AEW TV - 7/19 - 7/24/2023

[Go2Sleep]

I think the funniest part of the B&G match was Mox getting busted. It was during the 4 on 3 portion, possibly picture in picture. Claudio and Wheeler are beating down Nick Jackson in the corner with Mox helping from the apron, Nick fights them off grabs a fork (I think) and lunges at Mox, Claudio and Wheeler immediately go back to stomping Nick while Mox sits against the cage and shamelessly blades in front of god and everyone despite the fork not drawing a drop of blood to that point. All of this except the blade job was in the background.

Overall the match was a fine feud ender, but there was a lot to nitpick. I'm glad BCC/Elite is over, as it really should've been after Mox/Hangman at Revolution. On to fresher feuds for both.

MJF and Adam Cole sports entertaining it up the highlight of the show. It's a shame the match with FTR doesn't have more time to simmer because the potential of the comedic stylings of MJF and Cole is gonna rule against the "pro wrestling is serious business" attitude of FTR.

Since someone from AEW likely reads this, I will keep reiterating that turning MJF back to heel would be lighting money on fire. Listen to the god damn reactions he gets every week.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Go2Sleep

[The Natural]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1dY8wIaIAAcS3R?format=jpg&name=medium

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1681901358864015360

^ NSFW.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. PAC at Death Before Dishonour confirmed. Nice one!

Edited July 20, 2023 by The Natural

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Honestly, I've thought all three of the Blood and Guts matches have underdelivered. I hate the psychology of them, the layout and the complete disregard for storytelling, either the literal months leading up to the match, or during the match.

- If they're going to do the "one team in one ring and one in the other advancing on each other" visual, remove the ring ropes between the two rings. It looks stupid when the fight is broken up by guys trying to cleanly get around the ring ropes.

- Agreed with Fozzy, either remove the coin toss advantage, or use it as a better narrative. It got boring and super repetitive watching fresh man in, evens the odds, cleans house by himself and then falls victim to the numbers game once the heels got the advantage again. It makes the heels look ineffective that they can't use a man advantage effectively, and the hope spot doesn't pop the crowd as much because it became so formulaic and predictable. Maybe have the Bucks come in and attempt to overcome the numbers, and just get completely cut down by a team working as a unit and getting swarmed, then have the last guy be the one to turn the tide if you so need to.

- Might be going too Pure Sports Build with this, but tactics matter. I think it really puts guys over when you have them be the #1 guy in for their team, why did the teams have the order the way they did, who were they saving till last, could someone not wait to get their hands on someone from the other team and jumped the gun? That stuff matters. 91 Wrestlewar with Pillman insisting on starting for his team and trying to overcome the tag of weak link was such a good story. Didn't like the weapons aspect, largely because you either had stuff that should kill a guy, or you had completely unoriginal stuff (three different guys running out with chairs?) that no sold what was unfolding in the ring. I think you need to have guys react to seeing their team getting fucking nuked out there, and decide they need something desperate to even the odds, or the heels decide to up the ante and really make someone suffer. That spot where one of the Bucks drops thumbtacks from the top of the cage, leading to a distraction and a double backdrop rather than piledrivers was silly too.

- You had numerous little programs that gone before it that didn't really seem to matter in the context of the match. Page and Moxley tried killing each other for months, and then they both enter and mix it up with other guys instead. They're just there as a base for other spots. Same thing happened last year when Kingston and Jericho barely interacted despite being the impetus for the match itself. Pac joins the match to get revenge on Omega, but that barely translates in his involvement in the match. Omega and Takeshita still have a score to settle. I probably overdo the callbacks more than anything, but in a match involving months of backstory, surely they call for it. Does Page try to choke out Mox again? Does Mox try to hit another King Kong Lariat and put Page back on the shelf? Do the Bucks try to use the exploding Jordans again only for it to backfire? Does Yuta try to get the cheap pin on Omega again only for Omega to see it coming? 

- I think I see Blood and Guts as the ultimate feud ender/decider. Instead, we've had it extend Jericho/MJF by an extra match, we've had it transfer the heat of JAS vs Kingston to Kingston vs Claudio that went nowhere, and now we've had this lead to a fairly weak ending with Mox giving up to save Yuta after their two ring-ins disappear. It doesn't end the feud with the Elite, it doesn't give us a decisive victor. I'm all for moving the story forward, but I feel as though there's a LOT left on the table here (Mox/Page never really resolved, does Omega/Callis get resolved if Callis Family/BCC is the direction now, was there much point of Ibushi turning up other than just as a special guest partner, what of Kingston's involvement?) to effectively solve the ROH PPV main event issue and not much else.

[Fighting a man with a perm]

Jack Perry and Hook with a nice handsome boy fight to start us off. Loved the smug grin of Jack as he covered Hook for the 3. A little too much shenanigans for my liking but good effort by both. Taz's recurring grumpiness after this match was a treat.  

Silly over the top work is my happy place. MJF has proven himself masterful at this lately. The dance-off, the build to the dive, the build to the headbutt to Sammy's groin, the build to the double clothesline -chefs kiss! A show full of this would be too much, but variety is the spice of life, bay bay! Nod of appreciation to Garcia - his dancing spot is over, over, over! His slide between Garcia's legs in the dance off was inspired.  

There's an episode of Friends, where Joey comes upon cake on the floor, and he pulls a fork from his pocket to get stuck in. Something about Mox handing a fork to Claudio reminded me of that.   Man, PAC is just an explosive little knot of hatred, isnt he? I've missed that grumpy Geordie! Nick Jackson (i know not to everyone's taste) is made for 2 ring action! Taz with a look of glee/shock/horror when Mox pulled out the bed of nails Schiavone - "what the hell are we doing?!?" 

Im just sitting here with a big stupid grin on my face after that (YMMV of course, and I am in great mood as I've gotten tix for the first Arsenal match of the season). In the end, love and friendship prevail over hatred and violence and with Mox surrendering to save Yuta maybe he learned that lesson himself? Hell of a spectacle! ( @Gordlowa @tbarrie have both phrases this better than I, but I already had it typed before reading through)

 

[DreamBroken]

5 hours ago, AxB said:

The Wargames/ The Match Beyond /Blood and Guts match is a Dusty Rhodes creation, isn't it? When was the last time a member of the Rhodes family was in one? Can't be Dustin in 1992, can it?

If indy versions count, Dustin worked one for Hermie Sadler's UWF in 2007 that was Dustin, Kirby Mack, TJ Mack & The Steiners w/ Sgt. Slaughter vs. Steve Corino, CW Anderson, Elix Skipper, Homicide & Hernandez w/ JBL

Too bad AEW didn't get to do the originally announced 2020 version with Cody

[The Natural]

MJF/Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia/Sammy Guevara was one of the most fun matches in AEW history. The entrances, the dance off, MJF tope, double clothesline achievement and the post match too.

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

Loved Best Friends repeating "Nick Wayne" several times towards the end of the promo, hilariously subversive way to put him over and get his name stuck in people's heads...

I hadn't put any thought into what the order of entry would be in B&G.  Crowd went nuts for Kenny leading off in a "holy shit we get to see Kenny for an hour!!!" kind of way.  Given what he's put himself through lately I wasn't expecting that and was instantly worried about him dying for our entertainment

The second Mox's music hit you could feel the mood change.  I love how he immediately established dominance of the first ring and specifically the corner by the cage door with the minefield of broken glass.  No psychology my ass.

Loved Claudio stealing one of the Bucks' ring jackets to protect himself from the glass

Crowd seemed to turn on the match a bit when Pac walked out because it telegraphed the finish.  Felt like a pro BCC crowd as the match went on. 

I don't know what people were expecting.  It was an AEW party match.  Wasn't perfect but I enjoyed the hell out of it for what it was.  Can't believe some of the same people complaining about that match are defending the WORLD CHAMP doing goofy comedy and a fucking dance off like it's Russo era WWF but to each their own...

 

[Log]

Please do not put the blame for any production issues on my camera brethren. When they cut to something away from a spot, that is the director’s fault, not the camera operators. So, the camera work was fine. It was the director or technical director (who physically pushes the buttons to change cameras) that did a bad job. 
 

Anyway, when Jack Perry came out to his new Beethoven music, all I could hear in my head was “NOBODY’S HOME! NOBODY’S HOOOOOME!” because I saw this damn commercial a million times as a kid:

 

[Dolphman 3000]

I thought Perry's music was a subtle reference to Shawn Michaels using "Rhapsody in Blue" for a bit in 1992 before "Sexy Boy" was recorded

 

[Matt D]

• Yeah, this was by far the best Jack Perry performance I've ever seen. It takes a lot of chutzpah to take everything that you did in ring and turn it completely on his head. He completely changed his style of working with the turn. Some of the playing to the crowd was a little over the top but I think he'll figure out the balance with experience. His starting point as a character is basically to deny the crowd everything he used to be and a good chunk of what they want, so no song, no dives, no rope walk, eyepoke instead of a chop, etc. Let me put it this way: he may have Christian giving him pointers, but he came off like more of an "ultimate opportunist" than Edge ever managed to actually wrestle as despite the nickname. And HOOK is kind of a perfect opponent for that because he's so relentless and indominable. We'll see if Perry can do this week in and week out and if he improves with it and what that actually looks like, but this was super promising, character-driven, confident, methodological stuff.
• Britt has made a career off of belittling her opponents, one or two garbage matches, and being the best in the world at looking into the camera. You have to sort of respect it.
• I'm 90% ok with the dance off. It happened before the bell. Garcia leaning into the Sports Entertainer thing in such an exacting way is very effective, especially as everyone else moves on from it. He's the kid who could have been anything but put his faith in an old man's dream only to see the old man move on to the next scam and now he's stuck with his sunk cost fallacy. Either he can prove that he was right to believe all along and that it wasn't the dream that was at fault but the messenger, or... anyway, I'm sure there's a plan sometime next year to turn him face with the pro wrestler thing, but I don't know if you go back to Danielson or Jericho or do it with someone else. But yes, ok with dance off EXCEPT for the fact that Cole's punchline wasn't very funny. It was funnier when he was just waving his arms around than when he started gyrating. Match itself was all about building big babyface spots for Max and paying them off. Unlike the Big Bill match, it wasn't about him not being able to deliver but instead about his intent. Both worked. I am all the more convinced that All In should be MJF/Cole vs Page/Omega for the belts. You sell it to FTR by saying they get to beat the Bucks in a #1 contenders  match at All In and then get to beat Omega/Page at All Out to get the belts back. I just don't know what to do with Punk on either show in this scenario. 

[JLowe]

10 hours ago, SirFozzie said:

Ibushi did NOT make a great impression his first time out, he looked slow, sloppy and I think he legit potatoed his strikes that he wasn't whiffing. (or maybe I just had too high expectations, but he did not look good to me)

Hard same. He had several bad whiffs then kicked Mox square in the mouth hard with the toes of his boot, definitely knocked out at least one tooth (you can see it lying in the ring at the end of the show). In general, one team did all the work and the other team got the win.

[JLowe]

10 hours ago, Gordlow said:

Edit: also, there was an interesting story being told there, about friendship. BCC lost because Pac and Takeshita are not their true friends whereas Golden Elite are all 100% loyal to one another... but also BCC lost because Mox ultimately cares about Wheeler. Good stuff.

The story definitely came across to me. The irony, of course, is that it only happened that way because Danielson got hurt and Kingston was booked for G1. 

[Technico Support]

9 hours ago, John from Cincinnati said:

Honestly, this match was what everyone should have expected given the talent involved and what we know about their work, what kind of weapons they might use, and how much they do or don’t bleed. I had a good time watching it, but also realize there probably aren’t enough guys who want to do the kind of modern War Games I’d really want to see. I just kind of accept this as being what it is and think everyone should adjust their expectations accordingly whenever one of these is booked. And let’s count our blessings that nobody fell off the top.

 

 

4 hours ago, Fighting a man with a perm said:

Im just sitting here with a big stupid grin on my face after that (YMMV of course, and I am in great mood as I've gotten tix for the first Arsenal match of the season). In the end, love and friendship prevail over hatred and violence and with Mox surrendering to save Yuta maybe he learned that lesson himself? Hell of a spectacle! ( @Gordlowa @tbarrie have both phrases this better than I, but I already had it typed before reading through)

 

 

3 hours ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

I don't know what people were expecting.  It was an AEW party match.  Wasn't perfect but I enjoyed the hell out of it for what it was.  Can't believe some of the same people complaining about that match are defending the WORLD CHAMP doing goofy comedy and a fucking dance off like it's Russo era WWF but to each their own...

 

All this, seriously.  This thread is bumming  me out.

[Fighting a man with a perm]

Just spotted on twitter someone posting a callback to a tag match from 3 years ago where Mox was partnered with PAC and Mox walked out on PAC after flipping him off, so there's another nice little beat to the ending.

[JLowe]

I still just don't see it with Jack Perry, sorry, and Beethoven's Fifth was really weird.

Props to @Matt Dfor being able to succinctly phrase my muddled thoughts about Britt: 

• Britt has made a career off of belittling her opponents, one or two garbage matches, and being the best in the world at looking into the camera. You have to sort of respect it.

Lots of people complaining about the women's match being forgotten and then this shitty squash thrown in as an afterthought. They have a good point.

The Cole-MJF skit started strong and then got a little hokey and dumb. The backstage with the gifts was good until the weird Roddy Strong segment at the end.

The match itself was a ton of fun, definitely not something I want to see every week or become dominant, but something that is currently working well for this team and storyline. Pure late 80s-early 90s WWF schtick. Didn't personally care for the long "stagger and fall into the crotch" spot, felt forced. The rest totally clicked (and excellent form on Max's tope). I do want to point out that using the double clothesline to "finish" someone who has already basically been KO'd is a bit of a heel move, ala MJF beating Darby with a side headlock takeover. Keep them together, but let it be MJF luring Cole back to the dark side and ruining his life.

I can agree with and felt all of the compliments and criticisms of Blood and Guts I've read here. It was a little long, very choreographed, really lacked in Blood considering the use of forks, glass, tacks, and nails. I cringed and marked out for every bed of nails spot because that was new to me. The thumbtack rain was a great visual, but led to just one more of the numerous moments of the Elite pulling a Roadrunner on the BCCoyotes. I don't really care for PAC and having him be involved didn't do much other than the double stomp spot. Takeshita didn't get to do much. Ibushi looked bad. Page was mostly just there until the end when he got to hit his lariats and earn his nickname. Yuta was once again the unsung hero of the match. Omega and Mox did most of the hard work.

I'm way more of a BCC fan than an Elite fan so ultimately I was let down by the match and the finish.

Edited July 20, 2023 by JLowe

[StuntmanCrowley]

8 hours ago, Death From Above said:

The Elite are not good deathmatch wrestlers

I agree with this 80%, but I think Hangman is a great death match wrestler.

One thing I noticed, that for the announcers saying that Hangman/Mox was the center of this feud....they really didn't focus too much on them interacting at all.

[Pete]

Digging the BCC character development with Mox surrendering to save Yuta, then consoling him afterwards. After all, it wasn't his fault 40% of their team abandoned them at the finish. Between that and the post-match handshake it seems an awful lot like they're going back face, which makes sense as I don't think anyone wanted to boo them in the first place.

When they announced Ibushi and he didn't come out right away, I thought they were doing an angle where the BBC jumped him before the match. Then he came out and he looked so out of shape I literally thought the BCC had some other guy impersonating him as a swerve. Lord.

Please, please, PLEASE call an audible on Cole/MJF and keep this team going. There's some potential for bonkers money with them as a unit... sucks that they're already sowing seeds of dissent when everyone clearly loves them to death. MJF hasn't looked this legitimately happy since he roofied that one girl at the TKE frat party at Hartwick.

[Dolphman 3000]

28 minutes ago, Pete said:

Between that and the post-match handshake it seems an awful lot like they're going back face, which makes sense as I don't think anyone wanted to boo them in the first place.

Kenny implied during his post-show promo for the live crowd that he's following the Bucks in leaving the territory

If the last we see of The Elite in AEW is this and then Kenny putting over Ospreay at Wembley, that's pretty cool.

I can't see them showing up for The Phil Show at All Out.

[matt925]

I was thoroughly entertained with the blood and guts match. Lots of great stuff for my free money. 
 

And I strongly agree they need to do an audible with Cole and mjf. If they stick to the plan, anything that follows will be a letdown from what we have now. Keep it going. 

[Curt McGirt]

I've been very, very, VERY ill this week so totally forgot about Blood and Guts until it was just coming on. 

Of course I enjoyed it. It's me here. Some of the complaints are valid but if you're putting a nail board in the ring then I'm 100% down. It seemed like people didn't bleed from the glass or tacks at first but then they'd get another camera shot and damn. As far as Kota goes, I WAS wondering "When he is he gonna go Murder Ibushi?" so I guess the lack of matches is why. 

Watching the rest of the show today

[The Natural]

2 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

I've been very, very, VERY ill this week so totally forgot about Blood and Guts until it was just coming on. 

Of course I enjoyed it. It's me here. Some of the complaints are valid but if you're putting a nail board in the ring then I'm 100% down. It seemed like people didn't bleed from the glass or tacks at first but then they'd get another camera shot and damn. As far as Kota goes, I WAS wondering "When he is he gonna go Murder Ibushi?" so I guess the lack of matches is why. 

Watching the rest of the show today

Get well soon xxx.

[The Great ML]

Two things I took away from last nights episode...

1. Leaving the cage should constitute a ‘surrender.’

2. Sammy Guevara can’t dance for shit.

[Matt D]

I am looking forward to Yuta vs PAC and Yuta vs Takeshita out of this as he's going take things very personally I imagine with a huge chip on his shoulder.

[porksweats]

10 minutes ago, Matt D said:

I am looking forward to Yuta vs PAC and Yuta vs Takeshita out of this as he's going take things very personally I imagine with a huge chip on his shoulder.

Those really are the two biggest money matches in my mind after all this.

[Log]

Mox/Pac would be fun. Have they had a one-on-one in AEW? I've memory-holed a lot of the circa 2019 stuff.