#wrestling asks

[theblackbuffy]

wrestling ask game (AEW edition)

1. who is your favorite AEW men’s world champion and why?

2. who is your favorite AEW women’s world champion and why?

3. top 3 ppvs from last year?

4. you are given the chance to trade one person on the roster for a wrestler from any other promotion, who would you trade and who would take?

5. favorite trios champs?

6. top 3 stables?

7. one wrestler you believe should get more of a push 

8. what’s a dream match of yours?

9. what do you love most about AEW as a promotion? 

10. have you ever gone to a show or one of the ppvs and what was your experience if so? 

11. have you ever watched BTE or BTDO? 

12. what type of matches do you want to see more often?

13. favorite ladies on the roster?

14. least favorite theme 

15. have you ever met anyone on the roster?

16. who would you wrestle if you had to choose and why?

17. you have the ability to put together your dream stable, who is in it and what’s the stable name?

18. what storyline from last year do you wish could be erased from AEW history?

19. who is great in the ring but subpar on the mic to you?

20. one of your favorite feuds from last year and why? 

21. name someone that has improved so much since their debut 

22. favorite women tag team(s)?

23. name a match that was overbilled last year and that you wish had been better

24. favorite folks from njpw that have joined the company or are about to?

[thebarefootking]

hiromu or despe for the wrestler ask?

My first impulse is to call this a cruel choice to force on me, nonny, but there can really only ever be one I pick. I was -- not exactly slow to warm up on El Desperado; it isn't like with Taichi, where it took a stunningly long time (years!) for me to appreciate him for what he is, but I was still relatively engaged by Taichi's presence. No, for the first few months I spent watching, as far as my interest was concerned, Desperado may as well have been invisible. (As you might imagine, I never had this issue with Hiromu. He had my heart in his hands from the first match I saw him in.)

I don't know what clicked or when, but it was like being slapped in the face. It was like this famous video. Honestly, if Hiromu hadn't been there to point out the guy in the damn gorilla suit, I might still be in the pitiable state of not appreciating the one who has come to be one of my favorite wrestlers ever.

I'm not sure I really consider the tempered and unobtrusive quality of his presentation to be a flaw. There's a subtlety (almost, but not quite, a delicacy) to the way Despe conveys himself that allows the characterisation to operate on several levels at once without being overwhelming or tacky. He can turn up the intensity or dial things back with a seeming effortlessness I have witnessed from few wrestlers, and this is vital to what I think might be his most valuable skill set. New Japan's junior heavyweight scene as it currently exists and as it is likely to exist in the near future would be completely intractable without the work of El Desperado. I have never seen a wrestler with a greater skill for helping others tell their stories -- not just generically 'putting them over', though he is certainly good at that, but giving them a solid place from which to spin new story threads, beyond the reach of what plain old booking would typically account for. He does nearly all the narrative legwork of an ace, and he does it with a fraction of the attention. And (with one very obvious exception I have already thoroughly bitched about in answering these asks) he's booked to milk this skill for all it's worth. It's Desperado's other skills that make him exceptional. There simply isn't, to my knowledge, a masked wrestler as capable of expressing emotion to the same degree with the same precision as Despe. His attention to character portrayal and development at every possible moment (again, with some unfortunate exceptions) has, over the years, created a powerhouse of narrative potential. His in-ring skill is substantial, though I feel as if we rarely get to see him in situations that show his best. But as for his functional value as a wrestler in the grand scheme of the promotion? None of these are as valuable as what he can put them together to do, and what he does is, in my opinion, of the highest artistic merit.

Even if it's half-invisible by design.

[supernaturalkickparty]

👀👀👀 how are those gifs not porn???

I'm assuming you mean these 👀👀👀

[angelkitty32001]

For the wrestling asks: encore, pop and push? :)

Encore - wrestlers to come back. If I had a time machine (which I ABSOLUTELY would not use purely for good), I'd get Piper in his prime and put him in a programme with MJF.

Maybe bring back Brodie Lee and see what he would do, bring back Jay Brisco and have the Briscos terrorise the AEW tag division. Wrestlers that went too soon would be the best to have an encore.

Pop - there are 3 pops that I've been present for that have given me joyful chills:

The Legion of Doom at SS92 - the roof (had there been one) blew off Wembley as soon as the opening bars of their entrance music hit. I remember grinning till it hurt, and my brother cheering. It was so exciting and the noise was incredible.

Edge at Clash at the Castle - the sound of thousands of people singing in unison always gives me chills, and this was incredible. Edge hadn't been in the UK for years and everyone was thrilled to see him. Hearing the crowd singing as one was magnificent.

Hangman at All In 2 - it doesn't come across on the broadcast but the pop for Hanger was deafening. It was almost on the level as the one for Kenny. Again the metaphorical roof blew off the building as soon as the opening notes of his music started. People stood and cheered and screamed. He absolutely deserved it and I'm thrilled it happened.

Push - the women. Seriously. More than one women's match per show. Storylines and character development. PUT ABADDON ON TV YOU COWARDS! Random tag matches to feature more women isn't solving the problem. Toni Storm is doing incredible work, and this should be extended to other women. Athena is an incredible champion, why is she only being shown on RoH, other RoH belt holders move between AEW and RoH! Willow should have been at Wembley! Just do better by your women!

[jeysbvck]

Blade ~ The bloodiest wrestling match you’ve ever watched?

Catchphrase ~ List your favorite catchphrases? -OR- Post a gif of your favorite catchphrases?

Encore ~ List wrestlers you wish would/could come back.

Girl Power ~ Your favorite female wrestler(s)?

Hype ~ List some wrestlers you think are overrated and/or underrated?

omg wrestling asks!! thank you!!🥰 this is gonna be long so i shall add a cut😭

blade - the bloodiest wrestling match you’ve ever watched? hmm, the one that pops into my head is from my childhood (i don't remember details bc i am awful at retaining information) but i think it was brock vs undertaker in a hell in a cell match! i just remember the cage & the undertakers face being completely covered in blood! a most recent one that sticks out, i tried to watch an aew ppv (icr who was in the match honestly) and the match honestly made me feel sick, which is hard to do considering ive been watching wrestling pretty much my whole life😭

catchphrase - list/post gifs of your favourite catchphrases! eddie guerrero '"i lie, i cheat, i steal"

[credit: wrestlingcentral]

[credit: @mith-gifs-wrestling]

[found on tenor]

special mentions:

[found on google, couldn't find the creator!] (i don't even like "yeet" but i have to bc he's just so cute🤭🤭

[found on tenor]

list wrestlers you wish would/could come back. (just gonna preface this as i just watch wwe, so dont come at me, its hard to watch the other promotions bc they aren't televised over here) im on the "mercedes is coming back to wwe" train🤡 i'd also love jon moxley back, if nothing else for a shield reunion! seeing rob van dam again would be so cool, i'd love lita to come back again bc she's one of my og loves!

girl power - your favourite female wrestlers? bayley, becky lynch, rhea ripley, iyo sky, mercedes mone, chyna, lita, asuka (just off the top of my head!)

hype - list some wrestlers you think are overrated/underrated. la knight, (i have a love/hate relationship with knight atm🤭), hulk hogan, chris jericho (i thought this before all the shit about him came out, me and my brother talk about it all the time), cm punk, the rock. underrated: bayley, sheamus, shelton benjamin, sami zayn, chad gable, dominik mysterio!

[soulmvtes]

it's about the small acts of intimacy... forehead kisses, putting jewelry on you, rubbing your hand with their thumb, putting a jacket on you, touching your necklace, running your hands through their hair, wiping away their tears, peeling them an orange, un/zipping their dress, tying their shoelaces, holding hands, removing an eyelash from their cheek, washing their hair, putting an anklet on them, tucking their hair behind their ear, sorting out their collar, untangling their necklaces, drinking out of a cup in their hands

[ruenii]

Tim, [pointing his staff at the human traffickers]: YOU ARE OUTGUNNED

Jason, [hyping him up]: WHAT?

Tim: OUTMANNED!

Jason: WHAT?!

Tim: OUTNUMBERED OUTPLANNED

Jason: PAY YOUR FUCKING TAXES!

Tim: PUT YOUR GUNS DOWN ON MY COMMAND

Jason: HAND EM OVER!!

Tim: THIS IS HAMILTON MY RIGHT HAND MAN!

Jason, [getting his guns out]: PWO PWO PWO PWO PWO-

Goons: *shaking* what the FUCK are Batman feeding his partners--

[scurvyboy]

I love how you cover their weewees and boobies so much it makes me giggle so damn hard. Can we get some random censored shit? Like just imagine you have fiddlestan and in the background you got the glittering pink text box just covering a tree

is this what you meant?

[samijey]

When an interaction is so awkward it circles around into being adorable

[walkingclownemoji]

tried to explain the men's roaster 8 messy divorces. failed miserably

[pinkfey]

wyll is the kinda guy to have a very high-spirited, mentally healthy workout routine and well-meaningly encourage others to do it too. like he’d definitely tell gale hey i noticed you’ve been down as you contemplate life death and your mortality.. have you tried jogging?? we can get up just before sunrise, take a hike together,, it’d be fun 🥰 and gale’s like i’d literally rather die

[thebarefootking]

I know I just sent you an ask about despe/hiromu, but if you're still taking requests can I get your thoughts on douki too? I too adore this little gremlin man, and I adore the way you write about wrestling.

I have been beating my head against the wall for DAYS, trying to figure out how to answer this ask. I got so stressed out over my own inequality to the task that I had an unsatisfactory dream about meeting Douki (in full ring gear) on public transportation, where we had a painfully awkward and brief social encounter. None of this is your fault, nonny. I appreciate being made to think. Douki is just fucking confusing, I have lots of feelings about him, he's my Favorite of Favorites, and I genuinely just don't know what to write or where to start. I'm going to give it a solid try, though. Please forgive my tardiness, and enjoy these three songs that inevitably give me Douki feels.

----------------------------------- Sometimes in life, there is no sensible avenue to your destination. Sometimes, the most reasonable route between point A and point B is a freefall. Although I am no longer practicing, I spent my entire childhood and youth in an environment that prioritised, over and above everything else, religious faith and the mystical experience thereof. I am also in possession of a brain with both bipolar and adhd. These facts combine to form a person deeply prone to perceiving meaning, intention, and importance in places where others do not -- and, sometimes, to acting impulsively on these perceptions. Is it any surprise that such a person would find resonance in a character like Douki? Douki, who attests that everything has meaning? Douki, who responded to rejection by hauling ass to a different continent, with no prospects, no money, and no ability to speak the local language. Douki, who returned to Japan with the intention of kicking Jun Kasai's ass -- by showing up to a deathmatch entirely unarmed, even his teeth covered by his mask. Douki, with the anger of a martyr and the patience of a thief. Until suddenly... that's not quite right at all. Douki, whose greatest wrestling strength is -- not his unique and experimental moveset, not his stylised presentation, not even his commitment, but -- his absolute gameness. His readiness to, at the drop of a hat (even, I have my suspicions from watching him closely, when he is working injured -- though I wish he had both the ability and willingness to not fucking do that; this Moose's heart can't take that shit), to 'yes-and' the hell out of whatever he is given.

Oh? You beefed it on your finisher? You're gonna do something batshit off the top rope to distract everyone? Sure, I'll catch you with my smaller, wobbling, clearly injured body which is currently incapable of performing even my most familiar moves with any amount of grace. We'll make it look cool as hell! Nobody will even notice that you botched the most important move of the match -- and if they do, now they can't say a fucking word about it without sounding like an asshole. Oh? My old training buddy from Mexico just returned from his second major injury in three years? He needs to look badass to prove he's recovered and like his old self for now so that people question it less when he gradually changes his style to something that will keep him in the business longer? Bet. We know each other in the ring like butter knows toast. We can both bring it. ... 'Barricade'? What's that? And so on. Every damn time. If you give him something to work with, he will spin it into gold. This has the unfortunate downside of making his matches a little hit-or-miss; if his chemistry with his opponent or partner is bad or if they give him little to work with, he frequently fails to deliver -- creativity and impulsivity are traits of his, but pure initiative in the ring is something he seems to struggle with, at times (though I note he's getting better, and some of this deficit is apparent only, and due to questionable booking). (Jesus, that sentence got away from me.) Of course Douki appeals to me. He has an unassailable faith. Perhaps it's Minoru Suzuki's 'faith in the future' he once ascribed to the man who would become El Desperado -- perhaps something more enigmatic. I have a hard time sussing out exactly what is going on in Douki's head at any given moment, and he often does things that surprise me, in a way that someone like Despe usually does not. (Example: 07/01/2023 in CMLL when Douki let his teammate Zandokan Jr. shake him around by the skull, and his response appeared to be utter delight. What even was that? I think Zando's the best thing since sliced bread, and even I'd probably be pretty damn unsettled if he grabbed me from behind by the cranium and started shaking. And afaik, that was their first time working together. Fucking weird vibes that whole match.) (I need more of that shit, actually.) Douki's a hard read for me in general, so I'm not confident in my assessment, on this one. But it feels like he has faith in the process. Probably not in the future, maybe not in himself, and certainly not in the system. He has faith in the process of life, in the journey, in the getting-there. And that's why there's no one better at throwing himself into a freefall when necessary than Douki. He knows how to build his wings on the way down, and he's done it a thousand times before. (Tbh, I think Hiromu learned more than just the physics of the Douki Bomb from him. I think he might have gleaned enough of the philosophy to greatly ease his path.)

[supernaturalkickparty]

Hi i saw some people on twitter gushing about how the death match at all out was amazing and that makes me wanna go back into watching wrestling.

My question is, ik imma watch wwe but i never really watched any other promotion, so should i just watch the latest weekly show? The latest ppv? How can i get a good sense of the various promotions

Hi!!

Omg ok so yes the Texas Death Match was amazing and I felt like it was made specifically for me. Idk if the match is up on YouTube yet or I'd you've seen it on here but feel free to scroll through my blog and look through my aew tag.

With that being said, I was out of wrestling for a good while. Growing up all I knew was WCW and WWE and local promotion shows.

I fell out of wrestling....I wanna say around Legacy(Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase Jr.) Not because of them or anything lol I was stuck working two jobs and I didn't have cable a good majority of the time.

It wasn't until 2018/ early 2019 I slowly got back into wrestling because of my brothers. I would watch Ring of Honor and New Japan with them and then fell out again because I was working two jobs and going to school.

Summer 2019 I got back into wrestling because I was on bed rest and I gave WWE a go because it was "familiar". I grew up with it but I personally didn't care for what was going on at the moment so I went to AEW.

I personally loved AEW from the get. It had a totally different feel, the wrestlers felt more real, idk if that makes sense. Like there's storylines but it didn't feel over the top like it does with WWE.

I'd give both WWE and AEW a chance, but also give Impact, GCW, New Japan, and Ring of Honor a chance is well.

Just kinda watch a little bit of everything to get a feel of it. That's what I did and why I ended up like the promotions I like.

I watch WWE sometimes but mainly for Cody Rhodes and now that Randy Orton is back I'm screaming!!! I love them so much.

Edit:my brothers were messing with me and made me believe that randy was officially back and I am sad now.

Personal fav wrestlers: Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, Hangman Adam Page, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks(Matt & Nick Jackson), Wardlow, Hikaru Shida, Toni Storm, Ruby Soho, Thunder Rosa, Julia Hart, Kris Statlander, Nyla Rose, Jade Cargill(she on WWE now) Sonny Kiss and waaaaaayyy too many more to name but I do favor AEW more.

[angelkitty32001]

Gimmick, Heel, Main Event?

Gimmick - I love a battle royal. The Royal Rumble has a very special place in my heart. I love the chaos of multi human matches, the spots, the unpredictability of it, the way they are used to set up storylines etc. I like a falls count anywhere - again for the chaos aspect. Stadium Stampede was interesting at Wembley, especially when we were trying to see where Eddie and Claudio were (didn't manage it).

Least fave - obviously anything involving evening gowns, bra and knickers, baby oil etc Just sexist match stipulations in general. Also hair matches, after reading in Piper's biography how awful they were to execute, cos everyone is hot and sweaty and the hair sticks to everything - sensory nightmare.

As for wrestlers gimmicks, I think if they can make it work, all power to them. I started watching in the "Vince thinks everyone needs a job" era, so young me saw a lot of bad gimmicks without realising they were bad.

Heel - Heel Bucks my beloved! Truly the Bucks as heels is my fave. I've always had a soft spot for heels, Piper was always more interesting than Hogan (despite the fact that Piper was allegedly a face when I was watching, he always wrestled as a heel, eye pokes, spitting, biting etc), Shawn as a heel was excellent fun. Maybe it's wish fulfillment cos I'd love the confidence that the heels I gravitate to have, that ability to walk into a room and go "I'm the absolute best here etc" even when they look like they got dressed in the dark 🤣

Main Event - Yes, I've been to see wrestling live. Back in the 90s, I saw 2 WWF house shows and SummerSlam 92 (strongest memory of that day - pushing the car to Wembley, along with the LoD and Undertaker entrances). When my then boyfriend's best mate was wrestling, we went to see him. And more recently I've been to Clash at the Castle, a WWE house show, a couple of indie shows, and All In.

Whilst the excitement of the big shows is incredible, the way the WWE turned Cardiff into WWE Town was brilliant, and the atmosphere at Wembley was delightful, I probably enjoyed OTT more. I was closer to the action, I was watching the ring and not a screen, I just wish I was going in October when they have Mox, but I've got family plans 😭😭

I will say that I enjoy seeing wrestling live now in a way I didn't when I was younger. I don't know whether it's because the style has changed (less slugfests, more high flying) or because I've changed (probably a bit of both), but I watched the Bucks v FTR with my fingers in my mouth (thank gods for acrylic nail polish) which would never have happened in the 90s. Shawn was my biggest crush and I completely forgot that he was at SS92 🤣🤣

[enjoythepetrichor]

I love the dynamic Julian and Jadzia have around S3 and 4 when they allowed Julian to be over his crush on her so they could genuinely be besties (extremely queer dynamic to have, wildly underrepresented imo)

Like in Rejoined when she does her lame magic tricks and Julian hypes her up so much, I think they should do that for each other. Every time Julian enters Quark's Jadzia is there like "Here is DS9's most special guy, your CMO: Julian Bashir!" and he would do the same stupid little curtsy she does when he does it to her and everyone hates it, they do this shit every night but it never gets old to them, like what is life if you're not wildly cringe about and with your friends!!

Too bad DS9 dropped the ball on their bestie era but to me it's real forever

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I've been doing a lot of reflection as of late, especially after this past class.

This past class was about the Torah and Tanakh in general, and the way the rabbi talked about the commandments (specifically the ten commandments) has made me really reflect on how I interpret them, specifically the fifth commandment, or honoring your mother and father.

This is a commandment I have wrestled with for a long time - in fact, it brought me away from g-d at multiple times. I was severely abused when I was incredibly young by my mother, and I used to feel insulted at the implication that I were to honor her while she got to live a better life. It was hypocritical, in my eyes.

But this rabbi surmised that this particular commandment was because parenthood is an act of creation, something that is like the g-d from which we come from. My realization is this: I don't think we're necessarily meant to take even these commandments literally.

I this particular commandment is more of a call to honor creation - creation is a gift, and like any gift, many people simply will not like it and will discard it. The person who abused me created me, but she did not honor creation. She didn't honor me, but I can still honor it.

I have started to honor creation much more. I'm too young, too unstable, not mature enough to be a father (though I fantasize about it), but I create all the time. I create relationships, I create with my hands through crochet. I create memories, I create my world. And I can honor who I am and where I came from that made me who I am. I've been learning one of the mother tongues of my family (Italian, since part of my family originates there) and it was judaism that inspired me to do this.

I don't think g-d wants me to honor my abuser. I think He wants me to remember the Holy action of creation. When I am a father, that act of creation will be Holy, and indeed, I am already joyful about the thought.

I have seen many people struggle with this particular commandment, but I think this perspective helps me personally. I don't think I ever have to forgive my abusers (plural), and I don't think I am commanded to simply because they happened to be family. I am commanded to recognize the holy, to elevate the mundane. In doing so, I will remember g-d. Through creation, I honor g-d and everything he has done for us, for me, and for our collective people.