A quick return to normalcy

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that’s it! If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right. Have fun this long Labor Day weekend, whatever you end up doing!

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

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!