Month: August 2023

All In Brings AEW Back To Relevancy

By Jim Biringer

There were some tough times for All Elite Wrestling following Brawl Out aka ALL Out 2022. AEW had lost a ton of momentum they had with the return of CM Punk, Forbidden Door, and with WWE in transition, this was the last thing the company needed. 

AEW had allowed Triple H and WWE to take back the momentum they had built. Give credit to the wrestlers in the company at that time to continue to put on good matches. But there was a stench that needed to go before fans could trust the company again. AEW needed to get back to its roots. 

It took some time, but AEW got back to the level they were at prior to Brawl Out in September of 2022 as the world on Sunday, August 27th witnessed the biggest event in wrestling history with All In at Wembley Stadium. As Tony Khan stated after the event, the company has never been in better shape. And he is right. 
Khan said in the post-event media scrum, “Tonight’s All In PPV will be one of the most purchased AEW shows of all time. AEW was in a hot place at one point and then was in a challenging position because of injuries and MJF walking out. However, tonight AEW was better than it’s ever been. I wanted one more and tonight was the chance to get as hot as they’ve ever been.” 

Who would have thought AEW would have a paid attendance of 81,035 people at Wembley Stadium for a pro wrestling event? That is a new record for a professional wrestling event. If you include the comps, ushers, and everything else AEW put 90,000 people inside Wembley Stadium. This breaks any attendance record WWE had.
Khan continued in his post-event media availability by saying “When WCW went away there were things that got lost… Something missing from the world of pro wrestling for the last 22 years. Today we created real competition. The numbers are real, I can verify them.: 
But again this isn’t about comparing both companies. As previously mentioned before pro wrestling is in a good state when all companies are thriving. The more companies there are, the better the product is. Which means the fans win. 
However, this is the first time in the history of AEW they have mentioned the competition word. AEW always worried about themselves and never carried about what the other company did. But now the company is in a position where they can say they are truly competition.


Remember AEW dominated NXT on Wednesday for years despite WWE calling that show developmental. The way WWE uses NXT these days it is not developmental anymore. But they want to stay inside their little bubble. But with Triple H in charge that’s changed some but they snub their noses at other companies. However, they do have real competition now. 


There was a massive anticipation for AEW ALL In at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Nobody knew how big this event was going to be when it was announced by Tony Khan before Forbidden Door 2. This event lived up to the hype and even more as most knew it would.


AEW is truly back. It took about a year, but the momentum is back. There was not a bad match on the card. Some people do not like the company and that is fine, but you have to admit what AEW did is impressive. 


There was something for everyone. Some hardcore wrestling with Stadium Stampede and the Coffin match. Great wrestling matches with CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe, FTR vs. Young Bucks III and Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho. Then if you like story telling the women’s world title match and the main event MJF vs. Adam Cole told great stories. 


The card was perfectly paced as the action was non-stop. There were tributes to Terry Funk and Windham Rotunda aka Bray Wyatt at this event. Fans were not disappointed. There was not a cooler on the card. Tony Khan had to slow down the pace some, but the crowd was electric all night long.


It was truly a feel-good event for the fans. From start to finish the AEW faithful in London did not leave disappointed. That is what AEW was all about when the company first started. 
From Forbidden Door 2 through All In, AEW is back in the place most people expected it to be a year ago. Some thought this company might be out of business and couldn’t sell out Wembley Stadium. Again all AEW does is prove people wrong. 


Expect even bigger things from Tony Khan and AEW down the road. But for now, cherish what we got at AEW All In. 

Baby Bombers’ Era is DONE

By Miguel Mike Medina

The Baby Bomber era is doomed. It’s over. It’s finished. The Yankees have lost nine in a row. No Division lead, no wild card lead. This team isn’t going anywhere this season. This is the worst second-half performance from the Yankees since 1995. Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls we’re still alive. Although they made the playoffs as a wild-card team that year, this current roster was supposed to perform way better than this. 


The Yankees’ best years to try to win it all during the baby bomber era were from 2017 through 2019. Jose Altuve’s ALCS home run did some psychological damage to that team. They couldn’t recover from that loss. It’s time for the Yankees to rebuild. Yes! You heard me correctly. The YANKEES NEED TO REBUILD! BABY BOMBERS ARE DEAD! The group of Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres, and Luis Severino has been a bust. 

Look at the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, and Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees don’t have a chance against those teams. Those teams have a good farm system and know how to develop their young talent. The Yankees have to make some decisions soon. 

James Harden: A Generational Talent and A Quitter

By Miguel Mike Medina

Philadelphia Sixers end trade talks about 10-time All-Star James Harden. Harden will remain with the team for the start of the season. It is a messy situation in Philadelphia. The Sixers’ breakup will be an ugly one. Joel Embiid is losing patience. Too many distractions in the organization. 

First, it was the Ben Simmons situation, and now it’s James Harden. The “beard man” strikes again with his whining and complaining. Harden recently called Sixers general manager Daryl Morey a “liar” and that he won’t play for no organization that he’s part of. Harden and Morey were together in Houston. They seemed like they were on the same page. That’s not been the case in Philadelphia. 


Harden is not happy and he didn’t get what he wanted. Harden wanted to be traded to the Clippers. Best of luck to any team that wants James Harden. Let’s take a look at James Garden’s contract situation:


– exercised $35.6 million player option for next season

-15% trade kicker (would receive $5.4 million from Sixers) 

-cannot sign an extension with Sixers or any other team

-will be an unrestricted free agent next Summer 2024 

This is not a good look. He’s not going about it the right way. It’s getting annoying to see James Harden make these kinds of headlines. He’s becoming one of the biggest laughingstocks in the NBA. I wouldn’t want him on my team. James is one of the greatest offensive players I’ve ever seen. However, over the last few years, he’s developed a reputation and it’s not a good one:


– Harden is great in the regular season but disappears in the postseason, especially in elimination games

-He doesn’t care about winning or doesn’t take losing a playoff series to heart. Great players suffer when they lose. They hate losing. Great players don’t go on vacation. They go harder in the summer to get ready to win it all the following season. In James Harden’s case, he has been spotted going out to clubs and comes into the following season out of shape

-He quits on every team that he has played for
Harden had Dwight Howard, didn’t work out. Harden had Chris Paul, didn’t work out. Harden had Russell Westbrook, didn’t work out. Harden had Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, didn’t work out. Joel Embiid and several shooters, that’s not going to end well. 


I’ll never forget when he called his former head coach and Hall of Famer Kevin McHale a “clown” after McHale said that Harden is not a “leader,” but Harden didn’t see the full clip of what McHale was trying to say. The media took a little part of what McHale said and asked James Harden about it. McHale didn’t slander James at all. He did praise him on his game and elaborated that there are different kinds of leadership. James can lead in certain aspects but not at the level of the likes of Chris Paul. 

James Harden is not a championship player. You can’t win with him. He’s a generational talent but a notorious quitter. The GOAT of quitting in the NBA. He cares more about his money than about winning. 

‘The Blind Side’ Film is Not Authentic

By Miguel Mike Medina

Former NFL star Michael Oher is making headlines this week. He expresses that the movie “The Blind Side,” is based on a lie. Oher said that there is misleading information about his portrayal in the movie. He mentioned that he wasn’t adopted, and the movie had several stereotypes about him like being “unintelligent” and “too serious” or “mellow.” The Blind Side does have a message or theme of a “white savior.” 


The story of Oher and the Tuohy family became the subject of an Oscar-winning film, “The Blind Side,” starring Sandra Bullock in the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Blind Side is based on the Michael Lewis book of the same name, telling the story of Oher’s life as a homeless child through his college football career and eventual NFL stardom. Sandra Bullock won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her performance. The Tuohy’s family received a contract price of $225,000 and 2.5% of the film’s net. 


The Blindside did very well at the box office. It went on to gross over $300 million. I only saw the movie once, and it was on Hulu. I enjoyed watching the movie, and with this news, it’s going to make me see the film in a different light. 


Oher made no money off the film, which was released after he completed his college career at Ole Miss. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009. Oher played eight seasons in the NFL. He spent most of his tenure with the Baltimore Ravens, where he won a Super Bowl in 2012. 


Oher wrote his autobiography, I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond, in 2011. His most recent book, “When Your Back’s Against the Wall,” was released last week.

Saturday Night Collision Can Be Considered the A Show For AEW

By Jim Biringer

All Elite Wrestling has a new show on Saturday night called Collision. Ever since the show hit the airways back on June 17th, it has given off a vibe of being the A Show for All Elite Wrestling. Not to mention it is giving fans vibes of what the old AEW was like when Dynamite first launched back in September 2019. 

The company has been around longer than that. January 2019 is when All Elite Wrestling was launched. The foundation started at All-In that fall as Cody Rhodes, Matt and Nick Jackson (Young Bucks), Kenny Omega, Hangman Adam Page, and Marty Scurll gave the fans an alternative product to WWE. You can go back even further than that when Omega and Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom earlier that year set the tone for what was to come for AEW. 
Now fast forward to now with AEW Collision. Dynamite feels like its own show and Collision feels like its own show even though they are under the same company. This was similar to what WWE was like with the original brand split in 2002 coming off the purchase of WCW. Smackdown had its own roster giving high quality matches. And RAW had its own roster giving fans different matches and more storylines. 

Collision and Dynamite has that feel now too. Think about it. Collision has been more wrestling over the past several weeks and less storylines. While Dynamite is giving fans the storylines with a dose of wrestling mixed in. But each show is pushing the other show to be better and we have seen it. 

As much as AEW does not mention a roster split, Collision has the wrestlers they feature the most and Dynamite has its roster it features the most. Again that had to happen with the return of CM Punk. And Punk is proud to lead the charge on Saturday calling it his show. We know the history of The Elite and Punk. There is a reason they are not on the same show right now. Maybe one day they will bury the hatchet and do what is best for business and give the fans that feud, but right now it is now happening. 

But back to Collision. Saturday Night AEW Collision does not feel as rushed as Dynamite does on Wednesday night. They let things settle a little more than Dynamite does. You could see Dynamite doing that early on, but now they just wanted to cram as much in as possible within the two hour time block. AEW Collision has only a handful of matches each week. But again the company is producing high quality television each Wednesday and Saturday night.


While AEW does not want to admit it, and MJF said it Saturday it is not Collision vs Dynamite, there is a little bit of that competitive drive between the two shows. Over the past several weeks, Collision and Dynamite have each put on great matches, but it has been Collision leading the way with Punk, Ricky Starks, FTR, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Andrade El Idolo, and the House of Black. 

Think about the matches FTR has had over the past couple of weeks. Two matches with White and Robinson. One of which went 58 minutes in a best two out of three falls match. Oh yeah the champions defended their tag team titles against the red hot act of MJF and Adam Cole this past Saturday. Another instant classic. 
Robinson and White have been excellent as well. CM Punk hand picked these guys to work with before Collision started. These guys wrestle every week. And Bullet Club Gold is gaining momentum.


And of course the rivalry between Punk and Joe culminated on a Saturday night on Collision. Punk and Starks have a nice rivalry going through the Owen Hart Tournament and now beyond. Starks will get a AEW World Title match this Saturday as Punk claimed he is still the real champion, more on that in another story. But giving the show a major belt says something about the quality of the talent before the titles are merged again.


Let’s not forget about Andrade and the rivalry he had with the House of Black over his mask. What a tremendous ladder match. Like the Old AEW, Collision is giving banger matches each week. Now it will be interesting to see if they continue that. At times Dynamite slowed down with that, but recently, Tony Khan has been pulling out all the stops as each show is bringing out the best in the other.


The ratings are getting better each week too. Now let’s see what happens when college football comes around and when there is a WWE PPV. But Tony Khan and Warner Bros Discovery took a chance on another two hour wrestling show and it is paying off.


Collision is giving the fans of what the old AEW was like and showing why it can be considered the A show now.