Had a chance to go to AEW Dynamite live this week in Indianapolis with RD Jr. and we had quite a lot of fun. I find it interesting that so many of us spend so much time analyzing ratings (both television and Dave’s), ticket sales, and whatever other metrics to determine if something is “good” or “bad”. That’s not just with wrestling, it’s with other items as well, especially movies. That wasn’t always the case, of course – when I went to see movies when I was younger, I didn’t really care how much money it made, I was more concerned with whether I liked it or not. With movies, that’s kinda still the case with me – I never, ever read reviews of movies prior to going to see them and it’s made for a far more enjoyable experience as I go into things with a fresh set of eyes. After I see it, I will sometimes, but not always, read reviews to see what other folks think. But even that I am starting to shy away from because again, it skews my opinion and makes repeat viewings less enjoyable if it is something I personally liked but the public did not.
I think I am going to start doing the same with wrestling. I already have started walking away from checking what the television ratings are – at the end of the day, I don’t own stock in any of those companies, so it has little to do with my enjoyment of the product. Same with ticket sales or merch or anything else. Life is too short and I am getting too old to waste it overanalyzing what a Baron Corbin quarter hour may have done.
Part of that too may be related to RD Jr. turning EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD this week. It seems like it was just yesterday Blade and I were discussing his upcoming arrival, and now here he is earning his Eagle Scout rank and looking at colleges. Can I say how proud I am of him? Of course I can, of course I am, and of course I will. He is kinda a homebody, prefers to just hang out at home than do pretty much anything else. But when I ask him if he wants to go to an AEW show with me, he always says yes. What’s interesting is he almost never watches the actual television shows with me. Despite that, at the live event he is smiling and laughing. And that…that’s way more important to me than what shows up in the Observer or on a Nielson report. Off my soapbox and into the mailbag…
Rob B kicks us off with what I’m sure will be a weekly tradition…”Do you think that if Punk didn’t basically Nailz Tony Khan that he’d still be with AEW?”
Until the next blow up? Yes. But Punk was unhappy and an unhappy Punk is a very bad thing for a company. Also, I can’t wait for the next 20 years as Punk’s AEW run is analyzed Montreal style with fingers pointed at all parties and every “what if” brought up over and over again. Remember what I said about movies I watch without reading reviews? Perfect case is The Flash, which actually relates to this. In that movie, alternate timelines come into play and what is discovered is that sometimes things just never, ever work out the way you want, despite getting chances over and over to ‘correct’ them. I’ll leave that to you all to ponder.
Thomas M wants to know…”Back in 2020/21 when WWE were making countless releases with some being deserved and the bulk being completely undeserved who were you surprised to see WWE NOT release? For me it was Jinder Mahal who has never been over with the fans (with the exception on 3MB); R Truth a comedy wrestler pushing 50 who’s routine had become very stale at this point (the return of Pretty Ricky); and Byron Saxton, dreadful commentator, dreadful wrestler, relegated to ring announcer in NXT, dreadful back stage interviewer but some how retains him job and finds his way back to the announce table even though his whiney, dork persona is completely irritating.”
Every wrestling roster is overstuffed at this point I think as companies are fearful someone they let go will become a big star for the competition. But SPEAKING OF WWE ANNOUNCERS…the single most irritating thing with me and WWE is their announcing style. Like I literally cannot watch their shows with the sound on due to Michael Cole and the way the product is presented from an aural standpoint. Folks complain about cuts and zooms, but to me the announcing is so, so much worse. I would really love to have an option to just listen to what the folks in the arena hear, as I know it would improve my enjoyment tenfold.
Rudy M asks…”Do you ever get recognized by wrestlers when you’re out and about at wrestling conventions and events like that?”
I do but it’s generally pretty rare.
Ryan G brings up a disgusting human being with…”What is the best theme music in AEW, and why is it Don Callis’ theme?”
I absolutely love Don’s off key single note droning “theme”. It fits him perfectly.
We also need more sit down 12 minute segments with Don and JR. I think Ross is beyond horrible these days doing commentary, but he’s great here. Play to strengths, Tony. Play to strengths.
Robert R goes to the cupboard for…”What are the preferred bands of chips for you and your family?”
I personally love black pepper and sea salt kettle chips, but the family has started to really dig plain old Lay’s sour cream and onion chips. Those are great too, and don’t seem to have changed as much as the BBQ ones have.
Roger W FINISHES us with…”With Mortal Kombat 1 releasing a Jean Claude Van Damme skin for Johnny Cage. Will there be a Glacier skin for Sub-Zero?”
That would for sure be an awesome way for me to get back into the series and I’d think a fairly inexpensive license to get! OH! And tangentially related…I help with a charity arcade in Shelbyville, IN called Rupert’s Kids Arcade. We are having one of our biggest events of the year, a one day tournament we call KING OF ARCADE. The winner of the tournament gets their very own arcade machine! It would be very cool to see some fellow Crappers show up and support the cause and maybe take home a machine in the process. Just $10 to get in, so it’s cheap, helps folks, and is a whole lotta fun. Check it out by clicking rightchere!
And with that another mailbag comes to a close. Send in questions here and go be good to each other.