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As much as I thought this was daft fun, I can't help but feel RJ City would have been brilliant in the QT role. Still fun all the same and a good use of QT Marshall.

That ending was pure, prime pandemic era AEW, a real goosebumps moment. I think it's clear that AEW should centre around Omega, The Bucks and Hangman and all will be fine. Brilliant.

Edited by Nick James
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On 3/13/2023 at 3:25 PM, Infinity Land said:

I don't think there's any thinking there's an upset. It's the interest in who it would be, and a minor selling point to ticket buyers that they'll see a "local hero".

They've used LuFisto previously for Dark. Don't expect it to be her. Nicole Matthews, Allison Danger (Winnipeg POB), and Sarah Stock (Winnipeg POB). With Taya getting some traction since she's meant to be without a contract right now and is someone with some name value.

 

As is often the case, AEW goes on a spree. Nicole Matthews appearance, Taya signing, Sarah Stock also signing as an agent.

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I didn't mind the QTV segment, but I'm not sure Will Hobbs needs to be involved. He was doing just fine by himself, and it's not exactly a star-making gimmick. Heck, I'd favour including Wardlow in that group over Hobbs. 

I liked the opening segment, aside from Sammy's Russo-esque references to "bumps", being the "job guy" and "getting pushed". Having said that, it's bizarre that Sammy Guevarra ended up cutting his best babyface promo as a heel. Jack Perry and Darby both did much better on the mic than usual - and I thought Perry in particular showed real progress in that area, which is encouraging. 

The eventual match should be fun, although I'd quite like to see it headline a PPV rather than an episode of Dynamite. Given how far away Double or Nothing is, that seems very unlikely. 

I remember a few years ago, Juice Robinson getting high praise for his promo skills - I'm just not seeing it. I'm not seeing much promise in the guy at all, though I'd love for him to prove me wrong. We'll see where the whole 'Bullet Club' thing is going, though I suspect it's simply designed to lead to a multi-person match at Forbidden Door. 

Jeff Jarrett continues to be the MVP of AEW for 2023. The only thing that would have had me care about the International Title was a Jarrett win; not that I have anything against Cassidy. I really want to see Jarrett in a singles feud against a big name member of the roster. I genuinely mean that, he's absolutely brilliant. 

The main event was fun, but I still don't care much for the trios division. I'd prefer to see them put a greater focus on their tag division, and retire these titles; along with the International belt. 

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The opening promo was the perfect example of how there's a good and bad version of everything. Written down on a page, it was my worst nightmare. Promo train of guys interrupting each other, all taking it in turns to throw out shoot comments. Rubbish. However, they somehow made it work. The molten crowd helped loads, but MJF was also at his hammy best, Jungle Jack and Sammy were both on their A game and Darby Allin slagging off all the crybabies on Twitter instantly made him the biggest babyface in the company. Love the idea of Darby winking at Dax Harwood when he came back through the curtain. Looking forward to the inevitable match. Should be a belter. Has any combination of the Pillars ever disappointed?

Fun Trios match between Dark Order and the BCC. What a fucking revelation the Blackpool Combat Club are as heels! A right bunch of horrible bastards, Yuta especially. It felt genuinely electric seeing Moxley reach the final form he's been teasing for nearly two years. MJF should start worrying. His top heel spot is in real jeopardy. Mox is the best.

What the fuck is Double J playing at doing business properly and putting over the younger talent? Get a grip, Jeff. He should've won this. Great match all the same though. This is the most I've ever enjoyed him.

RIho running around with a baseball bat is the best thing to happen to this Outcast vs. Homegrown feud. Otherwise it continues to stink. Toni Storm in particular is wildly miscast as a fan-bashing heel and I genuinely can't tell if Ruby's awful WWE-style promos are supposed to be meta or not. Genuinely stood up and went to make a drink the moment she started with, "let me tell you a story." No thanks.

I've not seen much of Taya Valkyrie, and what I did see in NXT didn't leave much of an impression, but she came across great here. Real confidence and poise. Fingers crossed this can be Jade's first proper feud worth caring about.

The way they looped back to Wardlow's car being broken into and written it into the storyline was quite clever. QTV looks like it has legs, too. All of it feels ridiculously small time though. Hobbs is infinitely better than all of this. A terrible look when it's week one and I'm already wondering when Hobbs is going to murder everyone and bin them off. Other than QT and Hobbs, I couldn't even name these losers. Hobbs should eat them.

Stonking main event. They better be throwing the kitchen sink to get Kenny Omega to sign a new long term contract because even in a match like this, stacked with talent, he stands out as on a completely different level to everyone else. It felt like everyone got a bit lost in the closing moments, meaning the finish fell a bit flat, but who the fuck cares when The Elite are gonna reunite to face Blackpool Combat Club. Fucking get in! We're back, baby!
 

Edited by Supremo
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I was that engrossed in the main event that little snip to the backstage brawl taking place, completely didn’t land with me that Hangman had connections with what was happening in the main event.

Even when they brawled into the live arena, I didn’t connect the dots.

And then it happened, that final shot of Hangman, with the Elite behind him.

Great storytelling, and intertwining so many storylines, something WWE have had a lot of credit for recently, taking place in AEW too.

Edited by Matthew
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3 hours ago, Supremo said:

The opening promo was the perfect example of how there's a good and bad version of everything. Written down on a page, it was my worst nightmare. Promo train of guys interrupting each other, all taking it in turns to throw out shoot comments. Rubbish. However, they somehow made it work. T

It really DIDN'T work for me though.  It all felt a bit whiny and self-indulgent.  I keep reading about this Pillars thing, I guess it's something from Chinese wrestling (lolz) but do people really see Jungle Boy and Daniel Garcia as two of the top AEW guys?  If you had to pick the 4 foundational workhorses of AEW they'd include Jericho and Moxley surely.  Tis a silly idea in my personal opinion.

What I did appreciate was the focus on the young guys, that felt very original, but the rest of the show just served to remind me that they've all got a LONG way to go to be able to produce the sort of star power of some of the veterans on the roster.  As @Supremo said, Kenny's connection to the AEW crowds is top tier.  Jericho, Moxley, hell Jeff Jarrett all are the best at getting the nosebleed sections off their seats. Great main event, I continue to enjoy the theme that it's all fun and games until Brody King gets in the ring and then it's murder.  Another guy with a serious future I suspect.

Match of the Night was definitely Orange v Jarrett - the pure sports entertainment I wanted, not the result we needed though.  Jarrett is just so, so good.  I've long been a fan, even in TNA I liked him (anyone remember the belter with Nash?)  but this version of him is the best yet.  It's great he's happy to put the younguns over but anyone think he couldn't be an incredible champ still?

giphy.mp4

 

 

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1 hour ago, Matthew said:

I was that engrossed in the main event that little snip to the backstage brawl taking place, completely didn’t land with me that Hangman had connections with what was happening in the main event.

Event when they brawled into the live arena, I didn’t connect the dots.

And then it happened, that final shot of Hangman, with the Elite behind him.

Great storytelling, and intertwining so many storylines, something WWE have had a lot of credit for recently, taking place in AEW too.

Just watched the video of that ending (Couldn't wait til Friday!) And wow! When they finally 'give the people what they want' the roof is going to be lifted off and the 4 of them in the ring with their arms held aloft together will be an utterly brilliant moment

 

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