Stiva

This show remains an incredibly easy show to watch and get into. The opener was fine and achieved what it needed to but I hope they got plenty of these Jake interviews in the can. Hearing him monologue to a backdrop of his client kicking the shit out of people is great. Britt Baker's promo was fantastic and I also hope that they continue to encourage the wrestlers to send in their own videos during lockdown. Things like that and The Bubbly Bunch, even the Techniques with Taz are, if done with good production values and the right performance, are still engaging ways to fill out the shows and aid in character and story development. Sammy Guevara remains my favourite guy in the promotion, I think. He's pretty much knitting everything together really well and Jericho's psychosexual fixation with him only adds to his whole gimmick. Also, Jericho and Tony are a brilliant pairing. Like said, they're clearly having a blast together and the way they naturally gel has made them AEWs best commentary team so far. "The Sex God always ends up on top!" popped me big. I didn't really need to see Chuck Taylor in a long singles match but the ending bullshit was entertaining enough and I suppose it makes sense to put Havoc and Sabian together to fill the quarantine tag ranks out a bit. The main was a bit of a disappointment considering it's hype; the in-ring segments were good but I thought the actual empty arena brawling was a let-down and plodding. I appreciated them laying it in, though and the finish was a nice, uncomplicated killshot. Still, I wonder where Moxley goes for Double or Nothing. It seems too early for Brodie Lee so maybe they do Hager/Moxley II?

Not the Fink The best to ever do it

Yeah, I'm very cognisant of the times we're in and just how much everything is going to be shaken up and how many lives will be affected but it's also quite therapeutic to do a bit of fantasy booking in my head. It helps distract from the more depressing reality that's outside the window.

I can't remember the last time I watched All Japan. What recent stuff should I dig out during this lockdown?

I'm all for Rusev showing up in New Japan.

If they furlough the NXT UK workers then, yeah, they'll get 80% of their wages from the government and WWE should kick in the remaining 20% Though, if they fire them outright, I'm fairly sure they won't be entitled any other government assistance than the welfare system so I really hope someone in WWE explains to Vince the furlough system before he just cuts the entire roster adrift.

I assume 205 Live is now just going to be rolled into NXT proper? I imagine Maverick is the first of many cruisers cut, not to mention NXT UK.

The list sucks for the people getting released but I count, at least, 10 of the current list who would be much better utilised and more useful elsewhere. EC3 and Maverick could slip into Impact into their old routine with no problem, Logan, Anderson, Gallows, Rush and Finlay seem like great picks for AEW, though they probably aren't in a position to expand their roster that much. You have to think Kurt Angle comes in as a special ref for something on PPV down the line Heath Slater has a great indy run in him, I'm sure. What is more alarming is that I had no clue Daivari was working as an agent. Hoarding wrestlers is one thing but hoarding agents is another.

I cannot imagine the sheer lack of taste anybody would need to find any part of Gargano and Ciampa anything other than a cringe-inducing embarrassment. Fake Christian Shawn Michaels’ attempts at bombastic, melodramatic redemption as displayed through amateur dramatics and tortured match lengths are a black mark on modern professional wrestling.

Baker/Shida really got going after a lacklustre opening moments and I really hope Britt’s ring-work catches up with her character work soon as she really does have great presence and charisma. Her asking Tony for help was hilarious. They seem to be in a bad place since it appears Nyla can’t work these takings so this whole feud feels like killing time without really leading anywhere. Putting the Rankings Report is an awesome idea! They should have really done it all along, even though they want people to get onto their social media accounts to find them. The Hager/Moxley video was fantastic but I do wonder where Moxley goes after Hager. Then again, these times make planning nearly impossible. The Spears/Cody package was a good piece of business too. Funny how having all the guys in this tournament talking about how they want to win it and how important it is makes it feel like essential viewing. I could live without seeing Nakazawa ever again and he only ever shows up once every 3 months. The Brodie Lee vignettes where he lampoons Vince McMahon quirks seem like they don’t have much shelf life but then again, Vince has a bottomless supply of quirks. As for Lee, he still seems rusty but I dug Lee Johnson against QT Marshall on Dark and his bumping here was on point. He’d be a great, regular jobber for them. Another fun episode but the skeleton crew feels like it’ll get really stretched if the reports of them taping enough to last until May is true.

As said, not using Bart Gunn is a perfect example of Vince throwing his toys out of the pram because the world hasn't bent to his will. I thought this was a solid episode; Gunn comes off as a solid dude who just happened to punch hard enough to kill most men but my biggest question coming out of it all was: Does Godfather smoke weed?

This is a cool curiousity to see a German crowd shout chants they've heard on ROH tapes while Danielson gets a strong WCW Pro main event out of a green guy. WALTER isn't quite a lump but he only really has the hard chops and a fun comeback sequence but Danielson finds a way to make the match interesting with great leg-work and heel mannerisms. He really had perfected the gimmick of being the best and knowing he was at this point and there was really nothing much else for him to do but chance his hand in WWE. WALTER would improve dramatically but you can almost see Bryan having this match with Brodus Clay on a 2012 Superstars.

Not to distract from Sullivan talk but isolation means I can watch some long matches and Backlund/Valentine in the draw is an incredible long match. When they worked 4 different Full Nelson reversals in the opening minutes, I knew I was in for a good one.

Titus channelling Krusty after seeing Worker and Parasite was an easy highlight of a lacklustre second night. I’ll never complain about Charlotte’s in-ring, running dialogue anymore after seeing the complete embarrassment that was Edge and Orton’s terrible attempt at melodrama. Everything was just kind of there, I guess. Firefly Funhouse was commendable for them going fully out there with the insanity and the gag with Cena doing lightning fast curls was genuinely hilarious. I’d honestly never have Bray wrestle in a live setting ever again.

Maybe it’s just an irrational pet peeve of mine but it always feels so forced and actively detracts from matches no matter who is doing it. There’s a line between trash talking heels and jawing with the crowd to monologuing as you’re exchanging right hands

As said, the actual work was great there but there was FAR too much overwrought screaming, terrible attempts at vocal storytelling and dialogue exchanges. Charlotte randomly saying “I don’t give up!” was like something out of a 70s comic book fight scene. Putting Charlotte over should come as no real surprise but come on. She’s going to end her kayfabe career as the most dominant wrestler ever.

Man, I can see the thinking behind talking more in an empty arena but man, this is actively taking away from the work, as it always does.

I don’t mean for this to sound my misogynist or shallow but has Charlotte had even more work done?

Man, they’re really proud of that awful intro video, huh?

This thread had some good suggestions at the time. I actually tried to start going through 2010's major matches and things I thought looked interesting but it's a pretty rough year. A lot of underwhelming main events and a lot of the better workers given very little to work with underneath. It seems 2011 is where things pick up.

The New Day/Usos Hell in a Cell match is fantastic.

Also, I really dug Bryan/Zayn. Bryan's seamless adapting to this environment is another feather in his cap but the way he was laying the shots in really elevated it almost immediately. On one hand, I'm glad Zayn got the win since I'm assuming Bryan wants to stay with his pregnant wife during the pandemic but man, if Bryan got the belt, we could have got my dream booking of the Bryan/Gulak Best of Seven series that could fill Smackdown TV for months.

That was a really fun first night but man, the Boneyard match was preposterous pro wrestling bullshit at it's absolute finest. Those two playing it all straight and serious while ever escalating nonsense occurred around them actually sold it to perfection. Gallows getting casually tossed off the roof to his death had me howling with laughter and then the double punch of AJ's hand poking through the dirt and Taker exploding the farmhouse and riding off into the night topped it all off. 6 stars and segment of the decade.

Really good match that would have probably got the crowd going had they been there. I'll subtract some points because the Kabuki Warriors screaming every 3 seconds has given me a migraine.

This empty arena is going to be used as an excuse to have cringeworthy back-and-forth dialogue between the wrestlers, isn't it? Shawn Michaels' wet dream.