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Thursday, November 21, 2024

The Let's Watch Some Wrestling AEW Full Gear Preview!

 


Good Morning!

Happy Full Gear week to all who celebrate! I had an idea for the upcoming three weeks (!) of pay-per-premium-live-events, given that making predictions and writing previews is probably my favorite part of this blog. However, before we dive in, let’s update our 2024 stats so far:


WWE Royal Rumble 2/4

NXT Vengeance Day 1/6

WWE Elimination Chamber Perth 4/4

AEW Revolution 9/11

NXT Roadblock 4/6

NXT Stand and Deliver 5/7

WWE WrestleMania Night One 4.5/7

WWE WrestleMania Night Two 4/6

AEW Dynasty 11/12

WWE Backlash 5/5

WWE King and Queen of the Ring (SSM XIV) 6/6

AEW Double or Nothing 9/12

NXT Battleground 4/6

WWE Money in the Bank 2/5

NXT Heatwave 3/6

AEW All In 6/10

WWE Bash in Berlin 3/5

NXT No Mercy 3/6


Total Correct/Total Predictions 85.5/124


So, we’re holding steady at a solid 69% correct, which is exactly what we finished 2023 with. I don’t think that’s too shabby, especially when you factor in the fact that a few of these cards were predicted while I was barely paying attention to my life during the whole Legend of Zelda fiasco. She’s doing fine, by the way, and continues to wait until I’ve finally settled into the office before bringing me a toy to throw around for her. 

The Idea!

I’ve been getting back into WWE 2k24 lately. Mostly, I’ve been playing MyRise, which is basically a career mode with a created wrestler, and there are separate storylines for men and women. I’m using a create-a-wrestler who goes by the name of MO GOOD, and so far we’ve been getting some great results for this indie-wrestler-turned-WWE-superstar, despite the game making WWE seem like the worst place in the world to work. There are bitchy co-workers, ignorant show producers, and actual demon possessions taking place everywhere! However, there’s also the opportunity to work with BIG HUGE DAVE BATISTA, so there are some positives.







I hear the catering tables are pretty stacked, too.


So, my idea was to add a little more unnecessary information and competition into this preview setup. I’ve downloaded create-a-wrestlers and community created arenas to fill out the roster of WWE 2k24, and I’m gonna simulate each card for AEW Full Gear, WWE Survivor Series/War Games, and NXT Deadl1ine over the next few weeks. [We will have to figure out a substitute for the Iron Survivor matches at Deadl1ne since those aren’t in the game, but that’s a problem for future Russ.] We’ll get to see if I’m better at my in-brain simulations than the best WWE game in years (still not great -- those servers are hot garbage and the writing in the womens’ storyline mode is questionable at best) is at predicting outcomes of matches. I basically chose the best-looking or most popular CAWs for wrestlers missing from the game, and edited stats to fit into their places on the card where needed. I thought about streaming those matches, but then realized I don’t really think anyone would be interested in watching, even with my devastating commentary. If I’m wrong, let me know and I’ll gladly talk over some matches on Twitch or YouTube or whatever. We’ll figure out how to make it work!


That being said, I’ll be watching the Xbox run these matches on the monitor over there —>

while I write up my predictions and summaries of the matches already announced by way of Wikipedia. I don’t think Rampage is going to be used to add any last-minute matches or stipulations, but if it is, we’ll just have to let those slide. Anyway, let’s get to the action!


[Fun extra point -- between the last paragraph and the beginning of this preview, I made a list of ten supporting people to download, and was booted from the servers no less than A DOZEN TIMES trying to fill out my AEW roster. Either the WWE 2k24 game hates that I’m filling it with talent from the competition, or these servers are trash and I’m not buying the next game unless that shit gets sorted out. It’s ridiculous.]



The AEW Full Gear Preview!

I honestly don’t know how to feel about this card. It’s AEW, which means the in-ring product has a floor of like three stars for most PPV matches. But the narratives feel pretty predictable, which is not very AEW of them -- I’m usually torn on most of the outcomes because I can see a logical way for things to play out one way or the other. Aside from a couple of matches, most of this card feels like it’s just a bump in the road to something bigger and better. Still, as I said, the matches look good on paper. I think Fletcher and Ospreay have the potential to steal match of the night honors, and I think the tag team match should have a similar high-energy flow to it. Mox/Cassidy and White/Page will likely see a good amount of color and creative violence, although the former fight’s outcome feels preordained. 


I know that’s a lot of flip-flopping for one paragraph. The TL;DR version is, I’m looking forward to Saturday and I hope I’m surprised by some of the matches that feel pretty by-the-numbers. So, let’s get to the predictions that I’m hoping might be wrong!

Zero Hour: Costco Man versus QT Marshall

A couple caveats for this one. First, I did not realize QT was still with the company as a performer. I remember he left a few months back, but obviously he made a return at some point because, well, here we are. Second, I do not know these “Costco guys.” The lightest of internet searches tells me they’re good-natured folks who got famous on TikTok doing some reviews of Costco food and enjoying themselves, so … great! That kid has his future sorted and he’s like 12. 


Those things being said, this is your typical “famous dude makes an appearance on the pre-show” match. QT is a solid hand and has a history as a trainer, meaning he’ll help the Costco guy -- who has some experience as an indie wrestler -- put on a serviceable match. QT will put the Costco dad over after putting him in some rest holds and making him look good, the kid will get involved, and their fans will rejoice. 


It’s not for me, but that’s fine. It’ll get some extra eyes on Zero Hour, which in turn might sell some more PPVs. Nobody gets hurt here. If you’re not interested in these guys, simply don’t watch the free Zero Hour show and boom, no harm, no foul. Our Wrestle Aunts and Uncle Jeff will forgive you, I’m sure.

My Pick: Costco AJ and his Costco Son

2k24 says: 


QT, which makes sense because he’s rated a bit higher, being an actual professional wrestler and all. 

MJF versus Roderick Strong

This match is the result of a month of Adam Cole and Roddy Strong having to earn the right to have a match with MJF, who has been out of the picture for a while but appears in pre taped segments from his villain compound weekly. Cole somehow came out of the disastrous “Devil” angle as the good guy, despite having been the architect of some high-quality evil during that storyline. But a return from injury almost always coincides with a turn, and Cole is beloved among wrestling fans because he’s generally known to be a nice guy outside of the ring. 


So, Cole lost in his third match, which would have earned him a spot in THIS match, due to interference from the Don Callis family, which was done on behalf of MJF. Roddy, meanwhile, won his matches, so we’ll get this match, which will lead to Strong getting screwed or beat down post-match, and that’ll lead into Cole versus Max at the next big show, be it Winter is Coming on TBS or World’s End on pay-per-view. Easy peasy, straightforward stuff. I do hope Adam Cole learns the controls for that AEW spray tan machine, though; he’s been looking more and more orange over the last few weeks. 

My Pick: MJF comes out on top

2k24 says: 




MJF, although a SHOCKING appearance from current WWE superstar Cody Rhodes was certainly an unexpected treat. I imagine whoever made the Max create-a-wrestler that I downloaded also went as far as to add a rivalry with Cody in there. Rhodes appeared behind MJF after his music hit to distract Max, and laid the villain out with a steel chair. However, Cody left right after that, and the ref was so focused on getting that chair out of the ring that she missed MJF hitting Roddy with not one, not two, but THREE crotch shots. That was enough to set Strong up for a quick piledriver and the one-two-three. “Punch him in the weiner and give him a piledriver” happens to be the motto of Strong’s friends in the Undisputed Kingdom, so I guess there was a bit of irony in that finish.

“Switchblade” Jay White versus “Hangman” Adam Page

The leader of the Bang Bang Gang has evolved into a good guy recently, which works out nicely with Page descending into madness week by week. White is at his best as a sleazy baddie, in my opinion, but it feels like fans want to see him succeed regardless of his role on-screen. However, Hangman is straight-up beloved by AEW sickos, with many of us adhering to the adage “Hangman has done nothing wrong.” Hanger should continue his run of unnecessary violence against anyone standing between him and longtime rival Swerve Strickland OR the AEW championship -- although right now it feels like Page is miles away from the title scene. That being said, Hangman is easily the main character of All Elite Wrestling, and I’m sure there’s some long term storylines percolating in the background. We’ll get there, eventually.

My Pick: Hanger hurts Jay real bad among a sea of “Leaves IS Plants, Dumbass!” signs

2k24 says: 



Page wins in a real momentum-shift match that saw White dominating for the first half. A missed attack from the top turnbuckle to the floor gave Hangman a window, and Page seized that opportunity by hitting a number of moves outside the ring before finishing things with a springboard clothesline and a Deadeye.

Swerve Strickland versus Bobby Lashley

With a 2-on-1 “handicap” squash on Dynamite, Lashley was introduced to AEW as the monster many of us already know him to be. He’s strong as hell, he looks great in a suit, and he’s a big ole slab of meat. You don’t need much more than that to be successful in pro wrestling, but he’s also good in the ring. 



Strickland is still recovering from his incredibly violent feud with “Hangman” Page, and while that will likely never be fully resolved, it was time for the rivalry to be put on hold. While Page continues to be successful by tapping into his dark side, Strickland has had a bit of trouble staying relevant in a sea of new talent. I think he continues to lose here, mostly because it’s way too early in Lashley’s AEW career for him to eat a loss. I think Swerve will fight valiantly, but a combination of Bob’s power and the Hurt Syndicate’s numbers ought to be more than enough to put down the former champ…for now.

My Pick: Big Bob smash, Big Bob win

2k24 says:



Swerve wins in an affront to North American wrestling storytelling, surviving distractions from MVP (who got ejected) and Shelton Benjamin (who attacked Swerve with a kendo stick)

Will Ospreay versus Kyle Fletcher

Kyle Fletcher has sneakily become one of the most reliable performers in All Elite Wrestling. At this point, I’ll even check out Rampage if he’s gonna be wrestling there, which is more than I usually do for that throwaway hour of TV. His kayfabe argument of wanting to surpass Will Ospreay seems to be feeding a real-life dedication to improvement, and his shouty, flippy style is absolutely improving by the week. 


I’m not really sure what’s going on with Ospreay right now. He’s still loosely involved with the Don Callis family, despite having left them months ago. He’s not really in the title picture, although he’s also kind of always in the title picture, you know? He’s easily the biggest pop of the night whenever he comes out for his matches, and he’s one of the better guys on the mic in the company, casually shooting the breeze with Tony Schiavone when he’s not scheduled for a match. I don’t think he has a problem putting anyone over, and Fletcher could use this match as a stepping stone to something greater, maybe a strong showing in the upcoming Continental Classic tournament. 



All that is to say, I think Fletcher pulls out a win here. He’s got the whole Callis family behind him, and since none of them are busy on Saturday we’ll probably see Brian Cage, Lance Archer, and my beloved son Konosuke Takeshita ringside. Ospreay can counter with Ricochet, and Mark Davis might be on his side -- although he did eat an errant Hidden Blade on Dynamite, one meant for Fletcher. That could lead to Davis turning on Ospreay and joining up with Callis and Fletcher as well. I see a Dusty finish on the horizon for this one.

My Pick: Fletcher surprises with a victory, albeit a shmozzy one

2k24 says:


Fletcher wins in a genuinely good match, after hitting a jumping tombstone piledriver in the corner. Lots of dives to the outside and top-rope moves in this one, much like we’ll probably see on Saturday.

Private Party © vs The Outrunners vs Kings of the Black Throne vs The Acclaimed for the World Tag Team Championship

I loved Private Party picking up the victory over the Young Bucks, and I love it even more after learning that they weren’t even scheduled to do so -- the outpouring of love from AEW fans changed the booking, which is always heartwarming to hear. They’ve had issues staying healthy, which is just the reality of pro wrestling, but now that they’re consistently working together, Marq Quen and Isaiah Cassidy are one of the more fun tag teams in the company.


I really want Private Party to retain their titles here. Not just because of what I just talked about, but because none of the other three teams involved should carry the tag team titles right now. Let me explain.


House of Black is better as a trio, and Buddy Matthews would be sidelined if Malakai Black and Brody King win the tag belts. They also will be welcoming Julia Hart back into the stable soon, and that could overshadow the tag titles, leaving them undefended for weeks -- much like they were when the Bucks held them. The Outrunners are funny jobbers who earned their spot here by getting themselves over, but this isn’t the time to strap them up. And The Acclaimed aren’t in a position to hold gold -- in fact, they should not only take the loss, but FINALLY cash in on all the negative energy Max Caster has brought to the team recently with a heel turn on Bowens and maybe even acceptance into the Hurt Syndicate. 

My Pick: Private Party’s gotta retain here, and I’d like Anthony Bowens to eat the pin and a beating from a heel-turning Max Caster.

2k24 says:


The same! Bowens actually took the loss in the simulation as well, with Quen getting the pinfall while Cassidy tossed a steel chair at Caster, who was seated in the corner of the ring. Everyone else was cleared out by a monstrous Brody King, but he was mid-powerbomb on an Outrunner while Quen was gathering Bowens up for the victory.

Mercedes Moné © versus Kris Statlander for the TBS Championship

Look, I don’t like being negative. And I know Mercedes has legions of fans. I was a huge Sasha Banks fan for most of her NXT and WWE run! But I have really disliked a lot of what she’s doing in AEW. I don’t like that her theme song is the only way she’s getting CEO chants from all but her most diehard fans. I don’t like that she’s obligated to do more talking than fighting, because her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. And I don’t like that her in-ring work has been fairly lousy, with the exception of her match against Willow Nightingale. Now, you can chalk that last point up to her just not having chemistry with her opponents, but at some point some of the blame has to be put on Mercedes, as well.


On the other hand, Kris Statlander could have a good match with a scarecrow. She’s talented, powerful, has a great look, and she’s got … interesting taste in street clothes. I don’t understand the whole hip-vented jeans look, but I’m also very old. What the hell do I know about fashion? I’ve worn jeans, a t-shirt, and a flannel for the better part of my 45 years on this planet. 


I don’t know what the move is here, honestly. Does Mercedes keep winning and retain her TBS championship, hopefully gaining more momentum as a challenger is built in, say, Jamie Hayter, Willow Nightingale (currently recovering from a concussion, get well soon), or Julia Hart? Or do we give Statlander another run as TBS champion, a belt she held after a surprise return and quick victory over a tired Jade Cargill? I’m gonna say it’s the former, although I’d be super happy to be wrong and see the former alien hold that blue belt over her head on Stat-urday night.

My Pick: Mercedes retains, womp womp

2k24 says:


Statlander! Stat’s power game was simply too much for Mercedes, even with Kamille in her corner. Kamille’s interference did result in a backstabber for Moné, but it wasn’t enough to get a three count. Statlander countered with an armbreaker, and while Mercedes survived that submission move, a quick transition into her finisher gave Stat the win and the title.

“Scapegoat” Jack Perry © versus Daniel Garcia for the TNT Championship

I feel like this is another storyline that feels like it’s going to weave into something bigger -- in this case, the whole “war for the soul of AEW” thing with Jon Moxley and pals. Daniel Garcia has been on the front lines of this battle, and challenged the Young Bucks and Perry when they ran away rather than joining the fight. We haven’t heard from any of the Elite since they ran off, although it’s noticeable that they left Perry to defend his title alone. 


Somebody on BlueSky pointed out that the bit with Jack Perry and Daniel Garcia on the go-home Dynamite was ripped straight out of the Batman comics; specifically, the Jason Todd/Joker arc in Death in the Family -- right down to Garcia using a crowbar. However, no murders took place on Wednesday. A frustrated Garcia instead chose to break a headlight and call it a day, after kidnapping Perry and strapping him to the front of his Scapegoat bus. Maybe that will be a metaphor for Danny being unwilling to go as far as he needs to on Saturday to pick up the win? WHO’S TO SAY?


I think Garcia wins the TNT title on Saturday, leaving Okada with the only bit of gold left for the Elite going into the Continental Classic. I assume that the Rainmaker will have to defend his C2 belt by entering that tournament, and it only makes sense for him to have a solid run before dropping it to the winner. After all, re-establishing Kazuchika Okada will be necessary if he and Kenny Omega are destined to have one final meeting in AEW.


My Pick: Daniel Garcia steals one for the good guys

2k24 says:


Daniel Garcia with the win! Garcia and Perry fought a submission battle, with each man targeting the limbs of the other. The creators of the CAWs for Garcia and Perry did great work, too -- Garcia did his little dance after hitting a devastating avalanche piledriver, and Perry’s entrance gear even featured his Scapegoat mask!


Jon Moxley © versus Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship

If there’s a match I’d label as a Stone Cold Lead Pipe Lock of the Week, it’s this one. Moxley just won the AEW Championship at the last pay-per-view by nearly murdering Bryan Danielson, and his Death Riders are clearly building to a big team battle with whoever is chosen to represent All Elite Wrestling. Most fans seem to believe Darby Allin will be the guy to defeat Moxley and end his reign of terror, but for that to happen we’ll need to see Moxley, well, reign for a while.


That’s a bummer, too, because I think Orange Cassidy would have been far more dramatic as the last man standing for AEW. Darby is an amazing performer, and I’m sure his match with Moxley will feature more blood, broken bones, and violent hardware than we can imagine. But Orange has that ability to shock you with a full-throttle match or a passionate promo, just like his defiant rant on Wednesday before he was beaten down by the mWo to close out Dynamite.


Unfortunately, that’s not in the cards. However, it’s going to take some heartbreak for the fans to get really into this invasion angle, and Orange Cassidy is one of the AEW Originals that people really get defensive about, especially when outsiders make fun of his unique style without having seen one of his better matches. It’s gonna hurt to watch him lose, and it’s gonna hurt even more to watch him get demolished before Darby arrives to make the save -- too late -- to close Full Gear.

My Pick: Mox retains as we build to full on war between AEW and the Death Riders of the mWo

2k24 says:


Mox with the quick, decisive win, helped out by Shafir, Wheeler, Castignoli, and PAC, I assume -- the game only lets you bring 3 managers to ringside.

And that’s it!

Full Gear is Saturday (Staturday?) night, and I hope you all have a blast watching it. I’ll be right there with you in spirit, although I probably won’t be as active on BlueSky as I am during Dynamite or Collision since I’ll be watching with my buddy. Enjoy the show, and we’ll meet back here next week to talk about the results and to preview WWE’s Survivor Series/WarGames, too!


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...







Sunday, November 17, 2024

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!