Hagan

I like Seth in-ring though this character with the dancing and corny faces* is insufferable. I just find any employee independent contractor being that much of a flag-waver for your company like your Tommy Dreamer in '98 ECW to be silly. Maybe he's just smart enough politically to know what he needs to say but it seems like he truly goes overboard with the "this is the best wrestling in the world" shit and I know he's smart enough about wrestling to know how much shit the company shovels every week. Like, he comes across like a meathead like Ryback who knows nothing about wrestling and not some dude that came from the indies, paid his dues and probably knows the difference between good booking and bad. *holy shit, I just realized that this version of Seth is literally what people think Omega does.

Is there any bigger dork in wrestling than Seth? From his cartoony performances and defense of his garbage booking to his just absurd amount of WWE bootlicking, I can't think of any wrestler who is less cool right now.

Yeah, I'm tempted to start a thread so we can hash out HHH"s career. I mean, he's not dead but if this is REALLY it probably a good time to start evaluating his career. He's both been unfairly maligned and overrated at various times in his career. Hard to believe there was a time when he kinda felt like the guy who over-achieved and broke through a glass ceiling.

The NEIO Biishiki-gun entrance is an utter delight.

Scary stuff for Hunter there. Can only imagine what his daughters went through. Just awful. Definitely sounds like it's maybe time to enjoy his money and retirement even from the corporate setting. Also, c'mon with the steroid jokes. We all know what the business was in the 2000s. We gonna start making jokes about Eddy next?

I'm assuming Iron Head Fujita did the Sammy celebration with the NOAH belt a few weeks back.

I believe so. To be fair, Mox would be disappointing if he wasn't banging his woman while wearing the WWE belt. But, see, now this train of thought has lead me to thinking about Triple Crown champions just rolling into the bedroom triple-strapped up.

Sammy's comment does beg the question about what percentage of wrestling champs got down while wearing the strap? I mean, gotta be a high number. Like, over 90 percent.

That was one of my favorite Dynamites in a while. Home run show. Great crowd and a nice variety of stuff happening.

I was kinda digging the general weirdness of the new NXT and some of the new characters are amusing but I think they're gonna go overboard with main roster midcarders being on the show so this is probably a good time to jump off. I don't need more Miz and Dom segments in my life.

NXT has slowly found its footing.

well, yes and that's what ultimately will happen but AEW is pretty good at treating "legendary" acts appropriately. They're not gonna win the tag belts I imagine but you can get some pretty big matches against the Bucks, FTR, Mox/Danielson as well. With Jeff, it's always that weird thing that he can randomly catch fire and be the biggest babyface in the company one week. He's that level of charisma. But yeah, ultimately it seems like the Hardys would be a great act to establish a Top Flight at the next level. But no reason to rush to that.

Very interested in what feels like a last Jeff Hardy big-time run here. He's a guy that probably has been given too many chances over the years but he has such an inherent likability and crowd connection that you don't really begrudge him too much. He's a guy that despite everything he's done feels like he slightly underachieved. Most of it was his own choices and some was just WWE booking over the years but he has the chance to have some really big matches with guys like Darby, or Sammy, or even the Omegas or the Bucks that can really put a capstone on what I think is a credible HOF career.

Agreed, Peterien. You know - not to defend the idiocy of Hogan and Bischoff mucking up the Starrcade finish but the fact that Sting was in such a bad place mentally/physically during a lot of that time period does complicate matters some.

This is a great, great read. Sting - Player's Tribune

Yeah - with the music discourse it seems less that people are gate-keeping and more that people who are PAID to cover wrestling and/or have platforms that people listen treated Punk coming out to AFI as some unforced error that messed up the match or something. Those people should be rightfully mocked. If I'm watching Far From Home and I decide to pop off and be a dick about how I don't get why people were applauding when [redacted] and [redacted] and [redacted] and [redacted] and [redacted] show up then, yeah, I'm the asshole with no understanding of anything.

Oh, forgot to comment on Bryan vs Mox. I've said it on the board before, but sometimes I think that Mox may just be THE GUY. Like, you look at his age and what he's accomplished and how he still feels like he's not even at his peak and it feels that this a guy that can be the number one guy in the industry. He has that sort of crowd connection to do so. Bryan is the greatest wrestler alive and possibly ever, as well. Regal coming out - you cannot fathom how insane people were going. You would have thought Goldberg had just fucking speared Hogan in the Georgia Dome or something. People were so, so happy to see that man.

All right: lengthy live thoughts. Arena was awesome. Not a bad vantage point. There were some issues with some of the stands not selling water thus causing the ones that did to have MASSIVE lines. It definitely started to get hotter and hotter as the night wore on. My buddy and I weren't able to get water until the Baker match and even then my buddy had to miss about 13 minutes of the match. Arena was sold out, a smattering of one or two empty seats here or there but otherwise full. I haven't been to a live wrestling show since the New Orleans Mania with Rousey's debut and the big indie weekend with Cody vs Omega and the Takeover so this was my first experience with an "AEW crowd." What can I say? It's very punk rock, younger people in the 24-40 range, not a shit ton of kids. There were a lot more females there than the Twitter trolls would tell you, as well. The crowd definitely fit in with the aesthetic of the promotion. As for the matches: - Being there live, I'm obviously higher on Stat and Leyla than the TV audience. First match out so the crowd was jacked (there was maybe 40 percent of the crowd seated when they came out). I thought Hirsch came off way better live than she does on TV. Her charisma comes across better. TV reviews seem a lot more negative, which is fine. - So, the crowd was MAYBE 50 percent full when they did the Omega fake out so if you thought the crowd reaction was loud just take that into account how much louder it could have been. Callis is a great, great promo and a guy that comes across like a major league act. - Hook and QT was exactly what you wanted it to be. Hook doesn't come across small live. He looked like a really jacked up young kid who you wouldn't fuck with in a bar. - Pre-show six-man was so much fun. Buddy Matthews is jacked up. He reminds me of roided out Eddy Guerrero, which is not a great thing. Redbeard was solid as fuck and really held his own. Just a super, super match. - Jericho and Kingston was just incredible. Eddie is so, so over. He really is the DDP of AEW. He has that blue collar people's champ vibe. I don't know if he ever should be a champion but the journey of seeing him struggle and overcome and fail and get back up is what pro wrestling is all about. It's kind of that Tommy Dreamer ECW thing. I don't need him to get to the mountaintop because it's all about the journey. He'll never give up and we will never give up believing. It's wonderful. Anyway - match was nuts. It seems it came across even better on TV as you could see the little things they were doing. King using the goddamn STRETCH PLUMB to finish is wild. Even thought that hadn't been established as a finisher I know in the crowd we were all definitely biting on that as the finish when he was cranking it in. Just an awesome, awesome emotional match. - Three-way was my Match of the Night. So, The Young Bucks are just incredible. Everything they do is spotless. I'm weirdly hot and cold on KOR. Sometimes I get a little bored with his stuff but him and Fish looked as good as they have in a while. Jungle Boy is the babyface of babyfaces and HOLY FUCK is the Luchasaurus hot tag just the most fun shit. Him coming in and trucking people is a blast. I heard some takes that "the tag match had more crowd heat than better built matches" as a criticism and, I mean, that's also just the nature of that type of matches. It's tons of near falls, big moves. It's pure adrenaline and designed for crowds to lose their mind. Pretty clear that every PPV the Bucks are on they are gonna be tough to beat for match quality and match reaction. There's a reason they are what they are. I assumed a title change so the champs retaining just made it all better. Best match of the Jurassic's life, I think. - I never liked much of Swerve's indie run but something clicked with him in WWE and it seems to be carrying over. Crowd loved him. As I noticed in a previous post. We all need get a little less screamy but I think it's more that you had 4 matches in a row that were big explosion matches and the back half of the show had matches that started slow and built to a crescendo. I don't think it's an indictment on show length. I can tell you being there it didn't seem like anyone was tired. I mean - I was at the Supercard of Honor when Marty and Dalton went 845 minutes and THAT was a crowd begging for a show to be over. - Ladder match was fun. I'm over ladder matches, though. People like Orange Cassidy a LOT. This night was definitely the most over Wardlow has been, I think. - Tay and Jade was fine. Perfectly acceptable wrestling. - The dog collar. Okay - so - here's the thing. It definitely seems it came across WAY better on TV going by the reviews on Cagematch and seeing the pundits. It was definitely awesome live and the crowd was fucking rabid for the finish but it didn't seem anyone was thinking that this was a MOTYC. As far as Punk's music, I'd say 30-40 percent of the crowd got it but who cares. I lost my goddamn mind over it. Punk got a huge reaction when he came out. Anyone criticizing it needs to get lost, though. That's the mindset that results in Ripley having to do her stupid stomp and Miz doing his stupid point and every single WWE wrestler having to do their video game entrance forever devoid of humanity and independent of any context. Tony Khan should win for Booker of the Year just for trusting two of his biggest performers to tell a story that literally references decades of wrestling history and allowing Punk to complicate his presentation like that. Live - match was good, brutal. The "you deserve it" chant for Max getting busted open was clever. Crowd was DEFINITELY jacked up for the Wardlow turn. Punk's post-match was incredible too. Swinging the chain. Motioning for the belt. This Punk return is the coolest thing ever. - Baker and Rosa was the death slot. This was where people made a mad dash to get water/use the bathroom. I mean, "bathroom break" match is such a shitty insult btw. Where on the card would YOU have gotten up? Inevitably something was going to suffer. I'm higher on this match than most. I think the work was just really, really solid. Finish was bullshit but we all see where it is going in San Antonio. I'm assuming cage match because this is following the exact playbook of the Young Bucks losing the tag belts after months and months of interference wins. - Six man was the wildest thing. Andrade also stupidly jacked up. Sammy doing the Spanish Fly and Sting jumping off that goddamn balcony gonna be memories that linger for a long time. Darby's video was incredible and he just exudes charisma and him and Sammy are really, really fast. This was just a party match and the crowd was losing their mind for it. - The Battle of the Adams over-delivered in many ways. Knew it would be a good match but both guys are great. Incidentally, the stuff about Cole's size needs to stop. He looked fine next to Page. Hangman has turned into such a super worker. It was definitely your "NXT" main event epic but, ya know, Cole basically perfected (killed?) that formula. Crowd was definitely having fun with the chants early but, I dunno, is it better than sitting there in slack-jawed silence? It wasn't like both guys aren't over. I bought on several of the Cole near-fallsat the end. Hangman definitely was getting booed at various points but it's gonna be hard for anyone against Cole because the crowd just naturally likes him personally. Crowd was hot for the finish. So... best show I've been to live. Best crowd I've been around. Best wrestling experience. Best company etc. etc. etc. It's like...if the AEW style isn't for you, or TK annoys you, or you find Meltzer's praise for it oft-putting, or you have hang ups about size, or you think the Elite are assholes or whatever, I'm not gonna waste breath arguing over it. People can like what they like.* But I will say I find it very, very sad that people are missing out on the most exciting time and best quality in an American wrestling company in decades. If you want to start the clock at the full crowd PPV in Jacksonville in May - this is as good a 10 month run as any company could have and it doesn't look like it's gonna slow down. Not with all that talent. *actually, if you have hang ups about wrestler sizes and it hampers your enjoyment of a match I'm putting your opinions in the same box as Disco Inferno and Vince Russo.

I was there live. Crowd never got burnt out. MJF and Punk built slow after like four crazy matches but by the time we got the finish it was deafening. The last two matches had insane heat. Britt and Thunder suffered a bit because it was the only chance people had to grab water. Long show for sure, especially being in the Eastern time zone (my hometown is Central) but that’s the liveliest crowd I’ve ever been a part of. Total party. It seems that as good as Punk/MJF was live the TV experience really enhanced so looking forward to seeing that on replay.

Yeah - the handwringing over Cole and Page is silly. I mean, Punk and MJF is obviously the "real" main event of the this show. It's a gimmick match for a blood feud and Punk is the biggest star in the company. Danielson and Mox are two global wrestling superstars having a match for the first time in years. It's not nearly the insult people say it is if they see the title match as having the third most interest. But, as noted above, when does Page not deliver in a big match? Adam Cole, and everyone's mileage varies, has generally had well-regarded main events for years in a lotta places, even if the matches are a bit long at times. Plus, Orlando is basically Cole's "home territory" and he's always over as shit. Y'all really think the Orlando crowd gonna Jericho/HHH the Battle of the Adams?

Yeah, kinda going hard in the paint on Bill there. He had Covid when they called him to have the match and he was using this as an example of ya know overcoming adversity and shit.

I think last night kinda showed that the Hangman reign is working as intended. He's just "noble, fighting babyface champion" taking on the heels. It's so contrary to how a lot of world champions are booked where someone like Roman is THE central point of the show to the point that him holding the belt up and posing is like the most pushed part of it. I'm not knocking Reigns or anything for that, either. Page kinda has that Bret Hart vibe going right now.

Yeah - Global is very much a leave the memories alone but I loved it and remember it fondly. The Patriot was the babyface babyface who every babyfaced.

Yeah - the weird reflexive dismissal of that writer bringing forward a legitimate hurt as not being equivalent or as legitimate as the issue between Dax and Michaels was really unfortunate to read. Something doesn't have to be equivalent to something else to have value or importance.

Isn't the takeaway that wrestling, by and large, is filled with people that most of us probably wouldn't want to actually be friends with in real life?