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Three solid matches, little bullshit, and a killer lineup for next week's shows set up. It really doesn't have to be hard, now does it?!

Jesus. what a wad of wrestling. The Kingston/Garcia match was so fucking good. Garcia should have gotten in his Scorpion Deathlok. The High Angle German was fucking NASTY. (EDIT: Correction, upon rewatching of the match, that was actually a high angle Tequila Sunrise Suplex.) Garcia was fucking intense and looked fucking great. I loved how Kingston cut him off with a different AJPW finisher each time. Man, Rhio came to wrestle. She layed it in more than fucking Eddie Kingston tonight. Britt Baker was better than I've ever seen her also, ring generalship and shit. This was Baker's best match. The opening match was also spectacular because it had all the fucking around that I haven't seen this much since the last time I saw Lazortron and Jimmy Boogie Woogie Man Valient tag together BUT then Bobby Fish comes in channeling Takashi Sugiura and just becomes awesome. WAY TO GO, AEW~!

It's smart of them to hold back Dynamite matches for a Friday night reveal. That's one of the biggest strengths of the promotion right now. It's like Christmas every week when they announce new matches. The roster is so big. The potential match-ups are so plentiful and interesting. Some things are within an existing storyline. Some things open up new storylines. It's that "opening a pack of cards as a kid" feeling when they announce the weekly line-ups, that same feeling I got every day on my commute home 6 years ago when the new NWAonDemand match would drop or a couple of years later on Wednesday afternoon when news of the WWE Hidden Gems release would leak. The closest thing on a weekly basis for new material was when I was following CMLL closely, but that didn't hit nearly as hard because the weekly line-ups had so little effort put into them. With AEW, there's so much effort and care.

Yeah, this time there was a top rope finisher and IT WON THE MATCH. Good job boys.

AEW has exposed long time fans like me to a whole new set of wrestlers like Garcia, 2.0 etc. And giving them time on the mains tag to shine on TV with older vets. And a willingness of the vets to let the young guys look good. After being force fed for years the same names it feels like, its just refreshing and daring. BUT the are using Dark and Elevation much like a TBS show to let the younger talent get reps. It feels like the older vets feel a responsibility to help the younger talent versus protecting their spot.

I agree, the Ass Children shouldn’t be feuding with Darby and it’s a waste of everyone’s time. They should be dethroning the tag champs and Billy should squash Hangman. All hail, the Asses!

Enjoyable show. I liked how Garcia vs Kingston went a lot of places. There was a ton of meat to that match and it told a whole bunch of stories at once. There was Kingston beating Garcia down and the weight advantage, Kingston getting goaded enough to go up to the top and hurt his own knee, the knee as a bridge to the great equalizer in the ear, a vulnerable Kingston working to throw suplexes, Garcia still wanting to prove something with strike exchanges, 2.0 on the outside, etc. A lot of stuff going on there. I loved the Punk/Garcia match but there was a lot more going on here. Yuta looked good. I liked the Cole/Cassidy stuff because it had stakes. It absolutely had stakes. It mattered to the wrestlers, not in a ha-ha cosmic sort of thing, but in a pride and pop thing. Cole wanted the best pop from the crowd. He wanted the adulation. He didn't want to get clowned. Cassidy wanted to do his thing since Cole got to do his and he wanted to get under Cole's skin. So they fought tooth and nail over the moment. If you think of it about pride, it's true to the characters. I liked the gamesmanship in the finishing stretch where Cole may have given Yuta a move to get another one in a moment later. In general, the balance between heat and finishing stretch is all messed up in the tags of the last 10 years and the heat being in the PIP (even if I wasn't watching it that way) doesn't help. Liked Riho vs Britt. I had a Tito Santana in 1990 PTW moment where I didn't know where Riho was going to go after she hit the double stomp and there was a kick out (Taz was right: Britt should have grabbed the rope), so it was nice to see her actually win. Usually after Tito hit the forearm and the guy flew out of the ring, that was the end of any hope Tito had of winning. Weird that you had two Team Taz guys on commentary and no one asked about Dante.

Always love seeing Riho back in a great showcase match, good stuff as usual with her and Britt. Solid hour overall. Next week's shows looking stacked already.

As always, a great hour of wrestling. I particularly enjoyed Cole/Fish vs. Best Friends. Nice to see Bobby Fish pick up the win.

There was some really good pro wrestling on Rampage this week. I liked how the opener mixed goofiness, athleticism, and violence. I missed a big chunk of Riho vs DMD (my younger daughter wanted my attention) but what I saw looked great. Riho's offense is looking more believable now than when she was champ. I'm sure Garcia vs Kingston was (almost) everyone here's cup of tea, and rightfully so. I'll bet at least one person is going to say that Kingston gave Garcia too much (and if you feel that way, fair enough, I suppose) but I love love love love love how a lot of the veteran/higher-card AEW wrestlers can be so giving in the ring with younger/lower-card guys. It's one of my favourite things about this promotion.

Bruce Prichard--"The Red Rooster gimmick was not a burial. It would've worked if he committed to it!" The Internet--"Imma just leave this here...."

It's a rehab feud that will likely have Show be the third man on Darby's side to even the numbers. It shouldn't last more than another couple of weeks and he needs to beat somebody after losing on back to back PPVS. I don't love the Gunn Club eating up tv time but they had to eventually get promoted after their run on Dark and Austin is a solid poor man's Buff Bagwell. AEW needs more of those guys. I am usually hosting DnD Fridays so I'm busy scrambling around preparing for that, but what I saw of Kingston/Garcia I loved for all the reasons Matt D mentioned. I really liked what I saw of Britt and Riho, though I didn't like how big of an upset they made it seem with Riho being the first women's champ in the division. They've done a real poor job of featuring her since her return. The TBS and tag belts can't come soon enough.

I love tape delay ‘Saturday morning wrestling’. I dug this one like all the Ramapagists in here. I didn’t have a big complaint to share until @DEANmentioned Cole and Fish really should have given us the big hug. I was wondering during this match if Cole putting some attention towards OC could lead to the Cool Kyle-OC showdown i’ve been waiting for since reading about that, perhaps, misguided NXT try. I liked Baker-Riho, but thought Britt looked a bit out of sorts a few times in there. Also, flash pins work a lot better in combo with a solid move. The Reversal flash pin in this context looked a wee bit weak. That said, good bout and overall the Women’s division has picked up some momentum in recent weeks. Putting the right performers and matches on TV is important. I’m not sure that attack from Nese was enough for Sammy to be sprawled out barely conscious. Or is a knee from Nese that devastating? Maybe it is. If Nese has any upward mobility he’s probably gonna need a manager. Tho, a low card gatekeeper role is just fine too. 2.0 and Garcia are the goddamn chef’s kiss! Loved, on Dynamite, Parker telling Jericho to watch his mouth. Jericho’s keen eye for the up and comers, I predict, is going to lead to 2.0 getting a much deserved big win on their slow road to the top.

Garcia/Kingston was so fucking good. Eddie on a hell of a run. Garcia/Danielson plz

Gary having a worse time with Bill Mercer than if he talked to his uncle about politics this Thanksgiving

I’m here for Andrade randomly losing his pants and Cody unexpectedly taking a Black Mass to the ribs

Before they were stars - everyone who didn't look fun enough to be a Rosebud edition.

I LOVE how Eddie’s solution to the backfist getting ducked is…another backfist! Nice.

Looks like Sam Kinison A few thoughts on Eddie Kingston. Eddie Kingston reminds me of Paul Heyman's description of the Tommy Dreamer character "the man oppressed". He's the ultimate underdog character so he should lose most of his feuds. He the hero in the greek tragedy who continually reaches beyond his grasp, if he ever went on a long winning streak he'd lose all that. And I think if he ever does win the Big One, he should immediately lose to MJF

you guys: Metroid Dread is really good.

From ICW No Holds Barred #20: Hoodfoot vs Satu Jinn:

The ONE TIME a falcon arrow finishes a match and we don't get Excalibur's "No one kicks out of the falcon arrow" call. Really loved the dueling BAY BAYs and keeping Cassidy from getting his hands in his pockets. Not sure what the plans are for the Elite going forward but I'm hoping this Fish/Cole team has some legs, would love to see them vs. Penta and Fenix at some point. 2.0 and Garcia is such a bizarre pairing and it's amazing how these two goofballs have taken murder submission kid under their wing and they just work so well together. King's "just shut up, just shut up, please shut up" popped me pretty good.

They did UWF rules.

Sammy's had injured ribs for weeks. Like he was too hurt to take part in the pre-PPV Bowling Tournament (but still did a Flip Senton off a ladder ON the PPV). The Jay Lethal match was built around him selling the midsection. And Nese's promo was all about how he'd been scouting the opposition. So obviously he went after the injury.

No filler on this one, absolutely great show. The only nitpick I have is that didn't love Britt losing on TV, but the match itself was great.

Sami and Roman have never wrestled one on one on television. I also wish this were taking place at a point where I could get excited. I think the world of both.

OH! Why didn't Cole and Fish do the Best Friends hug at the end? THEY WON.

That Harlem heat gear though..

First tag team to ever win the WWE Women's tag belts, and the Impact Knockouts tag belts. Might be a bit of a long wait for the second team to ever do that.

The crack potatoes were a big hit with the baby. Her mom would give her a little spoonful and when she wasn't ready with another one, the baby would start waving her hand and then look at her father like "Can we hurry this along?"

Hiroshi Tanahashi is so likeable. One of the best to ever do it. Tanahashi's in my top ten GOAT.

Along similar lines, I guess, I was watching Dynamite with my girlfriend last night and during the Billy Gunn match, the subject of steroids came up while we were marvelling at a nearly 60 year old man being in such great shape. She's wholeheartedly got into wrestling since meeting me last year, mainly AEW with a bit of NJPW, and has read Jim Smallman's history book, but doesn't have the insane reserves of pointless nerd knowledge I've built up in 30 years of being a fan. So, I was explaining the Ass: Origins story as far as him being fired from his agent/trainer job in WWE for preparing too enthusiastically for a bodybuilding competition, and had to acknowledge that, as far as I knew, AEW didn't drug test (correct me if I'm wrong, but if they do it'd be the first I'd heard of it). Which is not ideal, and it'd be great if they did, but it got me thinking that what might be more beneficial than testing for steroids etc. is creating an environment where wrestlers aren't pressurised into doing them. They've demonstrated so far that, if you can project as a star, wrestle good matches and get over with the crowd, you can look like Darby Allin or a Young Buck (this is where someone who can spot these things tells me they're juiced to infinity) and still get a major push. And if you have to take time off, for whatever reason, you can rest assured you'll get a huge, featured comeback to a major pop, instead of going in the boss's black book of unreliable talent. That sort of culture seems like a better deal than rigorous wellness testing that still seems to mysteriously miss anyone above a certain level in the hierarchy, although some form of drug testing may obviously still be worthwhile, even at the cost of a slightly less vast Ass Gentleman.

Best wishes to Jim Ross.

Some more general navel-gazing, in the form of two old zen stories that have helped me get through pandemic life and even find a kind of upside in things slowing down so much: A great scholar approached the Buddha. "I have questions I want to ask you. I am told you are the only one who can answer them." " I will answer your questions, " replied the Buddha, "but I have a requirement. First you must study beside me in silence for one year. You are not yet ready to hear the answers to your questions. You must first clear your mind of preconceptions." The great scholar agreed to the requirement. He sat in silence for a year. The Buddha said to him, "You may ask your questions now." The scholar remained silent. He no longer had any questions. An eager young athlete approached a martial arts master. "I have mastered many martial arts. Now I want to master yours. How long will it take?" " Ten years, " replied the master. "That's too long!" Replied the athlete. I am very fit and strong and have a great deal of experience. I can, and will, train fourteen hours a day every day and work harder than any other student. In that case, how long will it take? " "Twenty years, at least." ?

Haven't laughed this hard in awhile.

With you quoting the picture I sooo assumed you meant full capacity in Tony's pants at first... lmao

For old times sake:

This. Air Allin.

Your traditional Black Friday Deal Match: Riho vs DMD Kingston vs Garcia, which, holy moley yes please!! A team without Trent ? or tennis shoes but is still clearly Best Friends vs Bay Bay Fish (Doot dootdoot dootdootdoot) Edit: It occurs to me that Dinosaur (good ole) Jr very nearly use the "Baby Shark" rhythm in this song (and also a heavier version of it in Watch the Corners) so here is something nice to listen to before the Road To:

The entire state of Ohio has to be pissed because not only is Ohio State out of top 4 but it is going to be very interesting if they put Cincinnati over Michigan. I guess Cincy hope that Ohio State doesn't just drop to 4

They did it. They finally fucking did it

He is in the "Mid major studios needs someone with at least a little name recognition for their action movie that would have been straight-to-DVD 15 years ago and they're not too choosy" stage of his career. He's a primary beneficiary of studios pushing out an absurd amount of content. He's also producing pretty much everything he is in, which will help keep your career somewhat off life support.

NHK BS Premium will be airing a special TV documentary on Antonio Inoki and his battle with his hospitalization. Tanahashi appears. The documentary was produced by NHK and KENSO.

This looks like a perfect place for that one meme. "You say I looked like 12, when I was in a Eddie Murphy movie" "I was 25 when Eddie Murphy was in a movie with me" "We are not the same"

The harder he tries the thicker his accent gets. He could have literally laid an egg their was no way he was getting pushed with a voice that sounds like nails on a chalkboard to Vince.

My name is just a random word I made up so it would be easier to not find it in use elsewhere. Used to have Thanatos as a last name which was related more to my interest in mythology (mostly Greek) and general idea of death characters being kind of cool when you're younger. I thought as much. Kind of surprised no one else seemed to guess this.