A quick Googling tells me Aleister Black and Adam Cole had an Extreme Rules match at a Takeover in Jan 2018.

Edited November 6, 20241 yr by tbarrie

only watched about the last 50 minutes

hey, Hobbs is back

Man, I don’t think they could be booking Cole’s comeback any worse than they are. The way the air went out of the building when he kicked out of Malakai’s finish…yikes.

Speaking of which, that sure seemed like a curtain call for Malakai.

Nice stuff from Hayter/Ford. Was kinda disappointed that it was such a decisive win for Hayter as I was hoping that they would get a little program out of this. 

Great opening tag with Death Riders vs Orange & Darby. Nice flow straight in to the Fight Without Honor trios tag afterwards. 

Terrible continued portrayal of Kamille as ineffective as possible in her role. First she loses, now fails a surprise attack and gets taken out with ease.

Cole/Malakai had some good stuff in there, ending felt odd. Hayter/Penelope was pretty good, fast paced being under 5 minutes. 

Great surprise in Hobbs return. I initially thought Ospreay, then figured it'd be Davis, so that was unexpected and then to see all of them involved afterwards made for a nice chaotic ending. 

I kinda suspect that Malakai's back is still not great yet as good as it is gonna get, so him possibly losing a step would be the least surprising thing in the world. I assume that's why his schedule has generally been light and tag match focused.

Rather amazing he is still that much better than Cole though >_>

The Hurt Syndicate's suit game was on point tonight. 

LOVED that opening tag. Really, really hope we get more Darby/Orange tag matches. They worked really well together. Either one of them can rip off a sweet hot tag sequence. No need to rehash how much of a nut Darby is, but that post bump was totally something I would've cooked up in my GI Joe figure fed when I was a kid. 

P-P-P-POWAHOUSE

Great return for the big man. I kind of liked that the show was book ended by big tag matches - I think combined with the 4 way contender stuff w regular teams, its a really nice effort to show that they're refocusing on the tag division in earnest. Or making an attempt anyhow.

Here's a "let it play out" item I can't really necessarily pass judgment on yet until we learn more:

Hurt Business is awesome. Their mission is awesome. Mox's crew is awesome. Their mission is awesome. But in many ways, MVP's rhetoric sounds veeeeery similar to Mox's. So I have to wonder: unusual booking, or intentional story beat for a feud or partnership?

Edited November 7, 20241 yr by Zakk_Sabbath

Claudio manhandling OC reminded me of how I powerbomb Lil Octopus on the couch

7 minutes ago, Octopus said:

Claudio manhandling OC reminded me of how I powerbomb Lil Octopus on the couch

Aw lil octo. I love that. I'm not sure where we're heading story wise with these two, but OC/Darby as an underdog superteam really works for me. I'm very, very curious to see how it unfolds between the two of them as the wider BCC war moves on - and I don't mean some dumb CAN THEY GET ALONG?! thing- but more in terms of each's actual role/function in that scope (e.g. if Darby's your Sting, extrapolating from there, is OC your Luger? Is he Savage where he ends up rolling w Mox later? The DDP-esque People's Champ, merely supportive-to-the-tippy-top?)

It really hit me at the start of the show just how bush league AEW looks with no pyro.

45 minutes ago, Octopus said:

Claudio manhandling OC reminded me of how I powerbomb Lil Octopus on the couch

While Jim Ross screams, "HE....HE POWERBOMBED HIS SON! HIS OWN FLESH AND BLOOD!"

1 hour ago, Octopus said:

Claudio manhandling OC reminded me of how I powerbomb Lil Octopus on the couch

When he did the repeated backbreakers, I told my son, "I'm going to do that to you!" He had missed it, so I rewound to show him. As it's playing again, my wife walks in and says, "That looks like something you'd do to him."

11 hours ago, EVA said:

Man, I don’t think they could be booking Cole’s comeback any worse than they are. The way the air went out of the building when he kicked out of Malakai’s finish…yikes.

Speaking of which, that sure seemed like a curtain call for Malakai.

He just posted a video on Instagram saying he's been healthy for 3 years and has no intention of retiring any time soon.

22 minutes ago, HumanChessgame said:

He just posted a video on Instagram saying he's been healthy for 3 years and has no intention of retiring any time soon.

I more so meant leaving the company.

It's really great seeing Hurt Syndicate get all the love from the crowd.  The group is absolute money and I'd be fine if it was just those three wrecking fools.  But for the business card aspect whoever is added needs to have that special something that makes them fit in nicely.

Adam Cole's match was better than last week as they took out the unnecessary parts that didn't work and had it more be about him overcoming Malakai.  The only problem is it all really didn't feel earned especially the kickout of The End.  Cole has more fire as a heel but as a face it just feels more like he's pretending and it's no wonder the air went out.  I also didn't see enough to justify Malakai sitting there wanting Cole to end the match or the post-match hug. 

Which I guess leads to the overall question of why this is all happening in the first place.  Aside from a match in NXT for a group of spooky ass-kickers I see no connection between them and Cole.  Nothing's ever been hinted about them respecting each other or anything on the personal side.  The whole thing feels very confusing and especially with Brody not being the third opponent there's just no point to it all.  If he was going to go three guys and Takeshita's the third man then it should have been Cole overcoming the Callis Family.  Have him go through Cage then Archer THEN Takeshita.  It would have had more focus to his path to MJF and the ways Cole overcame the last two matches would have made more sense.

Aside from that the other matches were pretty damn good.  The tag matches delivery very well and I'm so glad Hobbs is back.  And while I initially didn't look forward to Hayter/Penelope I was a fool when it started because that was awesome.  The way Hayter kicks ass makes it easier for me to get past her choice in gear and hair.

I'm going to start a Go Fund Me for AEW wrestlers to buy better self-tanner.

Team Colours in AEW:

• The Hurt Syndicate: Black and Gold.
• House of Black: Black and White.
• Bullet Club Gold: Black and Gold and White.
• Dark Order: Black and Purple.
• The Acclaimed: Pink and Black. 
• La Faccion Ingoberable: Black and White.
• Iron Savages: Black and Red.
• Patriarchy: Just Black now Luchasaurus isn't around.
• Undisputed Kingdom: Black and White and Gold.
• Outrunners: Pink and Blue.
• Outcasts: Black and Green.
• The Elite: Any/All. But usually includes Black somewhere. 

So that being considered, the fact that in the Orange & Darby vs Pac & Claudio match, both teams were both wearing black (and Darby's shorts were the only drop of colour), that's a disappointment. Is there any way we can get The Death Riders to decide that having deleted all trace of Regal and Danielson from the group, they're now going to colonise that Claret colour that's associated with both men? Or failing that, be something other than another bunch of guys in black. Start wearing Yellow to antagonise Eddie Kingston or something. Whole thing's looking like a Spinal Tap reference that's got out of hand.

Quick, everyone wear Orange while Taz is out.

2 hours ago, Hamhock said:

While Jim Ross screams, "HE....HE POWERBOMBED HIS SON! HIS OWN FLESH AND BLOOD!"

Sometimes he’s able to reverse it into a high impact DDT. 

9 minutes ago, Octopus said:

Sometimes he’s able to reverse it into a high impact DDT. 

Make sure he never sees a Kidman match or it's over for you

1 hour ago, NikoBaltimore said:

But for the business card aspect whoever is added needs to have that special something that makes them fit in nicely.

A lot of folks are saying Hobbs, but if there is someone that could use this rub, it would be Wardlow.

2 hours ago, HumanChessgame said:

He just posted a video on Instagram saying he's been healthy for 3 years and has no intention of retiring any time soon.

It was only a year ago he talked about getting quackery treatment that miraculously healed his back. People can believe whatever they want, but that shit isn't proven and doesn't work. And once the match was over, he moved around like a guy whose back is supremely fucked up.

2 hours ago, EVA said:

I more so meant leaving the company.

I liked the match and it really did feel like a curtain call for Black. I would hate to see him go because there are enough spooky perverts in WWE. I'd rather see him be repackaged in AEW if his back isn't fucked and he can still go.

24 minutes ago, SovietShooter said:

A lot of folks are saying Hobbs, but if there is someone that could use this rub, it would be Wardlow.

LOL please stop trying to make Wardlow happen. In fact, if WWE wants anyone, they can have Wardlow. Stick him in NXT and teach him how to get a personality. If they were able to work a miracle with Pillman Jr. then they could do the same with Wardlow.

I thought the episode was pretty solid all night long. Loved the presentation for the Hurt Syndicate. Loved the crowd chanting "WE WANT HOBBS" when Hobbs was waiting for the hot tag. Hobbs is just so fucking good.

I know the momentum is leading to Darby vs Moxley, but Hobbs feels like an actual AEW homegrown product and pulling a swerve and having Moxley beat Darby only for Hobbs to step up next and systematically murder all of the Death Riders and squash the shit out of Moxley would be so badass. Too bad Moxley is never going to let himself get squashed by anyone.

EDIT: Ricochet looks to be finding himself again, which is nice, but his new finisher sucks balls. 

Fletcher looks like Aussie Randy Orton.

Mark Davis looks like most dads rolling out of bed in the morning.

Takeshita rules the fucking world.

Wild and crazy Hangman rules the fucking world too. Just go full Stan Hansen and have chew spit slobbering out of his mouth.

This is the first time I noticed Brian Cage is developing a pretty large bald spot.

At first I thought Ospreay was in full gear and I laughed, but it was just some track pants. 

I've been one of the bigger opponents of poo-pooing on this smaller guy shouldn't have a chance against this way larger guy, but Adam Cole vs Takeshita may be even more unbelievable than Lesnar vs Danielson. 

As for Cole, it really sucks. I was ultra high on the guy, but between his runs in NXT and AEW and constantly positioning him as a top guy, it just doesn't work. Every time he's been on the shelf the overall product has been better because no one has to book around this guy who has lost a step with the crowd and keeps relying on doing moves he's undersized for. Takeshita, given how stiff he is, may legit murder Adam Cole. 

And, woah! Hey! They actually had a promo AND a graphic promoting upcoming matches, dates, saying tickets were on sale, and everything. Where the fuck has this been for the last, oh, every fucking week since they could start running arenas again?

Edited November 7, 20241 yr by Craig H

TK said a while back he has Malakai under contract into 2026. I don’t know why he’d let Malakai leave early. I also don’t really think Bud Matts would’ve signed an extension if he thought Malakai was leaving. He was moving like he was 90 after the match. I think that’s as far as it goes. 
 

I fucking hated that finish. “Adam Cole: Warrior babyface” is a huge misread of the situation.

 

Mox’s group rules. 

 

There have been folks who have left WWE and gone to other places and it makes those performers look small time. The Hurt Syndicate makes AEW feel like a bigger deal. Those guys are fucking awesome. They need one more member. Someone to be Cedric Alexander; a faster paced high flying worker to complement the other two guys. 
 

I liked big chunks of this show, but there were some weird ass finishes.