John from Cincinnati

I've talked to people who were considering cancelling their sub after WandaVision. I'm sure they're not the only ones. Keeping that momentum rolling is key. Disney's going to want to retain as much of this business as possible.

Maybe you don't understand, Goodear. The chocolate lady made a joke. That's fuuuuun. Don't you like fuuuuun? Why are you so unfuuuuuuun?

That doesn't make me angry at all. I agree completely. But that's like saying getting through cold weather next to a roaring fire with a good book and a cup of hot cholate is preferable to freezing to death buck nude in the wilderness. It's so clear what all of us reasonable people would find preferable that it almost goes without saying. I think all of use would rather be joyful than angry. I would also posit that this isn't an entertainment property that makes me feel angry. If I'm failing to express my thoughts in way that others feel is insufficiently joyful, I'd hate for those thoughts to be misinterpreted as anger. I have a few thoughts on the article you shared. It being fifteen+ years old, I won't hold you too firmly to any opinion or prognostication. ? But I do intend to tackle some of the examples you used, and tie in the way I view a couple contemporary figures in AEW. With due respect, I think there may be some bias in your categorization of what's in service of art and what's in service of business. While Brian Kendrick clearly loves wrestling, one could characterize his choice to leave WWE for the first time as a calculation that generating value elsewhere would be better for him in the long-run than treading water on the weekend C-shows in WWE (nowadays people have taken to describing this as "betting on yourself," very much a business decision). Eddie Guerrero's service on the indies may also read as a guy who's happy to help where he can with indie talent, but is just putting in reps while he waits to get called back to the show. And I think your characterization of Chris Benoit is way off, as he's a guy who never sacrificed his style to any large degree and remained a consistent producer of great matches till the end. I never saw him a guy who would "tone it down" or sacrifice his craft in any material way. Much of Benoit and Guerrero's best work to my eye took place in WWE later in their careers. To your credit, you did say a few times you were guessing. I just present alternative explanations. In actuality, I see the interests of art and business mixing constantly, and in ways that make it difficult to simply laud things we enjoy as being in service of art and dismiss things we don't enjoy (or enjoy less) as being cynically in service of business. Your willingness to reach for what were the "obvious examples" of wrestling artistry in 2005 WWE does call to attention the other side of that equation: What of the people who weren't "obvious examples" of the dichotomy you're trying to present? What of Triple H? He's easy to pigeonhole cynically as a political animal and an ambitious businessperson. And he's every bit of that. But he also spent 2005 paying off Evolution, having personal dream matches with Ric Flair and putting in masterful work trying to establish Batista as a franchise player going forward. Am I to take it that he took less artistic pride in that work than Bryan Danielson had in his own? Does he not love professional wrestling because he chooses to work in service of a certain system that runs counter to the tastes of a certain sect of wrestling fans? Because I don't see it that way, and I doubt you would either. I don't think he loves wrestling less because he doesn't choose to go the Spanky route and doesn't have the clout someone like Benoit once had with a subsection of fans. And I choose not to see him as someone whose artistic and business goals are misaligned, as you've presented latter-day Benoit and Guerrero. I see someone pursing what he sees the best of both. To why Benoit and Eddie wouldn't "just quit," I think the benefit of fifteen more years of wisdom and experience makes that evident. The goals of a life and a career can change, and it's really not our place to judge. For two guys who got to make the greatest amount of money sharing their creative space with peers they respected and who respected them in turn, who are we to say they were sacrificing their art? I don't think any less of Cesaro as an artist between the ropes for deciding WWE is the optimal place for him to pursue his personal, professional, and artistic goals. And if were to modernize this conversation, I see Cesaro as being a fairly appropriate analogue for the view you take of Benoit and Guerrero in your writing. I'm not saying that there aren't people who just hang in this for the money or prioritize it. But my overall sense of the distinctions you were making fifteen years ago is between art you like and art you don't like. And that's perfectly okay. But I'm personally not keen to extrapolate from that and pass easy judgement that some people don't prioritize their art. Looking at today's AEW, I think our image of these people is focused too much on the art and not enough on the business. I don't think Cody keeps track of the houses on every building he's worked since shortly after leaving WWE because he thinks of himself primarily as an artist. The Young Bucks don't hawk t-shirt so successfully because they've prioritized their art above their financial security. Forgive me for saying so, but I think more people meet the categorization of businesspeople and artist and find a way to prioritize both than your worldview and categorization allowed for in 2005. Just my $0.02.

Nope. Charlotte's responsible for not thinking on the fly and deciding the best course of action was to go deer in the headlights. I know it's a different age and a different craft and a different caliber of opponents under completely different circumstances, but seeing Ric standing there and thinking about his reputation for calling matches on the fly versus Charlotte's inability to handle someone blowing her spot is a stark contrast. If she were a ref and someone forgot to kick-out, Charlotte's instinct would probably be to pull up instead of count three. It's a good thing nobody's watching and nothing matters. But that doesn't mean it's incumbent on Charlotte to make her work look like shit just because Lacey decided to daydream in the middle of their match. Two wrongs don't make a right.

File another one under "Charlotte has zero instincts if her opponent doesn't do exactly what she expects." Good lord. Everyone lamenting there's not enough women's feuds outside the title picture shouldn't have wished on that monkey's paw.

Those aren't necessarily contradictory thoughts depending on the preferences of the person expressing them. Ordering something at a restaurant doesn't mean you're required to be satisfied by it. Wanting more Arrested Development after its initial run doesn't mean I want to watch any old garbage they serve up. Not that I subscribe those shallow strawman thoughts anyway. The EVPs should clearly be winning as often as possible, especially now that they have the straps. If they're supposed to be these big stars and the establishing bedrocks of this new promotion, I prefer to see them presented as strong as possible for the time being rather than treading water and pretending they're not clearly more important than the inaugural tag champs SCU. And outside of a couple weeks towards the end of 2019, the EVPs largely been presented as strong. And even then, they were shrewd enough to book the beginning of 2020 as a way of addressing that misstep by making an issue of it on TV and putting the Elite over strong. Of course if people want to relitigate takes from a year+ ago to score points, that's their business.

While I take your point, this isn't exactly what Technico was expressing. He said that the EVPs hadn't abused their powers and done things geared towards their own fun first and the fans' enjoyment last. It would be reasonable to say that in their conception of the promotion, seeing a bunch of the EVPs in prominent spots would be serving the fans first and foremost. Some of us would disagree, but I could see that case. Which of course is the same line that could be spun by any self-serving person who ever booked themselves on top. And yes, the appearance of "Well, we "put over" Private Party and waited a year, so to the moon!" is hilarious.

If that's the case, they'll stack multiple on top of one another in every seat.

?

Audio wasn't great, but every time I looked up I thought there was an interesting idea going on visually. I have this on in the background. Ignore me.

I'm open to giving you a hearing on this. But I would caution that if you feel that I'm one of these people you're describing here (and my being personally tagged in your post, I make the assumption that I'm one of the people you'd like to reach in this dialogue), it's my intention to disabuse you of that notion. I am getting the maximum amount of joy out their television show based on the way I choose to consume content. When I express my hopes of the company doing things that I feel would constitute an improvement in their product and provide me with a greater amount of joy, that's not me diminishing (or pissing away) any amount of joy that I would otherwise feel if I appreciated their content from a perspective that I'm naturally disinclined to take. I'm not going to take that perspective which means there is no such joy to be had for me from such, and thus I've pissed away nothing. I don't recall ever expressing a strong desire for the sports-centric thing or the nostalgia thing. And while I'm almost certainly guilty of making a crack here or there about all the ideas they should steal from Nitro-era WCW because that concept does tickle me, I don't think that ought to be a driving force of the promotion and it's certainly not something that colours my criticism of the company. I just want them to be the best possible modern wrestling promotion they can be in 2021 the year of our Lord. So knowing I don't subscribe to any of these feelings or desires, I'll file this one under *shrug* and cut this section brief. I'm still iffy on the pockets dude for my own reasons independent any of this. As to "bad, lazy, and/or basically pointless criticism," I don't know if you feel I'm a purveyor of such. But since you did tag me, I'll once again take it upon myself to get out in front of this one. If I have engaged in expressing things you find bad, lazy, or basically pointless, I apologize. You seem like a nice guy and it does kinda bum me out if you were displeased by having laid eyes on something bad, lazy, or basically pointless that I produced in your presence. And because I'm disinclined to change the nature of the things I choose to say on here unless told to by management, I also apologize in advance for any further displeasure caused by bad, lazy, or basically pointless things posted on this account. I think liking the people you work with is a good thing and organizations promoting an environment and culture that allows for that is a positive, full stop. And at a human level, I'm happy that these people largely get to have that experience working at a major company at the top of their chosen profession. Let nothing that comes after this sentence convince you that I think that is anything but great. As a consumer of entertainment, I largely don't concern myself with their feelings. I would be happy if everyone involved in producing the entertainment I consume is content in their professional lives and working with people they like. But it's not a strict requirement for my enjoyment of anything. And before I get further into this, let me be VERY CLEAR: I'm not asking anyone to suffer for my art or entertainment. BUT a little bit of suffering doesn't always ruin my enjoyment of either. Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider have a strong working relationship. They make each other laugh. They've collaborated on eighteen movies and counting. And it's nice for them that they get to have that. As a consumer, I don't generally don't care for what they do together. I'm not parking my ass in front of a screen and watching what they do with one another because I think it's great that people can make movies with people they like. Daniel Day-Lewis had a bad time making Phantom Thread. The townhouse where much of the film takes place was overcrowded with people and equipment to the extent that he expressed it was difficult for his process. He's joked that the crew hated him and it's difficult to make a movie like that. The material and process of making the movie left him with such a deep sadness that one of the greatest screen actors of his time retired prematurely. I haven't seen too many of the Sandler/Schneider collaborations. But I've seen enough to know I like Phantom Thread way more, in spite of DDL having a shit time at work and a rough time with the crew. You know who had problems with his co-workers? Bret Hart, during one of the most creatively interesting periods of his career. I still love his '96-'97 run. His misery does little to diminish my enjoyment. It sucks that he had that unpleasant experience. But the work is still great. People's liking one another is not paramount to my taste in entertainment. I like to think I try not to watch things or comment purely for hate. Most people barely have time for the thinks they enjoy or aspire to enjoy. I like watching wrestling, so I watch wrestling hoping for the best and criticize because I want better. I dunk on Snyder's DC movies because I've watched DC superhero stuff my whole life and would prefer money were being put into projects that use this IP in a way I enjoy. Being a hater in my mind would be me storming into the Mr Robot thread every once in a while to let everyone know how much a show I gave up on after 1+ seasons sucks and that they're stupid for liking it. I don't do that. Maybe some people like to be that way, but I don't see the appeal. And it would probably lead to watching more Mr Robot to have accurate hate to spread, and I don't want to watch any more Mr Robot than I already have! This is the point and function of AEW? Above making money? The most important return on investment Shahid Kahn expects is knowing Brandon Cutler gets the pleasure of working with his friends? These people having fun at work with their friends isn't a bad thing. But make no mistake, it's not the point or function of this as a business. I think you're slightly overstating your case, friend. I'm skeptical about how much the culture of people liking their coworkers and being treated well has contributed to their commercial success. If you'd like to make your case in that regard, I'm legitimately curious. I'm not sure I see it. Once again: Great for everyone involved. But I don't know about the places you're going with it. Well sure, but I don't know anyone involved in this discussion who looks at WWE and thinks that's the optimal culture to foster in a workplace. And this is where I need to firmly draw the line. The match was an embarrassment. The happiness experienced by Jericho and Luther from staging that does nothing for me as a consumer. If he's a stand-in for the guys who've never main evented on television or ever appeared on it, then he's a prime example of why they haven't. If these people are happy, that's fine. But I don't watch to see them make themselves happy. Before you touch on Free Will and Creative Self-Expression, I would caution against leaning too hard on WWE comparisons. I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I don't look at their heavy-handed approach to people reciting dumb material and adhering to a tired match format and think "yeah, more of that." I hope you're capable of extoling AEW's virtues in this department without leaning too hard on contrasting it with something many of us know is downright bad. All of this said, I do take this conversation in the intended spirit and welcome it. Constructive discussion of differing perspectives between well-intentioned parties operating in good faith is always welcome. I certainly prefer it to some of the more tired partisan attacks you see elsewhere. I'll take this over "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT THEN DON'T WATCH" any day of the week. I find this enjoyable, even as I disagree with a lot of what you're saying. If you do manage to broaden my perspective in a way that lends itself to my enjoyment of AEW, I'll welcome it and thank you for doing so. tl;dr: Phantom Thread is a good movie. Go watch it. Here's the trailer.

A true inspiration. I hear Austin Aries really looks up to Doug.

Agree with those saying this is the best episode yet.

If we’re being honest, all the MCU movies should have Luis as a narrator.

I don't blame Hennig. How could he have known that Shawn's always had it out for camera operators and production staff?

Shit, have him win back the Cruiserweight belt and go back to lording over that division. It'd certainly rekindle some of the interest I've lost in that part of their product.

I can't remember if I made any predictions about PPV buys, but I was generally pretty skeptical of the booking of Hangman being in the inaugural title bout. I'll happily admit to being proven wrong about him. By this time last year they'd turned him into the hottest thing in the company. If they get him back on that footing, it looks like a genius move in hindsight for them to call their shot with Page. Re: the shark from Jaws, that was perfect execution. But it's also a two hour movie you can nail that and move on (or you can make three more Jaws movies). With an ongoing TV show like this, I'd go back to Game of Thrones for a comparison. Some episodes are thin, they drag their feet on some storylines, etc. Why is their so little Tyrion in this one? Is Dani ever getting to Westeros? Who the hell thinks this Sand Snakes stuff is a good idea? And who's that guy again? He looks familiar but I don't remember him because he was in one scene like half a season ago. I see a lot of similarities in how I see some of AEW's booking the last few months. And yeah, like you I also have some apprehension on where they're going with this Hangman stuff. I don't need to ever see Matt Hardy wrestle again, so I should be careful what I wish for when I ask for him and a bitter vet to mix it up. Six man would make the most sense there. But what a huge step down the card for a guy some people would have happily penciled into the main event of this show. Some interesting calls, @A_K. You're braver than I am making the tough choice on Archer.

He also tore it up with Bryan and Roman, but who doesn't? It was nice to see him get something like that, if only for a fleeting moment.

This is a good post that brings up a lot of good issues. I'm going to try to touch on a few of them and give you my thinking. We're not even into two full years of them being on TV. So I don't worry about anyone being as exposed as Dolph Ziggler, a guy who's been running in place all in pointless, repetitive, overlong matches on WWE's many hours of TV for a decade+. I don't think that's the risk here. Rather, the people I worry about are hardly on TV enough to qualify as exposed, much less overexposed. That's how I would frame the issue. There are people they conceive of as future stars that they need to find space for. I also don't think Chris Jericho makes for a perfectly accurate illustration of the solution to our problem. He tends to have runs that span a couple years when he comes back to the game, and is heavily featured when he's in the fold. His template for keeping things fresh doesn't solve my problem of finding minutes for guys who need to be on TV more. Nobody on this show is exposed so much that they have the "you should go away for a while and come back different" problem that Jericho's career arc is presented as being a solution to. An overexposure problem may come in the future. I'd look to avoid it by keeping things fresh enough not to feel repetitive and avoid burning all my big matches so there's always something there to be moving towards. As things stand, I take aim at a more immediate problem of lack of momentum for key players. You correctly point out that a move up for someone is a move down for someone. Looking at things retroactively, I'm keen to look at where there's fat to be trimmed on these Dynamite episodes and where minutes could be given to shine up someone who's a priority. I'm not looking at specific guys to relegate, but segments here and there that can be dumped or modified. Dustin Rhodes feuding with Dark Order job guys or Butcher and Blade? Gone. We don't need to shine up Dustin. Scorpio Sky working ten minute Dynamite matches against Shawn Spears when I have them both penciled in as stepping stone gatekeepers? Nope, replace one of them with someone who matters. Matt Cardona coming in for a feature tag match with his buddy? Sorry Matt, there's no room at the inn. Also: Way fewer two segment matches helps cram something else in there. And it makes the matches that go that distance matter, because not everyone's doing it. It's inelegant and far from comprehensive, but there are minutes to be had here or there to get guys seen on TV picking up wins or resolving small issue and being seen doing so. Looking back, I'd nip around the edges and get guys who ought to matter featured on TV more often. It doesn't solve the problem completely, but if it gives one or two acts another chance in front of the big audience then I'm for it. In truth, if another TV show does come along, even an hour, that real estate opens up a world of possibilities and changes the game completely. On the issue of burning big matches, I'm not putting Page vs Miro on TV with no build just to have the guys do something -- they're both guys who I also have winning often. But there are veteran guys on this roster who aren't going to be headlining PPVs or winning belts in my conception of them. Daniels, Kazarian, Sydal, Sky, Spears, take your pick. Get a cranky young vet jealous of Page's hype, yank on his chain, build to an issue that resolves in TV semi-main one week. Don't have him moping around being courted for months on end. Put Jurassic Express in that feud with Butcher and Blade instead of Dustin and QT. Eddie Kingston, Butcher, and Blade are kind of perfect in how they're being used right now. They're fodder for people who matter and talk and look good enough to justify the occasional win. And they're not being protected. And Kingston had a one segment match last week! They serve a great function on this roster. And since, yes, we're all picking and choosing our darlings: OC has definitely fallen into the start/stop trap I pointed out earlier. But he didn't get a shout-out from me because I'm of the belief that he's been slotted too high on the card and the act gets old quick. He may be the one act I think they're doing a favour by featuring less. ;)

No worries, we're good. I've almost certainly been there myself. Sometimes it's hard to remember that even if we're aware of some of what's going on in the larger discourse surrounding something, it's always risky to attempt to extrapolate from that the views of any one specific person. We all form our beliefs with things that might seem incongruous to others if they're just being viewed through the prism of that larger conversation. It's always good to remind ourselves we're speaking to a person, and not the entire hoard of screaming internet weirdos. And thanks goodness for that! I like to think I'm not seen as coming in here intending to browbeat the company and anyone who likes it. I'm not looking to tear things down. I wouldn't be typing this much if I didn't like this product and want the absolute best for it. Some weeks I'm of a more simple, contented mindset and find it sufficient to let the headline be what great chemistry Omega and Fenix have. Others, like this week, my prevailing feeling is there are some things sticking in my craw and I want to air that out. But it's from a place of wanting the best, even if there's always room for improvement. Anyway thanks for the kind words, but please never compare me to a Brainbuster again. Arn and Tully should be insulted by the comparison.

"Who told you your incompetent little fingers had the requisite skill to edit me?!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qRyTDbEskM&ab_channel=BillyQuizboy76 Link won't embed. It's a scene from The Insider. A welcome addition to any film. As DFA said, gravitas. RIP.

Luchasaurus eliminated Grayson with a chokeslam. Inner Circle got the other three.

I haven't watched the episode yet, but I'm opening all the spoiler boxes anyway. So... *shrug*

I watched the Edge-Orton match last night because I've been trying to keep up with Edge's return. Yikes. That finish was abysmal. Randy starts mugging like he's going to hit the RKO. Camera's in close on him. Then Alexa's music hits and the camera pans to show Alexa sitting on the turnbuckle behind him. Once she's visible to the TV viewer, they hit the crowd reaction sound cue. As if there wouldn't have already been a reaction in the building while the people watched Alexa run in and climb the ropes! Someone needs to get that soundboard away from Vince and his minions ASAP.