bigfoote

On 1/5/2024 at 12:47 PM, SuperBacon said:

Boss Man winning the Rumble.

Not at all, we know it's his year.

Mox getting a holiday is perhaps beyond even this. Maybe a day trip to Brighton around All In?

Cornette working with any "major" company - Could he have another NWA run, or some WWE legend deal. If they persuaded Precious Paul back, is the door open to more?

So do we get serious voice man in the mask, or Schiavone mid-ring? I'd use Tony, the crowd won't turn on him, not even a Chicago crowd;  would they?

Felt inevitable that the relationship would end in a fireball, but Punk can retire now and say his last match was winning in front of 81,000 with a Plunge, and retired as a "champion" and a first (to be fired from AEW).

I know US employment laws (notwithstanding "independent contractors") are a bit different to us, but you have to think it was pretty clear cut footage and eyewitness statements. 

So TK added this to Zero Hour, any more to be added or are we getting home before Tuesday?

20 minutes ago, JLM said:

Taz "I'd love to put Alex Abrahantes through a table, just piledriver him..."

Excalibur "Taz you can, it's anything goes!"

Makes me miss Dark a lot hearing these two riffing. 

"Yeah, but my knee hurts"

Perfect response from Taz

1 hour ago, AndyUK said:

I’m looking forward to MJF/Cole and have no problem with it being on the card but still don’t feel like it’s big enough to be the main match on this show. 

Punk/Omega please. 

A World title match, with a build behind it, not big enough? For a show that's a week before one of the biggest PPVs of the year? Come on man, seriously? TK could have saved that for All Out and given us a meaningless main event. 

I think another aspect of it, especially the last 10 years, is an increase in wrestlers being, not marks for themselves per se, but wanting to do everything. Loyalty to one company doesn't feel like a valid choice anymore. Whether it's becoming the next indy darling, or trying to be the next monster gaijin in Japan, wrestlers are more inclined I feel to want to dip their toes in many pools. Other than WWE and their exclusivity (AEW talent are still working indy dates, but with the house shows starting how much longer will that last?), they aren't tied down.

(If this reads badly or like the ramblings of a madman, it's the morphine talking)

Total crayola booking idea. Have final 2 be Roman and Sami (who's been in since single digits). "Do the right thing, Sami". Sami eliminates himself, Roman wins and gets to choose his opponent for one of the titles. Chooses Sami, gaslights him into believing it's a reward. Mania night 1, Sami wins with the help of the Usos, decision overturned on Raw with Heyman politicking about the interference. Belt gets held up. Tournament for a new champ.

2, 14, 15, 23, 28

9 hours ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

Saraya's signing (presumably to wrestle) shows that either WWE's doctors are too strict or AEW's doctors are too lenient.

I hope for her sake it's the former. 

Lest we forget, Flair spoke to 40 doctors before his last match...39 noes and one yes is still a yes.

Something definitely felt flat about the show. More an RBI double than the Grand Slam. Good to see the Acclaimed get the straps, but to immediately have FTR interrupted by the Gunns was a mistake. Keep FTR out of it (tie them up with other defences til later), and let Daddy Ass's boys have a small run with the straps and feud with the Gunns for a bit.

Jericho winning the ROH belt has to be a business decision. Honor Club, or TV must be coming. 

Again the women's match just didn't click for me. Even putting Athena trying to crush Britt's head to the side, Toni et al have hardly moved the needle and at this point the belt is less being kept warm, and more like stuffed in a Tupperware box in the back of the fridge. I don't think Saraya will buck that trend.

So Mox gets his holiday sometime over Christmas after he drops the title to Maxwell. I'm pissed they cut to black so soon after the match, just as Bryan had pulled the title away. Another minute or so would have been perfect, either for a Regal telling off, or a grudging sibling-esque handshake. 

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

Yeah I get that but as I said they didn’t say Paris the way the nation says it. We’ve always called it Kee Yev and to stop now as some kind of anti Russian measure is daft. Not as daft as having actors do the voices for Sinn Fein but it’s still daft. 

Apparently (from Orla Guerin), the BBC changed to Kyiv in 2019, due to it being the native way of saying it, rather than the Russian localisation. I guess the same as Calcutta/Kolkata, Bombay/Mumbai in India

I still haven't forgiven WWE for changing Dusty's music to Wheel of Fortune.

THE GOOD
Best Women's Wrestler

- Dr Britt Baker - Yeah I know, she's still not at the best level, but she's improved no end and has basically carried the AEW Women's division thru 2021.

- Thunder Rosa - Her feud with Britt culminating in the excellent Lights Out match cemented her place in AEW, and led in part to her #5 ranking in the PWI

Best Men's Wrestler

- PAC - Wherever he's been involved this year, he lives up to his "bastard" moniker. Consistently one of the best workers, and able to carry pretty much anyone to a good or even great match. 

- Roman Reigns - The Head of the Table has been about the only authentic worker IMO in the "sports entertainment" side of the biz. Carried the blue brand with his solid heel work.

- Mox - The no-nonsense, straight shooting "Wild Thing". In ring work - solid, Promo - saved the damp squib exploding ring, and until his departure, his promos felt real and believeable.

Best Tag Team

- Young Bucks - Their heel work (and shoe work) was cartoonish but not outrageous for the gimmick. 

- Lucha Bros - With few exceptions, every match they've been involved with has been great. While at times it can feel spotty (also see Young Bucks), when it's smooth, it's smooth like silk
Best British Wrestler

- PAC - as above

Best Event

- All Out - Excellent show throughout, a little long, but every fan got the pay off when Page got the 3 and the celebration with DO

Best Feud or Angle

- Page/Omega - The build to the pay off was top tier, and even if you telegraphed the result, it was worth the wait

- Baker/Rosa - The match that made Baker, despite the loss.

Funniest Moment

- The exploding ring. Nuff Said

- Anything involving Neg 1 and kendo sticks

Best Heel

- Reigns - A ship sailing smooth on the turbulent waters of 2021 WWE. Acknowledge him.

- Daniel Bryan DANIELSON - It's only been a few weeks, but he's already hitting his stride and collecting teeth (ready for Danhausen's Jar)
Best Babyface

- Alex Abrahantes - He's always so damn into it when he's ringside. With the gloves and the suit. A unearthed gem considering his previous QVC job

- Jungle Boy - Always gets a solid reaction, is still growing towards a main event place; the conchairto moment feels like a line in the sand

Moment of the Year

- Page wins the belt at All Out - "If it's visible, you'll see it. If it sounds right, you'll hear it. But when it's real, you'll know it" A truly feel good moment, all the way from the Casino Ladder Match, with perhaps the perfect build and payoff.

- Vince's Egg - Not a "good" moment, but shows how far from the wrestling business Vince has gone and how it's "We make movies, dammit".

- CM Punk is All Elite - That moment when Cult hits, meltdown

Match of the Year

- Baker/Rosa Lights Out - Brutal, almost visceral match that showed a side to women's wrestling that has been hidden til now. Even though Baker lost, it propelled her into the face of the division and showed her incredible improvement.
 

THE BAD
Biggest Letdown

- The exploding ring.

- Becky returns. aka How to kill two superstars in 30 seconds.

Worst Match

- Fiend/Orton at Mania - A payoff with no direction and all the weird shit you could squeeze into a below average match.

Worst TV Show

- RAW - Lack of long term booking, hell, lack of any consistent direction. Cheap played out tropes

So Nia just released this statement

So some reports Strowman may have wanted out to concentrate on his bodybuilding and strongman stuff. So that may explain that. As for the rest, feels very short notice. With Black about to start angles with Big E being especially prominent. Sean Ross Sapp (I think, can't find the tweet) suggests the only reason is to streamline for a sale down the road.

Outside of perhaps Ruby, I can't see any of these guys filling a void. To counter that, Khan has said he wants to expand the roster, and I could see him picking up Black and Strowman. Lana, I could see, bring her in alongside Miro, drop the accent and be a power couple.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1400113863450841098

Now confirmed

Davey upstaging everyone with the white suit and gold shoes. 

Vince looking every closer to a shambling undead abomination every year. Hulk, centre stage naturallybrotha.

Nothing to add except to add to the wholesome moment that was Page going over and the sheer joy on the Dark Order's faces. No idea what Rick Knox was up to faffing around post-bell though. 
Ethan Page...meh on a vanilla level. Just another body, nothing special to add in my opinion. Christian being the HoF level signing makes sense in a roundabout way but where does he fit? Surely he isn't going to be destroying himself in weekly 20min matches against the midcard? Feels like a spite signing, getting one over on ol' Vince.

If tonight they play the "Omega planned the sparklers" card, rather than try to gaslight their way out of it; Kingston is a fine proxy while Mox goes and does the daddy thing. Open with a Kingston promo and be done with the whole debacle.

1 hour ago, Tsurutagun said:

Salina De La Renta? 

God, I hope so

Promociones Dorado v Inner Circle is a feud I need to see

16 hours ago, The Reverend said:

A little off topic, but I think still worth mentioning, the concept of the winner of the Royal Rumble going on to face the champion at Wrestlemania. ...

Further to that, 1992. Flair winning the Rumble and the gold. Helped massively by some of Heenan's finest work.

That dangling carrot of a main event slot at Mania for the winner, tag teams coming to blows, feuds intertwined in one match. Patterson captured that lightning in a bottle with the concept. Further augmented post-split with the "which belt will they go for?" and seeing red v blue (back when wildcards didnt exist and there was a proper split)

2 minutes ago, GeronimoJacksBeard said:

On the subject of Momma Benjamin - I can't find it, so maybe it didn't actually happen and is merely a troubling creation of my mind, but i have a vague recollection of some PPV having a bizarre dance interlude of sorts with loads of folks 'Eddie Murphied' up as her. ...Did that really happen!?

It was Shelton's intro I think, else it's a collective hallucination. Yputube is being obstructive.

I have however found this and my heart is glad

Orton eliminates Fiend early 20s, Happy Bray enters at 29 and wins with holograms and shit. Maybe hard cam cut to just those two in a ring with props then back to live action. All in about 3 seconds and 20 cuts cos Dunn

Well, I'm sure I won the wooden spoon once, so let's hope for better...

4, 13, 15, 16, 26

Any chance of spoiler tags Bacon? Put me right off my tea.

OK so not quite a week...but needs must. Bag is condensation free. On opening, all appears normal. 

They did not go soggy. Crispy as the day they were fried.

Experiment is a success, Brannigans can be frozen