Blog of DOOM Daily News Update – 18th September 2021

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Happy Saturday Everyone!

I had pizza last night and it was a magical experience. Can’t beat The ‘Za!!

I’m off to Villa Park today to see if Everton can keep their good start to season going. Aston Villa is always one of my favourite away days as it’s pretty easy to get to, there’s free parking in walking distance from the ground, and Villa Park itself is one of the nicer and more historic stadiums in all of English football. I just hope The Toffees leave Birmingham with the 3 points.

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Bad Brock

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Hey, Scott. So we are seeing the fallout from the DSOR plane ride from hell ep, with both Ric Flair & Tommy Dreamer getting punished (and deservely so) for their actions. But one guy I am surprised that hasn't gotten ripped apart more is Brock Lesnar.
The stuff about him exposing himself to Terri Runnels makes him come off as much a creep as the other two, IMO. And yet, the WWE is going full steam with him in a main event program like nothing happened. So I have to ask the following:

1- Should the WWE be concerned? I feel like if the right newsperson/outlet pays attention to Brock's doings, it can be far more damaging to the brand than a retired wrestler like Flair or an ex-employee like Dreamer would be.

2- What would it take for them to stop using Lesnar? Or is he one of those 'made' men JR described who Vince has no problem letting get away with almost literal murder if they wanted to?

Thanks as always for the reviews.

Hey, the Saudi government literally took the entire roster hostage (allegedly) and Vince is still fine doing business with THEM.  So it's probably going to take a lot to get rid of Brock.  

AEW’s Lack Of Creativity & Variety In Their Angles & Using Run-Ins As A Crutch

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When are we going to discuss the concerning lack of substance and variety in AEW's creative? They've started using the post-match beatdown as a crutch. It happens in over 70% (SEVENTY PERCENT) of their matches, either involving wrestlers currently in a program together or as a means to kickstart new angles. SEVENTY PERCENT. The AEW formula has basically devolved into:
– Two wrestlers/tag teams/factions have a match
– After the match another wrestler/tag team/faction does a run-in attack (and in the case of new angles often unprovoked and without explanation)
– Make a match between the parties involved
– Rinse and repeat ad infinitum

This happens FAR too often. SEVENTY PERCENT is an insane stat and I can't believe more people aren't recognizing this trend and calling them out for it. These are the stats for matches and in-ring promos that ended with run-ins and/or beatdowns for September alone.

RAMPAGE (September 18th)
Matches – 3/3
In-Ring Promos – 0/1

DYNAMITE (September 15th)
Matches – 3/5
In-Ring Promos – 4/4

RAMPAGE (September 10th)
Matches – 2/3
In-Ring Promos – 1/1

DYNAMITE (September 8th)
Matches – 2/5
Promos – 4/5

RAMPAGE (September 3rd)
Matches – 3/3
In-Ring Promos – 1/1

DYNAMITE (September 1st)
Matches – 4/5
Promos – 3/4

17/24 (71%) matches and 13/16 (81%) in-ring promos ended in run-in/interruption brawls. Not a peep on this from a single corner of the IWC. Yet WWE gets lambasted for the tropes and crutches they resort to, which they employee at 1/2 and sometimes even 1/3 as often as AEW does.

Not surprisingly, I posted this to the AEW subreddit and it was removed by mods within 15 minutes. Which brings me to my second question, and that's why does the IWC insist on coddling AEW? Is it because they've wanted a viable alternative for so long that they're afraid if the company's public perception is handled as delicately as possible that AEW will fold and they'll be left crawling back to Vince, who many of them talk about as if he's a more ruthlessly evil combination of Thanos and Hitler? That segment of the hardcore AEW fan base really needs to realize that their gatekeeping serves as a detriment to many fans who are just getting into the product and results in legitimately turning some of them away.

AEW doesn't seem to be turning many fans away if their last buyrate is any indication. 

Wild card rule

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Remember that thing? It probably seems silly but when I think about it, it actually makes me angry.
Don't worry, there's a draft next month so that they can switch people around and then hype up Survivor Series as the only time you can see RAW v. Smackdown matches that we've already seen a million times. 

When it’s time to hotshot

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Scott,

Since you have Tony's ear…

1 )
I literally invented the Inner Circle concept 1st and used it on the indies for the better part of a year. Let Tony know I expect a gratuity. Pass that along. 🤣

2 )
I think the best way to pay off the big show on Wednesday is to just switch the title to Bryan until Page is ready to come back down the road and get put over by Bryan. Problem is, as of yet, the Omega match is non-title. So, my pitch is to have Bryan come out and just address the elephant in the room and point out that 19,000 fans would rather see Bryan Danielson face Omega for the Belt that night. Omega says he would gladly do a title match for the paying fans, BUT the last time Danielson faced someone from the Elite (Adam Cole), he LOST… CLEAN as a sheet. So, Omega will wrestle Bryan for the Title that night only if Bryan can beat Adam Cole first. 

Then you just beat Cole (yes, I said it) and then give people what they wanna see in the main event. Bryan over Omega and new champ. Bryan hangs onto the belt as the “fighting champion” guy until Page comes back. So, I disagree with some people who feel that Page missed his shot and should be relegated to the back burner when he comes back.

Why would they want to suddenly switch the match to a title match without advertising it in advance?  Kind of defeats the point and ruins the presumed 200,000 buy followup title match for Full Gear, innit?

ECW On Sci Fi – September 17, 2007

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: April 17, 2007
Location: Datchforum, Milan, Italy
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

Things changed in a big way last week as CM Punk officially joined the New Breed. That is the biggest moment in the faction warfare story so far and it makes things even more tilted in the favor of the villains. I’m not sure what exactly the ECW Originals can do but ECW does have a history of thinking on the fly. Let’s get to it.

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Mike Reviews – NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling Ultra Clash 1993 (18th September 1993)

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Hey there chaps and chapettes!

Today we’re looking back at the first ECW show of the Paul Heyman Era, with Ultra Clash representing the moment the pencil switched between Eddie Gilbert and Paul. Paul E was kind of cut throat in the way he got control of things, but Gilbert had no interest in working with Jim Crockett or the NWA, so ECW joining up with them was a natural stepping off point for Eddie, with this show scheduled to be his last in the promotion.

I’ve never seen this show before but it has some historical significance to it. ECW was actually still Eastern instead of Extreme at this point and was also now a member of the NWA, but that would change when 1994 rolled around. Knowing Heyman he probably already had the gears whirring in his head for that spectacular screw job.

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Rampage – September 17, 2021

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Rampage
Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho, Excalibur

It’s another stacked show this week with a pair of title matches. First up we have Butcher and the Blade getting a shot at the Lucha Bros, plus Miro defending the TNT Title against Fuego del Sol. The latter is made a little more interesting when you throw in del Sol’s car being on the line as well. Let’s get to it.

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Smackdown – September 17, 2021

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Smackdown
Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

It’s almost time for Extreme Rules hold the extreme. So far we have nothing extreme whatsoever about the show and that is going to make for a weird card. I can imagine some matches being adjusted, though WWE is the kind of place where the show being named one thing and not having any of is not out of the question. Let’s get to it.

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Friday Night Get-Down: September 17, 2021

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So apparently I’m sometimes funny on this blog.  Who knew?

TONIGHT!  SmackDown, Rampage, and probably more talk about what goes on at 30,000 feet!

Tony Khan said in an interview that the women’s division is “a real strength of AEW”.  So, uh, does that mean it’ll have more than one match per show?  Please?

And now, here it is — your Moment of Zen:

(Yeah, yeah, AEW signs the paychecks, deal with it.)

All right, folks, we’ve been over the rules.  I expect you to obey the mods’ instructions at all times.  I expect a good, clean thread.  Now — touch gloves, go to your keyboards, and come out posting!

ENJOY THE WEEKEND!

Impact Wrestling – September 16, 2021

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re on the way to Victory Road and ultimately Bound For Glory, which should make for a pair of back to back big shows. The main story this week is a ten man tag with most of the biggest feuds in the company being thrown into one big match. That should be enough to set up Victory Road so let’s get to it.

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What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – June 17, 1990

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Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan commentate this Father’s Day edition of Wrestling Challenge.  This is the last of the shows from Madison, Wisconsin.

Brutus Beefcake’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling kicks off the telecast.

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NXT UK – September 16, 2021

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NXT UK
Date: September 16, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

The Heritage Cup #1 contenders tournament continues this week as we reach the semifinals. That’s probably a good thing as tournaments with one match a week take their sweet time getting along. Other than that, we are on the way towards…well absolutely nothing around here, which they might want to address. Let’s get to it.

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AEW Cut List

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I imagine Tony Khan will avoid doing a WWE-style mass culling, but there will surely come a point where he has to start doing a little trimming of the roster. Assuming he did go the Vince route and cut a chunk of the roster on the same day, who do have on his
hit list?


I can envision


Brian Cage


Jake Hager


Lance Archer


Christopher Daniels


Luther


Peter Avalon


Alex Marvez

I would agree with these.  

Arthur Ashe Dynamite

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With the card they've put together, next week's dynamite could potentially be the best 2 hours of wrestling this year.

Hot take.  But yeah I think Danielson is gonna want to blow the roof off the stadium.  Does it have a roof?  Maybe they can build one for him to blow off.  

Tommy dreamer is a moron. But he’s not the only one

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So, ric flair sexually assaults a stewardess on the plan ride to hell, and Dreamer says it was just 'a joke', he was 'styling and profiling' and that 'you can get cancelled for anything these days, even a bad haircut '

What's probably most worrying is that most wrestlers will probably defend flair like that. Dreamer is just the only one stupid enough to say it on camera

I'm guessing flair to AEW is off as well

Haven’t watched it yet.  Maybe tonight before Rampage!  
Anyway, it’s Flair.  He does and says stupid stuff and comes back from it.  That’s what he does.