Kicking things off this week by wishing all those Moms out there a great Mother’s Day. As I know maybe 0.0000001% of the folks reading this are Moms, I suppose I should put a bit of a spin on it at that is this – if your Mom is still around, still alive, go and do something nice for her. Doesn’t have to be anything big, maybe it’s just calling her and sharing a memory of something she did for you that you remember. If Mama Deal was still alive today, I’d tell her how much I loved it when she joined Blade and I on that WrestleCrap Radio years ago telling stories of the year she gave out popcorn balls for trick or treating and what a disaster it was. She was a great woman and I miss her dearly. So yes, if you still have that opportunity, don’t miss out on it. On to the mailbag!
Eddie E kicks us off with…”Thoughts on Orange totally no selling a pile driver on the stairs and a slingshot under the ring yet the week prior swerve sold an unprettier on a chair for 5 minutes. Alsoooo….Saba Simba…fantastic gimmick or no? “
You’re joking about the Saba Simba thing, right? As for Orange, pretty sure Tony needs to get a few more agents that talk to each other about what is happening on the entire show and thus stuff like that wouldn’t happen. It’s interesting because the more I think about it, the AEW of the past would have the same problem wherein different parts of the show felt completely isolated from other parts. I remember it being like that with Cody – he kinda lived in his own universe and what he did almost never had any impact on other characters, feuds, etc.. Oh, and I saw that someone followed this up with wondering what Jim Cornette would have to say about it. SPOILER: he will “go crazy” about it because that’s what he knows his audience wants. Said it before and will say it a million times – Cornette is a character and he plays his character so well people can’t see through the fact the bulk of what he says on his shows is to get more buy in from his viewers/customers. But he’s a character nonetheless.
Ahmer A wants to know…”Why is the Dark Order?”
I believe this question was truncated and you forgot …”not inducted yet?” just so I could say “It is and you can find that rightchere!”
Mike M apparently wants to send me $10 as he asks…”Have you ever considered doing Cameos?”
I have, but I can’t imagine anyone would want them. Maybe I should just throw it up there and see what happens.
Arya W pops one open with…”Thoughts on Tanga Loa signing with WWE? Do you think this is a big deal, medium deal or no deal at all?”
I could be wrong, but I thought all Samoans are legally obligated to sign with WWE.
Tim Cooke ponders…”Is there any one major superstar in wrestling today that you think could push AEW over the top and into competition just by having him on the roster?”
I don’t think so, no. But as long as I get plenty of Will Ospreay matches I honestly don’t care. And really, I don’t think it would be a signing of current star that would change things. It would be someone unexpected catching fire. Look back to late 90’s WWF – they didn’t re-sign Randy Savage and things turned around, they took midcard guys and gave them the chance to connect with fans. That’s what has to happen here. Someone like Ospreay or Willow or whoever has to become someone fans say “that’s my guy and I need to see them and I am willing to spend time and money to do so.” Easier said than done, but realistically if someone told you The Ringmaster was going to turn things around in 1996 would you have believed them? That’s where the magic is.
Jeremy W ain’t giving up! “For the third mailbag in a row, I must continue to ask when you were have the Skyscrapers vs Avalanche and Mike Blackwell in the Squash of the Week. A squash that will live in infamy!”
As always, post links. That goes for SQUASHES and INDUCTIONS. Get me footage and I am happy to put things on the list, believe me!
Taylor W asks…”What’s one episode you’d like to see of Dark Side of the Ring? Alternatively, what’s a wrestling story that needs to be told, good or bad? So many times we hear about Montreal, WCW going out of business (Don’t worry, you’re still the best and most original!), etc…Surely there’s more interesting stories in the world of wrasslin?”
Goes without saying it would be Gobbledy Gooker. Make it a mockumentary, kinda like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story or that Simpsons Behind the Music episode. That would be great fun. They should bring in RJ City to write it, he’d do a fantastic job on it I promise you.
Meagan N wraps us up with…”Favorite Midwest theme park?”
That is a great question, as there are several great ones. As much as I love the theming of Holiday World, it would be a toss up for me between Kings Island and Cedar Point. As much as I love Cedar Point, Kings Island is my “home park” – I grew up with it, and it will always hold a special place for me. Plus there’s nothing better than a ride on The Beast at night. To this day, Beast at night is probably my all time favorite coaster on the planet, as you are in the middle of the woods, you can see almost nothing except trees wizzing past you, and it feels like the coaster is going to come off the rails at any moment, with the key to it all is you are so isolated it doesn’t feel like you are in an amusement park at all. Utterly fantastic. We’re actually getting season passes for KI/CP this year as it will be RD Jr’s last summer before college so we are going to cram in as many rides as we can before he heads out to his next stage of life. Can’t wait.
That’s it for this week! Keep those questions coming in by sending them to this here address!