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!

Catching up on AEW and, well, you and me!

 

Good Morning!

Howdy and welcome back! June and July were a hell of a couple of months, what with the missing dog and all. June 7th was the last time I really wrote about wrestling, the supposed premise of this whole blog. Oddly, I apparently wrote a whole preview for NXT Heatwave and WWE Money in the Bank that I just … didn’t publish?

I’ve actually started to work on a blog post three other times since then and it just hasn’t clicked. Maybe I was worried the new readers would be scared off by wrestling talk when they just came to read the saga of my missing dog. 

Regardless, it’s a cool August Monday here in Colorado, Zelda is back and healthy, and we need to catch up. My lovely wife and I just celebrated our 13th anniversary in Mexico, and we returned from the trip with a few extra days scheduled off to get back into the swing of things. Colorado has been blessedly cool and rainy, letting our skin get a reprieve from the humid 100-degrees-plus days of beach sitting and pool … walking. Your pal Russ does a lot of things, but swimming is not one of them -- turns out I literally cannot relax enough to float, and just sink like a stone most of the time. 

While the wife is off doing real work at her real job, I continue to write. It’s not lucrative, and it’s maybe stagnated, but that’s on me for not getting behind the process. I’ve discovered that simply deciding when I should be creative doesn’t really work out, and I’m generally more focused and productive at the times I’d much rather be getting other things done, or spending time with my family. So I’ll be trying to make a point to sit down at the keyboard when inspiration strikes, and leave the “scheduled output” for my work on SlashGear and other paid outlets. Also, I’m going to spend some time looking for more of those outlets. But I think the most important thing is to write something, every day.

Which brings us back here, to the thing that started this whole endeavor, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling. I know these intros are getting less and less wrestling-centric, but that’s the price that comes with time, I guess. Also, I kinda like just talking to you, dear reader, as we settle into our old ways. Much like Zelda, we, too, must get less used to eating grasshoppers and more used to our usual fare of canned and dry dog food.

I feel like that metaphor may have gone off the rails a bit, but I digress.

I’ve been realizing that Twitter is neither the audience draw nor the reliable announcements board it once was, and my ability to engage with anyone on there -- even the horror and wrestling accounts that once made up most of my readership -- has dwindled to nothing. And since I don’t want to pay Elon Musk for, well, anything, I’ll just update stuff on BlueSky and Facebook, since those algorithms tend to play nice for now. 

Let’s talk about what I’ve missed, since I’m caught up on everything but Collision, which I just decided I’ll put on while I work on this piece. There’s been a lot! So we’ll just list off what I found most interesting or discussion worthy, and if you want my thoughts on whatever else I miss in here, sound off in the comments section. Please! Use it! I don’t think I’ve ever actually received a comment down there, and it would be nice to know if it works.

All In is once again shaping up to be an incredible card, and even though I don’t see the company drawing quite as many fans as it did last year, it’s still a great exhibition of pro wrestling in an amazing stadium, and those UK fans are sure to bring the energy to the show. It does kinda feel like Dynamite, Collision, and Rampage are in a bit of a rut of their own making right now, as we’ve got most of the matches either announced or reasonably assumed. As such, the next couple weeks will be a lot of doubling down on promos, and squash matches designed to keep the competitors looking strong while also keeping them away from their All In opponents. But, given the quality of the competitors we’re getting, I can’t imagine that this can be considered missable programming. 

Brian Danielson and Swerve Strickland have upped the stakes of their championship match, with Danielson’s AEW career being put on the line against Strickland’s world championship. The interviews with Jim Ross showed that the company is really focused on making this feel like a legit, serious match between two of the best pro wrestlers working today, and this fight is gonna deliver. I have zero doubts.

Toni Storm and Mariah May continue to be the best storyline in wrestling, and that is going to be an incredible match as well. With Toni’s “Timeless” character looking more and more disheveled in the weeks following Mariah May’s brutal attack, All In should be the perfect time for Mariah to stake her claim as the new Timeless One, fully completing the mentor/mentee storyline. It’s been a hell of a ride, and I can’t wait to see where these two go next. 

All-American American Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been having a blast as the jingoistic foil to Will Ospreay’s beloved international champ, and his gaudy new American Championship is the perfect accessory for that character. The flag with Max’s face as the stars is a nice touch, as is the patriotic theme music and overall vibe of superiority-as-patriotism. I believe Will gets that title back in his home country, but MJF will have a great time convincing us that he’ll never lose in the weeks building up to that match.

So I missed the Hologram debut and his matches as they aired, but holy crap is this guy a ton of fun in the ring. Watching him and Darby Allen just heave themselves around for the Premier Athletes is great, and the cozy confines of the E-sports arena that AEW Collision is currently occupying make for a great extended debut -- the crowd in Texas seems to have adopted Hologram as their guy, and that’s great for both the performer and his matches. Darby will have his work cut out for him at All In with Jack Perry, and I think the Scapegoat will come out on top in that match, but you never know, especially at a big show where you want as many good guys winning as possible for the big cheers from the biggest audience of the year.

[I’ve made it to the Thunder Rosa versus Deonna Purrazzo Texas Bullrope Match and I already have high hopes based solely on the amount of white in both ladies’ ring gear.] [UPDATE - yep, that was a lot of blood. And a helluva match to boot, if a bit short.]

The Patriarchy continues to be some of the best work of Christian Cage’s career, and that’s really saying something considering the man’s resume. He’s just so … despicable! It seems we’ve managed to work our way into a trios triple threat match (a trios trios match?) for the AEW Trios Titles at Wembley, and that match, with House of Black and the Bang Bang Gang, ought to be nuts. Just some fast paced constant action, with guys rotating in and out of the “wrestling hole” that always seems to keep the in-ring numbers to a minimum. 

Speaking of nuts, the Casino Battle Royale that was recently announced ought to be great, too. With an AEW World Championship match at stake, I’d expect to see every big name that didn’t make the card to be included, along with several returns or cameos from UK and international talent. Maybe beloved YouTube commentator/wrestler Simon Miller? Danhausen? Ricochet? WHO’S TO SAY?

I’m mostly positive on AEW in general, and All In in particular, but I’m really not looking forward to Britt Baker and Mercedes Mone. I just don’t like the build…I don’t like that Mercedes has been doing all of her half of said build on the mic rather than in the ring…and I don’t like that Camille has already had nearly as many AEW matches as Mercedes (I exaggerate to clarify). I know I’m in the minority on my dislike of Mone, and I also know I’ll eat my words if she and Baker deliver in the ring, but right now? I’m just not interested in any of it. Mercedes is way better as a heel than a good guy, but she’s still a long way from compelling, and the fact that AEW has decided that she can carry a feud with her promo work (she can’t) doesn’t do her any favors. 

So there we go! All caught up on the AEW side. I think I’ll end this lil’ blog entry here, and do the WWE version of it tomorrow after we’ve all watched Raw. The post-Summer Slam run has been interesting, and I want to go into writing about it with a clear head. So, we’ll see you tomorrow!

And that’s it!

Man, it’s good to be back writing again. It’s been such a stressful month! I’ll do my level best to post again tomorrow with some WWE recappage and, of course, the usual introductory monologue. If we're being completely honest -- and I try to be in here -- I've had doubts about writing, even if nobody is reading. It's just a weird feeling to put yourself out there, and an even weirder feeling promoting it, basically inviting strangers to read your thoughts and judge you based on them. But at the end of the day, I like writing, and I'd probably keep doing it even if I didn't publish my stuff.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram (rarely) 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!

The Let’s Watch Some Wrestling Double or Nothing 2024 Preview

 

Good Morning!

Right outta the gate, let me tell you about some non-wrestling stuff. Sure, Sweet Saudi Money was fine, and every one of our predictions were correct. But, more importantly, our recruitment/tryout session of Dungeons of Dragons went great! It lasted longer than we planned – like, a solid five hours – but everyone said they had fun and my wife was amazing at running the game as our Dungeon Master. I got to contribute a little, too, playing as a Dwarf Fighter and acting as set designer for the tavern that got the game’s story in motion:

So we’re hoping this leads to a full-on summer campaign with another couple of players from our last group, meaning we’re gonna have to find a table suitable for 7-8 players. I built our current four-player setup using some online plans, and while it’s not perfect it does have cool features like dice trays, cup holders, and a drop-in center with a slot for maps to slide in. So, I guess I’ll look online and see if my creative juices get flowing again. But I digress!

We aren’t here for my D&D bullshit! We’re here for…

The Let’s Watch Some Wrestling Double or Nothing 2024 Preview

This five-year anniversary show is gonna be nuts. We’re looking at ten matches on the main card, and another three on the Buy-In pre show. New champions will be crowned, others will defend, blood will most definitely be spilled, and we’re gonna be exhausted by the end. So we better get this party started.

Thunder Rosa versus Deonna Purrazzo on the Buy-In

This should be good, although if I’m being completely honest I’m still waiting for the Deonna Purrazzo AEW match that is considered great. Maybe getting onto the biggest stage of AEW, albeit on the pre-show, is enough to motivate both of these women to just beat the living hell outta each other. Purrazzo is 10-2 on the year, per AEW, and Rosa is 10-1, so the records aren’t gonna help us predict a winner. I’ll go with Thunder Rosa because I think her constant vamping to the camera after her matches has gotta be leading to something.

The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass versus Brain Cage and the Gates of Agony on the Buy-In

I’ve been trying to think of a nice way to say that this match doesn’t matter but it will still be a good time. It was added on Collision, it’s a pre show match, and half of the guys involved are almost always booked to lose. This will be no exception, although I am interested to see if the rumors of a Bowens singles push will be proven right. Regardless, The Acclaimed should pick up the win here, unless that push is started tonight by way of miscommunication and a loss. But I won’t hedge my bet, my pick is my pick!

Trent Baretta versus Orange Cassidy

We’re on the main card now, with the only match that isn’t a championship match or a crazy stipulation, i.e. Anarchy in the Arena. Trent demanded a straight-up wrestling match against Cassidy to prove once and for all that he’s the better wrestler, and I’m really looking forward to what happens in this one. I could see Trent winning, either by distasteful means or by the interference of former partners Chuck Taylor and/or Kris Statlander. I could also see Orange fighting through all of that to pick up a victory, or for his victory celebration to be cut off by those same interfering forces. Don Callis’ involvement with Cassidy is also likely to be a factor – are we leaning into some kind of Callis/Citrus partnership? My fantasy booker brain goes into overdrive with all the directions this one could take. So we’ll keep the pick simple and go with Trent Baretta for the win.

Jon Moxley versus Konosuke Takeshita in a championship eliminator match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

Are we finally at the point where Takeshita is going to be allowed off the leash? A win over Jon Moxley, setting up a future championship match, is exactly the kind of thing I’d love for my sweet Cinnabon son. This match is gonna be bloody and brutal, and with only a shot at the championship on the line, nobody is worse off if AEW favorite Mox eats a pin. He should lose, and lose clean, and I’d argue that Takeshita should take the belt off of him as well. But that whole run needs to start somewhere, and Take getting a solid win against the Ace of AEW is as good a place as any.

The Elite versus Team AEW in Anarchy in the Arena

I’m almost certain this will be the main event, but I always list the non-title matches before the championship matches so I have to remain consistent for you, dear reader. The build for this has been tremendous, and featured a substitution of arson enthusiasts when Eddie Kingston was replaced by Darby Allin due to Eddie’s leg kerploding. However, the go-home Dynamite proved that Darby isn’t afraid of a little fire-based anarchy, as the recently-Final-Destinationed wrestler proved with his flame thrower stunt on the show. 

So we will end with the chaos that is an Anarchy in the Arena match, featuring some of the best talent on the roster. There are a number of factors that make me question my pick for this fight, but they’re all on the side of the good guys. Tony Khan drove the minivan that brought Darby Allin into the arena on Wednesday’s Dynamite, but the whole evil EVP angle doesn’t feel like it’s run its course just yet. FTR don’t really seem like they are fighting for AEW as much as they are fighting against the Bucks, and Allin is more of a chaos gremlin than a rah-rah team guy.

So that leaves Danielson, a Blackpool Combat Club guy without the BCC backing him up. Claudio Castignoli straight up abandoned Danielson a few weeks back, Moxley has his own problems dealing with my sweet Cinnabon son Konosuke Takeshita, and Wheeler Yuta has been MIA for a while now. I’d personally love to see a BCC breakup, and Claudio versus Danielson isn’t something we’ve seen since pandemic-era SmackDown. But I digress! 

I think there are enough reasons that the slapdash Team AEW can fall apart to assume that The New Elite will take home the victory. And while I’d LOVE a Hangman return after the loss, I don’t think that’s in the cards (that’s a Vegas pun, baybee!)

Adam Copeland © versus Malakai Black in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match for the TNT Championship

If Cope loses here, he’s required to join House of Black. And while I feel like Copeland has a great AEW heel run in him, I don’t think this is how it starts. I know a lot of folks are hoping for a Glamazon sighting during this one, or at least a Gangrel appearance to support Vampire Edge, I’m mostly hoping for the sweet Rob Zombie theme song Never Gonna Stop to make its return. 

But sure, if we’re being realistic in this fight between a vampire and a Satanist, I’m leaning vampire. Beth Phoenix takes her husband’s ring back, the hero remembers that it’s his family that inspired him to make the move to AEW in the first place, and we’re back to being a good guy until the inevitable Cope and Cage Connection later this year. 

Roderick Strong © versus Will Ospreay for the International Championship

When the International Championship was introduced, I felt like it was just another championship. When Pac made it truly international by defending it overseas, it was interesting. And while Orange Cassidy cemented the belt as meaningful during his incredible run, I always longed for another cross-promotional star to hold the title and take it around the world. Will Ospreay is that star, and I’m hoping a win here allows him to travel wherever he wants to defend it. This match is gonna be insane, with Ospreay reversing out of backbreakers in ways that defy gravity and logic on his way to a victory. I’m really looking forward to this one. 

Bullet Club Gold versus Death Triangle for the AEW Trios Championship

A reunited Death Triangle with a motivated Pac and a jacked-looking Rey Fenix?! Sold. I know that AEW wants Jay White to remain relevant, and titles are an easy way to make folks look good on paper. While I’d rather White move into some singles stuff again, the Bang Bang Gang did just spend like a hundred bucks on that little wagon to hold their title belts. I wouldn’t want them to have wasted their money on that thing, so we’ll say White and the Gunns retain.

Chris Jericho © versus Katsuyori Shibata versus HOOK in an FTW rules match for the FTW Championship

If you’re the kind of person who follows me on BlueSky or Twitter, you might know that I have grown to dislike Chris Jericho. I’m tired of him being on TV, and I don’t love this bit he’s doing where he’s using legitimate criticism of him to remain on AEW’s shows when everyone, including Jericho himself, would benefit from a break.

That being said, he’s talked himself into this Learning Tree bullshit, and it’s going to keep him around while he builds yet another faction around him. So Jericho retains in what might be a fun weapons match given the quality of his recent one with Shibata. 

“Timeless” Toni Storm © versus Serena Deeb for the AEW Women’s Championship

Man, Toni has been doing so much with her character. The switch from my assumption that we’d do a straight-up jealousy turn involving her and Mariah May to an angle with May’s STARDOM pal Mina Shirakawa has me interested in the long-term developments of everything the three of them do.

Unfortunately, Storm also has to deal with the pesky problem of defending her title occasionally. And while the Deonna Purrazzo rivalry wasn’t incredible, at least it had some fire coming from both opponents. Serena Deeb, for all her talent in the ring, is just not that interesting as a performer. As a person, she’s got an inspirational comeback story, and a capable talker would be able to turn that into a successful face run. Deeb just isn’t that kind of wrestler. She’s a talented worker who has a flag as her personality. At least as a heel she can lean into the “I’m better than you at wrestling” thing. But trying to make her the good guy against an overwhelming character like Toni Storm is a waste of everyone’s time. Storm retains, and hopefully moves on to either Mariah, Shirakawa, or somebody who can keep up with her on the microphone.

Willow Nightingale © versus Mercedes Mone for the TBS Championship

I get that the big star probably has to win in her first match in All Elite Wrestling. I get that Mercedes is a multimedia powerhouse, having appeared in WWE, The Mandalorian, and New Japan Pro Wrestling. I just…don’t care that much. The decision to debut Mone months before she was going to wrestle a match has been to her detriment, as all she’s been able to do is cement that she’s not that great on the mic. 

Hopefully, tonight’s match reminds us why she was such a big signing in the first place. Willow is a good first opponent, and the story is built in with the injury Mone suffered during the pair’s match for the NJPW Strong title last year. But AEW has done such a great job letting Nightingale be a lovely person and champ that I have no reason to root for the new gal. The lack of Julia Hart involvement – nobody’s fault, mind you, injuries happen – has also kinda derailed the story they were initially trying to tell. I’ll be interested to see if they go back to that once Hart returns, or if AEW pivots the attack angle into a rivalry with Kris Statlander or someone else.

Mercedes will win, but I won’t be happy about it. 

Swerve Strickland © versus Christian Cage for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship

Swerve’s title reign has suffered from a bit of questionable booking right from the off. From the decision to hold his championship celebration on Collision rather than Dynamite, to the fact that the AEW champ’s rivalries haven’t had top billing over the whole Elite versus Tony Khan story, to Swerve looking beatable on multiple run-ins with Christian Cage and his pals, it’s been a rough start to the Strickland dynasty. 

HOWEVER, any questions I had about Swerve’s spot have been resolved with Strickland’s treatment of the EVPs in the last few weeks. And the entire Swerve sequence from this week’s Dynamite, from his “What up turds?” directed at the Bucks to Prince Nana’s triumphant return as a blockade to a fleeing Christian Cage was just perfect. I love how cool this guy is, I love that it’s reflected not just in his words but in his in-ring performance and in backstage segments, I love that he’s champ. Swerve’s reign has barely begun, and I’m excited to see how it progresses from here after he retains.

Closing Up Shop

…in which I say goodbye for now

And that’s it! Hopefully I will find the time to recap both of the weekend’s big shows on Monday or Tuesday. As always, I’ll post on the usual socials when I do.

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!