Gordi the former AEW fan

Somebody take a time machine back to 2017 or 2018 and try telling me that in 2021 I would be watching Sting vs Billy Gunn in a tag match, and be tickled pink to be doing so, and I'd enjoy the hell out of the match... 'cuz I don't think I'd believe you. Loved Darby killing himself, as always. Dug the great wrestlers making young guys look really good in the first two matches. Dug the crowd going crazy for Cole and Cassidy facing down. Nice way to let the crowd pop for those entrances. Was proud of @just drew for not jumping the rails and going all Krav Maga on the Bucks! Nice show of restraint! A Wardlow squash on Dynamite is jake with me. This whole tbs Tournament has just been a festival of good matches. You know me, I love a nice show of respect after a hard-fought match. I wouldn't mind Ruby Soho becoming Best Friends adjacent. I like Andrade wearing a necktie to a street fight! I felt kinda bad for Cody getting booed while taking a beating in his home town. Don't really feel like I needed to see a flaming table spot. Ho hum, another great show. Hope I never actually start taking it for granted.

I am proud of being a pro wrestling fan. I wear pro wrestling shirts, hoodies, hats and caps, warm-up jackets, even my gym shorts have the lion mark logo on them. I doubt there is anyone who knows me well that doesn't know that I love pro wrestling. Maybe it helps that I live in Japan... but I was the same way in Canada. Some people don't get it, but almost everyone has always respected that it's one of my passions. I can't imagine feeling ashamed of being a fan of pro wrestling, or trying to hide it. In fact, I have made a lot of real-life friends based at least in part on a mutual love of pro wrestling. I guess I was lucky to grow up where I did. And have continued to be lucky everywhere I've been to since then (i am definitely very lucky with people) ...or maybe people just sense that there's no point in trying to make fun of something that I'm obviously proud of?

Here's a thoughtful and thought-provoking video from calisthenics guru Al Kavadlo about how he eats. Main reason I'm posting it here is that he makes genuinely funny use of pro wrestling pictures in the video. I legit lol'd twice while watching this, and I wanted to share: Second reason is this: I'm down under 100 kilos for the first time in probably 20+ years! My health markers are all genuinely good and I'm feeling the best I have felt, physically, since my second daughter was born and I got very lax with my eating habits. I'm 56 years old now, and over the past couple of years I have transitioned from always wanting to be the biggest and strongest guy in the gym (or at least one of the top 4 or 5) to paying more attention to "functional strength" mobility, health, longevity, etc. My daughters are 7 and 10 years old and I'm more concerned with being there for them than with anything else. It's good motivation!! The Kavadlo brothers (bodyweight training, getting ripped, sensible eating), Mark Wildman (kettlebells, mobility, function), Martin Burkhan (Leangains, intermittent fasting), my friend Chizuki (fasting, natural eating), Chris Shugart (the Velocity Diet) and to a slightly lesser extent Pavel Tatsouline (kettlebells), and Ori Hofmekler (warrior diet) have all been major influences on how I think about eating and training and on how I have been successfully changing my body (though I have not been strictly doing intermittent fasting, I have been influenced by their thoughts and ideas, and have IF as a strategy I can go to if I hit a major plateau or if I eventually decide I want to try actually getting ripped some day). I'd recommend checking out The Kavadlo Brothers and Mark Wildman's videos on youtube, and the Kavadlo's books (particularly Get Strong) and The Leangains and Warrior Diet books if you are interested at all in functional strength and/or fat loss. Interesting food for thought! I'd also very much like to hear about whoever all y'all watch on youtube and whose books you read w/r/t training and diet. In particular, @Shartnado, I'd like to hear more about how you eat to get ripped.

There was some really good pro wrestling on Rampage this week. I liked how the opener mixed goofiness, athleticism, and violence. I missed a big chunk of Riho vs DMD (my younger daughter wanted my attention) but what I saw looked great. Riho's offense is looking more believable now than when she was champ. I'm sure Garcia vs Kingston was (almost) everyone here's cup of tea, and rightfully so. I'll bet at least one person is going to say that Kingston gave Garcia too much (and if you feel that way, fair enough, I suppose) but I love love love love love how a lot of the veteran/higher-card AEW wrestlers can be so giving in the ring with younger/lower-card guys. It's one of my favourite things about this promotion.

Ahem! Actually... Roosters don't lay eggs.

Your traditional Black Friday Deal Match: Riho vs DMD Kingston vs Garcia, which, holy moley yes please!! A team without Trent ? or tennis shoes but is still clearly Best Friends vs Bay Bay Fish (Doot dootdoot dootdootdoot) Edit: It occurs to me that Dinosaur (good ole) Jr very nearly use the "Baby Shark" rhythm in this song (and also a heavier version of it in Watch the Corners) so here is something nice to listen to before the Road To:

*Egg gets over* "The WWE has come to terms on the release of the Survivor Series Gooker Egg. WWE wishes the Egg the best of luck in its future endeavors."

Some more general navel-gazing, in the form of two old zen stories that have helped me get through pandemic life and even find a kind of upside in things slowing down so much: A great scholar approached the Buddha. "I have questions I want to ask you. I am told you are the only one who can answer them." " I will answer your questions, " replied the Buddha, "but I have a requirement. First you must study beside me in silence for one year. You are not yet ready to hear the answers to your questions. You must first clear your mind of preconceptions." The great scholar agreed to the requirement. He sat in silence for a year. The Buddha said to him, "You may ask your questions now." The scholar remained silent. He no longer had any questions. An eager young athlete approached a martial arts master. "I have mastered many martial arts. Now I want to master yours. How long will it take?" " Ten years, " replied the master. "That's too long!" Replied the athlete. I am very fit and strong and have a great deal of experience. I can, and will, train fourteen hours a day every day and work harder than any other student. In that case, how long will it take? " "Twenty years, at least." ?

My name is Gordon, I generally go by Gordi ("i" rather than "ie" or "y" in tribute to Jimi Hendrix), and Gordberg is an ironic nickname I got from my weightlifting friends because, while I am above average in terms of strength and muscularity, I have never had the kind of impressively over-developed trapezius muscles that Goldberg or, say, Kensuke have (most likely because I'm not a steroid guy - I'm not anti steroids, I just don't use them - and huge traps are usually a result of massive steroid abuse). Also I shave my head, have a little beard, am middle-aged, and look kind of Jew-y (my biological mother is Jewish, but I was raised by Scottish-Canadian Presbyterians). So, I look rather Goldbergian (pic spoiled because shirtlessness): I've also been gordi (the lower case in tribute to the great Canadian poet bill bissett) and El Gran Gordi (in tribute to Otis' masked alter ego) and Jailbreaker Bullnoi (A Fire Pro character)

In recent weeks, AEW has continued to incorporate sensitive subjects into broadcasts. Eddie Kingston, a foul-mouthed brawler from just outside New York City, noted he takes Zoloft for depression. And in early November, the day after it was announced Moxley had entered an inpatient alcohol treatment program, the famously straight-edge Punk called on the Independence, Mo., crowd to chant Moxley’s name, commending the former champion for seeking help. Page thinks the values of the company have created an openness that helps performers too. “Ten, 20 years ago, you would never walk away from a top spot, for any reason,” he says about Moxley going into rehab. “You would let your life crumble around you before you walked away from that top spot. Knowing AEW is a different kind of place, a different environment, I think has helped people be more honest with what they need in their lives.” - a direct quote from here: https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a38225563/adam-page-hangman-aew/ We've been arguing (often obliquely) for quite some time whether the move (in AEW) away from broad caricatures of machismo and masculinity and towards more nuanced, vulnerable, damaged, and otherwise relatable characters is a genuine change for the better. The second paragraph above, in particular, sums up a lot of why I quite passionately believe that it is. I think it also touches quite directly on the value of nurturing and maintaining a positive/supportive/friendly atmosphere in a company. I certainly don't remember anybody here suggesting that Mox was wrong to go into rehab while building toward a main event program, so maybe those ideas are no longer as controversial as they seemed to be when the company was starting out? Please feel free to discuss, if you are so inclined. (Or to lay out any other theories or considerations about AEW).

I got a lot of legit lols tonight: Reba's "awwww" when DMD tossed her roll "No! We're not doing the DMD" "A less famous Miz" and so on... Tully and Arn were the in-ring highlight of the night for me, and I in no way mean that as a slight on the rest of the action. GREAT night for promos, obviously. A little joke for the hardcore fans: That was a real Gut Check for Bryan.

Congratulations, as long as your kid is healthy and has eight tentacles you can count your blessings! Here's my younger daughter doing unicycle tricks with her friends:

I mix a cup of yogurt with a cup of rolled oats and half a cup of frozen blueberries, then leave it in the fridge while I go off to work. That'll be my Thanksgiving dinner. I'll have a smoked chicken breast and a handful of almonds and cashews at work, as well, most likely. And a nice bottle of tea. What do you want me to say? I'm Canadian, I live in Japan, and I'm on a diet. I LOVE a nice turkey dinner. I miss my mom's stuffing and gravy. I once went to Subway on Canadian Thanksgiving/my birthday, and had a sliced turkey breast sandwich (which is the only easy way to get turkey over here). Bad choice. Made me miss real turkey even more. The food here is amazing, even the stuff that fits into my diet (like smoked or peppered chicken breasts, frozen mango chunks, soy sauce flavoured boiled eggs, and spicy bean sprouts with pork loin, all of which I can get at 7-11 here). But oh boy do I envy you lads your full on Turkey dinners. Enjoy!!

Completely agree with all of this. I mainly skipped to the big man matches cuz that's what I am in the mood for today (did you do the same?) so my thoughts are all on the same three matches. I'd add that each match had at least one AMAZING power spot: Bear Boulder slamming Carter and Lennox simultaneously, Wardlow's press slam Casualty of War, and Comoroto's multiple presses, and the one-armed press, on Moriarty. The Bear Country spot was incredibly cool. Rolando Perez looked great bumping and stooging for Wardlow. I'd like to see him do something with Marko Stunt next. That was a great Dark main event. Both guys looked good, and it told a nice story of size and power vs technique.

November 24th, Thanksgiving Dynamite in Chicago! Will AEW be able to come up with a wrestling storyline anywhere near as electrically compelling as the saga of the stolen golden egg (as seen on the other channel)? Unlikely, but you gotta figure Cookie Monster Punk will get a huge crowd reaction going against Cutie Marshall And you maybe gotta wonder if Colt Cabana's Chicago roots will be enough to get keep the crowd booing Brian Bryan? You also probably gotta figure that after Andrade Malakai and Fear The Restholds all lost on the (excellent, excellent, excellent) PPV that the heels are gonna win the 8-man tag... but who outa Cody Homelander, PAC, Fenix, and Penta el Gesture Spammer will take the fall? Oh my golly! Oh my golly Rosa!! takes on Jaymie the Hayter in a tournament match, which could well steal the show. Then Rosa will face Jade in the tournament semis.

And of course now he goes by Sean Walt Man. In fact, pro wrestling is chock full of guys who have made the switch from boy or kid to man, such as Honkey Tonk Boy or the Big Boss Kid. My personal favourites are probably: Kid Abu Nakanishi Paul Hey Kid Strong Boy Braun Strowkid Macho Boy Randy Savage The Sandboy Mad Boy Pondo The Z-Boy "Real Kid's Kid" Steven Regal One Boy Gang Icekid King Parsons Arachnaboy Billy Kidkid The Boogie Woogie Boy Jimmy Valiant Chesskid Calvin Tanklad El Muchacho sin Nombre Kiddy Fernandez Maxwell Jacob Friedboy Boykind somewhat confusingly, Kid Ami Toyota and of course Gentle Boy Jervis Cottonbelly

This guy ain't gonna stand for anybody using steroids in his company! ?

You could pretty easily do NJPW vs "Dudes who have been released by WWE and not yet signed up by Tony Khan" and it would be an excellent show. Tell me you don't want Keith Lee vs, say, Shingo or, like, Tucky vs Ishii.

I liked the storytelling in this show. You had two matches where the bigger more muscular heel put a savage beating on the smaller plucky babyface, and a tag match where the smaller guy got beat down until he barely managed to make the hot tag to his big strong friend... and you had the modern classic AEW flavouring where the babyfaces have friends who can counter the heels trying to play the numbers game, and that makes the difference between winning and losing. Enjoyed Darby, Velvet, and JB doing their part by bumping around like crazy and Darby and Velvet in particular doing great rag-doll selling.

Sure. Why not? Top of my head: Terry Funk Jumbo Tsuruta Bryan Danielson Jushin Liger Bret Hart Eddie Guerrero Mitsuharu Misawa Andre the Giant Akira Hokuto Minoru Suzuki

A dinosaur and a boy vs a fish and a bay bay which, frankly, seems like an unfair match-up. Jade vs Velvet in a battle of 70s rockstar fashion statements. The New Age Rockabilly Ass Man Outlaw "Cute" Kip Montana-Winchester vs if I understand correctly, a skateboarder who is married to one of the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions. (Edit: I apparently do not understand correctly). Screw it, let's do it!!!

It strikes me as extremely cool that Gorman has called matches that NoFists has participated in. For whatever reason, that makes me really happy. As for what's to be done about JR in AEW, I honestly feel like he'd contribute so much more in a reduced role... but I have no idea how the people around him in AEW feel about that, and it seems at odds with what the man himself wants. And, thinking about it, if he were to just disappear from AEW TV completely I am quite sure a lot of us would miss him. I'm sure glad it's not my decision to make! That is really cool! I either didn't know that or I forgot it. ESPN experience, as well, is an impressive thing to have on your resume. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you can see why this place is (probably) the best place on the internet to discuss pro wrestling. There really are a lot of interesting people, with interesting and varied points of view, participating here.

That is incorrect. And if you want to claim that having experience grants special insight, which is not unreasonable, then I have a lot more experience commentating TV wrestling than you do ? (almost certainly less in-ring experience, though). (Vancouver All Star Wrestling on BCTV and nationwide on the Can-Star satellite - or something like that, 1986 - 1989, where I got to work alongside Mauro Ranallo, John Tenta, Diamond Timothy Flowers...) I was taught that my job was to put the wrestlers and the wrestling over. (And, for what it's worth I was also definitely taught that the safety of the other people in the match was my number one priority, and not that it's OK to hit an obviously concussed opponent in the head to "snap them out of it." Though I was also taught that accepting getting dinged up and/or having your bell rung with grace and alacrity was the proper and accepted etiquette). Anyway: In term of my personal "real experience or knowledge" JR does not always appear to be doing his very best to put AEW's wrestlers and wrestling over. Although, I absolutely understand that JR's own "real experience or knowledge" far, far outweighs my own. (Or yours, mine, and @Gorman's and @Marty Sugar's combined, several times over). (And I'd be very interested to hear Gorman's take on this). I greatly admire and respect JR as a sportscaster and interviewer. He was indeed the very best in the world for quite a long time. He often cracks me up these days, (sometimes intentionally). He occasionally nails a great call at exactly the right moment, and I am pumped every time that happens. But on balance, in my (educated?) opinion, he takes more away from the table than he brings to it, and that has been the case since he came to AEW, I sincerely wish that he could accept his limitations, be the "third man" in the booth, and only speak when he actually has something to say that contributes to the story being told (and he often does have such things to say). I wish he could accept a slightly different role, as has been suggested more than once in this thread and elsewhere. But it seems that he's unwilling or unable to do so. And, presumably and understandably, the folks around him apparently have too much respect for him to get in his ear about it. So, with a heavy heart, I have to agree with @Matt D: Regardless of all he's done and accomplished and how great he once was, JR as lead announcer is a net negative for AEW at this time. (I also, (perhaps controversially?) think it's good to discuss pro wrestling things on a pro wrestling discussion board, even if they have been discussed before and likely will be again).

It's like getting up on the table at work at The French Laundry and bragging about how you used to manage a McDonalds. (seriously, though: I think it's a point in AEW's favour that it isn't "against the rules" to mention WWE by name).