By David G. Firestone
I typically write these columns on Mondays, unless something of note happens during the week. On Labor Day, I write the column well in advance, so I can watch the NHRA US Nationals. I love FOX’s coverage, they really do have the best auto racing coverage in America.
I do have two issues with the current NHRA coverage. Number one is that I do NOT like the method of having the first two rounds of the nitro categories followed by Pro Stock and Pro Stock motorcycle. I prefer the old way of every round in its entirety followed by the next. It flows much better. This is, to me at least, a much more cluttered way of doing things.
My other big issue is with lead broadcaster Brian Lohnes. Don’t get me wrong, he is great in his role, and he is a student of the game. I really do like Brian Lohnes. That being said, he need to erase the word “eliminator” from his personal dictionary.
For reasons I can’t understand, he will refer to various categories with the word “eliminator.” The category most affected is Pro Stock, which he calls “Pro Stock eliminator.” I’ve also heard him say “Top Fuel eliminator.” If he’s used it in other categories, I’m not aware at the moment.
Why is he doing this? It’s never been “Pro Stock eliminator” it’s just pro stock. Adding eliminator doesn’t really work. If he is doing this on his own, he’s out of touch. If he is being told this is a good move, he’s getting bad advice. Adding a buzz word to a racing category is a terrible move. Unless eliminator is an official name of the category, I don’t want to hear it.
This is only the beginning though. The word “eliminator” in sports is pointless. It’s used in boxing. In boxing, according to betway.com:
“An eliminator is a fight that determines the next mandatory challenger. If a fighter wins a final eliminator, he is guaranteed a mandatory title shot.” I’ll accept that, since it does make logical sense when you think about it.
Now we get to eliminator matches in All Elite Wrestling. Eliminator matches in AEW were cooked up some time ago, and they are just as pointless as you could imagine. An AEW Eliminator match sees a sitting singles champion facing an opponent in a non-tile match. Should the opponent win, they are guaranteed a title shot.
Should the opponent lose however…well…nothing really. It’s not like they aren’t able to compete for the championship down the line. It’s not like Lyra Valkyria in WWE, who can’t compete for the Women’s Intercontinental Champion as long as Becky Lynch is champion as a result of a lost match. They just can’t challenge yet.
It’s also important to note that while these matches were going on, there were also number one contenders for all of these championships. So the whole “eliminator match” bullshit was nothing more than an excuse for a champion to wrestle a non-title match on television. I have no idea if AEW does house shows, but probably not. However, unlike Brian Lohnes, AEW figured out how dumb this was, and killed off the eliminator match.
Bottom line here is that, while some buzz words work, others do not. Eliminator is a word that simply does not work outside of boxing. It’s not working in AEW, and it isn’t working in the NHRA. Please stop trying to make eliminator a thing. It will never be a thing.
Sources cited:
DGF2099-Main Page 