AEW - NOV 2021

[Ultimo Necro]

I’ve been fantasy booking an El Generico return to wrestling in my head all day. Slow day at work.  I’ve come to the logical conclusion that it has to be in AEW.

Lio Rush and Andrade team up to force a leveraged buy out of Generico’s orphanage (as a front for money laundering or property development purposes).  This forces Generico back to the ring to win the orphanage from the clutches of Andrade.  When he wins he can be carried to the back on the shoulders of the orphans. 

My only worry would be that a debuting Kevin Steen would somehow ruin that feel good moment by throwing Generico off the stage.

The Necro knows… nothing

 

[kafkonia]

What was up with the audio at the beginning of the women's tag on Elevation? The crowd was clearly chanting something and their audio was completely silent...

[Matt D]

15 matches. Agh.

[(BP)]

It happened both times they played Ruby’s theme. For a second I wondered if there’s a rights issue with the song, but it’s not like they cut the whole thing so probably not. 

[kafkonia]

4 minutes ago, (BP) said:

It happened both times they played Ruby’s theme. For a second I wondered if there’s a rights issue with the song, but it’s not like they cut the whole thing so probably not. 

That's what I was thinking. Maybe just the part that's really noticeable?

Also, Matt Lee really looks like the third Young Buck.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

2 minutes ago, kafkonia said:

That's what I was thinking. Maybe just the part that's really noticeable?

Also, Matt Lee really looks like the third Young Buck.

Matt Lee would be the fourth Young Buck, as the third Buck was youngest brother Malachai Jackson.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Nice Guy Eddie

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

Spoiler

THE STREAK IS OVER! (no, it isn't!) 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by MoeCristyV.1.6

[Ace]

35 minutes ago, (BP) said:

It happened both times they played Ruby’s theme. For a second I wondered if there’s a rights issue with the song, but it’s not like they cut the whole thing so probably not. 

Prolly so Youtube doesn't ding or demonetize them.

[Matt D]

Looking forward to @Gordbergseeing the Fuego/Fuego 2 match.

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

26 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Looking forward to @Gordbergseeing the Fuego/Fuego 2 match.

Thank you for the heads up, Matt! It's a crazy week, so I might have missed that. 

I LOVED the strap comes down/strap goes back up and double roll/diving hot tag bits. Legit made me laugh out loud.

Between this and what Kingston wrote about him, I am really starting to like Cody again. (As distinct from being intrigued by him apparently trying to pull off "lawful good unintentional heel" and/or being concerned that he maybe gave himself a serious concussion).

I also loved Tazz on commentary, particularly him musing about how the purple socks might indicate that Fuego dos has ties to the Dark Order, and making a Ding Dongs reference.

Got a kick out of Comoroto using the Polish Hammer (and the single arm gorilla press) as well.

It's a nice feeling that people here know each other's tastes so well that we can make such specific and accurate recommendations. You hit the nail on the head with this one. Exactly my cup of tea.

[Rev Ray]

 

[Peck]

Is the "You guessed it.... Frank-ie Kazarian!" ring introduction a tribute to Norm MacDonald/Frank Stallone?  I never really noticed it until the past month. If so, that's fucking tremendous.

[John from Cincinnati]

3 hours ago, Gordberg said:

Between this and what Kingston wrote about him, I am really starting to like Cody again. 

Please stop making everything be about Cody.

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by John from Cincinnati

[The Green Meanie]

Congrats to Lee Moriarty, for winning his first AEW match!

Also a fan of Heidi Howitzer, though her losing to a foot stomp to Riho of all people was inexcusable. Hopefully we'll see her again.

Edited November 10, 2021 by The Green Meanie

[Nice Guy Eddie]

2 hours ago, Peck said:

Is the "You guessed it.... Frank-ie Kazarian!" ring introduction a tribute to Norm MacDonald/Frank Stallone?  I never really noticed it until the past month. If so, that's fucking tremendous.

This was the first time I've noticed it. Yes, it is tremendous.

[matt925]

If Kingston didn’t realize his match with Cody was a tryout, perhaps he didn’t see this as a tryout for a book deal, but that was something else. 
 

Whenever Mox ends up returning, they are gonna be the Mega Powers. 

[Shartnado]

6 hours ago, Ultimo Necro said:

I’ve been fantasy booking an El Generico return to wrestling in my head all day. Slow day at work.  I’ve come to the logical conclusion that it has to be in AEW.

Lio Rush and Andrade team up to force a leveraged buy out of Generico’s orphanage (as a front for money laundering or property development purposes).  This forces Generico back to the ring to win the orphanage from the clutches of Andrade.  When he wins he can be carried to the back on the shoulders of the orphans. 

My only worry would be that a debuting Kevin Steen would somehow ruin that feel good moment by throwing Generico off the stage.

The Necro knows… nothing

 

Needs to happen. All of this.

[Brian Fowler]

I would love for Steen and Generico to come in, and then be kept completely separate for like a year.

And then have Generico destroy Steen after a big win. No foreshadowing or warning, first interaction they have on TV is Generico finally getting Kevin first.

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

They shouldn't even have shown that Dark Order VS Team Taz match. What the hell was that finishing sequence? 

[AxB]

12 hours ago, (BP) said:

It happened both times they played Ruby’s theme. For a second I wondered if there’s a rights issue with the song, but it’s not like they cut the whole thing so probably not. 

People watching on Fite said it played the whole time, so it cutting out after 30 seconds on YouTube had to be to stop copyright bots auto-claiming the (entire) show.

 

[The Natural]

 

[Matt D]

AEW Dark 11/9/21, all 15 matches. Excuse typos.

Gunn Club vs Dark Order: Pretty fun comedy match. The Gunn Club looked good feeding. Billy was super giving. Just one comedy spot after the other and nothing felt too out of position or over-cooperative to me, really. I'm not saying that if they did it around a loop fifty times that it wouldn't be better, because it would, but for a one off, it came together nicely. Colton should lean into his size, as he matched up well against Uno. Austin should lean into his more annoying qualities. There was one leap over neck whip which was dumb physics wise but that was the only thing in the match that felt incredibly off. Colt vs Gunn was just two pros doing their thing. Then it broke open with the laughs with the crowd into everything. Just feel good CHIKARA shit here with Billy and family stooging up and down. Finish could have looked better though. That I'll say.

Riho vs Howitzer: Uh, this wasn't pretty. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be pretty. Howtizer has 50 matches on Cagematch and maybe Riho just wasn't the right opponent for her? She needed someone goofier? Ryo? Let's just move on.

Solo/Comoroto vs 2 Fast 2 Fuego: The Dark Order match had good comedy spots. This one had me laughing out loud at times. The best part was when he put the strap back on and Excalibur and Taz lost it. I lost it too. Fuego 2 doing the clapping gimmick and the belt gimmick over and over. Oh man. Almost all of this worked for me for what it was. This was way different than the studio match where Fuego 2 just took some offense and got out. He did all kinds of stuff here, the arm drag, the step up rana, the missile dropkick~!, that leap over arm drag. But it was smart at times too, like when he tried it on Comoroto and he just got shrugged off. Comoroto was a beast in there, like always. That spot with the single arm press was amazing. And Solo looked the best I've ever seen him. This is his role, comedy spoiler jerk. He showed way more here than in the Danielson match. They both based really well for the Fuegos. It's probably too soon to get cutesy with the reverse DDT and Fuego 1 doing the Cross Rhodes, but in general, this was compelling stuff.

Sammy/Hager vs Koko Lane/Luke Langley: Not a lot to say here. Maybe would have liked to see more shine out of Sammy. He did one nice little kip up thing. The pick by Hager was good. I haven't seen him wrestle much in years. Lane/Langley didn't get to show too much. I don't think anyone really maximized their time out there but Sammy and Hager seemed like a unit at least. Post-match was fine and put some heat on there. Honestly, if given the time, I would have had Sammy and Hager against some more MMA type guys instead maybe?

Best Friends vs Vega/Jackson/Bengston: A lot of motion here. The bookends with Cassidy were pretty funny. I thought Yuta looked much better here than on Elevation on Monday, hitting a lot of the stuff smoothly that looked bumpy then. Some good presence and charisma too. Jackson's squatting suplex thing was good but it sort of involved Yuta just hanging out too long. Vega was a good jerk. Taylor's awful waffle piledriver thing is nuts. It's weird they didn't mention Cassidy being in Rocky's corner upcoming. Oh, I liked the Foot thing into the German too. Good enhancement match with a little bit of drama but mostly the faces getting their stuff (both moves and quirks) in and looking good.

Dante Martin vs Frankie Kazarian: Fun stuff that got the job done though it could have used maybe just another minute or two. I liked the armdrag war and it made sense but Kazarian had two fake outs, one where he wasn't there for an arm drag and another where he wasn't for a sunset flip and both were a little iffy for me if only because you don't see them often, if ever, and it makes you wonder why no one else avoids the holds like that. Nitpick maybe. Finish worked for the story they were telling. These are the wins Dante needs under his belt.

Rosa/Statlander/Ryo vs Hayter/Rebel/Emi: They run these basically every show now and they're always fun. Lulu got to mug on the corner splash (the endless set up corner splash) but without the usual energy since she's been whacked by her boss a couple of shows now. Rebel did a bunch of stuff and about half was viable and half was goofy but good effort. The spot where Statlander stacked all the heels worked. I wouldn't say this had much structure but it was fun and fairly effective and furthered Soho vs Statlander upcoming. Probably not as fun as the Ryo/Soho tag though.

Moriarty/Sydal vs 2.0: This was about establishing the team but more so than that, it was about giving Sydal a hometown win. While I think they need to keep doing more to establish Lee, that's not what this was about. Here he was a really good FIP with 2.0 cutting off the ring. I thought Parker was great in the way he kicked Moriarty into the corner and then did the lunging cut off. They had one really beautiful just missed tag attempt before he finally got it. Then Sydal got to look great in the stretch as 2.0 fed and fed. I saw Danielson do that little kick in mid air to get out of a suplex and it's good stuff here too. Nice, sound tag match.

Rose vs Lynn: Another match where Tootie hits a few shots early but then gets eaten up so we can't say too much about her, though she sold well for Nyla here. The corner charge was a very believable way to just shut her down. I like that Nyla, being a monster, has three viable finishers. She seems like she's having more fun lately, maybe?

Andrade vs Warhorse: Really gave Warhorse nothing here, but some of that was the cute opening gambit which did as much to get Andrade over in this match as ten of his big moves would have. Maybe a little bit of a shame given that he was obviously over with the crowd, but it was a way of Andrade spoiling things for them, I suppose.

Dark Order vs Team Taz: I liked a lot of this, I did. Hobbs controlling the center of the ring, knowing more or less what to give, keeping things at his methodological pace; they're all what I want to see out of him. Angels is a perfectly fine face in peril. 10 is a good hot tag given his size and fire, and Starks is always up to something and worth watching. It did break down in the end. Some of that's on the wrestlers and some is on the style where tags don't matter for the last third and people just do crap and some is on the ref who lost sight of who the legal man was. There was plenty of good in this one though and it was more of the sort of win Hobbs needed.

Conti vs Gordy: I've never seen Gordy but this was about heating up Conti so not much to see here. Frustrating that they have two matches in a row with those running kicks into the corner (10 did them too). Also the DDTAY looks too much like Andrade's finish and that was just two matches before. Maybe that's a problem with a 15 match Dark. Maybe it's a problem with the style. Maybe they need the producers talking just a little more. Maybe it only bugs me?

Wardlow vs Mantell: Another nothing match, which is a shame as Wardlow getting imaginative about how he kills guys is usually fun. The imagination here was Spears hitting a DVD post-match with an apple in his mouth which wasn't very fun.

Darby vs Marshall: I have to pay attention to this because I don't know that Phil and Eric will go back to it for Monday. Marshall is someone that I think would have more value if he worked like 83 JJ Dillon, Bobby Heenan, Paul Jones, a guy who can bump, who can get some mean shots in, who can even lean on people when he has an advantage, but not someone throwing suplexes or jumping off the top rope. There's value in having a heel manager that can work and bump and stooge and that has stuff that looks good, but it's not necessarily in having him go all out and try to have great matches. There are a bunch of managers and seconds on the roster, but they're all older and shouldn't be bumping or more non-wrestling looking guys like Andrade's assistant. I get why QT wants to go out and be more of a player/coach than just a coach of the Factory though. I just don't think he has as much value as he might leaning hard, at 36, into being what Paul Jones and JJ Dillon were five years later in 83. Ok, the match: Early on, I liked how all the motion was about getting over Darby; Marshall would use his strength to redirect Allin or force him up, but it was all about Darby smoothly recovering and keeping the motion going. Darby countering the suplex in midair with a kick is the third time in a week I saw that sort of spot. Have I just not been paying attention or is it a new zeitgeist spot thing? Marshall said he was out there because Sting hurt him and to help MJF who is his friend, but he was only ever going to put a chink or two in Darby's armor. It's not that the belly to belly and top rope headbutt didn't look good, but Marshall probably would have stood out more with a chinlock with his feet on the ropes and a Memphis headlock hiding a punch. I liked the comeback and the suddenness of the coffin drop, where instead of just sitting around, you could buy that Marshall had no idea where he was or what was about to happen. Marshall is an office guy and from what people say, valued and essential. In ring, he'd probably be more of a boon to the promotion and his own stable if he owned how he could best make impact.

HFO vs Christian/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus: There's a mini feud from earlier this year with Christian vs the HFO that I do need to go back for. I haven't seen a ton of Christian as of yet and he's one of my favorites ever. Here he was a solid face-in-peril, getting the crowd behind him and hyping things up for the Luchasaurus tag. The one spin kick by Luchasaurus was protected by the camera switch but seemed fine and everything else he did was working big, so no problem there. After watching 15 matches, my patience for "everything has broken down" complex tag sequences is at a low point. I did like how the HFO were made up of disparate talents and Kassidy showing a decent amount of attitude.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Matt D

[Technico Support]

Excalibur and Taz wondering about "the bruise on Fuego 2's neck" had me LOLLin.  "He had the bruise before the match started!"  "Well we don't know what Fuego 2 got into last night, Taz!"

[Ace]

Only the first 3 minutes (Kingston's Opus) are important.

 

[Technico Support]

"I am your karma, Phil, and I'm gonna get you."

SHOOT NAMES HAVE BEEN UTTERED