Carbomb

His ideal opponents back in the day would've been Undertaker, Kane, or Mankind. Not been following much, so I don't know who else there is, but it sounds like Bray Wyatt or Aleister Black would probably be good. That said, really thinking about it, if he really has to keep on wrestling, I'd prefer to see him in AEW feuding with Dustin Rhodes, and I reckon matches with Cody and Jericho would be fun too.

For the first time ever, I'm genuinely interested in MVP. Always am when it comes to the first fight right after a fighter's first loss. I want to see how he responds. I'm hoping he's channelled the frustration and disappointment into an effort to evolve himself.

Fair enough if you get that from his work, but I just didn't see it. I don't really see it from a puro perspective either. However, I accept I may not have a complete picture of the guy on the basis of a single tag match. Perhaps he was just having an off night.

Absolutely true, but I was given to understand that he'd rather established his own credentials as a businessman in his own right? Happy to be corrected if wrong. EDIT: Ah, just jumped the last page, so missed the discussion there. Fair enough.

Wow, I'd lost track of time - it still felt like it was some way away. Yeah, that's a poor show.

I saw him for the first time at the UK show. He wasn't awful, but I didn't think he was all that great, and I was shocked to find out he'd been IWGP champ. Belongs nowhere near that belt.

I wasn't being serious. More a joke about the fanbase.

A lot of people are going overboard about how AEW is going to do, but if there is one thing that it would be fair to say they'll probably have down, it's getting all the organisational and infrastructural stuff right. I don't imagine a legit businessman like Khan going into this sort of thing half-cocked, especially with the resources, time, and effort that he's put in so far. I'd be very surprised if they didn't have a TV deal with a major channel, or at least one with a decent viewership, sorted out in short order.

To be fair, all they have to do is mention that WWE management told him not to do the French Tickler because he was getting over with it, and that he stuck it to Vince, who is not our real Dad (©Pitcos), by continuing to do it. Immediate pop.

Also, WWE have a set-up that they've built over decades. Preferred relationships with venues and media organisations aren't something you can buy straight away. Plus, whilst it is indeed impressive that AEW have virtually been created overnight to become a second competitor whom wrestlers can consider a viable second employment option, they're a long way off establishing themselves to a point that they'll be able to start attracting a bigger portion of the star talent market, which will also be a factor in them getting anywhere. Not one for football analogies in wrestling normally, but this would be a bit like viewing clubs like Rushden & Diamonds as being on a par with Premiership clubs because they had rich owners at the time.

Agree for the most part, but one thing to bear in mind is that WWE's market dominance is pretty much unassailable. We even talk on here about how no other company should be trying to beat WWE, just try to carve out their own niche and pick up what fans they can. When people talk about wrestling these days, the first thing that comes to mind for the majority of fans and non-fans is "WWE/WWF". That kind of brand recognition immediately puts any other wrestling company on the back foot, so in that regard alone, they are the underdog.

Remember that discussion we were having about fair pay and conditions for wrestlers? Pro-Wrestling EVE, good eggs that they are, have been working with Equity to try and introduce codified regulations across the industry:

One of the odder things about this is that Quildan is or used to be a ref himself (I haven't watched much BritWres recently, so don't know if he's still doing it), and I'm fairly sure he'd have objected to being treated in a similar manner, both in terms of the incident, and the professional and public reactions afterwards.

The thought of it leaves me conflicted. The idea of a cunt such as Jones potentially beating one of the nicest guys in MMA is distasteful, yet the prospect of Francis taking his head off is appealing. In another thread, I said I thought Jones would have a tougher time of it at HW because of his reach being negated by most guys in the division. But on reflection, when you consider that Ngannou was made to look completely out of his depth by Miocic with sheer skill, it strikes me that there is the unpleasant possibility that Jones, whose skill and fight IQ is probably the best in the business, might do exactly the same thing.