Sonic: Imposter Syndrome, as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap, are owned by IDW and SEGA of America
This mini-series has been one of the best things we’ve gotten from the Sonic comics in quite some time as it has genuinely interesting characters with a sense of depth to them that leaves the rest of the cast looking like paper cutouts. I’m guessing at least some of that has to do with this series focusing entirely on original characters and not SEGA mascots, but whatever the reason is I’ve found myself looking forward to these issues more than anything in the main series; and that includes the Chaotix finally getting a story arc! Was that anticipation worth it for this third installment, or will I be rushing back to Sonic by the time we’re done? Let’s find out!!
Right off the bat, this issue gets dark as we watch a series of video diaries from Dr. Starline where we hear his unfiltered thoughts and see the depths of his cruelty. His rage at Eggman is uncomfortably apparent at the start only to be tamped down by his insistence on self-control which is probably good for his blood pressure but not so much for Kitsunami and Surge who are in fact watching these videos along with us. Whatever these two may have done or the toxicity of their relationship, you can’t help but feel for them as they watch the one person they know in this world calmly talk about them as pawns in a game they are forced to participate in.
See, this is why you don’t watch drama channels. You just get all worked up with nowhere to direct that negative energy!
Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America
We’re back with another Sonic Adventure from the folks over at IDW! Only, it’s NOT a Sonic adventure, is it? For the second time in a row, it looks like the Blue Bomber is getting sidelined to flesh out some of the side characters, and while the camping trip arc fell pretty flat for me, I’m still pretty excited to see what they can do with a Chaotix storyline! Will this be the start of an engaging gumshoe detective story set in a world of cartoon critters and very lax child labor laws, or will we be burning our deerstalker caps in sheer frustration by the end of this? Let’s find out!!
The issue begins with Vector and Espio going to pick up Charmy the Bee from daycare. No wait, I read that wrong. He was dropped off at a radio station and seems to have enacted a hostile takeover. Seems like there are plenty of other places to leave the kid where he can’t cause that kind of damage, but then I’m not a professional detective agency.
“The things that boy said. I’m amazing no one called the cops on us.” “Yeah, sorry about that. He’s going through an edgelord phase.”
The Batman and all the images you see in this review are owned by Warner Bros Pictures
Directed by Matt Reeves
I wasn’t sure what to think about them doing yet another Batman movie when this first got announced. Say what you will about the Marvel movies, they haven’t beaten characters into the ground as thoroughly as Warner Bros have done to Batman and his crew. Multiple continuities and actors playing the same characters within years of each other, and all of them pale in comparison to The LEGO Batman Movie! Still, despite this looking like the grimdark fantasies of a nineties teen, it has an immense amount of talent that I genuinely respect behind it; particularly Robert Pattinson who has swiftly become one of my favorite actors. Is this a refreshing change of pace and a genuinely excellent interpretation of the character, or is this a whole lot of effort and prestige going to waste? Let’s find out!!
In the heart of Gotham, there is a man wearing a very strange costume attacking criminals and striking fear into the worst that the city has to offer. Unfortunately, this is not Batman doing it and it’s not the costumed bad guys who are getting their heads caved in; rather it’s some guy calling himself The Riddler who is murdering the corrupt politicians and their enablers. He’s also leaving cryptic clues for the city’s other vigilante, the one that attacks the easier to ignore bad guys, and so it’s up to Batman (Robert Pattinson) to find out who this brat is and bring him to justice! His investigation leads him to some shady figures in the underworld including Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell) and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) who are connected to this Riddler fellow in some way, and he even stumbles across a cat burglar (Zoë Kravitz) who may know more about this case and the people involved than she’s letting on. Can Batman solve the clues and find the man responsible for these killings before he gets to his grand finale? How has being the Batman affected the man beneath the cowl, and will this latest mystery push him too far into the darkness? Seriously, fanboys; what’s your beef with Robert Pattinson? Is he somehow not broody enough for you!?
Revolution and all the images you see in this recap are owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, and Shahid Khan
I may have my moments where I get tired of AEW and even fall behind in recapping the shows, but I always manage to come back around in time for the big Pay-Per-View shows! It definitely helps when the card is as stacked as this one is with all the biggest stars of the company getting a chance to shine, and how can you NOT be excited to see Keith Lee back in action of a show like this? Does the show live up to the hype and put yet another notch in AEW’s already impressive track record? Let’s find out!!
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Leyla Hirsch Vs. Kris Statlander
The AEW Buy-In isn’t necessarily where the lower tier matches go so that the best gets saved for the PPV, but in this case that is exactly what’s going on; a rather mediocre build that leads to a mediocre match at just the right spot where they can get away with it. Things start off well enough as Statlander’s size and strength give her an advantage and Hirsch uses underhanded tactics to target her arm, but aside from a few moves here and there like the Powerslam Statlander gives her and A Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count, there isn’t much excitement going on here and the drama doesn’t really connect due to the feud itself being so lackluster. The other issues are some botches as Hirsch fumbles on a Springboard early on and there’s this bit on the turnbuckle where Statlander has trouble getting Hirsch on her shoulders, so on top of being kind of stale, it’s a bit janky as well. Hirsch eventually rolls out of the ring to grab a weapon and bashes Statlander with it behind the ref’s back. She then goes up top to hit a Moonsault and gets the pin to win the match, so no top of everything else we get a screwjob finish. I’m probably a bit too harsh on this since the Buy-In matches don’t have to be PPV quality, but this was definitely the most disappointing fight of the night.
AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT
Sure it’s the final episode of Rampage before the PPV, but you know what’s even BETTER about this? With this recap I’m fully caught up on AEW; just in time for Revolution! If nothing else, I feel VERY accomplished for pulling this off and hopefully, my efforts will be rewarded with a great PPV show! Does this final Rampage close up all the loose ends before Revolution, or should I not have even bothered trying to catch up and just jumped to the big show? Let’s find out!!
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Sammy Guevara Vs. Darby Allin Vs. Andrade El Ídolo– TNT Title Three-Way Match
So you’re telling me that after both of these guys lost their title shots, and while both Scorpio Sky and whoever wins the Face of the Revolution Ladder match are waiting for their shots, Darby and Andrade just get another chance to win the belt? Well in their defense, this IS a really good match and a great way to kick off Rampage! Since Sammy and Darby are teaming up on the PPV in a Trios match against Andrade, it’s clear who the odd one out is and he knows it so his strategy is to try and keep his distance while Darby and Sammy beat each other to heck and back. What’s wild though is that while Darby and Sammy are clearly aware of this and do team up from time to time to attack Andrade, the plan ultimately works because they spend much more time fighting each other and this allows Andrade to save his strength and strike when it is most effective. There’s an early spot where Sammy has Darby on the turnbuckle and picks him up for some sort of Avalanche Pile Driver move, but then Andrade runs in and slides under Sammy for a Powerbomb. Showing an incredible amount of strength and balance, Sammy manages to hold Darby upright while Andrade walks them away from the corner before slamming both down onto the mat! A very cool (if a little silly) spot and it gives Andrade a chance to get the heat on both of them during the commercial. Unfortunately, he still seems to be underestimating them because he goes for several pins while he is in control, but they keep getting broken up because he doesn’t toss the other one out of the ring while he’s trying to win the match. Sammy and Darby team up once again and have Andrade on the ropes, but then they make the same mistake and start going after each other before finishing off Andrade. Darby Shoves Sammy out of a Springboard move to the floor below and Andrade is right here to Scoop Slam him in the middle of the ring! Still, Darby has his second wind now and starts getting dealing some Damage to Andrade; eventually putting him in the Tree of Woe which allows Sammy to hit a Coast to Coast Dropkick. They continue to work over Andrade whose whole strategy is finally collapsing, but this also means that Darby and Sammy are getting in each other’s way. After trading pinfalls for a bit, Andrade tries one last-ditch effort to steal a pin which ends with him eating a Stunner from Darby and a GTH from Sammy. As soon as Sammy hits his move though, Darby throws him out and goes for the pin which is broken up by a top rope splash from Sammy. Sammy then throws Darby off to get the pin, and with Darby feeling the effects of that Splash, Sammy is able to keep Andrade down for the three count to win the match and retain his title! A fantastic match that was definitely of PPV quality, but all is not well as Sammy tries to shake Darby’s hand and is simply blown off. Sammy has held onto his title and in the grand scheme of things that’s probably more important than the Trios match on Sunday, but it does not bode well for their chances. Frankly, I would have put this on the Sunday show and just forgotten about the Trios match, but I’m not gonna complain about having good wrestling!
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TBS
We’re back with another episode of Dynamite, but it’s not just any episode! It’s the Go Home show for the Revolution PPV, and they’ve been working their butts off to make it as big a show as they can! Will AEW stick the landing on their final Dynamite before the big show? Let’s find out!!
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Tony Khan has a big announcement! Who did he sign THIS time!?
The two Tonys (Khan and Schiavone) are in the ring because TK has some big news for the world of wrestling which is that he bought Ring of Honor! What does that mean, aside from it no longer being a product of the despicable Sinclair Broadcast Group? I have no idea. As far as I know, all the wrestlers who were under contract are no longer there, and he presumably got the rights to the archives but he didn’t say anything to that effect here. AEW already has three hours of TV wrestling and countless more through their online shows, so will he leave ROH to be its own thing, or will it somehow be folded into the AEW brand? There are a lot of questions that will need to be answered in the next few weeks, but for now, it’s a big celebration, and what better way to kick off this new acquisition than with a Ring of Honor rematch? The very first main event of the very first Ring of Honor show was a three-way with Bryan Danielson and Christopher Daniels where neither man won as they were defeated by Low Ki, and tonight they are both here to settle that score!
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Bryan Danielson Vs. Christopher Daniels
I may not know the history of ROH, but Daniels is a fantastic wrestler, and seeing him go up against Bryan is a matchup I didn’t think I’d get to see since Daniels signaled his retirement a year ago. Things start off nice and respectful with a handshake and some solid technical wrestling, but Daniels clearly has the crowd on his side with chants of Fallen Angel and this does not sit well with Bryan. Since ego seems to be his prime motivator these days, he starts getting a lot more aggressive in his offense which only forces Daniels to kick things up a notch. He hits a Leg Lariat that forces Bryan to roll out of the ring and Daniels follows it up with a Baseball Slide and a Springboard Moonsault. Bryan tries to fight back with the Yes Kicks and a bunch of strikes, but Daniels regains control quickly with a Blue Thunder Bomb and an Iconoclasm for a two count. Seeing the end in sight, Daniels goes for the Angel’s Wings but Bryan finally hits his stride and manages to turn it into a German Suplex, and the two start going back and forth with their big moves. Daniels tries to hit the Best Moonsault Ever, but Bryan’s technical wizardly proves to be the deciding factor as he catches Danielson on his landing and transitions to the Triangle Sleeper. Daniels tries to escape, but Bryan’s mighty thighs squeezing the life out of him as well as a series of elbow strikes to his head is enough to knock Daniels out which gives Bryan the win. It was a good match and I’m glad to see Daniels again, but much like last week, this was more of a setup for the post-match angle than anything else. Bryan feigns respect towards Daniels but then starts stomping on his head and calls out Moxley; saying that he’s gonna be the one with his head kicked in next! Moxley’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring where he says that he’s glad that Danielson is better than ever and more violent than ever, but he is darn sure that Bryan is not gonna be kicking his head in on Sunday! Through sheer force of will, he will go right through Bryan and slay the American Dragon! He wants Bryan to take a shot at him right now but he will save it for Sunday and just walks away. The ROH announcement feels a bit out of place given how close we are to the PPV, but this was a good angle to build us closer to their match on Sunday. Who knows! Maybe there’ll be an invasion or something and the Revolution PPV will end with a giant ROH brawl!
AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT
We’re back with even more Rampage action, and with the PPV getting closer and closer it will only mean more chaos and more surprises around every corner! Does this continue the build to the big show with lots of fun and excitement, or will the pressures of the PPV keep this from straying too far from the destination? Let’s find out!!
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Sammy Guevara Vs. Andrade El Idolo – TNT Title Match
Andrade is accompanied to the ring by AHFO
Doesn’t it feel like this match should have been on the PPV? I mean if you’re gonna have Andrade go for a title, it should be at a show big enough for such an occasion, right? Well, we’ve got the match that we have, and for a Rampage opener, it was pretty darn good. Sammy once again proves he’s willing to completely destroy himself as he goes for the Double Springboard Cutter only to get shoved off the ropes by Andrade, and Andrade himself is much more reserved and methodical in his approach. He works over Sammy during the commercial break with a lot of heavy strikes, but then he makes a mistake as he goes for a Flying Knee which Sammy dodges and sends him tumbling over the turnbuckle and down to the floor. Eventually, it settles into a decent back and forth exchange of great moves like when Andrade hits a DDT over the apron and when Sammy hits an Avalanche Spanish Fly, but the Heel can’t help from cheating, and once again this is his downfall. Andrade distracts the ref while Matt Hardy takes off one of the turnbuckles and Andrade keeps trying to throw him into it. Eventually he goes up top and sets Sammy up for an Avalanche El Idolo, but Sammy escapes and kicks him off the corner which sends him fac- first into the exposed turnbuckle. Just once I’d like to see a Heel actually pull something like this off so that it makes sense for other Heels to try it. As far as I can tell, the only guy who has any luck with weapons is MJF and his Diamond Ring, but even he hasn’t tried to remove a turnbuckle! With Andrade’s face smashed open by the steel corner, Sammy finally lands the Double Springboard Cutter to get the pin and win the match; an outcome that Matt Hardy doesn’t approve of and so he starts attacking Sammy. Fortunately for the champ, Darby runs down, runs through the ring, and hits Matt Hardy on the other side like a cannonball while Sting provides backup in the ring. Not a bad match, but the fact that it was on TV means that it wasn’t as big as it could have been and I would have liked to see it on Revolution, even as one of the lower card matches.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TBS
We’re back with another action-packed episode of Dynamite! With the PPV only a few days away and a lot of AEW content left for me to cover, it’s going to be a bit of a struggle to get everything done in as timely a manner as possible, but what will help make it feel like less of a chore is if the wrestling is good, and AEW usually delivers when it comes to the episodes leading up to the PPV! Is this another week of great matches and stories for Dynamite, or are they trying to do too much with the little time they have left? Let’s find out!!
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Tag Team Battle Royale
The winner of this match gets a Tag Title match on Revolution
Participants: Young Bucks, Proud N Powerful, The Butcher & The Blade, Private Party, The Gunn Club, 2.0, Best Friends, The Dark Order (Silver & Reynolds), FTR, and Red Dragon
A Battle Royale can be hit or miss as it either needs to have great wrestling or covers a lot of storylines throughout. Of course, it’s better to have both, but if you can pull off at least one of those then I consider it a success, and this one manages to succeed; though not without a few issues. The problem here is the first half which feels a bit padded as eliminations just kind of come and go without much fanfare. Alex Reynolds, The Blade, and both members of Gunn Club are tossed out quite early, and while The Butcher gets some nice offense in on both young Bucks and Red Dragon, he gets easily lured over the ropes by Chuck Taylor who then gets eliminated by Fish and O’Reilly. Silver manages to eliminate Private Party, even with an assist from Matt Hardy, and 2.0 get eliminated by Santana after trying to gang up on Ortiz… who then gets eliminated by The Bucks. It’s a lot going on in just a few minutes, and none of it really seems to point towards existing feuds or setting up new ones. That’s all for the second half when it comes down to the final six which are Trent, Santana, Matt Jackson, Dax Harwood, John Silver, and Kyle O’Reilly. This is where everyone gets a shot at the spotlight and to pull off some great moves as well as work through some longstanding feuds; particularly Trent and Santana who were part of that Parking Lot fight from a year or so ago. They trade blows, hit each other with big moves, and eventually fight their way to the apron, but the feud is left unresolved as they are both eliminated by Matt Jackson and Kyle O’Reilly. This leaves John Silver as the lone Baby Face in the ring who certainly gets the adulation of the crowd, but is ultimately ineffective as he doesn’t even manage to take out Dax Harwood (Bobby Fish comes out of nowhere and knocks him off the apron) and ends up being an incidental part of the finish. The Bucks have been trying to work with Red Dragon this whole match and that continues here as Silver picks up Kyle O’Reilly for something only to eat a Superkick from Matt Jackson. Kyle is hurt and tells Matt to finish off Silver which he does by throwing him over the ropes, but right behind him is Kyle who throws him over as well! Red Dragon has won the Battle Royale which doesn’t sit well with The Bucks and then things kind of go off the rails from there. Hangman’s music hits and he attacks Red Dragon to the indifference of the Bucks, and Adam Cole runs down to fight him off only to get rebuffed by the Hangman who starts to monologue in the ring about how he’s going to beat him at the PPV. John Silver then takes out Red Dragon with a Senton and throws Kyle O’Reilly into the ring to eat a Buckshot Lariat from Adam Page, and with that, this Battle Royale can come to a close! I’ve certainly seen better from AEW and the post-match shenanigans just kinda stretched on, but it was still fun to see all these guys face off in the ring.
AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT
Revolution is getting closer and closer which means I have less and less time to catch up on these shows, but despite several setbacks, I have made a great deal of progress and should be caught up right in time for the big show! Does this episode of Rampage bring the fun matches and exciting action to cleanse the palate after such a plot-heavy Dynamite? Let’s find out!!
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Adam Cole Vs. Preston Vance
I guess The Dark Order are back on TV after Cole name-checked them in his promo last week, and Preston Vance is a guy who could really be something if given the right push. He’s certainly got a size and strength on his side as he gets an early lead on Adam Cole just by punching him a bunch and overpowering him, but in-ring experience is ultimately where it counts and Cole has it in abundance. Preston may be bashing him all over the place, but all Adam Cole needs is a precision strike on Preston’s knee, and the guy’s offense is torn to shreds which allows Cole to gain the advantage. He spends a while working over the knee by bashing it into the post and the steel steps, and even when Vance does get a word in edgewise with his strength, it doesn’t take long for Cole to put him back under his thumb. Things even out into a back and forth brawl after the commercial break with Vance getting some decent moves in such as the Spine Buster and a Discus Lariat, but Cole’s experience once again manages to put him back on top. I guess Vance’s big move is to put his opponent in a Full Nelson and then rag-doll him a bit, but Cole keeps managing to escape the hold before Vance can do anything with it. One attempt ends with Cole hitting a low blow behind the ref’s back which leaves Vance defenseless on the mat, and all it takes is a Boom Knee Strike from Cole to put Vance down for good and win the match. This was a perfectly fine match, though I would have liked to see Vance fight and lose at full strength rather than spend so much time nursing his leg, but perhaps they didn’t want to push him too hard in this match. After all, he is still pretty green so going move for move against someone like Cole might be above his skill level for the time being.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TBS
We’re back with another episode AEW action, and boy has that action been ramping up as we get closer and closer to the Revolution PPV! With so many angles and matches to set up on our way to the big show, does this episode juggle it all with aplomb or are they gonna need a bit more time to sort through all of this? Let’s find out!!
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The feud between CM Punk and MJF has been firing on all cylinders the past few weeks, but they manage to find a way to kick it up a notch with this opening promo. The show begins with CM Punk already in the ring; legs crossed, mic in hand, and a box sitting in front of him. He reminds everyone that he came up with the Better Than You thing back when he was doing his Straight Edge persona, but he’s not mad at MJF for trying to emulate him or even for supposedly beating him in his hometown last week. The fact is though that he is still no Piper, no Bret, and certainly no Punk; he’s still just Max from Long Island and he’s about to learn that lesson the hard way in their upcoming rematch. It will take place on the Revolution PPV and Punk announces that it will be a Dog Collar Match as he theatrically pulls the chain out his box to punctuate his point. He then calls out MJF to meet him face to face which begrudgingly obliges, though is clearly perturbed at the prospect of this match. With MJF looking right in the middle of the ring, CM Punk takes a photo out of his box and it’s a young baby-faced MJF standing next to the one and only CM Punk. Punk wants to make sure that MJF knows he’s about to get his butt kicked in a brutal match by his hero, and the moment leaves MJF speechless as he walks out without saying a word. Dang, I’m feeling chills after that one! I don’t know how this Dog Collar thing is going to turn out (my money is on MJF ultimately winning the match), but I can’t wait to get to the PPV to find out!
The Reviewers Unite 