Kevin Wilson

GUNTER did the same thing too on his social media so I wouldn't read too much into it. Not sure why wrestlers would be removing WWE references but could be any number of things.

Also about Vaquer who openly discussed taking less money from WWE than AEW offered. I'm not saying that as a criticism of her, everyone has their own goals but that was the biggest example. There were also rumors back when Okada signed that WWE thought the money + WM Moment would get him to sign but they wouldn't match what AEW offered. I don't blame WWE for using their prestige as a bonus to sign with them, it just won't work with everyone.

Wrestlers can adapt, Sareee and GIulia both did when they joined WWE and I don't think Mariah is stiffer then those two were. But that is one reason I think they like them to do NXT for a couple months, for both 'behind the scenes' sessions and live practice before they go up against their bigger stars.

I got my brother a dual signed Toni Storm/Mariah May poster as a thanks for helping me with a recent hospital trip as he's a big AEW fan (this one, except I paid a bit extra for Toni to inscribe it with her catch phrase: https://highspots.com/products/toni-storm-vs-mariah-may-the-hollywood-ending-12-x-18-poster-jsa-dual-autographed). I got it knowing Mariah May was likely gone, I thought it would be a fun visual "memory" for him of one of the better storylines in AEW history. I think there was more May could have done in AEW but I'm not annoyed she left either, she came in, kicked ass, and moved on. AEW's roster is stacked enough now they can sometimes lose people and its ok, there will be a give and take between AEW and WWE going forward and nothing wrong with that, its healthy for wrestling as a whole for both fans and wrestlers to have options. She'll be fondly remembered though, a hell of a run.

Yea when I had my hernia surgery I saw the list of meds I was given later in MyChart and fentanyl was on the list, explains why I was useless the next 24 hours afterwards. Sure didn't feel any pain though.

Its an odd choice as NXT TV doesn't "travel" well unless its a super show and they are calling up a lot of their current popular wrestlers before then so it will be interesting to see how they sell. I mean they just had to cancel their Tampa TV taping due to low sales. I know 2300 Arena is small and shouldn't be hard to sell out but if there are fans of both promotions that can only afford to go to one show I'd be surprised if NXT is the one they chose. Although if WWE announces Punk or something will show up that would be different.

I feel like Speedball/Okada deserves more recognition. I think Okada has been very good/not always great in AEW, not all his fault as he is kinda in his own bubble with minimal interaction with the rest of the roster but while I wouldn't say he has been coasting, he just has only reached that 'top level' a couple times (in my opinion) since joining the promotion. But man Speedball just got the best out of him last night, both of them killed it but seeing Okada show some urgency again felt right. And I bit hard on the last Speedball nearfall even though I KNEW Okada had to win to set up the Omega match for the title, so even knowing the result if a nearfall gets me you know the match has hooked me in. I have it has the third best match on the card but only because AITA and the main were *****ish matches, if I did stars I'd probably have Speedball/Okada around **** 1/2. Every AEW PPV seems to have one match that really over-delivers and that was the match on this one for me, a match with minimal build just blowing away my expectations.

All party members have their own pool of improvement points for general experience and for skills, so no need to worry about that. Also by mid-game the item for wiping points/starting over are pretty plentiful, so you can start over later if you want to change builds. I know googling these questions is brutal since you never know what else you'll read by accident, I didn't google the game at all until after I beat it to read up on theories other player's had on the game story. So I feel your pain on it being hard to get answers to basic questions, its definitely the type of game its better to not know what's coming up. I didn't bother even try hard mode, I know my limitations.

Don't feel bad, the game I feel intentionally is confusing and leaves things out. A mostly non-spoiler response to your question but it would be a spoiler for people that haven't started yet:

Scrolled credits on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I'm not going to say anything else about the game/story aside from its great. I did the main quest and some side quests and clocked in under 40 hours, and I'm on the slow side so its not a big time sink. If you have GamePass and any interest in unique RPGs, definitely recommend it.

I don't consider this a spoiler since she posted it herself and as stated before wrestlers lie, but Thekla is teasing showing up tomorrow by tweeting an emoji of a cactus. Not sure who she will feud with upon debuting, unless Hayter somehow wins and Thekla attacks Mone afterwards. I don't think they'd have her debut just to be a quickie title challenge in June to either champ.

Not to get on a soap box too much but it warms my heart that two "AA+" original games (Split Fiction and Clair Obscur) are not only being discussed as two GOTYCs but also selling very well. I have nothing against sequels at all, if a developer finds a hit and gets a big fanbase for an IP it makes sense to continue the story, but like with movies I know a lot of developers are hesitant to spend a lot on fresh stories at the risk of it being a super flop. Which is justified, but original games that are great and financially successful is rare recently in AA+ games its nice to see two in a short period. They've been two of my more fun/surprising gaming experiences in the last couple years. Obviously I recommend both games as well but I hope it encourages developers, that if you have a great game/good story/get rid of the bugs it doesn't have to be an established IP to be successful.

Since it seems likely Gabe Kidd will get involved in Anarchy in the Arena, it seems also likely that a wrestler will come out to neutralize him. The most obvious choice is Kingston, I know he said he isn't ready yet but wrestlers lie and he could be ready enough to catch someone on fire even if he isn't ready for a 15 minute match yet. Secondary options are Darby (if he is down Everest), Hook (if he is healthy), and Ibushi (if his visa issue is done). All four have different reasons why they don't work but since fans are rarely privy to the up to date status of wrestlers I don't think we can write off any as impossible either.

Few matches to add to the original post: ZERO HOUR BUY IN: Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay and Harley Cameron Main Show: The Paragon (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong) vs. The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, and Josh Alexander) AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey The Trios match doesn't do a lot for me (even though I really like Fletcher) and probably wasn't necessary but Okada/Bailey will be good and I'll never complain about another women's match. I hope they add another match to ZERO HOUR, I know some are still on the 'more matches are bad' campaign but I'd rather watch another match or two then ESPN desk analysis. Looking forward to the show.

We fantasy booked him the whole way up, why not the way down too? Although him costing Mox the title would be annoying, I'd almost rather he return after All In but since they'll want him to come back with a big pop you may be right.

I'm no expert and we'll know the answer shortly but apparently the descent is very quick compared to the climb, like under a week. I don't know how long it takes to re-adjust or if Darby will need time to relax/knock off the ring rust but I wouldn't be shocked if he's back in a month if they need him for something storyline related unless he gets an injury on the way down.

Not to buy Hooters, just to buy the IP. So they wouldn't be owning or running the restaurants, just using the Hooters IP for whatever they want. Not sure how that all works money-wise but I assume getting IP rights is cheaper then buying the whole thing as is, apparently the idea is Hogan and Co buy the IP and then license it back to the restaurants. Sounds weird. I assume that Hogan somehow has investors since I doubt he has a ton of money himself.

So I'm not a music entrance guy, I probably would only recognize a handful of entrance themes when they come on. Its like my brain just shuts down during entrances. One time a guy that does a music entrance podcast asked me to come on to discuss Joshi entrance themes and I told him honestly I didn't know a single one and would be a terrible guest. I say all that to say - I think Mikey and CFO$ are inoffensive but the reason I think (well know) Def Rebel sucks is the lack of pop for so many entrances in WWE. Or the fact during the Rumble the fans for 75% of the wrestlers have to wait for the name to pop on the screen to know who the fuck is coming out because so many start or sound similar. For every Seth or Punk with distinctive music there are ten others that sound generic and don't encourage that immediate fan reaction. So AEW music is fine to me and Johnston was the GOAT but man Def Rebel sucks at their job and understanding one of the purposes of entrance music.

That's just the way it goes, teams are so desperate for good QB play that as long as you are above average (or show streaks or potential to be above average) you are going to get paid.

While I like Mercedes a lot so I'm not going to slight her as a person/wrestler, I do think its more *interesting* booking-wise if Hayter wins at DoN so that's what I'll be rooting for. For one thing I don't want a unification match at All In, the women already have trouble getting TV time and I don't think unifying the titles will help that (as if they did Toni vs Mercedes I'd think Mercedes would win, so even if her title wasn't on the line I'd expect a double champion). I also love Hayter and would love to see a rematch with Toni on the big stage. Finally, I think if someone goes undefeated for too long it almost becomes a curse, where suddenly the fans overly focus on it and think the person now *can't* lose unless its a super special moment and then also how to book a wrestler that just had a long undefeated streak which can be difficult as we've seen before in wrestling history. So it would get that "loss" off Mercedes back while she still has a title and can also have a big All In match as well. I think having two big women's title matches at All In is better then one. I actually thought she'd lose to Athena via roll-up or something for the same reason, to further storylines and to get the undefeated AEW streak out of the way but obviously that didn't happen. So, I do want Hayter to win but not as a knock on Mercedes, I just like the direction it would send things if she did and Hayter is great.

The magic from the early 90s version (which I was a kid during and loved) is that it was pretty low production, little fluff, and just had a general "fun" vibe. Its not a show that needs a multi-million dollar production with "funny" hosts and sob stories, its just supposed to be a fun obstacle course game with likeable characters and a simple format even a six year old can understand. But I agree that any new version will never be able to re-capture the feeling of the original.

My main thing with the John Cena storyline is if this is really his retirement year (which I do believe he means it to be), I don't understand who this is helping. If we are to trust The Rock, this was a fairly last minute decision to turn Cena heel, it wasn't the plan when he announced it was his retirement year. Fans don't want to boo him in his last year. No one wants to see Cena winning with low blows and title shots, not with only six months left in his career. I would think there would be more money/interest in the old fashion farewell tour, putting on good matches, saluting the fans, you know that kind of thing. I just don't understand who this is helping, and if the payoff is him losing the belt back to Cody to put him over I don't think Cody would be more over after it then he was before so nothing was really gained. I dunno. I have no issue with the concept of Cena being a heel, but the timing of it and the structure of it just seems flat. After the initial excitement by some right after EC I don't see a lot positive now even from the bigger WWE fans. Its just confusing to me why they decided this was the best direction to take, especially since they usually play things on the safe side. I am fairly sure he'll turn back face again at least in time for his last match and it'll be interesting a year or two down the road how people remember this period, if fans respect it for being different or are just annoyed that's how they decided to spend his last year.

Big picture yes but its a unique story so I wouldn't say its typical as its not a story I've seen before. The game intentionally tells you very little at the start and kinda spoon feeds details as the game progresses as far as the character's situation. In really basic terms but things the game tells you within the first two hours or so, still going to spoiler box it to be safe: Even what I say in the spoiler box may not be completely accurate as some aspects of the story are still developing. I called it story-driven as there are a fair number of cutscenes. Not an obscene amount but maybe more then the average game, more then Elden Ring, less then Final Fantasy XVI. Its taken every fiber of my being to not "read up" on anything about the game but I know any google search may spoil something so I'm behaving and trucking along, so far its been worth it.

In simple non-spoiler terms, its a story-driven turn based RPG, but during battles there are timed button inputs for dodging/parrying attacks and a QTE to hit for your attack for extra damage. Getting the timing right for dodges and parries isn't optional to get a little less damage done, if you don't get them right sometimes you are gonna die. Also, every character has a.... method to make their attacks more powerful by how you use them, so there is always some calculating to do the most damage possible. I guess that is to say calling it just a turn based RPG sells it short as there is a lot going on during battles besides "attack this turn" "potion this turn" "defend this turn" etc.

I'm about ten hours into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and I am not sure what I expected exactly (I don't read detailed reviews or watch youtube videos of games I know I will play as I don't want to be spoiled about anything) but its pretty fantastic. It is so much more then a turn based RPG, I haven't played anything quite like it. For a developer's first game they knocked it out of the park, sure they combined elements from games we've all played before but the way they put everything together and added their own twists really works. And its pretty and I haven't had any bugs. My only complaint is I don't think the rare platforming sections were necessary as the jump detection isn't perfect and the game didn't need it, but still an easy rec.