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Got my jeans and black wrestling shirt loaded into my car so I can head straight to the cow palace after work. Dark matches start at 4:30 and I’m off at 3:30. We’ve had a ton of rain and people don’t know how to drive in it!

Same. It's just kinda *there.* I'm just really missing that overarching sense of anticipation with AEW lately. In the early days, it was the Hangman/Kenny story, then it kinda pivoted a little with all the summer signings (culminating with Punk, obviously). Things just feel a little... rudderless to me right now, for lack of a better term. I really, really hope this promotion didn't peak with Grand Slam I, but beyond the reality show and video game (which they really ought to rename 'AEW Wait Forever' at this point) I'm just finding it kinda difficult to get hyped right now. This is NOT an AEW doom and gloom post btw - we have enough of those, and I am sure the promotion will be fine, financially, creatively, etc. - it's more of a 'me' post. Last week's show was surprisingly good, did a great number (we've talked about the cycle) but at the same time, it didn't necessarily have me rushing here like I used to at 10:05 to go 'Holy shit, can you BELIEVE...' I mean, in a way, it's a good thing; they've set the bar extremely high! I guess it just takes a special kind of prick to complain about it...

It is if you suck at it, like I do.

Gargano decided to murder Stuttsy this evening:

Not my favorite Dynamite despite being really hyped for it. OC vs Big Bill was very good and my match of the night. Big Bill as the new Sid is the perfect spot for him and OC has reached "can do no wrong" status with me when it comes to his in ring work. Way too many stupid and dangerous spots in the ladder match. I get that's the point of the match but it was just spots for the sake of spots to me. Didn't like Kingston and Ortiz disappearing. Yeah, they're feuding but so are Andretti and Sammy and they stuck around. Hated the refs holding the ladders. Just get a new ladder, there's plenty laying around. At least the right guy won. Joe looked dumb getting caught in the headset and Wardlow looked dumb not noticing a 300lb Samoan slip away right in front of him. Jericho vs PPA was a better version of Jericho vs Pineapple Pete. The Wingmen kept up the trend of stables not helping their members when one is getting beaten down. It's always a good sign when the crowd is chanting for one of the heels hats instead of the babyface to overcome the odds. Christian's promo was fine but I did get a chuckle out of Jungle Boy kind of proving Christian right by making a video instead of coming out to face him. Damn millenials...or Gen Z. I don't know, I'm old and confused. Hook vs Hardy was ok but I do not need to see Matt Hardy wrestle on TV anymore. They did get me on the cast false finish. Liked Hardy tapping right away and look forward to see what shenanigans Stokley pulls out in the match with Hook. Riho vs Toni picked up nicely after the PNP break. Toni looked like she killed her with the hip attack. The finish and after match brawl were pretty sloppy. Saraya is really not good and I hope Jamie and Ruby move on from her. Mox and Hangman's promo's ruled. Looking forward to the Texas Death and the Trios championship matches the most this Sunday by a wide margin. The battle royal wasn't good. First pretty much the only team I cared about was removed before it even started and then the rest dragged. I wish they'd split up the 4 way into 2 separate tag matches and go Gunn's vs Acclaimed and Jarrett/Lethal vs OrangeHausen. Glad Jarrett and Lethal ran in afterwards. 2 run ins during the battle royal itself weren't enough. And are the BCC heels now? Danielson and MJF are trying and I salute them for that but I don't see any way MJF loses on Sunday and I don't want to wait an hour to see how he wins. I'm sure the match will be better than I anticipate and I hope I have to eat my words about it but it's the least excited I've been about a Danielson match in years. So yeah, I didn't think it was the best go home show. I hope that doesn't make me fickle that I didn't like something as much other people do but I guess I'll just have to live with myself if that's the case.

My problem with the PPV is that I don't give a shit about the main event. A 60 minute match where there's no fucking way MJF will lose. If this were longer into his title reign that I would be interested because there would be a decent chance he could drop the title. Instead it will just be 60 minutes of waiting for a finish we all know is coming. And this has nothing to do with not liking MJF. I like MJF a lot. I just think an Iron Man match at this point in his reign is pointless and feels more driven by Danielson to show off that he can keep doing these 60 minute matches. Plus, it's a 60 minute match at the end of a PPV with a bunch of matches on it already. I will be shocked if I don't fall asleep during the main event especially because the next day is a work day. Dynamite though, Dynamite I'm looking forward to!

Last week I stepped into the gym for the first time in 15 years. I joined a year long scheme in January of this year which gives people with long term mental/physical conditions reduced gym/swimming/exercise classes like Yoga/Pilates which I've fancied trying before. I was hoping to have my induction at the place 15 minutes away from where I live but I've to go further away - two buses there and back. I'm still not happy about that and I wasn't going to because travel is quite difficult with my Cerebral Palsy even before I get there/after I finish. The instructor who did my induction agreed with me that I shouldn't have to as I haven't had this health issue in over a decade which means I've got to go there to be monitored. In a couple of weeks I have a further induction there on different equipment. Right now it's cardio machines only which was my favourite thing to do when I went to the gym in 2003-2008. The machines are mainly the same, biggest difference is touchscreen TV/screens connected to the internet embedded into them. My trainer there has given me: 5 minutes bike warmup, 5 minutes treadmill, 5 minutes hand bike, 5 minutes on a different bike, 5 minutes hand bike, 5 minutes rowing machine and 3 minutes (Did I hear someone say...three minutes?!) on the first bike to cool down. I think after the year is up, you can still get it at a reduced rate or a little more than the first year. Need to check. I went to the gym yesterday afternoon. Glad I did as I was in two minds whether to. I do ache the day after. My neurologist said my body works four times harder doing the same task as somebody who doesn't. That shocked me. I need to lose weight, this is the most unfit I've been in a long time through deterioration in the CP as I'm older, Depression kicking my ass, bad food choices and weight gain through antidepressants. I went really low, Christian Bale in The Machinist (2004). Need the right balance. Thanks for reading.

PPA! PPA! PPA!

I've been saying for years that Johnston and Hart should do a Dueling Pianos show during WrestleMania weekend where they play theme songs and talk about how they wrote them

"AEW can't be a little cold right now, fans are fickle and unappreciative -- they're just overwhelmed by all this great shit!" Cult vibes.

I’m interested to see how MJF does in 60 minutes. I suspect his efforts will come as a surprise for some. I also sense this title run will see him drop and regain the title quickly at least once. All that said, I too assume that he’s going over. I’m here for the 60 minutes not the predetermined winner. An hour of Bryan Danielson with nearly anybody on this roster sounds like a fun prospect to me. And hardly a reason to complain. Wardy-Joe and the trios title match all have my interest with this ppv. Tonight looks fun too. I hate having to sit thru these career shortening, forgettable, senseless multi-man ladder (equals lame) matches on the ppv, but somehow welcome it on a weekly tv. Maybe it’s the excitement of the debuting Kommander? Also, isn’t it Riho and Toni tonight? And Avalon-Jericho, right on! The complaints in this thread sound more like product burnout. Especially considering the incredible consistency of these weekly shows. There have been very few if any runs of television this excellent that I can remember in my many years watching pro wrestling. There will always be misses, but rarely does a company bat as high as AEW is right now. What was that said about ‘fickle fans’?

This. Criminal Jim Johnston isn't in WWE or the HOF. So many iconic themes.

The perfect encapsulation of Louisville's season doesn't ex

I guess there was some added drama when you're doing "lights out" spots in an arena that opened in 1941. "Are guys about to appear, or is the Cow Palace experiencing a blackout?"

These types of ladder matches mostly make me uncomfortable. Too common, too much risk, not enough reward in terms of standing out in a crowded marketplace. Andretti dropping Sammy that way was rough stuff. Feel for Hobbs who clearly needed a taller ladder to comfortably take down the doughnut, and was really taking his time taking that first step from the tippy top -- and who can blame him? Being a Chuck and Trent fan has to really suck sometimes. Felt like there were timing issues with the show, especially during the battle royal. If it comes out that something ran long, would be the least surprising thing ever. On the other hand, if things going long cut out a planned MJF promo... then I can think of a few people who'll be thrilled.

a hart vs. johnston VERZUZ??

I somehow hoped the youtube link was going to be Lance Russell's Nose .

I 100% agree with you that the current run of AEW TV is off the absolute charts. My main issue with the product is that AEW currently has a champion in MJF who I personally couldn't give a shit about and they took the legs out of Starks who could've been a far better challenger right now(and more believable to dethrone MJF so short into his reign) and it's Danielson, who is one of my all time favorites, but is also on record as not wanting/needing a title. Personally, i really think the show would benefit from MJF not being Champ and Jericho taking a 1 year vacation, lol, but that's just me. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of must see TV on Wednesdays(i work too early on Saturdays so i miss Rampage far too often).

Sasha not showing up in January hurt.

Coach and Randi winning the belts was unexpected. I assumed they were going to give Lana's stable all the gold. Princess Aussie to the gauntlet is good. Next week will be interesting.

I don't think Revolution looks bad or anything, but I think I'm more excited for this show.

clearly Tony saw that Pretty Pete means ratings so he's going back to the well!

As a random aside Backlund's book is one I would classify as a must read. Incredibly honest and informative.

I love it. Do it, please TK.

That Penelope Pink/Princess Aussie match was really good. UNEXPECTED FINISH! The main event was fun. The most edited finish EVER!

Terrible battle royal really sucked the air out of that Dynamite. The timing between entrances was more blatantly worked than even Royal Rumbles are. Chuck and Trent aren’t cleared but a clinically dead Orange Cassidy is allowed to take their place? I get you want Orange on the PPV but I’m sure most fans would have been fine with Chuck and Trent in the match and some ringside shenanigans from OC and Danhausen. Why did the Dark Order come back 10 minutes after being eliminated to take out the BCC, they could have done it then. There was nothing gained by having the BCC in that match any longer, the whole match was a clusterfuck, Angelo Parker literally left for awhile and no one noticed. OC-Big Bill ruled Toni Storm reminded me of AJW Madusa or at least I think that’s what she should be shooting for. And bonus points for not stretching out whose side is Ruby on? until the PPV Mox and Hangman sold the hell out of their match. The real main event I was doing dishes during the go home segment but I feel like I got the gist. Probably the best promo of the build, I’m sure the match will deliver, but I’m really more into Mox and Hanger

Enjoyed Toni/Riho. Always good to see Riho on my screen and a nice surprise to see her pick up the win. The Triple Threat should be a lot of fun. I'm conflicted on the outcome though. While Jamie has been a great champ and is really just getting her groove, they could get a lot of mileage out of the faces chasing a heel Saraya.

Dean Malenko

Moxley might be the best promo of all time. I know what I said.

JANE! Orange Cassidy is RATINGS! Unless there is NBA tonight! Big Bill! Cassidy fucks around early. Bill CRUSHES OC witha Sidewalk Slam! Big Boot by Big Bill! Cassidy is taking an ass beating like a CHAMP! Cassidy GOES THROUGH A TABLE! In picture in picture, Cassidy bumps like a total FREAK! AGAIN! There is Danhausen! Danhausen gets KOed by Stokely's cast! OC turns the table by hitting Orange punches on the outside. So it goes from Big Bill killing OC to OC making a comeback! ORANGE PUNCH AND AN ORANGE PUNCH AND A TOPROPE ORANGE PUNCH for the WIN! That was great. Man, Cassidy leaned into Big Bill's offense like a KING. MOX is fucking intense. House of Black beat up the Elite in the dark! Komander hits a high spot! Powerhouse Hobbs OPTS to kill EVERYBODY! KONOSUKE TAKESHITA GERMAN SUPLEXES HOBBS! KOMANDER is fucking CRAZY! So the first thing out of this is that Powerhouse Hobbs and Konosuke Takeshita have to wrestle a singles match NOW. Komander kinda kills a dead AR Fox. BLUE THUNDER BOMB on Komander! Sammy DESTROYS Action Andretti! Takeshita CRUSHES Sammy with a knee! Hobbs knocks Takeshita off the ladder and gets the golden ring! That was fun! PPA! PPA! PPA! Chris Jericho! Jericho saw MOX/Evil Uno last week and Jericho said, "I can do that!" Pretty Peter Avalon looked great until Jericho hits a Code Red! Jericho and company beats on Ricky Starks. AEWSOME! Hangman quotes Cactus Jack! Christian Cage is a HEAT MACHINE! ETHAN PAGE CHEATS AND HOOK IS DOWN! It's the best Hook match so far. Hook submits Hardy! And Stokely Hathaway is awesome going catatonic, knowing he has to face Hook alone in a no DQ match. Toni Storm starts beating the crud out of Riho! Riho is OVER in San Francisco! Toni WRECKED EM through the ropes and Saraya CHEATS! In picture in picture, Storm ragdolls Riho. Riho makes a post-commercial COMEBACK! SUWA Dropkick by STORM and WRECKED EM! Britt Baker distracts Storm mid-Texas Cloverleaf! Riho rolls up Storm FOR THE WIN! Then everybody beats up everybody! That was great! Awesome DARK ORDER versus BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB! Alex Reynolds is getting beaten to death by Claudio in picture in picture. Sooooo RUSH vs Claudio? I love that the BCC go after the Dark Order after the Dark order are eliminated. The odds on favorites- DADDY MAGIC and COOL HAND ANGE! NOOO! Daddy Magic is eliminated! Josh Woods, Ari Daivari and Tony Nese beat on the Lucha Brothers! And they get eliminated! A lotta stuff happens! DANHAUSEN AND ORANGE CASSIDY WIN! Total Heat Machine Four Way! That episode was fucking great. AEW RULES THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD!

As others have said, if you have not seen the MCMG vs Gresham/Bailey tag match you need to watch it right away. Tremendous match. Ladies match was fun too, and it's nice to see Allysin Kay in a promotion that actually has TV. I could really do without ever seeing Dreamer or Bully Ray wrestle ever again. Can we just let ECW fucking die already? Dreamer is just sad to watch and Bully looks like that guy everyone knows who still acts the same as he did in high school only now nobody thinks it's cool because high school was like 30 years ago. Just go away, both of you. Main event was phenomenal. Even more so when you remember that Crazzy Steve is legally blind.

And then THIS happened.

Jimmy Hart did the Three Count theme, which might be one of the ten greatest themes of all time. I love that guy. Great performer, mic worker, and wrestling musician. I always thought that personally, I'd rather date a woman with Lance Russell's nose than date one with Herschel Walker's thighs. YMMV, obviously.

<cringe.gif>

Yes, I announced his Iron Man match with Doug Williams in the main event of Scramble Madness. AmDrag won 1-0 with a fall at the 18-minute mark. The match went 30 minutes. Superb match, of course.

Damn. Great pick. If he can get healthy, he could definitely go somewhere. I think both guys from P&P could be singles stars, but Santana has the size, look and promo ability to be near the top for sure.

The Mandalorian S3E1C17 This didn't suck. Then again, I was one of those that liked Book of Boba Fett. The opening was obviously set-up as a swerve. I do l9oe me Carl Weathets ascending to his role as Count of Monte Fisto James

Welcome to the dark side, @The Natural, we've been waiting for you! Well, we've been waiting for anyone, really. It's pretty lonely in here.

Jotunn getting turned off in PvP makes me giggle due to an "issue" makes me giggle

I think if HM ever came to AEW she would get over huge with that gimmick.

The damn commercial for next week right before the main, spoiled the result. Regardless, Coach & Randi are greatness so it was cool to see and surprising for Miami Sweet Heat to lose the titles so soon. Sweet Heat make for an epic heel team, came off like stars in the entrance, loved it. Hilarious slow mo styled finish. Aussie/Penelope ruled, two of the best in the company getting some time to go. The trios opener at first looked like it was gonna be a great match. While the match turned out extra short, the surrounding chaos was all awesome. I've said before but I wish WOW would upload some of the entrance music. Reina del Rey's is epic and I was loving the Miami Sweet Heat theme. Looking forward to next week and the upcoming championship gauntlet, apparently held at LA ComicCon which should be a unique atmosphere.

Sorry I'm late. Had to watch VCU win the Atlantic 10! RUNrunrun V-C-U! Nathan Frazer is back! Wes Lee! This should be good. Frazer was trained by Seth Rollins but he has that polish that all the British/Irish/Scottish folks have. So this isn't really an NXT match because neither of these dudes need any development. Great double dives to NOWHERE! Collision in the middle of the ring! Good nearfall on Frazer's Scorpion Death Drop. GREAT Superplex by Frazer FOR TWO! Frazer Springboards to ANNOUNCE TABLE! TOPE CON HILO over the turnbuckle by Wes Lee! A crazy embellishment kick to the head for the win! That was good. It's Briggs and Jenson! Veer and Sanga are the opponents! Veer and Sanga are the NXT Viking Raiders. They are awesome. GREAT LARIAT to slaughter Jensen! Move these dudes up. Meiko Satomura! Zoey Stark! Meiko Satomura is so fucking great. Zoey Stark leans into Satomura's hellish kicks like a CHAMP! Nice Kneedrop by Stark. Satomura CRUSHES Stark with kicks to the chest! Death Valley Driver into a convoluted Axe Kick for the win. That was good! Zoey Stark is really good. It's Elektra Lopez and Sol Ruca! Sol bumps big to the floor! Sol wins because Elektra can't cheat. Valentina hits Elektra with the brass knuckles postmatch. Pretty Deadly are awash in pink. Tiffany Stratton and Katana Chance have a match! Katana is spectacular! Nice Moonsault by Stratton. Hank Walker and Axiom have a clash of styles! Axiom is really good. Nice Lariat by Walker. GOLDEN RATIO for the win! Axiom is a tiny ass kicker. WHO KNEW? It's Tyler Bate! Carmello Hayes! Bate goes all Johnny Saint and it's fun! Bate goes all World of Sport and Hayes is hanging with him. GREAT Tope Con Hilo by Bate. FUN Suplex into the ring by Hayes! EXPLOIDER by Bate! AIRPLANE SPIN by BATE! They start laying it in! This is good. Exploider off the top by Bate! Trick Williams distracts Bate! Carmello hits a BEAUTIFUL Booker T Toprope Guillotine! That was a good little batch of wrestling.

Was able to watch Elevation, and mostly enjoyed it. Another excellent, hard-hitting, slightly more serious Emi match. I forgot how much I cracked up last week when she kept calling Billie “baby” while chopping her. Didn’t get anything quite like that but I love her standing on the ropes and yelling “I’m Your Highness!”. She might not be able to stay heel much longer, and I want her and Athena to have a 15-20 minute battle. I kinda forgot about The Kingdom, I guess they’re saving them for ROH but honestly I wouldn’t mind them in the regular tag scene. And not just for Maria. Womens trios was fine, some good comedy moments, Shafir showing some improvement and the submission drag to the corner was great, but she also had some reckless moments. I’d like to see more of Nyla even though she’s salvaging Shafir’s signing. Hobbs kills a dude, and finally realizes that it works better to bring the book to the downed opponent instead of crouching behind it in the corner. Mens trios didn’t have enough Zay, but the enhancement dude sold the shit out of Page’s big boot, dropped like he’d been smacked with a baseball bat. I think Takeshita-Johnson was great, although I think it was a little more competitive than it should have been given Takshita’s rise and push. Of course, Danielson, Mox, etc. are also extremely giving with the undercard guys and it did make Takeshita have to do some extra work to finish.

Like the new setup for Dark/Ring of Honor. Packed the fans in there, less empty space/walls going up every level.

I also wonder if 81/82 held up better under those circumstances because there was already some territorial constriction by then and top talent wasn't as spread out as far as "home territories" were concerned. Detroit, San Francisco, and Amarillo had shuttered by then, Vancouver was already a "locals only" fed, and Los Angeles was a rookies on their way up/veterans that were washed as headliners elsewhere promotion, and I think 81 was the year that McGuirk formally threw in the towel on Tri-State after Watts had split to form Mid-South AND the year that Gulas threw in the towel on his end of Tennessee. And on the topic of Bill Mercer, I really do think his legit news background is the reason why he came off so well in those vignettes. Instead of carnival barker Vince or Mean Gene going to the Double Cross Ranch or the Zoo with George Steele staying in over-the-top WWF hype mode, he really did approach going on the road with the Freebirds or visiting Jimmy Garvin at his palatial estate with the gravitas of a REPORTER doing an on-location human-interest shoot.

Fuckin' this look.... JESUS. You don't need to know any context of what is going on in the movie, in the scene, or anything at all, and Tom just nails "...the fuck you looking at". I know Michael Mann's a hyper-perfectionist, but whatever he got out of Sizemore that day was just astounding. Sizemore was also amazing in his episode of Always Sunny with the "you two split me open... like a coconut."

Yeah - honestly - that ESPN report is worse for Goodell and the NFL than it is for Snyder Since it is basically proof that the NFL rubber stamped it and then protected Snyder (again)

Man, it feels like only yesterday (*) when that amazing test match happened. But England are in a squeaker against Bangladesh in an ODI... * It was indeed yesterday. And @ohtani's jacketWas that "Jones! Bowden! Kasprowicz the man to go!" edit an hour later: I think Stokes's 2019 insanity would be up with 2001.

The answer is always the Colts. If you have a washed up player, we'll take him.