Lorne Malvo

Yeah, as somone who has turned my back on pretty much all social media over the past few years I signed up to Bluesky last week and I'm actually really liking it for the most part. It's basically Twitter from 10 years ago before all the toxicity. It's very, very middle-class though, in that 'cockwomble' type of way.

Saw someone on Bluesky say they had 'mini-binge-watched' a movie. What the fuck even is that shit?

The one that always stands out in my mind is that Halftime Heat show they did in 2019, where it was Aleister Black, Ricochet & Velveteen Dream vs Adam Cole, Gargano & Ciampa. At the time the buzz was very much 'these guys are the future' but none of them have really set the world on fire (and the less said about Dream the better).

It's quite fitting this was an Anniversary show because it had one of AEW's oldest issues - once every couple of months they put out a show that, for all the good in-ring stuff and exciting acts, just lacks a certain energy and comes across quite lifeless. I preferred Okada vs Danielson 3 to their first encounter (never watched the second) and quite liked the stipulation - Okada wrestling defensively with no urgency to wind the clock down during the first 20 minutes then picking up the pace after that was a nice novel way of doing things. Didn't hate the finish, either - every so often I like an out-of-nowhere finish to keep things unpredictable. Ricochet vs Ospreay was fine and was on it's way to really picking up when they did the false-finish/interference deal. Ricochet is already fairly boring, mind. Queen Aminata getting featured more is very welcome, and I'm not just saying that because I really fancy her. Anyway, the biggest news coming out of this show is the hint towards Hook vs Christian Cage - I can't wait for that.

Yeah that Bayley graphic is awful but I also didn't realise Rhea Ripley was wrestling Mandy Rose on this show. There's no way that's Liv Morgan.

I had a McDonalds the other day for the first time in ages (Philly Cheesesteak & Mozarella sticks). It was really shite. KFC Trilogy box meal is where it's at for me now.

@Frankie Crisp A fine list but I'd personally have the death by logging truck scene in there. I reckon the trauma from that is subconsciously why I never learned to drive.

Apologies if this is old news to most of you but I've been laughing at this on and off all day. The last two lines in particular get me everytime. Massive "Fuck you, Bush" energy.

He's my second favourite AEW wrestler ever after Orange Cassidy.... But that just reminds me that I'm still waiting on that dream match!

Pretty good episode of Rampage this week, I thought. Briscoe/Keith was a decent hard-hitting affair, Shida vs Cameron was decent (Hayter looks fantastic in her 1970s get-up) and the four-way main event was good fun. Wheeler Yuta was the MVP of the show though, I'm loving this new direction with him. Can't wait to see the Trios title match at Grand Slam just to see how this develops.

I quite liked this despite the terrible title, but willing to admit I may have been swayed by Layla Mohammadi's face.

Miro's initial run in AEW was really good, and I liked that story they told about his neck being his one weakness which added a different dynamic to his matches. He does seem like an headache to work with though. I think in WWE now he'd get the Andrade treatment - treated well for the first few weeks but quickly becoming an afterthought.

Top 6 AEW Title Reigns 1) Orange Cassidy international Title run (aka the best title reign of all time - the story of him getting more beaten up and hurt with each defence was masterfully done) 2) Kenny Omega (His World title Belt Collector run was brilliant TV and AEW was red-hot during this time) 3) Darby Allin first TNT title run (a bit similar to the OC reign, Darby gutting it out every week with hard-fought wins until Miro came in to pick at the scraps) 4) Jon Moxley first World title run (did the hard work, carried the company on his back during the Pandemic era) 5) Hikaru Shida first Womens World title run (did the same as Moxley for the womens division) 6) Swerve world title run (cemented himself as The Man with some absolutely incredible matches) Honourable mention: Hangman/Omega tag title run was very close to being included Top 6 Worst AEW Title Reigns 1) CM Punk world title (goes without saying really - won the title, got injured, won the title again, got suspended) 2) The Elite 6-man title reign (see Punk - first ever champions crowned then getting stripped immediately wasn't a great start for the division) 3) Scorpio Sky TNT Title (Attempt #21 at getting Scorpio Sky over, nobody cared) 4) Hangman Page World Title (Not terrible, but completely unmemorable after the thrilling chase - plus it was the start of all the Punk nastiness) 5) Saraya Womens Title (She was just really bad at this point and it was a Wembley moment nobody had asked for) 6) Julia Hart TBS title (might be a bit harsh on her, but it was a nothing reign after two memorable previous champs in Cargill and Stat)

Top 6 PWG wrestlers I used to love who I'm scared to rewatch incase it turns out they were utter shit all along: 1) The Human Tornado 2) Arrogance (Chris Bosh & Scott Lost) 3) Excalibur 4) Super Dragon 5) Top Gun Talwar 6) Quicksilver

Wheeler Yuta is really good at getting character and story over during a match, it makes up for him not being the most charismatic or great on the mic. Him going from happy-go-lucky babyface to sadistic violent prick under the tutelage of the BCC played out entirely through in-ring action (and a good chunk of it on ROH) but was one of my favourite stories of the past few years. Hope this new direction gives him a bit of a boost.