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We should maybe not speculate on this.

Isn’t that just Jeff Jarrett’s theme?

time to combine 4 matches into one Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Luchasaurus, Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Britt Baker vs Darby Allin, Sting, Jungle Boy, Claudio, Bryan Danielson, Saraya in.... the Chamber of Horrors

The reason why the Mox vs MJF feud feels off, is because it was written to be Punk vs MJF, and the dynamic between Mox and Max is completely different to the Punk/Max story.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1593151399944134656 AR Fox has been offered a contract. Hopefully he signs it.

I'm pretty certain that AEW's never been particularly good at doing the things that people suddenly seem to be wanting it to do whereas it's still good at a lot of the things that it's always been good at, getting you excited that tomorrow Eddie Kingston's going to be facing Jun Akiyama or that we've got a Samoa Joe vs Wardlow vs Hobbs match in a day or two or whatever. The most exciting part of any Dynamite is when they announce the matches for Rampage and the most exciting part of any Rampage is when they announce the matches for Dynamite and the most exciting part of the PPVs is knowing you're going to see a bunch of matches not structured with the commercial breaks, which isn't great for all the time, but is good once in a while. It's a promotion that has a ton of talent, most of which are really fun to watch in the ring, that lets them wrestle the sort of matches they want to wrestle, and that has some slight patina of stories and angles to give them reason to wrestle. And that's great! I don't even know what's going on here right now. Is there a time where AEW was magically something different than that? Not in the last year and a half certainly.

Eddie is getting horribly punished by getting to have his ultimate dream match vs Jun Akiyama. I'm sure he's extremely upset about it.

My theory? It's a work.

I really really enjoyed the opener. Obviously, I guess. Not exactly a secret that all of those guys are really good. Claudio is a freak! Doing lunges while holding a dude in a vertical suplex position is absurd! I also really enjoyed Top Flight and Fox vs Death Triangle. Less obviously? Nah. I like that flashy stuff just fine, particularly when it is done so well and so creatively. Dante is a different kind of freak. Even in there with Pac, Fenix, and Fox, his athleticism stands out. That's nuts. Toni Storm hit the Ass Attack twice, so I am doubly happy. I enjoyed that match, too. Hey! Positivity! I like the stuff they added to the PPV. Nothing surprising, but all of it should be excellent. Including the Elite returning. I am so stoked for Mad King's Dream Match on Rampage. Probably even more so than for the PPV. Actually, scratch the "possibly." It's a dream match for me, too.

Dude I think you need a Snickers, you're hangry or something lol. I'm with you tho The Firm sucks. The concept of The Firm sucks. Like I'm on board with a paid group of mercenaries to get you the poker chip. But the execution of it was bad. The rationale for it continuing past All Out was bad. Whatever it's morphed into is reallllyyyyyy bad. Keeping The Elite's actual return for the ppv makes sense to me. You save that first re-appearance pop for a big loud ppv audience. The visual of that makes how that's been handled worth it. But he also wanted to get the word out that they're back. A little playing both sides but this one makes sense to me. I don't think people are as anti-interim title as you are either. I'm fine with it if it's used with the right intent. This Rosa injury / non injury / weird confusing maybe drama situation ain't it tho. But in theory not forcing a champion to vacate due to injury is fine. It also builds a unique story that WWE doesn't present. It's an alternative. Just doing what WWE does and stripping everyone might be cleaner, but sometimes different is better.

John from Cincinnati was trolling and all the crazies bit.

No one gives a shit about The Firm or Ethan Page (and I like Ethan Page well enough). The Misfits in Action were a bigger draw than these goobers who have, indeed Debra’d the shit out of this main event feud.

Not the "All the President's Men" remake we need, the "All the President's Men" remake we DESERVE.

AWESOME!

I was there, and we really didn't. I don't know why this has happened at both Dynamites in that building so far, but I'm also thinking mic issue, because we popped for a lot, and I dont ever remember hearing this much about it re: any of the WWE events I've been to, even ones as sparsely attended as this. I saw this on reddit before, for example, and this seemed much louder in person: https://www.clippituser.tv/c/nlendl But, as I said above, attendance was not good at all, which may also be part of the noise level issue. Hard cam side might as well have had tumbleweeds. Arena staff were looking for seat fillers near the front door/box office. I fast forwarded around the episode a little when I got home, and they did a fantastic job with the tight shots, and just overall great camera work (though they've really gotta start tarping off seats). I'm cognizant of the fact that Connecticut is (obviously) WWF territory, but they have *got* to step their marketing and promotion game up on the local level. Hopefully this is the kind of shit that Jeff Jarrett will be improving on. They need like a Zane Bresloff type figure. For example, the last Dynamite in Bridgeport, Eddie Kingston did a radio interview with the 21st rated station in the market. 21st. I also did not see a single ad, commercial, or anything for this show outside of AEW programming- same goes for the live Rampage at the Casino a couple weeks ago. I was making this argument during/after the show. It really seems like we're heading for an MJF/Ethan Page title program. Personally, I am hoping for the swerve. The Firm ain't it. You had me til Dan Lambert/Scorp. I like Page and Scorpio both, but thought that MOTY was a shit pairing. Page would have been better served as a single from day one IMO, and I never saw the logic in breaking up SCU just to stick Scorpio in another team- it's not like Kazarian got some monster singles push, unless you count his 'Elite Hunter' stuff, but that's a huge stretch. That said, I reiterate: The Firm sucks. Their first promo after debuting, Stokely says you'll rarely ever seen them together- seems like maybe a cool kind of Heenan family vibe, interesting. Fast forward a couple weeks, and they're beating guys down to close out multiple episodes now, like they're the NWO. What the shit? Now that the negativity is out of the way: I also was curious about the lack of Daniel Garcia involvement in the opener, but that's giving me a feeling he may be involved in the finish at the PPV. Enjoyed the match immensely, and got a real kick out of the folks around us who just couldn't figure out how chops were done without hurting - I assume the BCC themselves would be tickled as they realized the truth as everyone's chests turned beet red by the end. Speaking of which: I really, really hope Regal doesn't turn on Moxley. I already wasn't digging the Yuta/Danielson dissension a few weeks back. I'm just not ready for BCC to be over yet. Their formation was the first, and to date, only time I've ever gone right to pro-wrestling tees at the conclusion of a show to see if they had a shirt out yet The Acclaimed were insanely over, as usual. Video got a great reaction, and we were absolutely dying at the intro especially. The Trios match was tremendous, and it was great to see AR Fox back for another one after his awesome bout w Fenix on Dark the other week at the casino. I completely agree on the Nitro comparison, except obviously this one had stakes attached (plus a returning Darius Martin, and that kid hasn't missed a beat, man). Overall, we had an absolute blast, but it would have been just a little bit better of a vibe with a full building- but those of us who were there, were definitely very, very happy to be, regardless of what was heard on TV. I'll give this one 8 out of 10 as a live experience I'd say

We are starting off HOT! Jericho and Sammy! Dragon and Claudio! Awright! Everybody is beating on everybody! Sammy is still a HEAT MACHINE. Sammy and Jericho do some SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT! For Matt D! Sammy and Danielson are fucking SOLID GOLD in the ring together. Sammy works on the Dragon's eye which is emphasized by Jericho while we are in picture in picture. Dragon is fun as our babyface in peril. Sammy is fucking awesome going up big for Claudio, the ultimate Robert Gibson. Claudio is LAYING IT IN! Actually, EVERYBODY is laying it in in this match. This match is fucking great. Sammy and Dragon are fucking SOLID GOLD! Sammy is better than Daniel Garcia versus Dragon, because Sammy brings the LEGIT heel HEAT. Sammy and Claudio are ALSO solid gold in the ring. GIANT SWING WITH BAT! Claudio makes Jericho tap to the Scorpion Death Lock! Sammy Guevara is fucking AWESOME. It's Anthony Bowen against Shane Swerve Strickland! Strickland is good beating on Bowens to get the crowd behind Bowens STRUGGLE to escape the EVIL of Swerve! Bowen goes on offense and this is quite the match that needs the heat of them in a tag match. Folks are into it, but you need the Lee versus Swerve dynamic to add another element to generate THE HEAT. Swerve wins with a Dangerous Inverted Thingy! That was perfectly fine- a sort of Robert Gibson versus Stan Lane match for the modern age. Samoa Joe ON THE STICK! POWERHOUSE HOBBS! Many Security guys are beaten on! WARDLOW HITS A TOPE CON HILO! That was a fun pull apart! Britt Baker goes all emotional! It's Top Flight and AR Fox! It's the Death Triangle! Y'now. When the Lucha Brothers were finishing up for MLW, Fenix put over Air Wolf on the way out. Air Wolf was, of course, a behooded DARIUS MARTIN! HISTORY! They do a Lucha Mirror sequence! Dante has new nifty things against PENTA~! AR Fox and PAC wrestled 3 times TEN years ago. Fox does innovative high spots! They beat on AR Fox in picture in picture! I have two lunatic kittens that want to lay on my laptop so I'm having to FIGHT to not be distracted! `The High Spot Train by Top Flight is really spectacular. Black Arrow! Death Triangle wins in a spectacular if kinda disjointed match. That was fun. Unbelievably! The Elite! Saturday! It's Ethan Page versus Bandido! I'm trying to figure out how they fit in all of Ricky Starks matches. EVEREST LATERAL SUPLEX by Bandido! Ethan Page continues his ascent up the card as everyone's angry stepfather. Bandido is making Page look like a million bucks. ORIHARA MOONSAULT BY BANDIDO! Bandido REY MISTERIO JRs his way out the Die Hard Kansai! Love Machine Splash for TWO! This match is great! Ethan Page hits a Toprope Body Slam, a Road Warrior Hawk Shoulder Block and Ego's Edge for the win! Three Moves of Doom! That was great. Bandido is fucking AWESOME. OOOH MAN! JUN AKIYAMA! KONOSUKE TAKESHITA! OOOOH MAN! Anna JAS! Toni Storm! Anna is doing Sports Entertainment! Hey! Anna JAS is a HEAT MACHINE! Anna works the crowd like a true disciple of Chris Jericho (actually, I'm noticing that she is more influenced by Britt Baker.) Anna is matching Storm's stiffness. WRECKS EM through the ropes! Anna busts up Storm on the outside! WRECKED EM! Storm channels Dean Malenko and applies the Texas Cloverleaf! Jamie Hayter comes down to the ring and faces off with the gal holding her belt! Anna JAS looked great in this- especially since she woke up this morning not knowing she was wrestling on TV. That was good. Then MOX and MJF yak for a while. That was good. That was some quality Professional Wrestling. AEW. RULES. THE MOTHERFUCKING. WORLD.

I’m a wrestling fan and I don’t want to watch WWE anymore. Not a high water episode this week. But considering AEW has put some of the best weekly episodes of tv wrestling I’ve seen in 39 years of watching. I’m invested. Jericho continues to impress me this year. That dude has to be sick of taking that fucking swing. Good tag match as Sammy was high on crazy pills doing that nutty dive to the outside. The Acclaimed cheer me up. But during the Bowens match commercial the announcers went full knucklehead just ribbing Jericho and going off topic. That shit is going to suck being archived on an eventual streaming service. I love Mox calling Max a child. The contrast is volume 10. Britts promo was good. She staked her claim. I’m enjoying Swerve a lot more than I used to. Much of that is informed by a longer history on tv informing his character. Wardlow doing a big guy wacky dive into a dude pile is a novelty. Just don’t do it all the time. Joe is going to casually side step that shit if he tries it, and it’s going to be glorious. MJF doing the Rock in September of 98 face run to set up some dastardly heel plot twist is taking too long. Rocky had a short window to make it count. But the booking has been reeling since the bullshit with Punk. This’ll take a bit. But it’ll get back on track. Full Gear should be a good to great show. But I’m looking forward to Rampage more than anything. Akiyama baby!

The simple answer is they put a lot of stock in CM Punk, and that stock has crashed like crypto trading company. They gave the dude their top belt twice in ppv main events, and each time he didn't make through the next Dynamite with the strap. Everything was lined up for him to be on top this summer, then bring it back around to cement a top homegrown, whether it be MJF or Wardlow. The downstream effects of Punk's bad luck and fuck-ups are being felt well down the roster. I don't really blame TK for going all in with Punk, as that looked like a good idea all the way through the dog collar match, and honestly, this would be a tough mess to clean up for anybody. I think his worst decision in the fallout was going back to Mox as champ. He needed to take his vacation as planned while Danielson or Omega righted the ship.

Definitely time to panic! Tony Khan should lead off Full Gear by coming out screaming, with his hair on fire, and just running in circles for 3 minutes while they play emergency sirens over the stadium speakers.

Oh man, I finally landed on what's really bugging me about this whole MJF/Moxley feud and run up to the title. It should just be between Moxley and MJF. That's it. It should just be what Austin vs Rock was before Vince fucked it up by adding Debra and after Vince course corrected and removed Debra from the equation. The Firm is basically Debra in this scenario and unfortunately they were never removed from something that should just be about MJF and Moxley.

A lot of good and some bad. The opening tag match was great. But, like… why isn’t the four way Jericho/Dragon/Yuta/Garcia? That was the storyline unless I missed someone getting hurt? I loved the trios match. Glorious throwback to some kind of Nitro six man with Super Calo, Psichosis, Juvi, La Parka, Lizmark Jr and a Villano and maybe Blitzkrieg. Just really fun dives and etc. Swerve vs. Bowens was good stuff. I love them setting up Bowens coming into the match with an injury he has to overcome. His leg selling at the first match was all-time work. Bowens is so great. Serve is, too. The Firm stuff sucks so much. I really want to like Stokely but this stuff has no heat. I really wish this was Dan Lambert and Scorpio Sky instead. These dopes being involved with the main event angle is just a distraction.

Man they need that AEW Network ASAP so I can get more Sting and Darby in Fear and Loathing in Venice Beach. Like real grimy black and white road trip episodes where the Darby stops to jump off of shit and skateboard while Sting stops to identify fixer uppers at below market asking prices. Some real Jackass meets Chip and Joanna shit.

Rock solid proof that Burger King Chalkenger Brand AEW is a miserable catastrophic failure. Time to do a hard shift back into being a big weird indie catering specifically and exclusively to the hardcore fan-base.

No Bunny. That’s my take. Also I kind of enjoyed the six-man tag so I don’t know what else to say.

Whoa! That ain't no good!

Moving the finals off the PPV is good as the show is loaded as it is... On to Dynamite! CAPTAIN INSANO IS ALL ELITE!!! I don't know about Big Pauls health but it would be funny to have the good Capt, wrestle on Dark while Mr. No More BS does commentary. Probably the best swerve match I've ever seen. Bowens is like Dax where I'd be fine with him getting Arn Anderson like secondary title run at some point. 6 man was great. Great to see AR FOX get some time and a reunited top flight. Be funny to see AR FOX and Swerve interact in a match and have the announcers allude to "history" Tough Touchus Toni hits Sweet Cheek Music on Ann Jay twice for the win! Interesting Face promo from Britt... The AEW tends to cheer for their homegrown talent Joe cuts a promo about Wardlow's LUSTFULL EYES! He won't go quietly into being a victim, Mr. mayhem refused to recognize to THE POWER so now he has to pay THE ULTIMATE PRICE! Personally I would rather see Joe v Hobbs, Joe v Wardlow, or Wardlow v Joe than a three way but maybe we get those matches in the HOSSWEIGHT division Ending segment went off the rails. First time a promo has main evented and not a match?

I'm not going to lie, him coming back would be good for business and storylines and we could finally get to MJF vs Punk. I would also like to add that Punk needs some sort of therapy to address his trust issues that have piled up over the course of 35+ years, so basically since he could start forming memories, but I doubt that gets thrust upon him. But, yeah, hell yeah, bring back Punk. Fuck it. There's so many hot angles you could run with him after the gripebomb.

If I'm TNT, I'd be pretty pissed if the Friday show was rebranded from AEW to ROH

Me bringing it up definitely wasn't any sort of gossip, more or less just expressing concern based on how he's looked and sounded recently. But he could also have been really off last night. That said, he was really, really, really off promo wise last night just flubbing everything. I think the basis of the promo was good though, that Max has done fuck all this year so excuse him if he's not shaking in his boots over a guy with what I think is a losing record on TV, then fucked off for however many months, and then got a title shot because his lame stable beat everyone up in a ladder match and let him get the chip to win the ladder match. It's just his delivery of the promo and then getting lost on the PPV day was weird. Normally when Mox cuts a promo it's basically what you want to hear from someone to be convinced to run into a burning building and save the people inside. That whole segment also wasn't helped by the Firm running in and looking like a bunch of geeks.

I don't think Craig H was being malicious at all, for the record, and I totally understand where you're coming from. I just don't dig on discussing that kind of stuff here. I'll do fun backstage gossip all day, for sure. I don't know. It just makes me feel gross.

Y'know, the last time Captain Insano doubted someone by laughing at them over the phone, they won the big game and hooked up with Fairuza Balk. The future's looking bright for Nise Keith Lee.

Opening tag was the best. Hoping the outcome means Jericho retains cause this doesn't feel like the time or way for his reign to end. Dug the random little Sting and Darby driving scene. Acclaimed music video ruled, maybe my favorite one of theirs so far. Captain Insano! Interesting super babyface promo from Britt. Trios tag ruled. I wish Bandido won. I also wish that closing segment was the end of the Firm being involved in the title feud at all. Somewhat-babyface MJF is kind of fun so far, but still rooting for Moxley and would hate a Regal turn. Starks seemingly going to have to wrestle twice in one night all because he got attacked seems a bit odd but I guess will be the excuse for him losing the final. Hyped for Rampage with Akiyama.

The point about Triple H being a damn fine "TV match" worker is well boosted by the fact that those watching in real time STILL remember the title defense against Taka Michinoku to this day, which I think may be an all-time "modern era guy working like an NWA Champion" match-up. I do also think though that the No Mercy PPV (2007?) that started with Cena vacating the WWE Championship, Hunter beating Orton to claim the title, successfully defending against Umaga, and then losing to Orton in a bloody Last Man Standing match also somehow fell backwards into being "TNA-level overstuffed booking but done damn well and better than TNA ever pulled off". As champion main eventers go, I have to go with Hunter over Jarrett there.

I think the Gunns are TV time worthy but the Firm is a real stepback for them with how it played out. They had the most upside as Stoke was assembling his men.

For fucks sake, Hangman is out with a concussion. Man, a whole lot of dog brained hot takes on here.

People need to normalize leaving big names off some PPVs if they really believe what they're saying about them being too long.

Yep, give me more WCW Saturday Night hijinks. Have Private Party find the WCW Cruiser Tag Champs in the trash and try to defend them.

Tazz really seemed to go out of his way to put over AR FOX so much so that I forgot he obviously be eating the pin

Credit to SRS on Twitter. Spoilered for size, but complete rundown of the Full Gear media conference call.

This movie made me buy Jeff Goldblum as a racist drug dealer. A man who has only played three or four heavies in his entire career. The Snoop Dogg / Dr. Dre end credits anthem is just the cherry on top.

Maybe I am too cynical; or maybe I have watched too much wrestling but the whole Firm thing feels like a real re-tread of so many angles I have seen. I would love to be wrong, but the Firm working with MJF and a heel turn by Regal feel really inevitable. As does a Danielson heel turn soon.

I feel what you're saying, understand why you're saying it, and 100% agree with you in principle, but I'm going to address it anyway for two reasons: One, I think it's important to make the distinction that I don't think Craig is intentionally being a gossip here, but (I believe) speaking out of genuine concern. Sure, framing it as speculation may have been the wrong move, but I don't think there were any ill intentions - I'm kind of reading it as one of those things that would come off differently verbally than through on-screen text. In short: I think the phrasing was wonky, but the sentiment was there. And secondly, I think it deserves attention because (cue the sappy Full House music) falling off the wagon is a known, even expected, part of recovery, and I think a little destigmatization would go a long way. I'd like to think that if the guy behind the Moxley character were reading this (or anyone here who struggles with the liquor, as I know at *least* a handful of us do) they would feel supported, and know we've got their back, and we'll help 'em right back on. And to add to this, it's become a little bit of a meme recently, but in all seriousness, this dude has really been trying to take a vacation for like three months now, but duty called after All Out. Plus he has his wife out there with him now which, while it's probably rad 99% of the time, likely comes with its own set of stressors, especially as new parents. I know he just did at least one indie last weekend too. Could totally just be burn-out that is being read incorrectly If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but my money is that come winter/spring, we'll see a fairly rejuvenated Mox after a short break.

Cool!

Capital-A amazing.

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