Zakk_Sabbath

This is so, so good

I also find it crazy he stayed done. I mean, granted, he was a top guy making top guy money, but it's wrestling. It would shock me if Austin hasn't received at least one call about going to Saudi Arabia (or Jacksonville, for that matter).

I don't think that's a true story - I heard an interview with Jericho pretty recently where he said leading a stable was TK's idea, and that he was initially apprehensive about it.

@CaseyHey, you never know. Maybe she goes to Sting's doctor

Yeah, agreed. He needed one probably immediately after Punk (not that losing there hurt him whatsoever, but it would've been a nice follow up to show his character grow from it). In hindsight, since it sort of didn't do much for anyone involved, I think the move would've been to split Starks from the group instead of Cage, and give Hobbs/Cage a go in the tag division.

It neatly coincides with the reality show stuff about being spread too thin and so forth, which is a nice touch but possibly unintentional

Yeah dude, Danielson is not of this Earth. Unreal. Beyond that, I really liked the Sting/MJF segment and the ladies' match the most from tonight's show. Edit: that's a lie. I almost forgot Hangman's promo. I got choked up for that one, man.

I'm starting to job hunt as of this week, which I haven't done in 13 years, and it's absolutely insane how much the game has changed.

Yeah, I don't know, man. He's being very, very ambitious if the idea is this is supposed to be some sort of angle where instead of Bret and Canada vs the US, it's Cody and like Jacksonville vs the rest of the US. I really don't even know if that's a proper description. He's got a 20 foot fucking cape and his own Axl Rose ego ramp, but he's out there cutting rah rah USA promos about his baby. I mean, he's definitely correct, I've been watching since '94 and I really have not seen anything like it...

Can't say I love the MMA stuff, but I guess being covered by the likes of ESPN was probably the endgame, so I'm at least happy for AEW that it's successful in that regard. I will reiterate my point that I think Men of the Year aren't a great fit for this angle (though I've since learned Scorpio has been training these MMA guys, so I guess it makes sense from that perspective). Even with Scorp and Page's legit credentials, the fashion gimmick makes no sense here. I'm in no way ready for a formal Inner Circle breakup, but I think for example a Lambert/Hager pairing would have made all the sense in the world. It doesn't even need to be an MMA guy, just any no-frills wrestler: think pre-Wingmen JD Drake or a 2.0-less Daniel Garcia

It certainly explains a lot about the Jags

It sounds kind of insane now, but I legitimately think that at some point in the future (not now, but maybe ten years or so) we're going to have a WWE press release announcing "a new actor taking on the iconic role of The Undertaker" or something like that.

Two Rampage ads during this Laker game so far, plus a live ad read which was pretty cool.

There is no better tradition in our great sport than kneepads over jeans in a street fight.

Agree with you on this, but to go a little deeper, I believe that in itself is a symptom of two things (and others have raised these points before much more coherently): 1) an intentional play at getting the "polarizing" Cena/Roman response to talk up the "controversy" on the reality show 2) That kind of thing is naturally gonna get over in Jacksonville way more than your NYCs or Chicagos

That was me, it was the Dynamite Grand Slam. She said twice she was completely by herself, and one other time there were three other women. I don't think I mentioned this in my post because it didn't come up until later, but of that group, she said two women were talking about Roman Reigns, and one of them was a non-fan/new to wrestling and came with their boyfriend.

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1446679936903925772?t=sAjypQsLpFDGgsd9pnDOPQ&s=19 Oh

Deeb's maybe the best worker on the roster not named Danielson, you are a very smart man! I, too, expect straight fire from both ladies.

My shithead boss uses the phrase "circle it back" about 30 times a day - you have no idea how happy it made me to see it in this context.

That Arthur Ashe taping was one of the most tremendous things I've ever seen in my life, but I agree: five hours is a bit of a haul. Not sure how viable it would be, but if I were AEW, I'd consider doing: * Dark (Universal tapings) * First hour of Dark: Elevation before Dynamite (3 hrs) * Second hour of Dark: Elevation before taping two weeks of Rampage at a time (3 hrs) I mean, really your only issue is travel and building costs, but I feel like that could be mitigated by taping the Elevation/double Rampage in the same city on Thursday. Edit: I also realize it may be tough to sell out two nights in a row - smaller buildings may be an option here. For example, two crowds of 6-8K as opposed to one crowd of 10-12k. Then you can still build to your Ashes and your United Centers and such for special episodes

In all seriousness, cause I think this is a great talking point: I'm ok with Cody getting his win back - it just has to be down the line as part of an "I want my country back!"-style Babyface turn after a fun, successful heel run.

A rare quiet Friday at home for me, so I'm watching live for the first time since Punk debuted. Should be a good one, I wonder if Danielson v Nick Jackson will open the show

Same here! Not sure if you watch BTE, but they did a quick reference to it where Cole was like "I'm gonna go find Hangman!" and Kenny/Bucks were like "Uhhhh, maybe don't do that..." Really curious to see how that's handled on TV.

@twiztorgreat write-up. I actually really enjoyed WSX's presentation style, with the warehouse setting and all - it was like a less-focused Lucha Underground. At the time, I thought maybe it might find some legs as an alternative to the rebooted ECW (though I can't remember - were they actually head to head on Tuesdays?)

Yeah, agreed, this theme is fire. Very GTA Vice City. Gonna miss them using the Pinnacle's Horsemen ripoff though. I've been whistling that one non stop since it debuted.