Looks like we’ve made it to another Friday! I’m proud of all of us for getting through another week. It’s crazy to think that C.M. Punk won the title on Double or Nothing and that’s, like, the third biggest thing coming out of AEW. What is happening?!
Welcome to Casual Friday, dear reader. Let’s talk about the wrestling we watched last week, shall we?
Some stuff worth talking about for the week of 6/27-7/3
Double or Nothing was a really good show, but was it too long?
That seems to be a big takeaway, at least on social media. I will admit that I, too, got a lil sleepy around the last three matches or so, but Anarchy in the Arena was way too bonkers, and I got a second wind after that. But yeah, five plus hours is really long to ask of anybody to sit and watch a thing.
Putting on my booker’s cap, I could see a couple three matches that could have been moved to a Dynamite or Rampage, or maybe even to the preshow with the HOOKhausen match. I think somewhere around three or four hours is fair. It justifies the fifty bucks one pays for the show, and you get a lot of good matches, especially with AEW who just cram as much action as possible into the time they’re given.
Hell in a Cell is shaping up to be a pretty decent show!
I thought HiaC was going to be a throwaway show, but so far they have built a good card for Sunday’s pay per premium live event. I have enjoyed Kevin Owens’ descent into madness, and I’m really hoping for an Elias distraction or reveal during their one on one contest. The Raw womens’ triple threat, with Asuka, Bianca Belair, and Becky Lynch, can’t be anything less than really good. Oddly, I started out believing that there was no way Belair drops the title; recent decisions by WWE have made me question that. But that’s okay, I’d rather not know where things are headed - that’s why we watch, right?
Rollins and Cody 3 should be great. We have seen them put on a couple great matches at Wrestlemania and Backlash earlier this year. This should be a very different match, with Cody getting to lean into the more brutal style he’s been working over in AEW and elsewhere during his WWE hiatus.
I shouldn’t get too much further in, there’s a whole preview blog I’m preparing for Sunday!
AEW has some new additions after Double or Nothing!
Athena, formerly Ember Moon, is the most prominent for me from the big weekend show. We also got Stokely Hathaway, who is a fantastic mouthpiece, and RUSH. RUSH is a former Ring of Honor champ, and also a former member of Los Ingobernables de Japon alongside Andrade. I don’t know much about him, but I’ll look into it as I’ve heard good things!
Wednesday also brought us a returning Miro, redeemer and destroyer of Gods. I know a lot of people worry that AEW is overstuffed at the top, but I think Athena will fit into the women’s division nicely, and Hathaway as a manager for Jade Cargill should get plenty of time to shine. Andrade hasn’t been used terribly well yet, so maybe pairing him with RUSH will get him a little more time to show his impressive skill set.
Is the Fiend set to return at Hell in a Cell?
Some cryptic messages on social media are leading people to believe Bray Wyatt or the Fiend will be returning soon, possibly as soon as Sunday! I still think Bray’s characters are all great, and I feel like WWE is still the best place for him, as long as his ideas are recognized for their uniqueness. I liked Swampy Boy Bray as well as Melted Candle Fiend, so I guess I’m a little biased, but I do feel that Impact isn’t a big enough stage for his ideas, and AEW is just too overcrowded at the top right now. With Roman Reigns and Randy Orton out of action, there’s a nice big gap at the top of the card - one that could be perfectly filled with some weird clown stuff.
The whole MJF situation is bonkers.
I don’t know what to make of everything that’s happened in the MJF story since we last sat down for a casual Friday. He no-showed a fan event, which means one of two things. One, he actually didn’t show, and actual people had to be refunded and their time was wasted. That sucks but I don’t know what’s going on in Max’s head; maybe he felt he had to do something drastic to be heard. Two, it means it’s all been part of a storyline, and that means AEW intentionally screwed their fans over at a meet and greet that was never going to happen.
If they were able to turn a real, crappy situation into something they could use in the on-air product, that’s genius! I just hope they’re able to work something out. MJF is everything he said he is in that devastating promo on Wednesday and I think he’s in the perfect place for his talents to shine. I guess we’ll all find out as the story goes on!
Wrestling is just the best, isn’t it? There was a lot of it available last week, and here’s my favorites:
Top 5 Matches I watched this week!
On Rampage, The Young Bucks (as the Hardys) with Gangrel and Brandon Cutler (as Lita) vs Taylor Rust and John Crews
This match was just fun to watch. The Bucks took the “Hardy cosplayers” insult that Matt Hardy threw at them and took it literally. Bringing ACTUAL GANGREL made their entrance perfect, and I hardly noticed the fake Lita with them until halfway through the match! It wasn’t necessarily good, per se, but it was fun and funny.
At Double or Nothing, Death Triangle vs House of Black
This was, far and away, my match of the week! I’ve been looking forward to it ever since the story started, and I’m glad they waited for Rey Fenix to get healthy so they could do the idea justice. It was just nonstop intensity start to finish, and I loved the ending with Julia turning full evil pirate!
At Double or Nothing, Anarchy in the Arena
On a show that was a little too long, this was the shot of adrenaline I needed to last until the end. It was planned out really well. Even though everyone involved was spread around the arena there was a sense of timing and choreography. I think everyone had a great bump or two, and the image of Eddie Kingston, covered in blood and mustard, walking onto the entrance stage with a can of gasoline is gonna be one of those timeless wrestling images.
On Dynamite, Jon Moxley vs Daniel Garcia
Riding on the back of that Anarchy in the Arena match, and keeping the fires stoked for the upcoming Blood and Guts, Mox and Garcia worked a stiff as hell match against each other on Wednesday night. Even though they both went through hell only a few nights prior, both guys were able to deliver some brutal strikes on one another, and keep the momentum of this rivalry up.
On Raw, The Mysterios and Ezekiel vs Alpha Academy and Kevin Owens
I really enjoyed this one! I don’t know if it just hit me at the right time, or if the chemistry just worked for me on Monday, but I thought the Mysterios looked more motivated than they have in some time. Owens is milking this feud with Ezekiel and he looks like a million bucks out there. Really hope this wraps up strong at Hell in a Cell.
And that’s it! We have Hell in a Cell Sunday night, so I’ll probably watch SmackDown for the combo pack of Rampage Report/ Side of SmackDown on Saturday. I’ll put together some predictions on Sunday and recap the show on Monday, as per usual. I’m not sure if I’ll be watching NXT In Your House Saturday, but if I get the chance to do so I’ll write about that on Sunday too, or at least I'll mention some highlights in the Hell in a Cell predictions blog!
I appreciate you stopping by, and would love it if you drop your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Twitter @ElOsoPequeno, where I try to remember to post whenever I update the blog. I write a Raw Recap on Tuesdays, Dynamite Details on Thursdays, and the Rampage report with a Side of SmackDown highlights on Saturdays. I also plan to write about any other wrestling that I happen to watch. There’s also a weekly wrap up on Fridays, and I’ll do predictions before any big AEW or WWE pay per premium live events.
Have a good weekend!
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