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That would be really cool, but I learned from Wandavision not to get caught up too much in rumors of character appearances.

What’s the rumor?

This match is another example of their deep bench. Before it was announced, I had no idea I wanted to see it so bad.

I do like JR's sit-down interviews a lot. He's really good at coming off as a reporter asking hard questions in those. His crankiness works for him in that setting. I was watching those really good Hangman youtube videos and there's a sit-down with the Bucks and Hangman/Omega where Ross is great at calling out little asides and looks that guys are giving. You really felt like he brought something out of them in that interview. It wasn't just the usual backstage person asking a question and then holding the mic while stuff goes on.

I’ve said before, a pro wrestling commentator’s job is to put things over. It’s not to lend credibility or anything else. How have we made it this far talking about JR and not brought up him saying that Uno “left some DNA” on Danielson’s chest? That was some straight-up Bill Mercer “He’s exploding all over him!” stuff right there.

AEW has done a great job of keeping people in positions where they can easily move them up and down the card. I think a big part of it is the combination of a deep bench and never outright burying anyone on that bench. An example is Matt Hardy. @Matt Dmade a comment in his Dark write-up that Hardy could be a tv challenger for Hangman on a Dynamite. It wouldn't take much to get there. Sure, Hardy hasn't been in a "major" program, but he's been out there. A couple key wins and he's there. They have so many people they can do this with. I think that's a major factor in why AEW always feels "fresh". Sure, there are people who, in my opinon, aren't clicking right now. I feel like Sammy is a big one. He won the TNT title and has kind of floundered. But, really, it would only take a couple featured matches to get him hot again.

I think there were some good ideas on this show for finishes, but the execution on them was off. I think the tag title finish is going to be a story. Lucha Bros didn't pin the legal man. Now FTR can claim they deserve a rematch. I liked the Hangman/Omega finish, but the staging was a little off. Matt needed to be in place sooner. Page kind of had to wait for him. The ATT/IC finish was just bad. I've noticed in a lot of these Jericho matches where there are a lot of people involved (see War Games), that he seems to want to direct traffic. Problem is, he's not at all subtle about it. The "JUNIOR! JUNIOR!" thing was particularly noticeable, but he's always looking around and talking when he's supposed to be selling. The rest of the finishes really just suffered from the announcers not quite knowing how to explain them. They seemed sort of surprised by a few of them.

I haven't seen anyone mention that How To with John Wilson is coming back for a second season (maybe someone did, and I missed it). That show was a highlight of my year last year. It was so beautifully done. Also, the newest season of Big Mouth is some really funny stuff. Loved it.

I totally agree that I also would not be in a great headspace if I had to deal with the personal shit he's dealing with right now. I just think he needs to remind himself that his job is to get the show over. That's every wrestling commentator's job. I get that he's not a fan of a lot of the in-ring stuff they do, but it's what they do. He needs to remember that. It's not about his personal preferences. I can usually deal with JR, and like I said before, he's been really good recently. He just was really hurting my enjoyment of the show this weekend.

WWE turned down Lee’s request for reimbursement of his bills because he made the mistake of going to a hospital. WWE only covers expenses from nearby medical facilities.

That might have been it! He did sound like he sat down with the intention of just shitting on everything. I caught myself saying "Oh, Jesus, Jim!" out loud at one point during the show. I do think Ross had been better in the last couple months, so I was surprised at how annoying he was on this show. It's not that he's just grumpy, but he keeps being a black hole on commentary. He just says things that the other two have no idea how to respond to, and it makes things awkward.

Ha! I was at this show. And yes, there was no one there. It was such a small crowd and look at that lineup of talent! It was Evansville, IN in fall of ‘04 I believe. I think that show is on IWTV.

They did sell the damage from the Lucha Bros cage match for quite a while. They came out all bandaged up the next week on Dynamite and maybe even Rampage and Dynamite the following week.

My wife is the best and knows that I love watching AEW on wednesday nights. She's always great about taking care of the kid stuff if it pushes into that time. She was travelling for work, so I was on my own last night. We got everyone settled by 8, so I got a full watch in. I had to keep an eye on the clock for bedtimes. At one point (maybe when Lio and Dante were making their entrance), I thought, "Oh, it's got to be close to 9:45. I should get the kids moving for bed." Nope. It was 9. They packed a lot into that first hour. Not much left to say that hasn't been covered here already. I think that was the best Inner Circle promo they've done.

You sure it's just an interview? It's not a confabulation? An interlocution? A parley? A dialogue? Really, though, there should be some really good wrestling on the show tonight.

Got some adjustable dumbbells (can go up to 72.5lbs on each) and an incline bench for my home gym. Between that stuff, the rack, barbell and plates and some bands, I'm pretty much set up to do anything I want at home. This week I started this: https://www.jimwendler.com/blogs/jimwendler-com/101075206-5-3-1-and-bodybuilding I've been on 5/3/1 for about a year now. I had done it for about nine months before lockdown, so this is my first year doing it straight through. I'm finally back to around where I was weight-wise before then. I've been feeling a little beat-up so I thought that template would keep it a little more "fun" for me. Anyway, in that article, he recommends just walking 30-40 minutes a day for conditioning. I've never been a cardio guy, so that's fine with me. So, for the last couple days, I've taken a walk during lunch at work. I've got to say I love it! It's just great for clearing my mind and still being a little active when I'd normally just be sitting.

What's going on with me right now is I'm hearing the title of this thread sung over and over and over and over by my 4-year-old. He's completely obsessed with 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" How does a 4-year-old get obsessed with that song? Well, he's been super into He Man lately, so I showed him that funny video of Prince Adam singing the dance remix of that song. Then, a couple weeks later, I'm just looking up random music videos on YouTube and show him the original. Turns out, he loves it even more. Now, non-stop singing.

I don't think Eddie will go over, but really, he could. The story is pretty simple. Punk is rusty after all those years off and just isn't ready to hang with someone that rough. Punk can wrap up his "I'm just happy to be back" phase and move onto "Time to get serious!"

Jesus Christ. I have to strongly second this. Just an amazing article. Eddie's a tough guy. He's an all-caps TOUGH GUY. He's right to call out the old-timers who'd tell him to keep that shit to himself. I do see one big problem for AEW in the near future. They're not going to be able to turn Mox or Eddie heel. How the hell do you expect me to boo those guys knowing what I know about them? Actually, that's not true. If they turned, I'd boo them. Read the part in Eddie's article about the lady at the show with 8 people. That's why I'd boo the shit out of them.

Danielson versus anyone not named “Cody”.

I'm all for a 12-hour Dark as long as we still get @Matt Drecaps of it.

No, Windham was The Stalker, not The Sidler.

That'd be great. I picture some dude coming out dressed entirely in light blue with his face painted the same color laying really still in the ring until his opponent enters and then he attacks!

He was The Stalker. He needed to sneak up on people. Hence the shoes.

I have a feeling that's exactly what's going to happen.