Sublime

It's not a terrible starting point because it's the transition between the Claermont era and the 90's era so if you want to dive into the 90s stuff it will help lay ground work a bit but just a little bit because a lot of what Claremont's plans were dropped when Marvel had Lee become co-plotter. X-Men have a lot of good spots to use as starting points so you wouldn't be wrong to start there, you could also check out the Giant Size X-Men/Start of Claremonts run, Grant Morrison's New X-Men, House of X/Powers of X, the time right after X-cutioners song would work as well (I started reading during X-Cutioners Song but I wouldn't recommend starting that as a starting point because it references a lot of stuff from Claremont and Simonson work from the past) when Nicieza and Lobdell are the guiding forces but you could start with the Claremont/Lee stuff and work to there pretty quickly too. Age of Apocalypse is a great story and someone could start there (as Jay Ediden of Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men did) but you're getting a very different version of a lot of the characters. Also to note if you have Marvel Unlimited I really recommend checking out Jay Ediden's Captain America series in the new Infinity comics, it is a really good Captain America story that really understands what the character of Cap is all about.

That Ibushi botch was a bit scary, glad he was able to recovery well. Loa has been really fun in the G1 and I'm really enjoying it, hope he gets some more G1 appearances in his career. O-Khan has looked really good too, I think he has a bright future ahead of him and I'm glad to see it I was a big fan of him during his young lion days. I think the results have eliminated Yujiro and Loa unless there is some deep level tie breaker stuff I'm over looking.

I think there are only two who are actively eliminated but it's really only Okada, Cobb, EVIL and Tanahashi (would have to beat Cobb to have a chance) who are in a real position to win. Everyone else needs to win out and get help to have a chance and pretty much are all one loss away from being eliminated.

I kind of don’t hate the idea that the ladder match can end before everyone enters because it could allow for a time where the match ends before the joker enters then the surprise joker can come out beat down the winner and has a built in feud. But overall the casino matches still need refinement to work right

Shane McMahon vs David Arquette in a death match Shane vs ZSJ so he can show Sabre his sweet mat skills

Don't take my ZSJ hope from me. Though really I know it's probably not to be but I can dream, I can have hope. Todays B Block show has been the first show that could be considered skippable, nothing outstanding, nothing offensive. EVIL/Okada is still the worst match so far, that shit was awful. EVIL is the only guy who could have a bad G1 match with Okada. I really hope EVIL doesn't make the finals or *shudder* win the whole thing.

I am so here for this ZSJ push. I am loving it I want him to run the table now (well maybe get caught by Yano cause Yano). It's gonna be so sweet when Naito comes back for ZSJ. It seems like all participants have a light under them to be putting on they best show they can cause so far this has been a really entertaining tournament. Give me an all Dangerous Tekkers final you cowards.

I thought Ishii/Ibushi was really good but Shingo/ZSJ was on another level. Zach might have the two best matches of the tournament so far. Really interested in seeing how things continue to play out. Also looks like they are planting seeds for issues between BC and House of Torture. Loved ZSJ quoting Dizzee Rascal as well. "sweet like a nut sweet like Tropicana"

The first two nights were really fun. Naito/ZSJ, Ishii/Shingo, Okada/Tana and Goto/Taichi were all outstanding and there weren't any matches that weren't enjoyable, even Yujiro brought it. The news about Naito is really disappointing, was really looking forward to him vs Shingo and was curious as to what his match against Tanga Loa was going to be like. ZSJ is always so good when in there against the main event guys I wish he'd get pushed more as a singles despite how much I love the Tekkers.

I think it's very possible that Ric thinks that if he himself doesn't physically force someone to touch him then he didn't force them. He definitely comes across like someone who doesn't believe coercion or intimidation are linked to sexual assault/rape. I've known men like this who think that if they are not physically harming the victim then everything is fine and dandy because they are fucking scumbag narcissists or sociopaths.

Kenyon was great. I saw him work a dark match against Nathan Jones and he made Jones look so good just feeding into him and bumping like a pinball. The crowd totally bought Jones as the real deal. Who beta than kanyon?

I think Gargano would be better suited to go to Impact where he could be a bigger fish. I don't know what his future will be in WWE if he stays and there are the changes to NXT, I don't seem him as having a lot of success on the main roster. Especially with HHH out of favor it seems. AEW doesn't really have a spot for him, unless he wants to be a solid mid to upper card hand.

I don't think the Casino Battle Royales have to be an issue because I like that they are basically shorter Royal Rumbles. The biggest issue is how the entrants are treated really. Announcing who is in each suit before hand would be a huge help and possibly staggering the suit entrants by 30 seconds or so could help to so each entry gives the crowd a chance to breath. Throwing groups out there does help stop the trope of new entrant hits their signature spots as soon as they get in that has plagued Rumbles for years now.

Accidently posted my thoughts in the AEW Sep thread so here they are here as well. This was the first live wrestling I've watched in a really long time and the first full non-NJPW show I've watched in 3 years and it was really so close to a perfect show. I'm really happy I made the choice to watch it and to do so live. AEW really made me a true fan of their product even before the end with Danielson's debut. The feel of the show was both fresh and familiar and it really felt like a return to big time US Pro-Wrestling (which AEW has probably been doing for a while but they knocked this out of the park when they knew there was going to be eyes on them). I loved Miro-Kingston was a little unsure about the finish because it almost put the heat on the ref instead of Miro but I think they avoided that. It was such a nice hard-nosed slugfest. I hope that Eddie gets a rematch in NYC and wins the belt, I would love to see him get a big TV moment in his career. Mox/Kojima was solid and I liked it, they worked well for their spot on the card too. Loved the surprise at the end with Suzuki showing up and the crowd singing along. I loved that a big US promotion PPV had the fans singing Kaze Ni Nare. AEW acknowledging and working with other promotions is really such a breath of fresh air and making other promotions being kayfabe on a similar level to them is really smart and works well in todays entertainment environment. They understand that most things are niche now, fans have a wide knowledge of the things they follow and dig deep and AEW leans into and that is smart. Women's Title match may have been my match of the night, it wasn't perfect but they worked smart and at a good pace. Thought Statlander came out looking strong in defeat which can be tricky as a face when dealing with losing by submission to a character like Baker who is so over as a heel/tweener that the crowd loves her. The moment of emotion by Cassidy worked to strengthen the bond between Kris and Orange to the fans also. The cage match was a spectacle and was really fun but I thought it was a little too over the top with stuff. I can see why people loved it and see it as a MOTYC but it drifted a bit into usual Bucks overkill for me but nicely they went with violence rather than flippy overkill. I enjoyed it and it's one of my favorite Bucks matches now and I loved the whole presentation of the Lucha Brothers and really liked the celebration at the end. Penta and Fenix where made true stars that night and my hats off to them and the Bucks for putting on the match that most new viewers will have engrained in their minds. Casino battle royals are kind of a clunky format but that format did lend itself to allow for a quicker way to get a lot of people on the card and a chance to show a bit to the crowd. It was really hurt by the fact that only Rosa and Soho felt like possible winners and the emotion on Soho's face when winning was so genuine and real that it was another moment that was great. MJF/Jericho as good, I've been rather down on Jericho for a few years and am not a huge MJF fan either but they did pretty good, some rough spots in there but they worked a good match that was a bit booked into a corner about what to do. In most cases I think you'd want MJF the young heel to go over the aging legend and end the fued on top(I know he had already tapped Jericho out and was a victim of his own hubris to take this match) to help boost him up but with the retirement stip Jericho had to win. I think they did a good job of making it so that MJF was his own undoing with the back damage he took from the powerbomb on the apron (which he put himself into position for) and his powerbomb off the top that he sold really well. CM Punk/Darby was the reason I was there and they did a really good match. I think Punk chose to work smart and a bit slow and didn't want to try to steal the show since he was coming back maybe a bit rusty, and that he seems to want to be in the role of helping boost the young stars up even when he's not on screen. I was surprised he didn't bust out the double arm back breaker just so the crowd could yell Welcome to Chicago Mother Fucker. Paul Wight looks a bit in bad shape mobility wise and with the amount of surgeries he's had he maybe should stay out of the ring, but as a cool down moment with some goofy heels it was a fine segment. Omega/Christian was great but it suffered from being at the end of an emotional show and not really having any suspense because Christian doesn't feel like the guy to un-thrown Omega as the AEW guy. The fake out with Cole was good and Danielson's debut was electric. I probably won't be watching their shows week-in and week-out but I'll very likely be watching Full Gear in November.

This was the first live wrestling I've watched in a really long time and the first full non-NJPW show I've watched in 3 years and it was really so close to a perfect show. I'm really happy I made the choice to watch it and to do so live. AEW really made me a true fan of their product even before the end with Danielson's debut. The feel of the show was both fresh and familiar and it really felt like a return to big time US Pro-Wrestling (which AEW has probably been doing for a while but they knocked this out of the park when they knew there was going to be eyes on them). I loved Miro-Kingston was a little unsure about the finish because it almost put the heat on the ref instead of Miro but I think they avoided that. It was such a nice hard-nosed slugfest. I hope that Eddie gets a rematch in NYC and wins the belt, I would love to see him get a big TV moment in his career. Mox/Kojima was solid and I liked it, they worked well for their spot on the card too. Loved the surprise at the end with Suzuki showing up and the crowd singing along. I loved that a big US promotion PPV had the fans singing Kaze Ni Nare. AEW acknowledging and working with other promotions is really such a breath of fresh air and making other promotions being kayfabe on a similar level to them is really smart and works well in todays entertainment environment. They understand that most things are niche now, fans have a wide knowledge of the things they follow and dig deep and AEW leans into and that is smart. Women's Title match may have been my match of the night, it wasn't perfect but they worked smart and at a good pace. Thought Statlander came out looking strong in defeat which can be tricky as a face when dealing with losing by submission to a character like Baker who is so over as a heel/tweener that the crowd loves her. The moment of emotion by Cassidy worked to strengthen the bond between Kris and Orange to the fans also. The cage match was a spectacle and was really fun but I thought it was a little too over the top with stuff. I can see why people loved it and see it as a MOTYC but it drifted a bit into usual Bucks overkill for me but nicely they went with violence rather than flippy overkill. I enjoyed it and it's one of my favorite Bucks matches now and I loved the whole presentation of the Lucha Brothers and really liked the celebration at the end. Penta and Fenix where made true stars that night and my hats off to them and the Bucks for putting on the match that most new viewers will have engrained in their minds. Casino battle royals are kind of a clunky format but that format did lend itself to allow for a quicker way to get a lot of people on the card and a chance to show a bit to the crowd. It was really hurt by the fact that only Rosa and Soho felt like possible winners and the emotion on Soho's face when winning was so genuine and real that it was another moment that was great. MJF/Jericho as good, I've been rather down on Jericho for a few years and am not a huge MJF fan either but they did pretty good, some rough spots in there but they worked a good match that was a bit booked into a corner about what to do. In most cases I think you'd want MJF the young heel to go over the aging legend and end the fued on top(I know he had already tapped Jericho out and was a victim of his own hubris to take this match) to help boost him up but with the retirement stip Jericho had to win. I think they did a good job of making it so that MJF was his own undoing with the back damage he took from the powerbomb on the apron (which he put himself into position for) and his powerbomb off the top that he sold really well. CM Punk/Darby was the reason I was there and they did a really good match. I think Punk chose to work smart and a bit slow and didn't want to try to steal the show since he was coming back maybe a bit rusty, and that he seems to want to be in the role of helping boost the young stars up even when he's not on screen. I was surprised he didn't bust out the double arm back breaker just so the crowd could yell Welcome to Chicago Mother Fucker. Paul Wight looks a bit in bad shape mobility wise and with the amount of surgeries he's had he maybe should stay out of the ring, but as a cool down moment with some goofy heels it was a fine segment. Omega/Christian was great but it suffered from being at the end of an emotional show and not really having any suspense because Christian doesn't feel like the guy to un-thrown Omega as the AEW guy. The fake out with Cole was good and Danielson's debut was electric. I probably won't be watching their shows week-in and week-out but I'll very likely be watching Full Gear in November. *Just realized I posted this in the wrong thread. oops.