HarryArchieGus

The live audience reaction felt light - that's how I was feeling. I didn't think the beating was particularly strong, but I could see that. I just thought Bailey/Knight looked weak not getting any quick turnaround offense. Especially considering they started this. I liked what Knight was trying for, but that line felt like a tired cliche to me. All that said, I'm happy to hear some ppl dug it. Yeah, the Briscoe exit/no return made zero sense. Nor did coming out on the mic to set-up another mic segment. That part they somehow pulled off tho.

Fairly hot Hanger-Mox townhall to kick it off. I'm with whatever they wanna do, but 'Texas Death' rules is a questionable choice. I'll assume they have something up their sleeves. Claudio! Where was Ospreay to watch Hanger's back? Opps were a bit late to the call, but Page was happy for any help. Mina-Mone was fun. The post match attack was a little too predictable. Loved the MJF-Fox-Bowens-Brody 4 way. Brody did well with all he was given. I like the Briscoe-MJF direction - very strange to set-up a talk segment, but Mark continues to do very well with his live mic opportunities. Did not enjoy seeing Benjamin/Lashley squash their top challengers again. This is one of the worst builds to a match in AEW history. JetSpeed had built some nice momentum individually and as a team before these routine beatings. I suspect they could score an upset in the end, but somebody needs to want to see that first. Nonetheless, curious to see the Benjamin v Knight singles bout. Bucks/Takeshita-KOR/Strong/Bandido was tremendous fun. Everybody looked great in that match. I'm sold on the ROHPPV for Takeshita-Bandido. I love him like most love him, but Swerve's mic work is often shotty. He constantly sounds like he's forgotten what he wants to say. That said, he makes it all work. I like the 1 year no World Title shot stip - it's reasonable. Ospreay/Swerve-Beast/Dralistico was even more fun. Goddamn! Ibushi-Okada was fanfuckintastic. Nice pace and solid action. Hot Omega save to close. Thoroughly enjoyed the Wrestling on this show. 300! I've enjoyed the vast majority of them.

Wow! Totally missed your post. Stoked for this. I love the sound of those console stereos. I pulled one from the rubble at a second hand shop 10 years back, and fell in love with it again. That goddamn bass! It sounds like your under water in the best possible sense - like you're in a submarine. Sadly, I had to toss it in a move, but sweet memories persist.

Somewhat random trios/tag matches have become AEW’s ‘secret sauce’ in 2025. Providing nothing but excellent quarter hours. This one will no doubt be as pleasing as the best of them. KOR/Roddy have been great since joining forces despite their push/win-loss record. Takeshita feels poised for a big title run sooner than later. The Bucks have been nothing but consistently awesome despite their detractors best efforts to suggest otherwise. And Bandido has wonderful momentum. Stoked for this and the Takeshita-Bandido roh main event.

She's can't miss TV. And easily my favorite promo in the business right now. Yeah, I thought that was a really strong Cole-Alexander title bout. Cole's been quietly getting his stuff together while gaining some post-multiple-injuries confidence back. Alexander is the real deal. His pre-match promo was very good as well. He's a great upper card hand that could break whatever his current ceiling is. I actually really liked that Bill/Keith v Christian/Wayne tag. I just marvel at everything Christian does. He's a walking talking teacher of the game. They set-up some nice spots, and made Bill look as fierce as he always should. In general, I thought Wayne and Christian bumped around wonderfully. Keith/Bill looked more cohesive in this match than I remember them being. There was a weird sequence late where Bill seemed to disappear with Sabian. I can't deny 'nothing to establish either as a challenger to Hurt Syndicate' as the Tag titles feel like they're locked in a briefcase at the moment. Getting a pair of AEW Tag Champions to defend their titles on TV is like pulling teeth. It's been this way since at least the last FTR title run in 2023. Gimme some 'Eliminators' week to week. Something more than the Champions posing with the titles - tho, Lashley/Benjamin look a lot better doing that than say the Privates.

Another fun FTR interview segment on Collision. They're leading the Outrunners perfectly. They're also making a nice attempt to refresh Truth and Turb.

I've been seeing these Deonna quotes as well. Most of which aren't so barbed, but I did see her talking about the TNA locker room being the best she's been apart of. A fair explanation followed, but that's not exactly good politicking. The 'we need more Women's matches' argument seems to be shared online, but there's metrics that suggest pretty clearly not everybody is with that I really like this roster, and I'm patient to see them grow. That said, outside of the top ladies (Toni, Mercedes, Willow and maybe Hayter and Stat) I'm not seeing many of these names breaking out from the pack and demanding TV time. Maybe there's argument for Thekla or the returning Tay. There was a mention here of Deeb and Purrazzo not being over, but it doesn't really stop there. These ladies need consistent TV time (ring and especially mic) to solidify the division, but what they really need is a dedicated All Elite Women's show. The Division needs an opportunity to grow away from Collision/Dynamite. Fuck sake, Rampage was right there for the taking. I very much agree with this. Further, Deonna's had some bad luck. Her debut feud was against a heel Toni Storm that nobody wanted to boo. Ppl sometimes forget that awkward phase of the Timeless one. She was never not awesome, but the booking was completely against the grain. Deonna is such a natural heel, and not at all a babyface. With those dynamics, that feud had no chance. The Taya duo didn't feel like a good fit either. You mention her presentation, surely a potentially sensitive topic, but it's not not true. And I'm not speaking to the doofus bodyshaming brigade lost in some McYesteryear. She's just not wearing a cut that flatters her natural athletic physique. Those boots with the blob of white on the side are completely atrocious. All that said, her mic and ring work are as good as nearly anybody on the roster. Putting her in the ROH Pure Title picture would be a great idea if anybody was watching the show. Until ROH has a widely accessible TV or streaming option, it's going to be seen as a pretty major demotion. All this said, as a pretty big fan of her Wrestling and Mic work, I really hope she figures it out in AEW rather than retreating back to TNA.

Not quite a dark match - he locked in the Lebell lock on Caster after a Cole super kick. But I have to agree that he seems likelier for the show.

I’m with the John Silver fandom whether I agree he’d be a good TNT champion or not. He’s undoubtedly a very good worker. I’m also all for giving guys on the come up (Garcia, Perry, a cautiously returning Cole, etc) shots with the TNT title. Having a belt with the purpose of seeing if said young wrestler sinks or swims is a play I back. Especially interested in the inevitable Kyle Fletcher TNT title run.

It's a 365 days a year job, and there is no such thing as a flawless booker. Surely there's a better example than John Silver. I mean that with all due respect - he's an excellent hand and a great role player, but I'm not sure they missed some sort of big pay day with him. As much as I like Silver in ring, his character and mic work has rarely been anything but goofy. There's a ceiling for goofy. Still, if they ever wanted to give Reynolds-Silver a Cinderella tag title run I'd be there for it.

Considering the litany of injuries he’s gone through and the fact that he hasn’t wrestled in however long, I thought Ibushi looked great. Excellent strikes, selling and especially bumping. I feel really happy for the guy. The future looks a lot brighter than it did.

The AEW mechanics/hands win/loss records have become the new or current critics fixation. WOR, Post, etc. like to acknowledge that great wrestling matches don’t necessarily equal successful money metrics, but forget that when discussing undercard talents that have great matches but don’t win. "But he NEVER wins, Dave!" I’m an underdog guy and would love to see Beast, AR Fox, Blake Christian, Komander, Roddy or especially Mark Briscoe breakout and get a serious run, but I'm also very okay with what they provide in losing. And how much each’s role is needed. The strength of this undercard roster and what they provide ought to be more appreciated without the constant complaining/questioning. Somebody has to lose, and there aren’t many if any people being pushed that don’t deserve their spot. Further, if the demand for a push truly presents itself, I find it hard to believe TK will be McMahoning anybody’s momentum for some kind of petty shitty control drama. I’d actually bet that if last night’s Beast-Hanger scores a big number as a cold match main event that they’ll consider changing Beast’s course. I doubt there’s many bigger Beast Mortos fans than the man with the pencil. At some point, I have little doubt, Beast will be pushed. And I doubt he’s the only one of this group that will be.

I should probably take a second look at Monkey. I was a bit underwhelmed on first view. Definitely a fan of Flirting with Disaster (own it on the Laserdisc format). Three Kings is very good, but I think his greatest achievement is his greatest commercial success - Silver Linings Playbook. I love that run from Huckabees to (maybe my second favorite DOR film) American Hustle. O'Russell-Jennifer Lawerence are an underrated Scorsese-DeNiro. O'Russell's last, Amsterdam, was completely overlooked - I suspect his misbehaviour/bad press had something to do with it. It was also an art house movie being seen and judged by mass audiences. It's impressive how O'Russell rides that fine line of artistic and commercial success. I just read now that he's working on a John Madden biopic with Nicholas Cage. Wild!

Bravo! A nice Hanger v Beast Battle to close it out. Better than average use of the (AEW brand) lights out gimmick. Strong attack and save post match. The heel locker room is showing some remarkable camaraderie. The brief Okada-Takeshita confrontation was my inner Pop of the night. Okada looks like he's having fun playing this character. Takeshita looked strong. Trent v Ibushi was mostly great. Ibushi looked much closer to his best self than last time around, and that is... exciting. He connected very well with the PNW audience. Both he and Trent bumped like maniacs. A bit of indecision in the final stretch, but a pretty fantastic strike into the finish. So much hit on this show. I really liked the Friedman-Briscoe confrontation. Some of Max's best mic work and Mark was a terrific sparring partner. The 4 ways were good to great, the JetSpeed-Ric/AR match was fun. Ricochet was pretty great throughout. Fun show.

An ROH PPV not having a line-up feels fairly routine at this point. Speaking of ROH, the 5 minute Recap videos they've been posting to Youtube are very good. I appreciate the less time consuming check in.