2020 Pro Wrestling Thread

Some of the recent guys who have come over from WWE to AEW, like Moxley, Luke Harper and the Revival, seemed to have that as a running theme. Listening to them on Jericho's podcast, they've talked about the restrictive atmosphere in WWE and then coming to AEW and being like, "So, wait, I have to write my own promos? I CAN write my own promos?"

 

RIP, Reeg.

 

Look at JR and Tony Schiavone. After all those years of having Vince and Bischoff in their ears, their commentary (w/ Excalibur) is like two old buddies just shooting the breeze, but they still get the action across.

 

Schiavone hasn't been good in decades. NWA Tony was amazing even with David Crockett being a pain in the ass. Tony called wrestling like he called baseball. I loved it. Now he's just going with whatever is in front of him. He can't legitimize the stuff like he used to.

 

He doesn't need to with AEW. I think he's happy being the #3 and sometimes comic relief guy behind Excalibur and JR.

 

Thought the Barroom brawl was really good.

i think nxt can beat aew when it feels like it. Look at how Great American Bash was booked vs their tv the last two weeks. A lot of the criticism levied at wwe by aew personalities just doesnt apply to nxt. Mauro ranallo doesnt read canned lines.

even the tag team division, some aew yahoo said private party was a top 5 tag team in the world and shat all over wwe’s tag division. Really? War machine was putting on clinics with the Bucks and Luchas for years and if signed to aew would be everyones wet dream; the usos and new day are 100% legit; Hell even Nakamura and Cesaro is every bit the super worker friends team that Kenny and Hangman is.

 

Which is fine. But he doesn't get the action across at all. He's just there giggling.

 

NXT's show Wednesday was fine. The second hour was GREAT with a nice closing angle.

AEW has one TV show a week, they have to throw their top guys every week. The guys and stuff that's done on "Dark" doesn't really get on the TV show. NXT still books in more of traditional sense that they can heat guys up, establish them as threats and build the big match. Io Shirai isn't on TV every week. Adam Cole hasn't been on TV in two weeks (they really haven't spotlighted UE much at all). Rhea Ripley hasn't been on TV in 2-3 weeks. They seem to be more in depth-building mode.

 

From what I've seen of AEW, they've been in that mode since the beginning, with their four or five established, top core guys (Jericho, Cody, the Bucks, Page/Omega) each working with a different group to give them credibility and get them over.
Jericho has done a great job making the Inner Circle guys a threat and building up the people he's worked with like Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin.
Cody is busting his ass working with the mid-card, and has certainly helped MJF move up a rung or two on the ladder.
Page and Omega seem to be having their own long-term feud, but are building up the tag division along with the Bucks.

It's not a bad strategy for a new promotion, and it's worked to a certain extent. You just wonder at what point they let some of those core guys take a step back, or take some time off, and give the ball to an MJF, Darby Allin or Orange Cassidy and let them truly run with it.

 

it was fine but as i was watching i said to myself “theyre gonna get smoked this week.”

if youre really committed to a ratings war you dont keep Cole off TV ever. I guess MJF’s and others aren’t on dynamite every week but it seems like nxt is more concerned with banging out the Takeovers and the pseudo-takeover TVs than with the weekly build episodes

 

But only AEW is in a ratings war and their best show, loaded with all their top guys still can't get 40% of Smackdown and Guy Fieri kicks both shows asses most Wednesday nights.

NXT is doing NXT and it's the only show they have right now where they can work in new guys as well as do some larger, down-the-road stuff.

Wrestling fans want a replay of the Monday Night Wars, but this isn't it. NXT is sticking with what they've always been.

 

I said this over in the RIP thread, but anyhoo. Early in his TV career, Regis would frequently have Freddie Blassie on his show and Blassie would liven things up.. In Blassie’s autobiography, Regis is even quoted in there as crediting Blassie with some of the success he had in his career, so it’s no surprise that he had a soft spot for pro wrestling. RIP.

Also, the Rick Rude episode is a classic, even though it might be viewed as sexual harassment of Kathie Lee in today’s world.