Donald Duck, my dad, a re-introduction, and some wrestling talk on a late Sunday night

 My dad was a … weird guy. I don’t mean that in a bad way. He was wonderful. But part of why he was wonderful owed to how damn weird he was. When we were kids, my dad would read to my sisters and I. Mom would too, but when dad did it, we got an added benefit: ad-libbed story beats and voices. We adored those voices, and the stories were different every time, whether they came from Little Golden Books, Elephant in Trouble, or the Barbie and Skipper Jet Ski Adventure (probably not the actual title). 

Dad had a full roster of characters. His best, and one of the few I’ve never been fully able to replicate, was Donald Duck. The best I can do is “boiling point Donald,” when the character went from irritated to fully irrational, just quacking and threatening anyone within earshot. My old man was able to do regular Donald speech, and I’ve never figured out how to twist my vocal cords to properly get that quack-talk. Dad did a lot of other voices, too, although most of his were just silly and not, like mine or my sister’s, celebrity based. (Ask Mandy to do her Will-Ferrell-as-Harry-Caray for you sometime.) 

Here’s why I bring this up. Have you ever wondered how many voices you can actually do? I know professionals have a roster of characters, but as a regular shmo who just does voices for kids, or when running a Dungeons and Dragons game, it’s something I never really thought of until recently. And ever since the thought popped in there, I haven’t been able to shake it. I do a lot, and while some of them are terrible (not my Morgan Freeman, though -- that one is solid) others are actually spot on. At the very least, I think they’re recognizable when I use them in games. They’re mostly exaggerated SNL-type bits, but I’m always adding more and it’s just something I think is fun to do. Just this past Halloween, I listened to Homer Simpson’s recitation of The Raven about 50 times in order to perfect the line, “Take thy BEAK from out my HEART, and take thy FORM, from OFF MY DOOR.”

Okay, actually, now that I’m thinking about it, there are two reasons I’ve been thinking about this lately. Aside from the dad thing, my lovely wife has been binging BONES and while she watches that, I tend to write or play a game on my computer in my office. But I rarely wear headphones, or if I’m listening to music I’ll just put one earbud in so I can hear if she calls for me. In the meantime, I’ve half-heard about ten seasons’ worth of Temperance Brennan’s particular cadence in her speech, and I kinda want to write a D&D one-shot that features the characters adventuring on behalf of a quirky fantasy forensic scientist and her government-appointed partner.

Anyway, my point is, I’ve never made that list of voices, and I’d probably be too embarrassed to publish it even if I did. These days the only times I ever bust out a silly voice are for games, and they are few and far between.  And given that adults have, like, lives and schedules that prevent large groups of us from meeting up for anything even close to a regular gaming session, I’ve been looking into running some kind of online game. I’ll update if I ever figure that out, but for now, I figure (as I often do) that writing and publishing it means I am at least a little accountable for actually getting it done.

A refresh/re-introduction

 Since last we spoke, there’s been (as always) a number of developments in the wrestling world as well as *gestures wildly* the world at large. While I’m not touching real world events here -- after all, a big reason a lot of us watch wrestling is for some escapism -- I would like to note that social media site BlueSky has seen a big influx in users over the past week. As such, I figured I’d do a bit of re-introduction, as far as letting people know what to expect before we dive head first into the abyss. I’m not a move-for-move recapper, although if you dig far back enough into the archives you’ll find reviews like that as I tried to figure out my online voice. 

I started writing in 2022, after leaving my auto mechanic job and being encouraged by my wife to try something from home. Soon afterward I started this blog, and was lucky enough to get a job writing for Wrestling, Inc.’s new Features department, which closed down about eight months later. The articles I wrote near the end of my run were more a product of “what was left in the hopper” than ideas I pitched, and as such I’m not super proud of listicles like “wrestlers who have large age gaps between them and their SOs” among other bullplop. However, during my eight months there I got to write about some of my favorite wrestlers, and adopted my sweet Cinnabon son, Konosuke Takeshita. And, it got me writing almost daily, something I’ve slept on recently but fully intend on doing again.

Even after that Features department closed, my editor was nice enough to recommend me to the folks at our sister site SlashGear, where I currently write an article or two a week on things like tools, cars, and technology. It’s mostly list-based stuff, but I’d like to think people find and use those lists to make informed purchases, and as such I do a good amount of research on various sites to collect and aggregate data before publishing anything. I also wrote the odd gaming review or wrestling article for a few other now-defunct sites, but for the most part this blog is where my stuff resides.

But enough about me…let’s talk about some wrestling!

ALL ELITE WRESTLING, depending on who you ask, is either headed for the dumpster or due for a revival. The former assumption is made by fools, as the company and its owner currently have more money than God. The latter is made by hopeful folks like myself, i.e. a different brand of fools, albeit a more gentle one. I love having two major wrestling promotions around, and I simply don’t understand folks who spend their time focused on something they hate. I DO understand people who won’t watch WWE for moral reasons, and while that’s not me, I respect that position. I tend to lean more towards AEW, since it’s the first time since Lucha Underground that I’ve been into a promotion since its conception. But I enjoy both big promotions, and regularly watch Raw, NXT, and Dynamite live. SmackDown and Collision are “if there’s time” shows for me, although I’ll always watch a Simon Miller recap or listen to a podcast to catch up if I miss them when they air. I do want to continue to be married, and there’s only so much wrestling I’ll subject my lovely wife to, after all.

So all that leads us to…what’s going on at AEW now? The major storyline follows Jon Moxley and his Death Riders, aka nWo mOx. I feel like most AEW fans are enjoying this story, which makes it all the more frustrating for me that I don’t. I like everyone involved. I think I’m just over the “we’re taking over” storylines in wrestling in general. Unfortunately, I came to this realization just as AEW started theirs. 

But that’s fine. AEW has always focused more on in-ring action, and they’ve got a lot going for them in that regard. Matches featuring guys like Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Hologram, THE BEAST MORTOS, and my son Konosuke Takeshita have raised the bar on what we expect from weekly TV shows, and there’s not a week that goes by that AEW doesn’t present at least one match that I want to recommend to other fans of the sport. 

Dynamite and Collision were fun, and while the crowds aren’t the loudest the action we’re being shown is great. Shelton Benjamin and Kommander had a helluva match on Saturday, and while I had high hopes for Ricochet and Dante Martin on Rampage, it felt like they were holding something back. That’s probably for the best, though -- Rampage for the warmup, Dynamite or even a pay-per-view to really show off. 

One thing I love doing, and probably the thing that works best in keeping me blogging about wrestling, is previews. I love guessing about what’s coming next, and I also enjoy comparing my records with both better pundits than myself and the WWE2K24 game, where I’ve put together current AEW, NXT, and WWE rosters in order to run preview matches, mostly for my own entertainment. At one point, I had a whole create-a-wrestler universe full of animal hospital employees that worked with my wife, and we even did a weekly YouTube show that I won’t be linking here for shame reasons. It was a blast though, despite my less than professional (but family friendly!) onscreen presence. All that is to say, I’ll probably be running (and posting) previews for Deadl1ne, Survivor Series, and Full Gear on the Fridays before those events.

WWE continues its … I don’t want to say “trudge” or “slog” so we’ll go with “leisurely stroll” towards Survivor Series and the unofficial start of WrestleMania season. While the Royal Rumble has become the de facto beginning to many ‘Mania storylines, it’s Survivor Series that tends to showcase the performers that will take the stage on the Showcase of the Immortals. Between Full Gear and WarGames, we’ll be eating good for the next few weeks. Thanksgiving pun fully intended.

The Fed has some intrigue with its neverending Bloodline stories,  as mysterious fifth members are being teased for both the OG Bloodline and Solo Sikoa’s new version. Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, and Jey and Jimmy Uso make up one side, while Solo, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu comprise the new kids. Most folks are assuming Cody Rhodes may join up with the “good guys” while The Rock is a possibility as the as-yet-undisclosed true leader and Tribal Chief for the nü Blüdline. I think there’s a lot of wiggle room, and WWE has done a good job of keeping possible other members or distractions like Kevin Owens and Randy Orton viable as both allies or threats to either side. 

The most recent Raw saw a good chunk of the women’s roster interact during the main event, leading me to believe either a 4-on-4 is coming for those wrestlers, or we’re doing the “mystery fifth person” bit for the women as well. At the end of the show Monday, we saw Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, IO SKY, and Naomi stand tall over both main womens’ champs Nia Jax and Liv Morgan, along with Raquel Rodriguez and Tiffany Stratton. That’s a good match there, but I’d love to see some returns to round out both teams. We haven’t seen Becky Lynch, Asuka, or Charlotte Flair for some time, and only just got a return for Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai during that Monday show. I hope they even out both the men’s and women’s Survivor Series matches to five a side, but I guess we’ll see. 

Aside from the WarGames matches at Survivor Series, the only big match I think is set in stone is Damien Priest against Gunther -- again -- for Gunther’s World Heavyweight Championship. Gunther is almost guaranteed to retain, but they do have a little redemption to shoot for after a bit of a sloppy ending during their last match. And both guys are supremely talented, so it’s possible for them to steal the show with a good match. At least, until The Rock’s theme hits at the end of the show.

And that’s it!

I think that’s where we’ll leave this catch-up version of the blog. I’ve honestly been working on this a while, just procrastinating on posting ANYTHING. But there’s no way to start something new without putting out something old, so consider this the clean slate before we dive into three straight weeks of premium-pay-per-live-events.

If you’re interested, I’m usually on BlueSky during Raw, Dynamite, and any other shows I catch as they air -- follow me there at elosopequeno.bsky.social if you want your feed invaded by all my bad jokes and observations -- and we’ll work on getting back to more regular posting. My hope is that I’m smart enough to realize I’m much more interested in writing about a show right after I watch it, and at least pump out an outline with some notes to make a post the next morning, if not the night of most shows. Previews will likely remain a Friday thing, rather than having Friday be the be-all end-all of posts. But we’ll see how it goes, as always.

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!

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

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