R-EVOLUTION V - 3/3/2024

[Octopus]

1 minute ago, Craig H said:

But TK should serve everyone and have the tournament be for who will be Darby’s new partner. That is such a wrestlecrap idea that I honestly don’t think has ever been done.

But only with his enemies so the winner we can ask if they can coexist.

[Curt McGirt]

WWE would have not only made it an enemy, they would have not had a tournament for it but just picked his worst one and had the guy go ahead and come out, interrupting Sting and spoiling the celebration.

[Cobra Commander]

6 minutes ago, Craig H said:

But TK should serve everyone and have the tournament be for who will be Darby’s new partner. That is such a wrestlecrap idea that I honestly don’t think has ever been done.

I saw a WCW newspaper ad from 1990 tonight (on O'Connor's Twitter) where they flipped the names and listed Flair as having Sting in his corner during a time when Sting was feud with Flair.. and that made me think of the insane idea of having a match where neither corner person actually likes their guy

so.. yes... a tournament where it ends with a 3 way match where one wrestler is slotted as Darby's partner and the other 2 wrestlers will wrestle that man and Darby for the titles

[Teflon Turtle]

When Darby was out with Sting for their part of the press scrum, I thought I heard him say he's leaving for his Everest climb at the end of the month. My guess would be he won't be involved.

[Cobra Commander]

Darby and Mark Briscoe in a tag team of guys who keep telling you that they're not gonna have a regular tag team with anybody else

[Craig H]

16 minutes ago, Teflon Turtle said:

When Darby was out with Sting for their part of the press scrum, I thought I heard him say he's leaving for his Everest climb at the end of the month. My guess would be he won't be involved.

He has a match against Jay White at the Big Business show in a couple weeks and then, yeah, Darby may be off for awhile. I should probably look up just how long the wait is to climb Everest since I know there’s a queue for it, but I’m not sure how that queue works.

[The Natural]

Scrum recap:

Sting and Darby Allin:

Sting was first asked about why wanted to come to AEW. He said that he saw an opportunity and liked the wrestlers involved, both male and female. The brand fit him, and felt like AEW was the best fit compared to his runs in WWE and TNA.

When asked if he would be doing work for AEW in the future, Sting said that he and Tony Khan haven’t really worked anything out yet, but will likely have to talk about it in the future. He ruled out becoming a manager or a road agent/producer.

He was asked about reflecting on splitting with Jim Hellwig (Ultimate Warrior) after their run as The Bladerunners in the UWF ended. Sting said that it was for the best as they were two “roided out” guys that were ready to kill each other. Sting said he stopped doing steroids by 1990.

When asked about how hard it was to leave the ring following his match, Sting said that it couldn’t have gone any better. He put over how great it was for his two sons to come out wearing his surfer and wolfpac gear.

Sting said he had just gotten out of a meeting with the Young Bucks where he said Sunday’s match was among the top 3 matches of his career, and it couldn’t have gone any better.

He joked at one point everything went so well, maybe he could make it to Wembley Stadium again, but then said there was no chance of that happening.

Regarding his health, Darby Allin said that he came to the presser in the middle of being stitched up, but said he feels fine. He also said he would be leaving to climb Mt. Everest on March 27.

Edited March 4 by The Natural

[The Natural]

Scrum recap:

Tony Khan:

He described Sunday’s show as a “perfect night”, that top to bottom this was one of the best shows AEW has ever done. Also said that the show was likely to be one of the best gates they’ve ever had, though did not put out specific numbers.

Regarding Sting, Khan said that Sting is very giving, and not political. He never pushed to have an undefeated run but he felt very strongly about pushing him the way that he did.

In regards to Saturday & Sunday pay-per-views, Khan said they were based on the NFL’s schedule, saying more shows were likely to take place on Saturday due to NFL games.

Denise Salcedo asked a question about the status of the AEW Tag Team titles. Khan announced that the titles would be vacated and a tournament will start this month. Darby Allin is also set to face Jay White at AEW Big Business.

Khan called Sting “one of the most unselfish people in pro wrestling.”

While he is very optimistic on a Kenny Omega return, Khan said it wouldn’t be fair to create the expectation for him to appear at AEW’s upcoming events in Winnipeg.

Khan sidestepped a question regarding Kyle O’Reilly’s status, instead putting over the momentum he had before becoming injured.

Regarding Eddie Kingston, Khan said he was “absolutely planning” on having him at ROH Supercard of Honor.

One person asked if contract negotiations were underway for AEW’s TV rights deal, and if other companies beyond Warner Bros. Discovery were interested. Khan responded by saying they are still under an exclusive agreement with WBD and they are very proud of what they are doing with TBS and TNT. He said that WBD’s current management group has embraced them more than ever before.

Khan mentioned that Stephanie Vaquer was someone that he would love to have in AEW, and their working agreement with CMLL would allow women talent to come in.

In regards to the rumors revolving around Ricky Starks, Khan said that Starks is definitely under contract.

[The Natural]

Watched Sting/Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks back. MOTYC.

[hammerva]

Once again I am glad to proven wrong.  I was sure they were going to push this Authority thing with the Bucks hard and put the titles on them.  Especially when it got moved  out of the main event during the day.   but the Bucks proved everyone wrong and showed how professional they can be.   With the tag tournament coming, I don't see anything wrong with putting the titles on them.

[Matt D]

I've seen the start and the end. I am 100% skipping Takeshita vs Ospreay. There are 40% of the people on the roster I'll watch Takeshita against and 70% I'll watch Ospreay against and neither fits the bucket here.

• I enjoyed the Dark Order match from the weekend more than the big twelve person match but there were little bits of slickness I liked, like Jarrett's russian leg sweep. Mostly Jeff/Satnam/Lethal tagged into each other and interacted with one another. I would have liked that bleeding over more. I would have liked more Satnam. Maybe more Mack. Loved the fargo strut. 
• I kind of have a "Look to the Back" mentality to Willow/Stat matches right now as I keep expecting something to happen. I'm not 100% sure they earned the heat on Willow. Size isn't everything but it does mean you need to be extra mean and vicious and effective and they only got most of the way there.
• Garcia vs Christian was excellent and I was glad for the company I had to watch it. Loved that once Garcia got a wedge in on him with a damaged limb, Christian started to play King of the Mountain to keep him away from it. Very "Bock"-ish performance overall.
• Will have a lot of words to write about Danielson vs Kingston but it was great. Picture perfect for this moment of the feud. I need to badly get to writing this up actually, and the six man from Dynamite. Tick tock.
• Rushed through the 3 way. Thought it was pretty good for what it was (a 3 way!). Needed more of Hangman on top because Swerve was de facto face there. I would have actually liked Aubrey to run out as one of the last refs and it build to a moment where people had to wonder if Hangman was going to clock her too. I would have liked to see Hangman look more elated in defeat at the end too.
• Main event was quite the thing. Would have liked Sting's kids to be explained away a little bit better. A glimpse of Luger would have been nice too. But the Bucks did exactly what they should have done and it ended exactly as it should have. Darby's nuts, but we knew that. I would have liked to see Sting hit something instead of take something if he was going to bump just as much but that's beside the point. Still not the match I would have chosen but it went as well as it could have.

[Fighting a man with a perm]

Stuff I scribbled while watching this morning, apologies for any duplication!

Preshow thoughts:  Is Max Caster sporting a 5 o'clock shadow to show how much his rap yips are affecting him? Love it! Who's the Knife Pervert eying up for Boston - Okada?

Return of the Bastad! Yes! Let him heel it up at the top of the card please, away from Penta!

Julia Hart's presentation is head and shoulders above the other competitors in this match 

Main show 

It's a Christian match so of course there's shenanigans! DG's time is soon though, I think he's got limitless potential. Love that Daddy Magic got the mega pop! First match of the main card and Nigel has made a Tony Schiavone Only fans joke 3 times already..... 

Lovely big fight feel with the intros to Eddie/Bryan. So, I love BD, one of my favourites, but he's obviously playing a heel right now. To me, it feels disrespectful to what he's doing to see a crowd engage in duelling chants, y'know? Just one of my personal peeves and it happens a lot in AEW unfortunately.  

Ooof! This crowd hates Jericho. Lots of sitting around outside here. That first "meat" faceoff happened way too early.  

OC never fails to deliver. He is simply the best wrestler on planet earth. Great story told throughout, kudos Roddy too. KOR looks rough, but glad to have him back.  

Helluva gusher from Dax! That midair catch powerslam by Claudio was insane! Claudio with lots of impressive physicality here. Genuinely surprised by the result here.  

Toni Storm match was a foregone conclusion. None of the recent contenders have seemed even remotely likely to beat Storm.  

Super go-go-go action from Billy and Take. That one German Takeshita hit, whoo! This is breathless stuff, love it! Hopefully we can separate Ospreay and the Aussies from Callie now.  

It's the return of Prince Nana and the "I didn't do it" dancers. Loved Hangman's descent here, laser focused on stopping Swerve. Thought it was Swerve's time to win but they have something special between him and Hanger.  

Eeeugggh, Flair! Hopefully this is the last time we see him too. Return of the Codyvator!! The Bucks are heeling beautifully here! Darby you lunatic!! Sting you lunatic!!! "We're not sorry! We hate you!" Haha!

See you all in St Louis to watch Alexis Carrington win the strap!

 

[Just Dave]

I’m not sure the answer to fixing Undisputed Kingdom was adding another charismaless dork to the mix, making a grand total of 5 (Wardlow being the non dork with charisma).
 

Ospreay/Takeshita was very much MY SHIT. Just two young, hungry prodigies laying it the fuck in.
 

Honestly, not a bad match on this card. Even the Scramble was fun, if not a technical masterpiece. Toni/Deonna never had a chance from where they were positioned, but they did themselves no favors. BCG really needs Juice Robinson back. 
 

King/Dragon was dope. Stiff, emotional, all the good shits.

Mox didn’t need that win, but FTR signed their extensions, so I guess there’s no reason to kiss their ass for a while. 
 

Three way was dope. Hangman losing to spite Swerve was really well done.

 

Main event was all the good things. I still despise the Jacksons, but they understood their assignment here.

[Matt D]

My take on Kyle is that he's someone who simultaneously does everything right and everything wrong in the ring. Is that unfair?

[Zakk_Sabbath]

29 minutes ago, Matt D said:

My take on Kyle is that he's someone who simultaneously does everything right and everything wrong in the ring. Is that unfair?

I don't think it's necessarily unfair at all, but I'll add the caveat that IMO he's always been miscast as a heel alongside Cole, Strong & co. by both major orgs, when I think if handled right he could be a great scrappy underdog babyface in the vein of a Danielson or Sami Zayn

[Zimbra]

2 hours ago, Matt D said:

I've seen the start and the end. I am 100% skipping Takeshita vs Ospreay. There are 40% of the people on the roster I'll watch Takeshita against and 70% I'll watch Ospreay against and neither fits the bucket here.

Live footage of Matt watching Takeshita/Ospreay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u7Pv1lAqD4

[The Natural]

7 minutes ago, Zimbra said:

Live footage of Matt watching Takeshita/Ospreay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u7Pv1lAqD4

My pick:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xhe9kRCySxM&pp=ygUgY2xvY2t3b3JrIG9yYW5nZSBleWVzIG9wZW4gc2NlbmU%3D

[The Natural]

Sting video package. Rare shots of him in AEW without the face paint:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PvJWai2MCMA

Edited March 4 by The Natural

[Curt McGirt]

If I were Darby I would feel almost obligated to not ever tag with anyone else again, unless it was like a six-man or something. I mean it isn't as serious as Chicken not tagging steady again but hell if he is gonna do six-mans then that rule's already broken. 

It would have been a blast to sit there and watch Matt's complaints in real time, probably would have been the only way to shoehorn him into watching the match too  He had to leave on us though. Reminds me, I forgot to leave up the link to the show for our fellow-watchers on there, will go do that now. And as always, enormous THANK YOU to Nico for being our wrestling benefactor, and all the cats who showed up. We got what, over ten on at one point? That's pretty damn good!

We (or I) don't usually notice because we're watching the moves, but Nana's face when he's doing the dance is a riot. 

That Hardcore clip is *chef's kiss* I want the George C. Scott Agony Face to be used on the cover of an actual hardcore record. 

Edited March 4 by Curt McGirt

[BloodyChamp]

Reading everything online this morning…I’m going to have to watch this wow. I can’t believe Sting was actually involved in a real payoff match that was built up, that paid off in the minds of everybody. I wish I could have seen it but besides that I’m happy. 

[Matt D]

Here's my quick-ish take on Danielson vs Kingston:

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2024/03/aew-five-fingers-of-death-226-33.html

[NikoBaltimore]

I spent the weekend feeling that I would indeed cry watching the main.  Over the weekend I saw clips of him from '97, a good hour+ of the compilation that AEW put up and even tried to see how to sneak a few tears in last night without anybody noticing.

But an odd thing happened.  While watching it with friends I had such an insane amount of fun that it almost felt I was a kid again.  Well, minus the booze part but anyway.  The video and entrance felt epic and I'm always gonna pop for "Seek and Destroy" which I played Saturday not realizing it would be used.  The match was wonderfully chaotic and Sting gave everything he had on his way out.  Darby's glass bump was gnarly with the blood and made me feel like I was watching an out-of-control deathmatch.  But in the end the good guys prevailed and it led to a unique battle of retiring legend vs PPV time remaining which he unfortunately lost to.  But man that main was a fucking blast and I can't wait to watch it again with my wife.  Also, something that jumped out when watching his start in AEW was how obviously perfect it was for them to team up.  Nothing was really said or needed to be said for a long time but you could tell from the start how much this meant to Darby.  The bond they formed feels oddly wholesome to me and I'd like to think it will make Darby a much better wrestler and dare I say maybe a better person.  I'll admit that might sound like a stretch but I'm feeling really optimistic about things overall.

Rest of the show I was in and out on because I was playing party host but Christian/Garcia was fucking wonderful from what I saw.  I made it a point to catch what I could of Danielson/Kingston.  The little things they were doing went over their heads but I was super into it.  The all star match should have just been a meaty 4-way (yes, I know what I typed and regret nothing) as the additions of Dante, Jericho, Hook and Magnus made no sense at all.  Especially when they tried the Meat spots that were accomplished earlier by others and they got no reaction.  It could have been awesome but was a waste and poor Dante was not having a good night.  Strong/Cassidy seemed to be a great match, FTR/Mox and Claudio was the same as previous and kind of pointless and the women's match needs tons more Mariah May for reasons I don't need to say.  Oh, and I missed lots of Ospreay/Takeshita but the ending stretch was fantastic.  And yeah Matt would so hate this.

[Phantom Lord]

Last night's show was great. I was honestly physically spent after it was over so I needed to crash big time. Danielson/Eddie and Osprey/Takeshita were amazing matches. But man Sting's last match was something else. I didn't expected the glass panes to come out. I'm gonna miss crazy old man Sting. But he went out on top and you can't ask for anything better than that.

As for the tag titles, I think they have an opportunity to showcase new talent or at least elevate a new team to a higher rung of the ladder. I wouldn't be upset with BCC winning, but I'd like to see something fresh in the tag division. 

[The Natural]

The Young Bucks do little for me but fair play here making Sting look like a million bucks. Sting no sold the double superkick like he did at Forbidden Door 2022, very few get to kick out of the BTE/EVP Trigger. Sting did twice and the second time at the count of one! The right team won. This and Kenta Kobashi's last match are the two best last matches ever. Both *****.

Edited March 4 by The Natural

[The Natural]

https://twitter.com/Gbocoliseum/status/1764487624125821245

Edited March 4 by The Natural