Ingobernable

It’s just so embarrassing that punk has been finished by an altercation with an undercard guy he couldn’t get straight with. Like, imagine Austin fighting backstage with Tiger Ali Singh. Or Hogan with Jim Brunzell. I feel sorry for him.

Hockenson has been very clear that he thinks of *himself* as a 'reset the market' guy. That's why the Lions wanted out while they could still get something for him.

To be fair I was convinced I didn't know the words to Judas - I've certainly never actually listened to it outside of watching the TV - and yet I discovered the lyrics have firmly lodged themselves in my brain without me paying attentio

I have been on holiday most of this month and so neglected to post STUFF I FINISHED IN JULY. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Nobody needs an internet stranger to tell them that Wuthering Heights is good but Hey! Wuthering Heights is good. I tend to read more contemporary stuff so ocassionally dip back into the canon to fill in my gaps and, as a denizen now of Yorkshire this fell onto my pile and I especially enjoyed the rich descriptiveness with which Bronte (and all the Brontes) capture the landscape. ALSO people think this is a love story and HONESTLY I have to disagree on the grounds that basically all of the main characters are awful people and I did not want any of them to end up with each other. This is spooky, engrossing, and also hard work. Recommendation. Return of a Native: Learning From the Land by Vron Ware. This filled in a really useful gap in my political reading in that it gave me a framework for what the history of left-wing rural politics in the UK looks like. It tells that history - of the commercialisation of commons, of resistance to industrialisation by the chartists and the Luddites, and of the importation of factory farming methods from the USA - through reference to one small area in Hampshire. I found that framing really helpful, especially for conceiving of how a different kind of future might emerge from the way the land has been aggressively worked. Ware also rights fluently and attractively, which helps. Recommendation. The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. I thought that this was a novel written by a guy with a great idea but without the literary skill to carry off what he was trying. A sort of detective novel with a twist, I thought that Auster struggled to get the postmodern/ghostly elements to really land. He's trying to do something that I'd have maybe associated with DeLillo or Kafka in different types of traditions but which he just doesn't land convincingly. It's a shame because I trusted the recommendations I had received on this and, like I say, I though it had potential conceptually. Not recommended.

It's late to be posting show thoughts so I'm not going to run down the card or anything but I was in the upper tier on Sunday and had an absolutely great time. Nothing dragged and the presence of no downer matches meant I found it easier to resist the £8 beers. It remains the case that my mind is blown by how many fans they got in there - it looked and felt like 81,000 and they were hot throughout - but they could have done more. Lots of pockets of empty seats in the upper tier and the hard cam was taped off completely. I'm interested to see how they get on next year. I think a lot of fans probably went because of the assumption this sort of thing doesn't happen often and returns may diminish - even more so if people can assume they'll be able to go in 2025 so they can skip a year. We'll see. I'd go again for sure. I actually liked the Pepsi Plunge as a finish spot as an easter egg for all of the lifers among us and deconstructing the mechanics of a move that's always looked dumb anyway is a waste of time. It's more about what it meant (and I that punk can't really get Joe up for the G2S either). My favourite element of it, though - and there's been discussion already on the split crowd for Punk/Joe - were the guys in the row behind me who were really pulling for Punk but who did not recognise the Pepsi Plunge. Indicated to me that I've been a wrestling fan far too long. The funniest spot of the night was the Adam Cole ref bump, by absolute miles. I am not an Adam Cole fan in general but, live, I really enjoyed the main and he held up his end of the melodrama for sure. I have also been down on his look in the past but I WILL say that he's actually very handsome and also that the T-shirt stuff was obviously part of the story and nothing to do with his own opinions of his body. On openers - I think on most live shows the idea that you warm the crowd up with something easy is still adhered to but these days by the time the feed starts the crowd have already been warmed up plenty through the pre-show so you can start the PPV hot and still get good reactions.

Part of Campbell’s ongoing success also rides on as many people as possible seeing him as a caveman first and a coach second. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s planted the story in the press himself to ensure the Lions and him continue to be considered kind of a joke. So much of the non-Detroit media last year were still obsessed with the kneecaps line that was, by that point, a year and a half old.

There’s some inherent redundancy to box-office earnings as a measure of success because it’s not inflation-adjusted. I know that’s not entirely your point but those records will continue to be broken forever because ticket prices increase even if fewer people go to the cinema regularly. I’d love actual ticket sales to be published but if that was the case I’m almost certain ET or something would retain the top spot forever.

About fifteen years ago there was a crap camo Kane knocking around small British shows. I believe he also brought a ring so he didn’t struggle for bookings despite being very very bad.

Dunno how many people here are going to All In at Wembley but I discovered today that on the 27th Kings Cross is fully shut to all trains. Will affect the east coast mainline so Peterborough, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh etc etc. I was planning to travel on the morning of the show so it’s threw me a little. PSA, in case it helps anyone.

Maybe. It's less about amenities for me and more about practicalities. I think the biggest issue would be the footprint of the seats. In the lower bowl especially these are notably small (https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/dec/11/old-trafford-symbol-manchester-united-faded-grandeur-tired-worn-tottenham-stadium). It's fine for football where you're there for two hours, generally stay in your seat, and spend a lot of that standing anyway (and indeed smaller than other older purpose-built football grounds but not by a huge amount), but for a five-hour wrestling show I'd certainly think twice about buying a ticket to be squeezed in Old Trafford. Ultimately the three big newish London stadia have been built with the idea of being multi-purpose in mind - that was never a consideration when Old Trafford was getting redeveloped thirty years ago. It also has a famously leaky roof, which isn't going to help our concerns about running an outdoor show in the UK in early spring. It's probably all redundant because I do think it'll be London or bust for Mania. But as that article says, Old Trafford hasn't even held a flagship football game as a neutral ground since the early 2000s. It used to be the standard but it's not been upgraded since the 90s, and the Glazers certainly haven't been interested in footing the bill for upgrades, but that's straying off topic (if I was even on-topic in the first place).

I only got through one book in June because when I was done with it I picked up a few big boys and they're still underway. Also Tears of The Kingdom came into my life. All the same STUFF I FINISHED IN JUNE: The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye. This was a stark read but Faye's unapologetic style is incredibly engaging and she is able to talk about a whole range of disparate political issues with sensitivity. She's also really skillful in not turning this into a memoir and acknowledging her own privileges (white, middle-class, educated, supportive family) when detailing the structural oppressions faced by trans people in the UK specifically. Not a fun read but really important to recognise how confected moral panics obscure the social and structural barriers faced by trans people of all kinds, and not only trans women, who a lot of the focus is generally placed on. Strong recommendation. Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg. I read this in translation because I do not have Italian. I enjoyed this but not as much as I thought I would. It's a memoir/novel about growing up in Italy alongside Ginzburg's father - a noted linguist and histologist. The most interesting thing about it was the way in which the events of the Second World War and the rise of Italian facism are treated as a sort of backdrop to more mundane elements of family life; a helpful reminder that ordinary life continues and that the historical record tends to be able to create defined points at which events start or cultures change whereas in reality that's a much more gradual process that sneaks up on us. A short read, so mild recommendation.

Vince's old beefs notwithstanding, the thing about Old Trafford is that although it's *big*, it's an absolute dump.

That 75k is, it bears repeating, without any matches announced and before the local promotion really gets underway. It's a crazy number.

I actually really liked the finish as a vehicle for the turn. Sanada dispatched Jungle Boy quickly and easily with a secondary finisher. No messing about, didn't need multiple big moves, Jungle Boy just isn't on the level yet and things fizzled. Like, even if he'd shown he could really hang things could have been different - that drives the frustration.

I was so pumped about this show that I tried to watch it live and ended up snoozing through almost all of it. That'll teach me to act my age. So I've only just got through it watching in spurts but I absolutely loved it. I thought the main suffered a bit from my own unreasonably high expectations but, even accounting for the injury, I think it seemed pretty clear that they were leaving something in the tank for a rematch anyway and the finish confirms that. If you just described the Ospreay/Omega match to me I'd have assumed I'd be lukewarm on it at best. But in the moment I was sucked all the way in. I thought they paced it well, the callbacks made sense, and the finishing sequence was dramatic if over-the-top. I'll be into a rematch. Will Ospreay is a wrestler who I've probably done the biggest 180 on over the last five years or so. I hated his work as a junior and when he stepped up to heavyweight I found his matches much too 50/50 for my liking - I always preferred him wrestling underneath. He's continued to beef up and he's added some character work to his athleticism and - even if the style isn't my favourite - he's slowed his match pacing down and it's so much better for it. I still think Will Ospreay the fella is probably awful. MJF handled the Tana match perfectly, and I thought Sanada was good too - I've not watched NJPW consistently all year so I've missed his recent push but it seems to have worked wonders for him. NJPW really needs someone to be the upper card bridge from Tana and Naito to the younger guys and clearly Evil and Jay White have failed to be the solution to that for different reasons.

I think there’s sort of a problem here - which may get resolved - and it’s that the Skrulls are fundamentally *right*. Like, obviously they probably shouldn’t be bombing people but they’re right to be pissed off that Fury and Danvers have left them hanging for so long. They’ve been let down by the system. Sort of makes it tricky to get all the way behind Talos and Fury. There was a similar issue in the Falcon show where the heels’ motivations were entirely reasonable, even if their methods weren’t, and it went thoroughly unexplored there too. Realistically the model for this show should be Battlestar Gallactica but I guess it won’t be .

We are near neighbours, relatively speaking. I live in Headingley. Not from round here originally but it’s as close to home as anywhere else now.

Much of this episode was filmed in Yorkshire, where I live, and it’s more distracting than I expected to see recognisable areas of Leeds and Halifax masquerading as downtown Moscow.

I sort of think that six featured singles matches might be enough (the four confirmed plus OC vs ZSJ and Storm vs Willow) and the rest will be multi-man matches. That feels fairly consistent with the way both companies book shows. So yeah if Punk's on maybe it could be with FTR against a team from any of the stables - LIJ, Bullet Club, J5G? Or he steps in for a no-showing MJF which I posited earlier and still like as an angle. Edit: I just checked and last year 4/9 main card matches were singles. Obviously, a single show isn't a reliable precedent but it all really depends on how many dudes they want to get on the show. Punk in a throwaway singles is three more guys who aren't getting on.

I'm in the camp that says the NJPW top brass might take offense at that sort of a move. Doesn't mean it can't happen, but it feels like a risk to the relationship, even if NJPW agree to it in principal. The other bit of fantasy booking I've been thinking about is MJF following through with no-showing Tana only for Punk to show up with his silly little bag to set himself up as the real fighting champ and deliver the match that was booked for last year. This depends on Punk/Elite having agreed to share a locker room for big shows, of course, but I'd imagine everybody's pride prevents them from wanting to miss out on that sort of thing.

I think this is realistic too, to be fair. My optimism might be a little bit forced but even if we get eight months of good matches from Punk (as Octopus says), I'm going to be so annoyed if there are snide comments from each side that aren't designed to lead anywhere, and I don't want to watch wrestling to get annoyed.

I couldn't agree with this more - it's sort of redundant now to continue discussions about whether bringing Punk back was right or wrong but I agree that you only bring him back if everyone's found a way to do business. If they haven't got plans for a match and you've brought him back anyway then you certainly can't have anyone on either side reference the other. I'm going to be generous for now and imagine that they've got plans because the alternative makes my brain numb after that promo. And to be clear, if/when that match happens I'll eat it up like I'm a child again.

I've got no particular love for Aaron Rodgers but is he really going to say anything that makes the cut on a tightly stage-manged, heavily edited, in-house production that he can't just say on the Pat McAfee show whenever he feels like it?

After I introduced myself to the board by establishing myself as an Adam Cole disliker it's probably fair enough to mention when I enjoy one of his matches and the thirty-minute draw was good stuff. Cole spent most of the first half taking a beating and the match never felt 50/50 - it was Cole hanging with MJF long enough to get a foothold which he then pushed at. I can't get on board with the Panama Sunrise and, as others have said, the timekeeper could have upped the drama a bit in the last five minutes (the finish took me completely by suprise) but otherwise I thought this was pretty good. I'll never watch it again, but pretty good. One thing that I really like about MJF is the consistent way he will avoid having matches with whomever he's got beef with at all costs but once he does finally get into the ring you know he's going to deliver at a high level. I might have a wider point to make about the idea that the title in AEW very often feels like it's the second or third most important thing happening in the promotion and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's probably one for the navel gazing thread and it's fairly likely that it's not a wholly original thought anyway. I do like both title matches for Forbidden Door. They're tricky ones to get right because the challenger has to be credible but not so top-tier that the obvious loss is going to hurt them. Main event banged, obviously. Jericho's shoes were great. I enjoyed the ZSJ/Cassidy promo and the match should slap. Good show all around.

From reading this thread I think my tastes may be a little different to most here but, all the same, STUFF I FINISHED IN MAY: Tracks by Louise Erdich. I picked this up because I read and enjoyed The Plague of Doves a few years ago. I enjoyed this less, though Erdich is great at writing about the lives of indigenous Americans as complex and evolving rather than fixed and binary. There's lots of the stuff I normally love, like multiple narrators and complicated family narratives, but I have since learned that this is the third book in a sequence of four, which kind of explains why I struggled to keep track of some of the main players. Slight recommendation for the novel, full recommendation for the author. Close Range by Annie Proulx. A collection of short stories about cowboys in Wyoming, the most famous of which was adapted into the movie Brokeback Mountain. As with most short story collections, some of these were better than others, but overall I thought this was great. Proulx, like Erdich, is able to write about a group of people who are routinely caricatured with sensitivity and credibility. She's particularly good at capturing how cultural ideas of masculinity are in themselves a trap that contain and limit the men who adhere to them. Strong recommendation. Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed. A fairly famous eyewitness account of the second Russian Revolution in 1917 (the Bolshevik one lead by Lenin and Trotsky in October of that year). I struggled a little with Reed's prose style here; he's an American journalist who's deeply embedded in the politics of the time so it's quite breathless and assumes a lot of prior knowledge. That said, he does a good job of reporting the genuine optimism and idealism that fuelled the revolution, regardless of what happened next, and the chaos and factionalism that created countless moving parts throughout. Slight recommendation, for its historical value more than its literary. My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley. A really quick and quite emotional read about the broken relationship between a woman and her mother and their repeated failures to engage meaningfully in anything which might allow them to repair it. I found this novel to be really brutal, if never actively violent. The protagonist's childhood is also spent in my home city, which was pleasingly evocative in its own way. Recommendation.