El-P

OMG AJ Styles ! I'm legit shocked. And the guy is 46 years old too. He never EVER looked even close to this. Orton looks like a mix between Triple H at his roided peak and The Warlord. Wellness policy, sure, sure... That never happened.

Gotta love how Cody inferred that maybe MJF putting on muscle lately was him getting prepared to eventually go to WWE. Talk about saying everything you need to know about the culture there (but hey, JR never told anyone they have to take roids, it's a "personal decision and responsibility", right ?). And hell, that's what Cody did too at one point. With the result that we know of, probably. It's fascinating that the whole "pile of muscle" thing is still a thing in perception of so-called stars. So infantile, really. (and on a sidenote, I don't get why you wouldn't mind ending up with a disgusting skin just to have big muscles. Some of those guys, like MJF, Bill, Rush, on HD are just, yuck)

I don't even think TK is bored of AEW. But bookers get exhausted. They all do, even the very best of them. And it's not like he's just the booker of the company, and it's not like he's managing just that company. It's just totally unreasonable, really. I dunno, give Danielson the book for two years after he retires from full time in-ring work. The reality is that really exciting things don't last. It just can't. That's the nature of things. Thing that last seemingly forever become institutions, like WWE, and nothing is more boring than an institution (of course an institution can be swooshed by waves of being exciting again at times, but because something happens to them, not because of what they are and produce as institutions). Meltzer was talking about the Von Erichs recently, in regard to the movie, as he lived through the period, and basically said that the hot peak of WCCW lasted about one year and a half. When you think about Nitro and when it was the really the super hot and fun program, it lasted about what, two years and a half maybe ? ECW's peak in term of being an underground sensation is about two years, three at most. WWF's peak to me in the 90's lasted about one year and a half too, maybe two in being generous. Lucha Underground had two great seasons. AEW was my favorite promotion ever for about two years and a half. Matters of great intensity can't last by nature. That being said, as far as delivering great in-ring stuff, AEW is still second to none. And that is enough for me to enjoy that part of them, but I'm not invested like I used to be. Also, they are very much needed in the pro-wrestling landscape and absolutely make things better for everyone, first and foremost the workers themselves, including those not working for them (guys in WWE getting giant contracts can thank Coach TK and the Elite, really).

For fuck's sake Coach TK. I've been really surprised by Ellering, who looks the best I ever saw her (wasn't high on her IMPACT stint). Leyla is awesome and I've loved the Renegades since day one I've seen them as jobbers. Good stuff right there, with the inclusion of the always terrific Maria Kanellis. So much potential that IS NOT ON THE SHOW !

Considering how the women division has been booked, I did not see Mercedes showing up in AEW anymore. Fuck, she'd have a much better time in TNA, really, reuniting with Trinity and such. And that also goes for Giulia. This is pretty sad, because it had tons of potential *on paper*, but let's be realistic now. AEW made their bed with their women division. Kevin Sullivan (not the Devil, I mean not *that* Devil either, the post-prod guy) being let go has been undersold here, but it's been a pretty unpopular and not understood decision backstage apparently. The writing is on the wall for something not so promising for next year unless some real changes are being made. And I mean in the right directions, which apart from the awesome Continental Classic, doesn't seem to be the case right now.

Not talking about TK but about any kind of shitty reveal that makes no sense whatsoever.

Omega out indefinitely is definitely a major downer. What a way to end the year. If the Devil ends up being a "It was me all along" moment, I fucking swear...

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/new-japan/njpw-joins-united-japan-pro-wrestling-industry-group-joint-event-announced Well that is certainly something. I wonder how much concrete measures in term of working together will be made, but that's pretty much unheard of in Japan.

Anyone following any G1 ever knows that Swerve losing to Mox is just part of a bigger story. This match was about Swerve being a full fledge babyface. He doesn't need to win every match, ya know. Plus, I'm not sure I want him to won that Triple Crown thingy anyway, I want him to win the world title next year. Shoulder not being on the mat, though, fucking please, stop it. The Continental Classic is just a blast, period. Now now... I really hope they wrap up this whole Devil thing soon, because for the life of me I have no idea how the end result is gonna be compelling, and it has been going on forever now without being ever compelling. And I fear fucking Wardlow is gonna be part of it too. Lol, the Von Erichs. That Jericho/Omega promo was WRETCHED. The best part was Starks basically saying it was shit as it happened, but still. And... were they making fun of Billie Starkz ? Who happens to be fucking main eventing the ROH special show in two days to wrap up the most enjoying long term angle of the year in the company ? Da fuck was that ? This was a WCW 99 moment right there. Remember when Omega vs the Don Callis family was hot as fuck and promising awesome matches left and right ? What happened to that ? Yep. Still. 9 matches. Only one women match (the main-event, but less than this would be insulting to Athena & Billie). For ROH, which has a much stronger women match presence than the regular AEW shows. Where are Leila Hirsch, Rachael Ellering and the Renegade Sisters, who actually have a story going on ? Also, why aren't Mommies Boys on the show ? Yeah, they got some guys from NJPW and a AAA match, cool. But that stuff isn't that fresh anymore either, I can watch the same people on TNA. They are doing such a great job with Mariah May thus far, uh ? I don't think she even got *one* camera shot during this whole segment. They did zero to even further any kind of story between her and Toni just a little bit, or even make people care about the fact she's there. Ruby Soho being dressed as Virgil was nice though, as she works about as good as he did. On the other hand, Riho shows up, looks great and gets over. No shit, she's been doing that from day one. I know she's living in Japan and all, but still, couldn't we get more of her on a regular basis anyway ? But hey, Continental Classic is a blast, period. Pretty awesome swan song thus far, I gotta say.

If Punk gets WWE the WBD deal, he should be asking to be the one defeating Roman at Mania. Anything less should not work for him, brotha. And then, shit's really on !

They have done it every year for some time now, and it's always fun. It's funny how Moose is so legit over with his goofy Run DMC gimmick too. Leon Slater, Trent Seven and now KUSHIDA. They are signing legit great workers now. They are serious with this TNA shit.

MCMG vs Alexander & ZSJ was a nice way to cap-off the IMPACT Wrestling years. Talk about a story of rehabilitation of both an image and a role in the pro-wrestling landscape, after almost disappearing a bunch of times and being a laughing stock for years. Also, Dave Penzer is retiring, he has been the ring announcing voice of TNA/IMPACT for years but most of all, remains the classic ring announcer from the WCW Nitro golden days. I guess that's it now. See you back in a while, TNA.

Oh, Dave...

Could very well be. They are building him for Max, and there's no way in hell MJF doesn't defeat him at this point (unless Coach TK has totally lost his mind). Speaking of contract not being renewed, guys like Shawn Spears and Scorpio Sky (hey, remember his amazing comeback on Collision ?) are totally goners, right ? And honestly I would not be surprised if Santana was gently forgotten about too, while Ortiz will be happy collecting a paycheck to be around Eddie for a while. Sure, he got three vignettes and a win on Rampage. But the guy is going nowhere up the cards. The one person they really should go after next year is Deonna Purrazzo, who is obviously done with IMPACT/TNA (she has done nothing but put people over for the last few months). I selfishly want to keep watching her, and she's bestie with Baker I think. Well, she's also bestie with Chelsea Green, but really now, I want her vs Athena.

Looking from afar, CM Punk in WWE has been dirge of creativity thus far. "I'm CM Punk, I'm home, I love WWE" / "What WWE Brand is CM Punk gonna choose ?" / "I'm CM Punk, I'm choosing the WWE RAW Brand and I am entering the Royal Rumble". Next step : CM Punk points at sign. This has been so compelling. Also, Mania is in for yet another year without women main-eventing. The Becky vs Rousey (and Charlotte too) match was 4 years ago now. Then there was the pandemic, then Sasha & Bianca had this incredible match (fun to think too that only 2 out of the 5 people involved in the main events are still in WWE currently, that tells a story right here of how the scene has been shaken up in the last few years, as it very, VERY seldom happened, gotta go back to Angle main eventing in 2003 and gone by 2006). I know last year there was some talk about how Charlotte vs Ripley deserved a main event spot, but this year I don't see how anyone is getting even close to that main event spot with Punk showing up. Which is, you know, a bit ironic when you think of it.

Negativity check : at this point, the Wardlow push is a case of escalade of commitment. There's no reason whatsoever for this guy to still be this overprotected (or pushed to this level at all, really). The ref ending matches because the guy does a bunch of flat powerbombs is the dumbest shit ever too in a promotion where people get thrown onto their heads left and right, beat the piss out of each other until one passes out and drink their opponent's blood without matches getting interrupted, ever. Considering he's been here since the beginning, his output has been ridiculously mediocre. His character is still basically a dude flexing his muscles and sticking his tongue out. I can think of 5 monster type guys in AEW off the top of my head who are way better than him on every level (Archer, Hobbs, Miro, Brody, Cage). He was over like crazy for about a month or two thanks to an MJF angle. That's it. Move the fuck on already. And Willie Mack deserves way better too, btw. Apart from that, yeah, Collision was tons of fun. Danielson is having the time of his life and he's making the Continental Classic just that.

This Wrestling Kingdom show on paper is the most meh I can remember in years. The only really cool, unique match is Okada vs Danielson, and it's one that has happened already, so it's not even a first time. Rest of the card is the definition of there, although the in-ring will probably be very good on average, if not excellent. But there's no feel of anything special. They made a big deal out of having Stardom talents before, they introduced the IWGP women championship, only to not even have it on the card at all this year (that says a lot about how much they basically only wanted it for Mercedes). Tama Tonga and David Finlay, all due respect to them, in championship matches. Tana vs ZSJ and Hiromu vs Despy are great matches but matches that have occurred a lot already I feel. And of course, SANADA in the main event. Where the FUCK are Tsuji and Umino ? I don't see any of this jumpstarting a strong year for NJPW at all.

This is just insane. They got both Okada ans Ospreay for those tapings. The story of TNA keeps on being fascinating. I love how they really play on what the promotion used to be and acknowledge its complicated (to say the least) past too.

"Coach TK loved me, but that American Dragon, what an asshole."

Fuck yeah. Moné, Giulia. Show Coach TK how you do an actual women's division that matters. And really now, I dunno how long Trinity is still going for that ride, but Trinity & Moné reuniting in TNA would be such a coup. And selfishly speaking, I just want it.

It was a very nice episode of Dynamite, with three Continental Classic matches that delivered, Timeless Toni's match was more on point this time (although the pin was ridiculous, that's a pet peeve of mine, try and make an effort ref, please, have the shoulders on the mat before counting), Riho showing up was really cool and hopefully she gets more than a cup of coffee of TV time, nice interactions with the Kingdom, Joe/MJF/Hangman, all that good shit. Then I dunno, I guess the feed got lost and I got a WWE-style main event with the most obvious badly executed swerve in the history of badly executed swerves (and believe me, I've seen a shitloads of them). And really now, are we supposed to feel bad for Copeland ? He literally tried to murder an 18 years old boy who did nothing to him, really. In what world do we blame Nick Wayne's Mom (yeah, I know, she's got a name now) ? I kinda feel dumb for buying into the angle last week now, because this is still pretty much crap, really. Yeah, Christian Cage might be a great performer, but he's currently a great performer in a shitty movie. Oh, anyway. Continental Classic is great. Nope. No one cares about a name that was last relevant in Texas about 35 years ago. And please no because they aren't good. I've seen them in MLW for years. They bring nothing to the table apart from "Our name is Von Erich". They're ok at best, and they've been around for years now. Plus, their rep being what it is (which is completely ridiculous, who the fuck do they think they are ?), I see no upside bringing these nepokids who have done basically nothing notable in their entire career. Having them for a one-shot in Texas to ride on the hype of the movie, if there's any, is ok I guess. There's way too much underutilized actually good to great talent on the roster to bring scrubs just because they have a name that used to be famous (in one fucking state to boot).

Now I really wonder if Bumfuck, South Dakota is anywhere near Parts Unknown.

Damn. From El Hijo del Shibata to Dick Togo's new NPC. Talk about a kiss of death already.

Gotta love TKO exploring the idea of running less house-show as "cost cutting" measure. Yeah, because they don't make enough money as they are. I guess the idea is not so much putting smiles on people's face anymore, uh ? It's fascinating how WWE is now basically just part of a rights-fees management company. It's pretty ironic when the pro-wrestling product is actually more focused on being pro-wrestling fans friendly, more than ever probably, thanks to Lesveque. Wonder what would happen if/when he gets removed for reasons (which may be many, including health).

Ospreay working the first TNA-is-back TV tapings is quite cool. The guy really wanted to work in the actual TNA-named company. That comes after they made him a really good offer, which shows they are serious about getting bigger free agents too.