Brandon Bones

Just to clarify. Would that be YOU dog? Or Larry dog?

ABCs Love in the Afternoon Presents: Daniel Bryan Lucci fights to keep the two men he loves the most from coming to blows. Mox clearly spit on the ground during his entrance and that red shirted security guard didn’t say shit. He just stood there and watched. I’m pretty sure I’d get thrown out the arena for that. Meanwhile Keith Lee aches over his break-up with Swerve. They decide to to NOT have that kinda drama in front of the public in a very classy move. They’re gonna be fine. Hager wearing the hat during the match is exactly what I needed. Building the entire match around what was clearly an idea Jericho came up with while he was drunk is pure sports entertaingment. All Eggo Ethan just bugs me. I don’t think he is a bad guy or anything. All I think of when I see him is Tom Brandi. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with that. But it is wrong. I like Starks and I think he will make a great first defense for MJF. But Page as the springboard? Nah. Big pop for Kansas… and nothing else. Lolz I must have overlooked this show was in Chicago. Otherwise I’d have been anticipating The Elite vs. the entire city. Fucking arm bite? Ok. Here comes the meta. To the crowds credit they admit the match is awesome. Not a plot thread was forgotten. And then at end they cut to the guy wearing the “Just Enjoy Wrestling” shirt. Mmm hmm. I hear you AEW. I miss my Thunder Bae for sure. But yeah. Let’s move on. Hayter is awesome. The 3 Way turned out pretty great. A bit more table setting that suggests the Baker/Hayter stuff is going to be going on for awhile longer. The Acclaimed make me happy. Weirdly… so is this Team TNA. I like none of its parts (as a rule) but am enjoying what they are doing as a group. Singh has really played his Giant role perfectly and I think absent that the entire act falls apart. But if JJ wants me to really buy it? Go put over Effy. Ishii is the reason I started watching NJPW again after years of avoiding Inokism. So I’m stoked to see him. I hope Shota is watching. What a visual was Jericho bleeding from a chop battle. Nuts. This match was so awesome. Is Jericho going to zip past Mox at the last second for WOTY? I was all like “GIVE ME WHAT I WANT!!!” and AEW was like “Here’s 2 hours of it”. Ishii “Fuck you for making me tap out”

Yep. That’s what I expected. A start to finish quality show that went a long way towards shedding its skin off all the hullabaloo. The Acclaimed make me happy. Got some paying off of some storylines in the Lee/Swerve crash and the finale of this feud. Glad to see Bowens tough it out with the injury (if it isn’t a work). Bring on FTR. Jericho sure is a treasure. Every young roster should have a guy working in the locker room like him. His level of experience is invaluable and the fact that he is tearing it up week in and out is something incredible. Great match. Loved the finish. Probably a tie for my favorite of the show… … as I really loved the Trios title match. How were people going to respond to their return? “Fuck, CM Punk!” Yep. Agreed. Really liked it being Fenix that got the fall on Omega. Dude deserves a win that’ll elevate him. Death Triangle should take it to the 4th and have The Elite have to scrape, painted into a corner for every win all the way to the 7th. No point in doing a “best of” unless you’re going all the way. Hayter getting the win was very rewarding as a fan. Really invested in this wrestler after that awesome first match with Rosa. Very good match to keep the momentum going. Stiiiiiiiing! Darby did the Stinger Hulk Up. That double team on Singh blew the roof off my face. Eddie whoopin up on Akiyama satisfies my sweet tooth for imports and guest stars. Great time! The cage match rocked. Perhaps Jungle Man Perry can be next up or soon for a title shot. Loved the reaction to the Knux pass off. Congratulations MJF. Now the hard part begins. I love you, AEW.

Wow. Look at all his gig marks. Dusty would be proud.

Taz, one word, one name. Hook, one word, one name. So the family has a gimmick. What would the wife of Taz’ name be? Just Wife? Her? Good baby face work from Starks though I question the Devils jersey. I don’t watch hockey. But if Starks is a two town hometown boy in Houston and NOLA it comes across as a bit inauthentic. I’ve really come around on Archer. He makes using the word “Hoss” not a pejorative. Aubrey getting decked like it was last call at the bar was nutty great. I haven’t read the thread yet. But I’d imagine some folks might think that the previously untouched popular Aubrey getting physical should be saved for a bigger show. But come on. The regular shows need meat on the bone too. Rampage is many things. But WWE syndicated show it is not. I was surprised at the slow build to start the DDT vs Eddie/Ortiz. Really liked where it went teasing off the Akiyama confrontation for as long as possible. Feels like a set up for a one on one match to me. I’m more of a Kobashi or Kawada guy myself. But this was a good intro for Jun if they’ve got more in the plans for him. I love you AEW (rampage).

I’m a wrestling fan and I don’t want to watch WWE anymore. Not a high water episode this week. But considering AEW has put some of the best weekly episodes of tv wrestling I’ve seen in 39 years of watching. I’m invested. Jericho continues to impress me this year. That dude has to be sick of taking that fucking swing. Good tag match as Sammy was high on crazy pills doing that nutty dive to the outside. The Acclaimed cheer me up. But during the Bowens match commercial the announcers went full knucklehead just ribbing Jericho and going off topic. That shit is going to suck being archived on an eventual streaming service. I love Mox calling Max a child. The contrast is volume 10. Britts promo was good. She staked her claim. I’m enjoying Swerve a lot more than I used to. Much of that is informed by a longer history on tv informing his character. Wardlow doing a big guy wacky dive into a dude pile is a novelty. Just don’t do it all the time. Joe is going to casually side step that shit if he tries it, and it’s going to be glorious. MJF doing the Rock in September of 98 face run to set up some dastardly heel plot twist is taking too long. Rocky had a short window to make it count. But the booking has been reeling since the bullshit with Punk. This’ll take a bit. But it’ll get back on track. Full Gear should be a good to great show. But I’m looking forward to Rampage more than anything. Akiyama baby!

Yep. That was me. It’s all true.

Eddie Kingston and Ortiz vs. Jun Akiyama and Kenosuke Takeshita. Next week on Rampage. Fuuuuuuuuuck yes.

Blink and you’ll miss it. At the start of the match. OC tells Bryce with a hands pushing forward gesture to “Get him back”. Shotty was in his corner all the way across the ring. Good match too. Putting OC in the last match in a long night of tv is a smart choice. Character is over and the matches lately have delivered. I’d hang around after Dynamite to see it. A much better presentation for Cage here against Dante. But as great as this was. This is what Cage should be doing if he were just debuting. Not when he has years of mileage in the company behind him. Darius is back! Great news. That comeback in the battle royal he did after the last injury go-around really convinced me on him. The sheer cash print catsuit should be Jades default outfit on the video game. (Fucking hurry up with that shit already). Bandido kinda rules.

Great episode this week. Andy Serkis is awesome.

Nothing took me for a ride quite like Shibata/OC. A good time.

Best thing about Brian Cage? His Scott Steiner impression. I’d say it was a “pretty good match” with Joe. But we all know how I hate damning with faint praise. Nice to see Danielson still in his Darby costume from Halloween. Hobbes. All the way. He has IT. I watched this in bits and pieces throughout the week. So I guess it wasn’t as challenging for me to watch. But I’ll say there wasn’t much that was special about this episode overall but I’ve survived worse from periods of time than this phase of AEW. WWF in 95. Summer of 91 WCW. Barf emoji. I dropped 2000 WCW like the last season of Weeds. Fuck that shit. But I get it. It’s nothing new to say that “When your backstage drama exceeds interest in your drama in front of the camera”… there’s some shit to get together. Full Gear should still be an awesome show.

Bigelow had my attention after Survivor Series 87. Stuck in a 3 on 1 against Bundy, OMG, and fucking ANDRE!!! Yet he STILL managed to rally by putting down Bundy and Gang consecutively. As Andre enters the ring you just know Bam Bam is in for a world of shit. But he DID put two guys he probably shouldn’t have beat with that many guys across the ring. He hangs with the Giant just long enough to get some extra cred (as he’d already kind of overachieved) but get still got beat. Then POOF it was gone. I’ve also seen some of those house show tag matches with Hogan. They had something for sure.

Blue milk and cereal inspired diabetes. Apparently, he has nothing else to eat.

Set up the poll immediately so I can vote for FTR vs. SIOG for best match of the week. I’m with a lot of you that might have had mixed feelings about Swerve. But he was excellent here. Everyone was. Lee made FTR look like a couple of underrated strongmen. Really, what a show. I’ll drink the poison Kool-Aid alright. Then watch me no-sell it. LOVED seeing Jericho eat the pin after they absolutely hammered him at the end. Moves have consequences and even top guys get put down by them. The BCC is my crew. Claudio rules. Yuta is really gonna be something. Hayter/Riho wasn’t exactly the rag doll car crash I was expecting. But a damn good match. That gut stomp was rugged. AmDrag and Sammy kept the consistency of quality up on high. Crackpot Theory Time: Stokley is a red herring for something. Not sure exactly what yet. But what could be seen as underwhelming in his current performance might be subterfuge to spring the plot twist. MJF went for doing more crowd work than pure promo this time around. I’m here for it if it means he bounces off Renee (who was excellent all night). But like I said. I’m still expecting a plot twist. I liked Mox/Penta but if they had actually done the Destroyer off the steps I might have ranked it higher. I also might have saved the Lariat for the finish. The Acclaimed arriving every week continues to cheer me up. The chair scissors got a big laugh outta me. And NOW for my very over catch phrase…. I love you, AEW.

The one of Daemon going “Don’t make me get my divorce rock” had me howling.

I have birth trauma at 48 years old now. Christ! One thing is for sure. I still haven’t adjusted my tv settings since the GOT finale. Lil Bro just got fucking CHOMPED. Vhagar was something else this episode. The way she looked like Godzilla over the height of the castle wall. With Dani’s trio of dragons you could conceivably get them to turn over so you can rub they’re bellies like the goodest boy Dragos that ever purred. Not fucking Vhagar. Vhagar ran right through Lil Bro like when my old roommate would bring home some feeder goldfish for his fish tank that contained an arowana, 3 piranha, and a tiny crab at the bottom. It was a massacre and a WW2 dogfight movie all in one. Love the cloud silhouettes. BTW: When I did a Google search for the correct spelling of “arowana”. I saw another suggested topic asking “Can fish get high?” Which I mention for no reason.

The disingenuous hand shake offer by the heel at the start of the match. Its fine if it’s little people in the opener. But anywhere else in any other situation… no. Never on TV. And if you had the nerve to do it on PPV (even if your a Rougeau). You owe me money.

It very well be the match I’ve watched the most. So much fun.

I honestly thought Darby and Lethal were standing in an empty pool. Storm and Shida was very good. It’s weird how underwhelmed I get upon Shidas entrance. But when the bell rings she wins me over every time. As noted here recently. That “Barracuda” rip off stinks. More like Boo-acuda. Really liked the booking of the Trios Title match as a follow up to PAC losing the AAC. I’m not married to the idea that every story has to vine swing from week to week. You can and should back burner stuff now and then. But when it can support a hot opener at least you don’t have to put your most name value talent up front all the time. Jericho stays on tv week to week and he is definitely making the most of it. Castle was perfect here. Sign him and The Boys if they aren’t already. An act tailored to this audience. Hager was fun too. JAS>Inner Circle. I am so ready for Riho/Hayter. Let’s fucking go. Riho being ragdolled like a hummingbird in a tornado is relevant to my interests. MJF hugging a cartoonishly large poker chip like a plush toy continues to harsh my mellow. That dueling promo battle was one for the ages. Chefs kiss. The crowd straight up LOLing at the irony of even bothering to ring the bell at that point in the title match tickled my GenX gland. “Yes yes. NOW the match begins”. PIP was a bit better this time around with more actual commentary (there was some goofery). I was whining recently that they need to not go off route for the sake of an eventual streaming service and the quality of the archive. Hi Tony. Poor Hanger man. It goes without saying how much that sucks. Sucks! I guess you can still make hay with calling it a KO. If Hanger can make a comeback I’m here for it. Excalibur had for once to actually take his time with the future match run down. Weird. Mox proving once again how much “The Man” he is by just manifesting an angle was sweet. MJF was magic in connecting the dots to earlier in the show. Chicken Salad defeats Chicken Shit.

I’m ready for the finale. I’m not sure exactly where this season is going to land. But I’ve enjoyed it to where I’m anticipating when it does. I doubt they’ll blow their whole chip stack just to end season 1 out of 5. But they’ve got an exploding volcano to top.

All I could think about during the Main Event was: “I hope Kikuchi sees this match”. Cuz the angry little brother energy was off the wahzoo! Honestly it saved the show for me cuz I was in a shitty mood even though I’m in week 2 of my staycation. “Staycation” a word spell check actually suggested without irony before I finished that sentence. Everyone doing their reversal tumbles WAS pretty good. But I’m just too much of a moody curmudgeon to appreciate it today. I got into it by the end. So I’m good. If there was any irony at all was that this might have been the week to not be envious of those who only watch the INTERNATIONAL FEED. The crowds got quiet at times and the announcers went full episode of Botchamania chatter. Not a good idea to fuck off on the hype when a future streaming options highlight should be full length versions of television matches. Something else that could set them apart from The Helmsleys. I guess ratings getters get to open the show right? So MJF opening show is his to own if it beats last week? He looks like a dipshit hugging that oversized poker chip. Jungle Boys message should have been to make it clear to Luchasaurus how hard he was going to kick his ass. If you’re going to go on about the grievance follow up with the enticing solution. What WOULD it look like to see that angry little guy stomp a big dude cuzza how bad he fucked up. And to crib Bill Hicks: “I AM available for children's parties” Sammy up on the shoulders as they went off the air sure smelled like “Fuck you, Andrade” to me. I’m good. I promise.

I want Jericho vs. PCO for the ROH title. I’ve largely missed this revival for that Qubeccers pirate guy I sorta remember from the 90s. But I understand his character had a moment or two a couple of years ago that never really got paid off on a proper stage. Plus some of the bumps I saw him take at his advanced age makes me want to spend a Wednesday night cheering him on. I saw a news blurb regarding it today and dug it. I know your reading this Tony Khan. If Swole isn’t sharing her weed anymore, Brandon Bones will hook you up.

No shit. It got me too. So when I saw that post my reaction was immediately like: “No he didn’t”. Oops?

This show fucking rules. Get yourself some Folgers Instant Dark Lord. Just add water.