RedRooster

I’m not sure they would be. It’s in Scotland, very few people here have reason to have any sort of opinion on him.

I’ll echo most of what @FLips says, but I’d add that - when it comes to a starting point - definitely don’t discount VI or IX. VI has aged incredibly well, and IX is just good fun. VII is my favourite game of all time, though I almost hesitate to say that because I don’t want to build unreasonable expectations. I, II and III have all aged poorly. They’re Nes games and feel very much like that. IV is decent, and I have a soft spot for V - but VI is when it really becomes something special. Brilliant story, an incredible soundtrack and loads of secrets to discover.

I’m absolutely amazed he hasn’t been picked up elsewhere. Brilliant news for TNA, but I’d have put money on him getting poached. I hope he managed to nab a substantial pay increase.

It may just be bluster, but Sadiq Khan has tweeted the following: To which Triple H replied... I mean...could it actually be happening? I couldn't justify paying the prices being charged to attend Clash at the Castle in Glasgow, but I'd willingly break the bank to attend Wrestlemania in London...

I hope they don't use this as an opportunity to give Ric Flair a new on-screen role.

I've not seen it, unfortunately. The thing with AEW is that the wrestling is so good that having a good match doesn't in itself make you stand out; there has to be that extra something. Ospreay has it. Moxley has it. Swerve has it. MJF has it. There are countless others too - I'm yet to see it in Okada, but that's not to say that I won't. Given the number of Championship celebrations WWE held after Wrestlemania, I can understand why Tony Khan might have wanted to avoid something along those lines; but I'd hope on reflection, he'd accept that what he chose to do instead was a mistake.

I have to admit, I'm just not feeling it with Okada yet. He's not bad, don't get me wrong, but he's not living up to the mystique built around him. I've not seen any of his work in Japan, so I can only go by what I've seen in AEW (and, erm, TNA I suppose) It's still early days, but he's failed to stand out so far.

Even when he's not on screen, AEW is very Tony Khan heavy; I imagine he's referred to on screen more than any of the wrestlers. There's something very Michael Scott or David Brent-like about his awkwardness when he does appear on screen; not that I think they should tap into that. Rather, it might be worth using this as a way of introducing a new 'President' type figure to make big announcements - Sting, perhaps? To be clear, I don't mean a GM-type figure - just someone who appears when you know things are getting serious. We'll see where this goes, I guess. There's a best case scenario of this leading to months of interesting television, and there's a worst case scenario of this becoming a storyline entirely based around him getting his revenge; or living out a childhood fantasy of actually booking himself in a match. Having Will Ospreay chase the International Title seems - at face value - like a bit of a waste, although I'm totally in favour of this if Ospreay starts winning and consolidating men's singles titles, before eventually going after the big one. I also still hate the formula of long singles matches with obvious outcomes. I imagine that's plays more than a minor part in AEW struggling to attract an audience - even when they run interesting angles, there's a heavy portion of each show dedicated to the wrestling equivalent of a friendly match. I accept that some people enjoy it, and while it's probably fine in moderation, I think enough people find the predictability of this approach dull for it to be wise for Khan to reassess this approach.

This is utterly mad. I was in the queue with about 6,000 people ahead of me - but after seeing this, I've left. Thanks for sharing, and saving my time. There's not a chance I'm paying £610 for these. Hopefully I (and others on here) have more luck if/when individual tickets go on sale.

I've never really bought the idea of Priest as a World Champion, even before he won the belt. That said, I think the only way his run has a chance of working would be to have a strong first challenger, as opposed to someone no one buys as a realistic threat. Jey can work as a challenger, I think, but only if the champion is strong. If Drew hadn't lost the belt, I don't see any harm in Drew/Jey as a title feud. Honestly, I think they missed a trick by not somehow transitioning the Money in the Bank briefcase to Dominic Mysterio, and having him become World Champion. Dominic vs. LA Knight in a feud for the fake world title could be a lot of fun, as far as crowd reactions are concerned. Dominic vs. Orton too, I'd like to see that. There's something very bland about Priest.

I completely understand why they’d release Grimes given his status on the card, but the fact he amounted to so little on the main roster baffles me. He was great fun in NXT, and his character should have been very easy to understand when he was called up; yet they never really established who he was. He’s surely a lock to return to TNA, where he was a really valuable part of their roster.

That's not going to happen - he's said recently (article from Wrestlezone) that unless something happens, he's never going to hang up his boots.

There's a period where I wasn't watching WWE so I may be wrong, but I think they're including tag title reigns in this stat.

She's fantastic, and I don't understand why they continually have her lose. She plays the character brilliantly, and there would absolutely be money in a pushed version of that character either as challenging a strong babyface champion, or as champion. 100% this, if you look at the participants in that match, there's pretty much no one else you could justify putting the belt on. Hopefully this will force them to build up the rest of the female roster a bit better than they have.

I totally agree - I've heard Wade Keller have a negative skewing opinion on Storm as champion; and while generally those things don't matter, we already know that Tony Khan pays attention to what the wrestling media says; though to what degree is debatable. I don't subscribe to the idea of her being a comedy world champion at all. She's a deranged world champion, who can be funny - and she's managed to turn what could be a character that could have worn thin in short order into something sustainable. She's my favourite act in AEW right now, and I would go as far as to say she's one of the best champions they've ever had in any division.

Rob Van Dam vs. William Regal (Wrestlemania 18) I’m not sure how many wrestling fans can trace their fandom back to match one, but that’s something I’m fortunate enough to be able to do. I’ve told the story before, but I started watching wrestling after buying a Smackdown videogame in Woolworths, and getting this for free. This was the first match on the card. It wasn’t my favourite match at that event (Undertaker vs. Ric Flair blew my mind) – but if my first experience of watching wrestling hadn’t been good, I might have switched off and given up on it. The match was a clash of styles, but it was good – and it immediately hooked me in. RVD’s athleticism blew my mind, and Regal played his part extremely well. I’ve never actually rewatched it, as I don’t want to ruin the perception I have of this match – but this is where it all started. Kurt Angle vs. Brian Kendrick (5-minute challenge, Smackdown 2003) I started watching wrestling television when I realised Smackdown aired on Sky One on a Saturday morning. The show had loads of great matches in that era, and it was a very easy watch. For whatever reason, the most memorable for me is this match – the premise being that Kendrick had to survive 5-minutes with WWE Champion Kurt Angle in order to earn a WWE contract. He fails, but this still one of the best short matches I’ve seen; and packs in a lot of action and story into its short running time, as Angle toys with his prey, before Kendrick mounts a surprising comeback – coming close to pinning Angle. With seconds to spare, Angle finishes the job. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster, and had me believing that the impossible was indeed possible – and that Kendrick might actually win. This is first wrestling match that gave me goosebumps, and the moment I went from casually enjoying to truly loving the sport. Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero (No Way Out 2004) This was the first time ‘my guy’ became WWE Champion. When I started watching wrestling, I very quickly gravitated towards Eddie Guerrero. He’d been the person I loved to play as in the Smackdown videogames, and I was really curious as to what he was actually like as a character. Turned out that he was great in ring, charismatic and genuinely funny. I willed him on, cheering as he won the US title; feeling desperate to see him break the main event scene. I didn’t expect that to happen – and when it did, wow. I hoped that he’d win this match, but never expected it – even now, the match has aged incredibly well – and that end sequence is just masterfully booked. Michael Cole and Tazz really lift the match with some tremendous calls, that just make the whole thing even better. John Cena vs. CM Punk (Money in the Bank 2011) This was a difficult one for me – I’d started to fall out of love with wrestling at this point, and I needed something to hook me back in. The rise of Daniel Bryan was what kept me, but the starting point was undeniably Cena vs. Punk. I wasn’t – for want of a better term – ‘an internet fan’ at this point; not outside of recaps, at least; and I didn’t fully understand everything Punk said in the infamous Pipe Bomb promo. But I knew it was a big deal, and it really did con me into thinking he’d gone off script. I was totally compelled by the whole storyline, and had no idea what would happen when the bell rang on the match. The atmosphere was electric, the match was exciting – and the finishing sequence was incredible. I remember finishing the match, desperate to see what would happen next…and it was a little underwhelming, but I kept watching; only for Daniel Bryan to become my next ‘guy’. Had this match and storyline not happened, I think I’d have – at the very least – taken a break from watching, perhaps given up entirely. Hangman Page/Kenny Omega vs. The Young Bucks (AEW Revolution 2020) Once again, in the late 2010s, I’d fallen out of love with wrestling. WWE was dealing with the worst of Vince McMahon’s booking, and it just didn’t make me feel the way it once did. Then AEW came along. I wanted to love AEW – but the first few shows (pre-Dynamite) were a mixed bag; with standout moments and abysmal pre-shows. Even the first few Dynamites were mixed, before it found its groove. For me, 2020 and 2021 AEW is one of the best runs of any promotions ever, with great wrestling and compelling long-term storytelling, the best of which was the rise of Hangman Page – someone who had initially been written off as boring on these very forums. But once he discovered who he was as a character, he became one of the most complicated and interesting characters in wrestling. This match blew my mind – it told a brilliant story, enhancing what was going on behind the scenes – and it was a tremendous match on top of that, easily the best tag match I’ve ever seen. The dynamic between all four wrestlers was brilliant, and Hangman became a new kind of babyface – a flawed human being, who you willed on to overcome his demons and do the right thing. He remains, in my opinion, the most well-thought out wrestling character around. An honorable mention goes to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania this year. I very nearly included it – at the moment it feels like my favourite ‘Mania main event ever, but I think a bit of time needs to pass before I consider it for a list of this nature – if I still feel the way I do about it right now, it’ll almost certainly bump one of the matches from here. I’m a big fan of Triple H’s booking, and the way that match integrates story probably makes it a good representation of my current tastes.

He’s the prowrestling.net guy.

The argument against her has generally come from critics/journalists; and it’s not so much against the character - it’s her as the champion. Jason Powell is particularly vocal about that, he likes the character, but not the character as champion. I totally disagree, I think she’s tremendous and she’s probably the best heel champion AEW has had to date, with any title.

This topic is more than a little inspired by the podcast My Perfect Console - basically, the premise of this is that guests choose five games that they would like to immortalise on a fictional games machine - generally games that shaped them. I'm going to take that premise and apply it to wrestling. Choose five matches that shaped your wrestling fandom. I'd originally planned to call the topic 'My perfect wrestling card' in reference to the podcast, but the matches don't necessarily have to be 'perfect' - just that they've impacted you as a fan in some way. It could be that they made you fall in love with a certain wrestler, or a style of wrestling. Maybe it's a match that gave you an emotional reaction that you revisit when you've had a shit day, maybe it's the first match you saw live - tackle the challenge in any way you like. I'll add my picks later, so the initial post isn't overly long.

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but can you not just use your eyes and ears on this one? He's been getting great reactions. It may be that fans do turn on him as they did in AEW, but it's not happened yet. When they do, he has a sensational heel run in him.

She's 1, so later on today we'll be building things with Mega Blocks, reading stories and dancing to The Wiggles. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to do all of that without her stealing and throwing my glasses and/or phone.

I was - by pure coincidence, I hadn't planned this - on annual leave, so that made it pretty straightforward. I'd have been in the same position had I not been, though. If I wasn't a dad, I'd have been able to watch Dynasty later in the day - but childcare takes priority, as you can imagine!

It's a shame AEW is running more PPVs on a Sunday than it once did, I'd love to have ordered this one, but finding the time to watch it was always going to be a problem. Sounds like it was a good show, Jericho aside. If Hook really is leaving, sucking the life and momentum out of him in a way that gives Tony Khan plausible deniability would be an act of evil genius from the guy; so in the unlikely chance that's what's happening here, well done, Tony. It's nice to see Willow win a title, although it's really strange to see Mercedes going after the secondary belt instead of Toni Storm. I know that not everyone enjoys Toni as champion, but I bloody love her. She's one of the best characters in wrestling, and I don't think the gimmick brings down the title in any way. That said, I've no idea who you have beat her, if Willow and Mercedes are wrapped up in other things. Maybe it's time to bring Athena back to the main roster, and have her target Storm. I did watch the six man tag, and I'm utterly perplexed as to why Billy Gunn is being made to look as strong as he is. This deserves almost as much derision as the Jericho stuff - it's utterly insane that he's being booked the way that he is.

Khali probably pips him if you’re going by lack of talent, but at least his title run was relatively short, compared to Jinder’s six months of tedium…so…maybe?

On that note, I’m amazed that we’re approaching May, and Kamille hasn’t showed up anywhere. I do wonder if that’ll eventually happen with Aldis. He’d be a great addition to an active roster that probably does need freshened up slightly.