Double or Nothing VI - 5/26/2024

[Go2Sleep]

1 hour ago, JLowe said:

Funny, half of us are thinking it was bad timing on bringing back MJF and half are hoping it’ll bring back Dynamite. Can we all agree that the tattoo, while a nice touch, was kinda shitty actual ink?

When I saw that tattoo, my first thought was "man did he have this idea late last night that getting a tat would put his promo over the top?" Otherwise, great to see him back. I don't have a problem with a ppv return promo in general, but on a show that ran 30 minutes over (and 4 hour shows are a lot to begin with), it could've been pushed back.

Overall, the show did fly by, I thought. Only thing I didn't care for was Mox going over Takeshita. I thought with the arm injury angle, a quick Takeshita win then Mox winning the longer re-match was the obvious play.

Willow/Mercedes, Cope/Malakai, and Swerve/Christian all delivered. They should have someone pick the bones in an ill-advised Cope Open soon, though. Also excited for heel Stat.

AITA was a mixed bag. I liked the subversion of the music trope (which I hope is retired now) with the alternating themes and Matt cutting off Final Countdown by claiming it was costing him $200,000. I also liked that they actually paid off the flame thrower by using it on Jack Perry. I definitely did not like that Jack recovered from it and was in the finishing spot.

Edited May 27, 2024 by Go2Sleep

[HumanChessgame]

Given MJF's promo involved talking about how he was going to go back to his true nature of being an asshole, I'm hoping that on Wednesday he reveals that it's fake and was done to mock Cody's neck tattoo.

[The Natural]

FTR in long tights didn't look right. Wear jeans/pants.

HATED Bryan Danielson getting pinned. Thought one of FTR would be.

Jack Perry has never done anything for me. 

I thought this was the worst of the three Anarchy in the Arena.

Edited May 27, 2024 by The Natural

[The Natural]

My MOTN was either Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage or Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale. Still not convinced by the Mone Maker finisher. Too long a show.

Edited May 27, 2024 by The Natural

[Gordi the BJW fan]

I watched the first three and a half hours of the show (and the buy in) while chatting with some friends online and had a great time. Thought every match delivered. Missed the men's world title match and Anarchy because I had to go to work. Was stoked to catch those when I got home. Watched AITA first. The ending was just too much for me. I didn't get the same sick feeling I got while watching Ospreay's last match in Osaka (the one with dudes doing high risk moves on to exposed and uneven two by fours) but there is a point that comes WAY before setting a dude on fire with a flamethrower and hanging another dude upside down and kicking his broken nose with thumbtack shoes where I start to wonder if pro wrestling is too over the top and dangerous now or if I am just too old. Probably both. Definitely both. Anyway, that shit is NOT fr me. I did enjoy FTR Bald kind of cosplaying as Ishii, though.

 

Edited May 27, 2024 by Gordi the former AEW fan

[Just Adam Bay Bay]

3 hours ago, The Natural said:

FTR in long tights didn't look right. Wear jeans/pants.

HATED Bryan Danielson getting pinned. Thought one of FTR would be.

Jack Perry has never done anything for me. 

I thought this was the worst of the three Anarchy in the Arena.

This is a time where I’ll try to see if you’ll agree with the booking more after I say where I think (and it logically should be) it’s headed:

Jack pinning either of FTR does nothing for him, because he’s winning the Gauntlet Wednesday night and facing Swerve at Forbidden Door. 

They needed to get Jack a big win before that and pinning Danielson (who’s finishing up as a full timer and probably pitched the finish himself) does that.

Plus it’s technically still NJPW vs AEW at Forbidden Door since unless I missed it Jack is still a NJPW talent besides being an AEW one.

One last point. If Danielson went over you’d have this as the top one right? I haven’t seen the match but your favorite eating a pin for the right reason doesn’t seem like it should make something automatically the worst. The flamethrower spot however or Darby being hung forever sure based on what I’ve read. 

[Brandon Bones]

Half way through the show.  But I’m over the moon because Edge used the live version of South of Heaven from Decade of Aggression which comes factory installed with a free crowd pop at the beginning.  I’ve been using that trick for my simfed guy for years.  I’m so over, bro.

Edited May 27, 2024 by Brandon Bones
I’ve been doing the sim fed so long in fact for a half second I thought I’d jumped ship to AEW.

[The Natural]

50 minutes ago, Just Adam Bay Bay said:

This is a time where I’ll try to see if you’ll agree with the booking more after I say where I think (and it logically should be) it’s headed:

Jack pinning either of FTR does nothing for him, because he’s winning the Gauntlet Wednesday night and facing Swerve at Forbidden Door. 

They needed to get Jack a big win before that and pinning Danielson (who’s finishing up as a full timer and probably pitched the finish himself) does that.

Plus it’s technically still NJPW vs AEW at Forbidden Door since unless I missed it Jack is still a NJPW talent besides being an AEW one.

One last point. If Danielson went over you’d have this as the top one right? I haven’t seen the match but your favorite eating a pin for the right reason doesn’t seem like it should make something automatically the worst. The flamethrower spot however or Darby being hung forever sure based on what I’ve read. 

I don't think Jack Perry wins the gauntlet. Beating Bryan means more than FTR but does it when Bryan more often than not drops the big match?

As for your last point, definitely not. I have the first Anarchy in the Arena as the best one and Bryan Danielson gets choked out losing the match. Yes, I'm a big Bryan Danielson fan but I don't think you give me credit honestly when I've spoken out about things he does that I don't like: Shoot headbutts, the diving headbutt, THAT sell he does. I didn't like his match with Miro at AEW Full Gear 2021 or one he had with Jon Moxley at AEW Grand Slam Dynamite 2022 and Chris Jericho at AEW All Out 2022. If you look at my Best AEW Matches Ever:

5. MJF vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 5th March 2023. *****.

4. Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Winter is Coming Dynamite, 15th December 2021. *****.

3. Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Dynasty, 21st April 2024. *****.

2. Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Grand Slam Dynamite, 22nd September 2021. *****.

1. Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. AEW WrestleDream, 1st October 2023. *****.

Danielson is 1-2-2 so that hasn't stopped me. Never been a Will Ospreay fan but had to recognize there.

Edited May 27, 2024 by The Natural

[Zakk_Sabbath]

29 minutes ago, Just Adam Bay Bay said:

Jack pinning either of FTR does nothing for him, because he’s winning the Gauntlet Wednesday night and facing Swerve at Forbidden Door. 

They needed to get Jack a big win before that and pinning Danielson (who’s finishing up as a full timer and probably pitched the finish himself) does tha

That's a great call. I stupidly didn't even think of Perry as a Swerve challenger (see my MJF post earlier) but with Swerve calling the Elite attack on TK a bitch move twice on TV, running that match at FD would fit pretty much perfectly with the story told so far (and also with the AEW vs NJ theme, as you noted).

Expanding further, I also think you've got potential for a really compelling finish in that match even if Swerve retaining is, like tonight, a fairly foregone conclusion (plus it's a nice way to protect Jungle Jack from a clean pin):

My belief is we'll get nterference from either Omega to further the rekindled Okada stuff and get revenge for his Elite beatdown, or from a returning Hangman to do the WWF 'uneasy allies' thing with Swerve, since he's got not only obviously the long-term Elite history, but he/Swerve have their own story built in with the great home invasion death match last year.

Health and schedules permitting, I wouldn't hate Hangman/Omega deciding to take a second crack at their tag team, either.

[The Natural]

28 minutes ago, Brandon Bones said:

Half way through the show.  But I’m over the moon because Edge used the live version of South of Heaven from Decade of Aggression which comes factory installed with a free crowd pop at the beginning.  I’ve been using that trick for my simfed guy for years.  I’m so over, bro.

Brandon Bones is #AllElite.

[just drew]

9 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

Lastly,  back to Mercedes and Willow.  Aside from Roddy and Ospreay this match had the best crowd reactions by far and that's why they brought Mercedes in.  The women's division has a more star power and for her wrestling her first match in over a year.... it was really fucking good.   She bumped like a maniac and made Willow look like a million bucks.  She also brought some of that limb work I love so much.  Great stuff. 

Man, I think you’re hearing what you want to hear. The crowd was fine for them. I certainly didn’t watch and think “damn, that crowd is white hot.” In fairness, the match before was a spectacle and probably tired the crowd out a good bit. I thought they picked up a bit at the end, but by no standard did that match have better crowd reactions than the main event. That’s a ludicrous thing to say. We also had the return of the Legit Botch at the beginning of the match, bc she blew 2 or 3 spots. I’ll chalk some of that up to ring rust, though. AEW has a genuine star in their women’s division; Willow Nightingale. I hope TK sees that.

 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

16 minutes ago, Just Dave said:

AEW has a genuine star in their women’s division; Willow Nightingale. I hope TK sees that.

Yo, on this note: for a good long while now, I've been saying she's got potential to be an early-Bayley-esque merch machine, and they just need to harness it like they did with OC - I believe they may be making good on that soon, because it's sure smelling to me like we're heading toward a Stat/Trent vs OC/Willow issue.

ETA: No idea if Chuck's going to be used at all on TV moving forward, but I remember first hearing of Stoke back when they were working together in EVOLVE, so you've got seeds there too if they want to pair him as Willow/OC's counter corner man to Stat/Trent's Stoke

Edited May 27, 2024 by Zakk_Sabbath

[Niners Fan in CT]

Willow was good but this was a Mercedes match through and through with her going right after the ankle and never letting up and then Willow going back after her ankle,  both women trading aggressive limb work...    Mercedes bumping like a maniac for all of Willow's big moves...   

This is why they brought her in.  She's going to make everyone better.  Also,  I think Drew needs to check his sound setup because the match was receiving great reactions throughout.  

I won't comment on the rest of your post Drew because you love being on an island by yourself with your "opinions" and I'm not spending Memorial Day responding to your nonsense

[Niners Fan in CT]

One thing I will say.... rest up Acuna.  My favorite player on my favorite team blew out an ACL again.  Going to be a long Summer for us.  At least the Olympics and the Euros will keep me busy while the Braves are sucking. 

[COLETTI]

Honestly? The women's matches were to best IMHO. Toni and Deeb stiffed the fuck out of each other and did a good job of looking somewhat uncooperative at times (in a realistic/non rehearsed way). Moné bumped like a freak and Willow absolutely had her beat at one point, even if it ended on a wimper. I'd rather Mercedes go with that killer STF she pulled out. 

[The Natural]

12 minutes ago, Coletti said:

Honestly? The women's matches were to best IMHO. Toni and Deeb stiffed the fuck out of each other and did a good job of looking somewhat uncooperative at times (in a realistic/non rehearsed way). Moné bumped like a freak and Willow absolutely had her beat at one point, even if it ended on a wimper. I'd rather Mercedes go with that killer STF she pulled out. 

Thank you for reminding me. Agree with the rest too.

[Krone]

Some next day thoughts.

-I can't believe they had Takeshita lose to Moxley. I thought it was almost a foregone conclusion that Takeshita would be beating Moxley here and then probably challenging him for the IWGP Title at Forbidden Door since I know New Japan is kinda skimpy on main event talent these days. Instead, we see a clearly battered and bruised Moxley still manage to pick up the win, and I just don't like that. Takeshita is a guy who is waiting for a push and the longer the wait, the more I feel we're going to see him slip to obscurity like Wardlow. Maybe he would be better off going over to NJPW for a little while and just being the man over there. Not like TK has done a ton with him, let New Japan get the rub from him and simultaneously let his career pop off a little more.

-Will Ospreay is just inhuman and in my opinion the best all around worker in the world today. Kind of crazy to think that the 4 singles champions in AEW right now are Adam Copeland - TNT Champion, Kazuchika Okada - Continental Champion, Will Ospreay - International Champion, and Swerve Strickland - AEW World Champion. No hate on Swerve, because I really like what he has going and he IS going to be a big superstar, but he's probably the fourth most over guy on the list which is just insane. It would be like Triple H, The Undertaker, The Rock, and Stone Cold all holding singles gold simultaneously in attitude era WWF (I'm imagining a Stone Cold European title run now). The star power their champions have is mind boggling right now. Also, shoutout to Roderick Strong; a guy I never gave a shit about before but grows out a little mustache and I'm instantly hooked. Such a good in ring worker who's finally getting a little personality behind him.

-Jay White should be getting a singles run and Juice should be where Jay is in the six man tag. I honestly don't care about the six man titles and haven't really probably since their inception, but can we please give Jay White some singles love.

-Mercedes and Willow had the crowd going. I was thoroughly entertained by this match and am a huge mark for Willow. She has just got it. I was actually expecting to see Kamile debut here and become the heavy for Mercedes and run the tag feud but I must have been reading the wrong tea leaves because I was sorely mistaken. Maybe Stat took a tip from Trent and decided to quit playing the games? Could be some great storytelling within there. Speaking of which, didn't Trent whisper in her ear a week or two back? Here's your sign I guess.

-I was exhausted before the World title and Anarchy in the Arena, so I didn't get to see those in full, but did read the results/saw clips and highlights. Anarchy in the Arena seems like it would be such a blast to experience live. One of the only matches that I can think of like it in the world. Would be so cool to see Okada and Danielson just beating each others asses right in front of me as Final Countdown is playing to a crowd of thousands. MJF's return could light a little bit of a fire for Dynamite and we still need our Kenny return. Also, what's the deal with Ibushi? He's still signed right? If so, having him back at some point is just going to make all of this fantastic. There are so many directions they can go with having Okada/Ospreay/White/Omega/Adam Cole. 

[Curt McGirt]

3 hours ago, Gordi the former AEW fan said:

I did enjoy FTR Bald kind of cosplaying as Ishii, though.

 

11 minutes ago, Krone said:

I thought it was almost a foregone conclusion that Takeshita would be beating Moxley here and then probably challenging him for the IWGP Title

Both of these. Takeshita is probably even more unhappy now, and he really did deserve the win. At this point he should probably break off from Callis and go on a destruction spree. Maybe he can do what Wardlow could not, and that's take that angle and make it work. The Silent Killer?

Whoever said the main was a comedy match was right, and the Ishii belt is part of that. He probably got in a strike exchange with someone that the camera missed, or caught and I didn't notice  When Jacko got set on fire I had another old man BJW flashback and thought of Shadow WX getting his shirt set on fire by Mike Samples in their lights-out match where he was in it for like 30 seconds before they finally put him out. That was WAY ballsier than going out there covered in stunt gel and having your legs torched like Nikki Sixx. Blowing fire is way cooler too.

[Curt McGirt]

19 minutes ago, Krone said:

Adam Copeland - TNT Champion, Kazuchika Okada - Continental Champion, Will Ospreay - International Champion, and Swerve Strickland - AEW World Champion

You're missing Chris Jericho -  Junk Belt 

[The Natural]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6eCOySY0zA

AEW's uploaded MJF's return.

[Joe vs the Algorithm]

Saw some mention of Moxley wrestling with a broken arm.  Is that storyline or is he really silly enough to wrestle with one good arm?

[Curt McGirt]

Yeah, lets hope all that UE shit is done. TBH I didn't miss Max at all and actively dreaded him and everything he was involved with that last couple months. He needs to show us something. I think he will. 

*SNARK AHOY*

Funny, when I saw the denim & leather ensemble I thought "they should be chanting HHH instead" haha. A burberry collar would have been cool. Also, the tattoo is nice; you can always fill it in if you leave. It was a good promo but the goddamn crowd was responding to it like they'd been given a printout at the door.

Edited May 27, 2024 by Curt McGirt

[Curt McGirt]

6 minutes ago, The Old-Fashioned Gamer said:

Saw some mention of Moxley wrestling with a broken arm.  Is that storyline or is he really silly enough to wrestle with one good arm?

If so and he's crazy enough to take that spot on the apron... well, I know there's been a one-legged wrestler, how about a one-armed one?

[Curt McGirt]

Addendum to the Junk Belt: Parallel image of FTW title

Spoiler

 

[SirFozzie]

I'm sorry, I have to say one thing.

Last thread, someone said the equivalent of "Why would Darby Allin bring out a flamethrower if he wasn't going to set some motherfucker on fire".

We got proof that Coach Tony still reads the boards, as indeed, some motherfucker was set on fire.

 

Ok, another thing. After Brawl In, did anyone think that in the year of our lord 2024, you could describe Jack Perry as a heat magnet (in ALL senses of the word!)