just drew

Based on how TK was tweeting they're gonna wait and see who makes it to the show before making any other match announcements.

I was. It wasn't fully baked though.

That's a really interesting theory, and it makes a lot of sense. I want AEW to succeed and whatever facilitates big buyrates, I am for.

Oh, I agree. The only way it could be better is if Harley were playing herself and Harleygram on tv, and as Harley she vehemently denied having anything to do with that masked lady.

I know I try to avoid the Tate brothers and their "matrix" nonsense whenever possible...

Pretty great buy-rate reported for this PPV. I guess the multitudes screaming to the heavens that Mox was absolutely destroying AEW and that AEW had to "pivot" like Ross moving a couch on the chairs were a tad mistaken. (I am aware that there was lots of great shit on this PPV. Let me wallow in hyperbole for a day or two. Thanks.)

If MJF is even close to as ridiculous as he was when he teamed with Santana and Ortiz...

I mean, I’ll watch it again, but I didn’t hear anything close to that. Nowhere did I say that I find this DR thing enjoyable at this point. It could be, but the refusal to evolve the group at all is baffling to me. I just don’t see the great online outcry from all corners of fandom. Fwiw, I’m all for Swerve winning the title. I think he and Hangman are both better choices than waiting for Darby. I just don’t see Mox as some company killing presence.

I've reflected further, and I really think I'd have done Cope/Mox as the opener, particularly since there were no debuts/turns/anything of super serious shock value that took place post-match. Because this show was FuCKING AWESOME, and Cope and Mox could've been the greatest match of all time and it wouldn't have been able to follow the three matches before it. Page/MJF ruled. This was one of the few matchups w/AEW day one guys that they hadn't circled around to, and sometimes waiting pays off. This match had some serious bite to it. Felt dangerous. Really, really good shit. When MJF loses clean it means something, and they continue to build Hangman as a guy that means something to AEW. Mercedes is just very much not my thing. Momo was good, but I just don't like her. Maybe it's my hangup. Swerve/Ricochet fornicated. I really thought Nana might turn on Swerve. I was also yelling at my tv for Nana to just run off with the robe, and it popped me when he finally tried it. Also, I hope one day to have as much fun doing anything as Leslie Jones had watching that match. Celebrity involvement, when done properly, can add a real sheen to a quality PPV like this one. Excited for Paul Walter Hauser to have a match in AEW, as that dude LOVES wrestling. He's doing Action Wrestling in my hometown soon. Big Boom AJ seems to be having a ball, and it was probably smart for AEW to lock him down before WWE got their hooks in him. Toni/Mariah was wonderful and awful and all the things. What a fitting, hateful ending to the blood feud of the decade. This was the proper main event. No argument here. I loved the two of them just laying there afterward felt like the end of a slasher movie. Which is appropriate, because it fucking looked like the end of a slasher movie. Okada/King was good, but I'd love for Brody and Buddy to stop eating losses. I would've put Takeshita over, but I understand why they didn't. Ospreay/Fletcher was spectacular and insane. I already spoke on the main some. It did what it was supposed to do. Mox was right a few months ago when he said AEW was lousy with huge egos that kept folks from achieving at the highest level, and lo and behold, Christian's ego wouldn't allow him to pick a more advantageous situation to cash in. Swerve is white hot, and I'd probably put the title on him, but there was nothing wrong with this main event other than the two guys in it not working a style that would make it possible for them to follow the handful of matches previous. Top to bottom this was one of the best PPV's they've ever done.

I’ll have my full thoughts on the show later, but for all the talk here about how the Death Riders have failed or whatever… I don’t see that discourse anywhere else online. I think some tweaks should be made, but it’s nowhere near as dire as some of y’all make it out to be. Also, Mox hasn’t gotten nearly as insufferable or as joy-crushing as that “Elite cosplaying as the nwo” nonsense we got 3-4 years ago…

Listen, I'm always down for Mercedes slander, but...

ThANK YOU!!!! The hypocrisy is crushing, but not surprising...

Mox going back for a Shield reunion would do big business. Swerve would be a big deal in WWE as presented in AEW. But there aren't many, and those two are as committed to AEW's long term viability as TK is.

That’s an excellent point, and it’s another reason I question why anyone who isn’t a tippy top star or mainstream Celebrity would leave any other company to go to WWE. If Drew McIntyre isn’t in the mania main event this year, what makes Malakai black think he’ll even be featured on tv?

If we’re in the minority, we’re in it together. The women were sensational.

There’s also the possibility of Jack Perry returning & joining DR. They teased that a while back. Really, it could be all 3 guys. DR needs a good jolt…

I mean, TK bent over backward to accommodate him. I will admit that part of my disbelief is probably my own skepticism of HHH's booking prowess. IF I were Malakai, I'd have trouble forgetting that I got released mid-angle the last time I work there, and that it doesn't appear that HHH has final say over who gets released and who doesn't.

For whatever reason, I don't mind it for one-offs or short runs, but I HATE when the heated rivals win the Tag Titles together. i think Swerve and Hanger would do a really good job with a little angle like that, though. Like, "I fucking hate you, but I hate them more and I hate losing most of all."

Is it? At this point JD is a comedy act, and I can't imagine anyone thinking that's the best use of his aura and presence. I cannot for the life of me figure out why he wants so badly to go back to WWE. Dude must REALLY want to work with his wife. And hey, having seen his wife, I don't blame him.

I've always been a sucker for "I hate them more than you" tag matches.

My thought is that that's when either FTR or someone else turns & joins DR. The angle for FTR is "you abandoned us for Switchblade the first chance you got. Mox appreciates who we are and what we bring to the table." FTR then intervening in Christian's "not cash in cash in" is how you get to C&C Conchairto Music Factory vs. FTR...

The other day, it occurred to me just how far over backward tK bent to accommodate Malakai. He brought him in immediately after his WWE release, hired Brody King & Buddy Matthews at his (alleged) request, allowed him multiple breaks during his tenure, and did a lot to protect the character. At one point Malakai publicly thanked TK for not releasing him the first time he asked. I guess there's just no making some people happy. Oh well. I hope he enjoys his mid-card spot as the new member of Judgement Day.

I'm not telling you it's the right attitude to have. i'm just telling you that's the read I got on the situation.

I had kind of assumed that was part of why the malcontents seemed to get sifted over to Collision. Andrade, Miro, Malakai, Punk, Starks, et al. Seemed lioke most of the guys at the top of the card on that show had pre-existing relationships that might've allowed them to be more open to jobbing. I kind of see both sides of this. I would submit that the first few ex-WWE refugees (Spears, FTR, Hager) were a bit too generous with their wins and losses. I think Miro and Malakai are naive to think they're automatically going to be booked better in WWE than they were in AEW, but I also get having some post-Vince PTSD that would make one less amiable to doing business.

This is not a good product right now. Maybe it’ll pick back up before Mania, but this is very, very boring.