All In II - 8/27/2023

[Web Conn]

15 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

If Baba really did that on purpose the man will immediately elevate in my standing to top three wrestler ever. But, I highly doubt it. 

In case you haven't seen it before this is the worst wrestling match ever.

I tend to think the match had to have been a jab at Inoki. Baba fought monsters, Inoki fought martial arts specialists. There isn’t many Baba matches like the Raja Lion match plus Raja was brought in specifically for the match. The google search I did on Raja didn’t reveal much but it did reveal he only had one wrestling match, he had some sort of training in karate and was featured in a Bloodsport knockoff could BloodFight. And guess what I found it in full on YouTube.

The point I’m trying to make is the Raja Lion match and I’m no Giant Baba expert but it the match seems out of character from the rest of his oeuvre.

[Octopus]

On 8/27/2023 at 11:35 PM, Craig H said:

Loved Joe and Punk. Really liked the psychology of Punk nailing Joe’s head with the huricurana, then dropping Joe with two high kick headshots setting up how vulnerable Joe’s head is, and then finishing him with what looked like the biggest Pepsi Plunge ever.

Been meaning to comment on this. Well said, Craig!

 I really loved this match. Joe kicking the shit out of Punk, Funk tribute spots, both using good stadium crowd work, the use of headshot psychology, and a Pepsi Plunge. I’ll need to rewatch before I do any longer write up, but it was a real treat. 

[StuntmanCrowley]

Punk/Joe was my match of the night for all of the reasons listed by Craig.  

[zendragon]

[Curt McGirt]

Whoa, Dr. Stevie dropping the hammer on that finish! 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Curt McGirt

[AxB]

Naughy naughty

[Log]

9 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

 

That's nine minutes of my life I'll never get back.

(I only watched like two minutes, but it still took nine off my life.)

[Zimbra]

Any root cause analysis of that spot has to start with "15 years too old to be doing that"

[Shartnado]

On 8/28/2023 at 1:15 AM, TheVileOne said:

So why did Adam Cole wrestle the whole main event in a shirt? His physique looked fine. Did the trolls make him self conscious?

He actually looked better than I've seen him in AEW, physically. When they were standing chest to chest with MJF, his pecs looked more defined than MJF's! He also had good definition on his lats, which you could see at times even with his shirt on.

The show was great. Watched it in two parts. Can't say what was my favorite match, but most likely FTR-Bucks or Stadium Stampede.

Stuff on Zero Hour was good too! I watched last week's Collision after this, so the FTW title match was a surprise, although I did anticipate HOOK coming back. I thought the match could have also taken place at All Out.

[AxB]

21 minutes ago, Zimbra said:

Any root cause analysis of that spot has to start with "15 years too old to be doing that"

He goes out of his way to say "Joe is too big to take the move safely" whilst tiptoeing around saying Joe should lose weight. Like he really wants to say it but knows he shouldn't.

He also alludes to the idea that the opening match should be pedestrian, so that subsequent matches don't have to strain to outdo them. But that argument, that a lot of Wrestlers seem to share, only really applies if every wrestler on the show works the same style the same way.

[Curt McGirt]

1 hour ago, Log said:

That's nine minutes of my life I'll never get back.

(I only watched like two minutes, but it still took nine off my life.)

It's actually worth watching the end where he talks about what he'd do instead. Made me go "damn, they weren't smart enough to do something like that?"

[Log]

10 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

It's actually worth watching the end where he talks about what he'd do instead. Made me go "damn, they weren't smart enough to do something like that?"

I'd say the Pepsi Plunge was a pretty memorable moment. Honestly, one of the most memorable things on the show for me. I think they did fine without Stevie's input.

[Curt McGirt]

I... didn't like it. It felt abrupt and anticlimactic, and didn't look good. Fine match otherwise.

[Firebreaker Chip]

I didn't see anything wrong with it! Having watched the match back in the broadcast I enjoyed it as much as the live viewing

I also thought received wisdom was that the opener has to be a hot match and it's the stuff in the middle that had the responsibility to not kill the crowd before the main! Not that it matters in AEW, the promotion where guys just do insane shit and shout "follow that motherfuckers!" wherever they are on  the card! Except the main event, wouldn't make sense to shout it then.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Firebreaker Chip

[Log]

23 minutes ago, Firebreaker Chip said:

I didn't see anything wrong with it! Having watched the match back in the broadcast I enjoyed it as much as the live viewing

I also thought received wisdom was that the opener has to be a hot match and it's the stuff in the middle that had the responsibility to not kill the crowd before the main! Not that it matters in AEW, the promotion where guys just do insane shit and shout "follow that motherfuckers!" wherever they are on  the card! Except the main event, wouldn't make sense to shout it then.

There's an old-school mindset that the first match should sort of ease the audience into the show. Something simple that shows, "here's what a match looks like" and then things should escalate to the main event.

Not saying that mindset is wrong, but it was thrown out the window many years ago.

[odessasteps]

It basically ended in the PPV era when both companies started putting "hot matches" on first. Crockett/WCW always seemed to be putting either the MX or Southern Boys on to start a PPV. 

[AxB]

So why Stevie Richards (of all people) would think that way, I don't know. Unless Paul E secretly thought that way too, and that's why he tended to put Hack Meyers out there first.

[tbarrie]

I just looked at the latest spam e-mail from ShopAEW, and they're selling an Eddie Kingston t-shirt that says "Redeem Deez Nuts" with the letters coloured like the Union Jack.

Do you suppose Eddie was at one point scheduled to face Miro again at All In?

[Ingobernable]

It's late to be posting show thoughts so I'm not going to run down the card or anything but I was in the upper tier on Sunday and had an absolutely great time. Nothing dragged and the presence of no downer matches meant I found it easier to resist the £8 beers. It remains the case that my mind is blown by how many fans they got in there - it looked and felt like 81,000 and they were hot throughout - but they could have done more. Lots of pockets of empty seats in the upper tier and the hard cam was taped off completely. I'm interested to see how they get on next year. I think a lot of fans probably went because of the assumption this sort of thing doesn't happen often and returns may diminish - even more so if people can assume they'll be able to go in 2025 so they can skip a year. We'll see. I'd go again for sure.

I actually liked the Pepsi Plunge as a finish spot as an easter egg for all of the lifers among us and deconstructing the mechanics of a move that's always looked dumb anyway is a waste of time. It's more about what it meant (and I that punk can't really get Joe up for the G2S either). My favourite element of it, though - and there's been discussion already on the split crowd for Punk/Joe - were the guys in the row behind me who were really pulling for Punk but who did not recognise the Pepsi Plunge. Indicated to me that I've been a wrestling fan far too long. 

The funniest spot of the night was the Adam Cole ref bump, by absolute miles. I am not an Adam Cole fan in general but, live, I really enjoyed the main and he held up his end of the melodrama for sure. I have also been down on his look in the past but I WILL say that he's actually very handsome and also that the T-shirt stuff was obviously part of the story and nothing to do with his own opinions of his body. 

On openers - I think on most live shows the idea that you warm the crowd up with something easy is still adhered to but these days by the time the feed starts the crowd have already been warmed up plenty through the pre-show so you can start the PPV hot and still get good reactions. 

 

  

[AxB]

Yeah, where I was as soon as he set up the Pepsi Plunge, a few people shouted Pepsi Plunge and a bunch went Huh? Which wasn't as bad as nobody joining in when he did the Spinning Toe Hold and I tried to start a Terry! Terry! Terry! chant.

But like, almost nobody was doing the Clap-Clap-Wave to We Will Rock You either. Everyone knew the lyrics to Judas, only a couple of people knew the lyrics to Seek and Destroy.

[Ingobernable]

To be fair I was convinced I didn't know the words to Judas - I've certainly never actually listened to it outside of watching the TV - and yet I discovered the lyrics have firmly lodged themselves in my brain without me paying attentio

[Curt McGirt]

In contrast, I've heard that thing a million times and STILL don't know anything other than "Judas in my mind"

[AxB]

Off the top of my head:

You are beautiful on the inside
You are innocence personified
And I will drag you down, and sell you out

Embraced by the darkness, I'm losing the light
Encircled by demons I fight
What have I become
Now that I've betrayed
Everything I've ever loved, I've pushed them all away
And I have been a slave
To the Judas in my mind
In there nothing left to save
In the wreckage of my life, my life

I've become, I've become I'm becoming
I've become, I've become I'm becoming
Judas in, Judas in my mind 

[peterien]

All In thoughts;

Punk being 42 and still starting/being involved in this shit is laughable. That said his match with Joe was great. 

FTR/Bucks was made for this stage. 

Jay White is the man and should be AEW champ.

Seeing Sting come out to Seek & Destroy and get a great reaction warms the heart. He deserves every bit of it. I would run through a wall after hearing “ITS SHOWTIME”. Chills. 

Ospreay/Kenny III should main event Wembley next year, good on TK for booking the venue again, go big or go home. All he needs to do now is get a big tv deal and get rid of Punk. 

Weeks like this are why I hate the likes of Sean Ross Sapp and others,”he said, she said, I heard this, I heard that” shut the fuck up dude. Pro wrestling is great at the minute, let’s enjoy that. 
 

[ka-to]

3 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

In contrast, I've heard that thing a million times and STILL don't know anything other than "Judas in my mind"

You're ahead of me. I'm at "Judas is my something or other".