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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 19:41:52 GMT -5
That last image of so many different groups watching the result of the main event really did capture the chaos MJF has to navigate right now. Still lots of energy left in the reign with all these options, but I doubt they run through every possible challenger before he's dethroned.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 19:31:08 GMT -5
Shida vs. Abadon basically being Ada Wong vs. Spawn was nice. I missed Abadon's entrance and her wearing a cape so I didn't even realize she was Spawn until later. Really cool stuff. Shit, I thought they were basically the KISS Demon! Went 9, but I get going 10 for the main event. Broke my heart to see Tracy Williams get squashed, but I at least know he gets used a pretty good amount on ROH so I take solace in that. But Shida/Abadon was fun, the refocus on getting multiple teams in on the tag belts was good to see (plus LFI officially returning! ...Where do you stand, Andrade?), and of course the main event was worth the price of admission. Also, getting Julia back and Skye continuing her corruption means it's about time to move to the next step of that story.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 18:17:46 GMT -5
^^ Wow that's a crazy number. If they did one title match per weekly show it would be 156. It's much more than that we still have 2 months left. Supports my feeling there's too many belts. That said conversely a lot of those were part of OC's excellent reign and I wouldn't change that and I still don't feel I've seen enough big aew tag title matches on dynamite. Definitely something I can agree on, there: FTR had a run of pretty great matches with their reign, but the tag belts could stand to be in a more interesting spot. Ricky/Bill winning them was interesting, and the four teams squaring up on Collision this week was a good idea, but compared with the other titles there's definitely more that could be done on that front going back a few months.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 17:16:56 GMT -5
Amazing match, wasn't sure about doing it on a random Collision but I'm so, so glad we got it and t really worked the way they did it. I love that AEW have given matches like that, BCG/FTR and Omega/Vikingo on free TV this year, along with things like having Okada show up this week, it doesn't feel like WCW giving away matches on TV out of a desperate need to beat the WWF, or like TNA's fuzzy thinking of booking PPV's to set up Impact like they were guilty of for a while, it feels much more like just wanting to do something great for their audience. Yeah, I get people looking back at stuff like giving away Goldberg's first world title win or TNA running through Angle/Joe too quick as poor business choices, but given how AEW's PPV's pretty universally deliver, regardless, there's really nothing to lose by having a match like that now and then for free. Makes it nice to just "be a fan" (thanks for ruining that forever, Bully Ray) and not worry about whether something had enough build/should be saved for PPV/whatever.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 16:11:10 GMT -5
Said this before, but never minded the whole thing about having the extra belts; the roster is massive between the two shows, so I basically just kind of see things like old school Crockett and the way it had a World title, the US title, TV title, world tag, US tag, etc. Too many belts becomes a problem if there aren't enough wrestlers around to vary up challengers, and right now AEW/ROH has plenty of talent to draw from on that front. I do agree that having some of the ROH title matches occur on AEW TV without visible buildup for the bulk of the audience is a problem. Like, there was some build to Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor at All Out, but it was on Honor Club, and obviously most of the audience doesn't have that. Hard to then put a featured match on an AEW card when the bulk of the audience most likely doesn't directly know what's up. And I do agree that the TV belt, in particular, needs more focus and direction; I love Joe and would be fine with him holding any title into perpetuity, but it's definitely been more of his decoration than anything else, while the other belts have at least had active scenes of people on ROH TV or on AEW angling for them and serving stronger storyline purposes. And yeah, neither set of tag belts being featured on the weekly show right now isn't ideal, though at least the regular tag belts are serving said storyline purpose with MJF and Cole. But yeah, I do think part of the reason why we're getting the belts on bigger names right now and why there's some more of those defenses on AEW is why there was a phase of that last year or so: they were likely trying to get a TV deal back then, it didn't happen, but now they're building to Honor Club having ROH PPVs on it, which likely means there's a change coming to its overall format (more PPVs and/or bigger cards to go with the weekly show, most likely). Probably means we get a better idea of what direction things are going in at Final Battle. They need to do away with ROH as a whole. Unify the titles for the lineage, and be done with it All seriousness, people say this and don't want to acknowledge the jobs that'd cost some people, plus it's become a pretty strong weekly show where there's a number of young and/or new guys and gals getting shots to work and develop, more ongoing stories, and it's a spot for more established wrestlers to try out some new angles or character work. I totally get, for example, the frustration some have at someone like Ethan Page being squirreled away on ROH right now, but he's using it as a chance to work on his babyface character; I imagine he builds to a match at Final Battle, then potentially gets back to AEW TV, though I don't presume to know how quickly that'll go. With the next PPV now being on Honor Club and the potential of future PPVs being on there giving it more value, I don't really see the point in doing away with a place where people can keep making a living, developing, or in the cases of veterans getting to try new things or at least cycle themselves around the promotions to keep their image fresh or try out some new ideas. It's Tony Khan's money, not mine, so if it's not costing him that much and more guys and gals get to work and put on some good shows, why get rid of it?
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 16:09:33 GMT -5
Isn't he basically booking 3 shows...maybe 4 idk if he has delegated anyone else to creatively run ROH. But I assume Dynamite , Collision , Rampage are all coming from him. I sense he is basically burning the candle at both ends right now and thus creatively they are starting to suffer and he probably stubbornly refuses to actually get creative teams together for each show and simply just be final approver of it all. Creatively? Not really, I'd argue; the general vibe among regular viewers since at least All Out has been pretty solidly positive. Even ROH, which was definitely in a no man's land for a bit, has gotten a lot more solid direction in the last few months. Obviously not something everyone will agree on, and there's always stuff to pick out that doesn't click as well, but the reviews for the on-screen material (as in, not focusing on sales/ratings trends/business stuff etc.) have been pretty strong, overall. It does feel like the stuff about all the business metrics/off-screen stuff has people going through anything on TV from AEW with a fine-toothed comb in the pursuit of "THIS is what's hurting the numbers!"
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 11:06:22 GMT -5
For anyone signing up to HonorClub for this PPV, check out Dalton Castle vs. Anthony Henry from this week's TV, it absolutely slaps.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 30, 2023 10:11:50 GMT -5
That story is nightmare fuel, absolutely horrendous to hear.
I guess on the lighter side, I did think that Edmonton and Calgary had some pretty nice jerseys and overall kits for the Heritage Classic last night.
And on the even lighter side, this got me off guard:
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 28, 2023 16:16:46 GMT -5
I won't be shocked if, given all the other wrestlers and groups involved with both MJF and Kenny, this match doesn't get a super clean, definitive ending, so that MJF ends up getting the record but Kenny remains a threat to him. That would suck. They just ruined BD vs. Christian at Collision recently. They need to give BS finishes a rest... Huh, thought that match was quite good, actually. But in this specific case, this all seems like one chapter in a much bigger story with a ton of moving parts; having a definitive ending here could potentially be the wrong creative choice, given it’d make sense to maintain both guys as top title threats for the near future.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 28, 2023 9:52:28 GMT -5
Considering we had An awesome, stiff Ortiz/Santana match A fantastic MJF/Omega video package that also teased Jay White/Omega and the Callis family joining those going after MJF Mark Briscoe returning and something to do for Kip Sabian A rare Abadon sighting in a fun 4 way A timeless Toni appearance Another Ruby/Parker interaction so that's clearly going somewhere A banger main event and genuine storyline progression for Fletcher and the Callis family Riccaboni on commentary and a Willow rap It's an easy 10. I think that's, in terms of being a well rounded show with great wrestling, promos, storyline progression and a genuine feeling of importance, their best Rampage of the whole year. Fantastic show, would recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it. Well put; I was leaning 9, but if the scale is more centered around "is this how a one hour, technically third show is supposed to be?" as its context, a 10 would feel pretty justified.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 28, 2023 9:49:11 GMT -5
I won't be shocked if, given all the other wrestlers and groups involved with both MJF and Kenny, this match doesn't get a super clean, definitive ending, so that MJF ends up getting the record but Kenny remains a threat to him.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 28, 2023 9:05:52 GMT -5
From now on I'm using PK Subban reactions to Mark Messier when locking threads.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 28, 2023 5:19:37 GMT -5
My main stance on this whole thing is 1), AEW's in a bit of an interest slump right now without any real big hooks to latch onto to draw viewers in, 2), AEW's viewership is being hurt by outside scheduling factors, 3), AEW is having structural story problems that are impacting the quality of the shows, 4), AEW's shows are still largely pretty good, 5), AEW is having issues with business across the board, and 6), AEW is still doing fine and are in no danger of dying any time soon are things that can all be mutually true. AEW has plateud, which is natural after a period if significant initial growth. Attempting to go to two touring weekly shows so soon was a mistake in my opinion, as is expanding the PPV schedule alongside it, with those being on the road too. People forget how huge WWE is and they've had attendance issues, pre and post pandemic. AeW can sort itself out though. Trying to relaunch RoH won't work though, creating your own competition on top of increasing your live events is daft. My guess on the latter is that ROH won't particularly be competition; if it really gets going as its own thing (i.e. not being filmed before/after AEW shows, separate touring/taping schedule, etc.), it's likely to be used more like a "mid-major" promotion, more in the vein of what it was before the sale. Basically a smaller roster than AEW, smaller venues, not as much pressure to be a prime time TV product, etc. Obviously all guesswork on my part, though.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 27, 2023 17:33:56 GMT -5
I'm not sure what old Dave thinks a story problem is but there is a structure problem. The show starts with a tag champion without a partner who is also the world champion but without a belt unlike a recent "real" champion who wasn't actually champion but had a belt. Then someone else appeared with his belt but isn't champion but will be challenging for it at the upcoming ppv. Out come the trios champions to help the half a tag world champion. Then another challenger appears because he wants a shot at the belt the champion doesn't have. Then there's a match featuring an unofficial champion. Later on there's a different set of trios champions two of which are number one contenders to the tag team titles that are different to the half a tag championship held by the world champion at the start of the show. That world champion carrying half a tag championship belt is later challenged by the TV champion of a brand that's not on TV for a belt he's not currently in possession of but is due to defend Saturday and at the upcoming ppv where he'll also defend his half a tag title. Not mentioned are two other singles champions that appeared to set-up or compete in tag matches. It's all a bit ridiculous when taken together. Not for nothin’ </taz>, but that’s a lot less structure and more someone just not liking if there are too many belts on the show, or just not watching the show much and not knowing the current Jay White storyline with the belt. Structure would be if storylines don’t really flow through the show, which I’m open to hearing arguments about, but “why are those guys wearing certain belts” likely impacts very little.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 27, 2023 16:03:38 GMT -5
Are we talking about overall numbers or demo numbers? Because MLB will do bigger numbers, but NBA does strong in the prime demo groups.
Anywho, now Alvarez is on about AEW having a "story problem", and I can't keep up anymore if we're supposed to be bashing AEW for having no stories, too many stories, or not enough stories involving my specific favorite wrestlers, so clearly they deserve their fate.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 27, 2023 15:37:16 GMT -5
man i am just sick of this shit. this kind of bs should've stopped once we were free of brock holding it for ages and never showing up, why did we go back? Because his storyline, such as it is, is hot, so they'll just roll with it. People are eating it up and tickets are selling, they've got no reason to change course. Doesn't make it good or entertaining, mind you, but they'll keep doing this as long as fans keep going for it.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 26, 2023 9:25:05 GMT -5
Baseball is built on tradition, legacy, and dynasties. So yes, it always feels special and important when teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals, and Red Sox are in the Fall Classic. But sometimes it’s also fun when baseball just gets weird as f**k and we end up with a Diamondbacks vs. Rangers World Series. It reminds me of that random-ass Mets vs. Royals series in 2015 that I’m pretty sure was just a collective fever dream. Case in point: Until I read your post, I had absolutely no recollection of that match up, or that KC had even won a title less than a decade ago Oh, I remember it. I remember it too well. I remember the Mets having leads early but then spending the last couple of innings most of the games having my soul forcibly ripped from my body.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 25, 2023 18:27:36 GMT -5
There’d better be one next year called Hot Fuzz.
…shit, that’d seem like a PPV porno, huh.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 25, 2023 18:01:40 GMT -5
Nah, I disagree on that; two tickets, sure, but it's really one event, and night two is the climax, the last image they want you to see. Considering that Sasha Banks Vs Bianca Belair main eventing a wrestlemania was the big headline coming out of that event by WWE and many news outlet, and it being from Night 1. It most certainly counts as main eventing a Wrestlemania Disagree; a main event is the match that’s meant to sell the card, not something that’s treated as such after the fact. I’d count it if it went like NJPW’s two night Wrestle Kingdoms went; in both of those, they had four guys in two matches to finish night one to determine the Intercontinental and Heavyweight champs, and then the winners would meet on night two to decide the ultimate champion who’d hold both titles. In that case, main eventing night one would count, since the night two main event wouldn’t be official until those matches were done.
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Post by HMARK Center on Oct 25, 2023 14:32:29 GMT -5
I'll just say, there's no way the WHC from Raw is closing night two. Night two will always be the REAL main event, no matter what closes night one. They're two entirely separate shows with two entirely separate houses that require two entirely separate tickets to get. Both night main events are equal. Nah, I disagree on that; two tickets, sure, but it's really one event, and night two is the climax, the last image they want you to see.
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