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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 9, 2020 19:34:20 GMT -5
To be honest I think giving Orange too many "normal" competitive matches like this hurts his mystique.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 9, 2020 19:24:08 GMT -5
I don't know if they've got more people in the arena or they've just gotten better at micing the crowd, but the live audience is sounding a lot louder tonight. First show that almost sounds back to pre-Covid.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 9, 2020 19:16:01 GMT -5
Thank f***ing god we might finally be on our way to Fenix and Penta as singles guys.
They're so good they've been able to make it work, but I really think they're both better outside the team.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 9, 2020 19:13:38 GMT -5
Vibora's still undefeated over Fenix.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 9, 2020 19:11:08 GMT -5
So many LU veterans in AEW They could have poached 90% of them and they would be good hires. Sad there is no Son of Hacov or Marty the Moth I'm surprised Matt Cross/Son of Havoc hasn't been brought in yet considering he was on the original All In. Especially now that Ivie and Angelico are both here.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 9, 2020 2:39:26 GMT -5
Nexus is one where I really wonder if people weren't more in love with the idea of it than the actual faction, because just look at those dorks. Even if you hadn't just watched them humiliate themselves in stupid game show skits on NXT, it was still a septet of guys who were either blatantly not ready for prime time or who were laughably miscast as dominant villains. Barrett was the only one who actually came across as potentially threatening, and he still didn't have the presence or the in-ring skills to work as a main eventer that early in his career.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 8, 2020 17:37:14 GMT -5
Wonder if Fenix is still nursing a grudge over that time Luchasaurus and Thunder Rosa kidnapped and brainwashed Drago.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 7, 2020 21:35:12 GMT -5
Honestly, I don't think moving him on to another feud right away is the best use of him. OC should be hanging around with Best Friends doing as little as possible and looking cool while he does it. Save the actual straight matches for big occasions, like he's Lesnar or the Undertaker.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 7, 2020 14:23:12 GMT -5
My question is this: Does anybody consider Archer an"ex-WWE guy"? I mean, he was there for a cup of coffee and they did nothing with him, and have nothing to do with his current form. Like Colt Cabana or Trent, his WWE run was such an inconsequential footnote in his career that I don't think anybody really associates him with the promotion.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 6, 2020 18:52:17 GMT -5
Lots of discussion on here right now about unplanned issues with Matts crashing through the air, but to get back to storylines, where do we all think the Elite's breakdown is heading?
-Page screwed the Bucks out of a title shot on Dynamite a few weeks back and still hasn't given any explanation for it besides making a pouty face when people yell at him. So far, this is still the most overtly heelish act any of the Elite's done to each other. -The Bucks were pretty much working as heels against the Jurassic Express at All Out, and have been played as abrasive dicks throughout this. -Omega blows off Page after they lose the tag titles despite Page not actually doing anything wrong, then bitches at the Bucks about whether or not they're on his side while the Bucks are played neutrally, seemingly trying to talk him down.
In short, they're all dicks and they're all turning on each other at the same time. I'd guess they're going for a shades of grey sort of thing, but it's going to be interesting to see whether they manage to pull it off.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 6, 2020 16:20:54 GMT -5
How did he ever let they endulge on destructive impulses? Ffs he did make an awful call on the Matt Hardy injury but that doesnt make him a door mat. The spot could have been pulled off perfectly and it'd still be a disgrace that anybody's letting 40-something Matt Hardy, who hasn't been capable of walking straight in close to a decade, toss himself off scaffolding through a table onto concrete. If you aren't capable of seeing that, it's a good indication of why fans like you and I and Tony Khan really shouldn't have the last answer on running a wrestling promotion.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 6, 2020 16:17:10 GMT -5
It's sorta interesting to see that while one promotion's run by a sleazebag carny with delusions of grandeur who sees his performers as cattle, while the other is run by a fanboy money mark who's apparently a complete doormat for letting his performers indulge their most self-destructive impulses, the end result on the onscreen product is basically the same. I'd argue it isn't basically the same given I feel stories and presentation have flowed much better on AEW than they have WWE lately. Oh, on a creative level, I agree. I mean in terms of actual regard for the well-being of their workers, and how the immediate aftermath of a mishap that is 100% their responsibility is to flail around looking for an out to deflect criticism.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 6, 2020 16:14:27 GMT -5
On the "old school" thing, after their crappy match last night I really was wondering if too much Flippy Shit had rotted my brain to the point where I just couldn't appreciate a more grounded, classical wrestling match anymore. An hour later, MJF is turning a straightforward spot like brawling outside the ring into this monumental thing he's avoiding at all costs, to the point where it feels like a big deal when Mox finally gets him there.
FTR aren't "old school" in any positive sense. They don't have a particularly good grasp of in-ring storytelling, they're just moves guys whose moves happen to be a lot blander than other guys at their level.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 6, 2020 16:09:12 GMT -5
This whole thing gives uncomfortable low-key Owen Hart vibes with the way the match aftermath was handled, just they got lucky that Matt's still alive. But the fact that they responded not much differently than WWF did at the time, while also trying to deflect blame ON THE PROGRAM is a big yikes. It's sorta interesting to see that while one promotion's run by a sleazebag carny with delusions of grandeur who sees his performers as cattle, while the other is run by a fanboy money mark who's apparently a complete doormat for letting his performers indulge their most self-destructive impulses, the end result on the onscreen product is basically the same.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 6, 2020 0:52:14 GMT -5
Not the "classic" nWo, but I still think the Wolfpac should've been Nash, Hall, and DDP.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 5, 2020 23:12:24 GMT -5
I watch so little WWE anymore that their AEW run has been my first extended exposure to them. They suck bad. Folks in the live thread leapt to these guys' defense that they're not getting pushed just because they're ex-WWE, but god damn, it's not like they've got anything else going for them.
To drag two different arguments in here that both get answered with "AEW's just working with who they have", we've got people acting like it's a total coincidence that every male champ in AEW right now is ex-WWE and it's unfair to restrict their opportunities over their old job, and by the same token shrugging off the melanin-deficient main event scene with the notion that poor AEW just doesn't have access to any good black talent. Private Party were on the preshow putting over the nWo B-team while these jokers were winning the tag titles. Take a look at the two teams, even considering Private Party are hella green by comparison, and try to say with a straight face that FTR put on better matches.
Look, I want AEW to succeed as much as everybody else here, but it's time to stop making excuses for them about a lot of things. This is an insular company run by guys who want to push their friends and/or guys who've come up in the same cliques as them. It's usually okay because most of us are on the same wavelength as them about what's good and what's bad in wrestling and there's a lot of talent there, but the longer it continues the more shit like this we're going to see, and if these tendencies aren't nipped in the bud they're going to grow into critical mass like they did in TNA.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 5, 2020 22:50:26 GMT -5
Think I'll give the thread a break and watch this closely. Been looking forward to this match. I followed your example and it was the right call. Really strong match IMO, ended things on a high note after a hit-and-miss show before. MJF is the excellent "old school" wrestler FTR wish they could be.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 5, 2020 22:14:09 GMT -5
Stadium Stampede and Mimosa Mayhem need to be AEW signature match types lmao. I'M SERIOUS They should have Jericho do the Mick Foley post-Hell in a Cell thing where he shows up in the buildup to every Mimosa Mayhem match with a shellshocked look warning the participants about how they'll never be the same afterwards.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 5, 2020 22:02:44 GMT -5
Crowd's mostly dead for this, which is a damn shame, since OC without a live crowd has been my biggest regret about the quarantine era.
I'd put that down more to the humidity than the match, not to mention I don't think anything's really recovered from the Matt Hardy debacle yet.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Sept 5, 2020 21:41:44 GMT -5
Hot damn, every male title holder in AEW now is ex-WWE.
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