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Seriously, fuck all this weird and obsessive AEW doomsaying/Ariel Helwani taint licking that's already clogging up multiple threads. We need to have more timely and earnest debate. What bombed harder: The film adaptation of The Snowman starring Michael Fassbender OR the Jerry Reed vehicle Smokey and The Bandit Part III?

Double Phil day on the Ringer this week Five Muto matches https://www.theringer.com/2023/2/21/23609196/keiji-muto-great-muta-five-great-pro-wrestling-matches Matches of the Week (with a bonus) https://www.theringer.com/wwe/2023/2/21/23608847/roman-reigns-sami-zayn-wwe-elimination-chamber-best-pro-wrestling-matches

Muto retired in NOAH today in the Tokyo Dome, after 39 years of wrestling. He did Shinya's DDT and Chops and Misawa's Emerald Frosion in his match with Naito. He also had one more final special match with

Detective Munch invented the multiverse.

That's deep.

“I’m not a wrestling journalist.” One month earlier… In fairness, “Nick Khan’s mouthpiece” is probably a more accurate description of his role as it pertains to WWE.

Ariel, please stop posting on DVDVR.

Tonight's Dark was an amazing thrill ride. References to Tom Zenk and Duran Duran! Tazz calling Slim J a sketchy cat! Emi and Billie practically killing each other! Tazz being annoyed by large sodas! Sketchy math regarding Bear Boulder! And of course, lots of HIP THRUSTING

Cody is a handsome, muscular, over 6-foot white guy who interviews well. He’s as safe of a pick as it gets. He’s practically WWE’s platonic ideal for a Mania main eventer.

These are pretty outrageous takes considering Cody is the B+ player that was saddled with terrible gimmicks and terrible stories for most of his career. He left the company and went to ROH and NJPW before building a company of his own and now he's back trying to reach a point in WWE that nobody would have ever imagined a couple years ago or five years ago etc. Cody is not a "safe" pick to me considering he was nowhere near the main event radar until he made himself into what he is now.. But somehow because WWE wants to ride with him as the guy its bad.. ? Sami got himself over in this angle. Cody got himself over through the course of many promotions over a number of years. Like I said before, most of this discussion to me is sour grapes. Sami has made it further than almost anyone, he was given a main event match in his hometown where he really didn't even lose considering all that went into the finish to protect him. You don't think he's happy as hell right now? He's going to have a big spot on the card too.

Isn’t the Cena split reaction Cody’s dream?

I just saw Corny and the Midnight Express use maple syrup and pillow down to "tar and feather" Magnum TA while the crowd screamed in anger, and that is EXHIBIT A for why Southern pro wrestling is NUMBER ONE AND THE BEST. I WILL BROOK NO ARGUMENT ON THIS.

If AEW is going the way of JCP booking, then they need several potential and credible babyface threats to MJF's title since I assume MJF will have a lengthy Flair-esque title reign and will continue to fend off worthy challengers via stolen wins and weasel antics. It won't be enough for him to survive the revolving door of usual suspects like Danielson, Page, Moxley, and Darby Allin. At some point they will have to address the elephant and explain what is so important about the Trios belts that Kenny Omega isn't in the World title conversation... I also wonder who will be elevated to credible threat level because at some points during Flair's reign, the book made you believe that even Ricky Morton and Road Warrior Hawk had a chance to pull off the upset and guys like AR Fox and Takesoup are right there. I wouldn't put OC, Wardlow, PAC, or Jack Perry in that category because could all believably beat MJF under ideal circumstances. Personally, I'd like to see Adam Cole beat MJF for the title. [chroniclesofriddick]In normal times, evil would be fought with good. But in times like these, well, it should be fought by another kind of evil.[/chroniclesofriddick]

I was thinking it was his tendency to help smuggle truckloads of beer across state lines while outwitting bumbling small town law enforcement.

I didn't say I regretted it. Paul Heyman's not trying to fuck MY wife. ... is he?

Finally saw Sami/Roman. First 3/4’s were really good, but once we hit the ref bumps it got real dumb and culminated in the usual, flat Bloodline Roman finish. For a guy whose offense is like 75% punches, I feel like we don’t talk enough about how sub-par Roman’s punches are. This is the DVDVR, for Pete’s sake. That motherfucker’s fist is clearly open every time. Sami’s Superman punch was better than his! It looked like a PUNCH. Really, in general, Sami was laying his shit in way more than Roman. Some really good, solid contact on his clotheslines. But if Roman wants to be the brawl and jaw guy, then he really needs to be rougher and nastier in the ring. Should probably watch some RUSH tape.

Roman's probably more likely to be the face challenger to Cody at Summerslam than Sami Zayn. As for Cody fantasybooking. Feels like there's some mileage to not immediately turning Cody, but maybe having Kevin Owens challenge Cody first. Then if Owens gets cheered over Cody, have Cody get annoyed at the fans who didn't back him. Kinda feels like Sami would need to be on a side mission to be feuding with Cody for 4 months before they wrestle. Now, if we wanna overbook, a multiman match involving Sami/Cody/Roman post-WM where Sami pins Roman, but it takes so much out of him that he's easypickings for Cody, who just doesn't understand the people unhappy with his victory.

Amazing. Every second of it. That quick shot of Chono got me. There's so much history packed in to that video overall, but even in that one moment.

My theory for the Undertaker doing to the Bikertaker look last month at Raw XXX is that he didn't want to walk down the aisle. Why use your old legs if they'll let you ride a motorcycle on TV.

So dope!

My dream title progression is MJF - Kingston - Swerve - Takeshita. But that’s like 3 year’s worth of booking.

I am absolutely in this boat. I'm sure this has all been beaten to a pulp at this point, chewed over and analyzed to death here and elsewhere, but with a real rising tide of "WWE ICHIBAN - When does Roman Reigns collect his Emmy and step over Tiny Tony Khan like Iverson over Ty Lue" around the rest of the wrestling internet, I gotta say: This was 2/3 of a good, compelling story that was never going to be able to stick the landing because of what the WWE is. The WWE is a gargantuan, international, publicly traded (for now?) entertainment entity that Puts Smiles On Faces, Makes Dreams Come True, Shatters The Glass Ceiling and Breaks Racial Barriers (Unless You Want Less of That, Because...) and is in the business of Wrestlemania Moments that please their shareholders. That is what they are, no matter who is in charge of creative or the company in general, and that's fine! It doesn't mean they can't put on good wrestling matches, hire talented performers, or be a lot of fun to watch, sometimes. What is DOES mean is that their stories, inevitably, suck. Like all multi-billion-dollar media companies in the 21st Century, they are lashed to never, ever, ever taking a risk. They are financially unwilling to get a little crazy with it. And again, that's their prerogative, but that makes for boring, formulaic stories, even by wrestling standards, and expecting anything different from WWE is delusional. What you get is a story that will end exactly how you think it will end, with nothing too out of place or genuinely surprising and that, to me, does not deserve the kind of kudos they've been getting for "storytelling." This is Sub-Marvel kind of stuff, and I think that is exactly the slot WWE is gunning for. I'm ripping off someone smarter than myself when I say that one of the worst things in sports (entertainment!) fandom these days is that nobody thinks of themselves as the workers anymore, they think of themselves as the OWNERS. They imagine themselves in the role of the GM or the moneyman and instead of being like, "I see myself in this incredibly talented, nearly superhuman (even when functioning as an underdog surrogate) performer, and am excited when good things happen to them," everybody is constantly playing fantasy football. Would putting the title on Sami "make business sense?" Could Sami "be The Guy(tm)?" What about how much merch Cody is moving? Who cares! I don't care if WWE (or AEW) make 1.2 Billion as opposed to 1.3 Billion next year. I just want to have fun. I want to be Sports Entertained. I watched the match, and it was really electric (and managed to convey a lot without much flashy in-ring work) until the over-schmozzed end because they had backed themselves into a corner. I'm glad Sami got this whole run, but let's not pretend that any of this is a good blowoff to the story (and to be clear, the story is OVER). Let's not pretend it was anything other than a cynical reverting to the mean, because that is what the WWE does. Good luck to Codylander, I bet he'll have a banger match with Roman, but the Story that WWE is telling you, the fan, over and over and over again, is that nothing ever changes because that would affect the bottom line, and there's nothing you can do about it, so don't bother getting too invested.

Roddy Piper vs. Gerry Brisco on the 7/10/82 episode of MCW. The lead up, match and aftermath is amazing.

I grew up in a region of Northern Michigan that somehow didn't have an affiliate that carried WWF Superstars, the A-show from 86 through 92. But thanks to cable and being able to watch Prime Time Wrestling and All-American Wrestling, and that cable system also beaming in a Detroit station that carried the Wrestling Challenge B-show, I managed to never be lost as to what the main storylines were and major angles despite never being able to watch the true "A-show". I really do think that is an underrated component of the national television takeover from that era. They really did make an effort back then to make sure that you still knew the major happenings of the promotion if you only had access to one TV show from their suite of programming, or had access to the full slate but missed Superstars. Reflecting on that also reinforces what I think is one of the most low-key brilliant production decisions of the time. The call to only note the name of the weekly TV show during show-intros and show-ends, and on commentary segue out of match segments with "stay tuned for more World Wrestling Federation action" to make it easier to stand alongside more "show-unique" content gave a much easier "plug-and-play" when editing matches/segments from Superstars and Challenge into Prime Time, All-American, and Spotlight.

I didn’t realize it but I haven’t seen it since I was a youngun. Here’s something I did realize a long time ago and it’s remained consistent episode after episode - SVU is a complete total critic spoof. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m watching a TV show or Freddie Got Fingered when that mess is on. John Ritter the barnyard doctor, The Fonz as the crazy crooked lawyer, and recently they had that bald guy who played a principal in every single 80s school sitcom ever made besides Save by the Bell and the mean Grandfather from The Goldbergs in a an episode together as 2 dudes who killed their own mother. They have to be trolling and laughing when they come up with that stuff every week, then when they choose the actors.

RIP Detective Munch. I loved the chemistry between him and Ice-T on Law & Order.

3 days later and I just don’t see how you pass that moment up. What happens after is irrelevant. Sami wins that and he becomes legend. Endless video package fodder on a loop, then now together forever or whatever the hell the tag is. He can lose again in short order, by way of uso shenanigans and you still get your tag match that has even more heat now and you still get your Roman Cody if you absolutely have to have that by hook or crook. It plays into the Cody “he’s a man” quip about Roman. It’s all a little bonkers to me, that that golden moment, served up on a platter and there’s this collective “na you can’t do that” Like this is wrestling, you most certainly CAN do that. The foley win and the Luger win which I had totally forgot about which makes even less sense given all the things that were going on back then, but is not any less iconic an image 25 years later, are all right there as examples. I’m still baffled, in an almost, dream state. It’s that incredulous to me. This was a lay up

Is it universally considered that Rey is the best WWE babyface of all-time? I've thought that for a while. But man oh man I think we are seeing Sami take that mantle from him right now. Babyface Sami was one of the handful of most important reasons why NXT took off. He was proxy for the audience. And I remember him for his losses (against Claudio and Neville and Shinsuke and of course KO) as much as I do his triumphs. Sami was a great babyface when he first came up on the main roster and did a lot of great work. I think there's a good chance that in a year or two years or three years from now we'll all realize that Sami losing in Montreal was the absolute best decision not just for this storyline but for Sami's career. We've seen the unlikely babyface underdog win the big one before. We've even seen the hometown hero win ala CM Punk. But Sami endured the most heartbreaking loss in WWE history. Part of the thing great babyfaces do is struggle. And struggling at times means failure with dignity. Sami, filled with self-doubt, knows he has to take down The Bloodline. He knows he needs the help of his former best friend, who he has wronged, who he only saved after the damage was already done, and he has to do all of this all after losing his chance to win the big one. That segment with KO tonight wasn't long. And it was the obvious plot point. But Sami once again hit a home run. Of course KO did, too -- IMO, he's been the best character actor in the WWE since his debuted in NXT and took Sami out and revealed his uncaring stare. And now we see where Jey's head is at as the build continues. There's obviously no telling what kind of material Sami's going to get after The Bloodline sage ends. There's no way it's going to be as good as what he has now because nothing has ever been this good. But if Sami could knock it out of the park with the Jackass gang, he'll figure it out. He's that damn good. Maybe he'll never win the big one. But he might end up being the best babyface in WWE history, because they laid the groundwork for that to happen. Anyways, his match against Corbin was good fun. Corbin's a really solid heel JTTS. Corbin's really underrated and has a really important role. I also popped huge for Ali's counter to the famouser. I'm firmly convinced this whole thing with Dolph got set up because they were messing around before a show and Ali came up with that insane counter and they wanted to do that in a match and a story got built around that. Chad Gable of course rules. The same with Bronson Reed. Dear god do I love Bronson Reed. This main event was also really good stuff. Austin Theory is an awesome goober heel. I'm not a huge Edge fan but anyone who has been wrestling as long as Edge knows everything there is to know about how to present a good WWE TV main event, which this was. But man, Bianca's kind of stale. Bianca's awesome when she has a good foil to play off of. But it's outside of her range if she has to play the lead. I wish Rhea went after Bianca and not Charlotte because Rhea is an awesome heel and they'd have a great match. Asuka and Bianca are going to have a very good match and I love this version of Asuka. But Asuka doing this crazed stuff against Charlotte works better than it does against Bianca.

How are all the doctors and researchers going to get rid of cancer if you keep going around creating more of it?

He must have forgotten the "hard questions" in his other pants when he interviewed HHH.

Unless you have legit proof, I would not be making that accusation as part of the media. Brett Favre is suing people somehow for defamation of character and like people have more than enough proof that he's stealing welfare funds. Other than speculation on social media, unless he was doing rails with Tony, he doesn't have any proof. Moreover, he's in bed with a company that is owned by a man who probably has done TK's body weight in cocaine and booked by a man who admitted to taking PEDs. Welcome to pro wrestling, buddy.

You've got me hyped about this. I always forget that JYD left in '84. For whatever reason, I always misremember him as debuting in WWF a year or so later than he did. If I were Watts in August 1984, I'd just strap the rocket to Hacksaw Duggan, who is very over in front of those Shreveport crowds. Re: Krusher Darsow's heel turn, I'm going a bit DVDVR here with the "heel is actually a face" thing. I don't think Darsow's a heel, but he a) is upset that JYD didn't thank him for the save or that b) JYD and his buddies didn't come to him for team-ups or to help him get some bigger matches. JYD's response is basically to say, I lost a bunch when I started here, so you should have to lose a bunch before you get anywhere, too. Then, he slaps Darsowbecause that's what JYD's dad would have done to Dog had he whined so much about not getting any help (as is implied because JYD is mad about what Darsow's saying and he responds with something like, "My daddy would..." and then slaps Darsow). Darsow's probably a bit too whiny to be considered the face here, but JYD doesn't even address the lack of thanks and then is just like, Life is hard, fuck you. Meanwhile, Volkoff is nice enough to help Darsow improve his technique as a wrestler and a lifter. Even if you argue that Volkoff is doing this because he's a devious Russian who wants to divide the Americans and conquer them, Darsow's turn is understandable. The Russian treated me nicely, but the Americans don't care that I'm upset. Why should I stay loyal to people who don't care about me or my feelings? In 1983 Mid-South, Darsow is the clear heel. He should just stop crying and try harder. Forty years later (!!!), I bet a lot of modern wrestling fans would have a little sympathy for the devil, so to speak.

But what is Cody at this moment? He's still a guy in his AEW packaging who started off hot and got injured and then got the cushiest Rumble win ever. Sami actually had a story. Cody seems totally manufactured at this point, through my eyes.

I wish I had the time to write a deeper critical analysis of the Roman/Sami story, because for all of the fawning over the storytelling, nobody (that I’ve read yet) has sniffed out the far more interesting stuff going on under the surface—specifically, the way the story changed after Vince was forced out and what that change says about Vince, HHH, and their relationship to each other. I think writers tend to reveal a lot about themselves through their work, whether they intend to or not. So, consider… In Vince’s version, Sami is a bumbling, wannabe family member, a hanger-on. He’s a joke, and the punchline is that he’s never going to REALLY be accepted, no matter how hard he tries. Roman lets him hang around because he’s amusing and an occasionally useful idiot. In HHH’s version, Sami is cast in a more sympathetic light. He’s a put upon hero who jumps through every hoop, endures every taunt, and compromises his own values to earn Roman’s respect and affection, but is met with second-guessing, derision, threats, and suffering, building to a breaking point where Sami stabs him in the back and attempts to take away what matters most to him. Gosh, it’s almost like Roman is Vince, Sami is HHH, and the Bloodline has been their own story as viewed from each of their perspectives. If someone from The Ringer is lurking this thread, you can have that idea for free, but I’m expecting 5,000 words on it by Wednesday.

This show (and AEW in general lately) seems pretty directionless. I still enjoy AEW. And there's still a bunch of good matches every week. But the buzz that had been there, the feeling that most of what was happening was can't miss... that's kinda all gone right now. It seems like I say this every PPV cycle, but I wish they would start announcing a couple matches more than a week or two out. One of the biggest benefits of only doing 4 PPVs is having time to really advertise and push things and make them seem like gigantic events. You lose all of that by waiting until two weeks is left to announce your matches. Here's to hoping some big angle is in the works to spark some momentum. I miss how things felt after All Out 2021. Punk was back. Cole & Danielson debuted. The first Grandslam was upon us. How do we get back to THAT excitement level?

Wrote about some of the great Memphis angles in tribute to Jerry Jarrett https://www.theringer.com/2023/2/17/23604726/jerry-jarrett-three-great-memphis-wrestling-angles

Pretty sure you can't faithfully do the Cody Bloodline unless Dustin and Arn return to the WWE to be his Brisco/Patterson. But yeah, Heyman+Cody feels like something that would happen in a scenario where you're getting Babyface asskicker Roman Reigns coming back to get revenge on Cody/Heyman.

I enjoyed the chaos of the ending. I love the Renegades so I wanted them to have a real run coming off the great ppv win, but Pretty Empowered is awesome in any incarnation and now I'm thrilled for the also awesome Madi & Missa.

I'm also enjoying Robbie and BK. Great to see both Leia and Vickie Lynn make it into the gauntlet. Either would be a fine champion.

On a mildly less absurd note, my attempt to regain the probably 25 pounds I've lost in the last 2 months is now up and running. Just went through a pretty basic 5x5 routine and felt...great, actually. It's so weird how my gut became as out of whack as it did and now it's normalizing again almost as quickly. Fucking stupid red meat being delicious.

May as well post a wrestling-adjacent one then, CBS Saturday Morning Spectacular for 1985 hosted by Rowdy Roddy Piper with appearances from Captain Lou Albano,, Patti Labelle, Pee Wee Herman, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and more https://youtu.be/aGJ1y_Qsa3g

It's a work.

oh man.. Sabu wasn't 35 until almost the end of 1999. But yeah, Sabu showing up on Raw to legdrop Cena through a table was a really cool moment.

Depending on how one reads it, this is either 'I stay out of it' like he stayed out of Montreal or countless pushes from 2001-2005, or a legitimate, exasperated plea to stop asking; either possiblity remains equally hilarious.

She had a guest spot on Sabrina The Teenage Witch in '96, I was 15 and definitely went to look her up on my Netscape Navigator

Unless they've re-signed and there are big plans for them, why bring FTR back to TV just to beat them again? They lost three straight on the way out, let it rest.

Grbac was probably better, at least on paper, than Steve Bono or old Joe Montana, but being the 3rd former Niners QB to end up in KC within 4 years wasn't really an ideal assignment because people got tired of Steve Bono quickly here. The other great Grbac story is how People Magazine accidentally made him the sexiest athlete alive because they mixed him up with Rich Gannon. Considering that Vermeil was getting 4000 yard passing seasons out of Trent Green, Grbac probably could have piled up lots of yardage with Vermeil (if they could work together)