aew 2021: don callis’s sunglass game is on point

coming off the most emotional show in recent wrestling history and heading right into shaking up the foundations of rasslin'. shawn spears is totally going to show up in the impact zone soon, right?

wednesday's show will be really fun but i'm most excited for this because wardlow is so... swoony

The big men of the #InnerCircle collide as it's @RealWardlow vs. @RealJakeHager during Night One of our New Year's Smash this Wednesday on #AEWDynamite!

Tickets for Night One go on-sale TOMORROW at 10am EST via https://t.co/UN1cNj1kQq pic.twitter.com/cV6S1Mwppf

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 1, 2021

I hope they just stare until one of them can’t take it anymore and gets knocked out by the other ones smouldering eyes

rolling extra-tight suit jackets 2k21

Yeah the build to Wardlow / Hager has been great. starting off with ppl online noticing that “lol Hager and Wardlow eyeballing each other again” every time a picture or a screen grab got posted and letting it build from there was smart.

Also Wrestle Kingdom!! Been a few months since I watched any NJ but it will be checking back in here for sure. Cards both look a little light to me at first glance but I’m sure they’ll knock it out the park as always

there’s a new japan thread!

New Japan Pro-Wrestling 2021: Protect Naito and Ibushi's Necks

Eddie Kingston’s locker room promo in this week’s BTE is an all timer

Mox is advertised as being back for New Year's Smash, which broke all of our little hearts since so many of us thought that he would be showing up at New Year's Dash instead. I think it'll be his first time back in since he's lost the title to Omega?

hoo boy did i need some wrestling tonight

just watched it knowing the big spoiler because i always do that

they sorta spoiled it right before the match didn't they? showing this and announcing kenny will be appearing "with the elite" next week, even though they haven't been on screen together in months....

https://i.postimg.cc/MpFqmqgV/image.png

quite the goof!!! i'm never watching again

that was all supposed to be behind the spoiler tag idk what happened

did i fuck up or did it fuck up

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f8/42/bc/f842bc9b5ee2c27104bb9eba44270a59.png

??

turns out you can't hide images

the elite wrestled a few times over the summer. the last time was in august. (also, stadium stampede??)

i don't think they've been associated at all since kenny's turn though right? they've been doing their own thing as face champs

Face champs who kick random people in the face?

Maybe their message is mixed but fuck guys who super kick Tony schiavone

i'm sure they'll incorporate that into the current thing but they pretty sharply turned away from it ("we needed to get our edge back") when they started building to the FTR match

they literally apologized for the superkick spree and have been playing pretty pure babyfaces for a couople months now

kenny’s turn was a month ago. aew books long term.

i know... my only point is that i believe "the elite" graphic was meant to be used for promotion after the episode ended, not before the ending. if they'd promoted "the elite" for next week without the episode ending like it did, it would've been bemusing and a little bit intriguing given that the three of them haven't interacted since kenny's turn, but now it obviously makes sense knowing that they re-formed

just a wee and extremely insignificant gaffe not an unusual thing on dynamite

like the ending made sense but it was still a "twist"

Hey yeah you’re right! I wish they would clear up some of these gaffes but it’s not so bad as to stop me enjoying the show

i find it endearing if anything

I think the twist is more about who The Elite will be - there’s a promo Callis cut announcing the match where it could be read as either The Bucks or Good Brothers would join Omega.

I kept wanting someone on commentary to yell "The Young Bucks want answers!" in a callback to one of my favorite calls of all time ("Machine Gun wants ANSWERS" from New Year Dash 2017, which was the last time they were all together, I believe?

i've been on a random fec filings kick and if my love for the hangman page wasn't at 100% by then it was now.

he’s very very good

I really like how the rest of The Elite (Young Bucks, Kenny, & Cody) all seem really invested in making Hangman a star. Hell, not to cross promotions, but even Hiroshi Tanahashi likes Hangman. Dude just has a really natural charisma that makes it incredibly hard to not cheer for him.

A+++++ on the Omega/Callis painting

i want one

COMING SOON!#AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Tournament!
Who will be the number one contender? pic.twitter.com/oM4I3OGrRn

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 21, 2021

Oh man, I am stoked for the possibilities in the upcoming Women's tournament. Seems like there might be more joshi talent competing? Though I may be reading too far into the Japanese flag on the bracket.

bringing Riho back?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYj9WrCcn5s

wednesday's show seems pretty stacked

the eddie/lance archer promo in that.... exquisite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiFPHxakgMU

this week's dark is the best one i've seen yet. 34 minutes in there is a stellar rey fenix/baron black match; pretty peter avalon's walk off is amazing; and this is all before negative one joins the commentary booth

I've been really liking how much they have been including -1 in programming lately. I hope that it has been helping the family to get through their loss, knowing that they have an extended family in the Dark Order, and in the promotion at large.

Plus, that kid is just too cool. Cut a great promo on Marko Stunt saying that at least he's still going to grow some more. I hope they allow that kid to keep working with them if that's what he wants.

his promo on luther was hilarious

Hey Brad....

Get your piece of history today! Poster and shirts available!#AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/UOpK6WX1e8

— ShopAEW.com (@ShopAEW) January 23, 2021

lol thank you i am literally thinking about buying a poster

anyone else hyped as hell for the women's eliminator tournament

also tonight's thunder rosa/britt baker match was so awesome

uhh really stunning main event as well with a pretty big surprise at the end, no spoilers

hard for me to tell when dynamite is outdoing itself at this point but that was... one of the best episodes

How was the wedding?

not a dry eye in the house

Yeah the thread should remain a spoiler free zone but everything about this is excellent and exciting.

Leaving the ending to one side, the brackets of the women’s tournament are intriguing. Looking like a very fun spring all things considered.

Should clarify, the thread should remain a spoiler free zone for a bit on Thursdays just to give us Britishers the chance to catch up

I didn't get to watch since I was at work, but MAN a great surprise, followed by some great announcements for the Women's Eliminator tournament!

I kno the surprise but I don’t think I’m gonna watch until the weekend

I just watched the short clip from social media and it was enough to satisfy me. I'm glad there seems to be a very interesting story branch to their current IMPACT partnership.

"no spoilers" was me telling myself not to post any spoilers, not really trying to rein in anyone's behavior itt lol

the door is open

I'm really hype. Our wrestling threads will slowly bleed into each other

(except the WWE one)

just as god intended

After last night’s classic main event + the shocking ending, @kennyomegamanx issued the challenge & @AEW GM @tonykhan has made the match for next week’s #AEWDynamite Wednesday Feb 10, Falls Count Anywhere, World Champion Kenny Omega & KENTA v. @JonMoxley & Lance Archer! @AEWonTNT https://t.co/3qXSLdqrWh pic.twitter.com/vEWbwz1kjW

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 4, 2021

RIP that one time luger fought Tyler breeze

I really thought that Tyler Breeze would get the push after that, but man was I wrong. I thought he looked great in that match too.

Now that that spoilers are in effect: WHO IS EXCITED FOR TANAHASHI TO RESCUE PAGE LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD DO ALL THOSE YEARS AGO? DON'T THINK WE FORGOT, UNCLE TONY/GEDO!

I like the idea of 3-belt Ibushi

I actually believe tony would wanna follow that sort of stuff up. I like that the forbidden door isn’t open for the straight up obvious thing (golden lovers) and is instead for kenta v moxley, it shows there is so much more that can happen over time.

Who knew that someone who actually cared about wrestling could come up with something really good and open instead of just being carny (yes I’m still salty about trips v sting)

OH GOD, Trips vs. Sting made me so so mad. NWO strolling to the ring and mugging for the camera just infuriated me.

and Tony does seem very much like a true wrestling fan, in addition to being a businessman, so I imagine that he realizes the crossover will get attention and make that merch money.

Man, that main event, though. Throwing some potatoes, man.

Don Callis feels like the real life embodiment of a character Bob Odenkirk would’ve played on Mr. Show.

Main event was bonkers madness. They’ve done a really good job of still making characters look badass even when they have to eat the unfortunate pin.

main event was so good

It was unfortunate that Archer was the only person who could conceivably take the pin (especially since it was a falls count, no DQ match), without much storyline complication.

Anyway, that was a good bit of fun, I felt.

I'm oddly interested in what's going on with Sammy Guevara; I've never been too into him, honestly, but I am intrigued.

Also, Dark Order's pursuit of Hangman's friendship/membership is just adorable.

women's eliminator tournament starts today!!!!! i'm hyped

I'm oddly interested in what's going on with Sammy Guevara; I've never been too into him, honestly, but I am intrigued.

incidentally sammy's vlog is one of my favorite aew side programs, highly recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THd-MjU3104

this has been fantastic so far. veny vs. emi sakura is my match of the year

Hope that we can see more of them on our regular TVs relatively soon. If travel restrictions ever ease up, I would be down to see Itoh against Shida, Mizunami vs. Rose, Aja freakin' Kong vs everyone.

also excalibur killed it on solo commentary

also aew made the matches available with japanese commentary (featuring shida, who is SO psyched about everything that happens and it's so charming) and that is how i'm rewatching them now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUanKzytWZ0

this is how i learned that youtube shortlinks embed now, lol

Man, I enjoy this even more with the Japanese commentary! I like Excalibur, but with how much NJPW I watch, there's something comforting about the Japanese commentary here.

Also, I forgot to mention Emi Sakura in my last post, but MAN is she always so fun to watch! I was very lucky to get to see her live at Full Gear 2019 against Riho, and I would be very into a match where she challenges Shida.

(That being said, I'm still pulling for Mizunami to win the Japanese block. I was heartbroken that the first round match was between her and Itoh, because I also wanted Itoh to go far...though they might have had a hard time putting her on American TV.)

y'all

Oh, I'm hyped. I flew from Hawai'i to Baltimore for their Full Gear match, and that itself was beautiful. I watched Jon Moxley spit blood and glass. I missed my King of the Deathmatch.

I am so excited for this. I imagine it's their way of writing him off tv for a bit for his kid.

Holy cow just seen the spoilers. This is gonna be nuts.

i haven't watched in a while so ive been missing the entire jp/usa tourney but i just saw this vid and now i kinda have to go back and watch everything. if u don't know maki itoh (like i didn't) it's a great primer!! (also a fantastic illustration of the ddt/tjp model -- for all of the goofiness, it is absolutely bursting w/ heart)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ZuITjMO14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHfI24c4PhI

crucial dark order/hangman bit in this week's bte

yuka sakazaki vs. emi sakura was sooooooo good

ryo mizunami vs. aja kong was also fucking amazing

what a tournament

bummer that anna jay is injured

I'm hoping that since Mizunami beat Kong, that Mizunami takes the Japan side of the bracket! She's been my pick from the start! Let's go!

Also devastated that Anna Jay, who was really starting to come more into her own as a standout of Dark Order, rather than just a member of Dark Order, has this setback. Though I guess my silver lining was not having to watch her lose to Britt Baker? Here's to hoping that she has a speedy recovery!
Between AEW and NJPW, some pretty heartbreaking injuries.

After a quiet two weeks, Taz was back on form on this week's AEW Dark pic.twitter.com/WcQ8Ulbt4A

— forever tired (@Maffewgregg) February 24, 2021

they've built up this darby and sting/team taz rivalry really well

the zip line is a great example of taking advantage of owning a building

I think Darby definitely benefits from having Sting on his side. The aura of Sting always made him seem larger than life, and for someone like Darby, who is still so young, I am glad that he can get that guidance to (hopefully) take him to the next level.

Taz's stuff on commentary is great. When the table was him, -1, and Excalibur, it really was just hilarious. But I am partial to Tony Schiavone, and all of his hilarious calls that I remember as a kid (and ALSO his calls from MLW before he got scooped up by AEW). Plus he remembered me from drunken Starrcast karaoke, which was kind of him.

Khan's owning of their venue really, REALLY helps. Plus since it's open air, they have the added benefit of being able to accommodate more fans (I have a few friends that go to their shows somewhat regularly). The modifications they've added, the entrances, and the special (cinematic) matches they've had because of it have been fun. I think they've really started to come into their own and realize what works for them and their talent and what does not. A lot of the guys at the top are really keen with storytelling and their characters, and over the past year, it's really shown, even when they've had some less than popular skits/segments.

Overall, for better or worse, regardless of what a lot of people say, Kenny, Cody, and The Bucks (along with Tony Khan) all run things from a place of genuine passion for the business. I know that sometimes a lot of people lose sight of that (myself included), but I've gotta say, overall, I'm impressed. They know wrestling, and they know how to make dollars off of money marks. I appreciate that they seem to be using their power for good, with the amount of indie talent they've had circulate through their locker rooms (Maxx Stardom, WARHORSE, Heather Monroe, Sean Maluta, to name a few of my favorites), as well as the outreach they've done to other promotions (their aforementioned ties to IMPACT and now possibly NJPW).

Also, Hangman is a star. Future World Champ 100%. ACE of AEW. I really appreciate how the rest of The Elite has distanced themselves from him.

imagine some dude at your work knocked over the forsaken door and now you got two jobs

— HANGMAN PAGE (@theAdamPage) February 26, 2021

https://bleacherreport.com/post/trending/a8e77c4f-7c14-4f9c-af44-d2d087bdf677

let's fucking go!!!!

Fuck yeah MIZUNAMI FOR CHAMP LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO !

this episode has been pretty much nonstop fanservice

in a good way

The only way it could have gotten better is if Big Show threw Shaq through that table. Finally get that revenge for having gotten into INCREDIBLE shape, only to have Shaq back out of their mania match.

This is the most hyped I've been for an AEW PPV in about a year. Very interested to see what surprises they have in store. Already stoked that Mizunami is challenging for the Women's belt, and that freakin' Atsushi Onita is reffing the death match!

onita can’t make it to the states because of japan’s quarantine rules and his schedule

onita can’t make it to the states because of japan’s quarantine rules and his schedule

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Somebody get Nick Gage to take his place.

Is necrobutcher available?

He's probably on too many watchlists to get a flight at this point

Nick Gage just returned from injury, so let's make this dream a reality! Anyone else planning on watching it live?

i'll be watching it!!!

I’m taking Thursday* off work but dw being a non-American fan who *checks notes* uses the internet I’ll know everything that happens by then. Still about as pumped at I’ve been for a ppv since wm30 though.

*man why did this week did I have to fucking move, I was originally considering staying up all night to see it

I have seen some of those 90s death matches and mostly they suck. But I’m so intrigued by the fact that Kenny and Mox are actually athletic workers who could have normal 5 star matches on their off days, not like Leatherface or whoever when they needed dumb gimmicks. 5 star guys + insane gimmick = how could you not be excited

Also I guess there are other matches on the card that look alright, and the internet is taking the secret name in the ladder match way too seriously that it’s got to be more hilarious than omgworthy, how can this not be a great ppv

personally i am most excited for shida vs. ryo mizunami

xp there have been exploding barbed wire death matches between proper wrestlers before. there are obvious differences in athleticism now but claiming that Jon Moxley is some kind of 5 star match machine as opposed to guys like Terry Funk and Cactus Jack is wide of the mark. it is clearly Mox's dearest wish to be able to wrestle like those guys and while I do enjoy him, he's never had a singles match in any environment that touches the best Funk and Foley stuff (except for the Ishii G1 match but counting that's almost cheating).

anyway yeah I'm excited for the spectacle and to see how they carry this off a major PPV without necessarily thinking this is gonna be a 5 star all time classic (it could be! they've definitely got it in them. but it's a tough match to get right i think).

agree with Brad, hyped for the Shida vs Mizunami match which should steal the show from an ring perspective.the tag title match should be good, the ladder match should be a crash crash and apparently the street fight is a cinematic deal. no idea who this HUGE new signing could be but yeah I think the some of the wilder online speculation has gotten silly.

AEW really is good at putting together these smorgasbord cards. should be a great show!

the buy-in match was so good. show hasn’t even started yet!!!

I'm calling Warhorse for the ladder match, but my friends are calling Chris Bey or Chris Hero, so we will see.

what a wild night lol

the ending was... well

was completely marking out for it until the........fizzle

onita/funk is one of my favorite matches ever and i've been craving this match basically ever since mox started openly cosplaying onita everywhere he went

but it's probably not worth it if you can't get the pyrotechnics right, i understand it's probably gonna be more tightly regulated than in the 90s but yeesh

otoh i thought the cinematic match was killer and maki itoh is a star

fixed it. pic.twitter.com/XNvO7uaJya

— el deprimido 🦣 (@shvmbu) March 8, 2021

still watching but can i just say the last few minutes of the tag team battle royale were unbelievable.

tack on mox's post show promo for future edits imho

only took nine or so hours but i now think the whimper instead of the bang was kind of funny. felt really bad for everyone last night though

tag team battle royale and shida vs. mizunami and the ladder match and the street fight: all pretty outrageously great

one thing the Ricky Starks did confirm is that Sting is nothing without his bat.

The ending is what it is but could honestly be a fantastic jumping off point for the likes of Kingston, heel Omega, etc.

xp I have a surprising amount of friends that HATED Shida/Mizunami, and I'm convinced it's because they just hate joshi. Blows my mind, honestly.

Onita's tweet on the match:

It was great that Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley fought in the exploding barbed wire ring. But I hope I want show American wrestling fans my original version someday. https://t.co/3xwTzHL9OA

— 大仁田厚 (@onitafire123) March 8, 2021

i am of course a noob but the women's eliminator tournament convinced me pretty immediately that joshi is wrestling at its best

Truly, my biggest pipe dream is that AEW shells out the cash money dollar to get Kagetsu to come out of retirement and join the roster. Absolutely my favorite.

Overall, I thought the PPV was pretty good. Sting had no business being in a match, even a cinematic one, but I guess there wasn't anyone else they could have really put with Darby. Orange & Chucky T vs. Miro & Kip was fun. The opening women's tag match was also fun, but when Maki Itoh is in a match, with how INSANELY OVER she is, it can't be anything but fun.

I'm fairly excited to see the builds for the next few months. Jungle Boy vs. PAC is a match I didn't know I wanted until last night.

hangman vs. hardy was a lot of fun too

I've really grown to appreciate Matt Hardy in the last 5 years or so. When I was a kid, I was all about Jeff, because he was the flashy daredevil, but as far as changing things up, I gotta give it to Big Money Matt.

Also, so glad to see Ethan Page as the surprise entrant. I love that dude so much, and I'm so glad to see him wrestle somewhere after his contract with IMPACT was up.

oh god poor eddie

fuego hit the tornado ddt

They are never explaining Shaq disappearing from the ambulance, Tony Khan is a Sopranos fan, this is his Valery disappearing in the Pine Barrens

— Voices of Wrestling (@voiceswrestling) March 9, 2021

man, that was a great episode of dynamite

really bounced back from the end of the ppv

Eddie & Mox and Don & Kenny really did heel it up perfectly to sort of own/explain away that Revolution finish. I did appreciate that.

The @AEW Dark: Elevation debut Monday on YouTube is a stacked card & should be a fantastic show. @riho_gtmv v. @maki_itoh is our 1st ever Elevation main event! After Elevation + a strong Dark card Tuesday, don’t miss the highly anticipated St. Patrick’s Day Slam on #AEWDynamite!

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) March 11, 2021

frankly, you love to see it

two women's main events in one week........ am i dreaming

I think this week’s BTE achieved peak Hangman greatness

Dude, I'm convinced that Hangman has no ceiling.

elevation was a lot of fun btw. commentary dynamic v wholesome, maki vs. riho was a riot

can't believe i'm at the point where i'm watching six hours of wrestling per week (plus approx 1 hour of adjacent content between bte and sammy's vlog) but i'm not really complaining

15 matches announced for dark.......i cant do it

britt vs. rosa was something else. still thinking about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLgz8YsO9LI

i'm reposting it here. i don't think i've ever rewatched a wrestling match this many times before

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-oZyO3nP3w

this week's bte is crucial

Aw man, I'm glad to see John Silver get a shot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvzWdCiWJ4U

I am sad to hear that he dislocated his shoulder during this match! Here's to hoping that it's not too serious. It would be too sad if both he and Anna Jay were benched with shoulder injuries.

he’s out for 4-6 weeks. no surgery needed phew

That is a relief. In times like that, it's good that they have Being the Elite, so people can still stay engaged with someone, even when not actively able to compete.

Also, I am curious about this upcoming "Rhodes to the Top" reality show. I wonder how many opportunities there will be to see people outside of kayfabe, since wrestling is just so ingrained in their lives. Maybe we see some appearances from wrestlers in other promotions? I've never really gotten that much into any of the reality tv shows, but I'm interested in the potential for more behind the scenes content with this one.

There is 100% no chance a WWE person is on it. Other promotions will be fine, that is basically their whole thing right now

I'm secretly hoping we see maybe a few people from ROH, maybe one or two people from the L.A. side of NJPW maybe. There have been a few who have done a few AEW matches (I'm looking at you, Danny Limelight).

I can imagine maybe Adam Cole shows up somewhere in the background, as he has been known to do in a lot of social media postings. Maybe also Chelsea Green. But you're right in that there will likely be no WWE folks with significant screentime.

Would also love to see them at the Nightmare Factory; Marty the Moth has been spending some time there lately, and I've missed that dude a ton since Lucha Underground ended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2hjXKRuHVY

elevation was SO good this week, and also 2.5 hours long

feel like i say this all the time but this week's episode is really excellent. a lot of storylines getting advanced... and colliding (re: matt hardy)

I’ve got some free time over the next week and I’ve been hoping to catch up, I hear there was a great Brett baker match I need to check out and... lol it’s mania week? Fucking hell I really wouldn’t have noticed if my free time was in 2 weeks.

Mania week has sure snuck up on a lot of us. I think AEW is running a non-televised show sometime this weekend?

Hell of a finish on last night's show, though. I feel like I should have seen it coming as soon as I saw the matchup, but it took me until within the match to realize what would happen hah.

I hear there was a great Brett baker match I need to check out

britt vs. thunder rosa remains must-see-tv, i might rewatch that match again now

My bad on spelling her name wrong. Spent my free time listening to the daft punk live album 2 times in a row and then riding my bike, so still behind ;_;

It's all good, dude.

Over the last year, Britt really has become one of the best heels in the promotion. Great match, great character work in the match. That Role Model shirt is great.

HOLY FUCK THUNDER ROSA BRITT BAKER IS THE BEST MATCH IVE SEEN IN YEARS

yeah!!!!

At first I was unsure. Rebel especially looked like she didn’t really know what she was doing. But by the time they crashed passed a fist bumping Billy Gunn and starting the thumb tacks out, I was so hooked. I bet Stone Cold was proud of that crimson mask too

That AEW house show looked hella fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AWeeFiHm0o

about 40-45 minutes into this week's elevation is kensuke takeshita's aew debut, fighting against danny limelight. it's... really worth watching

konosuke takeshita*

wow i really tried not to fuck his name up lol

also this is a really good episode of elevation so feel free to watch the whole thing

that takeshita/limelight match indeed starts about exactly 40 minutes into that youtube video. i just rewatched it.... so awesome

Man, say what you want about AEW, but I am always grateful that they are willing to do crossovers and to bring talent from Japan. Takeshita is a pretty good get from DDT.

What other matches/promos from the past couple weeks do I need to see? Mania/Walter really threw off my catching up schedule

.... so many of the matches are good that's it's almost hard for me to remember. bunch of great rey fenix and pac matches in recent history

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW0_AN46SRs

sammy's vlog this week is really hilarious and at one point -1 briefly takes over it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHONhy5F84U

bte also has an essential kenny promo in the last six minutes

opener and finisher on this week's dynamite were.... just outrageous

great week of wrestling lol

paging Samoa Joe

rt

Honestly, someone said Bo Dallas to AEW to be The Friend, and man, I am into it.

As much as Joe would be cool in AEW, I want him in the G1 so bad.

Heard Bo is basically gonna retire and run his farm but the Friend would be great.

Would love one last crazy Joe run but I understand if he wants to hang his boots up.

It’s something legit from the Iconics that I wanna see. They crack me up so much.

Man, it really hit me these last few weeks how much more I've bought into Kris Statlander with her slight aesthetic change and the entrance theme change. It's like how Jungle Boy with his Tarzan Boy theme feels like he's gonna be a star. I really have come to appreciate those choices.

OH YESSSSSS

Hey DR's who said I'd never wrestle again, I'm on @aewontnt#AEWDark TOMORROW at 7/6c on https://t.co/rYVQd5SJ1e

I know @MrGMSI_BCage from LU & know this is a match the believers wanted. I've rehabbed, scratched, & clawed so I can wrestle again. AEW LETS PLAY!!! #martycasaus pic.twitter.com/q3ScQJBNKb

— Martin Casaus (@martincasaus) April 27, 2021

EVEN MORE OH YES!

#AEWDynamite Wed, May 12, 2021 @dailysplace in Jacksonville, #YujiNagata returns to @tntdrama for the 1st time in nearly 23 years to challenge @JonMoxley for the @njpwglobal U.S. Championship. Pick up your 5/5 & 5/12 combo tix now! Call 904-633-2000 (during business hours) pic.twitter.com/eT6nL9wybF

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 30, 2021

blood and guts is gonna be so sick

they’ve overdone the pinnacle vs. inner circle promos but i’m still hyped so i guess it worked

blood! and! guts!!!!

Boy it was the most that I have ever seen MJF bleed in my life!

Really was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and how much I enjoyed the little back and forth between Kenny & Orange Cassidy.

people on the internet love to say that kenny omega sucks at promo, and... i profoundly disagree

I've NEVER understood that take, honestly. Kenny is a GREAT promo. He definitely cuts a better promo as a heel than he does as a face, but part of what I really liked about Kenny and what made me interested in him was that he has the ability to be a great character and he is very smart about what gets him the reactions he needs. When he turned heel in Japan, he stopped speaking Japanese. Last night, he took Orange's sunglasses, and mocked his whenever whatever wherever gimmick. As a face, I think a lot of people lost interest, because he wasn't as big of a character as he is when he's a heel.

He is an EXCELLENT "big boss" sort of heel, and I enjoy him the most when he's slightly distanced from his "henchmen" so to speak. I think it plays to the sort of video game-like storytelling and imagery that Kenny has employed and enjoyed in the past. Yes, he's got The Young Bucks, The Good Brothers, Michael Naka-Naka-NAKAZAWA! and even Don Callis to back him up, to manage him and call his shots, but when he speaks for himself, it's always the most memorable.

I also acknowledge that compared to his HUGE run as The Cleaner in NJPW, the AEW run has felt like a comedown, but I really appreciate how he finds a way to make his retreading this path to becoming The Cleaner in AEW feel new and interesting. He's been a better AEW champ than he was IWGP because he's back to being a heel champ, rather than a face chaser. I have very strong feelings about how Kenny's relationship with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and I have always felt bad for him that the chase and eventual win eclipsed the reign, which felt very short but was actually about 7 months.

Hahaha sorry for the semi-long post. I have a lot of thoughts about Kenny, because while I do love him, he is an INSANELY polarizing figure in the IWC.

Just watched B&G. Hell of a match, just wish it was 5-10 mins shorter. The section in the 3rd quarter when the Inner Circle had complete control and could do no wrong... so they stand around a lot instead of trying to win bugged me.

Sammy and MJF are stars in the making. The two rope Spanish Fly made me jump out of my chair.

I know this is more of a NJPW slant, but MAN, I am so excited to see Nagata on Wednesday! Can you imagine how that locker room will feel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6ZEm9OnRi8

this week's bte opens and closes with really quality promos (from matt jackson and christopher daniels, respectively) for wednesday's young bucks vs. scu match, which i am so hyped for

the trick shots segments are also essential aew canon

i'm gonna be so sad if/when scu splits up :(

I was already sad when the trio split (I know it was initially to give Scorpio Sky the push, but then he ended up with Ethan Page in another tag team dynamic, so...), but I will STRUGGLE with Kaz being without Daniels/Daniels calling it a career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNGpqhEtgtc

lol sammy's vlog is also essential viewing this week, all centered around the blood and guts match

really eventful night. once again the opening and closing matches were unbelievable

I usually can’t stand the bucks but the YB-SCU match was THE BEST. So brutal. And lmao at the Bucks’ Shawn michaels cosplay actually making sense and making them even more dickish

bucks going ultra-heel is literally my favorite development and yeah that match was both brutal and emotional

Last night's episode was DESIGNED TO HURT ME in the first half. Papa Nagata AND SCU? Man, I cried so much that I needed to drink even more.

I fully skip anything Cody at this point but I hear his promo was full wrestlecrap

It was a little weird, yeah. I feel like he usually can give a pretty good promo...so I don't really know what happened.

it was garbaggio

I’m watching it now and I have no fucking clue what he’s on about. Because Bruno was champion ages ago America is nice? He likes Willy Nelson. A Pakistani man made a part of a car? I guess America saved racism because he can have a mixed race children... which is also fine in Britain?

He’s gonna be the American Dream to really defeat... a British guy? USA! USA! USA!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOn_fd7hgNs

the christopher daniels promo at the beginning of this :(((((

Oof this hurts me.

sometimes it is exhausting keeping up with the youtube shows but... for some reason, whenever elevation is 2.5 hours long, it tends to rival dynamite in quality. that has been the case tonight

particular highlights: dustin rhodes vs aaron solow, jake the snake having a great time on commentary, kilynn king vs the bunny, baron black (low key one of my favorite dark and elevation regulars) vs qt marshall, daniel garcia vs joey janela, and an absolutely smokin anthony ogogo promo that makes cody's attempt at patriotism last week look even more pathetic

CD promo a real high mark for BTE. That deserved to be on the main show.

xp jake commentary was a delight in addition to the archer/bear bronson match being a great match as well!

Bloody hell, along with bte dark elevation and dynamite, there is gonna be RAMPAGE next year for me to not watch until Brad tells me to

I do appreciate how they're trying to use all of their talent across various platforms. Hopefully also gives more possibilities for those "Forbidden Door" crossovers (like they did with Narita this week!).

The Bucks/Elite & AEW are very smart with merchandise. I don't know what those production costs are (how much percent goes to PWT vs. the talent/company), but The Bucks basically built their empire with their merch, so I've gotta assume that they've been doing well enough financially to start producing so many shows within a few years.

Also, I gotta say...I'm pretty disappointed that Pillman Jr. tapped out after all those taunts. I was hoping they would at least knock him out or have his partner take the pin, or even pillmanize him.

There was a good Cabana podcast with the PWT/One Hour Tees guy just before AEW became a thing that got into a lot of the inside baseball of merch. So crazy how much that Cabana’s hustle (pre pipe bomb!) has been the catalyst for in wrestling.

Cabana is the man. I know he's not as popular as he used to be (since his falling out with CM Punk, and essentially joining Dark Order), but he cares so much about the business and his fellow wrestlers, and you can absolutely see it with everything he does. His partnership with prowrestlingtees is great. Their doors to the "employees only" areas in their shop literally say "Employees & Colt Cabana Only." It was the best.

lol Sting fuckin ruled!

Excellent, varied, fun show overall, including the pre-show match featuring Serena Deeb, the best worker currently active in North America

yeah really solid ppv. britt vs. shida was wonderful and emotional. highlight of the night was orange vs. pac vs. omega, like... wow

Taking aside the embarrassment that is Cody Rhodes, I think that was my favourite wrestling show since WM30.

The women’s title match and the 3 way had me so hooked. I think I need to rewatch it this weekend. So many great moments outside of those matches too, like how over Jungle Boy is, or how much of a bastard brute Miro is*

*Thank god they seem to be getting him back to being a killer and not a gamer nerd

did not expect shawn spears and sammy guevara to do a wrestling scene that could've fit in "Dancer in the Dark."

It's been a long road, but I think last night finally sold me on Guevara. I always knew that he was good, but he really had a great moment to shine, here.
Seeing the crowd pops for Hangman and Jungle Boy made me smile. They're the future.

Sammy was like Jackie Chan at times. Also loved the sexy chair dancer set up

friday night dynamites really throwin' my schedule off... friday was a really great post-ppv show tho

however i'm here to talk about the fucking main event on tonight's dark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYTQszA85w

dante martin vs. matt sydal, at the 1:28:00 mark.... essential match

Just been looping Tarzan Boy since Jungle Boy won. Feels good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDWR7cjYXSM

the dark order bit on this week's bte... you gotta watch it if you have any investment in hangman adam page

whole episode is great tho, one of their best

cabana’s trip had me laughing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2G2HIVsuJw

saturday was like a major ppv from start to finish + the eddie promo above is also very nice and makes me feel like a mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ffw8lyafYM

i know i'm always like "elevation was amazing this week" but elevation was amazing this week, the card is wild

also this happened https://unbornwhiskeyy.tumblr.com/post/655346724814143488

well i’m not the only person i know who cried at the hangman/dark order promo on dynamite tonight

Wtf is Bear Country’s serial killer skin face mask ting? They are the faces in this match against Sky/Page* as the guy from Silence of the Lambs?

*im a week behind

hahaha i was watching with a bunch of friends who don't watch wrestling and i was like "what i like about these dudes is that they're really hot," referring to ethan page and scorpio sky, but bear country had just come out in their skin masks

bear country are also really hot tbf

ethan stoking up his rivalry with darby has been a huge highlight of the past two weeks

Excited to see AEW’s first coffin match. Hope Darby does 93 Taker promos and gets the carpentry tools out.

Also why is Vickie Guerrero on tv in 2021? She was crap 10 years ago, she sure ain’t better now. Andrade deserves better.

i love vickie :(

Yeah Vickie Guerrero is and always has been superb, people love booing her and also she seems really nice

Vickie in AEW is probably also partially a product of Jericho wanting her to have a decent job after WWE treated her like shit for years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqhytLvbim4

can't explain why this is the best dark ever without spoiling but this is the best dark ever

Looks like Dynamite was a corker with *spoilers*

*waits patiently until I have some free time next week*

it was such a major episode

hangman ;_;

lmao at andrade's male stripper suit outfit. surely he can do better.

the coffin match was so fucking awesome

just body after body busting out of shit wood and hitting pavement

Rare opportunity for me to watch next day, so excited for it. Think it’s coming up next.

I AM SO INVESTED IN HANGMAN/DARK ORDER

THEY ARE DOING A SURVIVOR SERIES MATCH. ITS GONNA BE AWESOME

god that was such an awesome episode top to bottom

I just came here to say EVE-RY-BO-DY DIIIIIIIIIIIES!

I live in a time where i can unashamedly be overjoyed at Sting/OC appearance. Glorious idiocy.

surprised at how hyped i am for the remaining labors of jericho. the spears match was really fun

A lot of extremely exciting rumours flying around about AEW acquisitions atm. They’re in a great spot because if the rumours turn out to be untrue then the response is simply “o well, never mind, may as well continue enjoying this excellent wrestling company with their many excellent wrestlers. But if the rumours are true then things look likely to start approaching towering new heights of excitement

Pleased with the result of the main event, feel like the winner there really really needed a big win and this felt big. Speaking of big, will be great to see haku’s giant son on dynamite next week. The AEW/NJPW relationship is gonna deliver big time once travel becomes a bit easier

Also Jericho’s next challenge ought to be quite a thing, after the last year of Eddie Kingston I’ve got a lot of faith that they’re gonna give their latest big indie veteran signing the platform he needs to shine

I’m gonna try not thinking about the rumours because I don’t wanna get too disappointed if they don’t happen. But if even one of them is true, holy fucking god. also if this helps punk and cabana be best mates again, that would be the best. It’s such a shame that wwe fucked them up with that giant lawsuit

Watching dynamite now and MJF will have a great post wrestling career as Bobby Heenan

Fucking hell, is Luke Gallows v Kazarian the most boring match up they could put on? Even Omega looks embarrassed, can’t remember his lines and has the lamest full forehead plaster

Welcome to the team…@ThunderRosa22 is #AllElite pic.twitter.com/GcvAds6ANx

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 22, 2021

my favorite wrestler is finally, officially all elite

think it’s fair to say when gage appearing is maybe top 3 stories in yr news cycle things are going good.

Kinda loving this box-checking ride of Jericho

Burying the led of GODDAMN TANAHASHI

the opening match last night kinda stole the show, and the upset ending apparently gave everyone in wrestling fandom an anxiety attack

gage was awesome though, i love that the labors of jericho is sort of an excuse just to have this gauntlet of awesome wrestlers come through

well, that was meant to be a spoiler tag instead of a strikethrough, so i'm sorry if i ruined it for anyone <3

This is officially the best picture in picture commercial in professional wrestling history. @dominos @thekingnickgage #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/FoGCIQgun2

— ⌨️ Patches Chance 💖💜💙 (@patcheschance) July 29, 2021

Not sure I’ve ever seen a promotion on such an absurd hot streak. Between the entrances for the 5vs5 match, the tease re: Darby’s opponent for the First Dance, the next challenger for the IWGP US title (and who knows what could maybe come next after that?), Nick Gage and the plate glass hurricanrana, the third of Jericho’s labours, Miro continuing to be the most gripping wrestler in the world, Tarzan Boy and of course the ongoing speculation over the mooted arrival of Daniel Bryan Danielson, it’s seriously like these guys can do no wrong at the moment.

Which isn’t to say that it’s all perfect, there’s definitely stuff to work on. But theyve got so much momentum right now and I think the expansion to Rampage next month is going to help so much with spacing the cool stuff out a bit and giving things room to breathe. That United Centre show on august 20th is going to be unmissable

I’ve not even watched it but lol a heel did a heel rap about a popular athlete like Simone Biles and people were super outraged to the point where they took it down. It’s almost like a bad wrestler was trying to get a reaction where he would be seen as a bad guy, how dare he?

I don’t even follow that much wrestling Twitter but it’s made my timeline insufferable.

caster made a joke about duke lacrosse in north carolina during a show that was a benefit for sexual assault survivors... it was very bad form

the simone biles joke was fine and funny

it's a bummer, i love max caster

hope he uh learns something from this maybe :\

heartbreaking episode of dynamite already

god one of the best episodes ever so far

yeah that was really something

i felt such a vast spectrum of emotions watching that show lol

I thought this was gonna be a bit of a cool down episode but you’ve got me excited to watch it

i think it was the most eventful episode of the past month, amazingly

FUEGO!

that show was superb, the hot crowd made it feel special right from the off.

Seeing quite a few people still kvetching about the Hangman angle not going down the way they thought it would but honestly I think the way they’re setting things up is excellent. Who could’ve doubted Christian Cage (lol I did), that match was absolutely fantastic and I’m hyped for them to go again at All Out

How fucking great is it that AEW exists?!

i expect the hangman storyline to be picked up again ofc but i sort of appreciate how much they’ve made me suffer. it’s good storytelling still

also,,,,,,, FUEGO!!!!!

oh yeah for sure, Hangman is still the endgame here - but I think the story might now end up being Kenny blames Don and the Bucks for last night's loss and distances himself, drops the AAA title to Andrade at Triplemania and goes kind of paranoid and feral into full Best Bout Machine mode for the final few months of his AEW reign as he clings desperately to the last and most important belt. Hangman returns, gets his match at last, kicks out of the OWA, wins the title and ends the Kenny Omega, Belt Collector arc. which, that is obviously gonna be amazing so the ppl out there acting like Hangman has been Lex Luger-ed, I just don't get it

anyway yeah the Fuego moment was beautiful and proves that the Youtube shows really do serve a purpose in building up a lower/mid-card that ppl care about

How fucking great is it that AEW exists?!

This, every day.

last night's dark was an especially good dark episode, trios dark order match -> dante martin/lee moriarty main event was great booking

there are a lot of up-and-coming future-of-the-industry ppl in the aew roster right now, part of what makes it so exciting, but dante martin in particular....

actually it may have been preceded by the jurassic express/varsity blondes vs. the wingmen match, god, that shit was so good lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2_WdThQaZ8

You really make me wanna watch dark but I still haven’t found time for last weeks dynamite and rampage yet. Ahhh I love wrestling again.

And I know I need to before Saturday morning in case some sort of non drinker turns up in chicago

the rampage crowd from friday was also attending that dark episode. what a crowd. the pops sound so huge

overwhelmed by how good this week’s dynamite is

happy first dance eve everyone

aka rampunk eve

Also, can we get a mod to change it to “I love wrestling”?

the false finishes for the YB/JE match had me thinking Jurassic Express could actually pull off the upset

I have to admit, I've actually been pretty satisfied with the Labors of Jericho. I didn't think I would be as into it as I was.

Seeing the crowd sing Judas made me really miss the Jericho Cruise.

There is no way Dragon comes out… right?

Honestly I don’t think I’ve been this excited about wrestling since the summer slam when fan chants got d-bry to beat Cena at summerslam. And this is just for their second show when some old friend of colt cabana may turn up on thunder.

Inject all the dumb fan theories into my veins.

Plenty of reason to be much more excited about all this, frankly, cause you know this isn’t a flash in the pan thing. AEW aren’t gonna wreck the exciting new thing and revert to the shitty status quo within a few weeks / months which is always how Vince operates.

AEW will keep building from here and they clearly fully intend to keep gleefully giving the fans absolutely everything that the fans want to see - there’s really never been a wrestling show like it, it’s a bit of a miracle it even exists.

Anyway I’m going with an absolute zero chance of Bryan showing up tonight, I don’t think you waste that on the CM Punk show. There is only one star people care about tonight so save Bryan for when he might be able to drive interest on another day.

Anyway I won’t get to see it all till Saturday morning but I have still woken up feeling like a kid on Christmas Day

I’m setting my alarm for 2.55am. It’s called dedication.

Yeah I’ve subsequently decided to do the same, gotta see this live

Lol I was just thinking about doing this, hope I don’t wake up my girlfriend or she may kill me

PUNK

What a time to be alive

yo

Lol fucking ice cream bars? Way to make the Greatest baby face promo in history

pic.twitter.com/csU4rh8hQW

— luchablog (@luchablog) August 21, 2021

I need to go back to sleep.

But fuck me pro wrestling is a glorious thing and my favourite wrestler is back. That pop was so loud you couldn’t hear his music. People were fucking crying! The T-shirt’s are already going for silly money on ebay. Darby still looks like a star too, I loved his new face paint. Everything was perfect.

LOOK IN MY EEEEEEEEEEYES, WHAT DO YOU SEEEEEEE?

I think they did a fantastic job threading that. Punk calling Allin out might’ve been enough- but then to put Allin over at the end with the double coffin drop for the same hometown crowd that’ll be rooting against him shortly was great.

They took the usual GBP 3.66 out of my account for the monthly AEW Plus subscription yesterday. I feel like with the four Dynamites and two Rampages in the last month were...a pretty good return for that

Bowens/Martin on Dark was fucking lit

every match dante martin wrestles is essential viewing

Really enjoyed the Bowens / Martin match, it was a bit stilted in places but I think that is to be expected from Dante at this stage. pleased to see him moving up the card to the point of being a known face. he's gonna be so amazing for them with a few more years under his belt. he's booked on the September PWG show too - really think he's got the potential to organically develop into a star of the indy scene in between AEW bookings until they're ready to give him a proper full-time spot on TV.

i remain a little sceptical of Tall Paul Wight as a colour commentator but him and King do have a pleasing "bros have fun watching wrestling" chemistry that is growing week on week. not yet in the same league as the wonderful Excalibur/Taz pairing on Dark on but I think along with Skeeavone they're building something cool there.

tbh I would like to see them give Elevation more of a distinct feel as a show - I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between Elevation and Dark. Elevation features slightly more mid-card matches rather than squashes / indy showcases?

anyway all i want in the world rn is to watch more of the very good wrestling produced by this very good wrestling company. fuck how is it not Wednesday yet

What is he like?

I think only getting a road warrior/Steiner type squash artist would make me watch dark.

He’s jovial. Haven’t yet worked out if he’s decided to play it that way deliberately or if he’s just genuinely stoked to be where he is rn

He did a bit in last night’s episode during the Tay Conti match where he was talking about how the wrestlers should develop their characters which felt like the bad kind of pulling back the curtain but he’s definitely improved since he started

think eddie’s presence helps big show loosen up, the first few weeks of elevation he was a lot more muted and tamped down and now he and eddie sometimes alternate shouting the match instead of calling it, and it rules

i tried to distinguish elevation and dark to someone this week and couldn’t. the distinction used to be that dark was full of squashes and elevation had more patient, lower-card showcasing matches, but it’s since gone back and forth. i mean, it’s fine, rampage debuted with its own character and vibe, the youtube shows can be interchangeable

Seeing the Reddit post where someone hypothetically makes the AEW g1 (which hangman should win, not said in post) makes me love this company so much.

It has potential signees like dragon and wyatt but even if it didn’t, fuck me I love these wrestlers and wrestling so much

idk about Wyatt. like many people I really thought he was going to be something special after he had that amazing match with Danielson at the Rumble and then the Shield/Wyatt Family 6-man tag, all those many years ago, but has he done much of note in the ring since? idk I haven't really paid attention to WWE outside of Wrestlemania during the majority of his run.

I mean obviously I'm aware of the Fiend as a popular gimmick (primarily through the prism of Twitter jokes at his expense following each stupid "cinematic" shitshow on PPV / from wrinkling my nose at all the broken brained WWE lifers who worship him and his act). But i really don't think AEW needs him, the roster is getting pretty clustered as it is, especially near the top end, and i'm not sure what he brings to the table. Mainstream-ish popularity and merch sales are the obvious answers to that question but fuck that, we're here to have fun.

Idk, maybe I am allowing my contempt for the sorts of WWE fans who have been relentlessly boosting him for the last few years to cloud my judgment here, but seriously i don't want any of those imbeciles anywhere near the AEW fanbase and I feel like Wyatt is one of the few acts that they might actually follow across the great divide

let him go and be the main star in Impact for a bit. Bray Wyatt in the G1 could also be fun I guess, and i doubt many of the revolting Reddit lot would follow him to Japan

he's never had a halfway good singles match with anyone other than Danielson and the Fiend was unwatchable shit for idiots

god bless Bryan Danielson. he's gonna make so many people look so good when he joins AEW

once he's done with his run on top just give me 12 minute Bryan Danielson matches on Dark and Elevation for the rest of time

I basically agree with everything you say about Wyatt.

Could you imagine in Taker had to leave and go to WCW? It would have been atrocious. I mean most of Taker’s career is a mess and that’s in the fed. Wyatt doesn’t even have the special match history / ministry of darkness theme music.

just give me 12 minute Bryan Danielson matches on Dark and Elevation for the rest of time

I was gonna clown on this and say ‘Yeah, it’ll be more like Danielson in a six-man with the Wingmen against Ryzin, your man with the Guile hair and a local jobber’ but now I’m kind of jazzed to see that.

weird show. some cool stuff as always (Jamie Hayter in particular, she looks like she can be a big deal for them) but everything is feeling a bit flat. thought they'd be looking to fire on all cylinders coming out of Rampage but this has been about as subdued as it's been since crowds came back

that tease from Punk though, lol

kind of a nothing show all in all. gotta assume that they'll have had more new viewers checking them out tonight than ever and it felt like one misfire after another.

Kinda torn between who I want to win the tag tournament. Think the Lucha Bros would put up a monster match against the YB but I would love it if Jungle Boy and co get the tag titles.

initially i thought Jurassic Express made sense - i don't see any other titles changing hands at All Out and I wondered whether they might give JE the win to get the big babyface pop and let the crowd have a sing-along to Baltimora on the PPV and then do a month-long reign before they drop the belts back.

i think they're about due for this sort of reign anyway, the long title runs are great for giving the belts value and re-educating the fanbase that this all matters but I think it's fine to give an up-and-coming but not quite there yet babyface act a big pop on the night and then have them drop the belts quickly to an opponent higher up the food chain.

anyway Jungle Boy's time will come and I reckon it's about time Fenix was given a proper spotlight. Pentagon i love dearly from his Lucha Underground days but he has felt kinda lazy and sloppy for a while now. the match at All Out is sure to rock, anyway.

seeing some ppl complaining about Kojima as opponent for Mox - i don't really get that, this feels like it's pretty plainly about Mox getting frustrated about not getting the NJPW match he wants, building to a Moxley / Tanahashi match at the Dome in January. v cool to see NJPW guys in featured positions on big-time US PPVs

darby and cm punk kiss

To expand on what Windsor said, I really appreciate Mox going through clearly some dream matches of his now that he has the leverage to ask for them. Nagata was fun, Kojima will be cool, I can only hope that he gets to go through all the NJPW Uncles, then Tanahashi, then some crossovers, until he finally gets that Dream Onita match.

our friend maura is watching this rampage episode in person

really fantastic episode too. i love rampage

oh man so jealous. that was a superb hour of wrestling. it absolutely flies by.

check out the "Countdown to All Out" show if you have time, really good sit down interview with CM Punk and JR. Which ends with JR saying how many great acquisitions AEW has made and asking Punk if he doesn't think that's set to continue, which gets a lol yes AEW is the place to be right now

Feeling pretty sure now that Danielson is debuting on Sunday night, they're running all the same plays from the Punk return. and it's working! i've booked Monday off work.

also Kris Statlander is very strong

what a fun time! it was surrounded by three hours of dark matches including one that had the crowd very perplexed because of WRESTLING EMOTIONS. also punk led the crowd in a “thank you for being a friend” singalong

also… redeem deez nuts

How do we feel about Max Caster returning? I feel uneasy about the fact that he never apologised.

Why would this bad guy rapper apologise for his bad guy rapping?

his return-to-the-ring rap was both low-key contrite and entertaining without really being an apology. idk, i’m glad he’s back, feel like knowing he probably won’t do anything to that degree again is enough

also to a hoy hoy’s point i feel like a heel apology would be a pretty direct breach of kayfabe. as far as something like this can be handled, i think it was handled well? but i also don’t think i’m the right person to judge it

Seriously? Kayfabe is a BS excuse. Max Caster the person wrote it, not ‘Max Caster’ the character. There’s edgy and there’s crossing the line; he crossed it, and hasn’t owned it. Zero difference between this and what Sammy said about Sasha Banks in that interview, for which he apologised. Tony apologising? That’s fair enough. But if you don’t feel at all skeevy about the situation, I don’t know what to think.

Also, the offending references were to real-life situations outside of kayfabe. If you want to play the kayfabe card, then stick to the confines of kayfabe (though even the Julia Hart stuff before verges on the actually gross and not pantomime gross).

On revision, my tone here is a bit more argumentative than I meant it to be, but I stand by my points.

I gets ya, I just don’t think I agree. Or care that much about MC. He got put in the dog house for a bit but doesn’t have to break character.

feel like julia had to be in on the verses about her, idk

but you make good points mac

i guess what it comes down to for me is that i'm just glad he experienced direct consequences

happy all out day

https://i.imgur.com/KxM70qN.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMTrMYTL9QU

(the punk promo at the end of this bonus dark really made my day, starts an hour and five minutes in)

feel like julia had to be in on the verses about her, idk

I’m sure she was. But there’s a power imbalance there: she’s 19, and new to the company, so one might agree to something one isn’t entirely on board with. (Not that we know her mind, of course.) Kayfabe-wise, I would’ve felt better about it if she tried to beat the shit out of him instead of simply standing there with a grumpy face. But that’s just me.

HAPPY ALL OUT DAY

(And by that I mean, happy tomorrow morning, waking up a bit earlier, to watch it before work)

Happy All Out day

Very pleased I booked this Monday off work. The first time I’ve done it since double or nothing 2019 - as with that show, it feels like there’s something in the air tonight. I think this one is gonna be a biggie.

So many exciting matches, and then there’s all the Punk teasing and TK doing his “I’m not gonna answer that but it’s an excellent question to be asking” bit

Huge show, gonna be a lot of eyes on them and I hope they al do themselves justice

Just such a shame Hangman isn’t there. Gotta do our boy right in the next couple months.

p surreal seeing satoshi kojima coming out right now w the njpw logo behind him

this is the best ppv fucking ever

i overslept so am watching on an hour delay (currently on the tag match)

but yeah this has all been unbelievably good, i'm in a state of total awe at how good everything is. has there been a PPV in the modern era where they've had a crowd so completely onside? cheers for the faces, boos for the heels. the pop for the rope break in the opening match, the duelling Moxley/Kojima chants, singing along for the surprise after match 2, the Bucks getting "asshole chants".

ahhhhh jesus this is just all so great, i've said it before but it's just a miracle that this company exists.

unnecessary spoiler tag, initially there were actual spoilers but actually i hope ahoyhoy and any other Britisher rassle fans go into this one blind

my only complaint is that i held a pee for an extremely long time because there wasn't enough time!! i gave up during punks entrance!! ill have to watch it back later

if that was really the final Chris Jericho entrance i'll be very sad. but also fucking HUUUUUUGE lol, this show is an all-timer

i'm also realising now in real time that i just do not want Jericho to go, i'm not ready

post final match spoiler jaw literally agape. expected the other guy. love it

post final match lmfao they fucking got me again

truly the best wrestling ppv i’ve ever seen

lucha bros vs. young bucks was match of the night and...year????

lol they gassed that crowd eh

otoh holy shit what a fucking ending

best wrestling company ever, it is extraordinary how hot they are right now

strongly considering using my day off to re-watch that from start to finish, what a show

Good morning everyone.

I woke about 4. Skipped in between matches, the big show, half the Jericho match, half the women’s title and most of the battle royal, just so I could get it all in.

Pretty good damn show, ey?

Fucking loved Moro-Kingston. Genuinely never seen that cheeky ref confusion finish, it seemed like such smart pro wrestling after 15 mins of them knocking the piss out of each other.

The cage match was my match of the year. Poor Penta’s little girls having to get involved though; they were having none of their dad being covered in blood.

Who turned up after the Mox match had me smiling like a fucking child.

I try not to be too pervy when it comes to women’s wrestlers but damn Ruby Soho is like an instant crush. Never paid attention to her in the fed but everyone seemed very excited. The finish to the battle royale was smart, I liked it.

Didn’t care for Jericho v MJF but I did like the countdown fake out. I’m just ready for Jericho to go away at this point.

Was starting to get tired during Darby and Punk but they hooked me at the end. Noticed Punk was already acting a bit heelish. No gross elbow drop, so all good for me.

The main event was good, the end was fucking killer. The everyone’s already dead fake out line had me in fucking stitches. And then to see the show end with a dinosaur and Luke Perry’s son who thinks he’s Tarzan lifting the arm of my favourite ever wrestler just made me happy I’m a way that only pro wrestling could do.

Great fucking show, 10/10. Best wrestling show in years. So fucking hyped about Wednesday. Ridiculously hype about Full Gear already. Love you guys. Going back to bed for an hour.

my review of last night: yes! yes! yes! yes! yes! yes!

i didn't have high expectations for the women's battle royale (felt a little bit like a "i have no idea what to do with the women's division" booking decision) but it was so good, especially ending with rosa and ruby soho

lol sorry i guess that's a spoiler. hard to not spoil this show, it was so special

destination unnnknown
ruby ruby ruby ruby soho

rewatched the punk/darby match, really masterful slow build to the more outrageous spots at the end, and they both looked so awesome in the ring

I’m gonna rewatch this tonight in full.

I'm so pleased that Rancid gave their blessing to her being Ruby Soho, since I've just been singing her name to that tune for years already.

God, what a show, from top to bottom.

There were so many moments that filled me with joy, honestly. Happy to see Yuta show up. He was born in Hawai'i, so I must always cheer for him. Also great moment of seeing Orange Cassidy screaming encouragement to Statlander. Was happy to see Emi Sakura, Big Swole, Kiera Hogan, Abadon, Diamante, Thunder Rosa, and all the women in the Battle Royale. So good. Kojima entering with that NJPW logo was super surreal and Suzuki coming out after (and the Kaze Ni Nare from the crowd) was electric. CM Punk's first match back made me feel about 10 years younger. Kenny with the blue hair got me feeling some Cleaner vibes. I've never been that big on Adam Cole, but MAN even I got hyped at his debut. And, of course, the return of the American Dragon.

I loved Abadon’s Luna Vachon hair.

same

Ruby mouthing “I’m back?” to Bryce Remsburg at the end got me.

Dude, I cried from the moment that music hit, and I didn't stop crying.

That final two, though. Woof, I am HYPED for that eventual singles match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a0fcLE1U0Q

if you wanna kill time before dynamite, last night's dark had: 1) a really impressive, fun, and intense three strikes match between big swole and diamante, a storyline they've been building up on dark over the past month; 2) an internecine dark order match between evil uno and alan v angels witnessed by a very confused and emotional crowd; and 3) max caster's return rap

oh yeah and lee moriarty vs. joey janela is a good time

I watched half of it before I needed to walk Willie. It was quite fun, loved Taz and Excalibur on commentary. Maybe I need to tune in more often. God damn I now need to find 4 hours a week for this.

All Out was an incredible PPV and I think people comparing it to Bash At The Beach are right to do so. Having thought about it though, Double or Nothing is still my favourite of their shows from this year. Revolution would be up there too if it wasn’t for the sparklers and sonic rings. What an incredible run they are having.

And Full Gear could be even bigger!

last year's full gear was my fave aew ppv until all out. really hyped for this year's

i did somehow miss last year's double or nothing which i think was the consensus best aew ppv before, mostly for stadium stampede mk 1

I didn’t see the first Stadium Stampede either. Must track that show down.

every time i watch dante martin wrestle i fantasize about a top flight vs. lucha bros match. soon hopefully

Rewatching the AO main event, I love how great Kenny is at selling a fuckup. Also had that lucha/YB not been so godtier, I mean good lord the gauntlet Christian went through with KO.

Just watched Dynamite and, I presume it’s a fuck up cos I’ve seen no one else say anything about it, but Mox needs to learn that a straight arm/pointed hand aimed at the crowd looks like a nazi salute. Really threw me off at the end but I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, it’s not like he’s In the Jericho family.

Ridiculously excited for Punk v Team Taz and Danielson and misfits v The Elite. Hope Hook is Punk’s first loss. Oh and Hangman needs to come sort his boys out.

pac vs andrade was so good holy shit

I love how AEW can turn something stupid (intentionally or not) like the Suzuki Incident into a surefire barnburner next week. And that’s not even the hyped main event it’ll lead.

last night was really good except for i hate the dan lambert bit (and really hated jericho's counter-promo)

i know i'm supposed to hate it but i hate it

anyway, the card for next week's dynamite + rampage at arthur ashe is ppv quality and i'm gonna be seeing it live... with maura!!!!

So jealous. It could genuinely be the best night of free wrestling tv ever.

So strange to think that even after two years of excellent shows, it only now feels like AEW seem to be hitting their true hot streak.

Lambert is doing great a great MAGA Cornette tosser thing but it just seems so weird that it’s for a lower card tag team. Surely he needs a bad ass mma wanker to make it work. Currently it just seems like being paid to be an arsehole on tv for no reason, soz men of the year.

xxp enjoy! I’m breaking my Covid hermit protocols to be there also!

Yeah that is awesome, those two cards are completely stacked and getting to see Danielson wrestle omega live on a stage that matters is the stuff that UK fans can only dream of. I hope they sort out their ongoing timing issues and give that one the time it deserves! Incredibly jealous, hope you both have an amazing time. I’m sure you will, what a show to see live!

Dan lambert I’m torn on. On the one hand I recognise that he is deliberately designed to piss me off and he is undoubtedly an incredible promo. Otoh I go to AEW at least in part as a refuge from that kinda chud bullshit and I’m not mad on his working that angle, even for heat. As ahoyhoy says, I reckon it would work really well as a top angle with a serious contender behind him but as a semi-serious midcard thing designed to get the supremely fuckin useless jake Hager over… enh

*should say “you all” rather than “you both”

So jealous!!

Street Fighter: The Movie truly lives on in AEW talent pic.twitter.com/khnlVjxCi6

— Will  (@WilliamRBR) September 16, 2021

ruby and britt promo on rampage last night is Peak Wrestling, to me

that promo was so fucking great - watching it i was just like "oh i get it now, the problem with the women's division was just that it needed ruby soho in it"

that promo kinda lost me with the banging a guy in the back zinger -- he just got here! she's had the title for months! some great little bits in there nonetheless tho, the look at me bit was nice

this is the best night of my life

I’ve only watched up to Black-Homelander but I am very jealous. How was it there?

The opener was incredible and yet they seemed to only tease what they could do. It was 5 star and yet some how just a movie trailer.

How was Rampage/Dark? I heard the merch queues were so insane that Dark will look like an empty arena show.

Did Maura enjoy it too?

the merch line wrapped around our level twice, and somehow distinguished itself from the billion other lines that people were waiting in for drinks and food. kind of a clusterfuck and the only really negative thing about last night

dark was short and sweet, rampage may have been better than dynamite but we were all so tired so i’m not sure what the energy’s gonna look like on tv

the entire arena booing cody….. bliss

i can’t believe i saw omega/danielson live, literally everyone i talked to or overheard talking about that match used the same word: “hypnotic.” time widened when they were in the ring

It seemed like the fastest 30 minutes.

Loved the Cody boos.

Talking of which, It’s only been like a month but I’m started to get bored of aw shucks cm punk

it was actually slowest 30 minutes for me bc my edible kicked in right as it started, but that’s why it was awesome, it was like watching a tarkovsky film but with two guys wailing on each other instead of philosophy or whatever

that was also my first wrestling event ever, unless kaiju big battel counts

So jealous, glad you enjoyed

I’m 99% sure at this stage that oppressively positive Punk is leading up to a heel turn so I’m happy to roll with it for the time being. Let him get over the buzz of being back in his own time and he’ll pay it off. He was always the best at coming up with fun angles and I don’t think that skill will have faded with time

oppressively positive Punk is leading up to a heel turn

absolutely, you could hear it in the promo

it was also really awesome to see sting bring it last night

This little series of Sting/Darby tag matches have been laid out so brilliantly, just pure fun

Bryan and Punk just made their respective jobs look s o e a s y

i'm watching the broadcast now

cody looking confused at the audience booing him............ cinema

Punk still got that stanky elbow drop I guess. He looked like he fell off the ropes.

Bloody hell that rana was even worse. Lol at the look at a woman in the crowd being all “wtf is that” straight after

Ricky saving it with “I’m sweating through my velvet suit”

That trios match was legit.
Luchasaurus looked like a fucking star, usually he can be a bit shaky. That chokeslam spot was ridiculous.

i thought i didn't remember the botched rana from seeing the match live and then it all came back to me when i saw hobbs just sinking into the mat

it could've just been the pacing but rampage felt a little more consistent(??) than dynamite for me, even the jericho match got me going toward the end. will say that i like that they're stoking the women's rivalries but i can't get into penelope ford much except sort of as a character (and even then, thinly-drawn typical heel stuff). still happy to see anna jay back in the ring

the trios match, the double tag team match, and the lights out match were all fucking insane. seeing fenix and penta do their thing live was a highlight of my life

Surely after that, America’s Top Team have to become a proper thing. I was laughing to myself that considering there are some legit previous ufc champions there that have had their Is All Elite Twitter pic, they could go full nwo and no one would see it coming. Can’t imagine that’ll happen though, TK loves them long builds/rankings too much.

Everyone where I was sitting during that Punk/Hobbs spot off the turnbuckle legit thought he gave Hobbs a concussion- haven’t seen the broadcast but yeah, not the best. Audience was legitimately awful to listen to during the Bunny/Ford match. Like, idk what Meltzer star match they were expecting, but the toxic male click was out in full force.

from the broadcast, hobbs' head landed on punk's legs

luckily

punk went headfirst into the mat himself tho, which also looked rough

Not as risky but I still think his macho elbow was just as bad

i have just re watched it and i knew it was great the first time but...

i think that may be my favourite five best match ive ever watched along with mitb11, flair v. funk, rey v. eddie halloween havoc, tlc2 and... i well know its not this good but cos i had the tape as a kid the rock v triple h ladder match summerslam 98

It’s absurd to even think it but that may be the best d bry match ever.

I owned the ROH dvd of general excellence (I remember the Morishima match being a standout on a dvd full of stand outs) and there was his mitb win, the shield 3way with kane and taker, one mid season classic with punk (over the limit? Vince knows how to make his shows names unmemorable), the Cena summerslam 5star, the triple h wm 5 star, the orton/Batista 5star, the kofi/wm 5star… and yet this is instantly my favourite over all of those. Only the Cena and kofi matches come close.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvLk8a34YJ4

if you wanna see some great grand slam spots up close check out this week's bte

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uLmcXHo9Dw

these are the three elevation matches they were able to fit in before dynamite grand slam started last week. dare i say it, the paul wight match was one of the most entertaining of the night. episode is also padded with a ton of awesome post-match promos from grand slam

special Brodie Lee memorial tag tonight on Dynamite. the only classy wrestling company that's ever existed.

also a wrestling company that's determined to make me cry at every opportunity

i remember thinking i wouldn't be upset by the tribute show (I tend not to be too heavily affected by celebrity deaths as a rule) but Colt Cabana's entrance absolutely broke me straight off the bat and the show didn't let up from there.

an incredibly special thing in an industry that has always been ghoulishly callous. a deep reservoir of empathy and love was created between the wrestlers and the fans that night. they really couldn't have handled it any better at the time and it's great they're continuing to actively memorialise him in this way.

anyway

it's Wednesday night and you know what that means

it means that we get another two hours of that good wrestling!

Guys from the bottom of my heart, I want you to ALL to tune in tonight 10pm EST after @aew dynamite for #RhodesToTheTop pic.twitter.com/KQjTh2bh64

— “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) September 29, 2021

another great episode of dynamite

Arn Anderson still the best promo out there, goddamn

the arn anderson memes this morning have been glorious

Arn Anderson is tired of watching his family lose. It's time to even the score!

"Brain Buster," coming soon to a theater near you. @CodyRhodes @TheArnShow @AEW @AEWonTNT #AEWDynamite #AEWonTNT #AEW pic.twitter.com/wWXwLwxkEe

— JCP⭐️Designs 👺 (@JCPxDESIGNS) September 30, 2021

I’m going to go ahead and call this a Renaissance painting pic.twitter.com/TdC1xvEDPP

— Spectacle of Excess (@SpectacleofX) October 2, 2021

A week late to watching Dynamite but Wtf is crypto lio rush?

Reminds me of that trash cyber hacker Sami Callahan nxt gimmick.

i have a theory about it but i guess we'll see

What's the theory?

lio was eliminated by matt hardy at the battle royale so i'm thinking it's a counter "big money lio rush" angle

admittedly it also stinks a little of "let's make miro really into gaming when he debuts, that'll work"

ok lio rush is gonna be a mentor to dante martin? i'll take it

great episode tonight. matches at the start were a little shaky on occasion, but deeb vs. shida and the ladder match were perfect. arn anderson king of promo

so much awesome stuff on this show.

weird cinematics with crazy old Arn Anderson going over to Cody's house in the dead of night to burn merch in the yard is too good. the most interested I've been in Cody's little fiefdom within the company so far.

beyond pleased with the ladder match, especially how the crowd is still fully with Hangman. they were booing Mox! that's gonna be a fun heel run when it happens.

but tbh the best bit was seeing Serena Deeb back. she fucking *owns*. have been missing her since the Riho match earlier this year - I hope she's around for a proper run now because AEW have got so many exciting wrestlers who maybe struggle to get it all together in the ring without a more experienced opponent and Deeb would have bangers with all of them

I would love to see a Mox v. Hangman Page PPV match

I have to imagine that it's only a matter of time!

rampage was excellent, punk vs. garcia was spellbinding and ... ricky starks is a star

Yeah I really want to see more of Starks. He’s been around for a while now but I don’t feel he’s had too much to sink his teeth into, either in matches or storylines. Hopefully this interminable angle with perpetual also-ran Brian Cage is over and Starks can move onwards and upwards.

He’s of a number of midcard guys who I’d like to see out there against Danielson, Omega, Punk, Cole, the young bucks to see what they can do against the top level wrestlers

Really really enjoying Punk’s matches thus far, which I wasn’t necessarily expecting. The technical stuff always felt like the weakest part of his game but his matches since the comeback have been so well paced and put together - legendary wrestler has maybe lost a step in pace but is tough and knows every trick in the book is a character that almost all older wrestlers try to work towards but he’s doing a fantastic job of conveying that in the ring imo

Increasingly convinced that when Punk finally ditches the saccharine “aren’t you guys bored of this yet? I bet you guys are getting bored of this” babyface act and turns heel it’s gonna be an all-timer of a run

Which is all to the good bcuz when the title changes hands to the new top babyface you’ve already got the Punk programme ready to go, not to mention Moxley who I think is also primed to have an electric run as a heel now that they don’t need him to be the babyface star anchoring the whole thing

What a roster, what a company

wtf is shida's 1 legged sabu chaps with access holes look?

has she always had such bad gear and ive never noticed?

Danielson vs Suzuki was masterful. Such a simple, sparse structure to the match, building around the two deadly forearm smashes from Suzuki, the first almost killing Danielson and the second prompting his final burst of ~FIGHTING SPIRIT!!~ Just two consummate craftsmen being given the time and the space to go out there and do the thing they do.

If this is what happens when WWE provokes Tony Khan with their petty counter-booking bullshit then long may that continue

Punk match was great, again. During his absence I had very much internalised the “Punk was only ever a so-so in-ring guy, always pretty sloppy” stuff (RONG) so it’s just a continual delight to see how well he’s working the aging veteran thing. Getting the bodyslam over in 2021 is so much fun

Also I think am finally all in on American Top Team. Dan Lambert was born for this and all the others look like they’re having a great time whenever they go out there

Dan Lambert vs Don Callis vs MJF for best heel promo on the roster, I honestly think Lambert might be the best

Ah yeah Suzuki/Danielson was such gourmet quality pro wrestling, loved how the finish just had to be a knockout blow out of nowhere, no escalating series of 2.9 counts off head drops or whatever. Bryan is just visibly loving every second of this run

I saw people complaining that AEW didn't do enough to show American fans why they should care about Suzuki when he first came in, but honestly you can get his gimmick after watching him ominously walk down the ramp for like three seconds, he's absolutely masterful at playing to big crowds

I think the last live pro wrestling I was the 2019 New Japan show at the Copper Box headlined by Okada vs Suzuki, the crowd totally babyfaced Suzuki from minute one and he just fully leant into it like 80s Hogan playing to the cheap seats, incredible vibe

suzuki/danielson was astonishing, and then there was a really good episode of rampage after!

punk vs. sydal was punk’s best aew match yet, great ring chemistry those two have

Looool Dan Lambert is sooooo good

What was the last heel act that had this much heat wherever they went?

CM Punk refusing to sell the mystery masked men gimmick is funny and gets a big thumbs up

God there’s just so much they do well

That’s a promo from wrestling’s next top babyface champion Hangman Page. Wasn’t sure he had it in him

that show was fire from top to bottom

I’ve not watched yet (not caught last weeks rampage yet either) but has Punk v Team Taz been dropped?

I want me some Hook god dammit

my guess is they had to sideline it bc brian cage finally came back from injury and it was time to figure out “what do we do with brian cage” again

idk, hope it resumes, punk vs. ricky please

dynamite was so good wow

dark order vs. superkliq was like BTE: the match

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMVda-OB3Cs

posting the perfect promo in here for posterity

pac vs. andrade 2 was perfect beyond belief

Miro is an unreal promo, he consistently comes up with such unique verbiage and commits to the bit so hard

body of granite and a neck of sand! this is the shakespearean stuff!

no more homophobia in promos (re: american top team/inner circle)

I'm excited to see if there is any fallout from the Jericho cruise that will start to show up in programming. Notably Danhausen and Ospreay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1qRvq9sXeM

there's a lot to like about tonight's episode of dark. bunch of dynamite-forward promos, a few dark-universe promos, and a genuinely wild card (2 fast 2 fuego, danielson vs. solow)

best dynamite main event ever

shida vs. deeb was also the fucking BEST

the stay-puff reveal is going to be one of those gifs

I only woke up 4 minutes ago and obviously haven’t watched it and yet I love it already. I can’t even hate on the internet being spoilerville

Serena Deeb is the best wrestler in the world. except for Danielson (maybe)

everything she does both on offence and when selling looks fantastic

finally caught up with Dynamite in full after watching Deeb / Shida and the main event on my lunch break earlier. i'm like a broken record over here but it is really astonishing how consistent they are. yet another show where even the worst stuff was at least "good".

I think they're onto something with sleep-deprived new dad Moxley. it's a great pivot away from where he was now he doesn't need to be the top babyface anchoring the show. idk how this world title tournament is gonna go but I think they could do a lot worse then have Moxley give Danielson his first AEW loss in the final. Danielson can take it and it would serve to reestablish Moxley as one of the main guys now that Danielson, Punk, Cole, Black etc. are all there. would be an awesome first feud for Hangman too.

so many places they can go at this stage!

with all that said, not mad on Bobby Fish getting 15 minutes every week given how stacked the rest of the roster is. TK seems to like him a lot. he'd be good working with the young guys and the unsigned indy talent on Dark

lol forgive the fantasy booking stuff. it's been a while since a wrestling company has got me daydreaming about this stuff. if i had more time I'd buy the latest TEW and get it out of my system

I know it's pretty carny, but I popped for the Ghostbusters bit. Classic Elite.

Holy fuck Dragon v Eddie was 5 star. Absolutely perfect.

I love wrestling.

finally watched rampage this morning, think that was the best episode they've ever done. three matches, all bangers

Jon Moxley has allowed me to share with you that he is entering an inpatient alcohol treatment program.  Jon is a beloved member of the AEW family. We all stand with him and Renee, and all of his family and friends, as he shifts his focus to recovery.

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) November 3, 2021

mox <3

Good on him, can’t imagine being a new parent with that on yr shoulders is a recipe for success.

Yeah, after decades of wrestling encouraging binge and bad behaviour, it’s nice to see tv appearances not mean as much as a mans health. Hope he gets the help he needs.

Mox describes what it feels like to smoke crack in the prologue of his book, and has recounted doing cocaine and going to the library on Renee's podcast. He's definitely a guy that has walked that line, so it's nice to see someone who has that kind of persona in wrestling choosing to get treatment before he spins out of control.

Really a testament to how much parenthood can change some people. I'm really glad that it's transformative in a positive way for him.

Anyone else see Eddie and Punk’s confrontation? Eddie was sooooo good.

I know only about 5 of us watch wrestling here but I feel like I’m December I wanna do a poll of like our fav wrestlers of the year; so much good stuff has happened.

the promo-off between those two… electrifying

it inspired my dearest friend to finally go to wrestling school tbh. i wanna go too

A lot said about the in-ring justifiably but AEW has had a hell of a year for promos, with Mox/Britt/Eddie/Miro killing it every week and Punk coming in

And also underrated wrestler of the year Christian

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/eddie-kingston-aew-wrestling

no joke one of the best personal essays i've ever read

Yeah it really got me. Reminds me of a similar one Lukaku did a couple years ago. Really pumped for his match against Punk, really hope he wins

Can't think of anyone who deserves to be spotlighted more than Eddie Kingston. Someone who truly did it all for the love.

While I really agree, that’s also quite true of a lot of AEW wrestlers, and they can’t all have the belt, ya know?

Also true. Either way, I am glad that he's finally contracted somewhere and has a little more security in his life. The pandemic really affected a lot of people as far as their ability to eke out a living through wrestling. Sobering to think about how close he was to hanging up the boots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXpEDb8BXHw

yo i hope the outstanding, like already-one-of-the-goats-of-promo-exceeding-his-own-capabilities-kinds of promos that eddie kingston delivers at the top of this ends up on tv

Really excited about waking my ass up halfway through the night to see our cowboy kick out the one winged Angel.

wtf @ this ppv

Punk vs Eddie man, fucking intense

that Elite/Jurassic express tag was kind of overindulgent for its placement on a card of this size, but it sure did a lot for Jungle Boy Man

That was my favourite MJF match I think

Miro getting dropped by basically a pro-wres flash knockout after a King's Road style epic kind of shows what AEW had been missing in its first two years of existence IMO (other than Serena Deeb, the actual best worker in America); Punk and Bryan's input over a couple of months has been unreal and I hope the youngins are absorbing everything they can from them while they're around

not sure how hangman vs. omega lived up to the hype. but it did

MJF/Allin was just the best. I don’t care about whatever crap storyline they need to build up, but MJF should be on every PPV.

I also in no way, shape or form got tears at the end of the PPV.

I’m ridiculously tired. I woke up worrying about life, remembered this was on and went for it.

I disliked the start of MJF-Darby with them doing a synchronised dance, at one point you could see them lifting the other guys arm off the mat, as if the dance was so much more than pinning the other guy. They got me after that for a bit. Hated the finish though, it deserved something better than MJF touching his dick 20 times throughout the match.

FTR and Lucha Bros don’t mix at all. Again, horrible finish.

My laptop started playing up during Miro-DBry. Will need to watch again.

Then there seemed to be 3 matches I didn’t really care about, and fast forwarded all through and started to get really sleepy. If it wasn’t motn next, I would have fallen asleep in my Bluetooth headphones. I don’t understand why the Cody tag in particular needed to happen here, and Britt needs more convincing challenges.

Eddie-Punk was fucking great. The Cena tease was a motherfucker.

Jericho needs to go away. Fast forwarded through, only to catch Jericho going up on the ropes, waiting way too long and shouting for JUNIOR! JUNIOR! to come hit him, which was embarrassing.

Jay Lethal is everything I’ve never cared about in TNA/modern indie wrestling. Also has a few allegations that don’t sound too great from #speakingout

That Hangman video! At first I was sad they didn’t go full WM17/My Way and just had a small video. But the second horse vid was great. A great match too. Intrigued to see what happens now. There is a lot of talk about Kenny being injured, about the SuperKliq, Bryan as #1 contender, Punk-Mox-MJF-Miro all as potential other contenders, some big names who could come from the midcard or other promotions too. All the champions up until this point seemed like logical progressions you could see coming a mile off. Now seems like the first time you can’t really predict what’s going to happen. I’m very excited.

All in all, a decent show that I hoped to be a better one. Maybe if I watch it again in a couple days and a better mood, it would be.

i think you should rewatch it

as usual i hated everything surrounding the inner circle/att match but the actual thing was pretty fun

i also disagree about ftr and lucha bros

I’m just not feeling it at all. Top Guys, at the Pinnacle, being Andrade’s hired goons, wearing lame masks, not doing much to make themselves or someone like Fenix shine. He should be bouncing off them like Dante Martin remaking the movie Flubber. Instead it’s just more ciero medo taunts, Tully never looking in position and hating Cash’s mullet.

Lucha Bros need something else. Idk what, as they’ve already recently feuded with the 3 biggest teams on the show (Bucks and JE before this). Mox and Eddie when he returns?

Will definitely rewatch. I now seemingly can’t remember much from the main event, I must have been half asleep.

lucha bros vs top flight (or at least dante/lio) would be very nice, i was just thinking after full gear that i fully expect dante martin to be on an upcoming ppv card. i do LOVE ftr and think the frog mask thing is hilarious so i think i give the whole feud the benefit of the doubt, but i also think the matches are dope

my critiques were: i didn’t want mjf or cody/pac to win their respective matches. superkliq trios match went way too long but maybe it’ll be better on rewatch without a room full of my friends

also why only one women’s match!!!!!! the buy-in doesn’t count!!!! :(

i guess when thunder rosa makes a title run after the tbs tournament that ppv is gonna rock my world

I totally agree about the women. Ruby, Rosa and Deeb could all have legit ppv level feuds. Also my Lucha/FTR is still slight criticism, it’s still better than any tag team stuff coming from the WWE since idk like tlc and maybe one new day feud. It’s just not the high high standards I’ve started to take for granted.

Thought I would rewatch the main event tonight and put on the last hour, which has the ic-att street fight on first.

Holy fuck did they start a street fight with both teams in the corners 1-on-1 in the ring trad tag match? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Why not just walk off your corner, be the first to pick up a weapon and knock them the fuck out? Instead you just stand there, hoping to be tagged in? So so so so dumb. Feel like I need to hate watch this in full now.

Actually Santana & Ortiz would be perfect for Lucha Bros, after umm, I guess defeating former UFC champions. Gonna skip it.

Had a blast with that whole show more or less top to bottom, some stuff was of a higher standard and some stuff of a lower but it was pretty much all at least enjoyable and I dunno what impossibly high standard they’re supposed to be operating at if you’re going to pick holes in most of the show.

Can’t subscribe to ahoyhoy’s criticisms here. Thought the Minnesota street fight was hilarious throughout, for instance. Lucha bros are a bit sloppy but also very cool so they get a pass.

MJF / Darby and punk / Kingston the highlights for me. The standing ovation for the pinfall trades in the opener was amazing.

GAF about jay lethal though. Thought we were getting switchblade for a second too which only made it the more disappointing