Board 8 > All-Purpose Wrestling Topic Part 507: The Peacemaker's Here

(+) Yeah! (+)

Scratch that: this has been the best match.

---

Finally woke up from Full Gear. I have to say, I feel bad not giving AEW more of a chance until now. While it is not perfect, the feeling and aura of AEW is one I'd forgotten due to WWE's sterility. Many of the matches were overlong, yes, but the sheer insanity present in a lot of the matches (Lucha Bros, seriously what the fuck was that move?), but you could feel that tangible "oomph" from everything they did. The crowd responded too. It was so weird being in a crowd that respected and cheered nearly everything. I knew about Cody being booed on TV. Knowing he's the reason I even went to the show, I mean...I didn't. But the story made sense. WWE overuses the "tag teams can't get along." It worked great for the match.

Danielson and Miro looked like completely different people in the ring. Danielson doing that armtrapped curbstomp is vicious. MJF and Darby told an amazing story. That tombstone on the apron was...Darby...just fucking why?

But of course, Punk/Kingston and Page/Omega were just great. The crowd was rabid and didn't let up at all during Punk and Kingston. It was a 60-40 Kingston split, because there was this organic love for Kingston when he was on offense. Of course, being in a sea of singing during Cult of Personality FUCKING HELPS too. God what a moment. It doesn't sound like Page/Omega came across as the best match on TV, but in the arena, they worked their asses off, and the fans were really into Page and his victory. The montage of all the Minneapolis ephemera for his entrance helped too. Omega did way less of his pointy/runny bullshit (I think), and it felt like a proper intense match between two guys who wanted to steal the show.

If I get a chance to re-watch some of the matches back, I will. All I know is Full Gear (and everything surrounding it) got me hooked. Cody, QT, and all the other wrestlers and staff were super nice (and helped GNC's bottom line all weekend), they helped get me back to enjoying wrestling again, and made for a crazy time I thought wasn't a thing anymore.

---

That's still awesome that you got tickets from Cody. Glad you enjoyed the show.

---

Really happy for you dude. Glad you had a great time! Crazy lucky stuff.

---

I wonder at what point we'll be able to say AEW is winning, because I feel like they're rapidly overtaking in star power at least

---

I've always been in favor of WWE over AEW simply because WWE had way more star power and that naturally made you care more about the product. It obviously more established and the titles were more prestigious despite poor booking decisions and short term repetitive matches week in and week out.

Now however, I can safely say that AEW is the better product. I look forward to Dynamite more than Smackdown. I'm thoroughly invested in both the mid and upper card in AEW whereas in WWE, it is only the upper card that I care about. And why should I care about the midcard in WWE? They treat their 'superstars' like a joke. They are booked so badly that I wouldn't bat an eye if they booked 6 of their midcarders in a handicap match against Brock Lesnar and Brock goes on to squash them in less than 3 minutes.

AEW has been getting it right, especially this year. And not because they signed CM Punk and Bryan but because they managed to make stars out of Hangman Page, MJF and Darby Allin. Even Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy, both of whom would have been jobbers in WWE, are made to be believable threats to the upper card. It is because they booked those wrestlers really well till now. The TNT title feels like it means way more than the Intercontinental and U.S Tile. The Tag Division of AEW are leagues and leagues ahead of WWE because they don't treat tag team wrestlers like jokes or a side show. It wouldn't be unbelievable in the least if someone like Penta El Zero starts feuding with the World Champion and even wins it ultimately because he himself has been booked like a champ and not like the underling to the World champ like the Usos have been.

AEW is absolutely better than WWE this year. And this is coming from someone who's been making fun of A-E-Dub since its inception.

With the latest releases, let's find out how many 24/7 Champs are still employed! (Employed ones in bold)

Titus
R Truth
Roode
Elias
Jinder
Maverick
Slater
Cedric
EC3
Patterson
Brisco
Kelly
Candice
Alundra
Ted DiBiase Sr.
Mike K
Maria K
Dawson
Wilder
Rob Stone
Bo
Enes Kanter
Kane
Carmella
Marshmello
Tamina
Sunil Singh
Samir Singh
Michael Giaccio
Kyle Busch
Tozawa
Bear Bronson
Mike Rome
Mojo
Riddick Moss
Gronkowski
Shelton
Gulak
Erik
Tucker
Gran Metalik
Lince Dorado
Garza
Alicia Fox
Rosenberg
Flutie
Bad Bunny
Boogs
Reggie
Graves
Saxton

20 out of 51

---

Well today I learned Bear Bronson has a title win in WWE

---

So is the North American title the most cursed WWE title in existence.

Never mind that the inaugural match crowning the champion, 5 of the 6 participants are no longer with the company, here's the championship history:

Adam Cole: gone.
Ricochet: jobber on main roster.
Johnny Gargano: NXT lifer, likely gone.
Velveteen Dream: gone.
Roderick Strong: NXT lifer, technically re-signed over the summer but still likely gone based on how things are going.
Keith Lee: gone.
Damien Priest: only "success" story. Does have a midcard title and a WM match under his belt, but then again so did Ricochet.
Gargano again.
Leon Ruff: gone.
Gargano again.
Bronson Reed: gone.
Isaiah Scott: gone.
Carmelo Hayes: current champ.

---

Nameless2000 posted...

Well today I learned Bear Bronson has a title win in WWE

He was dressed as Santa Claus in 2020. WWE recognized the title win as Santa, but Wikipedia has Bear Bronson down in the notes

---

TheRock1525 posted...

So is the North American title the most cursed WWE title in existence.

Possibly. Cruiserweight title might give it a run for its money

TJP: Gone
Kendrick: On NXT
Swann: Gone
Neville: Gone
Tozawa: 24/7 Regular
Enzo: Gone
Kalisto: Gone
Cedric: Jobbing on Raw
Buddy: Gone
Nese: Gone
Gulak: On SmackDown, never used
Rush: Gone
Garza: On SmackDown
Devlin: NXT
Escobar: NXT
Kushida: NXT
Strong: NXT

Moving it to NXT helped this title out, but the early days were rough, especially with Enzo

---

The Universal Title probably isn't the most cursed, but I'm amused by it
-Vacated day 2 by injury
-I like Goldberg but I don't think he should be a two-time world champ these days
-lol fiend x2 combo
-lol braun
-wait has Roman seriously had it for over a year? I hear that people like him now, but seriously?

---

They just dont have anyone ready (or even nearly ready) who should beat him, so they dont ever beat him

---

The last time Roman was pinned was so long ago that it featured interference from THE REVIVAL

---

Orton about to set records for most PPV and Raw matches in WWE history in the same week

---

Jakyl25 posted...

The last time Roman was pinned was so long ago that it featured interference from THE REVIVAL

This. We're approaching the 2 year anniversary of Roman's last loss in singles competition.

Also tomorrow will mark a full year since Roman Reigns became The Man, the first to successfully do so since Batista in 2008-2009. Roman's year run is more impressive considering he was active the entire time.

---

Predictions

Priest
Usos
Charlotte
Reigns

SD Men
(Drew and Woods survive)

Raw Women
(Liv sole survivor)

Otis wins Battle Royal

SD wins overall 4-3

---

Oh I forgot, I updated the AEW PPV match streaks

1
Harwood
Wheeler
Danielson
Cole
Jungle Boy
Luchasaurus
Black
Andrade
Rhodes
Pac
Guevara
Hager
Santana
Ortiz
Sky
E Page
Dos Santos
Arlovski
Lambert
A Page

2
Fenix
Conti
Punk

3
Kingston
Baker
C Cage

4
Miro
Penta

8
Allin
MJF

11
M Jackson
N Jackson
Omega
Jericho

---

Becky vs Charlotte is main eventing

expect a Montreal finish


---

Narrator: They did not main event

---

---

Holy fuck the Punk/MJF promo was the best wrestling promo since.... Punk/Rock.

And it was better.

Edit: It was like 20mins and I swear it did not feel like one.

The only complaint I have about AEW right now is that their matches can go on too long sometimes. Like Bryan/Omega or World Championship matches lasting 30-40mins is completely fine but Jesus Christ, Punk/QT does not need to be this long.

And the booking of Malakai Black

That Punk/MJF promo was so fucking good. Oh my GOD.

I cannot believe that was 20 minutes. I was hanging on EVERY WORD. When MJF did his second bit, I thought there's NO WAY Punk can come back from some of those, but he rolled with it and crushed. Played babyface PERFECTLY. God that was good. Any pro wrestler trying to figure out how to do a better promo should watch that video over and over again.

---

Holy crap that was good.

---

Triple H finally put Punk over in that promo

---

WWE sent out a survey about NXT 2.0

Agree or Disagree with each of the following points

*This show has many unique and exciting characters.
*I enjoy the athleticism of the wrestling talent on the show.
*This show has some of my favorite professional wrestling characters.
*Character development is believable.
*Wrestling talent on this show is charismatic.
*I enjoy the interactions and match-ups among female talent.
*The wrestling talent has creative freedom to speak their minds.
*Promos feel natural and not too scripted.
*I enjoy the interactions and match-ups among male talent.
*The show does a good job in developing newer wrestling talent.
*I enjoy the promos / smack talk on this show.
*The show does a good job in featuring a wide variety of talent that I am interested in.
*This show is one of my favorites among all professional wrestling shows.
*The show is straightforward.
*Most segments on the show feel necessary to watch.
*There is a good balance between talking and action segments.
*There is a good variety of match types used on this show.
*I can count on seeing at least some big or important moments.
*The show has high production value (lights, camera work, etc.)
*The show does not have enough escalation to intense/brutal action.
*The show format continues to positively evolve.
*Match outcomes feel meaningful.
*The show keeps up with the latest technology.
*The show has the right amount of aggressiveness/violence.
*Storylines are consistently engaging.
*Storylines keep me guessing in a good way.
*There is always something fresh and exciting.
*The show offers an amount of humor that appeals to me.
*I enjoy the commentary on this show.
*I share content or talk about this show with my friends or other fans.
*Rivalries and match-ups on this show are consistently entertaining.

---

Not sure I'm comfortable with WWE using its own releases as cheap heat in storyline.

---

Its not their fault, its the fault of these greedy heels

---

Strife2 posted...

Not sure I'm comfortable with WWE using its own releases as cheap heat in storyline.

Punk did it in the summer of punk to get cheered just like Liv did now. It's heat and pops and it's always been a thing

---

It's different when the cuts are like 75 people in 3 months versus 5-10 once a year. Sure, the words are the same, but the timing and tone feel way different than "standard business practice." Also, Punk said this to Vince himself. Liv said it to Becky...who has no stake in that sort of thing.

---

rip cody

why would you do that spot

---

ScareChan posted...

rip cody

why would you do that spot

It was such a weird spot because I'm pretty sure Cody took the brunt of the table fall but somehow pinned Andrade off of it.

---

Strife2 posted...

It's different when the cuts are like 75 people in 3 months versus 5-10 once a year. Sure, the words are the same, but the timing and tone feel way different than "standard business practice." Also, Punk said this to Vince himself. Liv said it to Becky...who has no stake in that sort of thing.

The other big problem is having Edge say it.

Like dude, you have to have enough pull at this point to put your foot down on using fucking John Morrison's recent release as part of an angle.

---

TheRock1525 posted...

The other big problem is having Edge say it.

Like dude, you have to have enough pull at this point to put your foot down on using fucking John Morrison's recent release as part of an angle.

Hey man, he's just lashing out. Dude misses Christian.

---

Strife2 posted...

Not sure I'm comfortable with WWE using its own releases as cheap heat in storyline.

Cheap heat's been around since the year dot and WWE will sink to depths unheard of to achieve it.

---

Great farewell promo by Johnny

https://twitter.com/kimberlasskick/status/1468425783672807426?s=21

---

Jeff Hardy released by WWE for refusing rehab...welp

---

Jeff needs to just quit the business at this point.

---

In fairness it hasn't been a good year for him (Gilbert died, let's not forget) but still...

---

I'm worried about what happens to Jeff when he doesnt have wrestling to keep him busy any more

---

---

---

---

---

---

---