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in this month of giving thanks, i want to appreciate all of the posters here at DVDVR. the depth of pro wrestling knowledge here is unparalleled. You can pick any promotion in the world, at any time in history, and somebody here can relate stories of being there, or watching it on tv, or recall backstage stories they've heard, or talk about 'this wrestler's run' or 'that wrestler's promos'. Truly an unprecedented opportunity for learning and understanding. And all while the discourse is kept to a (mostly) reasonable, rational level. Thank you all for contributing. i've seen probably thousands and thousands of hours of wrestling, and feel inadequate compared to some of you. that's a compliment. Much love.

Hey, at least he's giving back. His dream could have been to fly a dildo into space like the rest of these assholes.

I wanna go back in time like 5 years and tell y'all that Chris Jericho and Tomohiro Ishii would have a spectacular match on TBS for the Ring Of Honor championship and just revel in the absolutely justified accusations of insanity. What a time to be a fan, folks.

So I've been working at the same company for years. Transferred to a new store a few months ago and Tony Chimel of all people is now one of my coworkers. He is hilarious and sarcastic as hell, and gets a big kick out of it when someone recognizes him. Funnily enough he doesn't really like wrestling much, says he watched it for 40 years, he'd rather talk about the Mets. He's had a couple of fun stories so far I might share sometime. I've been showing him a little bit of Orange Cassidy lately and he's getting a kick out of him, says he might have to start watching again.

Anything that gets Wrestling Twitter up in arms is an A+ move in my book. This is my new favorite Dynamite ever.

Speak for yourself, I love the petty. The pettier the better, inject it straight into my veins.

Or, to spin it the other way: Isn't it awesome that a true wrestling nerd, like many of us here on these boards, has decided to use his fortuitous circumstances to live his pro wrestling nerd dreams? It's cool because he still has his love for it, and those of us so inclined benefit because we get to see things like Kingston & Ortiz vs Takeshita & Akiyama. Good for Tony Khan, living his best life in a way that makes other's lives better as well!

Settle down everyone with a pulse netico

That main event was insane. Jericho is absolutely out of his mind. One of the most entertaining and unique matches in memory. The six man stuff should not be for me but man that was so much fun to watch. I am sure by match four I won’t care anymore but that was a hot crowd. The Punk trolling was stupid but that was a hit crowd. OC managed to make Jake Hager watchable, which is proof of his miracle worker status. Also, Jamie Hayter is a natural as a champion. Her whole look - new haircut, robe, belt - makes her look like a female Harley Race or Greg Valentine in that it is elaborate flamboyant ring gear worn by someone who will murder you without really needing a purpose.

Storm/Hayter Best of 7 instead please.

So to review: You're Tony Khan, it's November 2022, your new world champs (MJF and Hayter) are 26 and 27 years old respectively, and you're about to blow up KANSAS. Wrestling is amazing.

We should maybe not speculate on this.

Everyone buying in and using the PLE acronym sound like if people on here using WWE Universe instead of fans. Yall should be ashamed of yourselves lol. PPV 4 Life

Ok, here we go. Opening segment was ok. Regal's tone early and then expressions moving on as he just let the world move around him were just wonderful, of course. Danielson has been so changed as a character by the BCC and they should have acknowledged that more. He's not the same guy who cut the promo on Mox to start all of this months and months ago. Regal started his promo by saying he had a relationship/partnership/etc. with Mr. Friedman. So... he's not going anywhere yet. I've seen speculation that he had a one year contract so they'll at least let this play out. But good on Mox for making everyone believe by being so god damn fierce. What a guy. Hear me out: I kind of wanted even MORE hat in the Cassidy vs Hager match. Did I need more hat? Would it have been a better match with more hat? No. But I wanted it. For I am only human. I loved the bit where Cassidy didn't get his comeback spots in until Hager lost the hat. That was fun. We've seen matches where holds are broken due to an exotico style babyface messing with a stuck up heel or a vain heel having his hair messed with and this wasn't all that different. Even more than that, I want more Best Friends/JAS interaction. 2.0 were great in little bits here. Starks vs Page was very good. Page had a great way of just using little shots to the bandages to cut Starks off but then following up by basically dropping him on things (ropes, barricade, knee). Starks on the other hand had to throw his entire body into every comeback attempt and it often didn't go well for him. But it did get the fans behind him because he was putting everything he had into it. They're leaning into the DDP thing here and they should keep leaning into it all the way to Winter is Coming in Texas where he'll be the qusai home town challenger. Have him get attacked by Page again next week leading up to it. That gives him cover when he loses the title match. Then do a big blowoff gimmick match later in January like what happened with Hobbs. Page can take the losses. BEST OF 9: Match 2: Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta 2/14/79 Hawaii: This one was 2/3 falls and man was it ever good. The first fall was full of so much of what I love about Bockwinkel and then the second fall was such an amazing showing for Jumbo. In that first fall, they went a different way with it, with Bockwinkel trying to take liberties to get an advantage early but getting jammed by Jumbo. This time, Bock didn't get his arm control first and it went straight to Jumbo's and they worked it and worked it with Bockwinkel cheating to get out or making it seem like he just might, but getting jammed right back down. He's always struggling, always fighting, always reacting and Jumbo's so smooth working from top. Eventually, Bock has enough and drops the pretense and just starts kicking and stomping him down, but Jumbo fires back, including a huge chop off the ropes that causes Bock to do his full body sell. They're about twenty in now, as there were a couple of minutes clipped here and his total exhaustion sell is the best ever. And it's still early really! Anyway, after blocking Jumbo's butterfly, Bock tries the King of the Mountain which is what he does when there's a babyface too fiery for him but Jumbo immediately fights out, rushes in and just unloads on Bock, super intense. He misses a knee in the corner and Bock, in short order, gets the figure four. Just great fighting out of it by Jumbo turning it a couple of times, but he succumbs. So that's the first fall and I love how one beat so smoothly led to the next and you could just tell what kayfabe Bock was thinking and trying to do at every point. Second fall has Jumbo fighting with the bad leg and he does it so valiantly that the crowd really starts to get behind him. I've seen American crowds get behind Japanese guys before (especially in California) but maybe never quite like this and it's both Bock AND Jumbo here. He keeps falling a bit behind due to his leg but powering back, including hitting an atomic drop but being unable to hang on to the cobra twist. This ultimately leads to Bock containing him with a King of the Mountain (This time) but pressing it too far and allowing for Jumbo to fire back in, opening Bock up with chops and ultimately hitting the butterfly and the cobra twist causing him to pass out. The last fall teases the time limit (9 minutes left) just from the start, and they have some near falls (a butterfly that Bock blocks but Jumbo turns into a piledriver, brutal stomps on the leg turned into a Jumbo half crab). You get maybe a sense that Jumbo doesn't know how to put him away but he goes for broke with his hurt leg with another atomic drop and gets another cobra twist only for Bock to toss the ref and draw the DQ. Really masterful match here. And just a lovely 1980 crowd to get behind a foreigner so thoroughly. I couldn't imagine a nicer crowd, the sort that you'd want for big wrestling match like this, that bought into it fully and that put aside their own biases to give their all for the challenger. Women's match was good. It was best during the initial exchanges between JAS and Britt/Hayter as that was very fresh and when they were working over Willow. It's a shame we didn't get to see Willow/Skye get their entrances in Chicago. Skye was probably just glad to be there but between not having an entrance and eating the fall, it was a bit of a shame. Her comeback was fun. The other best part was at the end when they were all kicking each other in the face. There was a great camera angle catching Hatyer diving across the ring with an elbow drop to break up a pin. Honestly, I'd like almost any story that comes out of this since it'd feel like a fresh match up. That's part of the joy of a new champ, and this was a good way for Hayter to play tweener. The main was quite the spectacle. Definitely not my sort of thing but they played it less about toughness and more about Jericho trying to rope a dope the jetlagged Ishii (this was mentioned during the commercial break and I kind of bought into it, and it worked!) They both went for bombs early and when they failed, that's when all the strikes started. Jericho's selling and reactions helped to make all of this, between hurting his hand and looks of exasperation as his plan was taking such a toll on him. It was mostly chops and ridgehands without big bombs which made it all more tolerable to me. When they did pop up from the bombs, it was just 2-3 and there was obviously damage, so again, some of you might revel in this. I definitely tolerated it and thought it was good for what they went for because of how they went for it. My favorite bit in all of it was Ishii doing the Fujiwara head bridge leg flip reverse to the initial crab attempt because NO ONE does that and it might be the coolest thing Fujiwara ever does, especially when he's doing it against Super Tiger in UWF for some reason. No one does that and it looks like the slickest thing in the world. What a year for Jericho. I'm absolutely certain that the top 3 most outstanding wrestlers in AEW in 2022 are Mox, Cassidy, and Jericho but I couldn't begin to tell you what the order of the three should be.

Well. That was GREAT. I am interested in seeing whose cup of tea ISHII CONTINUING TO HAMMER JERICHO'S BLOODY CHEST WITH HIS RED RIGHT HAND turns out not to have been. Certainly, it was exactly my cup of tea. SO UNCOUTH! We've all done bad things. American Dragon speaks the truth. Storyline wise, they are teasing everything and paying nothing off today. Cool. Gives us something to anticipate. Nice pop for Orangey Boy. THEY ACTUALLY MADE THE HAT THE STORY. Also my cup of tea. Also interested to see who all wildly disagrees with that opinion. Best Hager match ever? Yes. Because of the hat. Nicky Boy vs B. King please! On Dark would be just fine. Glad to see Buddy Matthews back in the ring. Wrestling needs to have a Buddy, in my opinion. Buddy Wayne, Buddy Rose, Buddy Rodgers... Injured Body Part Psychology is almost as classic and effective as Hat-Based Psychology. Best Ethan Page AEW match so far? I think so. Chopping in the corner in time with the CM Punk chants! Looking forward to the Cutler-Cam view of that. Kenny's GTS takes Troll of the Night honours, though. Is doing a biting spot in Chicago a deliberate call-back? I liked the finish because I also keep a little hammer in my trunks, so I could relate. HAYTER IS CHAMP! I'M DRINKING ALL THE HAYTERAID! All that JAS tonight! THANKSGIVING MIRACLE was a good pay-off to that whole Injure Me Daddy Ass angle. SHIDA ON RAMPAGE! BUTCHER AND BLADE! While the rubes warch commercials, me and DEAN are listening to GENERIC HARD ROCK RIFFS! Stone Pitbull is, in my opinion, a better pro wrestling nickname than Fragile Porcelain Teacup Poodle. THAT APRON DDT BUMP! There were people who hated Kobashi vs Sasaki. There are people who hate puppy dogs, warm autumn evenings, and fresh strawberries. I liked how Ishii wouldn't let Jericho bait him to the outside even though Jericho is a master of that. ZIMBRA AND CRAIG H ROAD REPORTS!!

Let me get this outa the way: I HATED the ending. But, only because I wanted Regal, Bryan, Claudio, and Mox to be BCC 4 Life and stay together forever. I was a hell of a main event, though. I prefer MJF in the ring to MJF on the mic. Anyone else? MJF now stands for Muscular Jacked-up Freak. I was surprised by the crowd booing Moxley! I guess Regal and Bryan can stay together... we'll see how Friedman fits in. I felt like it was a 4-way tie for MOTN: Kingston's Road, the cage match,the Trios Title match, and Storm vs Hayter. All great in their own way and four really different and distinct matches. Impressive. Loved the pre-show! Loved the crowd! My mark-out tank was empty by the time the tag title match rolled around. I enjoyed the overarching theme of "using tools ( such as hammers or pliers) for evil will win you a title but cost you your immortal soul." PRE-SHOW Rocky! Nice job on saving the "mystery partner" reveal. Having Hausen and Cassidy together makes total sense now. The goofy dudes who can really go. Full Gear would be a good nickname for Brian Cage. Who doesn't love a nice "David and Goliath" plus "Injured bodypart" story? Nice structure. I am so excited for the AEW video game! Kingston Road Style! Pure Wrestling Love! Imagine getting respect from your idol like that. I can confirm that Akiyama is an awesome dude. I "almost" started crying when Kingston paid tribute to Baba, Jumbo, Misawa... MAIN CARD I see TWO Cages! That was a hell of a crimson mask on Jungle Boy, and some classic cage match images. Christian stealing the key was too slick. FUCK C.M. PUNK!! and COLT CABANA chants!! What a pop for The Wayward Sons! I'm working on a "Top 200 Spots" list for the Trios Title match. Not a complaint. BEST OF SE7EN!! What's in the box?! WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!? Tony K: More wrestling! Jade's Thundercats ring gear! Oh, my! First Nyla fell down, then... What have I become? The sing-along is still one of the best things in wrestling. Or, in Sports Entertainment. I think they did a good job of using the 4-way stip to tell stories. Sammy is The Real Judas. Also Bryan. I was hoping the crowd would be 100% behind Britt, forcing AEW to BMMSM was BMMSM but also Wardlow flying. More like Ward-high, eh? Eh? Loved the Ohtani shout out. You can donate when you go to shows in Japan. ISHII!!! STONE PITBULL!!! AEW really does love us! I take back all that Burger King stuff... ...oh. Jeff Jarrett. Enjoyed Satnam re-defining "Catch as catch can." Hayter and Storm beat the hell outa one another, had so many great near-falls, and as much as I like Toni Storm I am glad they pulled the trigger. Crowd was awesome. Match was awesome. I was semi-hemi-burned out for the final two matches but they were both really good. What a show! Ishii coming up! Best of Seven! Takeshita is All Elite. Oh. Hell. Yeah.

HOLY FUCK! HOLY FUCKING FUCK!

*snerk*

ROAD REPORT Chicago is awesome. AEW is awesome. Chicago also was annoying. Seats at Wintrust are incredibly cramped, but we at least had amazing seats. We were in Row G right next to the hard cams and with the crane cam down on the floor to our right. Dasha walked right next to us and is one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. When we were leaving, we took the walkway to the parking garage and that was also the way Hook was going. Hook is exactly the person you see on tv. Hood up, hair sticking out, quiet, cooler than anyone could imagine being. I yelled out WE LOVE YOU HOOK and raised up his arm in the air pointing up. Crowd was insanely hot. I watched a little of Dynamite when I got home and it sounded like most of the crowd heat came through on tv. The Hat stuff was really over in a funny way and that was before Dynamite even started. The Acclaimed are over in a way that is basically like peak Rock or Austin. Like, the crowd exploded for them and it was one of those things that just sounded and felt different than anything else. The crowd may have been really hot for the trios match with the arena changing one thing after another, but the Acclaimed were something different entirely. Some dickheads behind us and in the section to the right of the tv side tried chanting boring during Jericho vs Ishii. Some people are fucking dumb. I think Jericho and Ishii realized that main evening Dynamite would be challenge so props to Jericho for letting him get chopped bloody. Hell of a match too. Really amazing stuff. There’s other stuff to mention and pictures to post, but I need to get started cooking for a noon Thanksgiving “dinner.”

Orange Cassidy is my wrestler of the year. The guy is so clued into his character, and finds story beats in every match that make sense for both him and his opponent. The match with Hager felt like I was watching Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin or even Jackie Chan in terms of his ability to tell a story and make me laugh with his body and his movement. And to do that with Jake Hager of all people! (Kudos to Jake though for embracing the silliness of the hat gimmick and committing to it).

I'M LATE! SUCK IT! Had to assist with prep for Thanksgiving! Endless ACTING! Orange Cassidy and Jake Hagar base a match around a purple hat. I love Professional Wrestling. Jake Hagar beats on Cassidy while we are in picture in picture! Hagar does the Ron Simmons Catapult Under The Bottom Rope. My DVD misses a wad of the match. Uranagi by Hagar! Ankle Lock countered by purple hat! Cassidy wins! QT comes out and his mic stops working! HOLY SHIT! It's JULIA HART! THE HOUSE OF BLACK! They beat up the Best Friends! THEN they beat up the Factory! Then they WARDLOW a batch of security and wrestlers! THEN Brodie King K-DRILLS a security dude on the ramp! YAAAY! HOUSE OF BLACK! HOUSE OF BLACK! HOUSE OF BLACK! Ethan Page is a HEAT MACHINE! CRYBABIES~! Ricky Starks has the most DDPed ribs in the history of wrapping up things. Ethan Page is very old school HEAT MACHINE! Oh man, this match is great. Starks is great being our sympathetic babyface and Page is awesome assaulting the ribs! I love that we have a new Larry Zbysko and his name is Ethan Page. What a great old school heel. Stokely is SENT TO THE BACK! The crowd POPS like crazy! SUPERPLEX By Starks! Swinging Neckbreaker! SWINGING DDT! Starks is doing many swinging things. Page cuts him off with Powerslam FOR TWO! Page use KUNG FU! SPEAR by Starks! ANOTHER SPEAR by STARKS! STARKS ISSSS GOLDBERG! That was fucking great. Hey! Red Velvet is back! Oh no! Kiera Hogan is no longer a Baddie! The Elite come out and the crowd is not happy! Will they RIOT? It is Chicago. The Elite beat on Rey Fenix and are getting LEGIT HEEL HEAT! Oh man, this match is fucking great. Rey takes out Omega and the crowd is fucking MOLTEN! This crowd is great. PAC is our face in peril as we head into picture in picture. OMG! A Jackson mocks CM Punk fucking up a Buckshot Lariat! PENTA goes Backbreaker CRAZY! and the crowd goes insane! Rey does stuff! Omega crushes PAC with V Trigger! OMEGA HITS A GTS! FOR TWO! This is so fucking great. HAMMER TIME BY PENTA! DEATH TRIANGLE GOES UP 2-0! SO FUCKING GREAT! Jamie Hayter is no longer Interim Champion! Oh no! A TRIPLE THREAT MATCH! Oh man, this looks like they are setting up Willow versus Jamie Hayter- which will RULE. They should definitely have a women's tag title. Tay Jay are fucking great in this, beating the crud out of Willow. Britt Baker pins the hometown hero! That was good for a fuckin triple threat. So Rampage is going to RULE with FTR versus Top Flight! Jericho versus Tomohiro Ishii! Well, this should be good. Well THIS IS STIFF! WHOA! JERICHO is bleeding HARDWAY from the chest! So fucking GREAT! Jericho is so fucking AWESOME. This match is completely balls out. GREAT nearfall on a Lariat by Ishii! Lion Tamer for the win! What a fucking match. AEW RULES THE ENTIRE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD!

I'm pretty certain that AEW's never been particularly good at doing the things that people suddenly seem to be wanting it to do whereas it's still good at a lot of the things that it's always been good at, getting you excited that tomorrow Eddie Kingston's going to be facing Jun Akiyama or that we've got a Samoa Joe vs Wardlow vs Hobbs match in a day or two or whatever. The most exciting part of any Dynamite is when they announce the matches for Rampage and the most exciting part of any Rampage is when they announce the matches for Dynamite and the most exciting part of the PPVs is knowing you're going to see a bunch of matches not structured with the commercial breaks, which isn't great for all the time, but is good once in a while. It's a promotion that has a ton of talent, most of which are really fun to watch in the ring, that lets them wrestle the sort of matches they want to wrestle, and that has some slight patina of stories and angles to give them reason to wrestle. And that's great! I don't even know what's going on here right now. Is there a time where AEW was magically something different than that? Not in the last year and a half certainly.

Man they need that AEW Network ASAP so I can get more Sting and Darby in Fear and Loathing in Venice Beach. Like real grimy black and white road trip episodes where the Darby stops to jump off of shit and skateboard while Sting stops to identify fixer uppers at below market asking prices. Some real Jackass meets Chip and Joanna shit.

Oh shit ! Next Friday on Rampage!

We really need Joseph Montecillo to make a video essay about this.

Your's truly before the BOOM Pro Wrestling show last night in Vancouver.

I prefer Manage, Tag, Suplex

@Matt D... One of the wrestlers we disagree on is Bruiser Brody. My opinion is that he earned his legendary reputation and image in Japan (and elsewhere) and is deserving of respect. I think it's fair too say that you consider him to be often lazy and selfish in the ring. I concede that his ring work was not consistently great but I think even at his worst he was close to good in the ring. The thing I really like, though, is that he was who he seemed to be. A real life wildman who spoke his mind and never pretended to be something he wasn't. So, I'm hoping we can agree that he had those two qualities. What I'm saying is, Bruiser Brody was: Frank. Good-ish.

That goes both ways. Can we get an "I hate AEW and it's dying!" thread, so everyone who wants to come on here and be a complete cunt about things can talk to each other there, and people who actually like watching wrestling can talk about it without this whole slough of despond trying to drag the mood down?

Never understood the hate for Khan; unless people are just jealous they aren't in his shoes. The guy has done so much for wrestling as a whole. Say what you will about the quality of shows and whether they're your cup of tea or not - but he's done and tried to do nothing more than bring all wrestling together. If I was in Tony Khans shoes, I'd have done the same exact thing and I bet there are tons of wrestling historians/fans on here who'd share that same sentiment.

KATSUYORI SHIBATA IS WRESTLING ON MY MOTHERFUCKING TELEVISION MACHINE.

Shibata, Jeff Jarrett, Lamar Jackson, Rick Ross, & Colt Cabana. TK just throwing names in a bender with a bunch of coke lol.

Rich people engage in philanthropy because the alternative is giving everyone free health care and (gasp) paying more taxes - so they'd rather throw menial amounts of money away and take credit for it Any country that has its citizens begging for money on GoFundMe to cover medical bills and other basic expenses is irreparably broken

The Bloodline arc does not work without Jey being at the absolute elite level of character work. Roman doesn’t become a manipulative mob family leader without having someone to manipulate. Jey managed to be in that role but not become a dignity-less patsy. Sami does not become a player in this without Jey doing the jealous doubter role as magnificent as he has. And the Usos are an incredible tag team.

Full report later but I'll say this: Live wrestling stays fun as fuck.

Before what? Starting to complain? Because....

GODDAMIT, GORDLOW!

The pre-show is going to smoke the PPV.

.....I got tickets for Rampage and Full Gear next week..... Holy shit......alone Kingston and Ortiz v Akiyama and Takeshita is worth what I paid

Just hearing about this for the first time, crazy!

Spent way too long looking at that graphic trying to figure out what “NAMI” meant.

I disagree vehemently with Jericho's politics. I pretty much agree 100% with Punk's. But if I'm starting a wrestling company I'm picking Jericho over Punk every single time.

Boy, those Chicago fans are going to feel like assholes when they find out the only thing Matt Jackson was trying to do with that praying moonsault was pay homage to Jinsei Shinzaki. Buncha quick-to-judge ingrates. Kidding aside, I have no idea what The Elite was trying to do with all of those CM Punk and fight references. Are they building towards something, just being jerks, taking heat where they can get it/making the most of the fact that they will likely never be cheered in Chicago again and therefore don't have to be on their best behavior...? No matter what it was, I was entertained. Speaking of entertainment: I am totally fine with analyzing pro-wrestling to the extent that we do here. It's possible to enjoy this artform on a lot of different levels. But - if we accept that pro-wrestling is supposed to be a form of entertainment and are OK with consuming it on that simple level sometimes, then I don't know if anyone has entertained me more this year than Orange Cassidy has. Building a match based around playing keep away with a dumb hat is something I can't recall seeing in thirty years of fandom, and if I have seen it, it wasn't done in a more humorous and enjoyable way than it was done by OC, Hager, and the rest of the wrestlers at ringside in this match. One man's opinion on some of the postmodern wrestlers like Cassidy we've seen in recent times: in order to subvert the tropes of pro-wrestling, one must first understand those tropes. Orange Cassidy has a character, wrestles to it, and sells the beating he's taking quite well. These are all more traditional aspects of pro-wrestling; he simultaneously sticks by them and creatively bends some of the "rules" to make entertaining matches. He's not just screwing around in there. It's a joy to watch. To refer back to my post about Full Gear: I am glad that Toni Storm and Jamie Hayter's reigns are both going to be recognized as official title runs. They both earned it. While the tweet about Thunder Rosa above is a bit much, I do think it's a shame that this couldn't have been ironed out before the PPV. Making that announcement at Full Gear itself would've added more stakes to the match, when instead Jamie Hayter was announced as a new interim champion and then had that retconned mere days later. I admit to some curiosity as to why this agreement between AEW and Rosa couldn't have been reached even a week sooner.

If and when Eddie finally wins the big one, and he should more than anyone else in AEW, more than Danielson (sick of fucking hearing about how Danielson should be champ or should be this or that and wanting him to be things he personally doesn't want to do), more than Darby, more than Miro, etc., he's going to get the biggest pop in the history of AEW and be their most over babyface champion. And when he hopefully wins that title, I am going to cry about as much as I did for the Chicago Cubs winning the championship. If I had a hero in wrestling, Eddie is it. That man eats, breathes, sleeps, lives the same shit so many other people do with anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome, and self-sabotage. And despite all of that, he keeps fighting, more people keep believing in him, and more people get behind him. I can't think of any better second "album" for Tony Khan, the first being the journey of Hangman to being champion, than getting Eddie to the championship at Full Gear next year or maybe sooner than that.

And he’s going to get so tubby.

That's pretty crazy! Both of us ended up getting exactly what we asked for, in fact: 　 How are we supposed to not love AEW now? EXACTLY what we asked for. Somebody there wants the same things we do. It's pretty cool and fun, in my opinion.

I'm kind of locked into thinking about "In-N-Out" AEW vs "Burger King" AEW. As I brought up in the Navel Gazing thread. In-N-Out AEW is a business, but content to be a smaller business, focused on maximum quality, serving a passionately loyal hardcore big niche. Not afraid to let their freak flag fly. Burger King AEW is a "challenger brand" seeking a much broader appeal, often by being a pale imitation of the leading brand or pandering to a more LCD demographic by leaning really hard into catchphrases, nostalgia pops, and so on. Orange Cassidy crashing and burning into Satnam on the tope was, in my opinion, maximum In-N-Out AEW. Bringing in Jeff Jarrett, in any capacity, however... He's the third most Burger King guy they could have possibly brought in (after Russo and Eric). It bodes ill for fans like me, who love the early and slightly weirder, warmer, and more innovative iteration of All Elite. Does it bode well for AEW as a challenge brand? Time, I suppose, will tell. i hope, very sincerely, for maximum success. My big worry is that this is the first big step in AEW moving away from something that fans like me can't miss, into something we can take or leave. Mox in AEW has been very In-N-Out, despite him being a former WWE superstar. Renee and Saraya felt pretty Burger King, though. Ethan Page seems, too, more like a pale imitation of something from the leading brand than someone letting their freak flag fly, so far at least. I am gonna quote HarryArchieGus here: "The Birthday Bash had a tired and awkward Mack-Mann feel to it. I was watching Bowens and Caster shill their shit wondering how long before the crowd turns them heel again." Yep. The Acclaimed getting over organically was pure In-N-Out. They are in danger of pushing it into a pretty Burger King place now, however. Cabana vs Jericho was a good example of what I love about AEW. Particularly the welcome back chants. PCO would have been more fun, but not by much. Too bad about that horrible botch. There were a couple of great bumps in the 3-way. Generally, the actual wrestling is going to be the saving grace for fans like me. They could possibly screw that up, though. I personally liked it more when it was almost all clean finishes, like the ghost of Giant Baba was helping with the booking. Nyla is genuinely funny on Twitter. A treasure. Hopefully she'll get there on the mic sooner or later. That Strickland/Billy angle on Halloween was pure Burger King. Not sure where I stand on Rick Ross. Celebrity angles seem pretty damned BK, but he was pretty good in this one. The House of Black presentation has always been more than a little BK, but Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart are all good in the ring. So it more or less balances out. Joe vs Cage was the good stuff. Shibata showing up (and not going overboard with explaining who he is) was the *least* Burger King thing they could possibly have done! Redeemed the show, for me personally. I guess I am OK if this is where things are headed. AEW is no longer the big indie family and friends promotion they started out as. Complaining about it overmuch would do as much good as complaining that my daughters refuse to stay cute little girls forever. They are 11 and 7 now, and they grow smarter, stronger, more independent every day. It's different in that I still love them with every bit of my heart and always will no matter what. Obviously. Is AEW growing beyond the company I loved also inevitable? Maybe? So maybe I am not going to be quite so passionate about Burger King AEW... But I don't resent them going for success in this way. As long as we are still getting insane Darby bumps, Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat, Jamie Hayter, Hikaru Shida, Shibata coming down that aisle, Takeshita coming back, Bryan fighting, Kingston talking from the heart, etc etc etc, I doubt even Double J will be able to turn me completely against this company.