Stiva

I may have an unpopular opinion but MJF in the ring and duelling with Moxley made him look a lot worse than you’d expect. Mox still came off as the undisputed ace of the promotion while MJF still felt a couple of steps behind, even with his good, rehearsed promo. I have a feeling they’re going with Moxley retaining and then running Moxley/Archer for the title until someone comes along who feels as transcendent as Moxley. Agree that the Page stuff felt needlessly convoluted and it felt like a cheap way to protect the Bucks who have pretty much proven to be bulletproof. I know FTR are winning the belts and they’re going to the Bucks feud but still, the Bucks have enough cache where they can get their momentum back instantly. Thank god we now have Thunder Rosa, Diamanté and Ivelisse because that women’s match was something straight out of 2003 Smackdown. Sabian as Ford’s Marc Mero is perfect booking though. Britt, Nyla and the three previously mentioned feels like a division you can do something interesting with post All Out. Not to be ultra critical, I dug the 8–man and the gauntlet (Page finish aside) and liked Cardona and Sky coming to the valiant rescue a week after they should have. Cassidy just fucking sprinting at Jericho was fantastic but Sammy/Matt was AWESOME. No messing around with a slow start, just straight into violence and in that sense, maybe a TV main event was a better choice than a PPV match, just to keep it tight. Between Matt/Sammy and Best Friends/Santana and Ortiz being on TV, I have a feeling that a lot of All Out matches are going long.

McAfee was and has been great. Give Big E a title run and let’s have Big E vs McAfee promo battles

I just don't see it in-ring. She carries herself well and is a solid babyface but I can't remember a singles match that she's had that has been any good. It's a lot of her opponent waiting around as she lines up moves and she doesn't seem to have chemistry with anyone else on the roster.

Glad they gave Cassidy the win but I still feel like they're going to do the third match at All Out with Tyson around. Dug the show but yeah, Jericho looked awful in the main and he needs a super-reduced schedule from now on. Let him talk and work a few PPV matches a year. I loved the FTR/RnR angle and I still think Cody goes with them, FTR and Spears with Cardona being the babyface that gets killed to establish them. I also popped for Ricky's York Foundation shirt and need one immediately. Other than that, I really hope this women's tag tournament gives the division a renewed focus because Shida isn't doing it for me as champ and Diamante and Ivelisse being the top heels sounds so much better as far as I'm concerned. I'm assuming one of those challenges Shida at All Out, unless they go with Brandi but Jesus, that's not a match I want to see. MJF and Moxley was a good segment but MJFs promo is leaning into worked-shoot shit too heavily at times; AEW have ridden that line of acknowledging reality around their wrestlers but cracks about "looking up at the lights" is still bullshit about guys having to put Moxley over, no matter how you dress it up.

I was excited for Lee Johnson/Fenix but Johnson is definitely better at being a bump freak right now since he seemed a step or two behind Fenix at all times. Dark is a good spot for him while he improves some more. Griff Garrison and Pillman Jr teaming together as the curly haired, pretty boy baby face jobbers gives me a warm 80s vibe though.

Dave losing his mind over the Dominik/Seth angle was great. He's just about at breaking point these days.

Really fun first show. Danielson is established with a big win from the out and I love how Lawler is being positioned with his stable of Memphis superstars. Lawler as his territory heel best in an otherwise workrate heavy promotion is awesome.

Using Foley as commissioner in 2000 is a good move considering how good he was in reality. The roster is an interesting one and it's packed at the top; the gauntlet is a good way to give some big matches and drip-feed the teases of others, I'm into it.

This is borderline unwatchable. Even ignoring the questionable faction, this presentation needs to change yesterday.

GCW Revolution Episode 1 - In front of a packed, raucous crowd in the heart of California, Kevin Kelly and Paul Heyman welcomed us all to Revolution, Gold Coast Wrestling's premier TV show; an hour of fine pro wrestling with that Hollywood shine. Kevin Kelly was frightfully excited but Paul Heyman couldn't quite believe he'd been relegated to commentary duties so soon after beginning his own revolution with ECW. He barely had time to say any more when Shane McMahon made his way into the arena through the rabid crowd. Holding a microphone in his hand, he told everyone that he's come to clear up some "misconceptions" Everyone in the past has always tagged him as "Daddy's Boy", the heir apparent to an empire, living off his old man's money and handouts. "No more! They tell me there's a revolution to be had here in GCW and I'm here to show everyone that I'm so much more than my father's millions. I'm here to manage, I'm here to make my own money and I'm here to establish my own dynasty" - Psicosis and Juvi Guerrera def. Essa Rios and Hector Garza: In a lighting-quick affair, GCWs cruiserweight talent was on full display as all 4 men put together an incredible show. Death-defying dives and offense all hit with laser precision but it was the experience of Psicosis and Juvi that won out. Despite Juvi attempting to put his smoothest moves on the ladies at ringside, "The Juice" got it together long enough to incapacitate Garza while his partner pinned Garza for the first win in Gold Coast Wrestling. -- As we cut backstage, commissioner, Larry Zybysko stood with two gorgeous looking title belts over his shoulders. "What you all just saw there was a perfect example of what I want Gold Coast Wrestling to be; the world's best athletes given the chance to WRESTLE and earlier in the month, I told you all about the GCW World Championship and now, following that display of tag team wrestling, it's high time I told you all about these World Tag Team Championships" While GCW is running an official tournament for the top singles belt, the tag team belts will be slightly different; over the next month, leading to Glory Days, each team will be given ample opportunity to show their talents in the GCW Tag League. "This league is open to any combination and any team on the GCW roster so I'd suggest you sign up soon" said Larry Z as he promised that the wheat would soon be separated from the chaff. - Dutch's Double (Mike Enos and Lance Cade) def. Local Enhancement Talent: As a match, this was nothing of too much interest as Enos and Cade showcased their talents; Enos' veteran grit matched with Cade's youthful, raw talent but the presence of Dutch Mantell at ringside with them was enough for the crowd to take notice. Once the match was wrapped up neatly, Dutch took the mic, very interested in Commissioner Zybysko's latest announcement. Christening his charges as "Dutch's Double", he went on to promise that his boys were taking home the titles when it was all said and done. "Now, being out here with all the beautiful people is nice and all but all y'all have no clue how to fight and I promise, Cade and Enos, my boys can get the job done. - Next up, Kevin Kelly told us that we were about to get a glimpse of some of the promising athletes coming to GCW in the coming weeks. First up, we saw the team of 3 Count; Shane Helms, Shannon Moore and Jason Jett but, curiously, we didn't see them wrestling but rather, practising their dance choreography...Despite the pleadings of their wrestling coach, the boys seemed more concerned with hitting their spots than hitting their moves. Gangrel followed as this time, we got some wrestling; his usual smash-mouth style complete with liberal use of that viscous liquid as we got a great glimpse of AJ Styles' high-flying, innovative offense. Though young, big things are promised and hoped for. And finally, came the international enigma, Onita. We saw deathmatches, barbed wire boards and general, unrestrained violence from a man who promises to bring an undoubted edge to GCW - Scott Norton def. Carly Colon: In a result that just about everyone saw coming, Scott Norton took home the win against youngster, Carly Colon. Though Carly offered a promising start, it was clear that Norton was simply toying with him and the powerhouse soon took over, planting him with a shoulderbreaker for the win. Not content with that though, he continued, planting him with another shoulderbreaker until referees flooded from the back to regain some control. Norton signed off his carnage, looking right into the camera and promising that he was going to become World Champion, no matter who he hurt. - Rob van Dam def. Little Guido: In a main event that made Paul Heyman very excited, two ECW alumni met up in the main event and delivered a compelling, enjoyable match despite the styles clash. RVD was hugely popular as the leader of the FBI, Guido didn't have an answer for the kicks and the flashy offense in the early stages, choosing to retreat into the arms of his large compatriot, John D.Rossi at ringside. Even though John wrapped his XXXXL leather jacket around Guido, it matter not as RVD came flying out to level things up. As the match rolled on, Guido did gain some advantage as D.Rossi used his wiles to send RVD crashing into the ring post when the ref was distracted but it didn't matter in the end as RVD hit a string of flashy offense, culminating in a Five Star Frog Splash for the impressive victory. - Then, for the final segment of the evening, Larry Zybysko was seen again, this time in the ring alongside a plinth with a carpeted covering on top, hiding the GCW World Championship. "Before I show this beautiful championship belt, let's remind everyone of the path we're going to walk to get there" Over the next month, there will be an 8-man tournament with the final two meeting each other in the main event of Glory Days. "We know that Goldberg is one of the men but it's time to find out who the other seven are!" On the large screen in the arena, we finally got to see the confirmed bracket. Match A - Scott Norton vs. Scorpio Match B - Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles Match C - Onita vs. Taz Match D - Goldberg vs. "Superstar" Stevie Richards Furthermore, your semi final will be Winner of Match A vs. Winner of Match D Winner of Match B vs. Winner of Match C "And, next week, we're going to see Goldberg take on "Superstar" Stevie Richards in the first tournament match!" But, as Zybysko tried to move on to unveiling the belt, the music of the aforementioned Stevie Richards hit as he hit the arena, rocking his new "Hollywood" look. Complete with sunglasses, leather jacket and whitened smile, Richards grabbed a microphone and stopped the Commissioner in his tracks. "Look, I appreciate you making a tournament and all but, everyone knows that, next week, the hottest star in the Hollywood sky, Stevie Richards, is going to pin Goldberg. And then, I'm going to beat everyone else and take this title so why don't you just unveil the belt, hand it over to me now and then I can sail off on my yacht into the sunset, just like the end of "Tall Noon!"" Larry couldn't help but correct Stevie to inform him it was "High Noon" but he did tell him that the tournament was going to continue BUT, he could hang around to see the belt be unveiled. Richards obliged as Larry whipped off the covering, showcasing the gorgeous World Title belt. Resplendent with studded gold and a thick leather belt, even Stevie was impressed. So much so, he tried to grab it immediately, assuming that his earlier plan was still valid. Larry wasn't going to stand for that as a genuine tug of war began over the newly displayed belt. This didn't last long though once Goldberg's music hit! The crowd rose in unison, awaiting the man himself and sure enough, when he strode through the smoke and pyro, the reaction was enormous. Inside the ring, Stevie didn't know where to put himself and, as Goldberg entered, he thought that reason would prevail. Instead, next week's opponent launched forward with a spear that sent the sunglasses careening off his face. Goldberg wasn't done, hoisting Richards up and planting him with a huge Jackhammer and dispatching him out of the ring. As Goldberg and Larry shook hands however, the fans took notice of a commotion at ringside. Standing on top of the announce table was Taz! With his black towel covering his face, it was hard to tell but his eyes had to be locked on Goldberg. It wasn't over yet though as Shane McMahon reappeared, hopping the rail with a stack of papers in his hand. Once more though, nothing could be done as the lights suddenly cut out. A few long moments passed and then, the large screen suddenly lit up with Japanese text: "BE. AFRAID. AO." As the lights came back up, there on the ramp, decked out in his leather jacket was Onita! He casually placed a chair down, took a seat and lit a cigarette, choosing to stare holes in his future opponents as the debut episode of Revolution went off the air. ------- Two notes: Bear with me as I work on the format and lay out and also, John D.Rossi is John Tenta, re-cast as Guido's heavy in the FBI.

Typical Vince bravado. Love it.

I think the key with Austin and Rock is that they reacted to what wasn’t working and then listened to the crowd and used that to steer them, wasting no time to strike when the iron is hot. They just don’t do that anymore; either they’re not capable or they’re wilfully ignorant of their live crowds. As Vince gets older, he seems to become fully like his father in the sense that he gets a plan for a certain match at a certain time and nothing will break that vision, even if something else hot comes along. His hard-on for second generation wrestlers is seemingly getting more powerful too.

Finally getting around to reading all the other promotions now and I'm way into your concept for the opening show. I love lethal lotteries and some of those teams should definitely be sticking around in the future (looking at Martel and Grenier which feels like a great midcard heel team) and you had a hot angle to establish Triple Threat in the middle of the show. Good stuff leading into your TV.

HHH is losing his touch; he used to wait to see if an angle got hot BEFORE latching onto it.

Thought this was a fantastic show based purely on how wild it all felt. You had blood, tables breaking, brawling, a chaotic opener. I thought Hardy and Sammy's segment was incredible; Sammy throwing that chair was like something from an IWA-Mid South brawl and what a bladejob from Hardy. I hope it was a blade job anyway because if not, that chair must have caught him clean. No idea what their stipulation is at All Out but it'll be amazing if they can have a 10 minute match on the level of that brawl.

https://twitter.com/The_MJF/status/1289260420784504834?s=20 Don't think I've needed anything more than a Kingston vs MJF program

“Jamaican Jealousy” is a great name for a cocktail if nothing else.

It wasn’t quite Mark Henry levels but Rich Swann’s “retirement” angle was some good business.

Totally. I remember the way they pushed Bryan/HHH at Mania seemed so bizarre since HHH was positioned as the favourite even though Bryan had beaten everyone in his path for an entire year. It’s almost like wrestlers winning matches all the time is a good way for people to get behind them.

It’s a shame that Santana and Ortiz are with Jericho because putting them back with Kingston would be great. I’m happy he’s signed but the roster is real big right now. Working on Dark every week is one thing but they could do with that second tv show. Also, I've seen people complaining that Darby is getting the shot but that absolutely has to play into the MJF story, surely?

Oh, I wasn’t mad about it. It just genuinely shocked me, is all. I know they’re throwing shit at the wall with the women but what a deep cut.

Also, was that Cameron of WWE fame in the segment with Nyla? Pretty brave of them to just assume everyone would have any idea who she was unless I’m missing a run she had somewhere

I thought this was a pretty weak show from an in-ring standpoint but this is still an easy watch because the promos are so good and there's now enough good progression in angles week on week that it feels like it's going somewhere which is something they struggled with during the months between big shows originally. MJFs promo was fantastic and a pretty great way to kickstart a title feud and Cardona debuting is fine by me since I'd rather see him in Cody's group than Spears. From everything I've gathered, he's got a great mind for wrestling too so it's yet another creative body in there. Warhorse though, whoof. If Kingston was a home run, that was a total swing and a miss. I'd much rather see Cody work a 10 minute defense against one of the numbered Dark Order guys than whatever Warhorse was meant to be.

Shit, you're right. Edited that. I like long-term booking but waiting that long to crown a champ is preposterous.