Fighting a man with a perm

Just spotted on twitter someone posting a callback to a tag match from 3 years ago where Mox was partnered with PAC and Mox walked out on PAC after flipping him off, so there's another nice little beat to the ending.

Jack Perry and Hook with a nice handsome boy fight to start us off. Loved the smug grin of Jack as he covered Hook for the 3. A little too much shenanigans for my liking but good effort by both. Taz's recurring grumpiness after this match was a treat. Silly over the top work is my happy place. MJF has proven himself masterful at this lately. The dance-off, the build to the dive, the build to the headbutt to Sammy's groin, the build to the double clothesline -chefs kiss! A show full of this would be too much, but variety is the spice of life, bay bay! Nod of appreciation to Garcia - his dancing spot is over, over, over! His slide between Garcia's legs in the dance off was inspired. There's an episode of Friends, where Joey comes upon cake on the floor, and he pulls a fork from his pocket to get stuck in. Something about Mox handing a fork to Claudio reminded me of that. Man, PAC is just an explosive little knot of hatred, isnt he? I've missed that grumpy Geordie! Nick Jackson (i know not to everyone's taste) is made for 2 ring action! Taz with a look of glee/shock/horror when Mox pulled out the bed of nails Schiavone - "what the hell are we doing?!?" Im just sitting here with a big stupid grin on my face after that (YMMV of course, and I am in great mood as I've gotten tix for the first Arsenal match of the season). In the end, love and friendship prevail over hatred and violence and with Mox surrendering to save Yuta maybe he learned that lesson himself? Hell of a spectacle! ( @Gordlowa @tbarrie have both phrases this better than I, but I already had it typed before reading through)

Regal had a long career, and travelled a lot so maybe him?? Was a WCW tag champ too I think

Had a random playlist on Spotify for my run today and "Ogentroost" by Amenra was on it. Made me realize that as much as I dig House of Black, there was something very special about Malakai's initial presentation that I won't be upset to see him return to if/when he goes solo.

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" - MJF doing big, stupid 1980s heel schtick is phenomenal. Give me much more of this! Daddy magic also had some great lines here, "I was not grabbing the ropes! Do not check! Aaaggh!" as he got hit in the yambag by MJF after Cole told the ref there was cheating afoot. Darby Allinn is a messy bitch who loves the drama! He's always in the ear of someone telling them how he's disappointed by them. So many kids with either Darby face paint or OC double denim - they're my choice to win the tourney. I feel for the Acclaimed, they're really in a holding pattern right now and with the trios and tag titles both currently residing on Collision I don't see that changing soon. We're in diminishing returns territory now.

I was thinking to myself while watching it this morning that Kevin and Nigel sound like commentators in a video game. Disconnected sound bites is exactly it! Excalibur, Tony and Tazz sound like humans in a room together.

MJF is extremely vocal, and it's one of my favourite things. On big back body drops, or when someone gets him up for a powerbomb you'll often hear an "oh shit!" Or "fuck!". It's a great little piece of his act.

I understand that Jack Perry is not the strongest on the mic and that when trying to come off as a bad guy using some "naughty" language is a crutch, BUT really not a fan of him referring to his actual girlfriend as a bitch. Was JR helping him script that or something? I know he's a jungle boy and all but let's leave the misogyny with Tarzan, ok? Hopefully Anna gave him a well deserved slap and then his mother and sister followed up with slaps of their own. Claudio looked absolutely king sized in the Elite beatdown. Sitting on the chair sneering at Eddie - c'est magnifique!

Took today off to watch this at my leisure. Great way to spend my day, happy with my choices! From the pre-show: Swerve is giving serious star energy. Get him in the main event scene post haste! The look, the music, the unique style and confidence on the mic. Another pre-show chap serving future main eventer is Kyle Fletcher. That kid has something, and you can tell he sees himself as a future big dog! I've realised that with MJF, less is definitely more. His promos bore me to tears because it's all so obviously try-hard. But his little moments in matches are great - mocking Tana's bow legs, his trash talk, his jawing with the crowd. I'm not a fan of older wrestlers carrying on past the point of mobility (see Hardy, Jeff and Hardy, Matt) so this version of Tana does nothing for me. That reaction for punk! Fair play to him leaning into it. I was entertained. Having lost the Handsome Battle and taking his aggression out on the cold hearted handsome devil, I expect Jack to go on a rampage against all the handsome men of wrestling - watch out Anthony Bowens! Takeshita's new jacket giving him some extra pep! That forearm to Ishii was ooooooooooooof! Thought it weird that in the space of 1 promo this went from a blood feud between BCC and Elite into an Eddie Kingston joint. The Elite were supporting characters here. Story just feels like it skipped a few steps. I felt sorry for Sting, he seemed out of it towards the end of his match. I think they need to push for retirement match sooner than later. Omega-Ospreay was, to my eyes, great! I was out my seat on Kenny's OWA 1 count. It felt larger than life, and sometimes that's what I want in my wrestling, not realism. If I want realism, I can watch MMA or boxing or whatever. I'm still processing Danielson - Okada. Can't decide if the fake seizure was enough to spoil some incredible storytelling otherwise. On to my match of the night, the 4 way. This is my shit right here! My major complaint was this deserved at least another 5 mins. OC is the best wrestling storyteller on the planet and it's not close. ZSJ broke out some nasty joint manipulation and world class shit-talking. Shibata exudes menace and physical charisma. Garcia - his stupid dance cracks me up, that he used it to psyche himself up when he was taking constant shots was brilliant. I want him to develop a way of doing that dance while holding someone in the Dragon Tamer - I believe in you Daniel!!

I think the president may be very aware of the Skrulls aboard the space station as I'd bet good money the president is a Skrull.

I was thinking Naito might be Darby and Sting's third man??

Expected to open the board and see at least 15 pages dedicated to Takeshita's new, NOD Farooq-inspired jacket. Not one comment? No Takeshita fashion watch? To quote Baltimore's finest, "Makes me sick motherfucker, how far we done fall"

I can't complain about a Marvel show giving me Olivia Colman! She absolutely elevates this show even in small doses! My concern for this show is the whole "anyone can be anyone" theme can lead to a sense of constantly waiting for the Scooby Doo mask reveal, thereby removing the sense of peril or emotion (the last scene for example). Be interesting to see how they manage this.

Different strokes for different folks and all, but for me the commentary was actively detracting from my enjoyment of the show. I dig Excalibur, and love the team of him, Tazz and Tony. Ex expounds on the stories we're watching, Tazz provides the technical insight (and some Jones' and yambags), while Tony provides the enthusiasm - lovely balance. If a different team was required, Riccaboni and Caprice are right there and I think they're an excellent team too. Really felt the show was missing something, that je ne said quoi. The Buddy Andrade match was dope, but I think the wrong man won. Christian celebrating was great and that camera shot looked vicious but that match was not good and Wardlow has lost his aura rapidly. Nice to see Willow and Skye get s big win. Juice and Switchblade's shit talking was a highlight of the main for me. One of the things I like about MJF is his "oh shit!" when he's sent up for a big move, and Juice had a few of those, as well as a manic "aha!" As he floated into a cover - he's really growing on me. For those with a better knowledge of wrestling history than I - could anyone shed some light on Punk's elbow pad? It wasn't matching his colour scheme and he seemed to make a deal of showing it early on.

Big disagree with you (and your mother, sorry!). Those boots are incredible, like something Vince Noir would wear in the Mighty Boosh and sit perfectly with Jericho's faded rock idol/Rex Manning esque character. Did anyone else see the word No appear on screen during the 8 man? Intriguing.

Just jumping in to say my absolute highlight of the show was Trent going full Secret Service to take the bullet (and elimination) for OC thus proving once again that they are the BEST friends for good reason.

Claudio Rey was so enjoyable. Claudio's new gear looks great, he's a star! These two mesh so well and their strengths complement each other and they both upped their game as a result, loved it! Even with some flubbed lines, Christian had that crowd in the palm of his hand, bravo! Dax on the other hand, I just don't dig his mic work at all. Way too much , "ok, ok, ok, just a minute now" or "alright, alright, alright, hold on now" as verbal crutches. And the constant use of "our best friend" around Mark Briscoe makes me want to see Mark brain him with a chair. Orange Cassidy is always the highlight of my wrestling week. The man is so far above everyone else in terms of storytelling, entertainment and character work. Garcia brought his working boots. His new entrance theme works well with his "freaky, uncomfortable dancing" as Taz would put it. Love when Best Friends are given mic time to just be themselves, bummed that Chucky T is the designated pin in all their matches. Brody King is truly King-sized! Love the presentation with the darkened arena, feels more "fight club"-esque. Mox - Omega is the top matchup in AEW. They can't have a bad match. Kenny's leg could have been badly injured in the cage collapse, scary stuff! With Callis out of the way, is the path to Kenny and Hangman reuniting now clear?

Yeah, group me with the animal lovers turning to blubbering messes. Had to go straight to the "lair" (the spare bed above our home office) of my cat, Bowie Bang Bang (named for Ziggy Stardust himself and for Rinko Kikuchi's character in the Brothers Bloom) and give him a big old fussing behind the ears after seeing this. Really, really loved this movie. The laughs are real, the sobs are real, the running beats you know will pay off (bad dog) get paid off in a satisfying way, and of course the soundtrack is just great.

RIP Dean and condolences to all who loved him. His posts exuded joy, and that's a wonderful thing to put out into the world

For any RuPaul's Drag Race fans on the board - picture Mistress declaring she's in her "undisputed era"

I've got conflicting feelings on this show. Swerve/Darby and OC/Buddy were two absolute top notch matches. Cutler with a mask full of blood - great! Kenny with a great promo. Ethan Page with a great promo. All good stuff. But...... Both Darby and OC winning with their tricky pin maneuvers in the same show wasn't great planning. Matt Hardy initially says he and PP are free of the firm but then it's suddenly they have a match with the firm to win their freedom?!?! Kenny and the Bucks leaving their friends to be slaughtered, plus Mox just hanging around in the corner for far too long. Jamie makes the (unsuccessful) save on her own, followed 40 seconds by Britt with the successful save? Kinda makes the champ look chumpish? Add to that some general feelings of repetition - long MJF promo (general theme, "oh ain't I so evil"); outcasts beatdown followed by someone running out. Eh, just feel some of the non-wrestling stuff could be paced better/differentiated more I suppose. Still enjoyed the bell to bell stuff though.

The "jezebel" count was ridiculously high tonight. Seriously, can someone just put a muzzle on JR during women's matches...and what was up with the ringside cameraman during both women's matches? at times I thought he was going to zoom right up their small intestines. OC continues to be a highlight every week, the man just operates on a transcendent level! Darby is equally adept at making every match unique while being uniquely Darby. Build around those 2 lads! Looking forward to OC/Matthews and maybe Cutler putting in an Evil Uno-esque performance standing up to BCC.

That chap strikes me as someone who definitely pays for Twitter Blue. Switchblade's been working on that main event body! Where does this leave Juice because he seems very much the third wheel in this rivalry now. Spooky HOB don't really do it for me. Violent metal-head HOB on the other hand! I was practically headbanging along to the PiP beating they were putting on the Best Friends. Count me amongst those skipping MJF segments, awful stuff (but I will admit to enjoying him asking the crowd to stop heckling the politician). AMATEUR! Yeah, that's gonna be popping randomly into my head for the next week. The Gunn's swank-as-fuck entrance had me thinking they were going over, and they had me multiple times during the match. Good stuff. Those Ass Boys are slowly maturing into Ass Men.

Lot of music changes this episode: Claudio's theme is now just the classical 1812 overture; Kenny reverting to his NJPW theme (maybe due to defending NJPW title); Daniel Garcia tune change also. Odd to have that many in one episode since entrance themes are such a huge part of a wrestlers presentation. This is also why I hate how much House of Black chop and change their entrance themes (don't get me wrong, I love all of them, especially some God's Hate) but that lack of consistency bugs me. Still think Takeshita with Callis joins BCC, so who do Elite plus Hanger pick as 5th man, ibushi?

Orange Cassidy! The man can have great matches with anyone. He can tell a story in-ring better than almost anyone. He is still relatively young working a style that will allow him go for years. He is as over as anyone else. He's versatile AF, can do pretty much any type of match you want. Added bonus - no 20 minute promos from this Champ to open Dynamite. Here we go baby!