The Man Known as Dan

While possible that's part of it, the bigger concern is likely that Sanders isn't a great athlete, doesn't have a great arm, has a history of throwing his Offensive Line under the bus in interviews, and there are heavy reports many teams thought he interviewed like crap at hte combine. Still possible he ends up going high if one team falls in love, of course. But a lot of the public opinion is low on him.

I’d be surprised if it isn’t at this point.

The story will obviously be the main, but I think Kidd in particular has really tapped into something by basically becoming the face of home grown pride for New Japan, and Tsuji has stepped up tremendously over the last 6 months. Doing this match and then finding a way to keep them far away from each other for a while is a logical move. Have to think the War Dogs split is coming soon, with Finlay and Kidd going different directions.

Hell of a thing. Really strong show, last 2 matches delivered heavily, and yeah, watch it.

Strong recommendation for Fujita/Desperado. Outstanding stuff overall.

That is not just a bad trade, that if I was a Mavs fan with tickets to the next game, I would show up specifically to just boo all game. That's not only the biggest trade in NBA history, but it's arguably the biggest fleece in NBA history. And Anthony Davis is real good, but Luca is Luca.

Almost stealthily, GTA has made an update that makes it so you can create random races were you can turn into any car in the game at the end of any lap, a beloved feature on various online modded servers. And it's so fucking fun.

I still am very confused how this is supposed to be him going off the rails, when the story of the feud was that Kidd basically called Omega a sellout who took the money even though his heart was still with New Japan. Hell, here were Kidd's exact comments that helped get the fans behind him. "I don’t give a shit if AEW want to sign me. What, so I can go and turn up to TV, be Tony’s new toy? Go on Dynamite, have a couple of matches and then sit and catering for 23 weeks doing fuck all, flying to Toledo, Ohio, to do what? A show in front of a crowd that have seen five hours of wrestling already? I have no interest in that whatsoever. Wrestling to me, I’m a professional, but wrestling means more to me than these guys, and I think it’s about time that someone with New Japan stepped up and has some fucking balls. We are getting our pants pulled down and dogged by the rest of the wrestling world because of being professional. So maybe it is time to be a little bit unprofessional. Maybe it is time to talk a bit of shit, and if they have anything to say about it, can come and chat to me. I have no problem pulling Tony Khan into our office and telling him what’s what. I have no problem reading him his rights and telling him what a fucking idiot he is. So that’s that," "Do I ever not speak from the heart? Do I ever talk and you think, ‘Oh, Gabe’s half-assing it today, his heart ain’t in it.’ Nah, ‘cause my heart’s always in it forever, and you left, like a traitor, like a bitch. You ran off for the money and realized that it can’t fulfill what’s inside. You don’t get that shit in Toledo, Ohio. You don’t get that shot in Phoenix, Arizona. The heart and soul of pro wrestling is in Korakuen Hall, and you know it. You made your bed, Kenneth. Now fucking lie in it. Better yet, you dug your grave, Kenneth. I’m happy to put you in it," The inherit story of the feud was Kidd stepping up to defend the honor of New Japan against a company that has been claiming their top talent, and it's made him a babyface to that fan base, with Omega actively playing heel in the match. If you think he went too far with the money mark line, fine. But the idea that this wasn't s a New Japan/AEW feud to begin with, is just straight wrong. Will be frustrating, as he's a big part of my New Japan watching.

We are getting side tracked on what my main point. My talking point was simple: Japanese fans in New Japan are responding very positively to guys trash talking the guys who left the company. Gabe Kidd has gone from the 2nd heel in a well booked stable to a guy the fans cheered over Omega, and while some of that is talent, a large part of that is also the messaging resonating with fans. I could argue about New Japan's booking (Though the complaints about House of Torture remain silly. It's a consistently well reacted too part of the shows, and it's clear it is still over with the native fans, who it is much more important to pursue for New Japan then foreign watches, especially as the more popular a wrestler gets with the US crowd, the more likely it is AEW will just sign them at the next possible moment anyway. EVIL is a draw, and is likely not going anywhere), but at the end of the day, I've largely really enjoyed their booking this year, specifically for Tsuji, Finlay, Kidd, and Oiwa, as well as their frankly banger of a junior tag division. I'm also really excited for Goto/Sabre. But all I wanted to do was mention how interesting it is that the Japanese crowd reaction so positively to Kidd basically waving the company flag, and using Inoki spots to defend it.

I'm not arguing any of the wrestlers were in the wrong, I'm arguing the perception among Japanese fans is probably pretty much hitting a point of "Every time a guy steps up to be one of our key home growns they get poached by AEW, and it really sucks." They have a talented roster, sure, but as someone watching the shit out of the company, they don't have a real clear as day top guy ready to step into being "The Man" right now, because The Man in the company as well as the top gaijin both poached in the last 12 months, on contracts they couldn't hope to match. In the last 10 years they've had to go from AJ to Omega to White to Ospreay for their top gaijin and they all got poached. But at least with Gaijin's that's kind of understandable. But I think losing Okada was kind of the nail that turned the feeling on AEW taking their guys to being something a large part of their fanbase is getting pissed about. (Also, Okada leaving without putting anyone over after how much New Japan helped make him also felt kind of shitty to me, but that's just a personal note) I'm not saying New Japan booking is perfect, but even as someone who likes a lot of the young up and comers in Tsuji, Oiwa, Kidd, Finlay, and Yuya, I also don't think any of them are ready to be the face of the company either. I think accepting a down period with Zach at the top was the smart play. But losing all their top guys in their prime in rapid succesion has to suck, and I don't blame the Japanese fans for being frustrated their company has basically became a feeder league to some son of a billionaire's fed.

The talk is going to be about Omega, but I think the fascinating thing about this show is the takeaway that I think Kidd is really great and ready to be a top act, and that I also think they hit something kind of awkward but needed with his points about guys leaving for AEW on big money deals starting to be really frustrating to the local fan base. It almost felt like this show was designed to amplify Japanese fans frustrations with the power dynamic between AEW and New Japan. AEW has given mega contracts to a lot of guys New Japan made, leaving New Japan pretty crippled with Tanahashi and Naito being the only real top draws left, both too broken down to carry the company while basically all the people they built to replace them gone. And this show featured 2 pretty highly pushed New Japan guys in Shota and Finlay get basically dominated for 75-80% of their matches before kind of just sneaking into wins, both against wrestlers who aren’t big deals in a Japan. Then the Bucks, pushed as 2 people associated with ownership of AEW beat 2 baby face tag teams to take their main tag titles. It almost felt like the show was booked to further build resentment to get the crowd even more behind Kidd. It’s really damned interesting if this was intentional or not. Kidd getting such a face reaction should be ran with, as he’s clearly ready for a real shot at the top of the card. Dude is like 08-10 Heel Kingston in his legitimacy, but even crazier.

Marvel Rivals is such an annoying game for me because it’s the type of game I have zero interest in but some of the character designs just feel so absurdly good that I want to try it anyway. That game is one Kitty Pryde away from getting me hook like and sinker, and I’m already on the border just from Magik and Psylocke (whose design is legit an all timer for me)

I always love Game Awards because I always come away more excited for some weird game that doesn't draw the attention. Dispatch is 100% my style of game.

It's good to see my general confusion with this title is common. It's the weirdest combination of "Really enjoying a lot of elements" and "completely befuddled by decisions made that seem to damage what should be an amazing title" The game's threat is dark, arguably worse then any other Dragon Age game, and sometimes the game realizes that. Other times it's goofy friends having fun.

Like they don’t kick SMU out for Bama if SMU loses.