Jenalysis

also Kota Ibushi is still an indeterminate object.

That's one thing you can say for AEW, so many of the wrestlers are really good role models in person, even if they play heels. Hangman, Brody, Jay White, Kenny Omega, others- they all seem like really good people. In a society that is outright evil, one so bad I'll probably be leaving this country for good soon, we really need those good role models. (and you might be getting some really obscure lucha reviews if that happens)

Got to watch this with the wifey at home, which never happens. My wife was pleading with willow not to rip her lobe out. Rings especailly true given how much trouble she had with her last piercing. (That said, if you're in the Triad part of NC, and need a piercer, full rec for Sarah Starling at Restful Souls in Archdale, NC) We both loved the show, though wifey did fall asleep a few times because she gets to be a tired puppy given her job. She loved Toni/Mina and the kiss at the end, and the other women's match. She loved Hangman winning, as Hangman's her favorite. I was really happy with the show all around, it was a great mix of stuff, but like all AEW PPVs, a bit too much of a good thing, but that's not really a complaint about AEW as much as it is a complaint about me. I was kinda hoping for a different story from Hangman-Ospreay of Hangman overcoming his demons, but the story they did tell was really good and earned. I wonder where Ospreay goes from here. Hangman needs to win at All In, and I think he does. If they let Mox win to hold it for Darby, I think it's going to hurt Darby as the fans will reject his win. Darby really should be AEW's Goto- he needs to keep losing title matches. I'm also wondering where HOOK goes from here, he seemed unhappy with the Opps upgrading from him, but I don't think a heel turn would suit him, and Hook and Hobbs have history too.

Question for folks. My wife really, really loves Saya Kamatani now (not as much as Toni or Hangman, but she's up there!). Can anyone recommend some other wrestlers who are like Saya if such a thing is possible that I can look up?

I think this is intentional booking on TK's part. He figures if someone can stay over in losing, they have enough value to invest in when you want to have them win. Kevin Knight's currently in that role, and he'll end up in a good place. JTTS's in AEW tend to either fit into this trope (which has worked well- some guys have gotten mad over due to this- Darby, Takeshita, Swerve, Willow, Stat, Bandido) or Monsters of the Week whose job it is to squash folks until they need to lose to someone who is being pushed. With 4 hours of TV every week, you can only have so many pushed talents, no matter how many deserve it.

I have doubts TK would use Naito given how bad his showings at Forbidden Door have been, but I'd like to see him at the Arena Mexico show on the 18th, perhaps a tag match with BUSHI vs Bandido and Gravity, and then a Forbidden Door match vs Bandido for the ROH belt would be a nice sending off. Bandido has shown with the Jericho feud he can carry washed-up vets.

Neither. It was just a passionate fan, and I was happy for everyone involved. I've seen this with my wife- who is a very new wrestling fan (we each took a hobby from his other- she got wrestling, I got Night Lords!), and the Toni/Mariah/Mina stuff means a lot to her, and I was glad I was able to take her somewhere to meet Toni and Mina before we flee America in the next several months (hopefully).

If they feud, I wouldn't be surprised if the fans turn on Cope and cheer Jay. It wouldn't be hard to do it that way. Jay needs to be protected right now as a future challenger, I'd only do the Cope feud if Cope's gonna put him over clean.

Given how hot Toni vs Mariah is and how not hot Mox vs Cope is, unless you've got a ton of crazy overbooking in that match , Toni vs Mariah should be the main. I suspect Mox vs Cope has at least 2 folks or briefcase cash-ins turn between the start of the match and the PPV, which would make it hard not to main.

Excalibur said the first one was flat out money on commentary. As for FTRunners, title shot chance > random 6-man, and Garcia and FTR are friends from Collision a few months ago. Got a feeling Yuta betrays Mox at Revolution.

I have my doubts on that. Folks are competitive, wrestling is competitive, and being a jobber can limit you. That said, it is part of going up the chain, I can understand veterans being less willing to job than up and comers, it's hard to confront your limits and your mortality- and know you're not going to be the top guy. That said, it is a self-destructive mentality, and TK has shown folks who can job really well do get more opportunities, and those folks usually succeed (see Swerve, Harley Cameron, and even Eddie Kingston for this)

Kinda don't agree on Harley- yet. Just watched the match, and I was watching a little more critically then I normally do. Harley looked rough on offense. You could see hesitation on a lot of her advanced stuff, very similar to Anna pre-Stardom run. Harley has the entertainment down, and will always have value in AEW because of that, but she could be a lot, lot more. What Harley needs after this is a few tours of Japanese joshi indies where she can get a lot of work- I don't think she'd be a particularly good fit for Stardom right now, I don't think her in-ring is up to that standard, and I don't think the Stardom style would suit her anyways. Give Harley to Emi for this year. Mone did a really really good job of keeping things together. This isn't being overly harsh on Harley, she's doing well for her experience level, on par with Anna I think. This is a critical year for her development, she needs as many reps as she can get right now, even if it means keeping her off TV a bit at times.

You can easily make a debate on Okada, but Jay and Ospreay have clearly been valuable to AEW. Ospreay is one of their most over stars, and Jay has had a lot of great matches, kept things together, and held together booking during the whole Punk mess by being the Collision Cowboy. Jay's been very snakebitten in his AEW run with Punk bullshit, injuries to partners, and MJF's injury making him look like a chump at Full Gear 2023. Jay's gotten over as a face too, which I'm not surprised at but I know folks weren't expecting it.

I'm ok with cheating that's not caught by the ref. That's part of a heel's trade. It's when they just ignore that the rule exists that it's a problem. BritWres could get a ton of miles out of a hair pull or a closed fist. I want rules, and I want refs who will enforce what they see, but I want wrestlers to be able to sometimes get one over on the ref.

The implication is that you get fired if you interfere, similar to Pure Rules in ROH. So folks aren't going to risk it. That said, I would have someone interfere and get caught, and get fired, if they were on the way out. You could also do a Midnight Rider with this.