Tag: Miro

Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (12-25-2021) – Holiday Bash

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

If I had a rough time trying to catch up with a show happening on Wednesday, I was for darn sure gonna take my time getting around to the episode that literally aired on Christmas Day.  By their own choice, by the way!  They moved the show to air on that day instead of their usual timeslot; perhaps so that the subtitle is that much more accurate.  Still, while Rampage may have the harder to catch time slot this week, the shorter length and the snappier matches make it a bit more ideal to fit into a tough schedule where Dynamite feels like something you have to schedule around.  Is this another fun way to spend a Saturday night, even if it’s perhaps the worst night of the year for it?  Let’s find out!!

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Jungle Boy Vs. Isiah Kassidy

Jungle Boy is accompanied to the ring by Luchasaurus and Christian Cage while Kassidy is accompanied to the ring by Hardy Family Office

Remember when Private Party were wearing slacks and collared shirts?  Thankfully Kassidy is back in his original ring gear and it didn’t do anything to diminish the integrity of Hardy Family Office!  Now if they could start winning some tag matches again, maybe we’ll have the Private Party that was one of the highlights of early AEW!  Remember MJF talking about the pillars of this company?  Yeah, Private Party used to be one of them but they’ve been stuck with HFO for so long that it feels like we’ve all kind of forgotten that.  Thankfully this match does quite a bit to remind us of how good Kassidy is as he puts up a pretty good fight against Jungle Boy.  With a little help from Quen and Hardy on the outside, Kassidy is able to maintain a solid lead for the first half and through the commercial break, but he’s far from idle in the match as he hits a Springboard Cutter on Jungle Boy that drops him from the apron to the floor and follows up with a spinning dive over the ropes.  He also manages to reverse a Sunset Flip from Jungle Boy into a Drop Kick to his face which is the start of the heat during the commercial, but once we return it’s time for Jungle Boy to make his comeback.  A series of Elbow Strikes give him some space so he can finally knock Kassidy to the ground with a big lariat, and he follows up with a Falcon Arrow for a two count.  Kassidy gets a two count as well with a Poisonrana, but Jungle Boy turns things around quickly with a German into a bridge for another two count of his own.  He makes sure to hold onto the waist lock and tries to go for another German, but Kassidy grabs the ropes to try and break the hold which turns out to be a bad idea as Jungle Boy instead dumps him over to the floor below before following up with a Suicide Dive.  In a last-ditch effort to save his partner, Quen tries to grab Jungle Boy on his way back to the ring so Cage starts to beat his butt all the way to the back while Luchasaurus Choke Slams Jora Joel.  Not sure why since he wasn’t actually doing anything, but I guess it was a diversionary tactic on HFO’s part as Hardy immediately grabs Luchasaurus and goes for the Twist of Fate.  Luchasaurus is too strong however and shoves Matt Hardy into the charging Christian Cage who knocks the wind out of him with a spear!  With the kerfuffle outside brought to an end, Jungle Boy goes for another Sunset Flip and Kassidy once again escapes.  When he goes for another kick, however, Jungle Boy dodges and grabs the leg.  Kassidy tries to scramble to the ropes, but it’s too late and Jungle Boy locks in the Snare Trap which forces Kassidy to tap.  This was a pretty good opener!  I like seeing Private Party as at least somewhat effective again, and honestly, I’d love to see them go up against The Lucha Bros for the title at some point!

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (12-25-2021) – Holiday Bash” →

Super Wrestling: AEW – Full Gear 2021

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Full Gear and all the images you see I this recap are owned by All Elite Wrestling and Shahid Khan

The big show is finally here (no, not that one; he showed up months ago) and everyone is PUMPED!  Not only do we have a darn good slate of matches, including Bryan Danielson’s first PPV match at AEW, but we’ve got a possible title change on our hands as reigning champion Kenny Omega might just drop the belt to the upstart Hangman Adam Page!  It promises to be a night of great action, satisfying payoffs, and even a few tributes to legends (it’s the anniversary of Eddie Guerrero’s death so expect A LOT of Frog Splashes throughout) to make this a show to remember!  Does it live up to the hype and deliver on all its promises, or has the AEW train finally run out of steam!?  Let’s find out!!

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Before we even get into our Buy-In match, Tony Schiavone calls Dante Martin to the ring to discuss the offer Team Taz made to him on Friday’s Rampage.  Before he can answer though, The Acclaimed come down to the ring and Caster raps his own offer to Dante to join them instead!  Now this is starting to get interesting, not just because I think he’d be a very good addition to The Acclaimed (he absolutely would), but I’m starting to like this idea of every group at AEW wanting Dante Martin on their side and having to fight through each other to get him!  I can just picture Dante Martin sitting on a throne or on that Judy Bagwell forklift thing as he looks upon the wrestlers and managers fighting in the ring for his contract!  The Acclaimed though are trying to play it a bit cool and not look so desperate, as Anthony Bowens reiterates the offer while throwing in an implicit threat on top of it.  As enticing as the offer may be, Dante knocks them out of the ring and lands a Springboard Dive from the top rope to the floor which I think got the message across quite well and was a fun start to the Buy-In!

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Nyla Rose & Jamie Hayter Vs. Thunder Rosa & Hikaru Shida

Nyla is accompanied to the ring by Vickie Guerrero

All four of the women in this match are part of the TBS Tournament which begs the question as to why they don’t just DO another match of the tournament here, but I guess they want to draw it out as long as they can so they have these four try and show how awesome they are so that you get more invested in it, which… I mean I GUESS it works because everyone looks really good here!  Even Jamie Hayter, who hasn’t really had a killer match since she’s returned to AEW, manages to pull off some impressive moves like when she stops Shida from making it back to her corner with a German Suplex!

“So close, AND YET SO FAR!” “DARN YOU, BITTERSWEET IDIOMS!” *SMASH*
Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW – Full Gear 2021” →

Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (11-03-2021)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

We’re back with another week of AEW action and I think I’m finally getting back into the swing of things with the very relaxing week away from wrestling followed by the lurch of three episodes of the darn thing back to back to back!  We’re only a few weeks away from Full Gear and the card is starting to get stacked, but can they put this PPV over the finish line with only a few episodes left to go?  Let’s find out!!

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Kenny Omega Vs. Alan Angels

Omega is accompanied to the ring by Michael Nakazawa

I mean hey, Omega and Angels DID have a great match back before the Heel turn, so starting the show with a rematch sounds like a good idea to me; especially since Full Gear is less than two full weeks away and Omega is fighting in the main event!  Angels hits a Dropkick the moment the bell rings and tries to overwhelm Omega as quickly as possible, but he only gets a few shots in the corner before Kenny kicks him away and is in control of the match.  Omega gets the heat for a bit as Angels is putty in his hands, but instead of this being a quick squash match Angels proves to be competitive as he fights off a lot of Omega’s big moves like the Snap Dragon, and he even dodges a V-Trigger which causes Kenny to bounce off the ropes like a cartoon character and leads to a rollup two count for Angels.  The comeback from Angels doesn’t stop there as he moves to the apron and dodges another charge from Kenny who goes tumbling to the outside, and he follows up with a Suicide Dive.  He gets some solid offense in on the outside, throws Omega back in, and lands a Diving Cross Body for yet another near fall.  Angels makes his biggest mistake here as he goes back up top to land a Frog Splash which Kenny gest the knees up for, and Kenny is back in control of this match.  He doesn’t lose the advantage again for the rest of the match, but he does have a surprisingly hard time finishing off Angels.  A Buckle Bomb and Sit Out Powerbomb combo only gets a two count, a One Winged Angel attempt is reversed into a rollup, and even when he lands the V-Trigger, he doesn’t get the win because he did a half-hearted pin attempt.  It’s not until he follows up with two more V-Triggers and gives him a SERIOUS pin that he finally keeps him down for the three count and wins the match.  Omega is upset about this and has Nakazawa get him a chair so he can put Angels through it with a One Winged Angel.  Since The Dark Order didn’t accompany him to the ring and since the ref CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO STOP THIS, Hangman Adam Page comes to the rescue and takes out Nakazawa on his way down to the ring.  Omega threatens Hangman with the chair, but Alan Angels wrestles it out of his grasp and Hangman goes for the Buckshot Lariat.  Omega dodges and scampers up the ring while Hangman cuts a promo about how he’s gonna win at Full Gear.  When Omega first faced Alan Angels, there was some backlash because it was this guy out of nowhere hanging with a superstar like Kenny, and some felt it was dragging Omega down.  I didn’t agree in the slightest back then but PERHAPS there’s a tiny bit of merit to it here as I don’t think this is the time to give Kenny a tough match.  He’s weeks away from a PPV match against Hangman which is the blow-off to a years’ long feud, and to me that should feel as BIG and EPIC as possible.  Instead, Kenny has felt like a bit of a joke the last few weeks as the new guys like Danielson are already putting into question his status as the best wrestler at AEW.  I mean look, MJF also has a match on the PPV and HE didn’t have a drag-out match with whatever his name was a week ago!  Perhaps AEW has some plans for Angels or they just feel that you can’t open the show with a squash match, and while I will concede that the action itself was VERY good for both guys, I still don’t think this is exactly what Kenny needed at this specific moment in time.

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (11-03-2021)” →

Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (10-23-2021)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

We’re back with more AEW Saturday Night Action that I didn’t get to until… well probably TUESDAY if we’re being honest which is especially rough since AEW is going back to Wednesdays and that show has already aired by the time I get this recap out!  Oh well, this is the life I chose and it involves weird wrestling schedules.  As long as the action is good, it’s not too bad of a tradeoff!  Does this episode pack a punch or did I procrastinate on a show that probably wasn’t worth sitting through in the first place?  Let’s find out!!

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Bryan Danielson Vs. Dustin Rhodes – AEW World Title Tournament Match

I checked and this is another match that Danielson didn’t get to have when he was at WWE which makes me think that he came into AEW with his bucket list of matches as a rider on his contract.  The match starts out okay as Dustin is meeting him in terms of strength and is at least staying competitive in terms of technique, but it soon becomes clear that Dustin has a problem with stamina and has to take a break pretty early in the match just to catch his breath.  Danielson is magnanimous enough to give him a moment to do so, but as soon as Dustin comes back he shows no mercy and immediately takes Dustin to the ground to work over the legs.  It certainly isn’t Dustin’s night as he spends forever on the mat and can barely keep himself standing against Danielson’s offense when he does manage to stand back up.  Now I get what they were doing here as the frustration on Dustin’s face was pretty evident, but I still found a good chunk of this match to be slow and methodical in a way that I didn’t find very exciting.  It’s not until Dustin starts to mount a comeback that things pick up, but even then it comes in fits and spurts instead of a true comeback.  Dustin manages to fight off an attempted German Suplex before landing one of his own, but then Danielson takes him down again and starts working the arm.  There’s a good stretch where Dustin gets a Powerslam followed by a Hangman Neckbreaker for a two count that leads to this very cool Flying Clothesline, but as soon as that’s done Danielson locks in the LaBelle Lock, and Dustin has to scramble his way to the ropes.  Danielson starts laying in some kicks (at which point Dustin says the F word on NATIONAL TELEVISION) and they start trading blows back and forth.  Dustin goes for the Uppercut, but Danielson dodges it and transitions into a Crucifix pin for a two count; kicking him a few times for good measure.  Dustin is in the corner after this and so Danielson charges but ends up eating a MASSIVE Clothesline from Dustin that turns him inside out before landing the Pile Driver for a two count.  Dustin is starting to feel the momentum and so tries to follow up quickly with a Suplex, but Danielson breaks out of it and manages to lock in the Guillotine.  Dustin is fighting back with all his might, but the submission ends up being too much for him to overcome and he passes out in the middle of the ring; giving Danielson the win and advancing him in the tournament.  It wasn’t a long match but I still would have cut a few minutes out as it took a bit too long to get going and the comeback didn’t have enough of a punch to it.  A solid effort from two very talented guys but far from the best match we’ve seen AEW open with.

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (10-23-2021)” →

Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (09-29-2021)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

We’re back with another episode of AEW action, though this is something of a special episode.  Not in the USUAL AEW sense of adding a subtitle and a few marquee matches, but because this show takes place in Rochester where Brodie Lee is from and where he was supposed to debut before the Pandemic put everything on hold.  Because of this, AEW has put together a stacked card to not only continue their ongoing storylines but to celebrate and the people he affected during his time at the company.  Is it a proper celebration for the Exalted One who was taken from us far too soon?  Let’s find out!!

CM Punk comes out at the start of the show and he once again joins the commentary team on this episode.  I’m starting to wonder if he’ll actually do all that much wrestling as he seems perfectly content to sit in the booth and talk about everyone else.  I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it as I think he’s got a lot of potential for that kind of role, but I’m guessing the checks Tony Khan had to write to get him aren’t about to go to someone who stays OUT of the ring.

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Jungle Boy Vs. Adam Cole

Something we’ll run into a few times in this episode (which was also a bit of an issue on the last episode) is crowd reactions as the place goes unglued for Adam Cole despite being the heel in this conflict.  I gut that everyone is happy he’s here instead of at the other place, but it always feels off when someone is going above and beyond to be a heel and just gets the opposite reaction for it.  Then again, if you could argue one thing in favor of Paragon Cole, he does seem to have the experience advantage in this match and most of the time when he gets the lead it’s from outsmarting Jungle Boy which means that the young guy has to learn on the fly to outmaneuver the veteran.  Cole tries to keep Jungle Boy grounded with headlocks and mat work while keeping him off his game with feints and misdirection; particularly when he puts on the brakes on a charge Jungle Boy had scouted and had started flipping over; only to find Adam Cole behind him and is dragged to the mat for a one count.  Still, you can’t count the Jungle Boy out as he uses the same trick on a Cole a minute later and ends up knocking him out of the ring with a Springboard Arm Drag followed by a Drop Kick.  Cole needs to slow him down, so he baits him to go outside the ring with him before rushing back in and attacking Jungle Boy when he tries to get into the ring behind him.  Jungle Boy manages to escape the beating and goes to the turnbuckle, but Cole pushes him off and he tumbles to the floor in a bump that looked PRETTY bad but doesn’t seem to have caused an actual injury.  In any case, Jungle Boy is hurting and so Cole gets the heat during the commercial.  Jungle Boy eventually manages to fight back and tries to even the odds by landing a Basement Drop Kick on Cole followed by a BIG Lariat that sends him flipping in the air before landing on the mat.  The gamble pays off as the match gets VERY even at that point with them trading blows and pulling off big moves to try and wear the other one down.  Jungle Boy gets a German Suplex into a bridge for a two count and puts Cole in the Tree of Woe to land a Drop Kick, but then Cole follows up with a Backstabber and the Last Shot for a two count as well.  Cole goes for the Panama Sunrise from the apron to the floor, but Jungle Boy rolls away, runs into the rings, hits the ropes, and goes to dive… only to eat a Step Up Enziguri to the face.  Not to be outdone, he lands a Hurricanrana from the apron to the floor and tosses Cole back into the ring.  However, his follow-up of a Springboard Cutter fails to hit its mark as he eats a Superkick instead, and Cole uses this to land the Panama Sunrise… ONLY TO GET A TWO COUNT!  Shock and awe fill the arena as Cole’s finisher didn’t do the job and he tries to follow-up with THE BOOM, but Jungle Boy ducks and locks him in the Snare Trap.  Cole crawls to the ropes so Jungle Boy breaks the hold to drag him back to the center which gives Cole an opening to kick him in the face.  Cole gets up with Jungle Boy right behind him and it looks like Cole is grabbing the ropes with Ref Aubrey sandwiched between them, and while she’s unable to see what’s going on Cole lands a kick to the groin.  Seeing as neither one of their finishers ended the match, he took the path of least resistance and cheated with a move that knocked  Jungle Boy down which allows Cole to land THE BOOM, and gets the pin to win the match.  This was yet another fantastic showing from Adam Cole who is clearly proving himself to be a valuable addition to AEW.  I think the crowd is making things a bit awkward though because they LOVE this guy despite being a clear Heel, but aside from that I definitely want to see more matches with him!

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (09-29-2021)” →

Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (09-24-2021) – Grand Slam

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

We’re back with more (and more, and more, and more) Rampage action as AEW’s attempt to fill every waking moment of my life with wrestling is moving forward unabated!  Hopefully things can slow down a bit and we can get back to our standard three hours of TV a week, but the Dynamite episode of Grand Slam was pretty excellent and they’ve got a solid card lined up for this EXTRA LONG episode of Rampage, so perhaps a little fatigue is worth it if it means a few more fantastic matches!  Is this a satisfying conclusion to the Grand Slam event that started on Wednesday, or will I be far from the only one wanting to go back to a one hour Rampage by the time this episode is done?  Let’s find out!!

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CM Punk Vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Hobbs is accompanied to the ring by Hook

CM Punk more or less proved he could still have solid matches when he went up against Darby Allin, but now we’re gonna see if he can put some shine on the talent who aren’t already at the top of the pecking order.  Hobbs came on the scene in a BIG way and was signed almost immediately, but he’s not really lived up to his potential; mostly due to a lack of marquee matches if you ask me.  That’s probably why they went with him to go up against CM Punk as you can’t ask for a better match-up to get eyeballs on you, and for what it’s worth they both do a solid job here.  Punk hits Hobbs with a Drop Kick as soon as the bell rings and starts working over the left leg which proves that at least SOMEONE knows what you’ve got to do to take a big man down!  Still, even with Punk’s fancy tactics, it’s hard to overcome the sheer POWER of Hobbs who knocks him to his knees with ONE Headbutt from Hobbs sends Punk to his knees.  On top of that, Hobbs has Hook in his corner so even when Punk gets the advantage through better technique he can’t always capitalize on it like when he puts Hobbs on his shoulders for a GTS very early in the match only for Hook to get up on the apron.  You’d think Punk would be able to just finish the move despite a guy looking at him funny, but that’s one of those quirks about the wacky world of wrestling and sure enough, he puts Hobbs down to go after him only to eat a Running Cross Body from Hobbs that knocks him flat on his back.  Hobbs gets the heat for a while and milks the crowd for as many boos as they can give him, and despite a few hope spots from Punk like a quick roll up for a two count, Hobbs remains firmly in control up to and throughout the commercial break.  Punk finally escapes with a few elbows to the face, and a Spin Kick followed by a Swinging Neck Breaker gets him some momentum.  He lands a Top Rope Elbow Drop for a two count and gets Hobbs on his shoulders once again for the GTS.  Punk actually finishes the move this time but it doesn’t connect as Hobbs blocks the knee on his way down, and hits him with one of his HELLACIOUS Spine Busters!  Hobbs gets him up on his shoulder for his finisher Town Business, but Punk wriggles out and puts him in a choke which nearly knocks him out.  He fights back and breaks the hold with a Back Drop which he follows with a Stampede that only gets him a two count.  After Punk gets an Avalanche Hurricanrana for a two count of his own, he tries to put Hobbs in a Triangle Choke which is a HUGE mistake as the number one rule of Big Guys is don’t leave their legs free, and as you’d expect Hobbs lifts up Punk and lands a Sit Out Powerbomb.  Punk kicks out at two and so Hobbs just tries hammering Punk in the middle of the ring to wear him down, but this allows Punk to land a Roundhouse Kick that sends Hobbs Reeling.  Punk signals for the GTS when Hook jumps on the apron once again, and of course Punk goes to deal with him which allows Hobbs to charge from behind.  BUT WAIT!  This is all a misdirection as Punk sees this coming from a mile away and sidesteps the charge so that Hobbs knocks Hook into next week which is perhaps the biggest bump Hook has taken since he started showing up in Team Taz!  With Hobbs distracted, Punk gets him on his shoulders and FINALLY hits the GTS to get the pin and win the match to the utter delight of the fans!  It was a pretty good match for the most part and I think I liked it more than the Darby Allin match.  Hobbs just seems to be bringing a lot more out of Punk so that he’s less the Elder Statesman of Wrestling looking to play to impress the crowd and more of a down and dirty fighter that I find much more entertaining and I suspect is the kind of wrestling that CM Punk fans want to see from the guy.  This Team Taz feud is far from over and I can only hope that the rest of the matches Punk has with them will be just as good!

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (09-24-2021) – Grand Slam” →

Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (09-17-2021)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

We’re back with another episode of Rampage; or as I like to call it, the quiet before the storm!  The next Dynamite is one of those shows with a subtitle to it which means it’ll be stuffed with big matches and important storylines, and the Rampage after that is going to be TWO hours long instead of the usual one!  As if All Out didn’t exhaust me enough already!  Well in any case, we’ve got this nice one hour show to get through between now and then, so is another action packed fun-sized wrestling show, or did they move everything worth watching to the Arthur Ashe Stadium shows?  Let’s find out!!

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The Lucha Bros Vs. The Butcher and The Blade

The Lucha Bros are accompanied to the ring by Alex Abrahantes while The Butcher and The Blade are accompanied by HFO

I wouldn’t say that The Butcher and The Blade are a BAD tag team, but they do need the right opponents to make them shine which is why their most memorable match was against The Young Bucks; one of the best teams out there when it comes to carrying a match.  The Lucha Bros easily prove themselves to not just be great workers but great champs as well as they put on a darn good show with The Butcher and The Blade here who give them a decent run for their money; mostly through cheap tricks and overwhelming force.  Actually facing them in a fair fight is pretty much a non-starter as The Blade starts things off by trying to keep up with Fenix, but just can’t get a hold of him and tags in The Butcher.  His strength makes him a bit tougher to overcome, but Penta and Fenix’s teamwork cuts him down to size, so it’s time for the Heels to get dirty.  Penta has a hold of The Butcher and Fenix goes up for a top rope move, but The Blade knocks him off the ropes; giving The Butcher a chance to get some offense on Penta.  Fenix tags himself in to cut The Butcher’s momentum, but then he ends up on Butcher’s shoulders for an assisted Knee Strike with The Blade.  So far so good for The Butcher and The Blade, but once things settle to a more civilized tag match, The Lucha Bros get the advantage again with some good strikes from Fenix, Sling Blades from Penta, and dives from both of them to The Butcher and The Blade who had rolled outside the ring.  It’s not until a MASSIVE Cross Body from The Butcher that their momentum is halted and the Heels can finally get some heat.  Penta eventually gets the hot tag to Fenix and both teams start trading some big moves.  A Fear Factor from The Lucha Bros, some sort of Backdrop move from The Butcher and The Blade (looked kind of like FTR’s Big Rig), and eventually Penta is trying to get to the corner for a tag when The Butcher and The Blade make their most dastardly move yet!  Fenix DOES get the tag, but The Butcher is there immediately to knock him out the ring while The Blade TIES PENTA’S MASK TO THE RING POST!  Penta is forced to sit there and watch as The Butcher and The Blade start to overwhelm his brother and he is ultimately forced to remove his mask and land a Super Kick while covering his face!  The kick lands squarely on Butcher’s jaw, and Fenix gets the pin to win the match!  It’s not over yet however as Private Party run in and attack Penta and Fenix, the former still without a mask and covering his face, when Proud N Powerful run in to make the save.  The masks are always a soft spot for me and a quick way to get me to boo someone, so having this work into the finish of the match was a pretty solid way to cap it off.  It’s not even in the same LEAGUE as the Bucks match at the PPV, but for a title defense on the B Show it was pretty good!

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (09-17-2021)” →

Super Wrestling: AEW – All Out 2021

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

All Out and all the images you see I this recap are owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, and Shahid Khan

After weeks of buildup, the start of a new Friday night show, and the arrival of one of wrestling’s biggest names, this could be the most anticipated PPV that wrestling has seen for quite some time; certainly as far as AEW who already have a high bar for these shows but those expectations have been shot into the stratosphere after everything they’ve promised and the stuff they’ve heavily hinted at!  Is this a show for the ages that will be a turning point for AEW, especially given their recent boost in popularity, or will the house of cards finally come down after all those unrealistic expectations give way to reality?  Let’s find out!!

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Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Wheeler Yuta and Jurassic Express Vs. Hardy Family Office – The Buy In Ten Man Tag Match

So in case you hadn’t heard, there was a last-minute complication that forced AEW to drop the Pac and Andrade match and move the original Buy In match to the main card; leaving a spot in the Buy In that needed to be SWIFTLY filled in.  I couldn’t tell you exactly which match was pushed to the main card (if I were to guess, MAYBE the TNT Title match) but for a match that had to come about at the eleventh hour, they managed to put on a VERY good show!  With this many guys in the ring it mostly devolves into a spot fest where all the Baby Faces get to show off while the Heels dampen their momentum, but there are some fun thru-lines throughout.  The most obvious one is between Matt Hardy and Orange Cassidy where Matt is INSISTENT on getting him in the ring to face him!  The match starts with Chuck Taylor, and he just kicks him back to the corner!  Nope!  Orange Cassidy!  Wheeler Yuta comes out and Hardy just grabs him by the head and shoves him back to his side!  NO!  ORANGE CASSIDY!  NOW!!  Then Luchasaurus comes in… and Hardy suddenly feels the urge to tag in Jack Evans who’s not happy about this but gives it his all… before getting crushed.  Things get a bit more straightforward from there with a few different lock ups that are more evenly matched until Luchasaurus gets swarmed and does the Big Man RAARRRGHHH spot to send them all flying.  It’s not until Hardy distracts Luchasaurus that Private Party are FINALLY able to cut him down, and it’s now time for Cassidy to make his move as he gives Lousy Kicks to all three of them before throwing Hardy out of the ring.  There are spots all over the place and chaos has completely taken over as I don’t think anyone GENUINELY knows who’s the legal competitor, but eventually everyone is effectively killed which leaves just Jungle Boy and Angelico in the ring.  Jack Evans jumps in and is on Angelico’s shoulders so Jungle Boy gets on Luchasaurus and they play a game of chicken that ends in Jurassic Express’s favor.  Private Party tries to take advantage of this goofiness by jumping at the precariously balanced Jungle Boy, but his flexibility allows him to dodge a Cross Body from Quen and SOMEHOW catches Kassidy then flips over backwards and lands so that Kassidy takes the brunt of the fall!

You had ONE job, Kassidy!
Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW – All Out 2021” →

Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (09-03-2021)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

It’s always fun trying to find time to watch everything on a PPV weekend, but I managed to do it and am eagerly anticipating how it all shakes out on the big show!  Does AEW’s last show before All Out prove to be the last burst of energy they need to finish the build and kick up the hype for the PPV, or do they stumble at the one-yard line?  Let’s find out!!

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Malakai Black Vs. Lee Johnson

Black has been an unstoppable and terrifying force for the last few weeks, but at some point he was gonna have to fight more than a minute or two and Lee Johnson gets the honor of being in his longest match by far.  Black starts off by mocking him and not taking Johnson seriously which is honestly a pretty fair assessment as Johnson looks ABSOLUTELY terrified, but Johnson’s got a lot of speed that Black isn’t expecting and this gives him SOMETHING of an opening to get a few shots in.  He even lands a fury of punches and a Dropkick that sends Black out of the ring and follows up with a Suicide Dive, so Black is not invulnerable and even eats a Frog Splash from Johnson after getting thrown back into the ring.  It’s all for naught however as Black just needs to land a few kicks to stop Johnson in his tracks and even gives Johnson a chair at one point to even the odds.  Johnson is barely in enough shape to hold the darn thing, let alone use it, and Black finishes him off with a Roundhouse Kick to the face; knocking him out and getting the pin.  It was fine as a match, but there was something missing in it to justify the length.  Johnson got some offense in and Black sold for him, but there was never anything that made you think that this guy had a chance and so adding extra minutes to the match just felt like diminishing returns.  Still, Black is great to watch with a theatricality to his performance that few can replicate, and Johnson got a bit of shine here as well so not a bad way to start the show.

Dustin comes out to attack Black, but Black once again ignores their next would be competitor and leaves them to stew in their own hatred.  Dustin then cuts a promo backstage where he confirms that they will have a match on the next Dynamite and that while Black may come from a place of darkness, he THRIVES in Darkness!  Has done so for five decades in fact, though I’d skip over the whole Seven thing, and honestly Black Reign can probably go as well.  I’m certainly excited to see it as Dustin is ALWAYS great whenever he shows up, and I’m willing to bet that he’s gonna bleed like a pig for Black to really push his Heel credibility to the moon if he’s not there already!

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (09-03-2021)” →

Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (09-01-2021)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT

It’s the last Dynamite before the All Out PPV and AEW is frantically trying to put all the pieces in place!  Sure, they’ve got the in-ring return of CM Punk that’s gonna sell the show to a whole lot of people, but have they done a good enough job of building the card outside of their gigantic acquisition, or is this Go Home show just confirming that everything rests of CM Punk’s shoulders?  Let’s find out!!

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FTR Vs. Proud N Powerful

FTR is accompanied to the ring by Tully Blanchard

The last time these two teams met in the ring was kind of a disaster; not just because of the injury to Cash Wheeler’s arm that cut the match short, but even before that it was kind of a nothing match.  Not a BAD match but one that didn’t live up to the hype of seeing two of the best tag teams working today lock it up in the ring.  Thankfully they pull off a MUCH better match here with an engaging story being told throughout it.  At first it starts off a bit slow and cautious, but eventually things start to pick up with Proud N Powerful in firm control of the match; so much so that I started to wonder if we were supposed to be cheering for FTR.  I mean Dax Harwood IS pretty much fighting on his own as his recently injured partner stays on the apron, but eventually Cash DOES get the blind tag starts throwing the unaware Ortiz into the posts, and the team starts to get the heat.  If that wasn’t enough to reconfirm their Heel status, Cash rips a turnbuckle pad off while Dax is working over Ortiz and they seem to be trying to injure Ortiz’s arm as retribution for what happened to Cash.  It’s at this point that it hardly even feels like a wrestling match as no one is going for pins and are just trying to hurt one another, but eventually Ortiz gets the hot tag to Santana who hits the Three Amigos (three rolling Suplexes) and follows with a Frog Splash for a two count which was the first near fall of the night.  The story then shifts to one of both teams trying to land their tandem finishers but narrowly missing the window or getting it reversed by the other team.  Santana and Ortiz set up for something in the corner but Dax knocks Santana off the top turnbuckle and Cash lands a Gory Special for a two count.  FTR get the Big Rig on Ortiz but Santana jumps on them to break up the pin.  Back and forth the two teams go until Santana and Ortiz get a big combo and get the pin on Cash to win the match.  I liked the story in this and the match was genuinely growing on me as it went along, so good on them for bringing some closure to this storyline, and hopefully they will have SAFE matches like this in the future.  After all, there are three things you can always count on in life; death, taxes, and the unending nature of this feud between The Pinnacle and The Inner Circle!

Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Dynamite (09-01-2021)” →