El-P

Roman got the backlash, but before. So, not exactly a backlash.

Even that... People bring up Bruno or Hogan like the world 60 or 30 years ago is the same as today. It ain't. Pro-wrestling is not the same, TV is not the same, audience is not the same. Superman Cena is what turned people against him, and that was more than a decade ago. Sure, the dominant babyface probably would still work to a degree with the WWE audience, but again, is that really that interesting ? I for one have zero interest in that stuff. I had none when Cena was doing it. I find it to be trite. Last time WWE had *really* interesting booking was probably in 1997...

Charlotte isn't the booker. Vince is. Vince always is, at the end of the day. Blame anyone in WWE, blame Vince. Let's not pretend Charlotte has the power of Hogan in a "Doesn't work for me brother" way. No one has that power in WWE anymore. The supposed sandbagging is another issue, but I won't comment on those because it's irrelevant to the current topic.

Actually, that's wasn't my point at all. My point was that as much as I loved having Omega reign supreme on the pro-wrestling landscape and have great match after great matches against everyone, him losing was only necessary as it was always the next step in the story of the company, and I wanted to see him lose eventually (at the right time).

Either it's an elaborate work. Either shit's about to hit the fan. (one way or another)

Which is also why they want to grow people from the very start, so they never know their own value and brainwash them from day 1 as to thinking WWE is the only way to make it and they should be grateful to work for the allmighty. Hence the stupid promos about "OMG I'm in WWE this has been my lifelong dream I'm so happy I can't believe it" for newcomers which make them look like complete idiots to anyone not totally brainwashed. That's the goal of the promotion, to have fans and workers in the same exact mindset (I mean, "WWE Universe" says it all). It's typical toxic "brand loyalty" that has been developed for decades now by Nike, Apple, Starbucks and such.

They're making ridiculous money because of a specific context (the TV sports & streaming rights bubble) and the fact they are doing propaganda work for a criminal regime (hi MBS !). Not because their booking is worth a shit and their product is interesting. Funny also how despite making more money than ever, they really have not upped their contract ones bit and the % of the pie has been basically shrinking more and more with each passing year. Roman should ask for ten times what he's making, really. What are they gonna do ? I would love seeing guys like him or Becky Lynch just say fuck it and go to the opposition. If anything, it would benefit *everyone* in the industry, as AEW would without a doubt grow its audience and the workers would have to make more as a result, with WWE just upping the money to get them back. The whole "good soldier" mentality (aka "I'm brain washed and I'm WWE 4 Life") is so fucking dumb.

But what big moments ? Roman Reigns wins? Then he wins ? Then he wins ? Then he wins at Mania ? Then he wins ? So interesting.

Even from a big fan's perspective, I don't get what's interesting about a guy who never loses. It's boring as fuck, it tells no story and it makes everything else irrelevant. We know that the plan for Mania next year is Roman vs Rock, which Roman should win for obvious reasons, so why care about anything that happens between now and then, whether it involves Roman or not (aka even he if loses one to Drew, which seems doubtful at this point, it means jackshit in the grand scheme of things) ? I loved Kenny Omega's multi-title champ reign, but him losing to Christian on the Rampage debut was a memorable moment, and the closer (for now) of the Omega & Page story was a highlight of last's year's AEW and made Page. And his comeback will mean even more because it's the start of another part of his career arc. Roman Reigns ? Who cares : he always wins, and he must main event Mania to win at Mania until next Mania. Until he decides to go Cena on them, then it's time for the next chosen one (Austin Theory maybe ? Have a good laugh, people). And people shit on Charlotte ? Really ? And she isn't in the same power position as Roman is either (no one is in WWE, except Lesnar).

Apparently his new deal allows him a lot less house-show and matches on TV too from now on. Let's be real here. They built their entire company and only narrative around "Roman wins against everybody and no one is at his level" for years, and now he's gonna end up a part-timer for the Summer. Which once again, makes the entire company looks like a complete afterthought when he's not there, basically waiting for Mania season to start so Roman can win at Mania again. This company is so thrilling.

I don't watch football. At all. So that went straight above my head. The most famous thing I've seen Zizou do is the headbutt. Which is also a meme here. "Pas comme ça, pas après tout ce que tu as fait !!!!!!!!"

After like, one month or so ? Your expectations must have been amazingly low

CYN is right there already. I mean, whatever it's supposed to be apart from elaborate social media posting.

I don't get why people seemed surprised Cody is a right fit for WWE. He's a product of their system. Sure he found his current character, presentation and upped his in-ring game outside of WWE, and that's been his strenght (some people just are incapable or uninterested in doing so), but he knows exactly how things works there because he's been brought up in the system. How long will Vince keep him hot, that's another matter, but Cody going back to WWE ways quickly isn't a surprise. That's what people criticized him for in AEW when his stock fell down, doing stuff that were too WWE-lite. The one thing that is too bad for him in terms of timing, is HHH's health issues and retirement, because you know this would have been the perfect Mania match. Also, the fact he is a product of their system might play a role in why Vince trusts him thus far. Of course it is a validation of AEW, because Cody left as a midcarder 4 life at best and came back as a main event star, but I wonder if Vince doesn't feel Cody is still his creation after all. If a guy came straight from AEW without any WWE stamp on him from before, I wonder if things would be the same. Of course it still seems unthinkable that he wouldn't push a guy like MJF to the moon, but then again...

Not that it should come as any kind of surprise, but Josh Alexander vs Tomohiro Ishii was awesome. Like, great G1 match awesome level. Ishii working the US against various opponents and killing it every time only confirms he's one of the all time greatest. Maclin vs Sabin, Trey vs Austin and the 10 men clusterfuck were really good matches too. Sami Callihan made his return to attack Moose, who "broke his leg" few months ago, so those were what the cool vignettes were about. I guess Moose vs Sami at Slammiversary and it could/should be a terrific brawl. The Briscoes won the tag-team championships, as expected (by me at least). And Mia Yim made her comeback, confronting Deaonna Purrazzo, so that's another Slammiversary match maybe. I'm a broken record, but IMPACT is just delivering every time around including on these IMPACT + specials. Tasha vs Havoc was only ok, but everything else on the card was at least pretty fun, including a good showing by Gisele Shaw in the opener. (as usual, no spoilers from the upcoming tapings people, thanks)

Ok, first she did not pull jackshit out of Deonna Purrazzo, who doesn't need anyone to pull a good match out of her because she is an excellent worker. They had a better match in IMPACT where they were given more time and purpose (and really, I thought the match on Dynamite was very good despite the lack of heat) As far as I go, like I said I've seen many Martinez matches over the last few years, in several promotions, pretty much since she was a part of the first May Young Classic. I've never came close to thinking she was that all-time great worker (a very good/excellent one, yes, which is why the GWE process is kinda frustrating to me, because saying someone is "only" excellent seems like a negative). Like I said, maybe I'll change my tune if I ever get to binge-watch some SHIMMER.

That would be the optimum match, yes ! Plus, Page was a part of the Bullet Club before he left NJPW.

To be honest I wouldn't say most worker get the benefit of a truly acquired audience. Such a term I would only reserve for very specific contexts and levels of social status within those contexts. And even then, Hogan who definitely had had acquired audience at one time, ended up losing it because of a change of context. On a much smaller scale, a guy like Mickey Whipreck for instance definitely occupied a very specific spot in the ECW social field, which he lost when he showed up in WCW and never got over (of course it's not like the booking allowed him to try and get over anyway, which is another element that make things tricky, no pro-wrestler gets over by the magic of his own being, there are many processes playing a part, coming from within, the promotion, and outside, the audience). In the case of Mercedes Martinez, I couldn't say as I watched way too less SHIMMER to have an opinion on the matter. The only thing I can say is that thus far, although I think she's very good, even excellent at times, I don't see her at the level she's been hyped for years on the indie scene and yes, indeed, I never saw her work translate to that level in contexts where I watched her.

An acquired audience is, well, already acquired to you (because of familiarity, an established relationship, the fact you're a "star"), so whatever you do will get over no matter what, you don't have to work that hard for your reactions (or do very little). Of course that doesn't mean that most people won't work hard anyway, especially in today's landscape. But it is why I disagree when I hear about the great psychological prowess of some workers whose so-called "great psychology and crowd control" has everything to do with a status already acquired by different means (looks, promo ability, promotion strapping a rocket on you etc...) and not a whole lot because of their actual talent as pro-wrestlers if we consider in-ring ability (which is what GWE is supposed to be about). The idea that everything (including moves) is equivalent everywhere and not taking in account not only each different context but also what social spot worker X occupies in said context always leads to a lot of confusion to me. Of course when you're talking about Martinez, who's a workhorse, this doesn't take away her actual in-ring ability, which should be pretty obvious to anyone watching her. But I get why the fact she may not translate outside of a captive, or acquired, audience that easily may hurt her case for some people. Then again, it's a tricky thing because there's plenty of reasons why some people don't get over in front of certain kind of audiences, and you can't always blame them for that (some audience just want to see a bunch of big names do their entrances). (status, or what I called "social spot in a specific context" to me should be taken in account, especially when dealing with some guys who get praise for "working smart by doing less" when in fact they are just allowed to do so because they are working in a certain context from certain social spot that allows them to do so. Which is why older, established guys, especially those who got their push because of looks, size, politics or nepotism, telling younger workers that they do too much and don't know how to get over is basically privilege rich guys telling the working class they don't know how to make money. Which is why judging "moves", which really is the only thing that we actually have access too, as much as we can flap our gums about psychology we aren't in the brains of the workers, is much more democratic while the entire talk about "charisma" and "crowd control" is a much more aristocratic or bourgeois approach, which goes along with the "less is more" cliché. Yeah, I'l going far off now )

That's quite an interesting point (not quoting the whole thing but obviously that's what I'm referring to). I've seen Mercedes Martinez in several settings where she wasn't the cult hero (IMPACT, NXT, ROH and now AEW) and I never came off thinking she was that great worker she's pimped to be. Maybe the fact she always kinda works "cold" (or as you mention, kinda Malenko-like) plays a part. I do think she's very good, always, but she never blew me away in any setting I've seen her and indeed, I never saw her won over a crowd that wasn't her own acquired SHIMMER audience, and I never saw her work translate any kind of sense of greatness in any of those settings. Of course that comes off as a putdown in the context of the GWE poll (which is why it's kinda frustrating to me, because it's like I enjoy some people less than I normally would if I just watched pro-wrestling, see also : Hashimoto, Shinya), but it's not. If I dive into SHIMMER eventually (which I may or may not, likewise tons of other stuff, as I absolutely prioritize my enjoyment of the current product over anything) maybe I'll eventually get to see her at that level, but from what I saw over the last, say, 5 years or so in those context, she's a very good, super solid pro-wrestler and excellent veteran to have around to work with younger girls (as opposed to a top 100 workers ever).

Yep, that's him. I manage to block him out at times, but it's a struggle when nearfalls are so important in the pacing of the match. He should only ref EVIL's matches, that way I would not see him ever again.

Or maybe it's just WWE trying to control their audience like they are drones. Remember, they LOVED the thunderdome presentation because it allowed them to have a totally controlled environment. Obviously I have no idea about that Lacy Evans deal though, but the fact something looks awkward seems like... normal business for WWE (I have seen those Beach Break vignettes with Mandy Rose and the crew.... holy shit... vintage TNA/early00's WWE horrible comedy stuff right there).

There's nothing wring with Aubrey being charismatic. There's nothing wrong with a referee being charismatic and notable. There's a difference between being charismatic and actually adding to the overall picture of the match (like Aubrey or Red Shoes) and disrupting it (which is why most "guest referee" gimmick matches suck). What really annoys me are ref who do the awful delayed third count in a very obvious way, which has become a trope (it can still be effective if done right, but for instance that NJPW ref whose name eludes me at the moment, who does the upper-midcard matches, if fucking terrible at it and ruins every near falls if you pay attention to his count). The thing is the ref remains the most mysterious element of a pro-wrestling match to the outside observer, because half of his work (communicating with the workers, making sure they are safe) flies under our radar. Despite being the the camera all the time, he/she's actually half-execution, half-production.

The part about NXT UK had me rolling :

He works nothing like Adam Cole though, who's really a go-go-go maximalist with a taste for brawls and receiving huge beatings (a la Raven). His entire style is about slowing down his opponents, countering *each and every one* of their key moves (or preventing them from executing them in tricky ways, like dropping down on his knees from exhaustion at the right moment, almost as a half-troll), including at very key moments in the sprint to the finish segment, and being a dickhead of course. In NJPW you would also get some Gedo out the ring fuckery (although nowhere even near the Dick Togo bullshit in EVIL matches, which makes them automatic FF stuff to me). The one thing about his stint in the US, is that because he is who he is (a top guy from NJPW and a great worker), people will react to him in a much favorable way, because that's how it works. He's not gonna pander to them though, but he's also gonna bask in his glory if it happens because there's no reason why not to. So he's doing less than he would in Japan, because of his status in front of a hardcore US audience. In Japan he had some hilarious heel shit during the pandemic where he would encourage the crowd to chant for his opponents, which they were not allowed to do because of restrictions, or start clapping in an irregular cadence which no one could follow.