> Who cares what the IWC thinks? Just like what you like and dislike what you dislike.
> Takahashi always does silly crap like that, I personally think he's fun. And WWE
> does plenty of goofy crap, cmahn now.
I know, and it's to be expected from WWE, but I feel NJPW would get a free pass because...Japan. Also re-reading my post, I don't mean I turned it off in protest or something, I just had something to do that I kept putting off and felt like that would be a good time to finally do it without missing anything important.
The matches that followed that match have been bangers haha. ZSJ is the new (2x) TV champ and we still got an IWGP title match coming up. Nemeth vs Ishii is about to get started.
But naw, NJPW gets a pass because they always do stuff like that -- Takahashi especially. Expected from both because wrestling rules.
I def recommend you go back and watch ZSJ/Riddle. Riddle is a fool but that was a great match.
I did catch the Riddle/Zack Sabre match and watching Nemeth and Ishii now, it was just the second half of the Ali match I missed. The show has definitely picked up after those first two or three matches that weren't doing much for me.
It's the ghosts of Xia Lia and Nikki Cross hacking the satellite feed trying to get Triple H's attention on behalf of the women's division that shows up to TV every week only to get stuck in catering.
Marigold is Rossy's new promotion, and their first event will be on May 20. Looking forward to it. Giulia is advertised, so that's in line with what one of my Japanese friends said that she isn't signing with WWE just yet, she's doing a favor to Rossy and will be helping to grow his promotion in the early stages before heading over to WWE.
I liked what I saw, but I only got to sit through a little past the first hour and liked that the crowd was really into it. I did want to see the Sami and Chad match, hopefully they at least put highlights on YouTube.
1) Stone Cold Steve Austin 2) Mankind/Cactus Jack/Dude Love 3) Macho Man Randy Savage 4) Daniel Bryan 5) Scott Hall 6) HBK Shawn Michaels 7) Booker T 8) Dolph Ziggler 9) Kurt Angle 10) Yokuzuna
Damn, this is tough. Some of these I feel like their order could change if you asked me again in a week, except #1 is forever my absolute favorite. I'm trying not to show any outside bias and keep this based on their in-ring work and not let that be affected by something stupid they might have said on social media years later or something they did in their personal lives (I wouldn't hold it against anyone if they listed Chris Benoit or Kane, in fact Kane almost made my list and he probably would've if he had retired 5 years earlier than he did).
Dudes 1. Mr. Perfect 2. Bret Hart 3. CM Punk 4. Eddie Guerrero 5. Kurt Angle 6. The Undertaker 7. Shawn Michaels 8. Brock Lesnar 9. Bryan Danielson 10. Claudio Castagnoli / Tajiri
Dudettes 1. Asuka 2. Molly Holly 3. Sara Del Rey 4. Chyna 5. Beth Phoenix 6. Bull Nakano 7. Io Shirai 8. Bianca Belair 9. Awesome Kong 10. Sasha Banks / Gail Kim
I still don't feel 100% satisfied with either list, and I don't like doing a tie, but I've spent the past 15 minutes flip-flopping on each list between which one of the two at 10 gets cut and I just can't decide. I dislike "honorable mentions" even more because I don't wanna take anything away from those who were good enough to make the list, so a tie it is!
Guys 1) The Rock 2) Bret "The Hitman" Hart 3) Kevin Owens 4) Undertaker 5) Jake "The Snake" Roberts 6) Stone Cold 7) Ric Flair 8) "Macho Man" Randy Savage 9) Dusty Rhodes 10) Sting
Forbes officially released their breakdown of the most valuable combat sports promotions in 2024. UFC, WWE and AEW are the top 3, with that $2 billion valuation of AEW being confirmed as accurate. I thought WWE was around $9bil but $6.8 sure is nothing to scoff at.
Ric Flair, Sting, Triple H and Chris Jericho made it on fewer lists than I'd have expected (the latter two not appearing on any). I wanted to squeeze Randy Savage onto mine but I don't know who he could replace.
Tajiri making my list probably looks like the odd man out, but he has a guaranteed spot on my list since I went through some old ECW shows a few years back which then got me re-watching his WWE stuff again and I came to the conclusion he's one of the most underrated of all time. Whether it was big guys, small guys, medium sized guys, he could work with them all and make them look like a million bucks. He'll never get the praise of someone like Rey Mysterio, but in my opinion he deserves every bit as much (or more, since Mysterio didn't even cross my mind when putting my list together). If it came down to it I think ultimately I would have bumped Claudio off in favor of Tajiri, but at the time I felt they just both deserved to be on there.
I can’t describe my hatred for Chris Jericho. I remember the Y2J crap being hyped for weeks and when he came out all I could think was that nobody from WCW? Guy has made an admirable career at being mid at everything, wrestling, music, podcasting. Other than his 20 second cameo in Macgruber I can’t stand him. I do hear he’s a safe worker which is good I guess.
Jericho is legend. Absolutely no disputing that. His last 2 years in AEW have been pretty lame for sure… the “JAS” and whatnot is stupid. But now he’s, what? Doing his old Lionheart gimmick in the most bottom a mid-card can get? FTW title vs Hook? Cmahn. He’s a solid worker in his older years and as long as he’s not trying to form a new faction or go after the AEW title, he still has value on a pro wrestling card.
Beat Rock & Austin. First Undisputed WHC. Main evented Mania. 2 goated feuds vs HBK. Wonderful feuds vs Punk, KO, Rock, Cody, MJF, Mox. IC title legend.
You don’t have to “stand him” (Fozzy sucks and he seems like a tool irl), but his pro wrestling career is undeniable.
I confess there are and have been several wrestlers over the years that I take advantage of them being on and go to the bathroom or make a meal whenever they're on. Jericho hasn't been one of them....but he's getting close. His weird little meeting with Hook and Tazz didn't help that feeling at all. Does anyone tune in for this crap because it keeps them awake at night wondering if Hook will choose Jericho's 'learning tree'?
Rumor has it that there will be some 'big surprises' at Dynasty this Sunday. Hoping it's a few returns and not anymore new signings. I do look forward to AEW's PLE's. It's too bad they're so expensive to see up here live. $55 cdn to watch and no bars play AEW.
Drew McIntyre has never sold a single ticket as a WWE/World champion in WWE or TNA. Hopefully that doesn't end up being his legacy. Sasha broke her curse with a successful title defense a few years ago. So far, it's been pretty meh with her in AEW. She didn't even wiggle this week.
MJF must be getting real close to returning. Too bad the guy he's supposed to feud with is still broken. Silly freak accident for ol' Cole. As funny as I think it'd be if he stumbled onto Monday Night Raw, I don't know if he'd be heralded as the second coming there or be 'the MJF' that people expect to see.
I'm sure everyone saw Matt Hardy's post the other day suggesting he's joining the Bray Wyatt club thing WWE's been teasing. I hope not. I can wrap my head around Bo Dallas, Strowman, and Rowan. Those ones seem guaranteed. I could see Alexa Bliss being involved since she's training for her comeback. I'd hope the other 2 members are less annoying than Hardy. Maybe Dexter Lumis and someone else would be ok....people who could be believable and interesting as a problem....you know, less known as complete jobbers.
I was watching Eric Bischoff's 83 weeks thing on Youtube the other day. Notwithstanding his views on things, but that guy, Conrad Thompson, he talks with sounds suspiciously like a younger JR.
> Jericho is legend. Absolutely no disputing that. His last 2 years in AEW have been
> pretty lame for sure… the “JAS” and whatnot is stupid. But now he’s, what?
> Doing his old Lionheart gimmick in the most bottom a mid-card can get? FTW title
> vs Hook? Cmahn. He’s a solid worker in his older years and as long as he’s not
> trying to form a new faction or go after the AEW title, he still has value on a pro
> wrestling card.
>
> Beat Rock & Austin. First Undisputed WHC. Main evented Mania. 2 goated feuds vs HBK.
> Wonderful feuds vs Punk, KO, Rock, Cody, MJF, Mox. IC title legend.
>
> You don’t have to “stand him” (Fozzy sucks and he seems like a tool irl), but
> his pro wrestling career is undeniable.
Nah, I hate him and he's lame. I get that isn't the universal opinion and he is regarded as one of the top of all time. I just don't see it that way. Which is fine, there are plenty of other wrestlers I like and don't like that others don't agree with.
