NintendoLogic

I wasn't aware that Cage was a legit chud. I read an interview where he implied that the Team Trump stuff in AAA was a work. Anyway, they utilized him about as well as they could when they programmed him with the world champion and then the TNT champion right off the bat. He's kind of like Sid in that he blows people away when they first see him but wears out his welcome in a hurry. He can't be a face for any length of time because he looks like a douchebag and has zero charisma, and he doesn't have the promo ability to be a top heel. His realistic ceiling in a major league promotion is #3 guy in a heel stable.

Speaking of 9/11: It should come as no surprise that Stephanie's infamous comments are completely no-sold, but I'm more troubled by the whitewashing of Bradshaw's comments essentially calling for genocide.

I'm a bit puzzled by the vitriol Nattie inspires in some quarters. She seems like a pleasant person, she's a perfectly acceptable in-ring technician, and she hasn't received a serious push in ages (let's be real, the women's tag titles became jokes once the IIconics won them).

Trish eventually developed into an excellent actress by pro wrestling standards. If you compare what she became to what she was like when she started in 2000, it's like night and day. It certainly puts the lie to the notion that charisma can't be taught.

Look, as terrible as 9/11 was for Zelina, that's no reason to subject us to a wrestling match involving her. Especially since she's a heel. If anything, putting someone whose father died in the Twin Towers in a position to be booed seems even more ill-advised.

Honestly, the PC wasn't even a success at producing wrestlers for NXT. After all, how many NXT stars got their start there? It just feels like Hunter became enamored of the Power Plant model of training for some reason and refused to change course even in the overwhelming face of lack of results.

The only pro-shot match I'm aware of is a six-man with Hansen and Eric Embry vs. Jumbo/Taue/Mighty Inoue. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=729425317828327

You say that as if it would be a bad thing.

Yeah, the bigger issue with Tessa is likely her habit of burning bridges wherever she goes. Being a terrible person doesn't make someone unemployable at a major-league level by itself, but being a head case on top of that is a kiss of death no matter how talented you are. See also, Low Ki and Austin Aries.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear...bro.

I'd caution against reading too much into that Soho/Hayter quarter. I'm sure a big part of it was viewers, especially female ones, switching over from Real Housewives and Challenge.

Dave also said that it should double or come close to doubling ECW's biggest number (Heat Wave 1999, which did 99k buys).

You are aware that Tamura also wrestled exclusively shoot-style, right? After all, he quit UWFi rather than participate in the New Japan feud.

Why would he do that? The Codyverse exists in its own dimension completely disconnected from AEW as a whole.

Genetic heart issues are far more likely to surface in people who spend most of their adult lives carrying too much muscle mass for their frames. Best wishes on a speedy recovery and hopefully this serves as a wakeup call for him to drop some weight.

Lenny Leonard said that when ROH went to PPV in 2008, Europe wanted something like 50k per show for the rights to The Final Countdown.

I always had the impression that Jericho was largely viewed as a peer to guys like Benoit and Guerrero when they were all in their primes. A lot of fans bought into the Calgary mystique and figured anyone who trained there had to be a world-class technical wrestler. He also had the world traveler thing going for him.

Darby Allin is straight edge as well.

It's always great to see modern wrestlers take inspiration from the GOAT.

I question whether Bryan would be much of a draw to the tourist audience. I figure someone going to a CMLL show as a tourist attraction wants to see pure lucha libre. To a typical American, that means guys in masks doing flips and dives.

Nah, fam. Jungle Boy's like Ricky Steamboat and Rey Mysterio. He can't be anything but a babyface.

They just shut down WWE Japan, so Kairi Sane might be available.

The Pat McAfee feud made it clear that he has no idea how to play the political game. There's no way in hell Shawn or Hunter would have agreed to get knocked out by a punter and then have an authority figure issue a challenge on their behalf. Anyway, AEW knocked it out of the park last night. There was nothing I'd consider a MOTYC (then again, I wasn't really equipped to judge match quality since I watched while partaking of a couple too many IPAs), but nothing underdelivered either. As a total package of in-ring and booking, it was easily the show of the year. Cole showing up and joining the Elite only to be immediately upstaged by Danielson felt very Attitude Era in a good way. I really wish they could have gotten the rights to The Final Countdown, though. Ride of the Valkyries still has the stench of WWE to me.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger. This is the first PPV of any kind I've ordered since Double or Nothing 2020. The problem with Punk/Darby is that there is no optimal outcome. You either job out the biggest returning star in years in his hometown or you have your hottest homegrown act lose to a WWE guy who hasn't wrestled in seven years. Or you do a fuck finish that pisses everyone off.