El-P

He regrets not having been pushed as a top guy in WWE, as he feels he could/should (and I agree). But again, that doesn't mean he would have had his best match in this context, in the end. You're reducing what you think his best match may have been by saying "I can only imagine", which shows that you are putting your *own* idea of what Raven's best match could be above what it actually could be, which is someone no one, including Raven, knows. Which is why it's a fascinating question and why I asked it on the board. In essence, I don't really care about what Raven meant for himself. The idea of a guy who never had his "best match" (putting aside like I said the obvious of a career cut short by injury, illness or death) is quite fascinating, because it goes against the very idea of rating matches in some sort of order from the best to the worst, as the top match actually still isn't the best, a best match that never actually happened.

Not really. It's a pretty deep question that goes way beyond "opportunities". As far as being able to, of course he was. Everyone can have their "best match", whatever it is for each different worker (not a matter of scale, the best match of Barry Horowitz may have happened for him, as far as we know). Regal absolutely fits the bill to me, and maybe he would even agree (considering his self-deprecating tendencies, I would not be surprised). Another one that comes to mind is Randy Orton.

Charlotte is not impressed. (and yeah, of course)

Well, considering she wants to go back to Japan, not sure there's any money to be thrown. HOWEVER, I absolutely talk to Rossy Ogawa about bringing her (as I expect she would sign back with Stardom) and/or KAIRI to do shots in AEW.

There's no other promotion that you could do it with that reaches the US audience. And even then, Meltz reported that the audience of the last two PPVs were very different, not overlapping as much as you'd think. A lot of people who did not buy Double or Nothing bought Forbidden Doors because of NJPW. And a part of the audience who did not buy it gave the reasons that they don't watch NJPW and this is minor league stuff. So, it's a bit more complicated (and interesting). FWIW I don't want AEW to run more PPVs a year. I'm fine with 4 + a special NJPW joint show.

They absolutely have to do another one next year, and this time hopefully it won't be snakebit by injuries. Plus, there is a precedent established of a great show now, which should help the perception, as would NJPW guys popping up from time to time on AEW TV, making them more familiar faces. Considering all the negativity leading up to it, pretty good result indeed.

Watched the promo. Don't see anything wrong with it. Stiff but to the point. But hey, if people aren't satisfied with Ronda's social game, WWE signed former MMA star (I guess, I dunno, I don't watch it) Valerie Loureda. And judging from that video where she is already whining about people "not knowing her story" and "just being a girl with a dream" who "has trained every day of her life" in the most cringe way imaginable, all the while already throwing some WWE corporate love, well, I hope they train her to be a heel from the get go. I dunno. Social media, influencers and this kinda shit has really damaged people's mindset.... I wonder if in ten years WWE will basically be a bunch of influensports-entertainers (I should copyright this shit right now).

I was listening to a recent Raven interview (after seeing him popping up on IMPACT) and he made quite an interesting comment about his own career : "I never had my best match". Which of course can seem absurd since de facto, one of his matches had to be the best of all the matches he worked. But what he means is that he never had the best match he potentially could have had. And that's quite a thing to say I thought, in a time where everything is deemed GOAT every two seconds. And so I was thinking, who are other pro-wrestlers who "never had their best match" ? I can think of many for obvious reasons (died too early or having way too much health/addiction issues), but as far as guys with an entire, well rounded, life-long career, this becomes a much deeper question.

Oh yes please ! Tay Conti is another one who would benefit from a Japanese trip. Plus she wants to do it. Also, isn't this the greatest pic ?

I guess you haven't read a lot of my posting then, since I made very clear 2021 was the peak of AEW to me thus far (basically the reign of terror of Omega & The Bucks), certainly not this years weekly TV. I always loved Orange Cassidy, as soon as I saw his indie stuff which legit killed me. I have enjoyed Danhausen to some degree, but he's way more hit and miss, and inside the ring thus far he's not doing anything that special to me, including in term of funny/bizarre. The Acclaimed, well, there's our disagreement. Max Caster is an entrance. When his lines are funny, that's cool, when it's not, and I thought this week was really weak, then it's just nothing, he's a mediocre at best worker. Anthony Bowens is a terrific in-ring worker and really no different on that matter than the tons of terrific in-ring worker they have. Caster I have zero use for in a match, once his rap is done, he brings nothing to the table. I have plenty of time with modern comedic stuff, I LOVE the Young Bucks going batshit crazy with the meta-comedy, I love Orange Cassidy. I wish they would bring back Maki Itoh on a regular basis. It's really not a matter of serious vs comedy. I just thought this week was not a very good episode, the Luchasaurus squash was a waste of time and doesn't bode well for his character in the long run (he's a guy better used in tags, he's not that good of a worker otherwise, and turning him into Kane would be a terrible idea), the Jade Cargill stuff is been there done that at this point (and that's coming from a big supporter), the tag match was neither very good (with FTR involved mind you) nor very funny (apart from one cool curse spot, I don't see what Danhausen did in that match that warrants the "ah ah funny" label, he was just kinda there to me). And of course the main event was problematic for reasons stated earlier. And really, that episode was absolutely all about that main event, which really wasn't about comedy/lighthearted stuff. The rest was filler. Again, who needed a Luchasaurus squash ? I don't care if he's wearing a dark outfit now, he's the same guy we've seen for three years. We know him. Not a big fan of Christian Cage "You daddy is DEAD, I wish your family were DEAD !" stuff either. Cage as a heel works better though, it also suits his in-ring style better. Also, and although I don't mind Tay Conti running around like she does, I sure hope they don't forget she's actually a worker. She needs ring time and reducing her into a valet for Sammy would be counterproductive. I want Tay kicking people in the face, especially now she's a heel. Hopefully she does it with Soho soon and work from there.

Raven popping up on IMPACT to promote the House of Fun match made me wayyyyyyy too happy. He looks like a happy grandpa too. Still the best, better than the rest.

The gimmick drew. That's it. Also, maybe the overly positive feedback from the PPV, coupled with Claudio debuting, helped give a dynamic. As always, next weeks rating is more telling in term of what people thought of this show. By far the worst episode in a long, long time to me, I can't remember when I ended up being legit annoyed by an AEW show (really, the Orange match was cool and some moments of the Wargames match were super cool, but it was basically a really good 20 minutes match turned into a 40+ monster with a terrible finish). But hey, I do remember that godawful "MMA" cage match between Wardlow and Jake Hager doing a big ratings way back when too.

So, no Becky Lynch vs Amouranth at Mania next year ? Color me disappointed.

Unsurprisingly, Dynamite scored high. So, that gimmick is still a draw. *sigh* Maybe next try do it in 25-30 minutes and don't throw anyone from the top and keep it about guys beating the fuck out of each others and bleeding like pigs, which is enough on its own, really (speaking of which, book 2.0 again, they clearly were a highlight of the match). Probably won't happen and I'll probably be grumpy again after someone jumps on a pad outside again and they do the finish on top of the cage. Oh well. At least it's a good laugh at the face of the AEW doom&gloomers talking about how the company is dead everytime something bad happens.

Instead of having pro-wrestlers play douchebag heels, they now hire legit IRL douchebags. That's certainly a choice. But we're not into performance anymore, just into legit douchebaggery.

Sorry to be the grumpy one, but... this was *not good*. And I understand COVID fucked it up in term of who was available but... Orange Cassidy doesn't have Pixies anymore. That sucks. Match was solid. From there... awwww shit. Luchasaurus is over because is a big guy with a dinosaur mask doing cool spots. If he's not gonna do those because he's EVIL now, well, he's dead in the water. We don't need some big dude doing chokeslams, we already got a jacked up dude doing a bunch of powerbombs. Speaking of which, I don't look forward to him as a TNT champ *at all* if he doesn't show me more than he has done thus far. The Acclaimed vs The Ass Boys is the feud no one wants to see. Yeah, the whole gag about Daddy Ass is funny for a second or two, but let's put this out there : Max Caster sucks in the ring. The Gunn Club are *ok*. When you have such a roster stacked with so much ridiculous talent, I don't want to see this on my weekly TV show. And Danhausen... well he sure is over, but unlike Orange Cassidy, he hasn't shown me anything special or cool or singular in-ring. Anyway, this was the worst FTR match I've ever seen probably. Jade Cargill squashing people has jumped the shark. Need to move on now to something more interesting. Do those tags with the Baddies for a start. And yeah, send Jade to Japan on excursion so she get real good. And that Blood & Guts match... Well, I did not get my good little cage match after all, I got a totally overbooked, bloated as all hell, WAY TOO FUCKING LONG mix of TNA/WWE style match, with many cool *moments* (don't call me a killjoy either), but a ridiculous lack of pacing (seriously, the first part never ever ended, how long before each new guy entered ?). And NEVER JUMP FROM A CAGE ONTO A PAD OUTSIDE EVER AGAIN FOR FUCK'S SAKE ! I can't believe they did it again. Mick Foley really did a terrible thing 24 years ago by setting this precedent. And although it's way safer with a pad, it's still way too dangerous for a spot that NEVER EVER comes off organic anymore, hasn't in about 23 years. Anytime you got this huge cage and basically guys end up leaving it makes it stupid and contrived (not to mention all the other guys basically taking a nap in the meantime), and don't get me started on the overly "cute" finish. So yeah, tons of blood and gimmicks, but let me tell you what, Moose vs Sami Callihan at Slammiversary was about ten times better in about half the time, came off way more hate-filled and actually way more spectacular too. After the awesome NJPW joint show, that Dynamite left me super frustrated and not looking forward to next show at all. I mean, a fucking battle royal ? AGAIN ? Coach TK should really get some rest, delegate some of the booking and now you're gonna try to sell that ROH PPV at the same time using guys who aren't even on TV regularly (how many vignettes with Sonjay can we get alreay ?) ? Yeah. Not a good AEW show at all to me, although some was out of their control. Don't do Wargames match anymore. Dusty Rhodes was overrated. Stop it. And stop imitating every WWE cage match too in which people get out of the cage to jump off of it. That sucks too. Oh yeah, and to answer my own question : the answer is Santana. Doing a uranage no less. And it's not like Santana & Ortiz have been overworking and overbumping for months either. So yeah, the snake bites again.

I was about to drop "Who is gonna get hurt after Blood & Guts". Hopefully NO ONE. Count me in as part of the minority crowd who considers Wargames to be an overrated gimmick. For the small numbers of great matches (hello 1992), there has been countless "ok" to "boring" matches using more or less that formula. Hopefully they don't do a super gimmicked WWE-like fall like last time, which wasn't a very memorable match to begin with until the ending that really left me unimpressed (and no, I did not want Jericho to take a stupid unsafe bump, I just thought this whole finish was overscripted, the super safe-looking bump only made it look even lamer). All of this to say I will settle for a cool little bloody cage match, not expecting any great classic brawl (and if it ends up being one, well, I'll enjoy it even more I guess).

You realize I will never not picture you as Shark Boy now ? RAVEEEEEEENNNNNNNNN is doing a cameo on the next special show. Dunno if I'm watching it as it happens or binge watch a bunch later during the summer though, depending on whatever I do or don't do in the next few weeks. But yeah, Raven on IMPACT in 2022 (yeah, I realize he did appearances on NWA a few months back too, but I actually did not watch).

Sure. Like I said, I'm a bit sad about how the faction got put in the background. There could have been more to it with Hangman, and although they have done a little bit, me think it could have progressed into some bigger things for them for a while. I don't think it changes anything, honestly. TK is the one making the decisions. I dunno why you wouldn't renew someone like Stu Grayson especially. Untapped potential there (Anna Jay bullying him on BTE was always really funny).

CJ Perry not on that ridiculous WES show. I guess they won't get the grudge matches of all grudges matches after all. Someone else will have to get concussed by TAFKA Nia Jaxx. Also, what the hell in not going on with CYN ? Is that deal such a dated joke already ?

Sorry but not this again, bubba ! He's a guy no one even heard about before and he only got a job for like 2 years in AEW, and now he's got a little bit of name to himself and some credentials. Did not hurt anyone in the slightest, only helped him make a better living and get a better profile in the business. So yes indeed, it was a great decision, and he's probably grateful for life toward Omega. Apparently they will still book him on a date to date schedule. He's like only 24 years old too. He sure can land on the indies which a much better profile now. But yeah, like I said, kinda sad about how the whole Dark Order deal kinda went south without riding the wave of being Hangman's friends longer. Totally forgot about Preston Vance but honestly, I don't see anything special or even intriguing about this guy. He's really kinda there, especially now in this incredibly bloated roster of great talent. I would give JD Drake a push before I would #10. Probably. The sad thing is that they really did not even do anything with Jay when it happened despite them being presented as BFF. Gotta be honest though, since she came back from her long layoff, Anna Jay has not looked good. She came back worse than she was before the injury, maybe she lost the confidence she was building, but she really needs some in-ring time it seems to even get back at where she was before she left. Sure, there was the terrific garbage match with Penelope & Bunny, but that really was the exception to the rule, and the gimmick sure helped.

In other news, Alan Angels has apparently not been re-signed. The guy sure has a little name to himself now, thanks to you know who. I do find kinda sad what has happened with Dark Order since Hangman won the title, as they slowly faded away in the background into nothingness, and really only John Silver seemed to get any attention after that point. Stu Grayson really was underused considering his insane talent. I'm guessing Colt Cabana is ROH bound. Anna Jay already dressed up like her own self last time she was on TV. What an odd story this gimmick has been, from being clearly the biggest miss of the first months of AEW (including being part of the first infamous terrible angle on TV), to getting over thanks to Brody, including (and maybe most of all) during BTE skits which gave them than comedic edge, leading to guys like John Silver getting a cult following. Then Brody's passing and the unforgettable tribute show, really focusing on the group for obvious reasons. Then the Hangman storyline with them really playing a part in helping giving Hangman another layer. I dunno, it seems, especially considering the quality of workers involved, they could have done much more with the core of the group, especially Uno & Grayson. Hopefully Silver, Uno & Anna don't get completely lost in the current roster (although I don't have much faith for Uno sadly, and the guy is actually really good and unique too).

The bolded part. It's so unfair. If it was in any other entertainment or business, it would be all over the media. Good for Mario Mancini (I actually remember this guy doing jobs !). Also, he says "There's worse stuff than that." I really hope that one day, some day, everybody gets the full picture of what this dipshit really is about (not that there isn't enough out there already to get the picture). Enough of the cognitive dissonance with this family.

Kane was considered smart because he probably was reading Ayn Rand pseudo-philosophical bullshit in the locker room. At a time "the boys" were just carrying guns and doing drugs and booze and "banging rats", the stuff that gives Taker tears of nostalgia under his Blue Lives Matter cap, that sure passed for "being smart" I guess. One hell of an article about that skeleton in the closet : https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/06/vince-mcmahon-accused-of-rape-by-first-female-wwe-referee.html

This is the story of AEW this year. Have an awesome PPV. Then people bitch about the build to the next one and how it's not looking special anymore/ Have an awesome PPV. Rince, repeat. Even with this one, with the worst timing and injury piling up and guys getting on the shelves, they delivered an off the chart PPV. The crowd was one of the hottest in forever from the beginning to the end to, and that's with lots of NJPW being involved, not just the key stars (I mean, chanting for YOSHI-HASHI, really now ?). The only reservations I have is FTR not beating the champs in the three-way, which is always a cheap way to protect the champs from doing the job, and the last segment, which felt not needed and took away from the main event celebration. But apart from that, what a fucking great show. Ospreay and Orange just slayed the naysayers (I had no doubt it would be terrific, but it was even better, Ospreay really is on another planet now). I did not believe Claudio would show up so it was a terrific surprise, as was Shibata making a cameo. Jay White showed what a fucking pro he was in the main event protecting Cole too (poor guy, he really need some rest, the good thing is that if he can travel, he can still show up and keep himself over by just talking). I was so glad for PAC, if someone deserved that stupid belt it's him, he's been low-key one of the greatest worker since the start of the company. Storm vs Rosa was excellent, I never get tired of Storm killing someone with her hip attack (although it's maybe the scariest spot today honestly). Just a ridiculously great show which also demonstrate again that no, you don't need bathroom breaks matches and you can absolutely pile up great matches after great matches like NJPW used to do a few years back. The one thing also is that AEW has so much depth in term of in-ring talent (not talking about drawing cards here), even with so many key guys being out, it's like they do not bat an eye in term of putting out an awesome show. That's really impressive. Claudio is a great catch, pun intended. ROH PPV now ? Fuck TK, get some sleep already ! But, hey, I'll probably watch it. Still, things are probably gonna cool down after Blood & Guts with a slower build toward All Out to kickstart the really important fall period, hopefully with a bunch of big names coming back.