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FUUUUUUUCK.

Whoever was saying maybe Stu Grayson would end up back in AEW.... you called it! https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1636545766058766342

Rock/Foley/Too Cool/Rikishi vs HHH/X-Pac/Saturn/Benoit/Malenko.

Oh and while I'm not big on the Saraya stuff, her shouting out. "I am a miracle!" was a good bit.

I hate that Twitter stuff either works or doesn't (thanks, Tesla dude!) But Stu was such a needed missing piece for Dark Order that I'm incredibly happy to see him back. I'm so here for him and Uno to tear it up and unleash The Fatality on many a team. And you know what, fuck it let's put some respect on that graphic. Also wanted to point out Hangman alluded to The Elite on this weeks BTE. He accidentally touched the photo of him with them, looked at it for a few seconds then turned it around. It almost seems like a crutch to go back to this but his stuff with The Elite is one of my favorite angles they've done. So yeah let's see how things go. Oh, and I quickly found out that as much as I love Taya my wife has a HUGE crush on her. So needless to say her signing with AEW was very exciting news. If things work out like I'm hoping I can see Taya win the TBS title but it also depends on where things are with Statlander's recovery. If not that then once this Outcast stuff is mercifully done I can see her going after Hayter.

MJF beating Sting in his retirement match to retain, and then Darby avenging Sting by winning the belt makes the most sense

Really like the Proving Ground stip of "beat the champ or last ten minutes." It adds an element not in those Elevation Eliminator matches. There was plenty to like here in the Mack vs Claudio match itself. Mack was dealing with someone more powerful than he was used to, someone that can create narrative opportunities through his strength alone, but likewise, Claudio was dealing with someone he couldn't just power over. He had to work at everything. That meant going to punches and strikes more than throws to open him up. It meant that every actual move Claudio hit felt impactful and impressive and meaningful. Likewise Mack, even with something like a Samoan Drop. I thin we're starting to see an almost Jumbo-ian hypocrisy from Claudio where he feels like he's honorable but his actions start to say otherwise. There were things I liked in Dante vs Bennett. The pile driver on the ramp, the idea that Bennett took things personally and was trying to hurt Dante. Dante's selling and fighting from underneath. I like all of that. It's so important for a babyface like Dante to find that balance between selling and selling and selling and always trying to swipe up and get a shot in. I have nitpicks. I don't know about that package pile driver into a powerbomb with Dante's hurt shoulder. He could have just fallen down with the pile driver instead? I didn't like the second strike exchange. I wish Dante would have hesitated for just a half second before his finisher even though he did sell after. But overall, this was a solid TV match and Dante has so, so much upside. Speaking of great babyfaces, Slim J is a great babyface. Here though, he's a guy getting legitimate heat in 2023. He and Davari did a great job taking all of Blake and Metalik's stuff. Another thing I really like about Slim J is that while he has all sorts of crazy, innovative stuff, he'll also just do a snap suplex to control ring positioning and move things along during the heat. It's not what you do but how and why you do it. I would have liked the Eddie match to go another couple of minutes so I could write about it on Monday but it was exactly what it should have been and the Claudio moment was a good "bump" by Claudio as he really got the coffee all over himself. Athena vs Hyan was good. Athena has to hit the initial forearm/elbow without any twists and turns at least half of the time so it's good whenever she does. Doing that allows for the inversions to resonate and matter. That's part of the purpose of squashes anyway, right? I liked Hyan's intensity early and Athena's instinctive motions. She has this great, electric way of moving that reminds you of an early Randy Savage or heel Piper where you just don't know if she'll zig or zag and it makes everything feel unpredictable and dangerous relative to everything around her. I'm glad the Yuka match is still on. Silas Young does a bunch of stuff I wouldn't expect Silas Young to do (and some of the stuff I would). I don't know how I feel about this yet. I'll hesitate to say "Let's tag him with Lance Archer." yet. Maybe he's more of a Brian Cage partner instead..... Lee Moriarty? Is that a thing? Liked that it took both boys to chip away at one member of the Embassy. Brandon sure took a beating. Dalton as a hot tag is basically like a Steiner Brother. This did feel a little like a match they were obligated to get through before moving on to the next thing and at least the next thing will be fresh. While it's a bit of a shame Adora wasn't focused more over the last couple of years in AEW, at least she adds something that makes ROH feel different than other AEW TV. Daniels/Sydal vs Outrunners was a blink and miss it sprint. I liked the call that both teams were just trying to score a quick win and putting it all out there but it was pretty insubstantial. Connors is kind of amusing as a guy who just charges at you like a doofus. This is the first of these title defenses where Yuta starts to feel like he's coming into his own with certain holds/manipulation, the use of the ropes and the punches, etc. Being a tweener/heel lets him do that a little more. It's a lot of wrestling! But it's good.

Daddy Magic is a real treasure

ROH is the BEST. I would make room for it. Do what I did, RETIRE!

When was the last time anybody did a tuxedo match on television (or not on television)? Jeff showing up prepared in a full white tux and Orange pissing him off by showing up in a tie dye suit or something... Jeff loses and he's wearing TNA boxers...lots of material there...

Jey's face when Sami said "you wanted to hit Roman" that 'this fucker is right but I'm still mad about it' face was perfect. Holy shit this story is so fuckin fun and good and everything that a story told through the lens of pro wrestling should be.

We should've seen this coming. A school with a train mascot going to Ohio.

My comment wasn't related to size at all. Notice my MJF / Darby / Sammy / Jungleboy comps were Triple H, Mick Foely, Austin & The Rock. It's not about size or look as much as just having new fresh guys at the top. But you have to pick the right guys for that to work. And they have to get over. I'm on board with 3 out of the 4. But I don't see it for Sammy. I think Starks def belongs in that 4h spot. And all 5 of these potential options are up for debate. Some people thought Test was a better choice for the top of the card than Triple H back in the day for example. My greater point tho was you can't stick to what you've been doing if you want to grow. What you're doing gets you to where you're at. Then you level off. You have to mix in some new faces and take a few gambles to see if it can get you beyond where you're at. Get to the next level. Sicking with Mox & Jericho as world champions here feels like a mistake and going with new acts on top is the right call. It's just which new acts are right for it. I know you're not an MJF fan. So maybe if it wasn't MJF & it was someone like Starks that got the MJF run you'd have a different opinion?

That's Justin Credible!!!

This should be Dante Martin's finisher .

Featuring Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Rey Fenix for Hobbs' TNT Championship and Brody King vs. Daniel Garcia.

I think Flair and Bret both have lots of matches that deviated from what you'd say would be their formula. The Young Bucks vs. Hangman/Omega comes to mind for them. That was very much more of a traditional tag and layout where the drama of the story took precedence. For John Cena I assume you mean the 2005-ish era Cena. He had a really great 2007 against a variety of opponents but none better than Umaga and their Last Man Standing match at Royal Rumble was a classic monster heel performance that made Cena desperate and go to places where you wouldn't normally see a top babyface go.

This might be the craziest thing anyone has ever said in this board. In Kaep's worst season he threw 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. His second worse season he threw 16 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. How can you possibly believe that Kaep was ever anywhere close to Nathan Peterman who has thrown 4 touchdowns in his entire career?

The fact that we never got a Paul White - Marko Stunt sitcom is an embarrassment to the business.

Spoken like someone who quit WCW at the right time! I think I saw enough of them in 2000 to last me a lifetime.

Lance Reddick was so fucking awesome in everything he did. Oz, the John Wicks, Fringe, The Wire.... hell he was the only redeeming thing about that otherwise awful Resident Evil series Netflix put out last year. What a shame. Only 60 too. Dude should have been able to keep acting another 15 years at least.

Great day today seeing Scream VI with my Sister, her first cinema trip in 18 years as she has right bad anxiety. For that reason, it's a day I'll long remember. We really enjoyed the film with nods to past entries, rules references and what the past can do to us. Scream slasher staples (check that alliteration out). You do need to stay when the credits roll as there's a post-credits scene. Here's how I'd rank the Scream films: 6. Scream 3 (2000). 5. Scream 4 (2011). 4. Scream (2022). 3. Scream VI (2023). 2. Scream 2 (1997). 1. Scream (1996).

Carmella is near the bottom as far as talent goes, but that says more about the greatness of the women's roster than it does anything negative about Carmella. She's legitimately great at the character, but when you have to compete with Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Charlotte, Asuka, and Becky Lynch, being a great character still only gets you so far.

That very well could be the case, but that means you need to carry 3 quarterbacks, because there is no justification for actually putting him on the field. He's legitimately that bad. That also sounds like an assistant coach more than a backup quarterback.

Been to long since we’ve had a something on a pole match

WWE question: Am I crazy in thinking that nearly everyone on the main roster right now is at least very good? The one guy who actively isn’t is Top Dolla, but he is really green and should still be in NXT. Dom deserves all his rave reviews for his character work. But in his recent matches - he hit all his spots clean, he has a really killer frog splash and he has really good heel timing. He won’t have any traditional five star matches but he will Even people who make me snooze like Karrion Kross can have really good matches. It’s just the character and presentation aren’t for me. But an example of how he’s good: They botched a fireball thing against Drew and had to improvise and covered it really well. You don’t do that without being skilled. Maybe Omos? But he’s used in limited doses and just does a snarling mean giant thing, and that’s fine. Maybe Carmella? She’s more shtick and not put in lengthy matches. Even when she’s in a match against someone she’s usually at least passable. I am really hard pressed to think of anyone who just flat out sucks. Dexter Lumis is fine. Austin Theory has had some good matches. Dolph and The Miz are stale but good gatekeepers. (And The Miz isn’t even stale.) Bray’s current gimmick even lost me (the biggest Wyatt’s mark) but if you’re the leader of a stable who had one of the handful of best wrestling matches of the century and a bunch of other bangers you know how to work. Just he needs an editor real bad.

The first ROH episode was really good, despite awful platform. Peppering the roster with New Japan folks makes it even more hardcore.

ATHENA with the greatest promo EVER! LADY BALLS~!

Yea there was no real suspense in that main event but I was still rooting for Fury lol

Another fun show. In-Ring ROH continues to deliver, a bit less so on the mic here. So great to see Willie Mack continuing to showcase his tremdenous skillset in ROH/AEW rings. Loved the finish with Claudio's rocket launching upper cut. Nice little Mark Briscoe video package. Good to see the Rampage promo on here with the Tag Title ladder match announcement. Dante-Bennett was fantastic. I'm with @Dean on this being the best Dante Martin match yet. Mike Bennett is easily one of the most underrated wrestlers in 2023. Simple but effective set-up for Taven-Darius. NIce tag bout with B. Christian/Metalik v Ari/Slim J. J continues to be a highlight of any show he's on. He's as good as anybody on this roster. Blake Christian and Metalik are a neat duo. Pasty white Christian has something special. Kingston-Jeeves was a solid enhancement outting. The Claudio coffee spill was a bit goofy, but not not fun. Athena-Hyan totally hit the mark after a shaky section early. Athena is just wonderful. Her promo, tho off the cuff fun (lady balls), suggests a mouthpiece might be a good idea. Silas Young-Marcus Cross was exactly what I hoped it would be. Young has a lot to offer inside the squared circle. I wonder if he might find his best place in a hard nosed Anderson style tag team? Marcus Cross continues to impress. Such a great 'hand'. The promo battle between Young and Shane Taylor felt a bit forced. Taylor should wear that looser casual wear look in-ring. It's a better presentation fit for him. I wish Taylor had just cut a promo later with Lexi addressing Young. Dueling mics should be kept to a minimum and only where it makes sense. This did not. Also, strange choice to carry out a poor shot of Young quietly walking to the back rather than cutting away to commentary or the back. Neat trios battle followed. Dalton Castle clap clap clap-clap-clap! 2/3 Lanny Poffo, 1/3 Steiner! Toa gets lost in there sometimes. Kaun would benefit more from working with a veteran/mentor rather than green machine Toa, but they do seem to be slowly finding their way in tandem. I missed most of Rayne-Adora. Goddamn, goddamn - The Outrunners! Not so much into the lame duck Sydal/Daniels team. I'm really hoping Daniels goes heel sooner than later. The mic work that followed this match was pretty awkward. Especially Daniels weirdly calling himself and Sydal 'Silver Foxes'. Neat to hear Mark Davis talk, but he and Fletcher are still developing. These duelling mic spots might be better if the guys went the extra 10 feet to the ring. When you're just planting the seed of a feud, duelling mics feel unnecessary and contrived. A little diss in a taped promo is a little less glamourous but more appropriate in both situations this evening. Clark Connors mic and character work leaves a lot to be desired, but in-ring he's a tight little machine. Yuta tho still green on the mic is nicely progressing. And obviously he's a special performer in-ring already. Dug the Main Event Pure Title bout. And the ROHTVstream goes 3 for 3, but there was some odd flow - like Jeeves suddenly in a taped promo after being beaten by Kingston. His sell of his arm while smiling heelishly didn't quite work. Mark Sterling continues to be a nice addition here - bettering on his often goofy AEW output. In ring ROH continues to be an A, on the mic this was the weakest of the three episodes. That said, this streaming show is a great place to try stuff out and get reps, so no complaints. Shibata-Yuta, Briscoe-Joe, Kingston-Claudio, Yuka-Athena etc. already make this Supercard of Honor an easy sell.

I can 100% believe TK (the former poster here who may have voted in the Mid South 80s set) would book a tribute to that match.

OC wears one of those tshirts that has a tuxedo print like he was getting married in a tacky Vegas wedding. We need a new gimmick match between these two until it’s a tuxedo in a cage with the cole miners glove on a pole match for the climax

Thrilled that he won himself a new contract, very well deserved coming off last night!

Claudio/Mack was fun. Quick but pretty fast paced and the great running Uppercut finish came out of nowhere. Dante/Bennett was fantastic with some good time to it. Athena/Hyan delivered as expected and Athena's backstage promo later was epic. Great work and Athena/Yuka is gonna rule at Supercard. Love seeing Silas Young back in the ROH mix and his excellent theme music. Hell yes to Silas vs Shane Taylor, looking forward to that showdown. Trios title match was a blast. Adora/Madison was short but very good as well. Loved Madison's crucifix bomb and Adora's finish looked stellar. Felt like a big time win for Adora going forward. I dig seeing Daniels & Sydal together as a team and all the going over of history from 2006. I don't imagine they'll be champs but I'd pop for it if they won. Real solid main event. I like Yuta as a TV Title type kind of guy with these pure title defenses and how he pulls out the victory. Connors looked good. Great 10 minutes in another great episode. Post-match callout rules, Yuta/Shibata will be amazing.

Yo!!!! That's f'n awesome!!! Thanks, TK.

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1636545766058766342 Problems embedding - but Stu Grayson is "once again" All Elite! LFG

Lord there had to be a better way to phrase that not sure wether to make an L7 or a singles reference about the outcasts so I’ll say they got attacked by Big Star liked most everything felt the main event could have been a bit more abridged and QT could be a decent scumbag manager but yhea this fake tmz stuff is not good

Ratings say they have to run back Cassidy vs Jarrett. Logic says it needs a gimmick. I suggest a blindfold.

Can you fuck off with your performative virtue signaling? I can see through your act. Hate to block anyone at all, but your annoying ass is going on my block list.

I'm 41 years old and have been pretty football obsessed for as long as I can remember, I'm pretty sure Nathan Peterman is the single worst football player I've ever seen. Every time someone picks him up I think that Kaepernick should sue the NFL again. That's an ironclad open and shut case.

You make it sound like it’s a bad thing….

Nice opener, Robbie the Rocket looked great there. Tag was good too, dug the finishes of both. Stephy/BK also solid, BK always delivers I was confused by the main event being pushed as some sort of 'battle of hot win streaks with momentum' ,but appreciated the attempt at putting something behind it. Felt out of nowhere to be presented as a top contenders match, but Fury is awesome so I liked seeing her get some shine. Definitely need more Americana

Marvel is suing Reddit to find out the IP addresses of whoever leaked the Quantumania closed captioning track before the movie released. The Marvel spoilers subreddit has gone private and everyone involved is freaking their geek out right now.

OUR WINNER- Willow Nightingale vs ATHENA! ROH! ROH! ROH!

Kofi Kingston needs ankle surgery. Get well soon.

I've been into Kilynn King for a while and think she will be a good addition to the KO Division. Happy for her and Taylor Wilde. Been digging The Coven and now only wish we could get a witch off between them and Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre lol It can't be said enough. Giselle Shaw has the best theme going right now.

Re: Stu It's gotta be in reference to their recruitment drive on Dark, bolstering the numbers however they can.

I missed the first five minutes! GAH! Claudio and Willie Mack are going at it! Willie Mack looks fucking GREAT in this. Claudio is great taking Willie's offense. Claudio murdalizes Mack with an Uppercut! Dante Martin is ROH! Mike Bennett has been ROH forever. Mike Bennett is in the Frankie Kazarian/ Christian Cage/ Trent Barretta/ Matt Sydel ilk- fundamentally sound. Bennett is fucking great setting up Dante Martin's offense. PILEDRIVER ON THE CONCRETE! Dante does the twenty count crawl! Great Hammerlock DDT by Bennett. I love how Martin is flying all over the ring but still sells the Piledriver. NICE Tiger Driver by Martin. Top Wrist Lock Submission by Bennett! Dante makes the ropes. LOTS OF COOL NEARFALLS! This match is GREAT! Dante Martin wins with his Bladerunner VARIATION! That was the best Dante Martin match I've ever seen and it's all because Mike Bennett is so fucking awesome. ALLRIGHT! MORE SLIM J! It's Blake Christian and Metalik tagging together. Metalik is all nifty in the ring. FUN! SLim J has the best punches in WRESTLING. Metalik is our face in peril. Christian is WILD after the hot tag! Slim J BUMPS LIKE A PSYCHO! Slim J is fucking AAAWWWESOME dragging Blake out of the ring and beating the fudge out of him. Daivari and Slim J are such a fun heel tag team. Slim J is so old school Southern heel. Metalik is great on the apron. Metalik gets the hot tag but Slim J keeps cutting his off. GREAT FINISHER by Metalik! That was great. Slim J is so fucking awesome. Jeeves Kay gets beat to death by Eddie Kingston! Claudio gets coffee on his shirt! Jeeves Kay hits a crazy looking Tope because of the camera angle. Kingston with the EXPLOIDER! And then the Stretch Plum for the win. Hey! It's HYAN! HOUSTON! ATHENA! ATHENA! ATHENA! Athena is the best all around wrestler under the AEW/ROH umbrella. Oh man, this match is GREAT! Hyan makes a comeback! ATHENA FUCKING DESTROYS HYAN WITH A POWERBOMB OFF THE APRON! Crossface for the win! AND SHE DOESN'T LET GO! ATHENA FUCKING RULES! Hyan looked great. It's Silas Young! I haven't seen him since I saw an indie match he was in a few months ago. Marcus Kross gets to wrestle a non-enhancement match! SHANE MOTHERFUCKING TAYLOR! I could dig Silas Young vs Shane Taylor. That will be STIFF! ATHENA and Yuka Sakazaki is on! LADY BALLS! Dalton Castle and the Boys are ready to BREAK SOME HEARTS! Toa Leona is so out of control. He is my secret favorite dude in ROH. That splash on the apron was GNARLY. Plus he does a NERVE HOLD! Castle makes a HOT TAG and he goes TOTAL STEINER! Down to the BULLDOG! Gates Of Agony are AWESOME killing the Boys. What an ass beating. That was fun. TRISH ADORA! It's MADISON RAYNE! Trish Adora is laying it in, I'm assuming to set up a match with LADY BALLS ATHENA! BEAUTIFUL NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX by Adora! Rayne is looking pretty good in this. GERMAN SUPLEX HOLD by Adora! CRUCIFIX BOMB by Rayne! ADORA CRUSHES RAYNE WITH THE LARIAT TUBMAN FOR THE WIN! Trish Adora fucking RULES! I assume this is building to LADY BALLS! TRUTH MAGNUM! TURBO FLOYD! TWIRLING! Magnum jumps Christopher Daniels! CHEATING! The Outrunners are battling it out with the Ass Boys as best bumping chickenshit heels in the AEW/ROH Umbrella. They make make Daniels and Sydel look ten years younger. AUSSIE OPEN! Well, THAT'LL be good. It's the Wild Rhino, Clark Connors! He's good. WHEELER YUTA! HE'S AN ASSHOLE NOW! YAY! Connors is the long lost Von Erich. I dig his energy. Connors is using up his ropebreaks! YUTA FUCKING RULES, PUNCHING CONNORS IN THE FACE BEHIND THE REF'S BACK! POUNCE by the Wild Rhino! EVEREST GERMAN SUPLEX countered by a Spear by Connors. Connors uses his CLOSED FIST! Yuta uses his LEGAL closed fist! ANKLE LOCK BY RHINO! Connors looks fucking GREAT in this. Yuta wins and CHALLENGES SHIBATA! AWESOME! So much wrestling. It's two half gallons of ice cream. ROH TOTALLY RULES THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD!

Jimmy Hart did the Three Count theme, which might be one of the ten greatest themes of all time. I love that guy. Great performer, mic worker, and wrestling musician. I always thought that personally, I'd rather date a woman with Lance Russell's nose than date one with Herschel Walker's thighs. YMMV, obviously.