Big Z

I was thankfully at the show live, and can definitely vouch for that, as Statlander won the crowd over during the match. She has really raised her stock with the company with her performances in suburban Chicago on Rampage and at All Out, and think that she will be a future champ now (even with a stacked company and AEW generally being fairly conservative with title changes). Some other thoughts from the show: Holy shit is Eddie Kingston over. Really want him to want a big title match soon (ideally in Newark or Dynamite: Grand Slam in front of his fans), but the screwy finish protects him and also sets up a re-match (and this was the first time Miro really needed to cheat to win as TNT champ). After seeing fucking Minoru Suzuki and his entrance live, I already felt like I had gotten my money's worth for the night (Mox's entrance is also awesome live). Moxley-Kojima was actually very good for a match where there was only one winner (and Kojima was pretty over with the crowd). Despite his age, Kojima can still go when called upon and has really delivered in bigger spots this year (this match and the Ospreay match on the New Beginning tour). Sorry Matt D, but Young Bucks-Lucha Brothers absolutely ruled and is right there with Young Bucks-Omega/Hangman as the best match in AEW history. Yes, it featured a lot of crazy highspots and elements of the modern style, but still told a great story and had great pacing to turn back the clock to previous eras. Also, definitely not a coincidence that the Young Bucks are the common denominator of two of AEW's best/ most memorable matches. The crowd definitely spent a lot of energy on the match and it was probably the peak of excitement match-wise for the night, but god damn was that match insane. Credit to all of the women in the battle royal for putting on a solid spectacle following an all-time classic match, and damn Ruby Soho was over (as was Thunder Rosa). Jericho-MJF was decent, even though that was truly the death spot on the crowd (and while the Jericho entrance sounded good on paper, it was absolutely the wrong time on the card to execute that after the last two matches). Great time to pull out that finish though, as that roped the crowd back in and created a strong reaction to Jericho winning the match. Punk-Darby was a very good wrestling match, but not quite all-time classic/MOTY level. Happy to see Punk came in arguably the best shape of his career, and he moved very crisply and executed all of his moves cleanly. Darby aided him and the match with his insane bumping, and think that Punk has another level to hit and a re-match could also jump a couple of levels (especially if Darby wins). Still, for his first match in seven years, a fine outing for Punk and delivered what it needed to. Omega and Christian absolutely worked their asses off, and with a different crowd/different place could have also been an all-time classic. Crowd was pro-Kenny, and Christian can definitely pull off a justified heel-turn down the road. Props to the Blood and Guts mention with the ending interaction, as I want to see the next one with The Elite (with Cody re-joining them with his heel turn) and a team of Danielson/Christian/Jurassic Express and say Hangman (and possibly as the main event of Revolution) before Christian turns. Man the post-match was well done with Adam Cole's entrance (and he got a great reaction live before aligning with The Elite) and then Bryan Danielson coming out (and promo for the live crowd was really cool, and hopefully will be part of the DVD, even if the have to bleep out Danielson a bit). Definitely the best event that I have ever attended (and that includes a pretty solid Wrestlemania, Mania 22, and two of WWE's best events this century in Money in The Bank 2011 and Extreme Rules 2012). AEW is basically what would happen if you could put together the best elements/features of ECW and WCW (a major promotion that clearly presents itself as such while still delivering for its dedicated and respecting and even cherishing them like a small business/company).

Agree with most of those. The ones I will go the other way on is Eddie defeating Miro for the TNT title, and Young Bucks retaining the tag title (with Santana and Ortiz winning titles at Dynamite: Grand Slam). If the battle royal was a few months later, I would strongly consider Jamie Hayter winning, as I think that she turns on Britt and challenges for the title at some point (assuming that Britt has a long run with the title).

That was a great go home week of wrestling, and Rampage in particular was outstanding. Showcased an emerging top act (Malakai Black) at the start of show that should be a key player in future PPV's, and then built to three of the big matches on the PPV (Miro-Kingston, Britt-Statlander, and the main event of All Out). It was especially a great night for Kris Statlander, as she looked awesome in that match and won the crowd over enough that she should not get booed out of the building on Sunday against the good doctor (and having strong, over opponents to face Britt will be key as long as she is still functionally a heel). Also, while I'll be disappointed not to see Pac-Andrade in person at All Out, it's good that they will get a featured spot on next week's Rampage (and Rampage gets a PPV level match as main event next week).

Assuming that they have Bryan Danielson lined up to appear on the show, plus likely surprise or two in the women's battle royal (Ruby Soho), I would actually put Sammy Guevara in Pac's place for the match against Andrade. Keeps free agent surprises confined to those spots, plus rewards one of your top in-house wrestlers not on the card yet. Andrade likely would still go over (and it wouldn't hurt Sammy a ton). and that would likely be a really good match (and would not need a huge amount of time either, like 12-15 minutes).

They were on a handshake deal for their first couple of months in AEW, but signed multi-year contracts last summer. Leaning towards this being a work in regards to the severity of Cash's injury (and will be wearing a cast for a long time as a heel), but would not be surprised if he legitimately needs serious surgery and just coming back for one match to finish the feud.

They inherited a Fulham squad in a bad spot, and while they have yo-yoed a couple of times up and down from the Premier League, look to be in good position now to dominate the Championship and come back up to stay in the Premier League with their current squad (and we're unlucky to go down last year based on metrics like expected goals). They have done a far better job owning and managing Fulham compared to the Jags.

While it looks like that on paper, I think that either the tag titles or TNT title changes hands at the PPV. While most people would guess that the tag titles are the likelier of two, actually think the TNT title is likelier to change since Kingston is due to win a big title match (already lost AEW title match and tag title match on PPV). He's probably over enough to overcome another big loss, but I'd like to see win a big one.

Really enjoyed tonight's show, so even though I agree that Wednesday was mediocre for Dynamite (which is a very high bar), disagree that this is part of a downward trend. The opening tag match was awesome, and hope to see Jungle Boy win gold pretty soon, I will gladly enjoy seeing Bucks-Lucha Brothers in a cage (and just hope that Fenix doesn't seriously hurt himself trying something batshit off the cage). Glad to see Kingston confront Miro tonight, and hoping that Eddie wins his first title in AEW. I like that Cutler is almost acting like what he thinks an obnoxious jackass should be, and coming off as so over the top just because it's so far against his natural inclination. A ton of fun for an hour show, though I think it needs to be live weekly.

Agree with the consensus on the whole of this being an average (at least for Dynamite) show, but it was more due to weird pacing and a couple of missed opportunities. I was good with the first hour of the show, and actually have enjoyed Jericho-MJF feud (but agree that All Out needs to be the feud ender). I could understand having a match like Gunn Club-Factory on Dynamite in the early era, before AEW fully fleshed out the roster. However, no reason to have two level Dark level factions against each other on Dynamite with this loaded roster now. Also, while there was nothing last night that will damage Black long-term, he should have beat the shit out of anyone that dared rush the ring to protect the honor of Cody/Nightmare Family. Him backing off of Lee Johnson is too old school booking for my taste (of course, I also view Black as the good guy in this feud, but seriously would book him as a straight killer that is evil, and not having any cowardice factor in). Strongly agree that he should be booked on All Out, and I'd have him take out Kojima before the Moxley match and have him beat Moxley (to help start Moxley down the road towards a heel turn that he started teasing a couple of weeks ago).

I'd gladly sign up for Archer/Suzuki versus Men of the Year.

I'm a big Adam Cole fan, and enjoyed most of his big NXT matches that I saw (through the middle of 2009), so happy to have him on board. While I agree that AEW needs to be pretty selective going forward with additions, this is not where I am drawing the line (especially when one of your top talents would very much welcome this addition).

Three hours of regular TV, split among two shows, is the perfect amount to me (still plenty of time to advance key storylines and give matches time without over exposing the roster, even as it keeps getting deeper). However, creating/rebranding a Youtube show for the women's roster makes sense, and you can air a feature package on the main shows from that program along with the usual 2-3 women's matches each week. I'd still love for Rampage to get a better time slot (and would personally love a switch to 6:05 on Saturday on TBS for the WCW/JCP fan in me).

I think that cutting to a quick commercial after Punk's entrance was a sneaky good move, as it gave people time to tune in knowing that they will see Punk now (and selfishly allowed the diehards to catch their breath after the amazing initial reaction).

I am the exact opposite, I'd say the main reason I am still watching wrestling today is discovering Kenny Omega and subsequently the Bucks in New Japan. I was still watching WWE programming at the time out of force of habit (while only truly enjoying NXT and the occasional big match on PPV), but really enjoying seeing Omega as New Japan ace and the various collection of characters around him allowed me to truly start enjoying wrestling again. When they formed AEW, it allowed me to finally break from WWE programming for good as there was a now a major alternative to what had been the only major American wrestling company (tried watching Impact/TNA couple of times, but ultimately never took hold with them, as it felt like a low rent WCW to me). As far as Punk debuting now instead of when company formed in 2019, I also have the direct opposite opinion to you on that. Even with the momentum and excitement about the formation of AEW, a new company is still a fragile thing and having Punk in the wrong mindset join the roster would have been awful for a company that has formed a strong foundation largely built around having fun and a strong camaraderie in the locker room (strong enough to keep something as harrowing as Brodie Lee's illness a secret to the outside word to protect his family). Punk had just concluded awful legal proceedings with the WWE that damaged a close friendship and was checked out of wrestling at the time. Two years letter, Punk is more enthusiastic about wrestling again and more importantly is in a much healthier place mentally. Meanwhile, AEW has a strong foundation that should be able to withstand things if Punk's attitude causes a problem (and I do not believe that will be a problem, as Punk is outside the toxic WWE ecosystem now). While I was personally hesitant adding AEW adding Punk initially because of past baggage and loving what AEW has already become (and knowing that a certain Bryan Danielson was also in waiting to join the company), I had already started to change my opinion even before Rampage with the buzz around Punk's return in Chicago (and I was definitely a Punk fan in the past and him winning at MITB 2011 was my favorite in-person memory as a wrestling fan). The reaction around his return immediately swept me up, and I've loved seeing all of the reactions and buzz elsewhere (and a couple of friends that were lapsed fans watched on Friday and loved it). I think these next few weeks, starting with last Friday, will go down as when AEW ultimately became the most popular American wrestling company.

True, though the Pinnacle came together on the post Revolution show this year.

While I enjoy Jericho on commentary and have said that JR should step away from the booth, it was a good thing to have JR in the booth last night. Having JR sounds that legitimately excited, comparing Punk's pop to MJ and saying that was the biggest moment that he has witnessed live brought that the exact type of gravitas that he is hoped to bring.

While I was initially hesitant about AEW signing Punk at first, it is clearly the smart move given the buzz around him. Even if it's just a 1-2 year run, I think most of the eyeballs that he will likely bring to the product will stick around with the quality product that AEW offers. I will say though, I am glad that AEW has already established itself before Punk jumped aboard (just in case it goes sideways, it would not totally torpedo the product).

The Tye Dillinger Perfect 10 gimmick gave me DDP in '97/'98 vibes. While failing to capitalize on his popularity on the main roster wasn't quite the fuck up of blowing it with Nakamura, they badly failed to capitalize on something really nice that Spears/NXT built up. A pretty damn fun show overall, though I'll agree that the show faded with the Lambert and Paul Wight segments back-to-back. Still, the three awesome and different matches in the first hour and a classic TV main event made this a strong episode overall. Certainly wouldn't complain about a Miro-Kingston TNT title match at All Out, though I feel like Eddie probably needs to win a big match one of these days soon. Also, it would give the fans a feel good moment since I still expect both Elite champions to retain (though I could see Bucks losing to Jurassic Express, especially since Jungle Boy is creeping towards must win in a big match territory as well).

My thought/hope is that he will show up at the end of the Omega-Christian match, and the match with Omega actually happens at Dynamite-Grand Slam.

We now have two matches set, Christian-Omega, which I am all on board with now thanks a great last week of building towards it, and Andrade-Pac, which should be pretty damn good in the ring (and I've kind of liked story setting it up, with Andrade trying to get the Lucha Brothers away from Death Triangle). I figure that Darby-Punk will be confirmed on Friday night (and I'll be cheering for Darby at All Out), and that will likely be the main event of the show. Also, it looks like it will be Sammy Guevara-Miro for TNT title, which looks really exciting on paper (and while Miro is the favorite here, it's not crazy to think that Sammy could win). Rampage likely set up Statlander-Britt for the women's title, which is a solid women's title match (and while Britt will technically be the heel in the match, she will be the crowd favorite again in Chicago). Hoping that Cash Wheeler can return for All Out, as I'd love to see Santana and Ortiz-FTR get an opportunity to redeem themselves and shine on the PPV (and hopefully get a win for Santana and Ortiz before a title match with Bucks at Dynamite: Grand Slam). Speaking of Bucks, they do not have a natural title defense here, and you could likely get away with having them in say a multi-person match with how the rest of the card is shaping up (but I'd be stunned if they do not have a match of some sort on the card). While a part of me will still be disappointed not to see the Hangman title win in person (and has me contemplating a way to go to Full Gear), this still is shaping up to be a potentially awesome event (not to mention a possible debut of Bryan Danielson in AEW).

Great launch to the show, and a one hour show feels like the needed complement to Dynamite. Christian-Omega was a tremendous TV match, and a perfect way to build both towards their match al All Out (and it now feels like it has the gravitas of a world title match), along with moving the belt back to Impact in due time (likely at their big pay per view Bound for Glory). And yes, while this may seem a bit cruel to Impact to be a pawn in the bigger AEW story, reality is that their connection with AEW as more of a secondary piece of the overall Elite and Don Callis story arc still has been great exposure for the company. Love that the good doctor is both embracing her popularity (though probably not to quite the extent she did in Pittsburgh) while still keeping up with her shenanigans. There's still a story to be told before she eventually becomes a full face, and we have seen way too often from the WWE that taking the edge away from popular characters to fit an archetype babyface kills the character. Going forward, I love the potential of what the extra hour on TV for AEW could bring, from advancing big angles, to getting more stars on TV, to my hope of having long title matches (and occasional title changes) that take up the bulk of the program every so often. Dynamite will still be the flagship show, but Rampage will also be can't miss TV.

While number one there would be disappointing, the second reason there is a very acceptable reason to postpone the title match till Full Gear. Of course, I'm very disappointed not to see Hangman win it at All Out live, but cannot argue against taking time off for important life events. Now, to be perfectly honest I'm more excited about the announced Pac-Andrade match-up, but Omega-Christian will likely be very good in the ring. Still, it will again be a semi-main event AEW title match assuming Darby-Punk is the main event.

I didn't see Eaton's singles face run live, but going back over the years and watching many of those big matches (Arn, Flair, Taylor) multiple times, he was a really good face that should not have been turned back so quickly (even though he joined an awesome group in the Dangerous Alliance). Also, his match right before the face turn with Brad Armstrong at Wrestler War '91 is a clinic with two great workers. On a related note, the Midnights face run in late 1988 and 1989 is also a lot of fun for something different, particularly the feud with the SST (and the rare really good War Games match without color at Bash '89). They should have kept the TV title on him for a few months before dropping it to Austin. Later on in his career, I would have loved to have seen the Blue Bloods gets a run with the tag tiles (should have given them the run they gave Bunk and Slater).

With all of these WWE talent releases, I hope that Impact or even a new wrestling group emerges as a quality third option (and of course, works with AEW). As much as I love AEW and think that they do a good job of cycling the mid card guys in and out to go with top part of the card that features weekly, even I admit that they are getting a bit crowded with Andrade, Malakai Black, and likely Punk and Danielson now part of the company. Plus, a legitimate third company that works with AEW would allow for talent exchanges and guys moving around to stay fresh. Edit: I'm bearish on Impact being that just cause of years poor management that damaged their reputation, and their current TV situation being stuck on AXS. However, they are still the likeliest option among current American companies.

The great thing about Dynamite, is that even in a semi holding pattern week like this, it's still a really fun show that builds to the future. Malakai Black is now a top-flight star after one match in AEW, and already belongs among the main event players. They planted the first seed of the possible Dark Order split, likely when Hangman is champion (Evil Uno/Stu on one side, Silver and Reynolds the other). Also, you've built towards both the short-term title match (most likely Christian, good chance that it's at debut episode of Rampage) along with continuing to build towards the longer one with Hangman (and despite what Meltzer said, that still looks to be the title match at All Out based on this week's build). You keep the build to Jericho-MJF at All Out, and have given Jericho a new death finisher. The second half of that match was really fun after an admittedly rough start where they both looked slow and out of sync. Totally agree with Mox/Eddie/Darby as a fun trios unit, and it's a good shout for them as potential trios champions (though you could make a good case for a bunch of teams). And man, Miro is a ton of fun as a TNT champ with this modern day face/heel hybrid character (accepting that he's getting cheered, but still that he's a bit of a dick).