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So we’re gonna go a little more freeform with today’s blog, but there's a good reason for it! For one, dear reader, I assume missing a blog day means you’ll never check in again, because that’s the kind of brain nearly every writer has, or so I’ve seen. More importantly, I only just got back to Colorado last night after a hell of a weekend, a hell week, and having watched a hell of a lot less pro wrestling than usual.
The vagueness of last week’s blog was for a reason – my sister, brother-in-law, and their doggos were driving to Chicago, while I was hopping on a flight. My wonderful mom turned 70 this week, and several months ago my baby sister suggested we all return home to surprise her. And she was very surprised! We coordinated before we stopped by, and it was all the screaming and tears one might expect. We followed that up the next night with a surprise party with a large chunk of our very large family showing up at a restaurant for what she thought was just a little family dinner – more tears ensued, laughs and drinks were had, and lots of food was consumed. We even had a Superbowl party on Sunday, with the usual grub and the whole family gathering one more time before my sister headed back East.
HOWEVER, that’s where the story turns! Apparently we ate something at some point that gave both my sister and I a really nasty stomach virus. Like, the kind where you don’t want to be more than twenty feet from a bathroom. Later we found out that six other partygoers got it too! Unfortunately, my sister was already on the road and had to tough out the six-hour drive home. I was more lucky – my wife insisted I move my flight to later in the week and just camp out at my mom’s until I got better. Mom even came down with the same thing, albeit a lighter version of it. A funny story in hindsight, but it really sucked at the time!
Anyways, this is all to say that your quasi-reliable wrestling blogger didn’t actually consume a lot of wrestling this past week. I watched Dynamite with mom’s husband, fielding questions about the Young Buck’s blood-covered suits and Darby Allen’s decision to yell at them rather than fight. But that’s it – I’m catching up today on what I missed because it’s looking like another Colorado snow day. So let’s talk about what i DID see, and we’ll catch up on the rest after the weekend!
All Elite Wrestling is feeling pretty elite again!
Honestly, the card for this week didn’t exactly excite me. I think I’m a little over Jon Moxley right now, despite his constant high motor and urge to get the fans to care. His opening match with Dax Harwood of FTR was really good, and while both guys did their best to put on a hard-hitting show to get fans ready for a solid night of action, it didn’t change the fact that I really just want Mox to take a break! The guy has been a constant presence on AEW for a couple years at this point, and I think it would benefit both the man and his character to just step away for a bit. I also feel like the Blackpool Combat Club has run its course, but I think I’m in the minority in that opinion. Regardless, it was a good match between good wrestlers and probably the second best bout on the show.
The main event was in a similar spot for me. Seeing that Matt Taven, a guy we’ve literally never spoken about around these parts, was having a Texas Death Match against International Champ Orange Cassidy – and for the title, no less – with very little build felt forced. And it was! But that doesn’t change the fact that it was a hell of a fun Valentine’s Day gift, complete with a heart-shaped box full o’ tacks, Trent pulling a Terminator 2 with a flower box to save his pal from the Undisputed Kingdom, and enough blood to keep the red valentine’s theme afloat to the end of this paragraph. It was a blast to watch, and the aforementioned Taven made some good improvisational decisions when tables failed to do what wrestling tables are supposed to. A great ending to a solid show.
But in between those two was a match between now-goateed MattHEW and NichOLAS Jackson, who did a great job of embracing their new evil EVP gimmicks in their match against Top Flight. They slowed the action down and denied the fans a lot of the high-flying that they might have expected in this matchup, but still kept things really entertaining. The Bucks cheated to win, as expected, and then belittled and attacked beloved announcer Tony Schiavone before Darby Allin arrived to make the save. But, in a decision a lot of fans including myself are questioning, Darby chose to question AEW’s early hiring practices rather than, I dunno, attack the guys who are still wearing the suits covered in his own blood from last week’s attack. It felt really out of character for Allin, a guy generally known for acting before thinking, to just hang back rather than go all out. This isn’t a rivalry based on the Bucks’ new jerk boss gimmicks – it’s entirely based on Sting’s last match, and should revolve around that.
It was a decent promo, don’t get me wrong! It just felt out of place being delivered at that time, by that guy, to the guys it was being delivered to, you know? I’ve never liked heel authority figure plots, and despite the Young Bucks being fantastic at being douchebags, AEW has always portrayed itself as the “good place to work.” It seems weird to me, even just in kayfabe, to decide that’s not going to be the case as long as these two are playing this role.
One last Dynamite note before we switch to WWE – my sweet Cinnabon son, Konosuke Takeshita, has been scheduled to face Will Ospreay in Will’s first match as an official member of the AEW roster. That match is set for the Revolution pay per view, and it’s gonna rule so freakin’ hard! I’m very excited as both a wrestling fan and a proud parent. But I digress…
What is even happening with WrestleMania?!
It’s a great time to be a fan, I’ll say that. I think we could do a full crazy board like the one in the Charlie Day meme (you know the one) and concoct over ten different full, entertaining two-night Wrestlemania cards with the current storylines that are developing. None of them might even be right! But that’s the kind of great setup and big name talent they’re working with in WWE right now. We’re all going to end up with a favorite superstar or two that somehow doesn’t make the show, I fear, but I hope that isn’t enough to ruin your enjoyment of the big weekend.
This past week’s RAW saw Jey Uso continue to shine in his program against Imperium, picking up the win alongside the New Day. I’m thinking some good booking can lead us to a good Intercontinental Championship rematch against Gunther at Elimination Chamber (there’s already one scheduled for Monday but I’ll assume a DQ finish and forced rematch at the pape), with brotherly interference by Jimmy Uso leading to a match between the brothers Uso at WrestleMania.
Speaking of the Elimination Chamber, we’ve already got some qualifiers for the matches inside that structure. Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, and Liv Morgan all earned their spots, and those matches are looking to be a good time! I think the womens’ match is the more obvious, as Ripley/Lynch will make a hell of a WrestleMania match. But given the Rollins involvement in the Bloodline story with Cody, who makes sense to derail or challenge him? Drew McIntyre seems like one route, but he’s also got a match with Rhodes next week, and he attacked Sami Zayn to end the show after Zayn lost to Shinsuke Nakamura. Maybe Friday will clear some things up.
Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes had an interesting conversation about the Bloodline problem. Rollins offered to be Cody’s shield against the combined might of Roman Reigns and The Rock, and while Cody didn’t immediately agree, it’s looking like maybe some kind of tag thing might be the direction they’re headed? Or a one-two tag/singles combo over two nights? WHO’S TO SAY ANYMORE?
NXT developments too?
Yes, even a little NXT news before we dip out. Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin, the Wolf Dogs, made the most of their title shot against The Family, claiming the NXT Tag Team Championships in a really good main event! Even though Bron has been featured on both main roster shows being wooed by their respective GMs, I’m glad he and Corbs got the win here. You could tell Corbin, especially, really felt something after picking up the win. Even if it’s just a short reign before Breakker moves up, it was the right call and a way to make Bron look even stronger before he moves on from NXT.
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But with that, we’re calling it a day! It’s been a week, and even already a day, and I have quite a bit of house cholo work to catch up on now that I’m back in the saddle again. No Collision this weekend, and no PPVs or even football to watch, so we’ll focus on Smackdown and maybe some fantasy booking for the Untitled Monday Blog. Have a great weekend, stay healthy, and we’ll see ya.
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