NoFistsJustFlips

I can't stand those so I'm happy to see them dialed back. That Roman statue looked like shit. I never really understood why they pushed those so hard when they look sooooo bad. The fucking birds when Riddle who shoot his sandals off, just the worst. Cringiest of the cringe.

This is a Peacock thing. We get all the match videos and character profiles. But the real reason for all these damn commercials is for... actual commercials. For the non ad-free people. They get actual legitimate commercials. So the ad-free people get content that tries to hide we're stalling for commercial breaks. Boy Jimmy Uso just doesn't give a shit anymore huh? His physique directly compared to his own twin was pretty stark. Jey has it as a personality. Jimmy doesn't. That was a really bad match and I feel for Jey who is red hot over. Gunther & Sami was really good. As was that one shot promo leading to Sami's entrance. One of the best things I've seen from the new production. Main was solid when grading on a curve. A bit long. But very story driven and sets up quite a few payoffs. I've been on the train since day one that I think Roman is breaking the Bruno record. But I am putting it out there now. I think they shift off that plan and Cody is up tomorrow. It's the right call. Cody is dead if you have him lose again. It's a very Austin at WM14-like dynamic where the new tippy top face goes over right as a new era is cresting. Plus when all the legends come out to even the odds that's gonna be a hot spot. Taker, Cena, Austin, Hogan counteract The Bloodline. Rock got that pin to setup a future Rock v Cody match where Cody goes over clean to get the ultimate rub, I would assume.

These cuts caused more damage than whatever minimal budget it saved. Anthony Henry has been rehired already because it was such a bad look. The Boys 100% are in the right on this too. And it makes the AEW office look bad. Instead of the he said she said leaving them hanging while you're checking on other people in other departments, just have some authority and say hey guys Nashville was necessary for this one. You're expected to make the drive and be at TV. We'll get you out of Knoxville starting again next time and we apologize. And boom, instantly you're on the reasonable and rational side of this incident. But what happened to AEW honoring the deals they sign? It's not Slim J's fault TK gave Okada so much or Mercedes so much. In my own opinion, the only acceptable time for AEW to make cuts where it wouldn't ruffle my feathers is if they decide to drop the ROH entirely as a brand. In that case eliminating 15% of the roster would be totally understandable. But if that's not in the cards, you better not be cutting people when you're on record mocking the other guys for it. And I'm sure TK just put his foot in his mouth by popping off about them missing shows when they were told budget cuts were the actual reason. There have been other glimpses of this like his comments about Big Swole after she left. But if you want to play the 'worker friendly' card, you can't publicly bash people on the way out. Or the workers are gonna start seeing through your shit. I hate to say it but it seems like as AEW has grown TK has started becoming more like Vince. He's filtering out everyone but the very top guys from his accessibility. He's got his JR's and Johnny Aces' doing the dirty work while he only has time for the top guys. Everyone else gets shit communication and ignored. Very disappointed by how this is starting to trend.

Here's an example of why TK's strict formula can be a detriment. The Billy Gunn v Jay White match. There's ZERO reason that needed a 15 minute match with a picture in picture. Story wise even if you want Billy to kick the shit out of the heel, don't make it last that long! If that match was 5 minutes of pinball with a run in you are not gonna get the amount of backlash it's getting. Jay White doesn't look as bad if it's 5 mins of fire and then a fuck finish. Just unnesicary.

I was hoping this was where it was leading, but noticed Jay White had a new dsigned ROH Six Man Title on. You don't purchase a new belt design for a belt you're about to scrap. Fuck.

Preaching to the choir. I had a shockingly similar post in either the February or March thread where I said the show would improve with a clear hierarchy for the titles. Or at least giving them distinct identities. I got a lot of push back to that. Especially the hierarchy thought. Titles don't inherently have meaning (outside of your top title). You have to give them meaning with narrative. What separates the International Title from The Continental Title? Which is more important? Why? How does the TNT Title fit into that? It's hard to create stakes for the matches when those plot points are left unclear.

Fair point. Best is subjective and an opinion. Most lucrative is the term I should have used.

Yeah same here. She's 43? Where did the 20s thing come from? Because that's the age I had believed her to be this whole time as well. It doesn't change anything about the atrocities committed here. I'm just confused where we got the prior age from.

This is a very good point. I think my take on all of this will be a little different than most on here about the interview in totality. But I wanted to highlight this as a very good point that detracts from what I'm about to say. And just goes to show the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Neither side is totally in the right. And everyone is an asshole in some aspect here. The point above sounds ridiculous. But it's in reading between the lines that I kind of get it. Yes guaranteed money is great. It provides a better living and health and happiness for the performers. And it didn't ruin the business. But what I perceive him to mean by that is it killed the drive in a lot of people. There's no danger. There's no urgency. There's no real motivation (beyond your own self drive... if you have it) to make the choices best to drive the business. The Bucks & Kenny can refuse to work with him because their contracts are guaranteed. When I think everyone agrees the best thing they could have put on screen was playing out the drama from Brawl Out. Overall Punk sounded pretty rational in a lot of what he said to me. The truth is Cabana did not get fired. Colt Cabana got shuffled to ROH. Something that happened to a lot of performers in AEW. Brian Cage got shuffled there around the same time. That doesn't mean Punk caused it. The crux of all of this is the inter personal conflict of Punk & Cabana set against the friendship of Cabana with The Bucks & Hangman. The easiest and most professional thing to do was not to just take Cabana's word for it that he was "fired". Because he never was. The professional thing at the start of this would have been for The Bucks & Hangman to just ask Punk hey did you have anything to do with this? And if he said no they could have chose to believe him, or ask Tony. The underlying point here is The Bucks are bulletproof as EVPs, and while i don't feel like they overstepped. I feel like a lot of their friends did, knowing they had the cover to do so because of The Bucks. Literally all of this can be pinpointed back to Colt Cabana complaining someone got him fired that didn't. All of this drama and fallout over Colt Cabana? Who at the time was as low card as it gets and who continues at this point in time to be as low card as it can get. But ultimately I feel like Punk came off very rational in that interview. That doesn't mean I hate AEW or TK. I still prefer AEW. I still like TK. I still enjoy The Bucks & Hangman. I just think the lack of an adult in the room feeling like he could force everyone's hand hurt this whole deal. Being nice is great. But being too nice leads to you being walked over.

Do you just have a dislike of Mick Foley? Or a dislike of Elsalvajeloc? Because what you've been posting kind of comes off as someone with an axe to grind and really shoe-horning that opinion into a situation that doesn't fit. Mick complimented how kind he was. And that somehow crosses a line? Or is what crossed a line him complimenting a man for something that happened in the 80s while also talking bad of something that happened 10 years later in the 90s? I kind of can't follow what the gripe even is here. Terry Gordy was a great worker before the OD. Terry Gordy was not a great worker after the OD. A man putting over how kind someone was and then saying a negative thing he did like EIGHT years later doesn't make him fake or phony of passive aggressive. To me, it shows a man that hates that the narrative is so negative about Gordy. And that he wanted to balance it by talking about something nice he did. You may have some legitimate Foley issues you've heard or seen before. But this wasn't one.

That looks like a movie I will enjoy. That looks like a John Wick movie. It's violent and it's action packed. It's just not a Crow movie. I equate a Crow movie with a certain ambience. A real dark and cinematic vibe to the cinematography. It's not bright. It's dark. It's wet. It's a rain drenched limited pallet visual. It's goth. This doesn't have any of that. I get that updates for new generations need changes that add to the mythos. But the gothic dark almost black and white nature of the original is the vibe that audiences flocked to and basically THE identity of The Crow. This looks like a well done fun action flick. But it doesn't feel like it fits in The Crow mythos at all. The dialed back face paint. The tattoos. The soundcloud rapper vibe of Eric Draven's look. They were aiming for Ledger Joker. They got Leto Joker. I expect Skarsgard to elevate it beyond the output we got from Leto. This will be well done. It will probably even be good. But this doesn't feel like The Crow. Ledger still felt like Joker... even if he was a new take on him. Brandon Lee's appearance was almost ghost like. A methodical gothic ghost out for vengeance against the baddest the streets had to offer. This just looks like a mad Twitch streamer sticking it to corporate America.

What a weird move. For The Jaguars, not The Patriots. We knew Mac Jones wasn't the guy. So not surprising The Patriots are moving on. But for The Jags to bring in someone who sure seemed like he threw a lot of hissy fits to be your backup, just odd. But good, I forever hate Doug Pederson and wish him nothing but bad luck professionally.

It's going to take awhile to get used to logos all over the mat in wrestling like it is in MMA. I know occasionally we've had corner sponsorships in WCW & AEW. And WWE had the Cruiserweight logo in the corners for a bit there. But big obnoxious unavoidable logos for products right in the center is jarring. I know it's not worth the breath to complain about because there's nothing that can be done about it. It's been the UFC standard for awhile and it's going to be a standard for WWE going forward too. I do find it less obnoxious than Cinnamon Toast Crunch logos and mascots all over the video screen when there was a hate filled father vs son blow off match happening tho. I liked the end promo a lot. Heel Rock has really added some life to everything going on. Think it's pretty clear Rock & Reigns win night 1. Then a miscommunication spot between Rock & Roman leads to Cody's win. Setting up those two working, either at Summer Slam or Mania next year. In a way tho that will be a disservice to Cody who should win the big one all on his own.

I like the look of the new graphics and set. It feels distinctive in a way a bunch of screens and lasers didn't. Show had a real energy. Things were happening. And that's one thing AEW has been missing. I thought the opening was good. I thought the close was good. I thought the top of the hour segment was good. If we could get TK to switch the formula up and sometimes throw in some shorter matches / a squash or two AEW would be cooking. ALL IN looking like Okada vs Omega, and maybe Ospreay vs Swerve for the title. Add a Nigel vs Bryan match, Mercedes vs Jamie Hayter for the title, & like Pac vs Samoa Joe & you have a KILLER show.

The weird route we took to get here makes sense to me now. Rock is beloved. How do we get him booed by the audience that view him as an all time legend? You have it appear like there's some backstage BS of him pulling shit ti steal the match from someone WWE fans genuinely love. Because heels doing kayfabe heel things don't make crowds turn on you anymore. It worked. Heel Rock is back. Something fresh that we haven't seen in years. Now you setup the tag to main night 1. You have Cody win on Night 2. On Raw you have Roman attack Rock and kick him out of The Bloodline. And you set their Mania match up a year out. Definitely not a straight line to get from A to B but it makes sense now. I've been big on thinking Roman is breaking the Bruno record. But you will burn the town to the ground so to speak if Cody loses again. If they go through with it I expect a Cody win. They wouldn't dare risk it would they?

I'm very anxious to see how free agency shakes out for The Giants. Upgrades are needed in a lot of areas and the draft can't fix them all. Losing Barkley is bad. Losing McKinney is bad. Being stuck with Danny Limes is bad. The number 6 pick is a bit outside of that guaranteed franchise QB pick slot. But maybe a franchise WR (which has been needed in NY for awhile now). I also do NOT want Russel Wilson popping his head in the door trying to get on the roster for a vet minimum contract. Will just cause more drama than it will fix. Also also, not sold on the new D coordinator. This could be a very bad year in New York.

There's no perfect answer. Just gotta pick one and stick with it. Doctor at ringside? Cool. Ref has the final say? Cool. Just get a protocol, make sure everyone knows it, and the rules apply to everyone no matter what. If the ref can't handle it, they shouldn't be a ref. I know it was said they're not doctors. But a bare minimum of paramedic or first responder training given to your refs would be the smartest investment a company could make. Send them all through some classes so they have some skills to spot, first respond, etc. If an emergency arises they are in the perfect position to help quickly. I mean the Sid leg break spot was brutal in WCW. But what made it even worse is no one did a fucking thing for him. Everyone stands around not knowing what to do. Waiting for the mystery man reveal. Letting a dude pin him. What, like 4-5 minutes passes before a single hand is lifted to help him? That was 25 years ago. And it a lot of respects nothing has changed. And it should have by now.

Sting had the perfect send off. And this is why I will never understand the tribalism of shiting on AEW existing (vice versa for any AEW tribalism that shit on WWE existing). Sting did so much for the wrestling business. He's a legitimate icon. And without AEW existing this amazing moment never materializes. WWE discarded him with a quickness after his injury. This moment never exists in this timeline without AEW. And that's not a shot at WWE. WWE does great moments for a ton of legends that deserve them as well. The more national wrestling that can give these guys their flowers like this the better. I'm so happy for Sting. His entire run was pretty much perfect. There were only maybe 2-3 times the whole run where he didn't look at the top of his game. And this match especially, he never looked bad. He was never put into a position where we were sad for him or it was hard to watch. Everyone got to have the same feel good emotions he had. His cinematic debut match was in my opinion the best one of them all. He had a fun match against FTR. The coffin match at Webley was fucking dope. The six man tag with Punk was great. The six man tag at the first Forbidden Door was great. This was great. What a feel good way to cap off a career. The presentation of the pre match video and his kids being previous versions of him. Just *chef's kiss*. I love when wrestling is done well.

I haven't played a Smackdown / 2K game in forever. So this may be a dumb take. But I do play Madden Ultimate Team every year. It's basically the only mode I play in Madden. And I get everyone poo - pooing micro transactions. But if its anything like MUT, you don't have to spend money right? Like I didn't even buy Madden this year. Got it free with Gamepass a few weeks back. Built up a 91 rated team already without spending a single cent. Is that possible in this? Or is this full on the only way to actually play the mode and have fun with it is spending money? Can't you just get good at the game and grind it out and use in game currency to buy the stuff? I'm not at all interested in buying this, tho I am curious about the answer after seeing everyone post about it.

Barkley is officially hitting the free agent market. Congrats Lawful, the Texans are getting a hell of a player.

I'll still watch it and I hope for the best. I understand a remake can't be a shot for shot recreation. There has to be something new to say about the story or material. Just very much looks like taking an iconic look and giving it a zoomer gangster vibe. Exactly like Leto Joker.

What have they done to my boy? I love the original Crow movie. I even liked the tv series and some of the sequels. But they Leto Joker'd this new crow. He has all these dumb tattoos including one on his chest where his nipple is the eye of some face. Why?

You have a leader going from drawing you 250 at your PPV & TV tapings to 1400. From 1,000 PPV buys to 29,000. I don't care if the tv format is stale (and it may be you might be 100% right, I haven't watched recently to have an opinion for or against), regardless you don't send away the guy who was getting you real results like that. Especially when the guy you're replacing him with has ZERO wrestling knowledge. It's Jim Herd all over again. Will TNA have better ideas than The Ding Dongs going forward? Doubt it.

It's being reported that the reason is Damore was constantly butting heads with the CEO because he wanted an increase in the budget to go after bigger stars and continue the growth. If that's true straight up Fuck TNA. That man literally dragged your corpse out of the grave with his vision. He grew TNA back into being a talked about relevant brand for the first time since Anthem bought it. The Man just drew the biggest gate and biggest buy rate in a decade. His vision was working you cheap fucks. Now they put in a stooge 2020s Jim Herd. And they will fall all the way back into that grave. At least lolTNA will be a thing again.

This is inning 5 of 9. Did you guys mistake that reference for something else? This is the 5th year of the 9 years overall he'll be champion to break Bruno's record. Even if that's not the actual plan, that's what the wink wink reference to which inning they were in was about. Because that was a Heyman line during a presser a few years back. I'm of two minds with that whole thing. I get where they are going here. But again that's under the assumption that the destination is still so far away. But it really is kicking sand in the face of the fans. You have a clear number one face. With a clear goal the fans want to see happen. And you just never give it to them. In the days when attendance mattered and ratings and buys mattered that would kill a company. But we're in the days where rights fees & Saudi money are all that matters. That would actually make more story sense than what we got. I'm gonna take everything from you. But I'm going to start at literal zero and work my way up to you. So not a single soul can say I didn't earn it. Then work his way up through all the titles and boom. But no the current story is I want this so bad, and I won the chance to do it now, but nah dawg. Here's Rocky.