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

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