Timbo Slice

I imagine it also became something to not have to engender it with “6-man”. “Men’s trios” or “women’s trios” and the like.

Hell yeah. Stoked to see the talent you add leading up to it.

TKO deciding to run the UFC model they slammed out with ESPN when they don’t understand the audience is different is some hilarious shit.

Yeah, Naito not being in Mexico right now seems very strange. I also don’t understand why he thinks AEW would want to sign him given they are filled to the brim and he wouldn’t be able to coast.

My guess is Cena asked for it but man, if you watch this product now, how does getting spit in your face repeatedly feel and then being told it’s raining?

Dustin knows how to make a young guy, and it’s going to be a Dustin bloodletting. Kyle as young stud heel champ is going to be amazing, too. He should get a long reign and tear up the under card, especially on PPVs. He is already such a complete package, and when he eventually turns on Callis way down the line (when necessary if they need a face turn), it’ll be huge. I get why they won’t wait until All Out because Tony had plans for Kyle right away, but even though he won’t have the big Moment, it won’t matter after the first big title defense. Love how things are setting up going forward.

The other thing about the weight designation in the US was that eventually, most outfits stopped trying to do multiple non-heavyweight weight divisions. Some territories may have had two non-heavies (I believe it was rare), but most decided to name their juniors welter/cruiser/light heavy as the non-heavyweight wrestlers for the most part. The biggest thing that is probably missing here from a cultural standpoint that might help David (or at least I didn’t see when I skimmed this thread) was that in America in the early part of the century, boxing was king, and being the heavyweight champion of the world meant you were the most popular athlete in the country. As big as Babe Ruth was, there was a level of fame being the heavyweight champion that was unmatched. With pro wrestling being presented as trying to be somewhat legit relative to boxing around that time, and those earlier matches were seen as competing against the big boxing fare, wrestling tried to mirror that to bring in a lot of the same crowds when they could, and that meant they needed heavyweights to draw against. Thats not to say the lighter wrestlers weren’t featured, but as heavyweight boxing took off and became the defining sport of the first part of the 20th century (while baseball was popular, the biggest boxing matches were normally more popular), I feel there was a template in place once the NWA took hold and tried to match up similar to the boxing federations.

And Hodge crushing too many apples with his double-tendoned hands only made fewer pieces of fruit for folks.

Danny Hodge was a star, especially in the Oklahoma territories, after finishing his amateur career and was highly regarded even though junior heavies weren’t highly featured in the 60s and 70s. He’s probably the best analogue for the majority of the French footage we have, but he was an outlier for the time.

Both guys being so beat up means this doesn’t have the kinetic energy the matches in Japan had, and while this is fundamentally sound, it’s not what a lot of folks wanted it to be.

I just now read that and boy, that is dumb.

They are and they’re being combined to become the United title?

Kenny needs to pick a damn theme song already.

HELL YES TONI TIME

Put the belt on Goldberg, you cowards