Henry's World

Boy, it's been a hot minute since I last sat down to update this blog, and while I'm sure my absence from writing hasn't been at top of anyone's mind, considering the mess our world has been subjected to over the last few months, I still feel like an explanation is owed, and luckily, it's a simple one. Back in mid-March, I gained true employment for the first time in my life, and between my job, studying to earn my GED, and my always iffy mental state, this blog has been low on my priority list. I've contemplated closing up shop entirely, but I still have the occasional urge to divulge my thoughts, so while I can't promise anything consistent, I'm hoping to at least have the occasional post going up whenever inspiration strikes. This afternoon, I felt compelled to take a deep dive into one of my favorite topics, All Elite Wrestling, who have felt a little stagnant at points in the first half of 2022, especially coming off a stellar 2021. Don't get me

Nobody had a tougher time in front of the unruly and antagonistic crowd in Toronto for SummerSlam than JBL and The Undertaker, as the two Texan vets were completely overshadowed by the throngs around them, who took their fun from Mexican waves instead of the plodding WWE Championship match. It didn't help matters that Layfield and Undertaker's exchange ended meekly, though the impossibly lame DQ finish did at least lead to an electric moment to whet the appetite for future meetings, with Layfield Chokeslammed through the roof of his own limousine. While committing a pay-per-view main event to the pair after such a disastrous showing was certainly a risk, at least the stakes had been adequately raised. At No Mercy, one man would be carted out of the arena in the back of a hearse, as the dastardly Layfield was forced to survive another challenge from "The Deadman".  - No Mercy 2004 comes to you from the Continental Airlines (now Meadowlands) Arena in East Rutherford, Ne

Randy Orton's babyface turn had the ability to be invigorating for the WWE product, with the historic young champion presented as the central star to push the company forward after a stellar showing in his first pay-per-view main event. Instead, Orton's run was immediately cut down by a confounding booking decision just one night later, as his world title win was overshadowed by a shocking betrayal from the rest of Evolution, led by Triple H. The "thumbs down" moment presents excellent imagery, but it permanently harmed Orton in a way Vince McMahon somehow didn't see coming. Instead of playing the conquering hero, learning to be noble after years spent under Hunter's thumb, Orton was a damn fool, and his threat level going against Helmsley in Unforgiven's main event was diminished because of it. There would be an opportunity to course correct on this night, but as we'll see, poor old Randall Keith was hung out to dry once again.  - Unforgiven 2004 come

Of all the future multi-time world champions in WWE (and wrestling) history, very few have had as modest of a beginning to their tale as Randy Orton's first few months on the SmackDown brand. Orton had obvious potential to be mined, with a great lock and an elegant in-ring style, but he had almost no presence on the mic, and nothing to truly distinguish him from his fellow OVW graduates. After debuting on the blue brand in April of 2002, he was sent packing to Raw in September, and almost immediately went down with a shoulder injury, the first of an unfortunate many that would plague the rest of his career. While recuperating, Orton found his voice, transforming into a smarmy, narcissistic heel that interrupted other segments and matches to put over his recovery, and when he was finally ready to return, a grand future awaited. In one night, the entire landscape of the WWE was permanently altered, as Orton and fellow newcomer Batista linked up with two of the most recognizable heels

All Elite Wrestling enters 2020 with a return to the organization's roots, as Daily's Place hosts Dynamite for the very first time, commemorating the event that was held to announce the formation of the new promotion in front of TIAA Bank Field, elsewhere on the complex. Behind the scenes, the end of 2019 saw a significant shake-up, one that wouldn't be known to many wrestling fans until months later, but it was central to the evolution of AEW's product. Initially, the thought had been that Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega would collaborate with Tony Khan to control the overall directive of AEW's programming, in addition to the minutia of individual matches and promos. But Khan reacted strongly towards criticism of AEW's current creative work, most notably the closing angle to the last episode of Dynamite , where The Dark Order's minions laid out every member of The Elite and SoCal Uncensored. Khan decided that one vision was necessary, the less

The final Dynamite of 2019 takes place with almost half the month of December still left, as the following week's edition (which would be on Christmas Day) was cancelled. Facing a two-week layoff, the card was stacked for the ending to AEW's maiden year, headlined by a tag title match. SCU are in serious jeopardy of being overshadowed while champions, as the previous week's Texas Street Fight blew everything Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian have been involved in out of the water. They haven't had much of a narrative as title holders anyway, as weeks were spent bigging up Sky's quarrel with Chris Jericho, while Matt and Nick Jackson remained steadfast as the most popular babyfaces of the division. Pitting SCU against The Young Bucks has the potential to revitalize interest in Sky and Kaz's title reign, plus end out 2019 with one more tag team showstopper.  - AEW Dynamite #12 (airing December 18th, 2019) comes to you from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi

Tag team wrestling goes loud and proud on Dynamite once again, as AEW puts forward a big money match for this episode, with The Young Bucks and Santana & Ortiz settling their rivalry in a Texas Street Fight. The Inner Circle has largely branched away from the initial conflict with The Elite, as the singles stars of both factions have moved on to other rivals, but these two duos have continued their guerrilla warfare throughout the opening months of Dynamite's history. Matt Jackson's kayfabe injury put the rivalry on ice for a couple weeks, but now the bad blood boils over in a match that provides both vengeance and opportunity. For the winners, a title shot against SCU next week awaits. Can Matt and Nick Jackson tame the fires of Santana & Ortiz, or will the duo of charismatic and devilishly violent Puerto Ricans reign supreme?  - AEW Dynamite #11 (airing December 11th, 2019) comes to you from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, just outside Dallas. Jim Ross, E

Monday Night Raw in the spring and summer of 2004 charged full speed ahead into making Eugene the biggest character on the roster, which is as bold a call as the creative team had made in years. On one hand, I can see where WWE was coming from; Nick Dinsmore is a talented performer, the character had gotten over in limited showings in the past, and you had the opportunity for a more outgoing top babyface than Chris Benoit, who was simply never going to be able to handle his end of the main event theatrics. But WWE, making the same mistake they tend to always make, pushed Eugene far beyond where he should've reasonably been, far too quickly. Making him the GM for a night, and tossing him right into the center of Triple H and Benoit's program over the world title was always going to backfire, as fans would were guaranteed to get annoyed with this childish adult taking precedence over beloved, legitimate wrestlers. It hasn't happened quite yet, but the Eugene backlash would be

One of the greatest stretches of playoff games in my lifetime culminated in one of the more random Super Bowl matches in recent memory, as the Rams and Bengals were tossed together to pump out a final battle of wills to decide the Lombardi Trophy. It's another palm sweater and knee trembler, folks, buckle up.  #4 Los Angeles Rams (23) def. #4 Cincinnati Bengals (20) A little home cooking for the Rams in this one, as in front of a somewhat loyal "City of Angels", Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, and the assorted troops brought Sean McVay to the promised land, 3 years after McVay was soundly thumped in his matchup with Bill Belichick. It was dicey for LA throughout, with the early injury to Odell Beckham crippling their receiving corps, an inability to run the ball allowing Cincy to commit extra defenders to the pass, and a secondary that had some of their aggressiveness exploited by big plays for the Bengals' electric receiver trio. But, with admittedly, so

AEW pumped up the gas petal for last week's episode of Dynamite , stacking up the promotion's return to Chicago with a world title match, a Cody Rhodes return, a Kenny Omega and PAC rematch, amongst other festivities, which left very little left in the box for AEW's second consecutive week spent in the "Prairie State". The six-man tag pitting The Young Bucks plus Dustin Rhodes against Sammy Guevara, Ortiz, and Santana of The Inner Circle was the only heavily promoted match coming in, but it wouldn't go on last, and neither would Christopher Daniels' attempt to inflict vengeance on Pentagon Jr., a grudge that carried over from the third episode of Dynamite . Instead, the honor went to Joey Janela and Jon Moxley, who do have a miniature history that was built during their war to close Fyter Fest , but with Joey recently stuck in midcard purgatory, and Moxley obviously looking ahead towards a title match after being named the number one contender, it's no

Of all the many moments to take place at WrestleMania 20 , none was as significant, or holds as much weight today, as The Undertaker's return to his "Deadman" persona. His "Biker" phase was enjoyable, especially during his heel run in late 2001/early 2002, but it had run it's course, and with the WWE down bad after the departures of Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, it was perfect timing for arguably the most iconic gimmick in company history to re-emerge. Paul Bearer leading Undertaker to the ring, once again brandishing his trademark golden urn, was the perfect blast of nostalgia for many, a throwback to a simpler time in wrestling, and all seemed to be right with the world. But it wasn't destined to last, because good things never do. I don't believe there's ever been a specific reason given, but WWE wanted to separate Bearer and Undertaker, which I'd assert was likely their way of attempting to mold Undertaker's image for the modern day. Whe