The whole point of a sequel is to be better than the game that came before it and that’s exactly what 2 did. Better graphics, better combat, more weapons, way more suits, way better traversal, and better quality of life features. It’s a no brainer that 2 is the best in the series despite the trolls here on Reddit and the grifters on YouTube say. Newer is always better, it’s common sense.
The more MVP (Most Valueless Player) talks, the more it becomes obvious that he barely knows anything despite being in the industry for a few decades. There are plenty of wrestlers Triple H put over in his career, especially at WrestleMania.
I love Iyo. I think she is great. I just don't understand why she developed the reputation of "the best wrestler in the world" for many people who decided to share their opinion online.
Please don't pretend like it isn't a thing. It IS a thing, or at least it was and the remnants still exist.
So why did this become a popular (in the IWC) narrative? I'm not denying that she is great. I just don't understand why she got the title of "greatest" for so many people for a period of time.
Can anyone explain this?
I know the Sickos are gonna hit us with the “but he worked Korakuen Hall” defense, but man… this look is rough.
Wrestling is presentation. Aura matters. Presence matters. And Mason Rook doesn’t look intimidating, dangerous, athletic, or even remotely believable as a TV wrestling star.
You don’t need to look like Batista, but you should at least look like you’ve seen the inside of a gym voluntarily.
Maybe he can work. But first impressions matter, and this immediately takes me out of the product.
Am I alone here, Midcarders?
Forget workrate, Meltzer stars, and who had a banger in Korakuen Hall in front of 147 polite clappers. We gotta talk about the real main event.
If Mason Rook and Eddie Kingston got locked in at a Golden Corral and had to engage in shoot fisticuffs... who actually walks away the winner?
On one side: a man who looks like he manages a vape kiosk at the mall and says "actually, in Japan..."
On the other: a man built like a half-deflated couch who fights like he's trying to defend his Subway footlong.
No weapons, no run-ins, no bleeding Moxley interference, no Grado cameos. Just big fight feel and pure combat sports energy, between two dudes who look like they'd get winded carrying a PS5 upstairs.
Restore the feeling, Midcarders. Who takes the last of the prime rib in this meat madness?
This started with that Hollywood agent who clearly has issues with Tony Khan. Easy to write off.
But now there are additional rumblings that AEW has already been told they’re not being renewed by the Discovery side, even with the public denials.
And the interesting part… internally they’re said to have started working on contingency plans. YouTube. WatchAEW. That reportedly began late last summer, which lines up with the timing of these reports.
So that’s now two separate reports pointing the same direction.
We can question the sources. We probably should. But companies don’t start planning backup distribution for no reason.
Either this is all bullshit that just happens to line up… or something’s actually going on behind the scenes.
What’s your take, Midcarders?
So I just came across this on twitter and something similar a few weeks ago. There is this mindset not just from Tony but from a lot of the sickos that no matter how many losses you take, as long as you have good matches you’ll be a star. We see this with Ace, we saw it with Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, multiple members of the Callis family, etc. I get someone has to lose, but when you lose over and over again, it doesn’t help your cause of being a star. I don’t know what do you all think?
AEW Collision did 353,000 viewers and a 0.08 demo for the “Fairway to Hell” episode opposite WWE Backlash.
For perspective, Programming Insider reported NWA’s recent debut on Comet pulled around 275K viewers… on a random Saturday afternoon broadcast rerun network.
That gap between a nationally televised Tony Khan-funded promotion and Billy Corgan’s nostalgia project is starting to get a little uncomfortable.
i know no one asked for my opinion, but here we go.
AEW built its image on being anti-WWE, on being everything WWE isn't, and on being the "cool promotion" to WWE's corporate one, but the issue here is that image hurts aew more than it favors it because this way, no matter what you do, you will be compared to WWE, and you will never get anywhere near the production of a multi-generational, multibillion-dollar company like WWE, so AEW will look like a small indie promotion instead of something that can compare to WWE.
aew always felt like a passion project designed to stick it to wwe in every way instead of being its own thing with its own image. The way aew conducts itself proves that constant jabs at and comparisons with also. The way tk conducts himself is not professional; it feels like a younger brother trying to stick it to his older brother.
the fans are part of it because when you criticize AEW and never criticize WWE, you are harming the company more than helping it improve,, and some aew fans are so hostile that it puts people off the product entirely.
the booking also suffers as a result of being everything anti-WWE; at times it feels nonsensical instead of like characters and story build-ups. Sometimes it's pitting people against each other because this is what those anti-WWE fans like, but those are a minority of people that TK seems to cater to. Also, signing released WWE wrestlers as soon as they are free again only to book them for 3 months, and then they are forgotten, looks desperate.
So imo, if AEW continues to act like the underdog anti-corporate promotion, they will not last past 2035 max and that's not something good from pro wrestling as a whole
So in a prior post - https://www.reddit.com/r/midcarder/comments/1t5idhl/has_darby_allins_aew_title_run_ruined_your/ - there was a comment with an allusion to Darby Allin dunking a drunk and druggie's head (whom is apparently the cousin of Jimmy Kimmel) in a dirty toilet for a few dollars for fun and laughs.
I was disgusted and appalled. I couldn't believe that would have been said.
But it was said.
So, if we are to believe Darby Allin at his word on Talk Is Jericho, then, that happened, by his word.
You may not want to listen to this one, and I don't blame you if you don't want to. The clip starts around 14-15 minutes, and goes for just over a minute, and there's more if you can hang with it. Strongly recommend you do not if you're not ready.
For myself, I've personally been down-and-out and homeless, and not by choice or for a lifestyle. This is not what I'd spend my last money on for entertainment or sustenance.
My opinion on this guy is quite now nearly as low as my opinion of Buck Zumhofe. And it's going to be hard to separate the art from the artist for me going forward.
My opinion of Chris Jericho having a laugh about it is pretty low as well.
And I guess that's our AEW World Champion as a pillar, and a founding father of AEW.
Source: https://castro.fm/episode/kLIfSd Talk Is Jericho, January 10, 2020, "Coffin Talk with Darby Allin"
Sickos need not comment.
I’ll be blunt with you. I’ve largely stopped watching AEW weeklies (and WWE weeklies), and Darby Allin as World Champion has done absolutely nothing to pull me back in.
This run really reminds me of EVIL’s IWGP title run in New Japan: a reign that didn’t just cool off the belt, but actively hurt a lot of people's interest in the product. including mine.
And before the Sickos start screaming, it’s not about "workrate", it’s about presence. The AEW World Title is supposed to feel important. Darby just doesn’t feel like a world champion to me. The size, the lack of charisma, the one-note "reckless emo skateboard kid" character... I just don’t buy him as the face of a major wrestling company.
This isn't to knock Darby as a performer. He makes for a great attraction for AEW, even if it's an attraction that can be a serious liability both on and off AEW programming. Car crash matches can be fun. Not so big on flamethrowers, but you get the idea. I don't hate where he was, but where he is at the top just does not feel right to me.
And overall, instead of feeling must-watch, AEW right now feels colder to me than ever.
Am I alone here, or has this title run completely failed to make you care?
We are officially in a new era of WWE.
John Cena is retired. AJ Styles is retired. Brock Lesnar is retired. A lot of the established main event talent is either moving into special attraction roles or being shifted down the card to help build the next wave.
And that next wave is starting to look pretty loaded.
Oba Femi. Trick Williams. Jacy Jayne. Dirty Dom. Bron Breakker. Ethan Page. Blake Monroe. Tiffany Stratton. Giulia. Roxanne Perez. Je’Von Evans. Sol Ruca. The list keeps growing.
This feels like WWE’s “New Generation” reset. Not in the cheesy 1995 branding sense, but in the sense that WWE is clearly transitioning from one era of stars into another.
So here’s the question, Midcarders:
If WWE’s next decade had to be built around FOUR pillars, who are your picks?
Which four names do you think will define this “next generation” of WWE?