AEW Rampage - 8/13/2021

[NikoBaltimore]

I'm already wondering how many pages we'll hit for Friday's show.  It'll be either at least 20 pages of "Holy shit!" or 20 pages of "Fuck AEW!"  But I'm here for the chaos either way.

And yes I fully believe Punk's showing.  TK's an ECW fan and knows better than to deliberately fuck fans over.

EDIT:  Oh, and surprised nobody mentioned this but I would not have had Statlander stand up to Britt.  She's a face that everybody loves and it's not worth her getting booed in Britt's hometown.  They could have saved that for Wednesday instead with Jayme making her debut then.  Or if she's gonna debut then at least have Velvet stand up to Britt after being defeated.

EDIT 2:  No sense doing a new post so for what A_K said I have low expectations about what a 42-year-old Punk can do especially being gone for so long.  BUT he wouldn't be the first older dude to come back recently.  With Edge coming back then Christian there's proof that it's possible.  And in Christian's case he hasn't really lost a step with a new title to boot.  Then there's the fact that he said many times he was done with wrestling unless it was for something big.  So for him to come to AEW would be quite a boost in the company's legitimacy as a big brand.

Edited August 16, 2021 by NikoBaltimore

[A_K]

Punks fun but come on .. he’s a 42 year old dude whose absence was brought about to go and get roundly humiliated in the UFC. Not quite sure it’s “rioting” material (has there ever been a “wrestling riot”? ). Possibly won’t be the “biggest pop in history” and if it is .. well, that’s sad. For context by this age Austin’s in ring career was completely done and dusted, period.

Edited August 16, 2021 by A_K

[John from Cincinnati]

9 minutes ago, A_K said:

Not quite sure it’s “rioting” material 

There's a post in this thread with twelve like/thanks reactions that simply reads "pro wrestling motherfuckers." The people are prone to overreaction. 

Edited August 16, 2021 by John from Cincinnati

[Dog]

Has there ever been a show in Puerto Rico that DIDN'T result in a riot?

[The Great ML]

On 8/16/2021 at 10:20 AM, AxB said:

If they want to do the tease for heat, you have Darby doing an in ring promo and get interrupted, by someone other than Punk. Then when Punk interrupts them, you get your super pop.

I remember Kevin Sullivan say that it’s best when you lead the crowd in a certain direction where they are calling for what they want, give them a plausible denial, then BOOM, give them what they wanted all along. Super pop indeed. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by The Great ML

[Curt McGirt]

The closest filmed thing to a riot I've seen on a wrestling card is probably when the crowd threw the chairs in the ring and buried the Public Enemy in ECW. That was less controlled and more violent than the popular Heat Wave Dudleys "riot" that was just an angry crowd being told off by wrestlers. I never thought a lady spitting on Bubba Ray constituted a riot. 

Oh and there's always the Tracy Smothers riot. Talk about working a crowd!

[Krone]

1 hour ago, A_K said:

Punks fun but come on .. he’s a 42 year old dude whose absence was brought about to go and get roundly humiliated in the UFC. Not quite sure it’s “rioting” material (has there ever been a “wrestling riot”? ). Possibly won’t be the “biggest pop in history” and if it is .. well, that’s sad. For context by this age Austin’s in ring career was completely done and dusted, period.

So Stone Cold, one singular wrestler who had his career also shortened due to a litany of injuries should = CM Punk who to my knowledge never had a broken neck or any significant injury. If you want to be really fair, AJ Styles is currently 44 and still is as phenomenal as ever, Taker was 44/45 for his legendary matches with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25/26 (while HBK was also 44/45). Nobody here is also going to say Punk is a world class mixed martial artist, but that has actually zero to do with him in the pro wrestling pantheon. I find it funny that all of a sudden, five days before his return it's going to be "oh man, but is it really that big of a deal" when wrestling crowds have been chanting dude's name for the past ten years for a reason.

[John from Cincinnati]

It sounds like Punk's been moving pretty well in the ring. Whatever hip and knee shit was bothering him toward the tail end of his WWE run doesn't sound like it's the issue it was. I get that he's about the age Piper was when he popped into WCW in '96, but 42/43 today isn't necessarily what it was a couple decades ago. I'm not worried about his body at all. 

Edited August 16, 2021 by John from Cincinnati

[Jiji]

I'm worried about how I feel after seeing that pic Jade just dropped tho. I will not calm down.

[Dog]

52 minutes ago, Jiji said:

I'm worried about how I feel after seeing that pic Jade just dropped tho. I will not calm down.

[Kang]

I didn't  expect millions but....740,000 viewers. 396,000 aged 18-49 (0.30 rating).

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

 

[Kang]

Ranked no 3 for cable. ShowBuzz has 0.31 in 18-49 instead.

[Dog]

42 minutes ago, D.Z said:

I didn't  expect millions but....740,000 viewers. 396,000 aged 18-49 (0.30 rating).

Those Friday Dynamites were struggling to reach half a million, weren't they?

[John E. Dynamite]

Nice that they have a baseline number, because next week's rating is going to be a bit of an outlier.

[twiztor]

i understand what you're saying, but i wouldn't consider the highly promoted debut episode as a baseline. 

[AxB]

Yeah, if anything the Friday Dynamites could be considered the baseline (although that doesn't really work because it was Dynamite, their only show at the time).

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

*bassline

 

[The Natural]

9 minutes ago, MoeCristyV.1.6 said:

*bassline

 

Your signature matches my reaction to that GIF .

[Infinit]

21 hours ago, A_K said:

Punks fun but come on .. he’s a 42 year old dude whose absence was brought about to go and get roundly humiliated in the UFC. Not quite sure it’s “rioting” material (has there ever been a “wrestling riot”? ). Possibly won’t be the “biggest pop in history” and if it is .. well, that’s sad. For context by this age Austin’s in ring career was completely done and dusted, period.

Yuji Nagata had a pretty good pro wrestling career after being knocked out in a one sided MMA match.

[The Natural]

*Record scratch* *Freeze frame* Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.

Hell of a photo and sell by Kenny Omega.

[Goodear]

On 8/16/2021 at 1:00 PM, A_K said:

Punks fun but come on .. he’s a 42 year old dude whose absence was brought about to go and get roundly humiliated in the UFC. Not quite sure it’s “rioting” material (has there ever been a “wrestling riot”? ). Possibly won’t be the “biggest pop in history” and if it is .. well, that’s sad. For context by this age Austin’s in ring career was completely done and dusted, period.

While there might not be a riot, it will absolutely burn that town out and screw up a ton of the goodwill that AEW has developed with its audience. The crowd will absolutely ruin that show from beginning to end.

[Custos]

So Omega mostly caught himself with the crook of his elbow on the back of the chair? Masterfully done in the moment, and the misdirection where you’re so focused on the gnarly angle of his head and neck that you don’t notice (this is me as a non-wrestler just guessing and maybe talking out my arse)

[Jiji]

He also planted with his left hand on Christian's wrist.

[grilledcheese]

The left leg being all the way straight up and down added to the illusion of impact as well. His other foot was still on the ground or just barely off the mat, but the almost straight vertical on the left leg makes it look like he's getting spiked.