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Friday Night Dynamite - 6/4/2021


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43 minutes ago, Casey said:

Name names. People that are actually signed too, not just the people they've brought in during the pandemic. Because I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of people we see right now on Dark/Elevation won't be there once they hit the road again. As much as I want KiLynn King to be signed, I don't think she's going to on the road with them (even though Red Velvet did give their little group a name on Twitter).

I know how much people love me going through the roster but I found 20 names of people on AEW’s roster page that could be moved on and wouldn’t mean a lot (I didn’t count Mel, Emi Sakura and Yuma Sakazaki because they’re never around already).

Aaron Solow, Alan Angels, Alex Reynolds, Angelico, Austin Gunn, Brandon Cutler, Brian Cage, Colt Cabana, Colton Gunn, Jack Evans, Jake Hager. Joey Janella, Kip Sabina, Luther, Mario Stunt, Michael Nakasawa, QT Marshall, Sonny Kiss, Big Swole, Penelope Ford.

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4 minutes ago, BobbyWhioux said:

I'm ready for them to start the build on Sammy's coup when the Pinnacle business is over with (assuming it's not already).  Two years is a long life for a stable/facgime/etc. and the Inner Circle, being literally as old as AEW Dynamite itself, is close enough to that. The face side of the ledger ill suits them and Santana/Ortiz have been conspicuously absent from tag championship contention, I'd hope trimming down to a Guevara/Santana/Ortiz trio would facilitate them getting that look

I don’t think they can right to one coup right after the MJF one. I would have been fine killing the Inner Circle at Double or Nothing just to clear them off the faction board. Sammy has had what 2 matches as a baby face (both the faction matches) It’s way too early to flip him back already. 

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47 minutes ago, Casey said:

Name names. People that are actually signed too, not just the people they've brought in during the pandemic. Because I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of people we see right now on Dark/Elevation won't be there once they hit the road again. As much as I want KiLynn King to be signed, I don't think she's going to on the road with them (even though Red Velvet did give their little group a name on Twitter).

Here’s who I was originally talking about. Also listed were Ivelise, who’s already been cut, and Daniels as a wrestler, which seems to also have happened.  Pineapple Pete too, but I guess he’s been gone for a while.

 

Joey Janela

Sonny Kiss

Bear Country

Evans/Angelico

Luther/Serpentico

Billy Gunn

Leva Bates

JD Drake

Peter Avalon

 

 

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I thought there was quite a lot of weak stuff here, even taking into account it being a bit of a cool down show.

Opening tag did nothing for me. Heel Bucks have been an improvement but they’re still frustrating. Although they’re doing plenty of cheating it still feels like they’re presented overly strong. They’re running through too many teams, I don’t think they need to be wrestling as much, have them ducking matches and stuff. I liked Matt’s dive fakeout spot but the clothesline at the end was ridiculously weak, to the point it felt like Pac should have been no selling it.

Andrade with Vickie is a bad move for me. Vickie’s act seems dated so putting her with a hot new act kind of brings him down by association, he looked cool though. Even going back to WWE, while she is a heat magnet, it pretty much all goes on her rather than the wrestler, so I don’t think she works as a manger. Andrade might need someone to do some talking for him but she’s not actually a good talker, she’s an annoying talker (hence the heat), I don’t think she does anything to build her acts. At least in WWE she was usually doing the GM abuse of power thing, but her act now is just her having an annoying voice. I don’t think it’ll overly hurt him but still a bad move.

I like how they tried to explain Private Party’s attire as a douchey heel thing, problem is their original attire looked far douchier.

T-shirt gesture was nice but intense face Jericho is shit. Giving Sammy, Santana and Ortiz more limelight is good but the weekly IC promos are a bit much.

Although the quality in the women’s division has improved, the stuff featured here made me think that it’s still really lacking in terms of characters. Brit is essentially the top face now, while playing the role of an annoying heel, I quite like that they seem to be letting her just stick to the character while positioning her against heel Nyla, but I’m not sure how it’ll work in terms of building good stories longer term.

I like Nyla but I think she’s been killed off as a major threat and see previous comments on Vickie.

Red Velvet I like in-ring, but the ‘straight out of your momma’s kitchen’ intro and stirring the pot thing seem massively forced/lame. Feels like they need to do more to develop who she is. Bunny is ok but the ‘I’m Krazzy’ mannerisms are embarrassing.

Sky really isn’t a good promo, I just don’t believe him, Page really comes across as a douche, but Sky screams ‘I’m playing a character’. I like him as a heel but he lacks the charisma to really be a featured act.

Miro promo was probably best thing on the show.

Dustin win makes sense as I like that they’re kind of establishing a hierarchy of the vets just overcoming some of the younger prospects. I think it gives the younger guys more room to grow longer term, gets some losses out of the way early so they don’t have to worry about a win streak becoming a booking burden and it’ll make it more meaningful when younger guys actually get those big wins.

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Baker and Nyla had a ridiculously good match during the women's Title Eliminator, so maybe they're seeing that pairing as a sure way to get Baker's reign going off the right foot.

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34 minutes ago, Goodear said:

I don’t think they can right to one coup right after the MJF one. I would have been fine killing the Inner Circle at Double or Nothing just to clear them off the faction board. Sammy has had what 2 matches as a baby face (both the faction matches) It’s way too early to flip him back already. 

writing off Jericho and having Guevara seize the mantle (ala Triple H the night after WM14) is another good way to go, though as you point out the best window to do such just got closed

 

29 minutes ago, Kev said:

Although the quality in the women’s division has improved, the stuff featured here made me think that it’s still really lacking in terms of characters. Brit is essentially the top face now, while playing the role of an annoying heel, I quite like that they seem to be letting her just stick to the character while positioning her against heel Nyla, but I’m not sure how it’ll work in terms of building good stories longer term.

I like Nyla but I think she’s been killed off as a major threat and see previous comments on Vickie.

 

Rose squashing opponents from the face side on the road to her rematch with now-heel Baker could be the way to reestablish her momentum (and would also get her away from Vicki)

I did think Baker and Statlander might be their long term plan a year ago back before both blew their knees out on back to back shows and Statlander missed basically a whole year.  Am hopeful putting her in the Freshly Squeezed Crew fast tracks re-raising her profile to get that back on the table but how many matches has she actually had on Dynamite since coming back?  I can only recall one.


not that it matters too much since the division might be getting dramatically reshuffled come mid-July anyway

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2 hours ago, Goodear said:

Aaron Solow, Alan Angels, Alex Reynolds, Angelico, Austin Gunn, Brandon Cutler, Brian Cage, Colt Cabana, Colton Gunn, Jack Evans, Jake Hager. Joey Janella, Kip Sabina, Luther, Mario Stunt, Michael Nakasawa, QT Marshall, Sonny Kiss, Big Swole, Penelope Ford.

Swole's development disapoints me and I have to agree.  I'd consider releasing Jack Evans as well.  If they find the right role for Penelope Ford she's money.  I see that role being as a valet, but not sure for whom.  Her work as a wrestler is a bitty shotty, but she's beautiful and athletic in ways that are more than enough to make her potentially special. I'm expecting something from Aaron Solow.  Angel5 is a good lower card hand.  Alex Reynolds is underrated (to some I guess) and should be nowhere near this list.  I think many of us would love to see this terrific performer and his partner win tag gold some time in the next 3-12 months.  I think the Gunns are an underrated developmental project.  I see potentially a good heel in Austin Gunn.  Cabana is fun and underrated and an excellent lower card hand.  Janela seems like a good guy for them to have around.  They've just long needed to use him properly - as a heel and more often as a manager.  Jake Hager's been fun here and there.  I like seeing him around, but is he expendable?  Yeah, maybe.   Kip Sabian seems like a developmental project, but I'm not quite seeing much with him yet.  Maybe some time around the horn (UK, Indies, Japan) would help him.  Nakazawa is a stage hand more than a wrestler, so not worth mentioning.  So to Cutler.  Further, Cutler's underrated.  He's a good job guy.  And his Young Boy gimmick is absolutely fantastic.  He might be my favorite 'second' going.  Marko (or is Mario Stunt somebody else) is a good novelty act and they haven't been overusing him in recent months.  But Marko taking a shit kicking from the likes of Brodie Lee RIP is a thing of beauty.  Luther and Serpentico are a fun lower card tag team, but I wouldn't fight anybody on losing them.  I like Angelico.  It would be interesting to see him after a few (to a year) New Japan tours.  He needs to go away and refresh, but I like him and hope he figures it all out.  Brian Cage is fun and pure raw talent.  He needs one of those great coaches to teach him how to be Scott 'Bam Bam' Bigelow.  As is he's killing his own momentum with too many killer moves not being sold as devasting.  I think it would be silly to release him.  But a lot of these guys would benefit from a NJPW or elsewhere freshening up.  I hope the connection between AEW and NJPW eventually works that way.  Sonny Kiss, sure.  QT Marshall being on this list is insanity.  QT is on fire right now.  I love the squashes he's been having on Dark.  Especially the Dillion McQueen match.  I like the whole heel persona and think he's far better than credited in ring (by some anyway).  I also get the impression between his school and backstage duties that QT is their answer to Tommy Dreamer in ECW.  He's the goddamned heart of AEW!  

I wouldn't release anybody.  Other than Jim Ross.  Unless he's willing to step down to a weekly 'Ross Report' segment on Dark.  And monthly sitdown interviews with important subjects.  I wouldn't even let him commentate Dark.  But I would actually care about those shows being presentable - which they don't always.  

I'd also send Shawn Spears to Japan.  I'd just like to see if it freshened him up any.  He's got all the mechanics, and I liked his Stampede portion, but something is missing with him.  A trip to Japan probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but I like the idea.  Joining him would be the tag team of Bear Country.  

Lastly, I'd send some more of those names you mentioned to Impact maybe.  Or the NWA.  It's good for guys to step out of the Elite Zone and freshen up.  

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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I liked the opening tag, but agree the finish was weak. I also like coming back around to Britt/Nyla, their last match in the tournament was one of my favorites.

Christian/Jungle tag was fun. I can dig a Christian/Matt Hardy mini feud. Glad they are going to get some further build for Jungle/Omega to have a big fight feel. I guess it's practically a whole month of Friday Dynamites and then that one on a Saturday. Kind of surprised they didn't save it for returning to Wednesdays in July, if they are still doing any sort of Fyter Fest like last year's around the same time.

Great signing in Andrade, looking forward to seeing what he does. Thought Velvet/Bunny was a pretty good little match and the main event was a nice something different.

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8 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

I wouldn't release anybody.  Other than Jim Ross.  Unless he's willing to step down to a weekly 'Ross Report' segment on Dark.  And monthly sitdown interviews with important subjects.  I wouldn't even let him commentate Dark.  But I would actually care about those shows being presentable - which they don't always.  

Holy shit, I would. Can you imagine how much he'd cut loose if he thought nobody was watching? On a show with more green and preliminary talent?

It would be goddamn legendary. 

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6 hours ago, John from Cincinnati said:

I think my favourite thing on this show was the Rhodes family vs Factory stuff. Lee Johnson is coming along well, Ogogo went over strong-ish, and just quiet competence all around in the tag match. And the bullrope match is just the fun sort of thing you'd want to see Dustin do a few times a year. Maybe Comoroto should have gone over, but I don't care.

Really enjoyed Red Velvet vs Bunny also. Velvet has a lot of potential, so it's good to see her getting a push. 

Opening tag was my least favourite match on the show. People would be right to say Penta looks like a fool for not protecting the pin off the black arrow. Rick Knox is still trash. Also, Fenix got attacked? And we're just going to have the same match the Bucks always have with any combination of these guys? Okay...

As far as people noticing how often segments get interrupted on this show, I wish someone would have cut off the Inner Circle. I'm over hearing these dudes drone on and on. Tony has too much faith in Jericho to just go out there and do his thing, and it's led to a whole bunch of real long, samey segments with an act that just isn't working for me as babyfaces. Jericho has change-the-channel heat with me.

I agree that the first couple of Jericho promos after the Inner Circle face turn were not great (highlighting some of Jericho's worst tendencies as a face), but I think that they have really sharpened up since then, with last night being no different. Last night's Jericho promo was a fairly textbook babyface promo (in 2021 at least), but there's nothing wrong with being fairly textbook when the promo conveys intended message (the war with MJF and The Pinnacle is not over). Honestly, the Inner Circle are some of the best babyfaces on the current AEW roster, especially after Jericho stopped trying to be too cute and clever and just rode the natural hate and revenge after MJF and The Pinnacle initially assaulted them (and then tried to totally eliminate Jericho at Blood and Guts).

Now, I would agree that Sammy has not found his footing as a face promo (though his in-ring style is very well suited as a face), but on the whole the group is very likable while retaining their element of coolness and danger (and Santana and Ortiz in particular are still cool badasses).

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6 hours ago, Goodear said:

I know how much people love me going through the roster but I found 20 names of people on AEW’s roster page that could be moved on and wouldn’t mean a lot (I didn’t count Mel, Emi Sakura and Yuma Sakazaki because they’re never around already).

Aaron Solow, Alan Angels, Alex Reynolds, Angelico, Austin Gunn, Brandon Cutler, Brian Cage, Colt Cabana, Colton Gunn, Jack Evans, Jake Hager. Joey Janella, Kip Sabina, Luther, Mario Stunt, Michael Nakasawa, QT Marshall, Sonny Kiss, Big Swole, Penelope Ford.

 

5 hours ago, Mike Campbell said:

Here’s who I was originally talking about. Also listed were Ivelise, who’s already been cut, and Daniels as a wrestler, which seems to also have happened.  Pineapple Pete too, but I guess he’s been gone for a while.

 

Joey Janela

Sonny Kiss

Bear Country

Evans/Angelico

Luther/Serpentico

Billy Gunn

Leva Bates

JD Drake

Peter Avalon

 

 

I'm pretty sure fans would notice if people like Alex Reynolds, Colt Cabana, Brian Cage, Jake Hager, Marko Stunt & QT Marshall. All of them are either in groups that get TV time, or in current storylines. Also, some on both of these lists have two contracts - Leva helps out with social media and the women's division, Billy Gunn is a trainer/agent, Nakazawa is the translator for foreign talent, etc. And a small part of both of these lists aren't even signed. People like JD Drake, Serpentico, Bear Country (not official yet anyway), the Gunn brothers and Solow are on deals for developmental training I'm pretty sure.

I can't say I disagree with some of these, but on the other hand - if the idea is to "make room on the payroll" or something for some of these recently fired WWE men and women, I'm not sure letting JD Drake go is going to make much of a difference.

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I rewound Miro thanking God and his hot wife at least three times just to laugh. Most of the show was taken up explaining to my dad (who couldn't sleep) who everyone was though. He knows Khan because they have a connection to Champaign but is otherwise pretty much in the dark. He wanted to recognize Tony but the beard and glasses fooled him. He knew JR for obvious reasons but I had to explain Jack Perry to him and who the EVPs were and all that.

The main was a shit-show. I feel bad, everyone has a stinker sometimes, but that was really poor. You'd think Dustin could save anything but not that night. 

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Yeah, The bullrope match didn’t do much for me.  I thought maybe it was just getting too late for my old ass, but I watched it back and still didn’t care for it.  Comoroto had big Just A Guy energy in this.  Didn’t show up for his big moment at all, IMO.

I don’t really see how anyone could come away from this match thinking Comoroto should’ve won.  Dude is still a waaaaays off from being anything besides a good heater/squash guy.  No reason to burn a rare Dustin singles loss on him right now, let alone in what should be Dustin’s signature match in the promotion.

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6 minutes ago, EVA said:

Yeah, The bullrope match didn’t do much for me.  I thought maybe it was just getting too late for my old ass, but I watched it back and still didn’t care for it.  Comoroto had big Just A Guy energy in this.  Didn’t show up for his big moment at all, IMO.

I don’t really see how anyone could come away from this match thinking Comoroto should’ve won.  Dude is still a waaaaays off from being anything besides a good heater/squash guy.  No reason to burn a rare Dustin singles loss on him right now, let alone in what should be Dustin’s signature match in the promotion.

I gave the sad face because I agree, not because I wanna argue just FYI!

One thing I'll give him is he had good ass cardio and went the distance - with some more seasoning, that's gonna go a long long way. Dustin winning was the right finish, Nick is my #1 hoss boy but he isn't there yet

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The worst part is you could tell Dustin knew it, he jumped into the crowd and started to try and rile people up. I thought Comorato should have been the guy for Cody to face instead of Ogogo based on looks alone but I guess I was wrong. Even blood couldn't make that one work. 

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9 hours ago, BobbyWhioux said:

Rose squashing opponents from the face side on the road to her rematch with now-heel Baker could be the way to reestablish her momentum (and would also get her away from Vicki)

I think this is fine in theory, plus they’ve got the ‘I already beat you’ thing, which is a simple story. I just think Nyla’s been beaten too many times to really be considered a major threat, along with her weak title run and lack of TV time it seems obvious they’re done with her as a major player in the division. So for Britt’s first defence it just seem like far too much of a foregone conclusion to be interesting.

If they actually slow burn it over a few months, have Nyla pick up some momentum and have some dotted interactions with Britt along the way then it could work better. Otherwise it just comes across too much as a filler feud, like how WWE would always throw Kane out as a challenger to fill a ppv cycle.

They really should get her away from Vickie though. I think giving her more of a coach who can improve her and bring out the beast (which is what they should have done instead of Vickie) might be something that could win her back some credibility and extend her usefulness a bit more.

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Pretty flat show, which is shame considering the high of the PPV. Not flat like a deliberate downswing in spectacle but still effective, it was flat like a lot of awkward, off and questionable in the decision making and the execution (do I lose my simp status???)

Highlights were the Bucks match and the taped promos, with Miro, Team Taz and Best Friends all coming over strong.

JB was great at the PPV and the YouTube show (I forget which?) but didn’t feel at that level of ‘on’ here.

Two takeaways from the women’s match was the further argument for reserving the topes for the top athletes, and the redness of the Blade.  He’s the reddest wrestler I’ve seen in quite some time.

I’m positive about what they can both bring but was an awkward debut spoken introduction for both Mark Henry and Andrade.

The Bullrope match was A to B to C with Dustin trying his best to elevate but Comoroto is not much yet beyond a good look and solid fundamentals.

Some big stuff coming up over the next few weeks, hope they pull out of the funk back to the hot run they were having for the past couple of months more often than not.

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Nyla's "D-M-[middle finger] " gesture at Britt was magnificent, just dripping with contempt

Best thing about Miro shouting out God and his hot wife was the completely straight face, like he's some alpha male project manager with no self awareness trying to hype up his direct reports. He should cut a promo every week if he's not wrestling

 

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8 hours ago, Kev said:

I think this is fine in theory, plus they’ve got the ‘I already beat you’ thing, which is a simple story. I just think Nyla’s been beaten too many times to really be considered a major threat, along with her weak title run and lack of TV time it seems obvious they’re done with her as a major player in the division. So for Britt’s first defence it just seem like far too much of a foregone conclusion to be interesting.

If they actually slow burn it over a few months, have Nyla pick up some momentum and have some dotted interactions with Britt along the way then it could work better. Otherwise it just comes across too much as a filler feud, like how WWE would always throw Kane out as a challenger to fill a ppv cycle.

In fairness, who besides Thunder Rosa could you put Britt against in her first title defense and have people believe the challenger has a chance to win?  They’ve been building her to the title for over a year.  Only the thickest rubes could be tricked into believing Britt would lose the belt immediately.  In light of that, Nyla makes a lot of sense as the first challenger, as she still has decent credibility (holds a pin on Baker, has only lost 3 times in the past year) but also, as you noted, clearly isn’t someone they have big plans for in the immediate future.

Personally, I’m a lot more interested in Britt’s first defense being about growing her character, answering the question of HOW she’s going to defeat this monster that has already beaten her soundly, rather than IF she can beat some random challenger.  Which frankly isn’t much of a question, at this point, and would just be phony drama that no one would buy anyway.

Edited by EVA
Fixed an egregious pronoun typo.
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15 hours ago, Big Z said:

I agree that the first couple of Jericho promos after the Inner Circle face turn were not great (highlighting some of Jericho's worst tendencies as a face), but I think that they have really sharpened up since then, with last night being no different. Last night's Jericho promo was a fairly textbook babyface promo (in 2021 at least), but there's nothing wrong with being fairly textbook when the promo conveys intended message (the war with MJF and The Pinnacle is not over). Honestly, the Inner Circle are some of the best babyfaces on the current AEW roster, especially after Jericho stopped trying to be too cute and clever and just rode the natural hate and revenge after MJF and The Pinnacle initially assaulted them (and then tried to totally eliminate Jericho at Blood and Guts).

Now, I would agree that Sammy has not found his footing as a face promo (though his in-ring style is very well suited as a face), but on the whole the group is very likable while retaining their element of coolness and danger (and Santana and Ortiz in particular are still cool badasses).

 

Disagree on Sammy.  While I think he is a great douche heel, he made a believable face with his hatred of MJF and how he briefly quit the IC over MJF.

Sammy is gonna need the rub from Jericho at some point though.

 

As for Nyla, she's a monster heel who is a decent worker.  It's real easy to build up her credibility.  She might never sniff the belt again, but she'll always be a credible challenger/gatekeeper, and that's a good role.  She's better than Fale at least.

 

Edited by alstein
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1 hour ago, EVA said:

In fairness, who besides Thunder Rosa could you put Britt against in her first title defense and have people believe the challenger has a chance to win? 

Kris Statlander, Hikaru Shida in a rematch, Abadon, Serena Deeb, and Nyla Rose.

I would not book Shida in an immediate rematch so soon after losing the title, knowing that I'd be putting Britt over her another time.

Edited by J.T.
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One thing I learned last night is that WWE's army of waxed wrestlers was not just a Vince thing.  How many times did JR bring up Comorato and his hair. "Big strong man...big strong hairy man" I believe he even said at one point. It brought back memories of just how often he'd discuss A-Train/Albert's back hair. You've got this massive, strong dude and all you can focus on is his body hair is a weird JR-ism.

I thought, among a lot of weird things last night, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page following up weeks of sneak attacks on Sting with praising him for his work was really weird. I kept waiting for a dig at Sting but it never came.

I actually like the Nightmare Factory feud but they need a more dynamic leader than QT whom I find perfectly acceptable in a low-to-mid-card heel kind of way. But him leading a faction against perennial main-eventer Cody Rhodes just feels bush-league. I MIGHT buy Dustin in that role but I think he's perfectly happy in his current role.

Maybe the weirdest thing all night was the commentary being outraged at the Bucks for hitting their finisher repeatedly on Moxley putting him out. It wasn't like it was a sneak-attack or low-blow or weapon shot, it was a series of moves used (relatively) cleanly in the midst of a sanctioned match. It would like being outraged at Cody for using a Vertebreaker. Weird.

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