GuerrillaMonsoon

Swerve breaks into Max's local synagogue but Max anticipates it. Long story short, Dynamite does a 15 rating on the back of MJF performing a bris on Nana.

I'm arguably more concerned about where Hangman goes from here, rather than Jay White. Guy broke into his home, threatened his kids, and then beat his ass in a Texas Death Match. Not sure what the stipulation you use to give Hangman closure here, or what you do with him if you rightly give Swerve his title shot. That was a great match, but the ending bothered me, and I liked his match with Mox better. If Cole's the devil, Jay is either the number two babyface aggrieved at being attacked, or he sides with Cole and is number two heel. Can't win. Probably better to take the six man titles, take two steps back, and slowly rebuild over the new year. Jay vs Juice has potential. I can see both sides of the "I paid $30 for this, no devil, wtf?" and the "lets drag this out further" debate. There's plenty of notes left in this story to play out - Joe's title shot (which realistically spoiled the outcome of the main event), whatever Wardlow has planned, the Acclaimed's return etc. I also echo the sentiments that they seem to not be quite sure what they're doing with it and having to adjust on the fly. Does Adam Cole want Jay White to win after he attacked him initially? Is he sabotaging Max, but to what end, if not to win the title himself? I think they missed an opportunity with White's chyron stating he was the Interim AEW Champion, which would go a long way to explaining away why Max didn't just hit him with the ring and DQ himself, and leave the title match to another time when he was healthy. MJF losing the Champion's Advantage is probably an interesting storyline arc that holds together the 1998 fuckery that it was. Not a huge fan of Toni Storm's new gimmick. Could have quite easily just been left at "crazy woman who throws a shoe" but has awkwardly added this overlay of 1920s film star without any real connection to anything. The whole "watch this old movie to see exactly how this upcoming angle will turn out" approach seems ....ehh as much as that for the great character work she's done out of the ring, she hasn't really changed her in-ring style to match what is being shown. Can we have a moratorium on multi-man ladder matches? They're just unnecessary ways for guys to get seriously hurt. The bar of "do something no one else has done in one of these before" is now definitely at "dangerously stupid", and theres no point, because no-one remembers these matches in a month. Hey, remember when that guy from Top Flight snapped his leg in one a few months back? Even the crowd seemed dead for it except for reacting to the aftermath of spots in the way one would to Jackass. Looking forward to the eventual OC/Hook, this tournament has real potential (and a great way of getting rid of the ROH title?).

Not South Africa choking in a semi final..

That car bump was fucking ridiculous for anyone. Let alone a guy that age, size and retired. Doing the math, hes four years older now than Andre was when he died. The idea of Andre taking that bump in 1997 to pop a rating in the Monday Night Wars is amusing. Someone should have told Sky Blue that they acknowledge she probably spent a lot of money on her new Scooby Doo ring gear but that it wasn't the time during this angle to be debuting it? Seems an odd one. Like Barry Windham wearing his old gear when he was the Stalker. I hold out unrealistic hope that Punk is the devil (Wardlow almost certainly one of the masked guys during the Acclaimed beatdown). Assuming it'll be Britt Baker though. Although a Tony Khan reveal with a huge announcement teased for Dynamite with just "It was me Max, it was me all along" sounds like a Funtastic Trainwreck. Loved the opening match. I enjoyed the story being told of Hook having this ridiculous talent to match with guys like Moxley, but lacking the experience to make it work. Real Anakin/Dooku stuff. Taz on commentary mentioning that the redrum had more effect than the Orange Punch was a nice tease. I'm looking forward to this because it could play out so many ways and all of them sound fun. Mox can steamroll him again andthe story continues to be Orange not being able to overcome this one monster. Does Hook become the guy to beat Mox? Does Orange eek out a victory and immediately regrets it? Does Hook challenge OC?

Bagwell was gaining momentum in 1999. The Piper/Flair feud was never ending and pretty pretty fucking awful, but they were using him, Benoit and Malenko in main events so people tolerated it because it was something new. Then Russo came in, and he did this weird fake shooty thing pretending he was the Chosen One, which set up the Jarrett debut, but instead of any lengthy program that went anywhere, he spent the next few weeks laying down for La Parka. Then that even lamer feud with DDP over Kimberley. And then the tag team with Douglas, and got lost in the shuffle. Totally Buff was pretty good NGL.

Over/under on Bryce Young being in the league in three years time?

I watched No Mercy because @The Natural told me to. Wasn't a huge fan of Dragunov/Hayes, but loved loved loved Stratton/Lynch. That was a star making performance, largely on the weight of how well the match was laid out and how unselfish Becky was. Everything the focus on how the rising star comes in and takes it to a Wrestlemania main eventer instantly. The result doesn't matter. Stratton gets all the shine spots. Becky still looks tough as shit for being able to survive it all and win. It's the sporting equivalent to when Rafa Nadal turned up as a teenager and started messing everyone's shit up on clay. Didn't matter that he was losing to the top guys at his age, and in tough five setters to boot. You knew that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with. Also sent me down a path where I wondered if I was the only one who no longer cared whether a match was a good match in isolation and judged purely on the in-ring content? To me, I think that's a dated 90s mentality when you only had a handful of guys on the roster capable of working a good match, and they were rarely paired together. Now not only is the entire roster capable of working a good match, it's got to the point where literally anyone can come in and work a good match, as is the case with celebrities. Anyone with a basic level of athleticism can come in, be plugged into their celebrity match formula, and it takes a lot to fuck it up if you're genuinely interested in trying. Everyone does moves now. I remember when there was a topic on the big green DVDVR board about how many guys in North America who were regularly doing a shooting star press, and they came up with like 4 names (in 1998). I feel like the only time I am interested in the actual in-ring product is when someone does something that's completely unique and presented in a way that hasn't been done before, rather than the quality of it. McIntyre/Sheamus/Gunther is probably the last time that's happened where WWE were prepared to present this AJPW style match as its own without its wacky spin to it, or to a lesser extent seeing Vikingo for the first time in AEW as it was so reminiscent of when guys like Rey Jr would come to the US and just blow our mind about what would be expected. I am far more interested in having my however many hours of wrestling on TV each week compete with other entertainment forms, and make me want to tune in for more and be a compelling drama/entertainment product that tells a story, rather than movez, selling, blood and guts, workrate, that I can no longer care for as they are such an overproduced commodity?

Would people accept Darby/Sting vs Edge/Christian as a double retirement match?

I felt like they burnt through a lot of beats in that story in one episode of TV either in a very rushed fashion or for a very underwhelming response - The Acclaimed coming out first, followed by MJF in the pink trunks felt rushed in the context of it being put together the segment earlier. Felt there was more to be gained out of MJF going four on one out of necessity (and a nice callback to his constant mentioning of not being a stupid babyface) only for the Acclaimed to run in mid match. You could have saved the pink trunks for the next time they had to team up together. - MJF reluctantly scissoring should have got a bigger pop than it did and could have been saved for next show rather than awkwardly rushed in before they went off air. Billy Gunn taking exception to Max's treatment of Caster was a great idea but poorly executed when it wasn't mic'd well. .....it's almost been 25 years since we did this with Rock n Sock and doesn't that make you feel old.

I mean if Moxley really *has* to get his boy Sami Callihan a job, this seems the best idea for it.

I see your point, and I agree that the need to have an undecisive finish every. single. week during the Monday Night Wars was counterproductive and trained its audience to hatewatch the product. I think in this instance, it had the opportunity to further develop multiple ongoing stories and add intrigue to tuning in next week by having the locker room empty, and at the same time, there was better potential for MJF beating Omega clean(ish) to mean a lot more on PPV rather than a Saturday afternoon show thrown together with minimal build to try and compete with WWE, especially when Omega has already dropped so many falls this year. Wardlow coming out and beating down MJF only to be stopped by Samoa Joe, then Roderick Strong running out and attacking Joe, Bullet Club picking their spots and attacking MJF and Omega, only to be run off by The Acclaimed. Maybe I just really liked the ECW locker room clearing brawls that bled into one thing after another a lot..

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T ACCEPT PRIVATE MESSAGES ANY MORE? I HAVE PICTURES OF SPIDERMAN'S FLACCID DONG FOR YOU. A WELL KNOWN DEPRESSION CURE.

I enjoyed MJF/Omega, and I say that as someone who doesn't generally enjoy what they bring to the table individually. In the broader picture though, I don't think I can give them the benefit of the doubt to say that this feels like part of, or consistent to the bigger story being told for either guy, it just feels like putting out the biggest match they can think of because they want to compete with WWE. A schmozz finish would have been fine here, as you have so many different parts coming together that wouldn't otherwise, and you're not sure as a viewer how that will play out. "Oh fuck, Wardlow hasn't made good on his promise yet, you know it's going to be good when he finally does. Nope, he's standing around watching a monitor in the back like a dork". "Can Joe be trusted here? What if he's the one that sticks to his word when Cole fucks him over. Nope watching a monitor". "Is there a way they can add anything more to an otherwise dead in the water Omega/Callis Family feud? Nope, Callis fucks him over again and gets all the heat, and we're going to continue with this generation's Jimmy Valiant/Paul Jones Army feud." "Good opportunity for the Bang Bang Gang to get heat on MJF, or build to the big 4 on 4 match. Nope, nothing". "How will Roddy and co play into this match? Nope, nothing". I feel like they not only shafted about 10 different guys of some much needed character development, and possibly robbed themselves of a PPV main event rematch down the track, in order to try and pop a rating in a one sided ratings war, and continue to pretend that exclusively clean finishes are the be all and end all here.

I think it's the evolution of being able to see wrestling where I lived when it was such a scarce commodity forever. Going to my first local show at the Essendon Ukranian Club in 1999 to interview one of the headliners for a wrestling newz website, who told me and my friend flat out that he'd never go to the Big 3 because he saw it as selling out. He later ended up wrestling on a WWA PPV and feeling lied to but also not convinced he ever got paid. Anyway, it was a terrible show from top to bottom. Then we got an overseas show at Rod Laver Arena. The original Superstars of Wrestling PPV (Rodman/Hennig) and it was probably better than it had any right to be. Then we got WCW Thunder - again, a really good show that had no right to be that good, even if the main event is just a tribute act to the 94 Rumble. Fun times. Then WWE finally toured in 2002. I remember covering the press conference to announce the show - Vince, Mark Henry and Stacy Keibler were there. I opened a door for Vince and got a "thanks, pal" and I've never forgot it. The night before the show I did a 10 hour shift packing gift bags to get a free ticket to the VIP function before the show. I gave it to my uncle as a birthday present, which he then used the opportunity to pick a fight with Rikishi for a wet fish handshake and get asked to leave after making inappropriate comments to Torrie Wilson. Good choice by me. Show was....so/so. Had a good opener (Rey/Kidman vs WGTT) and Edge/Jericho was fun. The main event was something to see. Then getting to go to the US in 2017 for Wrestlemania weekend. Still remember the thousands of people meeting in downtown Orlando, and walking to the stadium in the stinking hot weather. I remember the 20 odd beers completely being sweat out in the two mile walk. I remember going to Hogan's Beach House for karaoke, getting drunk, and deciding I was going to slam his 900 pound sign on the side of the freeway, not being able to dislodge it from the concrete and tearing every muscle in my back, before the sign died a few days later. I remember Swerve Strickland before he was Swerve at a CZW show. I remember having a conversation with two old guys in the lobby at intermission.....and not even realising it was the remains of Kevin Sullivan and Shane Douglas. I remember Brandi Rhodes having a death match with....I think Ryback and it was really good? I remember Zack Sabre Jr and Quackenbush having an absolute epic match unannounced at Chikara and it being the best match I've ever seen live.

I really like how despite the overwhelming everything at once aspect is playing out for MJF, they held off on Wardlow. When he finally comes out and nukes MJF it's going to feel like a massive oh shit moment.

Found out yesterday I'm being made redundant when work merger happens in March. Didn't expect today to be very clear that they're going to try and push me out to avoid paying me out. Selling house in December. Debating when to tell the wife.

We sleep on how useful Lance Archer has been to AEW. He constantly puts over guys all over the place. He always makes them look good. He's not afraid to make other big guys look like a bigger monster than he is. There's no stupid bits that need to try and give him his heat back afterwards. He goes away for a bit and he still has it because he has a cool entrance, look and his squashes are enjoyable. He could have easily have done far less for Wardlow, Page, Miro but made them all look huge. I don't need to see more of him, he's in a just right spot, where I just want to see him kill a guy every few months or so.

If I had Tony Khan money, I'd bring out a giant crate, but in the giant crate is a giant bottle containing the other Sting wearing Surfer Sting facepaint singing Message In A Bottle. More money is then thrown at the lead guitarist from U2 to set up a copyright avoiding rock n wrestling tag match. Sting and Sting vs The Edge and Edge is what you all want.

Outstanding

I really don't know who has ever really benefitted from working a program with Adam Copeland? Everyone either lost the program they worked with him (Rollins, AJ, Balor) or were already prominently featured on the card/over/didn't need the rub (Roman), or both. He put no-one over on his way out of WWE, and as entertaining as he is burying guys in promos, they're equally selfish (the Starks promo in particular). You could maybe make a case for solidifying Jeff's singles run at the top at best? For all the (largely accurate) criticism of these things with Punk, Edge has far greater tenure and more opportunities to have done so.

Whose idea was it to put Diana Hart on TV? I'm assuming it was a favour to Davey Boy, but also, she's just horrifically wooden - they already knew this from 1992, and the angle gets dropped without any real resolution beyond just the commentary team deciding that she had to be making it all up. Just seriously weird.

You wouldn't be able to see them anyway I suspect.

A dream match I never knew I needed to see until now.

I told my daughter two years ago that if she could read a particular book by herself by the end of the year, I'd let her choose my first tattoo. She ended up finishing it in three weeks. I now have a Bluey half sleeve.

https://youtu.be/CPECdI0xDZQ?si=S0rSaRkWosWV93oI