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also Jeff Cobb in AEW = Dario Cueto is the Exalted One do it do it do iiiiiittt

Oh and the days sober graphic is hilarious

What blows me away about Riho is how she gets herself over in every match. The first three minutes of a Riho match usually involve the crowd not knowing how to react to a sub-100-lber's offense. The last three minutes tend to be the loudest reactions of the night. It's some of the most meaningful Underdog Pro Wrestling to happen on modern national stage.

I'm going to state an uncomfortable truth here. Adam Page is not a drinker. He sips his beers like a polite high school girlfriend who is hanging out with your "field party" crew for the first time and is quite frankly concerned that you would associate with them.

Yup. I'm also really tired of Ross comparing guys to the wrestlers of yesteryear. Once is fine but he does it every single time. Darby Allin is just like Jeff Hardy because both are, I suppose, skinny white, face-painted daredevils. Adam Page is Steve Austin. I got so tired of his schtick watching NJPW on AXS. YES JIM GOTO IS JUST LIKE BRET HART PLEASE TELL ME AGAIN. Holy fuck. And you know he couldn't resist getting some release for his perennial Steve Williams hardon, comparing Cobb to Dr. Death. Promoting every wrestler like he's the next somebody else does them all such a disservice and makes AEW look second rate. "HAY GUYS YOU LIKED THOSE GUYS IN THAT BIGGER COMPANY RIGHT? WE GOT GUYS JUST LIKE THEM HERE!" Also, he just had to make sure to tell us, after Dustin Rhodes insulted Hager's MMA career, that Hager is most definitely NOT failing at MMA and that, essentially, Dustin was bullshitting. Holy fuck what non-heel announcer does that to a babyface? God forbid an Oklahoma boy is made to look bad. He's just constantly pulling shit like this, counterproductive stuff that advances nothing except inject his own opinions and pet peeves. The guy goes into business for himself more than a multi-level-marketing addicted housewife. Great point. While watching the match, I was really thinking about what Nyla in WWE would look like and just dreading anything I thought up. We'd at the very least get SHE'S NOT LIKE MOST GIRLS~! wink wink bullshit, if not outright dogwhistle transphobia. We'd most likely get the gimmick where other women wrestlers don't want to face her because of her "advantage" of being born male and there'd be this whole controversy angle. It's amazing that AEW makes no reference to it at all and they should be applauded. No need to retread anything else everyone else has written here. Great show, great company.

He reminds me of Ed, the crazy hyena from The Lion King.

Santana's promo about his father was fucking fantastic.

They've been building Nyla back up since she lost the title. That was easily the best women's match in the promotion to date. Better than the title decider, which was a fine match performed to nuclear heat. Tonight's match was significantly better in-ring and had a similar reaction. Awesome. Riho was fantastic in her selling and some of the creative spots. The Omega move exchange was a really nice idea that added greatly and ratcheted up after that series. Tag title match was really fucking good pro wrestling. A kind of match I've been hoping to see more of. More storytelling, less move spamming. Omega is so over in every town despite not being a featured act. Page is money. SCU worked really well as desperate babyfaces willing to wrestle a little dirty and very gritty. Mean SCU >>> shitty NAO SCU. Austin a great crowd. Not Huntsville great, but great. Meltz is right. MJF has improved significantly in the ring the past year or so. Crazy with how little wrestling he's done. And he's like 2K20 Tully Blanchard. Jungle Boy continues to impress and both of these guys are receiving huge reactions from the audience. Star level reactions. I like quick strike Jungle Boy more than flippy Jungle Boy but I get it. Way better match than what I was expecting and what their combined experience would suggest. Another FULL GEAR Pac promo in the streets. Dig him touching on Kenny's momentum/Sad Boy Kenny. What a great man. Moxley's matches are usually the main event so I understand why the crowd isn't super into his matches but I don't think it's just that. When he has to have a match that exceeds 5+ minutes, there are long bouts of him selling that just aren't interesting. A fine match but probably the weakest of the bunch on a show filled with very good-to-great wrestling. What an absolute beauty of a pro wrestling show. Agree 100% that this is peak Nitro in the modern age. Adore this. Regarding the dramatic improvement in quality/consistency of the show, Meltzer reported that (after?) December 15th is when Khan took on a more active role in the booking/direction. That's exactly when the quality in the show picked up bigly. Show is absolutely on fire.

The Bellas certainly deserve to be in more than Torrie Wilson, but I don't remember this much venom being sent her way. It's weird that people transfer their hatred for the Johnny Ace Diva Search Era to the Bellas. It's like the Randy Orton hate in that it seems to be based on what they represent rather than anything they've actually done. Nikki busted her ass to improve in the ring, and in the process kept up with the women referred to on this board as some of the best women's wrestlers in the world.

Blues riff in B, watch him for the changes and try to keep up?

I legit don't know how many years it's been since I saw a wrestling show that good. Riho vs. Rose was fucking amazing. Riho might be the best worker in the company.

If Ol Dirty Bastard and Luigi had a baby, it would be Ortiz.

Best episode of Dynamite in its short lifetime. Probably the best episode of TV wrestling I’ve watched in a long time. Also for a small market town, Cedar Park felt like it was Baltimore in the 80’s. Whoever directed this should walk out before the end of the night, and take a bow.

I remember a few years back someone pointing out that real progress isn't having a face with an LGBTQ+ gimmick, it's having an LGBTQ+ wrestler that doesn't have that as their gimmick. I think Nyla's a good example of that. And, yes, I also shudder to think what WWE would do with her.

It's like CM Punk said 6 yrs ago about the part timers coming in. 50+ yr old Goldberg comes and takes up a main spot that someone else could have filled and made it much more interesting.

For those curious to what was said during the PIP with Nyla... Tony Khan’s Awkward Hugs > Triple H photo op

They let you on the field because they thought you knew Neil Peart.

I know this is usually a no judgement zone, but I'd wake up and jump out the window if I dreamed of a Honky Tonk Man match.

He was just practicing on choking up on the bat

The show was incredibly great and AEW is firing on all cylinders. I really hope this eventually leads to bigger ratings and consistently fuller arenas but as it is they're in a great spot. One big takeaway I got from the Riho/Nyla match was that it felt unexpected in that if she was going to lose the title it would be at the PPV. I was in a state of shock at first that a PPV-quality match would happen with that result on free TV. But that quickly wore off and we were just so incredibly happy for Nyla, my wife especially who is such a huge fan of hers. What's cool is that Nyla is the first transgender person to win a championship in a national promotion (not sure of smaller companies) and as wonderful as that is the talk is focused on her having an awesome match. Which shows that A.) They didn't have her win to beat some message into the ground and B.) Nyla won because she very much earned it given how much she's improved and the story they're telling. So that's really cool to see and I just couldn't be happier for Nyla. But I do adore Riho a ton so it was kind of sad seeing her lose it.

Satanico, Mephisto, & Averno vs Ultimo Guerrero, Mascara Magica, Rey Bucanero, & Tarzan Boy - Infierno en el Ring. I get so pumped up from this. El Satanico comes off like such a hero. MS1 vs Sangre Chicana. Mom at ringside. @The Natural & @Eivion already posted the link, but HOLY DEMON ARMY VS MISAWA AND KOBASHI. Kenta Kobashi crawling at the end is such a legendary moment.

What a watershed moment for Britt Baker. She has found her inner douchebag. I am so proud of her.

Great show and I'm kicking myself for not going. Britt Baker wants heel heat? Talk shit about Whataburger!!!

What did I tell you. Great episodes never translate to great ratings. Time for the Sabian & Ford wedding.

The latest from pseudo wrestling INSIDERZ~! is that Undertaker will be wrestling at Mania and his opponent is AJ Styles

Or taking a canadian destroyer off the top rope and kicking out at 2

JR was saying on his latest podcast that they're looking for athletic big guys. Cobb of course is a move in that direction, even though he's not the tallest dude. He also said re: Cornette's vocal criticism, with Conrad specifically bringing up the "All Petite Wrestling" thing: "He's very set in his ways. He knows what he likes. He knows how wrestling, in his view, should be positioned. And I'm not disagreeing with that. It's just that sometimes the message gets a little bit, I think, coarse, very overly-generalized. You know, we know what we have, we know what we need. I think basically Corny's pointing out the obvious. He's not providing any information that I've seen that's new and revolutionary. It's the same thing that many of us say behind the scenes." Coming (hopefully) soon to AEW: Big meaty men, bumpin' meat!

That kid is probably a jerk too. No mercy.

Plus 26 matches in NJPW (credit to cagematch.de): 14.10.2002 Jushin Thunder Liger, Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask defeated American Dragon, Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero (12:26) 20.10.2002 American Dragon, Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero defeated Heat, Jushin Thunder Liger & Masahito Kakihara (11:17) 25.10.2002 American Dragon, Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue (14:21) 26.10.2002 Junior Triathlon Survivor Tournament Semi Final: Heat, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask defeated American Dragon & Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) [2:1] (15:00) 03.11.2002 Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata defeated American Dragon & Scott Norton (16:56) 06.03.2003 Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Fujita defeated American Dragon, Stampede Kid & Tiger Mask (14:10) 11.03.2003 El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated American Dragon & Stampede Kid (13:21) 14.03.2003 AKIRA, American Dragon, Heat & Stampede Kid defeated Gedo, Jado, Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto (14:26) 17.03.2003 AKIRA, American Dragon, Masahito Kakihara & Stampede Kid defeated Gedo, Jado, Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto (9:27) 20.03.2003 Gedo, Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Fujita defeated AKIRA, American Dragon, Heat & Stampede Kid (12:11) 23.03.2003 American Dragon, Heat & Stampede Kid defeated Gedo, Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger (11:21) 24.11.2003 IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Qualification Tournament Semi Final: El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated American Dragon & Katsushi Takemura (13:31) 26.11.2003 Gedo, Jado & Katsushi Takemura defeated American Dragon, Jushin Thunder Liger & Wataru Inoue (11:29) 30.11.2003 Eight Man Elimination: American Dragon, El Samurai, Jushin Thunder Liger & Wataru Inoue defeated Dick Togo, Gedo, Jado & Katsushi Takemura (26:14) 05.12.2003 El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated American Dragon & Tiger Mask (11:38) 07.12.2003 American Dragon & Shinya Makabe defeated Jushin Thunder Liger & Yutaka Yoshie (13:36) 11.12.2003 Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata defeated American Dragon & Scott Norton (14:18) 31.01.2004 New Japan Rumble: Curry Man defeated American Dragon und Gedo und Heat und Jado und Jushin Thunder Liger und Katsushi Takemura und Koji Kanemoto und Ryusuke Taguchi und Tiger Mask (29:06) 12.02.2004 Heat, Masayuki Naruse & Tiger Mask vs. American Dragon, Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto - Time Limit Draw (20:00) 12.02.2004 Heat, Masayuki Naruse & Tiger Mask vs. American Dragon, Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto - Time Limit Draw (5:00) 13.02.2004 Heat, Masayuki Naruse & Tiger Mask defeated American Dragon, Curry Man & Jushin Thunder Liger (11:39) 19.03.2004 American Dragon, Curry Man & Scott Norton defeated El Samurai, Jushin Thunder Liger & Osamu Nishimura (14:14) 01.06.2004 Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata defeated Pirates Gundan (Kensuke Sasaki & Manabu Nakanishi) & American Dragon (18:13) 07.06.2004 Best Of The Super Junior XI Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [7] defeated American Dragon [5] (13:10) 23.10.2004 American Dragon & James Gibson defeated CTU (Jushin Thunder Liger & Katsushi Takemura) (10:53) 30.11.2004 CTU (Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Tanaka) American Dragon & James Gibson (10:07)

Even more comical - their owner flat out said "We believe this didn't impact the game"

So I had a wrestling dream a bit ago. We were at a fever-dream carnival and at the end of the night there was supposed to be a wrestling match featuring the Honkey Tonk Man. So we walked to this stage with a curtain and when it rose up it was just a killed jobber with pieces of a busted guitar laying around. That's it, shows over. The strange thing is apparently this was the funniest GD thing I ever saw because I was laughing so hard it woke me up. Then I couldn't stop laughing and my wife woke up and was wondering what the hell was wrong with me and what was so funny. And it still makes me laugh a little. And before anyone suggests it, I'll print this post out and take it to therapy.

Thought commentary was particularly strong on this one. They all sounded really genuinely invested in the women's title match.

Sign Cobb, have him watch a shitload of Ishii matches, tell him this is who you are now - you're our version of the Stone Pitbull, and go knock em dead.

The Goldface/Amunet stuff on Flash this week, was some of the most fun writing the show has done in a while. Is Amunet the biggest heel on the show for slagging on "OK Computer"????? I really wish Goldface had a different name, because I keep wanting to call him Goldenface, and that is someone ENTIRELY different.

Whilst on the subject...Mr Mayhem is largely the most ill fitting nickname for a guy who stands there reserved, doesn't speak and rarely gets involved.

Had a dream about wrestling (kind of) just there, after watching Dynamite. My band got offered a gig playing as a backing band for Darby Allin. We didn’t practice or listen to any of his songs but when we went on stage he said “just wing it, all the songs are just C and D chords”. And also, I was naked on stage. Gotta love a good anxiety / wrestling dream.

The Outsider is slowing turning into an extended episode of The Night Stalker and it's great. Holly Gibney is Karl Kolchack with savant syndrome. I find her Holmes-eque "remove the absurd and whatever facts are left, however outlandish, must be true" acceptance of the nature of the Outsider to be very refreshing. Proper research and deductive reasoning allows the fantastic to pass the sniff test of reasonable skepticism. If it walks and talks and acts like a boogeyman, it's a boogeyman.

Hope that news is true. Liger is a given for any pro wrestling HoF. The Bellas aren't a bad pick for women. They left WWE on good terms with it pretty much being known they were coming back at some point. For the main roster technically they were. The whole GiveDivasaChance thing started because of them, and they were the leading heels for 3/4 NXT Horsewomen when they came up.

“Somebody call Pat...I thought Mascaras was taller, pal.”

Jeff Cobb is supposed to be one of the nicest guys in wrestling. Like him way more as a bad ass than cool dude.

with a Hugh G Rection to follow.

If Bret wanted to move that machine, he should have contacted Slippery Pete and Shlomo. - RAF

This is the best pro wrestling show in the country. Santana almost got me to tear up talking about his dad. Everything was amazing. Holy shit that Riho vs Nyla match.

What a pairing, William Regal and Tajiri.

Who knew that Britt Baker could be one of the best heels in wrestling. Holy shit.

What an episode. Made Jeff Cobb feel like a big deal. Super psyched to be there for his debut next week...

Apparently Batista & Taker had been going in on the assumption that they would be going on last (or close to it) and would have a whole bunch of match time. Then right before the show they found out they were going on 5th from top and had much less. So they cut all the rest spots out of their match plan and decided to go super balls out and steal the show.

actual headline from the Jackson Clarion-Ledger (behind their paywall): "Mississippi gave Ted Dibiase $2M in welfare money" (it involves the Brett Dibiase indicted for embezzlement story and Ted's ministry) We may have found a wrestling family crime story as good as the Windham family counterfeiting ring story.