Kyuubi

I didn’t mention Jericho because he really never fit the mold of prototype WWE guy. Short, not particularly stout, and works in several styles. I know that sounds contradictory but Jericho has always been atypical and one of those roles where they put Miz in nowadays except better overall performer. WWE never looked at Jericho and tried to replicate him like a Rock or a John Cena. He was never a mold but an extremely versatile performer that WWE just loved to have. Jericho may have the largest name recognition out of anybody in AEW because of his WWE background but with him, I feel like he fits in any promotion or any style of wrestling. And he is also changes his character significantly. Spears, Rhodes, and Hager as characters and workers haven’t really shed that WWE story structure type wrestling. And I kind of give Moxley a pass because he did reinvent himself or he went back to his Moxley character. The issue here is that they aren’t former WWE guys. It is just that I don’t just want to see former WWE guys who wrestle the same style and don’t really reinvent themselves. Especially if I can watch WWE and pretty much watch the same 5 or 6 guys. Jake Hager is just a more stoic Jack Swagger to which he should have never spoken in the first place. Spears just seems like a less eccentric and more serious Dillinger. While some of them are great performers, I just kind of expected more unknown guys who haven’t had much exposure to be at the forefront. Like Private Party feels brand new. Darby Allin feels brand new. Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt feel brand new Its just those ‘reinventions’ are vanilla. I don’t know. I just expect if an actor is in a different movie, they’d play a different character. In the case of wrestlers, I’d expect them to wrestle differently outside of classical heel vs face dynamic. Use different moves or have a different psychology. Which is why I don’t include Jericho and I’m hesitant on Moxley. We know that the Moxley character doesn’t translate well to WWE. We know PAC never was utilized well and was severely under appreciated. I can’t say the same about Spears, Hager, and Rhodes. They are interchangeable from their ‘E counterparts for the most part(Cody’s rich affluent gimmick at least coincides with his Handsome or Legacy roles). And I don’t mean to take away the talent of these guys who did get treated wrong like Spears and Cody. I just don’t really want to see them too much.

My problem is that it is too similar to the WWE and has a bunch of WWE cast outs. Like there is a plethora of Indy talent which WWE is also poaching. What should differentiate AEW is having folks that just wouldn’t thrive under the E. Guys like Darby Allin who Vince would look at and not get it. Or a Priscilla Kelly whose shock seductress style would be sanitized like it was in was in the Mae Young Classic. Like AEW has embraced several working styles that aren’t just WWE adjacent story telling. They present the full Lucha style without making amendments to it. They glorify spotfests whether it is hardcore or a bunch of dives. Then you have strong style of Japan or American brawler or technical wrestling. Every other match feels different. But a lot of the WWE guys like Hager carry too much baggage. I’ve seen Hager in Lucha Underground and I have to say that he stuck out. He didn’t fit amongst the craziness and shenanigans of a promotion that was whacky like LU. And in AEW, he is still prototypical in a promotion touting to be an alternative to WWE. And yes, I do appreciate that he won’t be present in matches. But there are big guys in the Indies that just as likely could have that spot like Jeff Cobb, Jacob Fatu, Moose, Alexander Hammerstone, or Tim Thatcher who all may not be as tall but have the added benefit of being active as well. I don’t know. I see too many familiar faces than I care to want to see in AEW. Again, I get that this is the beginning and they are likely to expand but it’s weird I see the likes of Hager, Spears, Rhodes, and to some extent Moxley as kind of redundant because are prototypical WWE cast offs. But this is just a nit pick. Overall the shows have been enjoyable and I say this as someone who never really enjoyed a Kenny Omega or Young Bucks match. I was surprised to see the variety in what I thought would be styles catering to them.

There are guys in AEW that I know were underused in WWE like Shawn Spears and Cody and PAC. But yeah, Jake Hager ain’t one of them. Honestly, as NXT starts becoming overflooded and talent starts leaving in due to under utilization, I think some guys like Lio Rush would be great. Wwe has all the talent in the world in terms of wrestling. Kenny can kayfabe shit talk half that roster on NXT, but half that roster can and has wrestled on his level before. AEW should be looking at guys that they know are going to be underutilized in WWE that not only need a different direction, but aren’t in it because they are cast offs. Getting guys like Hager and Ryback is shit. I’d rather wait until Will Ospreay’s contract is up or some shit because at least he is refreshing.

Oh. Cuckamania would be an awesome pornstar name.

I haven’t been watching Raw or WWE in general but I’ve been hearing about a storyline trend of wrestlers’ wives cheating on them with black wrestlers and I have to wonder is Linda fucking Herman Cain or something and Vince is commiserating his misery to us through these weird ass storylines? Is Linda getting the 999 deal in the White House and Vince is using his own humiliation as a way to punish dudes who want out? I’m asking because the phrase beta cuck was uttered by the resident jackass Graves on TV to describe the situation. It’s just a weird thing to have consistently shown on your billion dollar show. Next you will have Big E with Becky Lynch or some shit. I’m sure that would be a way to revive his old catchphrase, “give me five” or some variation.

The backstage carney shit is what separates MLW from other promotions and I guess that emphasis on carney shit effects the matches somewhat, but I am not really following this promotion for G1 quality. It would be nice but there are tons of indies that allow for that.

I’ve heard of Tim Thatcher but this is the first time watching him. Dude somehow pulls off Wiry big guy if that makes sense. I can’t call him technical as he is more of a Regal type dude in terms of physicality. It was a fun showing. Not really into Lawler. I don’t get the hype because Riddle does former MMA guy turned wrestler better than he does. I’m just not impressed with anything he does yet. The black luchador guy? He is awesome. Some of the most creative shit I’ve seen since Shane Strickland. I wish MLW put more emphasis on, I hate saying it, workrate. I enjoy the Factions wars and conflicts as it adds an added dimension to conflicts. The matches just lack the spectacle of that makes sense. Maybe that’s on the performers or I don’t know what I’m talking about but when NJPW puts on a match, it not only feels big but the match itself is filled with story as well as technique and athleticism. MLW feels like they have top tier talent and I know they do but the matches feel underwhelming a lot of the time. Maybe I am buggin’. Regardless, I like this shit.

I love how the fans don’t realize what they just saw was extraordinary in terms of athleticism. Like I get the shooting star press is like the basic spot monkey finisher, but AQA is only the second woman in history to do a standing shooting star press in the wrestling business. Hyun is awesome too. Booker always had an eye for talent and I’m glad he is doing things outside the ‘E. Thanks fam for hooking me up. Anyways what’s up with TNA picking up a bunch of Lucha Underground formers?

Yep. She is green as grass and I don’t think the Shooting Star Press is her finisher yet. But I am looking forward to her since the SSP she did was Sydal quality. She is stupid athletic since I know women gymnasts who trained for years who still can’t do a non-cheat Gainer. I was watching a highlight wrestling vid(I like to use it as a reference to which matches to watch, sue me) and I saw a woman do a shooting star press and not the cheat gainer kind and was like...wait what? Anyways, yeah I dig some digging and found her. I apologize for detailing the thread about TNA’s stupid Phoenix like tendencies.

Who is the black lady in pig tails who did a shooting star press to the outside on a 3 other women? It was a match on Impact I think? Edit: My bad. Wrong promotion. I thought it was TNA because the apron had Impact + on the side.

The matches in MLW aren’t much as spectacles like NJPW but the story angles are great. Low Ki’s title reign was brutal and I’ve never seen a champion as sadistic and as brutal as he was. Dude was ripping off ears and maiming motherfuckers. Since I ditched WWE, I’ve been wanting to fill the void with something and AEW just wasn’t it. But yeah, this has been a treat overall. I was surprised to see Low Ki in a big role for any promotion given his reputation.

As long as it’s not Naito vs Ibushi. I don’t know how you all feel about these two pairing up, but to me they are like a notch below old school CZW matches. I’m not a fan of the amount of near deaths that the two seem to put each other through every time they match up.

So I gave up on WWE and been following New Japan for awhile. Still not completely immersed. Why the fuck are the Young Lions so fucking boring? I get that they are trainees but you’d think they would at least diversify. Give them some basis in other styles. Like it works sometimes like with Jay White. But other times when I tried watching Shouta, I honestly couldn’t get invested in something so basic. Like I see the foundation of what they are taught in guys Okada and Ishii but my issue is that it maybe afford some wrinkles aside from making a body slam more fanciful? Guy wants to be a highflier, let him at least try to learn and focus on high flying or do a head scissors takedown. Guy wants to do submission grappling, let him at least exhibit something other than a Boston crab. I get it. Maybe I’m not invested in the development of guys and it’s just not for me. But I really was looking forward to watching Shouta only to be bored to tears.

Depends on the promotion. There are some kick boxing promotions that force fighters(including Muay Thai fighters like Buakaw and Saenchai) to wear kick pads much to the annoyance of the fighters and Muay Thai enthusiasts. And I can't believe y'all went five pages and not mention Aleister Black at all.

Good follow up to Supershow. Lince and Lio was not what I thought I’d get out of the two but was solid nonetheless. If WWE can lie about Kanellis being 205(I doubt it but then again Murphy looks bigger), there is no reason why they can’t get Balor to join this roster. Buddy is going to be a McGregor type of Champion which is cool with his attitude because I was afraid they were going to turn him. And finally after a solid run as champ, some character building with Cedric. He has always been a great come up short wrestler because his reactions when he doesn’t get a pinfall are golden. They are going with the story of Cedric losing his mojo. I can tell Triple H is behinf this booking because he loves having two best friends as wrestlers and highlighting their friendship for a slow burn. He loves the payoff when the inevitable betrayal happens. Me thinks that he is projecting somewhat. Overall decent show. Good crowd. NXT was better.