Go2Sleep

Thunder Rosa has been sporting this look lately, which I guess is not very subtle, but still cool:

I was pretty confused about the need for another singles belt, but if they keep it to non-US wrestlers only, that would be a pretty good gimmick. Good way to get a lot of guys from other companies in for one-off good matches that don't need much if any tv time to build. The name is silly, but at least it's "old school territory" silly and not "named after our tv stations" silly. They really need women's tag titles more than anything though to get more value out of their roster.

I like the Casino style Battle Royals since it staggers the entrance pops, gives the match a little more room to breathe, and leans heavily into the "big mystery entrant" trope that makes the Rumble so fun. Pac vs. Buddy is nice too. Can't wait til 600!

At least AEW has started to consider opponent quality somewhat. The Varsity Blondes getting a tag title shot was like if Vanderbilt played D2 teams for 10 weeks then got into the SEC title game.

Imagine being able to go back to 2002 telling everyone how the HHH/Stephanie future pans out.

It's true that he couldn't make his pec injury worse, but I would think in a physically demanding activity like pro wrestling, you drastically increase the chances of jacking up your shoulder on top of everything else if you have to compensate for a nonfunctional pec. There's also the issue of putting your opponent in more danger for similar reasons. Luckily neither of those two things seemed to happen. Sometimes good things can come from bad decisions, though. Life's weird like that.

TK replying to randos on twitter to defend his favorite wrestling show makes him the most relatable billionaire ever. After the format has been clarified, I think Mox vs. Tana is the most likely route, but pointless speculation is more fun, so here are my dark horse winners: 1. Danielson: Not really a dark horse, because I think most people see him as a reasonable possibility. Still, he hasn't exactly been on the title path since his loss to Hangman. If he's healthy enough, now is a great time to squeeze in a run for him, and Punk vs. Bryan is an obvious ppv main event if you can get there. 2. Miro - They obviously have something lined up for him because he's been doing nothing (on AEW tv) for months. Still, whatever that plan is hasn't started yet, so there's time to change course and they clearly see him as a major player. Building up a monster heel for the babyface champ to overcome is tried and true wrestling booking. 3. Malakai: He's been insanely protected, has a cool stable, and all the monster heel booking stuff with Miro applies to him as well. While he's more likely to be the face of the trios division when that kicks off, there might be time for a singles run here, and he definitely has the chops to pull it off. 4. Jay White: I think I remember reading he's done with Impact, and if you want more NJ crossover, he's your guy. Obviously his American drawing power would be suspect, but everything else fits.

Cody is the South Park version of Mel Gibson.

Sucks that Punk is hurt, as he was having a great run. I am a bit selfishly excited that next week's Dynamite in KC won't be "not wasting our best stuff against the NBA" filler, though. Mox winning the belt here when the last time around he was a late scratch for health reasons would be a nice little arc, but there's no shortage of awesome choices if they wanted to go the surprise route. Danielson, Wardlow, Malakai, Miro to name a few.

After that promo on Dynamite, I feel pretty confident that MJF's contract issues are all worked out, and he has big program or story arc lined up after he takes a little break. On the topic of themes, I've taken a liking to Thunder Rosa's faux-Chicano-metalcore sounding theme. They should commission Upon a Burning Body for a special entrance at a big Texas show.

I think the word "technical" has been the term used describe the same concepts going back to the late 90s.

Isn't a big part of the MJF contract issue is that AEW is willing to give him a higher annual, but they want him to extend as well? It seems like standard sports negotiating stuff to me. MJF was just a camp invite level guy when he signed his first deal, and to his credit, he has worked his way up to being an all-star on a very team-friendly deal. Now if he wants to cash in, he can sign a big extension or test free agency when his deal is up. Trying to shake the company down for money now and still saying you want to hit free agency at the same time isn't really an option.

Why would AEW need Bray Wyatt at all? Malakai has the cult leader gimmick and is a way better wrestler.

What I want to know about the MITB fiasco is why WWE was in the same city on the same day as UFC to begin with. Was this just a major scheduling SNAFU? Did the person who used to check this stuff get slashed in one of the corporate cuts? Were Vince and Nick just too high off that Fox/Saudi money?

I watched the show in chunks over the course of Memorial Day since I had plans on Sunday already. I can see why it might have been a lot to take in all at once, but each segment of the show delivered at least the bare minimum, with most going well above expectations. Damn near perfect show really. Very happy to see AEW follow through with a full squash for Wardlow. With as good as MJF is, it would be tempting to do a real match here, but that wasn't what the story called for. The stretcher job with the paramedics moving him carelessly after putting him in a neck brace and putting on the oxygen mask upside down was perfect. Keep it light so there's no sympathy for MJF getting hurt, but give an out to take some time off and come back with a big reset. Bucks/Hardys was as good as it could've been with Jeff being so immobile. Say what you want about the Bucks, they did a great job keeping this match from falling apart and even did the honors for the Hardys when they really shouldn't have. Jade/Anna was fine, with Jade looking a lot more comfortable working a longer match. They're absolutely doing the right thing being patient with her while still keeping her strong, and she's clearly putting in the work on her end. Loved that they actually wrote off Sterling by taking a couple nasty head drops over the course of the night so he can have a reset while Stoke gets to shine. Athena is a good get for AEW, since they need more competent vets to lead longer matches in the women's division. HOB/DT was a great Dragon Gate style 6-man with nonstop action and everybody getting time to shine. I was worried they might have missed the boat on Julia's turn with that awkward segment a few weeks ago, but it still got a big pop here. The Owen Cup matches were fine, but nothing special. Britt definitely shouldn't have won, but when they announced the format with the winners on stage together, that was pretty obviously going to happen. I do like the Stanley Cup style trophy that every winner gets their name engraved on. The presentation went longer than it should have, but it was probably good to have a little break in the action of such a marathon show. Darby/KOR was a great "second opener" after the long Owen segment. KOR winning clean was a bit surprising, but it makes sense as a show of good faith after he signed a long contract. I always thought he had a lot of potential as a singles guy, so we'll see if AEW ever gives him that run. The mixed trios was a fine comedy match. Sammy and Tay are back to being heels and thankfully they won't be around Lambert anymore to muddy those roles. Deeb/Rosa delivered the way I had hoped. I was getting nervous with those bad promos leading up to it, but everything here hit just right. Rosa's gear was awesome, and this was easily her best match other than the Lights Out. The Not-Stadium-Stampede was the big surprise of the night. I expected more comedy filler, and it turned into a violent brawl. Garcia's piledriver on the steps was sick. The gasoline leading to the downfall of the face team was pretty good. Surprised to see Danielson take the fall, but the finish was very credible and didn't hurt him a bit. The 3-way tag was another great nonstop action match. I agree that it feels like JE has run their course with the belts, but damn do they always deliver in their big matches. Either of these other teams getting a little run would've been nice. As good as FTR is, I'd rather them not monopolize all the belts on a roster with so many great teams. They're already money as a special attraction team and they can defend the ROH belts whenever they just need a match. The main event was exactly what it needed to be. Punk going over is the right move. He can sell a program with anyone, and whoever beats him will be made for life. If they actually circle around back to Wardlow ending his reign, I'll be quite impressed with the long-term vision.

The Hangman/Punk promo seemed like it was supposed to be a red herring. Both guys kinda teased a heel turn, but odds are the match ends clean one way or the other. Had a horrible thought of Cole and Britt becoming the King and Queen of Harts. Not that I dislike either, but that's definitely not what the company needs. Cole winning is ok, but Kris or Ruby need a signature win on the women's side badly. Jericho fireballing randos backstage is ridiculous sports entertainment. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but the presentation of the fireball being a heinous breach of decorum to the old-school wrasslin guys like JR and Kingston, while the new age sports entertainers play it as over-the-top comedy is some excellent meta-storytelling.

The HIAC with Taker is a legit great. Some other obvious contenders would be the Mind Games match vs. Shawn, Backlash 04 vs. Orton, that Saturday Night match against Vader where he gets potatoed full force in front of the camera for 10 minutes and still squeaks out a count out win, and the I Quit with Flair at Summer Slam 06. He also has some all-time garbage tags like Spring Stampede 94 or ONS 06.

Actually, I know the lasting memory 20 years later is Katie Vick, but Kane and HHH had good chemistry pre-quad tear. Their WM 15 match and chain match from the 2-Man Power Trip days were both good. Tough to think of someone Kane had a better series with. The Taker matches were more bad than good, never had anything special with Austin, Edge, or Cena (some of the first long feuds I could think of with him a good worker, I know there are more). Foley (no surprise) bumped his ass off for him in his debut match (as Kane) at SurSer 97 and again in the cell on Raw and would be the only other candidate.

Aside from a cheapie like Dennis Knight, Batista is probably the best bet.

Mick Foley is everybody's best opponent. He's the O Negative blood of pro-wrestling. I actually like The Rock has HHH's best opponent just because their ascents to the top of WWE lined up perfectly. Foley gave HHH a better series of matches, but Rocky and Hunter crossing paths at every level up the card was uniquely cool.

The thing about women's wrestling being an afterthought/sideshow eye-candy act forever is that when WWE finally decided to take it seriously, they cornered the market even more than the men's side in the 2010s. Home-grown stars, the best available indy workers, top talent from Japan... They literally had it all. Like when AEW started, WWE easily had the 10 best NA women under contract, possibly 20. There was no Kenny Omega like figure for AEW's women's division, nor anyone with the recognizability of Jericho or Cody. AEW has had to build their women's division from the ground up, and to their credit have done as well as they can acquiring talent. It's still the one aspect of their show that compares poorly to WWE, even in 2022. Sasha going there would be the women's equivalent of getting CM Punk. On a side note, I wonder how much Tony would have to pay to get the rights to the "Sasha Banks" name and music. It would feel weird to see her under a new name, admittedly.

Good for Steph getting out while she still has a lot of years left to enjoy life (and seemingly hasn't destroyed her body like the men in her family), but that statement definitely reads like it wasn't entirely voluntary.

I mean, which of those people would you say they shouldn't have signed? Atlas, Mercedes, and Nese are the only reaches I see and their AEW tenures are jobber who got hurt, vet who put over current champ before settling into a semi-trainer role in new ROH, and low-card heel somewhere between JD Drake and Austin Gunn.

I'm willing to bet the Bucks have put over more people cleanly in the last year than Nash did his entire time in WCW. And if it makes you feel better about their selling, their opponents are doing the same thing to them in every match, it's just the style now for better or worse.

I could see this being a point if they were bringing in people like Harland or Tyler Rust and giving them big pushes, but pretty much everyone they've brought in is a big name that fits the aesthetic AEW is going for. And "ex-WWE guy" doesn't mean the same thing now as it did in 1998. WWE had a monopoly on pro wrestling in the US for 17 years, so of course pretty much anyone worth a damn worked there at one point.