CavemanLynn

Most of my burps are more like hiccups with a strong exhale, no projected rumbling belch or anything. To be honest, I find most people who do burp like that incredibly rude, because you must choose to wind up and let rip at volume. There's a guy at work on WFH who'll burp right down his low-angled camera during customer and team calls which I find horrendous.

I can tie laces, but tying two loose strigs or ropes together foxes me.

I was always under the impression it wasn't so much "one big crowd" when it came to British wrestling, so much as it was about dozens of shows multiple times a week individually drawing hundreds all over the UK a night. So although an individual gate wasn't spectacular, it meant that on any given night, thousands of punters were at shows, with dozens of workers getting a wage.

28 minutes ago, TheBurningRed said:

Edge Cage. They are brothers after all. 

Adam Cage, to drive JR mental on commentary. 

1 hour ago, Supremo said:

 

I’d have two major concerns, the first being the name. Assuming he wouldn’t be allowed to use, “Edge,” I can’t think of a single wrestler who would feel weirder using anything other than his WWE name. Arguably even more than Big Show, he feels pure WWE, through and through. I’m sure I’d get used to it eventually, but him coming in as Adam Copeland sounds so bizarre. I can’t think of a clever workaround, either. Redge? Sledge? The Ledge…end?

I actually think it would be both hilarious and bang on if he were to come in simply as Legend. It walks that line between earnestness and downright arrogance. You've got the option of weeks of open secret vignettes hyping "(A) Legend debuts on Dynamite...!", a tron where the letters fade in JUST enough to highlight the name but avoid cease and desists, plus the I Am Legend connotations of being a post-apocalyptic loner is bound to appeal to Copeland's spoopy tendencies.

Can't wait to hear what Alter Bridge track TK will shell out for for Sexton Hardcastle's debut.

2 hours ago, 69MeDon said:

Yeah, was really impressed with RVD, given when he's just walking around normally it looks like he can barely move, but in the match he was good.

The closing stretch clip that AEW posted was 4 minutes 20, which, even if accidental, is a lovely touch.

I was indifferent to LA Knight until I heard him described as if he was the dads in the crowd getting to live out their teenage Attitude Era dreams, and, canon or not, that's made him much more likeable and relatable to me, so good luck to him.

I've warmed to Al in recent years. Perhaps he has genuinely mellowed or just eased off on his "persona" of late, but I've seen a couple of his later seminars and interviews and there's some really simple but insightful stuff in there, from wrestling technique to basic psychology. Like Cornette, the kernels of truth can be buried under character and hyperbole, but Al and guys like Billy Gunn were on WWE's roster for multiple eras and were trusted by the top brass to educate the next crews. A guy's on-screen career "achievements" are less relevant when those above them were simply applying those basic principles to an extreme standard. Plus Stone Cold and The Rock haven't hung around catering to offer any insights, and HBK turned NXT into am dram marathons that got mostly axed as soon as they could afford to get crowds back.

Out of a group of young currently-working wrestlers and an older worker who has ostensibly been out of the ring for 7 years, the latter should be the one taking falls. The Darby call was a mistake in my opinion - it would've been way more interesting from a story perspective to have Punk waxing lyrical about working with young talent and having so much to teach, then walking straight into human bullet Darby and getting obliterated. Not a long drawn-out beating, but a break-neck (almost literally) sprint where Darby murders Punk with suicidal dives and Coffin Drops. I'm all for longer story-telling, as we did get that in Punk's various "can I still go?"-style promos, but the idea of Punk doing the good vet thing and immediately regretting his decision would've been appropriate, hilarious, and engaging.

Every fan who "smartens up" hits their Hogan-was-shit phase at some point. For me, it was discovering RVD vs Jerry Lynn, probably off an ECW Heat Wave tape from MVC. For years afterwards, THAT was proper wrestling, none of that boring punch-kick-finisher rubbish. Then at some point, you realise that, regardless of the style, the key to wrestling is making the crowd CARE, and Hogan could do that 1000% with just punch-kick-finisher. I'd even argue that prime Hogan was a rare case of a face being able to make any heel, the inverse of what the NWA built itself on (and maybe why Flair vs Hogan was never that good, regardless of any political shenanigans). Personally, I think a guy like Steamboat combined that pure face sympathy and fire with athleticism better than Hogan, but Hogan's charisma and force of personality still make him untouchable.

24 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

On the branding point, I mentioned earlier that Paul Wight had been doing some press.

Basically every single headline generated from it refers to him as a "WWE legend" and as The Big Show. The articles will refer to AEW towards the end, but at that top level it's not getting the branding push it needs.

That's surely to be expected when you send out to the press an ex-wrestler who spent 20 years with WWE, who's also a physical freak. There's a load more angles that immediately jump to a jobbing journo's mind there than whether the guy's bosses have booked Wembley.

5 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Hard disagree. Yes, they completely Lugered Cody (amazing comment @air_raid), but the champion represents the company. Which is why people like Jinder or JBL never clicked like your Cena's or Romans. You need someone credible. It is why, even though it is still controversial, Brock ending the Undertakers streak was plausible. Jay becoming world champ would flop, like Kofi did (and that's down to talent, it is literally down to booking and presentation). Whilst you would get the feel good moment with Jay winning, no one would care a week later. I only see it being Cody, and even than it won't mean anything like it would have at Mania this year. 

Yes - I should clarify I wasn't talking in a business sense, purely in terms of the angle. Sami, then Cody, then Jey, and there's rumbles of fan support for Solo taking the strap off Roman. My point was, that the angle is so exciting that you can point any one of them at Roman, and there's a frisson of "they're the ones that are going to do it!"

The angle is so hot right now, that I think you could put anyone involved in front of Roman and argue they should be the one to dethrone him. Ultimately though, I'm still convinced they fxxxed it, not going with Cody at Mania. Everything that has happened since would have made more sense if he'd lost - with Roman lashing out at everyone around him AFTER he'd been stripped of the trophy that really gave him his sense of power and self-worth. Now, they've had to manufacture a belt for the rest of the roster while Roman retains, and you've got his downfall playing out before losing the title, which means any face who finally dethrones him is simply putting the final nail in the coffin. It would be WWE parity booking at its worst, cutting the legs off the face from the off by saying that they wouldn't have had a chance if the heel champ had been at 100%. It relies on whoever they choose (Cody) maintaining their own heat and surviving 12 months of booking to stay hot enough that winning at the second crack is just as memorable and cathartic. I don't doubt that person (Cody) could manage it, but there's no on-screen reason it had to be so convoluted. I want a climax, not just relief #OOC.

I'd never heard of David Corenswet before these rumours, so all I've seen of him is Google Image Searches of him looking chiselled and handsome on the red carpet, but I do wish they'd have a Superman that was a big ol' country lunk with a heart of gold. Superman's glasses as a disguise has been memed and ridiculed to fxxx, but the idea was that there was no way this awkward but loveable doofus could be the unflappable hero with grace and strength.

I also like the idea (which I don't know if it was head canon or based on particular stories) that any physical battle he was involved was essentially him trying to negotiate with the villains and relying on his genetics to outlast the punishment the longer he wasn't able to bring them around; it's why Doomsday was such a threat (cop out?) because it couldn't be negotiated with.

"Superman as alien" was always the least interesting angle, as was the idea that he was unbeatable and therefore an aloof God figure. The direct contrast that gets to the nub of why I think Snyder's was a monumental misjudgment is the death of Jonathan Kent - him dying quietly of a heart attack all of a sudden is much more poignant and a more valuable lesson to Clark than being forced to let his father choose to die and preserve himself for some unknown cause. Superman will not be able to save everyone, so he has to make every choice the one he thinks will do the most good.

Human people can't be helpless cannon fodder either. I love the sinking boat scene in Superman Returns, because you still see the human characters fighting, thinking and struggling to save themselves, and it's only when all hope is lost that Superman swoops in to deadlift the boat out of the water.

If Gunn can capture that optimism, then his take should be good. Then again, he also produced that murdering masked super kid horror, so who knows.

30 minutes ago, air_raid said:

She's Joan Cena.

2 hours ago, Accident Prone said:

Omega vs Ospreay, once again, transcended pro wrestling. I remember the dope on the hardcam during Collision with their "Please don't hurt yourselves!" sign, and I hope they cried with their head in their hands watching Omega get spiked on a Tiger Driver '91. Along with their first match in January, they proved that pro wrestling at it's highest peak was back. I remember an argument on here once where someone was saying "Oh MOVEZ don't matter, STORY is more important" and in response to that tired argument someone said, "Yeah, but imagine how you'd feel if you saw a match that had BOTH?". I like to think that Omega and Ospreay are living proof of that counter-argument. You can keep your amateur dramatics at the local community theatre, I'll happily take this any day of the week.

If you mean "transcended pro wrestling" as in "buried all the quality work they did beforehand with an absolutely disgusting head drop made famous by a wrestler who died as a direct result of head drops", then yeah, sure.

Omega and Osprey ALWAYS ALMOST have me. Great spectacles, just enough character work to excuse the occasionally ridiculous stunt spot, all building wonderfully,... And then they'll do something so utterly stupid I'm taken right out of the match and it's made painfully clear these are two human beings hurting each other for entertainment. Give me am dram over vertebrae being concertina'ed any day. Completely unnecessary. I'm sure it'll be argued by fans that it was all part of the escalation and Osprey going to extreme lengths to put Kenny away, but he didn't even do that - he still went back to his regular finishes. Fuck off.

I always get a kick out of my man Tana. It looked weird on paper, but MJF is probably the best guy in AEW to get a quality match out of the basics, and both guys thrived here. MJF’s selling of the knee was brilliant as ever, just the right mix of chickenshit comeuppance and hardworking sympathy.

Similar vibes for me for Kojima, who I think really comes across well on TV, with his bright and stocky look, game but curmudgeonly facials, and solid offence. Punk stepped up here, and was really good foil. However, this was the first of a fair few matches that had a big deal made of guys doing other guy's moves. Busting out the Anaconda Vice was a nice touch, but having your opponent lie there for a bit so you can make a joke about you being compared to Hulk Hogan is a bit too cute for me.

Umino didn't get the memo about everyone on both teams wearing black and white.

Garcia solidifying his place as a Pillar purely by grind-dancing his way into a punch up. Give him a Sambo suplex finisher called the Power Bottom and stick a rocket on his back.

SANADA vs Jungle Boy was another fairly pedestrian outing for the NJPW champ. It's mad that they again pulled the trigger on a rising talent years too late, and not only that, stuck the belt on him after removing absolutely everything that made him stand out. Stoic punk? Crystal skull pirate? Nah. Bloke with a short back and sides and pants. Whoop. Great workhorse, but pure filler until the damp squib of a turn only salvaged by Taz's emotional involvement. 

Suzuki has the best eyebrow work since the Rock. Le Suzuki Gods' pose was fantastic. Match wasn't up to much, and Naito especially seemed fairly inoccuous. Still fun for the Divas piss break spot.

Okada had an Okada match, which is crisp but u involving if you don't know him. He's practically the NJPW Greg Valentine, for the fact it takes him 40 minutes to warm up. It might have been a nice bucket list ticker for Danielson, and a dream match for a lot of fans, but I really feel that the injury drama stalled this one from getting out of 2nd gear.

Yeesh. That's fine for those who Watch Wrestling through nefarious means and can skip to the two or three bouts of interest, but it sounds exhausting to get through in one sitting. That sounds like two nights worth of action, at least. I get that this show is probably more niche than AEW's usual output, but either the times need reining in or the number of matches needs trimming. Not everyone needs to be on every card.

I know it's the apocalypse and all that, but the details in that article are fantastic. Proper "Raven and the Dudleyz et al turning on Kane and Jericho" vibes. Permission to raid Russian prisons for the biggest and baddest for your black ops mercenary army, only for it to come marching to your front door. "Up the M4." It's just a pity Prigs doesn't outright poo-poo the whole Ukraine invasion; sure, he lambast the Russian brass for doing it purely for selfish gain, but it does read like more of the same even if guns start blazing and Putin gets boxed.

24 minutes ago, Pinc said:

Sure, but to say that the show carried on 'without any bother at all' is just revisionist.

My point was to those pointing at the drop in ratings and quality as being a result of Punk not being on TV, instead of that drop in ratings and quality being directly caused by Punk's actions and walk-out.

I stand corrected re: Punk advising talent, from the examples given in this thread. I assume he was still DMing while at home.

I'd imagine it depends on how much individual show gates matter to the talent, and whether they truly care about growing the company. If anyone's on a sizeable wedge and doesn't directly benefit from increased ticket revenue, then it comes down to a talent knowing their name on the bill will give those below them a better deal.

The guy kicked off publicly against the other biggest names in the company, then walked away for months. Once he was at the top of the card, any idea of working with emerging talent disappeared, although not that he was at the top of the card long enough. I've not heard mention of him working with talent behind the scenes to coach, advise, or otherwise transfer knowledge.

I'm not advocating a return to "darker days", but one's pay being vastly dependent on working hot angles with any talent for maximum gate would seem to have been a great motivator in this situation.

31 minutes ago, Pinc said:

Does anyone actually believe this? Dynamite felt directionless for months after Punk disappeared, and most agreed that MJF’s title reign was a damp squib until the Iron Man match.

You don't get to flip the table over because you're losing the game and storm off, then turn round at the people picking up the pieces and say, "See! Look at the mess you're in without me!"

Are All Star/Super Slam on hiatus post-bereavement? I've checked their site and connected ticket sites, and there's nothing booked until October.

Saying one thing and doing/being another is very much in Punk's wheelhouse; it was just more fun when he was clearly doing it for boos in the SES. This Collision shit though? If a wrestler says they don't care if we cheer or boo him (as he did), then that tells me you're not very good at doing the one funda-fxxxing-mental thing every wrestler is supposed to get you to do. The whole promo reeked off "I'm doing this for ME!" which is classic heel shtick, but utterly muddied by their deliberate chase for cheers in Chicago. "Oooooh" worked-shoot digs without naming names. GO AWAY. 

And to be clear, anyone in AEW or any other wrestling company at any level doing the above can fxxx right off too, not just Punk or the Elite.

What part of Con Air is meant to be serious?? 

It's a 90s action camp classic. Everyone in it is typecast to fuck and having a ball chewing every line because the scenery is getting blown up or shot to pieces.

It feels like we're well into the name equivalent of alphabet soup at this point. In the 80s reports, I got a real kick out of seeing who was facing who on the road, imaging what some of those matches would have been like. In this early-2000s onwards period, when my interest admittedly fell to all but zero, these reports read like lists of filler. Just muscly guys in trunks, or lucha/indie guys trying to make the most of 5 minutes a week. Even some of the main event feuds lack that special sauce that stops them feeling like time-biders.