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One thing I’ve noticed about Bluesky, as opposed to other social media platforms, is that it learns pretty quickly what you want to see. Not that it’s forcing content on you, just that it respects your curation. Case in point: after this week’s AEW Dynamite, which featured Jon Moxley condensing the old “bed of nails” magic trick onto a 2x4, and then walking around the ring so everyone in the crowd could see that, yeah, that thing was really stuck to his back, I saw a lot of people complain about the perceived incoming complaints from Fed-heads or general tsk-tskers. What I didn’t see was any of the latter -- nary a “that’s too violent for TV” to be seen.
To me, that might mean either one of two things. Either A, I’ve done such a good job weeding out trolls and bad-faith arguers that I’ve single-handedly turned my feed into a magical land with only the finest in vine-ripened wrestling takes. Or B, people want to argue so badly that they have taken to prematurely picking fights with people that may not even exist. I doubt either of those is completely true -- after all, a quick trip over to the vanilla #wrestlesky feed shows plenty of people still watching and talking about the dozens of pro wrestling companies they support, and hating on the companies they don’t. And I’m sure there were people who did find that match a bit much, but aside from the board spot, we’ve seen far, far worse on both AEW and other shows.
Then I had a thought, and Googled “Jon Moxley violent.” And, as we mechanics often say with a dirty red rag in our hands, there’s your problem. It’s not regular people saying these things. It’s the hot take crowd. It’s the people who write about this stuff, usually for money or clicks. The first results (after the requisite four ads, and Reddit posts) are from sites like The Sportster, ITR Wrestling, Ringside News. And they all use the most spicy of headlines -- “Jon Moxley’s AEW Match Sparks Outrage…” and “Wild Backstage Reaction To Gruesome Jon Moxley…”
I get that those sites make their money based on clicks and ads, because I got my start writing for one of them. And I get that sensational headlines are what get clicks. But I think it makes wrestling fandom into my little pug, chasing its tail just because it saw it out of the corner of its eye. Let me explain, because that’s not the clearest analogy. Right now, there’s a certain group of fans that feel defensive of their favorite promotion. You’ve got AEW fans that are aware of smaller crowd sizes, but the product is improving after a lull and there’s plenty of reasons to be hopeful. There’s WWE fans, who get grief for supporting a company that has no shortage of bad press, between the lawsuits and the Saudi blood money deals and the ties to the current US government, but it’s also inarguably the biggest, hottest wrestling promotion on the planet. GCW fans are getting it from both sides as their smaller promotion has gotten in bed, indirectly, with WWE while still doling out its particular brand of ultraviolence.
As a publisher or website owner, you see that powder keg and you can figure out how to get the most engagement pretty easily, rage-baiting fans to click on a sensationalized headline just to scroll down to the comments and argue for their brand. Detractors will reply, and next thing you know the comment section is a mile long and the article -- which probably didn’t have a lot to say in the first place -- makes you a good amount of ad revenue.
There’s no end to it, and I wouldn’t want to live in a world where all wrestling fans watch and love just one type of promotion. I mostly watch North American wrestling, but as a Latino I love and respect the history of Lucha Libre enough to enjoy the occasional CMLL or AAA show too. I’ve seen some GCW, some New Japan, and checked out Joshi promotions like TJPW and Stardom too. This is to say, I don’t think of myself as a filthy casual by any means (I don’t even think that mythical “casual wrestling fan” exists anymore, but that’s another rant entirely) but I’m not nearly as invested as some fans. Hell, that’s part of why I stay on social media -- it’s great to get recaps and highlights of shows from real, die-hard fans who know the strong points of their favorite promotions.
However, I don’t understand the constant sniping at other promotions. Nobody wins if a company shuts down, and aside from moral arguments for not watching the Fed, there’s really no reason to go after anybody aside from just being a dick. Don’t yuck someone else’s yum! I guess I’m not the arguing type, and a civil discussion about how far is too far is fine, but when was the last time a civil discussion happened on the internet?
The AEW Revolution Trip!
Enough monologuing. What I’d like to do is tell you about the trip with my buddy to LA for AEW Revolution! It’s not the most timely recap, but I got a pretty nasty cold on the back half of the trip that I’m still trying to shake, so I haven’t felt up to writing about it. But I woke up early with a rant in my head, and since we’re already here, I figured now is as good a time as any to recap the trip before all my memories leak out of my head.
We arrived early Saturday in Los Angeles, way too early to check in to the hotel. So we did some tourist stuff. Had Randy’s Donuts -- you might recognize the place by the giant donut on the roof, it’s been seen in plenty of movies -- and then went to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. It was pretty cool, there was an exhibit on transformation that had stages of the legendary werewolf metamorphosis scene from “An American Werewolf in London.” Other exhibits included a study on color in film that featured a rainbow of costumes from various movies, and a temporary exhibit on Cyberpunk in movies that had some props and sketches from films like “The Matrix” and “Blade Runner.” Overall, it was pretty dope!
After a stop at Trejo’s Tacos, where the kid managing the place noticed my Willow Nightingale shirt and chatted with us about the show, since he was also attending, we got checked into our place, and then headed to Santa Monica for the magic show.
“A magic show?” you ask, incredulously. “What are you, a small child at a birthday party?” Firstly, I never went to a birthday party with a magician, so there. Secondly, rude. Thirdly, this wasn’t just ANY magic show, it was a performance by former Ring of Honor star and current Collision commentator Nigel McGuinness! The venue was a small place that looked incredible, with a waiting room full of 1950s-looking posters for magic acts and a bar with very friendly bartenders. We got drinks, had a nice guy do a little close-up magic with some quarters for us, and eventually headed into the performance room.
That room held about 60, and Nigel’s assistant/partner introduced herself to several of us in the room. My buddy and I sat in the front row, and both of us ended up participating in the show. If you ever get the chance, I cannot recommend it enough. It was less tricks and more … I guess “mentalism” is how Mr. McGuinness described it? It was a lot of fun, and as the victim/guest for the finale I still can’t tell you how he pulled off any of it. Nor would I want to! We got to stick around after and chat with a few other fans, as well as Nigel and his mom, who joined the crowd for the second half of the act. All in all, it was a lovely night, Nigel was a lovely person, and the crowd was a good mix of wrestling fans and people who just wanted to see a show.
The next day was the show. I woke up not feeling great, but not dying, so we headed to a market my friend had heard about. Just an amazing atmosphere, rows of every kind of eatery you can imagine. A nearby farmer’s market had fresh fruits, veggies, juices, and more. Unfortunately, my not-great feeling persisted, and after having a big juice, I opted to go back to the room and crash while my buddy explored the city before the show.
I survived, felt a bit better after a nap, and we got a ride over to the arena. The Crypto Arena was really nice! The pavilion around the arena had tons of statues of LA Lakers and Kings statues, including Magic Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, and Shaq. We were only lined up for about twenty minutes before heading in, security was light and fast, and we were in line at the merch table in no time. I ended up with a unique looking Hangman Adam Page shirt that I got for my wife and a Kenny Omega shirt and Revolution hat for myself. We met our seat neighbors, grabbed some very overpriced beers, and enjoyed the show.
By now you’ve probably seen Revolution, or at least heard about it. We were right across from Leslie Jones, who delighted fans with her reactions to Swerve/Ricochet and Mercedes/Momo. The crowd definitely was at its lowest at the beginning of the TBS Championship match, but those women fought to get the arena invested and earned the noise they got by the end. And man…Toni Storm vs Mariah May in their brutal Hollywood Ending match, followed by my sweet Cinnabon son Konosuke Takeshita taking on living legend Kenny Omega, followed by a steel cage match between Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher was a hell of a triple header. The main event was a bit of a turd, especially after three match of the year candidates in a row, but I think everyone was sent home happy after Swerve Strickland made his presence known, pouncing on Jon Moxley before delivering a promo to the crowd as fans started leaving the building.
I don’t think it’ll ever happen, but I would like to propose that fans who purchase a ticket to a PPV get a voucher to order a replay of the show, if not for free than at least at a discount. I’d love to watch Revolution with commentary, but I’m not paying another $50 to do so. If any company was gonna do it, AEW would be the one, but I won’t hold my breath.
So Long For Now
So that’s gonna be where I wrap things up for now. Things are still gonna be a little sporadic from here on out -- my sister just had her first kid yesterday (!) so a trip to visit is coming soon. My wife also has a few trips lined up, and with the weather getting nicer I’m trying to commit to doing some yard work for the good of both my land and my body. There’s also college basketball, which will hold my interest until my bracket fails me, as well as my puppy to train up and some other house projects.
But I’m not abandoning this thing. I love writing about AEW, and I think I may start watching and writing about some other promotions, too. In short, I guess stay tuned to my socials!
Follow me on BlueSky for updates and live watch-along commentary for AEW Dynamite and, occasionally, Collision. And, if you’re looking to buy anything from a smart fridge to a new drill, check out the tech writing I do over at SlashGear -- my lists are heavily researched, and ranked after thorough aggregation of expert opinions, reviews, and my own experience as a professional mechanic, an unprofessional handyman and an even less professional homeowner.
And in between my stuff, if you’re looking for some good writing, Erika and Suit Williams both do some good work. Anyways, take care, stay safe out there, and we’ll see you next time. Until then, let’s watch some wrestling!
