Counting Lights

No no, I get exactly what you're saying and I disagree with you. Would you have Wardlow march through Orange like he's not a threat? Or Orange forgo everything and wrestle with no gimmick? Both are dull options. Orange did his shtick cranked up to 11, pulled out all the stops because he knew Wardlow wouldn't go down easy, and Wardlow STILL went over. At this point we've established that Wardlow is dominant. Dude ate Scorpio alive, was able to hang with Punk, etc. This provided a completely different opportunity, showing he can hang with the mind games. OC has been established as someone who runs mind games better than anyone in the company, of course he was gonna get his way for a big chunk of the match. But Wardlow took everything Orange could throw and ultimately took him down. Not to mention, half the time when Orange looked to get his way Wardlow still powered out of whatever Orange had planned. Most of the shots Orange landed were either reversals or taking Wardlow by surprise. Orange set the tone and played his own game, and Wardlow still beat him. I thought both guys walked out looking great.

lmao what?? This was Cassidy going all in with his usual tricks and mind games and Wardlow thwarting him every step of the way. I know he's not your cup of tea in the slightest, but OC is one of the top acts in AEW, has been since day one. He went out there, he was Orange Cassidy to the fullest, and Wardlow beat him when he tried to throw every OC trick he could at him.

Ayyy that was a fun episode. Wardlow vs OC was honestly fun as hell. One of my fave TV matches of the year. SWERVE IN OUR GLORY!! I was rooting for Team Taz, but this was cool. I kinda think maybe this feud gets a blow off at All Out? Team Tazz vs SIOG with Starks/Hobbs finally winning?

That Dark Order segment was actually a bummer.

Glad I watched Rosa vs Yamashita, that was really, really good.

I take it that's a match we should go out of our way to see?

Brody King really brought it in the main. Mox felt sloppy though. Christian promos >> Not overly familiar with Rush but that was a solid showing. Dark Order segment was fun, hope they actually start to be featured more often. Very happy for Wardlow, even happier the belt is away from Sky. He, Lambert and Page just need to leave.

I doubt she goes to AEW but hooooooly shit what a get she would be. TK would almost certainly license a Poppy song, right?

That was muuuuch better than the last Blood & Guts I think. A lot of really cool spots. Eddie, Claudio and tbh Angelo really shined in this one. Edit: Hell, Sammy too.

I hate wrestling fans. I know there's creeps in every fanbase but idk, ours just seems to draw in some of the worst.

Andrade and Fenix didn't have to go that hard, but they did. The did it for us. Guessing that was TK saying "y'all we know it's BS you can't be on the PPV, go steal the show". I'm curious if they can loophole an Ospreay v Andrade match on an otherwise entirely AEW card? Or if Andrade basically can't touch a NJPW worker. For JB... I wonder how legit that is. On the one hand, that conchairto looked nasty. On the other... could be a worked injury?

AYYY THEY GOT OKADA LETS GOOOOO. I got so hyped for that shit. Gonna go wild when Cesaro pops in to replace Danielson too. Fun episode!

I like her. She has times she can be a bit awkward in the ring though. And she should never do a moonsault again.

Hate saying it but I agree, booking the Hardy's in hardcore matches left and right with them as broken down as they has been questionable at best. If they wanted to keep going, this was the time to change their style, not embrace the risky stuff twice as much.

That match was definitely a star making performance. Not sure where he'd fit story wise atm, but he's a great "Open Challenge" opponent if like Starks wanted to through one out for the FTW belt.

What a way to end it all. I really hoped Jeff had gotten himself straight but.... ugh, yeah, get him out of here. Idk if the man needs therapy, rehab or jail time, but get him outta here.

I'm so curious what these issues might be. My initial thought was maybe MVP took issue with Jericho's parody of "Sports Entertainers", but the report mentions political issues... so I guess Jericho's Trump support set it off?

I wasn't overly happy with this episode. KOR was a dull Battle Royal winner. Him vs Mox was very good, but everyone and their mother knew KOR had zero chance to win. And honestly, not overly interested in either of reDRagon as solo guys. I really got excited thinking Andrade was gonna win it. New title is weird. We don't need it. I could see it being decent if it's like... a title that is taken to other countries by the champion and defended at other promotions or something? It is nicely designed though. Buddy vs PAC went HARD. King vs Juggernaut delivered big time. Ospreay man, haven't seen this dude in a few. Marina Shafir's entrance might be the quietest crowd I've ever heard in my life. I'm glad she just served to set up for Toni to appear, but God damn couldn't you have used Tay or Bunny instead or something? Wardlow should definitely take the belt off Sky. But mans ain't a hot promo.

Huge bummer about Punk. I was so psyched to see him as champion again. This blows. So... dream scenario here for me is Danielson wins the BR, beats Mox to go to Forbidden Door... but swap Tanahashi for Okada and put the belt ON Okada. That'd make for a pretty dope reign while Punk heels.

Taking a wild guess that this is a publicity stunt/character choice rather than a legit engagement.

What a weird episode. Danielson vs Sydal was awesome. Bucks entrance/Hardy mockery was incredible. Then poor Ruby got turned on HARD. That sucked to see, damn.

Wardlow vs Spears was a lot of fun. Cool storytelling. Spears should've taken the mask off before the lights came on though. Looked dope with the dim lights, but corny in regular lighting. The Punk/Hangman segment was actually fire. But I think this promo should've happened at least a week or two ago. It was great, Punk very subtly heeling it up, but it definitely needed a follow up promo that sadly, it won't be getting. FTR are so dope man. Cobb and the other guy showed up and ruined the fun. Very botched debut for them. Crowd was in until that botched finish too, then died. Triple Threat was so sweat. MotN easy. Hoss Triple Threat on Rampage?? Also pulling like crazy for Starks and Hobbs to win the gold Rosa promo was actually solid, until she just... kept going lol. I cringed when she randomly started talking again as her music hit. Girl either needs someone to workshop promos with or a mouthpiece. Storm vs Britt was what it was, but that one sequence into the Air Raid was sloppy af. These two didn't really have chemistry JOE!! I honestly expected KOR to win, but hyped it'll be Joe at the PPV. Hope he wins the thing.

I really feel for Alexa. Celebrities in general man, it's such a deal with the devil to achieve recognition for your talents.

I know everyone has different tastes... but man, y'all really hate fun lol The Hangman match was an absolute banger, solidified Takeshita as someone to take seriously should he stick around AND served to showcase a NJPW guy to those AEW fans who don't know much of the company/don't have a whole lot of interest in Forbidden Door. Wild to me that the wrestling world as a whole seems to be praising the match and showing and you guys are still shitting on it. I do agree however that the Punk/Hangman feud is cold, but I think that's entirely due to their promo's subject matter. It's not personal in the slightest. It's entirely "veteran vs guy trying to become the new ace" and Punk could be slotted out for basically any main eventer without much change to how this match has been built. And that's a damn shame because if Punk got vicious, anxious Hangman would be the PERFECT target for him to cut deep, same way he did Eddie. The blame with that could be on TK's booking or the competitors themselves choosing to tell the story they are, but it's been a bad choice by whomever chose it.

Well shit, hope he's alright... Some quick thoughts - Johnny Elite was a fun surprise, but glad Joe went over. I think Joe is my new pick to win the tournament. I'm guessing Johnny will be an occasional pop up appearance rather than a full on new signing, which is probably for the best. O'Reilly vs Fenix and Hangman vs Takeshita went HARD. Both were stellar matches, huge props all around. Punk on commentary was great as always. Still wish the story was being told differently though. I feel like the dynamic has more potential than just what is essentially "To be the man you gotta beat the man". Jericho/Regal promo was enjoyable, but I was reeeeally waiting for Regal to grab the mic at the end and scream WARGAMESBLOOD AND GUTS. Serena's promos frustrate me. She actually had some great content, but weird unnecessary bits about sports teams and junk. It needed to be a bit tighter, as what she said about the shit she went through to try and make it? That was great. AEW would benefit from hiring one or two writers to work as promo consultants, someone that wrestlers could have like an option to sit down and workshop their promos with. Maki Itoh was also a fun surprise, though I was admittedly hoping for Athena. Britt winning was fine. I think she and Cole will both make the finals, but I think both will be losing then. Ruby gonna get her win back.