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For a second I was like, Damn, Drake pissed Rikishi off, too?!

God damn it.

Now, the Karate Man, that guy had it.

Settle down, Zakketico.

Bumping this old-ass thread because I just had a thought while posting in another thread about Ethan Page's release: As of January 2022, ROH TV was getting ~400K viewers across all of the various Sinclair stations it aired on. I also pulled a report just now where WOW was just doing 240K-330K in November/December '23. Am I insane, or do you guys think there might still be some value in old-school, straight-up broadcast syndication?? Even if it isn't first-run matches necessarily, these numbers kind of make me think that even running classic footage to drive eyes to the Turner shows (or, alternatively, classic ROH stuff to drive Honor Club subscriptions) might be a viable form of "advertising," in a sense. I guess really it all comes down to exclusivity in the new deal with WBD or wherever they land next, but food for thought, anyway. Maybe I'm outta the loop, but I was a little shocked by the size of these audiences for what are essentially infomercials.

Remember the promo Danielson cut when he was kayfabe released from the NXT competition? We need Chuck Taylor to come back like, "I don't know what the future holds for Chuck Taylor, but "No Gimmicks Needed" Steve the Samurai is going to be just fine! (or Frank "Grabass" Hernandez, or Cuba Gooding III, or "Hard Wood" Rich Mahogany , or...).

Ethan Page looks like a generic CAW and is my definition of replacement level. Once I heard him on Colt’s pod going on and on about how he just idolizes The Rock, I couldn’t unsee all his subtle Rock ripoff tendencies. There’s really nothing to him at all.

So Johnny Ace was describing himself as a victim of Vince but now he thinks that the wind's changing so he's denying McMahon did anything wrong? How is this supposed to have any credibility at all?

Vince demanding Johnny “go hire that one asshole who got canceled!” is going to be the 2025 version of “go hire that one legged wrestler!”

if Ronda was aiming to bring down a WWE star with lies, why would she pick Drew Gulak

Hangman was on the very verge of being a bad guy when he left. Some people would say he was already there. I'd like to see a third side to this with Hangman/Moxley/RUSH. Just the maniacs banding together to see the world burn.

Willow is a beacon of light and joy and is already just the right bit misanthropic - "Nothing matters, smile anyway!" Karen is already too black-hearted.

Getting hit with a softball hurts 5 percent less than getting hit with a baseball.

Ethan Page is super talented but it feels like there's something missing. I don't think AEW's booking really helped either. I liked Men of the Year well enough but they got saddled with the MMA stuff with the old guy cutting promos who's name I'm blanking on, ultimately it didn't do him any favors. Anything Matt Hardy related I mostly skip but what I saw of that stuff was pretty stupid. I didn't understand why they couldn't just push him as a cocky heel without the gimmicks. He can do some really impressive stuff in the ring, just let him wrestle I also think him going to WWE is a no brainer. He seems like a HHH kind of guy and I'm sure he'd relish the opportunity to take a guy like him who AEW dropped the ball on and prove he's a better booker

It's ok Paul, I saw The First Avenger 16 times at the cinema You can have one of my views

Softballs used to be balls of yarn with the leather covering, so they were literally soft. They became more like baseballs years later.

I didn't need more than "I went in for a handshake and accidentally grabbed someone's waistband". That's enough to set off creep alarms in my head. Think of it this way. Think of a handshake. Think about how often handshakes are usually right around your elbow's height, if not higher. Then think about how Drew Gulak is a half foot taller than Ronda Rousey, but his hand - which he claims was for a handshake - was somehow low enough to hit her waistband. Nope. Not buying it. That's not a wacky misunderstanding, that's an attempt at a grope and he got caught.

Because Ronda Rousey is frequently a terrible person. That said, even terrible people can be subjected to creepy behavior, and Drew Gulak is a grade-A creep.

In case you were wondering why Seinfeld has been going around telling anyone who would listen that it's impossible to do comedy any more... It's currently sitting at 46 on RT.

I'd wait til the Sex Pest stuff has cleared out first, especially after comments made on mainstream sports TV.

Lol I really lobbed that one over the plate, eh? For once I meant the barbed wire, not the thiccness!! I swear!!!

Rikishi dropping diss tracks in 2024 is something I didn't have on my bingo card

I think she's doing her absolute best at being genuine. Take that as you will. As for the paradise lock, I'm ok with it but it shouldn't be on for more than a few seconds without some sort of interaction, be that rolling someone around or a much quicker dropkick. It is a suspension of disbelief issue, still worth doing if it gets a reaction, but worth getting through quickly.

No, but one of the pilots did mention something about dragging Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.

Get me Lord Littlebrook and Moolah.

Vince recruiting for a new wrestling company will be like Mr Burns telling Smithers who to recruit for his softball team

Society is just so much shit.

Sometimes the standard for "who is telling the truth" is literally "who do we like more"

Thinking about the gimmick match variations: 10 minute iron man match last man standing with a 5 count royal rumble with 10 seconds intervals

It costs less than CGI'ing Eternia.

I was very comfortable with Sinclair-era ROH (even if Sinclair themselves suck). Syndicated wrestling rules. Do it, Tony.

Oh yeah dude, no argument from me - I've finally begun tuning in from time to time (though not as regularly as the YT shows) and thoroughly enjoyed the two tapings I was at Collision for - its definitely cool as a "Jimmy Hart does whatever on Saturday Night" side-thing. I only mentioned it to say that if the plan were ever to eventually do a standalone ROH, I could think of very few currently under contract who would be a better 'thematic' fit, IMO - so I just found his release disappointing from that perspective.

Cornette videos on anything current is.... yeah Cornette videos titled "Jim Cornette on Birds" is an instant click

As long as those channels are still free over-the-air channels then yeah it would make a lot of sense to do it. I know people talked about an AEW C/D show but ROH would be great in this slot. I just don't think that's what they want to do since it feels clear to me they're using it for more content and also like a more important Dark. But if they wanted to then yeah do it. It's still crazy to me with all the changes in streaming and TV people still use antennas and over-the-air channels. I should know because I got one recently and while it's a pain to find the right position there's some fun stuff to be had. I could also go on about how easy it was to cut TV streaming altogether (was sweating for a day after dropping Youtube TV) but that's for another topic.

@Casey Let's start easy. Mid-South Brawls First off, the follow up with Duggan and Sawyer: A chain match as you surmised: And here's Dibiase vs the freebirds in a cage: I'll find you the tuxedo match later. Also the concession stand brawls and some moondogs brawls for Memphis among other things.

To be honest I treated ROH for the longest time as just another AEW show though a lot more self-contained. It's Dark but with titles/purpose and better matches. I know that sounds dismissive but I love everything about it. If anything it led to me enjoying the shows a lot more as I'm paying attention to things I would have glossed over. I figure if they're not losing much money and people are checking the shows (which at least live they are and seem to get into) then no harm no foul. And hey I'm still streaming them on Thursdays on Discord whether people watch it or not so it could be worth a look if y'all are curious. And I would even be down for giving a monthly ROH report in the AEW thread for those not watching or paying attention to the ROH thread. I also cringe when somebody says TK buying them was a mistake. It was a drop in the bucket for him and it keeps ROH alive for old and new fans. Plus it gives wrestlers another chance to get some reps in. Doesn't sound like a mistake to me. Now I do understand if people expected a lot more to come out of this but honestly I think it's already paid off for them.

Awesome! Made my day https://x.com/ringofhonor/status/1786173574056960039?s=46&t=JezDTqtGbK8qkBaDwTOzMw

Ethan was always a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine. AND I loved Karate Man, even if he hated it. He's been to TNA already, don't think they really need him, Aytch should give him a shot and see what percolates.

I feel awful for Ethan. The guy was getting shredded with the hopes of getting some gold this year. And he cut a helluva promo on ROH about his title plans and doing it for his daughter which felt felt pretty damn real to me. He seemed motivated but it sucks they didn't have anything for him. I mean I practically forgot Kyle Fletcher is the TV champ but you couldn't have had Page at least make a run towards a title match to see how people like it? If it worked out then great but if not then yeah I guess that's for him but they could have at least tried. Instead he meandered around after MOTY so unless something fucked up happened I feel bad for him. That said WWE would be a good place if he gets in but I'm not sure how far he'd go. Now an indy run where he goes back to pyscho mode nuking fools in revenge for the release would be fun to see. I liked when he would do that and it was great in the Darby feud.

Apparemment, sa majesté royale Charlotte Flair et l'homme invisible John Cena seront de la partie. De plus, cette idée stupide de ma part fait désormais apparaître mes publicités en français.

I don't dislike Page but Technico nailed it - and with today's talent pool in both feds, you really gotta do something special to stand out and thrive. Egon does not have that special something

Such a great show. The Omega/Elite angle was tremendous. Excellent promo from Kenny and then everything that followed had good timing and excellent execution. I'm amongst the lowest voters on Authority Figures, heel or otherwise, but not the Jacksons nor the creative offended my sensibilities here. The opening was terrifically funny, TK included, as was everything they did on the show. Loved the Opening video. Willow v Skye Blue was my match of the night. Willowmania is fast approaching. She's now killing it on the mic weekly along with the fantastic in-ring work. Skye has been wonderful since the heel turn. Total star in the making. Both Skye and Willow murdered their shit beautifully in the Main. Some incredibly brutal spots. The Women's Division as as whole has been 10 fold better in the last number of weeks. Mariah v Serena was also a strong bout. Stoked for Serena v Toni. That said, the corny Paradise lock has got to go. That's the worst. Not quite sure of the title shot logic, but I'm game for Swerve v Christian. So happy to have the Wayne Family back on my TV. Mother Wayne stood tall in the opening segment. Heel Christian is a gift that keeps on giving. Copeland v Buddy was a solid opening match with an excellent latter half. More dumb angling from the House perfectly laid out above by @JLowe (how do we tag now?). Samoa Joe v Isaih Kassidy was a perfect TV enhancement match. The Walk Off/Dive was absolutely brutal looking and completely awesome. OC/Trent angle was brief but effective. I love Don Callis looming around this. Jericho v Shibata was fantastic. Murderous chopping galore. The puck to the face looked brutal. Everytime Jericho meanders as a babyface ppl always seem to forget what a capable to excellent heel he is. Jericho/Bill is perfection. I would not be surprised if this pairing Actually results in Bill becoming a top star. "Aside from my own actions, what did I do to deserve this treatment?' Stokely is really coming into his own in combination with Stat and Willow. Claudio v Brian Cage was a nice showcase. I wanna see this one again. Copeland/O'Reilly promo was very good. I like that pairing. Papa Magie brings great energy to the broadcast booth. I liked him pointing out how great White/Asses entrance music is. I wholeheartedly agree. Jay White v Dante was a strong TV bout. All these matches would obviously have benefitted greatly from a bit more crowd heat, but the work was tight regardless. Excellent Deonna promo. I love her going all FBI. I sense, in her proper heel role, she may surprise a few who may have written her off early in this run. Good Swerve promo. Working off Christian should benefit his fair to good mic game. Romero v O'Reilly seems to have gotten slept upon. Not enough story for some, not enough heat for others. The tight solid wrestling thrilled me throughout. Saraya/Harley promo was excellent as per usual. Harley makes the most of her minutes. I'm endlessly entertained by her hilarity. Very curious to see what Harley v Tiny Storm looks like. Good Roddy/Kingdom promo even if nobody cares. By the way, Arkady Aura is terrific. It certainly wouldn't have hurt to throw a name plate under her. Or give her an introduction of sorts (same goes for her innocuous debut on Collision). Even early in her run, she's clearly a natural broadcaster. The hour 3 Rampage portion underserved the star power and inevitably lost audience momentum, but nonetheless there was a lot to like in the hour. Overall, this was a terribly fun Rampage/Dynamite combo.

Yes. When he worked, that was how he wrote his citations, even when using pen and paper (he was in building code enforcement). It's called title casing. As for why someone would do that if they aren't writing headlines for a living, beats the heck out of me.

Some other things about this show… I was wrong to criticize Jericho so quickly. I think the Hook match still stunk, but this is maybe the best trolling heel shtick he’s done since he returned to WWE with the LED jacket and was in that multi man tag match where he got tagged in danced around, pumped up the crowd, immediately tagged out, and then left. Plus, I think pairing him with Big Bill will only help Bill even more. This is a really good reinvention for Jericho. How in the fuck did this company get me to give a shit about non-Jungle Boy Jack Perry? That CM Punk thing was maybe the best thing to happen to him. In fact, I think this version of the Elite is maybe its best iteration. Jack Perry in this role reminds me a lot of Brian Pillman before he left WCW. The whole angle is humming along too. I got a good laugh out of the opening of the show, thought teasing Omega as Swerve’s opponent only for it to be Christian was brilliant. That’s also another great example of everything mattering. I think it sometimes takes too long for it to matter, but Christian looping around to the attack on Nick and losing that tag match was excellent. There’s also a ton of really interesting wrinkles with other storylines, like what Callis is doing with Trent and OC, the slow build to Stat turning on Willow, and if May will see that Toni is afraid of her.

I am and have been vehemently opposed to breaking up Best Friends. No one wants to see these guys fight. Now, that said, if you want to salvage this, then AEW’s version of Endgame to rescue the promotion from Elite tyranny later this year should have a reunited Best Friends - as the true heart and soul of the company from day one - neutralizing the Bucks while Omega deals with Okada.

I know we have a merchandise thread but this is too important: https://www.shopaew.com/catalog/product/view/id/74008/s/nyla-rose-her-all-royalties-will-go-to-freedom-oklahomas-501c3/category/5343/ New Nyla Rose shirt with all royalties going towards Freedom Oklahoma, a LGBTQ+ rights group. Well done AEW.

Oh god...