sek69

As loveable as Danielson is, he's so much better when he's evil

lol Adam Cole dropping a "jagoff" at Jericho, I popped for that

The angle with the Elite and the BCC was great, and paying off the story with Don recruiting Takeshita was a good touch.

GOATs doing GOAT shit, AEW edition:

Mercedes seems to be enjoying being in Japan, so I can see her signing with AEW with one of those "can work for New Japan as long as there's no conflict" deals. I suppose WWE could have been an option while Vince was in exile, but unless some major bridge-building I don't see her going back. A straight New Japan deal seems unlikely since by all accounts she was making big money for the matches she did, and while her matches have been good she hasn't brought the same level of eyeballs someone like Jericho did when they showed up.

Did VKM ever really adhere to kayfabe tho? I mean he didn't say the word fake, but the outlandish gimmicks in the 80s and 90s kind of screamed it. I always got the impression Vince never cared about kayfabe but never said it in public until it benefited him financially because he didn't want to hear the older folks in the company complain.

Jordynne Grace's deal is apparently coming up soon, and while normally you'd think she would be someone who'd jump to the big leagues she might not have many options. There might be a bad taste in her mouth over how things didn't work out for Gresham in AEW, and I don't think WWE would be interested in her unless it was a "sign her so AEW doesn't" situation since she doesn't really fit what they tend to look for in women. I could see her having a run in Stardom as an Aja Kong type since while she's short she's still twice the size of most of the roster there, but who's to say she'd want to spend extended time in Japan. I suppose her Onlyfans probably makes so much money that wrestling is more or less a side gig at this point, so maybe she's content with staying around Impact.

People have been saying flippy MOVEZ guys are killing the business for over 60 years now, which I believe was his point. It's been said the wrestling fanbase turns over every decade or so, and you can really tell based on people's complaints. Anything that was different from what they grew up with is not "real" pro wrestling, despite the flippy MOVEZ guys being the ones who tend to draw the most attention. There's a reason why you can show any non fan a lucha match and it usually will grab their attention. I don't say that to invalidate your feelings either, everyone has their own tastes. I think Dory Funk was boring as shit but also I acknowledge there was enough of a market for his work for him to be world champion for years in an era where that was based on drawing power. It's just the nature of the beast that when someone/something new comes along that gets popular, there's going to be existing fans who don't get the appeal or don't care for it.

Heel Trish, respectfully

Just when I thought he couldn't get any better, Desperado Brock appears.

Its wild to think Heyman gave Rey his first US big break and now they're still at it nearly 30 years later.

Rhea and Solo having a badass contest is amazing

It can be done right in some instances, but every time WWE tries it is like someone's dad trying to be hip.

Also Trish tweeted a clip of Seth's "bye bye bitch" in response to Becky's tweet which made me lol

She also apparently has a foot injury that got aggravated which seems to be the impetus for the worky-shooty thing she's doing.

The Elite are not innocent, but there seems to be the idea that both sides are equally in the wrong. Just from what we saw on TV and not what may have happened behind the scenes, Punk shot on Hangman and then went on his infamous unprofessional rant after the PPV. Should have the Elite handled it better? Absolutely, but you can't keep egging people on and then say it's their fault when they snap out on you. IMO if I was TK, I would have given the Elite the suspension they got and fired Punk (after making sure he was covered for any medical bills he had from his injury). That way the message is sent that neither behavior was acceptable but one was on a different level from the other.

You know, I really don't blame the Bucks for telling him to GFY after he shit all over them publicly. Yes you can argue that it would be good business and make money, but at the same time the Bucks aren't obligated to work with someone who clearly had so little respect for them not only as co-workers but as office in the company he works for.

He does amazing high spots and there's that vibe of "yeah some of his stuff is wonky but he looks like someone who's going to be a star" about him, he's basically Vikingo in the first few years of his career.

They are signed to AEW, but they are exclusive to AAA in Mexico which makes them off limits for any show with New Japan folks. You're correct about Vikingo, but selfishly I'd love to see Komander in a balls-out sprint match doing impossible shit in front of a stadium full of people.

Stars make the world go round for sure, but all championship teams need the meat-and-potatoes guys that put in the dirty work for little or no fanfare.

One problem they'll have to consider is if they are going to have New Japan guys on the show (which they most assuredly will), that means they won't be able to have any AAA affiliated people on the show due to politics. That would mean no Fenix and Penta either, like how it was on Forbidden Door.

To be fair, they've been gone for a bit due to injuries and other assorted hijinx. Kenny proved when he had the match with Vikingo that he's still the Big Dog of AEW.

I kind of get where Dave is coming from, where FTR acting as proxies for Punk talking about how he really wants to come back does come across as Punk trying to establish himself as the professional in the room when all this shit got started by him going off script on Hangman. Where Dave loses me is when he goes on to say he thinks its part of some attempt on Punk's part to run off the Elite, which doesn't make any sense at all. I'm of the belief that while it's good business for them to listen to other offers, I don't see any of them wanting to deal with WWE bullshit at this stage of their careers. Also any links to the current Deadspin should be marked with an asterisk stating the staff that made that site worth a damn left en masse and created a new website NOAH style. The current Deadspin is a shell of its former self.

There's also the possibility Jericho sees the writing on the wall that Punk's probably coming back after all the shit he talked about him, and wants to get ahead of things so he doesn't become the next one to get pipebombed. This is the guy who told Hunter to fuck off when he tried to pitch losing to him at Mania as a big deal, Y2J isn't going to snow him.

As someone who grew up on Looney Tunes, this was the first thing I thought of when I saw Vince's new look: