General

RIP Virgil

This was kinda painful to sit through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uF5Q27QeqY

While I won't argue with her that the IWC is one collective giant piece of moose turd, part of the blame for this goes to Triple H for thinking this broad was in-ring ready for national TV exposure while someone like Xia Li constantly gets left on the sidelines.
https://twitter.com/alluringbanks/status/176269153...

RE: Fightful/Virgil - it was painful, SRS considers it the worst interview they ever did and only released it to honor Virgil haha. RIP.

RE: Maxxine. She’s garbage, but fault lies 100% with whoever keeps booking her to wrestle. They have that big ol’ “performance center” that everybody keeps hanging over AEW’s head anytime a dangerous spot happens (for whatever reason) right? Let her “get better” there and stop feeding her to the wolves.

That said, the dude in the crowd is clearly just being an butt-hole on a surface level. Boo and jeer but going that hard on low-hanging fruit just makes him look like an idiot. Guarantee he hasn’t run ropes in his life.

Maxine basically seems like Lana 2.0. I don't hate her or anything...but the in-ring stuff has a ways to go.

I hope they get a good turn out for Sting on his last match. He deserves it. I still question how the Bucks are involved. It seems there would be better guys for him to end it with than those two goobers.

AEW is coming to Winnipeg May 1st. I wouldn't hate going if Mercedes and Ospreay are on the card. It's interesting, though. I was just checking tickets (not much has sold yet). The Canada Life Center here holds around 20K people for an event like this.....but 90% of the seats aren't even available to purchase. Most of the lower sections are also marked as 'unavailable'. WWE usually sells around 10K tickets for their shows here. If every available seat for AEW sells, it's maybe 2000. Why do they do this? I'd attach a picture but it's kinda a hassle on here. It seems kinda dumb to rent a huge arena but then say, "We only want to use 1% of it."

On the bright side, there's a seat right by the railing where they enter a couple rows from ringside for only $317

When it comes to the venues AEW uses, they’re going to keep booking bigger venues for presentation alone. It doesn’t hurt the budget enough to warrant moving to more intimate venues when they want their TV show to look “big.” No one watching at home would ever know how many people are in those buildings without Twitter/looking up attendance numbers. As long as it looks fine on TV, it’ll likely remain a non-factor to Khan’s decision making (being a millionaire and all lol).

Those ticket prices are fudging ridiculous though. No thanks. Love the show, but I’m comfortable on the couch haha

Sting just pulled the classic "descending from the rafters" shtick for his final Dynamite appearance as a full-time roster member. That crap made me feel like I was 10 again.

theJaw wrote:

Call me old fashioned, but it seems odd to not even attempt to sell more tickets. I can't imagine how much of a change it is for the ex-WWE guys he collects to walk into arenas constantly with only 1400 people when they're used to 10x that or more. I have to assume, that, at the end of the day, it's supposed to be a business. If businesses don't make money, they're not in business. I think even 'Billionaire Ted' had to throw in the towel back in the day because he couldn't make 5 cents on a show, despite having a sick stacked roster.

I'm not AEW's accountant but like I said, it probably isn't hurting their budget enough to downscale venue size. They make a crap ton internationally via their TV deals (Canada and UK especially), they get paid for hosting their shows on NJPW World, they have their hands deep in the merch pot, their PPVs always sell great, and they usually sell the amount of tickets they aim to sell. I imagine they understand they're in a cool-down period, so they're not spending on live shows the way they would if they were trying to pack the house -- they're not trying to match WWE's Disney on Ice presentation. They understand the number of tickets will sell given the area, so they plan around that.

Regardless, I can't pretend I care about that stuff to any legitimate degree. I'm not watching wrestling to count the money the companies make haha. I'll let them worry about that, and wish them well.

Ol’ Rock just called out Cody and Seth - Rock/Reigns vs Rollins/Rhodes, if Rollins/Rhodes wins then the Bloodline will sign contracts to be banned from Night 2 for the WWE title match. If Rock/Reigns win, the WWE title is “Bloodline rules” - they can do whatever they want.

I dig the idea honestly. Bloodline wins Night 1, then they all try to help Reigns - then all the folks Bloodline have fudgeed over find a way to help Cody. Would rather a straight up 1v1 so Cody can get a fair win, but they gotta protect Reigns somehow.

The “acknowledge me” bit at the end was real good too.

"Now go home and smoke some more crack" wtf
I bet that line gets removed from the YouTube recaps. Good promo by Rocky, I didn't catch him having to peek at notes written on his wrist, so that's a plus.

PizzaTheHutt wrote:

Feel like 25% of the promo got edited live considering it blacked out roughly 425 times haha

Edit: looks like the blackouts are because of a fan with a classic 90s-style “Die Rocky Die” sign in the crowd.

You could not sink Waller’s charisma any harder than pairing him up with fudgein Austin Theory.

PS big apologies to whoever was negging my posts from the other day. I know AEW doomposting is a requirement lately. I’ll try to be better.

theJaw wrote:

Or, Rock/Reigns win night 1, and then Rock screws Reigns over in night 2.. Then, Rock/Reigns for Summer Slam

@shadyfozzie Yah that’s totally also a possibility, I’d just hate for Cody’s “story” and Roman finally losing the title to depend on Rock interference after all this time. At least with two “armies” of guys coming to back both dudes, they could make it come off even. Reigns could always still blame Rock as being a distraction without it being deliberate or something.

Unrelated: I still hate the name “Bron Breakker” especially considering he legit just has the Steiner gimmick.

I dig seeing Carlito out there again.

theJaw wrote:

Or, the Rock can even screw over Reigns night one.. that would be interesting...

This is pretty neat, from @TheSJC on Twitter:

"For @Sting‘s final match at @AEW
#AEWRevolution
I have recreated the event flyer from his first match (almost) into the event card of his last match"

image

"Here is my reference flyer, It is my understanding that Sting (then called “Flash”) debuted in November of 1985 so I am assuming that the design of the flyer didn’t change much.

Flyer photo from Classic Memphis Wrestling Facebook Group"

image

shadyfozzie wrote:

Yah tbh I'd rather that. Rock doesn't think Reigns appreciates him enough, costs them the tag match which leads to Reigns losing the WWE title. SummerSlam with Hollywood Rock vs. an actually-over face Reigns. I could get into that.

Friggin swell episode of Smackdown even with (or maybe because) the opening segment taking up 40 minutes of the first hour. Not a lot of time to indulge in filler. Good stuff.

I think Solo will be a big part of Rock turning on the Bloodline. Rock was joking about him singing, but you could tell Solo took offense to it, so he’ll strike when the opportunity presents itself. They didn’t edit anything out of the promo that was obvious on YouTube but they did add crowd noise which is annoying but it is what it is.

Re: AEW. I don’t care anymore. I hope they do well and can fill buildings and make all the money. Until they can do something to get me invested, I’m out. I’m sorry I won’t see Sting’s last match, but I’ll live.

They were muting the audio quite a bit at points during The Rock/Bloodline promo, I don't know what they were chanting but that's probably what they were covering up in the YouTube video.


This thread was a fun read
https://twitter.com/ChandranTheMan/status/17636523...

It took me way too long to acknowledge it (maybe because, y'know, it's not like you get to hear it every week or anything), but Roman's theme is it. I think it's my favorite current theme music, just slightly ahead of Shinsuke Nakamura. I actually just set it as my ringtone. Gross.

His song matches him perfectly. I’m with you. It’s amazing.

There was a YouTube video earlier today posted by Mick Foley about him training for one more match. I’m not super surprised by it, but that sounds like a terrible idea. He's using it as motivation to lose weight, which sounds good but man… allegedly, it’s going to be a death match if it happens. More power to him and I hope it works out for him.

I don't know if I'd want to sit through that, just like I had no desire to sit through Ric Flair's retirement match (it felt like the third or fourth one). Has he hinted at any potential opponents? I remember back in 2011 or so, he and Dean Ambrose insulting each other on Twitter which was supposed to lead up to a match between the two but ultimately went nowhere when Foley took offense to some things Ambrose was saying. Maybe they revisit that? It'd probably have to be outside of WWE anyway, I doubt he could pass a physical.

I'll watch Mick Foley do anything, I just hope he's careful and confident. Not my place to pretend I know if someone should be wrestling or not. Been wrong enough times (Sting lol). I'll be worried but fudge man... if he wants to, he's a grown man.

Also yah, Reigns' theme hits.

Last I remember was when he wanted that match with Ambrose all those years ago, when he was willing to do it there was something he didn't pass in WWE's testing. So he went for outside testing with "the top neurologist in the country" as he says, and was told it wouldn't be a good idea to wrestle again. In the same interview he mentions his short term memory being shot, I wonder if that would affect the planning of the match at all and if they'd have to call it in the ring, I also wonder if that had anything to do with him not having written any children's books in a while.

I don't imagine anyone here is watching tonight, but I am jazzed up for Revolution. The card looks crazy stacked and Sting's last match is gonna be emotional as hell.

For those wanting to watch but not wanting to drop the $$$, snag a VPN and pay $25 on Triller (FITE) via an international connection. Or just find a janky stream, either works.

This was awesome of the Player's Tribune to do: https://projects.theplayerstribune.com/sting-aew-w...

Apparently fans can leave a VM at the number at the bottom too.

Anyhow yah the Caster rap fudge up is an ongoing part of the storyline. Caster is not happy with being grouped up with BCG, the dissension is starting.

I'm gonna hunt down a stream and hope at some point this year AEW gets on a proper streaming service or something, because the idea of paying for individual PPVs in 2024 feels so...archaic.

PizzaTheHutt wrote:

Worth the money for some good wrasslin'. Though I do expect them to link up with Max or something in 2024.

Garcia/Christian was an awesome opener.

Also to the negger: keep it coming lmao. Wah wah wrestling, etc etc.

Damn good match with Eddie and Danielson

I wish AEW would come up with a good streaming option. No way $50 a PPV is worth the price no matter the company anymore since the structure has been changed for a decade, ironically because of WWE getting low PPV numbers. I’ve bought a few AEW shows at full American price and I’ve always questioned if I should be buying any PPV for $50. $6 with ads or $12 with no ads for Peacock and WWE Network before it is fine, especially considering all the archived stuff there too. $15 or $20 a month for Max or something similar if AEW PPVs are there would be fine too.

1) install a VPN. 2) connect internationally. 3) pay $20-$25. 4) enjoy!

That Danielson/Kingston match fudging banged.

Too much work. If I don’t need to do that for New Japan World, I shouldn’t have to do that for AEW.

All you need to do is click your mouse a few times. Truly isn't too much work lol. But whatev, I'm not trying to convince ya. I agree the $50 price is far too much, but they've been teasing something coming for streaming AEW easier so let's hope it happens sometime soon.

It’s harder when it takes a long time for your computer to start and the damn thing can’t even open iTunes lol.

Streaming on something besides stupid ass Bleacher Report for the same price would be nice. I’m sure I can’t order from them again even after I wanted to since I had such a bungled mess of Revolution in 2022 I disputed their charge with my credit card company after they spent a week not helping me. It’s hard to justify $50 a pop when I can get post-Vince WWE for $12 a month with no ads or $6 a month with ads.

I hope AEW get their TV deal straightened out soon too and streaming is part of that. They should’ve had that done already in my opinion, but I’m not there so I don’t know what’s happened. I think if they were super important to TNT/TBS, they would’ve been done by now. It also makes me question whether they’ll get that big raise Tony keeps talking about. I hope they get all the money and all the streaming.

Bleacher Report is fudgein garbage, I don't blame ya. That's why I'm happy the VPN route goes through Triller TV (formerly FITE.TV). Fudge BR.

I do hope they figure something out with streaming, but according to just about everyone, AEW is getting big advances for their programming in 2024 heading into 2025. I have to imagine streaming comes into play sometime this year. Fingers crossed.

I wish WWE was still their own Network, that crap was awesome... Peackock is gross.

Anyhow, Kyle O'Reilly just returned. Neat!

I hope everyone is right and AEW get their money. I agree about Peacock being not great but they took the Office from Netflix like a bunch of butt-holes so if I want to watch that I gotta have Peacock anyway. It’s frustrating but honestly wherever WWE puts their crap I’ll probably end up being there.

I hope Kyle gets a decent return. He's been gone for a while.

Yeah, I kinda wish WWE Network stayed its own thing if only because I don't care how poorly something aged, I'm not a fan of going back through the catalog and having to censor things to please Peacock execs.

Mox/Claudio vs FTR was fudging AWESOME.

The censorship definitely got worse with them going on Peacock. I wish they’d never censor anything but I also understand why they do. They should have the option for a censored version, or uncensored with a disclaimer. Also someone should spend some money on some music rights because the song dubs that are there suck ass.

I know this is obvious, but Ospreay is so fudging good my god. This match against Takecrapa has the entire building standing. So fudging good.

Every time I see his name I remember someone pointing out on Twitter before I left that his name is TAKE CRAP A and I can’t unsee it. I haven’t been on Twitter for about a year, maybe more.

BucketofJustice wrote:

I’m pretty sure Jericho or some other heel said that on AEW TV lol. Maybe Nigel. Whatev, Tak is fudging awesome. That match ruled so hard.

Time for Sting’s finale. Oughta be emotional.

Sting/Darby vs Bucks was so fudging fun. What a great way for Sting to go out.

I'm sorry. If you enjoy pro wrestling, you can't watch Revolution and pretend it was bad. What a great show. I love this crap.

Onto Mania!

I’m sure it’ll pop up online soon if it hasn’t already. I also believe 100000% Sting found a way to turn back the hands of time as he’s done for like 20 years it seems.

Finally saw the Rock promo from Smackdown. Enjoyed it a lot but you can def tell the Rock is rusty on the mic. Couple times he tripped over himself, but recovered. He also isn’t leaning into this heel Rock and you can see the hesitation. Wouldn’t mind him becoming a corporate replacement for Vince, especially as he is on the board.

He has got to lay off the roids. He was as red as a tomato by the end of that promo and pouring sweat.

BucketofJustice wrote:

Dude… he did so fudgein good. Everyone involved exceeded expectations. Gonna miss the ol’ Stinger.

Also Darby Allin is a fudging mad man.

I saw the entrance with the movie theatre video and then the post match interview thing. No matter what I ever say about Tony Khan or AEW or storylines or whatever, he did 100% right by Sting. That send off was more than well deserved and Tony did it right. Gotta give them props for that.

Paul Heyman To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame Class of 2024

I've been saying since last year when it was announced WrestleMania 40 would be in Philly that they needed someone to represent ECW in the 2024 Hall of Fame. Who better? It needs to be Tommy Dreamer inducting him, but if they can't get him I'd also settle for The Dudley Boyz or RVD.

Sting is the best wrestler of all time.

Michael Cole acknowledged Sting's retirement just now on Raw, congratulating him on his career. Pat Mcafee even said "absolutely epic match last night," referring to the retirement match.

Ya love to see it.

Bull Nakano is also going in the Hall of Fame this year. Well deserved.

For future reference, Nia Jax is the unstoppable force.....unless Becky Lynch attempts a drop kick from the top rope and misses...then she stumbles back stunned and out of the ring.

Other random thoughts....

Bull Nakano....meh. My feeling is there are many far more deserving retired WWE wrestlers who did far more than Bull's forgettable run in the early 90's. She didn't even have her own ice cream bar like Bam Bam Bigelow, Demolition, or Koko B. Ware.

I also really enjoyed Revolution. I'd give the show an over-all 4/5. Women's match felt rushed for all the promotion and build up they had for it.....so now Deonna can disappear into the netherworld with everyone else to make room for Mercedes next week. I also found the 8 man scramble a bit meh and comical seeing guys just standing around outside waiting to be queued back into the ring. Everything else was awesome.

Darby Allen is a bit nuts with his spots. Hopefully he accomplishes a lot in the next few years. His style absolutely does not lend to longevity. It's more likely to cripple him young. Personally, I'd prefer to see him stick around for awhile and become the star he could be. I'll take it over seeing him in a wheelchair all gibbled.

Will Ospreay is by far the most exciting wrestler on the planet today. Nobody can touch the quality of his matches and how he can make anyone look top tier.....I worry if he can adjust to working like that every week, though. AEW isn't Japan or the indies where he can show up once every couple months and go away and rest.

It's good to see AEW using the Bucks as the evil EVP's and buttoning up a lot of loose ends of things that didn't make any sense.

I watched the 'Trilogy' video on youtube on the Briscoes and FTR. I never saw much of the Briscoes other than a match in AEW last year and don't get ROH here so I really wasn't terribly familiar with them. Their stuff was really really very good. Jay was an absolute artist during that feud. Mark is good but he seems to excel being in a solid tag team with someone to offset his wackiness.

Why does it feel like FTR has disappeared from any sort of title picture since Punk left last year? I'm not even sure who the ROH and AEW tag champs are anymore. They don't seem like important titles anymore. All I hear about is the trios thing that nobody cares about.

It was nice of Cole to mention Sting's retirement.....but it felt like he shut down McAfee when he started saying the match was epic.

I'm sensing a double turn at Wrestlemania with Rock turning on Roman and Rollins screwing Cody. Rollins will be upset after losing his belt to McIntyre the previous night.

Please don't let Sami Zayn win the gauntlet next week. Ugh.

The landscape in AEW has changed quite a bit this year with the huge signings. Absolute game changers. Really need MJF and Omega back, though. It'll be weird when they do the Forbidden Door PPV and there's nobody left to come through it, though. >

Y2k wrote:


Whoa whoa whoa, I'mma let you finish but I gotta stop you right here.
I don't see how Bull Nakano's run in WWF was forgettable, it's how a lot of people watching in that era even know who she is. But even still, she's not getting into the HoF just from her brief WWF run. She accomplished far more outside of WWF and that's what is getting her in the HoF. Sorry, but I disagree as she's every bit as deserving of her induction as Liger and Muta were, and they managed to get in without ever wrestling in WWF/WWE (minus Liger's one single match at NXT nearly a decade ago).

I won't disagree that there are lots of deserving people who still need to be inducted, but that's not Bull Nakano's fault. And a lot of the people who still need to be inducted are also ones who accomplished more outside of WWE than in it. Like, how is Lex Luger still not in it? I never liked the guy, but taking into account what he achieved outside of WWF you can't deny he deserves it. Ultimo Dragon is another one who deserves it, but it sure ain't based on his WWE run. Even Sting got in and we know how his WWE run went.

Bull Nakano is deserving of the HoF. Absolutely. Lex Luger and Ultimo Dragon too. How the fudge is SID not in the Hall? There’s so many people that aren’t in that can be, but also very few headline names since WWE blew through them with top heavy classes in past years.

Questions. AEW related.

If Eddie Kingston defends the RoH Championship and loses it, does the Continental Crown still exist? Are all 3 belts the crown, and the Continental title its own thing? If New Japan ends their relationship with AEW, does the Strong belt go with it or is there a WWF Light Heavyweight belt situation where it’s still there but no one mentions it? Also is there going to be an RoH title match at Supercard of Honor?

Also, like I’ve said before, Darby Allin is an idiot. Dude… I get wanting to go all out for Sting’s retirement but that was excessive. He didn’t need to do anything like that glass flip bump to go all out. I understand the big moment leads to being motivated but Jesus fudge that was a bit much. I hope he has a long and fulfilling career, but with doing stuff like that, he’s going to have a hard time getting around when he’s older. He might have a hard time getting around in a few years the way he’s going.

Again, super happy Sting got his moment and got to retire in his terms and TK absolutely did right by Sting and everything else that entails. Seek and Destroy is always a good song for Sting and I’m glad Sting got to go out how he wanted with the people he wanted in the match.

The Continental Crown is basically a nickname he was given for holding the ROH, NJPW Strong, and AEW Continental Title....kinda like how people refer to Miz, for example, as a former Grand Slam champion.

I'm catching up on NXT Roadblock from Tuesday while I eat dinner. Really solid opening match cage match between Dijak and Joe Gacy, with Dijak hitting a moonsault off the top of the cage actually justifying the "Holy Crap" chants.

I'm happy for Dijak and Corbin since they've returned to NXT and get to show that with actual good booking you now have a reason to give a crap about both of them. You would never have known they're as good as they are or they have this other side of their personality if your only exposure to them was what you saw on the main roster.

It's nice seeing "10 guy" back too, even if I really am only happy to see him because I hope it could open the door in the future that may lead to an eventual return of The IIconics.

Still though, I want Booker T fired. I don't like having to listen to him, and I haven't since when he was originally doing color on SmackDown years ago. He's not good at his job and only goes to prove that just because you're "good on the stick" doesn't mean you are automatically good at doing commentary.

Tony Khan confirmed there would be a Kingston match at the next ROH PPV - I forget if he mentioned whether it’d be for the “triple crown” or just the ROH title.

I think the Continental Crown is its own specific championship and the other two can be separated from it. The concept of the Continental Classic wasn’t originally supposed to be for the ROH or Strong titles, but Eddie (kayfabe obv) offered them up to the tournament because he held both heading in and said if he lost, he wouldn’t be worthy of the belts. A little confusing naming convention for sure, but Eddie is the Continental Crown champion because he won the Continental Classic - and he’s a “triple crown” champion because he now holds 3 titles at once. At least that’s how I’ve come to understand it.

That Darby spot was crazy but the dude is also a trained stuntman and - while obviously mega dangerous - that’s sorta what stuntmen do. I’ve always been of the mindset to not to judge a wrestler for wrestling the way they want to as long as they’re safe to their opponents. If Darby wants to do wild stunts, that’s on him. I wish him all the best and hope he stays as safe as possible doing it. That said, the crazy fudge is about to climb Mount Everest at the end of the month. That’s literally defying death considering plenty of people die attempting it. Best of luck to the ol’ boy.

Anyhow - Okada in AEW officially now. Ya love to see it. Okada, Ospreay, Omega, Takecrapa, Mercedes, Deeb, Shida, etc etc. AEW is fudgein stacked tight now, and if the build to Revolution + the show itself is any indication, the stories are about to be that much better from now on. Cool new stage for Dynamite too, always love a good ol’ switchup.

It's smart to set up Okada, Ospreay, and Takecrapa with solid mouthpieces like the Bucks and Don Callis while they develop that skill. Ospreay's talking isn't that bad so he'll probably ditch Ol' Don sooner than later.

Heh, I still remember when Callis was an actual wrestler in Winnipeg and his stupid gimmick of 'The Natural', dressing like the lovechild of Randy Savage and Ric Flair and copying their mannerisms. He's come a long way. His actual in-ring stuff wasn't terrible. It was just a weird trying to get behind someone cosplaying as two other current wrestlers. Back then, they had Jericho, Lance Storm, (HA) The Natural, and a couple jabronis called The Male Nurse and Sexton Hardcastle that seemed like they could go far. They had a few former AWA/WWE guys like Jim Brunzel wandering around from time to time, as well. I think most of them became singles and/or tag team world champions in the big leagues (WWE, WCW, ECW) at the time. I'm not sure there's anyone wrestling in there (CWE) now that shows much potential to go big but I might go check out their show on the 30th since it's only 10 minutes away from my home in the bush. $20 for a VIP ticket...a little different from the $300 AEW ticket and $250 WWE tickets....and Savio Vega's on the card so there's that.

Savio Vega is known for putting butts in seats.

He was the driving force in Puerto Rico for a long time and I’d say he did well.

The US Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda) are going in the HoF. I wonder if Mike will become a two time HoF’er for this and IRS since they do like bringing him out of mothballs every once in awhile, and he was one of the better job gimmicks. It’s cool to see Barry Windham be inducted again, too. If we could get someone to be a 3x Hall of Famer, that’d be cool, but I don’t know who that would be.

I was thinking X-Pac would've had the best chance to be in it three times, because he's already in it as part of D-Generation X, and definitely deserves to be in it on his own, but then I realized he wasn't included in the nWo induction, even though he was in nWo when it was still cool and I always associate him as being one of the key members.

Pretty sure X-Pac was part of the nWo induction. He’s one of the better choices as a 3 timer for sure.

BucketofJustice wrote:

He was. I remember that because it was kinda weird.

Oh, I thought it was just Hall, Nash and Hogan. So X-Pac can then get in a third time because he deserves it solo too. But if they were afraid to put in Chyna solo because of her porn career, X-Pac was in one of those too...

What was The Rock talking about? His own daughters are almost 20 years apart in age, is he saying one of them was a mistake too? Also Cody has three siblings, not just two. Sounds like Gewirtz better do his research.

Smackdown was kinda meh last night. The attempted insults are getting repetitive and boring for what should be a killer match on night 1. It might turn out to be fairly interesting Wrestlemania.

Too bad Sammy Guevara was suspended right before Mercedes makes her debut on Wednesday in Bosston. Looking forward to seeing her back on TV again. Cool interview the other day with her. It's nice seeing these people interviewed in a much more casual way.

I miss having a decent wrestling show on Thursdays to look forward to. It feels like a long wait between Dynamite and Smackdown. I think it's overdue for Dynamite to bump up to 3 hours, especially with the roster they have. The landscape in AEW has completely flipped this year. It's nice having a Bugatti, but you need the right highways to make use of it. If not, it's going to be a real trick to get the crazy talented rookies enough ring time to develop into tomorrow's main events while maintaining the crazy crop of top main eventers they have, and the grizzled veterans they need to keep things inline.

Smackdown was a snooze last night. Less than a half hour of wrestling on a two hour show is unacceptable. At least the last 30 seconds were interesting.

I wouldn’t want a 3-hour Dynamite. It would result in filler and that’s a no go. AEW already has Rampage and ROH to hone anyone they need to (on top of Dynamite and Collision, where plenty of younger guys are utilized and more likely to get some coaching). Plus they can wrestle indies if it doesn’t overlap with their AEW schedule. If Raw has proven anything, it’s that a 3-hour weekly show isn’t a guaranteed great idea.

If Raw could get to 2 hours in the next deal, that’d be great. We don’t need 3 hour shows weekly, no matter what company it is.

I thought Smackdown was solid but not great. The last segment was fantastic and I think if the wrestling they had was better and the angles they were doing were better save the main event segment, then the amount of it wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. It’s a balancing act for sure, and they didn’t have a good balance.

No interest in seeing Mercedes debut for AEW. She already said she has a WWE return in her future, and that kind of makes the AEW run feel a little lame duck. I also can’t see how that made Tony happy.

Is Okada really making $4.5 million a year? That seems excessive.

I’d rather wrestlers be up front and honest. It’s a novel idea in pro wrestling but refreshing. Plus, of course anybody who used to be in WWE will eventually show back up in WWE at some point unless they stay under contract with AEW forever. I’m still pumped for her AEW run, that women’s roster is gonna be wild and the matches will rule. Alls I need.

And imo Okada is worth every cent. Lots of folks have been coming out of the woodwork praising that, suggesting that WWE has been underpaying their roster for years and this will just help wrestlers realize there really is more than one big company they can work for. Helps the business. (But I dunno if anyone’s confirmed that or what the deal is there.)

Anyhow, Collision was good stuff tonight. Briscoe/Lethal/Jarrett vs House of Black was a way more fun main event than it had any right being, and the rest of the card was solid. Danielson vs Shane Taylor was real good. Never really been sold on Taylor but gotta admit he moves great for a dude his size and held his own against one of the best.

I've never heard any complaints that WWE was underpaying (minus a few who never made it past NXT). If anything once AEW came around everyone was being offered more money. It's how The Good Brothers ended up re-signing with WWE in late 2019 even though they had told Kenny and the Bucks they'd be headed to AEW when their contracts were up.

Wrestlers have been trying to unionize for decades because several don’t feel they’re all paid correctly or treated equally given the work they do. But what you said about AEW is true - and that’s my point. WWE began paying more because AEW started offering more up front. Okada being paid like the star he is will only create more opportunities for wrestlers to make good money outside of the Rocks, Romans, Cenas and Lesnars of the world.

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Well they're definitely not all paid equally in either company, and rightfully so. There's no reason a Funaki should be making what a John Cena does. But anyone not satisfied with that can just do things the Zack Ryder way and bust their ass on the indys around the globe and make more than what either of the two big companies are willing to offer to have him wrestle exclusively for them. Or just git gud at the vidya games and use streaming on Twitch and YouTube as a side hustle like Adam Cole, Kenny Omega and Dakota Kai etc. or wait until retirement and hop on the podcast bandwagon.

To be fair, it’s arbitrary. Funaki was by and far the better wrestler, but McMahon chose to push Cena as the star. Funaki should only not make as much as Cena now because of their career trajectories as dictated by one other person’s preference. It is sorta weird in that respect, but it’s just the norm in pro wrestling.

Regardless, the point there is that several wrestlers - good or bad - have criticized WWE for pay. Otherwise, I’m just saying Okada’s worth the price and it sets a good precedent for the business in general. People can prove themselves and make the money they’re worth in more than one spot.

Okada rocks, but I don't know if he was necessarily worth that much unless ratings and ticket sales go up to justify it.