The issue for me is that they were clearly trying to frame a dog collar match around what passes as a good modern match so I never really bought it. Even the blade job from Punk was done right in front of the camera and then to really ham it home he punched his cut just to get the crimson mask going.

For me it was like Owen/Bret at SummerSlam 1994 which some people love but it felt like I was watching an exhibition at a wrestling school, except both instructors really struggled with the chain.

The thumbtacks were over-kill as well and felt like they blew their wads on the chain spots so they had to turn it into a run of the mill Moxley match at the death. Even then, they still had to incorporate Wardlow and muffle their own personal rivalry.

It's hard to describe my feelings for the Dog Collar match. It did absolutely everything right. The tone was great, they used the dog collar well, it was unpredictable, had the right level of brutality, I believed both guys wanted to kill each other. The problem is, I wasn't feeling it all that much. I've documented how much I love the build, so perhaps no matter how good the match was, it could not meet the lofty expectations my brain has set.

I find no fault with the match, the finish was perfect, yet I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. It's a really weird thing to say, but it's the best way I can describe it. Objectively, 10/10 match. Subjectively, 7/10.

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Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker was a disappointment. Of course they had a terrible slot, and the crowd was kinda dead which didn't help. I didn't feel any fire from either wrestler. Most of the offense from both ladies looked half-assed. The psychology was pretty basic, not much beyond Baker using her cronies to cheat a lot. Which is sometimes fine, if the intensity and execution is there, but they weren't. Finish was your usual Britt Baker stuff. It wasn't all bad, I liked the grappling and submission transitions near the end of the match, but for the most part underwhelming.

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Similar feelings to Moxley vs Danielson as I had for MJF vs Punk. They didn't really do anything wrong, I just wasn't that into it. Maybe it's not a them problem, but a me problem.

What did get me excited was Regal's shock appearance, which makes perfect sense in hindsight. Also he looked so convincing, that fire in his eyes, slapping two of the most dangerous wrestlers in the face without a care in the world. Hope this leads to a Regal/Danielson/Moxley faction. What a powerhouse that would be.

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Trios match was a ridiculous spotfest, not my thing but at least it didn't go on that long. Darby's Coffin Drop is so powerful even the force of air from his movement is enough to score a pinfall.

Dog Collar is just that good of a gimmick. That is what it comes down to. Being connected at the neck is just too limiting. There is no real benefit to doing it over a strap match. They did everything right, but it is VERY hard to make that gimmick work, since once you get past the gimmick, the matches it allows are just limited versions of better work the people do without it.

Danielson vs Mox felt that too. It was good, but missed something. They were great mechanically, but there was like no spark. I really felt like that match should have just been an AEW deathmatch if they were going to go that hard.  

Regal was fucking awesome though. He has been one of my favorites for decades so very glad to see him. He also worked the majority of the roster telling everyone who asked, he is too old to start over in a new fed and just wants a quiet life, while talking with Tony the whole fucking time.

Mar 8, 2022 21:49:19 GMT Emperor said:

It's hard to describe my feelings for the Dog Collar match. It did absolutely everything right. The tone was great, they used the dog collar well, it was unpredictable, had the right level of brutality, I believed both guys wanted to kill each other. The problem is, I wasn't feeling it all that much. I've documented how much I love the build, so perhaps no matter how good the match was, it could not meet the lofty expectations my brain has set.

I find no fault with the match, the finish was perfect, yet I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. It's a really weird thing to say, but it's the best way I can describe it. Objectively, 10/10 match. Subjectively, 7/10.

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Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker was a disappointment. Of course they had a terrible slot, and the crowd was kinda dead which didn't help. I didn't feel any fire from either wrestler. Most of the offense from both ladies looked half-assed. The psychology was pretty basic, not much beyond Baker using her cronies to cheat a lot. Which is sometimes fine, if the intensity and execution is there, but they weren't. Finish was your usual Britt Baker stuff. It wasn't all bad, I liked the grappling and submission transitions near the end of the match, but for the most part underwhelming.

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Similar feelings to Moxley vs Danielson as I had for MJF vs Punk. They didn't really do anything wrong, I just wasn't that into it. Maybe it's not a them problem, but a me problem.

What did get me excited was Regal's shock appearance, which makes perfect sense in hindsight. Also he looked so convincing, that fire in his eyes, slapping two of the most dangerous wrestlers in the face without a care in the world. Hope this leads to a Regal/Danielson/Moxley faction. What a powerhouse that would be.

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Trios match was a ridiculous spotfest, not my thing but at least it didn't go on that long. Darby's Coffin Drop is so powerful even the force of air from his movement is enough to score a pinfall.

I’m sour about Rosa/Baker still, but I really think they’re going the route we discussed earlier in the thread.

Rosa will beat Hirsch and then beat Baker in the cage in San Antonio. She deserves a huge moment, and they decided not to do it at the PPV because of how stacked the card was.

I LOVE that the major problem with this show for net fans seems to be CM Punk not coming out to Cult of Personality for reasons some people cannot understand and are mad about. Despite Excalibur exampling that his was his song when he was an underdog while the song was playing and AEW making a tweet explaining it was his RoH theme, still while the song was playing. Like really, this is where people want to go to complain?

Mar 9, 2022 5:19:59 GMT c said:

I LOVE that the major problem with this show for net fans seems to be CM Punk not coming out to Cult of Personality for reasons some people cannot understand and are mad about. Despite Excalibur exampling that his was his song when he was an underdog while the song was playing and AEW making a tweet explaining it was his RoH theme, still while the song was playing. Like really, this is where people want to go to complain?

Is this where we pretend there’s outrage about something when there isn’t?

Was a big thing on twitter yesterday getting comments from all the wrestling journalist people.

Mar 9, 2022 5:19:59 GMT c said:

I LOVE that the major problem with this show for net fans seems to be CM Punk not coming out to Cult of Personality for reasons some people cannot understand and are mad about. Despite Excalibur exampling that his was his song when he was an underdog while the song was playing and AEW making a tweet explaining it was his RoH theme, still while the song was playing. Like really, this is where people want to go to complain?

The reason a lot of people complaining didn't know that is because a lot of his fans learned about him in WWE. So while Punk hates his WWE experience if it wasn't for it he probably won't be a star at this level.

Mar 9, 2022 12:04:07 GMT Todd said:

Mar 9, 2022 5:19:59 GMT c said:

I LOVE that the major problem with this show for net fans seems to be CM Punk not coming out to Cult of Personality for reasons some people cannot understand and are mad about. Despite Excalibur exampling that his was his song when he was an underdog while the song was playing and AEW making a tweet explaining it was his RoH theme, still while the song was playing. Like really, this is where people want to go to complain?

Is this where we pretend there’s outrage about something when there isn’t?

It was much to do about nothing. A writer on WON, Paul Fontaine asked what he was missing with the CM Punk entrance. He got a few snarky replies questioning his knowledge on the industry, which he replied to the effect that he wasn't an expert of minor league promotion enjoyed by 10,000s. Punk oversaw it and basically called him stupid. Some fans tried to remove the context and it became a discussion about gate-keeping.

Honestly it was much to do with nothing and for the most part the show received rave reviews. The only complaint if anything revolved around the women's match and a few minor nit-picks.

Punk apologized for being an ass later too. Digest complaints I seen was Britt should have passed on the title and Jade is still pretty green. Pretty minor overall. Jade is green still as she is a rookie still only starting training 2 years ago, and Britt passing the title is just an armchair booking opinion.

Finally, Adam vs Adam.

First 10 minutes were solid, then descended into the Adam Cole NXT pattern of big move, then near fall, then big move, then near fall. Generic heel interference, generic stable rush in to chase the generic interfering heels away. Champion retains because he's invincible, not because he's the better wrestler.

Pretty much hit all my modern wrestling pet peeves. Meh/10.

Re: Hardy Family Office vs Private Party - are Butcher/Blade/Bunny and Hybrid2 still part of HFO?

also, because I'm not sure where to put this, and for all I know this has been mentioned already, but upon reflection did AEW really have a respect angle between Mox/Danielson where Jon said he wouldn't fight alongside anyone unless he fought against them first (presumably as a test of character), then immediately showed old indy clips showing the two have wrestled against each other many times over the past decade plus?

Jericho/Kingston was very good. Eddie finally gets a big win. Now it's time for the battle royal. HOSS FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!