, and even then. Joe is awesome and should never leave that main event scene now though. But you know what feud I want, right ? Samoa Joe vs Kazuchika Okada, Continental Title.
  8. I'm actually funny as fuck IRL, thank you very much. And yeah, these kind of events (and yeah, so is the Wembley AEW show, although Mania is on a totally different level because of the size of the company) are complete heresy in this day and age. Except it's WrestleMania. Not FootballMania. What's next, JR announcing ? I'm so far fucking removed from this that it took Britt Baker in Pittsburgh covered in black and gold, with a sea of black and gold towels in the audience, to realize that "Oh, ok, so THAT is why Shane Douglas was wearing black and gold too, it's the colors of the city". Better late than never, learn new things everyday.
  9. Actually, it's all about the obscene money that they are making, so it's pretty fitting. Aesthetically, it's kinda garish in a vomit inducing way, so yeah, I guess not. Funny when you think about all the talks about the ecological costs of these ridiculous huge events with fly-in crowds, stuff that were talked about like a relic of the past during the pandemic (you know, when for a second or two there was this thought that maybe we should actually think about what the fuck we are doing with this planet). Honestly, I would be shocked if there was not a Mania in Dubai before long, everything would fit so well (and no, this is not a compliment). This is certainly gonna be a landmark Mania on many levels. On a strictly pro-wrestling-as-a-craft level, which is the only one I care about, Sami vs Gunther should steal the show.
  10. This, almost entirely (except the part of nostalgia, I'm not nostalgic at all, nostalgia is my enemy, and pro-wrestling is great now). This has reached ridiculous levels of bad faith and tribalism. Then again, that's next level capitalism and fetish for brands for you, coupled with social media echo chambers polarization system and algorythms negative stuff push. A toxic mix if there ever was one. The same people would go completely gaga over Ospreay if he had signed in WWE anyway. As far as CM Punk goes, he's about as punk rock as Green Day doing stadium shows. It's pretty ironic that if you consider the pro-wrestling field, the Young Bucks actually are a thousand times more punk rock than anything he ever did. The interesting thing about the lack of reaction to the Copeland promo when he talked about the "negative stuff" is that it showed how much social medias aren't real life. People on X and reddit may think that CM Punk interview was a big deal, guess what, no one seemed to even know what Copeland was talking about. This. Yup. I don't know about the smaller venues, but like I said I wanted to go to Wembley last year, then I saw the ticket prices (and no, I'm not gonna go to fucking London to sit in the cheap seats and watch a show on a big screen from afar) and said nope. Not doing it. Then again, I've checked the Backlash prices out of curiosity, the prices are ridiculous too. 1500 euros to be ringside ? What the hell is going on. I guess I'm totally disconnected from the prices of big time entertainment events. I only go out to 10-15€ concerts in small venues and such. Don't get me started about the fucking Olympics while I'm at it...
  11. He's going after top new talents. Not the Parker Boudreaux or the Jora Jolh's of the world, which weren't used at all anyways. His explanation for the Boys is that they did not show up at several shows. Still, Dasha.
  12. So, Coach TK said that Anthony Henry is welcomed back in AEW whenever he gets cleared. Dont acte.
  13. When Cody is giving interviews where he says that they are finally out of the shadow of the Attitude Era, the last thing *this* Mania needs is a Rock/Austin face-off, reminding everyone again that, hey, actually these are the two biggest stars in the business ever, not to mention that their feud is SO linked with Vince McMahon. As far as Cody not winning, now it would be completely ridiculous. I know, I said the same thing last year, but this time it is time.
  14. Both. Per Cagematch, they have less than 130 matches over the last 12 years, and they worked most regularly the first two years. So they're at this point where they only get booked thanks to their name, despite not being very good, and since they don't work a lot because they don't have to, they don't and won't get any better.
  15. That sure was an episode of peaks and valleys. Ospreay vs Hobbs and Archer vs Danielson were both excellent. How shocking. This is truly the GOAT vs GOAT match of all matches. Not even in a cute, gimmick kinda way. They legit are probably the two best wrestlers I've ever watched (if Omega was around, this would be a triumvirat). Young Bucks vs Best Friends was excellent too. These damn Bucks actually made me believe they were losing for a second, just after I thought there was no way. The Beretta heel turn was really well done too, in that I saw it coming while not saw it coming *that quick*. I sure hope they don't fuck it up from now on though. As far as the tag team tournament goes, I absolutely want Bucks vs FTR 4 (is that 4 ?) with the current dynamic. The contract signing was tremendous shit. Samoa Joe is just a ridiculously great promo, but everybody knows this already. Still, that P. Diddy line. And although Swerve is not quite at that level, he shined in that post beatdown signing in blood moment. Then. Jericho needs to turn heel, no one wants to cheer him anymore, and I have no doubt that's what he's doing. And then he needs to go away for a while, the Jericho fatigue is real. I'm guessing Mariah May vs Toni Storm is the match for Double or Nothing. Would make sense. Match was kinda scuffed, and Rosa is not nearly as over as she used to be, but they sure made up for it by beating the hell out of each other. Mariah May is IT. That 1-2 punch was terrible. There's no reason why Jay White, who should be pictured in the main event scene, is not beating 60 years old Billy Gunn in 5 minutes. Billy Gunn ain't Sting. And although White cracked me up with his begging and trying to do the chant (the guy is so fucking smart), this went for way too long and a fucking DQ ? Who booked that shit ? Acclaimed needs to move on from the trio stuff and go back to the tag team scene. It was nice for a while, but that ship has sailed. Bang Bang Gang unites the trios title, then we forget about that and Jay White moves onto much bigger and better things building toward Wembley. PLEASE, NOW. And then, the BAFFLING interview segment with the back turned from the hometown crowd. Mercedes Moné saying nothing (and getting a TNT title shot at Double or Nothing because reasons I guess, in a company that is supposed to have rankings) for the third straight week. Ya know, that big corporate hire they did a few months back that comes from WWE and was supposed to oversee Mercedes stuff or something, maybe she should have been cut already, because thus far, the Moné stuff has been dire. This is AEW, "Where the best wrestle" (god, I love this campy shit unironically, this is SO WCW), I love Mercedes Moné the *wrestler*. Her doing a Jade Cargill thingy where she just stands there and say "I'm a star" is not cutting it. Hopefully she has fully recovered from her injury and she can get down to business, because this stuff thus far is unengaging as you get. Actually, not a bad choice at all, since it kinda negates (well, it won't, really) the tribalism effect, him being basically a WWE guy for ever saying "I never had that much fun ever and that locker room is as good as any I've been in". EDIT : Although you could also look at it the other way and find it kinda pathetic that they are trying to get a form of validation from a guy who has been "in the big league" as opposed to the "fuck this shit, we're the rogue company anyway, go fuck yourself" kinda promo that would be given by Mox (who also has been there, but it's different) or Eddie. Anyway, in the end that was kinda super awkward. When you're cool, you don't need to TELL people that you're cool. Copeland vs Penta should be cool in itself though, as Copeland taking on random challengers is actually fun. EDIT : Dax Harwood also cut the same kinda "promo" apparently addressing the crowd at the Collision tapings.. Yeah, actually, him saying a few cool things in-between a few choice words about the tag tournament on TV would have been much, MUCH better, for reasons that don't need to be explained.
  16. This is the dumbest excuse this side of "I missclicked" on a Twitch chat.
  17. Well, hopefully for them it's not actually gonna be X-7 (which I thought last year was, the day after Vince came back and Cody lost, how wrong I was). The mix of the creative being much better and the comeback of the Rock makes it gigantic and the hottest since the early 00's, for sure. Dwayne's comeback worked beyond all expectations, including as a distraction.
  18. The Harley Race episode is both a cool look at an all-time great and super influential worker, a nice piece of old-school folklore and a case study of toxic masculinity 101. How times have changed, and for the better in term of how this kinda stuff is looked at.
  19. It sure is a different story if they lose SLK too. It can't be good for the scene though, either way you look at it. Rossy's new promotion can't get as strong as Stardom, which has been established as the second promotion in the country after ten years, and Giulia helping them is all good and all, but the fact it's only temporary ensures you can't put too much focus on her either. BTW, her popping up in NOAH of all places seems random as hell. Kinda cool though.
  20. That's not so surprising. He only worked a bunch of times on Dark and then on ROH. He was more around at the short time they did the terrible Thrustbuster thingy (with Boudreaux, talk about a winning proposition), but he was never really a regular. There's this notion that because you're on TV, you have to make a shit tons of money, but really only a handful of big stars are. The discrepancies between the top dogs (pun intended) and the guys at the bottom of the card are kinda ridiculous, really. And if you consider WWE and the obscene money they are making, even the top dogs are basically underpaid. I remember the French referee working at NXT UK told that she never earned *less* in her entre life, ponder that for a second. And then you have Mr. Workers Right who is talking about how workers should be paid on the house (yeah, sure, now that he's an established big-ass star and the company brand is the draw anyway, what a fucking clown). There's only one way, and it is known : unionize. Won't happen, but this is the only way stuff like a guy getting his jaw broken working against another company contracted guy and getting cut a few weeks later won't be tolerated. Yup. No one expects anything decent out of WWE. Which, ironically enough, actually benefits WWE, because it doesn't matter what they do or what you learn, it's a given it's always been a shitshow, as Ronda Rousey has been saying. AEW was perceived very differently for a while. With high expectations come high responsibilities, or something...
  21. Been enjoying The Wrestling Revolver (Sami Callihan's promotion) lately. With lots of TNA talents alongside people you'd see in MLW, and the Ohio crew (Jake Crist, who is terrific, Fulton, who is quite ok), and some AEW people popping up (lately Billie Starkz, Marina Sharif, even Jon Moxley earlier this year). Easy to watch, relaxed, indy feel but with some ace talents, with a touch of old ECW chaos, Gia Miller playing "classic" ECW valet for Ace Austin, in very different babyface roles that they have in TNA, Alex Shelley being great as a small territory douchebag heel world champ. Fun stuff.
  22. Agreed. Although you can also look at it in another way in term of timing, is that everybody is looking at WWE anyway because it's Mania week, and arguably (not even arguably, really) the biggest Mania ever, so it's gonna be forgotten in two days anyway (which would makes it quite a bit cynical). Still. Context surely has changed, and releasing people is nothing new in pro-wrestling, and it's way far from what WWE did during the pandemic, during which AEW held it together for so many people. But it's a clear sign that the company has changed. Nothing new. But it's yet another occurence of "Oh, it's just another pro-wrestling promotion".
  23. That CMLL show was just awesome, period. Show of the year candidate for sure.
  24. Yep. Don't get that one at all, totally out of nowhere. Anthony Henry is the worse though. Got a broken jaw against another AEW contracted worker on an indy show and now gets cut ? Big time fail on those ones.
×
×
  • Create New...