Wrestling

[The Unknown Poster]

8 minutes ago, johnzo said:

was intrigued by the Dark Order at first but Lucha Underground did stories like that like a million times better.

Let me know when the leader of the Dark Order kills the house band, makes a throne of their skulls, and presides over the ring like Thulsa Doom while Cody cowers in an undisclosed location.

****, I miss Lucha Underground.

lol yeah...well, the one intriguing thing is who is their leader.  Ive seen people hoping it's Matt Hardy...which would be something.  Probably Kevin Sullivan.

[The Unknown Poster]

6 minutes ago, ediger said:

I think the timing and resolution was a big part of it's failure. It didn't set up anything directly. If they just wanted to establish the Dark Order as a ****-disturbing pack of madmen, they could have done that during any match. However, because they didn't continue to force the issue, the damage from that segment has been mitigated. Try that again the week after and you've killed the Dark Order.

Or have them attack people weekly (or every other week) so when they do come out on a big team, there is more of a bigger feel to it.  I was mostly angry that they sacrificed the elite for it.   It almost worked for them to have last week off...I think this show felt like a re-set.  

[The Unknown Poster]

Some potentially intriguing news from Dave Meltzer.  

New Japan Pro Wrestling's US TV deal was on AXS, which Impact Wrestling's parent company bought.  Apparently, Impact told New Japan they could stay on AXS if they accepted a working relationship.  New Japan declined and was cancelled.

But the really interesting news is, New Japan and AEW are talking...or "open" as Dave put it.  Makes sense as New Japan pushed the Jericho match against Tana this week with the stip that if Jericho lost, he'd give Tanahashi an AEW World Championship match.  Chris is really good at making these deals on his own but it was certainly assumed AEW would want a deal with New Japan.

New Japan sort of had hurt feelings over the Elite leaving and did some shitty things at the end.  They were also loyal to ROH.  But a real New Japan/AEW deal would be idea.  Would give AEW access to some tremendous talent and give New Japan access to Kenny etc, plus a better visibility in the US market.  

[The Unknown Poster]

Whoa 

 

[The Unknown Poster]

Further to our discussion of money marks and whatnot, its ten years ago this week (Jan 4th 2010), that TNA moved Impact to Monday nights to go head to head with RAW.  Hogan, Hardy, RVD, Flair, Bisch, Nasty Boys(?) plus, Joe, Styles, Angle etc...

WWE countered with Bret Hart's return to WWE for the first time since the Montreal Screw Job.  WWE did 5.5 million (or so), TNA did about 2.5 million.  Which, by the way is more than RAW gets most mondays now.

It didnt last long as TNA soon got their ass kicked and went back to Thursday nights.  

This was a critical turning point for TNA as Dixie Carter had the option of Bischoff/Hogan or Paul Heyman.  Bisch/Hogan wanted to feature more former WWE guys, go head to head on mondays, get rid of the six sided ring, get out of Orlando and go on the road etc.   Heyman wanted to cut all the 40+ guys except for two, bring in Gabe (his protege who booked ROH for years and now books Evolve), sign Daniel Bryan etc.  But Heyman wanted 10% of the company and creative control.

So is there a bigger money mark in history than Dixie?  She even had a crew meeting where she dressed down the roster and said they need to stop publicly whining and show more support with her or else and actually aired the meeting on Impact.  Yikes.

 

[Brandon]

Well it at least cemented that Bischoff was a one hit wonder / fraud ....   should of gave creative to Heyman and hire someone who can handle money....  

[The Unknown Poster]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

Well it at least cemented that Bischoff was a one hit wonder / fraud ....   should of gave creative to Heyman and hire someone who can handle money....  

For sure.  Although for someone like Dixie passing up partnering with hulk hogan was too tough.  
 

Bisch was very good as certain things (performing for one). He reportedly tightened a lot of the production and backstage.  Creatively he had nothing.  

[The Unknown Poster]

If you haven't seen the Omega Man documentary (as part of the Engraved on a Nation series), it airs tonight immediately following AEW on TSN 2 at 9pm.  Its fantastic, partially filmed here in Winnipeg (a lot of the sit down interviews were done here) and there are a few clips of PCW in Winnipeg (both archival and contemporary).  It really should have been a 2 hour doc as the 60 minute TV edit is much too short.

Kenny was unhappy they had to cut out most of the PCW footage so they edited it into the end credits.  For the US Premiere in Las Vegas last year, they actually added more of the footage of Kenny's return to PCW and additional remarks from Don Callis & Chris Jericho (sort of outtakes...with Jericho ripping Kenny for being from Transcona etc...really funny).  I wish AEW would "buy" the doc, I think its a great look at Kenny and Im surprised it hasnt aired nationally in the US yet.  Still to come, Im sure!

Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, tonight on TSN2!

[ediger]

Has everyone that's planning on watching WrestleKingdom watched it? Can we talk about it yet?

[The Unknown Poster]

Just now, ediger said:

Has everyone that's planning on watching WrestleKingdom watched it? Can we talk about it yet?

I’d say yes.  Didn’t watch this year (lack of Kenny) but read about it.  Sounded great.   How long til WM becomes a two night event too? Lol 

I do wonder if they’re waiting too long on Ibushi though.  

[ediger]

A few takeaways...

• the two night thing is really good. Keeps each day a manageable length and keeps the crowd in it. Plus they had some matches on night one that set up matches for night two.
• Speaking of the crowd, they were RED HOT during the Okada/Naito match, particularly during the ending. Same goes for Jericho/Tanahashi.
• I love how long they'll hold submissions in Japan. The crowd in the US would be dead bu the Japanese crowd was going insane.
• The undercard for night two was much better but night one was still very good.
• Moxley vs Juice Robinson was very good but when Minoru Suzuki came out to challenge Mox after the match, I got chills. That is a match I NEED to see.
• While liking them as performers, I used to really hate Juice Robinson's look as well as Jay White's. Not anymore. Now I feel like I can get behind those guys. Stupid reason, I know, but whatever.
• Can't say the same for Zach Sabre Jr. Great wrestler, still don't dig the look.
• Goto/Kenta was another stellar match. Kenta looks primed for a big push.

Overall, great show. In typical WK fashion, the main events and the semi-mains were all must see matches. Fantastic stuff in all of them.

[The Unknown Poster]

21 minutes ago, ediger said:

A few takeaways...

• the two night thing is really good. Keeps each day a manageable length and keeps the crowd in it. Plus they had some matches on night one that set up matches for night two.
• Speaking of the crowd, they were RED HOT during the Okada/Naito match, particularly during the ending. Same goes for Jericho/Tanahashi.
• I love how long they'll hold submissions in Japan. The crowd in the US would be dead bu the Japanese crowd was going insane.
• The undercard for night two was much better but night one was still very good.
• Moxley vs Juice Robinson was very good but when Minoru Suzuki came out to challenge Mox after the match, I got chills. That is a match I NEED to see.
• While liking them as performers, I used to really hate Juice Robinson's look as well as Jay White's. Not anymore. Now I feel like I can get behind those guys. Stupid reason, I know, but whatever.
• Can't say the same for Zach Sabre Jr. Great wrestler, still don't dig the look.
• Goto/Kenta was another stellar match. Kenta looks primed for a big push.

Overall, great show. In typical WK fashion, the main events and the semi-mains were all must see matches. Fantastic stuff in all of them.

Great stuff!  Interestingly, night one sold out but night two, which was a better card on paper didnt (they still did very well).  Over-all, I hear it was a huge success for New Japan.

Gedo books so far in advance, I was really hot for Naito a year ago but feel its Ibushi's time now.  But Gedo sticks with his plans.  Apparently some of the heat with Kenny was him leaving (hey if you make 24 month plans for guys, sign them!).  Kenny basically confirmed New Japan's plans for him was everything Jay White had this year.

One thing I noticed watching New Japan (for example Kenny/Okada), was their long matches never felt long.  WWE is so over-produced but New Japan feels really organic.  Not that WWE work is bad, it isnt. They have tons of talent.  But the emotion of the top New Japan guys is really incredible.  Kenny/Okada, you'd almost be crying along with them.  Okada is probably the best wrestler in the world right now.

New Japan have no US dates this year and lost their TV deal (on Impact-owned AXS, when Impact insisted they work together and NJPW declined).  So...lots of chatter NJ and AEW might be warming up to one another.  Clearly Jericho wants it to happen.

[bigg jay]

38 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I’d say yes.  Didn’t watch this year (lack of Kenny) but read about it.  Sounded great.   How long til WM becomes a two night event too? Lol 

I do wonder if they’re waiting too long on Ibushi though.  

I had similar thoughts but that's NJPW... nothing seems to happen fast there (unless you get lucky like Jay White).

This will set-up a year long redemption story for Kota though after going 0-2 at WK.

[bigg jay]

4 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Great stuff!  Interestingly, night one sold out but night two, which was a better card on paper didnt (they still did very well).  Over-all, I hear it was a huge success for New Japan.

Gedo books so far in advance, I was really hot for Naito a year ago but feel its Ibushi's time now.  But Gedo sticks with his plans.  Apparently some of the heat with Kenny was him leaving (hey if you make 24 month plans for guys, sign them!).  Kenny basically confirmed New Japan's plans for him was everything Jay White had this year.

One thing I noticed watching New Japan (for example Kenny/Okada), was their long matches never felt long.  WWE is so over-produced but New Japan feels really organic.  Not that WWE work is bad, it isnt. They have tons of talent.  But the emotion of the top New Japan guys is really incredible.  Kenny/Okada, you'd almost be crying along with them.  Okada is probably the best wrestler in the world right now.

New Japan have no US dates this year and lost their TV deal (on Impact-owned AXS, when Impact insisted they work together and NJPW declined).  So...lots of chatter NJ and AEW might be warming up to one another.  Clearly Jericho wants it to happen.

I'm torn on how I feel about him as a booker.  Having a long-term, cohesive vision is great but I feel like he relies too much on the same guys (Tanahashi, Naito, Okada) for the heavyweight belt.  They might bring in someone for a short period to challenge (Kota) or even briefly hold the title (Kenny/White) but in the end, he goes back to his big 3.  To be fair, they are phenomenal, but it would be great to see new blood in there.

[The Unknown Poster]

13 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

I'm torn on how I feel about him as a booker.  Having a long-term, cohesive vision is great but I feel like he relies too much on the same guys (Tanahashi, Naito, Okada) for the heavyweight belt.  They might bring in someone for a short period to challenge (Kota) or even briefly hold the title (Kenny/White) but in the end, he goes back to his big 3.  To be fair, they are phenomenal, but it would be great to see new blood in there.

As I recall, Kenny would have kept the IWGP World title through the MSG show.  I cant remember if he said he was to drop it to Naito at WK this year like Okada did but that sounds familar.  So in that vein, Kenny would have been a long term champion...or longish.  But its really really hard for an American (or Canadian) to get the push as THE guy.  Kenny was extra important due to US expansion and he was a huge draw on every show he was added to.  New Japan were pissed when he left.

I agree.  Gedo doesnt adjust to organic things either..like I really would have considered Kota this year...

[bigg jay]

The Kenny situation is a prime example of him not being able to adjust. It would have meant changing plans to some degree but they still had the ability to use Kenny like they are with Moxley and Jericho.  The way they handled the Elite leaving may have possibly closed that window though.

[The Unknown Poster]

3 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

The Kenny situation is a prime example of him not being able to adjust. It would have meant changing plans to some degree but they still had the ability to use Kenny like they are with Moxley and Jericho.  The way they handled the Elite leaving may have possibly closed that window though.

Yeah and just swapping out Kenny for Jay...not equitable at all.   If they were smart they'd have made a deal with AEW to keep them.  On Kenny's side he had this huge offer from AEW and yet still insisted that it include the right to work New Japan (or as Kenny said, "I can do anything I want" lol).  

Loyalty is important in Japan and they wanted to keep their deal with ROH...but man, that bit them in the ass.    They should be happy AEW exists or else the likelihood is Kenny and the Bucks work for WWE right now, Jericho might as well.  Mox probably still leaves though.  At least the door can be opened with most of those guys because of AEW.

[ediger]

57 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Great stuff!  Interestingly, night one sold out but night two, which was a better card on paper didnt (they still did very well).  Over-all, I hear it was a huge success for New Japan.

Gedo books so far in advance, I was really hot for Naito a year ago but feel its Ibushi's time now.  But Gedo sticks with his plans.  Apparently some of the heat with Kenny was him leaving (hey if you make 24 month plans for guys, sign them!).  Kenny basically confirmed New Japan's plans for him was everything Jay White had this year.

One thing I noticed watching New Japan (for example Kenny/Okada), was their long matches never felt long.  WWE is so over-produced but New Japan feels really organic.  Not that WWE work is bad, it isnt. They have tons of talent.  But the emotion of the top New Japan guys is really incredible.  Kenny/Okada, you'd almost be crying along with them.  Okada is probably the best wrestler in the world right now.

New Japan have no US dates this year and lost their TV deal (on Impact-owned AXS, when Impact insisted they work together and NJPW declined).  So...lots of chatter NJ and AEW might be warming up to one another.  Clearly Jericho wants it to happen.

The long matches in NJPW feel like they're long because it's two evenly matches opponents giving it their absolute all. WWE always seems to play up the favourite/underdog side of things which really doesn't play into long matches well. I suppose it also helps that NJPW guys generally have a decent amount of experience in long matches. Well, the top guys at least. But I'm not all that interested in watching Yano go for 60 anyway 😛

[The Unknown Poster]

11 minutes ago, ediger said:

The long matches in NJPW feel like they're long because it's two evenly matches opponents giving it their absolute all. WWE always seems to play up the favourite/underdog side of things which really doesn't play into long matches well. I suppose it also helps that NJPW guys generally have a decent amount of experience in long matches. Well, the top guys at least. But I'm not all that interested in watching Yano go for 60 anyway 😛

I think too, that WWE has a very specific way of working which is why almost everyone, no matter how good, is sent to NXT to "learn" the WWE way.  They dont care much about the live crowd, its TV.  But great workers will adjust based on the crowd. Way more emotional.  I keep thinking of that spot in a long Omega/Okada match where they were on their knees barely able to lift their arms but trading punches and Kenny was nearly in tears.  amazing.   Makes you feel its real.  WWE is so wrestling-by-the-numbers.

And before I come across as an Elite homer, one thing that drives me nuts about some guys in AEW is lack of selling.  My gf laughs every time we watch but Im constantly yelling at the TV to "effen sell!"  The modern style is very lucha, to not sell after the moment of receiving heat.

[ediger]

1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I think too, that WWE has a very specific way of working which is why almost everyone, no matter how good, is sent to NXT to "learn" the WWE way.  They dont care much about the live crowd, its TV.  But great workers will adjust based on the crowd. Way more emotional.  I keep thinking of that spot in a long Omega/Okada match where they were on their knees barely able to lift their arms but trading punches and Kenny was nearly in tears.  amazing.   Makes you feel its real.  WWE is so wrestling-by-the-numbers.

And before I come across as an Elite homer, one thing that drives me nuts about some guys in AEW is lack of selling.  My gf laughs every time we watch but Im constantly yelling at the TV to "effen sell!"  The modern style is very lucha, to not sell after the moment of receiving heat.

Completely agree. Okada/Naito match had a similar feel to it. Both guys were just spent at the end with nothing left to give. When they did muster up the will for one more move, the crowd was insane.

I agree about AEW too. If I have 3 complaints about the in ring product with AEW it's the lack of selling, the timing of top rope moves (guys standing around too long waiting to take a move) and the overuse of some moves. I imagine a lot of this has to do with the lack of TV experience on the roster.

[The Unknown Poster]

39 minutes ago, ediger said:

Completely agree. Okada/Naito match had a similar feel to it. Both guys were just spent at the end with nothing left to give. When they did muster up the will for one more move, the crowd was insane.

I agree about AEW too. If I have 3 complaints about the in ring product with AEW it's the lack of selling, the timing of top rope moves (guys standing around too long waiting to take a move) and the overuse of some moves. I imagine a lot of this has to do with the lack of TV experience on the roster.

I think it also has to do with guys having more input. So the Lucha bro’s work Lucha style which is cool.  Bucks work the way they like and so on.  Whereas in wwe the agents are carrying the water for Vince and hunter and the way they want you to work. 
 

Kenny is sort of a hybrid. He does that modern high spot style but sells a lot more.  He always did though (I was always big one selling and always say in our meetings sell with your facials!).   Kenny vs pac always have more tightness.  Page is good that way too. 
 

I will take it Over wwe’s over produced style though.  And as they add more experienced guys I think you’ll see more. Plus more House shows.  Guys are working to wow every week right now.  
 

I know Jericho has pushed similar feedback.  In the early shows tag teams were working Lucha style. No tags. In and out. And Jericho pushes back saying they had to work a more traditional American style. And they have been.  Good change.  

[ediger]

Pretty good episode tonight. Good start production-wise. Hangman and Omega got to do their entrances while the crowd was hot from the show open before the ring announcer introduced them. Also announced Private Party after the recap played. Little things that make the show seem smoother. Ref was enforcing tag rules pretty strictly during the opening match. Not as much during the later tag matches. They're getting better in that regard. Side note, Kenny might want to go in for the back cupping a few days earlier next time 😆.

Dr Luther made his debut. I don't care that he's 50-something, it's kinda cool to see him on national TV. Unfortunately he debuted during a dud of a segment. The Nightmare Collective stuff is kinda clunky. Brandi's mic skills are not up to snuff for the leader of a stable. 

Sammy G/Christopher Daniels had a bit of a weak ending but I liked what followed with the Dark Order coming in and trying to recruit him while he's down. Evil Uno can cut a good promo so getting him some mic time is a good thing. They should have done this sort of thing for weeks/months before the big swarm. Build it up with a few guys trying to take over and getting beaten down, making them angrier and more bitter. Use that to fuel their recruitment drive until they have the sheer numbers to be a force. Then you do the swarm and reveal that a couple of the creepers are big names. Maybe guys from NJPW sent over to take down AEW or whatever.

The MJF promo started while they were in split screen. That's something they need to avoid. The ending segment with Jericho and Moxley was weird. It felt like something earlier in the night ended early and they were left with too much time but the guys in the ring didn't get the memo until they were down there. Lots of dead air. Really strange for a segment containing those two.

[The Unknown Poster]

I’m not sure Dr Luther is a win in 2020. Have to see how it goes.  Chris taking care of his buddies though.  
 

the thing about Brandi is she always seems like Brandi playing a character.  She never seems authentic. And the gimmick is goofy.  Unless they plan to combine it with dark order it’s a dud.  Plus she’s a Rhodes.  She should know how to be a heel without burying your opponents.  She was verbally squashing all the women.  
 

Kenny looked jacked.  I’d have have him a vs page team without issues before starting the angle.  Seems to have done out of nowhere.  “They have issues!”  Then Team them up!  Weird.  Page is over though. Kenny most Over.  
 

inwas fine with the mox segment. A bit too long. But everyone loves them.  Don’t put liquid in sugar bottles.  
 

Sammy is tremendous.   Just keep doing why you’re doing and he’s going to be huge.   Same with luchasaures 

Daniels is great but he’s called the fallen angel, has the Freddy mercury mic gimmick, wears a military uniform and dances and sings while pushing 50.  Nope.  Pick a gimmick.  
 

loved loved hearing Arn cut a promo.  Dude still has it.  Can’t wait for him to turn on Cody! Lol 

[ediger]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I’m not sure Dr Luther is a win in 2020. Have to see how it goes.  Chris taking care of his buddies though.  
 

the thing about Brandi is she always seems like Brandi playing a character.  She never seems authentic. And the gimmick is goofy.  Unless they plan to combine it with dark order it’s a dud.  Plus she’s a Rhodes.  She should know how to be a heel without burying your opponents.  She was verbally squashing all the women.  
 

Kenny looked jacked.  I’d have have him a vs page team without issues before starting the angle.  Seems to have done out of nowhere.  “They have issues!”  Then Team them up!  Weird.  Page is over though. Kenny most Over.  
 

inwas fine with the mox segment. A bit too long. But everyone loves them.  Don’t put liquid in sugar bottles.  
 

Sammy is tremendous.   Just keep doing why you’re doing and he’s going to be huge.   Same with luchasaures 

Daniels is great but he’s called the fallen angel, has the Freddy mercury mic gimmick, wears a military uniform and dances and sings while pushing 50.  Nope.  Pick a gimmick.  
 

loved loved hearing Arn cut a promo.  Dude still has it.  Can’t wait for him to turn on Cody! Lol 

I don't expect great things from Luther or anything, but I've been a fan for a long time so it's just kinda neat to see him on TV. Maybe he'll be a decent character. Some sort of madman that you can use for the occasional violent spot. The only issue with that becomes that all these factions seem to have a non-wrestling, non-speaking enforcer. Eventually that gets tired. At some point you're going to have to have Jake Hager & Wardlow wrestle or ditch the idea of just having them around. If Luther is a short term thing, I think I'll like it more. I'm always game for bringing in new guys just for a quick run to keep things different.

Brandi, yeaaahhhh... it's bad soap opera acting. I could see her having a "it was me, Austin!" moment with the Dark Order. I hope not. I think the Dark Order has the most potential out of the creepy angles and the past two weeks seemed to get that back on track a little bit. The Butcher, Blade, Bunny thing tends to get lumped into the creepy thing by a lot of fans. I don't quite see it that way. There's no supernatural or cult stuff going on there, those are just a couple of tough SOBs with a total babe valet. Then again I hang out with a lot of metalheads and punks so that **** isn't that weird or creepy 😛. Really though, you'd find people like that at Wellington's or Ozzy's when they were open. Maybe it's weird to some people but I feel like there's waaaay more people out there that could identify with them than Dark Order or Brandi's deal. Either way, they should get them talking or get some vignettes going to define that a bit better. Although they could go the creepy route and bring in Allie's friend Rosemary from Impact (depending on when her contract is up) and get another Winnipegger in the mix.

Kenny is really ramping it up and so is the crowd. It almost feels like the AEW audience was just waiting for full-on Kenny to really get behind him. Like they weren't sure what to make of his first few months. I can't speak to his mindset but if there's any element of "I'm a VP and I don't want to look like a spotlight hog", I hope he gets past that. He's the most talented person on the roster and having him at full-flight would be a boost to the company.

Page, Sammy, Jurassic Express, MJF & Darby Allin are a great core of young guys to have coming up. They are all well on their way to being legit stars. I want to reach through the screen and slap Sammy Guevara every week and I couldn't be happier about that. His matches are real good and when he talks or even just looks at the camera, I forget about that and just hate his ****** face. MJF has that quality too. His matches don't standout as much but he plays that character incredibly well including during the matches. I shouldn't be amazed by that guy in ring, he should be cheating and locking in sleeper holds for 15 minutes. It's the simplest formula in wrestling. Good guys give the fans what they want to see, bad guys try to keep that from happening. MJF works that formula tremendously.

I agree about Daniels but I think he's serving his purpose along with Kazarian in getting Scorpio Sky over. 

Almost forgot, I'm really digging PAC in AEW. He's a dude I would not want to mess around with.

Edited January 9, 2020 by ediger

[The Unknown Poster]

5 hours ago, ediger said:

I don't expect great things from Luther or anything, but I've been a fan for a long time so it's just kinda neat to see him on TV. Maybe he'll be a decent character. Some sort of madman that you can use for the occasional violent spot. The only issue with that becomes that all these factions seem to have a non-wrestling, non-speaking enforcer. Eventually that gets tired. At some point you're going to have to have Jake Hager & Wardlow wrestle or ditch the idea of just having them around. If Luther is a short term thing, I think I'll like it more. I'm always game for bringing in new guys just for a quick run to keep things different.

Brandi, yeaaahhhh... it's bad soap opera acting. I could see her having a "it was me, Austin!" moment with the Dark Order. I hope not. I think the Dark Order has the most potential out of the creepy angles and the past two weeks seemed to get that back on track a little bit. The Butcher, Blade, Bunny thing tends to get lumped into the creepy thing by a lot of fans. I don't quite see it that way. There's no supernatural or cult stuff going on there, those are just a couple of tough SOBs with a total babe valet. Then again I hang out with a lot of metalheads and punks so that **** isn't that weird or creepy 😛. Really though, you'd find people like that at Wellington's or Ozzy's when they were open. Maybe it's weird to some people but I feel like there's waaaay more people out there that could identify with them than Dark Order or Brandi's deal. Either way, they should get them talking or get some vignettes going to define that a bit better. Although they could go the creepy route and bring in Allie's friend Rosemary from Impact (depending on when her contract is up) and get another Winnipegger in the mix.

Kenny is really ramping it up and so is the crowd. It almost feels like the AEW audience was just waiting for full-on Kenny to really get behind him. Like they weren't sure what to make of his first few months. I can't speak to his mindset but if there's any element of "I'm a VP and I don't want to look like a spotlight hog", I hope he gets past that. He's the most talented person on the roster and having him at full-flight would be a boost to the company.

Page, Sammy, Jurassic Express, MJF & Darby Allin are a great core of young guys to have coming up. They are all well on their way to being legit stars. I want to reach through the screen and slap Sammy Guevara every week and I couldn't be happier about that. His matches are real good and when he talks or even just looks at the camera, I forget about that and just hate his ****** face. MJF has that quality too. His matches don't standout as much but he plays that character incredibly well including during the matches. I shouldn't be amazed by that guy in ring, he should be cheating and locking in sleeper holds for 15 minutes. It's the simplest formula in wrestling. Good guys give the fans what they want to see, bad guys try to keep that from happening. MJF works that formula tremendously.

I agree about Daniels but I think he's serving his purpose along with Kazarian in getting Scorpio Sky over. 

Almost forgot, I'm really digging PAC in AEW. He's a dude I would not want to mess around with.

I like Butcher & Blade.  I think people looking for a reason to complain just dont like their names lol.  But they're a good mid card team.  

I really think Kenny was purposely cooled off because if you book him the way you *should*, then he has to be the top guy and that wouldnt give Jericho time to breath.  They're 1-1 against each other.  I always assumed the long term plan was circling back to that and having Kenny beat Jericho for the title (and then he'd have Mox who beat him, waiting for a big match too).  Although Im curious how they avoid having Mox win the title...Maybe they will.  Its tough.  I think they under-estimated how much the fans wanted to see Cody beat Jericho.  Im a sucker for heel champions and you push it and push it and make that babyface win really mean something, but....I dont know here (which is good, I dont want to be able to predict everything).

Brandi had a great promo awhile back.  A face promo where she spoke organically.  She is good at that "Chief Brand Officer" role.  If she has to be on TV, I just think its swimming upstream to have her play a character.  Im critical of Steph for doing that.  Brandi cant separate being Cody's wife, it just doesnt make sense and doesnt work.