I thought we would use this thread as a catch all for the interpromotional craziness that Kenny Omega and Don Callis are taking us on.

Tuesday: Omega and Callis appear on Impact
Wednesday: Omega and Callis appear on Dynamite
Saturday: Omega and Callis appear on Impact Final Resolution and meet up with Karl Anderson, then Kenny Omega defends the AAA Mega Championship against Laredo Kid at TripleMania with an avalanche OWA.

Omega and Anderson have confirmed they will cross paths again on Tuesday and Anderson referred to himself as The Machine Gun.

This shit is happening so fast. Discuss.

Seemed like not too long ago we were complaining that he was wasted and now's he's the ace of the universe.

Dec 13, 2020 18:28:43 GMT @ness said:

Seemed like not too long ago we were complaining that he was wasted and now's he's the ace of the universe.

I was thinking exactly this last night. How the turntables...

Looks like they are trying to one up Kenny's "Best in the World" character in NJPW. Make him the best wrestler everywhere outside WWE and NJPW.

To be honest I've been over the Good Brothers for a long time. They were never any good anyway as a tag team. Karl Anderson is an underrated singles talent, but looks like he wants to stick with Gallows.

Anderson I've always wanted to see as a singles. Nothing about him ever wowed me and I often thought people praising them were just doing it for the lolz, but it feels like he's been part of a tag so long that I want to see it.

Dec 13, 2020 23:04:45 GMT @ness said:

Anderson I've always wanted to see as a singles. Nothing about him ever wowed me and I often thought people praising them were just doing it for the lolz, but it feels like he's been part of a tag so long that I want to see it.

I feel the same way

Dec 13, 2020 20:14:18 GMT Emperor said:

Looks like they are trying to one up Kenny's "Best in the World" character in NJPW. Make him the best wrestler everywhere outside WWE and NJPW.

To be honest I've been over the Good Brothers for a long time. They were never any good anyway as a tag team. Karl Anderson is an underrated singles talent, but looks like he wants to stick with Gallows.

Yeah but The Good Brothers are charismatic as all fuck and Bullet Club OGs. They pair up with Omega and it's everything the WWE tried to rip off with AJ Styles, but good.

Dec 13, 2020 23:04:45 GMT @ness said:

Anderson I've always wanted to see as a singles. Nothing about him ever wowed me and I often thought people praising them were just doing it for the lolz, but it feels like he's been part of a tag so long that I want to see it.

He won a singles match last night on Final Resolution and apparently has another match on Tuesday. They might be doing it. A Machine Gun resurgence isn't out of the question.

A lot of value in pairing The Good Brothers with Kenny Omega, and even potentially The Bucks. If they're cross promoting for a while and talent are working both shows, they're everywhere and potentially everything the old BC was.

There's no shame doing it either, NJPW, ROH and the entire independent scene was at it's hottest when Bullet Club were at its peak.

If you can put them all in one place for an extended period, you're on the money. Omega Club could easily replace the Inner Circle dweebs as AEW's top heel faction.

And, there's massive potential for the two best tag teams in both companies colliding again.. The Young Bucks v Motor City Machine Guns as part of a greater cross promoting angle.

They can be as charismatic as they like, it doesn't matter to me if they are shit in the ring.

Anderson did have a decent singles run in NJPW in the early 2010s. Sadly I only caught the tail end of it but what I saw was pretty good. He's not a top tier worker but from what I saw definitely a very capable gaijin. Certainly better than MVP and Shelton and whichever other gaijins were working at the time.

The Good Brothers have a bit of a cool / Fonz factor.

Both are natural talkers and obviously a banter that flows over into their mic work. They have a likability that many in Bullet Club didn't/don't. In terms of on-screen characters, you could have a beer with The Good Brothers. Tama Tonga the same, who is effortlessly cool - I'm surprised he's not a bigger star. And of course Balor & Cole are dripping in confidence. Marty had a great gimmick - visually.

Whereabouts Cody is a nobjockey, The Bucks are annoying little children, Styles is a dork when left unsupervised, and Kenny Omega on his own is a dweeb.

It also sets up the Good Brothers/Young Bucks match which is one of the few interesting feuds the Bucks have left. I think those two teams will strangely compliment each other since the Brothers can be goofy but they also have a wild side where as the Bucks are millenial teetotalers. It makes for a nice contrast without it being too on the nose and there's some obvious history there.

The more you see Tama, the more you understand why fans aren't exactly high on him. In isolation he's a solid worker who looks like he could fit into the WWE but nothing stands out about him. NJPW already has guys like that in Hirooki Goto, but even Goto every now and then finds an extra gear to remind you he's worth watching, Tonga just never had that extra gear. There was also the 2018 G-1 where everyone brought their A game except for him and his role was to be as toxic as possible and fill his matches with shenanigans. I think it ended up hurting him more than anything because NJPW have barely had anything to do with him since, especially with White coming in and taking his place.

He's only just returned since Covid hit and he's back in the tag division working the same spot as before. He looks different being clean shaven, but with so many acts rising up from underneath him it's difficult to see him amounting to anything more than just a mid-carder in Japan.

Didn't Karl Anderson's gimmick have him brag about his hot super sexy Asian wife and then he cheated on her and completely blew that up? :suspic:

Last I heard they reconciled but yeah...the wife aired Karl's dirty laundry.

The hot part, is questionable.

Definitely Big Pete, Tama hasn't done nearly enough, also consider WWE picked his brother over him when they tried out years ago. On paper, he's got all the tools but for whatever reason he doesn't utilise them. I guess there's my answer, as to why Tama Tonga isn't a bigger star.

Tama Tonga was most interesting when he was primarily a singles guy, with his facepaint and odd mannerisms. Unfortunately he's a shit worker, so all the bells and whistles can only get him so far. But he has been tremendously successful in NJPW's heavyweight tag division, so good for him.

Dec 14, 2020 1:30:30 GMT Emperor said:

They can be as charismatic as they like, it doesn't matter to me if they are shit in the ring.

Anderson did have a decent singles run in NJPW in the early 2010s. Sadly I only caught the tail end of it but what I saw was pretty good. He's not a top tier worker but from what I saw definitely a very capable gaijin. Certainly better than MVP and Shelton and whichever other gaijins were working at the time.

Gallows drags them down. He's never been that good. It's like he can't decide if he's a monster or a brawler, and half-asses both styles. Anderson is fine though. If he does most of the work and takes the hot tags, they're fine.

Dec 14, 2020 20:31:18 GMT NATH45 said:

The hot part, is questionable.

Right? She has a nice ass but that's about it. I think that only got over because Anderson knows that the majority of wrestling fans hardcore enough to follow him on instagram are lonely anyway.

(yes I follow him on instagram)

Dec 14, 2020 20:44:08 GMT Emperor said:

Tama Tonga was most interesting when he was primarily a singles guy, with his facepaint and odd mannerisms. Unfortunately he's a shit worker, so all the bells and whistles can only get him so far. But he has been tremendously successful in NJPW's heavyweight tag division, so good for him.

Every time I decide I'm going to enjoy Tama Tonga and give him a chance, I watch one of his matches and he botches at least twice. I don't understand how someone with his experience is still so mediocre. If Juice Robinson can outshine you in the ring more than once then you should just quit.

I personally think Juice will make a return to NXT in the next few years, and if they can beat the goofball out of him, he'll be great addition. Especially if he takes himself seriously.

Juice is super over in Japan. Don't really like his gimmick or personality but he has been incredibly successful. He's becoming a really good worker too.

He's found that sweet spot where he's kinda lovable and goofy but is also able to turn up the intensity and come across as a serious fighter.

Is this seriously happening!!?!?

streamable.com/w9jdsh

Dynamite is LIVE tomorrow. Don't miss it.

The Bucks will be at Hard to Kill. Mark my words.

MCMG v Bucks is a MOTY contender.

Dec 17, 2020 2:00:01 GMT NATH45 said:

The Bucks will be at Hard to Kill. Mark my words.

MCMG v Bucks is a MOTY contender.

I can only hope you're right.

I dont even need a good reason for that match, I just wanna fucking see it. 

Dec 17, 2020 23:57:45 GMT Ice said:

Dec 17, 2020 2:00:01 GMT NATH45 said:

The Bucks will be at Hard to Kill. Mark my words.

MCMG v Bucks is a MOTY contender.

I can only hope you're right.

I dont even need a good reason for that match, I just wanna fucking see it. 

Empty Arena match from TNA. Fantastic stuff.

Dec 18, 2020 2:05:30 GMT NATH45 said:

Dec 17, 2020 23:57:45 GMT Ice said:

I can only hope you're right.

I dont even need a good reason for that match, I just wanna fucking see it. 

Empty Arena match from TNA. Fantastic stuff.

Ill have to check this out, was this an old match when they were Generation Me? Or something more recent that I missed? 

Edit: I found it, thanks for the recommendation. 

This stuff with Kenny has been so much fun to watch, and I can’t wait to see Omega & The Good Bros vs MCMG & Swann at Hard to Kill. I guess I’ll be paying for an Impact PPV, tbh I don’t mind though because I do enjoy their product.

Brodie's unfortunate passing has really distracted me from this storyline. Can somebody explain to me like I'm 5 years old what's going on exactly?

After losing the tag team titles to FTR, Kenny decided he wanted to break out as a singles and went as far to cancel on Adam Page and two planned tag team bouts had to be changed into singles. Kenny then announced he was going to participate in a number one contendership tournament, where he decided to debut his new entrance and act completely full of himself. Despite acting like a toss pot, he still took out the entire thing, putting him on a collision course with Moxley who he defeated after the help from Don Callis.

OK, so this is where I need the refresher.

Does Kenny feel like AEW wasted his best years and basically put him in a position where he had to babysit Adam Page? Which is why he's turned to Don Callis and Callis is providing him with his services under the proviso that he works for his rinky dink twitch promotion? The Young Bucks have also decided to jump aboard but Callis is passively aggressively trying to shoo them away and unite Kenny with two guys who happen to work for said rinky dink twitch promotion?

Is there anything more? Anything I'm missing? When is Moxley getting his rematch and why is he facing unknowns on his quest to the title?

I don't think they're doing a great job with this tbh. I really enjoyed AEW this week, more than I have in a long time, but Omega and the Bucks are so awkward on camera and it's all so phony, I'm really not invested in it. Ratings have dipped big time as well. Between this and the under-utilisation of Sting, it's been a rough start to the year for AEW.

Jan 29, 2021 14:25:42 GMT Todd said:

I don't think they're doing a great job with this tbh. I really enjoyed AEW this week, more than I have in a long time, but Omega and the Bucks are so awkward on camera and it's all so phony, I'm really not invested in it. Ratings have dipped big time as well. Between this and the under-utilisation of Sting, it's been a rough start to the year for AEW.

It's appropos that Sting comes out to a snowstorm because there's absolutely no heat in AEW.

Where is the heel that I'm supposed to love to hate?

Not seen the latest AEW but broadly speaking I like Kenny "stealing" the championship, declaring himself the collector, and running wild over two promotions with Gallows and Anderson.

If you listen to Kenny's promos around the time of the #1 contender tournament, he addresses what the Internet has been saying around him not being as good as he was in Japan. This is his glorious return to being the Best Bout Machine. Difference here is that he needs backup to help him win the big matches. So Kenny claims he is the babyface superstar who beat Okada clean to end his historic reign, but in fact he reverted to cheater Bullet Club leader Kenny.

I have a feeling he and Ibushi are planning something big now that Ibushi is the man in NJPW, but may not happen until crowds are back.

Jan 29, 2021 14:33:38 GMT Big Pete said:

Jan 29, 2021 14:25:42 GMT Todd said:

I don't think they're doing a great job with this tbh. I really enjoyed AEW this week, more than I have in a long time, but Omega and the Bucks are so awkward on camera and it's all so phony, I'm really not invested in it. Ratings have dipped big time as well. Between this and the under-utilisation of Sting, it's been a rough start to the year for AEW.

It's appropos that Sting comes out to a snowstorm because there's absolutely no heat in AEW.

Where is the heel that I'm supposed to love to hate?

You're supposed to hate Team Taz; note that they are positioned opposite Sting/Darby/Cody - the faces. 

You're also supposed to hate Eddie Kingston, and Butcher and the Blade. Recall where the Butcher and the Bladed were placed opposite the Faces Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall in the bunkhouse brawl match. 

Also, you are to hate Santana and Ortiz, note they were placed opposite the faces the best friends in a streetfight. 

Is it this hard to follow? Does AEW need to lay it out like indie wrestling where heels come out first and faces last?