Dynamite - 5/31/2023

[COLETTI]

TK hearts Gordy

That fuckin rocked, although I did stop watching at the main event. 

RAMPAGE HOLY FU-

[elizium]

Really dug that episode. Every match was fun, promo segments advanced things.

Has anyone been booed in AEW the way Callis was tonight? Even the heeliest heels always have pockets of support in the crowd.

Big Bill's whale tail. That is all

[Casey]

CM Punk is officially back, nothing else matters. It’s Collision time baby.

[Dolphman 3000]

Big Bill deserves so much more than being a 7 foot tall job guy

[John E. Dynamite]

Good episode! So much to say! I'm going to say none of it and bring up this different point WHY IS RAMPAGE SO FUCKIN STACKED???!!!

[elizium]

Just now, Dolphman 3000 said:

Big Bill deserves so much more than being a 7 foot tall job guy

He's been such a great story. I was happy he was getting a second chance in Impact but was super skeptical of his signing. He's been killing it

[HarryArchieGus]

That was a fun fucking show. Firing on all cylinders all night. Great in ring and solid promos (Tony hilarity included) throughout. Molten heat for the incredible Callis/Takeshita promo! Unreal. 

[John from Cincinnati]

2 minutes ago, John E. Dynamite said:

Good episode! So much to say! I'm going to say none of it and bring up this different point WHY IS RAMPAGE SO FUCKIN STACKED???!!!

Whole slew of contractually obligated title defenses. What a blessed occasion! 

[Nineteen]

If this is leading to Ibushi, they might literally blow the fucking roof off when that music hits.

FTR/BC Gold should rule, I hope afterward Jay moves onto some bigger things. 

All for Billy getting one last title run but hoping it's not at the expense of House of Black. 

Oh hey, Dark Order sighting!

ZSJ!

[John E. Dynamite]

I understand why you can't make t-shirts out of a quote like " People Have Been Giving Me a Lot of Hoopla About Biting the Big Lizard’s Finger" but I would consider buying a bumper sticker.

[John from Cincinnati]

Just now, John E. Dynamite said:

I understand why you can't make t-shirts out of a quote like " People Have Been Giving Me a Lot of Hoopla About Biting the Big Lizard’s Finger" but I would consider buying a bumper sticker.

Isn't that already the state-motto of Florida? 

[Casey]

I hate to admit it, but they’re sucking me back into caring about the Elite with this Takeshita turn, Omega out of the country (Japan?? to recruit Okada? Ibushi? Both?) and the Dark Order stuff. I did not expect them to do anything with the Dark Order in regards to this story, so that’s a nice surprise. Hangman dropped them like they were deadweight and it needs to be addressed. The way Matt just cockily laughed off everything Uno and Silver said… my blood boils.

Rampage is stacked, but I’ll be at work, so I have to sail the seven seas this weekend I guess.

Saraya is not Toni Storm or Jamie Hayter or anything, but being in the ring with Britt Baker makes Saraya look like she’s Manami Toyota. Britt is so, so bad. Great character and mic work, terrible in-ring.

but… I mean… PUUUUUUNK!

Edited June 1, 2023 by Casey

[just drew]

Boy, that show fell off a cliff during the main. Three people who actively make the product worse & Chris Jericho, who’s a net zero at this point. I’ll be waiting on pins and needles to find out who’s fault it actually is when another adam Cole main event shits itself and hemorrhages viewers…

[John E. Dynamite]

29 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

Isn't that already the state-motto of Florida? 

haha no they have a new one now and if i type it out i might get banned haha (i assume it's a horrible collection of words that no government should ever abide by but here were are)
might pirate aew ppvs going forward so that state never makes a dime off of me again

The parallel storylines of Jay White and Swerve Strickland are a neat, organic thing and I hope they continue to have chances to play off each other, whether through direct interaction like Sunday's Battle Royal or just through adjacency of segments like tonight. Let them intertwine, it's interesting.

Kris' double knee brace situation... honestly, somebody should give her Steve Austin's number. She absolutely has the physical legitimacy and charisma to figure out how to brawl. Her vs. Nyla was such a nice 2020 AEW throwback and I'd like more of that atmosphere.

Edited June 1, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Log]

Ok, I think I can step back from the ledge. That was a fun show. Not only that, but I like the direction they’re taking things after tonight. 
 

My highlight was that fucking Gates of Agony match. Holy shit! They looked great tonight. Pretty cool that Toa got to really shine on the campus where he played football. Darby and Orange were on, too and that one just rocked. 
 

I have little to no interest in anyone in the main event, but it was fine. One thing. What the hell is that thing Cole does with his hands while Jericho is trying to put him in the walls? He did it at the PPV, too. It’s weird. He should stop doing that. 
 

Oh, and I’m stoked Punk is coming back. 

[Octopus]

Great work, Tony! I never questioned ya!

[Casey]

One thing I want to mention in relation to Swerve: Nick Wayne’s debut is coming up in July against Swerve (on Collision, I believe). Darby & Sting are all of a sudden involved in this story between OC and Swerve’s group seemingly.

I’m hereby requesting TK book Nick Wayne, Darby, Sting & Orange Cassidy versus Swerve, Brian Cage and the Gates of Agony.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Casey

[Jenalysis]

31 minutes ago, elizium said:

I bet it feels really nice to cuddle Tony Schiavone

Downgrade from Mima Shimoda....

 

[Gordi the recovering AEW f]

37 minutes ago, christopher.annino said:

TK hearts Gordy

That fuckin rocked, although I did stop watching at the main event. 

RAMPAGE HOLY FU-

Yep. 

I was all about the DOOM AND GLOOM but now I'm all about the NEVER ASSUME.

Let the good times resume. I presume.

Turns out prowrestling is still the focus. That Rampage. Love EVERYTHING about that. Darn near brings a tear to ole Gordlow's eye.

What a molten crowd tonight! It makes SUCH a difference. 

THROW WIDE THE GATES OF AGONY! 

It was kind of funny when they cut to the crowd while Don was trying to speak and there were dudes in Bullet Club t-shirts vociferously booing the bad guys. (Because in my opinion Bullet Club are a "heel faction").

I will certainly watch the first couple of episodes of The Punk Show out of (morbid?) curiosity but I actually kind of hope it will turn out to be for-me-personally skippable. Partly (mainly?) because Saturday there is Sunday here and Sunday is when Papa Gordlow plays with his daughters (who are otherwise too busy with school, cram school, ballet, piano, calligraphy...) 

So my purely selfish hope is that they feature Punk constantly and Casey et al. just love it and are so happy but also they make JR permanent lead announcer exclusive to Collision and also move Jarrett and Saraya there but FTR still wrestle on Dynamite and Rampage etc etc... (Also Juice cuts promos on Collision but throws punches on Rampage and Dynamite).

 

Kind of curious what everyone else's secret selfish wishes are for The Punk Show Brand Split and Draft Spectacular. 

Like, maybe Matt wants Hangman and Takeshita moved somewhere exclusively, where, say, Dustin never goes, Drew would most likely prefer at least one show with zero Matt Nick Cole participation, Natural might watch more of whichever show Penta and Sammy don't appear on, and Andy from Kansas would like Cody to be able to cross over...? 

I wonder if it is POSSIBLE to book three shows so that each and every one of us can see all of our favourites on two of them and have one show that's skippable-for-us-personally. Probably not. Personal tastes are not that logical.

Anyway, I am mostly back to being a frothing-at-the-mouth fanboy for at least a couple more days. Feels nice. 

What a show!

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Gordlow

[elizium]

Also, the Outcasts fucking rule. It was a rough first few weeks, but they’ve been one of my favourite things in AEW recently

[Casey]

You say you want me to enjoy Collision, but then you want JR to be the announcer?! Both of these things can’t be true, @Gordlow!

Concession: FTR can float between shows but JR stays on Rampage, which is the middle ground between the shows. Deal?

[JLowe]

Holy shit was that show great until the last 15-20 minutes which were...not very good to very bad.

What a hot crowd, too! The heat for Callis and fucking Lard Lad had me worried someone was going to jump the rails.

Somewhere, DEAN~! is saying to us “I hate three-ways but that was a great match. Sneaky Style, Tall Guy doing Tall Guy things, and Trent (is he one of the best wrestlers in the company?)”

Plus we get Darby and OC, the two best damn pinballs in the company, getting repeatedly ragdolled and giving a huge rub to two huge young dudes. Both Toa and Kaun (and I will not engage in the hoss debate, by AEW standards Kaun is a hoss, Periodt) are really quick for their size.

BCC vs. Lucha Bandidos was every bit as great as expected. Two of the top bases in the company vs. two incredible flyers, Penta there making the fans happy and challenging Adam Cole for the thigh-slapped of the year award, and Yuta being a dick and getting another win. I’m here for Death Jitsu.

and how about the women’s title match? Fierce, stiff, competitive, both women looked great, good story throughout the match, a huge moment for Stat getting Nyla into the falcon arrow (?) and holy shit a 450 splash!!

The show pretty much over delivered throughout the night in ring and out. And then a stacked as hell Rampage card! Willow vs Emi! I feel like that’s AEW literally saying “sorry for letting you down some recently John, here you go, enjoy!”

AEW RULES THE MUTHAFUCKIN UNIVERSE

[HarryArchieGus]

18 minutes ago, Log said:

My highlight was that fucking Gates of Agony match. Holy shit! They looked great tonight. Pretty cool that Toa got to really shine on the campus where he played football. Darby and Orange were on, too and that one just rocked. 

I have little to no interest in anyone in the main event, but it was fine. One thing. What the hell is that thing Cole does with his hands while Jericho is trying to put him in the walls? He did it at the PPV, too. It’s weird. He should stop doing that. 

That was easily the best Gates of Agony match I've seen. Even if Darby and OC are that good, kudos to Kaun and hometown boy Toa for stepping it up. Further, tho I agree completely concerning Cole's Jazz Hands, credit where it's deserved, Cole and Jericho, especially Jericho, came out looking to redeem themselves. And I'd suggest they did. 

[HarryArchieGus]

20 minutes ago, JLowe said:

Somewhere, DEAN~! is saying to us “I hate three-ways but that was a great match. Sneaky Style, Tall Guy doing Tall Guy things, and Trent (is he one of the best wrestlers in the company?)”

Dean's 3 way hate always felt like a warm blanket. But I agree with your assessment. Those three did admirably with their allotted TV time. Speaking of TV time, loved seeing Jose get a live mic, and loved him suggesting Rush is too dangerous for TV. Let's please run with this. 

Edited June 1, 2023 by HarryArchieGus

[John E. Dynamite]

5 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

Dean's 3 way hate always felt like a warm blanket. But I agree with your assessment. Those three did admirably with their allotted TV time. Speaking of TV time, loved seeing Jose get a live mic, and loved him suggesting Rush is too dangerous for TV. Let's please run with this. 

Love Jose but I got to thinking tonight - if Dario Cueto were the mouthpiece for Los Ingobernables every single one of them would have a championship belt.