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WWE - Don’t work with awful people challenge - difficulty level: impossible McAfee promoted anti-trans rhetoric during the Olympics. He’s a meathead piece of shit. This company, helmed by a rapist and human trafficker for damn near half a century, gives no fucks what anyone thinks. But go ahead and keep giving them your money.

Absolutely mainlining AEW on Max so I can catch up for the next Baltimore show. November to Today is my monthy goal and it's going great. If I was still good at posting about pro wrestling I'd have a whole big list of takes and talking points, but in lieu of that, here's this - Mark Brisoe is at worst a Top 5 guy in this promotion. Mark Briscoe can do pure doomed JttS babyface better than anyone on the roster - Mortos is very good at the heel version, I should mention. He's the best ring general in tag team matches. His performance in the last Blood & Guts was the undeniable centerpiece of the match due to this. He doesn't just promo well, he promos in under a minute purely to get a crowd revved up in a way that is such a lost art. He bleeds good. I know what his character is, and he wrestles like it. And when called upon to deliver a big ol' kickouty epic, he finds ways to implement the face/heel dynamic and proper timing in ways that most are too eager to even consider. It's like there are two wrestling geniuses inhabiting his one body. I think he's the truest Five Tool Player in the entire business.

Bill Mercer was a man that I was proud to call friend. I met him in a nursing home by accident a couple years ago as I was visiting one of our senior church members. I can attest that until the end he was a gentleman…he was lucid, quick witted and could easily recall EVERYTHING about the JFK assassination. He was truly touched when I recognized him, “You’re BILL MERCER!” We discussed all things Von Erich as well. To his credit, he still kept kayfabe about the Freebirds and Kerry’s drugs at the airport!

Wish DEAN was here to see Jon Moxley get impaled by a spiked baseball bat.

Today makes 90 days clean for me. It may not seem like much, but for me that's pretty big. I'm working hard to make it work this time.

I thought Saraya brought something unique in her active last year or so. She was willing to stooge and look the fool like almost no other heel on the roster (Taya will do it too). She was basically the only heel that wrestled like a heel and she was pretty important in getting Harley over. The bit where Harley shouted from the outside to hit her with the RamPaige and then Saraya started arguing back that her move hadn't been called that for years was legitimately hilarious. I honestly think she's a bit of a loss since there were ~3 feuds left on the table (full Timeless Toni for the Outcasts stuff as we just got a hint of it as she was changing into a babyface, Mercedes for the injury, and Harley considering their connection). But at the same time, she's not someone I'm going to go out of my way to defend for personal reasons. But I think people really overlook what she still had to bring to the table in 2025.

I didn't know where else to post this, but I had some of Goldberg's cousins on one of my tours today (I'm a tour guide at the Boeing factory in Everett, WA). It was funny because one of them said they were from Calgary and I said "ah, the home of my favorite wrestler ever" which made them go "uh oh, Goldberg is our cousin!" I was floored, especially when they said the kid with them was originally supposed to be celebrating his birthday at Goldberg's house but was there instead. They were super cool people and it took all the effort in the world to not ignore everyone else and just pepper them with questions. I can claim outdrawing Goldberg with his own family now, proud of that.

Toni is more over than Mox and nobody cares about the World title right now.

So, awhile back (six months?), RobViper posted on Twitter that he had pitched a "Beauty & Beast" angle to TK, involving Harley Cameron and Mortos. He's referenced it a few times since. So starting this week, Harley is hanging out with Hologram again as Harleygram, and AEW is working to establish Komander & Hologram as a legit tag team (They're actually headlining in Arena Mexico soon against Mistico & Mascara Dorada). Hologram had a badass match with Dralistico a couple weeks ago, and in that match and since, Dralistico has repeatedly gone after Holo's mask. Dralistico is teaming with Mortos (and Rush, who hasn't been around). I think we are going to get a scenario where Dralistico (or Rush) are going to try to unmask Harleygram, and Mortos is going to turn on them to rescue her. And it is going to be fucking spectacular.

I'd rather people be passionate about things and enjoy them rather than passionate about them and jerks, and that guy was the former, so he's fine.

Michael Cole used to always say "If you could build a WWE Superstar from the ground up, you would create Randy Orton". But if Dave Meltzer could build a Pro-Wrestler from the ground up, he would build Will Ospreay. If Vince Russo could build a wrestler from the ground up, he would build Vince Russo, but with massive tits.

The Hurt Synagogue

tournaments are great, y'all dumb. more tournaments plz.

started my new job this week. my body is wrecked and my brain is overloaded. while i am feeling it right now, this feels like it will be a fantastic move. Even besides the money, the management culture feels very inclusive and welcoming. The teams i'm leading are all great and have already accepted me as one of their own. The department heads that report to me are all very knowledgable and happy to share that info (they are all nearing retirement age, so no resentment about them not getting my job). things are looking up.

I need to see The Outrunners coaching Orange through physical therapy. Leg warmers, Jane Fonda workout on VHS, the whole thing. Truth can go into his fanny pack for “some special supplements that helped the boys a lot back in the day” and Orange would turn them down.

So, Here's the update on my right knee. The x-rays showed I didn't do any damage. I just banged it really, really hard. My knee is wrapped up and I was given prescriptions for Ibuprofen, a muscle relaxer (Methocarbamol), and a topical gel.

Book number 2! AEW Way of the Blade is now available for pre-order. It has sick art and writing like the original, but I also did a ton of great interviews, Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, MJF and more. There are some special copies autographed by Eddie Kingston which are going fast! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/way-of-the-blade#/

On Wednesday after his match with Takeshita, I posted on Bluesky that Briscoe is probably the most valuable worker in AEW. He always has a solid match, he can wrestle a number of different styles, and he always makes his opponents look good. He is a great promo, with a massive personality that can get just about anything over. You can send him out to get squashed and he will still be over. You can have him win a championship in the main event, and the crowd will pop. He does everything and does it well. There isn't a match you can announce with Briscoe that does sound like a good time. Briscoe vs Mox? Yup! Briscoe vs Okada? Yes please! Briscoe vs Orange? Fuck yes.

once Moxley loses the title and they open the briefcase, they'll see a note telling them that Moxley buried the title under a tree, leading to a story line inspired by Rat Race

People are just too fuckin' online, which really is where the "mindless zombie fan" stuff originates. Well, except for DVDVR. This place isn't just the exception online, it is better described as exceptional.

Phil

Damned if you do, damned if you don;t. Meanwhile, phenomenal matches on free TV. I'll take it

More like Jewrag. Right? Right?

Tony S. was always unfairly maligned for being compelled to call everything The Greatest Night In The History Of Our Sport, which I’ve always assumed was a Bischoff directive that may or may not have been screamed in his headset but I’m sure was no less clear a You Better Say This Or You’ll Be Fired scenario. Tony is a great Wrestling PBP man, should absolutely be talked about as an all timer (only Solie and Russel [edit: BEING, damn autocorrect] slam-dunk better) and if AEW accomplishes nothing else it’s allowed Schiavone to rebuild a reputation that never should have been torn down in the first place. Any team he’s in is at least a good team

Sadly, the internet is too fucking dumb to put it to rest. The DVDVR is the only place worth discussing wrestling.

I've seen one too many Shen Yun commercials. Changing my BlueSky display name:

supremebve presents an in-depth study: "Basic Bitches and the Simps Who Love Them"

Let me put this... Succinctly... There must be another way to describe Ms. Shirakawa.

Jackie's facial features look a lot like a friend's mom. I remember when she was fairly new, my friend and I were joking about her looking like Miss Brenda while walking to that friend's house. When we got there, that friend decided this was the time he was going to tell us how hot he thought Jackie was and all the nasty things that teenage boys might want to do to her. Let's just say, if you're between 13-25, do not say anything like that to your friends about a woman who looks even 1% like your mother.

This, plus they needed someone who could job clean in the final match and not have it interfere with pushes or storylines.

Durag MJF incoming! I told you guys about Bailey! Nice to be vindicated. Talented guy but needs to cut the schtick by 75%. Or dial it up to 1000%, only cut dubbed promos and every feud starts because he claims his opponent killed his teacher and/or dishonored the Shaolin Temple.

So then told him look, brother...I'm not laying down, and you're not laying down, so bring in somebody else to lay down, dude. Remember that, Cope brother dude jack, you might need it someday.

Online wrestling discourse has become sad and pathetic overall, this is the one spot where it seems to not happen, let's keep the good juju (I know im also guilty of being a twat here but im trying my best, lol) We need the Best Friends back, this would've never happened on their watch.

Is it that hard to not be shitty to strangers on the Internet for having differing opinions about fake fighting? Someone says something you disagree with and offends your rasslin sensibilities. Possible reactions: A) Just ignore their post B) Engage, say "I disagree and here's why" without being a massive dick C) FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER Come one, dudes. It's not worth it to get this riled up and awful to others over people in their underwear pretending to fight.

You know what wrestling trope I love? Babyface vs babyface matches where the participants start off sportsmanlike and then slowly lose their cool. "It's getting chippy out there" as they say in football. I watched Steiners vs Sting & Luger from SuperBrawl 1 last night and it was so good. They do botch a few spots, but the sloppiness adds to the feeling that the guys are getting frustrated and it's falling apart. There's a funny spot in the match where Scott hits a somewhat wonky tilt-a-whirl slam on Sting, gets all fired up and celebrates, and just yells FUCK at the top of his lungs.

In retrospect, I regret bringing up the video game, it clearly makes people feisty. Can we just make Kris Statlander an alien again? That’s something we all can enjoy. (Watch this turn into more wailing and gnashing of teeth.)

This could have all been avoided if the story mode didn't stink on that dang video game.

Comorotto leaving AEW and Hammerstone leaving TNA at the same time... tag them up and send them to NJPW, they can be the new Roid Warriors over there.

I hope that bringing Athena and Billie Starkz up to the main AEW roster is a permanent move, they will both add a ton to a loaded division. Honestly, they ought to consider moving Deeb down to ROH to be the veteran working with the next generation of women. Have Athena vacate the title, and let Aminata and Deeb feud over it. When Skye Blue is ready to come back, have her rehab there for a spell. Keep developing Robyn Renegade, see if Leila Gray has any value besides valet. Hell, let Harley drop in from time to time.

Now I understand why they don’t let Marina Shafir wrestle. Woof.

"He's back... and he's pissed!" - Bill Hicks

Depends on whether you’re in Ottawa or Saskatchewan.

This week AEW breaks the record for "longest running prime time wrestling show on a Turner network." After all the shit Eric Bischoff has talked about AEW, I'd commission special pyro to spell out "suck my ass, Bischoff" in the sky. But Tony Khan seems classier than me.

One weekend in 1996, I announced three of those bouts in three different states.

AA/AAA ball is fun because you get to see prospects on their way up or guys on their way down. Lower-level/unaffiliated ball is fun because sitting the sun watching baseball is almost always better than not sitting in the sun watching baseball.

I'm dead serious when I say this; If I was on the WWE radar to the point where they had me signed to whatever this scouting gimmick is, I would be pimping myself out specifically to do jobs. "I'll come put your guy over, sure, not a problem Mr Promoter. But we're gonna be the main event, and my price is double what it was before"

I kinda nodded at this earlier re: Toni/Mariah, but I’ll say it more explicitly here: They very easily could have justified going 20-30 minutes, given all that they were wrapping up, and I love that—rather than doing the bloated, melodramatic version—they went all killer, no filler and got it done in under 15. And STILL delivered an epic, satisfying payoff. Please god, let that be the lesson the industry takes from that match.

Wait Butterbean is alive

Side note, I couldn't stop laughing every time an announcer asked Tazz about something related to the cage as "he had been in so many cage matches". I watched WWE when he was there and ECW, never remembered Tazz in a single cage match ever. So I checked cagematch and it says he was in a "rage in the cage" match in 1993. So if that was in an actual cage, Tazz has had exactly one cage match and it was 30 years ago. Expert my ass.