In recent weeks, I’ve complained about “cool” heels in WWE, wrestlers purportedly cast as villains who undermine their babyface opponents by seeking fan approval. Fan ambivalence and emotional disengagement result, to the detriment of good […]
Welcome everyone! Another week of AEW television is in the books. We had the debut of Ilija Dragunov with vignettes hyping his match debut. Honestly, it felt like they put more into his match debut […]
They say, “looks aren’t everything,” but physical appearance counts for a lot. Looks play a major role in determining and reinforcing social status. We unconsciously believe attractive individuals to be more intelligent, persuasive, trustworthy, and […]
Welcome everyone! Four weeks after All Out and we have our second AEW PPV, WrestleDream, in a row that felt inconsequential. Predictable match after predictable match. Right up to, and including, that main event match. […]
There are many ways to earn a spot on the WWE roster: Charisma, mic skills, and a compelling character can all take a wrestler to the top. But when it comes to the art of […]
Welcome everyone! I have not written anything since the Pac tribute show. The show was so touching and heartfelt, there was nothing I wanted to be negative about. So I just let that week sit. […]
Wrestling is like a buffet – with such a variety of choices, there’s something for everyone. All fans have some wrestlers who appeal to them and others who don’t. Coming of age, I was fascinated […]
Cool is an intangible quality, incorporating admirable elements of attitude, behavior, appearance, autonomy, and style. It’s hard to define, but we know it when we see it. You’ve either got it or you don’t. And […]
Welcome everyone! Well, our AEW family lost another member this week. I have seen this written before, but it works. Pac may have been “The Bastard,” but he was our bastard. Rest in peace. What […]
In wrestling, as in film and television, the power of a great antagonist lies in their ability to provoke a negative emotional response from the viewer. Darth Vader strikes fear into our hearts. Jabba the […]
Welcome everyone! It’s PPV week! While I am excited for the show I do miss when AEW ran less PPV’s. All Out feels like a quick turn around but it’s nothing close to the quick […]
NXT’s men’s division is in the midst of a rebuilding period. After losing top stars (Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, Ricky Saints, and Ethan Page, to name a few) in the past several months, […]
Welcome everyone! Are you an early adopter of AEW? If you were, then I am sure last week was rough one for you as well. It’s nice to know we have a wrestling company like […]
Most great stories feature heroes and villains. Some dramas feature only people who are complex mixes of good and bad. Gangster dramas like The Godfather and The Sopranos do not revolve around a simple good […]
Welcome everyone! Another week of AEW is in the books and it finally feels like AEW has landed on a good place for post PPV Dynamites, finally. It may have taken 6-7 years but they […]
“Pin Me, Pay Me.” –Al Snow, J.O.B. Squad Every great story needs supporting characters. In professional wrestling, one vital supporting role is that of enhancement talent – a/k/a the jobber. In wrestling lingo, “doing a […]
Welcome everyone! We have a special one today. AEW Rising and Fading Stars, the All In London edition! Did you enjoy the show? I thought it was, yet another, a good-to-great PPV. I cheered, booed, […]
Greetings, True Believers! Archetypes have power. The hero, the bully, the trickster, the mentor, the everyman, the innocent, the ruler, the renegade. These are roles people take on in real life, as well as in […]
Welcome everyone! My apologies for my missing column last week. Sometimes life gets in the way. Dynamite was in Baltimore and I was glad my home state crowd was into most of the show. They […]
“Enough is enough and it’s time for a change.” – Owen Hart, 1997 A well-timed change in character or presentation can make all the difference. Some wrestlers only need a tweak here and there: Randy […]
Great stories need a great narrative voice. A commentator describes what is happening, interprets the action, adds context, shapes our emotional response, and guides our understanding of the characters and events. Different forms of media […]
Welcome everyone! I hope you all enjoyed Grand Slam Mexico. The show was fun but, like I said last week, it was more of a house show than a show that is going to push […]
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of SummerSlam booking and presentation. A great SummerSlam performance can create a superstar overnight – consider Ultimate Warrior crushing the Honkey Tonk Man in 30 seconds or Bret Hart […]
Welcome everyone! Wow! What a Dynamite we had last week. If this was AEW’s reaction to a “B” pay-per-view, then maybe I want some more “B” pay-per-views. Why? Because that was one of the best […]
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