Go2Sleep
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Posts posted by Go2Sleep
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On 4/2/2025 at 1:40 PM, Casey said:
2pm in July in Texas is going to be some fucking brutal weather.
Probably won't be pleasant waiting to get in, but the stadium has a retractable roof.
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I think it's pretty easy to book. Swerve/Hangman + 2 others vs Death Riders in Anarchy in the Arena. Hangman wins the Owen, then he and Swerve can go one more time on the biggest stage, not because they hate each other any more, but simply because they're the best two in the company.
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Idk if it's good to book to current events, but Swerve winning would be a much needed feel-good moment for everyone right now. So many people have taken a big financial hit, or are expecting to and dreading the future that the least billionaire Tony Khan could do is not kick people spending their tenuous discretionary money in the dick with another interference heel win in a ppv main.
Fuck it, have Hangman come out to fight off the DR and shake hands with Swerve to end the show. Give people some joy in this world.
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Don Callis was really good on commentary for the full show, way better than Nigel. Unlike most heel announcers, he did a good job supporting heel tactics, but not being a total partisan to the heel wrestlers, and put over the faces equally well.
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5 hours ago, JLowe said:
Harley and the Beast
Beast and the Harlet
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Adam Cole was out for over a year with an ankle/foot injury too.
Speaking of Cole, while his feud with Garcia isn't setting the world on fire or anything, it is good to see him getting back to his old self in the ring (whether you liked that or not) instead of looking totally washed like after his return. Can of worms here, but he's clearly packing on some lean muscle too. I think he'd be a good heel TNT champ at this point.
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The MVP/Bill exchange was a lack of creativity as much as anything. While letting guys improv in contrast to WWE's overly scripted style is generally good, the biggest shortcoming as AEW has shown several times over the years is when guys get stuck, they fall back on bigoted tropes. IMO, it's on TK and the producers to take a more proactive role and screen out that kind of garbage and work with the wrestlers to replace it with something that can still be witty. That's literally what they're there for.
I've also noticed there have been quite a few women's main events in March, which I'm sure is by design. Toni's promos have been extra fiery lately and carrying an otherwise forced "monster of the month" angle. Loved seeing Billie get some more time in a good match with Hayter. I really like the Hayterade 3 that Jamie busted out at the end. Hopefully that sticks as her main finish.
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I dug the format of splitting up Collision into 2 Rampages.
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3 hours ago, For Great Justice said:
I had a reply all typed up basically suggesting that they can’t end a PPV with their most popular babyface losing to Death Riders bullshit….can they?
But alas, they can. And they will.
It's a tricky needle to thread. Obviously no one really wants this, but I also think it would be pretty bad to have Swerve win here then job the belt at All In two years straight.
Ospreay in the Owen is probably a mistake because it's too obvious. They should just put the belt on him at DON, then have a final 4 of Swerve, MJF, Kenny, and Hangman. I know TK is dead set on Kenny/Okada at All In, but I think that's a big mistake. I don't think that combo has any mainstream appeal and way less appeal among the hardcores than TK thinks. We're nearly 10 years removed from their generational match at the Dome at this point and both are on the downhill side of their career, I don't see it as something to build your whole year around. That could be a DON match easily.
I think an ideal All In Card would have Ospreay/Hangman for the world, Hurt Syndicate backed babyface MJF taking the unified Cont/Int belt off Kenny, Darby/Mox in a violent blowoff with no gold on the line, Swerve winning a re-match with Danielson if possible, and Fletcher getting a big win over someone like Takeshita or Adam Cole since Fletcher should be the next in line when they're ready for another heel champ.
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If TK is reading this, he can tell the execs that I personally bought Max again once AEW stuff was on it.
Maybe there was some minor help from the wife and daughter when I also pointed out The Last of Us Season 2 is in April, but tell them it was all AEW.
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I thought the show structure was really good. At first I wasn't sure about the World title going on in the middle, even if it's a cold program and there's obviously gonna be a fuck finish, but it ended up being a great decision.
4-way was fine, and Davis looked really good as the wrecking ball. The finish was cheap, but it'll lead to another fun cluster match at Dynasty.
Mercedes/Billie was good as expected. With the great near-fall, it reminded me a lot of Rollins/Neville (Pac) from about 10 years ago. Hopefully Billie can stay on the main roster.
The street fight was there, plus *that* spot. Even though the DR stuff is as cold as the Omaha air, I can't really find much fault with Mox who has played the hand dealt as best he can. His promos have been good the more deranged he's gotten, he's in amazing shape, and he's putting a lot of effort into his matches even though they're doomed by interference finishes every time. The nail spot was way better than this feud deserved. The FTR/Cope drama is possibly less interesting than Cope/DR, but at least that will be back in the midcard.
Following that with a palate cleansing Ospreay/Fox sprint was a good idea. One of Fox's better matches in AEW and the crowd was into it.
Bayne and Stat just have perfect chemistry. Second banger from those two in a month, and they had the crowd way into it. Glad they got a deserved main event spot. As much as I love Toni, I feel like her comedy on commentary did kind of disservice to the match, but she made up for it with that fiery innuendo-laden post-match promo to send the fans home happy.
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Idk that I'd go that far. Cope/Mox was an ill-conceived program, but for where they're at now, they kinda have to see it through. A quick turnaround Dynamite match almost certain to end in shenanigans that send each guy their separate ways is fine. Not anywhere near stretching the Big Show/Orton feud multiple ppvs then trying to make babyface Batista happen when people only wanted Bryan.
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Obviously a rest show after the big ppv, but I thought they set up some interesting stuff. Nick Wayne finally stepping up to Christian, MJF starting to crack, and Ospreay with a genuine relatable promo that sets up him getting back to the main event scene. I wish that they would reverse the Mercedes feud with Athena stepping in prematurely to "defend" Billie, only to lose with Billie finally proving herself by being the first to beat Mercedes in AEW. The matches will be good either way.
Haven't seen much of Speedball. He looks cheesy as hell, but he was super over already and his style looks like it will play well in AEW.
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Toni/Mariah and Will/Kyle were both great in their own ways. The women benefited from being more condensed, but I wouldn't say they were doing much different as far as the epicness goes, so I don't liking one and hating the other. They blew off a stage table spot in the first couple of minutes and were trading finisher kickouts one after the other down the stretch. The thing is, both matches were supposed to be epic. These matches are exactly when you're supposed to do that shit. Toni did a hell of a blade.
I thought Will and Kyle filled their extra time pretty well. Will learning to adapt to the cage and escalating his spots throughout the match was some actual good ring pysch. The visuals of the elevated Os-Cutter, styles clash on the tacks (with several very noticeably going into Fletcher's dick), the ridiculous Spanish Fly, and subsequent finish were all worthy of the moment. This match just solidified my theory that AEW would be 10x hotter right now if this feud was for the World Title and the Death Riders were in the TNT division.
MJF/Hangman, Mercedes/Momo, and Swerve/Ricochet were good-great matches that suffered from the "too many good matches on AEW ppv" effect. Kenny/Takeshita was more of NJ style match which helped it stand out, among the rest despite being super long and sandwiched between the top two MOTYCs. Outrunners got their ppv match, which they deserve for getting this gimmick over like they have, but Hurts going over dominantly is the right play. The main never had a chance, and it's a big testament to the crowd for not shitting on it. It was a pretty average match overall, but following the rest of the show was impossible. The WM 31 finish but dumber looks bad in a vacuum, but getting the not-MITB off Christian needed to be done.
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Ricochet revealing an Eagles championship hat instead of a Dodgers championship hat after his promo made less sense than the Rosa/Bayne standoff last week.
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If they're setting up Billie Starkz to be the one to dethrone Mercedes, I'm all in.
The DR stuff is spinning its wheels in the worst way, and I don't know that there is any satisfying payoff even possible in the near future, let alone likely. Cope winning? Yuck. Mox winning and beating Swerve next? Yuck. Christian weaseling his way to the belt? Yuck. Best I can come up with is Mox winning, dispatching Christian with a failed cash-in, then getting so delusional he challenges Swerve on Dynamite and loses to give us the reset. Problem is, I don't know there's a lot left for Swerve to do with the belt. There's matches with MJF and Kenny, and that's about it.
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1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said:
This makes me remember that we haven't had an actual Hangman Page singles match since when?
The Daniels retirement match, and the last couple of ppvs were singles against Jay White.
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As far as 20-minute opening promos go, that was one of the better ones. Hangman's got the real fire, and MJF always comes across better when he shows some actual vulnerability instead of just shitting on everything his opponent said.
BS finish aside, Stat/Bayne was a really good match. Not sure why Bayne has been working that awkward methodical style in her first few matches, she looked a million times better and more imposing in this high-impact sprint. Stat is Will Ospreay tier in terms of always getting the best possible match out of any given opponent.
Only thing I didn't like was the Willow segment. Of course she shouldn't be getting chumped by Marina 2 weeks in a row without any retribution, but I think what bugged me the most was calling out that Mox and Renee are married. Yes, we all know that they are married irl, but it makes zero sense for their on-screen characters to be married. It's not a Steph/HHH situation. Mox is a delusional madman and Renee is a journalist. Leave it that. I hate how every wrestling couple has to make it part of their on screen character.
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The opener has to be Ospreay/Kenny vs. Fletcher/Takeshita. If you're expecting new eyeballs on your show, those are like 4 of the top 6 guys you want them seeing.
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Another great Dynamite where the crowd was hot for everything.
GS: Australia isn't shaping up to be a great night for the Aussies. Toni getting a triumphant (and hopefully show-closing) win seems like the only safe bet. Harley/Mercedes is the textbook "close not quite" breakout match, Fletcher is obviously losing, Buddy has only the slimmest of chances against Okada (though I think this would be the best opportunity for a surprise result), and neighboring Jay White has been getting a few too many over on the DR lately for anything but a violent reprisal to build heat for Revolution.
One path forward I can see for Jay, though, is getting the gang back together to reclaim the trios belts. The Gunns have been surprisingly over on their own since their return, and I could see them as a top level trio instead of just clinging to Jay or Juice.
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On 2/6/2025 at 10:46 PM, Nineteen said:
Harley having the puppet talk behind Mercedes while she was saying her bit , -chef's kiss-. Ditto Harley and Rene doing the CEO dance on Collision with the puppet too. I really want Mercedes to wrestle the puppet like a Yoshihiko match in the future.
If anyone is worried about Mercedes getting heat, just wait til she finally attacks the puppet.
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On 2/1/2025 at 7:48 PM, just drew said:
Boy, what a nothing signing she's been. Idk if her health has been poor again or what, but other than Paige Van Zant there might not have been an AEW women's signing with less ROI.
This is a baffling take. Saraya filled the role of established vet setting the table for the next wave of stars perfectly. The Outcasts thing dragged on longer than it should have, but she was good in the mostly manager role that set Toni up to take over the division. Then she got a thank you title win at Wembley which was a big deal since she never really got that kind of moment in WWE despite setting the table for their (and North America by extension) women's wrestling explosion. Then she got Harley pointed in the right direction, and now Harley is a super underdog babyface act. She also put over Hayter after her return. It's also worth noting that many of AEW's young women stars probably looked up to Saraya before getting into the business (Hayter definitely did). Not sure how much mentoring Saraya did behind the scenes, but if it's even a little, that's worth a lot.
You don't have to be a dominant champ or have a bunch of 5* matches to provide value to a promotion.
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Pretty good Dynamite despite a ton of promo segments. The promos were mostly good and a couple were assisted by wild brawls in lieu of a match.
Harley and her Mercedes puppet might be my favorite thing on the show these days, but there was a lot of other fun stuff happening. Ricochet and Swerve had a great match that sets up a gimmick blowoff later. Toni as Mariah was perfect. The Joe/Hook mentorship is back. Hurt Syndicate and the Gunn Club having a super over babyface face off. Dustin getting fired up. Hangman's character work. Max Caster being the ultimate stooge. Amazing crowd all night. Never really felt like a dull moment.
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For as much as a drag on the show as the DR stuff is, I really liked Mox's deranged promo.
Overall, this a was a weird Dynamite that felt a lot more like a Collision.
AEW - APRIL 2025
in ALL ELITE WRESTLING
Posted · Edited by Go2Sleep
Everyone is a fan on the internet now. The IWC is literally everyone that watches wrestling. This isn't 2000 where you have to seek out some niche site like Lords of Pain or The Smart Marks. Social media has integrated everyone into dirtsheet culture and hot takes arms races. Much like everything else sports and entertainment, previously smug and elitist sites like DVDVR have become reasonable safe havens against the broader ills of social media.