The NXT Roadblock mini-review and more, it's Casual Friday!

 This whole writing thing is so … weird. As somebody who has had a steady job since they got outta high school – first at an animal hospital for ten years, then at four (very) different auto shops for around 15 more – just sitting at a desk and thinking, and letting those words get going is a big change. I love doing it, especially this blog thing. I’d like to think the handful of folks who click on these at least read the opening monologue, even if they aren’t really getting into the wrestling discourse of it all, but who’s to say?

And that’s when it gets hard to sit down and do it, when ya start thinking like that. As I always say when I write about my dad, this is as much for me as it is for anyone else. I got my first paying gig writing about wrestling through this blog, and at this point it serves as much as an audition as it does free therapy for your beloved author. I also just like the process. I fill my coffee mug, sit at my desk, and do the “fun” writing before I get into the paid stuff. But even the fun stuff still requires work, you know? Picking a quote to subtweet under the promotional stuff, putting the work out there on socials in hopes that maybe somebody takes a chance and gives the thing a read – that’s not nothing, and it actually makes me a little nervous. 

All that is to say that I usually do the Casual Friday blog on Thursdays, when there’s no new wrestling that I regularly watch and I’m usually between paid gigs. But this week I was supposed to go help a pal work on her place, and the weather said maybe don’t do that, so my timeline’s all screwy. And that’s the thing I’ve found most frustrating about this whole creative endeavor – it’s really hard to get going if your brain just decides it’s not a writing day. Today clearly is. I can always tell when I sit down and the words just kinda flow from my fingertips. So I’ll knock this out, and then get to the paid stuff until Mo is up and at them, and then it’s back to pretend farm work. Those crops ain’t gonna water themselves! (Well, not until we invest in sprinklers.)

It’s been snowing since I woke up, and since my wife and I stayed up well past our bedtimes playing co-op Stardew Valley, I’m writing this from my couch on my laptop with Ditka and Trillian snoring beside me. I tend to worry that my mechanical keyboard is too noisy, and the office is right across from the bedroom. So I opted for the silent laptop and an ergonomically inferior writing setup. At least the coffee maker is closer.

We Watched Some Wrestling!

So I posted this to the blog on Tuesday night, just before turning on the TV to watch NXT Roadblock, the last WWE special of any kind before WrestleMania XL on April 6-7. And while I was right more than I was wrong, I was especially happy that my main event prediction panned out! Not only are we getting good-guy-Mafia-leader Tony D against Ilya Dragunov for the NXT Championship at Stand and Deliver, but we also saw the return of Trick Williams, first teased during the Tony D / Carmelo Hayes match as a theme song and distraction, but then gifted afterward by Tony himself. I’m really looking forward to Hayes and Trick, as this storyline has been brewing for quite a while. 

The rest of the show was fine, with Shawn Spears winning in a squash, tag champs The Wolf Dogs and the Kabuki Warriors retaining, and Joe Gacy losing again to Dijak in an asylum match. That last one was a lot of silly fun, with spray painted tables and a box labeled “Do Not Open” that, when opened, launched a spring-loaded boxing glove into Dijak’s stomach.

Oh, and during that Kabuki Warriors match, Tatum Paxley and women’s champ Lyra Valkyria lost, but more importantly Roxanne Perez came out afterward to complete her heel turn, fully attacking the champ’s arm after her loss. I think it’s not too risky to say we’ll see those two at Stand and Deliver as well, with Paxley in her BFF’s corner. 

The post-Sting era of AEW Dynamite brought with it a new set and new logos for both the show and the company, as well as a promo-heavy episode that served as a lite-reset after Sunday’s big PPV, which we talked about already. And while the first hour, admittedly, might have dragged a little bit, AEW more than made up for it in the back half of the show. 

A fantastic Young Bucks segments led into a brawl between the brothers and Eddie Kingston, and when the numbers caught up to Kingston a coin drop confirmed the rumors, and Kazuchika Okada made his debut as an AEW performer. However, after suspending Hangman Adam Page for his actions on Sunday, and firing Kenny Omega from the Elite (because he wasn’t making his dates – because the man has been getting treated for diverticulitis!) the Bucks had an opening … and Okada established himself as the newest member of the group by hitting Eddie with a Rainmaker lariat! A great kinda swerve, letting the big debut happen alongside a heel…I guess it isn’t a turn, per se, but it was unexpected to see Okada debut as a villain alongside the clearly-loving-it Bucks. 

We also got a helluva main event, with Will Ospreay following his first match as an AEW regular on Sunday with another banger, this time against Kyle Fletcher. Both guys put everything they had into this fight, and it was really as good a TV match as you can ask for. 

Closing Up Shop

The weekend ahead has some good stuff, despite it only being the regular TV schedule for both AEW and the Fed. I think the Rock is scheduled for SmackDown, but don’t hold me to that. Rampage has a great announced card, and Collision looks pretty good too! We’ll recap all of those early next week, but for now it’s time to feed the fur-kids and get to writing. Have a great weekend!

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