d-d-d-dAz Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 10 minutes ago, Factotum said: They can go a few ways with this: 1. He's basically talking shit that he said to get Punk to let his guard down. I can see him leaving Punk in a pool of blood next week. 2. They sow the seeds of a switch. Punk is on some mad Bret Hart vibe at the moment so wouldn't be shocked if they do a sort of Austin/Bret Mania type switch. Anyway fair play to all involved, this feud has elevated MJF to a lot more than Internet edgelord. He's an actual character The problem is, how do you turn back in a way that felt as real as that? He was such a sympathetic character last night, and it felt so real, that even if they make him a pro wrestling heel again will it be enough? I’m not criticising the promo, it was ELECTRIC… but turning him round again to the most hated man in the world might be difficult. On a separate note, I hated the House of Black segment. Penta looks a dick for debuting a new character and getting spannered anyway; Buddy Murphy doesn’t look like he belongs in the group and then Schiavone/Excalibur responded to the final lights going down like it was going to be a surprise, only it was just them leaving. Just a bit messy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members TheBurningRed Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 23 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: The term Street Thug has been used as a slur against black people in America for years. Mainly adopted of late by MAGA idiots. People against BLM referred to people at BLM protests as Street Thugs. It’s basically become the go to term for people who like to use the N word without saying it. Look at Eddie’s reaction to it. It doesn’t have the same meaning here really, but it’s a very provocative word in the US. Again, I don’t think it was Jericho’s intention to offend. He probably doesn’t realise as he’s proved time after time he’s not too educated on things. I get everything you’re saying, but I don’t think Jericho’s words were intended to be as deep as you think they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 2 minutes ago, Jonny Vegas said: Personally find it a lot more offensive that someone immediately associates the term street thug with a specific race than someone called a person of hispanic heritage who plays the gimmick of a street thug, a street thug. Go back and see Eddie’s reaction and his response. Jericho I don’t think meant it in those terms. I think you’re right in the break down of the word. But if the term in America is used as a racial slur, best not use it to anyone. And if you want to see further proof look at online reactions like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsurutagun Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 (edited) That MJF promo was just wow. Saw some people on twitter yesterday (Public Enemies Podcast) say that Edge was the best promo in wrestling. Boy, did that age badly. Max told that story about being bullied when on his school football team on one of the Undesirable to Undeniable segments with Cody in the early days of AEW Dark and it did make me wonder about the MJF character and whether they would ever go into depth about his childhood. I'd imagine the MJF origin story would include him being one of us with him being on the message boards and possibly trading tapes until he got money and completely changed. Edited February 24, 2022 by Tsurutagun Pointing out the Public Enemies podcast people are c**** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 2 minutes ago, Tsurutagun said: That MJF promo was just wow. Saw some people on twitter yesterday say that Edge was the best promo in wrestling. Boy, did that age badly. Max told that story about being bullied when on his school football team on one of the Undesirable to Undeniable segments with Cody in the early days of AEW Dark and it did make me wonder about the MJF character and whether they would ever go into depth about his childhood. I'd imagine the MJF origin story would include him being one of us with him being on the message boards and possibly trading tapes until he got money and completely changed. See, I know I’m a twat and everyone’s going to hate me… but is this a good response to an MJF promo? Is it good to relate to him on this level? Can they possibly erase this level of real, human empathy with a pro-wrestling angle next week? I don’t see it. MJF’s promo was absolutely superb in a vacuum, but unless he’s turning… I dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merzbow Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Can MJF get his heat back? RIP Larry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 That opening Battle Royale was better than this year’s Royal Rumble. Call-backs, teases, loads of shine, fun spots. Great stuff. Jim Ross has got to go. Not that I had much hope for Penta’s new act anyway but JR taking the piss with his “Alex is taking his role very very seriously,” killed whatever chance they had. Might as well have spent the 90s saying “Paul Bearer looks a dickhead in that makeup, doesn’t he?” Jade Cargill remains one-step-forward-two-steps-back. That bit where she forgot to kick out of a pin was shocking. Do we know if that was during picture-in-picture? You’d hope so. Awful. Keep her off lIve TV as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 I don't think MJF's promo turned him babyface, at least not to me. Definitely made him a bit sympathetic but overall I felt like he came across as an entitled and arrogant toxic fan, the kind you find in all the worst places on social media discussing Star Wars, Marvel, video games, wrestling etc who feel like they own a celebrity, character or fandom and unable to see past what they want. I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said: The problem is, how do you turn back in a way that felt as real as that? He was such a sympathetic character last night, and it felt so real, that even if they make him a pro wrestling heel again will it be enough? Simple, get some "fan cam" footage of MJF blowing off a child fan at an event or something. There's a pre-existing feud with his parents, get them in to say that's its all rubbish. It needs to be proven false as a gotcha really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merzbow Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 1 minute ago, Duke said: Simple, get some "fan cam" footage of MJF blowing off a child fan at an event or something. There's a pre-existing feud with his parents, get them in to say that's its all rubbish. It needs to be proven false as a gotcha really. Err... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 28 minutes ago, Supremo said: That opening Battle Royale was better than this year’s Royal Rumble. Call-backs, teases, loads of shine, fun spots. Great stuff. Got to love the Santana/Trent stare off getting a Rock/Austin pop. Santana as a whole was fucking great throughout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 The MJF promo is getting a ton of positive PR. Metro piece here: https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/24/aew-mjf-reveals-antisemitism-and-add-diagnosis-in-emotional-speech-16161769/amp/ It will be a ballsy bit of booking if they go down the ‘it was a lie, Punk’ route. Lots of people applauding MJF currently for ‘sharing his truth’, as the kids say, and giving a heartfelt promo ‘out of character’. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 Everything MJF said can be true to his character, and he can still be a prick who uses the sympathy gained to violently attack Punk. It doesn't have to be a lie. Exploiting past trauma to manipulate and gain an advantage is a heel trait, it's just not something most people have the balls or ability to pull off. If I was ever going to trust anyone to succeed doing it, it would be these two in 2022. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Supremo said: Everything MJF said can be true to his character, and he can still be a prick who uses the sympathy gained to violently attack Punk. It doesn't have to be a lie. Exploiting past trauma to manipulate and gain an advantage is a heel trait, it's just not something most people have the balls or ability to pull off. If I was ever going to trust anyone to succeed doing it, it would be these two in 2022. Yeah, but I think the fact Punk repeated ‘is this true?’ Suggests their initial plan was bait and switch. I think they’ll find that door closed before we get to next Wednesday. They’ll potentially have to accept that MJF is a slightly more sympathetic villain than he was previously. He’s not just the prick that Schiavone calls a shitbag and everyone laughs. He’s gained another dimension to his character, I just don’t know how happy I am with that. I sort of liked the throwback, cartoon villain. Youre right on the balls though. By bringing in things like racism/anti-semitism and bulling, they’re now locked in a high wire act to keep MJF the bad guy. It’s exactly the sort of thing you wouldn’t want the WWE to be doing, for example. Edited February 24, 2022 by d-d-d-dAz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted February 24, 2022 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2022 17 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said: The MJF promo is getting a ton of positive PR. Metro piece here: https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/24/aew-mjf-reveals-antisemitism-and-add-diagnosis-in-emotional-speech-16161769/amp/ It will be a ballsy bit of booking if they go down the ‘it was a lie, Punk’ route. Lots of people applauding MJF currently for ‘sharing his truth’, as the kids say, and giving a heartfelt promo ‘out of character’. Yeah I must admit the antisemitism stuff provides a flaw to my plan because the company looks bad in that case, rather than MJF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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