RJ City’s wildly successful HeyEW! talkshow has been a real delight of awkwardness. Many were stunned, shocked and bamboozled when Jon Moxley was the guest for HeyEW! 100. I like the show. RJ is, as the Wall Street Journal would say, ‘spellbinding’. This is a blogpost for the top 5 guests I want to see over the course of the next 100 episodes, in no particular order.
1.Headbanger Thrasher
very handsome!
Why the hell not. The Rock was interviewed at Royal Rumble 2000 and called Headbanger Mosh a real threat to him (along with Crash Holly). I’d like to get his thoughts on being deemed the lesser of the two.
at least he had the cool part of the ‘stage dive’
I’d also like to know how many boomboxes they broke in their heyday and if they ever thought that it would become a truly obsolete music vehicle down the road.
2. Sunny from Jail
life comes at you fast.
Apparently she’s being dealing with some blood clots. That’s too bad. I would love it if she wrote a tell all book of her time in WWE and ECW (everything else…eh) but I do feel like she has one of the most interesting potential autobiography’s out of anyone in the business. I mean, really though, between Chris Candido, the backstage rumors of her and Bret and/or HBK, her firings, managing LOD 2000, she has an incredibly interesting story.
the potential back in ’98…
Whilst in jail she has plenty of time to write it. It would also be interesting to see RJ City have to be on the payphone type of phone between the plexiglass in whatever prison Sunny is currently at.
3. Steve Blackman. As the biggest ‘Lethal Weapon’ Steve Blackman fan out there, I would love to get Steve and his charming personality on an interview with RJ! I can already hear the interview in my mind going as smoothly as possible. I’d like to know his thoughts on the best karate weapon to use in a hardcore match, if kendo sticks are overrated, who his favorite hardcore legend is (besides himself) and what he would have named his tag team with Al Snow instead of Head Cheese.
It also wouldn’t hurt if he were persuaded to join a royal rumble at any point…I have a big bet on that happening out in Vegas.
4. Head
Speaking of team Head Cheese, there may have been no more controversial character that Al Snow’s buddy, Head. Banned from Walmart’s nationwide and very misunderstood, I would like to hear Head’s side of the story after all these years. Outside of Mr. Socko, there is no other inanimate object I would like to hear from. Lest we forget, Head had an unlockable character in WWF Attitude, a very underrated game for PlayStation.
That’s right, no number after that, I’m talking the original PlayStation.
Brian Christopher had no chance in this one
I definitely have a memory card somewhere where Head is the heavyweight champ and tag team champs with Mankind. I swear!
5. JBL
I’d love to hear stories of kicking the shit out of the Friendly Tap in Rhode Island to help out referee Tim White renovate his bar. I’d also like to hear him address his many, many, many allegations of bullying behind the scenes. While Bradshaw and Faarooq as the APA were terrifying, it sounds like any wrestler backstage were truly terrified of JBL’s politics for a good ten year span or so.
Before putting on one of the best wrestling showcases ever, some eyeballs were rolled and groans were heard across the WWE Universe when it was announced that Logan Paul’s Prime energy was going to advertised smack dab in the middle of the squared circle. This was once unheard of as Vince was very anti wrestlers being sponsored, unless you were Brock Lesnar and wanted to wear his Jimmy John’s shorts. Mick Foley took to social media where he reposted some shots of classic WWE matches with the Prime logo photoshopped in which was pretty funny and raised a good point, but in the end it wasn’t all too bad and I didn’t even notice it after a while.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, it got me thinking about past WWE/F sponsorships and who should have had their ads in the middle of the ring at Wrestlemania. I’m sure there are plenty of other options to think of but I brainstormed 10 in like 12 minutes so here we are. Feel free to remind me of any I missed. Anyways! Here are 10 WWE/F brands that should have beat Prime to the punch.
Stacker 2
This can’t be a thing anymore, right? I just picture Stacker 2 fat burning pills only sold at gas stations next to the boner pills and those Leave-A-Penny-Take-A-Penny containers. Stacker 2 did a ton of advertising on WWF back in the day, even with commercials starring Trish Stratus and Paulie Walnuts from the Sopranos.
Off the top of my head, I seem to recall this as one of the most frequent sponsors on Raw and Smackdown at the time. Had they done some better marketing in ring, they could have been the original Ozempic.
Lugz
Ahh yes. Boots and shoes with ATTITUDE! I was in middle school back in this era and let me tell ya, if anyone showed up to school with a pair of Lugz on they would have been mercilessly ridiculed. They were knockoff Timberlands! I don’t think the sentence “Hey man nice Lugz” has ever been spoken or written until just now. I loved the gritty urban marketing they did featuring that blue guy.
Remember this sweet blue bastard? He was like Doug Funnie’s BFF Skeeter Valentine’s cousin who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Bluffington. I just imagine a nice big Lugz logo in the ring as Cactus Jack is pinned and had to retire after losing to HHH at that Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out. What a missed opportunity.
Jesse Ventura 4 Governor
Retaliate in ’98! It is still pretty stunning that The Body became the Governor in Minnesota but hey I think the only world whackier than wrestling is politics so maybe it’s not too shocking. Despite a long feud with Vince over the possibility of a wrestler’s union forming, Jesse Ventura came back to WWF in ’99 to be the guest referee at Summerslam. I always appreciated his performance as a ref in that one, mostly because he wouldn’t fall for Triple H’s bullshit.
Although he already was Governor at the time, I think a Ventura for Governor campaign ad would have looked great in the middle of the ring! The event was held in Minneapolis so he would have had his constituents all there. Maybe had he done it, he would have had a longer run in office.
The XFL
I mean…anything could have helped that garbage product. I know Vince had his fair amount of XFL references on WWE Television but hey maybe a kickass XFL logo in the middle of the ring during an APA vs. Edge and Christian Smackdown match could have helped it last into year 2. I’m still in shock that the XFL had a comeback. It really did suck. I’ll give credit to He Hate Me, though. That dude was awesome.
El Segundo’s Broken Skull IPA
One thing I will never understand is how Steve Austin did not have a deal with a brewery until 2014. I know craft beers weren’t nearly as popular back in 98/99 as they are now, but you’re telling me Budweiser, Miller, Coors or Red Dog beer didn’t think of him as a great endorser? He would’ve been a no-brainer to do some commercials for any company at that time. It’s 2024 and he’s probably still the most popular celebrity that is associated with beer. He could have replaced Spuds McKenzie for Bud Light ads! I’m getting all worked up just thinking about the stupidity that this didn’t happen. Good for El Segundo for doing the right thing and giving Austin his own line of beers. They are delightful and is the official beer of choice by El Blogador during Wrestlemania. I would have much preferred to have seen the Broken Skull IPA logo in the middle of the ring than Prime but hey it is what it is.
Chef Boyardee
The Rock says “Don’t be a jabroni, eat your Chef Boyardee overstuffed ravioli”. I think Chef Boyardee was my personal favorite of WWE advertisers. I enjoyed many a can of their ravioli and beefaroni back in my youth.
It was the ideal quick dinner after a little league game as I patiently waited for Smackdown to come on UPN. They definitely had the best ads of the bunch. Between the Rock, Mankind and Kane wearing an apron as he cooks in his kitchen, all of their ads were entertaining.
“MMM…Beefy!” -Mankind
As I looked up pictures for this blog I was reminded that Chris Jericho, Big Show and Booker T had commercials as well.
The CEO must’ve been a big fan or something. Anyways, they were extremely deserving of some mat advertising.
WWE Network For Only $9.99 A Month!
Poor Michael Cole. As we have seen since Vince McMahon left the company, Cole has had way more freedom and creativity recently. It felt like that poor guy would have to call Roman Reigns “The Big Dog” 18 times a match or else he wasn’t going to get his yearly bonus. The only thing he had to say more often than “Vintage Orton” or “The Champ is Here” was that the WWE Network was only $9.99 a month. While it was successful as a streaming service before it joined Peacock, it was truly insufferable how often they plugged it. I guess it’s free advertising since it’s in-house for them, but it became a joke. If anyone decided to do a drinking game during a 3 hour episode of Raw, you would have had liver failure if you had to take a shot every time Cole mentioned the Network. It’s surprising that this one wasn’t actually on the ring mat, but thank God it wasn’t.
Super Soaker
Hell yeah. Another amazing product that I enjoyed as a youth! Super Soaker was awesome. I have a summer birthday and a good number of those involved an intense Super Soaker fight. While it was never fun to have a soaking wet lucha mask, it was worth it to go to war with the neighborhood friends with those bad boys as our weapons. In my research I forgot about how many WWE/F crossover toys they had with them. I remember some obscure wrestling figures that would squirt water, but I do not remember the Undertaker and Stone Cold branded water guns. I wish I had them though!
bad ass
The ads with DX and Sunny were cool back in the day, and I was always in awe of the in-arena blimp they would sometimes bust out at Pay-Per-Views.
Super Soaker should have paid to make a deal where they had a ring mat ad at every SummerSlam event. It made too much sense.
Brisco Brothers Body Shop
Hardcore Legend.
It’s the only body shop that I know of in the greater Tampa Bay area. Actually, without googling anything I guess it’s the only body shop I know of. Never one to shy away from some free marketing, Gerald Brisco always made sure to plug the shop throughout the attitude era. Good Ol’ JR was always good about giving them a shoutout during a segment that would usually end with Brisco and Pat Patterson being goofier than a pet coon, whatever that meant. JR said it, not me. I don’t know either. What I DO know is that Gerald should have asked his buddy Vince MACK-Man for some ring advertising.
Slim Jim
ooh yeah.
Meat snacks. Slim Jim’s always kind of creeped me out. I put it up there with Spam and Twinkies. I just never trusted it. This is not to say that The Macho Man Randy Savage wasn’t to be trusted, however! What a perfect endorser. The Macho Man will forever be associated with Slim Jim and I reckon’ it still brings people joy to think about him telling us all to snap into a Slim Jim. You are reading this and want to do the Macho Man voice and say OOh YEAH, don’t you?
I would LOVE to flip through this catalog!
I found it really interesting in Dark Side of the Ring that it was a big deal when he left WWF to join WCW and he took that endorsement and subsequent advertising dollars with him. I wonder if Vince was more upset with losing Savage or Slim Jim. I give credit to Slim Jim for sticking with Savage and not just trying to repurpose the campaign with Lex Luger or Savio Vega or something. Anyways, in the world of wrestling, it is an iconic brand and that logo would have looked real sharp on the ring mat as Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels looked in disbelief at Vince after the Montreal Screw Job.
This was a historic and monumental week for pro wrestling. What Triple H and Co did with Wrestlemania XL on Saturday and Sunday was truly special. Wrestling seems to be cool and mainstream again! I want to party like it’s 1999! For me, my time was spent enjoying both nights of ‘Mania, Joey Janela’s Spring Break, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, and the GCW’s Clusterfuck Forever. It was awesome and it did a whole lot of good for the industry if you ask me.
With all this momentum going in the wrestling world, you couldn’t help but wonder what AEW would do. Well…Tony Khan chose to announce something…interesting?
CM Punk last week came off pretty earnestly on Ariel Helwani’s podcast. I’ll be honest, I think the majority of the wrestling world and fans took him at his word and felt that his breakdown of what happened at Wembley Stadium with Jungle Boy Jack Perry backstage was what really happened. It kind of seemed like after all that bullshit of wondering who was there, who saw what and who had an NDA or not, we finally got the gist of the situation straight out of the straight edge fella’s mouth. Better yet, it seemed like people were ready to move on from it! CM Punk owned up for his end, he explained what happened and that things escalated quickly. It finally seemed like the story was set straight and we could all move on.
Then, Tony Khan decided to strike back when he really didn’t have to. Just about 2 hours ago (you know, as I write this), AEW chose to show the backstage footage of the altercation between Perry and Punk. It was done by the Young Bucks to somehow add to their feud with FTR just because they are friends with Punk. After all these months of wondering, Tony Khan decided to finally show it after everyone was relatively satisfied with CM Punk’s explanation of things. I don’t think anyone wanted or enjoyed this footage being shown. Who thought it was a good idea to do this, besides TK? I have enjoyed AEW since it’s conception. I appreciated TK trying new things and taking risks. I know not all of them worked but I could at least appreciate him trying things. This move? Good God Almighty was this a bad idea.
I am actually worried with the timing of things that this could have been AEW jumping the shark. AEW has hit a plateau and has been somewhat stale recently. Hell, look at the matchup of Young Bucks and FTR that incorporated this Brawl Out video nonsense: we’ve already seen this ‘dream’ matchup numerous times and they are once again fighting at a PPV event. This screamed desperation.
I was actually hoping that they were teasing it as a prank and they weren’t really going to roll the footage. Also, the video was nowhere near as bad as we all thought. I’m not sure how TK ‘feared for his life’. I’m also not so sure why he did this to embarrass CM Punk but is still punishing Jack Perry after all this time. Nothing about it makes sense. Tony Khan would have been wise to just let those comments by Punk on the podcast be the end of it and move on. It’s just an all around bad look. Now, people are shredding AEW. The hashtag of WCW 2000 is actually trending with pictures of poor Tony Schiavone looking like he needs a garbage can to throw up in.
Tony Schiavone is NOT pleased
AEW has a lot of bright spots. This was probably the worst thing to happen to them since the Omega vs. Mox exploding barbed wire match fiasco. I just really hope the owner didn’t just ruin it to save his ego or whatever. I’m very curious of how next week’s ratings will be. Thoughts and prayers for AEW.
Someone flirt/be a real threat to Undertaker’s Wrestlemania win streak. I know this is a total long term play, and they need it to be an absolute blue chipper of a prospect and commit to the idea, but it could be a lot of fun down the road. It would have to be someone like a Grayson Waller/Austin Theory type of guy, preferably a heel who could go on a long streak and as soon as it hit 5 or so, could start bringing it up. Logistically, it could be incredibly tough but if they have a new John Cena/Randy Orton type that they strap the rockets to push-wise, it could be in play. By the way, I hope it doesn’t end up breaking the streak, but it would be really fun if it got to within 3 to 1 wins shy and see how it goes. You could actually base someone’s whole persona around it if you really wanted to.
Things will get real interesting at double digit wins!
2. No more hosts. I’m sick of it. Swashbuckler Hogan in Tampa with Titus O’Neil? Gee, I wonder if that was an attempt to boost Hogan’s character over some controversial occurance. The New Day hosting instead of wrestling in their prime? Dumb! That was an awesome moment reintroducing the Hardy Boyz to WWE but they should have been having a banger of a match like they usually did! I never want to see the Rock host Mania. Kim Kardashian’s hosting duties at Mania XXIV? Forgettable! No one cares for it. No one wants it. Just stop it.
Boy howdy was that embarrassing. Poor Titus!
3. The Andre The Giant Battle Royale to mean something! Listen, I’m not saying you have to make it a money in the bank situation where the winner gets a heavyweight title shot, but can we fix it a bit? It was a cool idea when it first debuted and I’d reckon’ people enjoyed it. Cesaro winning the inaugural one was a true Wrestlemania Moment when he lifted Big Show over the ropes. I don’t think I’m the only one who thought that there would be a massive push for Cesaro starting the next night on Raw. Sadly, nothing really happened and it was a damn shame.
This was a hop-off-the-couch-in-disbelief moment
In case you forgot (I sure did) here are the list of winners in order: Cesaro, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, Braun Strowman, Jey Uso, Madcap Moss, and Bobby Lashley. To be honest, all of these guys are good candidates to have massive pushes after their respective win, but WWE let them down. Jey Uso has a big push now but it’s 3 years now after he won it. Big Show was definitely a “Hey you’ve kicked ass for us for years so we’ll throw you a bone” type of deal. I bet Madcap Moss even forgets that he once one the Andre the Giant Battle Royale. My suggestion? How about the winner gets a US or IC title shot the first Raw after ‘Mania? Or maybe at the next PPV? It may be better off having an NXT or young star win to give him a bit of a head start. Just make it worth SOMETHING!
4. More scenarios where night 1 can impact night 2 of Wrestlemania. I am not a big fan of the 2 nights of ‘Mania but I understand it. What started as a Covid era idea has turned into “Hey we an sell out a football stadium 2 nights in a row!” idea. I can’t fault them for that. Makes all the sense in the world and at this rate, I doubt it will ever change. Knowing that, I love the fact that this year the night 1 main event has huge implications for night 2. It wasn’t too long ago that we were all angry at the fact that the 2 main events were going to be Rock vs. Roman and Rhodes vs. Rollins. It truly felt like Vince never left and the booking of Mania was ruined once again. Instead, to their credit, WWE listened (thank you HHH) and booked Rock and Roman vs. Rhodes and Rollins, and then we get Roman vs. Rhodes and Rollins vs. McIntyre in respective title matches. No matter what happens, if the Rhodes vs. Reigns match is straight up or if it’s Bloodline Rules, it will be an interesting stipulation. It immediately made the night 1 tag match one of the most important matches in WWE history! It was brilliant!
WWE IS ACTUALLY LISTENING!!!!
They saved themselves and then some! I can honestly tell you that this is the most I’ve looked forward to Mania in a while. I was about to tune it out until the ol’ switcheroo happened. I love this idea and hope they do more scenarios where a match on night 1 can impact night 2. It could be a lot of fun for number 1 contender matches or tournaments or whatever. Gotta give credit where credit is due: WWE listened and they absolutely smashed it out of the park.
5. Make Money In The Bank matches exclusive to Wrestlemania. Yep! I am not fond of the match specific PPVs. I would be thrilled if they got rid of the MITB, Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber and TLC premium live events. I think it’s so much more fun when you can get one of those matches during a random PLE like Backlash or something. I feel that when there is more than one of those special matches on one card the fans get bored by it towards the end. When it’s a special attraction during one night compared to other regular matches, it holds much more weight interest-wise.
man I miss Big E. what a legend!
I thought the MITB matches at Mania made a ton of sense! I know lots of wrestling fans consider Mania to be the end of that wrestling season, with the Raw afterwards being the start of a new season. Why not make the cash-in contracts start then and there? Look at this Mania, okay there’s a slight chance that Damian Priest might shock the world and cash on in, but the truth is he has until July 1st to cash it in. Now, imagine the pressure with this loaded Wrestlemania between Cody finishing the story against Roman or not, AND the added situation of Priest on the last day of his cash in? It would be fantastic. I’m not saying they need to keep every briefcase run a full year long, but it could make things a whole lot more fun come ‘Mania season.
and another legend I hope comes back soon!
Lastly, you can easily take advantage of the 2 nights of ‘Mania by having the ladies MITB match and the mens MITB match on separate nights, that way both crowds can see a kick ass ladder match that almost always delivers!
I’m pumped for Mania. I have a friend’s wedding on Saturday night so I’m going to have to sadly watch after the fact but night 2 I will be ALIVE. I hope to blog more this week, so stay tuned!
Oh hell yeah! Last week was a real hoot and a half for El Blogador. Without giving away any clues of my identity, I live in the greater New England area, so when I heard Big Business was coming to the Boston Garden, you know I had to be there. After all, with this being a new blog and all, I had to earn my stripes and be a man of the people, sitting in the not so cheap seats, and enjoying the event live and in person.
Now you all know the results, who showed up, who won and what happened so I’m not going to talk about that stuff. I’ll just dig into my night, show some shitty pictures throughout the event and give tips on attending a wrasslin’ show at the Boston Garden. Let’s begin!
The first thing you wanna do is go to one of the many bars around the Garden. After various renovations of both the Garden itself and the area around it, there are more options than ever before to gather for a barley-pop or 6. Many of these places are modern, trendy, have a dj or a dancefloor and aluminum bottles of Bud Light for $9.50. Those are too dime a dozen for my taste. Instead, give me the hole in the wall dive! Give me the place that hasn’t changed it’s decor in 60 years! Gimme the place that is one long narrow hallway of a bar that opens up to a slightly wider space where people hover around a pop-a-shot game and take it incredibly serious. Simply: gimme Sullivan’s Tap!
no this isn’t me.
Sullivan’s rules. It’s got character and is one of the last true Boston sports bars in the area. It’s delightful for Bruins games, Celtics games and of course, wrestling events. I hope this place lasts forever.
now this actually is me!
If you are a visitor to Boston and want the real experience, I’d tell you to go to Sullivan’s 10 out of 10 times. You’ll see your fair share of Massholes, you’ll here lots of swears, you’ll feel like you’d walk into a scene from The Departed, and best of all, it’s across the street from the Garden so you can walk over in like 2 minutes. In case you’re wondering, yes I got a lot of comments on my Steve Blackman shirt and even more about my hat.
After some Jack Daniels Fire and a couple of Budweisers, my buddy and I went on in and then had to sadly pay $18.75 for a Bud light in a draft. Yeah that was a real kick in the balls. Anyways, after we picked our jaws off the floor we made it to our seats in time for the opening of Big Business. Much like with the CM Punk return that everyone knew was happening that night, I appreciate that Tony Khan and Co wasted 0 time and opened the show with Mercedes Mone.
I know people love to hate on AEW but let me just say immediately: the crowd was hot all night. They were loud throughout the entire show, but especially when the hometown hero came out. It was a massive pop. As for seats, the entire loge was full, and half of the upper deck bowl was filled. Immediately after Mercedes Mone’s promo, they made an announcement that her new shirt was now for sale at the merch table, and let me tell ya you should’ve seen the hustle of some of these nerds getting into line. I will say that AEW might want to put out an extra merch table in the future. The line for the one that was in the near vicinity (I’m not sure if there was another one on the lower level on the opposite side but I doubt it) was insane. I can honestly say that the only other merch line at a wrestling show I’ve been to was Wrestlemania at the Meadowlands.
how I felt seeing that merch line
Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow was a fun match to kick off the wrestling part of the night. Joe definitely had the crowd behind him but there was a good amount of Wardlow fans too. People love a big guy who can fly through the air. Everyone knew the title wasn’t going to change hands but they were still into the match the entire time. I will say that the crowd lit up the most when Swerve hit the ring. Fans are hot for that match down the road. Swerve is gonna be champ soon, let me tell you. Lot’s of solid Prince Nana dance impersonators in the crowd! Made me proud to be a New Englander.
The match I was most excited for was the Elite (mostly because of Rainmaker Okada) vs. Pac, Eddie Kingston and Penta. I was very happy to be able to cross off Okada and Kingston from my bucket list of wrestlers I had to see in person. I enjoyed the match, but I loved the hijinks of heel Okada. His move where he went over into the opponents corner to ask for a tag was brilliant.
I’d like to also say that it is awesome having Pac back. I feel like his AEW tenure has been so herky jerky (is that how you spell it?). Lots of stop and go’s for him thus far. He’s a badass and he amazes me at how quick he moves. Pac is high on El Blogador’s list of dudes really good at wrestling.
Will Ospreay came out which was a nice surprise. Although it was only a promo, the crowd was super into it and very loud. It was short and sweet but still felt like a big deal. He instantly got the crowd behind him the second he signed that contract.
After that, it was Darby vs. Jay White time. The people sitting in front of me were talking about how it’s insane that Darby is even walking after his crazy glass/ladder spot just 2 weeks earlier. I really don’t understand it. God bless the crazy bastard but he’s gotta tone it down just a smidge. I loved his Invisible Man entrance look. I will say I didn’t catch up with that until the next day when I saw a picture on Twitter, but looked awesome. Jay White had some fans behind him in the building but that went away quick when he beat up on Daddy Ass. Daddy Ass reigns supreme. Always.
Hook and Jericho vs. Gates of Agony was next and boy it’s getting really awkward on how fans are so mixed about Jericho. Hook had a massive pop, but it was noticeable how suddenly Gates of Agony were getting cheers for beating up on Jericho. It may not be professional of me, but I still can’t figure out which Gates of Agony guy is which. I feel like Jim Ross in ’99 trying to figure out which Hardy brother was the legal man in a match.
Willow vs. Riho seemed like an odd choice for the main event, but things became clear when Mercedes came out to make the save for from Julia and Skye Blue. If her debut wasn’t tonight it would’ve seemed like Darby and Jay White or even Joe vs Wardlow would have been a safer bet, but they went with the smart move for the location and the fans got to have another massive pop for Mercedes Mone.
Overall, it was a good time. I was hoping for maybe one more surprise debut or return since Tony Khan hyped this one up like a PPV event and Mercedes Mone was extremely obvious with all the hints. I was at Blood and Guts in the same building in the Summer and I would say that that one felt more like a true PPV despite it being a Dynamite episode. Both had great crowds and I think AEW has got to be thrilled with the turn outs they’ve been having in Boston. I have to imagine they host a proper PPV event in the near future.
Two thumbs up! And you have to pay homage to Bobby Orr in Boston. I don’t make the rules!
I’ve been rewatching old episodes of Monday Night Raw. It’s the perfect background show to have running at all times. Currently, I am on April 19th, 1999, on the eve of Backlash, just after Wrestlemania 15. Austin just beat the Rock in the main event of ‘Mania. Vince is not happy. Mankind and Big Show randomly were fighting to be the special guest ref for that main event. A whole lot of it didn’t make a lot of sense. As far as a Wrestelmania, it was pretty much a headscratcher. Multiple DQ finishes, a double swerve of HHH and Chyna getting back together, just to turn on DX like 20 minutes later, Big Boss Man getting hung from a noose by Undertaker at Hell in a Cell and Michael Cole immediately saying how awesome the party was the night before, featuring Big Pun, Isaac Hayes and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Not a lot of it made sense but boy is it a fun time to dissect. As I watch this episode of Raw, Undertaker is trying to sacrifice Stephanie McMahon, Jerry Lawler just said he has a pocket full of puppy chow for Debra, and Godfather is the new IC champ. It was a different time in both the wrestling and real world, and I just wanted to have some fun and show some random ass thoughts I have had recently while watching!
We really don’t talk about how Austin’s first two Mania main event wins were clouded with controversy! Austin vs. Michaels at Mania 14 in Boston was an absolute fast count by Iron Mike Tyson. Not that I can blame Austin for letting Tyson do his thing, I mean the guy just bit Evander Holyfield’s ear off not too long ago, but man that was a fast count of all fast counts!
Part of me wonders if this was karma for the Montreal Screw Job for Michaels. Sheesh! Moving on to Mania 15, Mankind comes on in after returning from the hospital to once again help Austin out and count *quickly* (if not fast) to give him the title once again.
interesting how Foley counted 3 but Earl celebrated with Austin afterwards!!!!
Why couldn’t Austin just get a clean win at Mania? At least he could get one in Houston at Wrestlemania 17 when he took on the Rock and won the title…after Vince…helped…him. Hmm. Kinda weird when you look back on it! His match vs. Scott Hall may have may been his most legit one. Kevin Owens was a close second. I low key loved that match last year.
2. Of all the wrestling talk shows that have taken place over the years, I think Dude Love’s Love Shack was the most underrated. his set was was iconic. Miz TV has been going on 9 years too long. The Highlight Reel was on for waaay too long. I was sick of the Grayson Waller Effect since the first episode. WWE relies on talk shows so damn much it’s almost comical. One that I actually wanted to see more of, however, was Dude Love’s Love Shack.
The inflatable chairs, the bus, the groovy chicks dancing with the Mickster…it was all just delightful! I think there was only one or maybe two episodes of the Love Shack but boy howdy were they fun! Dude Love should’ve had a title run. Actually, Cactus Jack should have had a title run too. God damn it. All three faces of Foley should have had a title run! Now I’m getting angry.
3. Another thought on Foley: As whacky and insane Mankind was at the time, looking back on it, it is absolutely hilarious that he was so offended by the stupidity of the People’s Elbow.
The Dude had a talking sock on his hand for a best friend yet he was truly offended at how ridiculous the People’s Elbow was for a move. Foley let the Undertaker throw him off the Hell in the Cell but drew the line at the People’s Elbow. He was absolutely aghast at that being a credible finishing move, and at how much the crowd loved it. I got a good laugh hearing Mankind question the People’s Elbow on the past few episodes I’ve watched.
4. Tori had absolutely no chance. Tori (before she became the 2nd least memorable member of DX (lookin’ at you Rick Rude)) was Sable’s stalker and somehow they decided to have their big match take place at Wrestlemania. It was a weak as shit storyline where Tori loved her, got beat up by her, was taken under Luna’s wing, then turned on Luna, then was with Sable as a manager, then was turned on by Sable again, then somehow got a Wrestlemania match against Sable. Not exactly the best storyline, but at least there was a tiny bit of a feud going when Mania 15 came around. Tori then made her debut in one of the most bizarre outfits ever.
It was like an airbrushed cat suit that would have made Giant Gonzalez proud. I think even Max Moon saw that and said “oh brother this stinks”.
It’s got to be a top 5 worst ring attire ever. She must’ve been ribbed or something. At least she got a bit of a run with DX when she turned on Kane.
5. Man, it would have been a lot cooler if Val Venis was more like his character in real life! I mean, for real. I do not recommend checking out Sean Morley’s social media unless you want to see a train wreck. He is definitely more in line with his Right to Censor character than his Val Venis character.
Judging by his tweets, it would be a whole lot cooler if he were more like the Val we all knew and loved trying to shag Ken Shamrock’s sister Ryan!
For such an iconic character of the Attitude Era, he has really done a good job to distance himself from any sort of recognition or comeback with WWE. What a loser.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…to give predictions: final four, who wins, surprise entrants.
Who doesn’t love the Royal Rumble? For me personally, it’s the best PPV (PLE, whatever) event of the year. WWE has the chance to charter the course of their upcoming year solely on this one night. If they wanted to, they could make it a big surprise and turn a random superstar into one of the most talked about wrestlers in the biz. There is nothing better than a wide open Royal Rumble. When there is a clear cut winner (think Roman Reigns 2015 as THE most obvious), it really takes away a lot of joy. Give me a final 4 of very plausible winners where everyone is kept guessing and I’ll be happy as a clam at high tide.
Remember the boos?
Over the next few weeks, I plan on asking others what their predictions will be. I want to ask fellow fans, not insiders, what they think will happen. I just find it more interesting, and I hope you do as well. Until I ask those people, let me give you my predictions! I’ll give final 4, who the winner is, who the ironman/woman is, and any surprises I’d like to see.
women’s final 4:
Trish Stratus, Jade Cargill, Becky Lynch, Zoey Stark
Winner: Jade Cargill
Ironwoman: Zoey Stark.
I can totally see her getting in there around 5-7 and lasting until the final 4. I would love to say it would be Liv Morgan in that spot once again, but I just don’t see it with her (lame) weed charge.
Most Eliminations: Ivy Nile. I’m going with an underdog here. I liked how she recently had a big time match against Rhea Ripley. I could see her going on a spree where she eliminates 6ish wrestlers. Maybe an early 1-4 entrant who kicks ass but isn’t there at the end.
Surprises: Well, Trish Stratus and Jade Cargill would be big ones as I have in my final 4. I know WWE usually likes to have one or two NXT entrants, so I’ll go with Tiffany Stratton and Gigi Dolin for those. Tiffany being the safer bet. I know rumors are swirling for AJ Lee. I hope to be wrong, but I do not think she’s going to show up. Besides that, I predict another Torrie Wilson appearance, another Michelle McCool appearance, and Kamille. I also love the odds of a Naomi return. Let’s say she comes back and just misses out on the final 4. I’ll even suggest that she makes it to the final 6 and is thrown out.
You know what? Fuck it. I’ll go with a Sasha Banks return.
Let’s go crazy! Allegedly, her talks with Triple H didn’t amount to a return contract, but doesn’t that remind you of a certain report about CM Punk? Let’s call this one the real show-stealer. Now I’m rooting for Sasha Banks to ruin my Final 4 prediction!
MEN’S FINAL 4:
LA Knight, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, MJF
Winner: Cody Rhodes
This is the year Cody Rhodes finishes the story. I see it coming down to a wild finish between Rhodes and CM Punk, Punk eventually losing and the crowd turning on Cody. This final 4 could go anywhere, and all 4 would be home runs as winners, but that’s what I feel most likely will happen. With HHH in charge, I think he knows that people want Cody to finally get his story over with. It’s time he finally wins the big one, and nows the time to do it. I see CM Punk winning next year’s royal rumble as a revenge story and beating Rhodes at Wrestlemania, in a waaaay too early booking of things. Also, yes, I know it’s sort of a long shot and he is banged up, BUT MJF is supposedly a free agent since January 1st, so hey maybe he gets in there at 30 and shocks the world. Make it happen, Trips!
Ironman: Sami Zayn.
I bet he comes in at 1 or 2 and goes 40 something minutes before getting eliminated by a big dude who goes on an elimination spree. Maybe Bronson Reed?
Most Eliminations: Jey Uso. I know this is usually reserved for big men: Kane, Undertaker, Lesnar, Big Show but he would be a fun “underdog” story if he put on a show dumping out 7-8 superstars. I think Jey is a year away from really being a wrestlemania main event worthy player, but this could be a great spot for him to kick it into overdrive with a kickass performance. I see him being red hot with his eliminations and the crowd becoming absolutely furious when he gets eliminated with a cheapshot by a JD McDonagh, Dirty Dom, Grayson Waller, or worse, Austin Theory. I have a feeling this time next year I’ll have Jey Uso as the favorite to win it all.
Surprises: The Lethal Weapon Steve Blackman. A guy can dream, right? Let the Lethal Weapon cook! His entrance song slaps, they can bring back the neon lights with his nunchucks, and he can get in there and kick some ass for a bit.
I’m not saying he’s gonna win, but who doesn’t want to see Steve Blackman back in the squared circle!?
X-pac: why the hell not?
He seems to be in good shape. I feel like the rest of DX have had their comebacks, so why not X-Pac?
Vince: could you imagine?
Kurrgan: Make him be the big heel eliminating a thousand guys like he should have back in 1998.
Kurrgan was one of the biggest dropped balls by WWF at the time. Him being ruined by fucking Don Callis is just another reason to hate that creep. Don Callis sucks ass. Give Kurrgan a second chance! He was delightful in the Robert Downey Sherlock Holmes movie!
Ken Shamrock: Just picture it- Shamrocks music hits and the titantron flashes “DANGER” as Shamrock in his fighting robe pulsates.
I’d love a classic Shamrock snapping moment in 2024. In this economy, we deserve it!
Dude Love: just for the hell of it. Not Cactus Jack. Not Mankind. Not Mick Foley. Just Dude love in there for a quick 30 seconds or so, eliminated and out on his merry way.
I love the Mickster. I think it would be that kind of random as hell/funny type of deal that would set the wrestling world on fire for 10 minutes.
IN CONCLUSION:
Cody actually finishes the damn thing. Jade Cargill starts her decade of dominance. It’s time for Roman to lose the title at Mania, and Cody is hot enough to get the damn thing done. I like Jade coming in and just being *~that bitch~* as she always says she is and taking care of business. Have Jade knock off Rhea, then have feuds with Bianca, Becky, Bayley, Sasha, Charlotte after recovering from injury…holy smokes, it’s a home run! Make it happen Triple H!
I cannot wait to be totally, utterly wrong on everything. Anywho, let us all enjoy the Royal Rumble!
Hello again! After a much hectic X-mas season at work, and figuring out how to take this blog going forward, I, El Blogador is back! I will keep it short and sweet, but just know that 2024 will see this blog MUCH more active and consistent. Okay, on to the task at hand: the AEW Devil.
As I write this sentence, we are 52 minutes away from AEW World’s End, and rumors are running wild that the Devil is finally going to be exposed. I cannot stress this enough: The Devil Needs to Deliver.
I think back to other big reveals of wrestling’s past. I think the first one that comes to mind is who the Undertaker was referring to as the “high power”. This had ALL the hype in the world, with the potential to strap nuclear powered rockets to a wrestler deserving a massive push, or be the perfect way to introduce a new star in the WWF. If it were anyone else who’s name was NOT McMahon, it would have been instant credibility. (If you never heard the theory before, go google the Christopher Daniels as High Power theory. That would’ve been fun!) Instead, they dropped the ball completely and selfish Vince had to be the Higher Power, because…well you know, it’s Vince. It’s simply one of the biggest letdowns of an angle ever.
Next, I think of Rikishi being the one who ran over Stone Cold. I know a lot of people hated the angle, but it was at least interesting in a “Whodunnit?” type of role. When it was revealed it was Rikishi, it was (to be fair) surprising. And he even got a push out of it. I don’t think many people were expecting it to be him, but suddenly Rikishi was having marquee level matches with Austin, The Rock, teaming with HHH, and getting chokeslammed off the hell in a cell onto the flatbed of a truck that was chock full o’ mulch. It may not have been the homerun that it could have been after all that time, taking out a megastar like Stone Cold, but it wasn’t terrible. At least it gave Rikishi a new persona and character from the dancing big man!
Lastly, there was the whole debacle of who Mr. McMahon’s son was going to be. It should’ve just been Mr. Kennedy the whole damn time. It wasted a lot of screen time just for Hornswoggle to run around in celebration. After that, you have the whole mystery Raw GM, who was going to be Seth Rollin’s opponent at Wrestlemania, and a lot of meh ones. The point is, most of these mystery reveals tend to flop: The AEW Devil cannot disappoint!
I know that the heavy favorite for this is Jungleboy Jack Perry. I like Jack Perry a lot, I really do, but at this rate it would be so damn obvious that people are not going to like it. They need this to be someone they can give the ball to and RUN with it. This person has to become a top tier villain for the company. Honestly, it has to take over the type of heel that MJF always was. As beloved as he is now, there was no hotter heel a few years ago than MJF.
I truly hope it is a legit surprise. To me, if it’s Jack Perry or Hangman, it will be too easy. Actually, let me say this, if the Devil turns out to be Tony Khan, it could ruin the company. I think he’s too smart to make that move, but it would be Vince as the Higher Power all over, and all this storyline and time invested would just be completely wasted.
I’m looking forward to the PPV, I think it’s a solid card. I just need the Devil to be 1. surprising and 2. actually mean something. AEW needs a kick in the ass, and if done correctly, the Devil could be the sort of hit that could go a long way.
HEYO! Who else is ready to get this shindig going? Who doesn’t love some wrasslin on a Saturday night? El Blogador is ready. You want proof? Here:
Shoutout to @mattbotvin on instagram and God’s Chillin’ for creating the amazing Loose Cannon shirt. It’s an absolute gem. Check his stuff out! He always has amazing stuff and great ideas.
I’ll liveblog it, because, I mean, what else have I got going on during a Saturday night? Not much!
buddy matthews vs. claudio
House of Black needs to take over AEW. They could do the damn thing. Everyone fears them. They’ve got a good thing going. Claudio with the height advantage but Buddy with the ab advantage. You know how, may he rest, Antonio Inoki would get fans to line up so he could slap them in the face? I think Claudio could get that same sort of thing with his uppercut.
I, sadly, would be dumb enough to take an uppercut from Claudio, just out of respect to him because he rules. Dumb of me? Absolutely! Worth it? I really don’t know. At least I could say I got my ass kicked by Claudio.
I reckon a bit of a slow start to this match. It’s getting more heavy hitting as it goes. Claudio just hit Buddy with a shot that made Buddy spit his gum out which would have made Jerry Lawler question if it was a tooth. Now we have a big swing from Claudio. Maybe that’s the real thing Claudio show have fans line up for instead. Little surprising to see a House of Black member tap out but hey a sharpshooter is a sharpshooter. Reach those ropes, sunshine! I really do hope that this just leads to a big time House of Black vs. Blackpool Combat Club matchup. It could be a “modern” Wyatt family vs. the Shield type of war.
MJF and Samoa Joe vs. The Gunns
This can either go two ways: Joe helping out MJF and making it known that he can turn on him at ANY minute or Joe just saying “aw fuck it” this very night and beating the shit out of MJF. I don’t think Joe wants Jay White to win the title later, I think he wants to take the strap off MJF himself. I love Samoa Joe. He needs a title run at some point. At the very least it’s karma for how WWE treated him. I still shake my head in disbelief of him in that poncho at the Wrestlemania rain delay in Tampa.
Damn I would’ve liked to have seen MJF pull of a muscle buster of his own. It’s almost like the Gunns are heels and didn’t want the crowd to see something cool happen or something. Hey okay now, I love the appearance of Adam Cole as a distraction. Looking a little ragged with the gray in his beard. I really do wonder what AEW had to change in their long term plans with the Adam Cole busting his ankle. This beatdown of MJF by the Gunns post match, with no help from partner Samoa Joe is very telling for the title match against Jay White. As I write this, I do not think Jay White will be champ tonight, but this is one of the first signs to make me question that. I guess we will have to wait and see or something like that.
Okay well the whole situation of Adam Cole being told to make sure that MJF’s belt doesn’t get taken away from him is real interesting. I could see this becoming a big storyline the rest of the night. Perhaps even Adam Cole having to get into the ring or something? Maybe there could be a major plot twist of sorts at the end of the night after all. By the way, when is MJF’s contract up, exactly?
Luchasaurus, Christian Cage and Nick Wayne vs. Sting, Darby ALlin and Adam Copeland
That bastard. Still wearing the sleeveless turtleneck. This fucker is the biggest heel in the game. Thank God Ric Flair is here. Good lord. His face is almost as purple as his suit. LOVE the Three Musketeer style entrance with the black baseball bats. That was a hell of an idea. Odd seeing Adam Copeland in facepaint but hey tonight it makes sense!
Shit, sorry, I meant this:
I’m really happy to see Nick Wayne square up with Sting, even if it meant him getting tossed around. That’s some generation to generation type of stuff there. Nick Wayne is going to be around for a loooong time and that’s pretty cool that at least even for a moment we can see him battle Sting for a bit.
It’s still hard to believe Adam Copeland is in AEW. He just seemed like such a WWE lifer. Have to wonder how badly WWE dropped the ball with future plans for him for him to say “screw it” and go join AEW. Man, I don’t know how Darby Allin wakes up each morning. That chokeslam from Luchasaurus onto the ring apron was nuts. WOW OKAY NICK WAYNE MAKING FUN OF RIC FLAIR! Gotta love that. Hit that strut, young man!
That tandem delayed vertical suplex with the Darby crossbody was a hell of a triple team move. My God, Flair actually getting involved physically. I had to laugh at him dropping a very audible “who the fuck are you?” to Christian Cage. Also, Flair taking a lowblow is pretty hilarious just because…it’s Ric Flair. Copeland gets the cover. A bit long but it was an intriguing match!
Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley
Cannot believe this is on second! That’s one stacked card to have this one in the 2 hole. Just goes to show how stacked AEW PPV cards are.
It’s wild that this has become one of the biggest feuds in AEW but it certainly has become that. OC became the face of the International Title, losing it to MOX, only for MOX to lose it shockingly because he got legit hurt…now here we are with MOX trying to get revenge on OC. After all that time of OC not trying, just for him to try and be one of the best out there, now he’s second guessing himself and his Orange Punch gaaaaaahhhhhh god dammit this is great story telling! What a time to be alive! What a feud! I could run through a wall right now! Fuck!
Watching MOX and OC dig their nails into each others back makes me want to book a massage. I could really use a nice back scratch and a massage. I need to crack open another beer and keep writing. Sheesh.
Oh we have blood from MOX! You know it would happen! Death, taxes and MOX bleeding! At this rate, referees should just save the time and just walk out to the ring of a MOX match with their rubber gloves on already.
I will say, the “Let’s go Moxley!” “Freshly Squeezed” chants legit sounded 50/50 tonight. That’s rare! You can almost always gather one sounding louder, even slightly louder, than the other. WOW Orange Cassidy with the win! I am pleasantly surprised by this but think it’s the right call. He is the absolute face of the International Championship. I have to say, I enjoyed their first match more but this was still a very entertaining match. I think this is a great win for OC and a good move to help grow the International Title. In my opinion, it’s the top secondary title. It has surpassed the TNT title. There’s no question about it.
Timeless toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida
I like Shida. I really do, I think she’s a fantastic wrestler and a great champ, but I really am hoping Timeless Toni walks out of this with the belt. I love this character so much. I admit I am a sucker for old Hollywood. I enjoy the old pulp noir detective movies and books, so Timeless Toni Storm has been the ultimate example of a Femme Fatale. I just think this character is so much fun and does such a great job of throwing it back to a bygone era of glitz and glamour.
The wind up to the elbow strike was a lovely touch. “Windmill Jones” was an even lovelier comment from Taz regarding the move. I just noticed that Storm has the plain black boots and the kind of unitard that the old school circus strongmen would wear. She has embraced this character in stunning fashion!
Gotta believe Mariah May has to come out to make a big splash in this one, right? I wouldn’t be shocked if it was to help or distract Toni but it’s gotta happen. Did Luther seem a little slow to grab that Kendo stick? Who knows but he got the ever loving piss beat out of him by Shida afterwards. A hip attack with a tray! NEW CHAMP! WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE! TONI STORM BACK ON TOP OF THE WORLD! THREE TIME CHAMP! HELL TO THE YEAH! TINSELTOWN TONI!
aew tag team 4 way ladder match: House of Black vs. FTR Vs. Big Bill and Ricky Starks VS. LIJ
Starks and Big Bill seem like the most absurd tag team out there and by far the least likely to win this ladder match. This means that they will absolutely win this match and retain the titles. I’m not much of a gamblin’ man but I would almost be willing to bet a couple shekels on this one. As always, I just hope no one dies in a match like this. In me heart of hearts, give big bad Brody King and Malakai the belts. They are creepy in a delightful way!
There ain’t nothing like a guy superplexing a guy outside of the ring onto a bunch of other guys just waiting for it. Man what a country!
Nice tribute by Dax Harwood to Bubba Ray Dudley by wearing the ladder as a helmet and spinning around like a dog on ecstasy. Most exciting thing an FTR guy has done in years.
Holy Jesus on ice skates! Malaki slingshotting a ladder into Cash Wheeler was…dare I say unique in a ladder match! God damn, when you think you’ve seen it all in a tag team ladder match, it’s always appreciated when you see something new. Good God almighty a piledriver onto a ladder in the corner? FTR is playing for keeps here. Man that was ugly. Things are really heating up after Brody King suicide dives right into a ladder from Big Bill. It’s getting real nasty now.
To me, Brody King has been the MVP of the match so far. I love the pop he got as the blood start pouring down his facepaint. Big Bill is impressing a whole lot too. Dralistico just got chokeslammed to hell by Big Bill. I’d really like to see House of Black feud with LIJ after this, if neither team wins the belts tonight.
Guys getting slammed through ladders still hasn’t hit it’s max. It still looks absolutely brutal each and every time. Brody’s slam on Dralistico was frightening. Wheeler jumping off the turnbuckle onto Brody was brutal as well. It’s been done many times but it still looks rough each and every time.
CALLED IT! This one just had Starks and Big Bill retaining all over it.
TBS CHAMPIONSHIP: KRIS STATLANDER VS. JULIA HART VS. SKYE BLUE
Wow okay Skye Blue kicking her snapback aside for some sort of evil flower crown. Basic bitches at Coachella should be cowering in fear right about now! This one is a real toss up to me. I thought Julia Hart had a shot of taking it off Statlander last matchup, but Skye Blue has added a whole new wrinkle to the feud. I can see Skye Blue finally turning full heel and either winning or helping Julia Hart to win the TBS title. Why am I even wondering about this? The match is going on. This blog is distracting me.
Statlander really is a beast, in the best way possible. I would love to see her take on Rhea Ripley in a crossover AEW/WWE match. Since I’m on the subject, I’d like Julia Hart vs. Iyo Sky and Skye Blue vs. Liv Morgan. Armchair GM is now going on my resume.
This match has been wildly entertaining! Skye Blue with the Code Blue reversal was so well done. I thought she had it there for a second. Beautiful German suplexes from Statlander. While Statlander has already been proven, this is a great showcase for all three of them. HEY NOW! Julia Hart new champ! Stealing it from Skye Blue could be great for her character development. Statlander was a great champ during this run. Julia Hart with the belt was the right call in my eyes. That was an awesome match from these three. All of them should be extremely proud of that match.
Who is the Mystery AEW Blockbuster signing?
Will Ospreay. Shocking? Not at all. Amazing? Absolutely. It makes a whole lot of sense. He’s incredible and I think he knew that he wouldn’t be able to wrestle as he wants to had he gone to WWE. This is a massive signing for AEW, and a perfect fit for both Ospreay and AEW. Let’s hope he gets a title run and a long lengthy career. Line these damn feuds up! He’s the real deal, and I cannot wait to see him on TV each and every week. Also, props to him for agreeing to finish up with NJPW. I will always respect people who want to do the right thing and finish up with places that they agreed to.
Texas Deathmatch: Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland
I’d say that this is the hottest feud in all of AEW right now. It really took that next level jump with that absurd angle taking place at Hangman’s house. Gotta love Prince Nana dancing with the ladies before a Deathmatch. The man knows his bread and butter! Give the people what they want!
LOVE Hangman forgoing his entrance to just get after Swerve. That was a great touch to make things much more intense and heated. The staple gun to Swerve is some real GCW shit but still impressive! Hangman might turn heel by going too overboard in this one. Holy fuck Page drinking Swerve’s blood!? Someone call Gangrel! He should’ve done this years ago! That was actually pretty fucking shocking I can’t lie. Bonkers.
Swerve is a bad man. A bad, bad man. Dropping Page on a cinder block was something else. The blood dripping from his head is a hell of a look. Holy smokes that piledriver on the ring barricade was badass too. This match feels like it’s not even close to being done yet but it’s been brutal. Both guys have just obliterated each other and it’s been gruesome. A moonsault with a barbed wire steel chair. My God. Someone get Hangman a beer.
After a damn tombstone on the barbed wire chair I am stunned Swerve got up at 9. No one would have blamed Tony Khan for ending the match there. This really is a classic. As I write this, it’s still going on. I’d already put it up with that lights out match between Mox and Kenny Omega at Full Gear 2019. Just absolutely brutal. It’s wicked! Now we have a bag of glass spread out on Hangman’s back just for Swerve to do a 450 splash onto it, and Hangman gets up at 9 after a sub sequential powerbomb with the glass still sticking to him. It’s gotten to the uncomfortable level of violence. Now we have a board with barbwire on it to make a bridge on two chairs. Yikes…
A barbed wire buckshot lariat, a powerbomb, a deadeye, leading to Swerve being saved by Prince Nana dancing? Now this is some damn fine writing. I must say I hate the interference from Brian Cage. I know, I know it’s no DQ but this just got a whole lot more cheap. Okay, glad to see Cage get a couple punches with the barbwire from Page. Oh no. Now Prince Nana just got deadeye’d through a table. This match really has everything. aaaaaaaand here comes Swerve with the cinderblock. And now we have Swerve with a chain around Hangman’s neck. He’s gonna hang the Hangman!
That was one of the most intense, brutal matches I have ever seen in my entire life. This feud has entered top tier status. Swerve has gotten himself a whole lot of clout from winning this feud. It’s not up for debate, Swerve got the better of Hangman. It means so much more when you have a guy who has a comeuppance heading his way, just for him to not only avoid it, but to win! It’s hard to imagine Swerve’s next feud not being for a title belt. He’s earned it. Where Hangman goes next from here will be interesting as well.
Golden Jets vs. Young Bucks
The Winnipeg boys are ready to stick it to that lump of shit Don Callis. Still kinda confusing that they are taking on the Young Bucks in my opinion but hey here we are. There are much less worthy opponents than the Young Bucks.
It’s been a solid match thus far but I can’t help but wonder why exactly Don Callis is there on commentary…could we see a big time switcheroo and someone joins the Callis Fam?
Welp, that match went pretty much as I thought it would. Could be fun to see Jericho and Omega go after the gold. I think it would be more fun to see if the Young Bucks implode. At least tease the implosion! Solid match. As solid as it was, I can’t help but wish that Kenny Omega was on a singles run. When he’s on a true singles run, there ain’t nothing better. Now: onto whatever the main event will be.
aew world championship mjf/adam cole vs. switchblade jay white
Who the hell knows what is about to happen? Adam Cole is literally hobbling down to the ring on crutches to defend MJF’s title. If we don’t get a new champ by hook or by crook tonight then I will be truly stunned. I don’t know how they are going to pull this off? At this point, I’m rooting for some MJF Devil Man stuff to happen. The Devil has to make an appearance tonight, maybe even unveil him or herself.
Well, well, well, look who commandeered an ambulance: MJF is gonna do the damn thing isn’t he? I must say, as we are a couple minutes into this match, it’s extremely wide open on how this is going to go. It is far from a sure shot that we will get a new champ. There’s something about Adam Cole being on the outside. There’s the possibility of the Devil making an appearance. There’s the possibility of a whole brawl happening on the outside with Bullet Club Gold, the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, there are a whole lot of options. And just like that, the Gunns have been banned from ringside!
Love a good ref ejection!
Now with Bullet Club Gold out of the way, we now have the added tension of Cole turning on MJF. This match hasn’t been anything to write home about so far, but you can cut the tension with a spork.
Ugh it just hit me that that annoying clown Roddy may roll on out here at some point with his stupid fucking neckbrace and his stupid “aaaaaaddddaaaaammmmm” and his goons. I’ll give this match 6 stars if those idiots don’t show up to interfere.
Boo! Hiss! You bore me!
And the now I think of it, who knows if Wardlow, Samoa Joe or anyone else next in line want to come and interfere. We are far from over from possible shenanigans. Wardlow and Joe may even pull an interference to make sure MJF keeps the strap on him just so they can take it off him down the road. This MJF title situation has more layers than my grandmother on a Tuesday night in January at the bus stop in South Boston!
I love the fact that MJF went through with the elbow drop onto the outside of the ring even if the announce table had broken. That’s taking one for the team. It still looked good and maybe looked even better that he sacrificed himself by landing on the floor. Ballsy move on MJF’s part.
Wow that cutter by MJF to the outside of the ring was impressive. I don’t care if he has a bum leg or not, that was a pretty cool and brutal move no matter what.
The ol’ throwing in the towel tension! No one does callbacks as well as AEW does. OH JAY WHITE WITH THE BELT! and a kickout wow. Yikes I thought it was donezo there for MJF’s title run. Boy howdy that wasn’t exactly the finish I thought it would be but that was still entertaining. The MJF character is the most interesting in the world right now.
Well well well! Moments ago, it seemed like Damian Priest was ACTUALLY going to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. I gotta say, it really felt like it was the real deal this time. That was a long, brutal match between Rollins and McIntyre.
Once the Judgement Day’s music hit, Rollins facial reaction alone made it seem like his time had run out. Priest runs on down and handed the briefcase over and the bell was about to ring. Suddenly out of nowhere a guy in a black hoodie smashes him into the ring and reveals himself to be Sami Zayn. While that is cool and all, the real story is Zayn stealing the briefcase and escaping through the crowd like CM Punk back in 2011.
I will say, it is too bad the El Generico mask didn’t make an appearance in this hit and run. It could have been fun for Sami Zayn to deny that it was actually him. Oh well, maybe one day El Generico will make his return. Us masked men always root for each other.
Of course it remains to be seen if this was just a one time preventive measure to gain retribution about the Judgment Day, BUT! what if Zayn keeps this up, making Priest run out of his year long time limit to cash in? This could lead to a kickass feud of Priest trying to get his briefcase back from Zayn. Also, what if Zayn ends up cashing it in? After all, you do have to possess the briefcase in order to use it as a cash in.
Could these lead to a (much deserved) Sami Zayn title run? Does this make for an epic Priest/Zayn feud? Is Priest going to run out of time? Does JD McDonagh finally get to join Judgment Day by getting the briefcase back for Priest? This story could go in a lot of different, and important directions. Let’s hope WWE smashes this one out of the park, because there will be a lot of interest here!
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