When Real Life Gets You Down ... it's Casual Friday!

 

Good Morning!

 I could not be happier with this photo:

Because it means kayfabe is alive and well! Kayfabe, for those readers who aren’t aware (and thank you for reading, because that implies you aren’t a big old wrestling nerd like the rest of us) is basically the willing suspension of disbelief. Kayfabe is the world in which our favorite wrestlers live, the world where the Undertaker isn’t Mark Callaway, real estate salesman and motorcycle/doo-rag enthusiast, but a real undead cowboy mortician. 

It’s also where the story bleeds into real life. Using that ‘Taker example again, it’s been said that when WWF/E flexed its muscle and insisted wrestlers wear suits when they travel, the Undertaker was exempt because it didn’t “fit with his character,” despite other characters at the time like Goldust and Doink the Clown still suiting up. 

But I digress! That guy in the photo up there is Tony Khan. For wrestling fans, he’s the money behind All Elite Wrestling, the CEO and the guy who puts the wrestling matches together. For NFL fans, he’s an executive for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the football team his dad (the handsomely mustachioed man on our left) owns. Tony is in a neck brace because at the end of Wednesday’s Dynamite, he fell victim to his former employee and current executive vice-presidents’ collusion. Tony reinstated the suspended Jack Perry only to have Perry immediately punch him in the stomach, after which point EVPs Matthew and Nicholas Jackson hit Tony Khan with the recently-renamed TK Driver.

Tony isn’t really hurt – the move was done carefully, as always. But in the world of wrestling, he’s been destroyed by a move that can take out pro wrestlers, a thing that Tony decidedly is not. The neck brace was a move wrestling fans were begging for on social media, a deranged hope that a guy who happens to work with two very different companies would force a crossover. And Tony Khan did it! And it worked! NFL commentators made a point to mention the brace, and you could see Tony and his dad were genuinely enjoying the moment.

I watched some of the draft because I’m always morbidly curious what my Chicago Bears are up to. But when I saw that Khan actually did the damn thing, showing up on camera in the Jaguars’ draft room in a silly-looking foam neck brace, I was more than rewarded for my time. (To be fair, the Bears getting a pair of players that might be the future of the franchise wasn’t too bad either.)

Kayfabe is great because, when you’re willing to allow it to, it can really enhance the magic of professional wrestling. Sure, it’s cool that current fans know that Batista is really a big softie who rescues pit bulls, or that Val Venis has devolved into an internet troll. But there’s something to be said for not knowing as well – for buying into the stories we’re told, for fantasy booking the next big rivalry, for just forgetting real life for a while and enjoying a couple hours where guys beat each other up because nobody wants to go to therapy. 

It’s a world where an undead person like Abadon can choose to pursue a career in wrestling while also having the time to get face piercings, where a guy in Crow makeup can defy age and beat up some snotty kids young enough to be his grandchildren, and where Cody Rhodes can evolve from a nepo-baby to a narcissist to a space child to the World Champion. It’s an incredible escape from life, and I don’t think the real world holds a candle to it.

“It’s A Soap Opera With More Suplexes and Less Violence”

…in which I discuss the storylines that keep us watching week to week

So, aside from the insanity that was the Young Bucks/New Elite treachery, Dynamite was … interesting. The order of things felt off, and I personally don’t like the way they set up the LED board at Daly’s Place. That venue is great for pro wrestling, but it’s also small, and things like putting a moving rainbow directly above the ring ropes on TV are terribly distracting. 

I was also chuffed that Swerve Strickland, our new AEW champ, didn’t get much of a championship celebration. However, it seems that AEW knew it could get more viewers on their live Saturday episode of Collision, when it’ll be airing right after an NBA playoff game, and they scheduled a better reception for Swerve then. We’re also getting a new tag team debut and some really decent matches, including:

These four are great for a Saturday show with a solid lead-in. The Bang Bang Gang are good heels, and Top Flight and Action Andretti are incredibly talented high flyers – plus Andretti might do his “inject a full water bottle into his head in one go” spot on the way to the ring. Toni Storm is a crazy fun character, and she and Anna Jay have a story they’re developing. Thunder Rosa and Storm just had a fantastic, hard-hitting match on Sunday’s PPV, which we talked about on Tuesday, and she and Deonna Purrazzo should be able to put on a solid follow-up to that. And Trent and Chuck Taylor, former tag team partners separated by Trent’s betrayal of former pal Orange Cassidy. Parking Lot Fights involving the Best Friends have kind of a storied history in AEW, as they’re often combinations of brutal violence and amazing creativity. In short, it should be a good show for folks willing to stay up to watch.

WWE’s draft begins tonight as well, and earnest buildup for next week’s Backlash premium live event in France will continue too. The draft is always a good refresh for the roster after WrestleMania, signaling an end to rivalries by splitting people apart and allowing fans a chance to fantasy book some new matchups. Things are a little different this year, as NXT is being treated like a real third brand and, I think, actually participating in the draft as opposed to most years when it’s more of a farm team from which Raw and SmackDown draw new talent.

With Rampage and Collision doing another live back-to-back on Saturday, Friday will be for SmackDown … and Walpurgisnacht on The Last Drive in with Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder. In all honesty, I’ll probably catch up with SmackDown on Saturday morning, since Joe Bob is mandatory live entertainment ‘round these parts (we live-tweet along @elosopequeno).

Closing Up Shop

…in which I say goodbye for now

And that’s it! I’ll see you next week for the usual Casual Friday and Untitled blog posts. If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.

Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next time, dear reader. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!