One legend leaves AEW, another walks in...it's a blog we're publishing because we waited!

 

Good Morning!

I was thinking about how I came to use the word “boss” when dealing with people I’m less familiar with, or doing work for. It occurred to me that it’s not really commonplace, especially here in Colorado, and I was wondering why that is. And then it hit me.

You see, it’s not a thing I just started using one day. It’s got a history, both in my life and in the greater context of “people who do work for other people.” I definitely can tell you where and when I picked it up – it was when I started working at Jiffy Lube in Oak Park, IL. We had a number of guys who were ex-cons, whom the owner of the shop was happy to give some work to. Being a quick-lube place, hours were kinda tight and there were only so many spots to go around, so I wasn’t surprised that I wasn’t given the best initial treatment when I was hired on as a friend of a friend of the manager. 

But that happens anywhere as a new guy, and I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to make any pals any faster by trying to be someone I’m not, and it turned out that the guys were all quick to change their opinions of me when I just acted more like myself. When I talked about wrestling, or sports, or comic book stuff, they were more interested in me, and got to share their own stories about those subjects. I’ve always tried to keep up with sports since then – I was a big sports fan when I was younger, but it’s more of a passing interest for me these days, sports-entertainment excluded – and it’s served me well in getting people more comfortable around me. But I digress!

So the “boss” thing, that’s just something we all said to everybody who pulled up to the shop. Sort of a mixture between a term of respect – your “sirs” and “ma’ams” – and a way to show that we’re just trying to get by, working under everyone else, be it the customer or the manager. I guess it worked, because people often were disarmed and kinda endeared by it. So I went on to use it for most of my career as an automotive technician, although my interactions with customers thankfully became fewer as I became less of an oil jockey and more of a real mechanic. 

The thing is, it was also kind of a way to keep us in our place. No one ever told us to call people boss – some guys did it, and then we all did. But by saying it, one could see how we all were acknowledging that we were lesser, just some shmos who did the dirty work for everybody else. Obviously, the word has connotations for those guys I learned it from – that’s what they called the corrections officers. And there’s a whole history that I’d rather not get into, as it’s depressing and sad and not really something I know enough about to speak about.

While I still catch myself using it from time to time, the more I think about it the less I like it. Know what I mean, boss?

“It’s A Soap Opera With More Suplexes and Less Violence”

…in which I discuss the storylines that keep us watching week to week

It was another HUGE week in the world of rasslin! We saw Mercedes Moné debut in her hometown, and The Rock get the taste slapped outta his mouth on last Friday’s SmackDown! We’ve got our two main events locked in for WrestleMania, and some interesting developments as we make our way to both NXT Stand and Deliver and AEW Dynasty as well. So I guess we better make with the quick recaps so we’re all on the same page here.

Let’s start with AEW, since it’s freshest in my goldfish-esque brain. We got the debut of Mercedes Moné on Dynamite, and that woman is just a goddamn STAR. I had my doubts about her on the mic, and I still do for regular promos, but her introduction to the All Elite audience was something special, and personal, and she did great. She also has that thing where she is presented like a big attraction, and carries herself like one, but can become immediately relatable and likable when she starts to talk directly to the fans. She’s just great, and a wonderful addition to the AEW women’s roster. Hopefully, without putting too much pressure on her, she can be a harbinger for some real change in that division. Her debut did coincide with the rare women’s main event match on Dynamite, so there’s hope!

Other AEW happenings included new addition Okada pinning Eddie Kingston in their three on three match, which led to the pair being booked for a one on one match on next week’s Dynamite! Their limited interactions were great on Wednesday’s show, and I’m looking forward to seeing a full match between the two. We also saw Ruby Soho express her newfound distaste for Saraya after the Nü Outcasts beat up her guy friend Angelo Parker on Rampage, and Collision set up Daniel Bryan versus Will Ospreay, while furthering the rivalries between Christian Cage and Adam Copeland and Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo. 

WWE continues to build towards WrestleMania, and I’m loving that fans seem pretty evenly split on whether they want the star power of The Rock to win over the year-plus-story of Cody versus Roman. And yes, I realize some folks consider THE STORY to be Cody getting the belt that Dusty had taken from him, but it’s as much about the championship as it is about the champion at this point, as the Bloodline has screwed over Cody (and the rest of the good-guy WWE roster) dozens of times at this point.

So we’ll be getting Rock and Roman versus Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes on night one of WrestleMania, with night two being Roman and Cody for the title – with Bloodline rules (whatever that means) in effect if Rocky and Reigns can win on night one. Kinda feels like you don’t mention a stipulation if you’re not gonna use it, so I’d guess Rock gets the heel win before the feel-good Rhodes moment to end Sunday’s show. However, Seth Rollins came out of Friday’s show revitalized, going from a forgettable fourth member of the match to a legit threat on the mic, addressing the Rock directly before shutting him down. Beats the poop jokes from last week, anyways.

Chad Gable lost to Sami Zayn in a pretty good Gauntlet match on Raw, meaning the latter gets a shot at Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship while the former … is sad. I’m hoping Gable can get into the match, either as a third party or replacing Sami after a match for the shot or similar hijinks. It just feels, to me at least, like Gable earned that shot, while Sami just kinda decided he should be on the WrestleMania card and was given the match.

Oh, I have a new least favorite angle on Raw, and it’s combining Candice LaRae’s most recent heel turn with Maxxine Dupri’s inexperience to try and capitalize on Maxxine getting boos from the crowd. She really isn’t a good wrestler yet, but she must be well-liked backstage for WWE to continue to keep her around, moving her to Alpha Academy after firing the models she managed in a previous life. So rather than send her to NXT or something for training, the Fed has decided to let her continue to work on Raw to do another heel turn for the least-believable heel ever in Candy. It sucks! Maybe they turn in around, but I really do not like it as it’s going now.

We Watched Some Wrestling!

…in which I recommend some of the best matches I saw last week

What didn’t suck was Liv Morgan getting maybe the best match of her career against Becky Lynch. Good on both ladies for taking what’s essentially a filler feud leading up to ‘Mania and turning it into a decent series of matches.

And for AEW, the bonkers street fight between Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, and Mark Briscoe and the House of Black led to some fun spots and more fun with fire:

… but for me, the main event match on Dynamite between beloved hero Willow Nightingale and beloved hero Riho was worth watching again, because Riho ate some BIG offense in this match. The post-match shenanigans were fun too, even if your only reason to watch was Mercedes doing a full outfit change to make a save!

Closing Up Shop

…in which I say goodbye for now

And that’s it! Thanks for coming with me on that journey. No pay-per-views or premium live events this weekend, so it’s “just” the five hours of WWE SmackDown, AEW Rampage, and AEW Collision to keep up with. 

I’ll see you next week for the usual Casual Friday and Untitled Monday blog posts. If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.

Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next time, dear reader. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!