2024 Wrestling Recap Special | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #775 – 12/19/24

It's still real to me, damn it!

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Welcome everybody!

Welcome to this week's edition of "The Real Bus Show"

Episode number 775 or December 19 of 2024

Welcome to your 2020 Borough Wrestling Recap Special Edition of "SR-T-U"

I am one after show, I am Jeff Bekk, going to every single week with my co-host, the lonely doctor Frank Lenn

Dr. Trey, are you ready to look back at 2014 my friend?

Yeah, it's crazy that we're here.

It feels like just yesterday we were doing the war shows for the COVID era

I didn't think that's been a few years ago now, it's like crap, it's really flown by

I do have all my dry cleaning getting prepared for the award show day

So all that stuff is ready to go as we get through the holiday schedule

But yeah, looking back, being nostalgic about what a great year in professional wrestling was

I'm pretty excited to actually sit down and talk about it

And even Jeff, I'm even excited to hear my bowl predictions and my voice on tape

I'm even excited for that

Wow, this is usually the show that Dr. Trey dreads

It was always you said, what did you call yourself?

Like a Southern Kermit the Frog?

I always remember that line

As a redneck muppet

That's what it was

That's what it was

As a redneck muppet, it's kind of what I sound like

But then I hear it, my accent isn't that bad actually

So it's just that when I get excited, my voice, because I have done more training on in the shoot job, the real life job

I have to record myself training people

And I'm like, yes, I'm excited, my voice gets higher pitched

And when I'm having to defend an opinion, my voice gets higher pitched

But when I'm relaxed and calm, man, I sound like Jeff Peck on, you know, on weed

Just like all chill and deep and gravely

And ladies just throwing panties at me

You know what's wild is when you listen back to like some of the old episodes of SRT

And like both our voices

So, so damn different

Because it's just, I don't know, maturity getting older, mileage from both of us

It's wild, but this is the show where we, where we look for those that are new

This is part of the holiday programming schedule that we do every year and a year

So this is our rest in recap special

On next week's show on the 26th, the day after Christmas is our 2024 SRT award show special

That is the last episode of 2024

And then in two weeks time on January the second it will be our 2025 wrestling preview special

So we recap, hand out awards and look ahead for the upcoming year in the world professional wrestling

And some of my favorite times of the year were when Dr. Trin and I get that opportunity to just kind of like sit back, relax

Take everything all in, look back, look at the present, look forward

And it's just a fun time of the year

I'm excited to be here Dr. Trin to kick things off on our rest in recap special

And you kind of like dipped your hat there a little bit in the beginning where I was going to ask you

When we look back overall the entire scope of professional wrestling in 2024

Give me like your overall thoughts

And if you had to give 2024 a letter grade

Let's throw it out there and then also compare this year 2024 to the last 14 years of covering SRT use

So from 2010 onwards where would you rank 2024 in the world of professional wrestling

I love that you come to me and you're like you know compare this last 14 years in off air

We were talking baseball a little bit and I literally forgot to aim a shodah maga from the cops

Yeah, yeah

So yeah Dr. Trin, let's look at back in the last 14 years off the top of your head

This year like wrestling was really really strong like it was strong across you know most borders I would say

If you look at if you break it down into like it's a bad pun major league wrestling

Like the top level of professional wrestling

I thought overall between WWE, AEW, TNA

Yeah, there are some flaws but overall I thought wrestlers were really good the triple-A tier

Whether it's the GCWs, MLWs, that level I thought those are really strong like wrestling even down the independence

Wrestling was really strong across the board I mean the talent's getting better

The storylines are typically getting better

The exposure that wrestling is getting on a national scale is getting better I mean you're seeing deals getting moved left and right to go to different streaming platforms

And you know going to different networks and things like that to get more highs on the product

And you only get to do that when there's demand

If you compare to yours past you think of times when like TNA was leaving spike to go to Destation America

And then ended up on some obscure channel that we had a hard time finding because it only was in like 40,000 homes

You know and other places weren't able to get deals and stuff like wrestling's in a much better spot

Like the storytelling in WWE and even the storytelling in some of the other show like programs like on the triple-A and double-A levels are really really good

The talent and this is something I've been harping off the last seven, eight years we've seen it coming

The talent has never been better than it is right now I mean all these shows whether it's TNA, AEW, WWE they are so deep on their respective brands

Now mind you they have budgetary constraints but just the depth on all of these shows is just incredible to years past

I mean we don't have Jeff gushing over a large Sullivan type person right now

Like you see a prospect like that guy is going to be a star there's not a question about it like on some of these people

The depth and the women's division you know across all the brands are really good

The depth and the tag team divisions across these brands are really good

I mean it's just amazing the depth and quality of wrestling across the world right now is probably as good as it has ever been

And that's coming from somebody who grew up during the attitude era more so than just about anybody else

Yeah it's been a really good year for professional wrestling

I think it's to me if I'm giving a letter grade for this year to try, I'm giving it an A overall

And I think when I look back at the last 14 years of SRTU in the years that we've covered I think 2024 may be the best year of professional wrestling in the 14 years of covering it here on the Storrilo Show podcast

I just I can't think of a time when I would put on WWE raw or Smackdown even NXT this past year where I was

You know that not everything creative is a knock out of the park but the show overall is always very good it's always very captivated and it always keeps me entertained

We haven't had stretches where we went from one pay-per-view to another where I'm like well this has been a really bad build

I'm not really looking forward to this match this is leaving a lot left on the table that I want to see

I just felt like WWE was consistently good all year long

AEW had their abs and flows and will certainly get to them here momentarily

TNA wrestling was on the rise and then the little brands that are out there the GCW's the MLW's they had a successful year as well building upwards

And it just felt like wrestling overall was booming and that's very exciting for guys like you and I who are a long time wrestling fans

Because yeah we do live in nostalgia we do live in the past we're coming off a Saturday nights main event this past week and it it it just we always go back and go well it's not the attitude

Error it's not the attitude error it's not the attitude error this time frame right now I think is something that in 10 years time 20 years time

I as a wrestling fan look back at fondly as an era in WWE programming alone and that's really exciting that's really fun

So professional wrestling's had a really good year overall I give it an A and I think 2024 Dr. Tray may be the best year we've ever covered in professional wrestling

Yeah I mean I was looking back thinking about like all the times we've been covering the show and there's been a couple of good years in there but there's always something to kind of drug it down you know

I would probably give it an A minus maybe slightly a knock less you and that's only because I feel like one of the shows kind of

Hold some of the other stuff down a little bit I guess and then you know I always look for like is there that guy that kind of has broken out from the pack

You know I always want that breakout star whether it was a scene during his day whether it was a Daniel Bryan during his time in WWE whether it was you know when Roman in the bloodline first found it you know first came out I don't know if anybody really broke out and separated themselves from everybody else I don't know if anybody's that must see guy

I think there's everybody kind of helped elevate airbases game a little bit but I still feel like there's groupings together of like three or four guys who are on one level then three or four guys on this level and three or four guys on a notch down

So I don't know if we have that breakout guy and that's usually what kind of separates a year out from me for me than anything else whether some of the attitude air was in Austin, a rock, a scene of you know whether it's a Daniel Bryan

Roman Reigns even Cody last year kind of broke out I just don't know if there's that bankable money guy that everybody has to see but there's a lot of really really good guys that people will consistently tune into I guess

So let's look back at WWE Dr. Trey how would we recap world wrestling entertainment in 2024

For me I would say that it's arguably the best year I've ever watched WWE like the consistency in the storytelling the dropping of little hints from one angle that bleeds into another one down the road

The storytelling you know the match quality has been better than it's been in years past just from top to bottom to me it was an A like it was like I said the only thing that they didn't really have is they didn't really have that breakout guy that everybody that hot guy that everybody has to see

There was just really good consistency across all their brands I thought NXT elevated itself from last year SmackDown got a little better especially when Roman came back

Ross been consistently good you have some great feuds tag team division was kind of struggling for a while but over the last six weeks has really picked up the women's division at time it's been a little bit meh but for the most part the NXT women's vision is kind of saved women's wrestling in WWE and then the livery of stuff has been really good

And I as come on really strong so just from top to bottom production value throwing in some nostalgia stuff like a little bit of everything you want WWE just basically hit a home run this year I think to me like I said in the 14 to 15 years we've been covering the show I don't know if they've had a better year overall than they had this year

Yeah there's a lot of ways you could describe this is it the beginning or in the middle of or whatever is this a dynasty

era for WWE I know dynasties of phrase at AW likes to use but is this a dynasty that's going on in world rush entertainment because top to bottom they are another whether you describe them flawless it it's like I had to really rack my brain where you know there were periods of time and we'll talk about this in regards to AW certainly in just a little bit

but there would be stretches of shows going into pay per view during the vidsich man creative team era where I was like yeah you know I'm not really feeling these matches I'm not really feeling the creative in it it's not getting me excited for the matches

and the match would happen at the pay per view and then you move on and then maybe WWE would be in a decent stretch for maybe a month or two where it was pretty good and then it would fall off again like it could be one bad month two good months three bad months two good months

like it was very very inconsistent and it was so inconsistent that it would almost become normal and natural profession of wrestling where you wouldn't get from January to December and a calendar year or good solid production good solid entertainment from your wrestling promotion that you watch

there were going to be you know periods of time where WWE would dip a little bit there were periods of time where WWE would be on the rise and it always seemed to like coalesce with something that was going on like we would always talk about we were entering the Monday night football

in the Monday night football era's of WWE and things to be going really really well for WWE and entering Monday night football or college football would be starting or the NBA finals world series it was it was always something that was going on that would we would give like as an excuse as to why WWE wasn't doing well

but what they've been doing really well in 2024 is that from January to December I don't know if there's been more than a week where they haven't had good programming in all honesty like I mean if raw is is is very good Smackdown is very good NXT is very good I guess if there was a flaw in the beginning of the year it was you were seeing the build to what NXT was towards the end of 2024

which they're coming into 2025 and they're very exciting brand right now the stuff that's going on with them you know maybe that was the flaw in the beginning of the year but as an overall product it's hard to blink and think that there was a period of time doctor

that WWE was not good for a week or two or into a build to a pay per view I mean there are very few times that you and I sit here and we preview a PLA and we're like well yeah I like the four other matches but this one match this makes no sense

that's why it's on the card like when did that happen it I don't think it ever did and that that's very very telling doctor try and I think it goes to show you that there is a blueprint for successful professional wrestling and you're seeing an enrolled wrestling entertainment right now

yeah and I think one thing they've done really well and this is basically the last year and a half two years base ever since vents was kind of moved out was they are actually listening to criticism and their audience a little bit more than they have in years past

like if you hear like you and I have critiqued the tag team division over this year that's been the one flaw is the tag team division on you know raw and Smackdown and then we've seen that adjustment play out over the past

eight weeks ten weeks ever since you know the most of machine guns came around DIY got back together we saw the war raiders come back and just you know recently captured the tag team titles like they've made a concert effort to kind of fix something or

or like yeah the women's division feels a little weak they shuffle that that thing ends up getting shuffled around so they are looking instead of constantly hitting their strengths

they're also trying to fix their deficiencies in their programming as well and that's why it's coming across so good on TV it doesn't feel like it's not nearly of a roller coaster

that has been at times where it's like oh my god it's great and then like a week later like I can't watch this it like it's not like that it's very very consistent

you use the phrase dynasty what I'm thinking of it I'm thinking of like a of a wave like I don't think we're at the top of the wave it's not cresting yet

but you can feel that wave surging up and like I'm expecting big things in 2025 I mean you just some of the stuff they've the rumored stuff for WrestleMania and Summer Slant some of that stuff

like that's something the biggest stuff we've seen in a long time so it's really impressive to see not only how well they're doing but also how they're building for the long term as well

I think one of the things that you could look at where there was an opportunity where WWE could stumble and they didn't and that was the whole rock

Roman Reigns build towards WrestleMania where Cody was removed like that was maybe the only period of time where it was like old school WWE

this is rain where they were going in this direction they weren't going to care what the fans thought and they were going to put that match out there and it was going to be like oh it's the same old shit

instead they turned it around dr. Tray they saved it and I think they gave us something so much more entertaining and so much better head in the WrestleMania that got me really hyped for that show

I think that is this shining example of like WWE in 2024 where they tried something creatively the fans were not liking it they pivoted and they put out something that was probably better than what they were originally thinking and planning and heading into that show

I think there is no more moment than that that's like okay this is the new WWE this is the direction that they will go

and this is why this company has the chance of being very very successful and maybe the most successful it's ever been in its entire history

yeah I was actually listening to an interview with Sean Spears this week and one of the things that he said that's different now than maybe years past is when a person comes in they go hey so here's kind of a loose plan of what we're going to do

we have some other things we're here we can do but we're just going to kind of see where the crowd takes us and then we'll go that way and I don't think that's ever been something they've done in years past like there was a game plan laid out we were going to it's almost like the old football days we're going to run this ball down your throat and you better stop us or not stop us but we're going straight ahead

now it's like they're flexible they're amenable like there's ways they can kind of pivot and adjust and you know the rock Rome is those a great example but even like on stuff like you know the small scale

the war Raiders now were the Viking Raiders nine months ago and they had the whole big Viking game and ball hall and everything else and then they you know

Eric goes down that injury next thing you know we see Ivar on NXT and like biker clothes almost like street clothes and having matches and then they pivoted back to the war Raiders because that was when they enjoyed their success we're seeing the Motorcyle machine guns come in as the Motorcyle machine guns and not you know

Detroit killers or you know what I'm saying Detroit super soakers yes like some random name now it's like this is what people know you as you already kind of have a brand will license it is we can make our little bit of money of it but there's no point in changing something that's not broken so like they're there

more flexible we're seeing them work with other promotions which we have would have never seen in years past like they're actually opening up instead of being like China with the great wall wrapped around them where it's hard to get in or get out those walls have come down and they're open for business and they

will cross boundaries that they never would have crossed before just for the good of pro wrestling and the long run the long term success of WWE as well.

All right Dr. Trey letter grade WWE in 2024.

I I will say in a yeah I think a is fair I want to give them an A plus I mean A plus you would be like I think that's an insane thing to say.

I think A plus you have that Austin or rock breakout guy that just becomes the coolest thing in pop culture how about this to just because for SRT you say you know you and I always do the one to five scale and we do the point system here for paper views if we were doing our one to five scale what would you give WWE in 2024.

4.5 like right there on the cut like to me 4.6 to 5 is a plus like anything right there in the middle is probably an A so that's where I'm at see I'm going like 4.7 out of 5.

Okay.

Yeah I mean I think it's been that good and I want to give it a 5 or give it like a 4.9 out of 5 but I think 4.7 for me is pretty solid so I give it 4.7 you give it 4.5.

And then I guess going back to wrestling in general in 2024 since we gave a letter grade just to go back to that real quick before we talk about a W I think I would give professional wrestling as a whole as a whole like 4.2 out of 5.

Yeah because I was trying to my math I was like I'd be right around a 4.1 4.2 because I said a minus so I have to be a little bit below you so like 4.1 which I sure once we start ranking some of these other promotions you'll see the discrepancy of why the number for wrestling as a whole is a little less than what WWE is.

So let's do it let's switch gears here all the wrestling in 2024 there were high expectations for a W there was the belief that they were going to be signing a lot of free agents one we knew going into 2024 and that was will us price that was announced at full year 2023.

The belief going in 2024 was because it's go caught up and I think at the point the beginning of the Mercedes Monet was rumored to potentially be going to a W as well as WWE and then I think is the month of January went on early stages of 2024 was quickly understood that Mercedes Monet the former Sasha Banks is going to be headed to all the wrestling.

It has been an up and down year doctor try for all elite wrestling ebbs and flows I would say from the start of the year till about revolution it was okay it was mediocre from revolution till about all in London it was very good I thought it was a good solid show lots of good builds lots of good feuds it was people were in position that we wanted to see whether it was worth strictly with the world championship will us brown the rise as international champion.

And then from all in to present day it has completely fallen off a cliff viewership is down creative is down the matches are still good and solid the shows are at times pulling teeth and hard to get through I mean we were talking about two three weeks ago about no longer even recapping or previewing a W paper views because it's so bad viewership has gone down.

Dramaticly they were in the 500,000s for dynamite rampage is like 125 and I saw recent was a little over 200.

I want to say collision has hit the threes over the last short while 300k which is which is down as well attendance has been a known problem for the most part give or take there's been some markets that they've gone in where they've had a good solid showing like at full gear New Jersey they had a good solid

show grand slam had over 8,000 but at one point grand slam in New York City had over 20,000 people in Queens New York it has been an up and down year when I think of all the wrestling dot tray I think it all lays at the feet of the owner and the head of creative of the company and that is one Tony con there have been some stories as of late that

I've not shed him or his company good light most notably the ray Phoenix situation there was something where I read from Brian Alvarez that people were up in arms that Tony storms return to all the wrestling when she came back at the end of dynamite after my made a

few years to recover me to sure Kawah during dynamite they were shocked that her first match back would be on rampage on Friday and I think there was something that Alvarez said where if there was a line of 200 employees and they all said do not have her match on rampage put it on collision put on the phone week of dynamite Tony con still would have done what he wanted to do is put it on rampage and that to me was like listening and looking at a story of about Vince McMahon and if

at some point along the way it appears outside looking in the creative all the rest of all the wrestling stop listening to the fan base and started doing stuff that makes no sense I think the Brian Danielson AW role title rain was a failure and just away for Tony con put the championship on him before he retired as a full time in a wrestler that reports out that Brian Danielson did not even want the championship

there's been curious booking where will osprey for a good portion of the year was in line to win wrestler of the year and then since like August September they booked him not as strong I like that he's put it over his friends like Kyle Fletcher and Kyle Fletcher has a very bright future but it's like what are we doing here like osprey no world title rain in 2024 and all the wrestling is mind blowing

mjfs return you thought it would give it a shot in the arm but he hasn't been on television all that much he's been filming movies reportedly he and Adam Cole which was the big storyline in 2023 towards the end they have now swapped positions where Adam Cole is no longer the heal he's the baby face and mjf is no longer the face and he's the heal and it's like why do I give a crap about this if they've completely reversed a year later

none the less doctor tray it's just a disappointing year overall for all the wrestling and one it's like reaching a breaking point for me as a fan in 2025 like am I going to continue to watch the show front to back each and every week or will be something I'll just check out on YouTube for the highlights and then try to you know see the news on the wrestling websites or on X whatever it has been a confusing twist

in twisting windy road for all the wrestling and a road that is ending this year on a very sour note for me it is been a trip for a w this year doctor tray

yeah like I think I've been harder on eight w over the years than you have and this year I don't want to say it was my breaking point but really I right now they have been prove me wrong face with them like prove me wrong like right now I don't have a ton of interest in your product there's there's certain people I am fans of but as a product is a whole I'm not a fan of it it's it's confusing at times it doesn't make sense there's no consistency

it's you know everything that at times would drove us nuts about the Vince McMahon air and we had that conversation last week or a week ago like has Tony con become what he said he was against and that's basically Vince McMahon and I think there are aspects of a w that remind me of you go see a movie like anchor man anchor man

anchor man's a great example like I love the first anchor man but then the second one they basically just did over did all the good little jokes from the first movie and ran into the ground Austin powers those was the same thing I feel like at times a w has become a victim of itself like some of the stuff that they thought that made them successful early on they've over

done it or ran into the ground and some of it is their stubbornness and their unwillingness to adapt or change but you see like for the last five years we've seen these guys get these start and stop pushes and you know they get really hot and then they're not on TV for two or three months and you know they're they're human relations talent standpoint of how they handle stuff has been atrocious the last three or four years and you start hearing these stories about how guys are like man I haven't heard you

from the company call me in two or three months but they're paying these guys like there are just things about this company that absolutely drive me nuts when it comes to the simple stuff like taking care of your roster storytelling mapping out character arc and development and who's a baby face and who's a yield and how you don't have to shift everybody around all the time you make subtle adjustments

and kind of the crowd dictated the in-ring work of a w has never been the issue that's one of the things that you said that is is really kind of

and I think I know two on Milwaukee the athleticism is great but I don't know these people so why is it like that is really a big deal

is an NBA game on my television I don't know other than one person on Oklahoma City and I think I know two on Milwaukee the athleticism is great but I don't know these people so why do I care and I think that's what the difference between WWA and W has become where yeah the athleticism and

is fantastic but give me a reason to care about your product and I just right now I just don't care like you have to give me a reason to care and just when I think somebody's about to take off and really grab me and maybe bring me back to the product is

all they shut them down or they book them badly or they take them off television and then

I'm just like left hanging like all right I'm like, there are people. I love John Moxley

I love Claudio Casigneoli Chris Jericho still a fan Chris Jericho Osprey you know Cod a

Swerve like all these guys I got fans of and like even right now like everything these

guys are getting involved in starts off great and then just kind of flounders and flops

and then you're just like I'm kind of bored with it so it's it's a really really frustrating

time to continuously go back in it's like being an abusive relationship like it comes

with A.E.W. comes around tells me I'm pretty and how much they care about me and then

three days later they're punching me in the eye it's it's it's frustrating.

Yeah it's very frustrating and I think for people who enjoy A.E.W. like myself it's just

been a rocky road where I mean there were points I mean I've been talking about for a long

time I'm like rampages on watchable collision has points and it's like it's almost getting

to be unwatchable and then Dynamite was the the solid show and it's like the stuff that

they put their eggs in in the basket in the second half of 2024 is like mind blowing

it's like why wouldn't they let Swerve keep going why wouldn't they let Osprey keep

going why wouldn't they let hangman and Swerve keep going like why are we doing death

writers like death writers I mean I said it during full year I'm like I just think this

angle is completely boring I've zero interest in it and this is coming from a guy that really

likes John Moxley like Moxley is one of my favorite guys to watch professional wrestling today

and this angle is not for him this character is not for him it is so freaking boring it's

not good it's it's it's been a rough rough year for A.E.W. overall on these last four or

five months to try I mean even with some of the stuff that we would watch back in the

day with WWE I think these last four months like from all into now maybe it's been some

of the worst professional wrestling we've ever covered in SRT history and I'm not talking

about the in-ring product is think as an overall product I think it's some of the most non-intertaining

boring stuff I've seen.

I think it would be September of 2012 when you and I were covering WWE and I remember

these conversations like I don't know if I can watch this show and that was that that that

was that fall that late summer early fall were like everybody on the roster got hurt like

Orn was out or suspended for a drug violation like everybody was out and it was really really

bad and in those times there's been times where we weren't really enjoying the product but

this is really in the 14-15 years of doing this show only the second time that I remember

you and I having the discussion of should we stop watching this show and that kind of

tells you how bad it's been over the last four or five months I mean you and I sat here

it was a week ago and we were talking about the Kyle Fletcher push and how refreshing

and I mean the guy beat O'Cotta and Osprey in a matter of two weeks and I legitimately

remember telling you you watch Hill they'll probably have them lose to brisco or something

for no reason out of nowhere and they did it.

It's like you have a man beat two of the greatest pro wrestlers in the world and his first

loss off that is Mark briscoe.

I'm not disrespecting Mark briscoe but in the concept of where the AEW hierarchy is he's

not a top guy.

Why are you having a guy lose his first match after beating O'Cotta and Osprey to a guy

who's not a top guy?

That's really bad booking and it's stuff like that that drive normal wrestling fans nuts

like what they're doing with Ethan Page and XT having him lose some matches like that's

a little more storytelling but it's not like we're not pushing Ethan to the moon and

then have him lose a fluke match to Lucas Cristofino.

It doesn't make sense and that's when people like UMEs start checking out on it is because

it doesn't make sense at all to have him lose to Mark briscoe.

The guy you're pushing the moon beats to the best of the right in the yellow smart briscoe

that's why it drives people like me and Jeff absolutely insane what they do at times.

Well the other thing too that I think you got to think about is long time wrestling fans

is that I don't have any of this like deep seated loyalty to AEW.

I've watched every show and every pay per view they've had since 2019 but with WWE I've

been watching every show and every pay per view since 1994 and previous to that would be

intermittently as a kid like 91 to 94.

I would watch it in and out and then 94 was like that year where I really started watch

professional wrestling religiously so I have this loyalty for WWE that I could they have

a leash a very long leash where if they keep on fooling me and it's like all right well

now if I stop watching WWE I'm not going to watch wrestling in general anymore with AEW

it's the leash for loyalty is really small and short and it reminds me personally of how

I treated TNA wrestling nearly 2000s from my 2002 to about 2006 I would watch TNA pretty

regularly and then it's time went on it just dwindled and dwindled and dwindled and there's

been times where I picked it back up like in 2020 I certainly keep an eye on it right now

and I know they're doing good but I don't watch the show consistently I don't watch the

show really at all I just kind of you know hear about what's going on the peripheral so it's

like does AEW fall in that TNA gap for me and it's a possibility I don't want it to be

because we need a good solid number two in professional wrestling and AEW performing

really really well is good overall for professional wrestling so I am cheering them on but it's

like Christ you guys have got to pick up up right here right now because it's like fool

me want shame on me fool me twice maybe over Dr. Trace so rough year for 2024 rough year for

AEW in 2024 let's give our rating on this Dr. Tray or one to five scale I guess I'll start

with you what would you give is the numeric rating here for AEW in 2024 it's almost in

a way it's almost like a tale to have it's got I think the first half the year there was

it was a good product the blast half was really really bad 3.2 maybe like that's like a C like

B minus C is that that is that where we can put us B minus C 3.2 C I was going to go 3.2

and I was thinking that was going to be really low so I was intrigued to hear what you

had to say but since you said 3.2 I'm on the same wavelength there I think 3.2 is very

fair I think that's like a C minus letter grade yeah like to me I go one to five you

look I was okay well if you went to a 3.3 it'd be the middle has a C the middle so I was

like B minus C like it with like I said if the first half of the the first half of the year

I would have given them a B B plus yeah man the last five months have it's been a D D minus

like it's borderline I mean we talked about it's borderline unwatchable at times and once

again it's not the athleticism like these guys are crazy good in the ring it's just all

the other stuff that goes on around it has just been a nightmare the last five like four

or five months of a W. Dr. Trev for people who are you know long time wrestling fans here

I literally think the way you're describing it reminds me so much of TNA in the 2000s like

in-ring stuff was really good but the creative overall it was like meh and I know you were

always referred to as the TNA guy but that's how much that's what it reminds me of right

now is like TNA in that mid 2000s late 2000s into 2010s range it was the Hogan Bishoff

era of TNA that really killed it but at that point I felt like prior to it they were grasping

for straws to find an identity yeah like in it and and I feel that way with AEW like if you

were to tell a wrestling fan like if you like if you describe AEW somebody like what how

would you describe AEW like it's great gymnastics it's great I don't know it's it's it's a movie

that has all the great special effects but nobody you know is in it and the script has

got awful what like there are people you know that's in there like you wouldn't hey

remember Chris Jericho yeah I mean it's it's we remember when you would go to Redbox

and you'd see a movie and it'd be Bruce Willis in the movie you're like okay no Bruce

Willis I don't know anybody else the explosions look kind of cool but then you watch and you're

like yeah I just wasted an hour and a half of my life uh Bruce was in it for a payday like it's

just it's it's at times WCW in 2000 era bad that's how bad AEW is because I am old enough to

remember that we have listeners on the show Jeff you know this we have people who listen to

show that don't remember WCW they were born WCW and they had that that magnificent magnificent seven

that's the new blood yeah I'm that's after new blood when you had like Rick Steiner and Rick

Flair were in a group together like it was really really bad well it was new blood versus magnificent seven

no it was new blood versus millionaires club oh yes you're right yes yes yes yes then after that

the last ditch S for air last ditch group was the magnificent seven that's kind of like yeah they're

closing up shops soon I'm not at that point AEW is not going out of business unless

unless Shadcon decides that you know they I mean you got to deal with max you got all these deals

going on there there's a market for it it's just you almost feel like it's just a rich kid playing

with toys and he doesn't really care what anybody else thinks and that's the arrogance of it all is also

frustrating I don't think there's anything more than I can say to that doctor try I think that was

spot on I think that was perfect and it's funny that you said that because I was thinking that to

myself when I was thinking about prepping for this show today so spot on AW in 2024 perfect way to

wrap it up with that said so we've looked back at everything here from professional wrestling as a

whole WWE is a whole AW is a whole in 2024 now it is time to open up the vault of SRTU we will go back to

the first episode of 2024 it was episode number 725 on January the 4th we're going to listen back to

our bull predictions and our WrestleMania 40 car predictions from the first show of the year

this is something that both and I both Dr. Tray and I dread but it's time for us to do a Dr. Tray

let me open up the vault and take a listen back to our first episode of 2024 on January the 4th episode

of our 725 now Dr. Tray it is time to get ready for our five bull predictions for 2024

and our WrestleMania 40 car predictions are you ready for this are you nervous are you scared

are you excited how do you feel before we get into it so it was fun like a couple ways to go like

Jeff Jeff brings about time that I I hate this show because I have to listen back to it I really

hate my voice and I have sinus congestion really bad so I think my voice like I hear it echoing in

my head which makes this even worse plus we have had almost zero success with all predictions

for the last two years so like we're literally counting quarter points and half points just to

give ourselves some credit so we don't get zeros so absolutely nervous and terrified but it's

going to be fun because I always love hearing what you come up with I don't know if you think

the same way about me but this is actually one of my favorite things we do as far as just fantasy

booking creative just weird crap that Jeff and I come up with for our bull predictions oh yeah I

love doing this because it's is there stuff that like on the probability of actually happening as a

prediction isn't really high isn't in the middle is it really low like how crazy do we get how oh okay

I could see that happen and did we get it's a really fun thing that we do here we recapped our

bull predictions from the first show last year two weeks ago in Dr. Trey we gave the victory two and

that one when it came to all encompassing bull predictions and WrestleMania 39 car predictions

we will have to see how this sounds when we replay this clip on December 19th of this year the

second last to last show of the year and recap our bull predictions and WrestleMania 40 car

predictions on that edition of the podcast but right now we're living in the moment Dr. Trey this

clip is is now playing during the first show of the year and the second to last show of the year

and it's time to get to it my friend shall we begin with each of us going through our bull

predictions one through five are we gonna do I go back and forth or we're just gonna go straight

through I think why don't we been going straight through the last couple years and I think why don't

we do it again you want me to go first or do you want to go first my I'm good I got all my stuff

here so I'll start first my first bull prediction is the one non-intering storyline bull prediction

so my first one is that the newly minted t-k-o endeavor operation buys TNA wrestling and decides to

operate as as another traveling developmental brand similar to what A.W. did with Ring of Honor I

can see endeavor doing the same thing with TNA and just basically one upping the Tony Khan approach

and leaving you know Scott DeMore in charge of running the day-to-day operations but another

avenue for W2B to kind of get some extra revenue coming in extra TV deal already in place

and heck and never just announced that's your logo or it was announced that they're gonna start

streaming TNA wrestling through the endeavor platform so it kind of makes sense on that level as well

my number two bull prediction is everybody's favorite wrestler right now yours in mind included

Swarth Strickland wins the A.W. Heavyweight Championship and the Prince not on dance will take over social

media it is one of the most entertaining duos we've seen in quite a while Swarth is on is approaching

another level I think he keeps making that progression and as much as I really don't want other

managers to be successful out of just spites and biases Prince not really is entertaining with

that dance he does coming out my number three bull prediction is that Adam Copeland turns heel

and reunites with Christian Cage to battle FTR for the newly minted US Canadian Maple Leaf

Brown Sugar throw in one other other title thing you want to tag team titles in A.W. I mean we have

a surplus of belts available in A.W. but I do think edging Christian reunite at some point it

as much as I love cheering for them I think Christian Cage has been phenomenal as a heel Adam Copeland

hasn't played the heel in quite some time so I think those two guys getting back together