JLowe

I agree, I didn’t get to set up to tape the most recent Battle of the Belts and would like to see the matches after the Acclaimed-TNAHoles rematch.

Thing is, didn’t Top Flight have a more competitive match with the Bucks just a couple of months ago? Not to mention having just gone blow for blow with Mox and Danielson and Mox and Claudio. All that build deserved a match where they finally get to look like equals rather than just being able to seize a flash pin.

It’s funny that the comedy and shenanigans finally sort of detracted from what could have been another great OC match. It never really hit a stride. I’m glad Top Flight got the big win but I’m pretty annoyed that the Bucks got to dominate so much and make it seem like a fluke rather than an earned win. The powerbomb/nosedive (or whatever) combo was boss. Hoping Dante was just selling and didn’t actually hurt his knee on the jump to the floor/superkick. Didn’t hear a lick of Hangman’s promo, sound was awful. Starks looked good and got to show a lot of character. Hager served his role well. That’s about all I have to say about that. Bryan-Bandido was amazing, spoke about it above. Nice change of pace for Bryan, elevated Bandido. Loved the fighting over the Romero special. Also both of them are strong and fit AF, some crazy core strength moves. MJF stunk it up again, although I missed some parts. Yawn. Brian Cage just isn’t for me and I’m not looking forward to that match. Couldn’t hear most of the Saraya-Toni-Shida backstage, but it definitely was telegraphing the heel turn. Toni wrestled the match heel, which works since Willow is now a solid fan favorite baby face, and Toni really put her over. Post-match sealed the deal, although I half expected Ruby to turn as well. What will probably happen is a tease of another “outsider” for everyone to expect Mone, only for it to be Ruby turning...and then Mone shows up as the fourth. Main event was a lot of fun. Darby is so gifted at selling a body part. Lots of innovative offense and big moves. I would enjoy more of Kushida, and it’s also nice when Darby isn’t having to totally be David fighting underneath against Goliath but instead gets to show some mat skills.

I think I liked Bryan/Bandido more as well because Bryan got to do some stuff he wouldn’t normally do, whereas Danielson/Takeshita was more them throwing their stuff at each other and seeing who broke first (which I also loved). I probably got more caught up in Bryan/Takeshita because of my major Lard Lad fandom and the joy of seeing him elevated, but Bryan/Bandido reminded me of Eddy vs Benoit.

Bringing Ruby in to that right away is interesting then.

I finally got around to watching this and good lord y’all WERE NOT KIDDING. That was better than about half of the Rampage episodes. Tons of character shown by the wrestlers, even in the squashes. I think this can come across a lot better on the YouTube matches than the broadcast shows. Juice is excellent until he talks, and then he reminds me of Sean Astin’s character in 50 First Dates. Ruby and Willow tune up for the street fight. Emi Sakura takes a damned DeathValleyDriver to the floor for a YouTube match. Diamanté shows a ton of personality. Likewise, Tay lays in some stiff kicks while Anna clowns. So good. The Ethan Page and Party Hardy shenanigans had me LOL. Ethan singing “I hate you Zay” to their theme song, and then Zay getting him back during the match with “I literally hate you”. Letting Ethan be a narcissistic goof just might be the thing that gets him over. And then that main event. Wow. There were many, many moments where I could convince myself they were shoot fighting. Some of the stiffest elbows, knee lifts, and throws I’ve seen. Athena’s character work was out of this world, she really deserves Jade’s spot IMO. Easily the best Shafir match I’ve seen, maybe because it could be stiff and sloppy and borderline uncooperative by its nature.

Lord, and I thought Texas A&M and their whole "tu" thing was dumb. Then again, they literally include that "insult" in their ridiculous fight song.

I imagine that particular plasma spill is a candidate for a second edition of his book.

All the young stars of Toryumon! Magnum Tokyo was the biggest in WCW, but we got Cima and Suwa too!

i like the ideas here but honestly 80s WWF all it would take is him to come out and save HulK Hogan from someone and then do an interview with Mean Gene about how he’s changed his ways.

Cowboys vs Brady, a proverbial meteor game for me

it reminds me of an old (like at least 20 years) Walmart commercial where the gist was some woman who would always go to Walmart when she had to travel so there was somewhere familiar.

Wrestling-style wise? Because they’re the shaved head tag team. I remember them having a ton of buzz early on and then years later I saw a photo and they had turned into the hillbillies.

Is there an Applebee’s in Times Square? I haven’t set foot in there since it was reimagined as a Midwestern tourist destination.

Underground Kingz will forever be an appropriate name for Bun B and Pimp C. Bun B is your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper, unless your favorite rapper is a tattooed face TikTok trapper.

I think his coaches soft ejected him to keep him from giving up another free 15 yards

Did people not notice Ruby slapping Willow in the chest when they walked out and saying “Willow, GET THE TABLES”? Ruby bled enough for everyone, Willow almost killed Anna twice (DVD on apron very close to a dangerous botch, power bomb to floor was a dangerous botch). I feel like the announcers were sort of mocking the bag of tacks which I kind of agree with, it’s been done a lot now. Still, glad to see Ruby get a big win finally and I need the Willow-Ruby t-shirt. HoB is not for me and this whole angle sucks, so I didn’t pay much attention. Free Brody King. Jarrett as the classic Memphis shit heel is starting to work for me some, as long as he keeps taking Ls and putting people over. Still, I’d rather not see a celebrity angle and I’m still waiting for Jarrett to angle himself to the top of the card. Acclaimed/Gunns was a fine cheap comedy bit that didn’t go too long and reminded us that, at some point, Daddy Ass is going to have to return to his boys. Missed the opener.

Wasn't able to devote my full attention because, that's right, I'm in a hotel watching while working. Page vs. Mox was what we wanted and what we expected, and now your 2022 AEW MVP and possible WOTY Mox gets his vacation even though I'm not wild about a fake concussion angle. Hey, it's Adam Cole. Time to turn my focus back onto all the emails. He's happy to be back, I'll try and give him another try. I think the JungleHook vs. Firm match was in here. Kept my focus on emails, only guy I really care about is Moriarty. Credit to Big Bill for getting a good jump and tuck on the T-bone. MJF, on the other hand, has fully become Go Away Heat from me. So long-winded, so redundant, so predictable. I was worried it was going to kill the buzz I had for the upcoming match. I did give my undivided attention to Takeshita and Danielson and I was fully rewarded. I know Matt D hated it but I loved it, multiple out of the chair moments (that NASTY brainbuster on the floor! The Everest German!), 5 stars from JLowe. Made Lard Lad look like a total killer, made Danielson look vincible, and then the show of respect at the end. JAS-Starks/Andretti segment was just bad but maybe some good matches will come out of it. Women's tag was great although it only got about 70% attention (not an insult to the participants, a timing issue). The Shida part was clever if nothing unique, a good way to advance the various angles and dissension. I'd probably have this as second best match of the night. Ladder match was a big ol' spotfest that mostly left me cold. Probably because at this point they've run most of those big spots 2 or 3 times. I think match 5 might have been the best? Free Rey Fenix. I've got a lot of AEW to watch/rewatch once I get home on Saturday. Because, as Dean says, AEW RULES THE FUCKING WORLD

Do you read @SirSmellingtonofCascadia's Monday Nitro rewatch writeups in the WWE folder? Good stuff and he mentions this a lot.

Max Duggan reverting to his mean. There is a big advantage in having a senior or super senior QB in college football right now. TCU had a couple of hot WR coaches who recruited guys who had offers from bigger schools. And they worked the portal.

I thought Cool Hand Ang was Punk for a second when I looked at the first photo.

I like your picks in general, although I think there needs to be at least one more up-and-comer he can give a rub to like Takeshita. I said it elsewhere, but he and Darius Martin could have a really fun banger of a match based on last week's tag match. I also don't know how many current champions you would want losing to Bryan in a non-title match, because it makes them seem secondary, which sucks because I want to see him against Joe, Claudio, and OC. I think Claudio is inevitable to further BCC tension and as mindgames on MJF's part.

I voted for the Wednesday Acclaimed vs Jay-e-double F because I thought Jarrett sold better in that match, because the heat was something like you would find close to the sun, and the false finish had me totally ready to riot. Friday had it's moments but Wednesday was US tag team wrestling at it's finest.

and no mention of Willow and Ruby vs. Emi and Diamante? Not only is the wrestling going to be aces, but the shenanigans with Willow and Emi are going to test the patience of Ruby and Diamante.

I was a little surprised there wasn't a respect angle at the end after that hellacious beating. I think Darius took kicks even harder than Yuta. I really hope that they decide to have a Darius-Bryan match as part of his run to the PPV and let them go 20 minutes.