Oh it's not about Gen Z.
I'm 40+, I've started my PUA journey in early 2000s. I tried doing Negs back then, in the early 2000s, and they didn't work for me back then. Unlike normal, less critical teasing.
I also observed other people fail over and over with Negs - especially in the second half of 2000s, after "The Game" came out.
Certainly were worse when people were saying Negs in a serious manner. However, this doesn't resolve the whole issue.
From Mystery's archive - 22 September 1998, Mystery:
"a neg hit is when you 'accidentaly' make her insecure"
October 8th 1998:
"A NEG HIT is a qualifier. The girl is FAILING to meet your high expectations".
To me it sounds like something harsher than normal teasing.
October 21 1998
"Thing is, doing a NEG on a 6 will usually scare the UGS away"
This doesn't sound like normal, humorous, friendly teasing - because normal teasing works well on 6s and doesn't scare them away.
October 26 1998
"this is for girls who are 10s. They have to be played differently. Don't use NEGs like this on lesser quality girls. Thats all."
So this is supposed to be something that works on 10s, but backfires on lesser quality girls... Which sounds like it has to be something harsher than normal teasing, as normal teasing obviously works well on lesser quality girls as well.
So if you're using "Negs" to get laid with let's say 7/10 girls and it works for you, then it seems like you're using something different than Mystery meant back then.
I've seen many guys get laid with 6-7/10 women using "Negs" that are simply renamed teasing/banter. And that's good, but it's not the "super technique for the women of highest caliber" that was advertised.
I've seen guys engage the 8+ women with Negs...and fail EVERY TIME. The technique failed every time - failed to do exactly what it was advertised for.
My impression is that Mystery is dishonest.
Many people are shocked and dissapointed when they see how "Katya" from "The Game" really looked like vs what they said in the book. In the book she is "SHB 9.5/10".

I would give her 6/10, max 7/10. And now everything starts to fall into place - if Mystery's "SHB 9.5" is really 6-7... And if Negs are supposedly for "SHBs".... That could mean that Mystery was simply getting 6-7 girls using "Negs" as teasing/banter - as many guys do, and the rest is just marketing and fame-building.
I've seen some photos and videos of Mystery with not-so-great women... Like the one on which he gets rejected by young 6-7 girls and finally manages to kiss a 46 year old women...hot for her age, but below my standards.
Yes, I know he also had some really hot ones, but what are really the proportions between the 6-7 group and the 8+ group?
BTW A friend of mine has sarged with Mystery.... He said that Mystery is competent, but also horribly overrated and not the mighty seduction master many people think he is. My friend praised Mystery's group game and light openers, but was quite critical of Mystery's 1-on-1 effect on girls. He said Mystery is more a entertainer than a seducer and that social game aside, the girls...don't like him that much. He says that he kind of understands why Mystery has a 7 hour game model - my friend thinks it's because Mystery lacks a good sexual vibe and girls treat him as a entertainer - fucking him when the "boyfriend & girlfriend" vibes start to kick in.
My friend also thinks that Mystery impresses other PUAs with his entertainment, opening, group game skills - and that they don't look too closely at other areas of his game. He says that he knows literally dozens of guys better at actual getting laid. (mostly naturals, not PUAs)
Yes. And the idea that somebody with mediocre or poor looks says a Neg and suddenly a high-caliber woman starts treating him as equal or better than her...

Somehow I've only read about it in the internet and I have never seen it.
I think for most people 7s are a good realistic goal. Hot and plentiful, not too hard to get.
I'm attractive to some of them due to 7/10 looks PLUS very good sexual/BDSM/"vampiric" vibe. And often I know how their present or past partners look like - at least here in my country, they're never with anybody who is 7/10 physically if he is not rich. And if the guy is just 7/10, he also needs something extra - money or good vibe/personality, etc.
When I see PUA guys who are like 5/10 and they say "one should use negs for hottest women", I immediately know they're delusional.
Yes, I think his perspective as a entertainer, his perspective on groups, etc is the best part of it.
There were even cases of seduction coaches who were virgins. Or who couldn't approach without getting super-stressed.
But a much more common thing was and still is: a seduction coach gets laid sometimes...with 6s and 7s, but he's telling his students fairy tales about how he's getting the hottest women. And how they will get the results he's supposedly "getting" (really: NOT getting) - if they only go to his workshop or buy his product.
I've met a few of them including Owen/Tyler and I completely agree.
Julien and Max also suck.