A quick return to normalcy

 

We’ve gotta stop meeting like this. “It’s been a minute” gets old, and it’s entirely my fault. But here we are, post All In, post All Out, just knee deep in the season of change for AEW and NXT. I just finished pulling down all the Halloween decorations but wanted to post SOMETHING because it’s been too long and those of you who read this blog, and thanks for that, deserve some fresh, delicious content.

I think we’re gonna go with something a little less structured today, and we’ll just put together some thoughts from everything we’ve watched in the last few weeks, and what we’re looking forward to with AEW Grand Slam, NXT’s big new network debut, and WWE’s Bad Blood all on the horizon.

Raw and SmackDown seem to have settled down after the USA debut of the blue brand, but with NXT’s move to the CW in a couple of weeks we’re seeing some big names on our beloved little black-and-gold developmental. CM Punk came by Tuesday to hype the Giulia vs Roxanne Perez tag team match, and then to volunteer himself as special guest referee for Ethan Page and Trick Williams. Those matches will both take place in Punk’s backyard of Chicago for the CW debut show, and Randy Orton will be facing lovable scamp Ja’Von Evans in St. Louis a week later, too!

NXT has plenty to crow about, special guest stars notwithstanding. Giulia is revered as a goddess by the folks who have seen way more of her work than me, which means I have some catching up to do. The rivalry between North American champ Oba Femi and mafia family head Tony D’Angelo has escalated into full-on CINEMA, with the challenger admitting that he’s afraid to face the hulking champion after his loss. I think this is cool, even though I know it’s been said that it’s just the Rocky III plot. For a man, on a pro wrestling program, to admit fear? It’s refreshing, and not something to be waved away as derivative. Maybe Tony D will finally get that win, and scream out, “Yo Adriana, we did it!”

Unrelated -- do you pay for a music service like Spotify or Pandora? I’ve never been that passionate a music lover, but my wife is. However, we’re both notoriously cheap about streaming services, and she does most of her music listening via YouTube these days. I still have a radio in my garage (KBCO being just about the only Colorado station worth a damn) but I also listen to the livestream from the radio station in Wisconsin that my old friend Edgar DJs at. My point is, the terrestrial stations still have far fewer ad breaks than streaming, although I guess that’s the price you pay for not, well, paying the price for streaming.

It seems like the “did AEW go too far with All Out” discourse has died down, and thank God for that. As a fan of horror movies, I know this conversation all too well. Everybody has a line, and sometimes they don’t even realize it exists until they’re brought right up to it. With horror, the early aughts brought us the wave of “torture porn” that included movies like Saw, Hostel, and the like. Just mean films that dared you to look away, while also showing off some impressive practical effects. Smarter people than me have said that it was a response to 9/11, with the country feeling vulnerable and helpless, and how watching extreme cinema could help lessen the blow of the real horrors we saw during news coverage of that event. 

All of that is to say, I think the line that AEW toed with All Out’s main event, and really several of the matches in it, was okay. It was all earned violence, with blood feuds that had been built over weeks of programming. Things escalated to a head, and they did so in a way that felt natural and even made it through All In’s pageantry. If All In is AEW’s WrestleMania, then it seems natural that All Out, just two weeks later, would be its Backlash. 

We’re not going to see AEW turn into ECW anytime soon. It’s meant to be an alternative to the Fed, and that means doing the things that the biggest wrestling company in the world simply can’t. Longer matches, faster pacing, and, yes, some blood and guts are all encompassed in that ethos, I think. For fans of deathmatches, there are plenty of great promotions like GCW. As number two, AEW is fine just featuring the occasional bit of brutality every few months. Also, it’s worth saying that a lot of that “what about the children” discourse is brought about by… well, let’s just call them “bad faith” fans, or folks who just watch to complain or point out what AEW does wrong in their eyes. I’m definitely not one of those, if only because I’m old enough to realize that I can simply not watch something that doesn’t appeal to me.

Speaking of AEW, this week’s Dynamite had a couple incredible matches in both its main event and Ricochet vs THE BEAST MORTOS. Any time you get a talented hoss facing down a high flyer, you’re bound to have some fun, and these two put on a show that’s worth hunting down if you have the chance.

The main event, pitting the trio of the Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada against Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, and my sweet Cinnabon son Konosuke Takeshita, was a helluva display of the talents of these four, some of the best in the world. Ospreay remains a study in how to simply ignore gravity and physics, and Takeshita and Okada continue to build their rivalry into (hopefully) a title match soon.

Really, the whole show was a lot of fun and deserving of your time, but I wanted to highlight these two slobberknockers.

And to highlight a great match from the other guys, that hoss match between Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed on Raw was the epitome of BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPIN’ MEAT. It also literally involved a man used as a projectile, so that was fun. Here’s hoping both guys survive long enough to meet again at Bad Blood.

Speaking of…Bad Blood is gonna be a lot of fun too! Obviously we’re not getting a bloodbath like All Out, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been built to be a good revenge based show. Rhea vs Liv, Punker vs McIntyre in Hell in a Cell, Damien Priest vs Finn Balor, and the MegaPowers-adjacent team of Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns vs the Nu Bloodline should all lend themselves to some hard-hitting resolutions, and there’s a lot of potential for more with a couple weeks left. Probably not too many more, as WWE is content with 5 match cards for these non-Big Four PLEs -- and an early start time to account for the UFC PPV starting later means it’ll end right on time for the MMA fights. I will, of course, do a preview with some predictions next week. 

What else can we talk about while we’re here? I’m hoping to find the time to revive our Remember A Guy segment, in which I talk about a wrestler you might not remember. With spooky season in full gear in the Pequeno household, I’m thinking about Kevin Thorn. Remember that guy? Spooky vampire wrestler? No, not Gangrel and the Brood, although that entrance RIPS. 

So yeah, we’ll revive that! I’ve also got my annual birthday trip to Telluride for the Horror Show coming up in a few weeks. It’s a film festival in one of the most beautiful towns in Colorado, and a great little break to watch a ton of new movies before they get a wider release. It also happens to fall on my actual birthday this year, so that will be spent across three theaters in a small town, where I’ll be getting my fill of violence for the season. It’ll also provide a healthy distraction from contemplating 45(!) years on this lovely little planet.

And that’s it! 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. Have fun this long Labor Day weekend, whatever you end up doing!

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!

A little AEW ALL IN recap, some ALL OUT build, and predictions for WWE Bash in Berlin and NXT No Mercy!

 

Good Morning!

It’s been another week here in the old blog mines, with the SlashGear gig assigning me a list ranking brands of framing nailers. A framing nailer, if you’re unaware, is a nail gun that shoots big, full size nails into studs for framing houses, although it can also be used to affix subfloors or roofing. Maybe not the most exciting thing in the world, but it beats using a hammer and nails, doesn't it?

But I digress. Since last we spoke, ALL IN happened, along with Dynamite, which served to move us along to next weekend’s ALL OUT show. I still don’t love the way they have these shows set up with just two weeks between -- especially since AEW still charges $50 per show for these things -- but at least they did a better job of setting up storylines that were able to develop in London and cleanly segue into matches for the upcoming Chicago show.

We’ve also got WWE and NXT shows this weekend, with Bash at Berlin and NXT No Mercy coming up on Saturday afternoon (for us here in the states) and Sunday night from right here in Denver, respectively. I remain on the fence about attending the NXT show…on the one hand, NXT rarely travels, and even rarelier shows up here in Colorado. On the other hand, NXT is my soap opera, my telenovela. As such, it’s not something I really want to spend money on. I like supporting AEW, but NXT is basically developmental, and it’s not like the Fed needs my money. I guess we’ll see how much tickets cost and go from there, assuming I don’t end up doing anything else Sunday night.

SO let’s get into it! I was thinking a little post-ALL IN recap, with some Dynamite notes built in to start. Then we’ll get to previews for both weekend shows, since the cards aren’t super big. There’s also a six movie marathon that starts tonight and rolls into Saturday, which might mean I, a 44-year-old, might try to just stay awake for that whole thing AND the Berlin show. And then I will pass away afterward, gently going into that good … afternoon.

ALL IN fallout, and ALL OUT build

ALL IN was incredible, full stop. I have watched most of that show back three times after enjoying it live last week, and there’s a non-zero chance I’ll put it on again while I try to take a lil’ pre-game nap this afternoon. Zero Hour was a nice way to get a lot of people on the card, featuring a ten man tag team match, a SIXTEEN man tag team match, and the announced battle between Tomohiro Ishii & Willow Nightingale against Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway. Stoke hitting a spinebuster on Ishii was probably a top-ten life achievement for him, and all four participants seemed to have a lot of fun with this showcase. I’d guessed the baddies would win, but the good guys prevailed, and we’ll be getting a Chicago Street Fight (I love that wrestling always gives you a location for your street fight) between Willow and Stat at ALL OUT. 

The show itself had a couple all-timers in Toni Storm vs Mariah May, and Bryan Danielson vs Swerve Strickland, albeit for very different reasons. The match for the Women’s Championship was the best storyline AEW has ever produced for that division, and arguably the best, period. It had a good build and an interesting twist, and the moment Mariah attacked Toni to set this rivalry into overdrive, I was fully sold. Sure, Mariah has had some weak promos when she’s out there on her own (the one this week included) but she’s getting more comfortable and I only see her improving. I don’t know that she’s got a match for ALL OUT yet, but there’s still another Dynamite, along with a couple Collisions, so we’ll see.

Danielson and Swerve told a hell of a story in the ring. Swerve’s confidence was well earned, and he absolutely embodies a proud, deserving champion. Danielson as the desperate warrior, a man who made a promise he has all but admitted isn’t what he wants, managed to keep his career alive while also winning his first AEW World Championship. Swerve’s bravado and intelligence in that match, working Bryan’s weaknesses while also telling the crowd that HE is the best man in that ring right now, really came through in his swagger, and that moment when Danielson pulled motivation from his family while he was eating kicks to the chest was perfect. As was the follow up, when Danielson had a comeback culminating in a vicious Busaiku knee that Swerve simply brushed off in a move so calculated and dismissive that I said, “Welp, he’s fucked.”

So those two matches were the high points for me, but nearly every other match was really good and entertaining, and full of great moments. Nigel McGuinness returning, Ricochet debuting, and Christian Cage winning that Gauntlet match made it feel as important as a Royal Rumble -- although I didn’t love that they used the Luchasaurus graphic for Killswitch only for him to…not turn on Cage. PAC getting his Wembley moment and winning the Trios Championship alongside Castignoli and Yuta felt like a nice “thank you” to the man who gravity forgot. The Tag Team match had some fun spots even though I wasn’t super invested in the outcome, and the TNT championship Coffin match felt like it ended kinda abruptly but featured a Sting appearance post-match, so it’s hard to complain. And Ospreay/MJF hit all the right notes, and also reintroduced Daniel Garcia to AEW.

The only low points, for me, were the Jericho/HOOK match, which was fine but didn’t end a feud that just feels super stale, and the TBS Championship match. That one had a lot going against it. I’m a fan of both women to some degree, but the placement of this one on the card, just after the exciting Ospreay/MJF battle, didn’t do it any favors. The crowd was a little gassed, and it was later in the night. The buildup featured A LOT of Mercedes on the mic, which I really don’t think does her any good…she’s just not good at it. And it’s not like she’s getting better. I feel like somebody got her onto that Mandalorian show and folks just decided she must be a good actress for Disney to want her. But she’s just awkward, and that was evidenced on the “celebration” that happened on Dynamite, too. 

Baker was just returning from a serious back injury, and being thrust into one of the most important matches for the AEW women maybe wasn’t the best idea. To say nothing of the fact that she was put into the ring with a woman that was in the ring when Paige/Saraya suffered a career-threatening back injury, although that’s just part of wrestling and I’m not putting any blame on anybody. 

In short, the chemistry wasn’t there, the timing was wrong, the participants both had shortcomings exposed, and the match -- the part of the rivalry that could have saved the whole thing -- failed to deliver. Cagematch, that bastion of reserved, thoughtful criticism, seems to have trouble placing the blame too, with as many Mone supporters claiming she carried Britt as there were fans of the dentist blaming her performance on ring rust and lingering injury.

BUT! That’s one little dark spot on a bright sunshiney day of a show. For our loose record-keeping, I went 6/10 for the night, and that makes us 64/84 for the year, bringing our correct predictions to a tidy 76.19%. As we move on, we’ve already got some stuff brewing with Jon Moxley apparently starting a new faction, and Hangman Adam Page (who did nothing wrong) is set to face Swerve Strickland in a steel cage match. 

Jack Perry accepted an open challenge from Bryan Danielson, giving us a match the internet seems really pissed off about but I’m open to enjoying. AEW has been gifted a really hateable bad guy in Perry, and he’s going to hear it from those Chicago fans. MJF versus Garcia and Ospreay versus PAC were also announced via promos and some violence, meaning we’ve already got a solid five-match card with the aforementioned Nightingale/Statlander street fight. I’m really glad Triller had that two-pack deal to save me a little money, because I’m loving how this show was booked and look forward to another five matches or so getting added between now and next week.

WWE Bash in Berlin Predictions!

Speaking of five matches, that’s like the whole Berlin card! WWE keeps chugging along, with some stuff like the Wyatt Sicks holding my attention. I don’t keep up with SmackDown religiously, mostly watching a fast-forwarded version on Saturday morning or catching a Simon Miller recap on YouTube if there’s a PPV that day. With the big scary movie marathon coming up tonight, and with my sweet Cinnabon son Konosuke Takeshita appearing on Rampage, the Fed is definitely coming in third this evening. But that’s not to say I’m not interested in the Bash. Three of those matches are for championships, and while I’m pretty confident in my picks I wouldn’t be mad at some surprises. So let’s get to it before its too late!

Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley versus Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan in a Mixed Tag Team Match

This one seems like a gimme for the baddies. Priest and Ripley are super over, and their Terror Twins thing has made WWE fans believe in platonic relationships (that last part may not be true). Liv and Dom are showing some great chemistry as the trashy couple that broke the Judgment Day, and it’s still too soon for those scumbags to get their comeuppance. 

Finn Balor, JD McDonaugh, and Carlito will be around to mess with the good guys, and since WWE good guys tend to have no friends (Cody being the exception) Ripley and Priest will end up on the losing end of this one. The chase will continue, and with the next premium live event going by the name Bad Blood it seems like Rhea/Liv and Priest/Balor will end up on that card.

CM Punk versus Drew McIntyre in a Strap Match

This feud has been fantastic, with Drew and Punk matching each other in petty hate for months. I will admit that the whole friendship bracelet thing has been leaned on a bit heavily, as the pure disdain these two have for each other should be enough to carry a feud. But WWE loves a McGuffin, and so we’re stuck with a brutal strap match based off a little string with some beads on it. 

Punk is smart enough to know his limitations, and gimmick matches are a great way to cover them up. His dog collar match with MJF at AEW Revolution 2022 was one of the best of both men’s careers, and happened to be the only time I’ve attended both an AEW PPV and a CM Punk match live, so it set a high bar for your beloved writer pal. This match should be as brutal as WWE will allow, and both guys are gonna look like they walked through hell afterward. Punk should pick up the win to even the records and lead the pair into a Hell in a Cell match, or something equally vicious, at Bad Blood.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn © versus Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

This one might be the toughest call of the night, which seems counterintuitive considering that WWE has all but told us that the Unholy Union is the weakest tag team when compared to their challengers. I still feel like the eventual endgame of the Bianca - Jade team up is a breakup and match at WrestleMania, but we’ve got a ways to go to build that. I loved Bianca’s heel work in NXT, but Jade can play the gorgeous, statuesque villain too. Regardless, they’re good guys now, and while it’s never too soon to start planting seeds, I don’t think they need the titles to sew that field. (That’s a lot of farming metaphors.) 

Blair Davenport has also been floating around the spooky ladies, and we know how HHH loves a group with one consistent trait (see: LWO, Legado del Fantasma, the Pride, Bianca & Jade) and the European-ness of those three is enough to unite them in his eyes. I’ll say the witches wetain -- er, retain -- and we see who gets screwed by, and in turn feuds with, Davenport.

Cody Rhodes © versus Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Championship

How is it undisputed when there are two WWE championship matches on this card? 

But enough pedantry. Cody basically had to beg Owens to accept this match, but recent weeks of Bloodline fights have seen KO team up with Rhodes as often as he’s stared him down. Owens has also run down the fact that he turns on just about everybody, and he has nearly whacked Cody with a chair on a few occasions. So while I don’t think a heel turn is coming, Owens and Rhodes should still put on a decent match, with Owens turning up the heat as time goes on and Rhodes responding in kind. Some kind of Bloodline interference seems inevitable, but Rhodes isn’t losing the title here or anything. I’m more interested in seeing if the two remain pals afterward, maybe after fighting off some Samoans post-match.

Gunther © versus Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

I cannot imagine WWE would let the “hometown” hero (Gunther is as hometown to Berlin as Drew McIntyre was to Wales) lose his only-just-won championship IN Germany. But champions need challengers, and Randy has proven to be a worthy adversary before. The promo battles between Orton and Gunther have been a lot of fun, too. I imagine Gunther wins and Randy just moves on to Cody Rhodes, maybe popping up on next week’s SmackDown acting like Cody is just handing out title shots to his pals and he’s due. The match promises to be a good one, and I don’t think we’ll see much in the way of interference from Ludwig Kaiser. Just a clean win after some brutal chops from our champion, Gunther.

…and NXT No Mercy Predictions, too!

Wes Lee versus Zach Wentz

I’m honestly a little surprised this whole TNA/NXT crossover has gone as well as it has. Sure, NXT seems to be getting the better half of the draw, but it’s still a fascinating thing to see WWE even try to cooperate with, well, anyone. 

So far the Wes Lee heel turn is going well, although I always feel like guys with flashy flippy move sets have trouble being EVIL. Turning on your best friends that you haven’t worked with in years helps move that hate forward, though, and so we end up here. Wes Lee will pick up the win in what promises to be a pretty fun match, one that has the potential to steal the show. 

Ridge Holland and Andre Chase © versus Nathan Frazier and Axiom for the NXT Tag Team Championship

The story of Chase U rumbles on, as the venerable number one institution of learning based in wrestling promotion faces off in a rematch against the former champs. Axiom and Frazier have shown some displeasure with each other as they look into singles championships, and I think that discord will lead to Chase U retaining its belts while the flippy guys continue to argue.

Kelani Jordan © versus Wendy Choo for the NXT Women’s North American Championship

The Women’s North American Championship is still too new to be passed off just yet, and it really doesn’t need to go to spooky Wendy Choo. Sleepy Choo was a cute gimmick, but Sleep Paralysis Demon Choo is just kinda … man, I hate to say dumb because that’s exactly why I like NXT. I just don’t get what’s happening. Is she a demon? Possessed? Did Fred Kreuger get into her dreams? WHO’S TO SAY? 

Whatever the reason, Jordan won’t be dropping the belt here. She and Sol Ruca put on a helluva match recently, but Choo doesn’t have the same gymnastics background as those two. Jordan has proven to be a good matchup with plenty of other women, though, so we’ll see what the champ can get out of the Jack Skellington-faced nap enthusiast. 

Oba Femi © versus Tony D’Angelo for the NXT Men’s North American Championship

The Don of NXT and head of America’s favorite mafioso wrestling good guy family (godDAMMIT I love pro wrestling) takes on the very large, very intimidating Oba Femi in what should be a good fight. Oba Femi has been incredible as champ, showing off a good skill set for such a new performer, and I feel like Tony D gets better with every match too. I really liked Oba Femi showing up at the Family restaurant, too -- made him look like a fighting champ that wasn’t gonna back down to the wrestling mob. 

They’re both at a point where neither guy would look bad with a loss, but I think Oba Femi will retain. I’m gonna want one of them BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPIN MEAT matches for him to drop the title, and Tony D doesn’t tip the scales.

Roxanne Perez © versus Jaida Parker for the NXT Women’s Championship

No, I don’t think Roxanne will be losing here. HOWEVER, as a developmental show, it’s important to reward people who have shown development and growth, and I think Parker fits the bill as a challenger. Her mic work is good, and her in-ring style shows she understands that while the gymnasts can stick with the flippy stuff, this former soccer star should lean into her character’s streetwise background with a more grounded approach to wrestling. Also, she legit did what she said she’d do and slapped the taste outta Roxanne’s mouth on last week’s NXT:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BROp-2d9RSo

DAMMMMMN SON! So, yeah, Roxanne will come away with the title, but Jaida should put up a good fight and hopefully come away looking like she was a legit challenger.

Ethan Page © versus Joe Hendry for the NXT Championship, with Trick Williams as Special Guest Referee

This one is interesting. On the one hand, I really like this whole matchup: Page is barely an NXT guy at this point, and Hendry coming in representing TNA against him seems questionable. On the other hand, Ava went and added NXT lifer and former champ Trick Williams as guest ref, meaning the most legit contender for the NXT Championship is really the guy in the stripes. 

Hendry has made a name for himself with TNA and on the independent scene, so it’s not a surprise that WWE has latched onto him as a challenger. However, there’s a TNA pay-per-view looming. One might think WWE would say there’s no way one of its championships can appear on another brand, much less loan the belt to talent from that brand. BUT it’s Hendry, who may or may not be signing with NXT/WWE soon, so maybe it’s in everybody’s best interests to let Hendry look awesome here, possibly after getting attacked on tonight’s TNA Emergence show. It’s unlikely, but also possible, and since that’s more fun than an expected win, I’m going with that outcome. Hendry wins due in no small part to some Williams interference, then drops the title to Trick soon in the match he promised Williams. Page can then swoop right back in if they want to keep him hot.

There, everybody ends up happy and TNA gets a nice bit of acknowledgement. 

Closing Up Shop

…in which I say goodbye for now

And that’s it! 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. Have fun this long Labor Day weekend, whatever you end up doing!

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!