NintendoLogic

For those who are unaware, Raw is on Syfy tonight due to the Winter Olympics. Make sure to update your DVRs. I'd hate for anyone to miss the quiz bowl between RK-Bro and Alpha Academy.

It's another testament to Bret's greatness that just about everyone else who attempts the ringpost figure-four seems to fuck it up somehow. In MJF's case, he went astray by wrapping the wrong leg around the post. It'll likely take decades to undo the damage Ric Flair did to wrestling by making people think the figure-four primarily targets the bent leg. As for Dave's star ratings, recall that he gave ****1/2 to the Taker/Foley HIAC match and the Omega/Moxley lights out match even though he actively hated both matches. On the flip side, he said he personally loved Omega/Yano but gave it one star because he thought a pure comedy match had no place in the G1. On the topic of star ratings in general, Roger Ebert said it best: I cringe when people say, "How could you give that movie four stars?" I reply, "What in my review did you disagree with?" Invariably, they're stuck for an answer. One thing I try to do is provide an accurate account of what you will see, and how I feel about it. I cannot speak for you. Any worthwhile review is subjective. If we completely disagree, my words might nevertheless be useful or provocative. If you disagree with what I write, be my guest. If you disagree with how many stars I gave it, you can mail your opinion to where the sun don't shine.

https://wrestlingnews.co/aew-news/jade-cargill-says-that-wwe-told-her-this-is-your-family-now-when-concerned-about-a-contract-affecting-her-home-life/ If someone told me "this is your family now" during a job interview, I would walk out on the spot. That's about as far from a healthy work environment as you can get.

I'd say the shift coincides with the move toward scripted promos in the early 2000s. Recall the Iron Law of Institutions: "the people who control institutions care first and foremost about their power within the institution rather than the power of the institution itself. Thus, they would rather the institution 'fail' while they remain in power within the institution than for the institution to 'succeed' if that requires them to lose power within the institution." If someone doesn't need writers to get over and become a star, maybe writers really aren't that valuable. So it's natural for the writers to do what they can to nip that in the bud.

That's precisely it, though. There's no such thing as harmless conspiracy theories due to crank magnetism. Anyone capable of believing nonsense about Atlantis or the moon landing is just as capable of believing nonsense about 9/11 or the Holocaust.

First of all, it really bothers me how Schiavone is disgusted by how loathsome MJF is while being friends with Britt Baker, who is just as loathsome. Some consistency, please. Anyway, for those keeping score, this week's Bret Hart tribute comes from Bret's match with Owen at WM10. As in that match, Punk injured his leg while diving to the outside during his comeback. MJF kicking Punk's leg out of his leg with Punk hobbling toward him in the corner and MJF's low blow while grabbing the ropes were both spots lifted from that match as well. The main event was a MOTYC that could have been a MOTDC if it had been about ten minutes shorter. And yes, Punk in AEW > Danielson in AEW. For that matter, Punk in WWE > Bryan in WWE.

Regal has four fused discs in his neck. He's not doing Bloodsport.

Also recall that he basically beat himself by diving off the cell. After he pitched winning the match but got shot down by Taker. The only thing Shane has going for him is Vince being smarter than Nick Gulas.

So, um...you all might want to hold off on the Kendrick-in-AEW fantasy booking for a bit. At the very least, he's got some explaining to do.

Okada and Scurll nearly ruined All In by going 12 minutes over their allotted time. The show came dangerously close to going off the air with the main event still in progress, which would have been a disaster. So that particular situation clearly called for a different approach. People seemed to point the finger at Scurll as the primary culprit, though.

Shane wanted to beat Undertaker in their match at Mania. That should tell you everything you need to know about him.

Exploited probably isn't the right word, but the religion of workism means that high-earning professionals are expected to derive fulfillment from their jobs and center their lives around them to the exclusion of other pursuits. Modern America might be the only society in history where the elites work longer hours and have less leisure time than the lower classes.

Porn is probably the one (legal) industry that has pro wrestling solidly beat when it comes to scumminess. The list of actresses who have died of suicide or drug overdose before the age of 30 is depressingly long.

Oh hell yeah.

A lot of Bret Hart's best matches had a five-act structure. The first act consists of opening feeling-out/babyface control. The second act consists of the first heat segment after the heel gains control, frequently off a rope-running spot. The third act consists of the first babyface comeback, which ends when he develops a new vulnerability. The fourth act consists of the heel opportunistically exploiting this newfound weakness. The final act consists of the second babyface comeback/finishing run. The Owen match at WM10 is a perfect example. The opening minutes establish Bret's superiority on the mat. Owen takes control after hitting a spinning heel kick and works over Bret's back to set up the sharpshooter. Bret makes a comeback after Owen misses a diving headbutt only to re-aggravate his leg on a plancha. Owen then shifts his focus from the back to the injured leg. Bret starts his second comeback with an enzuigiri, and they go to the finishing stretch shortly afterward. I suspect it comes from Bret's background as a tag wrestler, because that's basically the structure of a double-FIP tag match. The second Page/Danielson match had a similar structure, which is probably why I liked it a lot more than most Danielson matches. It helped that Danielson worked the match as more of an opportunistic heel underdog, which I think is the role he's best at.

Becky Lynch did it three years ago. She lost the Smackdown women's title match to Asuka in the opener and then entered the Rumble and won. They at least tried to justify it in kayfabe by having her take the place of Lana, who was injured in the pre-show.

Meltzer is now reporting that Ronda/Charlotte is the plan for Mania. I have no idea who the babyface is supposed to be in that scenario, but OK. So obviously Ronda wins if she's in the Rumble. If not, it'll likely be Belair or maybe Ripley. By the way, Vince's mother died recently. So if the booking in the coming weeks is even more scatterbrained than usual, that's probably why.

They seem to be building toward a Charlotte/Lita title match, and having Lita win the Rumble is the most obvious way to get there. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they promised her a Rumble win and a title match at Mania in return for not going to AEW. Ronda can just show up and call her shot against Becky, especially given the way the last match involving the two ended. That pretty well leaves Bianca out in the cold, but you know.

"Danhausen, have you seen the movie Presumed Innocent?" "Yes I have, and his wife killed her." "But Danhausen, I haven't seen the movie yet! Evil!"

Meanwhile, Batista has apparently become a legitimately good character actor.

As I recall, Beer Money were incredibly over as babyfaces in 2011. Roode was being built up to win the title from Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory that year, but Hogan had the finish changed at the last minute because he decided Roode wasn't ready, brother. That took a lot of the wind out of his sails. The kicker is that Angle was so badly banged up he ended up having to drop the title the next week...to Storm.

I think Danhausen's aesthetic is supposed to be reminiscent of King Diamond or a black metal band, so it definitely has demonic overtones.

I don't understand what's so hard to get about Danhausen's character. The monster with a heart of gold is a centuries-old cultural trope.

You want to know how desperate WWE is for bodies for the women's Rumble? PWInsider is reporting they've brought back Aksana for the show. Did Candice Michelle turn them down? Although it will be funny when the announcers react like it's the return of some huge legend while the crowd is dead silent.

Orange Cassidy has shown how a comedy/meme wrestler can be used effectively in a serious promotion. His shtick was a lot more pronounced on the indies, where he did shit like slow-motion chop battles. In AEW, nobody sells his weak/lazy offense and he's only effective when he actually tries. I thought he'd wear out his welcome in a hurry appearing on a regular basis, but I ended up being wrong about that. The key is that he can really go in the ring when he has to. If the steak doesn't match the sizzle, you won't last long (see, e.g., Warhorse).