Pinc

Bloody hell it was embarrassing when Punk botched the Buckshot not once but twice, and then had his arse fall out for about a minute before the ref tucked him back in. Understandably weird energy from the crowd for a few minutes after. Different sections were already turning on both guys to different degrees, which was fine with the story of the match, but it actually felt like they might turn on the match Goldber/Lesnar-at-Mania-XX style for a moment there.

I can't help but feel this has to lead to Punk turning heel and doing a JBL style chicken shit run, hopefully to be dethroned by Kingston. I just don't think they can maintain the suspension of disbelief that this fella who can't hit a flipping lariat is the 'Best in the World' on a roster full of lads who do perfect 450 splashes for fun.

I'm also predicting Wardlow will deflate quickly once he moves into a new feud. He'll be a fine upper-midcard hoss in the long term like but this Goldberg vibe they're going for won't sustain without the MJF story.

Liverpool played 330 minutes of cup final this season without scoring a goal. Its what they do.

Omega coming back will help with the WWE stink. The inevitable New Japan invasion leading up to Forbidden Door should do same, though I hope its the proper big names this time.

Also, though it pains me a little to say it, they could do with the belt coming off Hangman at this point. For whatever reason he feels pretty one note as champion and they could do with a heel leading the show again pretty soon. Joy of the chase and all that.

Maybe they could combine the above and have Hangman overcome Punk only for Omega to return and take the belt back? Via sneaknanigans that keeps Page strong? Get Page doubting himself again and doing some of the character work he so excelled at the last few years.

If you didn't pop for Hook's music this week you're made of stone.

I love the way wrestlers have persistent alliances in AEW. Moxley's new gang helping Moxley's old gang makes so much sense but you'd never see it in WWE for fear of... I don't even know. Confusing the viewer or something? Because it might make the wrestlers seem like real people for a few seconds?

I remembered both matches being pretty pedestrian but I rewatched 28 a few months ago and was surprised at how well it held up. Also surprised at how successfully they fostered a 'the world is watching' vibe off a pack of pretty mediocre celebs. I think Puff Daddy did Rock's ring announcement or something.

Given that Cena hadn't quite broken through yet at that point, I wonder was there any discussion of turning him heel that night by cheating to beat Rock or something. They were never going to have more eyes on him than that night.

That mention on Rock’s sitcom surely means its more likely than not next year?

Its so strange that Rock’s comeback opposite Cena was a big past vs future dream match. And now he’s back to do it again a full ten years on with a new future.

I love Regal and everything but I'm finding these rambley BCC promos a bit... daft?

"We will take you down... and, we will... hurt you... and inflict punishment..."

The closing shot of him grimacing with Moxley and Danielson behind him was great but the verbiage is the wrestling equivalent of a motivational quote generator.

 The way Austin moves between each chair shot on his way to the ring, especially the turning one that Briscoe eats, is high art.

Sting and Darby is such a strange act. A really unconvincing goth nonce and his much harder Paint Dad.

The Butcher should be getting Wardlow’s push.

Eddie Kingston’s mini-promo on Garcia was great and I may even watch Rampage because of it.

I can never bring myself to care about anything Darby Allin does.

Thought Eddie was aligning with Jericho there before I read it properly.

5 hours ago, RedRooster said:

2.0 - I know they're popular on here, but I hate them. The Jericho Appreciation Society (and AEW, and maybe even wrestling in general) would be far better without them. 

Sounds like you ought to TAKE A PEEK!?

1 hour ago, WyattSheepMask said:

The first version of Dirty Deeds, the Driving Headlock-Bulldog-DDT thing when Mox was Dean Ambrose and he first won the US Title. Don’t think he used it for very long because it was utter crap

Came to say this. Every single time he used it I remember thinking it would surely be changed the following week. Baffling it ever made it to TV.

3 hours ago, air_raid said:

Did he? I only ever saw him wipe out jobbers with one from the top. He used the piledriver for ages too until The Bad Guy smartened him up.

I wish someone had got in Punk's ear with the same advice early on. Great worker otherwise, but a mid-sized guy like that with a lifting finisher never made sense. A big strike that he could hit on anyone would've suited him much better (like Michaels/Bryan/AJ/Edge).

2 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

I like to think Vince knew he couldn't take the best Stunner ever so he deliberately went in the opposite direction and tried to beat Linda for the worst one instead. I think he managed it. I've probably watched it a good 50 times today and laughed every time so job done I guess.

I love how Austin is trying to hold a gob full of ale through the whole thing as well, so he can do the climactic spit take when they hit the floor.

I don't follow WWE very closely these days but I did catch the highlights of McAfee's NXT run a couple of years ago. Is there a reason why they'd never go with him as a full-timer? NFL injuries? Because he seems a natural and the crowd are all over him. Chanting Seven Nation Army through his match like he was Jeremy Corbyn at Glastonbury 2017.

To have that guy get the big Mania win and immediately eat a pinfall from Vince and a stunner from Austin in 2022, with Vince having a brief out of body experience in between, is remarkable. Vince's lack of interest in ever presenting a new generation as superior to his Attitude lads is like climate change denial at this point. Does he not realise its his kids who'll have to book Mania once he's dead?

Matt Menard was the best thing on the show this week. Love the kid.

27 minutes ago, Mr Kennedy said:

So, Cody Rhodes. He’s just going to be an initial pop and that’s it isn’t it? Because he’s absolutely poo butties. 

If he comes in as a weirdo heel with some kind of alignment with Vince I think it could be a money run. If he’s white meat babyface Cody with Michael Cole screaming about what a moment it is but never saying why, then yeah I think its going to fizzle pretty quickly.

In that case though I could see WWE creative forcing a heel turn on Cody, which could salvage him. He may be the only wrestler in the world better suited to WWE’s over-producing style than being left to develop his own character. We’ve seen where that goes.

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

Is he though? I get some people find him annoying but he was really successful in ROH then NXT then WWE. There's a lot of people in the industry that clearly see him as a very talented individual and a lot of them probably know what they're talking about. I'd say he's had some questionable character work over the years in WWE certainly. But even beyond his part in The Shield, I'd say his work vs Lesnar and Cena as well as the Raw gauntlet match for example.. I can see why they get behind him so much.

He's among the most actorly performers of any kind I've ever seen. My disbelief is never suspended when watching him.

He gets some marks for effort for trying to develop some on-screen personality, but he was actually more tolerable as a workrate geek than he is with the laughably ill-fitting character he plays now. He isn't playing himself turned up to 11. He's playing someone else turned up to 11.

Seth is the worst wrestler of all time relative to his push.

The incident itself is a good laugh but Smith's mad speech afterwards puts me on Team Chris. Omitting an apology to the lad he slapped. Claiming he was channelling Richard Williams while his daughters have to sit and live react on national TV. Mad cunt stuff.

Hangman should be desperate for this Punk feud. His reign has been lukewarm so far largely because its so often felt like Punk's programme is the real main event. Get Page in front of him and see if he sinks or swims. If the former then a Punk reign gives them plenty of options anyway.

A tangential point but it bothers me more than it should how physically small AEW's 'four pillars' are.

Is Jungle Boy the tallest at 5'10" (billed!)? State of it.

Post-UFC Lesnar is far better than pre-UFC Lesnar precisely because we now knew he was legitimately the hardest cunt in the world. I wouldn’t want to do anything that derailed his UFC run.

I’d have stopped Austin’s bizarre retcon face turn the night after Survivor Series 2001 and had him drop the belt to (Royal Rumble winner) RVD at Mania X8.

Them resetting Austin to his ‘98 gimmick with no explanation was the first step in them becoming a farcical nostalgia show and RVD was clearly the organic next big thing in late ‘01 before they fell back into their comfort zone by putting Austin, Triple H and bloody Hogan back at the top of the card.

Its funny how Moxley and Danielson are pushed as a pair of legit hard cases in AEW like its the most natural thing in the world. While WWE had them as a vegan geek and an all round madlad who gunges people etc.