Watching Keith Lee’s AEW debut:

* “First-ever Face of the Revolution qualifying match…” shut the fuck up. They’ve done this gimmick before. If people didn’t have to qualify, it’s trivial, if they did, this is a lie. Fuck Excalibur is an awful announcer.

* Horrible music for Keith Lee.

* AEW fans are not people you want to share a train cab with.

* Keith Lee pulls faces like a child who didn’t successfully bake the cookies, but mom said she was proud of him for trying.

* Justin Roberts is way too labored.

* Horrible music for Keith Lee.

* Crowd chanting something obnoxious. Makes you realize they’re all mouth-breathers and this place isn’t sold out.

* Keith Lee taking his jacket off and looking so smug about looking like total shit got a laugh out of me.

* Isiah Kassidy launched himself in that opening spot.

* JR doing his best on commentary, kind of has to pad time by saying “it feels good” as Keith Lee does his second or third of about eight kneeling poses.

* Holy shit, Lee almost got stuck under the bottom rope. :lol:

* These spots don’t even look good. The slingshot crossbody looked like real effort.

* He’s blown up.

* HATE Matt Hardy. The guy has become unbearable.

* This is fucking boring. He’s trying to do a squash match, which is the sort of shit they wanted to do with him in the WWE and he couldn’t pull off.

* Keith Lee can’t really roll out of the ring. I’m worried about his heart condition.

* Something fucking sucked with the editing when he caught Kassidy off the unnecessary dive after the unnecessary post-match attack.

* The catch of Marc Quen was cool. That’s about the only thing so far. The powerbomb onto Kassidy looked sloppy as shit though.

Verdict: Fucking awful. Keith Lee is not a star, and I don’t think this run is going to be sustainable. He looks like someone that was released from the WWE due to health issues.

I like Hangman Page from what I’ve seen. He has a cool look and interesting moveset. There is something throwback about him, but at the same time, it’s a modern slant.

I think he is great, a way better choice for champion than the likes of Omega.

I think that main was my favorite AEW match of the year so far. The Danielson title match was great, but this was on from even before it started and never let up for a minute.

Hangman's in a unique spot as champion where it doesn't feel like there's anybody that can beat him, but his defenses never betray that or suffer for it. I think history's going to regard him as a special guy and this, specifically, as a special time for him too.

This guy doesn't want to bask in Keith Lee's glory :roll:

tbf his glory is probably pretty musty.

That’s a lot of words just to say “I don’t like black people.”

Very creative finish to Page vs Archer, but why are we having a bloody, brutal Texas death match for two guys who just started feuding less than a month ago?

Public service announcement - Seeing a quote like this is a reminder why having Noid on the ignore list is hot shit.

That is all.

The last time we saw Archer he was dumping himself on his head. And they needed to build him as quickly as possible. So they went with a match that he beat a former world champion with already, and for a title no less.

A regular one on one match doesn’t make Archer much of a threat given he typically loses those types of big matches and Hangman has beaten two of the top guys in the company coming into this little mini feud.

Great show. Only downer was Jade’s match and that was more due to the botched corner spot that didn’t happen than anything else. Glad to see Keith Lee. Can’t see why anybody wouldn’t like him. Oozes confidence, can move, has a different looking finisher, etc etc.

I don’t think he wins the ladder match though. Personally, I think the direction should be Andrade. Get the belt off Sammy and run a feud with him and heel Jericho. It’s the only interesting thing they’re gonna be able to run after Santana and Ortiz, who were great, finish up and leave the group.

Andrade can then transition into a feud with Darby over the title. It also puts his ass on TV more in the ring and while I love staring at him in suits, I wanna see the guy wrestle, dammit.

I think Hangman needs to beat Cole for the belt. MJF has gotta be the next world champ. And should be the got to end Hangman’s run.

Interested with what they do with Jay White. And what more will come off the uneasy alliance between O’Reily, Fish, White and the Bucks with Adam Cole caught in the middle.

Oh and that tag match was fucking great. As was Wardlow getting put over by Punk. That turn is gonna generate a massive pop when it happens. Hopefully sooner than later.

So have Archer go on a tear leading up to the match. He dominates in the match, but doesn't get the title. A million different ways you could write that scenario. Point is, Lance can justifiably demand a rematch. From their you build more heat between them and make it personal enough where their NEXT match is the bloody Texas death match and thus, a proper payoff.

Saying that he beat a previous Champ in a match like this is a weak excuse, and doesn't make a lot of sense. If he's so good at this match and can seemingly get it approved just by asking for it, why doesn't he make all his matches deathmatches?

Public service announcement: Supreme is trying to be funny. It’s not racist to point out that Keith Lee sucks. :lol:

Bad booking. They’re desperate for attention.

She is MJF's irl girlfriend apparently...

I don't think Supreme is being funny at all. Like Bastian Booger and TPWWForums.com - he's serious business....

Add Dave Meltzer to the lists of racists:

Dave is reporting that Keith Lee’s weight was an issue at WWE for health reasons. Even Dave is openly admitting Lee looked bigger here than he did even 3 months ago for WWE and that it is an issue.

Keep in mind the guy has also had this time off to train. Plus he just got married. Don’t people normally get themselves all prim and proper for posterity’s sake? Left to his own devices, this is probably the best Keith Lee is going to look.

Does Keith Lee have a child Tony Khan can push?

apparently he is reviewing hotel gyms on evil uno's vlog

He beat the fuck out of hangman and had several spots where hangman took big bumps for Archer. He looked like a boss in that match. And it’s a filler feud. They don’t need two matches or a ppv match out of this. The purpose was to feed Paige a monster that had kicked his teeth in every time they confronted each other and have him soundly defeat him in a heroic effort, and look great doing it. Mission accomplished.

That Keith Lee seems okay but sooooo sloowwww. Like a minute long pause after every move. I did like him chucking private party around though and some more strong powerhouses isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Was hoping it’d be Jeff Hardy since I’d read he was rumoured to be coming in.

Another guy getting added to the elite could be good so long as they bring Kenny back soon and either dominate or implode and feud against one another. Hope Omega and Young Bucks destroy Adam Cole and friends when the time comes.

The MJF/Punk stuff continues to be good, except they’re laying the Wardlow stuff on too thick now and even having Punk suggest to him to leave The Pinnacle. Lost its subtlety so they need to turn him soon now.

Hangman and Archer was very good. Both are great. Adam Cole should be nowhere near a title program though. Where’s Miro, should be him going after Hangman next.

Jobber braud matches again, strange decision.

Not sure which way The Inner Circle stuff is going to go, Jericho seemed to be acting pretty heelish again, which would be better for him tbh. Wouldn’t mind him recruiting some new members and P&P can go do their own thing, and Sammy can just drop down the card.

Some of that probably sounded quite negative but honestly I really quite like AEW. It’a fun and they’ve got some cool guys, but they need to ease off on hiring so many more when it means a number of their best guys like Miro, Cody, Black, Billy Gunn, Penta, Pac etc, don’t get featured.

Torn about that because I think they need to space things out more than what we've been used to seeing in wwe. Don't want them to turn into that and have to hot shot every program because they have another ppv coming up every 2-3 weeks.

The flip side is like you said in that it seems silly to not feature those guys on a weekly basis to draw in eyes.

I just remember the "old days" when if one of my favs like Big Boss Man (blue police bossman) was on, it was a big deal for me because he wasn't on every week.

So, I'm ok with a guy or two who "should" be featured sitting out in between ppvs from time to time just to keep them feeling fresh.

I guess there’s merit to that. Lucha Underground was comfortably the best wrestling a few years back and you wouldn't see some guys for weeks at a time. Maybe it’s just the standard of some of the people they keep bringing in and featuring.

The main show of the week shouldn’t feature as many losers like private party and Adam Cole, while also not featuring the previous list.

You're right on the money. I even said when this feud started that Archer would be a great opponent for Page to bump around for. The problem, again, is that a one month filler feud should not end in a bloody deathmatch. That kind of thing should be properly built to, otherwise none of it matters. AEW has been making every other god damn match no dq hard-core bullshit, and none of it is memorable.

Case in point: How many people are still talking about Rey Fenix getting chokeslamed through a ringside table and mangling his arm?

Fucking no one.

Meanwhile, 30 years later, people are still referencing terry funk piledriving Flair into a table, and the subsequent I quit match even though it's kids stuff by today's standards. Why? Because back then that kind of stuff rarely happened. So when it did, it was like thunder.

AEW has the talent and creative freedom to make The Godfather, but they keep making Dude, Where's My Car.

You are speaking sense, but it goes against the “AEW is AWESOME!!!” narrative. Their intentions are what counts, not the effect. They want to get everyone and everything over, and by gum they’ll succeed even if it’s just in their most hardcore fans’ eyes.

if there's one true thing from this page, it's that billy gunn needs to be featured more

You know wrestling is in trouble when Billy Gunn is actually in demand.

I heard it explained like this; Page beat Danielson in a wrestling match to prove he can hang with the best technicians. He then beat Archer in a Deathmatch to prove he’s tough enough to hang in that environment too. They’re establishing the new champion.

Of course, I don’t know how well they’ve set that story up on TV, mostly because I skip through a lot.

They’re trying to build a guy that has already won the belt.

I didn’t think about it this way but it makes sense. They’ve done a good job of making Paige the underdog in a way that doesn’t shove him down your throat but constantly puts him in a position to prove himself. Work Danielson, it was with BD calling him a clown and basically dismissing him. Archer laid him out every time they got physical, and even after getting the jump on him to start their match still had to fight from underneath.

Honestly I’ve enjoyed Hangman’s run as champ even though I wish we had seen him in more than 3 matches. But this 3 matches have been absolute bangers.

Jim Cornette loves Keith Lee's debut, gives it a great review,,

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Maybe it's more they have the freedom to make The Sopranos, but they keep making The Many Saints of Newark. Somewhat entertaining, but forgettable. Sorry--but Dude, Where's My Car is plain unwatchable, and I don't think that's a fair comparison since at least AEW puts out some good matches.

It's fair because they've made a lot of booking decisions that are just as ridiculous as that movie.

But it's a mishmash. You get some bad shit and some good shit. It's nothing that'll completely tear them apart but it'll hold them back from making something truly great and getting beyond where they are (which seems good enough for TBS or whatever).

Wrestling fans (like Star Wars fans *cough*) are susceptible to hyperbole. Everything is the either best or the worst. And then they yell at one another.

I never said this (or Boba fett *cough*) was the worst thing ever.

I'll bet you could find a couple genuine chuckles in Dude Where's My Car amidst all the absurdity.

Especially when it comes to the hot alien chicks with big boobs.

There you go.

Big titty aliens.

My point stands.

I’m not sure “building a guy” and “establishing the champion as someone that can knock back any type of challenge” are the same thing. Of course what they need to do is not feature the champ on any PPVs or specials, just let him hold the belt for 5 months in a reign bereft of any note and have him compete in the tag division. The casual viewer will get it.

I tried to watch Dude but couldn't get through 5 minutes it was that bad. The few times I've watched AEW, I've found it relatively enjoyable (compared to Dude). All the flippy Indy stuff is not really my cup of tea (more enjoy the old-school stuff we watch with Fan and Gertner) but I dunno, it's not Dude Where's My Car levels of trash.

It's a movie about two stoners who lose their car. What did you reeeeeeally expect from it tho?


Smokey McPott is a name in that movie. They didn't try to make it good.

Oh. I'm aware of the point of the movie. But like--I enjoy Half Baked (which Dude blatantly steals from). And Half Baked doesn't try to be good either.

That movie has Donkeylips from Salute Your Shorts, which makes it worth the watch!

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...4Mjcy._V1_.jpg