Mr Butternut Squash

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. 

Is there anybody that doesn't like Big E? What a lovely gem of a bloke he is. It'd be great if this was a serious commitment rather than a hotshot that fizzles out. In the ideal world he's the babyface that finally dethrones Roman Reigns. He's so blatantly the guy. Still, it's pretty cool to see him, Bobby Lashley and Bianca Belair all being framed as legitimate centrepiece stars. 

Incredible show. And that was even before Bryan Danielson walked out and he's the reason I got the PPV in the first place. Debuting Adam Cole in the disappointment spot used as a swerve before introducing the REAL SUPRISE is the greatest carny shit TK ever pulled. Cannot wait for Dynamite.

I know it's wishful thinking but Jericho's emphasis on it being his "final AEW match" has me hoping he's winding down his contract and will leave for a final WWE run. I'd love it if MJF beat him again. MJF as the  white hot heel that retired Chris Jericho moving into a feud with CM Punk would be great. His promo this week might have been his best ever. Proper nasty prick.

Of all the recent signings, 2.0 and Daniel Garcia excite me more than anything else. Fucking love them. The Sting and Darby match was a classic and I can't wait for Garcia to face Danielson.

LOL at Dave acting like this was a planned 'worked shoot' match-up. As if the WWE has it's own mini UWFI shoot-style division. Playing dumb like the last time Charlotte started sandbagging and shooting on Lacey Evans a couple of years ago. God forbid admitting Ric's daughter might be an unprofessional shithead.

 

This was Nia just an hour before dropping Charlotte like a sack of shit. It's gonna take something tragic to get her the sack isn't it.

 

Awesome! They should make these two shitheads fight each other every week so they're nobody else's problem. 

Charlotte probably nixing the feud with the doll is the best thing she's ever done.

A massive own goal of an episode. After a run of the most electric weekly wrestling I'd ever seen they laid an egg. I wonder if this card suffered because they were showing off their older guys to new viewers (Hardy, Big Show, Gunn, Arn) or if it's a worrying sign the addition of Rampage is already watering things down. Whole show felt off, with bad timing of the entrance music, cold matches, sloppy wrestling and the Codyverse running fucking wild. Did they really think Lee Johnson running out was a satisfying finish? 

Thankfully there were two hot angles. The tag team eliminator post-match was a riot with The Young Bucks being the best pricks on the planet. CM Punk was a comedown from Friday but he still felt like a God. The slipped in Danielson tease was awesome. Not much else. 

All Out is a strange looking card. Punk vs Darby is heatless 'dream match' stuff. World Champion is in another B-level match. Moxley's being wasted. MJF/Jericho I never want to watch again. Bleurgh.

Brandon Cutler turning into the most hilarious comedy wrestler on the planet was something I did not expect. Great work by all.

Yeah, too much too soon. Maybe it's just me not being a fan, but the Wyatt and Cole rumours really concern me. I'd hate to see their own up and coming acts start to be pushed aside. Apart from QT Marshall. Push him in the swimming pool.

AEW is pretty awesome right now. Calm down a bit TK. Don't spoil it!

They're basically admitting they can't book babyfaces anymore. All the big stars, heel.

I like it. They've already pissed away the goodwill of her return. Becky Lesnar could be half way interesting, at least.

 

LOL.

Vince is fucking mental. It's impossible to like anybody in WWE.

AEW had one of their worst ever segments last week, with QT, Paul White and Schiavone's 'kid' . I don't think it's even been mentioned once in here. And the booking has been far from perfect.

It's just that the dodgy stuff matters far less when the landscape happens to be this exciting and full of goodwill. You can overlook the Truth Commission while Austin and the Hart Foundation are on fire.

Saying that though, Tony Khan is getting his own ring announcers to introduce him as "the man who saved pro-wrestling". So maybe he could do with getting knocked down a peg or two.

It's a testament to what a white hot, efficient show this was that the commentary didn't completely spoil it for me. Jesus fucking Christ. How the hell did the straight forward two man booth fall out of fashion anyway? And can Chris Jericho fuck off and go on tour already.

Fair play though, the roof blew off the building when Christian got that three count. Kenny dropping a fall still feels like an unnecessary bump in the road but it was a fantastic match that drew me in, and I was happy for Christian in the end. Still, they'll have done well to maintain this reaction for Christian heading to All Out.

What a lovely moment for Fuego too. I'd never heard of the guy but it didn't matter, they still got it to resonate with me. Just simple, effective storytelling that played out like a treat. Fuego's lips quivering set me off. These genuine, emotional moments are what makes AEW the best. Also, Miro as their own Brock Lesnar is the perfect role for him. It'll will be electric when he's facing someone with credibility. And yes, it's time to get Miro a proper feud with some meat on it now. Just in time for All Out.

The main was a puzzling mess psychology wise, and it completely buried the babyface Red Velvet. Britt is such a superstar though that it barely matters. I nearly passed out for second, thinking Becky Lynch was All Elite. If only! I remember Hayter making quite an impression early doors, as the gobby Brit getting in the faces of fans. Good stuff. They badly needed some more characters on the women's side.

Apart from the shrieking idiot I thought this was a perfect slice of wrestling. A thrill ride without a wasted moment. I know it won't always be this good, but an hour is just perfect for me. Absolutely baffled by the people already wanting a second hour!

Similar to what I think @DavidB6937 said, I'm not liking this uncertainty. It's the second PPV in a row where the world title match feels a bit all over the place and the card in general is up in the air. The shows are still fun and I'm looking forward to Rampage tonight, but Page/Omega had the kind of emotional investment I hadn't felt since the Becky thing got fucked up. I find it hard to believe this was the plan all along. The arrivals of Punk and Bryan surely spun things in a different direction.

And fucking Christian? God bless him, I think he's really good and he's been put in a bad situation. But he's dry as fuck and TK massively overestimates his appeal.

2.0 bumping and stooging for Sting's comeback next week should be incredible.

I don't think Kenny should be losing under any circumstances until the Page match. That should be his moment to take. 

Another good show. I really like how they're formatting their shows now, with all the inserts ticking things along and promo packages highlighting people not wrestling on the show this week. They're doing a better job of rotating people in and out and I've grown to like the 'ensemble cast' feel to it .

Dante Martin and Daniel Garcia can be added to the promising young talent on the books. It was in an unfortunate spot but I really enjoyed the Darby/Garcia match. Martin is an absolute freak. Incredible stuff. 

The Elite continue to be massively entertaining dickheads every week. They're perfect at making an arse of themselves and getting the babyfaces over.

I still enjoy Orange Cassidy's antics. It's a shame they dropped him from the title picture after he was screwed at the last PPV. Just hope he's not pissing about with the heatless Matt Hardy faction for too long.

Andrade does absolutely nothing for me. It won't happen but I wish Pac would just steamroll though him. His promos are great.

Jericho is awful and dangerously out of shape and can't go without gimmicks anymore. This MJF feud should be his swansong.

I'm kind of dreading that's the direction they're going. With Christian picking up the Impact world title. Would really take the air out of the Hangman win.

Riddle is like one of two people that's actually managed to get over since the pandemic. He's doing pretty well all things considered.

Had a good time with Dark Elevation this week. I've given the Dark shows a shot before but I usually bounce off them. I think the mixture of short matches and a lively pre-Dynamite crowd really helped keep my interest. I really liked the formula this week. Just in and out with stars hitting their signature spots and poses before a fun tv length main event. I like the look of some of the randoms too, like RSP and Shawn Dean. Pretty Peter Avalon is a winning undercard gimmick.

Which show was David Crockett on? Gonna have to check that out.

It's all a computer simulation.

They might as well save the costs and reassemble the Thunderdome at this point. Unreal that crowds are back and they've already ruined the experience. Not only piping in fake noise so they can pretend their awful wrestlecrap is getting reactions, but the one chant they've encouraged back into existence is the worst ever, with their idiotic promotion of the "WHAT" chants on twitter and by the wrestlers themselves. Just irredeemable dogshit.

HHH in the mud. Love to see it.

Other than Cody being Cody, this was all enjoyable stuff and progressed things nicely.

Jericho is dangerously out of shape, but the opener told a good story and the top rope Judas Effect was a thing of beauty. MJF in his blue suit with a sea of thumbs downs behind him was an awesome visual. 

The six man tag was pure wrestling joy. Just the lads having a having a good time and kicking arse. I've never seen Daniel Garcia but I think I'm already a fan. Him and Darby should have a cracker next week. Loved Darby's new entrance animation too, just another layer to his unique star power.

The Elite are such awful dickheads. I love how not a single soul is cheering for them. They've kept the focus on Hangman, but I wasn't feeling it like previous weeks, which is a worry.  

Jesus, that freak injury to Cash was nasty. Loved the video package to spice it up and Dax does a good fired up promo.

Leyla Hirsh seems cool but I'm finished with ice-cold exhibition matches in the 7th quarter hour. Give me character development and stories please. The Britt/Red Velvet segment was more like it. Two good talkers cutting promos on each other in the middle of the ring. Velvet's "I used to be enhancement talent" line was shite.

Dan Lambert next week! Thrilled to see they're bringing him back. I'd never heard of the bloke until he showed up on Dynamite and cut the best heel promo in years. I wouldn't mind him as a regular Jim Cornette style agitator. 

The presentation of Black was spot on. I'm not the biggest fan of his act but you can't knock his ring work. His style is so unique and believable. But yeah, Cody is annoying as fuck. I can't knock how he put over Black, excellent stuff there. But everything is a big rah-rah speech with this guy. Just unnecessary, self-important, syrupy bullshit that nobody is buying. This is why people are starting to boo him. By the time Black cracked him with the crutches I'd tuned it out.

Isn't it just an excuse to cram more faces onto tv every week.

 

The best.

Absolutely gutted about this. Had no idea he was only 62.

RIP Beautiful Bobby.