That basically confirms Blood n Guts at Forbidden Door

Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & Bryan Danielson)

vs

The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Kota Ibushi)

Holy fuck I wish I was going to that show. At least I get the aftermath on Dynamite in Edmonton.

May 29, 2023 3:50:22 GMT c said:

Love that explosion from the superkick spot was larger than one for the exploding ring match <.<

well yeah, it's one thing for a ring to be exploding sort of around you

and another for someone to shoot fireworks point blank in/at/on your face

I think Matt's other shoe was supposed to go off on Yuta but it never did. That was kinda funny how he just kept kicking him harder and nothing happened.

That is so sketchy using an impact gimmick. Shit could go off without warning.

May 29, 2023 3:52:29 GMT Michinokudriver said:

May 29, 2023 3:50:22 GMT c said:

Love that explosion from the superkick spot was larger than one for the exploding ring match <.<

well yeah, it's one thing for a ring to be exploding sort of around you

and another for someone to shoot fireworks point blank in/at/on your face

Mox likely insisted on being able to do this spot.  Fairly sure Bucks did it in PWG first.  Many spots in this came from their PWG hardcore shit.  After looking like an idiot in the explosion match, I assume they just let him do whatever now.

See people complaining online already about the singer doing “blackface” ignoring it was a mask. It was clearly to show allegiance with Blackpool Combat Club but I’m sure his career is over now.

Updated the cancelation thread. Weird that corpse paint is now considered black face.

Is this show worth the money? First AEW show I’m debating whether to actually buy. Haven’t missed a PPV yet but card looks flatter than piss.

May 29, 2023 10:59:48 GMT @toddisdrunk said:

Is this show worth the money? First AEW show I’m debating whether to actually buy. Haven’t missed a PPV yet but card looks flatter than piss.

The show wasn't anything you have to go out of your way to see but on the whole only two matches failed to find their mark. If nothing appealed to you, then it's not going to change your mind, but if you just want to get your fix you won't be disappointed.

International Battle Royal - So I get the feeling TK might like this OC guy. I don't think you could put him over anymore strongly than beating 20 other guys in the match. This was about as entertaining as a battle royal can be, but they had to cheat to get there. Having guys constantly stand outside before the ring cleared exposed how silly the gimmick is and while you can get away with it for a match it made the match farcical. Battle royals are usually a great way to introduce twists or start new rivalries, this felt like a pit-stop for a lot of acts.

Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole - Before the match, I just pictured Jericho pitching this as an opportunity to ease Cole back into Pro Wrestling and that's how it went. Except they took some risks and I don't think they paid off. They blew their load early with the chaotic kick-start and after Jericho took his big bump to the outside the match just meandered. Things picked up when Britt got triggered by the Kendo but even that just felt a distraction and the finish itself was poorly executed. Every now and then you need a break from tradition but in this instance Cole's strikes were weak and Audrey came off as over-zealous. Then I thought maybe they could legitimise Cole by writing Jericho off for a spell, only for Jericho to cut a promo afterwards. Good grief...

FTR vs. Jarrett/Lethal - I thought this worked as a palette clenser. They really took their time, slowly built the match up and by the finish the crowd was into everything. It was a dog and pony show, but they lent into it and in the context of the show, I thought it was what the doctor ordered.

Wardlow vs. Christian Cage - I fell into a trance with all the Luchasaurus/Arn antics. I vaguely remember thinking Christian was working traffic well and was doing his best to protect Wardlow without making it one-sided but then Arn was trying to bite off fingers, Wardlow was doing Sentons off ladders and my brain completely switched off. So much so, I had this as Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus before I corrected it.

Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter - This wasn't really a match and considering the news before the show I wasn't shocked at all by the result. One of those is what it is, but if the Outcasts had to be a thing, they had to win here.

House of Black vs. TBA - The Acclaimed didn't cross my mind, and haven't really crossed my mind since they had to drop the belts to the Gunns at the height of their popularity so FTR could do their 'will they, won't they' shtick that pissed off the core audience. I thought it was weird that HOB gave the comedy team so much shine early when they're meant to be bad-asses. Caster barely felt like he was a part of this at all and the finish felt like a fluke. It was fine, Bowens worked his ass off but it was just there.

Jade Cargill vs. Taya Valkyrie - This was much better than their first effort, I think if Jade is going to improve, she needs to work on her timing. She has so much charisma, but the match barely had time to breathe because they were rushing and trying to hit as many spots as they could inside 9 minutes. The finish could have been more creative too than I'll kick out of your finish then hit my own and win. This match looked so weak on paper, the Stat return was obvious, I just didn't realise they'd go the full hog and have her win. I don't think it really matters but I hope they find some value in the TBS championship because outside of it being an excuse to feature Jade, I'm not sure what it is.

MJF vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin vs. Jungle Boy - JB seemed like the odd one out in terms of how they structured this match. Sammy, Darby and MJF received some serious shine, whereas I barely remember anything JB did other than threatening to hit Darby with the belt. There were some great flips but this got too cute at times and all I could do was think of HOW when they hit a gazillion Canadian Destroyers. Felt like I was watching a Junior Heavyweight exhibition match instead of a World Championship match. A lot of style, not a lot of substance or drama. So I've got mixed feelings, but it's all about the follow through and how guys like Darby, Sammy and JB come out of it. If they can grow from the experience then they succeeded.

Anarchy In The Arena - I thought it was bold that the two biggest take-aways revolved around the youngest guys (Yuta and Takeshita) but we'll see how it pays off. The entire time I just felt bad for production as they were constantly missing key spots and had a difficult time following which fight to focus on which made it damn near impossible to get invested. I guess Takeshita was never revealed to be aligned with the BCC, but I would have thought that was the natural presumption so the twist wasn't really shocking. Admittedly, I'm just having a tough time getting invested in any stable right now. I lost interest well before Regal left, but after he did I thought it was best to move on. Meanwhile nothing the Elite does carries any weight at the moment. If you told me CM Punk was secretly booking this program, I'd believe you.

Hilarious.

May 29, 2023 10:59:48 GMT @toddisdrunk said:

Is this show worth the money? First AEW show I’m debating whether to actually buy. Haven’t missed a PPV yet but card looks flatter than piss.

Skippable here.  It was not bad IMO, but you got the card that was booked, which was lackluster.  If you did not like the card, def should not spend any cash on this.

Watch the youtube highlight videos that come.

May 29, 2023 15:44:36 GMT Blindy said:

Hilarious.

Blindy, you promised me you were going to be nice!

Leave TK alone! He's a sweet boy.

Coming out of this match. I wonder which 1 of these contenders may have a singles feud with MJF in the future. Until the very end. OC is a man's man. People tried cooling him off but he remains on fire! Sabu never lost it!  Britt showed Sayara how to use a kendo stick. Cole lowered the BOOM on Jericho but that didn't placate Aubrey showed Chris mercy. The tag team title match started slow but finished on a strong note. THE WILD TNT title match better match than I expected.  Jamie lost! I wonder what's next? A rubber match perhaps? Daddy Ass is the best Billy. Statlander DID IT! SHE IS THE TBS CHAMPION!

Only had interest in Sabu & Jarrett so hats off to Coach Tony K for booking those matches back to back early in the show so I didn't have to sit through the boring stuff.

Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho- Unsanctioned Match Featuring Sabu

Big draw Sabu was only out there for like two minutes. He put one of Jericho's lackeys through a table. Then he left. Assuming he got one of the bigger paydays of his career for that two minutes of work. Easy money. Until I realized he's a 58 year old man in poor health jumping from the top to the floor to put a guy through a table. 

This was not good. I've been an Adam Cole detractor ever since first seeing him in the mid 2010s when I'd occasionally watch ROH tv. Even though I wasn't a fan, I could kinda sorta see why others were. He did have a bit of charisma and liked to throw superkicks. If I squinted hard enough I could see a certain type of fan liking him as a Great Value Young Buck. But now he's just bad bad. Jericho wasn't much better. Crowd wasn't even into this. I suppose they had some decent ideas, but very few of them came off well. I did like Cole going through a table that was set up long before and Jericho's suplex from apron to floor. Doing that in your 50s is a 100%er move. But the finish with a ref stoppage off Adam Cole throwing a bunch of sub-elementary school playground fight lefts was lolworthy. Then they ran an backstage angle later to continue this feud. Ugh. Hard pass.

FTR vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal w/ Planet Jarrett 2.0- Tag Title Match featuring special guest referee Mark Briscoe

Jeff Jarrett is the best thing in AEW. FTR's Midnight Express inspired theme is the 2nd best thing in AEW.

This was a hoot as all Jarrett AEW matches are. With all due respect to LA Knight & Dominik Mysterio, AEDouble J is my favorite thing in 2023 wrestling. Bulk of the match was fine. There was some sloppiness early when FTR stumbled a bit on some Rocker-style reversal sequences, but the ship soon righted itself. FTR Hair took the beating and sold well enough. FTR Bald got the hot tag and served as the offense guy. He and Lethal had a nice chop battle or two.

But the beauty of all AEDoubleJ matches lies in the finishing stretches. It's all b.s. and high drama....Raven 12 step finishes on steroids...and it's the best thing going today. WOOO! Jarrett's lackeys interfere. Guitars are teased and used. There are nearfalls galore. This time JJ accidentally bonked Mark Briscoe with a guitar shot after the Delaware chicken farmer ejected his buddies in a beautifully executed moment. Then that awful buttinsky female referee who has screwed JJ over more times than I can count ran out to do so again only to be blocked by Sonjay before ultimately getting whacked with a Karen Jarrett guitar shot. I popped so hard for that. Karen for Queen. After some more glorious straight outta Memphis shenanigans stupid FTR got the win with their finisher  

Verdict- One star fewer than a million billion because JJ lost

AEW has booked JJ as a hard luck heel who keeps coming *this close* to winning gold only to once again fall short. This only makes him a bigger babyface in my book. AEW has like 15 different championships. One day JJ is gonna win one of them and I am so here for it. Best championship chase since Benoit? Yeah, I think so. 

Baker

I really want Jarrett to be the one to dethrone Cassidy but tag team
Win would be great also

May 30, 2023 3:30:07 GMT Baker said:

Then that awful buttinsky female referee who has screwed JJ over more times than I can count ran out to do so again

This reminded me of an idea I had a while back. They should run an angle where JJ wants (and gets) his own personal referee who calls it right down the middle to balance out the biased official he usually gets stuck with. It actually works better than ever after the recent Mark Briscoe stuff. Of course the new ref would obviously end up being in Jarrett's pocket and ultimately join Planet Jarrett 2.0. It would be money. Anyone know if Frank Morrell is still alive?

The being behind JJ is amazing to see. Was unreal to see him get over in GCW too. He was like everything GCW was not, but fans loved it. That was how I knew if they let him wrestle in AEW he could win over the fans there too.

JJ and Lethal make a hell of a team too, and allows Lethal to take the big spots Jarrett really should not be doing anymore.

What impresses me the most of all of this, is we are getting more and more TNA Jarrett, and it is still over. Well, and wrestling for AEW is his side gig, he still sets up the live shows and shit. The in ring stuff is like a bonus.

" Swaggering about in a garish new hat, he seemed to say, 'Look at me, Triple H! I have a new hat! "

May 29, 2023 22:34:38 GMT Ed said:

Coming out of this match. I wonder which 1 of these contenders may have a singles feud with MJF in the future. 

Darby Allin has to get his win back. Him and MJF tore the roof down at Full Gear 2021 and MJF beat him with the headlock takeover, then he used the same finish to retain his title on Sunday after everyone else took each other out. Allin is getting another run at MJF and unless they have plans for a really long title reign, I could see Allin taking the title off him before Sting retires.

Darby is by far the most over of the three pillars that aren't MJF, and him finally getting a win over MJF, taking his title, being hoisted up by Sting...you can't ask for a better moment for an AEW OG than that.

www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRoMp8op/

May 30, 2023 4:42:31 GMT c said:

JJ and Lethal make a hell of a team too, and allows Lethal to take the big spots Jarrett really should not be doing anymore.

This is a good point. I'm always focusing on Double J because he's *checks notes* my 11th favorite wrestler of all time experiencing a career resurgence in his mid 50s, but Lethal (my 134th all time favorite wrestler as of 2019- not too shabby!) does a good job as the team's workhorse. It goes even further than that. The whole entourage is strong. Dutt does a good job as the weaselly little 'annoying' manager. Ditto for Singh as the big guy doing giant spots. And now they've added Karen, who hit a homerun the other day ON THAT JERK REF's HEAD, to the mix as well. Whoever is booking this stuff/laying out their matches deserves a raise.

Baker, I'd love JJ to beat OC for the International title in sneaky bad-guy fashion.

A lot of people want JJ to have a run with that title cheating the defend it from all comers.

I'm always impressed with Baker & anybody else that puts detail in their rankings because even though I don't digest wrestling that way, I respect what good discussion can be brought about by making lists. Depending on the content of said banter. Like my mother always told me, it's not what you say, it is how you say it.

May 31, 2023 0:52:30 GMT Baker said:

May 30, 2023 4:42:31 GMT c said:

JJ and Lethal make a hell of a team too and allows Lethal to take the big spots Jarrett really should not be doing anymore.

This is a good point. I'm always focusing on Double J because he's *checks notes* my 11th favorite wrestler of all time experiencing a career resurgence in his mid-50s, but Lethal (my 134th all-time favorite wrestler as of 2019- not too shabby!) does a good job as the team's workhorse. It goes even further than that. The whole entourage is strong. Dutt does a good job as the weaselly little 'annoying' manager. Ditto for Singh as the big guy doing giant spots. And now they've added Karen, who hit a home run the other day ON THAT JERK REF's HEAD, to the mix as well. Whoever is booking this stuff/laying out their matches deserves a raise.

Jeff is an interesting case for me. I don't hate his WCW & WWF tenures but he just didn't connect with me. I loved, hatted, yet respected his work in TNA & I loved his Memphis run.

Jeff Jarrett is, was, and will always be awesome, that is all. Anyone who says otherwise, is a giant slap nuts.