AEW
David Bixenspan Aug 31, 2022. 4 minute read
Before All Out, All Eyes Are on CM Punk, But Not for the Right Reasons
Well, that was different. Last Wednesday, after a very tense week in All Elite Wrestling, Jon Moxley more or less squashed CM Punk to unify their respective interim and lineal versions of the AEW World Championship. Punk did get an out, that he “wasn’t 100% yet” and re-injured his left…
READ MORE >Brett Davis Aug 29, 2022. 3 minute read
The Best Butts in Professional Wrestling
“I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly.” – Beyonce Knowles “Booty, booty, booty, booty, rockin’ everywhere!” – Bubba Sparxx “Whatcha gon’ do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?” – Will.I.Am, or maybe the other guy ASS. Everyone can appreciate dat azz. It’s universal. Big ones,…
READ MORE >Geoffrey D. Wessel Aug 29, 2022. 6 minute read
Maybe You Can Go Home Again: Konosuke Takeshita in the United States
Two cliched phrases come to mind when looking at the extended excursion DDT’s Konosuke Takeshita just completed in the United States of America. The first one is “Travel broadens the mind.” The whole idea of Japanese wrestlers going on excursion, of course, is to get experience with multiple styles of…
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David Bixenspan Aug 26, 2022. 5 minute read
REPORT: What’s Going On with Thunder Rosa? New Sources Speak
On Wednesday, months of public discontent and years of simmering tensions with AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa boiled over when she announced that she was taking time off to deal with a nagging back injury. With Toni Storm reportedly (per Fightful Select, h/t Diva Dirt) being set to win the title…
READ MORE >Robert Newsome Aug 19, 2022. 2 minute read
Cussing Doesn’t Belong in a Wrestling Ring
“If you curse You’re the worst. For you, there is no hope. If you curse You’re the worst. Wash your mouth out with soap.” – Crucial Youth – “Those Who Curse” You can say “shit” on TV now. If you’ve watched pretty much any AEW broadcast, this fact is abundantly…
READ MORE >Joseph Anthony Montecillo Aug 15, 2022. 12 minute read
On Wrestling Criticism Part 2: Wrestling Mechanics
Note: The intro to this series can be read here. It’s important to begin with the mechanics of pro wrestling, the actual physical movement involved with the performance. I wanted to start with this particular element of wrestling simply because it’s the first thing any viewer is immediately confronted by.…
READ MORE >David Bixenspan Aug 9, 2022. 10 minute read
Is Sting ACTUALLY the Dumbest Babyface of All Time? A Fanfyte Investigation
Though Sting has, with his run in AEW, absolutely cemented his status as a living legend of professional wrestling, he’s still haunted by his past. A past that has routinely been the subject of ridicule for decades. What is this ghost that I speak of? His reputation for being an…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Aug 5, 2022. 2 minute read
Jungle Boy Calling Christian Cage a Pussy: A Review
In short, I hate it. For months, Christian Cage has bodied a mostly-absent Jungle Boy on the mic, insulting his deceased father Luke Perry and offering to sleep with his mom. It’s been great. Seriously. I’m a big fan of Christian, particularly as a heel, and his turn as a…
READ MORE >Trevor Dame Jul 27, 2022. 11 minute read
In Order to Make Its Future, Professional Wrestling Needs to Forget Its Past
Everything good comes to an end. Actually, everything comes to an end, good and bad. The only constant is change. Yet in pro wrestling, there is a growing cottage industry devoted to fighting against that fact of life. More and more podcasts and Patreons are springing up, lead by disgruntled…
READ MORE >Trevor Dame Jul 15, 2022. 12 minute read
How AEW’s Massive Roster Hurts and Helps Its Cause
It’s wild to think that when AEW started just three years ago, one of the biggest worries pundits and fans had for the new promotion was their ability to fill out their roster with quality talent. Today, the opposite is now true, as perhaps the most common complaint people make…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Jul 14, 2022. 2 minute read
Wrestling Fans Who Yell “Grab His Dick and Twist It!”: A Review
I’ve seen a fair amount of live wrestling recently. In June, I went to Forbidden Door in Chicago and the Blood and Guts Dynamite in Detroit. Last night, I was in Savannah, Georgia for Dynamite. I’ve seen three other AEW shows besides, and between all six of them, they’ve had…
READ MORE >David Bixenspan Jul 1, 2022. 4 minute read
Claudio Castagnoli’s Long Road to the Top of Professional Wrestling
Over 15 years ago, I remember sitting in the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center in New York City as I took in ROH Final Battle 2006, the show built around Homicide finally winning the ROH Championship from Bryan Danielson. Yet on a show with such a huge main event…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Jun 29, 2022. 6 minute read
Wheeler YUTA Is the Lex Luger of the Blackpool Combat Club
Please, before you boo me off of Fanfyte, let me explain. Wrestling stables are pretty interesting. They’re meant to be, obviously, a gathering of formerly disparate talents in the name of a common cause. A stable can come in three configurations before becoming a faction: there’s the three person stable,…
READ MORE >Will Cooling Jun 26, 2022. 7 minute read
In Another Universe, Eddie Kingston Is Wrestling for the Interim AEW Championship Tonight
“I probably wasn’t as clear as I should have been. I offered to relinquish the title and Tony told me that under no circumstances was I allowed to do that. It means a lot to me that this place as a whole believes in me enough to let me just…
READ MORE >David Bixenspan Jun 26, 2022. 5 minute read
G1 Supercard May Outshine Forbidden Door. That Would Be Weird.
When AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door was announced for four weeks after AEW Double or Nothing, completely throwing off AEW’s quarterly pay-per-view schedule, it made a certain kind of sense. After all, if there was any show that you would do that for, it would be the first AEW vs. NJPW super…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Jun 13, 2022. 7 minute read
How Many Second Chances Do Wrestlers Like Jeff Hardy Get?
Jeff Hardy was arrested in Volusia County, Florida yesterday on multiple charges and was booked at 12:45 this afternoon. According to the police report, he was driving under the influence of alcohol on a suspended or restricted license. It’s the DUI that stands out, as its his third in less…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Jun 11, 2022. 2 minute read
The Little Box Mark Henry Occupies on AEW Rampage: A Review
One of the most delightful bits of AEW Rampage, the hour-long morsel of professional wrestling that airs on TNT, is the head to head interview conducted by Mark Henry. Henry, posted up in his little box, takes a good look at the two sides of this main event, breathes in…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Jun 9, 2022. 2 minute read
AEW’s All-Atlantic Championship: A Review
A lot of stuff happened on Dynamite this week, some good and some bad. Tucked in between all of that was a pretty good match between Pac and Buddy Murphy, two of AEW’s more disconcertingly jacked flippybois. When announced, things were pretty straight: another Death Triangle/House of Black clash. Before…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Jun 8, 2022. 2 minute read
Will Ospreay’s AEW Debut: A Review
I’m not going to mince words: Will Ospreay’s AEW debut sucked. Not in a material sense. He interrupted an argument between FTR and Trent Beretta, allowing his friends in the United Empire to sneak up and beat on those three men. It furthers the tag team storyline heading into Forbidden…
READ MORE >David Bixenspan Jun 8, 2022. 6 minute read
For Good or Ill, Shoot Promos Will Always Have a Place in Wrestling
Pro wrestling is, of course, not like other genres of entertainment, with there being numerous differences, large and small, that dictate what does and doesn’t work within its confines. Since pro wrestling is, within the body of its programming, portrayed as a legitimate sporting event, it’s not quite “real enough”…
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