Just Dave

Ehh. It’s still overproduced corporate nonsense featuring a handful of incredibly gifted entertainers and 75 people doing the same thing the same way. Still too focused on buzzwords and moments and “stories” that are way too complex and take wayyyy too long to play out. But, at least hhh isn’t a completely reprehensible human…

I tapped out about 935. Too tired. Really enjoyed what I saw. My new(ish) lady friend is a good sport and let me explain the “enemies/partners” trope from the show opener. Whoever said that it was much more palatable bc they didn’t milk it all night was dead on. I’m also ok with long opening promo segments on episodes immediately after PPV’s. It’s like a show recap on a tv show before the next episode. If they do it every week, it’s gonna be an issue. RIP in peace to Hook’s momentum. Christian Cage’s whole deal works so well. I’m looking forward to how he shenanigans out of the I Quit match. Interested to see how this tag tourney unfolds. I still like the “lethal lottery” idea the best.

This was a fun show to be at. Other than having to see the Jacksons live...

Yeah, I wouldn't cut bait on Perry or Guevara. They're still young and not super experienced. They're also both prodigiously gifted, and still have a lot to give AEW.

Honestly, I'd think about merging those groups, but if I had the book I'd be pretty insistent on at least trying Ortiz & Jose together on some ROH tapings. Hager & Christian would look so good together, as this "80's movie villain" duo that just look right. I've been doing another watchthrough of "Community," and I'd also accept Ortiz as doing the gimmick Chang did during the first paintball episode; jumping from clique to clique in an attempt to latch on permanently. Like, even to the point of appearing with one group on Dynamite and another group on the following Rampage. It would be even better if the two groups were beefing and he switched sides mid-taping. He's a gifted comedic worker. Surely you can find a place for him.

I was at the Dome for the FPoD and you’re not wrong. That killed their home base. It was never the same in Atlanta after that…

Santana got bad advice. Only way to say it. As for Ortiz, his best hope is forming another team. Maybe with TAFKA No Way Jose…

Christian needs a heater of some type. He talks way too much shit, and without Killswitch it wouldn't make sense for every babyface on the roster to just jump him constantly for it. If not Luchasaurus, he needs a big man of some kind. That's what I'd do with Hager tbh...

In defense of Dante Martin, the ring ropes looked loose as hell. Like, in person they looked so loose I was certain someone was going to get hurt.

I’m not sure the answer to fixing Undisputed Kingdom was adding another charismaless dork to the mix, making a grand total of 5 (Wardlow being the non dork with charisma). Ospreay/Takeshita was very much MY SHIT. Just two young, hungry prodigies laying it the fuck in. Honestly, not a bad match on this card. Even the Scramble was fun, if not a technical masterpiece. Toni/Deonna never had a chance from where they were positioned, but they did themselves no favors. BCG really needs Juice Robinson back. King/Dragon was dope. Stiff, emotional, all the good shits. Mox didn’t need that win, but FTR signed their extensions, so I guess there’s no reason to kiss their ass for a while. Three way was dope. Hangman losing to spite Swerve was really well done. Main event was all the good things. I still despise the Jacksons, but they understood their assignment here.

I thought that show ruled ass. I’ll have more to say tomorrow. That show ruled. Ass.

Switching one match that sounds like a Waffle House order for another...

Yeah, I certainly don’t want anyone reading my posts the last couple days and come away thinking I think AEW is perfect. It isn’t. I could make a list multiple pages long of booking decisions they’ve made that I don’t like. I think they’ve been over reliant on the young bucks, who have never proven themselves to be a draw at this level, the decision not to have S&O win the tag titles at any point is baffling. The treatment of Adam Cole as a top star is puzzling, and the hesitance to elevate stars like Malakai Black & Ricky Starks to the tippy top is confusing to me. This “bang bang scissor gang” thing is a giant barrel of ass juice, although I think they’re eventually gonna merge the trios titles from this angle. I also think losing Juice Robinson to injury hurt the BCG guys. In spite of that, I also think AEW is doing a ton right, and the biggest thing they can do in 2024 is weather the storm and keep putting on a great product. Wwe is hot right now, but their business has always been cyclical. I still don’t really understand the notion that the wwe product is “good” right now. It’s largely the same shit in a Vince-free package, and that in and of itself doesn’t make it good. We’ll see where they are I’m six months.

I just went with the two first mid carders I could think of. I don't watch much WWE for this reason. I don't need overly elaborate stories for every match. There's some dudes from CMLL who take exception to how one of theirs was treated by Jon Moxley? Dope. Let's fight it out. That's all I need. And I like the booking of the Three Way title match because 1)it's (probably) gonna allow them to take the belt off of Joe without him dropping a fall and 2) It's another chapter in Hangman's "descent into madness." I'll take that over whatever inning we're in of Cody trying to "finish the story." Shit was played out six months ago. I guess I've just always watched wrestling with the mindset of someone who's competed most of his life. If I find myself in a game/match, winning is stakes enough. Winning feels awesome. Losing feels shitty. Like Billy Beane said; "I hate losing. I hate losing more than I like winning." You don't become a professional athlete without being wired that way. Unless you're Anthony Rendon. I'd be ok with the commentators saying something like "winning pays more than losing" or "these guys are both trying to get themselves in better position for a future title match," but the undercard is exactly that. Just like in MMA, there should be an inherent understanding that the goal of being in the under/mid card is getting out and into the main event.

I guess I just don't agree that every match needs to be "booked" to. Like, big ones do. This Page/Joe/Swerve has been pretty fantastic. I look at it like UFC; there usually is an overlying issue between fighters for big time, main event fights. Sometimes it's a title, sometimes it's a giant pile of money, and sometimes there are personal issues between the fighters. On the undercard, I just assume unless told otherwise that the matchups are just comprised of two guys who want to win their way up to the main event. Not everything has to be built to. Maybe it's a matter of personal preference, but I'm not sure I need to know why Bronson Reed and say, Giovanni Vinci are having a match. You can just say "hey, they're having a match." It's a wrestling show. It's ok to watch the wrestlers wrestle.

I'm not sure what you mean. I know that I like weird, fun matches more than I like figuring out why Jimmy Uso is emoting. If I want to watch pretty people doing bad acting I'll watch that Outer Banks show on netflix. At the end of the day, it's wrestling. Not "facial expressions."

Folks can't got off HHH's dick, even though the creative isn't any better.

I’m assuming Saraya’s brother is mostly there for the inevitable mix tag against RuRu and Cool Hand Ang…

Sorry to quote you twice, but apparently there was a wreddit thread this week about how Malakai never wrestles singles matches. I’d like to think TK is above spite booking, but it’s certainly a thing…

I mean, he's under contract until 2027. So I doubt it.

You could've held a gun to my head and I wouldn't have been able to tell you whether or not Ivar was in this Rumble. And Nia has lost so much weight she almost doesn't stick out in my mind anymore. She's really doing much better work now.

It defies logic. A guy that size with that look being that horrible. He’s funny & gregarious in his interviews away from wwe. It just doesn’t translate. O

I finally got to sit down and watch the entire Rumble PLE. It was a reminder that this presentation just isn't my jam. As chaotic, frenzied, and at times disjointed as AEW can be, it feels like a wrestling show. It's dudes with distinct looks and styles showcasing their wares. This shit feels like fitness models & Bronson Reed pretending to fight. I think the biggest downside to running everyone through the PC is that they invariably come out doing almost everything the same. There are some standouts in both Rumble matches, like Tiffany Stratton. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone scream "STAR" without doing a thing like she does. She looks like and has the athletic ability of a franchise player. She's fantastic. Bobby Lashley continues to defy the laws of time. Why is this man not champion of everything? He's the shit. I don't watch nXt, but Carmelo Hayes looks like he could be a dude for them. His look jumps off the screen. I'm a big Santos Escobar fan from his time in LU. I don't understand why he doesn't have a more prominent role on tv for them. He's a handsome athletic latino with great charisma, and I love the pairing with Angel Garza and Berto. There just aren't many people on the roster right now who do anything for me. It also feels like most of HHH's nXt re-hirings are DOA. No one gives a shit about Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, Karrion Kross, and a handful of others. Kross, in particular, just isn't working. That dude is like the movie Anaconda; on every level, that movie should've worked. It had a decent script, a good director, and a great cast. It still ended up sucking a fresh turd. Karrion Kross just isn't interesting. He's Bobby Fish in the body of Sid. At some point they should probably cut their losses. I hope they never break up Imperium. Like 60% of the WWE product I've watched in the last 4 years I've watched because someone was like "Hey, WALTER fucked somebody up on nXt UK." Ride that shit 'til the wheels fall off. The women's Rumble was pretty fun. It is crazy to me how many stalwarts from the last 5 years weren't in it. Carmella, Tamina, Nikki Cross, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte, Sasha, et. al. I know there are varying legitimate reasons for their absence. It just serves as a stark reminder of how quickly the women's roster can turn over. Maxine Dupri probably needs more time. Naomi coming back was cool. She has one of my favorite entrances in wrestling. I don't share some corner's of the internet's excitement about the potential of TNA and WWE working together, but Jordynne Grace seemed ecstatic to be there and the crowd was happy to see her. Our paths have crossed a few times at powerlifting meets in Georgia and she and Jon have always been super nice to me. I'm of the opinion that the creative really isn't any better under HHH than it was under Vince, but I do enjoy how much more "zip" this Rumble seems to have. One of my biggest peeves currently in wrestling is this idea that Jade Cargill isn't "ready." Can she bump like Bayley? Fuck no. But asking Jade to bump more than twice a match is completely misunderstanding what you have with her. She doesn't need to work like everyone else because she isn't like everyone else. She looked like a Greek Goddess amongst the common folk while she was in the Rumble, and her manhandling (figuratively) Nia Jax was the only moment of the show that made me audibly react. What in the world do they think they need her to do that she can't do now? If she's gonna end up having weekly 8-10 minute matches like everyone else on the roster then Endeavor would've been better off lighting a match to the money they gave her. She can't be anywhere on the card but an attraction. Let Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark have long matches to no reaction. Jade is there to draw eyes and do shit no one else can do. Neither Rumble winner was surprising. I know the rumor was that Bayley just re-signed, but I still don't think WWE really appreciates her the way they should. Her ability to get a TV match out of anyone is truly remarkable. She's gotten worlds better on the mic and this heel persona has been fantastic. She's become the class of the Four Horsewomen by a wide margin. In a fair and just world she gets the long title run in front of an audience that she's deserved for a while. Cody should "finish his story," but I'm still skeptical, mostly because I still think deep down that corporate image means more to WWE than any other deciding factor, and the Rock and Roman Reigns are both bigger stars outside WWE than Cody, and anyone who thinks that doesn't matter are kidding themselves. It wouldn't shock me if Roman and Rock were the story coming out of Mania, and it would shock me even less if we were to find out later that the decision got taken out of HHH's hands.

So I was watching some old Ricky Starks promos from a couple years ago, and damn was Hobbs cool with the fur coat and no shirt. He would fit perfect with the Mogul Affiliates with that look. At this point, though, throwing him straight into another stable would be dumb.

I chuckled a couple times. Fun little show and only about 8 minutes.