El-P

This played a big part in me getting to the point of saturation. After All In, I felt I had my share. Then All Out came in, and on paper I did not feel it at all. The CM Punk firing really is what actually sparkle my interest in getting the show, and damn this was even greater than the previous week-end. From that point on, the fact it never ever stops makes i difficult to really care. And it's not like I watch any WWE either, but I do want to watch IMPACT still, because there is stuff I really enjoy about it. But things were much easier when I just had Dynamite and IMPACT and a special event every other week. Now, there's some great shows on paper nearly every week. Or at least some shows with some great wrestling on it. There's only so much of a good thing you get get. Of course some people would argue it would be time to settle back with the great matches. Except, you can't. Sure, put a bunch of useless squash matches on Dynamite and Collision, and I'll just fast-forward them to get to the good stuff anyways (hi Wardlow, I sigh a whole lot at this comeback), because it's still time given and spent, and you only have so much, even as a hardcore fan. ROH is totally missable because it's exactly this, squashes, competitive squashes and a few really good matches. Which is a shame because there's some really good stuff in there and cool shit in term of character build (the whole Athena/Billie Stark thing involving Lexie is terrific, Maria Kanellis getting talent has been really cool too). But at some point, there's just way too much content of every kind, and quality content, put out there, to watch everything. Especially when it's basically comparable content in term of presentation and production (this is another big issue with ROH, it's really sad to watch Athena or Shibata do their thing in half empty buildings because of how they tape it before/after the AEW stuff).

No shit ! And really now, give me a Youtube show "At home with Rock Hard Juice Robinson & Timeless Toni Storm". NOW. DO IT.

Sure, ratings don't matter in a context where pretty much *everything* is linked with TV right fees, that is unless you get a ridiculous contract from a streaming service... Hey, maybe this week means nothing and Copeland will end up being a ratings draw or at least a positive in term of attendance and whatnot. And good for them if that's the case. But I kinda doubt that a guy like Adam Copeland, who meant *nothing* in term of making a difference with WWE when he came back, is gonna have much effect in AEW when even CM Punk was already showing clear signs of diminishing returns, where Brian Danielson, who's much, much more in tune with AEW audience, has not made much difference either, included in his own hometown. The fact is, AEW is cold right now. And it's a vicious circle. Being cold means it's a lot harder to get something over to the point of it making a difference and warming the product again. It's even tougher when the n°1 company is hot. The signal sent by E&C ending that 4th anniversary show red like the old TNA way of thinking, not something that is gonna make AEW hot and cool again. MJF vs Jay White is thankfully the main program for the next PPV. That's the way to go, that's the one. I have enjoyed MJF on top quite a bit, he has totally overdelivered in big matches, but I would gladly switch into a direction that suits my personal tastes a bit better. Just a change of scenery and style. It's been a while now.

incidentally, ratings for Dynamite just came in. Second lowest Dynamite from 2023. Says a lot about how Youtube numbers don't mean jackshit, never had, never will. Looks like Adam Copeland is one hell of a non-draw already to the AEW audience. It's not like it's a shocker either, he made no difference whatsoever during his comeback to WWE. AEW is doing fine. Not great, but fine, in term of TV ratings and PPV buys. Be AEW. Don't be TNA nor WCW circa 1999, and everything is gonna be fine. Give AEW fans some AEW spirited content. Celebrate AEW with something that actually matters to the AEW fans. But it's too late. The angle, as fun as the final line was, reeked of TNA syndrome. The show felt very flat in term of an actual celebration of the 4th anniversary. And it bombed in the ratings, one week before what will most probably be a slaughter (I mean, WWE are piling up stars to a ridiculous degree just to prove a point which doesn't even need to be made, and is even counterproductive when you think about how getting Cody was such a turnaroud in perception. The fact Jade seems to be such a big deal to them is another proof that they actually need a healthy competition much more than they need to eliminate it). Lesson learned, I sure hope.

4 years is a lifetime. 4 years is more than Nitro's reign of terror, 4 years after it began kicking the WWF's ass, Nitro was at the point they hired Vince Russo to try and save the Titanic (which was akin to hire a pyromaniac to fight a fire). 4 years is more than the entire Attitude Era. 4 years is more than ECW's peak. AEW was born out of the exhaustion of WWE's sucky, corporate, sterile style of work and booking (although a dent had been dealt from within with the NXT, which was basically WWE trying to kill the indies by co-opting the style to a degree and getting people they would never have gotten 5 years before) and the spirit of the indies, of love for lucha libre and puroresu. If you thought about how it started, you could picture what may have been the 4 year Anniversary Dynamite. And it would certainly not have been capped off by an angle between 49 years old Edge & Christian. From that perspective alone, AEW has failed. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the angle, mostly because Christian Cage is doing probably the best work of his career, and I'm intrigued about how a WWE lifer like Copeland will fit into AEW, which is a much different environment. The fact a guy who's such a product of WWE monopoly and a staple of the late Attitude and Cena era is now *somewhere else* is mind boggling on its own, it's very different from Danielson or Punk, who where products of the indies first and foremost before they became WWE stars. But still. This is where we're at right now, the alternative of WWE having its 4 years anniversary with a final segment based on Edge & Christian and not Darby Allin vs MJF for the AEW title, or Jay White vs Kenny Omega, or FTR vs Young Bucks. Nope. Edge & Christian. Anther part where AEW has totally failed to me, and I gave them the benefit of the doubt forever about it, is the fact that we're 4 years in, and there's still only ONE women segment on each show. No wonder the women division still can't seem to feel important in the grand scheme of things. This has reached a self-fulfilling prophecy level. And why is the best women performer not on EITHER big TV shows and instead kept on the useless ROH service ? Yeah, I'm taking Athena. And actually, they have been doing much better giving time and character developments to women on ROH, why can't they do this on the actual promotion that matters ? Now, I've been enjoying some of the stuff very much, like the ridiculous and awesome Toni Storm character (which is basically Goldust X Hot Mess Chelsea Green), the progress of Skye Blue and Julia Hart, but the complete lack of followup because of such ridiculous time constraints totally prevents them from getting a bigger and more over part of the show, and that sucks. IMPACT is STILL doing much, MUCH better. (BTW, where the fuck was Britt Baker ? Whatever happened to her awesome self from 2020 when she was an hilarious toxic bullying friend to Tony Schiavone and had Rebel-not-Reba as a funny sidekick ?) Of course AEW is still delivering mind-blowing PPV's and even weekly TV matches. On that front, they are the biggest success ever, and they are also the reason why WWE had to kick themselves in the ass, and although I don't watch any of their stuff (I have my limits, you see), the consensus everywhere seems like WWE has never been better in term of in-ring stuff. So yeah, 4 years in, and AEW had been my favorite promotion ever for about 2 years and a half of it, totally got me through the pandemic. Right now, it's like the best WCW-as-secondary-promotion ever or something, or TNA-if-it-was-successful. It's fine. As long as they deliver really great matches with workers I really love to watch, I'm there I guess.

You can't boo someone who's not here anyway. Because that fucker's GONE. Yeah, I know. But it feels good to say it, ya know. He's GONE.

...less is more.... video games... ok, check. Thanks, I completed my bingo for the day. Come back tomorrow with more clichés.

I mean, of course the problem was that CM Punk was an entitled shithead with a gigantic ego. But it's always fun to rant about some kind of poetic justice and the figure of a guy who postured as some kind of prophet when in the end he was a fraud and all. (and the idea that guys like Omega and the Buck need psychology lessons from anyone is absolutely laughable, they own pro-wrestling psychology)

There's something that cannot be overstated too about that little CM Punk comeback thingy. He became the cult hero of a generation in 2011 because he stood as the voice of hardcore wrestling fans tired of WWE's sterile product and Cenamania running wild. He embodied the spirit of the indie scene, of why it was not only cool but right to do things different. That's why he caught on as much as he did and why his name was chanted as a symbol of refuse at WWE shows for years when fans did not accept what the company was forcing them to gobble up. He was the outcast, the alternative. Fast forward in 2021. An entire company was built out of the spirit of the indies, of a will to build an alternative to WWE's product (which by then was already very different from what it was in 2011, but more on that later). The Elite had been the embodiement of that spirit, of why it was cool and also right to be different and do things another way, and AEW was built from that will to change, but not from within the WWE system, because everything aligned at the right time. When CM Punk gets in, with 7 years off the business to boot, people may remember him as "The Pipe bomb guy", but it's been 10 years since that time. Now he's coming as the former WWE superstar. He's representing the establishment (which is also why his hardcore fanbase has the reactionary if not plain outdated discourse they have) and he's looking down at everything his old self was supposed to represent 10 years before. That is, if he was sincere, which is another issue. The business had effectively passed him by, because the voice he carried in 2011 was useless now. It was empty. But maybe it was always empty. The cherry on the cake being the fact that at the very same time, another guy came into the company, a guy who also represented the spirit of the indies and a different way of looking, working and thinking. Only he was not performative about it, he just, well, made you feel it through his work. And HE actually made it to the very top of the WWE, he actually got put over by Trip at Mania. And he changed the way WWE looked at talent (well, not totally, as showed by the Sami Zayn booking this year, but still). And he did not came as "The guy who knows it all because he's a former WWE star". He did not had to make grand lectures about "everything he does is a love letter to professional wrestling". He just came in, worked, put people over, had terrific matches, probably the best stint of his entire career (which was supposed to be over years before, but not because he quit over not getting what he wanted, but because his body betrayed him), and had nothing bad to say about the people he worked with. Yeah, that Danielson fellow. Be wary of the people who like to say they are this and that all the time. They usually are the worst. I'd rather trust the ironics and the silents. And the true humbles.

Did you chant "Cry me a river" ? On screen, it was one of the most fun crowd ever. I wonder what Kawada thought of the strap match. Speaking of which, Danielson was there at the scrum talking about how he was carried through the match by Ricky Starks. Damn, that guy is so... I hope he remains in AEW forever and gets a full-time creative job.

And really, considering how the crowd reacted as a whole, Punk probably hates Chicago as a whole too, really... I mean, a "Cry me a river" chant to drown his name...

The first part is actually halfway serious. When I watched the match and FTR and the Bucks (who by the way, obviously think A LOT of each others, despite what people projecting their own little pro-wrestling insecurities into believe) doing those spots together, I thought about that in a very serious way (and it did crack me up too). The latter part is obviously a joke, I don't wish any harm to good ol' Corny, although he's an irrelevant old fart.

Also, I wonder if CM Punk is gonna remain friends with FTR after he just witnessed them do a fucking superkick party spot alongside the Bucks. That alone probably almost killed Corny too. Yeah, fun times were had by all.

This is exactly what AEW was supposed to be (well, expect the women division, which still needs a shitload of work). But apart from that, ridiculously great show with a totally awesome crowd (the chants during Miro vs Hobbs were a hoot, so were some during the 8 men). That Danielson fellow really likes violence, uh ? Christian Cage re-signing may lead to something else. And in the old tradition of PWO : Karen Jarrett and CJ Perry. Respectfully. And yeah, I also only bought the show after Da news. Winning bet.

Even the United Center crowd doesn't give a fuck anymore and celebrated Hangman, Kenny and even the Young Bucks, for a large part of them. That ship has sailed and sunk. That horse had left the barn and died on the sidewalks.

And for the last words, which were amazingly well pre-shot by Mox : Over and done. Cry me a river indeed.

TK addressed the (quite hostile) crowd before the show. They got it out of their system. Sure, when the Young Bucks (as showed by the run-in at the end of Collision) and probably Omega will be in the ring at All Out, you'll probably get them chants going to a certain degree, maybe even big time. But in the long run, the CM Punk craze is cooked, he's been totally exposed. Only the hardcore of hardcores toxic fanbase is gonna support his bullshit, I red a lot of "I'm a CM Punk fan and even I agree it's the best decision, he can't help himself" and other "I was a CM Punk fan and during the last year I did a 180°" (which happens to be my case too) around. Considering his track record and in retrospect, he should not have been brought to AEW at all. If by the fall of 2021, only Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson jump to AEW, it's not as big of a boost, but it's still a boost at a point where the company was *already hot*. Would have been much, MUCH better in the long run.

CM Punk is the leaving breathing demonstration of the old sayin' "If you meet one asshole during the day, that sucks. If you meet two assholes, that's really bad luck. If you meet only assholes, you're most probably the asshole". The guy was asked to be a part of AEW's foundation alongside Jericho and Omega, those were the three names TK wanted to start with. Two took the risk and contributed to build a successful pro-wresting alternative, alongside Cody, Mox and the Bucks. Punk's "love" for pro-wrestling I guess wasn't strong enough back then, or maybe he did not had the balls to take an actual risk. Only when AEW was hot and successful enough (built on the backs of people who have "accomplished nothing" apparently), he finally choose to join in and was given the red carpet treatment. But it wasn't enough and he managed to flip his lid and still act like an unprofessional shit, like only he can. Then he was brought back and even given his own TV show, his own little kingdom because "he's a big star" and that's how it works. It would be "a drama free environment". It took what, 5, 6 weeks before drama surged up *again*. AEW just had the biggest paid crowd ever, a stadium show that just pulverized whatever number they were supposed to do. Hell, some people talked about how ridiculous 20.000 people would look at Wembley. Nope. Bigger than Andre vs Hogan. And what was the talk of the day ? Another CM Punk drama and backstage fight (that is, of course, never his fault). Ryan Nemeth was actually spot on : softest guy ever. Overinflated ego and sense of self-importance. Toxic as fuck as his *entire* career as now demonstrated. I'm actually amazed that there is still people simping for this guy and trying to find excuses. Guess what, AEW got hot before CM Punk. Sure, he boosted their business for a PPV or two and a few big ratings. Short term. His comebacks were already diminishing returns. I for one was on the verge of not watching Collision anymore because there was no reason to even invest in what he was doing, because it was surefire he was gonna act like a prick again and the product would get fucked. Jay White and the boys really kept me there. To quote an hilarious post on reddit : Dude wanted to be Bret Hart, he ended up Austin Aries. Cheers.

Good fucking riddance. Long overdue indeed. He should have been fired just after the media scrub disaster. Also, people wanted TK to act like bossman ? Well, he just cut CM Punk with not one, but TWO shows, one being a PPV (and for obvious reasons their weakest one ever, but that' pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things) at the fucking United Center. He don't give a flying fuck. Also, if I'm Lesveque I'm like "Yeah, no, thanks, we actually have a really successful, drama free thingy going on, I'll pass on that one". Plus, Cody is the one designated (for now) to beat the tribal chief, and Cody IS part of the Elite, he's still tight with the Bucks. Now really, all I want is Hangman Page getting Punk's spot feuding with Ricky Starks, at least I'll get really good matches out of it and not overlong dull affairs with tribute spots galore. This week has been crazy, for awful reasons (Terry & Bray passing away), awesome reasons (the All In show), and hilarious reasons (yet another drama involving CM "I'm doing business here, this is a drama free environment" Punk leading to THIS). Pro-wrestling in a nutshell. Life in a nutshell.

Terry Funk was everything that is great about pro-wrestling. The greatest.

I've been kinda out of the loop, for various reasons, and I just saw the news on Bix's Twitter feed this morning. I had thought about him when I saw that DEAN sign on Dynamite, but I had no idea. I'm very sorry to hear the news. My condolences to his family and friends. Like so many others at that time, Dean was super important in shaping my discoveries of other kind of wrestling when I got online in the late 90's. I stumbled onto the DVDVR Reviews pretty quickly when searching for stuff about pro-wrestling. I remember I could't wait for the next issues and it was always so much fun to discover what Dean Rasmussen in particular would write, because he was funny as hell. In 2000 as I moved to Paris, I did not had the internet over there, so what I would do when I was back at my parents for a week-end, I would print the latests DVDVR reviews so I could read them on the train back to Paris. To this day I have memories of reading some BJPW and GAEA reviews as the train was stopped in some small train station... Over the years I had been a regular on the infamous light green board, and although I don't remember that many specific direct interactions with him (maybe there were, but it was a long time ago), Dean was always very nice to me, like he was to everyone. The last time I posted there was eons ago, and I was reviewing some old FMW stuff, and of course Dean was all about my pimping of Sambo Asako, because of course he would. The fact I always tried to make whatever I wrote to be funny and entertaining (like the WCW stuff) come straight from having so much fun reading Dean's reviews. Even when he was bashing stuff, he was so damn funny you could never be mad about it. So yeah. Very sad news. Dean was one *huge* part of the internet pro-wrestling board culture. That Coach Tony K guy knows. A billion zillions stars for you DEAN~!

There's apparently no hype on PWO about Stardom anymore, but the show on Sunday is gonna be the biggest joshi show in years, with a killer top line-up. Of course a big part of the intrigue is whether Moné keeps her title against Mayu, in which case that means she signed for one more match, as Giulia already challenged her. Now that would be quite the big time main event, whenever it occurs. And from there, who knows ? Does she really want to come back to WWE under *gasp* Vince ? Mina Shirakawa vs Saya Kamitani could see the end of Kamitani's reign (and streak of terrific defenses), as it would be quite the closure for Mina, who has improved a lot in the last year or so and who had her face shattered last time they met. And of course Giulia vs Tam Nakano, which on paper looks like a total killer match, but not the time yet for Nakano, although it will have to come eventually, I guess. Clearly one if not the most interesting show until the Summer.

Finally got to see Rebellion. Best IMPACT major show from top to bottom in a long time. The two main events were terrific, and there's a happy couple right now (although it's not acknowledge on screen that they are, and won't be since Maclin is a heel and Deonna a babyface now). The ending parts with Trey Miguel & Mike Baley were high art. PCO vs Eddie was exactly the brutality expected (damn, PCO was on WWF TV in the Spring of 1993, and he's having his best years now). The multi-person garbage brawl had its share on insanity and comedy (the ladder spot with Bully and the ref was hilarious, really, great trolling), Sami expectedly turned on Deaner (typical case of what's obvious is actually good). Just good stuff all around. Nick Aldis showing up certainly was a surprise. I never was a big fan, but he's a great promo and has developed his best identity in the NWA, with the benefit of the ever reliable IMPACT booking (as demonstrated tonight, so many of those matches were logical conclusion or development to very long-term storyline that have pretty deep roots) and working with a some excellent worker on top, Mr. Aldis could have his best stint ever. I'm guessing Mickie having such a string stint there for the last year and a half played a part. As far as Jordynne goes, well, she's a great get for whomever gets her, especially now that she's peaking both in ring-work and presentation. If she gets picked up by AEW, she needs to be in conversation for the top belts right away and presented as a total star. WWE, well, I dunno what Chelsea Green (who was at Mania still) and Emma would have to tell her about their stint there since she signed back, but probably not the greatest destination. Although maybe Trip would enjoy a fellow bodybuilder. But yep, excellent showcase by IMPACT, especially considering the bad hand they've been dealt with.

I'll add this and I'm so out of this argument. The irish whip thing is funny. Like there was different degree of implausibility that went from acceptable (the irish whip, which can be done in a context of very much "struggle" based matches) to unacceptable (whatever crazy spot or sequence you can think of). In reality, the degree of plausibility of the irish whip is exactly this : ZERO. Null. Void. Nada. And I'm not even the one saying this, I've heard Bryan Danielson (some dude) say it : if you throw someone onto the ropes, there's no world in which he bounces back. It's ridiculous. The plausibility is FUCKING ZERO. From that point on, considering we're already at zero, there's nothing less plausible. It doesn't matter that people believe it's "more credible" because it's been there seemingly for ever, it's just that they have been used to it. There's no degree of implausibility between an irish whip and a Canadian Destroyer. None of it is happening in this world. It's an equal level of plausibility : zero.

It is. End of story. Whatever works works. Plausibility doesn't matter. Not theoretically, but it actually doesn't. The biggest stars in pro-wrestling history are ridiculously unplausible, from Inoki's shitty-ass enzuigiri to Hulk Hogan's pathetic hulk-up and idiotic legdrop, to Steve Austin throwing a billion punches to the face of his opponent which never ever leaves a mark to Dwayne Johnson's PEOPLE'S ELBOW. The advantage of pro-wrestling going from a con-job to a craft appreciated for what it is is that it opened the landscape to a whole new dimension. Pro-wrestling actually takes itself, as a craft, much more seriously than it ever did before, that's the paradox. It is. It's a glorious stupidity though. But it is, in essence, completely ridiculous.