Project Lucha Underground: S1E9 "Aztec Warfare"

 

Good Morning!

Welcome back to Project Lucha Underground. It’s been a good week over here! We watched AEW Forbidden Door and Dynamite, and had a good time with both. Forbidden Door, if we’re being honest, is probably one of the AEW PPVs I’m willing to miss annually, if only because I’ve never followed New Japan Pro Wrestling with any real consistency. So, oddly, the main complaint that I saw on socials about this year’s edition of Forbidden Door was actually a positive for me: that the show was heavily skewed in the favor of AEW. I watch AEW, so this was for me, and the addition of some NJPW guys without having the show become a showcase for them made it more interesting for me. Standout matches for me included the eight-woman tag match during Zero Hour, Fletcher vs Takahashi, ZSJ vs my close personal friend Nigel McGuinness, and the steel cage match that ended the show, but I wasn’t mad at any of the matches on the card. It’s all good stuff, as we say.

It’s been days since that show, though, and since the churn of North American Professional Wrestling Machine never ends, we had Dynamite on Wednesday from the former ECW arena in Philly. Darby Allen nearly died, but won in a brutal match against Claudio Castignoli. Cope and Christian united against FTR to set up their match at All Out, and we saw some tension in the Don Callis family between my sweet Cinnabon Son Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada. A face turn is coming, I can feel it!

With Will Ospreay, Nick Wayne, and Swerve Strickland all falling to injuries -- or “injuries” to take some time off for surgeries and recovery -- it does seem like an opportune time for AEW to focus on its women. Fans have been clamoring for more than one goddamn women’s match on Dynamite, as well as for a tag division to be implemented. Why not now? We’ve got at least ten potential teams, and showcasing what I believe to be the strongest roster in American pro wrestling isn’t a bad idea, even if things get scaled back a little when the boys get healthy again. Or not! You’ve got at least four hours of programming a week, let half the roster get some reps!

Oh! Also, after that first show in the AEW residency at the 2300 Arena, Tony Khan surprised ECW legend Taz with a little tribute that made everybody cry. Take a look!

Now wipe the tears from your eyes, and let’s get back on the clock.

Last Time On Lucha Underground

“A Unique Opportunity” was kind of a reset, useful for our purposes as we’d just come back from our little break. We had two ten-person matches, opening the show with a 10-person match won by Fénix, and following up with a ten-person battle royale won by Mil Muertes. Dario Cueto had been teasing a unique opportunity --

-- and this was the payoff: a match between the two battle royale winners. The winner got to enter a new match type last, giving them a distinct advantage, while the loser would enter first. A pretty solid match between the winners closed the show, with Mil Muertes picking up the clean victory. 

We also got some tension between Konnan and Prince Puma, with the former really leaning into the heelish tendencies that Vampiro has been warning us about since the start of Lucha Underground. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Sexy Star continued their rivalry through the context of a battle royale, as did Drago and King Cuerno.

Overall, it was a solid show to set up a mysterious new match type which, given the title of this episode, might be introduced tonight! Only one way to find out. LET’S WATCH SOME WRESTLING!

Lucha Underground: Season 1, Episode 9: “Aztec Warfare”

Aztec guys doing some Aztec warfare

We opened up with a little recap of “A Unique Opportunity,” with Dario Cueto narrating over some Aztec warriors battling in a field. I say narrating, but really it was just the dialogue from the last episode, where he explained that the Aztec Warfare match was going to be for the Lucha Underground championship. 

Our mariachis have been mariachi-napped!

After that, we got the more familiar Los Angeles flyover shots along with the title card and credits. Inside the temple, things were intense from the get-go, with folks dressed in Aztec garb dancing to drum beats provided by the band, which was either our usual mariachi/punk guys in new outfits, or a replacement. This must have aired after the new year [it did: January 7, 2015, to be exact] because we were wished a happy new year by our commentary team! That’s nice. And yeah, we’re doing Aztec Warfare tonight! 

I just thought this was a cool shot

Dario Cueto was then in the ring, welcoming us to his temple. He had the Lucha Underground championship belt resting on his shoulder, and told us 2015 was gonna be huge for LU. He said he invented this Aztec Warfare match, prompting the fans to chant the match name as Cueto explained the rules. We start with two wrestlers, and every 90 seconds another luchador would enter. Eliminations are pinfall or submission, and since he loves violence, anything goes!

We knew Fénix was going to be the first entry, and by “random draw,” Johnny Mundo pulled number two. I don’t know that we’ll have time to cram anything else in this show unless we get a bunch of quick eliminations, so let’s get to it!

Aztec Warfare

Fénix versus Johnny Mundo versus Mr. Cisco versus King Cuerno versus Son of Havoc versus Pimpanela Escarlata versus Prince Puma versus Ivelisse versus Drago versus Bael versus Cortez Castro versus Ricky Mandel versus Big Ryck versus Pentagon, Jr. versus Super Fly versus Chavo Guerrero, Jr. versus Mascarita Sagrada versus Sexy Star versus 

Both guys started out with kicks and finisher whiffs, with the announcers noting that a quick elimination was on both luchadores’ minds as another guy would be there in 90. And so it was, with Mr. Cisco heading down the stairs next. “This lil’ cholo’s rolling solo,” said Matt Stryker, and I kinda love that as a line. Cisco yeeted Mundo, but after a little back and forth with Fénix, Mundo flipped into the ring with End of the World to get the first elimination on Cisco. 

After a commercial and some more one-on-one brawling, King Cuerno was #4. Son of Havoc followed at #5 as I realized I’m not a play by play guy, but I'll do my best while keeping track of who’s in and who’s out. After all, I did have a private YouTube channel commentating WWE2k24 matches involving veterinary personnel, making me about as qualified as 80% of wrestling announcers...but I digress.

#6 is beloved exotico Pimpinella Escarlata, who got a really nice intro from Vampiro about judging folks by the content of their character. #7 was Lucha Underground’s main character, Prince Puma, who immediately cleared the ring to take on Johnny Mundo for a bit. Some solid work between those two and Fénix passed the time as our announce team noticed the mysterious vinyl-clad lady was in the crowd again, and then Ivelisse ran down the stairs as the 8th entrant. Ivelisse immediately made her presence known with a flying head scissors on King Cuerno and a DDT on Fénix, and then set Pimpi up for an elimination by her partner Son of Havoc. 

My guy Drago entered at #9 shortly after, and he went for a quick pinfall on Fénix and then Mundo but came up short. Ivelisse tried to attack King Cuerno as he got Drago in a fireman’s carry, but that just got her eliminated by the hunter. She’s gone and Bael is in at #10, and we’re told he’s a real b-boy from the streets and therefore knows how to throw hands, which … is that how that works? I thought b-boys were, like, dancers? I dunno, but in my digression, Prince Puma rolled up Son of Havoc for the elimination, and Cortez Castro strolled in at #11. Castro and Bael started working together to do some damage until Ricky Mandel entered the brawl and went after both of them, and Prince Puma was eventually left alone with Bael in the middle of the ring for another pinfall elimination. Johnny Mundo then let Puma have a breather as he worked Cortez Castro into a pinfall elimination just before Big Ryck showed up at 13, just a little too late to employ his henchmen. 

Back from a break just in time to watch Big Ryck murder everyone in the ring and pin Ricky Mandel, then Cuerno eliminated Drago and Mundo rolled up King Cuerno. Penta then rolled in at #14 and we’re keeping things moving smoothly, with eliminations and new entrants balancing out nicely. Penta ran wild when he got into the ring, and had Fénix set up for elimination when Ryck booted him in the head, leading both me and the announcers to ask, uh, why, dude? It’s an elimination match, and it’s not like you get paid by the pin. Super Fly was next to enter at 15, but Mundo, Puma, and Fénix all hit a little offense on the new fella. Puma was draped on Ryck’s back as Chavo Guerrero hit the ring at 16 with a chair in tow, and he immediately laid out Super Fly and Penta, and racked up a pair of eliminations. Mini extraordinaire Mascarita Sagrada headed out in the #17 slot as we went to commercial.

Game to get in the ring with anyone, Chavo and Mascarita Sagrada matched up in the otherwise cleared ring, with Sagrada dominating. Fénix and Mascarita paired up next, and both of them left the ring just as #18 Sexy Star met Chavo in the ring. A quick back and forth led to them both leaving the ring and Big Ryck and Mascarita Sagrada re-entering the ring, which went about as well as you’d think it would for Mascarita -- he was quickly destroyed and eliminated. El Mariachi Loco scurried down the steps with the #19 entry, and he distracted Ryck from beating on Johnny Mundo for a bit.

Some action between the remaining luchadores ended with Big Ryck absolutely murdering the Crazy Mariachi as our final entrant, Mil Muertes, headed down the stairs with his pal Catrina. So we’re full up and it’s all eliminations from here on out, with Mariachi eating a Flatliner to take Mil Muertes’ first pin. Mil Muertes stared down Big Ryck next, with both men failing to take each other off their feet before most of the remaining talent entered the ring as our drummers added to the intensity of the moment.

A double stack of Chavo and Fénix eliminated Big Ryck next, after Ryck ate top rope moves from both Puma and Fénix. With the biggest threat (non-Murtes edition) out, things felt a little more uncertain. Chavo grabbed another chair and gave Fénix the old el kabong and pinned him. Sexy Star challenged Guerrero to drop the chair, and he refused so she just went after him anyways. She dominated briefly before Chavo scoop slammed his rival onto the discarded chair, and then he placed that chair onto her face and headed to the top rope -- but then a returning Blue Demon made the save and distracted Chavo long enough for Sexy to lay out the villain with his own chair and pick up the pinfall.

No, seriously, look behind you!

That left Sexy Star, Prince Puma, Johnny Mundo, and Mil Mascaras as our final four competitors as we headed into the final commercial break. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but Aztec Warfare kinda rules.

Our Final Four

We came back to a brawl that ended with Star laying out Mundo and Puma, but when she hyped herself up to take on Muertes she underestimated his speed and was broken in half by a spear, allowing Mil Muertes to eliminate her.

Welp, she's dead

Johnny Mundo went after Muertes next, with Puma recharging his stamina meter in the corner. He recovered and took an unexpected ZigZag to the back of his noggin, and the three went back and forth for a bit before Puma was knocked from the ring. Mundo got Mil Muertes up on the turnbuckle, and the good guys hit the big man with a superplex to knock the wind outta him. Catrina tried to distract Puma, but he pulled her up to the apron and threatened a slap before dodging a Muertes charge. Muertes stopped himself before knocking Catrina off the apron, but Johnny Mundo hit a Disaster Kick from the corner and caught the woman on the side of her noggin, knocking her down. He seemed apologetic to Mil, and was almost chokeslammed before Puma hit a meteora, and the good guys hit a pair of flippy moves to get the dual pinfall. 

Buddies!

So good guy vs good guy in a rematch from the first episode of Lucha Underground, very cool. Puma looked gassed until the pair locked up, and then he hit some offense as Matt Stryker desperately begged Vampiro to chime in with some commentary. “This is awesome” chants hit as Puma struggled to get out of a half-crab, and he responded by breaking the hold (rope breaks are legal in an anything goes match?) and yeeting Mundo out of the ring. 

A super Spanish fly knocked Mundo down but not out, and Mundo grabbed an ankle a couple times before Puma was able to again mount the top turnbuckle. The pair traded punches before Mundo landed a poison ‘rana, and then ran to the other side of the ring for End of the World, which Puma miraculously kicked out of. Puma was dead in the corner after that, and Mundo got him up on the turnbuckle once more. Puma somehow got a health potion, and shoved Mundo off the turnbuckle before hitting his 630 and winning the inaugural Lucha Underground championship match! The crowd went bonkers as Prince Puma celebrated alone and then with Johnny Mundo, and even Konnan came down to cheer on his champ.

The first Lucha Underground champ. No one can ever take that from you, baldie.

That was rad! A pinfall and submissions battle royale has the potential to be a slog, but frequent eliminations kept the ring and surrounding area mostly clear, and I felt like everything went smoothly. The rivalries we’ve been building all season were highlighted, we got a return in Blue Panther, and the guy who most feels like the focus of this first season of Lucha Underground got a well deserved win. I enjoyed the hell out of this first ever Aztec Warfare match, and would go as high as 8 luchador masks out of 10. Cagematch says … 8.31, so I guess we’re in agreement!

Closing Thoughts

One match for our hour-long weekly show worked for this particular event. I don’t know that AAA/Lucha Underground ever planned on doing PPV shows this early into the promotion, but if it went on to really build an audience I could see this being their Royal Rumble. Hell, it even took place around the same time as that WWE staple. I liked how we used last week’s show and this one to announce Aztec Warfare, establish its importance, figure out the first and last entrants, and then blow the whole thing off. With the season running around 40 episodes, having a big event to mark the first quarter feels about right to me. We’ll see if that trend continues or if this is just a thing LU does when they have a big event.

So Long For Now

Hey, thanks for reading! Follow me on BlueSky for updates on Let’s Watch Some Wrestling, as well as live watch-along commentary for most episodes of AEW Dynamite (and occasionally Collision). And, if you’re looking into purchasing anything from a smart fridge to a new drill, check out the writing I do over at SlashGear -- my automotive, tech, and tool-related lists are heavily researched, and ranked after thorough aggregation of expert opinions, reviews, and my own experience as a professional auto mechanic, an unprofessional handyman and a somehow even less professional homeowner. 

Until next time…Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!

AEW Dynamite Details from 7/7/2022

 AEW Dynamite aired yesterday! Was there fallout from Blood and Guts? Did we get any new champs? Read on and find out!

Opening Contest: Wardlow versus Scorpio Sky ©, Street Fight for the TNT Championship

Dan Lambert, Ethan Page, and several MMA guys (my MMA-knower pal didn’t recognize them so don’t worry about it) accompanied Sky to the ring. Sky started out using his speed and striking. While Wardlow did have some offense early, it was mostly Sky on top throughout the first half of the match. After a commercial break, Wardlow came out with a HUGE moonsault and went for the powerbomb concerto before he was attacked by the ATT goon squad. Wardlow cleared the ring just in time to be bonked by Scorpio with the TNT belt, but that only got him a two count and an angry Wardlow. Lambert attempted a distraction, Wardlow shoved Sky into Lambert and 3 powerbombs later, we had a new TNT champ!

Three stars! Short, definitive, and with the end result most of us were hoping for here. Sky is a great wrestler, but after the abysmal booking of the TNT championship lately the move was definitely to just get the belt onto the lava-hot Wardlow and let him build that title back up. I would hesitate to call Wardlow an underdog in any match, but they stacked the odds against him in this one so he could look even better. Well done!

Jon Moxley cut a backstage promo down the camera lens, acknowledging Brody King as a monster but also reminding us that Mox is one too.

“Smart” Mark Sterling and Tony Nese were elsewhere backstage, asking Keith Lee to sign a petition to have Isaiah Strickland fired because he’s mean. In a very verbose fashion, as is his wont, Mister Lee declined.

Christian Cage and Luchasaurus headed to the ring next, but were quickly interrupted by Matt Hardy. Jeff Hardy was brought up A LOT in this exchange, as Matt admitted that he used people during the HFO days and he sees Cage doing the same thing to Luchasaurus. Cage said Matt uses people, going so far as to use his own brother to have one last successful tag team run. Luchasaurus then headbutted Hardy, tossed him into the steel ring steps, and put Matt through a table to end the conversation.

A recap of Blood and Guts segued into an interview between Claudio Castignoli and Jake Hager, who will have a match next week for Fyter Fest.

Match #2, Butcher and the Blade (w/ The Bunny) versus Swerve in our Glory (Strickland and Lee)

Lee and Blade started things, but Swerve tagged in quickly. A little miscommunication led to some sloppy ring rope spots, but these things happen and fortunately nobody got hurt. The bad guys took control early and maintained through the commercial break. When we got back to the action, Butcher and Swerve were on a turnbuckle and Swerve took to biting the Butcher’s hand to get him off the post. A sweet diving European Uppercut by Swerve got the opening he needed to tag Keith Lee in, who proceeded to toss the Blade at Butcher. Butcher managed to pull Swerve in front of a charging Lee, and Swerve took some double team offense from the bad guys afterward. Lee stopped a pinfall and, after a fist bump to confirm they’re still pals, the good guys hit the combination Cave-In / Powerbomb to get the victory.

During Strickland and Lee’s celebration, Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs came out to repeat the same points they’ve been making for weeks - they are better than Swerve in our Glory, they are tired of being disrespected, they are the best tag team. But if you say you’re the best tag team in this company, it ALWAYS summons someone else, in this case the Young Bucks. The tag champs are proud of the whole tag division, but while everyone is eating well they should remember who set the table in the first place. Both these teams are good, but they lost to Jurassic Express, and the Bucks beat JX right afterward to win the AEW Tag Team Championships. The Young Bucks, fighting champs, challenged Team Tazz and Swerve in our Glory to a three way match for the titles at Fyter Fest.

A spooky video of Malakai Black played afterward, in which he said he envies Jon Moxley for being able to choose violence, a choice he and Brody King were never afforded.

A really short interview in the ring came next, as Eddie Kingston met Tony Schiavone and was in high spirits. He congratulated Wardlow and then congratulated all his teammates in the Blood and Guts match - even longtime nemesis Claudio Castignoli “See, I’m growing, I’m maturing!”. We then cut to a camera backstage where Jericho and his pals smashed Ruby Soho’s hand (arm?) in a car door because she interfered with Tay Conti interfering in the Blood and Guts match. FALLOUT!

The remaining six members of Dark Order made their way to the ring in Rochester, home of Brodie Lee. Evil Uno thanked us for our support, and announced that Dark Order is here to stay. “Dark Order is forever!” That statement brought QT Marshall out to challenge -1, Brodie Lee Jr., to a match. He started towards the ring when “Hangman” Adam Page’s theme hit and QT was beat down by basically everyone. -1 grabbed a mic to say he COULD pin QT tonight, but he’ll wait til he’s nineteen. Playing the long game, as Excalibur said. A nice tribute to the hometown hero.

Jim Ross joined the commentary table for the back half of the show. 

Match #3: Penta Oscuro (w/ Alex Abrahantes and Rey Fenix) versus Rush (w/ Jose the Assistant and Andrade El Idolo)

This was Rush’s debut singles match, and it was a good one. Rush was mostly focused on removing Penta’s mask, something he started going after right from the start. After a Penta tope to Rush outside the ring, Abrahantes and Jose started a brawl and were tossed from ringside as we went to commercial. Rush was still focused on that mask throughout the break, and we had a painful looking headbutt fight when we came back to full screen. A nasty chop fight in a corner followed and Penta took control. A gorgeous sequence featuring a rolling stunner, a superkick, and Fear Factor only got a two count because Andrade put Rush’s foot on the nearby rope. Andrade continued to provide a distraction, letting Rush hit a dickpunch and steal Penta’s mask, leading to an easy pinfall victory.

Four stars! Even though it wasn’t the best match these guys are capable of, it was fun and had a lot of the painful looking spots Penta Oscuro is known for. I think they are saving a big, blowout match for further down the line; the rivalry is just getting started, and from what I’ve heard of Rush he’s a very talented in-ring worker. Penta is, well, Penta, so he will hold his own as this feud gets nastier. Given the mask focus, maybe we’ll even get a mask versus hair match down the line? Or Andrade will start wearing his mask in the ring just to risk it later on. WHO’S TO SAY?

Samoa Joe will face Jay Lethal for the Ring of Honor TV Title at the RoH Death Before Dishonor pay per premium live event. Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh had a short video talking up the match.

Sterling and Tony Nese continued their quest for petition signatures. They found Orange Cassidy and his Best Friends modeling their new tie dyed matching jumpsuits, and demanded they sign the sheet. Cassidy said he never signs anything without his lawyer, summoning Danhausen, who will be playing the role of legal representation. Nese threatened Cassidy for not signing the petition, and both Sterling and Danhausen suggested there was money to be made in a Cassidy / Nese match on Rampage. Orange and Danhausen then traded legal terms to end the segment. I freakin loved it. Also I need to get them jumpsuits for me and the missus.

Match #4: The Gunn Club and The Acclaimed versus Ruffin It and Fuego del Sol.

A glorified squash that was there to move the Ass Boys’ and Acclaimed storyline forward. There were still some fun spots during the short match, and the Bear half of Bear Country looked noticeably more fit than he did the last time I saw these guys in action. The Gunns tagged themselves in on several occasions, including after the Acclaimed hit their finisher for the win. Squash, and we don’t rate squashes round here. The teams argued afterward, leading to Billy Gunn yelling at his kids before clotheslining Max Caster. A wounded Anthony Bowens offered up the scissors to his daddy, but was only given a FameAsser. The Gunns hugged, but Billy did look conflicted.

A video of Miro in darkness played next, as he challenged Malakai and the House of Black.

Match #5: ThunderStorm versus Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir

Nyla and Marina brought umbrellas to the ring, the best way to counter a ThunderStorm. Clever! The bad guys attacked to start, but once things settled down Rosa and Shafir had a cool sequence of reversals and counters. An umbrella shot to the back put MariNyla in control during the break. Nyla overwhelmed Storm with power stuff during the break, but Rosa was able to start a rally for the heroes. A couple shotgun dropkicks from Rosa to Nyla proved effective, but she went to the well one too many times and Rose countered Rosa with a chokeslam. Shafir followed with a pumphandle slam, but Toni was able to help out and a hip attack led to an assisted spike piledriver for the 1-2-3 for ThunderStorm.

Three stars! I thought Thunder Rosa and Marina Shafir looked far better than they did previously whenever they shared the ring during this decent tag team match. I know there were rumors of discontent between them, and I hope they were able to get together and squash that stuff because they really did well tonight. Toni and Nyla played their parts well too, leading to a fun and well balanced matchup for tonight’s women’s segment.

Backstage, Tony Schiavone interviewed (held a microphone for) Stokely Hathaway as he introduced Keira Hogan and Jade Cargill to the new interim baddie, Leila Grey. She offered a handshake again, but Jade has her doubts.

A passionate promo by Daniel Garcia followed, hyping his upcoming Pure rules match with champ Wheeler Yuta at the RoH PPPLE.

And FTR followed with a challenge to the Briscoes at the Ring of Honor show as well!

Main Event: Brody King versus Jon Moxley © for the Interim AEW Championship

A fun, easy to watch brawl between two tough guys, this was a “BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPIN’ MEAT” match with less big men. King’s power advantage led to some cool spots, as he tried to replicate his hanging choke win over Darby Allin on Mox off a turnbuckle. Mox has heart, and lungs, so he was able to survive that. 

Moxley did a lot of submission work tonight, going for a figure four off a dragon screw early. After a superplex, he locked in a bulldog before the hanging spot I mentioned. A Paradigm Shift and hammering elbows combo led to another bulldog, but King was able to drop on his back to break the hold. Mox just clamped the bulldog back on to choke out the powerhouse and that was the end of the match and the show!

Three stars! A good match between two tough dudes, but not the bloodbath or violence fest that some were anticipating. I enjoyed it though, and I don’t think Mox needs to bleed every time he’s on camera. King looked great when he was in control, but also sold well and looked desperate before he broke Moxley’s submission attempts. I hope they meet again, but even if they don't, this match was nothing to be ashamed of!

And that’s it! A show that built off the last couple big event shows (Forbidden Door and Blood and Guts) but also one that built up next week’s big event show, Fyter Fest. As such, nothing felt super important but everything did feel like it was leading to something more. A fun watch and, as usual, the two hours flew by. But what were Five Good Things about the show, you ask? I got you!

1- Wardlow won the TNT Championship! A match suited to Wardlow’s strengths, and one that everyone played their role in perfectly. Sky tried some unsavory tactics, the Top Team guys jumped the incredibly large underdog, and the hero emerged victorious. Good stuff!

2- In a promo and video heavy show, the Dark Order’s segment was nice. A great way to pay homage to the late Brodie Lee in his hometown, and a segment that even featured Lee’s son in a highlight package with his greatest hits. The kid is beloved and I might be tearing up typing this, shut up. I’m glad we’re not seeing the last of the Dark Order anytime soon.

3- Penta Oscuro and Rush had a good match to build this rivalry between the Lucha Bros. and El Faccion Ingobernable. Not their best, but definitely something to grow a whole thing out of!

4- The women’s tag match was a great debut for Toni Storm and Thunder Rosa, and it let Marina Shafir and Rosa show that they can do some good work together. 

5- The main event, a MEDIUM MEATY MEN MAULIN’ MEAT (™) match, was a fun watch and a good way to close the show. Mox was able to overcome the bigger guy, but neither man looked weak and they matched up well for Mox’s first interim title defense.

That wraps things up for today! I’ll be back tomorrow with Casual Friday, where we will recap some news and matches from the last week of professional wrestling. Until then, you can find me here on Twitter: Oso (of Let's Watch Some Wrestling!) (@ElOsoPequeno) / Twitter . See you tomorrow, and have a good one!

Casual Friday, July 1, 2022

 

Well hello dear reader! Welcome to Casual Friday here at the Let’s Watch Some Wrestling blog! I’m your beloved host, Oso Pequeño. We had a little drama this morning, as blog mascot and cutest pug Mudge had to head to the vet for a look. She wasn’t feeling herself, and her back was a little hurty - it was suggested that maybe she took a bad bump. Poor goober. Above is Zelda, middle dog child of the family and an avid stand-up paddleboarder.

But I digress! A lot happened this past week, with more to come over the next couple days! Let’s get things started with…

Some Stuff To Talk About!

AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door was a success! I’m seeing reports that it did around six million dollars between the gate and PPV buys. Not as many as the big four AEW shows, but still a strong showing and proof that plenty of people wanted to see something like this come together. I don’t understand the mindset of folks rooting for this show, and for AEW, to fail. Isn’t it better when wrestlers can choose where they want to work? I think so. Plus, more national exposure to pro wrestling of any kind can make new fans. That will keep the sport alive in all its forms! Everybody wins!

Even though the injury bug took a bite out of what this card could have been (more on that in a bit), what was assembled took me by surprise. Every match on this card was great in its own way; even the women’s match that didn’t showcase NJPW talent still looked pretty damn good. And just think what the card can include next time out. Maki Itoh and Orange Cassidy versus Britt Baker and Will Ospreay! Bryan Danielson versus Zack Sabre Jr.! CM Punk versus Hiroshi Tanahashi! Miro versus Ishii! Kenny Omega versus literally anyone! The possibilities are endless!

John Cena celebrated twenty years of WWE performances! An entire Raw, the go-home show for Money In The Bank, was dedicated to putting over John Cena as a WWE Superstar. Multiple, lengthy video segments. Stars of the past fawning over the man. Current talent singing his praises and cheering his arrival. And then…Vince McMahon putting himself on television again to introduce Cena.

Cena is a larger than life superstar. I love that he’s granted more wishes for kids in the Make-A-Wish Foundation than anyone else. I think he’s great in movies, and I liked him as a performer. He’s willing to put people over, even at this point in his life when he doesn’t need to and clearly doesn’t need to keep showing up on Raw. And he’s just a good dude.

But it’s gross to see that desperate, pathetic old guy known as Mr. McMahon hitch his wagon to Cena right now. It just brings out the cynic in me, which is the last thing I want when I watch the gloriously dumb sport that is pro wrestling. He’s obviously using TV and, in this case, the most popular stars he can get to make sure fans keep cheering for him regardless of what comes out as investigations continue. I realize that without Vince there is no Cena, but at this point in his career WWE needs Cena a lot more than Cena needs WWE, and it’s a bad look for Cena to share a screen with McMahon right now.

Blood and Guts was a messy improvement over last year’s show! I really liked the build to this match, as the Jericho Appreciation Society and Blackpool Combat Club expanded to match up really well this past Wednesday. The variety of weapons used ranged from kendo sticks and tables to forks and bamboo skewers! Bloodshed ran rampant, and there were a number of creative spots to keep us all entertained. If you enjoy the old WCW or NXT War Games matches, this is similar while also being its own unique, bloody thing. Read more about Blood and Guts on the blog HERE!

WWE’s next pay per premium live event, Money In The Bank, is coming up on Saturday night! A nice lead-in to a long weekend here in the States, Money in the Bank has long been one of my favorite matches and concepts since it was introduced. I don’t love the move to a full show around the match but, much like a three hour RAW, once it was put out there it’s there to stay. I’ll likely write a full predictions post tomorrow morning once I’m caught up on SmackDown and Rampage, but I really feel like there’s a lot of mystery around the two MitB matches this year. I have favorites, but one could easily make the case for just about everyone in both the men’s and women’s matches for the championship contracts.

AEW continues to deal with more and more injuries, with Santana being added to the DL during the Blood and Guts match while performing a relatively safe move! I hope everybody heals up and the storylines that were brewing (and in some cases are continuing to build in their absence). I also hope AEW takes advantage of the situation they have been put in by building up some stars that have been flying under the radar. Build up more big attractions on that ever growing roster and you’ll always have a plan B or C when plan A does a Uranage and his leg disagrees with his decision!

I would love to do the top five matches from the week, but this week is an odd one. WWE did literally nothing to sell me on any of the matches from SmackDown or Raw this week, and I watched every one of them! And since we just spoke in depth about both Forbidden Door and Blood and Guts in the Thursday Blog, I think we’re just going to cut things off here for today. If you have the opportunity and haven’t already, I earnestly suggest you take some time to watch both the Forbidden Door show in its entirety, and the Blood and Guts match. You’ll have a great time!

I appreciate your support and if you have any suggestions, drop your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Twitter @ElOsoPequeno. Tomorrow morning I’ll write predictions for Money In The Bank, along with any highlights from the Royal Rampage or SmackDown. Enjoy your weekend!

Dynamite Details and Some Catch-Up!

 

Oh, hi there dear reader! Let’s start with where I’ve been! I had a number of things stop me from really feeling the writing this week, including the bummer that our new pal Finley wasn’t gonna work out with our pets at home. She was a bit too dog aggressive and a lot too focused on wanting to eat my cat. While those are things that we could have worked with, we also hit the part in our basement remodel where I take over, painting and installing tile and flooring before the doors arrive. So we had to say no, and Finley promptly found a nicer match with a nice retired teacher with a teen and no other pets. 

I also made the mistake of looking at page views on the blog and sometimes that just takes the motivation right out. I get it, though! I’m not aggressively promoting myself, and frankly I wouldn’t read a review piece super late in the day, either. Because of those things, and because I’ve had life hop in the way, I’m going to reduce my output a bit. I’ll definitely still do PPV predictions, and Casual Friday, and post PPV bits. But the weekly write ups of Raw, Dynamite, Rampage, and SmackDown are just a lot right now, and frankly those were more to see if I CAN do it, in case we find any potential suitors!

Consider this a bit of a midweek wrapup as well as your Blood and Guts review, and also a briefer version of a Forbidden Door wrap!

The Forbidden Door show was AMAZING!

I started writing about it Monday and that’s when things went south for me, but I’ll incorporate what I did put together here. I really loved the show, and as a writer unfamiliar with a lot of the New Japan talent I was surprised at how invested I was. The hard part was writing about it, as I don’t really have any background to tie into my reviews of matches. So rather than try to do that, I just put together my predictions and the results. I am happy to say that I was only wrong on one prediction, but that scored us PAC as a champion so I was both surprised and very happy with that outcome. I think Orange Cassidy versus Will Ospreay was MATCH OF THE NIGHT but there were a number of contenders for it, including Bullet Club versus Dudes with Attitudes (Sting, what are you doing? Stop jumping off things!) and Moxley / Tanahashi. That first match with Jericho’s crew and Kingston, Yuta, and Shota Umino was an energetic blast as well! Now that I’m writing about it I think I’m gonna put this show on again today while I work on the basement…

So AEW went 4-0 for the Buy In, if you count Archer as AEW talent. Maybe there was a separate Buy In on New Japan World that had other NJPW guys going undefeated against, like, the Dark Order and Bear Country. WHO’S TO SAY?

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki versus Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, and Shota Umino

My guess: Jericho Appreciation Society and Suzuki-Gun come out on top with some interference - I WAS RIGHT (except for the interference part)!

PAC versus Miro versus Malakai Black versus Clark Connors for the All-Atlantic Championship

My guess: Miro drags the bastard, the pagan, and the replacement to Heaven’s gate and demands God wrestle him at All Out. - I WAS WRONG but I’m pretty ok with that

FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) © versus United Empire (Jeff Cobb and Great O-Khan) versus Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero) for the IWGP and Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships, winner take all

My guess: FTR keeps collecting titles - I WAS RIGHT

Bullet Club (El Phantasmo and the Young Bucks) w/Hikuleo versus Dudes with Attitude (Sting, Darby Allin, and Shingo Takagi)

My guess: Good guys win - I WAS RIGHT

Thunder Rosa © versus Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s Championship

My guess: Thunder Rosa retains - I WAS RIGHT

Will Ospreay versus Orange Cassidy

My guess: Ospreay stops having fun and murders Cassidy - I WAS RIGHT!

Zack Sabre, Jr. versus A Mystery Opponent Chosen By Bryan Danielson

My guess: Zack Sabre Jr. unless it’s somebody I really like - I REALLY LIKE CESARO SO TECHNICALLY I WAS RIGHT!

“Switchblade” Jay White © versus Kazuchika Okada versus Adam Cole versus “Hangman” Adam Page for the IWGP World Championship

My guess: White retains - I WAS RIGHT!

Jon Moxley versus Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Interim AEW Championship

My guess: Mox wins - I WAS RIGHT!

. . . 

And back to our regularly scheduled Dynamite Details! A fine follow up to that vaguely canonical Forbidden Door show, Blood and Guts delivered on the main and was ok leading up to it. Nothing awful, and some very surprising stuff, but obviously the focus was on that insane War Games adjacent finale.

Opening Contest: Orange Cassidy (w/Best Friends) versus Ethan Page (w/ Dan Lambert)

The rights to “Where Is My Mind” by Pixies lapsed just in time for AEW to snag the rights to Cassidy’s indie theme, “Jane” by Jefferson Starship. The timing between the opening notes, the main hook, and Orange’s entrance were perfect! Best Friends in appropriately weird tie dye gear completed the look. Sadly, Dan Lambert accompanied Ethan Page and got Trent and Chuck sent to the back.

This was a well paced Orange Cassidy style match that really used the momentum from the amazing Ospreay match on Sunday to Cassidy’s advantage. Orange used his pockets for added strength in the ring a number of times, charging up while trying to hit a bodyslam and escaping submissions with the maneuver. Page did some good heel work as well, as he’s always easy to count on for obnoxious facial expressions and great in-ring stuff. Dan Lambert played his part as well, hopping onto the apron and taunting Cassidy while stealing his orange juice, a prop that’s been missing from Orange’s repertoire for a bit. Cassidy attacked Lambert with his trademark “vicious” offense, gently slapping the man outside the ropes as he took a swig of OJ. Cassidy then hit Orange Mist on Lambert and Orange Punch on Page. Charged up, Orange finally got that bodyslam on Ethan for the victory.

After the win, Best Friends joined Orange Cassidy to celebrate in the ring with a hug. YOU GOT TO GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!

Four stars! A fun victory for Orange with a silly story of using the hands-in-pockets to power up a bodyslam. I liked everything here!

Christian Cage spoke with Tony Schiavone at the arena entrance next, explaining that management told him to apologize for his comments about Jungle Boy’s dead dad. He did so by apologizing that the whole family wasn’t dead so they would be spared watching his matches. Except for JB’s mom, who should call Cage. Good Lord. 

Cage went on to say that, yes, he requested a match. But it wasn’t for him. Cue scary intense new theme music for a scary, intense new version of Luchasaurus!

Match #2: Luchasaurus versus Serpentico

Luchasaurus, now with a darker mask and black gear, went right at poor, terrified Serpentico. The dino hit a wheelbarrow powerbomb, a quick slam, and then locked in a variation of Jungle Boy’s Snare Trap hold for the submission victory.

Post match, Christian Cage had Luchasaurus chokeslam Serpentico before the villains left.

Squash! We don’t rate squashes here! I’m interested to see where this goes, though. Why did Luchasaurus turn evil? Does Cage have some kind of blackmail, or did he just sell the old dinosaur on the benefits of a heel turn? WHO’S TO SAY?

Wardlow and Scorpio Sky had a quick interview with Schiavone that set up a Street Fight for the TNT Championship for next week. 

Match #3: Max Caster and Colton & Austin Gunn (w/Billy Gunn and Anthony Bowens) versus Danhausen and mystery partners FTR

The Gunn Club wanted this match after Danhausen gifted them with an Ass Boys theme song during the Forbidden Door Buy-In show. They did not want the surprise team joining Danhausen to be the reigning AAA, IGPW, and ROH champions, however. Dax and Cash dominated whenever they were in the ring, but Danhausen took the brunt of the offense from the Gunns during a commercial break.

Once we returned to the action, Danhausen managed to slip out of Colton’s grasp and get the hot tag to Uncle Dax, leading into stereo triple German suplexes by FTR and a bonus four for Dax. Danhausen was given the hot tag and went for Go To Sleep, but was surprised by a miraculously healed Anthony Bowens hopping into the ring and attacking him with a crutch. Danhausen avoided that attack and Bowens nailed Austin, getting Danhausen the pinfall win.

The bad guys argued afterward, leading to Billy Gunn shoving his sons and defending the Acclaimed! 

Three stars! FTR surprised the crowd and got a great reaction, and hometown hero Danhausen got the win. We also progressed the move by Billy Gunn to adopt a new family, so that’s an interesting development. A fun time with a finish that was never in doubt.

A video package with Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Satnam Singh played next. Dutt challenged Samoa Joe once again on behalf of Lethal, this time for the upcoming Ring of Honor pay per premium live event. 

Match #4: Jade Cargill versus Leila Gray

Cargill just destroyed Gray here in a match set up by Stokely Hathaway and Tony Khan via Twitter. Cargill tossed Gray around, no sold some forearms, and hit Jaded for the 1-2-3.

Hathaway and Cargill shared a microphone to call out Athena and Kris Statlander for being too lazy to accept the open challenge Jade issued, drawing the heroes into the ring. Keira Hogan, Jade, and Leila Gray attacked the good guys, leading the baddies to stand over their victims. Gray offered a handshake to Cargill but was denied.

Squish, squash. 

The Young Bucks, sad that all their friends are out of action, challenged Bishamon (Yoshi-Hashi and Goto from NJPW) to a match on Rampage.

Jim Ross and William Regal joined the announce crew for Blood and Guts.

Main Event: Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara w/ Tay Conti, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia, and Jake Hager) versus the Blackpool Combat Club and pals (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Santana, Ortiz, and Eddie Kingston)

I cannot stress how great this match was, for what it was. The Jericho Appreciation Society, in matching red fedoras and mesh shirts, had the numbers advantage throughout because of their win at Forbidden Door. Claudio and Sammy Guevara started things, and we’re gonna be here all day if i try to recap the whole thing. Highlights included:

• A “We, The People” chant broke out when Hager and Claudio faced off

• Jon Moxley carved Daniel Garcia’s forehead with a fork, a la Abdullah the Butcher

• Angelo Parker tried to sneak attack the BCC before getting a “You f***ed up” chant from the crowd

• Moxley introduced a Bag O’ Broken Glass to one of the rings, Wheeler added a Bag O’ Tacks, and Mox eventually got dragged in said glass and tacks by Jericho.

• Mox impaled Menard’s forehead with some bamboo skewers

• Kingston finally entering the match and swatting the entire JAS off with a kendo stick as he made a beeline to Chris Jericho

• Tay Conti attacked referee Aubrey Edwards, knocking her out to steal the key for the cage per Chris Jericho. Ruby Soho, beloved friend of Eddie Kingston, ran down to attack Tay after she undid the lock. Their brawl was highlighted by Tay trying really hard to keep her (poorly selected) skirt pulled down while Ruby attacked her.

• Eddie Kingston and Chris Jericho headed to the top of the cage, followed by Sammy Guevara. Eddie yeeted Sammy onto a table below and laughed like a madman.

• Claudio and Menard joined Eddie and Jericho on the cage, and double submission holds by the good guys led to Menard tapping to Castagnoli for the BCC win. Eddie was initially pissed, as he and Claudio have a history, but he got over it when Moxley interjected. 

• The good guys and referee Bryce stood tall atop the cage to close the show. 

Four stars! This version of Blood and Guts might be the best so far, and definitely did what they set out to do.. There was blood, weapons, fun, violence, and a surprise appearance. There WAS NOT any fire, but the tease of rubbing alcohol led me to suspect that might have been a planned fire spot that just didn’t work out. A blast to watch, so much so that I actually watched twice last night and have every intention of putting this on again as I work on my basement today.

A great opener and a great finish for Dynamite, here are Five Good Things!

• Orange Cassidy versus Ethan Page debuted Cassidy’s new/old theme and kept Cassidy’s momentum rolling. He also busted out some classic Orange shtick, like the OJ and the power derived from putting his hands in his pockets.

• Christian Cage’s cruel promo, and the new Luchasaurus look was good stuff, and has me interested in where they’re going with this and why the big dino turned evil.

• Danhausen and FTR had a pretty decent match, getting FTR some love and Danhausen a victory in his hometown. The post match shenanigans between the Acclaimed and the Ass Boys should spark a fun rivalry featuring Billy Gunn as the torn father figure.

• Blood

• AND Guts! It counts as two because it took up half the show! A crazy, violent spectacle that really sold how much Jericho and Kingston hate each other, and how brutal the Blackpool Combat Club can be.

And that’s it! I’ll be back tomorrow with Casual Friday, and will write a preview for Saturday’s Money in the Bank show on Saturday morning once the card is finalized.

I appreciate you stopping by, and would love it if you drop your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Twitter @ElOsoPequeno, where I try to remember to post whenever I update the blog.

Have a good one!