Steventon

You say "bludgeoned and turned subservient", I say "put in numerous main events and turned into a sympathetic babyface". Being 40 isn't much of a hindrance in a company where most champions are in their late 30s/40s anyway. But I'm not saying he hasn't worked hard (most guys on the roster work hard), but he's worked hard at the image rather than being exciting to watch when the bell rings. Is he a better worker than Dominik Mysterio to pick a random name? Also, congrats to Cody for continuing his Incredibly Mid run by having perhaps the most boring ladder match ever, and thats with Kevin Owens taking a number of death bumps. Woof.

Yeah this is I how I felt. The guy is over yes but let's not pretend he's not had everything they've had thrown behind him to get him over including now paying numerous high profile rappers to give him a rub. I can appreciate he's popular and him winning a title at Wrestlemania will satisfy some people, but after like 2 years of being pushed as a major singles guy he's still in the bottom half of the roster in the ring. Oh well, now they can continue to push The Rock's extended family as the best thing in wrestling history. At least we get more Jacob Fatu and Braun wrecking shit soon Does anything even need to be said about Charlotte winning? We should maybe cut her some slack after such a long layoff, but the fact she couldn't even throw a half-decent looking chop made that decision even more cringe

Somehow Punk and Owens have never been in the same place long enough for them to cross paths despite following similar paths. But last night segment put it right at the top of the pile of matches I hope we get this year. Also, the commentator guy did a great job in the segment with Owens

whats the meme for having a bunch of cool people around someone you desperately want to be cool to convince the audience they are? thats jay uso

Apologies if someone else has already made this observation, but the Toni segment felt almost like an homage to the Foley Royal Rumble segment where he cans off being Mankind and becomes Cactus Jack to face HHH. They maybe could have held off to a couple weeks before the show (when is it? I have no idea lol) but it definitely raised the stakes and intensity. The first match had plenty of violence, but this now feels like it warrants a stipulation being added.

Can we please take a moment to talk about how awesome the Hobbs and Bill brawl was. God damn, invest in and push these guys. I want more big dudes hitting each other with dangerous shit and causing destruction.

I like Mox and the DRs as workers but have to agree the main event scene feels ice cold right now. I am here for a Hobbs push, but he is either a one-and-done title shot here, or maybe he joins the BCC after. Omega's return also felt pretty cold. The guy just isn't a great promo, the new entrance is anti-hype compared to his last one, and going back to programs with Don Callis and/or Ospreay feel like one of the least exiting options on the table. I like JJ but MJF working a program with him feels like an obvious filler move to keep MJF busy, but again doesn't feel like a hot angle. Hangman and Switchblade clearly cycled out of the title picture and no clear next feud yet for either. No Swerve on this show, and he's going to be working with Ricochet for the short term. Darby MIA again. Guess it's Mox vs Cope stretched out to the next PPV. All of this is just so cold I need my thermals.

Went to post in last week's thread but too late. How long has Tiffany Stratton been rocking the Sabrina Carpenter cosplay look?

Omega vs Kidd was pretty great and just about the only thing worth checking out from an otherwise miserable pair of shows. Given all the hype about it being OMEGA AT THE TOKYO DOME, it actually didn't go as batshit as I thought it would, but I mean that in a good way. They could have something with Kidd here. I don't follow New Japan apart from the hyped stuff so in my mind I would have thought Kenny would have come in as the returning babyface against Kidd, but switching that worked way better. Kidd later signing with AEW would be the ultimate dick move heel turn so it will probably happen in 2026. Both Takeshita matches were fine but uneventful mid card matches I wouldn't remember a week later if they happened on Collision. Finlay vs Tsuji and vs King were both fine but ultimately forgettable and bland matches. Hearing the commentators mention Finlay saying his newborn son is less important than his title was hilariously corny. Not even Vince would come out with something so eyeroll worthy. Naito vs Hiromu was a good idea on paper but ran a few years too late. Naito is a great example of what happens when your main asset is your athleticism - when it goes, there isn't much else left to stand on. Felt like the wrong move to have the guy who's knees are held together with sellotape go over his younger contemporary. Zack vs Ricochet was solid though I'm not sure it was that much better than the match they had in the BOLA 10 years ago. Zack vs Shota was boring. I actually was really enjoying Mone vs Shirakawa until the end. Mina works over Mercedes's leg for about 10 minutes straight then Mone catches her with her finish out of nowhere to win. I'm far from a Mone Basher but that felt stinky to me. Nothing that made me feel like I'm missing out on New Japan but I look forward to seeing some of these guys crossover in AEW at some point EDIT - Apologies for the overly negative post. Not here to to ruin anyone's day. I really enjoyed Omega vs Kidd!

I may be an outlier here but I thought this was a pretty blah show. I've come around massively on Ospreay and think he's one of the best talents out there now, but I actually didn't rate the 2 performances here. The blood in the opener was a shock at first, then it continued to be the same evens-stevens 50-50 match for the most part the same as their first match. Where is the prolonged heat section my guys. Even in this blood-loss, deteriorated state, Ospreay can execute his amazing moves flawlessly. I would actually have enjoyed it more if he was fucking up and unable to hit his same moves as effectively. For me, any drama from the blood was sapped pretty quickly. In the Okada match, there was a brief moment where his leg got caught and the announcers talked about how it will impact both his flying and his striking - 10 seconds later he hits a perfect hook kick and Os-Cutter. I'm not expecting guys to sell like in the '80s any more, but was this any different to any Ospreay match without blood. I am here for him in 2024 but Ospreay vs Ospreay matches are my least favourite Ospreay matches. Okada vs Ricochet was fun though and the Swerve bit after was awesome. Ricochet going full bitch ass is a low-key masterstroke from TK. Cool to have Kenny back, though I was kinda hoping he's do more than a staredown considering the last time we saw him, Okada and the Elite tried to end his career. Okada isn't really a blood fued kinda guy I guess. May vs Rosa was a perfectly OK, mostly mid garbage match. Decent prop violence, not much hate or rhyme and reason. A finisher onto the tacks is a mid match 2 count. Then they do the bit with Rosa's dad straight after. Nasty piledriver finish at least, though May looked pretty unscathed at the end. I only half-watched MJF vs Cole - wasn't expecting double juice, though considering how much everyone was just wanting to get this over with, maybe they could have forgone it. I was waiting for some swerve afterwards with all the Cole Gang hanging out, but hopefully this is the clear end to the program and everyone can now move on. Takeshita vs Hobbs was actually the match I enjoyed most? Not perfect, but plenty of clubbering and hard hits. Scary moment with Hobbs slipping at the top, perhaps he should forgo highspots for now. Hopefully he can stay healthy long enough to convince AEW to push him, because in a promotion with 6-7 super athletes on a single card, a grumpy, chunky meat-slapper feels like a breath of fresh air. Really enjoyed Mone vs Stat I, but thought the rematch kinda stunk. The first match had a decent amount of story with the limbwork and the wrestler vs powerhouse thing they leaned into, here they did none of that. Watching this, it felt like they had carefully planned the spots and sequences they wanted to do, but none of the connective tissue between. Also it still feels weird for Money to be doing big babyface spots, not just the rolling suplexes, but then actually stopping Stat from getting counted out at one point. The whole thing with Stat's boot coming off lead to basically nothing, then she gets pinned clean with a cradle. The whole deal felt like they were tying to force epic and give Stat the respect pop, but personally this had the opposite effect from the first match for me. Main event was OK. Hurt by being one of those matches where we all know the outcome and are just waiting for the shenanigans, and Moxley calling to take it home early (if that's what happened) is unfortunate. I would not have put it past him to blade the back of his head to put a spot over, though it did remind me someone else called out he hasn't bladed in this run yet. I can't say I'm that excited by Copeland challenging Mox, but putting the trios belts on Rated FTR should be a positive move, and it does add some intrigue with Christian's position in the program. That said, I'm in the crowd of people kinda just wanting this to get to the season finale so we can have a bit of a refresh at the top of the card. Sorry if this was a bit of a moan or a rant - I'm still digging AEW on the whole but hopefully the new year brings some fresh moves to the table.

Could be wrong but haven't they gotten the one-up on Mox a couple times now since combining forces? My memory of the week to week is a bit hazy but didn't feel like them standing together was a new moment. Didn't the Bucks in the Elite vs AEW program earlier this year fight against Daniels? I sincerely hope this isn't where they're going because it would be an all-time stinker twist.

Ospreay vs King ruled. Darby and Komander getting one over on Claudio with the knucks ruled. All the CC matches were strong. I know they won't do it, but given then Ricochet angle, him losing to Okada in like 2 minutes would be awesome. I don't need guys pointing to PPV signs in AEW please, someone tell Fletcher get that shit outta here. For the go-home, could have done with more dissension between 3 title challengers. Have to wonder what schmozz they are planning with the Daniels bit with Hangman.

Having Darby lose to Claudio again feels screwy if they are going to build to him being the one to dethrone Mox. Unless they are then setting up Claudio as his first potential challenger in that scenario. Boy, they are really working overtime to try to make Cole and MJF's storyline make sense, but instead just ended up retconning the character development of MJF. In hindsight, they could have had Cole come back and be a scumbag, but just not as big of a scumbag as MJF and leave it at that. Hopefully MJF goes over and Cole just becomes the manager for Taven and Bennett on Rampage or ROH or some shit.

That would explain why she just stood at the ramp looking like she was about to cry rather than having an intense staredown with Mariah

fuck man that would be a step in the right direction and give her some credibility here

Has that ever been actually said out loud though or is that expecting us to fill in the blanks? Not trying to be too snarky, if that was ever made clear, I missed it. Was Christian on this episode at all or did I miss it? Felt weird to have him absent given the way this angle has evolved.

It's not about if she's a badass in real life, I don't care about that. But her character is presented as a badass, which feels unearned (to me at least). She went from C-Show jobber to heater for the top heel in the company without any steps in the middle. Feels like a WWE-ish pivot.

Marina had 3 MMA fights and lost 2 of them. She’s a failed prospect who got a spot from being friends with Ronda and now from being Roddy’s wife. I’m sure she’s a lovely person in real life but the on-screen character gives me massive Fake Bad Ass vibes and feels unearned when he has done nothing of note before getting paired with Mox. Everyone else has credibility, but pre-Death Riders she was last seen as a rampage jobber. Threading in Hangman and White to the Death Riders stuff is a step in the right direction but seeing the babyface get choked out by Shafir was eye roll worthy. Get Willow back involved as a counter would be a positive move.

I was pretty mixed on this show, not ga ga for it, not hating it. That said, the crowd felt quiet for a lot of it outside of Ospreay vs Fletcher. OC's promo about Private Party taking the beating from DR's then going on to win the tag titles... doesn't that kind of prove Moxley right? They needed to get serious to break their ceiling and they did. The story that would have made more sense here would have been if PP then defended against Claudio and Yuta/PAC on this show. #armchairbooking MJF vs Roddy was a good TV match that was hurt by the obvious outcome and poor angle leading to it. Having Roddy tap clean as a whistle made him feel decidedly not in Max's league - which even if true isn't a great booking outcome. Mone vs Stat was good, maybe the best match on the show. Agreed with the consensus that they have good chemistry. Stat's babyface turn still feels badly handled and having Mone go over clear was certainly a choice, but hopefully they find a way to run this again. Liked White vs Hangman a lot though felt like they were working a VERY similar match to Mone vs Stat. Once again, the locker room could probably communicate better with each other on this sort of stuff. Good match, am down for wherever this goes with the main event angle. Perhaps a 4-way at World's End? Ospreay vs Fletcher was exactly the type of 7 star orgasm match people wanted, and exactly the type of Ospreay match I'm not here for. All flash, no substance. Zero match structure, no prolonged heat, 20+ minutes of Wrestler A hits move, Wrestler B counters and hits move, Wrestler A counters and hits move, etc. Really hard to not sound like that guy but the jumping tombstone off the apron to the steel steps is the kind of spot that really should be a stretcher job, not a move that you then continue on with another 5 minutes after. Fletcher going over was the right move to establish him atleast. Perry vs Garcia was shockingly dull and the worst match of the main card. Right outcome, difficult spot following Ospreay vs Fletcher, but yeah this wasn't a match to get excited about. With Bucks out and Okada seemingly MIA, assume Perry also takes some time out. Lashley vs Swerve was good and probably the best use of Lashley. He is not a dude who should be doing long workrate matches, so a sub-15 minute deal with a lot of crash, bang, wallops is optimal, even if he still sat in restholds for a good portion of the match. The right call having him go over on the assumption Swerve wins the war later. Main event was a good match, though I'd have a hard time telling it from their previous series off memory. OC being baited into working Moxley's type of match was a good story, and I hadn't noticed about Moxley not bleeding yet in this run so good shout @southofheavy. The run-ins were predictable had no heat, apart from Willow, but probably needed to get home the point Mox was nearly done for. Will be interesting to see how involved Willow/Shafir becomes and if Willow can get anything halfway decent out of Marina. The ending angle was... good in theory but executed awkwardly? Multiple challengers causing chaos is always fun, but having 2 heels attack Moxley felt like the wrong way to do this. Darby crashing his car to end the show was a bit of a turd but at least the end game is clearly Moxley vs Darby still.

I like OC plenty but let's also be frank - he is cold in this spot. He is not a main event level worker and the Orange Cassidy character is proving to be a sucky foil for Moxley. I mean, just look at how that main event played out - OC should have been ripping Yuta's head off and beating him to a bloody pulp, instead he works a 50/50 ROH match, ekes out a roll-up win while still trying to be the respectful Good Guy. I know that's the story they're trying to tell, but when you have the Death Riders being *so heinous* and this is supposed to be for the Soul Of The Company, the stakes could not feel lower. I think its crystal clear that Darby is ready to be the guy to beat Mox, which makes beating him clean baffling. Hopefully he gets his win back, runs through the DRs and takes the title at Worlds End.

Why do they even need a fifth man? The feud has naturally developed to the OG Bloodline vs New Bloodline (albeit super rushed), why do they need a 5th guy? "Just because" that's the arbitrary rule WWE decides to stick to for the gimmick? Part of me thought they might dare have The Rock involved to start laying the foundations for him vs Cody but I assume Cody is going to be kept busy with Kevin 'Filler Feud' Owens.

They dragged out the break up for the Bloodline for like 2 years and have rushed the reunion and squashing of all the beefs into a month. And to overcome a group ran by a guy who’s never won anything of note. Feels like they really could have done way better with all of this but need to force their booking around the gimmick PPV as usual

Yeah PP winning the belts was a cool moment and felt like an actual worthy payoff considering the relentless heal beatdowns which have consumed AEW over the last few weeks. Even this weeks show finished with ANOTHER heel stable arriving and beating people down. Hopefully the Hurt Business is here for a short stint to put Swerve over and then cycle down the roster. OC promo was OK but it's clearly Darby who everyone wants to see dethrone Mox. They really need more credible babyfaces above the geek quad in this though, and for me Hangman wouldn't feel right after his character arc, and an Elite redemption story would literally be the worst angle this company has ever ran at this point. They really need some guys like Kingston or Hobbs to come back from injury or turn Brody King to add some (literal) heavy hitters to the mix.

Could be wrong, but that was the sole victory AEW got over the Elite, and Perry still beat Darby in the title match it lead to… The Elite 2.0 run cemented Perry as a player, no one else really got a run from it

Could be wrong, but that was the sole victory AEW got over the Elite, and Perry still beat Darby in the title match it lead to… The Elite 2.0 run cemented Perry as a player, no one else really got a rub from it