AEW Friday Night Rampage

[ReturnOfTheMack]

I quite like Bobby Fish, but Nese and O'Riley just bore me to tears. Up to now.

[Merzbow]

I've warmed to Bobby as the straight guy next to the Bucks and Cole's goofiness. I still don't see money in him but he fits the role.

[JimmyAnderson]

Cody to "retire" the TNT Title either on Dynamite or Rampage this week and then announce a new title on the opening episode of TBS before he wrestles the first match on TBS, like he did TNT. Obviously not the TBS Title as they've already got that but something else, something maybe honouring Dusty. 

And the Dan Lambert feud writes itself really. Alls he needs to do is run down Dusty and let Cody fight in honour of his old fella. The crowd will lap that up. As much as they don't give a toss for Cody being Cody, they will still cheer him when he's telling Dan Lambert how good his dad was. And even this is the greatest ever storyline in pro-wrestling when it culminates with Dan Lambert's dad pinning his son on Father's Day. He's had a go at Tony Khan, a son with a successful father. He's had a go at Jericho, a son with a successful father. And now Cody, the son of a successful father. And this is where his dad turns up for a Father's Day special to tell Dan what a disappointing son he is and then lay him out for a 1-2-3. 

(please note, this is not to be taken seriously so don't act like it is)

[Kamaras-Tash]

 

[WyattSheepMask]

1 hour ago, JimmyAnderson said:

Cody to "retire" the TNT Title either on Dynamite or Rampage this week and then announce a new title on the opening episode of TBS before he wrestles the first match on TBS, like he did TNT. Obviously not the TBS Title as they've already got that but something else, something maybe honouring Dusty. 

Just call it the Television Title

[DavidB6937]

1 hour ago, Kamaras-Tash said:

 

They're resurrecting the British Bulldog?

[Love-Wilcox]

TNT = Dynamite! There’s absolutely no need to change the name, it works regardless of what channel they’re on.

[69MeDon]

2 hours ago, Kamaras-Tash said:

 

Well, at least he's talking like they're at least going to *try* and do something other than try and have Cody be AEW's version of John Cena, just without all the drawing houses and selling loads of merch stuff.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, JimmyAnderson said:

Cody to "retire" the TNT Title either on Dynamite or Rampage this week and then announce a new title on the opening episode of TBS before he wrestles the first match on TBS, like he did TNT. Obviously not the TBS Title as they've already got that but something else, something maybe honouring Dusty. 

 

Rampage is staying on TNT

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

15 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Cody did his usual take as many short cuts as he can match and spent most the match working Sammy's arm which made no sense as firstly Cody isn't a submissions wrestler and secondly Sammy's a high flyer...target his fucking KNEES not his arm you absolute idiot.

On a side note I've not watched the Cody / Guevara match bell to bell yet... but wanted to play devil's advocate.

So the old schooler in me agrees with you, but interestingly I was chatting to a wrestling vet here in Aus (Davis Storm... cracking wrestler) a few months back, and in a match vs a highflyer I commentated on the fact he targeted the arms.

Afterwards I spoke to him about this, he said that the problem with targeting the legs on a highflyer (especially in a main event) in this day and age, is that there is a expectation for the match to be fast and exciting.

So if you target the legs you either dull the match down, or you break psychology. So that's why he focuses on the arm instead; he can return to it and work on the arm to slow him down, but when he comes to the hope spot, you're not breaking any psychology by suddenly having the highflyer bust out his best moves.

It's a solid argument (though I know there are several counter arguments... just want to share with you the psychology as to why this match may follow this strategy).

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

36 minutes ago, Louch said:

Rampage is staying on TNT

This was my thought. Seems to me the solution is easy... defend the men's TNT belt on Rampage and the TBS belt on Dynamite. Simples.

[LaGoosh]

8 hours ago, andrew "the ref" coyne said:

On a side note I've not watched the Cody / Guevara match bell to bell yet... but wanted to play devil's advocate.

So the old schooler in me agrees with you, but interestingly I was chatting to a wrestling vet here in Aus (Davis Storm... cracking wrestler) a few months back, and in a match vs a highflyer I commentated on the fact he targeted the arms.

Afterwards I spoke to him about this, he said that the problem with targeting the legs on a highflyer (especially in a main event) in this day and age, is that there is a expectation for the match to be fast and exciting.

So if you target the legs you either dull the match down, or you break psychology. So that's why he focuses on the arm instead; he can return to it and work on the arm to slow him down, but when he comes to the hope spot, you're not breaking any psychology by suddenly having the highflyer bust out his best moves.

It's a solid argument (though I know there are several counter arguments... just want to share with you the psychology as to why this match may follow this strategy).

I'll have to disagree with the veteran Mr Davis Storm here for 2 reasons:

- if you work the arm it should be because you either use an arm hold as your finish or it plays into the story of the match. If you're working the arm of a highflyer because you don't want to cut off their highflying spots then maybe be more creative and come up with a better match structure rather than "kill time working meaningless holds all match until we can do all the high spots at the end".

- a good highflyer can still do all their big spots while selling their legs being hurt and have an exciting match. This has been done lots of times successfully throughout wrestling history. 

It's bad, lazy wrestling basically. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by LaGoosh

[CavemanLynn]

42 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

It's bad, lazy wrestling basically. 

Agreed. That's typical wrestler psychology and not realistic story telling, exactly the kind of thing that sticks out to non-fans. Working a high flyer's legs doesn't break psychology (WTF does that even mean??), but is exactly what an intelligent wrestler in a real fight would do. Because it's a story, you COULD give the non-high flyer an excuse by having the high flyer work the arm first, so the heel ends up working the arm out of spite or revenge, but that's not what happened here. Yer man Davis is in the bubble. 

[DavidB6937]

Leg work on a high flyer is absolutely the best approach and yeah, unless there's an incredibly valid reason for an arm focus (existing injury, playing into a guy's finisher etc) then it's just stupid to go down that route. It's about building anticipation for the high flyer's moves which they should power through the pain and end up delivering at the end. Not running around the ring like nothing ever happened obviously but the crowd wants them to get that opening and fight back and finally do what they've been waiting for. You can sell well and still get some of your shit in without it looking ridiculous.

[Daaaaaad!]

13 hours ago, Kamaras-Tash said:

 

This is what really bores and frustrates me about Cody: this idea he has that he’s somehow revolutionary. He did an interview a couple months ago where he was blabbering on about “the challenge for me now is to go in a direction that perhaps no wrestler has gone before. I don’t come out of either tunnel, if that’s probably the best way to put it”. He acts like he’s transcending wrestling instead of simply obfuscating everything he touches. It’s not half as clever as he seems to think.