Jrag

The Reddit doofuses are losing their minds even worse than I expected! This thread you linked is actually tame compared to some of the others I clicked through. These live Collision crowds are about to be so spicy.

FTR is on the best run of their entire careers rn actually. This stretch of matches on Collision is as good as anything they’ve ever done!

I love this shit so much. Collision is going to be even more electric going forward.

The effect he is going for is to very clearly make 50 - 70% of you mad. And to make me smirk. I think he saw that Hangman sign and thought to himself this atmosphere has been great what if I could make it even more polarizing. Truly an all time great pro wrassler!

Actually I think it is having the exact effect he thinks it does.

Are wrestling fans in any quantity saying that wrestlers don’t deserve a union or are you making up a guy to be mad at?

Loved union man Punk. Good for him. Amazing how far away the camera stayed during that entrance. Wrestling isn’t crossing the picket line. That’s not how it works. If a WGA member decided to write a book during this time that wouldn’t be crossing it either.

Just a great main event. Could watch that matchup 10 more times. Punk rounding back into form in there. lol at that post show promo. Hobbs vs Miro!

What’s interesting is that they do have some actually great built in injury excuses for the ups and downs. Which adds a whole different dynamic to the big debate going on in here and says something about how important the individual wrestlers are to the AEW creative process.

Nah I don’t think I’m missing anything, bud. This billionaire being slightly better than the other billionaires who have tried to create wrestling at this level is both why I am interested in the product and why I am expecting more. “Rose-colored glasses” and “imaginary golden goose” seems a bit of a strange turn to this conversation when I have been consistent with both my praise and my criticism of this company since I started watching. I think you are confusing me with someone else. I have no idea what point you are trying to make with the trios match tonight, but yes of course I will be commenting on it check out a Collision thread once in a while.

I have very little time for the be happy with everything we are getting because this company didn’t exist a few years ago talk. I wasn’t watching any wrestling at all when AEW started. I didn’t watch any wrestling at all during the pandemic. When they went back on the road is when I jumped back in and this is about the only wrestling I watch consistently. They have shown me enough to have an idea of what they are capable of and to hold them to a standard that they don’t always reach. Collision is just about the perfect wrestling show for me. Punk/MJF was just about the perfect wrestling feud. They have an insane roster, and insane amount of fresh matchups and 5 hours of national tv per week to develop stories. I do expect more than what they have given us in the build up to this show. That’s not to say I won’t enjoy what we are getting, but I think the company as a whole is at a fork in the road basically and Tony needs to be better if they are going to take the turn I want them to take! I am very curious to know if Tony is less, more or the same amount of hands on with Collision. I have heard Danielson and Punk are way more involved with that show, but would love to know what else is going on to cause such a distinct break from the Dynamite or Rampage style. My gut says he is less hands on, but if the answer is “the same” then I do think Tony has shown the ability to adapt and change. Such an interesting time to be a wrestling fan.

Rampage has improved big time over the last few months. OC is maybe my favorite wrestler in the world right now. We got my 2 favorite OC things last night. OC as bugs bunny outsmarting a group of lower card heels and oddly serious OC when Yuta walked down the ramp I need OC on Collision.

It is their biggest show ever. Dream matches isn’t the right word for what I’m looking for necessarily. They have so many fresh unexplored matchups right now that they could have been building to I guess is my overall point. It’s not that I think Takeshita/Omega has been some hot feud that deserves a big pay off over a trios match. It’s more that we are in a place leading into their biggest stretch of shows ever where Omega should be working a different program all together. To me it feels like Tony couldn’t decide what direction to go for some of these guys and stalled a bit too long while figuring it out. A lot of that is All Out being a week later (a problem of their own making). A lot of that is surely the weird dynamics with Collision being almost in its own universe. Joe/Punk was a great choice for my personal taste, but is Jay White being a bit directionless on the road to All In a side effect of Tony keeping his Punk options open? I think the mazy type booking where a bunch of feuds connect and then separate, start and then stop, can be great at times, but can also cut the legs out of the build up to these bigger shows. Again love what has been announced already. I’m obviously very excited about the show overall, but the rumored direction for the remainder of the card in uninspired. Tony has some big weaknesses as a booker in my opinion and a show of this size puts those weaknesses in the spotlight.

MJF/Cole, FTR/Bucks and Punk/Joe are all matches worthy of this type of crowd so they really did start off on the right foot there. Swerve/Fox vs Sting/Darby is a great addition with a good build up. The announced matches look great, but if they really are slapping together 2 random trios matches to get everyone on the card instead of giving us OC vs. Mox or a Kenny singles match AND waisting Ospreay on Jericho that’s not great. If they are slapping together 2 random trios matches and also NOT having the HoB in either that seems a bit ridiculous. I guess we will wait and see, but my take on it is announced matches look good and everything rumored looks bad. Need some more big singles matches. If we are not getting OC/Mox or an Omega singles or a Jay White singles or a…. Yeah that’s a waist. Hopefully we get Andrade/Black, but Tony has been so weird about featuring any of the HoB guys I can’t imagine we get it. Seems super weird not to have OC defending the International Title on this show I hope they at least change course on that one.

Opening tag was fun. Big Bill looks great. FTR gave those guys a lot and I really enjoyed it. Juice is insane. Loved the wacky Toni Storm promo. Get her far away from those other 2. A lot of good talkers on Collision and I didn’t realize she was one of them. Joe is one of the most underrated promo guys of all time. Main event was solid, but that ending needed to be better. Steamboat missed a cue to get in the ring at some point obviously. Overall great show and love the All In direction. Very hyped for that Trios match next week and hope they get at least 10-15 minutes in before Samoa Joe stops asking nice.

I’ll take that as a no. You guys would probably love it though.

Oh and Evil Swerve continues to be great. I assume we are getting that tag match at All In? At least I hope so. Swerve deserves an All In match more than just about anyone.

Don Callis stop making the refs look terrible challenge. Hated that three way not gonna lie, but glad Trent got a win. I’m not sure when I just completely turned the corner on Mox, but I feel like Matt D during a Hangman match when he is on the screen these days. The 10th tack bump means nothing please stop. The rest of the show was super fun. I popped for the title change and the Kenny tease. I’m ok with Cole/MJF as the All In match they earned it. He’s our scumbag is a fun chant. Kenny/Punk back on the menu is very exciting, but I hope they don’t jump right to it. Give Jay White a shot at the Real Worlds Champion at All In.

Warrior season 3 has been fun so far. Hard to touch the riot episode from season 2, but I think this season has been a bit more consistent. A fan of the one episode each season that is more a standalone western, but the main story is good enough where sometimes those episodes can throw a wrench in things. Haven’t gone back through this thread. Anyone else watching this?

I’ve never been a big Cole guy anyways, but if him being safe is part of the reason they stumbled into MJF as face in peril that’s another one in the win column. MJF has a legit case for best in the world right now. The best feud in AEW history with Punk pre-title, the classic with Danielson, great talker and can play every role. Dude is in complete control of the crowd right now.

Cole seems to be doing everything in his power to limit head trauma both while he is taking moves and when he is on offense. His opponents seem to be doing the same. Cash hit an awesome clothesline this week that landed below Cole’s chest. If that means more pump kicks or super kicks so be it. He has clearly proven that he can still connect with an audience while working a very cautious style and I for one love to see it.

For me Oppenheimer is Nolan’s best and a film I didn’t think he was capable of making. I’ve seen it twice now with the first time being in IMAX and can’t stress enough how awesome the Trinity test was in that format. Those screens are much taller and the audio much louder and that sold out theater didn’t make a sound before the bang kicked in. So great. The third act is so essential and the true source of dread. The Los Alamos speech, RDJ ramping up the vanity etc etc. It works as a fun courtroom drama and also in a this is who we gave The Power to anxiety inducing sort of way. It just weaves so well into that final scene. What struck me more so on the second watch was how often Nolan is using those visual/audio cues prior to actually showing the scene those cues are from. The foot stomping being the absolute best use of this technique. Loved the rain drops to open and then mimicking that in those final shots as the world catches fire. Nolan was at his best, but it would have been hard to go wrong with that cast. There are like 15 great performances in this thing. Murphy/RDJ/Damon all delivered (surely some awards buzz for those first 2), but the supporting roles around them were just on another level. One of the most stacked casts ever. Hey here is a Casey Affleck in what might be the best scene of the movie, oh look it’s Josh Hartnett reviving his career, wait a minute is Benny Safdie a better actor than he is a director, oh look it’s Gary Oldman like 30th down the bill. Crazy that a 3 hour, R rated biopic is crushing so hard at the box office. Love to see it.

Punk/MJF title unification is the money whenever they want to run it. Last night has me thinking we might not see it for a while though.

Argue however you all want, but all I ask is please don’t quote reply the dude. Surely I’m not the only one who has him on ignore!

Hold the mic up higher Tony you big doofus. Great show all around.