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Between O'Khan and O'Reilly, I haven't seen such wonderful Irish representation on a show since the days of O'Kada vs O'Mega.

He paid extra to put the claw on them in the champagne room, but he botched that too.

Why is no one talking about the MVP of the night, Cool Hand Ange's switchblade comb?

Yeah, let’s all agree to not aggregate Ringside News anymore.

O-Khan had fun after the show ??

That cage match was note perfect. Simply booked and exactly what you'd expect. Pro wrestling is not hard. LOL @ MJF's Burberry ref stripes and Shawn Michaels tribute grape smuggling shorts. Spears wearing the same facemask as half the edgelord tryhards on GTA Online. JR shitting on WWF cage match stips of "run away to win" was great. LOOOOL at Wardlow yeeting that one dude into the netherworld abyss. The Page Punk promo segment was weird. Good emotion but the content was so incredibly non-specific and I have no idea what's supposed to be the point. When the announcers are working harder to tell your program's story than you are, that's an issue. Like others have said, Page is defending AEW from Punk why? We needed a lot more here. Just fucking weird. Jungle Boy needs to wear that belt on his shoulder. Around his waist we get a ROH Showdown in Motown situation and we don't need that. I popped for Jeff Cobb coming in. That was unexpected. When you never do DQ run ins, you can do effective DQ run ins. The Great O'Khan was not so great. Is his gimmick that he can hypnotize guys into putting themselves through tables? Because there was no contact between his hand on FTR #2 on that face claw. I hope Kingston stays with that gear. It looked cool. Marq Quen's dyed beard makes him look 65. Caprice! That's awesome. No makeup AND shoot names being uttered. Oh shit Deeb gonna die. Statlander going from unbooked to going all the way? Yes please! I'm a little tired of Ruby already even if she just had her best match so far vs Riho. And Soho vs Baker again would just be meh. I'd be cool with Page beating Punk and then losing it to Wardlow because that guy is hot as fuck right now. This Week in Alternative Medicine: Tony and Excalibur explain cupping!

Menard is like the shitbird sidekick for every Hanna Barbera cartoon villain ever and I'm here for it. After the PA took the fireball I fully expect a Smart Mark Sterling commercial for assistance with unsafe work environment cases. Works on contingency? No, money down! Speaking of fireballs, I see Jericho trying to do it again to Kingston, only this time he's ready for it and uses a can of butane to get his heat back. Figuratively and literally. The show layout was odd... it almost feels like they could've run every segment in the complete opposite order. I think Wardlow atop the cage staring down MJF would've been way more effective than the Joe/Cole staredown.

Yep. They also said Rampage would not be the B show. I like Rampage a lot. It's an easy to digest, fun to watch hour. But it's totally the B show.

To paraphrase a well-loved post here, had they advertised Cody Rhodes vs. Cody Rhodes in a Cody-Rhodes-on-a-pole match, held inside a steel Cody Rhodes, they would have sold out the football stadium in Vegas, and probably multiple other football stadiums in America who want to see it on the big screen in a large crowd.

Someone needs to take him aside and tell him “Settle down, Great-O-Khan-ico”

I saw Top Gun in the theater when it came out with my late cousin Brian Scott, who was an Air Force pilot. He spent the whole movie making fun of and shitting on it. It's one of my favorite memories.

Are you trying to say that some people can learn from their mistakes and be better people as a result?

I'm starting to feel like unless it's rape or murder or something at that level, maybe we just come up with an agreed-upon statute of limitations for people doing dumb shit. "Scour the web, videotapes, etc for regrettable dirt on people to stoke the outrage machine and get clicks" should not be a valid full time career.

Lot of good stuff on this show. MJF’s red attire was “chefs kiss” perfect. That was everything it needed to be. Wardlow is a STAR. JAS/BCC & the boys is going to absolutely rule. Mox is still in the bad habit of giving inferior opponents too much offense, but that match set up what it needed to. God I hope Punk doesn’t win. AEW needs another 40+ year old former wwe champ like it needs another 20 folks on its roster. I thought Page’s promo was good. I liked Thunder Rosa’s “Crazy Miguel’s Used Cars” getup. The promo needed some work but again, English isn’t her first language. Rosa got hot at the right time and helped carry this company through the pandemic. If they switch the title from her to Deeb so Deeb can drop it to Soho or Storm or Statlander, that would make sense. That 3 way match absolutely fornicated. It was awesome. I will say this until it stops needing to be said, but imagine having Jungle Boy, Swerve Strickland, and Stroke Daddy Starks on your payroll and turning around and building your program around adam Cole and his sawed off boring ass friends. That’s like going to the nicest steakhouse in the city and ordering the chicken nuggets off the kids menu. Just absolutely horrifying. Samoa Joe rules. In a fair and just world he would stomp adam Cole into baloney pudding and reign forever with his Owen trophy. But we live not in a just world. We live in a world where adam Cole and Britt baker are going to be handed yet another opportunity to lead this program into blinding generic mediocrity. Like the homecoming king and queen at a high school with the worst football team ever. This shit should be considered a hate crime. Mostly good show. Oh yeah! I forgot. Jeff Cobb fucking rules. And it was cool of his tag partner to take time off from trying to kill Flash Gordon to be a part of AEW…

Geez Louise!

THURSDAY REWATCH REFLECTIONS: Shawn Spears should win an emmy for his reactions to hitting MJF with the chair. So subtle, so empathetic. Wardlow is like the Conan the Barbarian of pro wrestling. Know too, oh prince, that the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities... Daddy Magic uses the term "bozo" and it is better than the WIZARD throwing a fireball. During picture in picture of the Moxley/Kingston, it felt like they planted some 1995 FMW footage in the little screen. Isiah Kassidy never screams like a little girl and think that threw the whole episode off. I love that Eddie Kingston hobbles four times as much as Bryan Danielson during our epic pull apart. Lord Regal making the Slice Your Cheek motion while Excalibur is creating a wall of words about Draft Kings is fucking MANLY. FTR make the ROH titles the actual world titles because they look like the world champions when they wear the belts. Caprice Coleman is so much better than the rest of the commentator team. He's like Excalibur in getting over the story and information about the match but not as nerdy. Dax Harwood knows this isn't an actual match but a set-up for a bigger match so he is on auto pilot, so he is still the best wrestler on earth just not a fired up best wrestler on earth. FTR really gets Rappongi Vice over right before the run-in. I hate three ways and the three way was the most impressive thing on this episode so that made me not love this episode as much as I usually would. During the picture in picture, Starks does a really great British Bulldog Delayed Vertical Suplex. I think the big take away from the three way is that these three guys need singles runs. JR did that strange thing of putting over Jungle Boy taking an Irish Whip to his sternum by saying it reminds him of Bret Hart. KAYFABE, ROSS! I love Shane Strickland because he definitely plays to the back of the room. I dig how they use the Snare Trap to allow Strickland to recover from the Rochambeau. Toni Storm amd Britt Baker worked a 1975 Mid-Atlantic Studio wrestling head scissors section. Storm wanted to make the outside the ring part better but Baker isn't Jamie Hayter and doesn't bump big enough. Kyle O'Riley is fucking awesome. He had this match against Samoa Joe, which is more his style and just last week had that match against Rey Fenix in a totally foreign style. I don't think Joe is winning against Adam Cole. It seems like new additions have to put over older additions before going over, thus Storm puts over Baker, Punk puts over MJF, Danielson puts over Hangman- THUS Joe puts over Cole. IT'S MATH. PEOPLE!

You could post gotcha bullshit on one wrestler per day and be able to keep a clickbait trash site in business for years. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to download the sleaze thread and put in my resignation.

That guy Wardlow powerbombed into the cage being folded up and disappearing under the ring, like Taker was dragging him straight to hell, was kinda hilarious.

I liked O'Khan's explanation better.

I'm like 90% sure that Hangman's verbiage was intended to be an extremely opaque way of saying "I am friends with Colt Cabana and I do not care for your actions." Maybe I'm wrong, but that weird line about workers' rights kinda made the lightbulb go off in my head, YMMV

The Punk-Hangman dynamic is fascinating. Hangman is presenting himself as defending AEW from CM Punk. But what is he protecting the promotion from? Punk's formerly villainous nature? Someone who isn't an AEW original who might steal the identity of the promotion from a gatekeeper like himself? Someone who's more popular? His grievances are unspecific and unsatisfying. But the cheers for his grievances imply maybe Vegas AEW fans want a gatekeeper champion? Very strange. He's insecure. He's jealous. He's a gatekeeper.

I just really, really want Kingston to win the title from CM Punk on Dynamite Grand Slam, and have a celebration like Mick Foley did on RAW in '98 but sub out DX for Jon Moxley, Santana, Ortiz, Homicide, etc. Then he can lose it back to Punk or whatever at the PPV.

Sorry I'm late. Went to dinner with the family and mother-in-law at Cracker Barrel (chicken pot pie.) Wardlow does the breaking of the handcuffs! Everybody on the board pops! This is a very WWE style match but the crowd is pretty HOT for it. Wardlow and MJF at the PPV! Security leans into punches in the face! What promotion in Las Vegas are they from? That was fun. Wardlow is what you call OVER. THE WIZARD FIREBALLS A GUY! CM Punk tweeted about Texas earlier today so I don't know if his heart is in it tonight. Hangman is into it. CM Punk nuts up and goes through with the promo. That's how you sell the PPV. I love Moxley and Kingston's entrance. Jesus, Private Party got wrangled into some shit. Marq Quinn takes an assbeating. God, picture in picture looks fucking insane. I see that Eddie is OPTING to match Moxley's insanity outside the ring. Quinn bumps like a psycho. SWEET SHOOTING STAR PRESS by Marq Quinn! JEEBUS! WHAT A LARIAT BY MOXLEY! Great fucking finish. The pull apart is FABULOUS! Danielson and Jericho are MAGIC! I had almost forgotten about Rappongi Vice versus FTR. I await Trent versus Dax Harwood and so do you, I would assume. AWESOME! They start with Cash and Romero so we can be filled with anticipation! THEN! THEY TAG! Oh man, they are laying it in! Caprice Coleman is good as the ROH historian. Man, Trent is so good. Rocky Romero is too New Japan junior style to seem to be much of a threat to Dax fucking Harwood. Harwood then immediately crushes Rocky with a punch to the face. Dax Harwood is the best wrestler on earth? Maybe. Great O'KHAN! JEFF COBB! Makes for a crappy finish. FTR vs Jeff Cobb will be good. Oh hope that wasn't to set up a three way. Powerhouse Hobbs vs Jeff Cobb would be better. Hardys ON THE STICK! Speaking of three ways- zoinks! Any of these guys in a singles match together would be really fun. Three ways suck because the psychology is all fucked up- it's always halfway between a singles match and a tag match so the heat is all weird and becomes a collection of spots without anybody getting any heat on anyone or battling back against anyone or anything that makes a match a good match. Well, anyway, I guess I'll watch. There are a lot of cool spots- especially Swerve Strickland rolling through a Superplex. Shane Strickland pull out the win - so by WWE booking, Jurrasic Express RETAINS! But this is AEW so you never know. KEITH LEE WITH A PISCADA! FUCKING AWESOME! Thunder Rosa is OVER! She is kinda heelish on THE STICK talking shit about Serena Deeb talking about the horrible shit she went through in the WWE. TONI STORM! BRITT BAKER! I remember Baker tweet a picture of Toni Storm the day after she walked out of WWE. I assume she has been looking forward to this. After the commercial Toni LAYS IT IN! Baker does a nice reversal of the Storm Zero with an Air Raid Crash. This is pretty good. Baker cheats a little to win! They should have these two feud. The heat is there. Now let's get that title on Toni Storm. I'm guessing Statlander wins it all? Samoa Joe and Kyle O'Riley is going to be STIFF! Joe beats on KOR early. KOR is fun on offense. Great leg sweep by Joe. Nice lariat by Joe. JOE! Joe is OVER. KOR procures the Fujiwara Armbar! This match is good. Samoa Joe channels DUSTY RHODES and APPLIES THE SLEEPER FOR THE WIN! That was a good show. Moxley and Kingston vs the Private Party was the best. A lot of tonight was to set up stuff down the line which is fine. Jeff Cobb showing up was awesome . AEW RULES THE WORLD!

video of the security guys going into the cage to stop Wardlow

The Natural, I love ya dude, but giving Ringside News attention like this was not necessary. They've been doing this gotcha shit for years, and that's with their owner acting like an absolute scumbag. Also, it's pretty clear where all this garbage is coming from. Not to mention, Ringside trying to deflect their own transgressions from earlier this week. I'm not making excuses, but those old PWG shows are full of some pretty "offensive" and politically incorrect material. AJ Styles used to use a derogatory slur toward the LGBTQ community on the regular in the aughts. I'm not making excuses for AJ Styles, but those things happened. And I'm sure a lot of people on this forum are well aware they happened and saw him do it.

Who needs stars when you have such a strong brand? The brand is the draw, then, now, and forever.

Why is Magnum TA interviewing Gillberg?

The only nitpick I have for Wardlow is that he needs to fix his swanton. He over rotated it badly and barely grazed Spears with the back of his head. The rest was fantastic. MJF delivers the goods in every segment he’s in.

It's definitely not good, but it is enjoyable in that 80s Dolph Lundgren movie kind of way. I think the parkour scene in War Zone is the hardest I've ever laughed at a movie.

Wasn't familiar with Ringside News. I'll be skipping them now.

Agreed. This is missing a step or two in how we arrived here and why. A simple "Eddie Kingston was right" would have sufficed instead of all the vague inferences and allusions. Gotta say I've really loved how well they've used Ricky Starks the past month or so. Guy can go in the ring. if MJF goes - giving Starks that spot isn't the worst trade off. Him and Hobbs have been tearing it up on the midcards, been a great use of these 6 guys and that was a fun match. Jeff Cobb and "his partner" debut.....what a whiff. As was the seemingly botched finish in Storm/Baker with Hayter out of position. Private Party took a beating and it was highly enjoyable as a result. That lariat needs more replay time. I'm starting to enjoy Red Velvet more and more - the heel turn has been a welcome change. Thunder Rosa's promo was.....glass half full not as bad as Deeb's, glass half empty poses questions why she dresses like your friend's mom post divorce. That hat was some Peggy Hill energy. Otherwise, this is at best, the third most important womens program they've got going at the moment.

What a moment.

My first thought was Beach Blast vs Sting. Then stuff vs Vader.

Guys, Gilbert Leduc's awesome. We know that, but this cravat takeover on Bert Mychel is one of the best things ever. Look at the torque on that thing. And this was something he'd do a lot in his matches but I'm not sure I've ever seen it so fast or so slick:

The best part about Souled Out 2000 is that Russo wanted Tank Abbott to walk out with the title. He had pitched putting the title up in a Royal Rumble type deal. IIRC, Sid would toss everyone out and you'd think he won but there'd be one more guy left and Tank would come out, knock Sid out and take the belt. And then Terry Funk would light the ring on fire for...well....reasons. JJ Dillon talked about that a lot in his book. Apparently they were in a production meeting before the show and Russo was asking what it would take to get the fire marshal out of the building so that they could wipe the ring down with flammable gel at some point and then have Funk set the ring on fire with his flaming branding iron to close the show. Right after he pitched that, Brad Siegel or whoever was running WCW at that point (I can't recall exactly who) said Russo would have to work with a booking committee and he declined and left for a while until he and Bischoff came back in April.

Pretty good show with no real bad segments, don’t want to write a lot but my favourite moments were: Wardlow murdering that one dude. It looked like when Freddy Krueger pulled Johnny Depp into the bed on the first NOES. Eddie looked great in shorts, wouldn’t mind if he kept this look. Thank god for Ricky Starks being on my TV every week, he’s been on quite a roll since the Jay Lethal match a few months ago. Guy is so entertaining to watch and he maximises every second of screen time he gets. Laughed out loud when a fan yelled at him for missing a stomp and he INSTANTLY shouted “your dad should have missed when he came you punk ass bitch”

Hell yes.

"Look at all these empty seats!"

Raiders potentially signing Colin Kaepernick.

Check your PMs.

? I love you. Took the words right out of my mouth.

The Dead Eye sell is the way they tell the ref "This is the finish". If it's not the finish, they look at the referee, so they can time the last second kickout. But if they're stay down, it's Eyes of Corpse until the bell rings.

Foley's best matches to me are vs. HBK at Mind Games and vs. Austin at OTE. The 2000 HHH matches are just under them for me. The matches with Taker were solid-good, but never really hit great to me from what I've caught of them. Always thought the Taker HIAC match was good as a spectacle but not as an actual match.

High ratings?