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Good, bad and ugly of the pro wrestling week: Bronson Reed tweets and the Costco Guys bring the boos

pen shamrock
Uncrowned
·9 min read
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - NOVEMBER 4: Bronson Reed delivers a Tsunami to Damian Priest during Monday Night RAW at Mohammed Abdo Arena on November 4, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by WWE/Getty Images)
Bronson Reed recently threatened to steal Santa's sack of presents and hit him with a Tsunami. (Photo by WWE/Getty Images)

Previously on GBU, a new Women's U.S. championship was announced, a pile driver nearly killed Randy Orton, and Liv Morgan entertained the idea of dabbling in Hollywood. Now, one week closer to WWE’s Survivor Series: WarGames and AEW’s Full Gear, with feuds progressing and stars shining, let’s take a moment to put some of the week's happenings under a microscope to analyze a hefty serving of good with heaping sides of bad and ugly.

Without further ado, let’s mark out and scrutinize.

Bronson Reed's tweets are a good time

If you're not already following Reed, let this be how you learn that he's highly entertaining. His Twitter fingers are in character, doing heavy kayfabe lifting as he covers topics like how he would beat up CM Punk ...

... or planting his flag as the future ...

He even threatened to hit Santa with a Tsunami, showing a funny side that's not always on display when he's busy giving opponents and innocent victims internal bleeding.

The backend of 2024 has been massive for Reed, and it appears he's meeting the moment head-on, doing the little things that lead to big things.

The misuse of Shinsuke Nakamura has been borderline unforgivable, but bringing him back into the fold by starting a feud with the U.S. champion, LA Knight is wise, and if he's the one to end the Megastar's reign, the WWE might have a shot at recapturing the magic of 2018 Nakamura.

That said, I'm going to need more of a reaction from the live audience because his return drew a mildly rowdy high school cafeteria type reaction, and Nakamura deserves the volume cranked up.

The boost a CM Punk feud could give to Gable or Kaiser is monumental. Sign me up for all of 'em.

This is an Iyo Sky fan club so here's our weekly, obligatory appreciation for the current women's world champion No. 1 contender. Ray Allen's jump shot. Ken Griffey Jr.'s swing. Aaron Rodgers' perfect spirals. Iyo sky moonsaults. A sight to behold.

If we're going to shout "CINEMA" when Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns stand toe-to-toe on a football field, we should at least hold shift and type out C-I-N-E-M-A when Bo Dallas cuts a promo that'll have you thoroughly unsettled in less than two minutes.

Some fans wanted a four vs. four match at Survivor Series between Team Roman and the Bloodline, but now we'll have Bronson Reed and Seth Rollins taking part in the match as well. It seems this complaint is less about too many cooks and more about intertwining Reed and Rollins' fairly fresh war with a longstanding, long-coming Bloodline beef. Personally, I think it's fine, but I'll explain why a bit later ...

It's happening. The father and son who eat chicken bakes and double chunk chocolate cookies are stepping into an AEW ring and, *gasp* there are some fans who don't like it. Is this gimmicky? Yes. Is it a clear attempt to draw in a new audience? Absolutely. Am I rooting for them to bring the boom? You betcha.

Unfortunately the Costco guys didn't draw the fondest reaction from AEW fans, but boos are better than crickets, so make of this what you want.

Above all else, I think we need to acknowledge that Big Boom AJ cuts a clean promo smoother than at least one current WWE champion.

I'm glad others are pointing this out because it simply doesn't make sense for a guy (Seth) who turned on his close friend (Roman), then antagonized him for a lengthy stretch after to now be acting as if he's been wronged. It'd be like Brutus saying, "Et tu, Caesar," after the stab.

Too far? I don't know. Uncreative? Probably. Low effort but edgy? Sure. The problem with spamming savage comments in every promo is they dilute the next one, and the one after that, and then suddenly you've got fans calling you cringe, which isn't the word I'd use when "stale" is sitting right there.

If true, no thanks. When you've got a guy who is highly entertaining in the ring but will be wrestling only every so often, the focus should probably be on maximizing that time by pairing him with capable talent rather than whatever this would be.

It's time for what might be the most egregiously bad "bad" selection this week. I understand the gimmick and I'm actually a fan of Cassidy, but as many of the replies to this tweet stated, it was a golden opportunity to heighten the intensity, to escalate the drama, to take momentum and bring this upcoming title bout to the next level. Do not go gentle into that good night and do not gently tap the shins of your enemy during a brawl.

Everything worked out so it's just another highlight, but I sometimes watch Breakker with the concern of a helicopter parent, wincing and hoping he doesn't get hurt. The rotation seemed to be lacking and Breakker landing on his dome felt feasible for a freaky, fleeting moment. Either way, the bump landed and it's still ugly.

Whether Ripley's injury is real or a work, it's an ugly thought for someone returning from a broken face to make her first blow one that involves blunt force to the face. Respect to Ripley but also, hey, maybe don't do that?

What's wrong with having dreams and believing in yourself? Look, I get it, the internet is mean, that's not breaking news, but the feedback to Ricochet's ambitious statement is hostile. The responses are like a negativity convention — wrestling fans trying to dunk on a guy for ... being confident in his abilities and speaking positively toward the future? Wow, so awful of him, how could he do such a thing?

I've always enjoyed Ricochet's work, but now I'm rooting for the man to pull off one of the greatest told-ya-so's in pro wrestling history. Personally, I think his first order of business should be telling his peers to stop casually tapping their enemy's shins during a confrontation leading up to a match for the company's top title. Just a thought.