El-P

Of course. And it says nothing about the Bloodline either, they are the biggest act in the company by far (well, with Wyatt I guess for now).

In other news, Dustin Rhodes announced on an indy show that he was gonna retire next year. Hopefully he gets some cool random matches in AEW and a nice send-off.

31% drop-off on Monday for the Bloodline segment apparently. So yeah, it's not just "who is in this segment" that matters. Agree that best out of 5 was probably enough, although I for one won't complain.

I always enjoyed E-li- Drake in IMPACT, for the time I saw in there, but I never saw him as a main event kinda guy, especially in a bigger league. Good for him though. The guy is 40 years old, so I guess now or never. It's crazy how growing his hair back makes him look that much less menacing. I heard he's a really nice, very friendly guy IRL, and with the hair he actually looks too much like it !

Nah. They're way too cheesy. (and that one is only making ME laugh. Just google what AOP means in French if you want)

I mean, they are legit the N°2 promotion in Japan, right ? That's unheard of. I wonder if they may be considered bigger than AAA at this point or not, which would make them the 4th company in the world, really. But at worst, they are probably top 5.

Even weirder, how does anyone even recognizes or remembers Kevin Thorn enough to spot him in a lumberjacks assembly ? I could not even spot him on WWECW once Ariel was gone. But hey, that's gonna be some fun random trivia in ten years or so, for sure.

My best guess is that he's gonna work with the NXT people and then moved to an agenting job, as he's pretty banged up. Damn, you're really not a fan a Trip's booking ! Speaking of which, who wins Booker of the Year award ? I'm pretty sure Coach TK is not gonna get it ( I mean, really now), and although most of the WWE drones would give it to Papa Trip (I fucking hate this nickname btw, it's so dumb), the reality is that WWE started its upswing during Vince's last few months. From there they got the momentum. Sure, Trip is gonna get the praise for the Bray Wyatt comeback, which has been incredibly successful thus far (then again, working against LA Knight ? A guy whom, like Kross, was never even a main event guy in IMPACT, ponder that for a moment), but I'm not sure how much of his is the Bloodline storyline (and how much is Heyman's, how much was Vince's). He probably wins it anyway, because of the success of the company. Gedo sure ain't winning. I would give it to Scott D'Amore, without hesitation. (hey, maybe Billy Corgan, for his brillant take on pro-wresting in 2022)

Yep. I'm still on the fence with MJF not going full babyface. I feel the crowd wasn't that hot for or against him this week. Same thing with Jaimie Hayter. It feels like they should have hit the mark of her split with Baker a while ago, and although she did get a big pop winning the title and they are clearly working toward the eventual split, we really are going at a snail pace again. Next PPV is March, seems way too far to extend this stuff until then. There's a risk of cooling down Jaimie in the meantime if they don't work hot angles with her and Baker going at it. Almost forgot, there is a subtle tease of Ortiz joining the House of Black, and honestly it would not be the worst idea. He's completely lost in the shuffle, and his aesthetics and style could fit right in (he loves to wear the death mask kinda paint). I sure hope we get that HoB vs Elite feud, as those trios matches would be killers again.

Sounds awesome indeed. Gotta love that IMPACT actually murderer Eric Young on his way out. That they carry the spirit of Lucha Underground is one thing I really enjoy about IMPACT. You just don't leave the territory doing jobs, you get fucking murdered. That's the spirit. Deonna vs Mickie this week. Holy hell. That Mickie Last Rodeo angle is maybe my favorite thing going on.

This. Eric Young just had a few excellent years in IMPACT, with a bunch of legit great matches under his belt. He's absolutely the kind of guy you want in any kind of roster. Like Tony Neese or QT Marshall in AEW btw. Same deal, although Young is even better in that he actually has big matches (in small ponds, but nonetheless) experiences.

I would not be surprised if Eric Young ended up working as an agent. He's pretty banged up. He had a really good last stint in IMPACT, I enjoyed him a lot there. His match with Josh Alexander at Slammiversary was awesome. Good for him I guess. The thing with Levesque bringing freaking everybody back, is that at one point, in an already overloaded roster, not even counting all the new NXT people coming up, you'll end up in the same exact situation as before, as there is even less potential top spot in WWE as there is in AEW. Will people be used better in term of what their strenghts are ? Possibly maybe. Then again, he's giving chances to guys like Kross & Knight, who are not exactly world beaters and are also of a specific body type. I wonder if he'll get ECIII back too, who always seemed to be built for WWE. If he wanted to correct Vince's wrongdoings, he should also sign Taya & Johnny Insertyourname back. Has Emma done anything since she came back ?

With Hangman Page showing up out of nowhere and slapping the fuck out of Mox, Danielson vs Dax, AR Fox vs Joe, that MJF shocking ending angle (wasn't to big on the overstatements about WWE, this is getting quite awkward), Willow having a really fun match with Anna (the best she's looked in a while, cool), the awesome main event, that was one hell of an episode of Dynamite. Well, that Cargill/Bow Wow stuff died more death that Mil Muertes, that was just terrible. Which also means that ratings don't mean shit in term of quality. Rampage had some puzzling stuff, I really don't get why Kole Carter is on my TV, he's a mid-as-hell NXT reject, Double J was fine for a special match, but as a weekly TV worker, yikes (Sonjay Dutt does crack me up every week tough). The Acclaimed segment was really good (enjoyed the Balenciaga dig, they deserve all the shit in the world), Athena killing bitches is terrific (I love Athena, she's got that crispness and explosivity about her, a heel role fits her quite well) and the main event was super fun, as QT Marshall knows precisely what his role is and always delivers, and the entire Orange/Best Friends/Danhausen unite works perfectly in that setting. Kip Sabian next, well, if he can't have a fun match with Orange right now, then he's a lost cause. The Regal deal is interesting. I wonder what TK could get out of letting him go back that early. It's obvious Triple H wants *everybody* back from his old NXT crew, he's bringing back Eric Young too. I agree with @Jmare007 when he says Regal has been underwhelming as the manager of the BCC. Not exactly DiBiase as the NWO money man, as he did cut a few great promos and had a few shining moments, but overall, it was never clear what his aim was. Not entirely his fault, but his presence on camera in AEW really did not add that much. Backstage is another thing. Then again, he was signed as a talent, not talent relation. It was obvious the minute Lesveque got in power that Regal would be back, only not that soon (if he indeed leaves soon). With Dax interview last week, it's interesting too as obviously FTR as much bigger now than they ever were in WWE, and if they were to go back, they maybe would get the Cody reactions. Booking wise, tag teams in WWE, they have no shot of having the same kind of matches they have with AEW. The idea of doing a year of indies is intriguing, and really that's what they said they were gonna do after leaving WWE (I remember they had a list of dream matches all over the places), then they signed with AEW just a few weeks after anyway.

Iron cross lover (yeah, I know, Motörhead) Triple H sure seems to be loving those celtic and norske neo-pagan characters lately. How long before we see some Schwarze Sonne on someone's outfit...

In the 80's, it was pretty much enough. I mean, look at the guys who were sold as "heartthrobs"...

More than when he actually calls matches he doesn't understand ? I for one am glad to see JR phased down. He's got a drunken Gordon Solie in 1990 vibe.

I'm sure Tyrus is a smart guy. Like Val Venis. Or Kane. This kind of "smart". Not the first time Foley has some cringe takes about "one of the boys". As far as Conrad goes, the guy has been exposed a long time ago as a carny mofo who will defend anything in case he'll have to work with them. And everybody knows what "non-political" means.

The fact it wasn't because she requested Kendrick makes it even stupider. I guess after that shit show that was the match from all accounts, the guys is not gonna be rehired anyway. Also, it kinda puzzles me when I hear that matches have TWO agents working on them. I mean, really now ? Talk about ridiculous micro-management. When results are as bad it this one to boot, it says a lot about how off we can be in term of judging workers. Some of them surely benefit greatly from having super smart people laying out everything for them in advance. Others, I guess not so much.

The story of AEW, really, since the beginning. Speaking of which, apparently Full Gear did more or less the same number of buys as All Out did. A little less, obviously, but pretty much in the same ballpark. If that's so, oh well...

Agreeing with Disco Inferno. Talk about a moment of self-own. This guy is an executive in WWE. I'm sure he's another one glad to see Kendrick back too.

Xi Jinping, more likely.

Masha & Grace had another killer match at the last IMPACT + special. Kaz vs Alexander was excellent too. The post-match angle was super well executed, although the "hostage taking" at the very end was a bit much. I mean, where was the security ? Bully Ray is fine for a short time. Not sure I want him as the next champ though, although a shorter reign with him losing at Slammiversary could work. Still one hell of a promo/angle worker. Also, I'm so glad they are bringing Throwback Throwdown back. A good fun way to end the year. I honestly look forward to to this more than anything else until the Tokyo Dome.

Well, the quite tedious reactions to this show shows how afar I am from the companies aesthetics, because apparently apart from the expectedly great Sami Uso storyline, there was nothing much in term of quality in this one. And really now, Plundergames don't sound any fun, especially when in fact, the Blood & Guts matches in AEW were not exactly the most successful nor enjoyable big gimmick match they did either , actually they noticeably were some of my least favorites. I guess I shouldn't even bother to press the "cognitive dissonance" button for this one and wait for the Rumble which... WHAT THE FUCK ? KKKanye West at Mania confirmed. Gotta love Lesveque's answer to the question about where they want to go next, and he says everywhere, as they look forward to sit down with local governments. Yep. We've seen that, we've seen that...

The first actual Lesveque Big Four (SummerSlam was the last Vince's booked big show). That's quite interesting that there is none of the traditional Survivor Series match but instead two Wargames matches, which Vince would never use on the main roster. Needless to say that if Cody had not been injured, it would be a cryfest about his father and such. Next year I guess. I'm only following from afar, but judging from what I know, on paper it looks like quite a strong card. I wonder if they'll do blood & guts (if Cody was not injured.... yeah, he would cry, but he would probably want to bleed several buckets too). First year I watched an entire Survivor Series was thirty years ago. Man... High Energy vs HeadShrinkers. Simpler times for sure. Back then a Berzerker was only that, a goof in a viking costume and furry boots, now you know it's actually MAGA Valkyrie and such. Ignorance is bliss, in a way.

I would have said rather late 1998 WCW. Which... is not as positive (despite me loving some of the stuff still, obviously). The elephant in the room is ROH. Either TK can get the ROH stuff its own show and they can focus on this over there (won't mean I'll watch it though, Rampage is such an afterthought already) either this needs to be downplayed big time anyway on the AEW TV. Of course the injuries and drama have hurt the booking a lot, but if I can pinpoint a moment where things really got unfocused, it's when ROH stuff began taking way too much space in a company that already had trouble making all its titles important (and that was before the All Pacific even existed). There was a FTR vs Top Flight match in Rampage for the ROH titles, and it was just there, not even that good really. Then Athena cut that scathing promo on Mercedes Martinez, the ROH woman champion, like there was some actual issue there, when in fact no one cares about that title and Martinez has never been over the rare time she's been on TV. And don't get me started on the Gates of Agony or something. Buying the ROH library was cool and all. The first ROH PPV was cool. But to me it has really diluted the product and distracted the booking, which was never the most focused to begin with.