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!

The SPOILER-FREE Let's Watch Some Wrestling AEW ALL IN Preview Blog!

 

Good Morning!

So it’s been tough sitting down to write lately. I don’t think I’ve been down on the products I keep up with -- if anything, I’m more excited for ALL IN than I’ve been for any show in a few months. I think it’s just a matter of the writing itself, you know? When I started things came really easily. I had a lot to say, AEW and WWE were doing interesting stuff, and I quickly found paying work in the field, so I was knocking out listicles for a website while also doing the blog as often as I could.

I don’t think I’m burnt out, per se. I still enjoy writing, and even though the paid work has gone from pro wrestling content to the tech, automotive, and tool articles I now write for SlashGear, I’m still having a good time writing those things since they’re in my wheelhouse. Also, I’m appreciative that ANYONE is willing to pay me to do this -- I’ve got limited experience and even less professional training, much less a degree. 

At the end of the day, though, it’s on me to keep doing this or to find something else. I’m incredibly fortunate in my personal life that I’m able to try to make this something, or to keep it what it is as I figure out what to do next. At nearly 45 years old I’m no spring chicken, but I also don’t want to believe that I can’t do anything new. I worked every position there was at an animal hospital for a decade after high school, until we got bought and I was replaced and forced out. Then I decided I’d learn to work on cars, spent an ungodly amount of money going to Lincoln Tech (because of a 3am commercial I watched while living with my dad) and working at four different shops over about 15 years. It was great, but it did a number on my body and really led me to have a different view of hard work -- going from more of an “I got mine” attitude to wanting to teach and help my younger coworkers and clients alike. And when that philosophy didn’t line up with what my last employer believed, I quit. My wife sent me and my best friend to a Royal Rumble, I started a blog, and here we are. 

The last several months have been a lot, which also makes it hard for me to settle down and write. My little friend Zelda -- we’ve talked a lot about her lately -- just brought me a tennis ball and is staring up at me as I write while enjoying a cigar in my garage, and keeps looking up hoping I’ll take a break and play. So, I’m gonna do that real quick, and then we’re going to get into the pro wrestling section of the Let’s Watch Some Wrestling blog -- a preview of this weekend’s big All Elite Wrestling show, All In, happening on Sunday in London, meaning a nice midday PPV for us here in the States.

It’s The Let’s Watch Some Wrestling ALL IN Preview!

[Ball was thrown, treats were distributed, Zelda is asleep at my feet.]

This year’s version of the show looks great. The crowd is, expectedly, smaller than last year’s, but that’s okay. AEW has had some smaller crowds and weaker storytelling over the last year, but I really feel like they’ve been on a roll these last few months. It’s still a big stadium show in an incredible venue, and this time around it feels like less of a showcase and more of a real card with long standing feuds coming to a head. As of this writing (an hour before Dynamite) we’ve got NINE matches set, with another one scheduled for the two hour (!) pre-show. I’d be willing to bet we’ll end up with at least 15 total when all is said and done, but that doesn’t preclude us from starting the preview now and adding more before I publish this on Friday…and I guess we’ll just hope Collision doesn’t add much more. 

ZERO HOUR: Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway versus Willow Nightingale and Tomohiro Ishii

This is the semi-finale of this long feud -- well, long for an AEW women’s rivalry anyways. The woman on the winning team will get to choose the stipulation for what I assume is the big blowoff match at All Out, the next AEW PPV that is coming in a couple weeks. One of the big complaints about last year’s All In / All Out setup is that there were literally six days between the shows, making ALL IN feel way more like an exhibition than a real fight card. This is the first in a number of rivalries that really feels earned, with Statlander relishing her heel character and Hathaway just leaning into his slimy manager persona. 

I think Statlander and Stoke will pick up the win here, because it makes more sense for the baddies to pick the stip and the most lovable face in all of pro wrestling to have to overcome the odds one more time. Ishii will chop the everloving shit out of Hathaway’s chest, and it’s gonna be hilarious/terrifying to watch -- and it’s important to remember that his reaction would be the same one 99% of us watching would have to a single one of those chops from the Stone Pitbull.

A Casino Gauntlet Match for a future AEW World Championship Match

With Orange Cassidy being the only named competitor in this gauntlet, it’s tough to pick a winner. However, AEW CEO Tony Khan made a point to say that there will be a ton of surprises appearing in this match, which always makes for a fun time. Popular opinion seems to be that Ricochet might make his debut for AEW here, and with talent from Mexico and Japan regularly appearing on AEW TV, who’s to say who’ll pop up? Smart money is on “Hangman” Adam Page to get the win and force his way into a match with longtime rival and current AEW champ Swerve Strickland, so I’ll go with him since HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG in his quest for vengeance against a man who literally did a home invasion and threatened his (admittedly unsupervised) baby during their last feud. 

“Timeless” Toni Storm © versus “The Glamour” Mariah May for the AEW Women’s World Championship

This might be the biggest storyline in All Elite Wrestling right now, Danielson’s retirement match notwithstanding. Toni Storm took a kinda dumb premise and transformed it into a heel you couldn’t help but love, a movie star from the silent era that somehow decided to become a pro wrestler. When Mariah May was folded into that story as Storm’s protege, we all knew the turn was coming, we just didn’t know who would do it or when. Mariah attacking Storm as May celebrated her victory (and the title shot that went with it) left Storm a bloody mess, and instantly elevated that partnership into a rivalry that these two earned. This match should be incredible, as both women are great wrestlers and storytellers. 

I think Mariah May almost has to win, as she’s a London native and deserving up-and-coming star. She’s also a legit star everywhere else she’s been, and while her promo work has been a little shaky she’s also not been given a lot of time to hone that skill in front of American crowds. I know folks more knowledgeable than me who followed her in Stardom, a Japanese women’s wrestling promotion, have more insight than me on her history, but as an AEW fan I think she’s just getting started, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next as her own superstar, rather than just Storm’s understudy. 

Maxwell Jacob Friedman © versus Will Ospreay for the AEW American Championship

MJF won the former AEW International Championship in a surprisingly (to me, anyway) divisive  hour-long match on Dynamite’s 500th show. The problem is that there are a number of fans that don’t like MJF OR Ospreay for a number of reasons, some personal and some professional. For someone who writes about this stuff on the internet, I guess I’m in the minority in that I don’t follow a whole lot of what these folks do outside of the TV shows. Which, while making me slightly uninformed on these behind-the-scenes goings-on, does mean I get to enjoy things without the specter of the performers being bastards in real life affecting my opinion. 

MJF has renamed the International Championship and, in the process, has become a jingoistic, thinly-veiled MAGA stereotype. Will Ospreay, a true generational talent in the ring, has been a baby-kissing, fan-loving good guy ever since he signed on to AEW’s full time roster. And even though Max just won the title a few weeks ago, the whole time-crunched storyline seems to be leading to our UK hero getting his win and his title back. The match will have a lot to live up to, and I can’t imagine they go another hour, so MJF and Ospreay will have to come up with a violent, hard-hitting affair that shows off both men’s strengths while also realizing that they aren’t the main event of this show. Given the pedigrees of both wrestlers, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Jack Perry © versus Darby Allin in a Coffin Match for the TNT Championship

I predicted Jack Perry bringing out a “real glass” coffin for this match, despite my general disdain for the Young Bucks’ insider jokes that seem to have leaked into most of AEW. But I like the Bucks aside from that. I like the Elite. I like Jack Perry, and this heel run has been incredible for him. Darby Allin is gonna get super murdered in this match, I think. After all, Perry just introduced a new title that he forged himself, reminiscent of that one guy we all know who learned how to make knives during the pandemic.

The match itself is probably going to be the most violent of the night, as these two have built up a healthy hatred of one another since Perry’s return. Darby doesn’t need a win here, and Perry is a great baddie who should hang on to gold (or whatever that belt is now) for a while.

Mercedes Moné versus Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. for the TBS Championship

You know, it’s okay to admit when you’re wrong. It’s also okay to change your opinions on stuff. I was VERY down on this match from the start, but the last couple weeks reminded me of a couple things. One, Mercedes is great in the ring, and that’s where the match takes place on Sunday. Her unending, insufferable promos will come to an end and we’ll see her in a real match against a real opponent with a real chance of winning, something we haven’t really had since Willow Nightingale lost the TBS Championship to Mercedes. And Britt Baker is doing her part to keep this interesting as well, carrying that contract signing on Dynamite and generally letting Mercedes heel it up and play to her strengths. I love the Diesel/HBK dynamic between Moné and Kamille too, and I’m really hoping Baker gets her muscle back in a returning Jamie Hayter, in Wembley Stadium, to a huge pop. 

All that being said, is it too soon for Moné to lose? I don’t think so. I don’t think it tarnishes her in any way to lose to the best homegrown performer in her division, and I think she’ll have a lot of fun blaming anyone and anything other than herself for her loss. So I’m going with Dr.  Britt Baker for the win here, with a returning Jamie Hayter to boot. One last note -- on her graphic, it says “Hayter Hits Hard,” but “Hayter Hits Harder” just rolls off the tongue better! But I digress…

Chris Jericho © versus HOOK in a Last Chance Match for the FTW Championship

Full disclosure: I jump around a lot when I write these previews. Sometimes I just have an idea of what I want to say, other times I just don’t want to write about a match. This one falls squarely in the latter category, and it’s the last entry for me. I do not like this version of Chris Jericho. And it’s not that I don’t “get” what he’s trying to do with the character, I just think it’s shitty to take a natural fan reaction to a real problem with a performer, and to decide the best way to address it is to just let said performer hang around and eat up TV time while acknowledging the fans’ dislike. 

But whatever. Jericho remains, as always. I love Big Bill and Brian Keith in their roles, and the inevitable breakup of yet another Jericho stable will hopefully lead to some great pushes for both of those guys. 

One-eyed HOOK hasn’t been super great either, but we already knew he wasn’t great on the mic. He’s a silent killer, a man so confident in his abilities that he turns his back on his opponents before his matches. His character has betrayed that lately, and it’s suffered for it. Give the kid an eyepatch, let these two have a short, hard-hitting match with the usual Jericho hijinks, interference, and creative weaponry. Get Taz’s title back in the family with a HOOK victory. Maybe bring Shibata and Samoa Joe back (if possible) to even the odds.

The Young Bucks © versus FTR versus The Acclaimed in a Three Way Tag Team Match for the AEW Tag Team Championship

I want to care about this match, since AEW was built on the importance of the tag team division when it was born. But with the cartoonishly evil corporate Bucks only popping up part-time, the unending FTR push, and the Acclaimed just not doing it for me lately I can’t. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the match, as all three teams can go in the ring. But does it matter if the Bucks keep the gold? They’ll still be EVPs, with all the rules-bending that allows. FTR holding the titles again means more of the same matches they’ve had before. And the Acclaimed seem closer to a breakup than a championship run. So I’ll go with the Young Bucks retaining, and hope I have some fun while watching this one.

The Patriarchy © versus Bang Bang Gang versus House of Black versus TBD in a Four Way London Ladder Match for the AEW World Trios Championship

This one is gonna rip. I know a lot of folks say they’re over ladder matches but this collection of talent is perfect for this format. Christian and sons are gonna have their hands full with teams consisting of *checks notes* a cocaine-addled gremlin and Billy Gunn’s kids, a literal death cult, and whatever other trio is pulled from the aforementioned gauntlet match to toss themselves around for this.

I don’t feel like there’s any straight-up good guys in this fight, although recently the Bang Bang Gang has been the closest to “morally upstanding.” I would rather the Patriarchy retain here, and save the big face pops for big face wins. 

Swerve Strickland © versus Bryan Danielson in a Title Versus Career Match for the AEW World Championship

I love that I have no idea what’s gonna happen here. We’ve been told Bryan Danielson’s family will be at ringside, and this whole year has put the American Dragon’s work in the looming shadow of his impending retirement from full-time work. (Speaking of, I thought it was great of Swerve to mention that little caveat by promising to hunt Danielson down on the indies or internationally if he ever decides to set foot in a wrestling ring again.) I respect the hell out of this obsessed professional wrestler who promised his daughter that he would call it quits when she reached a certain age, and I hope he’s able to do so. 

That being said, maybe now isn’t the time. Maybe Danielson, so well known for wanting to put his opponents over and refusing to win a championship time and time again, deserves to have a run as AEW World Champion before he’s done, both for the fans and for his own legacy. Maybe a few months as champ before dropping the title and calling it a career closer to home at Wrestle Dream is the move. 

I don’t feel like any of this would affect Swerve Strickland in the slightest. He’s got an angry cowboy hellbent on revenge nipping at his heels. He’s never been a truly upstanding champ, more of the “shades of gray” type of character that AEW loves to push. And Hangman Page, who has done nothing wrong, deserves his pound of flesh after this man literally invaded his home and threatened his child! Strickland has had a strong title run, albeit one that had a rocky start as (mostly bad-faith) arguments said he was booked weakly by not opening and closing every show immediately after winning the title from Samoa Joe. He’s looked like a true champ every time he cuts a promo, his matches are entertaining, and he rarely resorts to the cheap wins that many a heel champion relies on to retain their titles.

I keep going back and forth on this one. Danielson’s passionate promo after Swerve once again brought up Danielson’s family didn’t help matters -- I was locked in on Strickland prior to that. Now, I see Danielson winning clean in front of his family. Or the Hangman somehow costing Strickland his championship, keeping his promise to take everything Swerve cares about, no matter the cost. AEW often has a problem with its TV matches in that we can guess the winner pretty easily. Their pay-per-views, this one in particular, have been more nuanced, leaving people who write or fantasy book a ton of wiggle room to argue about plausible outcomes. 

But, in the name of accountability, I’ll say Bryan Danielson wins the AEW World Championship to close out ALL IN with the biggest YES! chant in recent memory.

And that’s it!

Enjoy the weekend, and I hope you’re as successful avoiding spoilers for Rampage and Collision as I’ve been. I’m really looking forward to ALL IN and I hope I see some of you liveskeeting on BlueSky. I tend to be quieter for PPVs because I have my buddy Adam over for them, but I’ll still pop in. And if you’ve got predictions, post them in the comments or mention me on social media with yours!

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram (although I rarely use that one) using the links on the right.

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

The LIVE Dynamite Experience, and a short NXT Battleground preview

Good Morning!

My wrestling buddy Adam, lovely wife Mo, new-to-the-sport friend Gabe, and I went to Loveland for this week's AEW Dynamite! I’ll try not to recap every single thing because, well, I wasn’t privy to a lot of backstage segments, and without commentary all I can tell you from the matches is how the crowd reacted. I should mention that this show was the fourth time AEW has come to Colorado, and the third venue they have used. I’ve been to every show, from the first in 2020 at First Bank Center, just before the pandemic. Since then, we saw another AEW show at First Bank in December of 2022 and got to drive home in a legit blizzard, then a show in Colorado Springs during a pretty powerful rainstorm last June. September of 2023 brought us the final event of any kind at the First Bank Center, and this one was up in Loveland, about 50 miles north of Denver. I imagine it’s one of those things where WWE has rights to the Ball Arena in downtown Denver locked up, but I’m surprised AEW doesn’t try for the Denver Coliseum (a really big, really old arena used for the annual Stock Show) or another, smaller downtown arena. 

We had a good crowd, too, with some fans peppered in on the hard camera side and the stands filled for ⅔ of the barn. I’ve attended a couple of Colorado Eagles hockey games here, and it’s a great arena with some good food and a cozy, loud atmosphere. Cow bells are a big thing for the Eagles too, I was kinda surprised that nobody had one for this show. Although security may have prohibited that – who’s to say? Our seat neighbors were all fantastic, aside from the loud younger group a few rows back who felt the need to speak for all of us with screams of NOBODY CARES during the Mercedes Mone video. And even then, they were younger folks with booze, it’s fine. 

Special mention should be made to the granny who my buddy spotted before my wife and I arrived, and who was featured at the end of the broadcast dancing with Swerve and Price Nana. She seemed delighted with the whole event. We also had a kid in front of us with a JARRING voice – that voice that says “I just hit puberty and immediately got a job in a mine or something.” He was great, and with a little encouragement from our group he went and got scissored by both Bowens and Caster, and started a few crowd chants too.

The show began with an MJF promo, although to be fair Mo and I had to watch that after we got home. Construction and rush hour traffic between our place and Loveland were pretty lousy, and a few accidents along the way turned what should have been a 90 minute drive into nearly 2 ½ hours. We got in as Friedman’s music hit, but figured we shouldn’t rush, as our friends were already seated, and hit the washrooms and grabbed some adult beverages. 

After watching the promo, I thought it was a good re-establishment of MJF as “our scumbag” – a good guy who isn’t too good. While I’ll be the first to admit that AEW has a problem with faces and heels, I think Max is a good example of how to be a guy we root for while tempering his cheesier instincts. 

We found our way to our seats just as the first match of the night began, and the crowd was UP for that one. In hindsight it was basically a fight between three guys to pin Jay Lethal, and our friends were unaware of the stipulation that the winner would go on to fight Will Ospreay next week. If we’d have known that, I think the outcome would have been even more obvious. But the match itself was a blast, the crowd had fun, and the best spots all got a pretty great response. Orange Cassidy was confronted by former Best Friend Trent after the match, and Kris Statlander made the most of her recent heel turn by laying Cassidy out before Willow Nightingale made the save. The promo Willow cut later in the night was really good, and I’m looking forward to seeing Nightingale and Cassidy team up!

The first of several Chris Jericho spots was shown on the big screen next, much to the dismay of the crowd. There were some vocal supporters, but you could just feel the overall energy of the group fizzle as folks headed to the bathrooms and concessions. This happened during many of the pre taped segments, but it was definitely more noticeable for the Jericho ones. 

I will admit that I like the unnecessary intensity of Bounty Hunter Bryan Keith, and I’ll always support Big Bill, but I really don’t need several Jericho spots during the show. I don’t need any at all for a while, if we’re being honest.

We were told that Tony Khan came out to say hello before the show, so I don’t really understand the kayfabe logic of Christopher Daniels’ existence, short of “we wanted to rehire the nice man that the evil Young Bucks fired.” Regardless, Daniels announced another qualifying match for the Forbidden Door TNT Ladder Match – Ring of Honor champ Mark Briscoe taking on Bryan Cage. 

I mean, this is another obvious one, right? Briscoe is a champion, which makes it a little odd that he’s going after another, theoretically lower-tier belt in a second promotion, and Cage does nothing but lose matches with any stakes. It was still fun, with Cage tossing Briscoe around for the most part, but it wasn’t exactly unpredictable. Briscoe in a ladder match is a great addition to the lineup, and Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis looked on during the match from the crowd to scout the competition, and the Loveland crowd was not having it, booing them whenever they popped out to watch.

The pairing of Samoa Joe and HOOK continues to interest me, much more so than Jericho and HOOK ever did. Joe is so much more in line with what HOOK could become that it only makes sense to have his former antagonist show him the way. HOOK is never going to be Chris Jericho – and thank God for that – but pairing him with the eloquent juggernaut that is Joe is a great call. 

The BCC vs CMLL match was next, and the crowd was really great to a returning Wheeler Yuta. Supportive and welcoming, and loud throughout the match. It was a great exhibition, and while that kind of thing isn’t for everyone it is a great way to introduce a new fan (like the fourth member of our party, only watching his second ever wrestling show) some different styles of the sport.

The Mercedes Mone video I previously mentioned aired next, and I was honestly surprised that there wasn’t a CEO chant. I don’t want to say AEW is handling Mercedes wrong – she’s literally only had one match and won a championship – but one would at least hope for a hum of boos or cheers. Maybe it was just because she wasn’t there live, though. 

Daniel Bryan Danielson (I cannot believe I still do that) had a passionate speech that really did resonate with the fans in the building, and I think it’s a real possibility that he could win the Owen Hart tournament and face Swerve at Wembley. I guess we’ll see!

I will admit here that I’ve been a fan of Saraya / Paige since NXT, so I’m not as harsh as some about her. The last time I saw her live was when she retired and became GM of Raw over Wrestlemania 38 weekend, so it was a delight to see her in the ring for this match against Mariah May, another performer I’m really high on. I think this match was better than I expected, and more competitive too – and I didn’t expect to see Saraya pick up the win, either. What I did expect was Toni Storm coming to her protege’s aid after the match. Mina Shirakawa and Toni Storm’s interactions were fantastic, and the crowd popped huge for the, ahem, double-breasted celebration of support those two found themselves in for May.

Oh! There was a Patriarchy segment cementing their relationship with the Young Bucks. But more importantly, I got to explain to my friend the lore of Luchasaurus after he grabbed me and screamed “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”

Wrestling is the best.

The main event followed, and the crowd was HYPED for Swerve. The match itself was good, and the exhausted crowd managed to pull what little energy they had left out for this finale. The good guy got cheered, the baddies were booed, and I think everyone had a great time. 

Rampage featured four matches, but it was easy to see that the crowd was burnt out by then. The opener of Penta el Zero Miedo was good, and the main event featuring Mina Shirakawa and Serena Deeb was way better than I expected – and longer, too – and the post-match angle was silly and delightful, a great way to send the crowd home happy.

I did think of one thing worth pointing out, and it’s something we probably don’t think about a lot when we claim a crowd is dead, or when one goes online to see “Never go back to X town they suck.” Even if one assumes that half the crowd managed to get off work Wednesday, or got a half-day, that’s still half an arena with people who likely woke up at 6am, went to their jobs, worked at least half a day or more, then (especially in this case) sat in traffic for at least an hour and a half. People are bound to be exhausted, and in many cases wouldn’t want to miss parts of the show to wait in line for food, so many were hangry and thirsty as well! I’m just saying, give people the benefit of the doubt. 

It was a great night, and a fun show that started some wrestlers in new directions. Popular opinion seems to be that Danielson will face off with Swerve at All In now, and Ospreay may take on MJF. Ospreay losing to Swerve would be the right call for Forbidden Door, as Ospreay is gonna have to lose at some point. Why not do it to a guy we’re establishing as a worthy champion? A loss will also further the whole Don Callis family storyline, something I’m sure AEW is ready to move on from for babyface Will. 

 I had a blast and really like the setup at that arena – I don’t mind the drive if that’s where Tony Khan decides to set up shop, and it’s pretty cool that they come through a couple times a year. At the end of the show, he thanked fans for coming out and even hinted at a PPV in the years to come, which would be awesome and immediately got my wife and my buddy talking about getting entranceway seats if that comes to pass. I guess we’ll see!

Super Short NXT Battleground Preview!

I’ve got a weekend of hanging out with the wife planned, so I don’t think I’ll do a full NXT Battleground preview. I just wanted to relay my thoughts about the live AEW show. However, for prediction’s sake, I’ll list the matches below, with my picks in bold. We’ll go over them on Monday, assuming all goes well!

Jordynne Grace versus Roxanne Perez © for the NXT Women’s Championship

Ethan Page versus Trick Williams © for the NXT Championship

Lola Vice versus Shayna Baszler in an NXT Underground match

Nathan Frazier and Axiom © versus The Good Brothers for the NXT Tag Team Championship

Oba Femi © versus Joe Coffey versus Wes Lee for the NXT North American Championship

Lash Legend v Sol Ruca v Fallon Henley v Jaida Parker v Kelani Jordan v Michin for the vacant NXT Women’s North American Championship

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.

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!