El-P

I saw a Youtube link but it was members only, and I can't seem to find it again on the promotion's page. But it sure is somewhere. They sure did a tremendous slow build during that Chicago residency toward an incredible last week. Both Mox vs Hangman and Dustin vs Kyle were great matches that did the unthinkable in making the crowd actually think Mox was gonna win again and Dustin was gonna keep the title, when there was really no chance of either happening. I will miss that funky old ballroom. Hopefully they go back. Can't wait until the 2300 residency (apparently they are gonna recreate the old entrance) Hearing this old WCW early 90's cheese theme song was something. The Young Bucks getting no entrance and empty graphics is hilarious. They are just the best. And yeah, they made the Outrunners look ten times better than they actually are, as expected. I would totally have Briscoe defeat MJF. But I don't think it's happening sadly. At best I can see MJF using his contract to turn it into a three-way (which would mean Briscoe still losing in the end). Briscoe needs *that* big win, somewhere. Dunno where and what it consists of. Maybe the C2 this year ? Forbidden Door already has some great stuff lined up. But it's not very ForbiddenDoorish thus far. Like, at all. The G1 running during the build totally hurt the interpromotional aspect of it, which honestly has lost quite of bit of its luster for obvious reasons. In the end I guess there will still be some cool match-up plus the London crowd will be molten (ZSJ has to be there, right ?). Hopefully a Micheal Oku match somewhere (give him a dual contract too) and a Syuri match (Mercedes ?).

It just occurred to me that you just described every Joe Hendry match ever. The one thing that will change comparatively to the previous generations, is that now most wrestlers are actual wrestling fans (well, apart from the wannabee influencers, but that's for another discussions) . That and the fact popular culture now is basically geek culture, and geek culture is a lot based around references. Add the fact everything is available in one click, there might be a different approach than the different generations in term of picking up stuff from the past and making it compatible with the never stoping evolution of the craft (honestly that's what happened with guys like FTR, really, who are two millenials wrestling geeks who just fancied themselves as Arn/Tully/MX while not putting on a retro style show and totally adapting to their own time, so basically we've already seen that starting with the 2010's generation, the first who really benefitted of the Internet as a direct ressource, as opposed to being forced to buy and trade tapes). I for one can't wait to see how the generation raised on being able to watch *everything* thanks to quality streaming will produce. See ya in 10 years !

To keep on with the zombi analogy, Cornette really is the patient zero of toxic podcast host nurturing a crowd of hating sycophants. Meanwhile, this :

I believe that has been debunked as someone which "looks like" Ghislaine Maxwell. Which really doesn't change much considering Trump is probably on the list. And well, the ringboy lawsuit still going on. As far as Levesque goes, the more time passes, the more the iron cross thingy on his trunk looks less like "I was a fan of Motörhead" and more like, ya know, something else. The fact a career steroid stuffed 50 years former pro-wrestler who already had a heart attack is invited to the White House to "make America healthy again" would be fucking hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.

They already are passé and have been for a long time. Even a guy like Dax Harwood who says he's influenced by Bret doesn't work remotely like Bret apart from a spot here and there. The current generation is already mostly influenced by the 00's generation (Styles, Lethal, MCMG, Angle, Orton, Hardies, KENTA, Marufuji and so on). The younger guys are already influenced by the current/2010 generation of the Bucks, Omega, Ospreay, Ricochet, Swerve. And so one. As it should.

But, but ! Sami Zayn said the company was apolitical ! But... but... why talk about politics. This is not about politics at all this is all about entertainment (he actually said that too just after praising Trump, including for his instinct and ability to recognize when he's wrong, which is, OM fucking G) and... uh.... enjoy the show... we're telling stories... uh... uh... The fact he actually did the water spit in front of the White House. I have no words. Well, I do have words, but... Also this : Seriously, Paul Levesque is actually dumb as a brick. Also this : (look at this Ken Doll motherfucker with his hideous american flag socks getting a happy ending from a pseudo interviewer joking around how talking about Vince the Rapist is not even worth it) But... uh... uh... just enjoy .... uh... the show and... uh...

Yeah, they have so much depth it's ridiculous. After All In I'm kinda cutting back on pro-wrestling, as I'm feeling that sensation of being "content" with what I just had, I'm not even watching the G1 this year (thus far, and I doubt I will), but CMLL really is the easiest and most fun/satisfying wrestling product you can watch right now.

And so they had yet another Hogan tribute on Raw. But apparently, Brooke didn't get any invite to pay hommage to her father. Nick the Killer did (he's involved in Real American Beer too), but not Brooke. No further comment. This entire "Hulk Hogan is dead" sequence says *so much* about so many things in pro-wrestling.

Title says it all : Gotta love the wrestling nerd in her that makes her fly to some independent show in Poland because she wants to have a match with an indie worker she likes. (and take another belt in the process of course. Ultimo Dragon would be proud)

It's crazy how people who where considered "small" in WWE in the 90's weren't small at all. Even the Hardy Boys. Look at them next to the MCMG, the Rascalz or the Young Bucks. They are much bigger. The size difference between Japan and the US average wrestler gets really interesting when you see a guy like Ishii in AEW, which is not exactly a land of giants. The guy looks *tiny* (and yet doesn't lose one ounce of his aura, but that's another matter).

The story is not about the singer. It's about a confirmation that Def Rebel is using AI. (although I'm guessing it was obvious to some already)

It sure was and definitely played a big part, the whole carnival thing (which came from a very exploitative and dehumanizing place). Thankfully that aspect has vanished for the most part, as the performances is what is valued in modern pro-wrestling for the most part. Which is why also, in the end, the smaller guys were the one with the most influential style worldwide as pro-wrestling matured as a craft/from of art, because they always were forced to be *good*, since they weren't pushed on size/appearance.

I wonder if he got creative control on that one. Lance Storm with the usual based take (as they say) :

As we say in French "Trop long, pas lu". Plus he already was on my ignored list for a reason. Anywoo. If you think Def Rebel is shit (like everyone does), one reason is that it's been confirmed that they are actually using AI. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/singer-ellie-price-finds-def-rebel-used-her-vocal-sample-for-fatal-influence-theme/ Because, of course. (and ironically enough, from the various awful themes I've heard in TNA from NXT people, Fatal Influence is probably the "better" one)

The funny thing is that, junior wrestling in Japan really has never been considered at the same level as heavyweights either, with a few exceptions, the original Tiger Mask being the biggest star this side of Inoki for a while. But even Liger, when he was at his peak, would almost never mix it up with the heavys and thus would never get the top spot in the promotion despite being one of its biggest star (and let us forget the disastrous short Liger "heavyweight" stint). Like Hiromu today, which I think is ridiculous and actively hurting NJPW today, this guy should be pushed ahead of any of the new generation heavies and be in the G1 (how's that for a fresh idea, uh ?), he's the closest thing to Naito they have still. With the style getting much more homogenized, the weight division difference feels like something of an outdated concept. A guy like Kosei Fujita is better than anyone from his generation, on every level. But being slotted as a junior prevents him from ever being a main event star unless he "graduates". The term itself tells everything you need to know. Makes no sense when really, El-Phantasmo is the exact same he was as a junior, for instance.

He's still able to get over, as showed on Collision, so everything is not yet lost. But they absolutely need to kick him to the curb in spectacular fashion. The issue being, it means Jericho has to come back... (which, of course he would have anyway)

205 Live baby. The X-division is basically what kept the tradition of WCW cruiserweight alive in the US. But it's not about weight limits, you see. It's about... no limit.

For sure. The mid to late 2010's were just insane. I'm sure there's plenty of quality wrestling and some great matches still (Takagi, Takeshita, ZSJ). Maybe I'll check it out a bit later once the tournament develop. I loved last year's so much with the ZSJ ascent.

Dunno if anyone is following G1, but after one week, I can't see much hype about it. Apparently it's not drawing good at all, which is not that surprising considering Goto as champ was the one carrying the last big shows and he's not there, Gabe Kidd being the new hot foreign star having to withdraw completely. The fact it's Tanahashi's last G1 is not enough apparently. Maybe it'll pick up in the last week if the stories are good but... I dunno, it's the first time in years I don't feel compelled to even cherry pick thus far.

I like Dustin as much as anyone, but yeah. Fletcher was supposed to win at All In. There's zero reason why he should not win against a 56 years old man when he's on the verge of being the next breakout main event star of the promotion. Dustin's win was a cool audible and feel-good moment for All In Texas. But it's time to get back on track. Hopefully with an interpromotional match for Forbidden Door ? (because thus far there isn't much talk about this aspect of the next PPV)

Considering they could not say nothing, the "tribute" to Hogan on Collision was the closest thing to the "Regal pays tribute to Benoit", just a bunch of facts and a focus on the family going through very difficult times (poor Brooke is carrying a whole lot of bagage), zero about the actual person. Schiavone was the right man to do it, it came off tasteful. It still looked awfully low-rent (although funny, which was very much Juice-like in a way) with Colten's tights over his dull black attire. He needs to find the right balance. He was at his worst during the early "Rock Hard" Bullet Club version that pretty much killed his entire charisma. He surely doesn't need to be a complete clown, but the look he came up with for his comeback was all wrong. Tremendous match against Big Bill and Keith though (who need to be pushed more). Lee Moriarty also needs to be pushed more. I'm glad he went so long and so competitive with Dustin. Gotta love Ishii being around and part of the most random matches. This is quite poetic for a guy who basically had his formative years in WAR. Talking about guys who need to be pushed more (well, some wins would be a start) : AR Fox is right there. He's basically where Komander was now. "Whose Mom ?" "Nick's mom !" The mom based chants are never gonna get old. Alex Windsor already showing why she was absolutely not a favor hire. I've seen her a bit on RevPro and NJPW Strong before. I really want her against the heavy hitters like Stat or Aminata. Or Bayne. Glad she's used that running Ligerbomb now, which looks a hundred times better than that crappy F5. And love that Athena is finally on regular AEW TV alongside Billie. Ya know, Toni will need to lose eventually... Athena getting the women's belts and after a while going to feud against Mercedes for a gazillions belts would be so much fun. Meanwhile, Toni can have a personal oriented major feud. Sometimes, the B show is just more fun than the A show.

Yet another great column : https://www.patreon.com/posts/134993051 (don't mind the patreon thingy, it's actually free to read)

Of course. My answer was obviously half-way in jest.

No one is dismissing Hogan's importance. it would be beyond stupid. But you can already hear the whole "Vince & Hogan turned smoke filled rooms into huge arenas and stadiums business" myth rearing its ugly head again. Hell, in the small article two days ago in (very respectable) French newspaper Liberation, you could read "Turned a carnival show into a worlwide business", because people who don't know anything about wrestling will just gobble the WWE narrative. As far as "the biggest pro-wrestling star ever", as a cultural figure, he was not. Santo, Rikidozan and Inoki where much more important to the actual culture of their countries. Is he the most important as far as North America and globalization ? Without a doubt. Did Vince's vision executed with Hogan changed pro-wrestling globally ? Without a doubt. But it's not like there weren't any huge stars before him. Gorgeous George says hello.

My answer : 'murica, fuck yeah ! Ya know, "bigger is better" mentality and such things. (the posterboy of it being, well, that Hogan guy in the 80's)