Wrestling The wrestling thread: the “Paul Levesque Era” begins… without the sex-trafficking degenerate POS, Vinny Mac!

[SoberChef]

 

[elbobo]

The run of matches that Danielson has had already in AEW, shit is insane 

[SoberChef]

6 hours ago, elbobo said:

The run of matches that Danielson has had already in AEW, shit is insane 

 

Seriously though! Like, I didn't really know who Minoru Suzuki was at first when he appeared. First few matches of his in AEW were brutal with Mox & Eddie for sure, but felt old school strong style which is hit & miss for me personally. Last nights' match with B.D. was NUTS! So many of those shots were either a VERY hard, stiff work that were sold brilliantly (legit at times I was like "OH FUCK FOR REAL THEY'RE DOING THIS SHIT!" or totally a shoot to really test the others' metal. Either way, just spectacular AF! Then, as I am watching, I believe it was Taz that brought up the Bas Rutten connection & it all just clicked in that instant ... NO FUCKING WAY! This beast of a man is THAT Suzuki!? DAYUM!!!! I may be a little late to the party folks, my apologies for that, but better to be fashionably late than never show up. That being said, allow me to share the following:

 

 

[SoberChef]

 

[IdeaOfEvil]

Found this on Twitter.

 

Guess which match got 5-stars from Dave Meltzer?

 

[69los]

Obviously, it's the YB match since Meltz is up their ass. Because of access journalism, I don't take his AEW ratings seriously. It was the same when Ric was his WWE source and somehow Charlotte was the only woman who would get decent ratings despite mediocre performances. The Superkliq match dragged and was 4 stars at best. MJF vs Darby was better, which he rated 4.5.

[SoberChef]

Firstly, wow this hasn't been updated since nearly a year ago now!?

 

Secondly, has anyone been paying attention to all things AEW/Punk/T.K./EVP's in the last 48 hours because FUCK! I'm holding off on opinions or whatever but objectively speaking, I am fearful for what very well may happen to AEW in the next few weeks & months if shit isn't straightened out!

[Dodger]

Just starting watching AEW again after not for another year and Jesus Harold Christ every one has a belt now.

[SoberChef]

 

 

 

Opted to share Salcedo's channel as you get to see T.K.'s reactions well here.

[Spork3245]

I legit can’t tell if it’s a work or not. TK seems to purposely leak things to the press to create shoots that are actually just works. 90% of the MJF stuff was definitely a work, IMO

[Spork3245]

Two other things:

Clash at the Castle had fun matches, but jfc, not a single title change? Especially not to Drew in the UK and having a BS finish, then having Tyson Fury sing…? Wtf was that?

Then, All Out was good enough, buuut… ffs, AEW, your PPVs are way too long. 97 matches and 4.5 hours for each one makes them kinda hard to watch sometimes.

[SoberChef]

I hear the gripe about AEW's PPV's being "too long" BUT the fact of the matter is that they only put on 4 quarterly shows annually, so there are a lot of things to build up. Add to that, you want to showcase as much of your talent as possible when they come up on the calendar. I go into an AEW PPV knowing its a night long commitment. WWE doesn't necessarily have to worry about it, at least not as much when it comes to their "lesser" "premium live events" so a handful of matches on the card is all that they warrant, though they typically have at least 1 major show a month in opposition.

[Spork3245]

21 minutes ago, SoberChef said:

I hear the gripe about AEW's PPV's being "too long" BUT the fact of the matter is that they only put on 4 quarterly shows annually, so there are a lot of things to build up. Add to that, you want to showcase as much of your talent as possible when they come up on the calendar. I go into an AEW PPV knowing its a night long commitment. WWE doesn't necessarily have to worry about it, at least not as much when it comes to their "lesser" "premium live events" so a handful of matches on the card is all that they warrant, though they typically have at least 1 major show a month in opposition.

I disagree, they only need to do major blow off angles + title matches for the PPVs. When there’s a ton of Dynamite-quality matches in there just to feature talent, it really brings down the PPV IMO. If I’m going to complain about Raw being entirely too long each week, I can’t ignore these wrestlemania-length PPVs every few months. If they want to designate one of their PPVs as their WM, and make that one 4.5 hours, I’m fine with that, but every single one being filled like this makes it exhausting, regardless of the match quality, IMO.

[IdeaOfEvil]

Punk is a bonafide expert in making wrestling real to the audience with his verbal skills alone. And it just sucks how there are so many reports and news bits coming out about how he's such a pain in the ass wherever he works (ROH, WWF, AEW) in the wake of all this backstage nonsense.

 

To me, the thing is these are all rumors solely coming from Meltzer and his camp of guys, who have been overtly team Elite since day one of AEW’s inception. I’m not saying they’re liars, and I’m not gonna defend Punk. But I’m certainly gonna wait for an unbiased accounting of what went down to come out before I start getting on my moral high horse and calling out people for being wrong and/or right in this situation.

[Spork3245]

There are rumors that Punk left the company now

[IdeaOfEvil]

That's so ridiculous if that's what's happening. This is wrestling, where talking shit is paramount to creating good programming - it's called PROMO WORK, and Punk is very good at it. Punk even talked shit about MJF when asked because that's what you're supposed to do. But the EVP's have their feelings hurt, muscle their way into Punk's locker room side-by-side, then create the situation that happened (create the situation to get to happen at all - whatever happened), and at most they get suspensions while Punk is the one who's in an area of possibly getting fired? No wonder Cody left these idiots behind...

 

If Khan can't see that this is exactly the storytelling that will make his company larger and competitive with the WWE, and he actually avoids talking about and actually lets Punk go over it, then he's a bigger idiot than we all thought.

[Spork3245]

34 minutes ago, IdeaOfEvil said:

That's so ridiculous if that's what's happening. This is wrestling, where talking shit is paramount to creating good programming - it's called PROMO WORK, and Punk is very good at it. Punk even talked shit about MJF when asked because that's what you're supposed to do. But the EVP's have their feelings hurt, muscle their way into Punk's locker room side-by-side, then create the situation that happened (create the situation to get to happen at all - whatever happened), and at most they get suspensions while Punk is the one who's in an area of possibly getting fired? No wonder Cody left these idiots behind...

 

If Khan can't see that this is exactly the storytelling that will make his company larger and competitive with the WWE, and he actually avoids talking about and actually lets Punk go over it, then he's a bigger idiot than we all thought.

 

Fired? No. Walked out. Rumor.

[Spork3245]

Punk is suspended, and also injured and expected to be out for about 8 months. Everyone stripped of titles. JFC

[Spork3245]

I just put Dynamite on.... MJF is the best heel in the business, and anyone who says otherwise is just wrong.

[Chairslinger]

3 hours ago, Spork3245 said:

Punk is suspended, and also injured and expected to be out for about 8 months. Everyone stripped of titles. JFC

 

 

So Punk was still blown up from the match he just had, probably still bleeding, injured, and the Executive Vice Presidents of the company decided to break into his locker room to confront him 3 on 1.

 

I am not saying Punk isn't a dick, but it's crazy that Punk was taking most of the heat for this at first. If anything, the guy has a pretty strong case for an unsafe work environment if he really wanted to be a dick. These guys are supposed to be running the company. It's like if it were the other way around and Vince had tracked down Bret after the Screwjob to punch him...and Vince brought two of his friends.

[elbobo]

2 hours ago, Chairslinger said:

 

 

So Punk was still blown up from the match he just had, probably still bleeding, injured, and the Executive Vice Presidents of the company decided to break into his locker room to confront him 3 on 1.

 

I am not saying Punk isn't a dick, but it's crazy that Punk was taking most of the heat for this at first. If anything, the guy has a pretty strong case for an unsafe work environment if he really wanted to be a dick. These guys are supposed to be running the company. It's like if it were the other way around and Vince had tracked down Bret after the Screwjob to punch him...and Vince brought two of his friends.

 

The story is the EVPs went in with the head of talent relations and the chief legal officer, I find it highly unlikely they are breaking down doors with the CLO. On the list of people you don't want to fuck up in front of your head lawyer is probably number 1 since Tony Khan just seems like huge mark. 

[69los]

26 minutes ago, elbobo said:

 

The story is the EVPs went in with the head of talent relations and the chief legal officer, I find it highly unlikely they are breaking down doors with the CLO. On the list of people you don't want to fuck up in front of your head lawyer is probably number 1 since Tony Khan just seems like huge mark. 

 

He is.

[IdeaOfEvil]

Been a couple of months. But it looks like the loneliest rich-kid in the world is getting his (paid for) friends back - even though it appears they kicked in Punk's door, slamming it into his dog's face, knocking loose some of said dog's teeth, and proceeding to start the fight themselves based on Punk's earlier comments that he only made after Page started the trash talking from weeks before...

 

Booker of the year, folks

 

[SoberChef]

If this bit about Larry being hit & losing some of what remains of the few teeth he has in his mouth, were my name Phil Brooks, I'd have absolutely fucking MURDERED whomever hurt my fur baby.

[BloodyHell]

9 hours ago, IdeaOfEvil said:

Been a couple of months. But it looks like the loneliest rich-kid in the world is getting his (paid for) friends back - even though it appears they kicked in Punk's door, slamming it into his dog's face, knocking loose some of said dog's teeth, and proceeding to start the fight themselves based on Punk's earlier comments that he only made after Page started the trash talking from weeks before...

 

Booker of the year, folks

 

Lol you actually believe punks bs?

I don't watch wrestling, but I followed this a bit through reddit (becausethe truth aroundwrestlingis far more interesting than wrestling itself), and it seems everyones opinion who has delt with him is Punk is the bad guy. UFC guys didn't like him either, there was a lot of behind the scenes hate about his attitude when Mickey Gall destroyed him. He's little more than a talented malcontent.

[IdeaOfEvil]

40 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

Lol you actually believe punks bs?

I don't watch wrestling, but I followed this a bit through reddit (becausethe truth aroundwrestlingis far more interesting than wrestling itself), and it seems everyones opinion who has delt with him is Punk is the bad guy. UFC guys didn't like him either, there was a lot of behind the scenes hate about his attitude when Mickey Gall destroyed him. He's little more than a talented malcontent.

 

So, because of a Reddit post you think he's a liar? There's no question everyone thinks he's an asshole. But that doesn't automatically translate into Omega and the Bucks not having stormed into his locker room to start this fight to begin with. And again, let's not forget, Punk only talked shit which got these idiots mad enough to burst in on him. Plus, this all still stems from Page taking those cheap verbal shots at Punk in a promo weeks before Punk ever got back to tv. So, Punk gets his receipt back on Page through his own promo, CLEARLY explains himself and why he did it at a media scrum - while still never physically confronting Page or Colt or anyone else about it - and the three EVP jackasses are the innocent ones when they muscle up on him (enough to injure his dog) when they enter his room?

[elbobo]

2 hours ago, IdeaOfEvil said:

 

So, because of a Reddit post you think he's a liar? There's no question everyone thinks he's an asshole. But that doesn't automatically translate into Omega and the Bucks not having stormed into his locker room to start this fight to begin with. And again, let's not forget, Punk only talked shit which got these idiots mad enough to burst in on him. Plus, this all still stems from Page taking those cheap verbal shots at Punk in a promo weeks before Punk ever got back to tv. So, Punk gets his receipt back on Page through his own promo, CLEARLY explains himself and why he did it at a media scrum - while still never physically confronting Page or Colt or anyone else about it - and the three EVP jackasses are the innocent ones when they muscle up on him (enough to injure his dog) when they enter his room?

 

This dog stuff is just getting mentioned now, if it was true it would have been all over the place from day one from Punk's camp.

 

What was it that Page said that was bad that Punk completely bury him in a way that was totally off script and he had no way to respond too?

 

Again do you think the Bucks are kicking down doors with the head of talent relations and the chief legal officer there.

[BloodyHell]

3 hours ago, IdeaOfEvil said:

 

So, because of a Reddit post you think he's a liar? There's no question everyone thinks he's an asshole. But that doesn't automatically translate into Omega and the Bucks not having stormed into his locker room to start this fight to begin with. And again, let's not forget, Punk only talked shit which got these idiots mad enough to burst in on him. Plus, this all still stems from Page taking those cheap verbal shots at Punk in a promo weeks before Punk ever got back to tv. So, Punk gets his receipt back on Page through his own promo, CLEARLY explains himself and why he did it at a media scrum - while still never physically confronting Page or Colt or anyone else about it - and the three EVP jackasses are the innocent ones when they muscle up on him (enough to injure his dog) when they enter his room?

I believe it because the ufc world felt the same about him. He was a trouble maker who thought he deserved far more than he earned.

[IdeaOfEvil]

14 hours ago, elbobo said:

 

(1.) This dog stuff is just getting mentioned now, if it was true it would have been all over the place from day one from Punk's camp.

 

(2.) What was it that Page said that was bad that Punk completely bury him in a way that was totally off script and he had no way to respond too?

 

(3.) Again do you think the Bucks are kicking down doors with the head of talent relations and the chief legal officer there.

 

(1.) Not necessarily. The suspensions and the start of an investigation were enacted pretty quickly after the incident happened. And it's only within the last 24 hours that we're hearing that the investigation is over and that Omega and the Bucks are coming back to AEW. So, it's probably only now that Punk is free to say anything since everyone had been put under a gag order while the legal junk was going on. Meltzer is even reporting that with this new revelation of his dog's injury that more than likely this is what the news of Punk possibly creating a lawsuit against AEW has been about (but even that isn't confirmed quite yet). The best synopsis on what probably went down comes from a comment left on F4WOnline's own video post about it all - "If Larry (the dog) was indeed injured, that would give credibility to a lawsuit being threatened and why he (Punk) would be given a buyout instead of just fired. People want to believe a story that paints one party solely in a bad light when it’s clear there’s a lot of stuff we don’t know. It seems like lawyers got involved very early on, so lots of information didn’t [hasn't been able to] come out."

 

(2.) Page went out and did a promo on Punk on Dynamite, backhandedly blaming him for trying to get Colt Cabana and his (Punk's) enemies fired from AEW because of their old beef with each other. And Punk wasn't there to defend himself when Page said it in front of a live crowd, which is why months later when Punk did come back, he did his own promo on Page at a live Dynamite by doing the same thing and calling Page out  - except Page WAS there. It's childish on both parties to have done it, but it is wrestling. But okay, why is Punk to blame for all of this? Punk didn't do his call out when Page wasn't at the show like how Page did it to Punk. So, is it because out of the two, Punk is the way better promo worker who can talk shit, and that why he's in the wrong? Plus, Punk is the only guy who explained himself and the whole situation with everyone at the press conference right after he won the title for a second time from Moxley. Page never explained himself or the situation after he went off script against Punk at any time after he did it. So, again, why is Punk the sole villain in this? Because he was better at it than Page?

 

(3.) We have never heard what went down from either side of the fight because of the investigation. But we do know that Tony scrambled in a panic right away when he was throwing out suspensions to everyone who was even near the scene of the fight - Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, and Brandon Cutler. But now that it seems like everything is all over and Tony has made his decision about everyone's future, Punk's team (I guess) feels comfortable enough to literally just come out and say that the EVP's barged in on his dressing room, "kicked down the door" (which apparently hit his dog hard enough that it loosened some teeth that needed surgery to correct), and that the fight started because Omega and the Bucks approached him with hostility. We've even seen pics of Omega's bite mark on his arm that he got from Ace Steel - which very much looks like he had Ace in a rear choke hold based the angle it's at. So, why is anyone thinking that the EVP's are completely innocent in this fight when they're the ones who barged in on Punk? And wouldn't it be pretty stupid for Punk's team to lie about anything (both dog injury and fight) if he doesn't want to get fired and sued, himself?

 

 

Look, I'm sure everyone is happy with how this is resolving - the EVP's get to stay and Punk gets paid to leave. But plain and simple, even if half the roster doesn't like Punk, the EVP's all thought they could flex on him physically after Punk simply said his piece while sitting right next to the BOSS OF AEW who could have shut him up at any time. But Tony didn't, and then a fight broke out, and clearly Tony would rather side with his paid-for-friends that work in his company than with the guy who isn't being paid to be his friend, is serious about his job, and who wants to draw money. But hey, it's his company to do with what he wants. Yet, you'd have to be a special kind of moron to just get rid of your main champion who has given you your biggest draws if you were really in this business to create a lasting impression with fans and the industry. Cuz even if Punk was solely to blame (which I don't believe for one second), a real boss would try to find a way to keep him employed by making him and the rest of the staff work their shit out with one another so everyone can continue to make a better product.

[Spork3245]

ahahahahahaha Vince McMahon is trying to come back apparently 

[Remarkableriots]

I'm disappointed they released Mandy Rose who imo improved a lot.

[Spork3245]

On 12/20/2022 at 10:47 AM, Spork3245 said:

ahahahahahaha Vince McMahon is trying to come back apparently 

Vince is forcefully retaking control, it’s official. Rumors he might sell the company too.

[SoberChef]

Vince is egregiously ego-maniacal, like listen guy just rest on your laurels, enjoy the 80% stock options paying out monthly, and just steer clear of the industry as a whole. Nobody wants nor needs you anymore, thank you for all the supposed good you brought to the sport but your time has gone now, go away! 

[Spork3245]

6 hours ago, SoberChef said:

thank you for all the supposed good you brought to the sport

It’s hard to deny that he did a LOT for professional wrestling that moved it away from the carny BS that it was. The man has slowly gone more and more out of his mind, and the product has gotten much better in the 5ish months without him, but let’s not get crazy here  

[Spork3245]

Allegedly the main roster is in an uproar over the McMahon return