AEW Navel-Gazing Thread Number Two

[John from Cincinnati]

1 hour ago, Gordi the former AEW fan said:

Even if The Rainmaker ends up on Netflix Pro, it'll be interesting to see if WWE can do a better job running back the 2014 MOTY (Okada vs Shinsuke) than they did with the 2026 (NJPW) MOTY (Shinsuke vs Styles). It would be a fun referendum on how much things have really improved since Mania 34. 

Getting back into WWE for Punk purposes has me reckoning with the fact that they’ve handled Gunther very well. And a wrestling podcaster with some connections has suggested that the WWE pitch for Okada is “Gunther with subtitles.” Not sure old rematches are the metric for success. But I think I know what Okada in AEW looks like, whereas there’s a curiosity factor with WWE. 
 

Spoiler

If we’re considering the health of the industry first, he’d still be in Japan.

[Gordi the recovering AEW f]

So, here's what I did tonight:

There's a guy named Yoshiki. He's Cooger's friend. Therefore, Yoshiki and I are also friends. He's an extremely warm-hearted person and we have always gotten along very well.

He also does promotion, set-up, tear-down, etc etc for Big Japan, Marvellous, and I think other indie promotions. Sometimes I get free tickets. From him, because we are friends. Sometimes I also get to help with teardown or promotion, which I sincerely get a kick out of.

He lives in a lovely quiet area of Osaka called Minamimorimachi. Masakatsu Funaki is one of his neighbours, more or less.  Takes me an hour to get to Minamimorimachi from my place but it's well worth it because there are a ton of really good little restaurants and bars and even on a Saturday you don't have to wait in line to get a table because it is a quiet area and tourists don't go there. 

Tonight, Yoshiki and I went for very delicious ramen and karaage with two very nice lads from Mexico City (Oscar and Gabriel) who have (among other things) been to shows at Arena Mexico.

I speak a little Japanese and fluent English, Yoshiki speaks pretty good English and fluent Japanese, Oscar and Gabriel both speak a little English and fluent Spanish. It was slightly challenging and very fun communicating about wrestling, travel, slang, food, etc etc.

Then we went to Yuki's karaoke bar. It's Yoshiki's local. Yuki and Yoshiki are old friends. The other customers were all in their 70s and all obviously regular customers, except for one guy's daughter who was in town for two weeks from Florence, Italy, where she now lives. I'd guess she's in her early 50s. 

Anyway, they were super friendly and welcoming, probably because we came in with Yoshiki. Yoshiki and I stayed there drinking and singing after everyone else had gone home, not leaving until I had to go catch the last train. The bill was ridiculously reasonable. There's no way Yuki made any money off of us tonight. 

But she's a fellow wrestling fan. There were Big Japan posters outside, and a calendar on the wall. I'm Cooger's old friend therefore I am Yoshiki's friend and therefore I am now also Yuki's friend and will apparently never pay full price if I go to her bar. 

She's coming to the show on Monday and, after teardown, we're all going drinking together. Probably in Kyobashi. Maybe in Shonai. We're all stoked up because we get to see Fujinami in a small hall.

I really really enjoy being a pro wrestling fan living in Japan.

 

ANYWAY. My point is: Stuff like this happens to me ALL THE TIME. Friendship and connection and nice things and good times all flowing out of being a fan of professional wrestling. 

 

And my navel gaze on the train home was about how in, say, 2021, AEW seemed to frequently reflect that experience (what with the kayfabe good guy wrestlers having friends who they could count on and who had their backs in kayfabe and also, like, Being The Elite showing "the boys backstage" playing Uno and whatnot and it seeming genuinely happy and fun) and to quote myself from this here thread in 2021, "the move in AEW away from broad caricatures of machismo and masculinity and towards more nuanced, vulnerable, damaged, and otherwise relatable characters (which in my opinion) is a genuine change for the better."

 

 Anyway, I really miss that and really wish that they'd bring joy and friendship more to the forefront again. 

 

And for sure a huge part of that is because I FIND THAT REALLY RELATABLE!! IT REFLECTS MY OWN PERSONAL PRO WRESTLING EXPERIENCE!! Like, for example, what I did this evening. And presumably what I am going to do on Monday.

 

And: I personally don't find fiends constantly turning on each other and stabbing each other in the back relatable. I do, however, find it tired and cliche. I don't find myself more excited, at all, ever, for matches that have an OMG! THEY USED TO BE FRIENDS BUT NOW THEY ARE BITTER ENEMIES, DUE TO BETRAYAL build. Particularly when SEVERAL matches have that same build. 

The Barbershop Window Incident, for example, was shocking to me at the time. Since then, I think that whole deal has been warmed over rather too often. I honestly feel that doing a take on it once every couple of years might be WAAAAAAYYYY more effective than doing it a couple of times a week, almost every week. 

 

My other navel gaze is that I sincerely hope that the people who think AEW's storytelling is better now than it was in 2021 think so because you place a very very very high value on nostalgia (e.g. "It's good that he tried to murder his friend with a plastic bag because it reminds me of when Terry Funk did a similar thing") rather than because it more accurately reflects your own life experience as a fan of professional wrestling living wherever you do (e.g "Yeah,that's just like how my friends always try to murder me! I can totally relate to that situation!") 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 21 by Gordi the recovering AEW f

[Ramo2653]

I've always viewed the betrayal in wrestling in the light of "I don't punch people in the face to earn money" so I understand if their dynamics would be different. I don't watch to watch wrestling with relationships similar to mine. I live a regular ass life! Gimmie some drama and some nonsense!

[Matt D]

If I was the god of pro wrestling, I’d have Gordi stand next to Briscoe and Kyle every week. 

[Matt D]

Wrote up the Dustin/Sammy vs Dark Order and vs Kingdom matches this week but relevant for here is the Darby vs Evil Uno one.

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2024/09/aew-five-fingers-of-death-916-922.html

I'll quote from it below:

Spoiler

Darby Allin vs Evil Uno

MD: With Danielson at home selling the injury, there was definitely a worry of a sort of overwhelming NWO-esque doom and gloom with Mox and company. The combination of Yuta's very existence and the fire he's showing mid-way through his matches and Private Party foolishly but bravely standing up for themselves is pushing back against that, giving what Mox is doing the sort of traction to push off against that he himself is saying he's providing to Zay and Quen. Darby's front and center for Grand Slam, however, and while we've seen him act in contrast to Mox and physically stand up to him up til now, the backstage promo leading up to the Uno match and then the match itself took things to an entirely different level.

It's war. For this to work, it can't be Mox running through everyone as they try to act sportsmanlike. People can't just play the 1985 Jumbo card as Choshu came in infecting everyone and everyone around him with violence. They have to be Tenryu and meet the violence head on. And Darby not only fought with that level of intensity here, but he also forced it out of Uno. Even if Darby manages to triumph over him and keep his title shot, Mox isn't just going away. You don't make a statement with a turn like that and just go back into the woodworks and have another fishing trip. The darkness is here to stay and the dark intensity and violent passion is the thing that can make AEW stand out. It's not the grisly excessiveness of Hangman vs Swerve from All Out, not every week, but it's a Hansen-ian impulse of wrestlers pushing each other to the absolute limit week in and week out. What that looks like, what those limits are, how it all plays out, the different mix of alchemy when you have fliers and technicians and brawlers, when you have luchadores and disciples of the territories and walkers of the King's Road all clashing against one another... well, that's what's going to make it interesting. 

And it was interesting here. Uno took every advantage, but more than that, he wrestled like a man infected, like a feral beast, throwing his hefty frame into Darby from every angle. He was an out of control locomotion. Sometimes it worked, sometimes he crashed and burned, but he kept coming. Darby, in turn, fought as he always did, but instead of just throwing his own body at Uno, he ripped at the mask and bit at the skull. There's so much interesting to be mined here. Just as Uno threw himself with wild abandon to rise to the level Darby inspired in him, Darby made his own potential mistake, choosing to use Moxley's bulldog choke to prove a point instead of something of his own that might have more easily won the day. You push people this far, and much like Darby's facepaint, you see all the skeletons in the closet of their soul. It's the most fascinating, most human element you can distill in pro wrestling.

There's a change in the air. You can all but taste it watching the show over the last few weeks. Something is lurking in the hearts of the combatants. Something is awakening within them. Jon Moxley opened Pandora's Box and if they can fully tap into this energy found within, maybe this company can find a comparative advantage that no one else can match. 

It is a different way of looking at things than Gordi's certainly (and that's ok!)

[Gordi the recovering AEW f]

As much as I hated Bryan's friends "shockingly" turning on him and (in particular) trying to nostalgically murder him with a plastic bag, and as much as I don't believe that obviously very nice guy Jon Moxley has suddenly become eeeevillll...

 

I am 100% down for Stop the Moxunaga. 100%. It's obviously going to be tremendous. And as much as the way it started was NOT what I want out of AEW, I have all the faith that they will nail the rest of the story, including the ending.

 

Speaking of "What I want from AEW:

 

(Insert picture here later)

 

OH BOY did I ever have fun at the Big Japan show in the small hall in Osaka yesterday. EVERY match was stiff and violent but also funny and clever. In particular, the Astronauts match and in particular how Fuminori Abe picked up on one lady in the crowd yelling out "Abe-chan!" and reacted to it in such a way that soon EVERYONE was chanting "ABE-CHAN! ABE-CHAN!" and then seamlessly worked that into his struggle with Aoki during the tag match, needing the crowd to pump him up with the chant every time Aoki gained the advantage.

 

Later on, during the break, Abe saw my Stan Hansen t-shirt and asked me to take a picture of him with a fan who was struggling to take a selfie with him. Over the next few minutes, during which another fan took a picture of me with Astronauts doing the Stan Hansen  pose, Abe referred to me as Stan Hansen about 20 times, just constantly coming up with reasons to say my name but saying Stan Hansen instead. So I 100% believe that Fuminori Abe is legit a clever and witty guy in addition to being one of the best pro wrestlers alive. And I just absolutely LOVE how that aspect of his personality got to shine in the tag match.

 

Turns out Abe (and also Nakanoue) are friends with my new friend Yuki the karaoke bar mama-san. Either by very good luck or because they were waiting for me I ran into Yuki and her sister Michi at the train station in Shonai. We went shopping for snacks and drinks before the show. Yuki spent WAY more on gifts (snack pan bread and rice balls, mostly) for the wrestlers than she made off of Yoshiki and I combined, on Saturday. Just two big shopping bags full of snacks. She also remembered my favourite beer (Yebisu, becausd Ebissu) and that I love karaage, and surprised me with a present of both those nice things, which made me unreasonably happy. Then the folks working the door and taking photos at ringside were almost all old friends from the Osaka Pro family and it really struck me how these smaller BJW  shows have a very similar sense of community. Particularly considering I was hauling in bags of nice little gifts for "the boys" like it's the most natural thing in the world. Even though Big Japan is a national promotion and not a local indie.

 

Then the whole entire show was f'n AMAZINGLY entertaining. Literally every match. Every guy going HAM even though it's a tiny house show.

 

And watching m'f'n DRAGON FUJINAMI from ringside seats in a tiny hall! And he was in amazing shape. It was 100% believable when he muscled Sekimoto into the ropes. And in a match with Daimonji, Hashimoto's kid, and a living Strong BJ legend and two death match legends, Fujinami was the stiffest f'n worker.

 

Then after the match I think he literally shook hands with everyone in the building. 

 

Then I got to help stack the chairs. The atmosphere with just the young boys and my friends and I tearing down was so pleasant. I could feel a small part of things, which I love. Not a VIP, but an "insider." I got to cross an item off my bucket list by having a pose-down with Sekimoto, who could not have been nicer. What a f'n memory! Sekimoto also called me Stan Hansen. 

 

There was a guy whose post-show job was to tear the barbed wire off the boards and roll it up. I chose not to take a picture, but that was a VERY specific "ONLY in this particular time and place" kind of image if I ever saw one.

 

Then we went for coffee to wait for 1) Yoshiki to finish up his backstage work and 2) the izakayas to open (show started at noon on the holiday Monday) and by chance Bother Yasshi was cooling down in there as well (he got the absolute shit knocked out of him in his match against the Brahmans). There's a guy whose in-ring character makes it seem like he might not be the nicest guy... But: Nope. Super friendly.

 

The day went on and on in somehow increasingly enjoyable ways until finally I caught the last train home, exhausted but very happy.

 

Anyway, I don't mean that I want to help tear down after AEW shows and do muscle posedowns and drink coffee with the wrestlers. Although of course, who wouldn't want to do that? 

 

But what I loved out of early-years AEW was (among other things) that they seemed to want to create a similar sense of community despite being a massive multinational pro wrestling company, and also that they used to put a huge emphasis on letting their wrestlers show bits of their real personalities in clever and amusing ways, particularly during the matches. 

 

i wouldn't argue that either of those elements have been ELIMINATED from AEW as it grows more polished and corporate and mainstream... But obviously they have been de-emphasised. And I think that's both a shame and a mistake. Viewer numbers and live crowds were both generally bigger when AEW was weirder and less corporate. The argument for being more professional and less indie is that it's the way to grow the company. But I sincerely believe that's a huge mistake.

tl/dr: Really enjoyed the BJW show. Continue to persist in my sincere belief that AEW would be better off and more successful as a big indie rather than a secondary corporate monster.

 

Also the Astronauts, Yasshi, and Sekimoto pictures are in the general September wrestling thread.

 

Also, a full Road Report includes an accounting of food and drink, so:

Pre-show and show: Yebisu beer, karaage, takana onigiri, cheese bacon snack pan.

Post-show in Shonai: Ice coffee, draft Asahi super dry beer, Wakayama citrus sours, sashimi, grilled lemon pepper chicken, yakitori, dashimaki tamago, cabbage, etc

Birthday party in Minamimorimachi: Umeshu, cheesecake, jasmine shochu

Edited September 24 by Gordi the recovering AEW f

[Eivion]

49 minutes ago, Gordi the recovering AEW f said:

I am 100% down for Stop the Moxunaga. 100%. It's obviously going to be tremendous. And as much as the way it started was NOT what I want out of AEW, I have all the faith that they will nail the rest of the story, including the ending.

Is AEW running a Stop the Matsunaga story right now? Been waiting for someone to steal that one for years. Feels so weird it hadn't happened yet.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

If they don't go that route, maybe we can get Survival Moxita. Statlander and Stokely are bringing in her inter-galactic wrestling friends to take over AEW. 

[Curt McGirt]

12 hours ago, Gordi the recovering AEW f said:

Stop the Moxunaga

WHY HAVE WE NEVER CALLED IT THIS YET. Lots of us have made the joke but just called it "Stop the Mox". 

[ka-to]

On 9/23/2024 at 11:02 PM, Gordi the recovering AEW f said:

As much as I hated Bryan's friends "shockingly" turning on him and (in particular) trying to nostalgically murder him with a plastic bag, and as much as I don't believe that obviously very nice guy Jon Moxley has suddenly become eeeevillll...

 

I am 100% down for Stop the Moxunaga. 100%. It's obviously going to be tremendous. And as much as the way it started was NOT what I want out of AEW, I have all the faith that they will nail the rest of the story, including the ending.

 

Speaking of "What I want from AEW:

 

(Insert picture here later)

 

OH BOY did I ever have fun at the Big Japan show in the small hall in Osaka yesterday. EVERY match was stiff and violent but also funny and clever. In particular, the Astronauts match and in particular how Fuminori Abe picked up on one lady in the crowd yelling out "Abe-chan!" and reacted to it in such a way that soon EVERYONE was chanting "ABE-CHAN! ABE-CHAN!" and then seamlessly worked that into his struggle with Aoki during the tag match, needing the crowd to pump him up with the chant every time Aoki gained the advantage.

 

Later on, during the break, Abe saw my Stan Hansen t-shirt and asked me to take a picture of him with a fan who was struggling to take a selfie with him. Over the next few minutes, during which another fan took a picture of me with Astronauts doing the Stan Hansen  pose, Abe referred to me as Stan Hansen about 20 times, just constantly coming up with reasons to say my name but saying Stan Hansen instead. So I 100% believe that Fuminori Abe is legit a clever and witty guy in addition to being one of the best pro wrestlers alive. And I just absolutely LOVE how that aspect of his personality got to shine in the tag match.

 

Turns out Abe (and also Nakanoue) are friends with my new friend Yuki the karaoke bar mama-san. Either by very good luck or because they were waiting for me I ran into Yuki and her sister Michi at the train station in Shonai. We went shopping for snacks and drinks before the show. Yuki spent WAY more on gifts (snack pan bread and rice balls, mostly) for the wrestlers than she made off of Yoshiki and I combined, on Saturday. Just two big shopping bags full of snacks. She also remembered my favourite beer (Yebisu, becausd Ebissu) and that I love karaage, and surprised me with a present of both those nice things, which made me unreasonably happy. Then the folks working the door and taking photos at ringside were almost all old friends from the Osaka Pro family and it really struck me how these smaller BJW  shows have a very similar sense of community. Particularly considering I was hauling in bags of nice little gifts for "the boys" like it's the most natural thing in the world. Even though Big Japan is a national promotion and not a local indie.

 

Then the whole entire show was f'n AMAZINGLY entertaining. Literally every match. Every guy going HAM even though it's a tiny house show.

 

And watching m'f'n DRAGON FUJINAMI from ringside seats in a tiny hall! And he was in amazing shape. It was 100% believable when he muscled Sekimoto into the ropes. And in a match with Daimonji, Hashimoto's kid, and a living Strong BJ legend and two death match legends, Fujinami was the stiffest f'n worker.

 

Then after the match I think he literally shook hands with everyone in the building. 

 

Then I got to help stack the chairs. The atmosphere with just the young boys and my friends and I tearing down was so pleasant. I could feel a small part of things, which I love. Not a VIP, but an "insider." I got to cross an item off my bucket list by having a pose-down with Sekimoto, who could not have been nicer. What a f'n memory! Sekimoto also called me Stan Hansen. 

 

There was a guy whose post-show job was to tear the barbed wire off the boards and roll it up. I chose not to take a picture, but that was a VERY specific "ONLY in this particular time and place" kind of image if I ever saw one.

 

Then we went for coffee to wait for 1) Yoshiki to finish up his backstage work and 2) the izakayas to open (show started at noon on the holiday Monday) and by chance Bother Yasshi was cooling down in there as well (he got the absolute shit knocked out of him in his match against the Brahmans). There's a guy whose in-ring character makes it seem like he might not be the nicest guy... But: Nope. Super friendly.

 

The day went on and on in somehow increasingly enjoyable ways until finally I caught the last train home, exhausted but very happy.

 

Anyway, I don't mean that I want to help tear down after AEW shows and do muscle posedowns and drink coffee with the wrestlers. Although of course, who wouldn't want to do that? 

 

But what I loved out of early-years AEW was (among other things) that they seemed to want to create a similar sense of community despite being a massive multinational pro wrestling company, and also that they used to put a huge emphasis on letting their wrestlers show bits of their real personalities in clever and amusing ways, particularly during the matches. 

 

i wouldn't argue that either of those elements have been ELIMINATED from AEW as it grows more polished and corporate and mainstream... But obviously they have been de-emphasised. And I think that's both a shame and a mistake. Viewer numbers and live crowds were both generally bigger when AEW was weirder and less corporate. The argument for being more professional and less indie is that it's the way to grow the company. But I sincerely believe that's a huge mistake.

tl/dr: Really enjoyed the BJW show. Continue to persist in my sincere belief that AEW would be better off and more successful as a big indie rather than a secondary corporate monster.

 

Also the Astronauts, Yasshi, and Sekimoto pictures are in the general September wrestling thread.

 

Also, a full Road Report includes an accounting of food and drink, so:

Pre-show and show: Yebisu beer, karaage, takana onigiri, cheese bacon snack pan.

Post-show in Shonai: Ice coffee, draft Asahi super dry beer, Wakayama citrus sours, sashimi, grilled lemon pepper chicken, yakitori, dashimaki tamago, cabbage, etc

Birthday party in Minamimorimachi: Umeshu, cheesecake, jasmine shochu

I really enjoy going to BJW shows. They have some of the craziest merch. Raw eggs, deathmatch (super spicy) popcorn, seaweed, curry roux and usually one of the wrestlers is selling it to you. I've had my beer poured by Yamakawa and had a frank cooked by Frank Ohashi. Go to one of their shotengai shows if you ever get the chance. Kids get to train in the ring, very family friendly with no death stuff, and whatever food and drink you can get from the shotengai. One time a tiny liquor store had a keg of beer out on the sidewalk with an old woman selling cheap draft beer.

I endorse everything in your post except for the umeshu and cheesecake. I'm a little picky.

[Octopus]

If I ever become rich I want to see a Big Japan show with @Gordi the recovering AEW f

[Matt D]

Here at the end of October 2024, I feel like there are some systemic problems with AEW which will likely never get better. They primarily involve centralized, long-term storytelling. Basically, for a good chunk of people here, think of the biggest issues you have with AEW and the biggest issues you've had over the last few years. I don't think those get better no matter who they hire, because a lot of them are rooted at the top, both when it comes to preferences and incentives and when it comes to issues of avoidance. There are also certain compromises and decisions that seem to be made either for petty reasons or out of fear and an inability to stake a moral stand as opposed to a "correct" corporate one.

Despite that and no matter how much certain elements of WWE's output has improved in the last couple of years and how hot they are, I continue to root for AEW. For many, because the product is hotter, it's easier to sweep the moral blight of WWE guzzling Saudi money, manipulating the IWC "media" into dropping counter stories (and hit pieces on reporters!) to get ahead of stories about their own scandals, and how controlling and plastic the company remains, even with Vince gone. There needs to be an alternative, one that stands for a number of different, better things, even if it doesn't stand on moral ground nearly enough. 

AEW is not in the least perfect, and a lot of what I noted in paragraph one makes me feel like the endeavor cannot succeed long-term, not really. The empire is evil, however, and AEW, for good and ill, is much more for wrestlers and by wrestlers and for wrestling fans and by a wrestling fan. I wouldn't call this tribalism though I'm sure some people would.

Edited October 26 by Matt D

[Technico Support]

Many thanks, @Matt D

AEW and old stuff on the ‘Cock and YT is all I watch now that PWG is on indefinite hiatus.  The world is better with AEW in it.

Edited October 26 by Technico Support

[SovietShooter]

1 hour ago, Technico Support said:

AEW and old stuff on the ‘Cock and YT is all I watch now that PWG is on indefinite hiatus.  The world is better with AEW in it.

From the time I was forced to leave the wrestling business due to injury in 2012, and the debut of Dynamite in 2019, I pretty much didn't watch any contemporary wrestling, aside from the occasional CMLL.  I was just never a big fan of the WWE's presentation and vision for the business. 

I started watching AEW because of the buzz from the "Bullet Club Elite" in Japan, and All In.  It was not the WWE product, so I decided to give it a shot... and slowly let a bit of the wrestling world back into my life.  When I wasn't able to wrestle anymore, it really took a toll on mentally. I dedicated a huge chunk of my life to the business, and made everything else secondary to my goal of making a living as a wrestler. When I couldn't do it anymore, I had to just quit everything cold turkey - watching it, hanging out with friends in the business, training & working out - all of it.  It really let me focus on other parts of my life that I neglected for years, and to get my life together.

AEW just came about at the right time, when I felt mentally strong enough to partake again, and it was the product I was looking for. The AEW product is far from perfect, no question, but it is a good product overall, and without it I would not be watching any new wrestling at all probably. So I'm gonna keep watching an pulling for them. The business is better with them, than without.

[Shartnado]

6 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

From the time I was forced to leave the wrestling business due to injury in 2012, and the debut of Dynamite in 2019, I pretty much didn't watch any contemporary wrestling, aside from the occasional CMLL.  I was just never a big fan of the WWE's presentation and vision for the business. 

I started watching AEW because of the buzz from the "Bullet Club Elite" in Japan, and All In.  It was not the WWE product, so I decided to give it a shot... and slowly let a bit of the wrestling world back into my life.  When I wasn't able to wrestle anymore, it really took a toll on mentally. I dedicated a huge chunk of my life to the business, and made everything else secondary to my goal of making a living as a wrestler. When I couldn't do it anymore, I had to just quit everything cold turkey - watching it, hanging out with friends in the business, training & working out - all of it.  It really let me focus on other parts of my life that I neglected for years, and to get my life together.

AEW just came about at the right time, when I felt mentally strong enough to partake again, and it was the product I was looking for. The AEW product is far from perfect, no question, but it is a good product overall, and without it I would not be watching any new wrestling at all probably. So I'm gonna keep watching an pulling for them. The business is better with them, than without.

Thank you for sharing this!

[Gordi the recovering AEW f]

Is it all right with everyone if I turn this into the AEW Overthinking And Also Big Japan Thread?

Something really extremely neato happened today.

In a Secret Santo in 2022, @John E. Dynamite gave me a match from an IWA East Coast card at Pumpkin Park in West Virginia where Yuko Miyamoto and Mad Man Pondo fought for the BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title. With Terry Funk as the guest referee. And it was glorious.

The neato thing that happened today was that I got to chat about that match with Madman Motherfucking Pondo.

 

I'll edit this post tomorrow to elaborate and tie it in to AEW. But I really wanted to post that pic and tell that story before collapsing in bed and passing out. Because there are a couple of people here who will absolutely get just how neato that is.

 

Goodnight for now. Enjoy the Premium Live Event tomorrow!

 

EDIT ONE: Yeah, Pondo is 200% a likable dude. You can legitimately feel the humanity and warmth radiating from him. His partner in 'Bakka Gaijin" (the current Big Japan Tag Champs) is also a very friendly person. Dale Patricks (the guy bleeding in the pic). They were both just LOVING being in Japan and touring around having crazy fights. 

The guy in the red Big Japan jersey is Jacob Crane, from Poland. He easily switched back and forth between English and Japanese chatting with me and my friend Michi. Obviously a very clever young man and also obviously living his dream fighting in Japan 

 

That giant light tube anime sword made such an insane IMax level sound when Yuko shattered it over Abby's head. And the shower of glass was damn near beautiful.

 

There was so much joy and connection in Sumiyoshi yesterday. It was all about the love of wrestling. 

My friend Bodyguard was on the show, and we did a little fist bump and pointing bit and we got my whole section chanting for him...

 

But (and I don't want to make too big a point of it but) my friend Yuki and I did a little bit with Fuminori Abe during his match, and I got to the point where I used to expect that at Osaka Pro shows back when I was going almost every week, but I was VERY tickled that I already have a little special fan/wrestler connection with a guy in a national touring company. It's really a small thing but it means the world to me.

 

And I had a whole bunch of ways to connect that to AEW 

Mainly that there was a time when AEW managed to thread the needle of being a massive company that gave the fans a similar sense of joy and connection (and that's why the shift to being polished and professional and bringing in wrestlers with "star power" just about killed me) and also how Pondo vs Yuko in WV was "face vs face" but somehow the crowd was still able to get REALLY into it (and how the shift in AEW into almost every match needing to be obviously "face vs heel" is just killing me and also almost never works as intended)

 

BUT:

 

I somehow woke up early today after the 10+ hour wrestling/yakitori/karaoke party yesterday and I caught the Zero Hour and...

 

I did NOT expect to be saying this, BUT:

 

That Jersey YouTuber match was all about Joy and Connection! There is nothing more joyful in wrestling than a sincere You Still Got It! chant

And I am 59. The whole idea of YouTubers confuses and frightens me. But that guy was doing little bits with the crowd! I assume that, in person, you could literally feel the love of pro wrestling radiating out of him. 

 

Hey AEW! YOU STILL GOT IT (It being the ability to thread the needle w/r/t joy and connection). More of that please! Perhaps in exchange for a little less Betrayal And Death.

Edited November 24 by Gordi the recovering AEW f

[COLETTI]

I've heard that Pondo is an incredibly chill dude and I hope that's truly the case. 

 

[Curt McGirt]

Yeah that's all I've ever heard too. 

That rocket lighttube thingamabob looks killer. I've seen it before but never realized what it was supposed to look like.