JimmyAnderson

It's all a work so they can get to their first three team Blood & Guts match.

MJF, who now has another stable behind him, wins the Casino Ladder Match so has a rightful shot at Punk. Punk needing back up goes to MJF's old stable, the Pinnacle who have remained together despite Max's absence. All the while Punk is bad-mouthing The Elite and Hangman, who themselves have history together. They join back up for one a night only deal to get their hands on Punk.

Punk/FTR/Wardlow v MJF/Ass Boys/Morrissey v Kenny/Bucks/Hangan

Could they go down the route of a protective shoe or cast or the like for Punk's foot only for it to be a loaded weapon when the ref takes his bump during the All Out main event? 

Punk talks how desperate he is to perform in his hometown, Khan says he won't allow it unless he's medically cleared (again), Punk says he is if he wears this cast/boot, Khan still says no because it's a weapon, Punk says he won't use that foot to strike Moxley he's just that desperate to wrestle in Chicago and eventually Khan agrees. Then wallop Punk cheats to become World champion again and the Chi-town crowd eat it up good and proper. 

Khan suspends Punk for using the foot as a weapon on the following Dynamite and sets up a 8 man tournament to determine the new interim interim World champion. Because officially Mox didn't lose his interim title in the unification match so he's still the actual interim World champion and now we're looking for an interim interim World champ while Mox is off recovering from a concussion suffered by Punk's loaded boot. And somewhere along the way, JR makes another comment about Dax, Lethal and Remsburg all being bald that falls flat on it's face.

It's all set up for Daniel Garcia to win the title at All Out.

Danielson wants Garcia in the BCC but Moxley says he'll only team with Garcia once he's bled with him so he offers him a World Title Match. Jericho comes out claiming that Garcia isn't ready or worthy of a title shot yet but more out of fear that his protege may do something he couldn't - beat Mox for the World Title. Garcia eventually clobbers Jericho, leaving the JAS then beats Mox for the Title but refuses entry into the BCC because he's just beaten their best, so he's already too good for them.

And then the following Dynamite, he walks into his hometown of Buffalo as the World champion.

All this while CM Punk joins Dark Order as their new leader after reconciling with Colt Cabana on Chicago's Rampage. 

Punk "unnecessarily" buries Page on Dynamite.

We then get a fucking mad announcement that the title unification is happening on free tv and not the PPV.

Page's response to Punk comment is to cost him the title but he inadvertently costs Mox the match by hitting him with the Buckshot after Punk ducks it.

This leads to the Chicago shows where Mox calls out Hangman and they have a belting feud eventually leading to a Blood & Guts match between the Elite and BCC some months down the line. 

Punk on the other hand is bragging to his hometown how he doesn't have an opponent for All Out. Until Tony Sniff comes out and says that Punk will defend his title at All Out against an unnamed opponent.

Main event of All Out and Punk is in the ring when Khan appears and says the only way this man would sign a new contract is if he was promised a title match against Punk...MJF's music hits and he wins the title (thanks to TK's help) to the biggest set of boos heard for some time.

Then the following night on Dynamite, MJF is bragging how he's the best in the world blah blah blah only for Wardlow to come down and say that now there's one real champion again, he's ready to challenge for the belt after refusing to enter the interim tournament because he didn't want that title. 

And then we get MJF v Wardlow II. While Punk can carry on his Bret Hart tribute with The Chicago Screwjob.

Dunno if TBS have stricter rules than TNT but one noticeable change, and improvement, of late has been not every promo having to contain the word "shit" in it. And not every bird is calling herself or her opponent a "bitch" either.

I remember always wanting on one of the last RAWs of the 90s blue denim jean wearing British Bulldog v black jean wearing Vince McMahon to do what Triple H and Steiner essentially done a few years later.

"Dave screwed Dave but I'm screwing his wife."

And here is 25 years ago to the day

In the 13:50 at Chester today, there was a horse called Chuck Taylor running. 

It's fair to say, he wasn't dynamite!

One of the best parts of the implosion between Hobbs and Starks was Taz didn't actually side with either man. He asked on commentary what Hobbs was doing but didn't outright lambast him either. If he is going to have to choose between Hobbs and Starks, I think Taz should stick with Hobbs as he still needs a bit more help than Starks, who proved once again how good he is.

The worst part of the whole segment, just like it was last week, was JR trying so hard to get over "Pretty Ricky". Last week was worse with "everyone calls him absolute but to me he'll always be Pretty Ricky" but even after the video package before the match where Starks ends it with calling himself absolute, JR pushes "Pretty Ricky" that nobody else even acknowledges.

Big Van Vader in Boy Meets World

On this day in 89;

and 98

and 15

Judging that the other six are six different nationalities, do we reckon the NJPW combo will be two different rather than two Japanese?

Maybe a Jay White (highly unlikely) or David Finlay (possibly) against any one of their homegrown talents.

The battle royal was a cock-up from the minute they announced it. 

Protecting your top stars is not a reason to not have them in a match of that type because you can easily justify any elimination from a battle royal. Wardlow has already lost in his career, so getting eliminated by four or five people at once isn't going to kill his momentum. Jericho doesn't need protecting at this stage of his career. Adam Cole could of done his promo on Page during the match and caused him to be eliminated that way. 

And even if you must protect your toppest of top stars, put the next bracket in there. Sammy, Joe, Scorpio, Pac, Black, Spears, Dustin, Hook, Jungle Boy, Christian and Ethan Page would have made for better viewing than just lashing every mediocre tag team they have in there. Topped off by Andrade being the joker and achieving fuck all except looking like a tit again. If you're going to have Yuta in the match, then have him as the joker and play on the possibility of him v Moxley for BCC against BCC (which they did at least mention in the main event with Regal) They could have thrown Paul Wight in it and allowed Hobbs to powerslam him to show off his strength. And Keith Lee throwing him over the top rope to showcase his power as well. 

And if you still have to have Kyle O'Reilly win then at least he's beaten a credible name or two. Well respected people in the industry, current or former champions within the company as well as former world champions in some of the world's biggest wrestling companies. It's a bigger feather in the cap for O'Reilly to say I've outsmarted Chris Jericho, Samoa Joe and Dustin Rhodes rather than I've beaten some bloke called Tony Nese who nobody seems to think can amount to anything, I beat that fella John Silver who was red-hot a year ago but has since all but vanished from the main AEW shows and Dante Martin who's work is impressive but once his brother returns will just become another fancy, high-flying tag team.

The only person who came out of that battle royal looking better than they went in was Swerve. The rest achieved nothing. 

And the rest of the show couldn't recover because of the piss-poor start. 

Given the mess they've made of this whole situation, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some cock up with the finish. A time limit draw or something, resulting in a triple threat at Forbidden Door. New Japan might be happier with that as well as Tanahashi then wouldn't have to take the loss.

Or go for the 94 Royal Rumble route and have two joint winners for the battle royal so Mox doesn't take the loss in the main event.

Now he's back though, just put the belt on Miro. 

MJF needs to go a tear through ex-WWE lads now.

Beat the likes of Hardy (either or both), Cole, Keith Lee, then move up a level to Jericho, Mox, Danielson before eventually getting his rematch with Punk.

I had no idea about the MJF thing until reading this thread yesterday. And given there was no talk of it (that I can remember) from the commentary team make me think it's more his own doing than AEW's. But it's done now. Is he done in AEW? I doubt it. He's still got, at least, 18 months left on his contract and I don't see them paying him to stay at home that long. A few months off while he recovers from the "injury" he sustained. Turn back up at All Out in Illinois. Challenge Punk and all is back to normal.

The rest of the ppv was boss though I had no idea who any of the debutants were. I also agree a number of the matches could have happened on either Dynamite or Rampage.

Hardys and Bucks was good because of the Bucks. Did I hear correctly there's an eight man tag involving these two teams coming up? The Hardys do need to retire soon though because it's almost tarnishing their legacy to see them keep turning up like this. It's becoming almost like Alex Higgins in his last few years as a professional snooker player.

Jade and Anna Jay was again better than expected. Probably even better than the first time round. They need to really build somebody up capable of taking the title off Jade and that doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon.

House Of Black and Death Triangle was fantastic. Whether or not it's the end of the feud who knows. And where Varsity Blondes fit in with Julia's heel turn will be interesting. Death Hexagon maybe against a five man team of House Of Black. 

Once Cole beat Joe, it was obvious Britt was winning to. Their little lovey dovey bit on the stage with Schiavone looking awkward was probably the best part of the entire Owen Cup. The handshake from Britt and Ruby may possibly indicate a face turn to set up Cole/Baker v Sammy/Tay for a power couple feud. 

And speaking of Sammy, I thought the mixed trios match was great but that might be because Tay Conti is fucking stunning. Don't know if they turned up the mics in the ring all night because the refs seemed very audible all night as did Kazarian throughout this match. Sammy kicking Tay in the face was a nice alternative ending. Scorpio and Dante Martin should be a good match as well. 

O'Reilly and Darby was a fun little match. I was a little surprised they went with Kyle winning but hey ho.

Thunder Rosa and Deeb was another good match. I can see them going with Statlander as the one to dethrone Rosa to set up a champion v champion match with her and Jade.

Anarchy in the Arena was every bit as good as people have said. And while Eddie is getting all the love on here, all ten involved deserve credit. Kingston and Danielson will be a great feud. Eddie throwing some home truths out about Danielson being a sports-entertainer and forgetting his roots as a wrestler. A trios match of BCC against Kinston, Santana & Ortiz could be all sorts of fun as well. 

Tag Title match was an enjoyable affair. I was expecting Christian to hit the electric chair on Jungle Boy when he had him on his shoulders at the end of the match. I'd rather they put the belts on Starks & Hobbs but never mind eh. 

I enjoyed Hangman and Punk for the world title to. It was one of those matches where whatever the result you'd see the good and bad in it. I suppose though with Punk winning, it allows them to build up to the Forbidden Door main event with him as champion in his hometown. 

24 minutes ago, Chris B said:

If he defends against Punk and then Mox, he can then drop the belt to anyone

Is there a sceneraio where he beats Mox (having already beaten Danielson) and then loses it in a surprise upset against Wheeler Yuta?

That tips Mox and Danielson over the edge and they become the most dangerous and vicious versions of themselves. Page can turn up the intensity in the rematch (like he did with the second match with Danielson) and win the title back a week or two later or not regain the title and go back having all the insecurities he had many moons ago . And it gives whoever the next challenger (probably MJF) some ammo to throw at Page (if he wins) or a verbal battle involving Regal (if Yuta retains).

4 hours ago, andrew "the ref" coyne said:

I can already tell you Wardlow is gonna fall off a cliff sadly. Whenever he has a overlong match the crowd goes super mild. The chase and storyline is great, but after that... I have zero faith.

Real shame. I hope Im wrong.

I've got a thought in my head (well lend it to Trigger!) that once he gets his AEW contract a number of the stables/factions that AEW have all try and persuade Wardlow to join them. That way he doesn't have to wrestle, doesn't even need to feud with anyone but keeps a focal part of the show. 

He can just stroll down to ringside, take a seat in his latest suit and watch matches from Dark Order, House of Black, America's Top Team, Jericho Appreciation Society, even the Elite and the rest as they to impress Wardlow enough to convince him to join them. Keep it going for a couple of months and then Wardlow says there'll be a Casino Battle Royale at whatever pay-per-view they're up to and whoever wins that match, that's the stable he'll join. Then the joker is revealed and it's Wardlow himself. He clears whoever is left in the ring and shrugs, saying I guess I don't need anyone to watch my back.

Then a voice calls out "Wrong Wardlow. Everyone needs cliques. Everyone needs their brothers for life." And out walks Bischoff, Hogan, Nash & Waltman. But as they make their way to the ring, a black baseball bat falls from the ceiling. Wardlow catches it and cleans house, he then looks up to the rafters where Sting & Darby are and nods in their direction.

They need to keep red-hot acts hot after they achieve their goal as well as on their way there. 

Britt Baker cooled off almost immediately after winning the women's title, Hangman cooled off after winning the World title. It'll be interesting to see what happens with MJF and Wardlow post Double or Nothing.

Can they keep Wardlow's momentum going or will he fall off a cliff and start a pointless feud with Lance Archer. And can they retain MJF's heat or saddle him with another string of cheap shots at Brian Pillman.

2 hours ago, Jonny Vegas said:

I enjoyed the Wardlow/Spears/MJF cage match and boy is Wardlow over.

The only thing is a feel there was a slight missed opportunity. How it all panned out was just a minor variation of the same thing that always happens. 

Babyface overcomes the seemingly impossible odds due to miscommunication from the heels and a referee run it.

Now we need either Wardlow to lose some steam losing to MJF (even if via shenanigans) or we have MJF lose right off the back of losing to Punk and his build for me will stagnate a little.

What I'd have loved to have seen was something a little different. Right off the bat Wardlow takes out Spears with the chair then goes for MJF. MJF tells him if he touches him he gets DQ'd and doesn't get his match as he slowly realises he doesn't even want or need the match, he just wants to get his hands on him and he now has him in a steel cage with his only mate unconscious.

Wardlow leathers him, has MJF release him from any contract or tie he still has as he begs him to stop. Gives him a few more powerbombs for good measure then exits the cage a free man.

Nobody needs to take a loss and we save the eventual match for some point down the line as unfinished business and a part built feud already in place for when MJF inevitably gets the title.

One problem with that is you then lose the one match off the Double or Nothing card that people actually want to watch.

14 minutes ago, Infinity Land said:

My worst fear for the Owent Hart Cup might well be happening. Adam Cole & Britt Baker winning. Instead of using the tournaments to create a contender for the World or TNT/TBS titles they go with as a power couple swanning about with these custom title belts that were made.

Just in time for Cody and Brandi to return to save the day. And everybody suddenly commenting that they always liked Adam Cole and felt the criticism of was way over the top.

Tonight marks the 3 year anniversary of their first event Double Or Nothing.

And the 21 entrants in that events Casino Battle Royale makes you think if they've got the right idea signing up some of the WWE cast offs instead of relying on people like Glacier and Tommy Dreamer for name value. 

Clubs - Dustin Thomas, MJF, Sunny Daze, Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa

Diamonds - Isiah Kassidy, Jimmy Havoc, Joey Janela, Brian Pillman Jr, Shawn Spears

Hearts - Billy Gunn, Glacier, Jungle Boy, Marc Quen, Ace Romero

Spades - Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt, Sonny Kiss, Tommy Dreamer, Orange Cassidy

Joker - Adam Page

On this 19 years ago

15 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

he always manages to make the home town talent shine on those home town shows. 

So we can all expect Sammy to regain the TNT title next week in Houston then. And then lose it back to Scorpio in a couple of weeks in LA. 

As much as that was meant to be tongue in cheek, the way they've been tossing the TNT belt between those two in recent weeks I wouldn't be surprised if it actually did turn out that way.