Mr Butternut Squash

He's a quirky bastard and I used to love him for it but I just don't care about him anymore. The worst thing is now guys like Pac, Andrade and Black are getting lost to the Codyverse - a sloppy mess where the stories and matches make no sense, everyone's getting the wrong reaction and all the attention is on Cody and his overwrought bullshit. He needs to stop trotting Arn out there too, poor sod.

Bron is such a great throwback that I have zero faith in him fitting in. Imagine a Steiner kid doing the "Welcome to Monday night Raw!" opening monologue. 

Disappointed I didn't hear Becky mouth, "get the fuck out of my ring!" while Charlotte was doing her post-loss HHH impression. 

No doubt these two bring the best of each other though. A real competitive edge that makes them stand out when everything else is so sanitised. I skipped to the main event and it was the opposite. Slow, plodding and predictable. Nothing wrong with "WWE style" per say - it's safe and clean. But it's jarring how precise and patterned it is when you haven't watched in while.

Caught Lynch's pre and post-match promos this week too, and it was like a flashback to the Becky that drew me back into wrestling in 2018. Fiery babyface promos wrapped up in reality and real emotion. It's ridiculous that she's going to have to revert back to her cornball heel shtick on Monday. What's the point of this laborious 'heel' shit anyway? She certainly isn't helping to elevate anyone. Poor Liv Morgan didn't stand a chance and now Becky's stolen her wardrobe.

But yeah, my biggest takeaway was just how fucking awful the canned heat is. 100% atmosphere killer. That weird, ambient din that smothers the audio makes it feel like I'm watching a PS2 exhibition match rather than a live wrestling event. Unwatchable on almost every level.

He does have that John Morrison/Seth dilemma of being a total heel character with babyface offence. (He's obviously better than both).

Dante and Lio are my new favourite babyface tag team. Like watching the cruiserweights in 96. Not everyone's cup of tea but I think Lio is money. Poor Dante's brother must be fearing for his spot.

Raw tapings sound like hell to sit through. Not only is the show shit but you spend half your time sitting in the dark watching adverts and video packages. A wrestler makes their entrance, the crowd pops, then they turn down the lights while the wrestler stands in the ring with their dick in their hands while 15 minutes of adverts play on screen. It's like they deflate the crowd at every possible opportunity.

Becky/Charlotte has lost a little intrigue after reading the Smackdown write up.  Now a bent ref has been introduced, I can't see past Lynch getting the 'screw job' treatment for the HEAT.

Becky's interview with Ariel whatshisface was the most fascinating WWE related thing I've seen in a while though. They're clearly not friends anymore. But Becky's so good at blurring the lines it's hard to tell whether there's genuine animosity or not. I think it's legit. Lynch openly throwing Charlotte under the bus sounded like someone who's had enough and no longer gives a shit about the blowback. The highlight, though, was her casual evisceration of Dic Ric. Pretty much calling him a sad, pathetic sex pest, clinging onto relevance, in the most cutting way.

This PPV is so dumb though. I can't be long before they scrap it. It has to be the most counterproductive show on the calendar. Walking back the brand split just weeks after the draft. Needlessly defining down your champions with pointless Champ vs Champ matches. No stakes. Stupid.

I hate that Big E vs Roman is happening already. Surely that's a non finish? Or a Big E win? He's The Guy. Who the fuck else is there? I don't think Drew ever recovered from Roman calling him a "stand in" champion before proving him right a year ago.

Good post ppv show that. Some great table setting.

The Danielson 'turn' was absolute magic. I love Bryan, top 3 wrestler ever, and I'm sure he's a nice guy. But he's always come across as an arrogant, condescending shit. In AEW he's been a heel all along in my eyes - boasting about kicking people's heads in, telling Eddie Kingston to pull his socks up, working his matches in a vicous heel style. Opposite The Hangman, the crowd were already primed to boo him and yet he made it feel completely organic. Referencing Wrestlemania was fucking delicious heel heat. Danielson blasting through the dark order before facing Page was not the direction I expected and its great.

Punk's on a roll. Fresh out of the segment and match of the year he goes straight into a feud with MJF. Yes please!

I'm in two minds whether I want them to revisit the Kingston/Punk feud. You don't want to risk watering it down. My pants exploded when Eddie and Garcia violently got in each others faces but I hope they have something more substantial for Eddie to keep the momentum going.

I love watching Jungle Boy grow more and more comfortable in his own skin every week.  

"You are Japanese. I am Japanese too! We are....Japanese Japanese!!" 

 I don't even watch Bruce NXT but it's not hard to see why Tilde might be worried.

Other than the absolute class CM Punk promo there was nothing spectacular on this show, but things are coming together nicely for the PPV.

Excellent stuff from Miro. Nailed it as a character and a monster worker that knows how much to give in the ring. The full package and then some. Was gutted for Moxley, but Miro vs Danielson? Not half bad as a replacement!

Aerostar had a mare!

Still get the feels whenever The Hangman's music hits. Biggest crush ever. Unfortunately, him vs Omega seems only half as hot as it did heading into DON. Kenny really needs Don Callis by his side to drag him out of goofball midcarder territory. Still, it'll be white hot when the bell rings.

Great stuff from MJF. He can be hit or miss but I'll always love him (apart from when he's punching down at my boy Lex). AEW have done a great job in protecting Darby Allin. Imagine if he didn't have dad Sting and was cutting live promos regularly. Emo douche would be getting booed out of the building.

After that awful promo Cody was a bit more tolerable this week. Low-key even, for his standards. Not every fucking week needs to be Wrestlemania, mate. He badly needs to pivot though - full heel or fuck off. Because this ain't working. He's in that lane where people are reacting to the booking rather than the work itself, and that's not the type of atmosphere AEW needs at all. Andrade using the figure four was a bit disheartening too, zero interest in Flair on my TV in 2021.

Page/Omega. Miro/Danielson. Punk/Kingston. Darby/MJF. FTR/Lucha Bros. Full Gear is looking bloody TASTY!

Cody takes the black mass and pops up seconds later. Tables, double juice, run-ins, Arn standing about with his dick in his hands. Cody takes every shortcut in the world and he still fucking SUCKS. This might've been worse than the Penta and Ogogo matches.

Heel, babyface, or "shades of grey"? or whatever. It isn't working. That wasn't heel heat. It was straight up rejection. It's Cody getting WWE style, failed-babyface resentment. In a company so in tune with it's audience he sticks out like a sore thumb. A black cloud over everything.

Danielson vs Dustin was incredible though! 

Actually, Becky getting legit pissed off and chucking the belt at Charlotte looked to be the best thing she's done in nearly three years. Was disappointed to learn that it was in the script.

Still haven't made my mind up about Lambert. Love his role as an agitator, and he gets the kind of fucking HEAT you rarely ever see these days. His delivery can be one note and overly scripted sounding though. Also wish they did a bit more to profile the MMA guys to someone like me, who's never heard of 'em

Its Cody vs Black tonight! Is the Code man getting his win back? 

As much as it sucks not getting Dynamite on Wednesdays, I love that feeling late in the day when I remember I get to watch it on the weekend instead.

Bet Vince is creaming himself over the thought of pitting them against each other at Survivor Series. Real Shawn and Bret energy.

What a fucking shambles though. Embarrassing situation all round. I said before, now believe it more than ever. With the way they're writing them, it's only a mater of time before the top girls start heading to the competition.

(Please not Charlotte though. Fuck off to WOW or whateverthefuck.)

By 20k apparently.

I honestly wouldn't be against that. I always imagine Hangman's reign to be a relatively short one for some reason. Give him his moment, milk it a bit, then put him back on the chase.

HAHAHA! Fed Dead.

Seriously, that's great for AEW and could have massive repercussions going forward for WWE. I didn't think they'd win a single demo. Shoulda have more faith in Tony. After loading that half hour with their biggest stars, anything but a clean sweep is a terrible look for WWE. Brock getting outdrawn by the Bunny!

Seems like maybe people aren't really clamouring for Reigns vs Lesnar for the 1000th time? And that turning your most beloved babyface heel for no reason was a bit fucking stupid like?

He was having a laugh at what an unsafe working environment it is and saying be wouldn't be back there.

I utterly loathe AEW's backstage "interview" segments. Lazy, contrived, badly shot. Make everyone involved look like tits. Each to their own though.

Loved Punk making digs at their ridiculous backstage segments. Hopefully TK takes note because the shitty, contrived, backstage interviews (seriously, how the hell are you supposed to care what anyone is saying when you know they're about to get interrupted/jumped?) are last major flaw in their presentation. 

The Adam Page promo was fucking awesome. Just a picture perfect babyface promo that added even more weight to his character and this classic rivalry. Beautiful stuff.

WWE are playing a risky game at the moment. The men's roster has a shocking lack of depth compared to just a year ago. And the frustration just seems to be growing. How long before there's an exodus of women's wrestlers too? If Tony Kahn's up for it, with the way things are going in WWE, I can honestly see a big momentum swing with the women's rosters in the near future. If the Embers, Toni's, Livs and Shayna's don't fit into Johhny Ace world and are being pushed out the door, how long before the grass starts looking greener to the top names too?

Hangman on top of the ladder taking a swig on his beer might be the image of the year. Pops me every time I watch it. Magical stuff. It just hits and resonates on another level when a character is on their journey to the top. You feel that emotional weight. That he's such a cool, relatable, handsome bastard makes him all the more special. Great to see The Hangman back.

I'm not going to pretend I'm an Adam Cole fan but he's got the important stuff down. Good looks, presence, banging hot entrance, daft catchphrases, looks cool in a leather jacket. Sorted. I still die a little inside when Luchasaurus bumps for his kicks, but whatever. My favourite thing about the opener was the big dumb dinosaur getting a louder response than Bryan Danielson. He's like a cow on ice skates but he's so goddam lovable!

JR's picked his game up post-pandemic and he's been far more of a positive than a negative. Still, I can't stand him bringing attention to the lack of tags and rule enforcement during the multi-man matches. Completely takes me out of it. I thought the Rick Knox and Young Bucks shenanigans were part of some kind of story, with him being their inside guy. But nah. Just let them break all the rules in the universe.

Never knew that about Darby's face paint. Nice layer to his character that. One of the most refreshing things about AEW is their trust and belief in their youth. No walking on eggshells. No "humbling" or "testing" period bullshit. No gimmick from the toybox you have to stick with. No "I'm happy to be here"! bollocks. 20 year old Dante Martin looking straight down the camera and asking for a fight was like a jolt of lightning. 

If the TBS title wasn't invented for Serena Deeb to have different matches every week then I don't know what we're doing. Deeb nixing Shida's soppy chair spot is why she's the best. 

Fuck me though, Arn Anderson! Honestly, god bless AEW for rehabbing The Enforcer's career. Arn sadly falling on his arse the other week has been completely forgotten now that he's the coolest, baddest, maddest fucker in wrestling. I've never lived vicariously through a wrestler as much as when Arn slapped the shit of Cody. Go on!! 

Cody's current path is fascinating. Cody as the top villain world champion is absolute money. Cody digging his heels in as a babyface? Fuck off, mate.

Send HOBBS!!

Tazz was hilarious as ever in the main event. What a pick up he has been. Nails every role he's in and is the most fun surly prick on the planet. Just a shame Jericho is there sucking up oxygen. Thank God the Cage experiment is finally over and we can all move on in our lives.

Powerhouse Hobbs is the man.

Lio Rush doing Money Matt's gimmick isn't working. Just stick him with Jade Cargill already.

Punk/Garcia was one of my favourite AEW matches during this hot run. Shockingly good. Punk looked sharper than he did during his last years in WWE. I've been cool on Punk so far, he's nice but nothing inspiring. This match was the first time I've really felt anything for him since his debut. Excellent selling, learned offence and perfectly timed comebacks. It sounds proper Cornette but this really hit the spot for me as a simple, traditionally built wrestling match. Love Daniel Garcia too. Man crush city. Unique look that perfectly suits his no-nonsense grapplefuck style. Handsome bit of rough that wouldn't hesitate smashing a bottle in your face.

Anyone know what was up with the piped in crowd noise during Luchas vs Acclaimed? Was there a dodgy chant? Bit concerning.

I'd almost forgotten about John Silver! He's been electric every time he's shown up in an AEW ring. On no planet should Matt Hardy be getting on TV every week while Silver pisses around backstage.

WWE is very much "let the wrestlers wrestle" to me these days. The matches themselves are the only time their programming resembles anything functional. Everything else is as bad and as pointless as ever now they can disregard the audience entirely.

Dunn being late on the 'boo!' button as the crowd erupted for Shayna Baszler destroying Eva Marie was hilariously inept. Gonna need to upgrade the equipment before the inevitable babyface Nia vs heel Becky feud.