jaedmc

Looking over the stat lines of Game 3 and thought this was mildly interesting. Denver FG 44-90 and 5 of those were three pointers. Lakers FG 44-90 and 5 of those were three pointers.

Also on the Spo conversation, on the Lebron/JJ podcast, Lebron directly gave Spoelstra credit for coming up with the game plan that changed their offense to be more effective. Lots of talking heads at the time were busy talking about "who is Batman" and "who is Robin" and "how do these three coexist" etc etc. Erik Spoelstra came in, at a time when people were saying he was on the hot seat, and said to three superstars "Here's what you're going to do." and it worked. Of course it helped that Chris Bosh was willing and capable to adjust his game to accommodate. Miami is an attractive enough town for players that he probably won't spend long stretches without talent. I don't know if he'll be Pop Tier, but he'll probably be Top 10 before it's over.

Okay I finished the show. I like the general stories they've decided on, but I've got so many complaints about how they present information to the audience. It's infuriating. If I could have AEW's wrestling with WWE's capacity to educate an audience clearly as to what was going on I'd have my favorite promotion. As it is, it mostly falls on Excalibur's shoulders to tell us everything, and I still don't catch on to some of it. LIKES Jericho's gimmick. I think it's funny, and I think it's going to get a lot better now that he's really rolling with it. Mina Shirakawa is fucking gold. Trent saying that Orange was supposed to be their mascot. Their eventual match is going to be a banger. Trent is one of my favorite underappreciated workers. Really talented dude. Serena Deeb showing up - though I feel like she would've been a great first challenger to Willow to build her reign. But whatever. Swerve is cool - but his presentation is not. Don Callis yelling "Melbourne" like he's calling a play. The last segment. It left me with more questions that I'd like to see answered. DISLIKES Whatever the fuck everyone was doing to the camera. @Greggulator is on point about how it looks inorganic and hack-y looking. If no one looked at the camera, then the moment Jack looked at the camera during the hug would've been cooler. Willow is dealing with one of the biggest female stars in wrestling and she's turning to the camera to tell me a story. I don't get it. Talk to her. It makes me wonder if there were just no good angles to get people's faces because it exposed too much of the audience. Swerve fighting some guy I don't know who also has a belt. I want a promo from the new champ about how it's a new era. Instead he fights some other guy with a title while Roderick Strong has 8 people trying to kill themselves for a shot at his belt. Perception. The Don Callis Family. I don't get this act. Don is awesome. I know he's explained that he makes his guys fight each other - and it still makes no sense. I don't get why Osprey is even with him. It should be a great heel group, and instead it's so muddled and confusing. The Gauntlet Concept feeling slapdash. No countdown. No idea of the number of people. Just go until it's done. The guys in the ring were cool. MIDDLING Wrestlers feeling bad for hurting other wrestlers. It's weird. Osprey feeling guilt over hurting his hero and not wanting to hurt anyone else is an interesting wrinkle to his character, and makes that move more important in the long run. But it's also kinda weird because so many moves that guys do to each other look like fucking murder. Also you're trying to hurt each other. Willow feeling guilt over hurting Mercedes in a match is also odd. I never saw that match. I don't understand the context of it or what happened. But I don't know why she didn't say - it's wrestling getting hurt is what we signed up for. It's a weird story idea, and I feel like I could like it, but it also really illogical given the profession.

Oh man, we all saw that young security guard breaking up Thunder Rosa from Deonna right? Best of luck young fella.

You know, I remember when Erik Spoelstra got the head coaching job, I joked about how he looked like a kid who was just gifted a Ferrari for his 16th birthday. When Lebron left, I wondered if that would be the end of Spo. There was a perception that anyone could've coached that team to a title. Fast forward to 2024, and I think Spoelstra will go down as one of the better NBA Coaches in history.

Made my way through the show, as I am trying to get into AEW again. So much wrestling. Okada vs. PAC Fascinating match. The first third of the match they essentially take turns being the heel working over a babyface, and it felt confusing. Also Excalibur did a great bit of storytelling by talking about how Okada was trained by Ultimo Dragon, and PAC made his name in DragonGATE with a bunch of Ultimo students. Eventually settled into Okada being the bad guy, and he was honestly great at it. Loved him laughing after the DDT on the ground. Loved the middle finger on the pose tease. Loved the eye rake on the submission attempt. Does PAC ever have bad singles matches in AEW? I don't know what you do with him, but he's a guy I have to watch if he's on the card. House of Black vs. Edge/Briscoe/Kingston This was hot stuff. Mark and Eddie are great "in the moment" performers, who feel like they're making some stuff up on the spot, as opposed to doing the match that was planned out beforehand. Really enjoyed Malakai avoiding Edge the whole match and catching him with the mist for the finish. It's crazy how good Edge has been working with all these younger wrestlers. He's hanging with everyone. Willow vs. Julia Hart This felt brief, which is a little disappointing because I think Julia is a great character and Willow is pretty lovable. I'm bummed Hart's reign had to come to an end, but I think this story between Willow and Mone could be a good one, with Mercedes trying to undercut Willow's shine. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong Roderick Strong has a belt too? I’m sure this has been discussed to death, but what the fuck are all these belts? Strong did all those nifty backbreakers and I don’t think Kyle referenced his back until just before the finish.. Not even after the superplex. They could’ve done so much with that. Like every time Kyle did a guillotine choke, Roddy could’ve just ran his back into a corner, or slammed him on his back as a way to break the hold. Just missed story telling. Adam Cole can walk. I hope that means that we're a little closer to getting MJF back because I thought their Best Friends story was great and I hated that injuries spoiled so much of it. Chris Jericho vs. Hook More titles, but at least I know this one. Kid in the front row chanting “AUBREY AUBREY” to start is gold. Jericho’s gimmick is fucking hilarious. He also nearly killed himself trying to make Hook look awesome. Crowd chants “Go Home Jericho Go Home” .Same crowd counts along when he’s punching Hook on the top rope 10 seconds later. Same crowd pops when he hits the top rope ‘rana. And he just keeps giving them the thumbs up like he’s Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Crowd chants “Please Retire”. Same crowd chants “Tap” when Hook is in the Liontamer. HE HAD TO HIT HIM IN THE FACE WITH A BASEBALL BAT TO WIN. This shit is ridiculous and I dig it. Toni Storm vs. ThunderRosa There is some young baby face who will eventually get to do an All About Eve storyline with Toni Storm one day, and it’ll be awesome way to introduce a character. Not a whole lot to say about this one. Rosa looked good but might be a little too screamy for a babyface. That moment where she replied to a fan “I love Toni Too.” Before murdering her on the apron was fucking gold tho. More of that. Danielson vs..Osprey Incredible. My son came in to watch this one with me and we were on the edge of our seats for that final stretch. I haven’t watched much Osprey at all. Like I don’t think I saw any of his Japan stuff. And I wasn’t super impressed watching his recent match with Hobbs. But he got my attention here for sure. Bryan again showed he can do anything and everything at an exceptional level. Best in the world. FTR vs. Bucks Obviously not as good as their last match, but this served a much different purpose. This felt like a lot of big spots, BUT they were always desperately trying to get to those titles. Jack Perry run in was always the most obvious conclusion, and him coming in with a Sting mask was great. I’m actually interested in how they use him moving forward. Swerve vs. Joe Joe is one of my favorite wrestlers. He just brings a different vibe. Liked Swerve’s working on the arm, which allowed him to escape the Kokina Clutch. I don’t know if I like Strickland as a face, because I think he’s really good as a heel, particularly the way he moves in the ring. His acrobatics feel less about being pretty and more just being vicious and mean. Loved Joe immediately leaving like a bully who just got embarrassed. Eventual Osprey vs. Strickland match is going to be fucking wild. OVERALL THOUGHTS Exceptional night of wrestling. No duds. All killer stuff. Even the weakest matches had engaging work. And holy cow what a great crowd. They were down for everything. Also after having been face down in WWE’s and the great build to Wrestlemania, I’ve got to say AEW’s announce team is the best. Everyone that sat in the booth helped tell some great stories and always added to the action. Jim Ross has had some rough nights with the company in the past, but I’d say he was lucid and rock solid in the matches he called. I think it’s crazy they switch guys in and out, but it didn’t hurt anyone’s rhythm or chemistry. It’s probably easy when the wrestling is this good. Lots of interesting questions going forward that make me want to keep watching.

My wife told me this was coming a while back and we wondered what it meant for wrestlers. I figured it meant nothing because wrestling exists in a pocket universe where laws and rules don't apply. Wasn't it Alberto Del Rio who took WWE to court over the no compete clause and won? And that didn't change anything.

So much effort to come up short.

Lakers/Nuggets is the goods

I think I'm now on the other side of fuck David Zaslav and now I'm like "fuck it bro if they're going to keep giving you money - go get it. Just leave TCM alone and we're cool."

I'm guessing it's La Bamba and Ready to Rumble.

Imagine 10-15 years from now we're going to be watching a bunch of fighters who grew up wanting to be like Max Holloway.

Like this is the same card where Jalin Turner thought he knocked out Moicano and lost. The same show where Jiri walked through punches to get wild on Rakic. Do Bronx losing to Arman feels like a million years ago at this point.

"Stand back herb I'm about to end this."

Imagine having the two rounds that Yan Xionan had to start this fight, and then have that round three. Crazy fight.

Oh I will. Rogan's been talking some wacky shit all night. Moreso than usual.

SIGN THE CONTRACT DC. YOU'VE BEEN DUCKING MAX FOR TOO LONG.

It might be because he's my favorite fighter of all time - but that was one of the greatest moments I've ever witnessed in the history fighting.

Do I buy a lottery ticket or do I put five on Cody Brundage?

Shine on Jiri Prochazka you goddamned crazy diamond.

Jeez, Calvin was underwater from the opening bell. Ortega vs. Sterling as a possible title eliminator would be cool.

Raally interested in this Sterling/Kattar fight. Calvin might be the guy Max beat up, but he's also the guy who came back from that to beat the brakes off of Giga Chikadze. Not an easy matchup for Aljo at all.

Woof. I know it's a 42 year old Holly, but is Raquel Pennington or Julia Pena capable of handling that shit? Kayla Harrison is fucking huge.

People cheered for Bobby Green saying he went from no house to four houses, and that's after he beat a guy everyone wanted to see win.

Moicano is out of his goddamn mind. "I'm starting a podcast...My first guest will be JOE ROGAN AND YOU CANNOT REFUSE."