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Terry knew he was bulletproof. He could put over every young guy in the world and help build them up and it would never hurt his stature in the business.
Honestly in a way, Terry Funk being so selfless later in his career helped build up that bulletproof status. He was just one of those guys who almost embodied what it meant to be a wrestler in a way fans could see.
Danielson’s selfless to a fault, almost so much that it comes back around to being selfish. Him as AEW world champion might have been some help over the last 18 months.
To this day, I think he should have been the one to win the World Title Tournament post Punk Injury. Mox didn't need it, give Danielson a few months with the title and then have his 60 minute iron-man banger with MJF and have him drop it.
This was the best time to do it. He could’ve had a nice 2 month run before dropping it at Full Gear 22.
I’m hoping Tony can convince him to win any sort of title before he bounces because he really deserves to be in the lineage somewhere. Even if he wins something at All In and drops it in his last full time match at WrestleDream or something
LMAO he gets pissed off, spits on Tony, knocks shit off the commentary table, starts drawing "ROH" with his fingers til he realizes that Tony runs that too and then starts spelling out "WWE"
I’d love the idea of a title nobody wants, sort of an albatross they’re forced to carry around. Like that roulette of death Mexico did where the loser advances each match and the ultimate loser had to unmask, but there’s some kind of punishment for being the current title holder.
Cue a series where Danielson keeps on rage quitting at every wrestling promotion because they keep putting World Titles on him! Then he goes back to the WWE where he knows they won’t put a World Title on him!!
Danielson in his mind: “I’m going into Bash in Berlin. Gunther has been World Heavyweight Champion for two years. I don’t even have a long story with him. I challenged him on a random episode of Raw. No way they put the title on me!”
*hits running knee*
1, 2, (Gunther doesn’t kick out.) 3!
"The Belt Rejector" Bryan Danielson is such an unintentionally hilarious gimmick. In my mind, it's an amazing idea, but in the real world, it would be impossible to pull off.
I think he looks at being AEW Champion completely the wrong way. I do somewhat understand his pov, like he doesn't want to be champion, fair enough. It won't elevate him to another level, **BUT** it will absolutely elevate others who beat him for it as champion/challenger.
This, it hurts doubly so when he’s your favorite wrestler like he is for me and so many others. Not only does putting your name on the title’s lineage add prestige to it, but when you’re 0-Infinity in title matches there eventually stops being any stakes when you’re challenging for one
>Danielson’s selfless to a fault, almost so much that it comes back around to being selfish
The best thing he can do is bring more eyeballs to the company and more people in the stands. He doesn't seem aware that maintaining his image as a top guy is crucial to that. Increasing the exposure of the young wrestlers will do more for them than offering some tips after a match.
I think Bryan is smart about the industry so it's not that he doesn't understand this principle, I think he just has a blind spot when it comes himself because he enjoys the in-ring stuff so much more than literally anything else.
He’s like Wayne Gretzky in that regard. Gretzky was a magician on the ice, but a failure as a head coach. Danielson can do anything in the ring, but struggles with other aspects of the business, either due to disinterest or inability.
Yeah, Danielson seems like a great dude, but I also don’t think he actually sees the big picture and recognizes what he can do to really help both the boys and the company he’s with.
Even Cena who has proven himself now in the later part of his career to be insanely giving, does losing to solo mean much to Solo? He's lost like his last 10 feeds. Cena will always be over but beating him is no longer an accomplishment and losing to him is death.
For example, when he loses to Swerve at All In, is it really going to do anything to put Swerve more over outside of the AEW die hards? Because I don’t even remember BD’s last big singles win.
But i'd say Danielson, despite being so generous, is not "there for" the young guys.
He's there cause he fucking loves it. He's just a nice guy but that's secondary.
Winning and losing really isn't the point. Danielson would rather be in the background, indulge himself and cross matches off his bucketlist when in reality the way he could have helped the most people is by actually being featured as the star that he is. I don't think it comes from a bad place, but his 'selflessness' hasn't really efficiently helped anyone besides maybe MJF.
I remember Heyman talking about him on the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, saying, "Let me make this guy, let me work with him, let me work with that guy, I could do something special with him"
I don't think Terry and Dory Jr. ever said anything about helping young guys, putting people over, making their opponents look good... not once. They just went out and did it.
I think Funk took it as a matter of pride to take a younger or lesser guy and help them up the ladder. He knew if you showed you were willing to put people over, at his age he'd be around far longer than the "I don't lose" guy
I'm going to have to paraphrase it, but I remember a cool story that Mick Foley told in his first book, about his feud with Sting in the early 1990's. It went something to the effect of, Sting being surprised that Mick Foley supplied so many ideas for how their feud could work, because none of the other monsters that Sting had recently wrestled had done that, and Mick told him something to the effect of, "I don't see why we can't get each other over at the same time."
That's the essence of pro wrestling at its best I think.
Sting was afraid that selling to Mick would be a bad look because he wasn't a top guy at the time. Mick basically said, "Trust me bro," and promised he would make Sting look like a bonafide badass as long as he got a few good spots in for himself.
As a result, Sting actually stood up for Mick when some of the other wrestlers thought he was going to pull something over on them.
I went to one of Foley's shows and he talked about this. He made deal with Sting to call the first few minutes of the match, and if Sting wasn't happy with how it was going then he could call the rest of the match. Sting wound up letting Foley call the entire match because of how the crowd was reacting.
It usually means "I want to work with the rising stars so I can steal some of their heat, then they have to sell their asses off for me, so I look good."
To be fair, there was a time in WWE in the mid-10s where we were having the same convo about Jericho that we are about Bryan now, where he was losing *too much* to the point where it wasn't a rub anymore. Losing to Fandango was the moment where it was like "Alright Chris, surely you could've veto'd THAT." I think they put him over Bray Wyatt in 2014 to counteract that exact problem.
Perhaps the Jericho vortex is a warped overcorrection of that, and at the same time Jericho is trying to convince himself and everyone else that he still has their best interest in mind.
> "Alright Chris, surely you could've veto'd THAT."
Chris' side of the story is that he was not for it, and then Vince offered him even more money on top of a very large Wrestlemania payday.
Hard to say no to that.
The story was that Jericho wasn't happy to work Fandango, and then upset he had to lose to him. He called the Undertaker to vent and he was advised by Taker to do it and show Vince what he can do. So he put together a program to get Fandango's finisher over and then lost to him at WM. Fandango then spent post WM bliss being among the most over guys (this was short lived). The cherry on the top was that his pay day was equal to his WM28 pay day when he wrestled for the world title. Jericho didn't know how much he was going to get paid until he received the money post WM.
The story that came out on that was as follows: Roman was going to win the title at WM32 and Vince wanted his first title match to be a good match so he was going to go with AJ vs Roman at the PPV following WM. Vince was going to book a number on contender's match on the Raw after WM with AJ going over. So he felt that AJ losing to Jericho was a way to surprise the audience when AJ won the number one contender's match the next night.
Edge has been one of my favorites for a really long time but i immediately thought of him while reading this lmao. Dude wanted to be a helpful Vet, won 98% of his feuds/matches then dipped (not mad at it if that’s how it reads but it’s just hilarious).
He shows the young guys how to put him over.
https://preview.redd.it/8lg8l20cmx8d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d256890ba8d00127af9e97f725e33324a046a00
Demon Balor's last 2 matches were losses to Reigns and Edge, two dudes who absolutely didn't need the rub.
I know he's been doing good stuff with Judgment Day, but Finn has been done so dirty as a singles wrestler ever since coming back from his 2nd NXT run.
As far as I'm concerned, the Demon is dead, and it's from his loss to Edge. His loss to Roman contributed, but it was a wonky finish, even for a Bloodline match. It seems like they were still trying to play up that the Demon should have won, what with the weird revival and his music playing mid-match. His loss to Edge, however, was just a clean pin, no ambiguity. Edge didn't need the win.
Didn't help that edge went on a hiatus right after wrestlemania
And the whole build was pointless. If edge won he got rid of Judgement day once and for all yet they are still here lol
Yeah and imagine Finn now, knowing that they had such powerful foe that created them and whom they betrayed. And Finn beingthe one to dispatch this foe once and for all.
Instead Edge bitched Finn and then stopped caring about Judgment Day still existing and prospering.
Yeah the Demon character can’t return. The aura is gone. You can’t use it as a means of intimidation when the last several times it’s been used Balor loses and comes off as a fool.
Balor as whole I wish things turned out better for him. He re signed with WWE so he’s certainly happy but he was capable of so much more.
I think the only way they could would be to play it up the way the Wyatt Sicks have been played up, tease it, show off some spooky stuff that is like the Demon doing his business, maybe mad at how he was treated, maybe mad at Finn for not letting him fully take over (this is a way they could handwave those issues with him getting squashed, Finn not committing to the Demon's takeover of his body)
they COULD do it, but I don't know what it would contribute to Finn's current character.
I entirely believe WWE's biggest missed opportunity over the last decade is Balor, man was selling an insane amount of merch before his injury it would have been so simple to get him back to the main event.
Balor's "NXT is is Broadway" run was amazing. Those Kyle O'Reilly matches where they kept everything in the ring is just next level. Bro started pulling off new moves to match the persona, it was just...one of my favorite NXT title reigns, where NXT has MULTIPLE amazing title reigns.
I like Edge a lot, but if he ever said he came back to help and put over younger guys he’s lying. He straight up hasn’t feuded with any younger guys in this entire run. Randy, Roman, Bryan, Seth, Miz, AJ, Finn, Christian, and now Malaki Black. Not a single one would I consider a “younger, newer guy”.
I still can't believe the man walked out of WWE as a conquering hero having won all of his last major matches from his last Wrestlemania match against Balor to his last match against Sheamus.
My guess is that the super favorable booking wasn’t going to continue and he didn’t like that.
When he left I think he said something to the effect of thinking he still has a lot more in him but WWE didn’t agree or something.
Yeah, I like Edge a lot more than Punk (who also said it) and my mind immediately went to him and his losing only one feud since coming back. And that was to freaking Roman.
And keep in mind that Roman needed both Usos and fucking Seth Rollins to interfere on his behalf to beat Edge in a one on one match.
It took more manpower for Roman to put down Edge than any other challenger in his 3 and a half year reign.
I feel like Punk has gotten more refined as a mentor since joining NXT. I think the AEW thing with people not wanting to listen to him hurt his feelings so now he appreciates the NXT stuff that much more.
Guys like Punk and Danielson were both trying to move more into management/production roles behind the scenes, while Edge wasn't, which seems like a huge difference.
Punk seems like he genuinely wants to help younger guys at least. His feud with MJF was a masterclass in how to elevate someone in defeat, and really brought him to that champion level.
It’s funny cause after leaving WWE and joining AEW he said the reason he left is cause they wanted him to put over young guys, and he still wanted to compete for championships. Tryna make up for lost years I guess
his last WWE run prove otherwise. the only guy Edge put over was Roman. he didn't put over Seth, Miz, or Finn balor
and it's funny Judgement day finally thrived to become main attraction of RAW when he left and Dominik joins in. in a way you can say Damien is right that Edge was holding them back
Idk if it’s even meant as a direct shot at anyone, but people love to speculate. I personally don’t even agree with the sentiment since there are a lot of vets who seem to hang around just to give the rub to young guys or at most mill about in a team. Strangely my first thought was someone like Jeff Jarrett who notoriously put himself over everyone in the 00’s but has basically lost every match in AEW.
Thing is, if Cody hypothetically really did not like Punk, he wouldn't have said this. Because he'd know it would be seen as a dig at Punk. And he sure as hell ain't the kind of guy who throws digs at his co-workers in random interviews.
So I can only assume he didn't think of anyone he's currently working with when he said that.
The absolute, funniest thing about this quote is the reactions to it. Because it's "targeted" at whatever wrestler you want it to be about in your head.
Sometimes I'd love to know what Punk and Cody actually think about each other, because they seem to genuinely be on very good terms, but also have several conflicting views on AEW and the people that are there.
> Friends who disagree or see differently about some things but who like each other on a personal level.
No way! The Elite and Cody had different views of what they wanted for AEW and they hate each other because of it (despite both sides repeatedly stating they still talk/text to each other all the time)
They’re both adults and professionals so I assume it’s like this:
“Hey you’re a good dude cody. My beef is with them not you.”
“Hey you’re a good dude too punk. They’re some of my good friends but what’s between y’all is between y’all”
Contrary to what the IWC (and a lot of people online) make it seem like, people often are friends despite conflicting views, especially on something as trivial as their former boss.
It's probably something also rarely if ever comes up in smalltalk behind the scenes.
Gotta love dirstsheets taking a quote from a long ass interview for some clicks.
Anyway I know some people here don't know Cody but he likes to stir shit. He doesn't do this as much anymore because his interviews this days are more business but back during his indie run he used to do this all the time. He said a trademarked Cody lie and have fun with the reactions.
Well, Cody just didn't have a good enough father figure growing up, if he did, he'd know it's important to respect the turtleneck'd. He may have had a father,
I think he's honestly taking about veterans he heard this from when HE was a young guy, but it's funny watching people try to contextualize it for present day wrestling, especially when he says "which is not often or not anytime soon I've heard it".
Seems like some people are reading too much into recent stuff and trying to make this quote fit into that. Cody has been in the industry his whole life, including plenty of time as one of those low to mid-card guys. Unless there's missing context, there's nothing in that quote to say that he's referencing anything from the past year, or even 5 years. He was in WWE for the end of Flair's career. He was around in 2010 when Bret Hart has a comeback as a part time wrestler in WWE. He crosses over with JBL for a short bit.... and he grew up around it.
Didn’t the undertaker say that a lot he here to help and did try to get talent over a bit.
I think Mick Foley is the most selfless wrestlers as he genuinely put people over and made them stars.
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"Nah, that's bullshit. I just came here to get a ton of money and that's the only reason." - Christian Cage.
Funnily enough Christian is the best balance of "getting over" and "getting others over" of any AEW signing. By FAR.
Agreed. His programs have been a bright spot for awhile now.
To Christian Cage fatherhood is not simply a job, it's a responsibility...it's a way of life.
The Patriarchy is the mario to the Learning Tree’s wario
Christian will always be the most underrated wrestler
...and Father
I have argued many times that if WWE had taken Christian and given him everything they gave to Edge that he would have been just as big a star.
Bigger. Christian Cage actually knows how to be a likable face.
He does outwork everyone
Billy Gunn is up there.
I Stan Billy Gunn
"I'm here for the young guys because all their dads are dead, and somebody's gotta tell em."
He’s also there for the single moms.
I’m here for the young guys’ single moms.
I love the implication that Jack Perry didn't know his dad was dead.
He just thought that the next season of Riverdale was taking a really long time to film
No one has told Christian about Dusty right?!?
Christian Cage going at Cody about his dad would be something
Christian Cage going after Momma Rhodes would be something.
"Your father is a legend? How many times did he win the WWE title?"
“Now u/Gubrach I understand you have a father” - Christian Cage
Yo, I immediately called my dad, not even lying.
"Also if your dads dead, fuck him and fuck you too"
And that's something your father could never do. -Also Christian Cage
The one guy in wrestling history who said that and meant it was Terry Funk.
Terry knew he was bulletproof. He could put over every young guy in the world and help build them up and it would never hurt his stature in the business.
I think that’s why it worked. I don’t believe there’s many (if any) veterans that are that secure in their status as a legend.
He also understood how important he could be giving back to the business. Terry is the GOAT!
Honestly in a way, Terry Funk being so selfless later in his career helped build up that bulletproof status. He was just one of those guys who almost embodied what it meant to be a wrestler in a way fans could see.
AKA The GOAT of goats
Bryan Danielson too, he probably would have lost every match in the last 3 years if he had his way
Danielson’s selfless to a fault, almost so much that it comes back around to being selfish. Him as AEW world champion might have been some help over the last 18 months.
To this day, I think he should have been the one to win the World Title Tournament post Punk Injury. Mox didn't need it, give Danielson a few months with the title and then have his 60 minute iron-man banger with MJF and have him drop it.
This was the best time to do it. He could’ve had a nice 2 month run before dropping it at Full Gear 22. I’m hoping Tony can convince him to win any sort of title before he bounces because he really deserves to be in the lineage somewhere. Even if he wins something at All In and drops it in his last full time match at WrestleDream or something
I mean Tony’s the boss, he can just make him….right?
Now I’m imagining a reverse Montreal Screwjob where they force a wrestler to win a title he doesn’t want…
That’d be kinda hilarious
LMAO he gets pissed off, spits on Tony, knocks shit off the commentary table, starts drawing "ROH" with his fingers til he realizes that Tony runs that too and then starts spelling out "WWE"
I’d love the idea of a title nobody wants, sort of an albatross they’re forced to carry around. Like that roulette of death Mexico did where the loser advances each match and the ultimate loser had to unmask, but there’s some kind of punishment for being the current title holder.
There's already a speed title in the FED.
The Edmonton Nailjob, where they physically have to nail the title to him
Don't give Mox any ideas.
100% especially given the fact that his tournament journey would have consisted of beating former World Champions: Hangman, Jericho, Moxley.
i think danielson's plan is to retire from AEW without winning a single title, kinda like what dreamer wanted to do.
And what did Dreamer do when there was an unprecedented backstage incident with the world champion?
I wonder how Danielson would react if Tony reversed Montreal Screwjob him!! Lol
He'd spell TNA with his fingers and leave the company.
Cue a series where Danielson keeps on rage quitting at every wrestling promotion because they keep putting World Titles on him! Then he goes back to the WWE where he knows they won’t put a World Title on him!!
And then they put the world title on him... 😂
Danielson in his mind: “I’m going into Bash in Berlin. Gunther has been World Heavyweight Champion for two years. I don’t even have a long story with him. I challenged him on a random episode of Raw. No way they put the title on me!” *hits running knee* 1, 2, (Gunther doesn’t kick out.) 3!
"That works for me, brother." - Triple H.
Now I kinda want that storyline for him 😂😂
"The Belt Rejector" Bryan Danielson is such an unintentionally hilarious gimmick. In my mind, it's an amazing idea, but in the real world, it would be impossible to pull off.
Now that would be funny
I think he looks at being AEW Champion completely the wrong way. I do somewhat understand his pov, like he doesn't want to be champion, fair enough. It won't elevate him to another level, **BUT** it will absolutely elevate others who beat him for it as champion/challenger.
This, it hurts doubly so when he’s your favorite wrestler like he is for me and so many others. Not only does putting your name on the title’s lineage add prestige to it, but when you’re 0-Infinity in title matches there eventually stops being any stakes when you’re challenging for one
>Danielson’s selfless to a fault, almost so much that it comes back around to being selfish The best thing he can do is bring more eyeballs to the company and more people in the stands. He doesn't seem aware that maintaining his image as a top guy is crucial to that. Increasing the exposure of the young wrestlers will do more for them than offering some tips after a match. I think Bryan is smart about the industry so it's not that he doesn't understand this principle, I think he just has a blind spot when it comes himself because he enjoys the in-ring stuff so much more than literally anything else.
He’s like Wayne Gretzky in that regard. Gretzky was a magician on the ice, but a failure as a head coach. Danielson can do anything in the ring, but struggles with other aspects of the business, either due to disinterest or inability.
Yeah, Danielson seems like a great dude, but I also don’t think he actually sees the big picture and recognizes what he can do to really help both the boys and the company he’s with.
Even Cena who has proven himself now in the later part of his career to be insanely giving, does losing to solo mean much to Solo? He's lost like his last 10 feeds. Cena will always be over but beating him is no longer an accomplishment and losing to him is death.
For example, when he loses to Swerve at All In, is it really going to do anything to put Swerve more over outside of the AEW die hards? Because I don’t even remember BD’s last big singles win.
Going back to his time in wwe Brian is 0-18 in title matches from 2019 onward. Last time he won a title was vs Aj style on smackdown
Ironically he loudly declared he didn’t want to help them, but to kick their fucking heads in 😂
I mean, those are not mutually exclusive.
BD: "Can I please put over this no name indie guy?" Tony: "No" BD: https://youtu.be/4sCBsB17PMc
But i'd say Danielson, despite being so generous, is not "there for" the young guys. He's there cause he fucking loves it. He's just a nice guy but that's secondary.
Winning and losing really isn't the point. Danielson would rather be in the background, indulge himself and cross matches off his bucketlist when in reality the way he could have helped the most people is by actually being featured as the star that he is. I don't think it comes from a bad place, but his 'selflessness' hasn't really efficiently helped anyone besides maybe MJF.
I remember Heyman talking about him on the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, saying, "Let me make this guy, let me work with him, let me work with that guy, I could do something special with him"
tracy smothers' 00s indie run was 100% this too, but i think funk was probably the model for that
Was about to say the same thing. RIP Tracy. What a legend.
I don't think Terry and Dory Jr. ever said anything about helping young guys, putting people over, making their opponents look good... not once. They just went out and did it.
Foley definitely tried as well, but his TNA run didn’t help
His TNA Run, he admitted was his own deluded belief that he was there to help but really, it was about the money.
I think Funk took it as a matter of pride to take a younger or lesser guy and help them up the ladder. He knew if you showed you were willing to put people over, at his age he'd be around far longer than the "I don't lose" guy
My all time favorite. Then, now, forever my GOAT
I'm going to have to paraphrase it, but I remember a cool story that Mick Foley told in his first book, about his feud with Sting in the early 1990's. It went something to the effect of, Sting being surprised that Mick Foley supplied so many ideas for how their feud could work, because none of the other monsters that Sting had recently wrestled had done that, and Mick told him something to the effect of, "I don't see why we can't get each other over at the same time." That's the essence of pro wrestling at its best I think.
Sting was afraid that selling to Mick would be a bad look because he wasn't a top guy at the time. Mick basically said, "Trust me bro," and promised he would make Sting look like a bonafide badass as long as he got a few good spots in for himself. As a result, Sting actually stood up for Mick when some of the other wrestlers thought he was going to pull something over on them.
I went to one of Foley's shows and he talked about this. He made deal with Sting to call the first few minutes of the match, and if Sting wasn't happy with how it was going then he could call the rest of the match. Sting wound up letting Foley call the entire match because of how the crowd was reacting.
Beach Blast '92! https://youtu.be/5q9y9gmJniY?si=C8_ysOur4rm1R1ZJ
It usually means "I want to work with the rising stars so I can steal some of their heat, then they have to sell their asses off for me, so I look good."
The jericho special
Chris Jericho about to leak some bullshit on Cody in retaliation
Jericho should unironically do a learning tree segment where he teaches Big Bill how to leak to the sheets
Passing down Meltzer’s phone number in the segment would end me
We will reach a new level of meta if that happens lmao
That's definitely coming
“And this is how you leak stuff to Meltzer and have the Executive Vice Presidents take the blame like they fail to manage a Target.”
To be fair, there was a time in WWE in the mid-10s where we were having the same convo about Jericho that we are about Bryan now, where he was losing *too much* to the point where it wasn't a rub anymore. Losing to Fandango was the moment where it was like "Alright Chris, surely you could've veto'd THAT." I think they put him over Bray Wyatt in 2014 to counteract that exact problem. Perhaps the Jericho vortex is a warped overcorrection of that, and at the same time Jericho is trying to convince himself and everyone else that he still has their best interest in mind.
> "Alright Chris, surely you could've veto'd THAT." Chris' side of the story is that he was not for it, and then Vince offered him even more money on top of a very large Wrestlemania payday. Hard to say no to that.
The story was that Jericho wasn't happy to work Fandango, and then upset he had to lose to him. He called the Undertaker to vent and he was advised by Taker to do it and show Vince what he can do. So he put together a program to get Fandango's finisher over and then lost to him at WM. Fandango then spent post WM bliss being among the most over guys (this was short lived). The cherry on the top was that his pay day was equal to his WM28 pay day when he wrestled for the world title. Jericho didn't know how much he was going to get paid until he received the money post WM.
I'm almost positive Jericho agreed to work with AJ at Mania 32 only if he went over, because there's no other reason Jericho should've won that match.
The story that came out on that was as follows: Roman was going to win the title at WM32 and Vince wanted his first title match to be a good match so he was going to go with AJ vs Roman at the PPV following WM. Vince was going to book a number on contender's match on the Raw after WM with AJ going over. So he felt that AJ losing to Jericho was a way to surprise the audience when AJ won the number one contender's match the next night.
I guess that worked. I was surprised as hell at both outcomes.
I like when he randomly named Andretti as the future or whatever, and now all he does is jobber matches.
The biggest red flag is anything that ends in "Brother" this is a close second.
Edge has been one of my favorites for a really long time but i immediately thought of him while reading this lmao. Dude wanted to be a helpful Vet, won 98% of his feuds/matches then dipped (not mad at it if that’s how it reads but it’s just hilarious).
He shows the young guys how to put him over. https://preview.redd.it/8lg8l20cmx8d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d256890ba8d00127af9e97f725e33324a046a00
The That Doesn’t Work For Us Brothers Ironically, I saw them drop the tag titles to Christian and Test in 2002.
Hogan: I was the og Ultimate Opportunist brother
God damn I loved this title run as a kid
Guy couldn't even put Demon Finn over on his way out the door.
Demon Balor's last 2 matches were losses to Reigns and Edge, two dudes who absolutely didn't need the rub. I know he's been doing good stuff with Judgment Day, but Finn has been done so dirty as a singles wrestler ever since coming back from his 2nd NXT run.
As far as I'm concerned, the Demon is dead, and it's from his loss to Edge. His loss to Roman contributed, but it was a wonky finish, even for a Bloodline match. It seems like they were still trying to play up that the Demon should have won, what with the weird revival and his music playing mid-match. His loss to Edge, however, was just a clean pin, no ambiguity. Edge didn't need the win.
Didn't help that edge went on a hiatus right after wrestlemania And the whole build was pointless. If edge won he got rid of Judgement day once and for all yet they are still here lol
Yeah and imagine Finn now, knowing that they had such powerful foe that created them and whom they betrayed. And Finn beingthe one to dispatch this foe once and for all. Instead Edge bitched Finn and then stopped caring about Judgment Day still existing and prospering.
Yeah the Demon character can’t return. The aura is gone. You can’t use it as a means of intimidation when the last several times it’s been used Balor loses and comes off as a fool. Balor as whole I wish things turned out better for him. He re signed with WWE so he’s certainly happy but he was capable of so much more.
I think the only way they could would be to play it up the way the Wyatt Sicks have been played up, tease it, show off some spooky stuff that is like the Demon doing his business, maybe mad at how he was treated, maybe mad at Finn for not letting him fully take over (this is a way they could handwave those issues with him getting squashed, Finn not committing to the Demon's takeover of his body) they COULD do it, but I don't know what it would contribute to Finn's current character.
He was done dirty on his first run after the injury, went back to NXT to rehab his image, did so successfully, and was done dirty again.
I entirely believe WWE's biggest missed opportunity over the last decade is Balor, man was selling an insane amount of merch before his injury it would have been so simple to get him back to the main event.
He could’ve been for them what Sting was for WCW.
Completely, had universal appeal. And on top of that if ever needed he's a great heel too.
A loss to Roman made sense in the grand scheme of things. A loss to Edge made no sense.
Finn has been done so dirty as a singles wrestler ever since he had to relinquish the Universal championship.
I mean, the second run in NXT was good. It just would be nice if we could get NXT Finn on the main roster.
That NXT title run is one of the best title reigns in recent years. Bro made me care for Kyle O' Reilly, that is an impressive feat.
Balor's "NXT is is Broadway" run was amazing. Those Kyle O'Reilly matches where they kept everything in the ring is just next level. Bro started pulling off new moves to match the persona, it was just...one of my favorite NXT title reigns, where NXT has MULTIPLE amazing title reigns.
[удалено]
Mox gets a lot of shit for his work, but when it comes to whats the right thing to do for the business he absolutely gets it and has no ego about it.
I mean, I don't know if his run as IWGP champ is best for the business, but I also know if they offered me that spot, I couldn't say no either.
Didn't Mox refuse to drop the title to Punk unless they did that janky Rocky 3 ripoff angle where Mox would squash Punk first?
I like Edge a lot, but if he ever said he came back to help and put over younger guys he’s lying. He straight up hasn’t feuded with any younger guys in this entire run. Randy, Roman, Bryan, Seth, Miz, AJ, Finn, Christian, and now Malaki Black. Not a single one would I consider a “younger, newer guy”.
Edge did say it. Countless times. Listen to his After the Bell podcast ep with Corey Graves around the time he came back.
He was so determined to help the young guys he spent months feuding with his 50 year old best friend lol.
Honestly that benefitted the young guys because if he had feuded with them, he would've squashed them lol
He even won the feud against his best friend who had been working full time for years and had been living in his shadow 😂
Not to mention straight up burying Ricky Starks on the mic for no reason.
I still can't believe the man walked out of WWE as a conquering hero having won all of his last major matches from his last Wrestlemania match against Balor to his last match against Sheamus.
My guess is that the super favorable booking wasn’t going to continue and he didn’t like that. When he left I think he said something to the effect of thinking he still has a lot more in him but WWE didn’t agree or something.
Edge also immediately came to mind and he's one of my favorites as well. 😭
Yeah, I like Edge a lot more than Punk (who also said it) and my mind immediately went to him and his losing only one feud since coming back. And that was to freaking Roman.
And keep in mind that Roman needed both Usos and fucking Seth Rollins to interfere on his behalf to beat Edge in a one on one match. It took more manpower for Roman to put down Edge than any other challenger in his 3 and a half year reign.
Well he did need three people to defeat Cody.
And from what all the reports have been about Punk, he's been a huge help to those who need it in NXT. They love him in NXT
I feel like Punk has gotten more refined as a mentor since joining NXT. I think the AEW thing with people not wanting to listen to him hurt his feelings so now he appreciates the NXT stuff that much more.
Guys like Punk and Danielson were both trying to move more into management/production roles behind the scenes, while Edge wasn't, which seems like a huge difference.
Punk seems like he genuinely wants to help younger guys at least. His feud with MJF was a masterclass in how to elevate someone in defeat, and really brought him to that champion level.
I’d also add that MJF was absolutely supposed to go over Punk for the title before his injury and brawl out
thought of Jericho and "The Learning Tree".
Can't get over the fact he didn't put over the Demon Balor with his og theme song on his way out of company
It’s funny cause after leaving WWE and joining AEW he said the reason he left is cause they wanted him to put over young guys, and he still wanted to compete for championships. Tryna make up for lost years I guess
his last WWE run prove otherwise. the only guy Edge put over was Roman. he didn't put over Seth, Miz, or Finn balor and it's funny Judgement day finally thrived to become main attraction of RAW when he left and Dominik joins in. in a way you can say Damien is right that Edge was holding them back
I feel like it’s telling on what side of the AEW vs WWE beef your on depending on whether you thought this was a shot at cope or Punk lol
I thought it was a shot at Jericho actually lmao
I thought it was about Edge lol
I was like. . . . “But I thought Sting and Danielson were really helping younger talent.”
Sting's undefeated streak 💀
He earned that, and he helped Darby Allin achieve his dream of being the first wrestler to die in the ring and walk it off
If someone immediately thought of both it means they spend too much time devouring backstage drama online. It's me, I'm someone.
Idk if it’s even meant as a direct shot at anyone, but people love to speculate. I personally don’t even agree with the sentiment since there are a lot of vets who seem to hang around just to give the rub to young guys or at most mill about in a team. Strangely my first thought was someone like Jeff Jarrett who notoriously put himself over everyone in the 00’s but has basically lost every match in AEW.
Thing is, if Cody hypothetically really did not like Punk, he wouldn't have said this. Because he'd know it would be seen as a dig at Punk. And he sure as hell ain't the kind of guy who throws digs at his co-workers in random interviews. So I can only assume he didn't think of anyone he's currently working with when he said that.
I'd throw money down on edge for sure lol
The absolute, funniest thing about this quote is the reactions to it. Because it's "targeted" at whatever wrestler you want it to be about in your head.
That son of a bitch Gilberg!!!
CM Punk: *"Do we have a problem here?"*
Sometimes I'd love to know what Punk and Cody actually think about each other, because they seem to genuinely be on very good terms, but also have several conflicting views on AEW and the people that are there.
Good terms? I just saw Punk viciously chasing after Cody with a baseball bat last week!
I heard that Cody feared for his life.
I believe the word betrayal was used.
Friends who disagree or see differently about some things but who like each other on a personal level. They're just like anyone else.
YOU JUST MADE AN ENEMY FOR LIFE! - Bully Mcintyre
This is Reddit if you disagreed over one minor thing you’re enemies for life.
I'm disagreeing with you and ready to declare war
> Friends who disagree or see differently about some things but who like each other on a personal level. No way! The Elite and Cody had different views of what they wanted for AEW and they hate each other because of it (despite both sides repeatedly stating they still talk/text to each other all the time)
“That’s the homie, he flips out sometimes but 🤷🏾♂️”
They’re both adults and professionals so I assume it’s like this: “Hey you’re a good dude cody. My beef is with them not you.” “Hey you’re a good dude too punk. They’re some of my good friends but what’s between y’all is between y’all”
Contrary to what the IWC (and a lot of people online) make it seem like, people often are friends despite conflicting views, especially on something as trivial as their former boss. It's probably something also rarely if ever comes up in smalltalk behind the scenes.
I think Punk respects Cody working for it while Cody respects Punk for being straightforward.
“What did I ever do to get an empty headed fucking dumb fuck like Cody Rhodes…”
Gotta love dirstsheets taking a quote from a long ass interview for some clicks. Anyway I know some people here don't know Cody but he likes to stir shit. He doesn't do this as much anymore because his interviews this days are more business but back during his indie run he used to do this all the time. He said a trademarked Cody lie and have fun with the reactions.
I mean folks
Where's the lie?
https://preview.redd.it/vig3rxpzlx8d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=78579f2059e8774d84bcf6124560c504cbc55065
Inside of you there are two wolves, and it doesn’t work for either of them brother.
Did jericho really just reference this on Dynamite?
Copeland: I’m just here to have fun, brother *commits sudoku off a cage*
The image of cope sitting on top of a cage in the middle of a match with a pencil and paper doing sudoku is really sending me
Cody Rhodes has been banned from Mindy's Bakery. And Collision.
theres a few canadians this could be about
Aboot.
Well, Cody just didn't have a good enough father figure growing up, if he did, he'd know it's important to respect the turtleneck'd. He may have had a father,
Wow. He really looks like Dustin in that pic.
You're right. That facial expression!
*ahem* Copeland
"I had done all I could in WWE" Translation:"Triple H was about to start making me put people over."
I can really remember him losing a even one singles match clean since his return. lmao
His last clean loss was to Cena in 2010.
Motherfucker couldn’t even just lose clean to one guy in his last match lol.
This is definitely a direct shot on
Shawn Spears. Picked up wins on Je’Von and Trick, and we know Cody’s stance on Vets beating young guys and the cookout community.
Dustin Rhodes?
I think he's honestly taking about veterans he heard this from when HE was a young guy, but it's funny watching people try to contextualize it for present day wrestling, especially when he says "which is not often or not anytime soon I've heard it".
Cody clearly needs to sit under the learning tree, thanks guys
Seems like some people are reading too much into recent stuff and trying to make this quote fit into that. Cody has been in the industry his whole life, including plenty of time as one of those low to mid-card guys. Unless there's missing context, there's nothing in that quote to say that he's referencing anything from the past year, or even 5 years. He was in WWE for the end of Flair's career. He was around in 2010 when Bret Hart has a comeback as a part time wrestler in WWE. He crosses over with JBL for a short bit.... and he grew up around it.
Adam “fuck that vanilla midget Ricky Starks” Copeland has left the chat
I have a feeling that Jericho probably says this a lot.
Didn’t the undertaker say that a lot he here to help and did try to get talent over a bit. I think Mick Foley is the most selfless wrestlers as he genuinely put people over and made them stars.
We all know who he's talking about here. That no good Kenzo Suzuki.
Man, the Copeland promo responding to this is gonna be fire!