[Other Sport] The Wrestling Thread

[stewart12]

Seems a bit of a mess - Sports Illustrated have an article noting the suspensions, but as of 30mins ago, reports were that no one had told CM Punk (it's unknown if anyone had told Jack Perry).

Bit of bad timing, not just with the altercation casting a cloud over the biggest event in wrestling, but if Punk is suspended as of now he would miss events in his 'home town' Chicago, where a lot of his supporters will be having bought tickets for him. (Though reports are that they are struggling to get over 3000 to attend dynamite, so maybe saying 'a lot of his supporters' is overstating how big the crowd will be).

I would be highly surprised if he doesn't appear at All Out. As you say a lot of fans would have bought tickets just for him and AEW have a bit of momentum behind them now. There's not much on the card yet for All Out and very little time to build anything so pulling Punk at this stage (not that he has anything announced yet) would be a major misstep

 

[stewart12]

I watch the rock vs Mankind I quit match last weekend. Defo wouldn't be wanting to see that every week!!!

I also think today's stars wouldn't be able to get "over" by swearing, running someone over or simulating sleeping with a corpse so it's two different worlds really. The TV landscape has changed and we shouldn't hold it against the wrestlers for not being the same, I guess we have to accept it for what it is now

lots of differences really just in terms of culture and how we consume things from then vs now

that era also had a constant war for tv ratings which were a much bigger deal then so both WWF and WCW were constantly doing things for major pops to get the ratings in. If you try and watch back the stuff from that era now the weekly shows are absolutely mental- hardly any actual matches and it's 2 hours of just absolute chaos. Even the PPVs back then would be accused of being overbooked if they were done now- I doubt a single major PPV main event from 1997-2001 was won cleanly without any shenanigans of some sort

as previously touched upon a fair chunk of AEW's fanbase was probably watching attitude era WWF/E but they're not teenagers any more so don't necessarily want the same stuff but I'd say what AEW does is CLOSER to that era in terms of content than WWE is currently

 

[BBassic]

that era also had a constant war for tv ratings which were a much bigger deal then so both WWF and WCW were constantly doing things for major pops to get the ratings in

Won't be everyone's cup of tea but I've been working my way through this series from the Wrestling Bios YouTube channel:



Bloke is 'reliving' the entire ratings war, episode by episode. It's a mammoth undertaking and just the sort of niche insanity I live for.

 

[Mellotron]

Won't be everyone's cup of tea but I've been working my way through this series from the Wrestling Bios YouTube channel:



Bloke is 'reliving' the entire ratings war, episode by episode. It's a mammoth undertaking and just the sort of niche insanity I live for.

Thanks, will have a look. It was a fascinating time in the industry.

 

[stewart12]

I would encourage any lapsed fans to check out All In once it's up on ITV hub or whatever it's called now

 

[Acker79]

Reminder: AEW All In just started on ITV4.

 

[jcdenton08]

Any fans of OSW review here?

 

[Frutos]

This Punk/Joe match isn't doing it for me - there doesn't seem to be any fluidity to it and some of the transitions look really sloppy.

 

[Acker79]

Last match at the company was the opening match at the biggest event in wrestling, in a nod to perhaps his greatest rivalry. Not a bad way to leave, I suppose. Crowd reaction tomorrow night will be interesting.

 

[ElectricNaz]

It's gotta be a work....surely??

 

[Frutos]

It's gotta be a work....surely??

I can't decide, but I'm leaning towards no.

 

[HangletonGull]

Definitely a work

 

[BBassic]

What was that sign at All In? 'Best in the world at being a bitch"?

Accurate

 

[Acker79]

The Chicago fans did not take it well...

 

[Acker79]

I doubt it is a work, but this is wrestling, so that will always be suggested, and even if it's not now, it could always become one later.

 

[Acker79]

Just finished watching last night's Payback. It's a b-level ppv, and it was reflected in the quality of the show. I wouldn't say there were any stinkers, everyone worked hard and matches were generally decent, but nothing blowaway.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Tony Khan has no idea what he's doing.

 

[stewart12]

Punk was/is AEW's biggest merch seller and undoubtedly a big draw BUT quite clearly has a 'challenging' attitude that rubs people up the wrong way- and it's something that has followed him around for his whole career so this isn't just an AEW thing

whilst there's two sides to every argument he clearly get's himself into these situations on a regular basis so I can see why AEW have taken the decision to cut ties

 

[Acker79]

Punk was/is AEW's biggest merch seller and undoubtedly a big draw BUT quite clearly has a 'challenging' attitude that rubs people up the wrong way- and it's something that has followed him around for his whole career so this isn't just an AEW thing

whilst there's two sides to every argument he clearly get's himself into these situations on a regular basis so I can see why AEW have taken the decision to cut ties

It was probably time for him to go, but I don't think we should downplay the environment that allowed it. You say he gets into these situations on a regular basis, but it didn't happen in WWE (by that I mean disagreements turning 'violent' - he rubbed people the wrong way, but he was never reported to have fights with other wrestlers backstage), because there is a structure and discipline there that doesn't exist in AEW, where active wrestlers (whose maturity is open for debate) are EVPs, and the owner is a fanboy who thinks these people he is paying are his best friends.

 

[BBassic]

Jack Perry suspended indefinitely now as well.

It'll be nice to get back to some storyline drama for a change.