Paid Members Duke Posted August 23 Paid Members Share Posted August 23 5 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said: I’m torn, because both scenarios make sense. Does Hangman cost Swerve to take away his prized possession, or does he help him retain because he wants to beat Swerve for the belt in a double whammy? I’d prefer option 1, but wouldn’t be mad at option 2. Different strokes and all that, but I'd be super mad at option 2 and further I'm convinced that if this story was being told in any other context than wrestling (somehow) no one would.even be considering it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted August 23 Awards Moderator Share Posted August 23 (edited) 17 hours ago, DavidB6937 said: The one teeny tiny little bit of vulnerable MJF was the only thing that remotely got my attention there, because it felt like maybe they hadn't completely fucked him and retconned everything and then ruined his character. It was a glimmer of hope in a ridiculously disappointing and messy segment. Same. That line got my attention, in an -“ohhh, is that what they’re doing” kind of way. It’s not justification for the return of heel MJF but it went some way in explaining it for me. Hangman’s brief promo did ten times more for me in seconds than the Ospreay-MJF one did in half an hour. I can’t recall his line word for word - something like “all I want is to take away his joy” - but it was perfect. Scary Hangman is one of the best Hangmans. Edit: Being one of 12 in the Ladder match is not what I wanted for PAC on Sunday, but I hope he wins that qualifier on Collision. Mad that he doesn’t have a spot on the card yet and Evil Uno does. Edited August 23 by HarmonicGenerator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew "the ref" coyne Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 (edited) 15 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said: I’m torn, because both scenarios make sense. Does Hangman cost Swerve to take away his prized possession, or does he help him retain because he wants to beat Swerve for the belt in a double whammy? I’d prefer option 1, but wouldn’t be mad at option 2. They could always do the Sid vs Taker Mania 13 scenario. As a reminder, Bret Hart was furious he wasn't in the main event and felt he should of been. So just before Sid and Taker locked up, Hart came out to throw a fit. Sid kicked him and powerbombed him. Officials bundled Hart out to the back. Was essentially the first story beat toward Hart / Taker at the following Summerslam. So... yeah. Have Hangman come out before the match. Bitch and winge.... he gets busaiko knee'd by Danielson. That way you've covered the Hangman story beat, and you can get onto the match proper. That way we can have a clean win, and also start that build to the inevitable Triple Threat. Edited August 23 by andrew "the ref" coyne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted August 23 Paid Members Share Posted August 23 3 hours ago, andrew "the ref" coyne said: he gets busaiko knee'd by Danielson. I feel this is a safe enough space to reveal that I thought all this time it was called a psycho knee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavemanLynn Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 16 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: I feel this is a safe enough space to reveal that I thought all this time it was called a psycho knee. Is this safe enough for me to ask if "busaiku knee" is actually the Japanese pronunciation of "bicycle knee", from bicycle kick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JLM Posted August 23 Paid Members Share Posted August 23 (edited) Busaiku roughly means homely/unattractive (typically used as a derogatory term to describe a woman). Can also be “unskilled” or “without craftsmanship”. It was KENTA’s name for it first. I took it to mean that most of his strikes are extremely clean and precise and technically sound, in contrast with this move where you just hurl your whole body at the opponent with the knee sticking out. Edited August 23 by JLM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted August 23 Paid Members Share Posted August 23 19 minutes ago, JLM said: Busaiku roughly means homely/unattractive (typically used as a derogatory term to describe a woman). Can also be “unskilled” or “without craftsmanship”. It was KENTA’s name for it first. I took it to mean that most of his strikes were extremely clean and precise and technically sound, whereas with this move you just hurl your whole body at them with the knee sticking out. Did not know this, but feel richer for knowing it. Much better name than "Knee Plus". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew "the ref" coyne Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 4 hours ago, Duke said: Did not know this, but feel richer for knowing it. Much better name than "Knee Plus". God i forgot they tried to call it that. Almost as bad as when on a episode od Superstars the Stone Cold Stunner was renamed "The 3.16". Thanks for the explanation behind busaiku. Genuinely interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JLM Posted August 31 Paid Members Share Posted August 31 Dynamite 28/08/24 Intriguing stuff from Moxley. Like them starting a mysterious new story right after the biggest show of the year. So happy to see Marina Shafir in this role too! No speaking, just being dangerous and violent and dropping fools with cool judo throws. Perfect. Moxley has been a very vocal fan of her stuff as they're fellow Bloodsport enjoyers, and I've seen Marina as a member of the BCC pitched many a time online. Another phenomenal promo from Mark Briscoe. So cool how he's able to do a quick "Previously on.. The Conglomeration" recap to hype up/set out the next mission for the whole squad all while maintaining his manic energy. He'd make an absolutely incredible manager if he ever wanted to give his body a break. Hangman Ishii was a cracking scrap, though it didn't need to go through two commercial breaks. I was very keen to get onto the All In follow up and this slowed down the pace of the episode. Would have been more effective storytelling for Hangman to be so powered up with rage and hatred that he took out Ishii shockingly quickly, too. Also Ishii's Deadeye on Page was bloody terrifying and seemed to be 100% reliant on Hangman saving himself from a head/neck drop with no protection. Swerve/Hangman going nose to nose was electric of course. Swerve sounded fantastic. The reveal that he had continued stalking Hangman and his family was brilliant I thought. He only stopped doing that because he realised winning the world title was more important and he saw that Hangman wasn't as obsessed with that as he was. Crucially though, it wasn't because he realised it was a fucked up thing to be doing. It was intended as a shot at Hangman and, as Exalibur/Guile says, to "go home and be a family man" and, similarly "you're obsessed with me but I'm obsessed with winning" was another dig at Hangman. However, both of those points only revealed that Swerve and Hangman are both guys with a deeply unhealthy obsession which is consuming them and making them do evil and deranged shit. Hangman leaving was a fascinating one with that in mind. Like it could be that he's satisfied he's getting his revenge match and didn't give a shit about anything else Swerve had to say. Or it could be that this particular chat struck a nerve and all of a sudden he IS thinking about what his recent behaviour looks like to his kids. Jamie Hayter back on Dynamite is a wonderful thing. I noticed at All In she did a sort of arm submission thing into a clothesline instead of the previous Hayterade, and she used that version again here. Guess with Okada on the roster she's had to change it? Very interesting that Toni Storm has to be on her hit list if she's taking out all Outcasts. "Whatever ring rust she had she's just bludgeoned her way through it" was a great line from Uncle Tony. God DAMN it I laughed at how long Jericho held that smile during Renee's question and the pause before the wave. For all of the many, many, many, many, many issues I have with the man and his continued presence on AEW programming, he does still have that comedic timing. Danny F'N Garcia!! Loved that they did the tease of the classic wrestling trope of the triumphant babyface beatdown being snuffed out and the heel standing tall, only for Garcia to rally and *still* send MJF packing in the end. I know it was technically yet another pull apart brawl but it felt like enough of a twist on it. Also Danny was so fired up and I was so pumped for it that I didn't care. The brief visual of Garcia with the scarf on his head was excellent too. Conglomeration/Hook vs Learning Tree/Roddy was a blast. Completely nutty multiman TV match that AEW has down to a fine art at this point. Mark Briscoe's hot tag featuring a good old fashioned meeting of the minds and Big Bill's monstrous hot tag were two of my favourite bits. Hopefully Hook having this slightly disputable win over Roddy will allow him to move away from Jericho. Don't put the Conglomeration in the vortex though I am begging you. Mercedes Mone failing to pronounce sayonara was quite something. Mariah postponing the celebration was fine traditional shithousery, the promo content was a bit lame. She didn't really need to say much after already saying they weren't worthy of the celebration, less would have been more here. I did like the abrupt "that's enough" and scurry away though. So, so happy GYV are sticking around and are in the tag team title hunt. Potentially got a delightful division brewing here and I am all for it. Takeshita G1 montage was excellent. It was such a spectacular run, some of the best pro wrestling I've seen this year with multiple matches on my MOTY short list. Not ideal for his first match back to be on flippin' Rampage, buuuut god damn it if that doesn't look like an insanely fun 4-way match. That and GYV on the card makes it the most I've looked forward to Rampage in some time. Ricochet and Fletcher was a surprisingly smash mouth affair. Fletcher always likes a slobberknocker but Ricochet was game to take a hell of a whuppin' for this one too. He also did surprisingly little high flying flippery, lot of restraint not to finish his first Dynamite match with a 630 or something similarly highlight reel-ish. The crotch chop definitely happened, though it was nice to see how excited he is to be there. Pac's attack on Ospreay and follow up promo were bloody brilliant. Loved this so much. Ospreay coming out after Ricochet's match was the most expected thing imaginable, so thought it was an inspired move to use it as a set up for Pac. Danielson getting me all choked up again at the end there. I'm glad he's now clarified that losing the title is the end of his "full time" career. Keeps the Wembley match special, still gives whoever beats him a feather in their cap but also leaves special occasion dream matches on the table. He's 1-1 against Okada. I'd take "one last time" against Eddie Kingston, Zack Sabre Jr, Kenny, NIGEL... The list is endless honestly. I like what they're doing with Jack Perry right now but this feels too early for him to be the guy. I don't know if any episode of Dynamite could follow All In for me, but I'm happy with a lot of the directions so far. Mariah May bit was the most disappointing follow up after their Wembley match really nailed it for me. Danielson/Perry is not the first Danielson defense of my dreams, but other than that the card is looking very appealing: MJF vs Danny Garcia Swerve vs Hangman in a cage Willow vs Stat streetfight Pac vs Ospreay Very much on board for all of those. 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RedTwoster Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 1 hour ago, JLM said: Mariah postponing the celebration was fine traditional shithousery, the promo content was a bit lame. She didn't really need to say much after already saying they weren't worthy of the celebration, less would have been more here. I did like the abrupt "that's enough" and scurry away though. Yeah, I thought this was just plain bad. A few weeks ago, I was pretty positive about her promo explaining the attack, when others were quite down on it. Her delivery was a bit odd - but she’d come out dressed as Toni Storm. I thought it was obvious what she was going for - she was mocking her opponent, right down to the delivery. Turns out that might just be how she delivers promos, or delivers heel promos at least. I hope she improves. Storm was the best women’s champion AEW has had in my view, so she’s had a great launchpad. As far as the other women’s champion goes, I’m amazed that segment with Mercedes made it on to TV. It felt like something you’d have seen on an episode of Smackdown in the mid-2000s. It was just terrible. They really need to rethink what they’re doing with her, and give her a reset. The stuff with Moxley was interesting, but I hope the predictions online about this leading to a Shane McMahon appearance are wrong. I’m completely fine with Shane appearing in AEW, but I don’t particularly want to see him involved in whatever this is, particularly given Mox’s line on it ‘not being your company anymore’. Pac’s attack on Ospreay was superb. He’s always been a fantastic heel for the company, it’s a bit of a shame that he’s not been around much recently. He’s very underrated as a character, he very much embodies his gimmick and comes across as a nasty, horrible bastard. Takeshita coming back to wrestle in a four way is disappointing. He should be one of their top stars by now. Like Pac, he’s just so believable. He comes across as a nasty, dangerous individual, and he’s certainly equipped for a sustained run at the top. I mean, heck, if he’d been used better he could even have been one of the leading candidates to dethrone Danielson. Speaking of which, I very much enjoyed his promo. Jack Perry has improved dramatically since his return, but I just don’t see him as a world title contender. As much as he’s grown and as much as he’s gained, he’s still missing something. Or perhaps it’s not so much that as the fact AEW has assembled a roster of wrestlers who’re significantly better than he is, meaning he’ll always struggle to shine. I thought Ricochet’s promo, as simple as it was, was about as strong a promo as he’s ever cut, he sounded really believable. That one simple segment made me think he made the right decision to jump over. He feels revitalised. I hope he builds some momentum, you can definitely see that there’s potential for that to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Butternut Squash Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) Mox teasing power struggles and shoot factions was very concerning. I'm bracing myself for Josh Barnett and the best shooter in the world ...Shane O Mac! I miss Moxley being babyface wrestler that cuts promos and has actual feuds. Edited August 31 by Mr Butternut Squash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members TheBurningRed Posted August 31 Paid Members Share Posted August 31 If Shane is coming in, and with Mox and Shafir both doing MMA, then surely it’s the return of Shane O’Macs Raw Underground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JLM Posted September 1 Paid Members Share Posted September 1 Finished off Anna Jay's Stardom GP matches: vs Miyu Amasaki Amasaki is only two years into her career and takes a lot of beatings and losses. She is very small even for a Stardom wrestler and was the sympathetic underdog here. Anna playing the veteran bully was definitely a novelty, though unfortunately her having control for the majority of an 8 minute match wasn't great for her. Her fore arm strikes still look very weak and the pace was a bit ploddy. Amasaki got the people behind her well enough and had some decent little flurries of offense. The match was fine and, at 8 minutes, another longer than usual outing for Anna, but not nearly as good as the SLK or Xena matches. vs Koguma Koguma is a very versatile all rounder. She can do high speed technical stuff, she throws herself from high places with reckless abandon, she was at one point earmarked as a future top star/ace of the promotion but she also likes to pretend she is a bear and encourages her opponents to do the same. This was the third best of Anna's Stardom outings. Not in the same league as the SLK or Xena matches but better than the other 4-6 minute ones. Koguma tries to do the comedy bear schtick, Anna is not having it, immediately establishing herself as the heel. Koguma tries to force her to do bear things but Anna is still not having it. Anna bullies and makes fun of her, Koguma gets all fired up and has a spirited but brief fight back, then Anna dispatches her with the Queen Slayer. This was another short one, but Anna's offense definitely had more snap and explosiveness to it compared to her opening matches. Not sure if it's because Koguma takes better bumps or if Anna's time training and working with the Stardom lot has got her working a bit more snug. And thus ends Anna Jay's Stardom 5 Star GP. All in all it has be considered a success. She had the best singles match of her career against Xena, probably the second best of her career against Starlight Kid and a series of perfectly acceptable short matches outside of those. She also worked a tag match and another singles match before her tour ended. To put that into perspective, that is 8 matches in 3 weeks during August. Compare that to May (3 matches) June (1 match) and July (0 matches). She hasn't wrestled more than four matches in one month throughout 2024 in fact. She has also been wrestling against some of the best in the world, and presumably training with them on this tour. Even though this was only a three week excursion I have to believe she's had more opportunity to improve than she has all year outside of this. As I've said, the only shame is she isn't staying longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted September 4 Paid Members Share Posted September 4 FWIW, just noticed they've removed the win-loss records from everyone's profile picture on the website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted September 4 Paid Members Share Posted September 4 We’ll always have the rankings. Right? RIGHT?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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