El-P

I'm not watching the product (although I might watch a bit of these women matches starting with this multi-women iron whatever it is, I basically only watched Roxanne Perez vs Jordynne Grace earlier this year), but I remember Wren Sinclair working a bunch of matches during the AEW Dark (ironically enough, the "good ol" days" of AEW) as Madi Wrenkoswki. She's the kind of talent AEW should have signed and develop instead of throwing money to toe Ruby Soho's and Saraya's of the world. The few I've seen in Sol Ruca in TNA was pretty cool too.

And Jordynne Grace is coming in at the start of the year. With Roxanne Perez, Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer, this is ridiculous stacked.

Agreed about the comparison, but really I feel she should turn on Top Flight and go with Lio/Andretti. Andretti as a heel will allow him to develop his character, he always came off kinda douchebagy to be. Maybe the hair. But all five of them should be more over and up in status when all it's said and done. If done right of course. Oh, for sure. I really wasn't thinking of Joe as a "coming from WWE guy" for some reason. The fact he really has that indie cred and pedigree (including years of TNA) probably. Can't wait until Joe and Eddie come back eventually.

Collision was another proof that smaller buildings with dynamic crowds is much better. Can't wait until they book smaller buildings regularly next year. Really good show too with three killer CC matches. Gotta love Serena Deeb's T-shirt too. That's some nice trolling.

She blasted Trump after the abortion right ban and has denounced anti-trans legislations, so at least she's not one of those people. Maybe WWE should just have hired Kamille and put her in there. Or just throw in Nia Jaxx, the legend that she is. That would have been more on point.

The Copeland/Christian feud was cringe as hell and total TNA-lite. Copeland having fun doing random matches against random people doing stuff he would never have done in WWE was fun. Never understood why it was not called Royal Battle anyways. I mean, it is called the Royal Rumble, not the other way around. Since "royal" is a French word, it always triggered me that the name was basically constructed like it would be in French instead of English.

The "cash-in" stuff is one particular WWE trope I really never wanted in AEW. The "delayed cash-in" stuff is even worse (and yes, they are doing the exact same in TNA with Kazarian right now).

FTR, what ? These guys are beloved. Well, Dax has had a terrible social media game, but apart from that. And quite frankly, why the fuck are they settled into an angle with the flavor of the months Outrunners (who's hype is massively overrated) at a time the tag team division is weak as hell ? Mercedes has had a rough start, but once she has settled into being her awesome worker self, she's been a delight to watch. Hopefully that Kamille nonsense is over too. Who else ? Well, Claudio, obviously. And really, when you look back at the entire stint until now, Malakai & Buddy have been really consistent, despite the never ending rumors of them wanting out. Oh, that Toni Storm fellow too, whatever happened to her somewhere in Mexico or Tokyo...

So, a new reality-TV show with coaches Taker, Booker T, Bubba Ray and Mickie James. Bubba Ray's getting the most out of his anti-AEW grifting. Can't wait for good ole advices of "bring weapons to the locker room", "don't be a pussy, nobody cares about your depression and addiction issues" and other good stuff like this. The fact that Taker was last seen promoting Trump's campaign and is now gonna be featured in a reality show tells you everything you need to know. Maybe they are getting more confortable with this likewise UFC...

The fact Bobby Lashley is one of those "Let's defend Vince McMahon still" is another reason why the Hurt Business is actual bad vibes for AEW. Also, Vince McMahon did not feed thousands of people. Thousands of people's work made Vince a billionaire. I think Lashley might be a legit MAGA dumbfuck too.

And so Jericho's opponent for ROH Final Battle at the Hammerstein is... Matt Cardona ? What in the actual fuck ? I wonder if there's some GCW fuckery going on too.

There's no way. They booked a big-ass building for Genesis. They're doing a live IMPACT (first in 8 years they say, so that mean last time was in 2017, which is surprising in itself considering how wrecked the company was then) the following day. And then the elephant in the room is Royal Rumble, because TNA does book for WWE "visibility" (that's why Zach Wenz won the title from Mike Bailey just to appear with it on NXT). What they want is Hendry winning the title, going live with him as the champ and then having a stadium (maybe) chant "We believe" when he makes his Rumble entry, announced as "TNA World Champion". Santana is really good but he's been kinda there thus far. The funny thing is that in the LAX days, Ortiz was always considered the charismatic one and potential single star. Where the hell has he been anyway ? I guess having drinks with Scorpio Sky somewhere... Yeah, Maclin is the next workhorse carry of the company after Alexander is gone (if I'm Coach TK, I'm sending ridiculous money on his way to get him, although apparently he already got Mike Bailey). The women division is so depleted it's not even funny and only getting worse once Grace is gone. They really are gonna have Masha vs... Rosemary at Genesis, or so it seems ? Jeez. And they got Lei Ying Lee, TKAFA Xia Li, and from what I've seen, she's not very good at all. Neither is Ash, but Ash at least is an entertaining act in the midcard/tag team division now with Heather. I've been watching this week's show still, and of course there has been ZERO follow-up to the JBL angle. And this has been going on for the last six months. There is no story told, just a washed-up shithead getting money to lariat people every two months during main events.

For all the shit I give to WWE for their outlandish nepotism policy, Hook being still pushed and protected like he's something special is ridiculous now. The guy being over as hell was a cult thing that is long forgotten. If he wasn't Taz's boy, he would be at best getting some wins on ROH and doing jobs on Rampage. The only notable match he ever had was Samoa Joe beating the living fuck out of him. He's still a rookie. A rookie should not be protected. See also, Cargill, Jade (who at least had the great presentation and for a while was fun in squash matches). That's always been a pet peeve of mine with Swerve. I love his work, but the double stomp is annoying because it requires the person taking it do do something that is*never* done otherwise, including the placement on the mat (unless you're facing Doink). It's a "You can't powerbomb Kidman" type of thing, in a way.

Next "special event" main event is Nick Nemeth defending his title against.... AJ Francis. Yeah, LOLTNA is back in full effect. Also, the Hardys vs the System for about the nine millionth time this year. In a table's match. Yeah, it was a month ago or so that the Hardys said their BFG table, ladders, chairs clusterfuck was gonna be the last of this kind. I guess this time it's only tables (which always has been a shitty gimmick btw), ya see. Like the last match wasn't embarrassing enough. But hey, they have a 4 men challengers match so Joe Henry can fINiSh tHeStORY at Genesis. So compelling. The good thing is that I can drop TNA from my viewing habits tomorrow and not even think about it. Kinda sad though, they have been a lot of fun for so long (like, 2019 or something is when I started watching in real time). The saddest thing is that they do better numbers with this product, but then again, numbers don't mean anything. I wonder if they are eventually gonna fall on their ass though if Joe Hendry's hype ends up fizzling out or WWE just gets bored with the "relationship" after picking up Jordynne (and well, Hendry when he's done).

Court Bauer got a shitload of money from the WWE settlement and his company and he's booking Eric Bischoff. That's telling about as much as anyone should know. The good thing is that you can watch it for free on Youtube. The bad thing is that you gonna get your money's worth. I gave them countless chances over the mast year or so. It's just not any good. The only saving grace is when CMLL guys show up, but really you only get lesser-than Arena Mexico matches anyway. TAFKA Dario Cueto is still there, doing sub Z-movie version of Lucha Underground. Everything is a poor redux of stuff from the past, basically. The announcing is awful too, and that is even after Matt Striker got striked for his stupid edgy line about Matt Riddle. Oh yeah, they actually have Matt Riddle as their biggest star. Should have started by this.

Exactly my thoughts. I do enjoy the stuff they do with vignettes and backstage stuff with Renee's interview set (and even, *gasp* the Jericho self-cringe stuff announcing matches). Apart from the useless Battle Royal, whose result was a given, this episode was tons of fun top to bottom.

Wait until Papa Trip's girls want to do pro-wrestling. The nepotism in the next 30 years in this company is gonna be insane. Also, gonna love how Uncle Eric gets some WWE TV spot because he's still grifting on his shitty podcast. Lately on an interview with "journalist" Ariel Helwani, he was talking about AEW was actually dying and that the TV deal was "hospice care". You'd think the TV deal would be humiliating enough for these guys but no. This is Trump level of post-truth, it's insane. The fact WWE rewards these guys shows that the pettiness never stops. Still, WWE is hot as fuck right now and NXT is seen, at least partly (the women side of the roster mostly, from what I get), as cool again. Running the ECW arena was certainly a thing (although so very ironic), but booking Bully Ray or Uncle Eric on your show that is all about youth and cool vibes, just to reward them for being an anti-AEW podcast parasite, I dunno. Leave that for RAW anniversary shows or, ya know, Court Bauer...

WWE may be as hot as ever, at least in term of money-making deals and big shows, but man, reading about it, there's literally *nothing* that would make me want to watch any of it. I have no idea how people aren't bored shitless by the entire Bloodline stuff by now. And Heyman is here talking about how it could go on for years to come. The fact the angle is quite literally based on crass IRL nepotism (I mean, Jacob Fatu would have spent three years in NXT before being brought up to the main roster if he wasn't part of the family, let's be real about it, and that has nothing to do with whatever talent he has) makes it even more hilarious. Like, Tonga Loa is involved in the main event of Survivor Series against Roman Reigns and CM Punk. TONGA LOA.

So yeah. TNA booked Matt Riddle. TNA is SO BACK as TNA.

I mean, you fly in Mistico and you put him with MxM Collection. Coach TK needs some fucking rest and delegate a bit. MxM Collection reeks of the shittiest WWE stuff, which it is actually. Mansour is actually good, but Mace is awful. And the gimmick has no place in AEW. I mean, even WWE thought it was too shitty for NXT, ponder that for a minute. And people wonder why AEW has lost a good chunk of its appeal ? Then on the same show you have the Outrunners vs Iron Savages. Jeeez. What the fuck happened to AEW, really. The Outrunners cult thing was cute for 5 minutes, but they are not nearly as over as people think they are. Cosplaying Hulk Hogan in 2024 is certainly a choice too. The fact is, apart from the gimmicky stuff, they're just not very good. The "shake hand" thingy is also a shameless redux of "scissor me Daddy", and I really hoped we could have moved away from this gimmicky stuff in 2020's wrestling. Obviously not, as demonstrated by LA Knight becoming a star in WWE because he says "YEAH" a lot and Joe Hendry getting over in TNA being the gimmickiest gimmick ever. I guess you can't escape the vortex of suck that is pro-wrestling mentality of old/WWE tropes. AEW needs to fix the lighting/cam issue they have, because some people look disgustingly yellowish/greenish, and apparently it doesn't appear that way live, so it's not just a matter of poorly applied fake tan. CC2 delivered some excellent matches (Kyle vs Mortos, holy shit), and the good stuff is good (Hangman, Mina), you know, but the overall feel is so down, with lots of aimless aspect to it. Hopefully they make changes when they go on MAX, including booking smaller buildings with a better production (and by better I don't like "more like WWE") and atmosphere. It's all a matter of perception, and as long as WWE is hot, they will struggle.

Which on paper is good. But then again, Lio Rush and Max Caster are two people who don't need anyone doing the talk for them though. I dunno. They had Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty right there. They're better, they're younger, they're not ex-WWE guys (again, if the Hurt Syndicate leads to better ratings and houses, I guess it was worth it, but let's be real, they'll have zero effect, the issue with AEW is overall perception right now and this kind of signing is not the answer, it's actually part of the problem).

Not only that, but despite winning the TV deal lottery, AEW has never felt so cold. It's a cold promotion with shitty crowds. Despite some stuff that I really enjoy still. As far as being like a RAW episode, well, maybe there's causality here. As years went by, AEW became more and more and more and more like WWE, and not the best version of WWE either. Or TNA. So there, first match of the CC2, fucking Shelton Benjamin beats Mark Briscoe. Ok. I eagerly await Eric Bischoff (oh wait, he'll actually be on NXT next week, that good ole carny leech). Seriously, this is *everything* AEW should not do. Mark was one of the most over guy in the company this year, and not pushed as such. He wins the ROH title and then loses it to Chris Jericho for, uh, reason ? And now he puts over this generation's Brad Armstrong (JTTS 4 Life, declared underrated to the point he's actually grossly overrated, could not figure how to showcase the slightest bit of charisma even after 25 years in the business). Good job. Speaking of Jericho, this Ishii match was absolutely fascinating. It should be showed in every wrestling school. This is how you lose a crowd. Not only they are two years older and it shows (although Ishii is still excellent, he had some great matches this year), not only it's a rehash at a time when the company is now very cold and it shows, but there is this point where they chose to slap the shit out of each other to the point Ishii's cheek gets red. And the crowd doesn't like this. I did not either. It's striking how at this point, they decide this is kinda bullshit and turn against the match. So they kinda try something else, but don't quite manage and when they go back to some slaps, the crowd turns against them AGAIN. Then Ishii tries to be Ishii but Jericho's timing is off, which is very reminiscent of the debacle against Mistico at Arena Mexico. Oh yeah, it was for the ROH title and no one gives a fuck. Apparently Jericho getting it back was in the hopes of getting a TV deal. The idea of Jericho in 2024 being useful to get a TV deal for ROH aside, let's put it like this. Either ROH gets a TV deal, in which case tape it at some smaller venue with a totally separated roster and try make it a cool and different product. Either ROH doesn't get a TV and it has to be done with immediately. Get over it. The ROH "show" is a complete waste of time. It's only good to give workers some reps. There's *zero* effort put into it as a show. Final Battle at Hammerstein will probably be really good because you can thrown enough talent together at the last minute, that doesn't justify this ROH nonsense. Have AEW Ring of Honor at Hammerstein every year and make it a ROH "nostalgia" show if you want. Jeez. But GET OVER IT. Nothing screams "cold promotion" more than Claudio and Ricochet busting their ass only for the crowd to entertain themselves with "bald" chants. As much as I was with them on the slap stuff, this was just sad. Hangman is great, Jay White is great, Deathriders are great, Marina Sharif is OMG Marina Shafir. That Cole vs MJF story is a clear case of escalation of commitment. I really just want them to bring Bobby Fish back so he can ask where the lie is. And don't get me wrong, I like all the people involved here. But this is wretched. Don't tell me they're gonna run Mercedes vs Kamille after that awesome match against Statlander. Mercedes has got her groove back, but she ain't a miracle worker either, and Kamille... Kamille is cool in the heater role. In-ring, sorry to say, she never was that good. Don't try to Jade Cargill her, because she ain't Jade Cargill. She absolutely can contribute positively, and aside from that awful match against Aminata, she's been pretty good, but please, Mercedes deserves opponents against whom she can have bangers, because that's what she does. Mina vs Mariah is great. Brody vs Darby is great. I dunno what is going on with the House of Black, apparently Buddy has signed an extension or something, but it's obvious they are every much contributing big time. Gimme that Brody King single push yesterday.

Mortos, for sure. Hologram was doing fine when working against other luchadors. But the reality is that he's not as good as Komander, who gets over despite never winning a match. Hologram also has a really lame third-tier luchador outfit and mask. Of course he got a big reaction. Anyone coming from WWE does at first. The reality is that it means nothing in the grand scheme of things. People already in the building popping for someone who is not drawing is a forever thing. Sid was the same way. People popped huge for him, he never drew jackshit. The reality is that I would not have hired Benjamin to begin with. MVP basically being the most valuable in the long run as he's an awesome promo and can even bump as a manager, he can help get talent over. Lashley, who knows. If he's coming in with the Adam Copeland mentality of working, cool. Still. There's way too many 50 years old ex-WWE guy on this roster. One reason NXT is hot again is because they built around young people. Really young people. That's what AEW need to do too. Kyle Fletcher is exactly what they should be aiming at. There are steps in the right directions, but to me thus far the Hurt Syndicate on TV reeks of TNA circa 2011. Which is funny, because the MVP/Lashley stable is actually a TNA thing if I remember right. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt both in term of how they are booked and how they deliver in the ring, but I can't say that when you think "alternative", you think of 50 years old guys who come there to "end their career", as MVP puts it (likewise what Adam Copeland said). There's plenty of things AEW can and would want to be. The retirement home for ex-WWE guys isn't one of them.

Actually, Jack Perry is facing Yota Tsuji. Athena better fucking be there. She's been working in front of empty ROH tapings for two years while *never* showing up on Dynamite or Collision or the PPV's while being easily a top 10 worker all around in the company (I would *love* to get the reasoning behind this, because it's ridiculous). If anyone deserves anything, that's Athena going to the Tokyo Dome. Gotta have Mistico somewhere too.

Say his name and he appears ! I wonder if the MLP shows in 2025, whatever they will be, will keep on bringing him. He and Callis together sure brought credibility and professionalism to the booth. Callis seemingly can work with *anyone* and make it work.