Rassle Inn #21

"And she's named Sister Abigail.  What do you think?  Huh?"

For a wrestling nerd, this past weekend has been a cavalcade of clatter.  I can't comment on all of it.  Well, I can, but I'd rather knuckle down on a couple of scareheads.  AEW has acquired CM Punk.  Bryan Danielson is in transit.  And wouldn't you know it, Windham Rotunda is in talks to become All Elite himself.  Of course, you know him as Husky Harris (or maybe Bray Wyatt, his stopgap NXT persona).  Pretty cool, right?  I hate it when I do this, but the pessimist in me sees the dark cloud drooping within every silver lining.  At what point does AEW lose its alternative appeal?

Two of WWE's dinosaurs (in both age and size) have already jumped ship.  I'm referring to Mark Henry and Paul Wight, if you're not playing along at home.  I guess my concern is...eh, it feels like a roster swap.  When will the AEW mainstays get nudged out of their spots by appealing free agents?  Tony Khan would probably tell me not to focus on names as much as how those names are used.  Fair enough.  Malakai Black has made a bigger splash in two weeks than he did in two years under McMahon.

My advice?  Be careful.  I'm positive that Tony has solicited my consultation through a mutual acquaintance.  I doubt that we have any, but hey, what if he knows Kevin Bacon?  There has got to be a degree around here somewhere.  Hmm, I'm fresh out of complete sentences, so I'll leave you with these jacketed hollow point bullets.

*The Punk promo.  It was perfect.  I mean, it was "holy shit" perfect.  One of the best promos in wrestling history.  Such a claim can be made without it seeming sacrilegious, if that tells you anything.

*Over a million viewers strong for the second episode of Rampage.  The coals will cool, but seeds are being planted.  I wish I could peek five years into the future.

*Aside from Edge/Rollins and a much-deserved title win for Damian Priest, SummerSlam was humdrum.

*The first three bouts of Takeover 36 were badass.  Fucking Walter and Ilja Dragunov destroyed the world together.  The other two matches definitely happened.