d-d-d-dAz

On Ospreay/Danielson, I have been with my wife since I was 20. 17 years, that is. And throughout that time she has never once got into a wrestling match. Not once. She absolutely hates the stuff. She's spared the odd laugh for R Truth, Shark Boy or Curry Man, but I've never ever seen her engaged in a match. Until today. She loved it. She thought it was a bit too long, and I'll be engaging the divorce lawyers accordingly, but she really enjoyed it and was responding with OOHS and AAHS to the jumpy bits, and OUCHES to the bits where they mashed each others heads. Really made the match that bit more special for me. Seal of approval.

There's definitely an anti-Cody bent to social media comments sections. But, that's not real and is primarily made up of eejits. So, nevermind.

Lads, this is all very wholesome, but can we all discuss the way Danielson and Ospreay summoned goosebumps by backing into opposing corners towards the end of the match, realising they had nothing left in their respective lockers and just had to throw themselves at each other in a winner takes all, fuck-it-lets-go, finishing move battle to the death. It was as close as a wrestling match has ever got to a blockbuster movie. The two main characters, drawing their lightsabres or whatever (I'm not strong on Star Wars, sorry) and just going into battle one last time either for glorious victory or noble death. Amazing.

My point was more the ref screaming for a doctor, then going 'actually, just got to count this lad, then you can deal with the seizure patient'. That's odd, but didn't detract from the match. Just a weird footnote in history that the ref was terrified, but not that terrified. *EDIT* Watched it back. Incredible match. So many little bits buried within that reward repeat viewings. Danielson is the best ever.

Good show, I thought. I didn't love Okada/Pac like some seemed to. I couldn't get past how physically unimpressive Okada seemed, or how poor some of his facials were. Built nicely enough but didn't really grab me. Great seeing Adam Copeland having such a good time. Great signing for AEW. He'd be a good name on Swerve's record when time permits. Ospreay/Danielson might be the best match I've ever seen. It's certainly up there. Astonishing effort. As discussed, didn't love the ending angle really but not enough to detract from what was one of the best things I've ever seen. I think it completely cements Ospreay as a serious talent, and sheds any residual reputation of being a flip flopper. At least it should. His selling throughout was top notch, including the understated switching of the arms for the forearms at the end. Really good. A million stars. Danielson is a joy to watch. Let's do this again soon. A trilogy that gets settled at Wembley? Yes please. Ladder match was fun enough but I was mentally and emotionally exhausted by that point. No time for Jack Perry really, especially since he basically came in dressed as The Devil which was a bit confusing. Main event was fun enough, but all about the coronation. Right choice. An exciting World Champion, and the potential matches with MJF, Ospreay, Hangman, Okada and Omega alone are exciting; not least because they'll be indicative of a main event scene that owes basically nothing to WWE. I think thats when the company is at its strongest, held up by a foundation of non-WWE talent, with your Danielson's and Copeland's just adding a bit of seasoning.

Ospreay/Danielson was incredible, but I didn't love the ending. It wasn't enough to spoil it, obviously, but it didn't make a huge amount of sense and I wonder whether it went completely to plan, or whether the ref played his part properly. Danielson did his mad seizure/freakout, Bryce SCREAMS for the doctor... but then calls him off to allow Ospreay to hit his finisher and so he can count the three. Wrestling lore says the ref stops the match if someone's that hurt. It just sort of made the ref and the doctor look a bit daft. Then I assumed it was so weirdly panicked and odd he must be really hurt, and that made me sad for a bit. Sort of wish he'd just lost normally, the big weirdo. Still, have a million stars.

Ha, it takes a while to be fair. Walk to Alperton, delays on the Picadilly, stop for a kebab on York Way. I thought the atmosphere today was - in the main - really good.

Just got back from Wembley. Went thinking 'well we're going to get hammered, let's just have a lovely day' and ended up without a voice wishing all sorts of unimaginable things on the ref, VAR, Antony, Bruno Fernandez and Antony again. Mark Robins has made the last 7 years supporting Coventry so much more enjoyable than the 30 years I was alive for before that. What a day. Can't stand The Enemy, and think its a little weird to have a Club anthem about how life is shit, we live in a dump and we're never going to escape but... WE'LL LIVE AND DIE, WE'LL LIVE AND DIE IN THESE TOWNS 💙 ...I live in Camden. Shut up.

I will be monitoring this thread for the foreseeable future, checking for any JBL slander. Don't. Just don't.

The Logan Paul Levesque era needs to get tighter on security when it comes to fan signs. Five minutes into Smackdown and I'd already died laughing twice at 'I yeeted all over myself' and 'AJ Cycles' signs. The latter was in the front row, too. Phenomenal suit wearing by Solo. LOVE that he kept his handwraps on... it was like in a WWE game cutscene, where they layer an outfit onto the characters existing ring gear. You never know when you're going to need to thumb someone in the neck, I guess. Paul Heyman/Solo is a tremendous dynamic. Great stuff. It was a good episode, I suppose, but it absolutely reeks of that 'Post Mania, Pre Draft' season. I think Knight to Raw makes sense, but I also wouldn't be against moving Priest, Drew and Punk to Smackdown, and Cody, Styles and someone like Logan Paul to Raw. Really mix it up. I think Drew/Punk/Priest need to move as a package, because Drew/Punk when it happens will be the real main event programme on whatever show its on and Priest... God love him... isn't quite at main event level yet. I also want Cody as far away from the Bloodline as its possible to be. I'd draft him to Dynamite for a year if that's what I had to do.

Just catching up on Raw properly, and I think Sheamus might be on my list of favourite wrestlers - were I ever to sit and make a list. So glad to have him back. Raw desperately needs a draft, especially with Cody seemingly moving to Smackdown. Raw has a load of talent I love watching, but misses a bit of stardust with Cody and Rollins gone. I wonder if they shift LA Knight over and try and heat him up.

Booked Monday off work. Absolutely guaranteed that Danielson/Ospreay and Pac/Okada are shit now.

I'm sure it was just a throwaway comment, just something Jey Uso says, but I thought 'Go get it Uso' before Sami's entrance was weirdly moving. He wasn't the needy little gimp seeking validation but getting mocked anymore. He wasn't even Jey's mate he picked up after leaving for Raw. He was finally, after years of trying, an equal. An Uso. One of the guys. It just felt like a lovely little touch. Go get it Uso, indeed.

I was momentarily cheered by Cody saying he wanted to work both shows as Champion, which felt like a step in the right direction, but they seem to have shut him down on that.

Whilst I don't disagree with this necessarily, it's a language issue more than anything. The 'Universe' thing is something they themselves have set up, it's the construct they hold above all else; the 'WWE Universe'. I don't really care what they call it, but their should 100% be a clear dividing line between the major title and everything else. That's the main point. Having two equally weighted titles is stupid.

Can you Tweet-reply to this person that the endless whataboutery is utterly fucking tedious, and not every discussion about wrestling needs to descend into factional 'us vs them' shite. IF Matt Hardy does turn up, that should be wrestling's version of the game of football on the battlefield, where we all down our weapons and agree that Matt Hardy is completely shit and something we're all collectively guilty in enabling.

On the latter point, I actually think that the way they make sense of it is to lean into it more than they have done previously. Make the Universal Championship exactly that. The top belt. The Champion of everything. The Champion of the Universe. Then the World Title is a slight rung below it. and then the US/IC title below that. But yeah, two world titles of 'equal' value is a no from me.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5y7jgcsblp/?igsh=ZDBrcmszajFuOXpz Apologies for the double post, but not sure about this new belt they've made for Undisputed title winners. Horrendous. Duran looks like a plum, too.

That Nick Ball fight is the decider, for me. I've got Zhang and Hamzah as wins for Frank, and Hrgovic and Richards as wins for Queensberry. That said, if anyone's going to get the sweep I'd say Matchroom would be favourites.

Really fun series of fights. https://www.instagram.com/p/C5yv8yGtixj/?igsh=MTQ4bzY0bGRyczM1ZA== Ball v Ford is a wild fight.

They should use it to turn her unemployed.

I fucking LOVE the idea of a Game of Thrones style run for Paul, where he is the terrified aide of a King he can't abide but equally can't escape. Fucking hell. Incredible idea.

Iran don't really have the military or political capability to bring the world kicking and screaming into World War 3, for those scared by such things. I'm a very skittish reader of international relations, but even I struggle to get there with Iran. It could easily descend into a regional cluster fuck, but neither Russia or China are desperate to jump in and Russia are actually using the crisis to try and look like the international grown ups. In the game of 'are we fucked?' Top Trump's, the winning card is still very much 'Russia in Eastern Europe'.

Typically I'd be wary of any match booked because the promoter has already decided is going to be match of the year. They're usually matches that flatter to deceive, or as its colloquially called; 'The AJ Styles Paradox' That said, it's Bryan Danielson and I'm not sure he's capable of disappointing me.