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Rampage 10/1/21


NikoBaltimore

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Loved the crowd nailing the chant, the Danielson Special and then the Cattle Mutilation finishing the match with Nick (although Nick's obnoxious hair-dye/jewelry/feathers game was off this week which knocks a couple of snowflakes from the match rating). 

Good to see Jade has some gear that stays on her when she delivers a butt-whipping, agree that she is being built well and this was an okay match with a bit of a crutch from the plunder.

The Mark Henry split-screen special continues to inoffensively but pointlessly exist. And Jack Evans from the Heavens, with the skeeziest look in all of televised wrestling (can't help but imagine him wearing and sleeping in that gear for like a week straight) gets a main event spot and jobs to the clippers with the feel-good finish to a quality hour.

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God fucking damn that was good pro wrestling. Nick Jackson does a lot of silly shit, but underneath it he's a fucking great pro wrestler. Bryan Danielson does nothing but great pro wrestling.

Main was fun. Rest of the show went quickly, nothing was bad. If Jade ever becomes above average Bell to Bell, she's gonna be a massive star.

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The more I watch AEW, the more I like it. Feeling like a total traitor - I'm skipping G1 shows in favor of Dynamite and Rampage. Tell me three years ago I'd be passing up NJPW shows for that of an "upstart" promotion and I'd have laughed in your face, but here we are. 

Danielson/Jackson was a great match. I liked the touch of Danielson being able to shrug off just about every strike Nick threw except the superkicks. The two really have contrasting styles of pro wrestling, and I was curious to see how they would mesh. They resolved it with that, in my mind. 

So...not to veer too off-topic with respect to this specific show, but Danielson had some Tenryu-inspired moments in his offense against Nick Jackson on Rampage, and Darius Lockhart had a Tenryu-inspired logo as part of his gear on one of the Youtube shows this week. Since it may be a while before we can get Danielson/ZSJ (which ZSJ is already teasing) or Danielson vs. Jonathan Gresham...not to mention both Danielson and Lockhart used a very, very similar hammerlock > armbar > uh, pinning combination thing this week...I think I need to see Danielson vs. Lockhart yesterday. 

And how the hell does one not feel good about how the main event went? Seeing all of these pro wrestlers rally around and (literally and figuratively) lift up -1 in light of what happened is some of the most heartwarming stuff I've seen all year.

One thing I've gotta ask as someone who has neither followed every AEW show or Orange Cassidy's entire career: has it ever been explained why he suddenly dispenses of the hands-in-the-pockets stuff and "wakes up" mid-match? Is it really just summed up by the "troll smile" he gave PAC in their match, or...? I was under the impression that Cassidy kept the "low effort" stuff going for most of if not the entire match on the indies, so I wondered if something changed. (Bear in mind this isn't me trying to hate or poke holes - the guy is a very good pro wrestler either way. I'm just curious.)

 

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“ BIG NICK ENERGY”

Surprisingly competitive match, I love the pace and how brutal Bryan’s style feels compared to the usual AEW style, slower but hard hitting.

 

Love all the pre recorded promos sprinkled throughout the show, it makes EVERYONE look better. I specially like the short Ricky Starks one, very cinematic.

 

“Wait wait wait, what am I doing here” - OC before his hair vs hair match.

Gotta admit I teared up a bit with that massive hug on Brodie Jr. at the end ❤️ 

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1 hour ago, Teflon Turtle said:

The more I watch AEW, the more I like it. Feeling like a total traitor - I'm skipping G1 shows in favor of Dynamite and Rampage. Tell me three years ago I'd be passing up NJPW shows for that of an "upstart" promotion and I'd have laughed in your face, but here we are. 

Danielson/Jackson was a great match. I liked the touch of Danielson being able to shrug off just about every strike Nick threw except the superkicks. The two really have contrasting styles of pro wrestling, and I was curious to see how they would mesh. They resolved it with that, in my mind. 

So...not to veer too off-topic with respect to this specific show, but Danielson had some Tenryu-inspired moments in his offense against Nick Jackson on Rampage, and Darius Lockhart had a Tenryu-inspired logo as part of his gear on one of the Youtube shows this week. Since it may be a while before we can get Danielson/ZSJ (which ZSJ is already teasing) or Danielson vs. Jonathan Gresham...not to mention both Danielson and Lockhart used a very, very similar hammerlock > armbar > uh, pinning combination thing this week...I think I need to see Danielson vs. Lockhart yesterday. 

And how the hell does one not feel good about how the main event went? Seeing all of these pro wrestlers rally around and (literally and figuratively) lift up -1 in light of what happened is some of the most heartwarming stuff I've seen all year.

One thing I've gotta ask as someone who has neither followed every AEW show or Orange Cassidy's entire career: has it ever been explained why he suddenly dispenses of the hands-in-the-pockets stuff and "wakes up" mid-match? Is it really just summed up by the "troll smile" he gave PAC in their match, or...? I was under the impression that Cassidy kept the "low effort" stuff going for most of if not the entire match on the indies, so I wondered if something changed. (Bear in mind this isn't me trying to hate or poke holes - the guy is a very good pro wrestler either way. I'm just curious.)

 

They haven’t given a reason that I can recall.  But personally, I’m fine with him remaining somewhat enigmatic.  Though I’d imagine eventually it might be requisite to get a bit deeper with the character.

A very good match with Nick/Bryan.  
 

The three way was decent with Nyla and Rosa carrying Jade through it.  It’s looking like Cargill has the tools but really needs some quality time in the ring.  
 

OC made me laugh out loud during the split screen.  “Wait? What am I doing?”

All the lols.

I love you AEW.

 

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Privilege watching Bryan Danielson wrestle.

I already had Bryan Danielson as the Greatest Wrestler of All Time when he had to retire in February 2016 but he's added to his claim to that title since getting cleared to wrestle again in March 2018. In that time:

  • Only Bryan could be a beloved babyface and hated heel as The New Daniel Bryan.
  • The New Daniel Bryan pushes his ROH World Championship run from September 2005-December 2006 as my favourite period of Danielson's career. The matches as The New Daniel Bryan and the promos chastising consumerism and gluttony.
  • The matches:
  • vs. Brock Lesnar. Survivor Series 2018.
  • A ***** match with AJ Styles. TLC 2018.
  • The Elimination Chamber match vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jeff Hardy at Elimination Chamber 2019.
  • vs. Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania XXXV.
  • vs. The Fiend at Survivor Series 2019 and Royal Rumble 2020.
  • Bryan's last WWE match against Roman Reigns on Smackdown Live, 30th April 2021.
  • The best match in AEW history vs. Kenny Omega at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, 22nd September 2021. *****.
  • vs. Nick Jackson on AEW Rampage, 1st October 2021.

The GOAT.

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I know the current champ is a heel but Andrade really needs the win in that ladder match next week, and it would be just the thing to help him break through that same early run rut that Miro had. Having him have that title shot in his back pocket for a few weeks, interrupting Elite promos backstage doing his shtick and fixing people’s collars and shit.

Though they’ve really backed themselves in a corner now if the Joker ISN’T Hangman, which means it very likely is him / he wins. Like if it’s RVD or whatever ol dude is gonna get Rey Mysterio Rumbled.

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Orange Cassidy vs Jack Evans: Nice pop for Cassidy considering how tired the crowd probably was. Taz telling Starks never to gamble on pro wrestling was funny. Good stuff early with Evans going for the roll up and Cassidy just being Cassidy, but then he snuck in an early backslide and pull the hair around. Hardy still has a good right hand. He was also funny counting quicker than the ref after the 450 on the floor. Evans was definitely living in the moment, interacting with "Mr. Hardy," reacting to the crowd, trying to get the win at all points given the stakes. Right up until the point he wasn't as match lost a little steam and urgency during the heat until the missed top rope move. In general I like the house style of two tries for every big move and it helps with them switching up just which move can't get hit for each wrestler in each match, but maybe it shouldn't be in EVERY match. The idea with HFO and BF/DO coming out was good but I'm not sure I liked how it was shot. Maybe they should have went around once more in the ring before the punch? Bunny's face as Hardy told them to leave was great since she never shows any expression like that. Post match was probably more important so good they gave it time.

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Trying to answer Teflon Turtle's inquiry about OC's behaviour. Now, this in no way related to how AEW has explained it, as I understand from other responses, they haven't addressed it, BUT: maybe OC could get by with the low effort throughout the matches in the indy scene, but has found out the hard way that he can only be himself in the first half of his AEW matches, since this is as big time as professional wrestling gets, he is forced to try at least some of the time, or he will just get killed. And as low effort as he may be, he still prefers not to get crippled by his opposition, even though all this trying is against his very nature? Subconscious survival/self-preservation instinct, or something?

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I wrote up an OC match review on here at one point about how his matches tell the story of millennials’ internal battle between demoralized emotional detachment masquerading as good vibes apathy and the desire to cling to the hope of a better future through good deeds and action. 

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Well in this particular case the Henry promo is a clear out as “well I guess I’ll win the match”

Which reminds me of “he’s gonna TRY!” And man, someone called Best Friends + OC the mascots of AEW a few weeks ago and that’s spot on. If this were 2002 and I was making a Best Of AEW comp they’d be all over it. The heart and soul of the whole thing. 

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9 hours ago, Custos said:

Loved the crowd nailing the chant, the Danielson Special and then the Cattle Mutilation finishing the match with Nick (although Nick's obnoxious hair-dye/jewelry/feathers game was off this week which knocks a couple of snowflakes from the match rating). 

Good to see Jade has some gear that stays on her when she delivers a butt-whipping, agree that she is being built well and this was an okay match with a bit of a crutch from the plunder.

The Mark Henry split-screen special continues to inoffensively but pointlessly exist. And Jack Evans from the Heavens, with the skeeziest look in all of televised wrestling (can't help but imagine him wearing and sleeping in that gear for like a week straight) gets a main event spot and jobs to the clippers with the feel-good finish to a quality hour.

Really?  I love Mark Henry with the split screen.  I've been digging these back and forth early 90s Sean Mooney hosted 'Event Center' style promos.  I just wish they'd linger a little longer on Mark's generous smile.  Lights up a room and the whole show.  And nothing but love for carny heel Matt Hardy.  There's so much life in a Matt Hardy manager/wrestler character and it's wonderful that he's found such an excellent place for his current day/level talent.  Lastly, I really hope Jack takes the aforementioned 'skeeziest look in all of televised wrestling' further and wears his hair as it was left.  Fun segment, fun show.  

p.s. Chuck Taylor really oughtta go with an english or imperial style moustache.

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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I will go back and watch from start to finish but from what I saw taping Rampage after Dynamite sucks. Crowd sat on their hands for Nick and Danielson. They gotta get Dark and Rampage on their own night ASAP. I get that they save a shit tonne of money this way but it really dampens my enthusiasm for the show. 

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23 minutes ago, Jiji said:

I will go back and watch from start to finish but from what I saw taping Rampage after Dynamite sucks. Crowd sat on their hands for Nick and Danielson. They gotta get Dark and Rampage on their own night ASAP. I get that they save a shit tonne of money this way but it really dampens my enthusiasm for the show. 

The audio mix on all of their taped programs has the commentary too high compared to the crowd.  The result is they are flattening the live crowd sound, but you're not wrong.  These marathon tapings are brutal.  Also see every PPV they've had since the first.  4 hours or approx is far too long to keep even a boisterous AEW crowd hyped.  

They oughtta just cut Dark Elevation from the live taping and record two Ramapage segments prior to Dynamite and the Main Event or third segment post.  Keep the live experience to a slick streamlined 3 hours.    

There's no reason why both Dark and Elevation couldn't use the Universal Studios tapings.  They just need to keep the shows to a traditional broadcast style 45 minutes.  Or approx.  And grant my wish of more and more and more promo reps on those shows.  

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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5 hours ago, For Great Justice said:

Though they’ve really backed themselves in a corner now if the Joker ISN’T Hangman, which means it very likely is him / he wins. Like if it’s RVD or whatever ol dude is gonna get Rey Mysterio Rumbled.

*Vince mode on* It'll be Bobby Fish and you'll like it! */Vince mode*

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1 hour ago, HarryArchieGus said:

The audio mix on all of their taped programs has the commentary too high compared to the crowd.  The result is they are flattening the live crowd sound, but you're not wrong.  These marathon tapings are brutal.  Also see every PPV they've had since the first.  4 hours or approx is far too long to keep even a boisterous AEW crowd hyped.  

They oughtta just cut Dark Elevation from the live taping and record two Ramapage segments prior to Dynamite and the Main Event or third segment post.  Keep the live experience to a slick streamlined 3 hours.    

That’s a good idea.

The reason I believe they won’t do it, is because of wrestler moral. A lot of that roster wants to work in front of those big crowds. 

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Thanks everybody who picked up on the OC question. I enjoy his work, but was a bit taken aback when he actually spoke in that "debate" against Jericho and and wondered what the story was ever since.

Now that I've thought about it, so far I've kinda explained it to myself similarly to what @Shartnado posted. In boxing (or I suppose any other combat sport that involves striking) you often hear of fighters who need to get hit once or twice to loosen up and really start going to work. The opposite side of that coin is "everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." I don't really think that's what OC is going for, but it's how things have come across to me on occasion. 

Then again, @LoneWolf&Subs has a good point too. OC could well be setting up traps for his opponents and lulling them in to a false sense of security.

What @(BP) posted seems more like what the OC character is truly about and is actually going for, if we remove the "combat sports" context that I can't help but filter almost everything through.

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With OC, I always figure it's a playing possum/zen sort of thing where so long as he's loose and defying expectations, no one can hurt him and he can use their own momentum against them, but he can't really put anyone above enhancement talent away by being purely reactive, so he has to pick his spot and shift gears at some point. There's variations to it. Sometimes he ends up against someone who can crack the code early and get an advantage on him. Sometimes he breaks from it too early and opens himself up. Sometimes he's able to get it back. Sometimes he decides it's not worth it. I do think the guy behind the character is experienced enough and cares enough to give some thought to how it's going to work against every opponent he faces. Sometimes he gets it right, sometimes less so.

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Geez, that was such an amazing hour of pro wres!

BD & Nick was a clinic. I could watch AmDrag wrestle all day, every day.

3way was fun. I freaking love Thunder Rosa.

Main event was entertaining. And I knew what the ending of the show was going to be, and it still gave me all the feels. 

And those promos they peppered throughout the show were all pretty dope...especially that "who's next?" gist of the Punk and Black ones.

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4 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

I’ve always Interpreted this version of OC as always playing possum.

I think it's there in Jericho's motivation for the Jericho/OC feud, and especially in Jim Cornette's genuine contempt for the act in his podcasts:

in the combat sport context, OC is gaining the psychological edge on his opponents by provoking them with the ultimate disrespect of not taking them seriously.

Turning your back to an opponent, or putting your hands in your pockets, you're telling someone that you are not a threat to me.  To any opponent in a combat sport, this is beyond insulting.  There's an extra wrinkle to this with the worked combat sport of wrestling, especially people with the (relatively) old school mindset of Jericho (and Cornette) who still have some connection to the era when wrestling did purport to be real.  OC dropping his guard reminds the audience that wrestling is a fake show in which a character who "doesn't care" can still plausibly survive and compete against a character who is ostensibly legitimately trying his utmost to win.  To the old school mindset, OC is not just showing his opponent up, he's exposing the business.  A multi-pronged assault on the opponent's aura and reputation. "Harley Race would have killed a motherfucker for pulling this shit. I have to destroy him."

Every second in which they have not yet put away the guy who isn't trying makes them look more and more impotent as fighters.  The longer it takes to put OC away, the more money he's taking out of their pocket.  They have to respond to OC with overwhelming rage and all out assault.  The pressure is on them to destroy him ASAP, and all he has to do is just not let that happen.

allowing OC to rely on defensive wrestling and counter-wrestling.  And defending is easier than attacking.  See every soccer team who has ever parked the metaphorical bus to steal the 1-0 win from a much more talented/skilled team.

The longer it goes, the more desperately angry they get to save face, thus the more mistake prone they become, and the more easily they are defeated by counterattacks.

Edited by BobbyWhioux
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