Some thoughts on AEW WrestleDream and 10/16/24 Dynamite

 

Good Morning!

Welcome back to Let’s Watch Some Wrestling! I want to go over WrestleDream, which I just caught yesterday after an incredible weekend. But, I’d also like to go through the ELEVEN (!) films I watched over the weekend at the Telluride Horror show with a few of my very favorite people. 

So, let’s get into it. We’ll do the wrestling first, since Dynamite will be starting in just a few hours and pro wrestling is kinda the whole point of this blog. I’ll take notes on Dynamite itself too, pop them in after the WrestleDream recap, and post this here blog. 

But then we’ll make the switch from Let’s Watch Some Wrestling to Let’s Watch Some HORROR, and write up some spoiler-free movie reviews for the weekend’s post. Since I have yet to catch up with Raw, SmackDown, OR NXT, we’re going full AEW around here this week. Which is fine, since I’m thinking about removing the Saudi shows from my viewing rotation, and that’s what most of the Fed’s current build is leading up to. I’ll still do a preview, since speculation is probably my favorite part of pro wrestling, but I’ll maybe just do something else that weekend.  

The Let’s Watch Some Wrestling AEW WrestleDream Recap

To start us off, here’s the preview image I posted to BlueSky prior to the show:

I managed to avoid spoilers for nearly every match on the card all the way through Tuesday by avoiding both Twitter and BlueSky. But then a screenshot on Facebook -- which I felt obligated to pop onto to thank everybody for the kind birthday wishes -- ended that run. Fortunately, that was a spoiler for the result I wanted the most -- a title victory for my sweet Cinnabon son, Konosuke Takeshita. That match was incredible, and you could really tell that both Ricochet and Will Ospreay made the decision to make Takeshita look like a real superstar on the night. Take’s elbows looked like death whenever he hit either opponent, and that brutal move he used to put Ricochet through the table was nasty looking. 

Jay White and “Hangman” Adam Page over delivered, and was a great re-introduction to the suplexes and the skill of the Switchblade. I was a little worried while watching that White couldn’t take the loss, and that really Page could absorb the L because he’s dealing with some stuff that is making him act in a way that shouldn’t earn him wins -- but then Jay White reversed Hanger’s Buckshot Lariat into his Blade Runner and that was that.

Willow Nightingale and Mariah May put on a hell of a match to follow that opener (they should have been the opener, honestly) and I’m starting to think that Willow might be the best thing about AEW’s women’s division. The Ace, if you will. She’s got everything you need to hold that prestigious moniker -- talent, looks, personality, and the ability to get the best out of any opponent. Mariah May is great in the ring, but this title reign has been a little weak. Still, Willow worked great with Mariah, both in the build to this match and in the match itself. She’s going to be a great champ one day, but for now she’ll have to settle for making everyone else look amazing. Let’s just hope that AEW remembers the work she’s putting in now, and rewards her for it.

And you know what? That’s about it for highlights of the show for me. I didn’t hate anything else, but the rest of the undercard matches didn’t really move the needle for me. I didn’t like the finish for Shibata vs Perry, and hated that Perry instantly recovered and was able to attack Shibata, although the introductions of Daniel Garcia, MJF, and Adam Cole covered up Shibata’s uncharacteristic mistake that led to his loss.

Hologram/THE BEAST MORTOS, Bucks/Private Party, and Briscoe/Jericho were all good, but not super memorable. I think the Bucks would like to build Private Party up over the next few months, and then pass the tag team titles off to the younger team, but I guess we’ll have to be patient for that. 

Darby defeated Brody King in another good, not great, match, but the finish seemed more important after the show went off the air. It seems like Darby is going to be the main character of AEW going forward (non-Mox edition) and so having him earn the respect of the monstrous Brody King meant a bit more in hindsight.

And then there’s the main event. Not Danielson’s best, but not terrible either. The finish felt appropriate, and while the post-match beating and melodramatic injury angle felt a little heavy-handed, I understood that AEW was trying to show us that a change has arrived, and Danielson represented the old ways and therefore had to be dispatched, violently.

The match wasn’t the point, though. I think a lot of people, myself included, assumed Danielson wanted to retire in his home state, and I’m sure he had a lot of say in who would be ending his career. Personally, I think Moxley was a boring choice. I don’t love the current version of him, and I don’t like that Danielson was retired by a guy who won’t gain much from it. But I also generally enjoy Moxley’s work, and I love that it looks like WrestleDream was the start of a big sea change for All Elite Wrestling. Maybe the Moxes and the Elite will form a group that’s trying to hold new talent down, and that will lead to fresh faces earning more TV time. But all we can do right now is be optimistic!

The Dynamite Review

Opening the show with 20 minutes of promos certainly was a choice. I get it, though -- we’ve established a new champion and a new faction in charge in John Moxley and nWo mOx, and the new direction of the show is clearly going to be a reflection of the events of this past Saturday. So we had Mox shoot a promo from inside a van, and we’d see the group two more times before the end of the show. 

Moxley’s crew attacked during the trios match between the Elite and members of the Conglomeration, and that brawl led to the Elite stepping away from the fight and a few other trios stepping in (and getting run over.) So it looks like the Young Bucks, Jack Perry, and Kazuchika Okada won’t be getting in the way of whatever Moxley has planned, but Dark Order, Top Flight, the Conglomeration, and Daniel Garcia all seem to be on Moxley’s hit list. 

 Other developments on Wednesday included Adam Cole challenging MJF, Chris Jericho challenging Mark Briscoe again (the Jericho Vortex is real), Private Party teasing a break after challenging the Young Bucks for yet another title match (they declined), my son Konosuke Takeshita issuing an open challenge for his International Title on Collision, and Jay White losing a really good match to Christian Cage after interference from Kip Sabian (unintentional) and “Hangman” Adam Page (very intentional).

It all went by quickly, and it felt like new storylines are popping up everywhere. I overlooked some stuff in that block of text -- Mercedes Mone had a pretty decent showing against Queen Aminata, Lio Rush lost to Shelton Benjamin, who has lost a step but still appears to be refusing to age, and FTR defeated Jericho’s pals and celebrated with the Outrunners afterward. All in all a typical Dynamite from a wrestling standpoint, but the storyline developments were put front and center for this one.

And that’s it!

I’m excited to see where these storylines are going, even though I’ll admit that I don’t love the nWo mOx storyline. I do like that name though, and it’s better than the Poochie joke that keeps popping into my head when I see that crew on screen. 

My problem, as I said on BlueSky, is that these things always start the same -- you run down the young new guys and the established guys look dominant, but you believe it’s because the young guys will give the baddies their comeuppance. However, it’s often not the case, either because of abandoned storylines, injuries, or those established guys deciding they won’t be giving the kids their spots, actually. 

However, I will give Moxley and his buddies the benefit of the doubt because they’ve never acted particularly selfishly, and because despite me not being the MOST online guy you’ve ever met, I haven’t heard anything particularly galling about any of the Mox crew’s behavior backstage.

Next post will be our Telluride Horror Show recap, where we’ll do some synopses of both the festival and the films I watched. I’m excited to try my hand at film review, and have been reading reviews by real writer types in anticipation of this. We’ll see how it goes! I should have that up in the next few days or so, as I’m also working on a pitch for SlashGear. After that, I'll catch up on WWE's stuff and we'll be back on track.

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!

Bad Blood in our past, and some bloody movies in our future!

Bad Blood definitely cruised on the overwhelming success of its opening and closing matches. The CM Punk/Drew McIntyre feud that has only built in intensity since this year’s Royal Rumble has been incredible -- even more so when you factor in that Punk wasn’t really available for months after his injury at the hands of McIntyre. But they used that real life setback as a great way for Drew to lean into his heel character, attacking a rarely-present Punker until his return to the active roster. Say what you will about the whole “friendship bracelet” angle, that thing paid off in spades when Drew busted out the velvet bag many of us recognize as the holder of tacks from past hardcore matches. The audience’s surprise as McIntyre revealed a sack full of the beads that made up Punk’s bracelet was great.

And the blood! Dear God, these two didn’t need to go as hard as they did, but Punk knows how to get the most out of his broken body, and these days that means ultraviolence to both himself and his opponent. Drew didn’t back down either, earning 18 stitches in his scalp after the match. YIKES.

I really don’t have much to say about the middle portion of the show. Nia Jax retained after another teased cash-in from Tiffany Stratton, but she mostly dominated Bayley while also reminding Tiffy that she won’t succeed in using her Money in the Bank contract unless Nia is either incapacitated or dead. Finn Balor and Damien Priest had a decent match with the expected Judgment Day interference, but it’s been far too long for this rivalry and I’m hoping both of these guys move on to other dance partners. A segment featuring Gunther, Triple H, and Bill Goldberg revealed that the next Sweet Saudi Money show will feature champ-versus-champ matches for gigantic, gaudy, ugly belts that will likely not get referenced after that show passes, but that’s sportswashing for ya. 

Liv Morgan retained her championship with even more shenanigans, this time featuring a returning Raquel Rodriguez -- now a heel and apparently Liv’s muscle. I’m sure we’ll learn a little more about this when Raw starts in about fifteen minutes, but I really wanted to get this little bit written so I can start on a preview for WrestleDream tomorrow, once I get a chance to catch up on AEW Collision.

The violence of the Hell in a Cell fight that opened the show was matched by the spectacle of the main event, with Roman Reigns and a full orchestra teaming up with a college band and Cody Rhodes to take on the Nu Bloodline, represented by Solo Sikoa and Jakob Fatu. The match itself was good, but the post-match was even better, as we saw the return of Jimmy Uso. Jimmy has already shown that he remains loyal to Roman, and when the OG Bloodline returned to the ring to clear out the new guys as they attacked Cody, we got another return to close out the show. The Rock’s music hit, and he strolled out with his questionably-relevant Ali title belt over his shoulder. All kinds of questions can now be asked, and fantasy booking engines are in overdrive plotting everything from Survivor Series all the way to WrestleMania in Las Vegas. 

What’s the Rock’s whole deal? What does he want with Cody and Roman? Is he the true tribal chief, guiding Solo while he’s been on movie sets? WHO’S TO SAY? I’m looking forward to getting some answers, along with somebody addressing whatever happened between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens after the show:

Sure, it came off as a little cheesy, with Cody pantoming his emotions bigger than a mime in clown college. But it was also a unique way to have Owens turn on his friend, and I applaud the timing and scouting it must have taken to make sure fans were on hand to spread this story development via social media. 

And now for something completely different: A festival first timer’s guide!

So for the past five years, my lovely wife and I have attended the Telluride Horror show. It’s a fantastic little festival of murder and mayhem that takes place in the lovely little box canyon known as Telluride, in southern Colorado. The drive down from here takes around six hours, and some construction is making this year’s travel a bit longer but hopefully last perilous -- last year’s detour put us into a freak snowstorm that made us incredibly grateful for both my wife’s driving skills and our decision to put new tires on our Jeep Renegade days prior to the trip. 

We’re taking a friend with us for this trip, the first time we’ve ever done so. She had some questions, and it occurred to me that maybe folks who have never been to a movie festival might want to know what they’re in for if it’s their first festival, regardless of genre. So, in the interest of both public knowledge and “content” I’ve assembled her questions, along with some FAQs from the Telluride Horror Show site itself, and attempted to answer them as honestly and helpfully as I could.

Are the theaters usually packed?

They’re rarely not. There are three venues, with the one playing most of the movies we plan on seeing being the largest. The Palm is right at the entrance to town, based in the local high school. The Sheridan Opera House is closer to the heart of town, and feels like the small town theaters I grew up going to, like the old Lake Theater in Oak Park, IL or the Music Box in Chicago. That one tends to fill up quickly. The third venue was the Nugget, but it’s under construction and has been replaced with another theater in the high school, dubbed “The Blob.” So it’s TBA for that one.

Is it first come, first seated?

It is, kinda. Three day passholders are seated first, and there’s almost always a long line for any film. So there’s lots of waiting in line, which makes for nice conversation and a brief, intense rush into the theater. But in five years we’ve never not had seats, and the folks near the doors keep track of how many people are going in. 

Where do you typically sit?

If it’s up to us, we tend to sit in the one row with lots of spare leg room if we’re in the Sheridan Opera House, and near the edges of the middle area in the Palm so we can hop out for drinks or bathroom breaks without disturbing others. This is more of a personal preference thing though, and sometimes you just gotta sit wherever there’s a seat.

Do people applaud after the movie?

Yes! Most often, someone is in attendance who had a hand in bringing that film to life -- a producer, director, or actor. The movies are usually introduced by a host, and they will mention if those folks are there and if there will be a Q&A segment after the movie. But regardless, I think most movies get a round of applause just to show they were appreciated.

Can I bring a reusable water bottle to fill?

As far as I know, water is okay to bring into the venues. There’s nothing in the Official FAQ about it, and we’ve never had an issue bringing in our fancy officially branded Horror Show metal bottles.

What if the movie is too scary?

That’s a fair question! Some people’s lines are different from others, and we all have movies we’ve considered “too much” even if we’ve sat through them. Hell, one of the biggest arguments in wrestling recently was whether the AEW match between “Hangman” Adam Page and Swerve Strickland was too bloody and violent, and nobody even got disemboweled in that one!

The answer is, if the movie is too scary, you don’t have to watch it! There’s no shame in leaving a movie for any reason. There’s a ton of other stuff to watch and do while you’re down there. If you give it a chance, and it’s not for you, you can hang with the delightful people in the lobby while you wait for your pals (especially the Vinegar Syndrome folks at the Palm -- they’re always really pleasant and friendly, and down to talk movies) or just head back to your room! We’ve seen plenty of people leave -- actually, our first experience watching ANY film at Telluride featured a guy who loudly protested that there weren’t any kills fifteen minutes into a movie and stormed out. So, you know, don’t be that guy and you’ll be fine.

Have you ever left a movie because it was terrible?

Nope -- neither in regular movie-going or at the Telluride Horror Show. It could be a combination of poor judgment and believing that walking out meant wasted money and time. Or it could be that I like even bad movies, and can appreciate little things. At worst, it’s certainly something to talk about on the way home. 

But Telluride is special because it’s so well curated. I’ve never seen a movie -- or even just a short film -- I didn’t enjoy, and most of the movies I’ve seen I’ve absolutely loved. Almost all are worth a rewatch at home, and I recommend a lot of our past Telluride views to anyone who asks.

Do you attend any Q&As?

Yes and no. We typically go for the movies, primarily, and so pass on things like chats with filmmakers and authors. But, we’ll almost always stay for post-movie chats with people if we don’t need to sprint to another venue to make a movie in time. I think it’s great that people go to Telluride with different agendas, and the festival caters to all different types of horror fans. I know some folks who only go to see a few films, and spend time hiking and enjoying the town of Telluride on its own merits. We might even end up doing some local dining and shopping this year, since it looks like we may have overbooked our stay and there’s not a welcome movie this year.

Are there kids?

Not in any official capacity. Most folks know what they’re in for, and don’t bring babies or little ones to the movies. There are exceptions, though! We once had a little girl of maybe 8 who was a big horror fan, and her mom seemed to be the one tagging along more than the kid. Parents know their kids, and some kids are smart enough to understand what they’re watching. My mom worked in a local video store, and as a result my sisters and I were exposed to horror movies at a younger age than most. We turned out okay.

And that’s it!

I hope I’ve answered any questions you might have had. I'll take some notes and write movie reviews when we get back next week! If you’ve got any more questions, feel free to reach out on Bluesky @elosopequeno.bsky.social or in the comments on this very blog! I’m looking forward to Telluride, but I’ve also got a couple things to knock out before we head down in a couple days. I’m hoping to have a preview for AEW WrestleDream publish on Friday, even though I’ll be missing that show for the Horror Show. These things happen. I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers, and then I’ll either catch up when I’m home or just give in and read a review after I’m back home. 

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!