HarryArchieGus Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 3 hours ago, Kev said: No idea who came first. Ventura is the other standard though. I think an updated Heenan/Ventura is pretty much what every heel commentator since is aiming for, but they usually miss the key ingredient of already being a well-established character. It’s like the commentator equivalent of dudes doing 90s puro head drop, fighting spirit stuff without the context that really made that meaningful. There seems to have been a number of heels sitting in on commentary in the 70s. JJ Dillon. for example. is referenced in the 'Wrestling Classics' thread I just gleaned over. Roddy Piper in Georgia is earlier than the aforementioned. I loved Ventura. And Bobby Heenan is neck and neck with Lance Russell as historically my favorite wrestler/wrestling personality. That said, in 2023, Nigel McGuiness wonderfully carries the torch of the heel commentator. He hits every beat wonderfully and reels in drifting bullshit from the like of Schiavone, Kelly, and Riccaboni. I'd also argue that Don Callis when on commentary, a regular on ECWPPV, is also every bit as great as the Body and the Brain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) On 12/31/2023 at 12:01 AM, Octopus said: I might be a high voter on this show. I had an absolute blast! After full review, I'm a high voter too. Possibly just a 'high' voter. I loved the opening Continental Classic Losers 8 Man. The only thing missing was proper promotion. Presenting a match with that much talent without any promotion is the real, true, clear *consistent* issue with AEDub. I imagine on a 2 hour TV show this would have gotten a lot more attention than it did. Perfect finish. Strap that rocket to Danny Garcia! I wonder if I saw a different match between Andrade v Miro. I thought they had a thoroughly excellent bout. CJ Perry's animated managerial work on the outside was fun. Andrade getting a hot streak and PPV match before finishing up is a bit perplexing, but part of me likes Tony disreguarding miserable wrestling traditions. Miro is so good, but will he and the company ever get on the same page long enough to benefit from it? Swerve v Dustin followed, and again I found myself loving a match that didn't seem to have a whole lot of fans. I loved the pre-match attack, and loved watching Dustin work that story. So fun. I thought this was an excellent enhancement match. Also, let's be honest the actual in ring of Keith Lee v Swerve wasn't going to be a better bout. I only caught the worst of the Jericho 8 man on the first time around. Second time around I thought it was 'perfectly fine'. They got clumsy with a cute spot, oh the fuck well. Obviously a lot of questions coming out of this. Not least of which is why is this company so intent on making Sammy Gueverra a babyface? Who has ever wanted that? The trio of bouts at the top of the card were even better on solo second watch. I skipped Julia v Abadon, so no complaints. The quality of the bout wasn't really any worse than any other TBS title PPV match. Maybe they should change the leather strap to green? Christian v Edge was perfect! Extra points to bumper car Nick Wayne. Hope he's okay. King v Mox was also perfect. The post match was classic AEW tears of joy! I thought MJF v Joe was extremely well worked. Maybe McMahon was onto something with Adam Cole as a manager. He was awesome here. In particular, his reaction to the outside apron Muscle Buster spot. Joe! Joe! Joe! All logical 'whys' aside, the drippy Devil angle ended 'perfectly fine'. HAIRDOO in particular could really benefit from Baybay as his mouthpiece. Big, big thumbs up! Edited January 1 by HarryArchieGus 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godfrey Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Checked out the top 3 matches! Christian/Copeland was an okay brawl. Cope looks in great shape, stone cold biker Edge isn't my favorite iteration of this character but it's probably necessary for him to adopt a more punch-kick style at this point. Crowd got more into it the more weapons came out, it's a shame they weren't so into the face/heel dynamic despite all of the wrestlers' efforts and more chanted for the next spot they wanted. Good pop for the finish though I didn't have a problem with the post-match reversal. It made wrestling-sense to me Finals for the C2 was good not great. I dug the slower start, neither guy is particularly graceful on the mat but I appreciate the pacing. Of course, the next thing they did was an ugly dive and Paradigm Shift on the floor so that didn't last long. Really back and forth, to the point that neither guy can build much momentum and while the crowd is pulling for Eddie they don't bite on a number of potential finishes including the actual finish. I don't like strike exchanges, I think they've become a crutch in AEW and this match shows the weakness of relying on stiffness to tell the whole story Main event was interesting. Sick robe by Max even if I wish he would ditch the Burberry pattern. Why do both guys look so uninterested in being there? Not much fire between them to start. Undersized hometown boy with an injury is the ultimate underdog story and they worked it well, even so it felt like Max and Cole had to drag the audience along at times. Were people just waiting for the Devil reveal? The Muscle Buster on the apron looked like it sucked, Max hitting the F5/Diverticulitis was great The final angle was fine. Seeing it in action all I can say is I hope it gives the four healthy guys renewed focus and intensity, that Roddy and the Kingdom can move past their goofiness and say it was to throw everyone off the scent, and that somehow Wardlow can come out of this group better than he's going in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopus Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Fun note I made in the Navel-Gazing thread. I like that Max won the title by Regal betraying Mox by giving him brass knuckles. Year goes by yada yada yada. Then losses the title by Adam Cole betraying by not giving him the Diamond Ring. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I liked how Eddie Kingston changed up his gear vs. Jon Moxley, white trim on his singlet but particularly the Toshiaki Kawada yellow kickpads. I remember when Kingston wore green/silver/white in tribute to Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jon Moxley at Full Gear 2020. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, Octopus said: Fun note I made in the Navel-Gazing thread. I like that Max won the title by Regal betraying Mox by giving him brass knuckles. Year goes by yada yada yada. Then losses the title by Adam Cole betraying by not giving him the Diamond Ring. Wait, didn’t Cole give him the ring? Wardlow made his face turn not giving MJF the ring when he lost to CM Punk (I think). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 3 minutes ago, JLowe said: Wait, didn’t Cole give him the ring? Wardlow made his face turn not giving MJF the ring when he lost to CM Punk (I think). Correct. MJF lost to CM Punk in the Dog Collar match at Revolution 2022 as Wardlow couldn't find the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopus Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I should say failed to give him the ring in time. He was pretending he couldn’t find it and gave him it when Joe was already there. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 If Max needs time off, do you turn Bullet Club Gold face and have them do a program with the Devil group given Jay was the first one attacked? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Re: Zero Hour I liked what I saw of the video packages. Pretty solid productions. The Devil angle was largely a nuisance week to week, but works well for a video package. Willow v Statlander was pretty solid minus the challenging finish. I hope they run this back. They worked well enough thru the bulk of the match to imagine they could correct course in round 2. I loathe Battle Royals. I also hate the Creative Decision to just on a whim offer the winner of a Battle Royal a ‘Money in the Bank’ contract. That said, I overlooked the stupidity to fully enjoy the finish of Adam v Christian. I did the same here, and somehow kinda enjoyed watching this Battle Royal. I really liked Trent throughout. This really appealed to my interest in at least one Trent Barretta heel run? Wheeler v Hook was a pretty solid TV match. Hook needs reps. Why on earth are they not booking him on Honorclub? He’d potentially attract eyeballs and get much needed reps. Also, moratorium on anything that reminds the audience of ‘WWE Hardcore’. Shiny flimsy trashcans included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Just now, GuerrillaMonsoon said: If Max needs time off, do you turn Bullet Club Gold face and have them do a program with the Devil group given Jay was the first one attacked? I like this! I get the sense the crowd is going to turn Juice babyface at some point anyway because he's just so damn great. Gunns could chase the ROH belts. It works for the whole crew IMO - good call. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Is there really a want or need for a sudden Jay White face turn? Further, I'd like to know how one would go about turning the Ass Boys babyface? I sense that would be even worse than turning Sammy Guevara babyface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I want Juice vs Roddy segment. I think you need a Jay White/Cole confrontation otherwise he looks weak AF. Everything else is probably awful for the reasons you've mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 31 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said: Is there really a want or need for a sudden Jay White face turn? Further, I'd like to know how one would go about turning the Ass Boys babyface? I sense that would be even worse than turning Sammy Guevara babyface. Gunns are at least amusing. Sammy got nothing but that oh so punchable face going for him. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zendragon Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I also though Miro v Andrade was a great Meat match and really enjoyed Swerve v Dustin as well Also good call on Hook v Yuta being WWE Hardcore waste of both guy’s strengths but hope it leads to a pure rules bout Also good call on Coke being Wardlows mouth piece 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, Log said: Gunns are at least amusing. Sammy got nothing but that oh so punchable face going for him. That's basically the answer I was gonna give @HarryArchieGusas well - not that they're comedy characters or anything like that, but there are enough over-the-top things about their whole act that I could see them being 'funny' babyfaces in the vein of The Acclaimed or like DX or something (I'm sure Dad being w both groups helps my perception there). That goes for Juice as well. Don't get me wrong: I'm not necessarily clamoring for a Jay/BC turn, and idk that the rest of the world is either; all I'm saying is that I think it would be a good, logical story for reasons already pointed out by @GuerrillaMonsoonand I think they'd work better as babyfaces than one would probably assume on paper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I wonder what the crowd reaction would be to Switchboard getting the powerbomb symphony (and subsequent neckbrace being applied by Roddy afterwards).. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuerrillaMonsoon Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, zendragon said: Also good call on Coke being Wardlows mouth piece Here for this. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) 3 hours ago, GuerrillaMonsoon said: I want Juice vs Roddy segment. I think you need a Jay White/Cole confrontation otherwise he looks weak AF. Everything else is probably awful for the reasons you've mentioned. I guess they did attack Jay too blatantly for it to be an orchestrated heel ruse. Curious how they tie up that part of the story. 2 hours ago, zendragon said: Also good call on Coke being Wardlows mouth piece Wait, are you advocating for Wardy to enhance his promo ability with cocaine or? I mean it might help in the short term, but I don’t want the big man to end up on Darkside. Edited January 2 by HarryArchieGus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 If MJF does need some time off to heal, Cole and company have plenty of people with grudges to keep them busy for a while. Acclaimed, BCG, and Hangman for sure. Did they attack someone else I’m forgetting? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I wonder why they didn't do Collision as the kinda pre-show? Seems like it would've benefitted them to run that shit on TNT for 60 minutes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazorbladeKiss87 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Finished the show just now. It was a choice for sure. I liked the match. The muscle buster on the apron looked brutal as did the drop kick as MJF skinned the cat. The devil reveal was...yeah. I am not an Adam Cole fan so it does nothing for me. Roddy's flying knee hit hard though and looked great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 I skipped out on the 8 mans, but I wrote up Kingston vs Mox and Swerve vs Dustin: http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2024/01/aew-five-fingers-of-death-1225-1231.html 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd_y2aHDV8U You need to see all of this but especially 03:17, Eddie Kingston promo. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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