Gordlow

Damn straight, Eddie Kingston! Atsushi Kotoge is indeed a very good pro wrestler, and a damned fine young man to boot. I HATED what they did to him at the NOAH vs NJPW show. I'd love to see Kotoge fight Eddie Kingston one on one!

I don't wanna be controversial but in my opinion Everett didn't wrestle that match much like Andre. Cole vs The Artist Formerly Known As ? was a NASTY opening match. Didn't expect Trent to take so many neck bumps. Acclaimed 's diss track video was pretty funny. Penelope's braids looked really nice. As did the alien lady's powerslam and everything she did from the hawt tag through the spider crab. Ah one Ah two Ah skiddly diddly do! IT'S!! TIME!! for the MAIN!! EVENT!! MAMA MIA!! That tope/suplex combo, that 4-storey tower suplex... that hawt nearfall!! (eeeeeehhhh, that finisher....) I predicted fun. BOOM! Gordstradamus strikes AGAIN.

Sammy beating Miro for the TNT title. Maybe Shawn Dean "beating" MJF also counts?

A boy and his dinosaur vs Hungee Silver and Alex Darkorder! A couple of years ago I had no idea who any of these dudes were. Now I know exactly what to expect out of this match-up (Fun. I expect a lot of fun here). Prediction? Johnny pops the crowd big time at least once. I'm not going to predict any bad guy shenanigans from another team wanting a shot at the titles, but don't quote me on that. Legit Leyla!!!.(also A Cake and an Alien) vs Three mean ladies. Hirsch has totally gone from "Who?" (not Jim Neidhart) to one of my very favourites in a really short time. Prediction? Suplexes and nose-booping and cake-stirring and some dissention in the babyface ranks. Trent Gothislastnameback vs Adam Bay Bay. I know who these guys are cuz they useta wrestle in Japan. I live in Japan. Have I mentioned that before? Prediction? Stiffness. Shawn Spears vs Andrew Everett. Apparently Everett is making his debut and he wears a single shoulder singlet... and his nickname seems to actually be "the Giant" as in Andrew the Giant... which sets my expectations EXTREMELY high since Andre is in my all time top ten favourites, mostly for how insanely great he was working in Japan but also for a bunch of other stuff. I feel like I'm supposed to already know who Everett is but to be honest I have zero recollection of ever hearing his name before... Though maybe the singlet/nickname stuff is throwing me off? Is he an Impact guy? That would explain it. Don't really have time to get into Impact even though a lot of people say it's pretty good now. Prediction? Most likely some Wardlow/Punk/MJF storyline advancement here. But not necessarily, what with AEW's love of throwing the occasional curve ball. Overall: Prediction? FUN!! (And you can quote me on that).

Who, me?

It's happening already! Here's some provocative clickbait from Matt Cardona: “I loved it. It was super cool. ...everyone was super welcoming. It’s something I definitely needed. Sometimes perception is reality. ...At AEW, it just didn’t work out at the time. There’s so many people there, and there just wasn’t anything for me at the time. No hard feelings, not to say I’ll never be there again because I would love to be. Obviously, there’s no doubt AEW is the place to be.” And here's Baron Black escalating things: “There’s a certain trust level there and I’m very comfortable with everybody there. Everybody is friendly. We’ve been in Jacksonville together for almost over a year, so you get to know everybody, get comfortable, and make friends. There is a certain trust level they have there and I developed a lot of good relationships... I was more than ecstatic when we first went on the road and I was right there in Miami and I was one of the first matches when crowds came back. Our relationship is really good.” Bang! Zoom! Feel the zing of John Skyler dropping heavy truth bombs: “That locker room at AEW was fantastic. Tony Khan was very gracious and kind to me when I was out injured, just to make sure that I was brought back on a regular basis, taken care of, even though I couldn’t wrestle. You know, but the locker room was great. It felt like a real team environment and I had a lot of fun matches there too that I really, really enjoyed like wrestling John Silver, wrestling Orange Cassidy which was probably my favorite match that I’ve had in a long time actually and I never thought in 2021, you know, if you would’ve asked me five years ago, I can’t believe I’m saying that right now. But, that match with Orange Cassidy was great. I got to wrestle my buddies, guys like SCU, it was just a lot of fun.... I was there for almost a year and eight months of that I spent on the shelf injured but, it was just a great experience overall and I think it really showed the world and opened a lot of people’s eyes on just what I’m capable of doing. Whether I have three minutes of TV time or 30 minutes of TV time, I think I kind of showed the world exactly what I’m capable of in terms of being a professional wrestler.” And here's Danny Limelight venting his spleen on being relegated to the YouTube shows: “When I was at AEW, I was the go-to guy for big matches on Dark or Elevation. I was in the ring with Kenny Omega. I was in the ring with Jon Moxley. Konosuke Takeshita from DDT Pro. I was in the first-ever Elevation match with Jungle Boy. I was put in very serious matches, big matches, in my opinion. To me, they were big matches. Some people might have thought it was just Dark or Elevation, but to me, I was stepping into the ring with contenders for the championships, I was stepping into the ring with world champions, and I think I got to that point and I was put in those situations because I could deliver at any level with anybody.“ And Zicky Dice lets us all know what it is really like backstage at AEW: “I had a great time at AEW. It was awesome to be there. They have a great crew behind the scenes and everyone is so kind and polite. The whole vibe there is incredible. I was very grateful to be there. I always get these little goals in my career, little by little, and it’s cool to finally cross those off my list and see where you stand. Back to the drawing board and time to whoop some ass. Doesn’t mean I won’t show up there again. It was Shawn Dean who brought me in. I went and checked out a Nightmare Factory student show, I went to stop by and hang out. A few days later, Shawn Dean hit me up and was like, ‘Hey, want to come through?’ ‘Lets do it.’ I wore a suit in Jacksonville in June and I didn’t take that sucker off. IT WAS HOT! It was a great experience and shortly after that is when MLW reached out and IMPACT, I’ve been working Gallows’ shows Lariato Pro, and Scott (D’Amore) was around there. Everything lined up the way it was supposed to.” Good Lord! People are cool and welcoming, there is a comfortable and friendly vibe, they take care of wrestlers when they are injured, build up wrestlers' self-confidence and give them valuable exposure, there's a great crew... it's hot. It's amazing they haven't already been taken off the air. (I mean, I remember what happened with Big Swole recently, and it could happen again. And maaayyybbbbeee people are just being polite because they hope to be invited back some day... But I was curious and I went looking, and this is legitimately what I found. Seems like most of the people who had a spell in AEW and didn't get a contract enjoyed the experience and are grateful for it and have benefitted from it).

I get that the first two matches were pretty similar (in that both had a bigger guy trying to punish a smaller guy rather than just going for the win, and both had banana-peel-esque finishes) but to my eyes there was a very clear difference in how Punk was using veteran savvy and experience to combat Wardlow's size and power whereas Dante relied on speed, quickness, and explosive athleticism. That felt like the exact right way to go, in both cases, and in my opinion it made for both a sufficient and a pleasing contrast. I LOVED Punk's selling, and thought the match did a swell job of putting Wardlow over as a beast, MJF as a dickhole, and Punk as a warrior. AEW once again showed respect for the intelligence of their audience, in that they know that we know about Cole and Baker and didn't need to make a big deal about it. Even though I'd normally say that a Bay Bay and a Dentist make for an odd match, them vs an Alien and an Orange is a natural match-up, one of the oldest stories in the book. reDRagon vs the Bucks, and likely a six-man when Kenny returns, is something to look forward to. I feel the same about Jericho vs Kingston, as I think that match-up could bring the best stuff out of Jericho that we've seen in a while. FTR vs El Hijo del Double A, too! Got a big kick out of Arn and Tully's tough guy handshake. I'm always happy to see Bear Country. If I had the book, Dynamite would be mainly built around them, JD Drake, and Legit Leyla. And Lulu pencil. And the American Dragon Iron Man Challenge Series. Even though I don't mind when dudes who are way way way smaller than me win matches, hold titles, and get pushed, I very much enjoyed all of the Big Hoss Clubbering that AEW gifted us with this week. I knew I wouldn't be alone in that, on these boards. I enjoyed seeing Matt Hardy hit a moonsault! Not because MOOVZ! but.. just cool to see that he still has it in him. I feel like I oughta complain about something, for the sake of balance, but I have been marking out all week. Maybe my threshold for joy is a little low? Maybe Pro Wrestling is pretty great? Maybe a little from column A, a little from column B? Oh, I know! I really wanted Maki Itoh to run in for the save during the Shida beat-down. Enough so that I was almost bummed out when it didn't happen.

It's not from AEW, but here is some rock-solid evidence that The Young Bucks have always been primarily interested in getting themselves over as if they were the Road Warriors:

CM Punk vs. Wardlow - This is part of the long-term story leading up to CMP vs MJF, but, personally, I am more excited for this match than for where it's all heading. Maybe Punk and Friedman will talk me into being more hyped for their eventual match, eventually, but for now: I love me a good David vs Goliath match and this has the potential to be a great David vs Goliath match. Hopefully Shawn Spears doesn't directly figure into the finish here. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Dante Martin - Speaking of potentially great David vs Goliath matches!! Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb - I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching these two fight. They match up really well. I love Shida, but I'm hoping Deeb wins here to take their series to 2-2 and keep the rivalry going. Interim TNT Championship Match: Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Daniel Garcia - More of a David vs David match? Is that a thing? They have set this up really well with Garcia running in after the classy show of respect between Sammy and Dustin at BotB, then Sammy running in to stop Garcia from injuring Fuego on Dark today. Another potentially great match, another potentially great show.

JD Drake vs Orangey Boy was a GREAT YouTube match! I loved everything about it, from the Wingmen in disguise working as goons, to the (apt) Rayo de Jalisco reference, to Orange folding to the mat after a single big chop, to the sublime bodyslam based storytelling. You can have your Danielson vs Page and Nakajimmy vs Go matches. Give me more Drake vs Orange!! The only things keeping me from recommending it for the list was that JD's heel heat couldn't match Cassidy's massive face pops, presumably because the big man is just too lovable, and that I wish they'd go back to Drake's original Dick Murdoch style ring gear which was perfect for him. On the other hand, the way Orange sold for the ring rope ricochet strike on the outside, and the way he got all fired up after finally hitting the slam were perfect YouTube pro wrestling. I'm also loving Powerhouse just Road Warrior squashing dudes and using the torture rack as his finisher. And Fuego vs Garcia was an excellent, all-action set-up for the Sammy title match. And: JB making the tag while diving out of the ring!!! I also liked that: Supremely enjoyable show overall. 102 minutes just flew by.

Whereas you constantly bitching and moaning about The Young Bucks remains eternally fresh and interesting. .

I like to think of myself as a professional well-wisher... in that I spend all day every day wishing people well in their future endeavors.

My thoughts exactly. I mean, obviously Sammy is gonna win... But it's good to know that I'm not the only one who sure wouldn't mind if they swerved us and we got Dustin vs Cody again. purely in terms of potential match quality, I don't feel like Sammy vs Dustin is a downgrade at all. Also: "Hookamania is running wild!" got a legit lol outa me.

Hunter is being aced out of WWE. Ring of Honor is for sale. Hmmmmmm.... Coming soon: ROHHH!