El-P

Funny, as soon as I saw this result, I did not think about the Wheeler case at all, since no one was taking about it anymore anyway, my mind was caught in pro-wrestling bubble and I thought they asked for their release since they have been boo-boo-face since their biggest pal has been fired (I mean, it's been so obvious when you looked at them walking down the ring this last month), and Coach TK being Coach TK (for better and worse), just gave it to them because he doesn't want unhappy people in his company, knowing full-well they'll run back to the E. The fact they registered "CMFTR" not too long ago was kind of a clue too. Hey, maybe all three of them will show in IMPACT, Bound for Glory is in Chicago in two weeks... (not gonna lie, that would be kinda cool actually to have them make a smaller companies/indie run, to demonstrate their undying LOVE for pro-wrestling) That being said, it might also be Cash Wheeler going to jail. I really was shocked that he got to go Wembley to begin with and did not even lose the titles there. Then did not loses the title to Aussie Open (the Mark Davies injury would have made it a waste in retrospect). It was only a matter of time, for one reason or another. One hell of a run indeed though.

Well, as much as I wish I was Kenny, I'm kinda more like, ya know, Don Callis. Plus I gotta say since I'm at it, I fucking love his music theme, as a lover of drone and dark ambient music. Fits him so well too. Don't get me started, this is PWO. (if you look at long term during its history and the glory days of Hogan and such, basically both I guess )

I don't know what you're on, but it's probably one hell of a drug, for even asking such a question. WWE is serving as a propaganda tool for an authoritarian regime. The normalization of both the Saudi shows and Vince being back in power has reached totally repellent levels. No one fucking cares (well, apart from Eric Young, who asked his release from his main roster contract, the biggest of his career by his own admission, as soon as Vince got back in power). Well, fuck them all.

Not even close. It may not great in the UK, but in Saudi it's imprisonment, torture and death penalty (aka legalize murder). This is what WWE (and all these pieces of shit star football players) is sport-washing. But hey, Roman Reigns is coming back for Crown Jewel. Acknowledge him. *yuck*

Part of me just wants CM Punk to show up so he can make a grand return promo : "In August 20, 2021, I left sports-entertainment. On XX/XX/XXXX, I'm BACK !" And then throw a fit backstage because he's got Cody Rhodes at Mania and Cody throws the unapproved line "At WrestleMania, I'm going to show you that there's better than being the best in the world, and that is called being part of the elite." And then bitch about doing the job because they still want to have Cody beat Roman at Mania 41 eventually (oh oh oh), plus obviously The Rock is going to end up in the main-event AGAIN, while Jade Cargill vs Bianca BeLair headlines Mania 40 Night 1.

The upside of ROH being taped alongside Collision/Dynamite, is that you get totally and beautifully random stuff like Tony Neese vs Satoshi Kojima, which is all kind of awesome in every way imaginable. Tony Neese has been a true treasure as one of the GOAT JTTS, and Kojima looks like he would be a better IWGP champ than SANADA still. You also get stuff like Maria Kanellis talking about her pearl necklace while standing next to her protegee who's wearing a "I love hot moms" T-shirt, so really, what's not to love.

So, Salina de la Renta is back. Why has not she been brought in by IMPACT, AEW or WWE by now, I have no idea. Probably won't be enough for me to bat an eye at MLW again, as they really don't have much to play with, the landscape being so very different from years ago before AEW snatched a whole lot of the best indie talents. They also got dropped from Reelz, so I guess it's Youtube 4Ever for good ol' Court Bauer. They still announced a relationship with NJPW and CMLL. MLW has such a bizarre arc. They are pretty irrelevant by now I guess in the grand scheme of things, much like Corgan's NWA.

Do not speak ill of my girl Kiera Hogan. Enjoyed her since her days in IMPACT. She had a killer street-fight with Athena on ROH. Kiera Hogan on Rampage is more of a draw to me than Adam Copeland anywhere. Oh fuck. I just realized they are gonna want to do some Hardys vs E&C matches now. Plus, Brother D-Von showed up at IMPACT 1000th anniversary (episode, not years) alongside Bully Ray for the first time in like 7 years. How far are we from a nostalgia three-way ? Hopefully very, VERY far.

And to the cherry-picking people out there, Athena vs Leila Hirsch from ROH this week is the way to go. Got everything you need, a really good fucking match (Athena is just the best, and I've really been loving Leila Hirsch too since she came back) and some cool character arcs for everyone, with Billie Stark, Minion in Training, trying to soften the heart of Athena, and Maria Kanellis showing up after the match as she has had interest in Leila, who just blew her off thus far. (why can't they do stuff like this on Collision or Dynamite ?)

This is called engagement bias or something I guess. And I mean, let's be real, I'm glad I'm still watching when I get Danielson vs ZSJ. That was pro-wrestling heaven.

I mean, the man with Das Ethic going to work for Das Rapist and sport-wash the Saudi regime after parading around with "support trans-right" and "abortion right is human right" signs would be something. Hey, maybe he will be THE one to say "nope, I'm not doing this shit", because apparently no one else has any sense of self or ethic at all, not Cena, not Sami, not Reigns (and don't get me wrong, I don't think anyone currently in AEW, nor anywhere else would do otherwise either, that's how much I think about pro-wrestlers and entertainers in general, sadly). If Punk shows up back in AEW though, it's yet another proof WWE are complete idiots to want to crush their competition (which is not competition, you see, not at all, and they don't even care about it, despite even teasing the fucking Taker on NXT ), because as n°1 company in the business, they profit a whole lot more from it than anyone else. They got Cody, they got Jade (although that remains to be seen what happens with her, people are overstating her importance even before she shows up, but someone like her thrown in the Machine has all the potential in the world to be a big star, and that's all she cares about, she'll drop them like a bad habit as soon as Hollywood comes knocking), they may get Punk and none happens if AEW does not happens. Also, Ive checked the LA Knight thingy. It's hilarious, the guy is now the N°1 merchandise seller or something. Well, he was doing the exact same shit in TNA like 7 years ago or something. The EXACT same catchphrase and cadence. And WWE almost blew it because they did not want him to get over. They lucked into another guy that has zero to do with their "developmental".

At this point of my viewing habits, which consists of 100% current stuff, cherry-picking after the fact doesn't work anymore. Even month old stuff, if I put it aside to watch it later, I lose interest pretty much everytime, no matter how great the thing may be. Cherry picking is my way to not caring anymore and basically letting it go. That what happened with Stardom. I only watched a bunch of stuff after the fact, until I just stopped caring enough to watch at all. Despite it being really good and easy to watch. Speaking of which, apparently AEW is getting Mariah May soon. Considering what she showed in Stardom, they better not fuck around with her and give her serious TV times, programs and build her into a star quick, so they can actually enjoy her potential before WWE snatches her (she's got the perfect look for the job). She's got presence, she's a good worker, she's got character. She's a great catch.

Thunder ? Try the Saturday show from the Disney studios instead. But that's what makes it FOMO though, it's irrational. Maybe it's also the kinda completist state of mind, which is complete lunacy. I'm not too sure how much I really watch because I feel like I have to. Not that I don't enjoy a lot of it in the end. But if I stopped, I wonder how much I would miss it by now. Also, once you stop watching, it's very easy to never come back to it even though you liked it. Which is also why it's tough for AEW. They've lost something at one point. I almost stopped watching this Summer because of CM Punk drama exhaustion. The one constant thing that is keeping me on board are the very regular awesome matches.

It's the good old FOMO though. GOTTA WATCH THAT RAMPAGE SHOW THIS WEEK, THERE'S BUTCHER & BLADE vs SPANISH ANNOUNCE PROJECT ! I actually like Butcher & Blade. Where the fuck is the Bunny ? Why is Penelope Ford not featured at all (this is a pet peeve of mine, you have a valet/manager/second, have him/her do some thing, do some reaction shots, whatever, something, ANYTHING) ? As far as being more focused, I'm not sure I would use that word. The LFI (damn, it feels ridiculously off to write this, because this is a very famous French acronym) vignettes were kinda cool (not great, too rushed, no pun intended, like all their vignettes are) and then nothing. Stu Grayson was part of the Righteous in ROH after a good angle with Dark Order, but then they show up on Dynamite and Stu isn't there and no words at all on why and where the fuck he is. Will Hobbs is kinda with or without QTV (I really like QTV btw), he vanishes, shows up part of the Don Callis family. On the other hand, there has been a very noticeable effort on more character building, and pretty cool ones for the most part. I wonder if Jimmy Jacobs has a hand in it, he join about the time Collision started, and he had been working in IMPACT for years before that, and that had been a very strong point of IMPACT.

Speaking about too much great content all the time, just got ZSJ vs Danielson, so of course gonna have ZSJ vs Ospreay, at the Copper Box no less. ZSJ and Ospreay are having a ridiculous year. In a company that has way too many titles (no, not that one, the other one), one of those should be the IWGP champ, really, instead of.... how gawwwd. SANADA has been such a complete bust as a champ. He showed up in IMPACT earlier, and he was fine, but he had less presence than 80% of the roster. Did not come off like a big deal at all. And SANADA vs EVIL at Ryogoku ? Fucking really ? Why is Yota Tsuji not the champ already ? Is SANADA really gonna main event the Dome ? NJPW has totally lost the plot. Hopefully we get Nakajima showing up and kicking SANADA in the face or something, because after a very *there* G1 Climax (although the last two days were awesome), the company is cold as hell coming off the pandemic era. Ospreay maybe leaving next year (he already feels like an AEW guy at this point) will be another blow.

Trinity has been killing it in IMPACT. She absolutely made the right choice signing with them. Sure, she would have got a whole lot more money from AEW, but she obviously wanted to be featured in a company that takes its women division super seriously and has a legit track-record at it. I wasn't overly familiar with her WWE work, but she's been so much fun. I would not be surprised if she came back to the E. after this, at the Rumble for instance, but she obviously is having the time of her life being the big fish in a small pond, but a small pond of super talents. Her vs Mickie James is quite the perfect storm for BfG, but she's still going to the UK with them, so no idea when she finishing up. Wonder what Tenille Dashwood is doing these days. Not going to Australia with WWE, that's for sure. She would be much better off coming back too. So, Mike Bailey vs Will Ospreay / Josh Alexander vs Alex Shelley at BfG. And Josh Alexander vs Will Ospreay at the tapings ? Damn IMPACT, what the hell. How am I supposed to take a break from watching this ?

This played a big part in me getting to the point of saturation. After All In, I felt I had my share. Then All Out came in, and on paper I did not feel it at all. The CM Punk firing really is what actually sparkle my interest in getting the show, and damn this was even greater than the previous week-end. From that point on, the fact it never ever stops makes i difficult to really care. And it's not like I watch any WWE either, but I do want to watch IMPACT still, because there is stuff I really enjoy about it. But things were much easier when I just had Dynamite and IMPACT and a special event every other week. Now, there's some great shows on paper nearly every week. Or at least some shows with some great wrestling on it. There's only so much of a good thing you get get. Of course some people would argue it would be time to settle back with the great matches. Except, you can't. Sure, put a bunch of useless squash matches on Dynamite and Collision, and I'll just fast-forward them to get to the good stuff anyways (hi Wardlow, I sigh a whole lot at this comeback), because it's still time given and spent, and you only have so much, even as a hardcore fan. ROH is totally missable because it's exactly this, squashes, competitive squashes and a few really good matches. Which is a shame because there's some really good stuff in there and cool shit in term of character build (the whole Athena/Billie Stark thing involving Lexie is terrific, Maria Kanellis getting talent has been really cool too). But at some point, there's just way too much content of every kind, and quality content, put out there, to watch everything. Especially when it's basically comparable content in term of presentation and production (this is another big issue with ROH, it's really sad to watch Athena or Shibata do their thing in half empty buildings because of how they tape it before/after the AEW stuff).

No shit ! And really now, give me a Youtube show "At home with Rock Hard Juice Robinson & Timeless Toni Storm". NOW. DO IT.

Sure, ratings don't matter in a context where pretty much *everything* is linked with TV right fees, that is unless you get a ridiculous contract from a streaming service... Hey, maybe this week means nothing and Copeland will end up being a ratings draw or at least a positive in term of attendance and whatnot. And good for them if that's the case. But I kinda doubt that a guy like Adam Copeland, who meant *nothing* in term of making a difference with WWE when he came back, is gonna have much effect in AEW when even CM Punk was already showing clear signs of diminishing returns, where Brian Danielson, who's much, much more in tune with AEW audience, has not made much difference either, included in his own hometown. The fact is, AEW is cold right now. And it's a vicious circle. Being cold means it's a lot harder to get something over to the point of it making a difference and warming the product again. It's even tougher when the n°1 company is hot. The signal sent by E&C ending that 4th anniversary show red like the old TNA way of thinking, not something that is gonna make AEW hot and cool again. MJF vs Jay White is thankfully the main program for the next PPV. That's the way to go, that's the one. I have enjoyed MJF on top quite a bit, he has totally overdelivered in big matches, but I would gladly switch into a direction that suits my personal tastes a bit better. Just a change of scenery and style. It's been a while now.

incidentally, ratings for Dynamite just came in. Second lowest Dynamite from 2023. Says a lot about how Youtube numbers don't mean jackshit, never had, never will. Looks like Adam Copeland is one hell of a non-draw already to the AEW audience. It's not like it's a shocker either, he made no difference whatsoever during his comeback to WWE. AEW is doing fine. Not great, but fine, in term of TV ratings and PPV buys. Be AEW. Don't be TNA nor WCW circa 1999, and everything is gonna be fine. Give AEW fans some AEW spirited content. Celebrate AEW with something that actually matters to the AEW fans. But it's too late. The angle, as fun as the final line was, reeked of TNA syndrome. The show felt very flat in term of an actual celebration of the 4th anniversary. And it bombed in the ratings, one week before what will most probably be a slaughter (I mean, WWE are piling up stars to a ridiculous degree just to prove a point which doesn't even need to be made, and is even counterproductive when you think about how getting Cody was such a turnaroud in perception. The fact Jade seems to be such a big deal to them is another proof that they actually need a healthy competition much more than they need to eliminate it). Lesson learned, I sure hope.

4 years is a lifetime. 4 years is more than Nitro's reign of terror, 4 years after it began kicking the WWF's ass, Nitro was at the point they hired Vince Russo to try and save the Titanic (which was akin to hire a pyromaniac to fight a fire). 4 years is more than the entire Attitude Era. 4 years is more than ECW's peak. AEW was born out of the exhaustion of WWE's sucky, corporate, sterile style of work and booking (although a dent had been dealt from within with the NXT, which was basically WWE trying to kill the indies by co-opting the style to a degree and getting people they would never have gotten 5 years before) and the spirit of the indies, of love for lucha libre and puroresu. If you thought about how it started, you could picture what may have been the 4 year Anniversary Dynamite. And it would certainly not have been capped off by an angle between 49 years old Edge & Christian. From that perspective alone, AEW has failed. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the angle, mostly because Christian Cage is doing probably the best work of his career, and I'm intrigued about how a WWE lifer like Copeland will fit into AEW, which is a much different environment. The fact a guy who's such a product of WWE monopoly and a staple of the late Attitude and Cena era is now *somewhere else* is mind boggling on its own, it's very different from Danielson or Punk, who where products of the indies first and foremost before they became WWE stars. But still. This is where we're at right now, the alternative of WWE having its 4 years anniversary with a final segment based on Edge & Christian and not Darby Allin vs MJF for the AEW title, or Jay White vs Kenny Omega, or FTR vs Young Bucks. Nope. Edge & Christian. Anther part where AEW has totally failed to me, and I gave them the benefit of the doubt forever about it, is the fact that we're 4 years in, and there's still only ONE women segment on each show. No wonder the women division still can't seem to feel important in the grand scheme of things. This has reached a self-fulfilling prophecy level. And why is the best women performer not on EITHER big TV shows and instead kept on the useless ROH service ? Yeah, I'm taking Athena. And actually, they have been doing much better giving time and character developments to women on ROH, why can't they do this on the actual promotion that matters ? Now, I've been enjoying some of the stuff very much, like the ridiculous and awesome Toni Storm character (which is basically Goldust X Hot Mess Chelsea Green), the progress of Skye Blue and Julia Hart, but the complete lack of followup because of such ridiculous time constraints totally prevents them from getting a bigger and more over part of the show, and that sucks. IMPACT is STILL doing much, MUCH better. (BTW, where the fuck was Britt Baker ? Whatever happened to her awesome self from 2020 when she was an hilarious toxic bullying friend to Tony Schiavone and had Rebel-not-Reba as a funny sidekick ?) Of course AEW is still delivering mind-blowing PPV's and even weekly TV matches. On that front, they are the biggest success ever, and they are also the reason why WWE had to kick themselves in the ass, and although I don't watch any of their stuff (I have my limits, you see), the consensus everywhere seems like WWE has never been better in term of in-ring stuff. So yeah, 4 years in, and AEW had been my favorite promotion ever for about 2 years and a half of it, totally got me through the pandemic. Right now, it's like the best WCW-as-secondary-promotion ever or something, or TNA-if-it-was-successful. It's fine. As long as they deliver really great matches with workers I really love to watch, I'm there I guess.

You can't boo someone who's not here anyway. Because that fucker's GONE. Yeah, I know. But it feels good to say it, ya know. He's GONE.

...less is more.... video games... ok, check. Thanks, I completed my bingo for the day. Come back tomorrow with more clichés.

I mean, of course the problem was that CM Punk was an entitled shithead with a gigantic ego. But it's always fun to rant about some kind of poetic justice and the figure of a guy who postured as some kind of prophet when in the end he was a fraud and all. (and the idea that guys like Omega and the Buck need psychology lessons from anyone is absolutely laughable, they own pro-wrestling psychology)

There's something that cannot be overstated too about that little CM Punk comeback thingy. He became the cult hero of a generation in 2011 because he stood as the voice of hardcore wrestling fans tired of WWE's sterile product and Cenamania running wild. He embodied the spirit of the indie scene, of why it was not only cool but right to do things different. That's why he caught on as much as he did and why his name was chanted as a symbol of refuse at WWE shows for years when fans did not accept what the company was forcing them to gobble up. He was the outcast, the alternative. Fast forward in 2021. An entire company was built out of the spirit of the indies, of a will to build an alternative to WWE's product (which by then was already very different from what it was in 2011, but more on that later). The Elite had been the embodiement of that spirit, of why it was cool and also right to be different and do things another way, and AEW was built from that will to change, but not from within the WWE system, because everything aligned at the right time. When CM Punk gets in, with 7 years off the business to boot, people may remember him as "The Pipe bomb guy", but it's been 10 years since that time. Now he's coming as the former WWE superstar. He's representing the establishment (which is also why his hardcore fanbase has the reactionary if not plain outdated discourse they have) and he's looking down at everything his old self was supposed to represent 10 years before. That is, if he was sincere, which is another issue. The business had effectively passed him by, because the voice he carried in 2011 was useless now. It was empty. But maybe it was always empty. The cherry on the cake being the fact that at the very same time, another guy came into the company, a guy who also represented the spirit of the indies and a different way of looking, working and thinking. Only he was not performative about it, he just, well, made you feel it through his work. And HE actually made it to the very top of the WWE, he actually got put over by Trip at Mania. And he changed the way WWE looked at talent (well, not totally, as showed by the Sami Zayn booking this year, but still). And he did not came as "The guy who knows it all because he's a former WWE star". He did not had to make grand lectures about "everything he does is a love letter to professional wrestling". He just came in, worked, put people over, had terrific matches, probably the best stint of his entire career (which was supposed to be over years before, but not because he quit over not getting what he wanted, but because his body betrayed him), and had nothing bad to say about the people he worked with. Yeah, that Danielson fellow. Be wary of the people who like to say they are this and that all the time. They usually are the worst. I'd rather trust the ironics and the silents. And the true humbles.