El-P

If that happens, let me grab a beer and a bag of chips and chill out while I'm watching the world explode. Between the super-über-hardcore Punk fanboys, the irrational haters of Jericho (yeah, sorry, but it has reach a point of comedic ridiculousness), the incoming shooty-shooty promos, the crappy social media games, Sammy Guevarra in the locker room being his own self, Dax Harwood being Dax Harwood, CM Punk always on the verge of CM Punking the thing, Jericho pulling strings left and right, holy shit if that's not at the very least stupidly entertaining, I dunno what will. This. And also, if the thing implodes, at least the damage will be somewhat contained. Meanwhile, The Elite will keep on having fun just having great matches with whoever comes around without the everlasting incoming drama. I just hope this is not gonna hurt AEW in the long run like I said. And if they manage to stay all pro and make the best out of it, everybody wins. Well, except Dax, who'll manage to bitch about something, anything, probably.

Clark Connors getting in the BC is pretty decent, and hopefully he loses those diapers looking tights, but Dave Finlay is nowhere near close any of the former BC leader, neither as a worker neither as a character neither as a potential main event guy. And yeah, Despi vs Ishii was awesome, how shocking. I have no idea how Ishii still goes like this. KENTA vs Edwards was also the best KENTA match in eons, which, as an IMPACT followers is not exactly a surprise, Eddie is just that good and there was a cool little dynamic as they crossed before in Japan when Eddie was a young boy. The three-way main event was great too, the brunt of the match carried by MCMG vs Aussie Open with Okada being lots of fun in this context too. There's this spot where he kicks Davies head from behind, once, not sold, then twice, and Davies retaliates by blasting the fuck out of Okada with a chop, masterfully sold. Tanahashi looks rough though. But he's still Tana, so he makes up for it. Maybe he'll end up like Mutoh, retiring at 62. Aussie winning, so there are your new belt collectors (there was an FTR chant during the post-match promo) and them probably having a tag title match with Tana & Okada at Dontaku now is quite the sign NJPW is going full bore with them, which is deserved. They clearly are the best tag team in the world right now. Undercard had some fun stuff like the multi-men opener and ZSJ vs Tom Lawlor. And SANADA looks... kinda... not like the World Champ caliber guy he should be. Yeah, I'll give it time, but it's obvious when he's facing Naito and Hiromu than he's just not from the same cloth.

I just checked it out. The irony is so strong. Guess what his last posts were about ? You'd never know. How CM Punk is impossible to work with and how he's never taking responsibility. (and called him a sociopath too) I guess, la boucle est bouclée...

You mean like Eddie Carpentier and Antonino Rocca ? Yeah, agreed. Those guys are ruining the business, their stuff looks ridiculous and contrived. Pro-wrestling was so much better before the war, honestly. Now it's all gymnastics and stupid comedy. Hell, even that Lou Thesz guy is doing too much goofy maneurisms that totally kills his supposed credibility, he's good technically but he acts like a clown too much at times, it's impossible to maintain suspension of disbelief. By that rate, in a few years people are gonna kick out of bodyslams, totally exposing the business. Pro-wrestling is a dying art, I'm telling you.

Some really good stuff on the NJPW show from Washington. I'll let you guess what is what... In others news though, with David Finlay having his own Rebel Club inside the Bullet Club, they've reached the nWo spilt era, except both are nWo Black & White under Stevie Ray.

Über patronizing tone aside (Acrobat #512 ? Really now ? Sounds like Larry Zbysko failing to put over Rey Jr. on commentary in 1996), Vikingo has been talked about for years now as his generation new prodigal son. Also "pure lucha" doesn't exist, apart in the mind of gatekeepers (and oh boy lucha libre sure has had a shitload of them over the years, and no, I won't say no more about this). And to get back to the point I made a few pages ago, I dunno what happened, people are either way to spoiled or way too grumpy these days, but the mere fact Jay White vs Komander even happens would have been like "HOLY FUCK THIS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER" 25 years ago if it happened on Thunder. I have no idea how anyone can actually bitch about something like this... I don't even expect anything particulary great (and who knows, maybe it will be, never doubt Jay White), as you can't ask for much more of a clash of style. I dunno, it's just... fun, that it happens and that I get to see it.

Of course it does. He gets over because of how he works. The hype about Komander was always "the guy who does crazy shit and runs the ropes". If he's you're average luchador, he's not getting over like he does and he's not getting booked like he is. Of course not. That would be useless for everyone. Jay White is not a "squash a guy in three minute" (hell, that's even the opposite of what he is). And Komander could neither shine nor learn anything from this, plus he's already been established as someone as opposed to a jobber (going toe to toe with Vikingo, who pushed Omega super hard). No one really showcase their abilities. That would make no sense at all. Plus, if you need a jobber, Silas Young is right there (yeah, I'm being sarcastic and did not get that one at all either).

There's also something about Kommander, he's still very green in singles matches despite starting a decade ago (yeah, when he was 12, crazy lucha libre culture). His stuff is easier to plug in when he's in a multi-men clusterfuck of crazy highspots. And really now, as much as I love Vikingo's stuff, with all the stuff I've seen from him lately, there's a HUGE difference between the match he had with Omega, and everything else. Guess why... Not to say Vikingo is not great at what he does, but he's very much a modern AAA spectacle guy. What he does is just insane, but if you don't enjoy this style of matches (which yes, often come off like a collection of great, insane spots, and why not really ?), well. That being said, I know by experience that this is the easiest stuff to show non pro-wrestling fans so that they have a blast. In essence, this is also why lucha libre is the most popular, in the true essence of the word, style of pro-wrestling (Arena Mexico becoming a tourist destination being another example).

Watch the crowd react. Any crowd he's in front of in. That's why. And to extrapolate on very concrete reasons. Komander is a 24 years old luchador with no lucha ascendance. He's getting booking on big US indies, he was all over the place during Mania week-end. He got on the latest ROH PPV. He's getting on the second biggest pro-wrestling company in the world national TV programs, in big matches (Jay White next week). And he's gonna be in the main event of AAA's Triplemania tomorrow. That's why. He's getting over, he's getting paid, he's getting famous. So, people having to wait a little bit more (and really, not that much more than your standard lucha spot dive sequence) to catch him really doesn't weigh a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.

Yeah, absolutely great stuff. So many great details like the visuals of the empty arena, the hat casting a shadow over her face, Jordynne & Deonna watching from the control room. IMPACT are just masterful at producing these (in a completely different style and mood, the PCO/Eddie Edwards vignettes have been terrific too). And Mickie James being her amazing self in term of promo and presenting herself.

Yeah, Tony Neese is actually awesome. He absolutely found his footing and role and delivers everytime, against everyone he's being put against. He's such a pleasure to watch. And I never want to hear he's got no charisma, because he found his own now. He's like the greatest Barry Horowitz ever (as opposed to the greatest Tim Horner ever). Also, I love everything about The Righteous (I already watched and enjoyed Vincent for a year in IMPACT, and had seen a little bit of them in ROH before). They basically are the Wyatt Family done right, with one member being John Goodman.

No one will stop watching AEW because Punk is on TV, let's be serious now. This is all an inside-the-bubble drama. At worst, he'll get the Cody treatment while trying to be a babyface. Which I'm sure he would react in the most professional and thought out way imaginable.

Totally agree. Things like this are why IMPACT is such an enjoyable week-to-week show to watch, despite the fact you don't get the same level of matches than you would on AEW (although they really have some killer matches too). They have a great attention to details. They have been given a really shitty hand losing both their long-time champs to injuries at the same time, and they managed to make the absolute best out of it thus far just in term of presentation. Which is why I'm confident they'll make it compelling whenever Mickie & Josh are ready to come back.

Brand split in general has always been a terrible idea and it stinks of WWE reference. For that reason only, it should not be done, at all, ever. Brand split to avoid backstage drama is basically admitting you can't manage the locker room. No upside at all whatsoever. Adding a third show is good in the sense of how it speaks of their relationship with WBD. As a viewer, Rampage is already highly missable (this week, Shawn Spears in the main event, tell me you don't give a flying fuck about this show without telling me you don't give a flying fuck about this show) although mostly enjoyable. Adding a third show, if it's just yet another show taped alongside Rampage/Dynamite/ROH/Dark, with the same aesthetics and same feel, as much as I enjoy the promotion, it's like whatever to me. I don't even check out Dark at all anymore, haven't for a long while. Or do a women only show, that would be different. They badly need some TV and in-ring time, and when they only get one segment on Dynamite, they really come off as "the obligatory women segment" some weeks (like this week). The contrast is really striking with IMPACT for instance, when sometimes back to back women matches don't even seem odd, it's just part of the normal flow of the show, some matches are males, some are females. There's one thing that should go away actually, it's the term "division". In any sport, there's no "women division". There is the male and the female competitions and that's it. The champ should be called the World Champ, not Women World Champ (or also use the term Men World Champ then). A detail, but I've been thinking about that lately, as I find kinda lame angles and promos focusing on "I built that division, I came here to save that division, This is MY division etc", it's like the women's division is an issue in itself instead of just being, well, the simple context in which matches are disputed aka women fighting instead of men. It's not a stylistic matter like the X-division in IMPACT, which warrants its name because it's divided from the main men's competition because of its style. It kinda reduces the scale of angles they do with the women, because all is often about "the division" in itself. Anywoo, just rambling about semantics, really.

CM Punk is gonna be a diminishing return fast in term of ratings. He already was before he was gone. Not a factor enough to warrant such dramas. As a fan, would I enjoy some more CM Punk promos and matches ? Sure. A whole lot too. As someone who cares about having a healthy alternative to WWE, I just hope bringing CM Punk back is not gonna end in more drama that will hurt the company in the long run. Again. As far as a separate show just for the Punk crew, it sounds like a terrible idea. Like tribalism between the audiences of companies isn't bad enough, the last thing you need is creating tribalism inside your own audience and split it into factions. It can only lead to more bullshit and annoyance.

Considering they have a lot less hype, don't do as good numbers and don't sell as many seats as they were when The Elite was on top, that's a really odd one to argue. And yeah, this. I had not thought about that one. Fénix & Penta aren't AAA talent though, so maybe there's a way around it. But yeah, that kinda sucks, especially since Vikingo really is the only AAA guy they would really want, whereas there is a number of NJPW workers that could mean something for big dream matches. Not to mention the Moné connection which hopefully hapens. This and this. 1000%

Orange Cassidy is the best active (by that I mean, having matches regularly, not on PPV every other month) champion in wrestling right now, as demonstrated by yet another terrific match with Buddy "Omegawish" Matthews. Give Julia Hart more to do. Bring Shane Douglas to teach these people on how to make the most out of valet at ringside (and that's including the TV directing, it's like the outside of the ring people never get any TV time at all during the matches, if they don't, then don't bring them out if they don't get showcased a little bit, even efficient reaction shots would be beneficial to sell some stuff that's happening, that's the basics, really, without going into interferences and such). Athena is the best active champion too. She's just been a total treasure on ROH. That Ashley d'Amboise girl, who has been seen on IMPACT before, did quite a good job getting bitched around too, hopefully I get more of her, either in AEW/ROH or back in IMPACT (they signed Kilynn King and made her a tag champ after all). Although the "La creme de la creme" signature on her Insta is the living proof the French stuff is just gimmick (yeah, we don't use that wording, like, ever), but it's kinda cool nonetheless. Also on ROH, Claudio vs Metalik was the equivalent of, I dunno, Chris Benoit vs VIllano IV having a kick-ass match for the TV title on the main event of Thunder, so it ruled like that. Wardlow destroying a car was lame as fuck though. So RAW 1999. Stop doing lame WWE shit on my AEW TV, come on now, you're way better than this.

Like I said before... Meanwhile, I just witnessed Katsuyori Shibata punch JD Drake in the face. Yeah, that's right. That's the WCW spirit of old. Or maybe, WAR. What's not to love ? Back in my days (here I go talking like the soon 50 years old asshole I'm soon gonna be, well "hopefully") Shibata punching JD Drake in the face would have been a highlight of some reviews that would have made me wanna buy some tape for 25$, then wait 6 weeks for it to get there. Now I get to see it almost as it happens. SHIBATA ! Punching JD Drake in the face. In 2023. In some secondary US promotion. But hey, who cares, TWITTER DRAMA ! Yeah, Mox is so right, on SO MANY LEVELS~.

I mean, it better not look like some of those mid-00's January 4th NJPW Dome show for sure, those were really sad to watch. I'm pretty confident it won't about though. Well, I hope.

I really wasn't referring to what you were saying specifically, but rather the inevitable bad faith and goal post moving that's gonna happen, whatever number they end up doing. Pro-wrestling has a long history of very large crowds in half-empty stadiums considered as big time success (because they were financially speaking and in term of presenting something that looks big). I just hope they get pointers from the NOAH Dome show as opposed to WWE's presentation (which is out of reach anyway in term of cost, most probably).

While I'm at it, please can I get Mercedes Moné vs Jaimie Hayter at Wembley ? Thanks in advance.

He had one of the greatest matches ever at WK a few months ago against Ospreay, and in term of intensity it was on a totally different level than most guys. He said afterward that it showed him he wasn't back 100% like he thought he was (which is mind blowing when you watch him work, really). But it's nothing comparable with Punk, who was off for 7 years and his coming back at 43 and got injured twice in a row in big matches. I doubt Omega is gonna work for another ten years though, especially at that level.

The point is not about him thinking the same way or not, that's pretty irrelevant. The point is Cash being smart enough to not expose himself as a never-ending drama king double-talk annoyance.

Damn, Mickie James had to relinquish her title too. Well, at least they have a compelling story built-in for their two former world champs when they come back, but for Mickie especially this is too bad, after the super well done Last Rodeo angle and a build toward I guess Deonna as a babyface finally getting her title back by defeating the one who ended her reign.

So, apparently the Marty Jannetty episode is completely insane. I am not surprised.