Timbo Slice

The SAME WEEK Shibata/Okada happened, I was in Korakuen for the Champions Carnival and saw SUWAMA hit a shoot headbutt in his match against Shuji Ishikawa. Don’t expect wrestlers to ever be logical.

Pollo is an absolute badass, too. She’s worked the Indy I broadcast for a few times and was the best. Highly respected, and if she’s saying that, that’s a big deal. Just wish it was said more when he was alive, and WBD doing what they did last night to not allow any type of remembrance is seeming worse by the minute.

Seems like they’re building to Mercedes debuting at Revolution as a face “outsider” which would be interesting.

Feel like this is gonna be a tough show for everyone to get through, but also trust them to put on a thoughtful show, too.

Whoever gets the rights to the TV show that documents this madness is going to make a fucking fortune.

Vince making a move to creative right now opens him up to litigation given he answers to shareholders. Yes, he’s going to try and get control via a sale, but it won’t happen with the outfits that will provide a steady TV deal. Selling out the to Saudis helps his pockets but kills the product dead.

Everybody keeps saying this but the only realistic way that happens is with a Saudi buyer, but that’s going to cut out a realistic TV deal. Meanwhile, if Vince is trying to get the best TV deal to get the optimal price, if it’s with Comcast or even Fox to an extent, you will not have either of those entities give Vince that power again because of the blowback of the sex scandal allegations. Publicly traded companies taking that on would open too many litigation opportunities. The Endeavor stuff is the wild card; we’re seeing how they’re dealing with Dana’s scandal, which is not saying a thing, and what people AREN’T bringing up is they are probably doing that because they want to purchase WWE, where they’d have to be similarly tight lipped. There are way too many contradictions for everyone to see worst case scenario, here. It’s going to be somewhere in the middle, and I would not be surprised if the Dana fallout or lack thereof sheds light on their attempt to buy the company. Especially as a majority stakeholder, which would allow Vince probably power on the board while collecting the fat stock-option related check.

House styles matter.

Everyone is talking out the side of their mouths for deniability in some ways but also, Ariel and Brandon picking up on it given their sources means they’re trying to stabilize more than report. Again, unless it comes from an actual business outlet, I wouldn’t buy any report as more than rumors. This isn’t a backstage flare up or wrestler tantrum. This is the sale of a multi-billion dollar publicly-traded company.

Takeshita is a big deal because he’s a Japanese heavyweight who is young and has a lot of time in ring already. He has some polish and technique but has not reached his full potential in many ways. Fans glob on to that. He also has an odd, relatable personality. He’s basically the next Okada in many US fans eyes, or at least should be. He also knows how to put on exciting matches that tend to be paint-by-numberish in their execution. There’s plenty to like, plenty to be excited about, but lazy comparisons like 70’s Jumbo because of his size is what is giving me SUWAMA vibes.

He was of his time and the delivery was what made him. Looking back at his promos is gonna always paint him in a worse light.

Darby back in the main event where he belongs, Joe is a king maker once again

Fucking Friends Season 9-ass style booking.

Wait, what was the Kandori/Hokuto fight?

The audible spot calling before the hot tag in the main event was hilarious.

Also, Jericho headlining a WON report. Color me shocked.

He’s also, by all accounts, one of the good guys in the business and had respect from everyone, which is tough to do. His enthusiasm was much needed in wrestling and I’m sad he’s gone. I really wish there were more folks like him in wrestling. He’ll be missed.

This women’s match is slapping hard, though.

That build terribly but had a great finish to it.

Tensai in full getup saying “Please respond” gives me life.

So Vince doesn’t see Sasha as a “Star.” She’s a “great hand” that makes “stars.” Because she can have great matches with everyone and that’s her utility more than being on top. That’s a WWE trope as big as any other: you can be one or the other, but never both.

Holy mother of fuck, yes please

The two biggest issues ROH faces now: Running as net-negative business and having it be added while the parent company is in a lull, and having any type of marketing structure in place outside of AEW TV making mention. NXT made that work because they were able to get on USA and recoup a lot of the losses as ad revenue, but now ROH won’t get that, has a smaller audience, and an accessibility problem on top of that. In the US the exposure is probably slightly above NJPWWorld, and I don’t see how you build something viable long-term. Everybody talks about how the streaming miss sucks, and that’s true, but there are other outlets Tony can go through that he never pursued, and now he’ll have to use Honor Club as a bridge. And that’s perilous at minimum.

That’s been Darby’s gimmick his entire career, and was his gimmick before he got into wrestling, the concern trolling here is really something else.

Soooooo, Sasha will be at WK17 and now Saraya bringing her in next week might actually happen.