khali
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,586
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Post by khali on Mar 6, 2024 17:35:43 GMT -5
The match was laid out as a perfect thrill ride with a happy ending.
Going in, I not only thought that Sting could win but *would* win. And I still thought that he would win until the BTE trigger. They got me with the nearfall and the spots after. At the moment it felt like all those other retirement matches where they put the old guy down. When he won in the end, it felt so much more fun for that. Wrestling far too often makes you think you’re going to get the thing you want and then pull it away. When you think you’re not going to get and you do in the end, that’s just fun.
I was watching Fritz Von Erich’s retirement show a while back and after he wins the text on the scoreboard said “Fritz Von Erich Retires a Hero.” He certainly did not in the end. I’m glad we got to see someone deserving in wrestling retire a hero.
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Post by daaave on Mar 6, 2024 17:38:00 GMT -5
Even if Sting is worried about "not giving it back". This is where the genius of having his run in the company being a tag team with Darby comes in,because at the same time he is putting Darby over big time and The Bucks admittedly dont need the win. Like, I'm not saying Darby is next world champion after this (he has to survive Everest first for one) but if there's a guy whose earned a tonne of believability for a title run in the next year from all of this, it's Darby Allin. I'm not sure if Darby will ever win the World Title, but I can see an image where he does a year or so down line and post match Sting suprise comes down to ring and hugs him and raises his arms and it being such an awesome moment. Especially if we hadn't seen Sting since retirement match
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KME
Team Rocket
Posts: 782
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Post by KME on Mar 6, 2024 17:50:50 GMT -5
Was absolutely the right call from Tony and the Bucks. If Sting had been absolutely adamant he was losing, fine, the Bucks would be a perfectly legit opponent to lose to, but his whole AEW run was about redemption and feel good moments, it just felt right ending it the way they did. So many matches fall flat when you're hoping for one more kickout and it just doesn't come, it was amazing that they just kept coming and we got the happy ending. I was thinking earlier in the night after Garcia losing to start the show and FTR losing just as the crowd really started to get behind them that AEW need to be a bit careful with not giving the crowd what they want, not normally something they're guilty of but there's been a bit more of it than usual in recent months. But they went above and beyond with the main event and it was glorious.
I'm sure there will be plenty of "another tournament LOL" type discourse too but I actually think the tag division can really benefit from one right now, they've got a lot of great teams that deserve a bit of a showcase and I think it works well getting the division back to the forefront of people's minds, so I think Sting and Darby winning was a big positive in that sense too.
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Post by Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED! on Mar 6, 2024 18:04:16 GMT -5
The reason Sting's AEW run worked so well was simply put because it wasn't about him most of the time. It was about Darby. Almost all of Sting's angles in AEW amounted to, Darby has an issue with somebody, that somebody has backup, Sting's got Darby's back. Sting's presence was an enhancement of whatever Darby happened to be doing at that point rather than the focus. Thus, him going over was never the problem. This night, however? This was about Sting, and he goddamn well deserved it.
I remember when Hogan was talking about having one more Wrestlemania match a few years ago, Jim Cornette commented on it and said that if they did that Hogan had to go over, because if not why bother? At his age a win over Hogan really would have done nothing for anybody. Him being in the ring with the other people would have given them all the rub they could. And I think Sting kind of falls into the same category.
We all love Sting, but in the 2020s not a soul was going to say that he was in the running for the best wrestler in the world. Nobody was necessarily tuning into watch Sting wrestle to see the match of the year, but him being in there is a massive spectacle on its own. And even AEW presented him that way. If anybody pinned him, was it really going to make them? Honestly no. Sting was one of the greatest ever in his day, but his day was about 15-25 years ago. Just being in the ring with the man raises your stock. You don't need to win.
Sting made AEW so much better, because even his wins elevated Darby.
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Post by daaave on Mar 6, 2024 18:04:48 GMT -5
I really don't get the 'lol another tournament' stuff. Last year if you a singles male competitor you had the Owen (more of a mid card/KOTR type tournament), Grand Slam Eliminator Title shot thing and the C2 (a Round Robin attrition type tournament). Only 3 and all pretty different and serve a purpose and spread out across the year.
They also had the blind tag partners tournament. But usually have a tag tournament each year. I really don't think they do too many. The women had the Owen and their GrandSlam Eliminator version but for All In.
I think it was just 2022 where it felt they went to the tournament well one too many. But they had some unforseen shitty situations with Punk being made of biscuits
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 235,492
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Mar 6, 2024 18:17:30 GMT -5
I really don't get the 'lol another tournament' stuff. Last year if you a singles male competitor you had the Owen (more of a mid card/KOTR type tournament), Grand Slam Eliminator Title shot thing and the C2 (a Round Robin attrition type tournament). Only 3 and all pretty different and serve a purpose and spread out across the year. They also had the blind tag partners tournament. But usually have a tag tournament each year. I really don't think they do too many. The women had the Owen and their GrandSlam Eliminator version but for All In. I think it was just 2022 where it felt they went to the tournament well one too many. But they had some unforseen shitty situations with Punk being made of biscuits This is one of the most warranted Tournaments in awhile, the tag division needs a shot in the arm and a few of these teams could really use some momentum and spotlight.
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ghost
Don Corleone
Posts: 1,746
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Post by ghost on Mar 6, 2024 18:27:26 GMT -5
It was the right call to have Sting win. Having a legend go out on top and celebrated rather than the predictable "go out on his back" ending made it so much better. Good on Khan and the Bucks for wanting it to happen that way.
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Post by eJm on Mar 6, 2024 18:47:00 GMT -5
I'm sure there will be plenty of "another tournament LOL" type discourse too but I actually think the tag division can really benefit from one right now, they've got a lot of great teams that deserve a bit of a showcase and I think it works well getting the division back to the forefront of people's minds, so I think Sting and Darby winning was a big positive in that sense too. The nice thing about it too is that in the background, you’ve had matches that have involved the tag division across TV that (besides FTR/BCC) haven’t been exactly prominent but they’re there to set stuff up for this. You could easily have another Private Party/Top Flight match and talk about stuff from Rampage, for example. You wouldn’t have been able to do the same sort of thing if the Bucks won.
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Allie Kitsune
Crow T. Robot
Always Feelin' Foxy.
Celestial Princess in Exile.
Posts: 46,109
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Mar 6, 2024 18:54:27 GMT -5
The reason Sting's AEW run worked so well was simply put because it wasn't about him most of the time. It was about Darby. Almost all of Sting's angles in AEW amounted to, Darby has an issue with somebody, that somebody has backup, Sting's got Darby's back. Sting's presence was an enhancement of whatever Darby happened to be doing at that point rather than the focus. Thus, him going over was never the problem. This night, however? This was about Sting, and he goddamn well deserved it. I remember when Hogan was talking about having one more Wrestlemania match a few years ago, Jim Cornette commented on it and said that if they did that Hogan had to go over, because if not why bother? At his age a win over Hogan really would have done nothing for anybody. Him being in the ring with the other people would have given them all the rub they could. And I think Sting kind of falls into the same category. We all love Sting, but in the 2020s not a soul was going to say that he was in the running for the best wrestler in the world. Nobody was necessarily tuning into watch Sting wrestle to see the match of the year, but him being in there is a massive spectacle on its own. And even AEW presented him that way. If anybody pinned him, was it really going to make them? Honestly no. Sting was one of the greatest ever in his day, but his day was about 15-25 years ago. Just being in the ring with the man raises your stock. You don't need to win. Sting made AEW so much better, because even his wins elevated Darby. I actually like how AEW has kind of created its own version of the "Wrestling Dad" concept, where you had these pairings of Sting/Darby, Jericho/Sammy, Daddy Magic/Garcia, and in the evil mirror way, Christian/Wayne (and before that, playing it straight with Christian/Jungle Boy). Sting wanted to put someone over in his final match, and he did. Darby. And now Darby has that legacy to bolster him and build upon throughout his career. I understand him wanting to put the Bucks over, he's obviously a big fan, but they're already main-event guys, and the EVP gimmick didn't really make it necessary.
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Post by papagiorgio on Mar 6, 2024 19:08:14 GMT -5
Darby and Sting should have won the tag titles earlier, then lost them to an up and coming team. Then, have Sting and Darby win a final match together without the belts.
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