El-P

Crowd chants for fucking YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto. Yeah, atmosphere-wise, it should be quite ok. Double ring announcing is neat (although Dasha > Roberts), so is Kevin Kelly in the booth. Gonna watch the buy-in live then the PPV tomorrow night. Gotta avoid spoilers until then !

Well, working more matches a week probably isn't a bad thing. Getting beat up by Stan Hansen, Kawada & Misawa everyday for two weeks probably wasn't such a great thing.

*FACEPALM*

I guess you're right about that. It could only really speak to those who had followed him for a while now and knew more about his character and promo style. I'm not so sure TK would have let Omega do a job in IMPACT. Maybe he would. It sure would have been much better for Josh Alexander, but in the end I enjoyed the Moose stuff a lot. Tremendous heel stuff and really delivered in big matches. Ending Christian Cage was fine, but certainly anti-climatic (which was kinda fitting in an ironic way with his own debut in AEW).

I don't get the "bad impression" though. He only had killer matches all the times, including that infamous PAC match, had this incredible tag-team run with Hangman peaking with the Young Bucks match which was out of this world. To me people who had a bad impression of him during that time had a pre-conceived idea that they had to hate him anyway. It seems a long time ago now, but a lot of people hated that guy so much then (more or less because of Corny, really). It's still IMPACT, and nothing can really help the promotion for too long anyway. It was on/off in term of weekly ratings for sure, but if you take his entire run, he sure made a difference comparing to the usual, and it dropped immediately when he was gone. I dunno, to me this was a blast from A to Z, the stuff with Callis was gold. My favorite time of AEW thus far. The dropping the title to Christian was smart in a way to not having to drop the title to anyone in IMPACT (which he could not as the AEW champ) and was good for Christian for him to be a credible PPV challenger (which really he never was, honestly) on a PPV that basically was carried by the promise of CM Punk coming back more than a huge title defense. But yeah, Omega in IMPACT was tons of fun, he was different there, definitely a feel of old territory/interpromotional stuff that you very seldom gets. He put a lot of thought into his IMPACT stuff. Well, we had those matches with Moose and Sami, which were terrific. But it felt we could have had even more out of this. Let's be honest : Kenny Omega will *never ever* be a consensus pick like Danielson is. Which makes him actually more interesting in the grand scheme of things.

The one thing that people never seem to get back then is that it was *on purpose*. He wasn't going to present himself as a top single star, letting Jericho & Mox carry the ball first while trying to make other people look good in the meantime, especially the entire Hangman stuff. Case in point, when he finally got the title, AEW grew in significant ways, and that's during the pandemic at first. When he was thrown on IMPACT TV he made the biggest, wait for it, impact for them in term of demo ratings and the day he dropped the title to Christian Cage, ratings dropped back down to normal (that says a lot about Christian Cage supposed "HOF star power" too). The issue is that Omega was such a divisive figure that he was not gonna get any credit whatsoever, to the point some people argued he had no effect on NJPW business (which, retrospectively, is even funnier than it was then), so of course as he wasn't positioned as this top single star, he got the haters going on about how he wasn't living up to the hype. Until of course, when he choose to finally pull the trigger, well, he more than lived up to the hype in pretty much every ways.

Considering WWE had one of the highest injury rates of any company in the world at one point, and that's including Japan during the latest 10's peak with the ridiculously hard G1's, that's not a very valid comparison, WWE's "safe style" has never been a real argument (the number of ladder matches earlier this year I believe, or late last year, in a very short while was ridiculous). It's not like WWE guys aren't dropping like flies on a regular basis either. Are AEW guys killing themselves on weekly basis ? Sure. Are they hurt by the fact they work "cold" because they don't have a more regular schedule ? That's probably a reason too. The Young Bucks and Omega talked about this before, how they hurt more in AEW than when they used to work more time a week because the body actually gets warmer to bumping and getting into a rhythm. House show would help, for many reasons. Not taking completely ridiculous bumps on weekly basis would help too, of course. This is probably a good time to rethink the pacing of the shows and how the booking structures the whole thing, for sure, maybe an opportunity to mix things up a bit and refresh the formula.

Totally is. To me it's also a matter of booking trick so as to protect some people, but it makes the matches lesser than they would have been (although honestly, that All-Atlantic stuff has nothing to do on this PPV, and is even less of a thing now with the non AEW guy being Clark Connors, who's very good but also is a NJPW Strong american worker, not a true, Japanese NJPW fixture). The four way for the IWGP title is much less as it is than Okada vs Hangman or White vs Hangman. The three-way tag team is less than FTR vs Cobb/O-Khan (and I sure hope Roppongi Vice aren't the one to lose here so as to none of the champs do, that would be really lame and cheap). Despite timing issues and injuries, they did not have to book it that way. In the end, will the show be really fun with some excellent matches ? I bet so. Is the show a lot less than it should have been, despite the injuries, it looks that way to me.

This is the funniest and yet most accurate way I've ever heard anyone explain it. Libertarians is a very foreign concept in Europe (well, in France at least it is, but I guess in most European country it's the same), so you know I'm gonna use that one over and over again as a way to explain it. Of course, Linda McMahon is elated (I wonder how many of Vince's affairs' she had to pay for, that must have stung I guess). Maybe a comment from Mother Hen Inventor of Feminism Stephanie MacMahon-Levesque ? Yes, no ? Probably not.

But they can never cross path with LIJ because Mexican promotions be like. Fénix vs Andrade was just an awesome, PPV level match. Fénix reminds me of Sabu in his prime, in every match it seems you see something incredible you've never seen before, and whenever he's selling you just don't know if he's selling or if he's legit injured (which, likewise Sabu, makes him the most realistic seller today despite all notions of "pro-wrestling selling"). Very first time Deeb & Martinez are on TV as a team and they don't get along. This is quite the speedrun booking ! Wants more of both of them anytime though. Hey, Brian Cage ! Ready to explode too.

Rosemary calling Glen Jacobs a literal piece of shit (you can guess why) is kinda cathartic. Because he is.

It already sold out in the building way before they announced any matches and it will be a big crowd, so from that standpoint it can't bomb. And really the crux of the matter for AEW is TV rights, not PPV buys. I hope it doesn't bomb on PPV for very selfish reasons, I want more interpromotional shows in my pro-wrestling regime.

Well, maybe between two shows in Saudi Arabia they can keep on "Influencing the world" in term of women's rights in Texas or Louisiana now. (I know, I know, PWO and all, but some days, it's like... just dystopian level shit... this is just so awful)

It doesn't mean there won't be bigger peaks in the future of course, it's never linear. If the promotion lasts say ten years at least, then it will be easier to define one definitive peak out of those years. But as of now, I feel a first peak has come and gone and right now it's in a transition period.

To me they started peaking earlier (basically when Omega won the title, although the first months were still happening during the pandemic era) and I would agree the high point was during the Summer/Fall. One thing not many people will want to hear is that really the most compelling long-term booking done in AEW was the Omega/Young Bucks/Hangman "drama", as it had the most depths from years before the company even started, and these guys were used to construct long-term stories based on their real-life relationship. This is why it was so compelling in the long term and probably why after that point, the company looked less focused especially on top. The two big focused angles they ran were CM Punk vs MJF and Wardlow vs MJF, none of which were for the AEW title. All two built around a guy who will or will not leave the company, depending on where the Pillman fetish leads him. It has been three years. I was thinking about that, I waited for about 17 years to get an alternative that I actually liked, and when it finally happened it was the perfect fit at the perfect time for me, it's like everything I had watched until them led me to that point (getting the past of US wrestling out of my system for good, getting accustomed to modern product first via Lucha Underground, which has opened my mind soooo much then going through TNA as a way to fill the 00's void in term of evolution of styles, pun intended, then getting into the contemporary NJPW stuff about at the moment it peaked). And it got me my best and most fun three years ever as a pro-wrestling fan. If everything stopped right now, of course it would suck, especially for the talent, but I absolutely had my fill for life. Also, three years is a long time. The stupid cliché about "love only lasts three years" notwithstanding, the infamous booker fatigue that has been talked about has to kick in at some point. And it's not like he's just the booker (not to mention his other businesses). You can see the signs all over the product. The most significant to me is the All-Atlantic belt. I have no idea how this looked like a good idea to anyone. Another tournament right after the Owen (which was a tournament... and nothing more), for another belt, when the TNT title booking has been all over the place (and fuck me if I don't care about it going into Wardlow's World, already the most annoying thing in AEW this catchphrase, so WWE). And then you have Samoa Joe running around (well, not really) with the ROH Television championship. And remember Weeler Yuta got the ROH Whatever Pure title ? And there's a woman champ and a world champ around too. Oh yeah, running ROH as a separate promotion is a BAD idea. Not that the product can't be cool, but there's already way too much product out there. I'm thinking about letting IMPACT on the side for now, as I'm getting burned out (also, IMPACT works well in binge-watch mode and you don't get another major happening there anymore unlike when Omega was around, so spoilers don't really matter). Last thing I want is another TV show I might get interested in. The one thing I definitely would love to watch now is if another product like LU would get off the ground. Something different, out there, that can open doors for some new things. Or simply a last season for GLOW (so frustrating ). AEW is not new anymore. It exists, and it's great for everybody (just ask Cody Rhodes). But it has to find the right balance now, leading into their next TV rights contracts. Keeping things focused (maybe get some help with the booking by a guy who is actually good at it aka no one from WWE, to get some pressure of the boss shoulders) and fresh (working with so many other company and having such a vast amount of talent will do that part).

*facepalm* This PPV is so snakebit. Not that the absence of Ishii will make any difference in term of PPV buys, and Clark Connors has a chance for a big showcase match which is cool for him. But damn.

This too. Dasha is way cool.

I'll say only one thing : Young Bucks in the same ring against Hiromu & Shingo Takagi. Ok. Don't give a fuck about anything. This > everything. This is shaping up to be quite ok despite all the timing and injuries issues. Okada is such a trooper. I thought Cesaro. But then again he's supposed to be back in the fold in WWE. Then I thought Gargano. Which would make more heads explode than Orange vs Ospreay already is (it's gonna be great anyway). I gather if it was a big name that is known, they would announce it to boost the PPV. So I would guess a guy like Thatcher (who has done shows in NOAH but I don't think they have signed him) or Busick is more like it. Hey, Killer Kross would be funny for me because of more heads exploding, as I always enjoyed the guy in LU and IMPACT (in a "He's pretty good" way, ok, let's not get crazy here) and have nothing against him at all (and he looked good against Suzuki during Mania week-end). Gresham vs ZSJ would SLAY, but I don't think he's a good fit for Blood & Guts, plus he's a ROH guy involved in ROH stuff (whatever that means) and probably still injured. Luchasaurus is the new Tomko. Tony Storm is taking the division by, pun massively intended, storm. Best Shafir match thus far (I really like Shafir's style, I hope they don't give up on her). Hopefully they have that excellent match with Rosa.

Of course. I meant do another joint show. That could be another option, although if the last ratings have been an indication, doesn't work that well for now on TV. On NJPW's side, having big matches with AEW stars at WK next year would be a good test. Hopefully that happens. Now, with the booking slump Gedo seems to be in, I prefer not to get my hopes up and just whatever happens will happen.

Anyone feeling that NJPW joint PPV will do really poor numbers ? Between Punk not being there, Okada not being there, a bunch of random tags and multi-men/team matches as opposed to straight dream matches, Toni Storm vs Thunder Rosa which is a really cool match that I can't wait for but has nothing to do on a AEW/NJPW PPV and should have been reserved for TV main event the next Wednesday or something, the lucha promotions debacle which prevents Andrade or Lucha Brothers to get on the card, I'm afraid if this goes wrong it's the end of the experiment and we don't get another one in better conditions, which would suck, because there is so much they could do together.

The fact he's going on TV doesn't bode well at all if he indeed is injured and wants to address the situation. Things are getting so cursed right now. Cody & Orton in WWE. Punk & Danielson in AEW. Hopefully Omega gets better eventually, he's sorely missed right now.

Funny Bischoff would talk about anticipation relating to this particular angle, because although it was the drizzling shit from start to finish on pretty much every level, one of the many, many issues was it was drawn out FOREVER. It took 6 months before the crew was basically unveiled as NPC under masks led by D-Von, who was nothing but a midcarder at this point. And nothing is worse than having a bunch of guys under masks for months, because no one cares about guys under masks for too long. Then it took ANOTHER 6 months of repetitive nothing matches and beatdowns to get the amazing reveals of NPC without masks (wow, the former Festus, wow, Mike Knox, that's incredible ! Can you believe the retired D-Lo Brown is part of this amazingly dangerous band of misfits and WOW ! Garrett Bischoff and Wes Briscoe !). And then there's the swerve-bro (which is so ironic since Russo wasn't working for them anymore, yet the big main event angle was all about a swerve) and like 8 months or so of the group peaking with Bully as the champ and then dying a slow, painfull death. Of all my TNA watch, this Aces & Eights stuff is by a wide, gigantic margin, the worst, most boring, fast-forward worthy, damaging shit that the company went through in term of main program. It's no wonder after one year of this the company began its financial downward spiral and by the end of 2013 the Carters wanted to sell the company. Well, actually, the only thing I kinda enjoyed of this whole entire borefest was the stupid soap opera drama with Brooke Hogan, as I thought she was actually kinda fun in this. Also, the idea of Hogan worried about his girl dating the "wrong guy" was so funny to watch with hindsight. Brooke Tessmacher I felt sorry for, because she had gone from being a sex-toy for Bischoff (yeah, that was actually her character and yes, Russo was still booking then, to the surprise of no one) to working super hard as an in-ring worker and actually overdelivered in that role (working Gail Kim always helps but still), and now she was back at being used as "Hey, look at her ass !". But then again, it's not like the booking did any woman any favors during that time anyway (women tag-team championships on ODB & .... Eric Young, again, that's Russo level shit) Never heard that one before, interesting (and totally sounds something TNA management would do). I took it as them trying to have their "Lex Luger beats Hollywood Hogan before losing the belt back two weeks later" moment. Yeah, it was absolutely from nowhere, wasn't built at all and wasn't organic in the least. Did not help that Sabin was made to look like a scrub during the match (I mean, he had a great babyface performance, but he got so little offense and won by cheating). Not to mention this was immediately forgotten and he was put back straight in the X-Div. Which, well, is exactly what they did with Aries too after losing the title to Hardy, which was a big misfire, but it's obvious then had no plan for Aries anyway, but at this point they had missed their shot with James Storm and someone had to end the endless reign of boredom that was Bobby Roode on top.

I mean, KUSHIDA is back. Couldn't they have slotted him in ? Apparently he's coming back straight into the Junior division. And I guess Hiromu vs KUSHIDA is gonna be a big match eventually. Aaron Henare actually is cool, the guy is incredibly underrated and he's a fresh guy in the ranks. But Yujiro ? Fale ? Owens (even though he did good last year) ?

If anything, ZSJ is the best guy to work a safe match if they want it that way. If the guy was trusted enough to work with Shibata, Danielson would be fine.

It absolutely dilutes the whole G1 by excluding so many awesome matches that could have happened. I mean, D-Block has Ospreay vs Shingo and that's it. That's such a bad idea. NJ's booking of their 50th year anniversary events has been so dull and underwhelming to say the least.