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Or, to spin it the other way: Isn't it awesome that a true wrestling nerd, like many of us here on these boards, has decided to use his fortuitous circumstances to live his pro wrestling nerd dreams? It's cool because he still has his love for it, and those of us so inclined benefit because we get to see things like Kingston & Ortiz vs Takeshita & Akiyama. Good for Tony Khan, living his best life in a way that makes other's lives better as well!

The pre-show is going to smoke the PPV.

And he’s going to get so tubby.

That's pretty crazy! Both of us ended up getting exactly what we asked for, in fact: 　 How are we supposed to not love AEW now? EXACTLY what we asked for. Somebody there wants the same things we do. It's pretty cool and fun, in my opinion.

Hey, at least he's giving back. His dream could have been to fly a dildo into space like the rest of these assholes.

Never understood the hate for Khan; unless people are just jealous they aren't in his shoes. The guy has done so much for wrestling as a whole. Say what you will about the quality of shows and whether they're your cup of tea or not - but he's done and tried to do nothing more than bring all wrestling together. If I was in Tony Khans shoes, I'd have done the same exact thing and I bet there are tons of wrestling historians/fans on here who'd share that same sentiment.

Sorry guys. This one is my fault! This is what happens when they're booking for me and not one of you.

I await the Tubster vs Bandido.

Oh buddy, do I have a fun surprise for you. (check the first username in the thread)

Last night I told my wife I wasn’t going to order the PPV to save money and she is basically insisting that I buy it, so I guess I’m in. The buy-in is going to be great, I’ll probably be watching the UT football game on my iPad and the buy-in on the big TV. My hope is that MJF was swerving with The Firm and that’s how he wins. I don’t want BCC to break up yet, and I don’t want Regal to turn, nor do I think it makes much sense for him to choose MJF over BCC. I’m with Matt where I think Britt-Jamie split, with each costing the other the match. Can’t recall who said that they’re not going to have a title switch on an interim title, which makes sense to me. I think it would be more interesting if Keith Lee went heel with Swerve, but I definitely seems like they’re going to split and I can’t see AEW taking the title off The Acclaimed right now, they are their single hottest act. I don’t know that they would take the belt off Jericho, but if they do it’s definitely not gonna be Jericho taking the pin. They’re teasing that Sammy could go into business for himself, and as I said on the Dynamite thread there are little seeds planted for Claudio to take advantage of an opportunity even if it’s pinning Bryan (and technically in the BCC canon that would be acceptable). I don’t see them ending Jade’s streak so Nyla is toast, and the TBS belt goes back to being boring AF. I don’t really care much about the rest of the card.

PRE-SHOW! It's four on five! NICKY BOY! Trent is beating the fuck out of Aaron Solo! Cole Karter runs in to go up BIG! QT Marshall is a HEAT MACHINE! I absolutely LOVE then doing the Best Friends hug. NICKY BOY kills Trent! Trent kills QT! OC kills the Factory! QT punches OC in the face! BLUE THUNDER BOMB by Big Shotty! Cole Karter is a HEAT MACHINE! EVIL DANHAUSEN! DANSTEINERHAUSEN! It's ROH Danhausen, which I had totally forgotten about. Ricky Starks is STILL brawling. I dig that. I also dig Brian Cage. He wrestles like a weirdo for a body guy. Starks is awesome getting over as an injured, sympathetic babyface. Cage is great as force to work against. A Spear by Starks FOR TWO! Cage cuts him off by completely slaughtering Starks! This match is great. ROCHAMBEAU! Ethan Page was great on commentary. Once again, ZERO HOUR is a great episode of Rampage. JUN AKIYAMA! I love Kingston trying to do the Kobashi/Misawa suplex off the apron. Akiyama is such great cranky old bastard. Akiyama takes the third most painful match an American modern wrestler can take but was probably the thirtieth most painful bump Akiyama has taken. Akiyama takes a DDT like RVD! NORTHERN LIGHTS BOMB BY KINGSTON! URICAN and EDDIE WINS! Well, THAT was emotional. Goddam, top THAT, PPV.

They've made such a big deal about the Dynamite Diamond Ring that I can absolutely see MJF winning with the Power of the Punch from Regal. I think the way to go is having Britt inadvertently costing Hayter the title match early in the night and Hayter purposefully stopping Britt from cheating against Saraya later in the night setting up their feud. I think the first option is more likely than the second.

Taz, one word, one name. Hook, one word, one name. So the family has a gimmick. What would the wife of Taz’ name be? Just Wife? Her? Good baby face work from Starks though I question the Devils jersey. I don’t watch hockey. But if Starks is a two town hometown boy in Houston and NOLA it comes across as a bit inauthentic. I’ve really come around on Archer. He makes using the word “Hoss” not a pejorative. Aubrey getting decked like it was last call at the bar was nutty great. I haven’t read the thread yet. But I’d imagine some folks might think that the previously untouched popular Aubrey getting physical should be saved for a bigger show. But come on. The regular shows need meat on the bone too. Rampage is many things. But WWE syndicated show it is not. I was surprised at the slow build to start the DDT vs Eddie/Ortiz. Really liked where it went teasing off the Akiyama confrontation for as long as possible. Feels like a set up for a one on one match to me. I’m more of a Kobashi or Kawada guy myself. But this was a good intro for Jun if they’ve got more in the plans for him. I love you AEW (rampage).

Tony doesn't have any problems. Y'all do. Tony books for Tony. If you don't like your wife's new haircut, and she does, that's not her problem - it's yours. Everyone else has a problem with Tony's booking/delegation/decision making. I've yet to hear Tony lament Tony.

Hey! It's RAMPAGE! Ricky Starks and Lance Archer start in the back and fight their way to the ring! They are punching each other dead in the face so I certify this as DVDVRMB APPROVED! Starks is a good brawler- WHO KNEW? NICE Lariat by Archer. Starks hits the DDT on the second shot! STARKS WINS WITH A SPEAR! That was good. Weird and good. It's Lee Moriarty! Against Hook! They go completely BattlARTS! GREAT fucking Suplex by Hook. Moriarty beats on Hook while we are in picture in picture! Nice Lariat by Hook to go on offense. This is the best Hook match so far. Lee cuts him off and makes with two submissions! Hook counters into a Redrum for the win! I'm confused about the Rush/ John Silver match. ATHENA! ATHENA! ATHENA! Madison Rayne! is going to get murdalized! ATHENA SLUGS AUBREY! Oh man! Mercedes Martinez is dropping the belt to Athena! YES! Wait. Is Fred Yehi in the House of Black video? Wild! JUN MOTHERFUCKING AKIYAMA ON MY MOTHERFUCKING TV SET! KONOSUKE TAKESHITA ON MY MOTHERFUCKING TV SET! LET'S FUCKING GO! I'm going to watch this. I LOVE how they are building up to Akiyama and Kingston to finally clash. I love this. Takeshita did the body of the match and Akiyama came in and beat the fuck out of folks until Eddie Kingston and Akiyama get to beat the hell out of each other. I LOVED the dueling Exploiders. That was fucking great. AEW RULES THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD!

Hopefully, that ship is going where the Bruise Cruise is headed. What is going on with all this doom and gloom, and why can it not be confined to one thread?

I was all set to come in here and rant about how baffling the layout of the tag was. About 3/4 of the way through I realized they only announced two Zero Hour matches and it had to be leading to a singles. I was about to wonder aloud which agent needed to get fired for relegating the Kingston / Akyiama interaction to 90 seconds. I was quite bummed for Kingston thinking he built this match idea up in his mind for 20 years to get 90 seconds of interaction. Glad they're getting a singles today. Athena as a heel is far more fun. I know this is a small thing but I'm bummed they've just been using the normal set for PPVs. Seems like that's what's happening here too. The normal set is already up, so I'd assume they aren't going to deconstruct that to put up a modified original PPV one. We'll see. But that's a real bummer for me. The PPVs having actual sets was one of my favorite differences between AEW & WWE.

Here's a new wrestling crossword for you all. I went so far as to use Microsoft Edge to get this tweet to embed!

I know people are happy they're getting things they want, but Tony is clearly stealing ideas and this is just the sort of case Mark Sterling specializes in.

To be fair, by 2001 my dad could’ve bought wcw at the cost wwe got it for…

I said it when Athena was signed, if she can tap into her personality on UUDD then she’ll be a star. Cruel and petty playing those video games. She’ll let you have it when she’s winning and will be mad when she’s not. Grade A+ wrestling personality!

Wow. Look at all his gig marks. Dusty would be proud.

There was a moment at the start of Starks vs Archer where I thought they'd use it as an excuse to write Starks off, so I'm glad it wasn't that. Archer really went out of his way to help put over Starks here, I thought. He dominated a lot of it but he also sold for comebacks. I wish I knew what would put Starks over the top. We're all too self-aware and thinking about this in real time, and it doesn't feel as organic as it should. But on the other hand, if they book something right and the build and consistency and performances are there, he'll probably get there, or if not there, then somewhere, maybe even through another heel turn. It's almost a case that we all want him to succeed so much that it's getting in the way of him being a success. I though the finish was ok. Probably could have used one more move, some sort of exclamation point after the spear. Post-match will have him coming in vulnerable against Cage and they have to be careful not to do too much of that (Danielson's eye, Bowens' shoulder). Hook vs Moriarty had a lot of little intricate bits, especially during the commercial break which were nice to see. This was the most Hook had ever sold and I think he did a good job with it. It was actually nice to have Jericho back on commentary because he pops for certain moves or spots (like the drop down, foot arm dislocater thing, which is a French Catch spot that we see now and again actually). This was a good match for Hook to have. Repackaged Athena is awesome and they were marking for the forearms and kicks and everything else. Her hitting Aubrey was such an Oh Shit moment. I would have had her beat Storm at this point but I guess they'll have her beat Mercedes, which is a shame because I liked Mercedes as ROH champion but Athena just destroying a bunch of the up and coming women is as good a way to go as any I guess. That match will be just great at the ROH PPV at least. I have a decent amount to say about the main but I'm going to save it for Monday on SC. Very glad that there's a singles match coming because it was such a tease overall. I thought Ortiz rose to the occasion. As for Takeshita, he's a lot like Page in that he has a ton of great physical tools that a good wrestler can make use of (their singles match is probably my least favorite AEW match of the year). I just don't want a bad wrestler trying to do structural stuff with him. He fit in very well to this sort of a tag though. No problems here. Ultimately, I think we won't fully be able to understand how good or not good this tag was until we see the singles. But I really want to see the singles now.

I like Tony's booking. He likes longterm booking. He likes to give things time to build unlike what we were getting from Vince from years and years. Tony likes longterm build and storytelling. The downside of that is Injuries and other factors that may cause you for change things up. It's unfortunate Punk got injured twice and the other drama that forced him to have to switch the title several times more than he expected to this year.

That was a fun hour of wrestling! Archer is one of the unsung hero's of AEW in that he seldom the focus but damned if I can think of a time when he hasn't stepped up and delivered when Coach Tony hasn't called his number. I'm guessing the story now is the Ricky Starks makes it to the finals but is too beat up and falls to Ethan Page. They continue to put Madison Rayne on television, The Beautiful People where a fun act but not really great workers. Better than Johnny Ace's swimsuit models for sure but not better than the Trish/Lita/Molly/Victoria era before that. It almost like Vince bringing in someone from another promotion just to job them. (on a side not is the Ari Davari rich kid gimmick a rib on himself being a rich kid with a trustfund?) Aubrey leaned into that shot from the Thicc Goddess, and how bout that reaction! First ref bump I can recall in AEW. That reaction also shows how things can be effective when you don't over do them! Maybe take not on post match heat segments, dives, interrupted promos ect. AND HERE COMES THE RAMPAGE OF HONOR WOMENS CHAMP!! HOOK HOOK HOOK! Fun match. Better use for a Lee style than a shoe horned main event ( I get Lee Moratiy and Lee Johnson confused) . I'll point out that JR did a good job of putting over Lee (although he could have mentioned that Hook had the less experience even though he has yet to learn how to lose) and JR had one of his better outing tonight, overall. Not too much to add on the main event. eddie was trying so hard not to smile, got to be tough and stoic. Lard Lad threatens to turn a dream match into a nightmare. After that flying knee I'm convinced Matt D sits on a throne of lies! Ortiz was great and just enough between the mad king and jun to leave them wanting more! And I am all about The House of Black acting like a reboot of The Devils!!! Maybe next they can torture Oliver Reed while wearing John Lennon Glasses! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC_Z4I62e5Y&ab_channel=ALittleDeadPodcast

️️️️️

Well, see that's the problem. If and when someone does ask and it doesn't happen, there might be one or two people whose avatars mysteriously get turned into Johnny Cash. Trying to pass on some words of wisdom.

leave the memories alone I found a comp tape of Punk’s entire run, with his guest commentator spots, promos, etc included. I think I’m going to get it. That August 21 to September 22 run was SOOOOO good. Fuck.

Takeshita is All Elite. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fh9BsnYXwAMKy0P?format=jpg&name=medium

Notable in tracking Hook's progress, this was just the first time a Hook singles match exceeded five minutes in length. Cagematch has it at 8:39. https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=24607&page=4

If all our dads come together and pool in enough money we could have Buff Bagwell come to all of our birthday parties.

The way people in the crowd gasped and stood up. Very great moment.

I feel ya. Back in May I got a new job and literally my first week there I got COVID (for the first time). I didn't have sick time yet but they still paid me for the week since we all assumed I got COVID on-site but I still was anxious about it, to miss time that quickly. They were cool about it though.

Also, credit where credit is due: they put together a little video package of Athena killing people on Dark and Elevation. Good for them!

I’m glad I’m watching the same show @Matt D is watching.

Dug Archer/Starks up until the finish which kind of sucked. Hook/Lee was fun. Wish they stuck to the BattlArts style they started. First time catching Lee, and I kind of want to see more of him. Athena/Rayne was a decent squash. Athena decking Aubrey post match was a nice heel move. Eddie/Ortiz vs. Akiyama/Takeshita was nice and solid. Only wish they did more Akiyama/Kingston teases. It also felt wrong that Akiyama didn;t respond to that first cheapshot by forcefully tagging in and throwing Ortiz to his own corner while demanding Eddie to tag in so he could beat his ass. I know damn well Akiyama was around Tenryu long enough to know how to follow up moments like that.

See? What do I always say? Every time there's a lame Dynamite, you get a baller Rampage, and this was that. I'm not sure which match to pick for the MOTW from this one. Ricky/Archer gave me the good feels of an old WWF or even IWA Japan/ECW crowd brawl before ending perfectly. Both guys had great chemistry. Then Taiga Style/HOOK had Hook having to deal with selling and an extended structure, which he was great at. Putting it together in pieces before our eyes is really cool. Athena is a beast and her vs. Mercedes is dope. THEN we get the Akiyama tag and shit Takeshita takes the reigns as insolent mean upstart right away. The teases of Akiyama coming in, the hostile eyes between him and King, the abuse they laid on a very valiant Ortiz, it was so good. And it ended intentionally abrupt. They knew how to poke you for the singles match. What a great show.

What a great hour of pro wrestling! Come home, AEW, all is forgiven! I loved Archer vs Starks starting in the back. I loved the outa nowhere finish. You keep Archer looking special even in defeat because his matches are different. The side of the steps is the hardest part of the steps. Moriarty vs Hook is BattleArts-ian professional wrestling! Will DEAN also think so? I hope so. I'll look foolish if he has already said it wasn't. Hook's best match yet? I forgot both these guys in my fantasy booking post. I stink. Hey! Also Madison's best match yet. Wow. Athena is really very good at professional wrestling. Athena vs Mercedes. Homemade wings vs German engineering. YES! ORANGE AND BEST FRIENDS ON THE PPV!!! And Rocky!! Back to back spooky videos. Hold off on Kingston and Akiyama. Yes. That's how to lay it out. Mad King pays tribute to Kobashi and Piper one right after the other. Sweet powerslam from Ortiz. I was so happy while this was going on. I am still happy. Much more stoked for tomorrow, now, also.

All three. Invent two more titles and also give her those.

Slowly increasing an interest in what HHH is doing after not watching for the past 3 years. Slowly declining on AEW. This week was the first time I've been home to watch Dynamite live and chose to watch something else. A show full of Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Ethan Page and Penta does nothing for me.

I take it more as meaning we have enough takes coming from inside the house, so there’s no reason to be importing non-viral takes from randos with literally 51 followers. But I don’t want to speak for Vile.

Just finished a rewatch where I could really focus on it. Opening tag was high four star wrestling with a lot of storytelling and a great, classic go-home match for this particular storyline. There was one interesting moment that I want to see if it pays off. Claudio did a save for Bryan where he crawled and head butted either Jericho or Sammy (that part doesn’t matter) and then lingered for a second before rolling Bryan onto his side. In a 4-way for the title, in that same situation, maybe he goes for the pin because the belt is what matters. Also, I want to shout out Sammy again for really embracing being a shitass heel instead of trying to be a cool heel. And again, he really is taking a beating, leaning into Bryan’s kicks and Claudio’s uppercuts. Swerve-Bowens was another 4-star match that told a story and was a classic go-home match for this storyline. Bowens looked like a star, Swerve’s strange style is great because so many of his moves look painful but are also really dickish. Then we have the trios title match. Someone compared it to the late 90s WCW where they throw 6 luchadors together and they just go out and run a CMLL spot fest. Except here we have two teams of brothers, one of whom is part of a long-running trios group that also holds the title. This was definitely a spot fest, but what incredible spots there were! AR Fox did things I’ve never seen, Top Flight pulled off some innovative tag spots, other than a slightly botchy Fear Factor everyone was super smooth and clean. There was even a very convincing hope spot after the run of spots culminating in Fox’s beautiful 450 splash. After this, though, things went off the rails. Lots of talking, although we did get Wardlow’s huge over the top rope dive. Britt’s great promo expect it was a face promo when she’s still supposedly a heel. Page-Bandido was...let’s call it deliberate early on (or plodding if you’re nasty). Bandido got his spots in and Page was a good base, but I don’t think there was ever any sense that Bandido stood a chance. Page has a very late ‘80s main event style to his work, which is a bit of sore thumb in this promotion. crowd is starting to die a bit now. Storm-Anna was fine, Matt D is spot on about how Anna JAS has really embraced the sports entertainment element, which adds a lot to the match. But the match itself felt like it was at 3/4 speed, and also never in doubt. Mox’s promo was more good selling for the PPV. He’s a straight shooter, he tells you who he is, and everything he says about MJF is 100% accurate story wise (and shoot wise too). Crowd was waking up again, and then Stokely walks out and the sudden silence is palpable. MJF has to implore the crowd to cheer, but by then this segment has been killed dead. It really was a tale of two hours, and maybe the show might have been better and hotter if the matches were scheduled a little differently.

COMPLETELY AWESOME.

I need to see this.

If I'm being fair to them, everything they've built up in the past few months has fallen in a heap. MJF/Punk, Kenny vs Cole, Christian vs Jungle Boy, Andrade vs 10, Page/Young Bucks Reunion, Miro/House of Black, Rosa/Toni, injuries and suspensions have prevented BCC/JAS/Kingston crew storylines from being finalized. If thats your PPV tomorrow, take my money. Instead its this weird thing they've cobbled together on the fly for better or worse.

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