McGuire’s Mondays: Finishing up with the territory (for now)

By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer

On Aug. 10, 2020, I emailed Jason Powell about a call he put out for someone to review 205 Live for this very website. In November of that year, the first McGuire’s Mondays ran. I went to AEW’s Full Gear at Daily’s Place and not only did I have way too much to say about it, but I also got caught on pay-per-view television singing along to Chris Jericho’s theme song, which is an embarrassment I’ll deservedly never live down.

In between all that, there was New Japan Strong coverage, which included one week where I accidentally reviewed the wrong episode and was quickly corrected by one of the New Japan Strong stars (which was about as embarrassing as getting caught on pay-per-view television singing along to Chris Jericho’s theme song). There was in-person coverage of Strong tapings – as well as MLW tapings, during which I fell hopelessly in love with Jacob Fatu and remain in that state to this day.

Then, of course, there was the white-hot excitement surrounding the launch of a second AEW weekly television show, Rampage, and the (not-really) rumor that CM Punk was going to make his grand return to pro wrestling on said television show. It was one of the most emotional things I’ve ever seen on pro wrestling TV and it felt like AEW was poised to take over the world. Sadly, I lived long enough to see that white-hot excitement burn out into nary a puff of smoke by the time I moved off the Rampage beat, and not terribly long after I stopped covering it, the show became extinct.

Oh, and I was also run off Twitter, which was probably my fault.

And now, almost five years after that first email and 217 McGuire’s Mondays later, it’s time to press pause. For at least the immediate future, I’ll be stepping away from McGuire’s Mondays as things change around me, as life is known to do every now and then. It’s not a goodbye; it’s a “I need time off to heal up and maybe learn a new hold” type of situation (in pro wrestling parlance, at least).

This comes at an interesting time in the business. The surge in WWE popularity has taken somewhat of a hit and while that company loves to tout the sold-out arenas and record-breaking gates, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how the apex of the most recent boom period appears to be behind us. For proof, look no further than the three-hour Smackdowns each week that have suffered a special type of low with the absence of Cody Rhodes and the sporadic nature of whatever the hell this John Cena retirement tour is supposed to be.

On the other end of things, AEW appears to have righted the ship after going through its own growing pains in the past couple years. The TV shows are really pretty good and as I begged for a couple weeks ago in this space, the company came through and Double Or Nothing really did turn out to be great. All they have to do is clean up this Jon Moxley mess and whatever that feeling is that everyone keeps mentioning about the Good Old Days of AEW might just be back for good.

It’s proof that wrestling, like everything else, is cyclical. When I started writing for Dot Net, WWE was in the shitter and AEW was the shiny new cool (and exponentially better) thing. Since then, WWE surged as the more watchable promotion after Vince McMahon got the boot, Triple H took the book, Cody Rhodes became The Babyface Of All Babyfaces, CM Punk happened and AEW struggled to find its footing in most every aspect of the game. Now, as I’m about to step aside, AEW has worked its way back into being the better product and WWE feels like … well it feels like a company not unlike the one that drove away so many people in the first place that starting something like AEW felt like a great idea.

By the time I tag back into this writing thing, I fully expect Dean Ambrose to be leading a Shield reunion, popping ratings every week, while AEW hemorrhages fans because Don Callis is the company’s world champion. All in due time, friends. All in due time.

In so many ways, this is what keeps so many of us coming back each week. There’s the art form, yes. The storytelling, of course. The in-ring action, undeniable. Underneath all of that, however, are the ways this business ebbs and flows. Raw is a great show while Smackdown isn’t. We don’t even have to go back a full year to remind ourselves of when Smackdown was a great show even though Raw wasn’t. One company is down while the other is thriving. One promotion shows promise while the other is hanging on for dear life.

As the dynamics of these things change, it keeps us engaged in the entirety of the pro wrestling product. Our sympathies evolve, our rooting interests morph. It’s a beautiful thing. Sure, it’s dependent upon a healthy dose of drama and an undying sense of curiosity, but pro wrestling is the sports league that has no offseason, a television show that never ends. We can tune out and then tune in and it still works. It’s an undying medium, one that mirrors real life more than a lot of us would ever want to admit.

And so, with that, I just want to say thank you – thank you, the reader, for putting eyes on any of these things over the last five years, and thank you, Jason, for writing me back when I all but blindly begged you to allow me to cover 205 Live all that time ago. It’s been an honor to have this space and it’s been a thrill to sit ringside during the last five years of this magnificent form of entertainment.

Now, it’s time to pack up and head on over to the next territory. And while I might be heading down the road for now, it’s only a matter of time before I return to try and work my way back up the card. For better. For worse. And for more embarrassing moments I’m sure to encounter.