Craig Ballantyne
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universalcynic.bsky.social
Craig Ballantyne
@universalcynic.bsky.social
830 followers 2.4K following 1.1K posts
Fan of pro wrestling and other stuff.

Not a fan of Trump & Co.
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universalcynic.bsky.social
This picture's insane!

#AEW #WrestleSky 🤼
Darby Allin crashing through a fiery table
November 14, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Craig Ballantyne
anonopin.bsky.social
Language matters. Asylum seekers live in appalling conditions but the buildings are described as "hotels". Members of the Royal family live a life of luxury and privilege but their homes are often called "cottage" or "lodge". Why not just describe things accurately?
November 13, 2025 at 4:55 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Moxley quitting twice in consecutive big matches? Beginning to think the man's getting kicked out of The Death Riders soon...

#AEW #WrestleSky 🤼
November 13, 2025 at 2:26 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Finished binging BoJack Horseman and the last episode had one of my favourite lines from any TV show:

"Sometimes life's a bitch and then you keep on living"

It's just how life is, there's no grand finale to most of your stories. There's just more life, some good and some bad

#BoJackHorseman
Diane and BoJack sitting on the roof, Diane says "Sometimes life's a bitch and then you keep on living"
November 11, 2025 at 5:22 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Harley Cameron should be in everything 😂
allelitewrestling.com All Elite Wrestling @allelitewrestling.com · 4d
Thanksgiving! It's that one time of the year that we all Conglomerate with the people we love – and with the people who aren't as easy to love.

Join the AEW family for Thanksgiving Eve #AEWDynamite on TBS and Thanksgiving Day #AEWCollision on TNT, both streaming on HBO Max!
November 10, 2025 at 6:44 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Didn't even consider this, could even lead to Takeshita v Okada for the title (although I want Tsuji to win at WK)
thebitchmaker.bsky.social The Bitchmaker 🇨🇦 @thebitchmaker.bsky.social · 6d
Things are shaping up nicely.
#NJPW #AEW
Peps_Wrestling tweet that says "Part of the build-up to Konosuke Takeshita vs Kazuchika Okada will be, who main events the New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 20 show in the Tokyo Dome" Below is a picture of Okada flipping off Takeshita while the human hotdog, Don Callis , looks shocked and worried in the background.
November 8, 2025 at 10:02 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Okada v Tanahashi, one more time! Fitting opponent for Tanahashi's retirement match, and they'll go all out!

#njpw #WrestleSky 🤼
Gedo bringing Kasuchika Okada to the ring in NJPW
November 8, 2025 at 11:20 AM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Tanahashi's tour is so much better than Cena's, here he is teaming with Jun Kasai in FREEDOMS!

#WrestleSky 🤼
Hiroshi Tanahashi posing with Jun Kasai Hiroshi Tanahashi wearing goggles to hit High Fly Flow
November 6, 2025 at 4:56 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
So, Nick Khan is basically saying they've created "scarcity" by decreasing the number of live events and sending a lot of them overseas, so jacking up the ticket prices just makes sense?

It's a business, but they've lost sight of their core audience.

(Quote from Fightful)

#WrestleSky 🤼
Quote about ticket pricing from Nick Khan at TKO financials call: “It’s both. Capacity continues to be very high. We’ve increased prices appropriately with the marketplace. That’s for the PLEs, Raw, SmackDown, Saturday Night’s Main Event, and every other ticketed program that WWE has. We remain bullish on it. A couple of years ago when TKO was put up, one of the first things we collectively did was reduce the non-televised live events, which created more scarcity in the marketplace for our televised events and our continued international expansion only furthered that. In January, you’ll see us on a European tour for Raw and SmackDown, leading into Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. Tickets already on fire for that event and it creates more scarcity in the United States, which is a good thing in terms of our overall gauge”
November 6, 2025 at 9:47 AM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Ishii's out with a dislocated shoulder, that sucks, been enjoying watching him conglomerate in AEW recently

#WrestleSky 🤼
On October 22, at an AEW event in San Antonio, Texas, Tomohiro Ishii sustained a dislocated right shoulder. As a result, Ishii will miss action on forthcoming events, with his return to be determined. We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing Ishii wrestle, and appreciate your understanding. NJPW joins fans in wishing Ishii a full and fast recovery.
November 5, 2025 at 9:45 AM
universalcynic.bsky.social
SANADA's turned on the burger chain

#njpw 🤼
oregonthedm.bsky.social Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 11d
Picard: there ARE FOUR GUYS! FOUR
Five guys with the f and the E light off
November 3, 2025 at 11:28 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
At a gig, didn't expect Don Callis' theme between acts 😂

#AEW #DonCallis
November 2, 2025 at 8:11 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
With Takeshita likely to turn face shortly, I'm wondering where he turns to for help against the giant Don Callis Family. Definitely Omega, maybe The Conglomeration after Blood & Guts? Or maybe could get help from NJPW

Looking forward to the redemption arc first, though.

#AEW #WrestleSky 🤼
Konosuke Takeshita lifting mask
November 2, 2025 at 12:19 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Ospreay could be back as soon as January! That seems fast for neck surgery, but looks like he's getting the best treatment

#AEW #WrestleSky 🤼
"aew Allstar willospreay 6 weeks post op and doing great! Still some way to go with but we're on the right road. Jan 2026 Don't Try This At Home!" X-ray showing screws put in Will Ospreay's vertebrae
November 1, 2025 at 8:28 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Love that Don Callis has two of the best wrestlers on the planet, Takeshita and Okada, in his family, but he's always concentrating on Kyle Fletcher since he's the future G0AT in the group.

Going to be that much better when Fletcher finally turns on him

#WrestleSky 🤼
Don Callis family with Kyle Fletcher front and centre
November 1, 2025 at 4:13 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
AEW's been able to organically develop to Blood & Guts every year, it's impressive. Helps that they're flexible with the timing too, so it's not likethey're throwing together a big multi-petson match just because it's July

#AEW #WrestleSky 🤼
amy.wrestlejoy.com Amy Nemmity @amy.wrestlejoy.com · 16d
Blood and Guts is gonna go hard as fuck

Two teams of women who want to kill each other

Two teams of men who want to kill each other

This is gonna be SO F'ING GREAT OMG

#AEWDynamite
October 30, 2025 at 9:20 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Classic BritWres 🤦‍♂️
October 30, 2025 at 1:01 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Ok, simulator games have gone too far
"Stone simulator is an indie game where you literally do nothing, and it now has multiplayer"
October 29, 2025 at 10:46 AM
universalcynic.bsky.social
WWE's new faction, The Bill
October 27, 2025 at 1:38 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Knew it was coming, and I'm glad he's achieved his goal, but sad to see Zozaya going into the developmental for the developmental brand

#WrestleSky 🤼
Zozaya kneeling in the ring looking upset at loss to ZSJ
October 24, 2025 at 8:28 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
PWInsider are reporting that the word in Mexico is WWE wants to "leverage" Andrade's non-compete to bring him back after firing him.

If true (and I hope it's a big 'if'), that would be insane.

#WrestleSky 🤼
The report notes a new belief regarding WWE’s motives. “There is a belief in some lucha circles that WWE is trying to use the leverage of the potential one-year no compete as a way to bring Andrade back into the fold”. PWInsider stated that no one in WWE would confirm this, but noted, “that is the story making the rounds in Mexico.”
October 24, 2025 at 1:45 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Here's a cheesy motivational poster for you!

#AEW 🤼
for me medicine isn't just strong medicine, but also the kindness of others.
October 23, 2025 at 1:58 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Latest update from Ibushi on Insta. He's in enough pain to be prescribed oxycodone, which must be terrible.

Says Nakazawa and Omega are visiting him regularly. Love the last line (well, the auto-translation):

"For me medicine isn't just strong medicine, but also the kindness of others."

#AEW 🤼
aew_kota_ibushi It's getting chilly at night. Today I would like to talk about how my leg is definitely getting better, but also how it's not an easy thing to heal. This drug is called oxycodone. From what I've researched and experienced, there's no stronger painkiller than this, and it allows me to sleep, do some rehabilitation, and even get into a wheelchair. Yesterday, I only talked about the positive aspects, which may have led some to believe it helps me return to work and recover quickly, but I'm just saying that it's a drug that not many people are prescribed, and that most people will likely never come across in their lifetime. It's a powerful drug, but while I'm taking it, I can move for about two hours or so. I can even sleep. The rest of the time, I'm in excruciating pain and drenched in sweat. I'm so glad it's not midsummer. The cold sweats won't stop. Of course, I only take the prescribed amount at the prescribed time. There's no more frightening drug, but given the location of my injury and the type of fracture, I've been managing for the past 10 days or so. The rest of the time I spend looking at the flowers that Tony, the company president, gave me, or I am so grateful to Nakazawa-san and Kenny, who come by every day when they have free time and help me with my condition and pain, even if just a little. In the end, it's difficult to summarize what I wanted to say, but what I wanted to say was that life isn't always easy, there's a flip side to the pain of an injury, there are times when medicine is needed, and for me medicine isn't just strong medicine, but also the kindness of others.
October 23, 2025 at 12:53 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
I think a lot of people need to hear something, and it'll sound crazy, but it's true:

You're allowed to change your mind.

If you find out you're wrong about something, you don't need to double down with mental gymnastics, you can just accept it.

Wild, I know
October 22, 2025 at 2:54 PM
universalcynic.bsky.social
Gen Alpha: "6,7"
Me, a millennial wrestling fan: "...do, do you mean Aces & 8s?"
October 22, 2025 at 1:23 PM