Continuing the discussion from Any WWE fans in the audience? (Part 1) - #10009 by Knowed_Out.
Previous discussions:
I’m a little disappointed that Jeff Hardy beat Darby Allin.
They may want him in the final to do the job for Cole, or possibly Jeff even negotiated to win the final himself. I don’t think Darby would be that good in a straight wrestling match anyway.
I’m also not sanguine about the fact that Ruby Soho beat Riho in the women’s tournament. I was hoping the Owen Cup would be a chance to push AEW Originals.
I’m sure Ruby was slated to win this when she signed up with them. I don’t know why consider her a valuable get from WWE, I’ve never seen anything special from her. I’d like to see them use their home grown talent also.
I really didn’t care who won that match. Both are decent wrestlers with little charisma.
In other news, Hikaru Shida was really surprised that she was “injured”.
https://twitter.com/shidahikaru/status/1525244053721272320?s=20&t=PxUXl0JO3OMtbfTU8inaSQ
Well…. I already had 4 matches after the street fight and just finished the greatest fighting musical show.
But I seem to have been injured…
Japanese wrestling is nothing for them. I’m so sorry.
And sorry couldn’t be in the tournament too.
I guess someone got to her, because she put out a storyline-ish amendment.
https://twitter.com/shidahikaru/status/1525362118312136704?s=20&t=PxUXl0JO3OMtbfTU8inaSQ
As a follow-up to the Shida story, rumor is that she was supposed to know she was being written out due to injury. Personally, that makes absolutely no sense if she was going back to wrestle in Japan. AEW prides itself on listening to social media, so to think you can write Shida out on injury so that she could wrestle in Japan makes no sense. Did AEW think there would be no social media coverage, especially given that there were some high-profile matches (and a fighting musical show…can’t forget the fighting musical show), and Shida was helping to promote them? Sounds like someone is trying to shift the blame to Shida when it is ALL on AEW.
But that’s just one fan’s not-so-humble opinion.
Wait, a fighting musical show?
Didn’t Buffy do that?
Yeah, but Makai was the “greatest musical fighting show”. Shida said it herself, and we all know wrestlers never exaggerate.
I’m an old fart wrasslin’ fan, so I just watch old matches. If it weren’t for YouTube I wouldn’t have watched a match in 25 years or so. Right now I’m listening to Cornette’s Drive-Thru. I don’t judge those who watch the new product.
Cornette can be entertaining and certainly has lots of great stories about the old days, but he’s far too stubborn and closed-minded when it comes to modern wrestling and things he dislikes. Kenny Omega is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world today (and his 2018 IWGP championship match against Okada is the single greatest wrestling match of all time if you ask me), but Cornette loathes him and refuses to give him the time of day because he worked some comedy matches when he was a greenhorn 15 years ago.
(Granted, he did turn out to be right about Joey Ryan.)
Cornette is a stubborn old coot, but he had very nice things to say about the Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil Hook after his debut, so he’s not all bad.
Hook has rapidly become one of my favorite wrestlers in AEW. I’m chomping at the bit to see how he would do against a legitimate opponent in a long-ish match, though.
Behold! The bizarro future of wrestling - Danhausen
Here he is being introduced to AEW, though already well known through ROH. He’s not only getting his own big time push from the Danielson and Regal, he’s successfully pushing other wrestlers like Hook and the Ass Boys. He thinks he can curse people, sounds like Gilbert Gottfried, can wrestle a little bit, and the audience loves WTF he is doing. I feel strangely compelled to watch the bits and pieces of this dribbling out on TV and videos as it has equal chances of becoming the next big thing or another embarrassment.
Ric Flair is coming out of retirement for a match on Summerslam weekend. He’ll be teaming up with FTR in a trios match against the Rock & Roll Express and Ricky Steamboat.
Not sure how much of a good idea this is considering his age and his health problems - Sting is showing his age as it is and he’s ten years younger and has been straight-edge for the last 25 years or so. I expect his partners are going to be doing most of the work until he gets a hot tag, throws some chops around, and covers Steamboat for the win.
Sasha Banks and Naomi have apparently pulled a CM Punk and bailed on Raw tonight after some backstage disagreements about creative, and WWE is reporting that the women’s tag titles are now vacant.
Not sure if this is legit or a worked shoot.
Supposedly, Naomi was supposed to go over. I feel for all the WWE talent. What Vince wants often is total shit, and he has NEVER respected the Women’s division.
That said, I could watch Asuka read the phone book, so I’m not going to look this gift horse in the mouth.
The rumblings I’m reading in the sheets are that Vince specifically wanted Naomi to pin Sasha for the win - which, if true, completely explains their reaction.
I guess the only tag teams not in danger of being split roughly 3 months after being conceived are those with Randy Orton’s or Roman Reign’s blessings. There may be one other thing that has kept the New Day and the Street Profits together, but I wonder what’s something both those teams have in common? /s
(not that it helped the Hurt Business…)
Ever since Vince struck gold with HBK he’s been stubbornly convinced that breaking up a popular tag team is THE ONLY WAY to build a singles megastar, no matter how many times it doesn’t work out. Add to that that John Laurinaitis is in charge of creative again and he’s never seen the women’s division as anything more than eye candy and “bitches be crazy” storylines, and it’s no surprise that they’d decide to break up a popular women’s team even while they’re holding the titles.
AEW Dark Taz/Excalibur moment of the day
This episode lasted 90 minutes plus and had some high quality matches, and not as many squashes as usual. Anthony Henry and Josh Woods are exceptional, and hopefully won’t be consigned to midcard limbo much longer.
A few tidbits:
- Paul Turner, not to be confused with Paul Shaffer. (covering for his mistell the week before)
- Taz admires Marina Shafir’s entrance music, says he considered being a violinist. Ex pointed out that Taz used a violin version of War Machine as his entrance music. Ex can pull any obscure trivia out of his ass.
- Referee Bryce Renfro was heckling from behind the curtain.
- Taz is single-named like Prince or Madonna, just different.
- Amber Nova was using a dipstick rag against Skye Blue. Taz then explains what a dipstick is.
Bear Country vs. The Workhorsemen
Bear Country’s entrance music plays.
Taz: I never noticed the bear moaning in the beginning of their music. GRUUUUUH!
Ex; Well Taz, some may say that the bear is roaring.
Taz: He’s moaning like he stepped on a thumbtack in the middle of the ocean, the uh, woods. The ocean! What is he, a polar bear?
…
Taz: Tell ya what, Bear Bronson looks good. He’s done some weight. I guess he’s been eating mostly fish out in the ocean, layin’ off the possums and raccoons.
Ex: Clean protein, Taz.
…
Taz: Imagine going to Shoney’s All-You-Can-Eat buffet with like, JD and Bear Bronson and Boulder. Big Buffet Jones? Fuggetaboutit.
Ex calls some action.
Taz: Do you even know what Shoney’s is?
Ex: I do know what Shoney’s is, Taz.
Taz: I didn’t know if you knew. You no-sold it.
…
Closeup of Anthony Henry, bearing some color on his chest.
Ex: Anthony Henry may have been busted open on the chest.
Taz: One of those chops from Bronson bottomed out, right in the middle of the chest. Bronson and Boulder, they’re bears. They have claws. They don’t have nails, they’re bears! Let’s be honest. They don’t go to a manicurist like you and me.
…
Ex: The diving shoulder tackle from Bear Bronson wipes out both JD Drake and Anthony Henry.
Taz: Look at the size of his ass! If they told him to haul ass, it’d take him two trips!