Matt D Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Thanks. This was a trickier one to get through, though not as flimsy as last week. I have to admit that I'm wavering on watching as much as I can of Dark tonight (which looks fine, even interesting at times) or watching NJPW MSG Tag League Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Higo Hamaguchi vs Akira Maeda/Tatsumi Fujinami/Kengo Kimura (12/8/83). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 Watching Dark live I think the matches were pretty fun to check out. But if given the choice Tag League might be a better option for tonight. If you have time for one match I would say Sonny/Solow is worth watching assuming it's still the first match on Youtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 6 minutes ago, NikoBaltimore said: Watching Dark live I think the matches were pretty fun to check out. But if given the choice Tag League might be a better option for tonight. If you have time for one match I would say Sonny/Solow is worth watching assuming it's still the first match on Youtube. NJPW video is ~20, so I may do just that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 29 minutes ago, Matt D said: Thanks. This was a trickier one to get through, though not as flimsy as last week. I have to admit that I'm wavering on watching as much as I can of Dark tonight (which looks fine, even interesting at times) or watching NJPW MSG Tag League Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Higo Hamaguchi vs Akira Maeda/Tatsumi Fujinami/Kengo Kimura (12/8/83). Watch the tag match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kafkonia Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Red Velvet is the best possible Brandi Rhodes. Their opponents both looked better than either of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, kafkonia said: Red Velvet is the best possible Brandi Rhodes. Their opponents both looked better than either of them. Janai Kai showed some flashes of brilliance and in no proper world should Willow Nightingale job to Brandi Rhodes. Red Velvet has finally got that axe kick spot down and I like her delivery of her Overdrive finisher in that match. She should stick to using that little jump step before hitting it so that the finisher looks fluid when it lands. Edited January 26, 2022 by J.T. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Dark and Elevation really need to have a few interviews/personality profiles in between the matches. As much as their younger talent need ring time, some mic time and character development would help polish them up further. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonial Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 15 minutes ago, Infinit said: Dark and Elevation really need to have a few interviews/personality profiles in between the matches. As much as their younger talent need ring time, some mic time and character development would help polish them up further. When Elevation launched, they did personality profiles -- Paul Wight interviewed The Acclaimed, there was a video about Leyla Hirsch, etc., but that was quickly dropped. Not sure why. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 36 minutes ago, J.T. said: Janai Kai showed some flashes of brilliance and in no proper world should Willow Nightingale job to Brandi Rhodes. Red Velvet has finally got that axe kick spot down and I like her delivery of her Overdrive finisher in that match. She should stick to using that little jump step before hitting it so that the finisher looks fluid when it lands. Kai looked great when she was on offense but seemed off for most of the match when having to take offense (except the last couple of sequences). Would like to see more. And agreed on Nightengale, she’s fun and talented, sold like a champ. Also, Hirsch’s knee finishing spot this week was out of nowhere and looked brutal, I was convinced she legit KO’d her opponent. Best match I thought was the Private Party tag, probably the most competitive match. The rest of the show was pretty squashy. But wow, that Thunder Rosa outfit sure was something special. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 4 minutes ago, colonial said: When Elevation launched, they did personality profiles -- Paul Wight interviewed The Acclaimed, there was a video about Leyla Hirsch, etc., but that was quickly dropped. Not sure why. For a few weeks, Elevation started with someone cutting a promo about their match on the show. Simple, but effective. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAN Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 This was waaaay bettr than yesterday's elevation. Wheeler Yura vs Penta was fucking great- Penta is awesome creating a match cold off the ground, face versus face and still get the crowd way into the match. The Acclaimed and the Ass Boys should DEFINATLEY launch the AEW 8 Man Championships. The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn pissingt off Colton and Austin was the best thing I've seen out of the big two all week. Was Ericka Leigh trained by Mr Wrestling II? That was the best sell of a kneelift EVER. And Nick Comeratto can do no wrong. YAY! AEW! SO FUN! 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordi the former AEW fan Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, Matt D said: Thanks. This was a trickier one to get through, though not as flimsy as last week. I have to admit that I'm wavering on watching as much as I can of Dark tonight (which looks fine, even interesting at times) or watching NJPW MSG Tag League Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Higo Hamaguchi vs Akira Maeda/Tatsumi Fujinami/Kengo Kimura (12/8/83). I've got your back! I think one of the reasons I have remained a crazed fan of pro wrestling for so many years is that I often take a break from pro wrestling if I don't feel like watching. I'm the same way with going to the gym. My take is that a hobby should never feel like an obligation. Of course, you are an exception since you have actual obligations w/r/t Segunda Caida stuff... I had a chance to watch the GCW in New York show... but went for lunch with my wife instead. It was the right choice, even though I'm sure I would have really enjoyed the Hammerstein show. I don't get to eat lunch with my wife often enough. She's a hospital nurse, and has been busy giving injections on her days off. I just read the results of the GCW show, rather than feeling like I had to watch it later... Anyway, today I've got sufficient time and energy... Erica Leigh vs. The Bunny I think differently about Anna, Penelope, and the Bunny now, ever since that bloody violent tag match. (I don't think much differently about Tay Conti, because she was already a favourite). I liked The Bunny before that match, but mostly because she was so good at being unlikable (which isn't easy). But, with that post-tag shift in perception her in-ring work now seems tighter and more impressive to me as well. 2point0 and Daniel Garcia vs. Pat Brink, Rayo, and Kekoa Speaking of unlikability as a skill... For three kind of smallish, kind of goofy-looking dudes, these guys have done a great job of getting over as badass heels. Hats off to them for that! Now they run the risk of being so enjoyably hateable that the fans will start getting behind them. Lance Archer vs. Joe Keys Who doesn't love a Lance Archer squash? They're obviously giving him a little bit longer matches to knock some ring rust off and help him get his wind back up. That's cool with me, because it allows more time for him to screw with the crowd (and with that one little girl in particular). I think he does a darned fine job of straddling the "he's enjoying himself/he's kind of a dick" line. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch vs. Janai Kai @DEAN said, w/r/t Elevation: The last match was good. Everything else? BLECH! B...b...but I'm pretty sure the Legit One had a match on Elevation? Did she have a bad match? Kai certainly has an interesting look. I'd like to see her in a group with that dude who has the big video game hair. Maybe as Hook's constantly-rejected wannabe video-game fighter-looking lackeys? Hirsch sure got a lot of classic heeling in, considering how succinct this match was. Gunn Club and The Acclaimed vs. Dark Order’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, Alan “5” Angels, and 10 I like Billy Gunn's hot pink shoes. And of course The Ass Boys being all mad about The Acclaimed calling them the Ass Boys was classic stuff. "What were the two words gonna be, Tazz?" "You are horrible at math." There was some tremendous stooging in the match itself, and a cool finisher. Wheeler Yuta vs. Penta El Zero Miedo This was exactly what it needed to be, letting Yuta look strong enough in defeat. The little bit of handshake-based storytelling was a nice touch. I have to imagine PEZM's shtick-heavy performance would be pretty fun in a live setting. Jungle Boy vs. Nick Comoroto I think that the "David vs Goliath match where Goliath is in fact kind of the underdog" is a real AEW specialty, and I think that they keep getting better and better at booking and laying out that kind of match. Comoroto looks awesome in his new blue gear. The jacked-up dude in the crowd wearing a Macho Man t-shirt doing the inflatable tube wave to JB's entrance theme looked like he was having a great time. I got too into the wrestling and forgot to watch for @NikoBaltimore's "Thank you Uncle Tony" sign. Anybody catch it? Edited January 26, 2022 by Gordlow capitalized "The Bunny" 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAN Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Oh, I love Leyla Hirsch but that Elevation match was a very large nothingburger. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 6 minutes ago, DEAN said: Oh, I love Leyla Hirsch but that Elevation match was a very large nothingburger. Her opponent looked like someone I would’ve had a huge crush on after seeing her at a punk show in the mid-90s. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Apparently fucking GLACIER and Britt Baker referred him to Cody, who then got QT to sign him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty J. Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Lance heeling it up was great. Scaring little girls, fake outs with his signature moves, beating the shit out of his opponent. Shit like this needs to be on Dynamite. Good opponent for Hangman. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Thanks to Gordi, of course. I am tackling 4/19/84 Gauntlet now (which is a challenge!) and will catch Penta vs Yuta and Jungle Boy vs Comoroto later. In general, it's good for me to miss a week actually because there's weight to ritual and having a streak. Quick thoughts from what I did see. Bunny is 100% moving with more confidence now that she's a ratings beast. I'm in agreement that the Archer squash should have been on Dynamite instead of whatever they did with Kaz (I still think it had something to do with the FTR match and COVID (Arn?) and timing issues that came from that). He's talked a lot about menacing kids in Japan as their parents laugh and laugh and it really is a calling. Announcers struggle to connect Dark and Elevation. Both Velvet and Hirsch beat Kai. Hirsch was way more dominant. Bring that up! Love the interaction between Acclaimed and Gunn Club and thought it was good Bowens got to do a bit of chain wrestling vs Uno. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 Wait a sec, I haven't seen Dark but did they cut out Sonny/Solow? I thought that was a good match and the crowd was pretty into it. I guess they could air it next week unless something happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 There was no Sonny Kiss vs Aaron Solo match on Dark or Elevation, so it's either cut, or saved for later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 (edited) I feel like there was a Dark or Elevation a month or so ago that had a few matches that looked like they had been taped months before. edit to add: I think the announcer voiceover even made a joke about it since one of the wrestlers (maybe Spears) had a very different haircut. Edited January 26, 2022 by JLowe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peck Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 42 minutes ago, AxB said: There was no Sonny Kiss vs Aaron Solo match on Dark or Elevation, so it's either cut, or saved for later. Which was odd because QT directly referenced it in his promo before the Main. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonial Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Per Cagematch, there appears to be four matches that didn't air from that Dark taping ... Sonny Kiss vs. Aaron Solo Dante/Moriarty/Matt Sydal vs. Private Party/Blade Lee Johnson vs. Powerhouse Hobbs Abadon squash If they are building to some kind of match involving Dante/Moriarty/Sydal vs. Team Taz, perhaps they hold the middle two matches for next week ahead of a possible Dynamite or Rampage showdown. Abadon squashes are generally blink and you miss it these days, so it's a bit odd that their match was put on ice. (*) Abadon's Twitter bio mentioned "they/them" pronouns. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Known as Dan Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 I will say this weeks Dark felt like the most complete show I’ve seen them do for YouTube in a while. Thought good Penta was out for Wheeler who remains game, even if never a guy in that Garcia/Moriarty club of having more upside. 8 man tag was super fun, even if I did wish they would do more with everyone involved at this point. Main event was a good match, but that isn’t surprising with who was involved. I do find it funny for a guy with so much experience that Solo always managed to find himself in the wrong spot. Dude almost backed right into a spot as it was going on. Isn’t that guy a trainer? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 The person who did the Hangman series of YouTube videos is doing one for Cody. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 56 minutes ago, Jiji said: The person who did the Hangman series of YouTube videos is doing one for Cody. Finally, a story worth telling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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