The Wrestling Thread

[Raging Justice]

I don't know when AEW is going to realize that Hangman is "The Guy", whether it's as a face or a heel. He's been the most compelling character in the promotion's entire history. He was there from day 1. He's homegrown. He's from the group that created the company. He's the guy that CM Punk immediately had behind the scenes beef with...why do you think that is? Think about Punk's ego, then think about that question again

I'll just leave it at that. I'm just so exhausted with how stupid AEW and WWE are.

[Raging Justice]

Brief note on Stardom, they just had a recent show where a match stip removed almost ever single member from Queen's Quest, bringing it down to just its leader as the sole survivor of the faction. They also had Saori Anou lose the secondary singles title to someone who isn't even on Stardom's roster. I could be salty about a Cosmic Angel losing the white belt, but I just think it's nice to see a company shake things up

For context, this would be like Mercedes dropping the TBS title to Stephanie Vaquer, and one of AEW's major factions (like House of Black or the BCC) being dissolved all in one PPV.

[Reprise]

"WWE is bulletproof. They can piss on your head, call it rain, and not even bother to give you an umbrella. They have the easiest fanbase in the world to please, and they still go out of their way to fuck with them while telling basic-ass, poorly thought out, overwrought stories."

This statement is unbelievably true.

[Raging Justice]

Both companies suck, Timeless Toni Storm is worse than anything WWE is doing right now.

[Markies]

"WWE is bulletproof. They can piss on your head, call it rain, and not even bother to give you an umbrella. They have the easiest fanbase in the world to please, and they still go out of their way to fuck with them while telling basic-ass, poorly thought out, overwrought stories."

This statement is unbelievably true.

They also have the most toxic and blind supporting fans of a corporation I have ever seen. A wrestler signs with WWE and the fans think they are greatest wrestler alive. A wrestler leaves WWE and they turn on them in an instant.

I love how everybody is excited and thrilled about the crossover between NXT and TNA. Like, it is something they have never seen before and how it is helping both companies. When, in all actuality, it is just an easy way for WWE to poach talent away from TNA.

But, on a more positive note, that Toni Storm/Mariah May angle last night was absolutely beautiful. I loved every moment of it and it was a masterclass in how to introduce a star to a company. You take somebody like Mariah May, who barely anybody knew in the West, put her underneath an established star like Toni Storm and let them work off each other. Months later, people love Mariah and she is one of the top stars in the company. And now, she is an evil heel and will star in one of the biggest matches at the biggest show the company has and will probably take the title from her as well. I don't think every wrestler should get that kind of treatment/booking, but every now and then, it works really well. I have loved Toni Storm's gimmick and transformation and this has been a great payoff for it.

[Reprise]

They also have the most toxic and blind supporting fans of a corporation I have ever seen. A wrestler signs with WWE and the fans think they are greatest wrestler alive. A wrestler leaves WWE and they turn on them in an instant.

I love how everybody is excited and thrilled about the crossover between NXT and TNA. Like, it is something they have never seen before and how it is helping both companies. When, in all actuality, it is just an easy way for WWE to poach talent away from TNA.

This is true. Just look at how quickly fans turned on Edge. Now the narrative is he's "old" and "washed up". Look at how WWE fans' opinion on CM Punk shifted dramatically. Just a few months before he joined WWE, they were calling him "half a mill Phil" and posting memes of him looking goofy in the gold outfit he wore on Collision to ambush Samoa Joe and the GTS botch he did on Joe.

Ospreay seems a pretty large target lately too, but you can guarantee if he had signed with WWE they would be singing his praises.

And this TNA crossover is clearly just so they can poach talent. It's not even subtle with the likes of Jordynne Grace.

But, on a more positive note, that Toni Storm/Mariah May angle last night was absolutely beautiful. I loved every moment of it and it was a masterclass in how to introduce a star to a company. You take somebody like Mariah May, who barely anybody knew in the West, put her underneath an established star like Toni Storm and let them work off each other. Months later, people love Mariah and she is one of the top stars in the company. And now, she is an evil heel and will star in one of the biggest matches at the biggest show the company has and will probably take the title from her as well. I don't think every wrestler should get that kind of treatment/booking, but every now and then, it works really well. I have loved Toni Storm's gimmick and transformation and this has been a great payoff for it.

I thought that was a great way to end last night's episode. Honestly the last couple of weeks Dynamite has seemed pretty damn good. They're doing a better job to heat things up and built to All In than they did last year. Last week's episode was very good and this week's was just as strong.

[Raging Justice]

It's a sad commentary on how shitty EVERYTHING in pro wrestling is today when anything involving Timeless Toni Storm is propped up as great TV.

I need a fucking time machine. I want to go back to the 80s or 90s when wrestling didn't suck and was actually mainstream. I'm so done. I just don't fucking care anymore. AEW sucks and WWE sucks.

[Reprise]

This is true. Just look at how quickly fans turned on Edge. Now the narrative is he's "old" and "washed up". Look at how WWE fans' opinion on CM Punk shifted dramatically. Just a few months before he joined WWE, they were calling him "half a mill Phil" and posting memes of him looking goofy in the gold outfit he wore on Collision to ambush Samoa Joe and the GTS botch he did on Joe.

Ospreay seems a pretty large target lately too, but you can guarantee if he had signed with WWE they would be singing his praises.

And why is Mercedes so hated these days? Some wrestling fans are proper weird. They turn on people and twist the narrative so quickly, they don't even notice how fickle they are.

A few years ago, Roman was HATED. Not just "oh we don't like how Vince is booking the show and we want him to be heel" hated, which is the new revisionist version, but legitimately despised. I remember people saying he literally sucks as a wrestler, in the ring, only has like three moves, is boring etc. Now over the last two years or so, people talk about him as if he's the greatest of all time. Just like Cena was always dividing fans and generally mostly just appealing to the kiddies, but now everyone acts like he's amazing.

With Mercedes, it's not even an AEW thing (although, right now, that obviously is a contributing factor - I have my criticisms too). Wrestling fans turned on her the second that she dared to walk out on WWE. Ooh the audacity If she had returned at the Rumble this year though, you can guarantee all would have been forgiven and they would be talking about how amazing she is.

You watch what happens if she ever does a Punk and winds up leaving early to return to the WWE (or even if she just returns after her contract with AEW ends). I can see it now, Sasha Banks music hits after Bayley has a match, she returns and confronts Bayley. Mega pop and "Holy shit holy shit" chants.

[Markies]

Ugh, anything Roman related is terrible. I cannot stand him and the Bloodline story has been terrible since the beginning.

It's funny with Mercedes Mone because she has some diehard fans, more than almost any women's wrestler today. She was defended when she left, but there were so many that turned on her so quickly. Now that she is part of the AEW, it is another point in the war with WWE.

Another extremely strong episode. I would highly recommend you watch that Ospreay Vs. MJF match, cause that looked amazing. For their 250th episode to start with an almost hour long match is very bold and really shows how different they are compared to any other wrestling company. Also, that was a great Mariah May promo and that ending was an amazing send up to Sting with Darby.

And to think, they might even get more people joining. I have heard Ricochet is interested along with Dijak as well. Kamille, who I don't know, is just waiting and I'll be curious what happens to Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley, Motor City Machine Guns. I really hope they join AEW instead of languishing in NXT.

[Reprise]

Ugh, anything Roman related is terrible. I cannot stand him and the Bloodline story has been terrible since the beginning.

That was the consensus and popular opinion a couple of years ago.

Yeah, sounds like it was another very solid episode. Opening with a near hour long MJF vs Ospreay match was certainly bold. I think perhaps they should have opened with the Mariah promo instead given the attention they gained for last week's end, but it's not a huge deal. I guess some people will think MJF and Ospreay should have been the main event instead, but I can see why that would not have been possible since they clearly wanted an hour long match and for that fact to be a surprise. I have seen some criticisms of Swerve and Okada being more of an angle to lead to Blood and Guts, but what did people expect? That was obviously going to be what it was.

Anyways, I'll watch when it airs here on Friday. Glad to hear it seems they are maintaining some of that momentum they built over the last couple of weeks.