JLowe

Probably saw all the crazy shit Hangman and Swerve did and said “I wanna try and top that”

I’m still trying to figure out the Toni ringside thing last night (as were the announcers). I think the idea is that, unlike Mercedes, she’s all business now about this match. No food, no faves, no phone, just staring. Mina is not a super worker but makes up for it in looks and personality. Some rough moments early very good by the end. I think Briscoe can more than hold his own against MJF on the mic, because nothing that MJF can say, outside of insulting Jay, can truly phase Mark. We know MJF is gonna go there, and by going there he’s already lost. I think Brody King is who I want to see winning a singles title more than anyone else right now. Not the world champ, but he would be much more interesting than Cole, for example. I want Protoshita to stay a tag team, but I get the sense that Takeshita is building towards a face turn. As others have said, Ibushi held his own, looked like a solid worker, but not a superstar. Excellent match, it’s good to see Okada not coasting. For Bowens, ditch the 5 tool player aspect, lean into the Pride of Pro Wrestling because that’s what people connect with, and I think AEW can do that in a thoughtful, positive way. I enjoy JetSpeed a lot, but I don’t know that you can give them more than a moral victory over Hurt Syndicate right now. There is a dearth of legit tag teams right now. Speaking of, really enjoyed the Bucks work last night and I don’t always say that.

There’s still one more Dynamite before the PPV

Coach Tony K has to be smart enough to realize that all of this positive momentum they’ve had the last few months is due in no small part to the Hangman redemption storyline and the payoff. Anything other than Hangman winning clean at All In could be catastrophic unless booked absolutely perfectly.

Imagine being a kid and your parents having a turntable that still had the 16 rpm speed setting! Sometimes I like to think that DJ Screw’s family had one of those and that’s how he got the idea.

Holy shit, for once Mortos might not be the designated pin-eater!

In a Canadian tuxedo no less.

I like Hot to Go, it’s catchy and has a very 80s pop vibe. That’s about where I stand as far as Chapelle Roan, but I’m glad for someone like her to have pop success.

Sweet shirt, RIP Dave Parker

I really could not get into the Big Bill and Bad Apple vs. Patriarchy tag match at all. Two angles/factions that are running their course, and the match really did nothing to establish either as a challenger to Hurt Syndicate. I know they had to have Nick Wayne on the Seattle show but they could’ve done better. Overall, though, a very solid Collision. I actually really enjoyed the Josh Alexander-Adam Cole match, and I rarely enjoy Adam Cole matches. As for the main event, it was a fantastic match, and Fletcher really did a good job of stooging off of the chants, especially before and during the commercial break. I thought it was mostly, if not entirely hilarious, and it did start to get old at a point that mostly coincided with the match action really gaining steam and the crowd paying more attention to the action. Every Toni Storm promo has something that has me shocked and dying from laughter.

I agree with the last part. And I think maybe I’m mixing up Deonna and Taya? I really though Deonna was who Jade beat before the surprise Stat title change.

I guess Deonna Purrazzo has gotten openly upset online about her role, or lax, thereof, in AEW. In some ways, I feel a little bad because at the time she was a big free agent signing, and she got a lot of mean shit said about her body. At the same time, it feels like she’s been there for almost 3 years now, but I don’t remember any really outstanding stuff. She was partially brought in to be a bigger name to carry Jade Cargill after a few catastrophic matches with younger talent (since big names couldn’t work Jade’s streak). She showed no chemistry with Toni Storm in their angle, despite a real life friendship. Her best moments in my head were her tag team with Deeb where they were constantly trying to show up the other. The mafia angle always felt WWE and went nowhere. It’s fair to say that they should make more time for women’s matches in their programming. Names like Deonna, Deeb, Riho, Shida, and Nyla (and her massive online fan base) are nowhere to be seen. There is debate whether Athena should’ve been brought up to the main shows sooner. At the same time, homegrown talent like Willow, Stat, Skye Blue, Anna Jay, and Julia Hart have worked hard and improved, and are over with the crowds. Then you add in Mercedes, Mina, and Megan Bayne, plus the ascension of the Timeless One as the face of the division. Would Deonna be happy if she got TV time to put over Skye, Julia, and Anna?

Dynamite was great, felt like all the matches were solid to excellent and made everyone in them look good, and all of the promos and storytelling are on point and leading to meaningful places. Ibushi did not look like his old self, but he also did not look like a shadow of his former self like last time. Mark Briscoe is channeling the spirit of Dusty Rhodes right now in all the best ways. He just gets wrestling, and he’s basically impossible to root against (my wife loves him). Using him against MJF is a no-brainer. Mox’s promo was his best work in a while, and really got to the heart of what the Hangman story is about. I don’t see how you can do anything but have Page get the big win at All-In, doing otherwise might kill this hot streak and good feeling.

Hope you didn’t pull anything making such a stretch.

Fantastic work

It’s really also something that AEW is letting Brody wear that on a major televised program and sell a shirt on the side, given the dark political climate and threats from the government regarding such things.

But maybe wrestling-related given Mariah May’s NXT character?

Next level Dusty finish

This week I learned (through Bluesky although it’s already posted here) that: A. All the Frank Mortos, esq. jokes are because he is legit studying to be a lawyer and now passed his bar exam. B. Mortos is in fact a total hottie without his mask (and seeing photos where he only has part of his face covered with emoji, he has glorious hair and voluptuous lips C. He is dating Mercedes Mone (and I really wish the aborted/on hold Harley and the Beast storyline was inspired by this, or made this happen). Now all I need to know is: is he part or full Polynesian? Someone said he looks like a Latino Roman Reigns, but Mortos has a Polynesian sleeve tattoo so I’ve always wondered.

Saw all the online chatter about Thekla-Aminata, and after watching I wondered what the big deal was. Like these are supposedly joshi/Stardom fans calling that stiff? And I didn’t see any sandbagging, most I noticed was Aminata didn’t really commit to whip into a corner. I real-time interpreted the wuick exit as “tapped out quick to avoid injury and bailed”. But people have pointed out here that Aminata has bloodied a few people already in her time in AEW. Ospreay-Swerve was amazing and the whole match and segment were pretty perfectly booked. Great show overall, but no way I could’ve watched that in one sitting.

Okada makes too much money to wear such a terrible and ill-fitting suit. It looked like a pair of Hugh Hefner pajamas, and that’s not a compliment. It also was not flattering to his build. He should talk to Hurt Syndicate and find out who their tailor is.

Funny seeing the talk about Toni Storm and Skye Blue, when I was watching this time I realized they’re basically the same height and similar builds (including the bubble). They also always mesh really well, probably from working that brief house show circuit. I watched early this afternoon as far as the intros for the International Title 4-way (my DVR didn’t tape Collision so I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t finish without switching to Max). The trios was the standout, the women’s tag was excellent and the post-match stuff involving Mercedes overdone steak was funny. Briscoe and Mox was great if a foregone conclusion, but damned if the crowd didn’t bite on the super close near fall. I don’t know if it’s part of the character that Mox himself doesn’t cheat, he just has constant ringside interference?

I know it’s been said, but in a promotion loaded with talent, legends, and future global superstars, Mascarita Sagrada was the most over of them all, and probably the best mini ever.

Yeah, the 80s throwback isn’t for the young Gen Z obsessed with Y2K, it’s a deep enough cut for the old school fans and just funny/fun for the millennial fans.

Fun fact: the only member of The Beastie Boys who went to Stuyvesant High School (whose gym shirt is worn by Ad Rock) is Kate Schellenbach. Also, when I started at Stuyvesant in fall 1985 they no longer had gym shirts like that, which made a lot of new students mad. Ad Rock wearing that shirt was the coolest Stuyvesant thing that had happened for years.