Matt D

Yeah, It's 2021, a pandemic, and a buyer's market for talent because of all of the releases. I'm all for the guy doing whatever keeps him employed and gets him the 24/7 title and TV time. It's weird because I thought he had huge upside when I first saw TM-61. He, more than any of the talent they've had in the last ten years that have been positioned that way, came off like a young Shawn Michaels. Ah well.

I think you guys are just way more used to him than I am. It was very striking and offputting to me just watching his expressions and how he carries himself. Im just trying to make sense of what I saw and why I didn’t like it. I’m also one of the more skeptical people here about Indy Danielson (though not negative on it necessarily) and not necessarily bringing cynicism into it with Omega at least. So don’t conflate every criticism.

And the little ways they present themselves too. Look, I haven't seen many Omega matches but the ones I've seen have almost all been ones where he's been on his best behavior from what you people are saying, and I was completely turned off. I was trying to explain it to Stacey (after talking to Loss a few days ago) and here's what i came up with: Omega to me, feels like a very, very skilled sleight of hand magician. Excellent technique. Excellent imagination. Comes up with new tricks. Builds a whole mythos around his act for people really paying attention. Except for he doesn't actually go to any of the effort that all of his predecessors had to make it seem like he's doing actual magic and not just tricks. Everyone can see how he does what he does. He makes no effort to hide it. He wants everyone to know it's an act and he wants everyone in on the act. He wants people to see the strings, because part of the appeal is how careful and intricate and perfectly placed they are. If people didn't see the strings, how could they possibly appreciate the mastercraft of his work? And hey, maybe that's the correct attitude to have in a post-chemical change world of wrestling in 2021. But it's almost so far distanced from what appeals to me right now that I couldn't possibly be more turned off as a viewer.

You can't give MMA fights star ratings?

I hear you, but when it comes down to one of the primal things I look for in a wrestler, something that drives almost every other element and is intertwined with them, I can't let it go without completely changing the way I look at wrestling and what I value. That is, admittedly, a me thing if the zeitgeist is against me which it obviously is. But like I said, I've got a wealth of riches before me, so it's only an issue if I want to stay current. And even with AEW, I've got plenty to watch other than him. I sincerely doubt I see another Omega match this year.

Interesting booking. They had to use Ruby there after her debut but it did seem too early. I could see them having her work her way back up the rankings in a few months, but this time with back-up to prevent the interference when a title change would be more organically timed.

They had a really fun match on Dark this week. Loved the hot tag to Sting in this one, and the finishing stretch after tags no longer were part of the tag match was too long but incredibly creative and really featured Sting in the best way.

FTR were having the time of their life feeding for Sting. It's fun how Darby uses his own body as a weapon. Have they ever had him face Serpentico who is used by others as a weapon? I'd watch that.

I am constantly impressed with the bench of matches that AEW has.

I missed the end of Pillman/MJF getting the kids to bed. I would have had Wardlow help MJF win and then have the Blonds win a subsequent tag match next week (because they're the more natural team). MJF is the stronger singles guy. Blonds end up elevated, MJF isn't hurt. I take it they aren't going that route.

Went back and forth with Loss on it. Maybe the most important thing for me watching wrestling at this stage of my life is immersion and commitment, being present in all aspects of the match. It's what drew me so much in with Bock and why I've spent the last year being so high on Tenryu. It's why I am not at all against you guys with Hansen even though I have my issues with him. And there's just none of that with Omega from what I've seen. Especially if this is him being on the good side. Loss called him a truly post-modern wrestler, always self-aware. He never seems in the moment to me, even when he's selling which is when some of this should drop if it's an act to get heat. I appreciate thought out match layouts and callback spots and earned counters, etc., and full credit for him if he's got that going, but I just can't believe anything about him. The good thing is that I've got so much other stuff to watch that it's not actually going to be an issue for me and I won't rain on your parade in other situations, so no worries there.

Shouldn’t these things inherently contradictory to a degree though?

I could be convinced that it's a complex heel act, where he's a guy pretending to be a guy pretending to be a wrestler and thus the double negative makes him an effective heel?

This is my third Omega match ever. Do people really enjoy his stuff enough that they put up with the mannerisms and the faces?

The craziest name for someone who was heavily presented in wrestling history is Paul E Dangerously.

QT really needs to work 20% more like a manager, no matter his background. If he's going to have a role on the show, he's valuable as a more chickenshit figure who is still dangerous when other people create opportunities for him. I'd absolutely like to see what sort of creativity Danielson would utilize vs a QT who wrestles a little more like that.

If true, that feels more of an issue about Reigns vs Lashley vs Big E than Alexa and Charlotte.

Just proof that we are equally as dogged about getting new footage. They did say in the thread they're going to post this stuff for free to everyone though.

They just responded with this: so, something to learn certainly, but don't think we'll be getting any full gems here. I mean, every moment of Johnny Valentine footage is worth having so I won't complain.

Hopefully something substantial.

Cage doesn't carry himself as anything other than a random meat heat Pretty sure Meat Heat is what Stasiak got for secretly recording people backstage.

It was maybe nine months and Pillman spent the first few of those learning how to be a heel so that tracks.

You could do a medium length Danielson reign with the Elite as a unit being too much for him, leading to Omega getting it back. The story could be that Danielson might have had Omega’s number but it’s Page who has the Elite’s.

Given the pace of the shows and how quickly the announcers move on to the next thing, I think it’ll be subconsciously obvious to most viewers that if someone or something is getting that TV time then they matter. I do think they should be using their YouTube channel to get people up to speed on some things right now though. Have a familiar guy like Wight or Henry or Christian (but obviously not Punk or Bryan) create a minute or two intro bumper for some of the best and most important matches/moments in company history and make a curated series out of it to on-ramp interested new fans.

I’m not super worried about it either. I’m just thinking that for the chosen one, he’s extremely absent and the top of the card is filling up with superstars. It’s hard to say how to fix that when they’re already overpacking their shows though.