Migs

It's all a price question, I think - he's been hoarding footage for a long time. Do the TV stations see a huge value in it? If not, there's at least a chance Vince makes a deal on it.

Is it Corgan or Lagana pushing to work with ROH? Because it sounds like the end game is that Lagana may not be long for the NWA. If Corgan likes working with ROH (and needs the production help anyway), then there's definitely some synergy in them working together. I was also thinking the other day that one avenue for ROH to cement its relationship with New Japan is to send the ROH World title in the direction of Rev Pro's British title - to basically become a New Japan thing that gets defended in the US 3-4 times a year. That could work if they're also able to promote NWA title defenses as well as show main events.

It's up there. February 22nd show (and they've separated that show into individual matches now, too).

Tag match was the highlight for me - loved the way they worked in the callbacks to Golden Lovers-Bucks to enhance the story, with Matt being the hothead again but in the heel role. Nothing was following that. An all-time classic, easily the best AEW match in history at the moment. Great show on the whole, even if Cody-MJF didn't get all the way there and Mox-Jericho was also a little under expectations. Well-timed, too, with nothing really outstaying its welcome. Also, holy fuck, I'm going to be live for a WAR GAMES.

So I guess they really are doing Styles-Taker at Mania.

Alright, who's hate watching this Saudi show? I just remembered its today and I'm in to read someone snark this thing.

I think Archer's a great fit - a colorful character who can totally work the style. Way more excited for him than Cobb, who's never really clicked with me as a top guy.

All shows through March 15 cancelled because of the Corona Virus. Not sure what they'll do here - loaded shows for the end of the tour if they can get clearance to run?

Yeah, the first few rows were fairly expensive ($200 for the VIP package, $120 for front row, $60 for rows 2-4) but I have no problem with them testing out what the hardcores will pay for the top tickets at a PPV.

I'm going to Rebellion! Other than the first few rows, tickets were about $40 with fees, which is pretty reasonable given the recent quality of their PPVs. Guess I need to hop back on the TV for a bit.

I love the New Japan retirement ceremonies - watching tough old men cry together is always moving. Pretty good week of shows - some big matches, lots of fun little things on the undercards (my favorite moment may have been the Yano-Cabana you-go-I-go where Okada walked between them and said "I go"), a little bit of a preview for where things are going (I would be stoked for Ospreay-Naito). Pretty excited for Naito-Hiromu and then for the Cup.

I love Cody so much. If Hangman/Kenny-Young Bucks is 80% as good as Golden Lovers-Young Bucks, that'll be worth the price of the PPV right there.

The rising tide of AEW is lifting a lot of boats in wrestling at the moment.

Ospreay seems like a good bet to be peaking as a New Japan main eventer right around then.

He's said that Tully is an influence on him, so I'm sure he's taking advantage of that.

MJF hasn't really main vented anywhere before getting to AEW, he got plucked while he was still on the way up in the indy scene. As a result, he hasn't really had a lot of "big" matches. He was a star in MLW but even there he was upper mid card and MLW doesn't really do epics most of the time. But I'm certainly excited to see if his character work can translate into something bigger.

He was getting in there as fast as he could!

Okada's a more consistent worker because, like Flair, he's great at plugging guys into a structure and adapting to fit the story and opponent. Omega tends to take bigger, weirder swings - while they frequently pay off, they don't always (I think Golden Lovers-Young Bucks is basically perfect dramatic storytelling, but the match with Cody two weeks later veered into melodrama and didn't totally succeed).

I would think the best part of that match up would be the Dawsons being big enough to be the base for Bruiser's dives. Their size certainly would limit some of the Bouncers' fun double team work. I don't think that's a match that'll be a classic. As I said, I'm just looking forward to seeing them squash dudes. (It'll be hilarious that Cornette will miss getting to see a modern team finish people with the Veg-O-Matic.)

The Bouncers are great and I think they'll excel in this environment, because they've got great offense which translates into good squashes. The Dawsons obviously aren't great, but I'm in for the Bouncers against any other team on the roster.

In another tweet, when confronted with the numbers that support at least the draw aspect, he said "the Japanese are into some weird shit."

It's bizarre to me that a guy as dedicated to the numbers as Cornette, who spent his life being interested in what drew people and money, is now basically "I don't like Omega so he can't be a draw."

The ZSJ-Ospreay finishing sequence from the elimination match at Korakuen this morning was also excellent.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Orange Cassidy is going to be a thing. In related news, I fucking love professional wrestling.

Thought these two New Beginning shows were really good - high points being Mox/Okada-Suzuki-gun from Night 1, and ZSJ-Ospreay from Night 2.