Big Z
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Posts posted by Big Z
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41 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said:
JFC (no pun intended) I was so glad when MJF wasn't on AEW TV or giving interviews for three months. I moved on and hoped MJF would move on too and just bide his time until his release (or got a lawyer to get him released). Now we'll never hear the end of it because Tony Khan didn't tell him he wasn't playing around and he'll have him sit at home until 2024.
Tony Khan is a younger Herb Abrams.
I'm not MJF's biggest fan, as he is wildly inconsistent on the mic and not yet a super worker (though the Darby match at Full Gear 2021 and Punk series of matches were awesome). That said, the numbers do not lie, and the man is one of AEW's biggest draws.
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1 hour ago, Sublime said:
Malakai Black posted stuff on his Instagram, and partly spoke about how all the talk about his mental health and him wanting to leave AEW because of it didn’t come from him and wasn’t the reason. If it wasn’t for all the other stuff that’s been happening I wouldn’t think much of it but it’s pretty suspicious.
it seems AEW has a big problem in the locker room with people spreading lies or misrepresenting the truth. TK needs to get control of his company because the past few weeks have really shown that the locker room has become a real political mess. I don’t think it’s WCW bad yet but there definitely seems to be people there causing division.
I think Punk and the Elite have both acted like children during this situation. And there needs to be changes how the company works if Cody was driven out, the EVPs and the biggest signing of company’s history are literally fighting, and rumors being leaked out to “reporters” .I think that the recent changes/additions to different teams under TK is to address that and create a better working environment, but even I'll admit it probably needed to be done sooner. I'm a big fan of all four wrestlers involved in the brawl, but I'd be hesitant to bring any of them back at this point and keep on moving along with what is still a strong and deep roster.
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On 9/7/2022 at 4:07 PM, Log said:
I must admit that I've been glued to the gossip all week. I want to look away, but can't. I find it all so fascinating.
That said, I'm oddly not worried about AEW. What is it that people always say about their bloated roster? Yeah, I understand Punk would be a big loss from a marketing perspective. But, from my own personal perspective as a fan, he's one guy. He's a guy I liked to see wrestle, but they have a lot of those guys. They are short on guys who bring his star presence or whatever you want to call it, but they've got guys who could get there.
My point is (if I have one) that I'm going to keep watching. If AEW suddenly becomes a mess on tv and they're doing run-in finishes to every match and Big Cass is chokeslamming the whole tag division and the whole vibe of the show changes, I might tune out. I don't think that's going to happen. I think this is definitely a "make or break" situation for TK, but I hope he handles it as well as he can.
I'm the same, and probably have let if affect my mood too much (thankfully taken a couple of days off work this week). I've emotionally and financially invested a lot in AEW and truly loved modern wrestling consistently again for the first since mid-late 90's WCW, and at least was a big fan of all parties involved in the fracas (and hate that my very first instincts about Punk and AEW turned out to be correct, as I was instantly back on Punk bandwagon the minute he first stepped out on the United Center stage). In a perfect world, The Elite returns at least a touch reflective and maybe an apologetic Punk can have a retirement match at All Out next year if it's back at NOW Arena (cause objectively, Punk should be listening to the message his body is trying to tell him). Realistically, I would be planning for a world where all parties are gone. While I preferred the idea of All Friends wrestling, I didn't mind TK letting things fly way too close to the sun since the in-ring action remained largely awesome and the spice could have helped liven things up (And the other channel is now trying to rip-off the everything is sunshine and rainbows feeling). However, AEW ended up getting severely burned.
That being said, there is still a ton of talent on the roster (and some big stories like MJF's return and The Acclaimed's ascent) remain intact. The crowd in Buffalo was very forgiving and still gave a great response to the show Wednesday, so the good will with the company is far from bankrupt (and my good friend that jumped onto AEW bandwagon after Punk's debut is still on board and even is ready to side with AEW over Punk). Also, the optimist in me looks at how TK has helped stabilize Fulham after some bad luck and initial poor strategy the first time they returned to Premier League, and believes that he can the do the same in a sport/subject that he is far more knowledgable about. Short-term, AEW has lost same overall value and likely cost itself money on its TV renewal. Long-term though they could still be fine and even better by getting back to basics, and I do not expect the kumbaya and outside positive feeling on the other channel to last with the competing interests in the front office and lack of boundaries they are willing to push as a sterilized, publicly traded company).
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10 hours ago, The Natural said:
Dave Meltzer ratings for All Out 2022:
Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo (c) vs Ortiz & Ruby Soho (AAA Mixed Tag Championships): **.75
HOOK (c) vs Angelo Parker (FTW Championship): *.5
PAC (c) vs Kip Sabian (All Atlantic Championship): **
Eddie Kingston vs Tomohiro Ishii: ****.5
Wheeler Yuta vs Rey Fenix vs Penta vs Andrade vs RUSH vs Claudio Castagnoli vs Dante Martin v The Joker (MJF): ***.25
The Elite vs Hangman Adam Page & Dark Order (AEW Trios Championships): ****.5
Jade Cargill (c) vs Athena (TBS Championship): *.5
FTR & Wardlow vs Jay Lethal, Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley: ***.5
Powerhouse Hobbs vs Ricky Starks: *.75
Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland (c) vs The Acclaimed (AEW Tag Team Championships): ****.5
Toni Storm vs Britt Baker vs Jamie Hayter vs Hikaru Shida (AEW Womens Championship): ***
Chris Jericho vs Bryan Danielson: ****
Sting, Darby Allin & Miro vs House Of Black: ***.25
Jon Moxley (c) vs CM Punk (AEW World Championship): ****.25
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I agree with those.
Too high on Jericho-Danielson (which I'd argue to be at or just above three stars), and low (and arguably significantly low) on SIOG vs. Acclaimed, as that was right on the border for five stars for me and right there with Bucks-FTR for my AEW proper tag match of the year (counting Briscoes vs. FTR matches as ROH). The storytelling in that match was fucking incredible, and enough big moves/moments to carry it right to the five-star level. AS I wrote in the All Out thread, that match elevated from an over act (that was passable AEW level in the ring) to legit superstars. If the re-match at Grand Slam is anywhere near that level, The Acclaimed will be cemented as top of the company and also proof that they work far better as faces (sort of opposite of Jericho).
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3 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:
They hired Urban Meyer
They have not done a great job on the whole with the Jags (and I'd argue that keeping Trent Baalke around is even worse then hiring Meyer), but think that they have a done a pretty good job at Fulham on the whole and think that they are poised for another solid run in the Premier League for a few years. They inherited a bad situation when they bought them (not quite Sunderland at the time bad, but still a team very much on borrowed time in the Premier League), were too scattergun in their transfer approach their first time back up in the Premier League, and unlucky to drop down the second time around (their xG had them comfortably above drop zone). This time around, think that they have the right manager and did the right amount of buying to supplement what was a dominant team in the Championship (challeging some of City's record from the last time City dropped down).
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Just now, Hayabusa said:
Didnt see it like that @ first, but I getcha VileOne, Punkenhead, an Newbury.
Good points for me to think on.
My issue with all of them, especially SRS, is that a decent portion of what they are reporting still sounds like BS to me. I'm not denying that an altercation took place, but from there it's devolved into seeing Ferris at 31 Flavors level of exaggeration. In general, I think that journalism/reporting is basically in the toilet, and well wrestling journalism is a very loose subset of that. Someone like SRS may even claim to be a rumor mongerer, but he still gets super defensive if you dare question the veracity of his reports.
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2 minutes ago, A_K said:
Meltzer says he saw a policeman. So someone is telling porkies
A whole lot of them are likely being told now, though I'm Team Meltz among any of them just cause he actually knows the history of wrestling and tries to have a pulse on the current product (but will grant that he's not exactly Walter Cronkite these days with actual news reporting). However, they are all trying to outdo each other to gain subs and clout, and will say or write anything in that quest (though that's hardly unique for any kind of media these days).
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11 minutes ago, Craig H said:
Nothing in that screams Punk is going to be let go. If anything, this still sounds like the dumb as fuck "wrestling journalism" that is fanboys chasing their tails, clout chasing, or trying to type the most interesting wordz to get more attention than someone else.
Also, no part of me thinks this is a work. If I were to guess, Steel gets released because he fucking bit someone and threw a chair at someone else and he's not even a worker there. Punk, the Bucks, and maybe even Kenny get pulled into a meeting with TK and maybe Jericho too where they're told enough is fucking enough and this bullshit isn't going to happen again. Top wrestlers having been throwing hands at each other for what feels like forever now. Having Jericho be in the meeting would just be for funny irony purposes considering the amount of other wrestlers he's fought over the years. No suspensions, just a final warning that this bullshit can't continue. Punk gets told to never to go off on that in a scrum ever again and if he wants to talk about that shit then do it on his own time. The Bucks get told to stop doing their cutesy bullshit in BTE to not fan the flames.
Everyone needs to get over the "but but but but he got into a fight with his bosses!" Nick and Matt aren't his bosses. The EVP designation is fucking meaningless. TK probably regrets the designation at this point.
Kind of hard to believe the start of paragraph two there if you believe that paragraph one is true (which I think is very accurate, particular SRS, who may as well have a degree in shit stirring at this point). If Steel did a tenth of what is being "reported", police would have actually been called in. Now, I'll cop that something likely happened backstage after Punk's media scrum (though I sure wouldn't want to bet my life on it), but I'd guess it was much more to level of bench clearing brawl in baseball where there is little actual violence, and not the salacious street fight that the gossip sites have been peddling.
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To dare make the argument against Danileson being champion, all three of his singles PPV matches have been mediocre by his standards. Now, he's had awesome matches on TV against Hangman Page twice, Omega, Daniel Garcia twice, and Minoru Suzuki amongst others, but I'd have him go defintively face or heel for story purposes before pushing him for title to get the crowd fully invested in him one way of the other. I think there are cases where tweeners work, but Danielson's PPV matches have not been that.
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5 minutes ago, A_K said:
Steel is what Punk nicknamed the chair he used to concerto Bucks & Omega with in quick succession. Hence the understandable confusion.
That sentence sounds just as plausable as the "reported" events.
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2 minutes ago, (BP) said:
Wild that another famous wresting Ace is also probably going to lose their office job for not keeping their mouth off of employees.
In all of the HOT GOSS (that is tracking to be about 10% true IMO), that is the wildest, most flagrant BS part of it. Confrontation after the scrum, believable. Getting heated enough to get to blows, semi-believable. The biting part that SRS and Rovert are trying to sell is rather ridiculous, and would have resulted in immediate and already known legal interaction.
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4 minutes ago, A_K said:
Acclaimed should have had the belts on them 6 months ago. Tonight wasn’t anything new. Caster has been one of maybe a half dozen acts able to rouse the audience for a long time. They are as over (more over?) than any other young talent in the roster.
In 2022 pro wrestling though, especially AEW, you also need to deliver after bell rings to be at championship level. They have not had anything resembling that level of a match as a team before (though Bowens had some very singles matches at end of last year). Even if last night was a touch flash in the pan/crowd aided, they now have that in-ring credibility to match with the entertainment factor and should get the belts soon as a result (even if that means altering previous plans).
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1 minute ago, MoeCristyV.1.6 said:
The tag title match stole the show. Didn't think that they got something so great in them.
In one night, The Acclaimed transformed themselves from a modern day New Age Outlaws tribute act to an actual, big boy, championship level tag team. Whie you cannot change the outcome of a match unless there needs to be an injury audible, they likely just earned a title run in the near future with that performance and crowd reaction.
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5 minutes ago, Greggulator said:
If this stuff is a work, does it make anyone want to watch Wednesday? It’s more annoying than anything else.
Well, MJF was not getting that reaction from last night before his worked shoot stuff. As always, there's likely elements of both work and shoot with all of this, but it's worked well for MJF.
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22 minutes ago, Gordlow said:
I think I have already hit G1 burnout!
I'm working through the second Osaka show, the one with the Okada vs Jonah main... For the first time, I skipped most of the prelims. I didn't laugh at all at ELP vs Juice (even though I appreciate them doing a mini Ebessan vs Kuishinbo tribute in Osaka), I got mad about Ishii vs Owens, I got mad about Kevin Kelly mispronouncing "Ehime" and now I don't even feel like watching the main - even though I know it's "my kind of match."
I didn't even get all that into Shingo vs Ospreay
Obviously both those guys are great and they have great chemistry, but I am kind of over the million near falls and finisher kick-outs great match formula. It's definitely a "me" thing.
Not sure why I am burning out so early this year. I have a ton of free time this week. It's not the wrestling or the booking, both of which are just fine in my opinion...
it's a bad sign, I think, that I feel like I'm "working through" the Osaka shows, rather than "enjoying the hell out of them" and I'm like "So much more to get through to catch up" rather than "oh boy! So much more to see!"
I am actually the opposite, New Japan's involvement with AEW got me to give them a fresh look for the first time since the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom this year (and still have not watched Okada-Ospreay from 1-5). While this is not at the level of the 2017 or 2019 G1's, and there is no story quite as interesting as Jay White cementing himself as a main event level player in the 2018 G1, it has felt like a serious attempt to freshen the product (the pushes of guys like Tama and Finlay, and having cool outside influences like Tom Lawlor, Lance Archer's return, and Jonah). The House of Torture still royally sucks (and what a shame of wasting some of Evil's prime years), but I've been cool with most everything else. Hoping that Shota Umino comes back this fall to give some more young life to the company, but it's definitely the best I have about New Japan since the end of the 2020 G1.
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7 minutes ago, just drew said:
They'd be my fucking heroes. I do wonder how you book around Andrade eating another loss. I also wonder why it's so important for Omega and the Bucks to be the first trios champions. It's not like not participating in the tournament means you can't ever challenge for the titles. I'm trying very hard not to assume the worst about Kenny & the Bucks and backstage machinations, mostly because my meds got adjusted and I'm not the conspiracy theorist I once was. I just think that given what's been happening lately the Elite are about the fourth or fifth most interesting team in that tournament and HOB, IG, Dark Order and Best Friends would all make more sense.
I'm a huge fan of The Elite, but I think the best story is Young Bucks winning the titles with Hangman, not Omega, so there would have to be different inaugural champions. I'd probably still bet on Omega and Bucks to win (and Dragon Lee takes falls for Ingobernobles in opening round), but personally would go with either HOB or Best Friends winning.
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1 hour ago, John from Cincinnati said:
Property Brothers vs Ass Boys, let's go!
It will likely be proof that AEW can Do And Say What They Are Told and receive a Thumbs Up.
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10 hours ago, The Natural said:
Snap judgment is that I preferred #FTR vs. Briscoes I to #FTR vs. Briscoe II. The former had the first time dream match aspect to it with the hotter crowd. The rematch still met the expectations that were there from the quality of the predecessor. Could do with watching both back to back. Two MOTYC. Which was better to you?
Definitely preferred last night's second match, as FTR were great faces in peril, and Dax was immense in the Ricky Morton role. I only watched the first match yesterday also, and it was excellent in its own right (though I slightly prefer the Young Bucks match later that week), but it did not feel quite as epic as last night's match. I'll admit though that a part of it could be watching it live versus watching the furst match well after it happened.
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As someone who loves tag team wrestling, it warms my heart that the two hottest stars in wrestling are a tag team (and a team that bet on themselves that they could be big stars as a team). That FTR-Briscoes match tonight is on the short list for greatest American tag team matches ever.
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1 hour ago, Sublime said:
Punk was back with the title after 8 days he missed one whole week of tv. I think Tony is much more patient with angles but I’m still not sure of the MJF stuff is a work or not at this point. And really don’t care cause MJF has lost a lot of his shine to me any way and I don’t care if he comes back or not.
I lean towards everything being a work now with MJF (though it may not have started out that way). However, do not really miss him either and am good with him sitting out indefinitely.
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Privileged to be there live, as New Japan and later AEW (along with pre AEW NXT) rekindled my love of pro wrestling. Even with New Japan's quality suffering post-pandemic, their stars are still damn good when treated well, so hopefully they'll hit a resurgence with crowds coming back.
Third AEW show I've been to live (All Out and Full Gear last year), and they've all been classic for different reasons. I'd agree that there wasn't a surefire MOTYC candidate, but basically all of the matches hit in one way or another (and I really dug the IWGP four match before the necessary abrupt finish). Very happy for Claudio to be the mystery guy (even if wasn't a shock), as he just belongs in AEW. Looking forward to having New Japan guys popping in more frequently in the future, and AEW may actually make the two night Wrestle Kingdom concept actually work.
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Just now, Stefanie the Human said:
(I doubt they'll do it, but my glee would be monumental if they did it.)
I'd actually call for the other Team Taz member not related to Taz to at least win the battle royal and lose to Mox. Hobbs isn't a bad shout, but Starks is ready to take that next step and is super over now.
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I'd have Anarchy in the Arena 3rd-4th overall in 2022, definitely behind Hangman-Bryan and Jericho-Kingston, and coin flip with MJF-Punk dog collar match. It was definitely best mat h at Double or Nothing and arguably five-stars, but not quite as the top two matches of 2022.
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It was a long show, but everything had a purpose, even if a couple of matches could have been moved to Dynamite or Rampage this week. Glad that they are finally going full heel with Sammy and Tay, and wonder what their next program may be (actually don't hate the idea of feuding with Cole and Britt, as they both should be faces at this point anyway).
The six-man tag and Anarachy in the Arena will both have shouts to be in my best matches of the year, and the title matches generaly delivered to the high AEW expectation (though Hangman and Punk have better in them down the road). Wardlow is a star now, and MJF can hopefully take some time off now and maybe mature a wee bit (and he needs to listen to somone wiser to not burn the AEW bridge, as his behavior would get his ass fired/suspended in a heartbeat in Vinceland). On the flip side of that, while I like the work of Adam Cole and the good doctor more than some/most here, they are also great representatives of the company and fitting inaugural champs of an important new event loke The Owen. Not an all-time great AEW pay per view (and a step below the last three), but still dang good and well worth the money.
Grand Slam II - Dynamite - 9/21/2022
in ALL ELITE WRESTLING
Posted
It was a fun show that seemed to hit on all of the right moments, but agree that there were way too many cuts to MJF during the main event. My one big thought on the show is tonight confirmed both why The Acclaimed were not slated to win at All Out (and possibly not at all initially in the near future), but also why they had to win it tonight. AEW is great about listening to its fans, and you could not deny that really wanted The Acclaimed to win the big one. However, they are still a bit raw (at least to AEW's high level), and will need some quality heel teams to carry the way (a heel FTR would work wonders with them).