Supremo

Braun peaked when he turned into a cartoon character during the Summer of, “I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!” Constantly killing Roman in sillier and funnier stunts. If they can tap into that again then he’s definitely got potential beyond the meta punchline of him abandoning Austin Aries and EC3 to control their own narrative.

Worst case scenario, just bring back the CHOO CHOO sound effects.

Anyway, best thing on this whole show was the ghost of Paul London.

 

Feels like this graphic is supposed to bait and switch you into thinking there’s a chance he’ll fight Malakai, but surely everyone is hoping it’s Brodie. Cope and Brodie have amazing chemistry. They’d have a great hoss singles match.

Fun to hear Copeland is trying to hit one new move he’s never done before in every one of his AEW matches. Nice little Easter Egg to look out for each week. Maybe the final crescendo can be him doing the ultimate rarity and pinning Malakai clean.

 

Yeah, I almost never see valid criticism for Dave online. It’s never about his massive blind spot for all the Speaking Out stuff, how you can sometimes clock where he’s taken things too literally or misunderstood what was likely a wind up, or how for a man making his living doing podcasts he can sometimes be the most difficult human being alive to listen to.

It’s alway the same old shite from people who listen to grifting melts like Cornette, Bubba Ray and Bischoff. He’s never taken a bump! Kurt Angle’s never had a five star match! He said Mabel was the third man!

Bret rates Dave. Bret’s never wrong. Six and a half for Ospreay vs. Danielson sits fine with me. Because it doesn’t matter at all.

Absolutely pointless draft, but at least it wasn’t used to humiliate and wind up their own talent. Progress is progress.

Never forget. Horrible bastards.

Stephanie McMahon on TV again though. Certainly a choice.

Yeah. It’s very Hangman and The Elite for Nicholas and Mathew to manipulate Page for a bit, using him to their advantage. Encourage him to go even crazier. Grow an even bigger moustache.

He can eventually see through them later in the year and eventually turn babyface with Kenny. Better to get most out of it first. Plus, it’s not as if your competition isn’t experiencing the biggest boom in decades and selling out every single venue thanks to a similar storyline with Sami Zayn being used and gaslit by The Bloodline. Copy that home work!

Six months of edging us, only for Hangman to eventually take a Gillette Fusion 5 to the ‘tash, revealing himself as the healed, clear-headed, clean-shaven Hero Cowboy? Inject it straight into my veins. The best a man can get.

I thought the Grizzled Young Veterans were an absolute revelation. They’d spent so long acting out HBK’s weird goth fetish on NXT that I’d genuinely forgotten how good they were! If this was an audition then they passed with flying colours.

James Drake’s running Dropkick that he does to the opponent on the outside waiting for the tag is incredible! They should incorporate that into their finish. Hit a big move on the legal man, Running Nutcase Dropkick to the guy on the outside, 1, 2, 3. GYV and Motor City Machine Guns, with The Young Bucks as champions? Tag division is cooking again.

They’re three for three with Daily’s Place Parking Lot Brawls. Delivered once again. Always a brilliant, violent scrap.

Frankly, the best thing about these three-hour Saturday Night blocks is that it means another hour of Nigel McGuinness’ banter. He’s quickly became my favourite commentator in the business. Always funny. Always hates Bryan Danielson. Brings a brilliant energy to the show. It was a real blink-and-you’ll-miss-it thing in the main event, but the camera cut to the commentary desk just as Nigel had made a silly joke about wanking and it was a genuine joy to see him and Schiavone giggling like school kids. A small glimpse of what makes them such a great team, Tony trying to play it straight and Nigel spending all night long trying to pop him.

”He could have broken his hand!”

”Oh well, Daniel Garcia’s gonna have to use the other hand tonight!”

Look at these scamps tittering away.

How do you not immediately book Ospreay vs. Fenix, now Fenix is back. Would take all the will-power in the world.

Swerve vs. Claudio was exactly what Swerve needed. A big, meaty Title defence that makes him look amazing. Nice to see the prophecy come true, too; he looks the business with the belt. Real cool motherfucker.

Most exciting thing on the show was Swerve calling out The Elite for attacking Tony. Although the story beats suggested Hangman will  eventually come back as a babyface to topple The Elite, I wonder if AEW will do one of those clever swerves and actually bring him back as a heel still. Like a rabid dog let loose. He doesn’t have to rejoin The Elite, he can still be a loner on Lost-The-Plot Island, but I love the idea of Nicholas and Mathew responding to Swerve’s insults by just bringing Hangman back to kill him. “Slag us off, will you? Fine. You’re facing Hangman at Double or Nothing, Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch.”

If we don’t get a skit of the Bang Bang Gang making a mad getaway in their stolen bus after running Darby over, then what are we even doing.

Probably the worst episode of Smackdown this year.

Dreadful draft. Real eat-your-slop stuff. A throwback to the final few years of the Vince Era, where they’d just waste time with stuff that insulted you for even watching. Like they’d been forced to do a Draft but didn’t want to actually switch anyone. Who was the biggest name that switched from one brand to the other? Fucking Nia Jax? Dog shit.

Rubbish use of the, “Legends,” too. Another throwback to them uselessly popping up for no reason whatsoever. Surprised we didn’t get a Ron Simmons cameo, “hilariously,” saying, “Damn!” I won’t begrudge these old timers making a quick buck though. I’m utterly convinced this whole, “Legends contract,” thing is a ticking time bomb anyway. Endeavor quickly put a stop to something similar when they bought UFC - sacking guys who were promised a job for life like Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds out the amount of money these retired guys are making to sit at home and slag off AEW on Twitter before they decide to pull the plug. A fat idiot like Bubba Ray is making how much?!

Is Chris Hero employed full-time with AEW? If not, they should have flew him in for a cameo during that security footage angle with Carlito. Had him run into shot at the end, nearly crying.

Whole storyline doesn’t make much sense though. Why didn’t Dragon Lee immediately tell everyone it was Carlito who attacked him? He didn’t appear to be immediately knocked out or anything. It was a prolonged attack, where it would have been clear to him who it was! Did he just not want to say anything out of awkwardness?

On the plus side, this Bloodline stuff continues to be the best thing Tama Tonga has ever done. Really enjoyable bit of violence. Assuming they add the tag match with Randy Orton to Backlash, instantly becoming the most interesting match on the card.

Jade and Bianca are going to look the business with the belts. Most telegenic human beings alive.

For a company making billions, where you assume they have professional photographers at every single TV taping and live event, why do they insist on getting someone’s dodgy cousin in to photoshop Title belts onto these graphics. Look at the state of this. Genuinely think I could do better in MS Paint!

The Bayley thing has been such a failure, with them not even bothering to bring back the old music, that I’d draw a line under it and just put the belt on Tiffany Stratton at Backlash. Cut your losses.

Hunter appearing onscreen again. It’s becoming a parody at this point. Convinced he’s trying to enjoy himself as much as possible before he suddenly sells all his stock for reasons that will eventually become clear in a court room. So long, Nick Khan.

Cody and Camelo was good enough until they botched the finish. You can’t convince me that the idea wasn’t for Cody to catch him with the Cutter in mid-air as a big crescendo for the pin. There’s no other explanation that makes sense. God bless the people trying to pretend that what we saw was intended, though. “Yeah, we’ll simultaneously hit a Springboard, bouncing back with a Flying Nothing, each crashing to the mat like a sack of shit, making us both look dumb, ideally with Cody nearly breaking his shoulder. Then we’ll both look panicked as fuck as we rush to the finish immediately.” Really struggle to imagine an agent agreeing to that, especially with their Golden Goose. You hope Cody is OK. It was bad enough when they had to scramble for stars once Rhea was injured. Cody getting hurt would be even worse!

Big reward for those who pay attention to the little things though. Cheeky packet of crisps in the background of the shot! HOOK tease confirmed! Eyes peeled for a QR Code on a packet of Wotsits in the upcoming weeks!

What do we reckon then, lads. Now we’ve got SHADDY MAGIC on board, do you think he’ll increase Tony’s pocket money enough for Jack Perry to have this as his entrance theme? The crowd singing, “OoOooOooh, cry me a river!” to the guitar hook would be ace.

 

Tony Khan is that rich kid in class who’s got all the best wrestling action figures, so you’re desperate to be his mate. But he’s also an annoying, stupid prick, so you know that if you reveal to him that you’re a pro-wrestling fan you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.

There is something morbidly funny about the fact Tony always seems to be in some daft fancy dress whenever these topics come up though. Looking forward to the Double or Nothing press conference, when Nick Khan has inevitably sold all his stock and left WWE in disgrace. Let’s go live to hear Tony’s reaction.

It’s a shame. If they’d timed that better and Cody caught him with the Cutter it would have been great. You assume they practiced it earlier in the day and managed to get it to work. Doesn’t feel like the type of spot you call on the fly.

I suspect this is just the first of many instances in the upcoming months where other pro-wrestlers learn a hard lesson in real time. They might be good, they might be athletic, they might even be successful, but they’re not Will Ospreay or Bryan Danielson. Just because they make it look easy doesn’t mean it is.

Even if you ignore the insane hypocrisy, it was just a dumb time to take such a stupid dig.

You’ve got big, mainstream people earnestly playing along, joining in on the joke, synchronised tongues in cheeks, asking about the piledriver spot, giving you the opportunity to push your product. And it’s then that you decide to reference your competition's sex trafficking lawsuit? Read the room.

It reminded me of those few times when you get normal people, who shower regularly, sincerely asking what this pro-wrestling thing is all about. But then before you get a chance to engage normally some hardcore idiot immediately turns it up to eleven and starts screaming, “IT’S NOT FAKE YOU KNOW, STONE COLD BROKE HIS NECK!” Game over. Instantly confirmed all the prejudices. This is a dumb hobby, performed by idiots, watched by idiots.

DISCLAIMER: Sex trafficking is still worse than being an idiot in a press interview.

The neck brace was brilliant. Felt like everyone delighted in the daftness of it. AEW fans. WWE fans. The mainstream. Can't remember the last time there was such a unified enjoyment of what makes pro-wrestling such a silly, unique form of entertainment.

And then he fucked it. Like always. Couldn't help himself but piss it all away. LOL, they're sex pests. Anyway, can I offer you a can of Woooooo energy?

We’re back. What a business.

 

I’ve been worked! Fake news. Neck brace unconfirmed. 😫

Neck brace confirmed. Brilliant.

Extremely disrespectful to be courting Wrestlemania when you already have All In Wembley! Sadiq Khan doesn’t deserve pro-wrestling!

I wouldn’t expect it any time soon. Nick Khan was only saying the other day that their Big Four shows will be in America for the foreseeable future. They’ll accept the time difference for a B show like Money in the Bank, Backlash or Clash at the Castle, but Wrestlemania? I doubt it.

Sadiq’s just stole Cena’s cheap pop. Say London Wrestlemania, get the big cheer, never actually deliver it.

The only reason I could imagine WWE doing it is so that they could sell out two nights at Wembley and then brag they’d beaten AEW’s attendance record. An industry that thrives on petty bullshit.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but despite having done numerous two-night Wrestlemanias in the past, wasn’t this year’s the first one where they announced the combined attendance, as if to somehow prove that was the real quiz and they’d beaten All In? It sure felt that way.

Wrestlemania though. Showcase of the Immortals. One can only imagine the number of red phone boxes and black cab taxis they’d need.

I don’t know what to tell you if you aren’t enjoying these brilliant dickheads. I’m thoroughly sports entertained.

Really enjoyed the closing angle. It was a bit awkward, but then those type of angles always are. I don’t want Tony Khan to be taking normal, well-trained bumps. These type of angles work because the authority figure hits the deck like a sack of shit. Stone Cold with Vince McMahon. The Outsiders with Eric Bischoff. It wouldn’t feel anywhere near as dangerous or transgressive if the puny civilian took a well-executed, flat-back bump.

It goes without saying that I don’t want Tony as a regular on-screen character, but as a one-off to sell a big story beat? Worked a charm. Considering how unnatural Tony Khan always is on camera, and how bad it could have been, it was extremely well executed, getting some serious heat by the end. Loved it.

Surprised to read people saying Jack Perry has no presence. I think this has been the making of him. Like it’s finally clicked into place. Him telling the fans to fuck off at the end, daring them to jump the rail? Top stuff. I’d love to go back and watch some of his heel work with HOOK last Summer because this feels night and day. Felt like he was badly playing a character back then, whereas now it’s way more authentic. Probably because it’s grounded in reality where - based on the All In footage - he did get fucked over. Legitimately. Eight months suspended because he gave CM Punk an opening to throw a cheap sucker punch whilst he brushed his beautiful hair out of his own face. What an injustice.

But yeah. Let that be the end of any talk that is AEW dying. BIG SHAD himself participating in angles? This company is going nowhere.

A week ago it was difficult to figure out who would feature in this year’s Blood and Guts. Not anymore! I’m bang up for some AEW All Stars defending this company against the eWo! They need to start showing Hangman watching from the rafters. I loved his descent into moustachio’d madness, but the idea of Hangman returning as the saviour of AEW? Chef’s kiss. I’m also hoping we’ve been worked by the Kenny Omega thing, he doesn’t require surgery, and he’s ready to come back to fight off these pricks. Seems like the type of story he’d tell. Wouldn’t shock me at all if he’s attacked next week.

Some other thoughts;

Big Bill leaving Ricky Starks to join Chris Jericho! The ultimate betrayal. Oh, to read the WhatsApp messages between Ricky Starks and Cody Rhodes. Cody’s probably already got the WWE team working on ideas, angles and (bad) music for Ricky’s eventual debut. Gutted for Big Bill though. Another guy lost to the Jericho Vortex, which is definitely still a thing that ruins talent with potential, regardless of whether Chris Jericho tries to lean into it or give it a cheeky wink. Stop trying to make Fetch happen, Chris.

Casino Gauntlet was great fun. AEW at its finest, where a daft e-fed idea can come to life. “Wrestlers will just keep coming out until someone wins.” Brilliantly stupid. Great showing from Lance Archer in particular. They should use him more. You could feel the vibe completely change when Ospreay’s music hit. They’ve got a superstar here.

Best use of Mercedes yet. At least she’s playing heel now. I’m starting to wonder whether anyone attacked her at all, or whether it’s all a ruse, with Mercedes and Stat eventually screwing over Willow.

Serena vs. Toni should rule. Have they wrestled before in AEW?

Match with Will Hobbs didn’t amount to much, but Jon Moxley doing his entrance with a belt over his shoulder at Daily’s Place is my pro-wrestling nirvana. Looking forward to the Takeshita match. Takeshita looked the business in the genie kecks.

Shocking use of Swerve. A massive own goal. Best thing he did on the show was try and get that fan’s number during the commercial break. What a cool motherfucker. He should have opened up the show with a big, celebratory promo in the gorgeous Florida sunset.

Interested by this idea that Swerve’s opponent will be revealed next week though. I wonder if The Elite will just announce Jack Perry as the Number One Contender now that they’re running the show? Abuse your power! Get all those belts!

Good show overall. Much better job at keeping the momentum than their usual post-PPV episodes. Big 1997- style angle for the win. 4-Life.

Big fan of Swerve going full Father-Ted-wins-the-golden-cleric.

And now, onto the liars…

Cameron Grimes rules. Proper funny, great character, brilliant worker. He carried those dark days of NXT during the pandemic.

It's a real, "telling-on-yourself," moment when you can't find a way to feature this guy on your seven hours of weekly television. Even more so when someone as shit as Karrion Kross is on about his third or fourth chance.

Hopefully, someone picks him up quickly and pushes him TO THE MOON.

I don’t know why Becky is getting all the heat. The belt has gone back to her because there’s almost no-one else ready. That’s not on her. She didn’t force Hunter to do fuck all for the Raw women’s division bar, “Rhea wins,” for nearly a year.

Anyone crying that Becky won over Liv Morgan should be forced to tell us their favourite Liv Morgan match.

Just Nigel McGuinness punching his arms in the air, celebrating the end of Bryan Danielson’s life.

It’s the best bit in wrestling. Feud of the year contender and they haven’t even interacted yet. The day Danielson squares up to him is going to be amazing. Can’t fathom anyone suggesting any other match for Wembley. It’s perfect.

Look at her beautiful, smiling face! I prayed for this and it happened.

It was an excellent show. Last year, when the TV was coming off the rails, they still had a roster so talented that it was impossible to have a pay per view that delivered anything below an eight out of ten. Now, with the added talent depth? It’s as if they can’t help but deliver a nine out of ten every single time.

Great crowd all night long. Looked like the perfect venue. Large enough to where it felt like Big Time North American Pro-Wrestling, but small enough that you could pack it out and turn the lights all the way up. My jam.

Fantastic opener. I’ve got all the time in the World for what a cocky, hilarious prick Okada is. Laughing his arse off after giving Pac a DDT on the floor, giving everyone the middle finger rather than doing the Rain Maker pose. Brilliant. Great action, with a cool finish, I’m interested in where that forced standing ovation for Pac leads. You assume/hope it’s all designed for something big at Wembley. Pac vs. Ospreay, maybe?

Fun Trios match. Copeland is getting better and better mixing it up with all these freaks. Interesting finish, as you assume it leads to a Malakai vs. Copeland singles feud over the TNT Title, but that would require Black to actually have singles matches, take more than his usual three bumps, and even less likely, do a fucking job. We’ll wait and see, but none of that sounds like his style in 2024. Sooner he and Buddy piss off back to WWE the better. Julia and Brodie have been the stars of that act for years now.

Julia vs. Willow was a mostly basic affair, but it was all about the result, so who cares. Willow is the best. I was delighted to see her win. Nice tease with Statlander looking like she might attack. I assume Stat will be revealed as Mercedes’ attacker later down the line.

Mercedes continues to Mercedes. She even unironically watches TV sideways like a 2D cartoon character! She’s distilled WWE tropes. I saw the best description of her on Twitter - she feels like when they used to do Celebrity Hosts on Monday Night Raw. Completely separate from the rest of the roster. Like a variant from a completely different dimension. Willow should win at Double or Nothing. Willow should unify the TNT and Women’s Titles. Willow is the best. I’d build the entire company around her.

Roddy and Kyle was an excellent match, wasted on a rubbish storyline, featuring the worst faction of all time in Undisputed Kingdom.  When Adam Cole gave that shitty look behind Wardlow’s back I audibly muttered, “oh, fuck off.” Teasing ANIMOSITY before MJF has even come back. Garbage. Wardlow needs to go to WWE already. 

Saw a suggestion online of doing Kyle vs. Danielson, for some free TV grapple fuck action. I approve of this message. Get them Colliding, Saturday night!

Jericho match was hilarious. “Go home Jericho!” and, “Please retire!” chants. Fucking hell. What a mess. Even worse, if you just look at the work, this was probably one of Jericho’s better performances in recent months, with what could be an interesting storyline development with Jericho as FTW Champ, but it’s completely irrelevant at this point. He’s fucked beyond repair. No amount of meta booking or ironically leading into the Go-Away heat will save this. I wonder how long is left on Hook’s contract. He and Wardlow should jump to WWE as a package deal.

Probably Toni Storm’s best match in this new gimmick. She was once again hilarious at the press conference, too. Taking the piss out of Triple H, “being dragged,” in front of the audience to get his dick sucked every week. Good craic.

Ospreay vs. Danielson was the absolute tits. One of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen. Blows my mind that it had so much build up, borderline set up to fail considering the hype going into it, and yet they managed to surpass expectations with ease. Absolutely mind blowing stuff. What a fucking talent Will Ospreay is. I thought the Takeshita match sealed Match of the Year, and yet it took him less than a month to completely overshadow it. Tony Khan must laugh himself to sleep knowing he managed to sign Ospreay to a long term deal. A true ace.

Found myself squealing with delight as the match went on. One-Armed Styles Clash? Rest in peace, my balls. Them both running at each other like Superheroes, recreating the poster? Art. The Running Knee counter to the Springboard Cutter? What the fuck is even happening at this point. This was something really special. Only way it could have been improved was if they’d had Moxley at the desk, losing his mind, screaming swear words.

Agree with others that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the finish. I can never really be arsed with Danielson’s obsession with this stuff. Seen a surprising amount of people thinking it was a shoot, too. Have you never seen Bryan Danielson wrestle before? He always does this! Not a huge deal though, probably just took what was a 10 star match and made it a 9.5. I can almost see the logic, too. It’ll certainly sell the Tiger Driver as a dangerous finisher going forward. There’ll be a huge false finish at Wembley if he busts one out. Danielson acting like he was dead also created that weird dynamic you sometimes get in MMA, where a guy is celebrating a huge victory, whilst his opponent - someone’s son, husband, father - is lying motionless in the cage. It definitely sells you on the idea that these lads are absolute killers. Will Ospreay is a superstar.

But yeah: this rocked my world. Match of the decade. Bryan Danielson owes it to the World to never retire. It’s supposed to be his final year and he’s arguably in the best form of his whole career. Unbelievable. Best of all time. His kids are gonna end up being the biggest heels in the business if they force him to go away.

Fair play to FTR and The Bucks. An impossible task to follow Danielson vs. Ospreay, but they were seemingly willing to die trying. Cash Wheeler especially. He must know he’s guilty and will eventually get sent down. A man bumping like he has no future.

Loved the Jack Perry run-in. Thought it was shot and framed brilliantly with the security pulling his mask off, loved the big reaction he got, his cocky grin was note perfect, and him throwing up The Elite hand signal as he waltzed off was cool as fuck. He’s going to fit in perfectly with Mathew, Nicholas and Okada. What a glorious bunch of pricks. Also, for the record; I really don’t jive with this idea that Jungle Jack was always rubbish. There seemed to be this mad wave of negativity surrounding him after All In, with people acting like he was crap and not worth ever bringing back. Some people were even saying he was on same level as Sammy Guevara, but that’s bollocks. He’s a great talent, has had loads of amazing matches, is a certified hunk, and although the original heel turn was a bit crap I think this new run has some serious legs. He looked great in New Japan. This might end up being the best thing that ever happened to him. Excursions work.

Main event was similar to the Willow match. Nothing amazing between the ropes, but the perfect feel-good result. Loved Swerve’s Black Panther gear and entrance. You knew he was winning from that point. Great moment seeing him raise gold. Awesome to have seen him grow, develop and manifest this into reality. From those first glimpses of greatness tagging with Keith Lee. Tremendous to see him go all the way.

All the credit in the World to Samoa Joe, too. There’s no shame in being a transitional champion, especially when you restore tonnes of prestige, deliver great matches and really make someone in defeat. He did everything he could to solidify Swerve here.

I’m excited to see where things go. Yet again, they’ve had a huge, amazing show that has drawn a line under some stupid decisions and set the ground work for a phenomenal run, provided they can keep up the momentum.

But yeah. Swerve Strickland winning the World Title in Handman Adam Page’s absence? Good Lord. It’s almost as interesting imagining what this will do to Hangman than it is imagining what Swerve will do next. This’ll be Hangman opening Dynamite on Wednesday. He’s gonna fucking kill him!

Bryan Danielson, you’ve just had one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time. Are you going to receive your flowers like a normal person, or continue this weird fetish for worked neck injuries and seizures, like a fucking sicko?

Bryan Danielson;

Confirmation coming through as to why they didn’t use Bayley Buddies for Bayley’s entrance on this show. They didn’t want to steal the thunder from later on in the night, when Seth Rollins would become a real life Bayley Buddy, with his limbs flailing about in the wind.

Check out the glitched rag doll physics on Seth’s leg when he takes that bump. Good fucking Lord. Seemingly hanging on by a piece string!

I can’t even explain what a huge open goal they’ve got for Seth’s return. Easily the most I’ve ever felt for that character. The most amazing, underrated hero of the weekend. As if losing his belt wasn’t bad enough, he lost the ability to have his leg attached to his body! I don’t know how exactly you capitalise on this, but if he returns as the same old cackling idiot in dumb, whacky clothes then they’ve lost their minds.