Gordi the former AEW fan

There was some excellent camera work during the opener, particularly when Yuta came flying into the frame on that dive. In my opinion an avalanche Death Valley driver might be better used as a match-ender than a mid-match highspot, but I am old. Maybe that's also why I'd prefer not to lump Eddie Kingston in with HOB? Although possibly I'd still hate that if I was young. I enjoyed the classic ukulele based prowrestling psychology BECAUSE I am old. So it's not all downside. I also had a very nice pee during that match. And I was done in time to enjoy a bit of Satnam's shtick and Jericho's commentary. And that dumb, shitty finish! His name is Mudd! I enjoy a good squash. Swerve vs Dustin! Oh, baby! YES! THE QUEEN GETS THE MAIN EVENT! As is only right. Isn't it nice to have extremely high expectations for a match and then to have those expectations met? (It really is).

I briefly panicked when I saw the DAZN announcement, thinking it was for all of Europe and Asia. But in fact it's for: Albania, Alderney, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Georgia, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Jan Mayen Islands, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Svalbard, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. That came as a relief. FITE's a way better deal for me at the moment. DAZN doesn't appear to be offering an AEW-only option like FITE does, and a DAZN subscription costs three times what a FITE AEW plus subscription does. Nice that my erstwhile American Football buddies in the Czech Republic will be able to watch AEW now. Most of them still watch the NFL, so most of them already subscribe to the service. I am curious how many people on here this affects. Sharty, certainly. Maybe Running From America? I think there's a connection to Bulgaria or maybe Hungary there?

I will! Howzabout THIS to start?

Actually, Tony Khan backward is Nahk ynot. Nah. K. Y not? Or... No. OK. Why not? Which is EXACTLY what a con man (Khan man!) would say to a rube before ripping him off! Coincidence? Yes. It's a coincidence.

That was perfect. Hug somebody. Get well, DEAN!

Hey Sammo~! I gave you the WRONG Jaguar vs Galactica match. Not that there is any such thing as a bad Jaguar match, as far as I can tell... but the one I gave you has absolutely AWFUL English-language commentary dubbed over it (though that might actually make it more interesting to write up, in some ways). Also it's not an apuestas match which makes my "Is this Joshi or Lucha?" "joke" (even) less funny. So, after I finish this write-up, I will also post a different, mask vs hair, no shitty English commentary Jaguar vs Galactica match. Feel free to choose. Kellett vs Czeslaw is one of my absolute favourite matches of all time. It's either The Greatest or Second Greatest Comedy Match of All Time (in my opinion) with Ebessan vs Kuishinbou Kamen 2 out of 3 falls the only real competition. It's almost certainly the greatest European comedy match ever. Ebessu vs Kuishin is the best from Japan. Maybe the Don't Spill Your Beer match or maybe Marella & Emma vs Summer & Fandango for North America? Anyway. It's a match I can watch again and again and find enjoyable every time. Even more so this time, as it's all on one file and the sound quality is much improved so I can get a few of the verbal jokes I missed the first dozen or so times I watched this. The main thing, though, is the superb timing of the physical comedy. Kellett is pro wrestling Buster Keaton. And Czeslaw is damn near his equal here. And the ref is every bit as crucial here as Matsui was in the Ebessan match. They make it look effortless. It's all funny, particularly the interactions with the ref, Kellett hiding behind the ring like a little boy trying to hide from trouble, Kellett and Czeslaw getting knotted up at the end of the first round and the seconds being unable to pry them apart before the start of the second... They "rake gag" a few jokes (Czeslaw's knee, Kellett almost vomiting...) to great comic effect. But it's also a really good European professional wrestling match. They don't do anything, in my opinion, that would violate the accepted laws of that Universe. It's an astonishing display of the Art of Wrestling. In a Desert Island scenario, this would undoubtedly be one of the ten matches I bring with me. Let's see: Kellett vs Czeslaw Ebessan vs Kuishinbo 6/9/95 Canadian Stampede Main Event Hokuto & Kandori vs Bull & Aja Tenta & Vader vs Albright & Yamazaki Andre & St. Claire vs Hoshino & Sekiguchi? Andre & Franz van Buyten &Ali Bey vs Rusher Kimura & Thunder Sugiyama & Isamu "The Carpenter" Teranishi? Maybe Kenny vs Ospreay? Bryan vs Hangman? Bryan vs MiSu! MiSu vs Ishii... It's VERY hard to just pick ten. But 100% Kellett vs Czeslaw. 100% that one. EDIT: Also: Thanks to EVERYONE who picked a match for me! I enjoyed every pick, a whole bunch. Great choices, every time.

It's almost certainly a reference to Maeda shoot kicking Choshu in the face. About 3:20 into the video. Totally agree that it's the most interesting angle New Japan has run in ages (maybe ever?) and I also completely bought that things were out of control until the dropkick and suplex. Great stuff!

1) My life sure does not suck. 2) If your life sucks: Sorry! I am not trying to rub it in that my life aggressively does NOT suck. My intention is to share the joy. 3) 30 Rock taught us to never go to a second location with a hippie. Allow me to suggest that you should ALWAYS go to a second location with a Japanese professional wrestler. Hang on. I gotta switch browsers to post pictures. I'll spoiler them. Edit: A certain 8-tentacled poster did a nice thing and lightened up the pic of Dotonbori Pro wrestler Captain Amemura (who, rumour has it, really likes Takoyaki).

Sammo~! In my opinion, this match is DEFINITELY one of those things. I'll leave it up to you to guess which one!

Cage vs Mack and Action vs Garcia were both exciting matches of the gogogogo go go type style, with clean finishes. Hopefully some wrestling grandpas were upset that big men were working like little athletic guys. That's always fun, to read about. Schadenfreude, baybay! Darby vs Buddy and Brian vs Bryan are both matches I look forward to. JR kind of seemed to me, today, to be more like a guy doing a parody of a "grumpy out of touch rambling JR" but maybe that was just me. I'm going drinking with my wrestling buddies in Osaka tonight for the first time in a while. Hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to post later.

Whoa! After Brian Cage and Willie Mack had an extra-fun Big Meaty Men Getting Their Shit In match on Dynamite, I asked for a Cage vs Mack Best of Seven... AND WE ARE GETTING A REMATCH ON RAMPAGE! YESSS! Those two big men match up very well, in my opinion. We are also getting: A Jade & Leila squash match! It's Jade's 50th match, I believe. Will Red Velvet show up? Action Andretti vs Daniel Garcia where if Garcia wins he takes Sammy's place tagging with Jericho so I am assuming Andretti wins because that's the more interesting story. I like that Andretti beat Jericho FIRST and now he's working his way through the JAS. It's a nice little twist on the usual way of doing things. And Jungle Boy vs All Ego. Will the mostly-on-YouTube and quite entertaining Ethan/Hardy Party story be continued here? I hope so! Also we'll get a Mad King promo or interview. I want him and Monkey to stay friends! I don't think they will, though. Him and Monkey fighting could be really good. So there's that.

The black armbands were a nice subtle touch. Bryan gonna win DEAN's poll yet again! What a match! Looking forward to Brian on Bryan violence! I personally am glad they decided to turn the Paige. if anyone can successfully split time between NJPW and AEW, it's Kushida!

The Nyla Marina storyline continues to develop,and THE QUEEN rightfully gets the pinfall win! Garcia vs Blackwood (who if I understand correctly was in the car with him when Garcia had his big accident)was a REALLY good YouTube match. Early favourite for DEAN's poll! HardyParty storyline is consistently amusing. HEYYYYY I'M LIVVVINNNNN'! Good Lord! Dark Order vs Trustbusters is the NEW early favourite! What a match! Don C doesn't know how to give a business card to a Japanese person. It's one of the first things I learned after moving here. They did too effective a job with the Preston Vance turns on Negative One story. When I see him now it just makes me sad. Wingmen & Chaos SAPs is a DREAM 8-man team up for me personally. Pretty Peter's reaction to Cutler coming out was SO GOOD. Apparently EVERY match is gonna be the new early favourite. So I'll hold off on saying it again. Oh! Big Meaty Men Getting Their Shit In! Postmodern wrestling! Cage vs Mack Best of Seven please! There is nothing in wrestling more enjoyable than an Athena YouTube match! Or, more specifically, the post-match beat-downs. MAGICAL GIRL!!!! Dark Order recruiting again is a very specific kind of nostalgia. OK. BCC vs Top Flight vs Butcher & Blade is DEFINITELY the early favourite for DEAN's poll. Or maybe the Brandon Cutler match. Bryan vs Band-aido, Storm vs Willow, and Darby vs Time Splitter got their work cut out for them. WHAT A SHOW! AEW YouTube is ON FIRE!

Yeah. It really is beautiful. Thank you, Dean. If I were to rank all the professional wrestlers I have ever watched in order of how much joy I experienced while watching them, Survival Tobita would rank very high. And that is kind of how I rank professional wrestlers, personally. So it's reasonable to say that Survival Tobita is one of my top 20 all time "wrestlers I have never seen live." I'm pretty sure - but not 100% sure, that I have not only seen the guy "playing" Bauxite Medium live, but have met him, spoken to him, and been drinking with him. The same way I kinda rank wrestlers by "how much joy they spark in me" I tend to personally rank matches by "how much pro wrestling love and individual creative expression are shining forth." But not exclusively. Everything from Nifty Moves to Realistic Striking can count, as well. Also, I like when they tell a little story. This particular match doesn't rank very high in terms of Nifty Moves or Realistic Striking. It ranks EXTREMELY high in terms of Love, Creativity, and Storytelling. Beautiful. Incredibly, this is the first time I have seen this particular Survival Tobita match! I think I might have skipped over it before because I thought it was the Tobita vs "Automatic Warrior" match. It is not! This match is FAR superior! I genuinely enjoy thinking about Survival Tobita. I find it amazing that (assuming I can count DEAN as someone I "know") I know at least TWO people who own Survival Tobita t-shirts. Like with Ebessan vs Kuishinbo Kamen, or Choco Pro, or Invisible Man vs Invisible Stan, or even Les Kellett matches, it's such a highly specific idea that I find it rather amazing that it caught on and found an appreciative audience... And I also feel MUCH less alone in the world because it has. The first Mokujin Ken match, which was the first Tobita match I saw, plays out in front of a handful of people inside a tiny gym. The re-match, which has an absolutely brilliant twist that I will not spoil here, takes place in front of a large and noisy crowd in an actual arena! The Bauxite Medium match takes place in, it seems, the same small gym as Tobita vs Ken One, but there are WAY more people there and they are VERY excited for this match. Bauxite is the rock that is the world's main source of aluminium. Tobita's foe appears to be some kind of aluminium robot monster. At first, the monster declines to engage with Tobita, and Tobita sits down and drinks a beer. When he finishes his beer and tosses the aluminium can away carelessly, that ENGAGES Bauxite Medium. BM batters ST mercilessly with his massive box-shaped aluminium hands (which look like empty industrial-sized containers of cooking oil). It's a massive beat-down! Bauxite Medium wanders into the crowd and they flee like he's Bruiser Brody swinging his chain. Tobita finally gains the advantage by dismantling the bare mats and using them to detach the monster's boxy hands. He then hits a nice FISHERMAN'S BUSTER and covers Bauxite with mats before climbing atop the pile to earn a hard-fought pinfall victory. It reminded me, very much, of the ending to the Panamanian Giant match that Matt gave me to review. The tossed-away-beer-can psychology, in my opinion, was something approaching pure genius. This match sparked SO MUCH joy in my heart.

What a treat and a challenge, to exchange match recommendations with DEAN. I had a thing all picked out for you months ago which when the YouTube algorithms fed it to me I mentally filed away as "for DEAN in SS" material. Which was this: But then today those same algorithms handed me this, and I haven't even watchsd it yet but oh boy THIS sounds like literally too much professional wrestling fun. Aja Kong in Gatoh Move! Teaming with Emi! Pro wrestling is an endless bounty of anything our hearts could imagine! Two matches where, frankly, it kind of insane that they actually exist. So. Take your choice.

Main Event saved this from being merely a "good" pro wrestling show and snapping the streak of GREAT AEW TV and YouTube shows. Opener was a good professional wrestling television match, but when Darby Allin is involved, "good" is kinda disappointing. Then we got what had to be my least-favourite Eddie Kingston AEW match ever. Which is like bad pizza, I guess, in that it was still pretty good... However. Uh. I tend to get my back up when folks wag accusing fingers at AEW for being insufficiently feminist... But. Fuck's sake. "Were you going to hit a GIRL?" as a major plot point? Really? And we some VERY sports-entertainment-ish stuff instead of a fourth match. I don't need to get into what I hated there, presumably. Yes, I did go pee. But, oh boy, that main event! Matching Street Fight Gear! Ruby's Crimson Mask! The YouTube Fist Bump Storyline pay-off! Saved the show, in my opinion.

2023 is starting out to be both crazier ( in general) and better (in-ring) than 2022. Which hardly seems possible, but here we are.

Yep. Pretty darned good couple hours of that professional wrestling right there. i am off to work now so no time to list all the things I loved. The BEST thing? In my opinion it was when the camera pulled way back for Adam Cole's return before quickly pulling in for a close-up. You know I'm all about the ZOOM! (Bay bay).

This has to be one of the best weeks of AEW YouTube wrestling ever. Which is really saying something! The DVD and POUNCE in the floor in the Emi & Diamante vs Ruby & Willow match were GREAT spots. (also, Ruby vs Diamante seems like a natural match-up. As does Ruby vs Jade. Who is the true precious stone of AEW?) Will AEW be able to re-ignite the Bullet Club trend and sell a billion t-shirts? Mark me down as a doubter here. HAT BASED PSYCHOLOGY is the best kind of pro wrestling psychology. Athena vs Marina was straight up great professional wrestling. Can they keep up this momentum with the STACKED Dynamite card tomorrow?

That's a really good point. It occurs to me that he might be the right choice as heel ace for the rumoured ROH/NJPW Strong alliance. That would give him fresh match-ups and opportunities to keep working both sides of the Pacific. It also occurs to me that he just might be hyping up his upcoming Loser Leaves Japan match with... Uh, Hikuleo? Yep. It's Hikuleo. I wouldn't mind seeing Hikuleo as a midcard heel in AEW! There's a guy whose full potential has yet to be unlocked!

Such a thing does not exist.

I prefer "White Umaga."

Jay White is best off in New Japan. He stands out there as a guy who can work US heel style. I think he'd be just another good wrestler in WWE or AEW. He has a good look, works smoothly and has good stamina. So do a lot of other guys. I don't think he'd stand out as much on a roster with other charasmatic heels. He *might* be exposed as nothing special in that area. If he expects to me immediately be used as one of the top guys (and he probably does) it could be a mistake for AEW to sign him to a big contract. EDIT: Oh. Juice Robinson just brought up Bullet Club on Dark! If the plan is to have an AEW (or ROH) BC faction and sell a bunch of t-shirts... Has that ship already sailed? I've never bought BC gear and am unlikely to start now. (On the other hand, I do have an LIJ hat that I wear all the time). Is there a chance that AEW could re-ignite that fire, though? I doubt it, in fact I think it might flop, but I have been wrong before.