El-P

Okada is working in NJPW until February something. He ain't appearing at the Rumble. And no, there's NO justification for Okada to be in NXT. NONE. It would be a complete joke. He's the biggest japanese star of the last 15 years. He's one of the greatest wrestler ever. The Idea that WWE is so damn specific that someone like him would have to spend some time in NXT is completely ridiculous.

Okada in NXT would be a complete joke and the sign that nothing has changed. Jade Cargill would debut in the main roster (or not, whatever happened to whatever hype she ever had), but Kazuchika motherfucking Okada would go to NXT ? This would be so fucking pathetic.

I was thinking more than the other way around. Things don't stay hot forever. Usually it's a matter of a few years. Cyclical and all. 3 years ago, WWE was not hot, as the Hulkster would have said. They better be hot in 2030, because if they aren't, Netflix is gonna cancel their ass like nobody's business. And then, yeah, what you said too.

As the buddhist saying goes, there's no way to know if any event will end up being bad or good.

Ok, so 5 years. Netflix is basically Cancelmania. 20 years ? That's Bret Hart in 96 contract ludicrous right there. Things go way too fucking fast to be engaged for 20 years anywhere.

Yep, a funny flex kavana.

"What goes around comes around". Julie Hart. Montreal. 1997

Top 5 ever. 10 years though. Who knows what the media landscape will be in 5 years. Does that mean AEW will try to sell themselves to Amazon Prime or something ? This certainly is super intriguing in term of the evolution of the business, on many aspects.

The Streaming Era. 10 years is a long-ass time.

I put it there although it's really not the right thread for it but.... The Rock is now part of the board of directors of TKO. Can you smell what he's cooking ?

Or rather when he's in there where he can't afford to act like an asshole because he's not in position of supposed power. Let's be real, WWE doesn't need CM Punk at all. It's just a bunch of bonus ratings point for them, and the satisfaction of sticking it to AEW, from their point of view (which is highly debatable, all things considered). They were hot as fuck without him, if he leaves, they don't even blink. He has exactly zero pull over there right now. And it's not like WWE would be afraid of Punk going back to AEW either. Cody speaking the truth in that promo was insanely ironic too. It's like he was actually dropping a pipe bomb, but without any gimmick needed. And you know he actually means it too, since he's friends with the Bucks still.

To me it's less the match itself (which will infact be whatever, most probably) than the fact it is happening. Call it the old WAR Randomizer effect, if you will.

One great thing about AEW is that thus far, every world champ has been very different from one another. Each has brought a different mood and dynamic. Not even one month in, Samoa Joe is my second favorite already. He's such an awesome pro-wrestler. Shithead meta-troll Young Bucks are the best Young Bucks. They are just the greatest, period. I wish they would have introduced Deonna as a heel, because she's that much better in this role, but I understand why they did not (big pop in her hometown, facing Toni Storm who is kind of a heel, Serena Deeb coming back soon). She'll be fine anyway, but I sure hope she gets to turn eventually and be all dismissive and vicious and unlikeable. She's awesome at it. As much as I haven't cared for the E&C Nostalgia Feud, Adam Copeland facing random young talent has been very fun. And now what ? WHAT ? MINORU SUZUKI ?!? Yeah, this is what AEW is all about. There's definitely a shift of mood of sorts in the last few weeks, and it's one for the better, I must say (and I'm not even an MJF detractor at all). Fun and promising start of the year for sure.

..... As his name clearly states, he's not Samoan. Making him a fake Samoan would be so WWE though. Although "things have changed", despite the striking portait @sek69 did of japanese talent presentation in curent times, or the fact they just did a "foreigners talking shit about 'murica = bad" angle just a few weeks ago, for the Rock's no less, like there was nothing better for him to say. It would be such a lack of imagination too. I dunno, this would feel like total typecasting. Jacob Fatu on the other hand. Still baffled he's not getting that WWE contract (when actual rapist Gabe Stevenson would, ya know). Then again, since we're talking about Fatu, he was on that NJPW Valley show, and I'm still exactly at the same point with him as I was years ago when I watched MLW. He's doing these few super impressive flying spots, and that's it. Still way overhyped to me. Maybe in a different environment he would blossom, but... And speaking of Stevenson and rapist and shit, Matt Riddle kinda got a tedious reaction I thought. Certainly not the big-ass former indy sensation & former WWE star you'd expect. Not that it'll make any difference in Japan, I guess. Still, not exactly the kind of booking that'll make NJPW more desirable to me right now.

The question is, would he be presented that way ? In other news, EVIL is your new Openweight champion. Yeah, jokes writes themselves. And so Tama Tonga made his goodbye. He's not a guy that would have been in the main events, but in the past few years he really found his mark as a great babyface worker. So yeah, that's yet another loss (although he's been in NJPW for ever now, basically made his entire career there). I'm guessing he's showing up in WWE. The guy is 41, but at his peak right now. He's a good catch for whoever gets him, really.

Aldis outfits have always been the best thing about his entire act. I can't get over the fact that even WWE found he was so dull in the ring that they'd rather make him an authority figure. BTW, and before this aptly thread ends, I gotta say that Paris 2024 ain't about Roman Reigns either. I am guessing Berlin can fuck off too, since it comes just after SummerSlam.

*yawn* Apart from the super grim Adams story, and the Sandman episode which probably be a nice little funny one without much to it (unless they dug up some real bad stuff), this is all very safe, not very intriguing topics at all for the series. I guess the Plane Ride From Hell episode scared everyone, and they don't wan't anything like that anymore.

This is what I was thinking about. Samoa Joe, world champ, is the gift that I never expected to happen anymore. I fully was behind transitioning to Swerve pretty quickly. The thing is, if I'm real, Joe is better by every metrics. I still think Swerve should be the champ at one point if he maintain the overness, but Joe should keep the belt longer. Fuck, now I'm envisioning Joe vs Ospreay. DAMN. PLEASE.

I know. This chant ain't going away anytime soon, ain't it ? To me, since it's mostly guys chanting it (you can hear it), it kinda comes off like some Fight Club masculinist/incels fantasy.

The "meat" chant was funny as a novelty the first time around. It has officially overstayed its welcome already.

I have no idea how Nakamura looks right now in WWE. But I watched that Great Muta in NOAH match last year. Entrances were awesome. But as soon as the match started, holly fuck. Nakamura looked washed up behind beliefs. I guess that's me not haven't seen him since about 2017 (hose underwhelming matches with AJ Styles, of all people, is the last thing I saw of him apart from the Rumble matches), but still. It was one of the biggest match of his career, so the guy clearly was not unmotivated. But damn, he looked thrashed. And that's standing next to Mutoh.

He could have had the Jumbo role for a while, working against the new generations. But apparently Gedo thought Tsuji had to lose every major match this year and Ren Narita was a House of Torture scrub, so there was quite a time before they were Okada-ready. Well, you certainly sold me on the idea that well, PLEASE GO TO AEW OKADA-SAN, WWE IS A BAD FUCKING IDEA ! And I mean, the guy went through TNA, so he probably is very aware of everything. Also, there's the point about moving to the US. It's not something everyone wants to do, no matter the money. Especially when you have a family, a wife with a very successful career in Japan too. It's more than just "Mania Moments, playing golf with Nak, booking", basically wrestling bubble stuff.

NJPW is so fucked. They lose Ospreay and Okada at the same time. Hope people enjoy those SANADA and Dave Finlay bangers. The good thing is that Gedo has no choice at all now, it's a kick in the ass. So maybe in the long haul, it'll end up being a positive (like, say, Tenryu leaving All Japan, although not comparable of course, very different context). Tanahashi has one hell of a plate in front of him. I agree Okada in WWE is more intriguing at this point (yup, I of all people am saying this), plus he really has not touched that at all, whereas pretty much all the top people in AEW are guys he already had his best stuff with anyway (Omega, Ospreay, White, Danielson). Of course, selfishly, I'd rather have Okada in AEW, but in the grand scheme of things, him going to WWE would be quite the mind-blow, and under Lesveque, who know. Between this and Giuilia most probably leaving Stardom, that's quite the terrible beginning of the year for Bushiroad.

Yep. So happy that Drake is getting showcased. Main event was great at times, but went for fucking ever, which has been a recurring issue on Collision since the beginning. Watching Deonna on the AEW stage made me happy, not gonna lie, and Red Velvet has indeed looked terrific since her comeback.

And he's been feuding the CM Punk. Oh, the irony.