The Wrestling Thread

[Reprise]

Congrats to Shida, bout damn time. Too bad it means little given how shitty the women's division is in AEW. Still a nice moment though

It was a pretty good main event to be fair and a nice moment for sure.

Like a typical wrestling fan, I criticised it online before I had even watched it. I thought it felt like a knee jerk reaction to criticisms of the how the division is booked to give them the main event, whilst ignoring the lack of build or storyline and without generating any kind of heat. That said, it was a really fun match and I found myself really getting into it. Good for Shida!

I am guessing she will be dropping the belt to Saraya at All In though. That's my guess anyways.

Dynamite 200 was kinda lacklustre. RVD appearing was cool, but it had been rumoured for weeks that AEW were trying to bring him in and it became all but confirmed as soon as Jerry Lynn confronted Jack Perry last week and then the dirt sheets leaked it a few hours before Dynamite 200 aired.

It wasn't bad, but it just felt like a normal episode of Dynamite and not a particularly good one.

[Raging Justice]

Congrats to Shida, bout damn time. Too bad it means little given how shitty the women's division is in AEW. Still a nice moment though

It was a pretty good main event to be fair and a nice moment for sure.

Like a typical wrestling fan, I criticised it online before I had even watched it. I thought it felt like a knee jerk reaction to criticisms of the how the division is booked to give them the main event, whilst ignoring the lack of build or storyline and without generating any kind of heat. That said, it was a really fun match and I found myself really getting into it. Good for Shida!

I am guessing she will be dropping the belt to Saraya at All In though. That's my guess anyways.

Dynamite 200 was kinda lacklustre. RVD appearing was cool, but it had been rumoured for weeks that AEW were trying to bring him in and it became all but confirmed as soon as Jerry Lynn confronted Jack Perry last week and then the dirt sheets leaked it a few hours before Dynamite 200 aired.

It wasn't bad, but it just felt like a normal episode of Dynamite and not a particularly good one.

The Swerve/Nick Wayne thing was very cool, but yeah the episode wasn't amazing. One of the things hurting AEW right now is that they aren't doing enough to elevate their titles. In a good wrestling promotion, everything should revolve around the titles.

WWE has made their titles feel important. Asuka is being chased around by multiple women who all want her title. Rhea Ripley is beating the shit out of anyone who pisses her off man or woman on both Raw and NXT. She's literally DOMINATING Raw's women's division as its champion and putting fear into people. Kevin Owens and Sammy Zayn are the guys who ended a record long tag title reign and have been successfully defending their titles ever since. Seth Rollins is trying to keep his title as an entire, goddamn faction is gunning for him. Roman and Gunther are both in the middle of record title reigns, which is why Gunther's match against Chad Gable on Monday felt like a big deal. Gunther bragged that Chad couldn't hang in the ring with him for five minutes. Chad proved him wrong and just like that, WWE successfully raised Gable's stock in the eyes of fans. When you do a good job building up your champs you can use that to build up other people. Also, title feuds and matches give a company a sense of focus. AEW doesn't really have that right now.

Also, the champs are heavily featured in WWE. It's not uncommon for a show to begin with one of them in the ring or for the main event to feature them in some way. Plus, you'll sporadically see them in backstage segments and interviews throughout a show. AEW doesn't seem to realize that the champs should always get the most attention on your shows. It's one of the biggest criticisms people had about Hangman Adam Paige's title run

[Raging Justice]

Lol at the crowd chanting "read it" when Cole signed the contract for their All In main event match. I really wonder what the angle is here... When MJF and Cole hugged though, Cole motioned stabbing him in the back. It was really clear if you watch back. Could be a red herring though.

Cole was always in his element as a heel in NXT, so it could happen. I wouldn't mind if they just kept both guys as faces though, the crowds clearly enjoy it. I mean Stardom teased a heel turn weeks ago for that big cage match with Queens Quest and Oedo Tai, and instead just had everyone stay face and gave us a nice, emotional moment. Sometimes it's okay to NOT do the turn, like what happened after Hangman and Omega defended their tag titles against the Young Bucks.

I will give MJF credit, his promo actually gave a believable reason for him being a face now. I was not expecting him to bring up mental disorders. That was clever.

[Reprise]

Lol at the crowd chanting "read it" when Cole signed the contract for their All In main event match. I really wonder what the angle is here... When MJF and Cole hugged though, Cole motioned stabbing him in the back. It was really clear if you watch back. Could be a red herring though.

Cole was always in his element as a heel in NXT, so it could happen. I wouldn't mind if they just kept both guys as faces though, the crowds clearly enjoy it. I mean Stardom teased a heel turn weeks ago for that big cage match with Queens Quest and Oedo Tai, and instead just had everyone stay face and gave us a nice, emotional moment. Sometimes it's okay to NOT do the turn, like what happened after Hangman and Omega defended their tag titles against the Young Bucks.

I will give MJF credit, his promo actually gave a believable reason for him being a face now. I was not expecting him to bring up mental disorders. That was clever.

Yeah, I completely agree with this and I hope they keep both faces too.

Also agree about MJF's promo. He is one of the best right now and him showing vulnerability and making his face turn believable was incredibly well down. He's brought up his ADHD before in a promo. I can't remember which one, but he mentioned him having ADHD and his teachers saying he will never amount to anything.

It's something that makes him more relatable and makes him a sympathetic ex villain who people want to root for. I agree, it is clever.

Also agree with everything you said about titles in AEW and how WWE does that better.

[Raging Justice]

So uh....Summerslam was a thing...that happened.



They turned Brock Lesnar into a geek just to put over Cody. That post match hug was fucking cringe. Fuck Cody Rhodes. I literally have to change the channel every time I see him.

The Finn Balor/Priest shenanigans is just the same old shit. No progression there and honestly the whole thing is getting weird and confusing.

I like Gunther and don't mind him holding the IC title, but my god WWE keeps going out of its way to show us that Drew Mcintyre just isn't a big deal anymore. With all the rumors of him leaving WWE I'm not sure what convinced him to stay unless they maybe boosted his pay.

LA Knight winning the battle royal was cool, but what exactly was the point of this match again?

Shayna vs Rhonda Rousey was a crap end to a crap feud. Nobody cares about either lady and Rhonda has lost all of her star power. Fitting that she's probably done with the company after this match.

I don't give a fuck about Logan Paul no matter how athletically gifted he is. His match with Ricochet was a bore. I'm sick of WWE making wrestlers look bad by having them lose to celebrities. They should have had Paul lose lots of matches, pay his dues, and then eventually build him up as a credible wrestler. Instead they just have some youtuber come into the company and he's beating up top guys and actually having competitive matches with people like Roman Reigns. I feel the same way about Bad Bunny beating Damien Priest on another pay per view this year. A guy who may be a future world champion got beat by a rapper.

The only highlight of this show was Iyo Sky cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase to win the title and Michael Cole name dropping Stardom since Iyo was once a big deal over there, but I have issues with how this went down too. Bianca winning the match was lame as I think the fans would have much preferred seeing Charlotte get screwed by Iyo cashing in on her. Then again. we really don't need any more title wins in the record books for Charlotte. She's had more than enough already. Bianca pinning Asuka though, even with Bianca's leg all fucked up, just once again creates the idea of Bianca being the female John Cena. She can't lose unless she's screwed over in some way. Asuka beat her for the title at the last pay per view by using the mist to cheat. Now Iyo beats her by using the briefcase to cash in. It's one of the reasons I hate Bianca in addition to her juvenile hair twirling thing. The sad thing is, as much as I like seeing Iyo get the title, it means Asuka once again gets screwed with a short title reign and the fact that Bianca pinned her just makes it worse. You could have protected Asuka by letting Charlotte get pinned but nooooo WWE just has to make Flair always look good. Nepotism at its finest.

I thought I read somewhere that Kairi was back with WWE, so I thought maybe she'd show up and help Asuka keep her title. That didn't happen

Asuka should have won this match and kept the belt a little longer. Then they should have set up a regular one on one match down the line with Iyo. Then you could have had the two ladies go all out and give us a match of the year candidate (and make all of us joshi fans happy) with Iyo winning. You realize how much it would put over Iyo to be possibly the only woman to use the briefcase for a fair one on one contest and become the champion? Asuka showing her respect after the match would have been icing on the cake.

I think the Bloodline storyline has officially jumped the shark now with Jimmy turning on Jey. You can only do so many turns and double crosses before it all just gets ridiculous man. Roman turns on Sammy, Jey turns on Sammy, the Usos turn on Roman, Solo turns on the Usos, now the Usos turn on each other while they are teasing Solo turning on Roman. What the fuck man? It's getting to the point that we need a flow chart to keep up with all this. This is one turn too many.

I skimmed over the results of Collision (didn't watch it) and it sounds like a pretty nothing show too. Though I'm a bit biased in that I don't care about Punk or FTR and every body else on Collision are just sort of...there. It really feels like they're on the C show now and going nowhere. The fact that Punk is literally booking the show that he's on after all the shit he pulled last year further cements my decision to not watch Collision. You don't reward employees for bad behavior.

Lame weekend of wrestling, but that's the life of a pro wrestling fan. It's ups and down.

[Reprise]

Yeah, Summerslam was wank. Fucking woeful PLE or whatever dumb name WWE give their PPVs. I agree with everything you said.

Collision was a bit of a "filler" episode, yeah. The main event was electric though. I haven't heard a crowd that loud on an AEW show in a while. Great match too. Starks is looking more and more like a main event star.

I am really not a fan of how they are building towards All In. Why the fuck are they just having wrestlers coming out and booking random matches? I didn't mind so much when MJF did it, because that's proving to be a great story and it made sense, but having FTR coming out and just randomly challenging The Bucks to another match makes no sense to me. Same with Joe coming out and challenging Punk again. Yeah, I kinda get it, but still, I would rather it was all developed a little more organically. Looks like the dirt sheets were right with their leaked match listing based on what has been revealed so far, which is a big yikes to be honest. Either injuries such as Danielson's and Hayter's put them in a tricky spot or they really had no planning for All In and All Out (the latter might be better to be fair, we don't know at this stage). I mean, who the hell wants to see Jericho vs Ospreay? Everyone wants Omega vs Ospreay III (not me, but I'd rather have that over Jericho vs Ospreay, and also just because it would be a big match people want).

TK: "I'm booking Wembley stadium and we're going to make history, break records and put on one of the biggest wrestling events ever"

Everyone: "Wow, you have balls to do that. You must have some HUGE plans for it"

TK: "..."

Everyone: "Tony...?"

And Punk's rewarded, because as evidenced by the disparity in quality between Collission and Dynamite, unlike Khan and The Elite, he actually knows how to book a decent pro wrestling show...

[Raging Justice]

Yeah, Summerslam was wank. Fucking woeful PLE or whatever dumb name WWE give their PPVs. I agree with everything you said.

Collision was a bit of a "filler" episode, yeah. The main event was electric though. I haven't heard a crowd that loud on an AEW show in a while. Great match too. Starks is looking more and more like a main event star.

I am really not a fan of how they are building towards All In. Why the fuck are they just having wrestlers coming out and booking random matches? I didn't mind so much when MJF did it, because that's proving to be a great story and it made sense, but having FTR coming out and just randomly challenging The Bucks to another match makes no sense to me. Same with Joe coming out and challenging Punk again. Yeah, I kinda get it, but still, I would rather it was all developed a little more organically. Looks like the dirt sheets were right with their leaked match listing based on what has been revealed so far, which is a big yikes to be honest. Either injuries such as Danielson's and Hayter's put them in a tricky spot or they really had no planning for All In and All Out (the latter might be better to be fair, we don't know at this stage). I mean, who the hell wants to see Jericho vs Ospreay? Everyone wants Omega vs Ospreay III (not me, but I'd rather have that over Jericho vs Ospreay, and also just because it would be a big match people want).

TK: "I'm booking Wembley stadium and we're going to make history, break records and put on one of the biggest wrestling events ever"

Everyone: "Wow, you have balls to do that. You must have some HUGE plans for it"

TK: "..."

Everyone: "Tony...?"

And Punk's rewarded, because as evidenced by the disparity in quality between Collission and Dynamite, unlike Khan and The Elite, he actually knows how to book a decent pro wrestling show...

It's the principle of the thing that bothers me. Punk did some awful shit and has suffered zero consequences for it. Tony Kahn is not a strong leader. It also bugs me that the guy took away so many booking duties from the Elite (which a lot of people think is the reason the women's division sucks so much now), but is letting Punk do whatever he wants. Punk is not even an EVP. There's some obvious favoritism going on there with Punk, just like the many rumors we hear about Tony letting Britt Baker do whatever she wants. I think it's pretty common knowledge now that if Britt Baker decides that she doesn't like a certain woman backstage, then that woman is fucked (just ask Thunder Rosa). Oh well, at least the Elite are getting paid well. Supposedly the Young Bucks got a HUGE amount of money for their new contract. I guess if you're getting paid well you don't complain.

The way Tony is running things in this company is incompetent and unprofessional, and I think it's the reason why AEW isn't reaching greater heights. Even many people who still enjoy AEW's product have said this. I'm not joking when I say that I wish someone else were running things in AEW.

It's so weird that AEW has this big show coming up and yet it doesn't feel that exciting like you said. Meanwhile, WWE just came off the second biggest PPV of the year and have left me with no reason to be excited about Monday Night Raw or Smackdown this week. I feel like I need to take a break from both companies for like a week or two

Maybe I could use that time to play some more video games, which feels like something I haven't been doing much of lately.

[Reprise]

It's the principle of the thing that bothers me. Punk did some awful shit and has suffered zero consequences for it.

I do get that to be honest. But also, I am not an employee of AEW and I have no stakes in the company. At the time I thought it was ridiculous that this guy was given another chance to wrestle, was being booked strong, was just given the title (again) and there he was looking bitter, depressed, angry and just obnoxious. But then I got over it and moved on. I know we have had this debate before though. It's just after being skeptical about Collision, since its launch I have found I have really enjoyed it and I am actually looking forward to it each week. I have never really felt like that about Dynamite even in 2020 and 2021 when I was in the peak of me loving AEW.

Plus he was suspended, like the rest. Except he had to sit at home, whilst the Elite were quickly brought back in and allowed to mock him on TV, whilst TK brown-nosers/politicians get to line up to call him a cancer whilst being no more professional than Punk was.

It also bugs me that the guy took away so many booking duties from the Elite (which a lot of people think is the reason the women's division sucks so much now)

I didn't actually know that. I thought Kenny and Dustin were still helping book the women's division.

The way Tony is running things in this company is incompetent and unprofessional, and I think it's the reason why AEW isn't reaching greater heights. Even many people who still enjoy AEW's product have said this. I'm not joking when I say that I wish someone else were running things in AEW.

I agree. He needs to hire more help, take a back seat and not surround himself with yes men.

[Raging Justice]

I'll say two positive things about Summerslam

That injury sell by Bianca was amazing. I legitimately though she was hurt, and I don't usually get fooled by stuff like this. Her reaction sounded raw and visceral, like she legit fucked up some part of her body and wasn't expecting it. Great stuff, and I don't even like Bianca.

LA Knight got one of, if not THE loudest reaction of the night. I hope WWE is paying attention.

Now, why is AEW doing this "other" world title thing with CM Punk? Do they not realize the criticism WWE has gotten for having multiple world titles? Like Roman supposedly has both the Raw and Smackdown title while Seth Rollins is carrying ANOTHER Raw world title. It's just dumb. Also, everybody says AEW has too many titles, especially when you factor in the ROH titles that get defended on AEW programming.

Is Tony Kahn going to make Collision a separate brand? Because he kind of HAS to if Punk is going to be carrying around another world title.

[Reprise]

My prediction is it's all just a storyline and that it isn't leading to either a hard brand split or two separate world championships. AEW doesn't recognise the title (although they looked dumb by having the graphics for a title match, the ref holding up the title and announcing it as a title match, but I digress...) and Punk's title is not legitimate. He was stripped due to injury and his actions at All Out 2022. AEW both kayfabe and in real life seems to be sticking to that narrative that they don't recognise Punk's "X" title.

I don't know where they are going with it, but I think it will probably just lead to Punk vs MJF again at either All Out or Full Gear to decide who is the "real" champion. I also think Punk will turn heel at some point over the next few months.

Or if you wear a tinfoil hat and think Tony Khan is some kind of genius playing 4D chess, then you think everything is a work and we're actually leading towards CMFTR vs The Elite, which will culminate with Punk vs Kenny. Those guys got very excited in the last week as The Elite teased appearing on Collision and because we're getting FTR vs Bucks in a few weeks lol.