Category Archives: Chris Jericho

AEW’s “All In” Was Worth Every Penny (No Spoilers)

All Elite Wrestling has had a cloud over their heads since CM Punk and The Elite had a backstage brawl in 2022. Ratings for their flagship show “Dynamite” have been stagnant and their newest show, “Collision”, is having trouble cracking 600k viewers most weeks. Things aren’t as hot as they’ve been in the past and the tension between Punk and The Elite still continues. They desperately needed a big, successful show to help cleanse themselves of some of the last year’s stench.

AEW has been eyeing the UK market since before their debut episode of “Dynamite.” Owner Tony Khan spends a lot of time there due to his family’s ownership of Fulham Football Club. The pandemic ruined their plans of having a big show in Fulham’s home stadium. Now that things have returned to normal, they swung for the fences in their UK debut.

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‘All Out’ Was Another Step in the Right Direction for AEW

All Elite Wrestling officially put on their third-ever event during Labor Day weekend. They crowned their first Heavyweight champion and set the table for their first women’s title holder.

‘All Out’ was one of the most anticipated wrestling shows to happen since their ‘Double or Nothing’ pay-per-view during Memorial Day weekend. The show sold out within minutes, even if there were rumors that some tickets bypassed consumers and went straight to the secondary market (the rumors have been unfounded).

There were a few hiccups that happened that were out of their control just days before the show. They lost one of the wrestlers in the co-main event when Jon Moxley announced that he was battling a reoccurring staph infection in his elbow and had to pull out of his advertised match with Kenny Omega. AEW wasted no time and filled the void with PAC, which was an equivalent talent for the spot. Also, Fenix of the Lucha Brothers tweaked his knee the previous weekend and threatened his participation, but he battled through the injury and was able to wrestle The Young Bucks in a banger of a match.

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 53

I’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.

The lineup in Elite 53 is the first full lineup without any flashback figures in a long time. It’s a smart move by Mattel since there are so many exclusive lines that are only flashbacks. They will eventually run out of older guys if they include two or three per series. Also, it feels like we are a bit behind on elite of some of the guys that appear on TV more since the brand split.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 53 are Alexa Bliss, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, The Miz, Big E and Heath Slater.

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Toy Crazy: Summer 2017 WWE Funko Releases

wwepopWe covered some upcoming Funko releases back in April. Those figures are already in my collection and look fantastic.

We have reviewed a lot of Mattel’s WWE Elite figures, but Funko has also released some pretty solid figures in the past. I’m a big collector and you can see some of my collection on my Instagram, @vintagetoybob.

I’ve plugged another site in my previous Mattel posts, but if you’re looking to order Funko figures, I’d trust intheringcollectibles.com. I’ve bought a ton of stuff from them and they always pack shipments very well. You can use code ‘paulyp‘ for a discount.

Here are some pictures of Funko’s Summer 2017 WWE POP! vinyl releases.

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Wrestlemania 33: A Marathon of Mediocrity

Roman Reigns Wrestlemania 33Wrestlemania is the biggest wrestling event in the world. Every year, tens of thousands of wrestling fans cram into a huge stadium or dome and watch as the WWE trots out what they believe is the best overall wrestling card of the year.

This year’s 33rd installment of Wrestlemania occurred on Sunday in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. Stars like John Cena, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar were put in matches with weeks-long build ups.

It should have been a home run, right?

Well, unfortunately, the 7 1/2 hour show fell flat time and time again.

I thought about writing an in-depth match-by-match review of Wrestlemania 33, but I really doubt it would have been very entertaining. Many matches lacked quality wrestling and focused more on ‘entertainment’. I will instead just mention a few thoughts about each match and give my opinion of the overall state of ‘wrestling’ in the WWE.

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Will Social Media Ruin Wrestlemania 28?

Over the last six months, WWE Entertainment has saturated their television programming with Twitter & Facebook announcements. It has gotten to a point that, as they come to the ring, each wrestler’s Twitter account name is listed under their names. They stop the flow of the match to announce when a WWE wrestler, event, or even catch-phrase start to trend. Will these announcement ruin the Wrestlemania experience and date the event in later years?

Before I go on an “anti-social media” rant, I like to admit that I regularly use my own Twitter and Facebook accounts. I think that they are extremely useful and can give anyone a platform. Saying all of that, there is a limit to one’s announcements and a saturation level has been met at WWE. I have had my Twitter account for nearly four years, but you would think that it is a fresh and new invention.

WWE first started to mention social media when The Rock launched Facebook and Twitter accounts. His accounts exploded and got hundred of thousands of followers with days and now currently stands at a few million. WWE started to become obsessed with social media, especially when a low-card wrestler named Zack Ryder started to get people chanting his name during WWE Raw. He gained an underground following by releasing “Z! True Long Island Story,” an hilarious YouTube series of videos. He went from not being on television to wrestling in a match at Wrestlemania 28. He proof that social media can change and make the writers add him into main storylines.

Wrestlemania 28 is this Sunday and will be up against programs like AMC’s “Mad Men,” but not much else. They will occupy most of the “trending topics” on Twitter and I’m hoping that they will not announce each one. If WWE hopes that this Wrestlemania, which features the highly-publicize match of The Rock vs. John Cena, they will limit the announcements. Twitter will not be the last social media platform to be popular on the internet. If WWE embraced Myspace during their programming back during Wrestlemania 22, it would be unwatchable. You would watch it and start laughing, because no one uses Myspace anymore. It would instantly make that Wrestlemania extremely dated. These matches have the chance to some of the best in recent memory. The Rock vs. John Cena, Triple H vs. The Undertaker, and CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho will all be under an unfortunate cloud of hopping on a current fad.

I hope someone from the WWE understands all of the points that I have made and throws themselves in front of the Twitter bus this weekend. We all know their Twitter handles by now and that WWE has a Twitter account. Let’s just focus on what people paid their money for, not for a “self-promoting, sports entertainment machine,” but the drama and pageantry of Wrestlemania.

#WWWYKI

By: TwitterButtons.com

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.