El-P

Gimme Naito vs Mistico on a Friday at Arena Mexico instead !

Even if you ignore (and you should absolutely not) everything about that company and those people and pretend there's nothing there, and look at it from a Pro-Wrestling ONLY point of view, Triple H had been exposed as a booker before going back to the Black and Gold days. Again and again it has to be said : The Bloodline and Cody winning the World Title jumpstarted the hot period under Vince. Levesque just inherited the whole thing, like he inherited his spot on the company's hierarchy by marrying the boss daughter. He was never that good of a worker, he was never that big of a star, he's not that good of a booker either (the whole goal of Unreal being to make it seems like he is, which is completely hilarious). He's also a failure as a human being, but that's another story. But Triple H is, and has always been, a fraud that got where he got by being a political animal. He's nowhere near as smart as people give him credit to be, as demonstrated time after time after time. That entire John Cena heel turn thingy has been fucking laughable.

Yeah, maybe I'll catch up a bit the last week by watching some Taichi, ZSJ, Takagi & Takeshita matches, for sure. Maybe some Tanahashi too, although I'm afraid this would be a bit sad. Naito leaving certainly left them in the dust. The fact he and Bushi had their first match post NJ at RevPro the other week is both puzzling and so Naito, in essence. (I mean, how much was he paid to work a RevPro match ?)

Not really. Because I only ever take bets I'm sure I'm gonna win (yeah, not a betting man at all). The eventuality it would *not* happen would indeed be, at this point, a hot take. This is the level of idiocracy and repugnancy WWE has reached (well, one could argue it actually *always was* the case, since day one Junior took over). Basically a sewer. It kinda is fascinating though, for all the wrong reasons. (I mean, you meant getting back on TV, not killing some innocent victim with his car., right ? Hopefully the latest doesn't happen at all. Well, he could still do *both* ya know, Nick Hogan did got cheered too (because it really is the gift that keeps on giving, therefore one shall deliver))

Great essay by Allan-@cheapshot https://substack.com/inbox/post/170071008?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3wjd8g&triedRedirect=true

As soon as they "legally can", they'll bring back Vince's carcass in front of a camera (if he doesn't kill himself and some poor schmuck with his car before that). And he'll be cheered. You can quote me.

In a few years when people will look back at the infamous Cody win at Mania and the discourse about "the bad guy is out, this is a completely new era now !", it' gonna be so hilarious/embarrassing in retrospect. (I mean, it was already embarrassing when it happened to anyone actually paying attention to that post-match display, but with the benefit of hindsight, holy hell 😂)

That's not what people very knowledgeable about lucha libre are telling. He's the biggest star in AAA. There are apparently people (including talents) in WWE pushing to use him (in the main roster I mean, because that's how it goes, AAA is just NXT Mexico already). At this point, why would they even bother not to ? The AAA fans love him, at the very least. Yep, there's no such things as "casual fans" anymore. Especially not as *those* ticket prices especially. Because they are complete hypocrites. The (alive) Hogan and Trump boos are performative bullshit so they can feel better about themselves while financially supporting a company that enables fascism and rape culture. And the parasocial relationship WWE fans have with Triple H is something out of a cult. Not paying attention is on them. "Oh, I wasn't aware they were actively supporting fascism, I didn't pay attention, I just focused on the awesome pSYChoLoGY". Fuck this shit and fuck these people, seriously. That joke isn't funny anymore (hasn't been in a long ass time, but since Trump got in office again, they totally dropped the mask, so it's on the audience which is still choosing to support it). (the fact they brought Brock back just a few weeks after Evolution is fucking amazing too)

For the record :

But... but they booed Trump on day 1, so it's okay, right ?..... With Linda backstage, SummerSlam was sex trafficking Mania "Uh.... uh.... just enjoy the show and uh... look at the attendance." Oh, wait, can't do that one anymore because they don't do "presser" anymore. I wonder why... could it be because... Honestly, when I looked out for the news this morning, the *last* thing on my mind was Brock Lesnar coming back. The fact he got a huge pop says everything you need to know about people who attend WWE events today. I have zero doubt if Vince would show up, he would get an ovation. The smell of this audience, I swear... With the serious talk that Alberto del Rio is absolutely not gonna be gone from AAA, there you go. Fascists, rapists and sex traffickers. That's your company. That's your "New era". The rest is completely irrelevant. "The Harvey Weinstein of Professional Wrestling" punchline almost looks tame today.

WWE audience sure showed 'em that doesn't work for them brutha ! After paying 200$ at least to attend the MAGA show because after all, Papa Trip is cooking or something. This is way past being delusional into being full fledge performative. They totally deserve CM Punk as their world champ... oh, wait, shit.

Let's be real though. Hangman vs Briscoe is not a PPV world title match. Because there's zero chance Briscoe is winning. He does not have the credibility, even if he beats MJF next week. That would be a great TV world title match for sure. Also, with Dustin being written off for the time being (and really, at 56, can he get back from *this* match ?), hopefully we can end the ridiculousness of he Von Erich holding those ROH trios titles (and really, those titles themselves) after being gone for ever and only showing back up for the Texas shows ? Also, poor Sammy though. I'm guessing they do another tag tournament culminating at Death Before Dishonor in late August. Gotta say something about the women lately. They really have been kicking up a notch on all these TV matches. Not sure where this is leading to, but it has to lead somewhere. Some already are asking for a Blood and Guts match.

😂 (just there to support her son-in-law)

I saw a Youtube link but it was members only, and I can't seem to find it again on the promotion's page. But it sure is somewhere. They sure did a tremendous slow build during that Chicago residency toward an incredible last week. Both Mox vs Hangman and Dustin vs Kyle were great matches that did the unthinkable in making the crowd actually think Mox was gonna win again and Dustin was gonna keep the title, when there was really no chance of either happening. I will miss that funky old ballroom. Hopefully they go back. Can't wait until the 2300 residency (apparently they are gonna recreate the old entrance) Hearing this old WCW early 90's cheese theme song was something. The Young Bucks getting no entrance and empty graphics is hilarious. They are just the best. And yeah, they made the Outrunners look ten times better than they actually are, as expected. I would totally have Briscoe defeat MJF. But I don't think it's happening sadly. At best I can see MJF using his contract to turn it into a three-way (which would mean Briscoe still losing in the end). Briscoe needs *that* big win, somewhere. Dunno where and what it consists of. Maybe the C2 this year ? Forbidden Door already has some great stuff lined up. But it's not very ForbiddenDoorish thus far. Like, at all. The G1 running during the build totally hurt the interpromotional aspect of it, which honestly has lost quite of bit of its luster for obvious reasons. In the end I guess there will still be some cool match-up plus the London crowd will be molten (ZSJ has to be there, right ?). Hopefully a Micheal Oku match somewhere (give him a dual contract too) and a Syuri match (Mercedes ?).

It just occurred to me that you just described every Joe Hendry match ever. The one thing that will change comparatively to the previous generations, is that now most wrestlers are actual wrestling fans (well, apart from the wannabee influencers, but that's for another discussions) . That and the fact popular culture now is basically geek culture, and geek culture is a lot based around references. Add the fact everything is available in one click, there might be a different approach than the different generations in term of picking up stuff from the past and making it compatible with the never stoping evolution of the craft (honestly that's what happened with guys like FTR, really, who are two millenials wrestling geeks who just fancied themselves as Arn/Tully/MX while not putting on a retro style show and totally adapting to their own time, so basically we've already seen that starting with the 2010's generation, the first who really benefitted of the Internet as a direct ressource, as opposed to being forced to buy and trade tapes). I for one can't wait to see how the generation raised on being able to watch *everything* thanks to quality streaming will produce. See ya in 10 years !

To keep on with the zombi analogy, Cornette really is the patient zero of toxic podcast host nurturing a crowd of hating sycophants. Meanwhile, this :

I believe that has been debunked as someone which "looks like" Ghislaine Maxwell. Which really doesn't change much considering Trump is probably on the list. And well, the ringboy lawsuit still going on. As far as Levesque goes, the more time passes, the more the iron cross thingy on his trunk looks less like "I was a fan of Motörhead" and more like, ya know, something else. The fact a career steroid stuffed 50 years former pro-wrestler who already had a heart attack is invited to the White House to "make America healthy again" would be fucking hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.

They already are passé and have been for a long time. Even a guy like Dax Harwood who says he's influenced by Bret doesn't work remotely like Bret apart from a spot here and there. The current generation is already mostly influenced by the 00's generation (Styles, Lethal, MCMG, Angle, Orton, Hardies, KENTA, Marufuji and so on). The younger guys are already influenced by the current/2010 generation of the Bucks, Omega, Ospreay, Ricochet, Swerve. And so one. As it should.

But, but ! Sami Zayn said the company was apolitical ! But... but... why talk about politics. This is not about politics at all this is all about entertainment (he actually said that too just after praising Trump, including for his instinct and ability to recognize when he's wrong, which is, OM fucking G) and... uh.... enjoy the show... we're telling stories... uh... uh... The fact he actually did the water spit in front of the White House. I have no words. Well, I do have words, but... Also this : Seriously, Paul Levesque is actually dumb as a brick. Also this : (look at this Ken Doll motherfucker with his hideous american flag socks getting a happy ending from a pseudo interviewer joking around how talking about Vince the Rapist is not even worth it) But... uh... uh... just enjoy .... uh... the show and... uh...

Yeah, they have so much depth it's ridiculous. After All In I'm kinda cutting back on pro-wrestling, as I'm feeling that sensation of being "content" with what I just had, I'm not even watching the G1 this year (thus far, and I doubt I will), but CMLL really is the easiest and most fun/satisfying wrestling product you can watch right now.

And so they had yet another Hogan tribute on Raw. But apparently, Brooke didn't get any invite to pay hommage to her father. Nick the Killer did (he's involved in Real American Beer too), but not Brooke. No further comment. This entire "Hulk Hogan is dead" sequence says *so much* about so many things in pro-wrestling.

Title says it all : Gotta love the wrestling nerd in her that makes her fly to some independent show in Poland because she wants to have a match with an indie worker she likes. (and take another belt in the process of course. Ultimo Dragon would be proud)

It's crazy how people who where considered "small" in WWE in the 90's weren't small at all. Even the Hardy Boys. Look at them next to the MCMG, the Rascalz or the Young Bucks. They are much bigger. The size difference between Japan and the US average wrestler gets really interesting when you see a guy like Ishii in AEW, which is not exactly a land of giants. The guy looks *tiny* (and yet doesn't lose one ounce of his aura, but that's another matter).

The story is not about the singer. It's about a confirmation that Def Rebel is using AI. (although I'm guessing it was obvious to some already)

It sure was and definitely played a big part, the whole carnival thing (which came from a very exploitative and dehumanizing place). Thankfully that aspect has vanished for the most part, as the performances is what is valued in modern pro-wrestling for the most part. Which is why also, in the end, the smaller guys were the one with the most influential style worldwide as pro-wrestling matured as a craft/from of art, because they always were forced to be *good*, since they weren't pushed on size/appearance.