RedRooster

Is he definitely signed up? The fact he lost made me wonder if it was a farewell appearance of sorts, ahead of moving elsewhere. If they have re-signed him, what a miss for WWE. AEW too, though they don’t really need him.

Xia Li and Xyon Quinn have also been released. Jinder always comes across as a nice guy in real life interviews (in the ones I’ve seen, anyway), but he was mediocre at best as a wrestler. His dramatic descent down the card after his title run was telling. I can’t imagine Tony Khan will pick him up, but maybe there’s a place for him in TNA, MLW or even the NWA, as alt right as that’s become.

I’m totally with you on Swerve beating Hangman for the belt. The next match between the two being a mere title defence for Swerve just doesn’t feel like it does the feud justice. The thing that makes me think he probably will win is that Joe labelled him a ‘choke artist’ - so I think there has to be a middle ground; in that he wins at the PPV, then loses the belt quickly - so he gets one over on Joe, yet gives ammunition to that label and a mountain to overcome.

I wouldn’t be against Page winning the title on the Dynamite after Dynasty, in a way that sets him up as the top heel in AEW, and gives Swerve a mountain to climb before a longer title run. I think AEW needs to do something shocking and unexpected to spark interest, and this might do the trick. Page winning the title, then beating the shit out of Swerve rather than celebrate, continuing to obsess over Swerve and other opponents rather than relish the fact he’s champion could be a lot of fun. It would also allow for a Page/Omega rematch for the belt, with the roles reversed. As far as sparking interest in the product again, I feel like a heel Page as champion could be a strong option - you could do Page/Omega, Page/MJF, Page/Moxley, Page/Ospreay and the eventual Swerve rematch - all of which would produce compelling television.

Sounds plausible, although he still strikes me as an obvious to end Logan Paul’s US title run. Maybe Logan and Sami switching brands is the way to do that, setting up a fresh range of opponents for Paul including, if he stays put, CM Punk.

This made me laugh out loud. Another fun Smackdown. AJ and LA Knight work really well together. I’m intrigued as to where they’ll go with Knight after the draft. He’s still very over, and now that there are two World titles, the idea of a secondary World title reign should this remain the case doesn’t seem out of the question. Solo is doing a great job in his hostile takeover of The Bloodline. I can absolutely see this culminating in Roman eventually returning, telling Solo that he’d done a fantastic job in rebuilding The Bloodline and thanking him, only for Solo to tell him he didn’t do it for him, he ‘did it for The Rock’ (as brilliantly suggested by @Mr_Danger) and if that does happen, I’ll honestly have goosebumps. I’m all in for Rock/Roman at Wrestlemania next year, if that’s the plan. I still love everything Bloodline related, it’s so enjoyable. There was a point where I never thought I would feel positive about WWE’s booking again, let alone enthusiastic - but I’m finding myself feeling really excited about what’s to come after each show right now. (Aside from with NXT, with is still terrible.)

Last chance to submit your nominations this weekend, or to edit your votes. I’ve extended the deadline very slightly, from 5pm today until 7am Monday. Realistically, I won’t have time to start tallying therm until then, so I’m as well as to give people a little longer to cast their vote. Thanks for the enthusiasm, everyone - I’ll do my best to turn this into an enjoyable read once it’s done.

I still wish he’d pinned a statement on Twitter, but fair play to Tony Khan for his comments on the Nyla Rose situation from the AEW Dynasty media call. Not only did he condemn it, explicitly calling it discrimination - but he went a step further saying he didn’t think there should be discrimination against transgender people in general. It would have been very easy for him not to say that; he’ll get attacked online for doing so. Huge credit to the guy for that.

That’s a little different though, and it’s discussing the subject in a broader sense as opposed to specifically in connection with wrestling. And I think there are important points that could be discussed further here - for example, the fact Tony Khan hasn’t addressed it publicly. Not one main event wrestler - as far as I can tell - has said anything publicly to support Nyla. It’s also not the first time a trans person has faced discrimination in wrestling - look at Rick Steiner’s behaviour towards Giselle Shaw, for example; or the transphobic signs aimed at Nyla at previous AEW shows. If this was almost any other form of discrimination, it would - rightly - have sparked a visible response of condemnation; and possibly a cross-company one. But there’s almost a quiet acceptance of this, or perhaps even a normalisation of it. We’re talking about - in this case - a discriminatory barrier that has the potential to stop someone (not just Nyla) from earning a living in a fictional sport. And no one of status within that sport is brave enough to say anything about it - that’s big enough to merit wider discussion, I think. Hopefully it’s being handled quietly behind the scenes with the hope of making this barrier go away.

I do wonder if this discussion should be shifted to a standalone topic to do it justice, though I totally understand the logic in placing it here. It’s a topic that is likely, sadly, to rear its head again; given the issues that not only trans wrestlers have faced, but trans people in general. I feel like there’s discussion to be had not only about that, but the role of the promoter and even senior wrestlers in speaking out about this. While we might not change the world on a wrestling forum, I do think it’s important that discussions like these are made as visible as possible; I can only imagine how hopeless it must feel to be trans right now, so visible conversations that don’t revolve around hate are surely important.

This is exactly how I feel - I'm playing Persona 3 Reload at the moment, and I'm long past the point where I'm ready for it to finish. Even if I had enough time to play through something with a main quest this long, I'd prefer not to. I'd rather be left wanting more than wishing for less.

I played it on release, and while I didn't encounter any bugs, I struggled to get into the game. The world didn't feel interesting to me, and I can't put my finger on why exactly. Perhaps it was the characters in it? While in The Witcher 3, they felt interesting and distinct; from what I played in Cyberpunk, no one stood out to me as being particularly memorable. I bought it for Steam Deck with the intent of revisiting it, but I've not gotten around to doing that yet. Games like Elden Ring have won me over, so there's every chance Cyberpunk will too.

To be fair on Tony Khan, outside of perhaps Jonathan Gresham, has anyone left because of a spat with him? I don't think I'd categorise Punk's departure as being that, given that he assaulted another wrestler.

Absolutely awful. I really hope Tony Khan or the company as a whole takes a stance on this, and that a strongly worded response is issued. We're entering dangerous territory (or perhaps we're already there) when major organisations and powerful people are scared to speak out against discrimination in fear of losing a PR war; when the side they're worried about pissing off consists of bigots and the misinformed. And yeah, Nyla is a brilliant Twitter follow, and continues to be one of the more underutilised talents on the AEW roster.

This isn't from TNA (or a Joe Hendry thread), but this is still my favourite Joe Hendry parody. He's just brilliant at these:

It's definitely grim to consider, but I think the wider discussion kind of illustrates that depressing - for want of a better word - acceptance that the consequences for rich, powerful men in cases like this are often minimal. We have a man running for the US presidency who has been ruled to be a rapist; having someone who historically has not shown any desire to retire quietly seems relatively low stakes in comparison. I'd love to see McMahon face the consequences of his actions; but I feel pretty resigned to that not happening.

I don't know if I agree with that - I mean, obviously there's something to be said for the thrill of the chase, and a babyface champion isn't going to get the same reaction for retaining the title as they would for winning it. But I think Hangman's title reign came at a challenging time - it wasn't bad as such, when you look back at it. But he had to compete with CM Punk's return to wrestling; and the signings of Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole. He felt secondary, because he kind of was - the focus of the audience and even Tony Khan was elsewhere, because it kind of had to be. For me though, it's hard to argue the fact that Hangman is the most consistent storyteller in AEW - he always has a strong, long-term story arc going on. While I don't think, on hindsight, his title reign was as much of a flop as was though at the time; he didn't really have a long enough title run to build up to the arc that he is so masterful at creating. I genuinely think he needed a longer reign. I understand the logic in putting the title on Punk; but really, has anyone - outside of Joe - had a better run with the AEW title than Hangman since he dropped the belt? As for Cody, he's been...well...Cody since winning the belt. Exactly as you'd expect, which isn't a bad thing. But I think babyface champions need a bit of time to settle in, and for the threat of them losing the belt to actually feel real, creating that sense of consequence in their matches; making their reign more of an emotional journey.

If the court case is settled in some way I wouldn't be shocked to see him attempt something - even if it was something that predominantly targeted non-US markets; or relied on an alt-right streaming platform. Heck, perhaps it's the kind of thing Elon Musk would host on Twitter much as he does Tucker Carlson. It's obviously a different kettle of fish; but given their crossover political views; it's not outside of the realms of possibility that it ends up being presented as some sort of 'deep state conspiracy'; and enough people buy into that to allow something viable to exist. I wish it felt more ludicrous to type those words than it actually is.

I suppose he’s rich enough to offer competitive contracts to anyone unsettled, although it would be one hell of a risk to join a McMahon-led promotion. But if you are - for example - Chris Jericho, maybe you don’t care about that; maybe one last major pay day in a fresh environment seems appealing. People who are older or with a general lack of options might decide it’s worth the risk. But heck, maybe it doesn’t matter who he would sign depending on the markets he’d look to target.

I viewed a puppy today, and although it made me realise how much I miss my previous dog, it’s pretty impossible not to feel on cloud 9 when you’re surrounded by little pups and their parents, all vying for your attention. In the end we decided against getting one of this particular little…I’m not sure what it was exactly, but it didn’t feel like any of them were ‘our’ dog; but I’m bloody glad I met them. Dogs are the best.

I had to check on Cagematch to see if this match had ever happened, and I was pretty surprised to learn that they’ve only wrestled twice and never in a major promotion, their last bout being in 2009 in IPW: UK. They’ve not even crossed paths in a multi-person match, which is utterly mad to think.

I really enjoyed it, but like @Nexus, I left it be when I finished the main story. That may partly be down to the fact my gaming backlog is so enormous I don’t really have time to 100% games though, it certainly wasn’t down to a lack of enjoyment.

I think that's fair - and it certainly speaks to a lack of depth in the division. However, I'd disagree with the idea her matches were pointless; for the same reason that I don't feel that way about Roman Reigns' run or even Gunther's - it was all building up to that brilliant moment where she actually does lose the belt. I'm not sure we've had - certainly not as far as I can think - a moment in WWE like that with a female wrestler; where there's been a dominant champion in which it felt like a big deal when she dropped the belt. I really buy into the idea behind that. I really like a dominant champion, who feels a step above everyone else. I might be wrong, but I think he's grifting slightly. It does sound horrid, which is why I don't think it's going to happen. We'll see, I guess. I'm certainly not relishing the prospect of anyone carrying on a Wyatt-universe gimmick, so even if he's not involved, I don't imagine it'll be good television.

I think there's something to be said for a champion who feels the part, and utterly owns the role. That's why I've enjoyed Rhea's run - she's swept aside the competition, and the belt felt like a bigger deal for being in her possession. In addition to that, I think being champion enhanced her character, and really helped position her not only as the de facto leader of Judgement Day; but as one of the biggest stars in the company. 100% with you here. Whatever the plan was with Bray Wyatt prior to his death, the stuff he was involved in was pretty awful; the idea that Vince McMahon was the person dragging his ideas down seemed to be disproven. Either that, or he'd run out of good ideas. I really liked the 'Bo-lieve' Bo Dallas character, and I'd much prefer to see that return, as opposed to a continuation of the Wyatt universe. As for Hardy, I don't want to see him anywhere near WWE or AEW programming.

And Sheamus came back with his old entrance theme! The Gable heel turn was well done too, I really hope this lifts him to the heights that he has the potential to reach. It's absolutely gutting to see Rhea vacate the belt - I've enjoyed every minute of her title reign, and the dynamic with Dominic Mysterio has been a blast. She'll come back as an enormous babyface of course, but her momentum was such that she didn't need a long break in order to achieve that. I knew I'd been enjoying her work, but I think I'd underestimate just how much I'd been enjoying it, given how deflating this all felt. Get well soon Rhea! I'd love to see this. I'm pretty sure Gunther will win a world title at some point; but I'm also extremely invested in seeing Sami win the big one at some point. Imagine having Sami headline a show in Montreal much as he did against Roman Reigns, but actually winning the world title this time? The reaction and moment would be utterly magical.