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Can we just officially hand the keys to the Star Wars Universe fully over to Filoni and Favreau? They've been on fire.

I know expecting logic from sports entertainment is bad idea, but, that said, WWF/E doing the 'big man is afraid of whatever' gimmick rarely makes sense, I was watching Saturday Night's Main Event last weekend and caught a Jake Roberts-Kamala match. Of course, pre-match is Jake letting Damien out of the bag and Kamala running in fear. I mean, he's supposed to be a savage from Uganda. Seems sort of silly that he acts like he's never seen a snake before. Every big man in a hundred mile radius calling out the Undertaker then cowering in fear when UT actually showed was silly. I guess no one learned their lesson when the 100 dudes that feuded with UT before them talked smack about Undertaker, only to turn into jello when the music hit, Sigh, don't even get me started on the trope of being paralyzed by confusion and fear when your match is interrupted by the entrance music of the guy you are feuding with (often without the wrestler himself appearing). Ugh. Wrestlers are apparently dimwits with the attention span of crows.

Like a lot of the guys from this era, he was a better worker than you would think, if you were judging him solely on his push. Honestly, guys like Batista, Cena, and Orton were lucky, because they could have just as easily turned out like Damaja and Dinsmore and Conway. People complain about how guys like Ricochet and Black are used once they make it to the main roster, but the WWE has been doing shit like this for 20 years.

I don't think one can reasonably make this case when Cody Rhodes is one of AEW's biggest and most talented stars. Expanding on this, guys who were largely developed in that system like Juice Robinson or Miro are either beloved or in the case of Miro given a lot of benefit of the doubt. Kurt Angle and Christian were largely a product of the WWE system, and they flourished in TNA. There are guys like Chad Gable who are largely a product of that system who people salivate over the thought of seeing work elsewhere. Then you consider how talented Roman is, the breadth of wrestlers he's worked with and learned from and grown alongside, the experience and knowledge he could get from his own family, etc. I don't think it's possible to look at this performer and dismiss him as a "product of the system." All this said, I doubt we'll ever find out how awesome he could be elsewhere. He's a WWE lifer or he'll eventually make the jump to movies.

Quality trolling

My second favourite TNA review was from one version of this board. I don't remember who said it, or their exact wording, but it was to the effect of this: "This episode sucked. Sting wasn't hitting people with a bat. Not a draw, my ass."

My favorite long term WWE story telling is how Regal and Dunne just glare each other like they are seconds away from throwing down. Has been a constant since the moment Dunne showed up in the WWE

Tremendous.

Like Fall Guys three months ago?

They gave up on Giant Bernard like a week after he beat Cena clean and he resumed hiphopapotamus duty.

Hangman Page should be booked as Raylan Givens. That’s it. That’s the post.

'Nuff said.

I may be the only one, and I totally understand that it's a storyline, but as a 39-year-old male I find the Murphy(32) and Aalyah(Just turned 19 in August) romance fairly nauseating.

Either Yano or Hiromu vs Orange Cassidy.

Respectfully, OSJ, I'd say Sting was a fairly consistent performer through some of WCW's toughest periods and was basically the face of the company when many other top stars were constantly jumping ship. Additionally, the fact that his career managed to survive so much bad booking is a testament to his star power and viability between RoboCop, the Black Scorpion, Bill Watts, Shockmaster, Jake Roberts, and plenty of other nonsense. There's no Vader legend without Sting. Not to mention Great Muta having crossover success in the US and forging a significant rivalry with Sting. Even Sting and Mick Foley did great work together, and Mick Foley said his matches with Sting were some of his favorites in his first book. So to say no one would care about Sting without Ric Flair/Horsemen is a bit of a misnomer to me. Also if Sting wasn't a draw, does that mean Vader was never a draw outside of Japan? Vader had a hot start in WWF in 1996 and then his career took a nosedive after that.

For these comments critical of the league, James Harrison has been fined $25,000

Woof.

I think Starks is doing the pose as a heel move, because he knows fans hate it when Wrestlers do that.

(Look at the background)

I agree with this, but I have an issue with saying guys like Ultimo Dragon and Arn Anderson don't deserve induction only because they weren't a main event level draw. as if that wipes away all other criteria. I also feel that strong mid card programs (like WCW cruiserweights) can help the overall business but people sometimes seem to want to only focus on who's on top.

This was wonderful.

Mitch Trubisky will be starting for the Bears since Nick Foles is hurt (he also sucks but that isn't the reason for Trubisky's return)

So when Jurassic Express took on Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss a few weeks back on Dark, Janela had both the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight and REW Pakistan 24/7 titles on the line. Both titles have changed hands a few times since ... I now half-expect Thunder Rosa to win the belts, for the sole purpose of posing for a picture with even more belts than her first photo.

Also, TYTHON IS CANON!!!

Yeah, I'm not trying to mock Reigns. WWE continues to just bring guys up to the main roster with no purpose. Mark Jindrak, Luther Reigns, Nathan Jones, Chris Masters, Snitsky, etc morph into Ricochet, Aleister Black, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable. I'd like to add to the list the invisible camera that is present for all the important moments.

I was perpetuating the joke. As @Jijidiscovered much to his dismay (and as I alluded to earlier) Abadon sans make-up looks nothing like her zombie girl gimmick, so you could conceivably pass her off as a different worker and no one would be the wiser especially given that Abadon does not speak when she's in her dead girl persona. She's the female Joseph Park / Abyss.

There was much rejoicing on Gay Wrestling Twitter when Anthony Bowens got signed, because he is both Out and Proud. And because it proved that AEW is signing people on merit, rather than trying to fill some woke quota. The thing I loved about the last Acclaimed squash on Dark was, when Caster went for the final cover and Bowens went to block the partner from breaking it up, he didn't dive out of the ring onto him or anything. He just stood their and looked mean, daring the guy to try and get past him. And the guy - very believably - backed down like he was scared to even try anything that might annoy Bowens. I liked that. Less is more, in this case.

She was fucking great. I'd even give her a greater credit than Dario for writing Suspiria because she came up with the very concept. Her screaming in the last shot of Tenebrae might be as much of a stunner as the end of Inferno to me. RIP

Thanks, dude. I'm cool with reviewing but compared to others wasn't too happy with some of the ones I picked. I'll need to see how things shake out but if possible I'll give it a go.

That's Roman's uncle, Luther.

Thunder Rosa's mask game is on point

This is a pretty interesting thought experiment. @Goodear is a dude who: Doesn't really like AEW all that much (as evidenced by the weekly posts in the weekly/monthly AEW threads which tend to be, like, 8 or 9 negative things and 1 or 2 minor positive thoughts). "Only" watches Dynamite and Dark. (as evidenced by his not knowing about the Recruitment Specialist stuff playing out weekly on BTE). Would prefer clear and pure heel vs face storytelling and clear lines between the two, and dislikes the way the good guys sometimes do bad things and the bad guys are sometimes sympathetic on Dynamite. Would prefer kayfabe to be kept and doesn't enjoy the 4th-wall breaking on Dynamite (as evidenced by not understanding and not liking that real life besties Sammy and Stunt did a fist bump). That being said, @Goodear often has interesting takes and is a good writer who expresses his opinions in a clear and entertaining way. (Also: I am not sure if I should be writing this in second person rather than third person. I'm going with third so it doesn't come across like a personal attack). Anyway, I will be following along and look forward to reading this, but I'm disinclined to comment much because I can already imagine that it would be a series of "Actually, if you watched BTE..." and "Well, that used to be true, but shades of grey characters and 4th-wall breaking are just part of AEW's presentation and in my opinion that's OK" posts.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, please keep those less fortunate in mind.

Best Vince vocalizations: "and THE ERFQUAKE!" "and THE RED ROOSTER!" "and ZOOS!!!"

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Seth Rollins: Billy no-mates.

I loved this episode. Every week seems to feel more and more chaotic. I think they've got a great mix of promos and wrestling on the show now, it still moves at a fast pace, and the wrestling is rarely bad. Top to bottom on the card there are people I'm into, that other people might not be, and I think that's great for the show. I like Kenny's character, and I can't wait for the match next week. I'd like Kenny to win the title, maybe Mox gets laid out again after by the mystery assailant, and he can go and do Japan, maybe take a little break after. Ricky Starks is absolutely terrific, I'm buying into Team Taz slowly but surely. I think Hobbs can use some seasoning as a badass heel before turning some time down the line, and this should be a great combo. I like the Dark Order, I love Hangman, I think they should get together. Uno would never abandon Page like the Bucks and Kenny did. Also, a year or so ago, I'd say who the fuck is John Silver? But now? I wanna buy his merch. I need a Meat Man t-shirt. The Midnight Meat Train, Johnny Hungie, I'm all in!

Adam Page Adam Page is a guy with big draw potential who I believe is being harmed by his booking which we will get to as this report rambles onward towards the sun. and the sweet release of death. Of all the AEW guys with no WWE experience or exposure, I would pick Page as the one with the most mainstream appeal and the best chance to cross over into big draw territory. I think he's a potential needle mover but they've got to get behind him and stop with some of the moves that would threaten his steam. "The Hangman" is an all time great nickname and as he's developed and matured, I think he's managed to finally fit the moniker after years of trying to fit into an independent mold. By saving the moonsaults to the outside and the standing shooting star presses, he can concentrate on what he's good at and that's <Big E> slapping big manly meat </Big E>. Page has great strikes in particular his boots and clotheslines which always seem to hit in a satisfying flesh to flesh manner. The fallaway slam and pop up powerbomb are also good additions to the tool set and while I would save the reverse piledriver thing that I don't remember the name of as a big PPV finish, I think it fits his tone properly. The buckshot lariat is a fine finish and that it has a long wind up and pay off is not a bad thing in a face finisher. Countering it can become too ingrained in the psychology if they have everyone figure it out all the time but they've done a reasonably good job not overplaying the counters. The Cowboy gimmick is a classic and Page has done a fairly good job of modernizing it so he's not quite so cartoony. Look wise, I think I preferred the plain black trunks to the new long tights with the frills. I think they're a might too fancy for the character and thy could bring it back to center by putting him back in the simpler gear. So we have a guy with a lot of tools to work with and many intangibles that could lead to big dollars. We seemed to be on the verge of something major when Page and Omega faced the Young Bucks at Revolution but to be honest, it feels as though not pulling the trigger on someone turning caused the angle to sputter. Page basically won the tag titles in the closing stretch on his own and the Bucks and Omega were treating him as a lesser partner in the group so the parts were there to make a major move to put Page on the road to super stardom. But instead they didn't do anything and still all four guys were in the ring at the end of the Bucks-FTR title change. The angle's lack of progress has killed its momentum coupled with one other crucial element... The drinking problem. I'm still baffled by them taking their potential breakout star and making him a sad drunk. No one ever got over by being pathetic but we're going to give it a go. The belief seems to be we're taking a guy at a 7 of being over, intentionally dropping him to a 5 so he can rebound to a 10. This idea ignores that sometimes people don't recover from their heat diminishing when they go to reheat. The crowd may move on if they think Page is too much of a sad sack loser who cries in his beer. The momentum of the Page push has faltered a lot from the writing perspective and I don't know that continuing to push him down is going to make him rise in the end. It's on one hand very ambitious but it also feels like AEW hasn't had the stones to have either Kenny or The Bucks definitively turn on Page and get some heat.