killsteve

Eva Marie - didn't they literally do the same thing with her the first time round? The amount of air-time they waste on stuff like this is mind-blowing

Its a sad thought but how many of these workers with talent over the last year are simply going to leave the business through not being able to secure decent gigs?

Bit of a side bar but who has AEW actually let go over their tenure? Jimmy Havoc is the only one I remember. They still have a bunch of names under contract who aren't on TV regular and aren't young prospects you want to develop Dark. When do they start cutting the Joey Janelas, Luthers and Kip Sabians?

Years of WWE talent hoarding effectively created a bubble, which has now popped. AEW alone doesn't feel like enough to absorb the number of guys out there who could be in major promotions. Big opportunity for Impact, maybe ROH too depending how the new business model shakes out. Almost like there's room for another entry into the market.

By the end of the year AEW are going to have a bigger roster than WWE

Of course Keith was a matter of time. Shame Have to say I am surprised at Nia Jax. Her family connections seemed to have kept her high in the division for years DH Smith re-signed recently and hadn't even appeared on TV

Apparently Del Sol said something about Jon Huber (as a tribute) on Twitter but spelt his name wrong and Amanda Huber and Jericho 'called him out' over it, though now I have bothered to have a quick look it seems like that is being massively overblown by people who want there to be a story

AEW is kinda firing on all cylinders right now. Even losing one of their biggest and best guys like Moxley doesn't hurt because swapping in Miro still feels logical and will result in a great match at the PPV that could still go either way (Miro would also be a good token first defence for Page if he wins). Some of the post-match brawls look a bit jank because too many of their guys still try to do pro wrestling offence in a street fight situation and it looks bad (Tay Conti and Luchasaurus off my head from this week) but that aside they've got a PPV stacked with feuds with a lot of heat in them. I wasn't too hot about Omega vs Page when they were laying the seeds months ago but I'm in for it now and it feels like it's time for Omega to lose the belt. Conti is a good B-level title defence for Britt and it gives her the biggest match she's had yet. FTR vs Lucha Bros has potential for a great match and the way they've build it up with the AAA belts and lucha teams has been something a little different. MJF vs Darby is a low-key feud of the year contender with strong promos and brawls leading to a hot match between arguably their 2 biggest homegrown guys. Looks like we'll get Punk vs Kingston too as well as Bucks/Cole vs Jurassic Express/Cage, which has also had a strong build up with a lot of juice in it. They could even add the OC vs Hardy blow-off as a pre-show match and that's a hell of a card. Heck, even the IC vs ATT stuff has oddball potential because of the MMA guy's involvement. I know a lot of people are sick of Lambert's Facebook Uncle schtick but the guy clearly is a big wrestling fan and throws a great tantrum, seeing him get his commupence should be a super-satisfying moment they've managed to build out of a few months. Cool to see SDS and Aero Star on this show, hopefully SDS in particular shows up more (though judging by what people are saying about some twitter spat that may not be likely now)

I can totally see them having Moxley over Bryan at the PPV, with the cumulative damage of Dragon's run so far catching up to him. Moxley has been steam-rolling guys recently, ran through 10, will almost certainly run through OC or at the least come out unscathed (OC could try to out-wrestle him and get a sneaky roll-up but he's not going to do much damage) while every match Danielson has had has been a war. Feels like a smart way to give him his first loss while still protecting him.

Different World War but Panzerfaust are a pretty cool WWII-themed bm band Also under the wider banner of "Battle Metal" I give you Havukruunu

Holy fuck, Danielson vs Kingston was excellent. Easy MOTYC and another notch on both men's belts. Kingston in particular was fantastic, just lacing Danielson with ultra-stiff chops, perfect timing on all the big spots and that backfist! Awesome, awesome stuff. And Punk vs Kingston is the 2000s indy dream match I never knew I wanted, but it feels so obvious. That would be an incredible feud to build for Full Gear. I am a limited patience for these spooky horror movie gimmick and Britt vs Abadon was not good, but on the plus side I am still into Britt Baker: Hardcore Superstar

If I was to check out a Lee Moriaty match that would sell me on the hype around him it would be....???

that was absolutely the best pro wrestling / scooby doo mash up i have ever seen, tremendous

Fun show from what I saw Opener was very much My First Tag Team Ladder match stuff. Shirai getting wrecked on that bump was bonkers. The rest was whatever, at least no one got hurt Surprised they had Strong go over Jones, he feels like he fits the mould of guys they've been letting go of, but they set up a rematch nicely Gonzales vs Rose was fine. Toxic Attraction feel like a good act, can't say I have much interest in more of the Gonzales vs Kai feud and I worry about what they'll do with her after that MSK vs Imperium was good fun. The lumberjack bits were pretty tired but the actual wrestling was good stuff and I was surprised at Imperium winning. They also felt like guys potentially on the chopping block Main event was good stuff with a great final minutes. You can easily put that rope slip from Bronn down to kayfabe inexperience and they recovered well. Thought they did an awesome job at the end making him look like a future phenom without putting him over, which is the right move for now.

Not sure if this was directed at me personally (possible as I did start some of this conversation thread) but for the record I'd agree with her the segment and booking in general is garbage. The point I was trying to make with 'Frankenstein's monster' is that WWE are ultimately to blame. I'd back wrestlers bucking against their awful booking. What I don't back is workers who have been pushed hard for years moaning about "looking weak", and yes the same would apply to Becky too. I don't think that's a particularly spicy take. WWE has lots of talent women on their roster but they simply do not use them. I'd love to a long Ripley, Bazsler, Blackhart, etc singles match on PPV but that isn't happening any time soon

I'd give Charlotte a go and set some very clear expectations on what is OK and what isn't but this is still the salient point I think. AEW currently has a roster as big if not bigger than the RAW and Smackdown rosters combined.

Charlotte has talent but she is totally Frankenstein's monster here. I know I have ragged on her a lot but it's the company who are mainly at fault for pushing her so hard and trying to force her as this bigger-than-the-brand star which she just isn't. It would probably be hard to not have an ego when the company has spent the last 5+ years acting like she's Gods Gift and doing stuff like shoe-horning her into a Wrestlemania main event because she felt entitled to it, rather than just another good 2nd generation star. This whole last run has been totally mailed in and felt like she's just there to pad out her kayfabe title wins, which is such a dumb goal to begin with in the first place. I hope she can get her head on straight and check her ego but that would involve WWE not treating her as the golden child. (this is assuming all these backstage stories are true)

Briscoes vs Mance/Justice was pretty fun. 2GC are kinda a 2nd-tier ECW act but it was as good of a match as they've had. Lots of blood and violence and a couple of nutty spots. Suzuki vs Gage was definitely not 'good' but had that weird freakshow appeal. No pizza cutter or glass unfortunately.

Sad news about Jimmy Rave

Late to the party but I thought this was mostly a really fun show! Danielson vs Dustin was awesome as expected. Danielson did most of the heavy lifting, but didn't do a lot you wouldn't see in most of his other matches, it was Dustin who brought another awesome veteran performance and made it feel big. MJF angle with Sting was good stuff and I like what they're doing with building up to Darby returning for the PPV. Not sure I'd have them doing the Wardlow angle at the same time but I'm into it and keen to see if they pull the trigger on the face turn. Ford vs Soho had some good ideas and some fugly execution at points. Wasn't fully paying attention to Fish vs Greene but I've come to the conclusion pretty quickly I much prefer Fish solo than in reDRagon. Misfits as his theme helps a lot. I am down for him vs Punk. Kingston vs Archer was fun while it lasted. Loved Eddie attacking Archer on the ramp and how over he was. Archer's schtick of attacking plants is dumb and I am over it. Nasty botch, thankfully he looked OK as he landed arm before head and didn't get knocked out. Pretty nasty stinger I'd imagine. Hopefully it encourages him to cut out the moonsaults because he really doesn't need them as a big man. Dan Lambert's schtick has gotten a bit old hat but I loved how he sold the jabs at him, a proper tantrum. Couldn't give a shit about Page or Men Of The Year but the ATT guys having a PPV match has my interest even if it probably won't be 'good'. I loved Jungle Boy getting to look like a badass again and it's great to see how he's grown from once looking like he would shit himself if he went near a microphone. The attack on the stage felt pretty uncalled for and this now feels like a blood feud between him and Cole. I'm an anti-Cole guy but I am very into it. Another great Moxley promo as per usual Black vs Cody was alright. Table bump in the ad break was bad placement and the blade jobs were painfully obvious. When Johnson and Anderson came out I half through they were going to turn on Cody and join up with Black. Good continuity with Andrade showing up to help Black and PAC running interference. The hyperactive kick combos don't look that good in a brawl though. Can't say I care about the result either way, but interested to see what they do with Black for the PPV.

Random question that just popped into my head - had Timothy Thatcher been spotted in the new NXT yet? Anyone know what craic is with his status?

3 good matches this week. PAC vs Andrade got very spotty but they really killed each other. With Black showing respect to Martin last week and the way the Cody angle was going, I was expecting them to do a double turn tomorrow, but that doesn't look likely now

It's 2021 and there are still workers that are this big of marks for themselves. What a pair of fucking idiots. That's what happens when you over-push people like they have with Charlotte and Becky. What makes the belt trade even dumber is that they're probably going to have a non-title match at the next PPV

I did check out a few matches but sorry let me re-phrase it, all matches would be more appealing if they were 5 minutes shorter. NJPW is painfully hamstrung to the idea that length = quality and matches only become exciting after 15 or 20 minutes. No reason why a match between 2 low-ranked schlubs who aren't contenders, fan favourites or particularly good workers should be going more than 10 minutes. Just my two cents though I'm not their core audience.

A 5 minute exhibition match on it's own isn't too exciting, but still very cool for Shibata and I'm happy for him. Wonder what the future holds there but hopefully he is careful whatever he decides to do. I am beyond over this promotion but still sucks to see Ibushi suffer an injury like that. The guy has talent but really has been a victim of NJ's stale booking and in-ring formula. The idea that a guy who's biggest strength is being a high-power spot should be working half an hour matches is maddening. I followed the results on purolove and literally every match looked like it would have been improved by going 5 minutes shorter.