God, I hope not. I predict Sheamus will come back and be involved in the WarGames match as one of the competitors.
Sheamus missed Crown Jewel because he got married this week. Drew McIntyre, Claudio Castagnoli, and Miro were his groomsmen.
IMO, it’d make more sense for New Day to team with Drew and the Pauls, especially if they beat the Usos for the tag titles on Smackdown this Friday. The Pauls + Sheamus and the Brutes could work just as well, though.
Jeez, that’s my backyard. Had I known, I would have crashed. 
Tonight on Raw, Austin Theory cashed in Money In the Bank… on Seth Rollins for a US championship match (which isn’t how it’s supposed to work) and then lost anyway. Maybe now that Vince is gone it’s time to kill MITB, because it’s been obvious for years now that they almost never have a plan for what they’re going to do with the winner once they pick them, and as soon as they have it they get turned into a whipping boy who jobs constantly until they either suddenly become world champ or lose and get turned into a joke character like Damien Sandow, Baron Corbin, or Otis.
Also, Nikki Cross won the 24/7 title and then threw it in the trash backstage a la Scott Hall throwing out the WCW TV title. Does that mean the belt is retired? I hope so.
But I liked the Austin Theory/MITB angle. Him getting punked by Tyson Fury while trying to cash in the briefcase was one of the greatest spots of 2022. The way he’d come sauntering out with the briefcase whenever a title holder was in trouble, drooling like a hyena waiting for the lion to finish, then getting denied his moment in the most hilarious way, was the reason I’d watch all of RAW. Theory is so good at faceplanting, and I love the way he pouts and acts like a spoiled child being denied his zillionth birthday present. I hope creative isn’t done with him.
Just watched the 2019 MITB Brock Lesnar’s in-ring confrontation with Seth Rollins, when Brock found out he had a whole year to cash in the MitB contract (“Didn’t you know? HOW DID YOU NOT KNOW?” - Paul Heyman being great as always). When reading aloud one of the clauses in the contract, it specifically stated only the top titles, not the secondary titles. While I seriously doubt it will be, it could be an angle returning the MitB to Theory.
I don’t think it’s time to kill MitB, just have a better plan. The last ~10 years was week-to-week booking around Vince’s whims, which changed about as often as I change my socks. Have a plan, have a few contingencies, and execute it. Don’t just go “we’ll figure it out later”. Know your ending before you write your opening, but have some flexibility in case the story-telling goes off-track. Vince habitually failed at both, and it got worse over the years.
I watch that video every few months. It’s hilarious.
“I got a YEAR?” “Yeah.” “To cash in?” “A year!”
[Lesnar slaps Heyman with the contract, and Renee Young on commentary actually giggles]
AEW Dark Taz/Excalibur moment of the day
From Jacksonville FL, home of Pandemic Wrestling.
“Pretty” Peter Avalon vs. Brandon Cutler was actually kind of epic. Athena is on the verge of turning full heel, and Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm vs. Mei Seruga and Emi Sakura was a PPV-level match.
- Ex punched Taz in the head when he was reaching for the asparagus.
- Taz thinks Diamond Sheik looks like he’s from the 1968 Olympics. Ex asked him if he was referring to Munich. (The 1968 Olympics took place in Mexico City, where the infamous Black Power salute took place. The 1972 Olympics took place in Munich, where terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes, so not really sure what Taz was referring to.)
- Ex compares Diamond Sheik to Joe Morgan (presumably the manager of the Red Sox from 1988-1991)
- Ex stumbles when identifying Diaz. Taz tells him “Just look at the guy’s trunks. Simple.”
- Austin Gunn does a dance and Taz calls him “Two-Step Jones.”
- Taz thinks Peter Avalon is the 2022 version of Fabio, while almost forgetting what year it was.
- Cesar Bononi grabs Brandon Cutler’s feet and attempts to drag him out of the ring. Ex: I thought he was trying to steal the shoes off Cutler. Taz: That would be Nemeth.
- Brandon Cutler is wearing the multi-colored zebra stripe body suit because he’s training to be Mr. California and doesn’t want to reveal his body progress yet.
- Avalon gets the victory with a roll-up. Taz calls it the “Yambag cover.”
- “You hit a guy with a dropkick that hard, you make his ears shine.”
- Taz: -1 is getting bigger. He might be up to -2 now. Ex: Actually, you’d go in the positive direction. He’d be up to 0. Taz: See, that’s why nobody likes you, you weisenheimer.
Marcus Cross vs. Kip Sabian
Ex calls Marcus Cross “Pompadour Jones.” Taz forgets Cross’s name because of what Ex called him. “That’s my thing!”
…
Taz: I’d love to see Sabian wrestle with the box on his head.
Ex: He draws inspiration from the box.
Taz: People listen to all sorts of boxes.
…
Cross does a Karate Kid pose.
Taz: 1986 wants its martial artist back.
…
Taz: I’ve landed on the concrete floor or wooden stage many times. It SUCKED.
Ex: Usually with a large man on top of you.
Taz: Yes. In a wrestling match.
On tonight’s Dynamite, after Wardlow’s successful TNT Title defense against Ariya Daivari, he called out Powerhouse Hobbs and told him he would never get his title-- and that he, Wardlow, was, in fact, going after every title in the company.
He made the mistake of doing that while the ROH Television Champion and his ostensible ally, Samoa Joe, was right behind him. And Joe clocked him with the belt and then choked him out.
The producers totally blew the camera angle on the initial belt shot, though.
Britt Baker laying some serious truth bombs on Saraya. Saraya is trying to counter but it looks like she’s going to cry.
they should have built that up over a few eps instead of hot shotting it … now its gonna be some triple threat thing … AEW doesn’t know how to build angles it seems …
The announcers tried to say that Joe’s and Wardlow’s issues had been building for weeks, but I only remember last week when Wardlow pushed Joe aside. So, 1 week build before the turn?
On the other side, Keith Lee and Swerve are doing a slow burn to the breakup everyone sees 100 miles away.
AEW Dark Taz/Excalibur moment of the day
Today’s episode comes from Uncasville CT, home of the Mohegan Sun Casino.
- Taz dropped 15 grand last night at the Uncasville Casino. Ex notes he didn’t get in till this morning. Taz says he gambled online.
- Taz played football in high school with “Quickie” Copeland, a good wide receiver. Went to prison in '84 for robbing a bodega, spent some time in Riker’s. He’s OK now. They’re Facebook friends.
- Calls Man Scout “Boy Scout Jones.”
- Taz had an aunt Kathleen who was meaner than a box of wolves.
- Ex calls a right hook. Taz warns him not to say “Hook.” Trademark issues.
“The Reality” Zack Clayton vs. Frankie Kazarian
Taz: Clayton, you know, he loves the camera. Jersey Sore Jones, he loves all that. He’s bigger than O Cam, and the Jersey Shore guys, they’re all snarky. You know what I mean?
Ex: Did you call him “Jersey Sore?”
Taz: It’s the damn auto text.
I didn’t get to watch Full Gear tonight due to work, but apparently the crowd was chanting “FUCK CM PUNK” as Omega and the Young Bucks made their return. Amazing how he had people chanting for him and wishing for him to come back for seven years and it only took one ego-trip to piss away every last ounce of goodwill he had with the fans after the way Vince treated him.
Full Gear was excellent, but they should have trimmed it by 3-4 matches. After watching The Elite and Death Triangle work their asses off, Luchasaurus launch Jungle Boy 20’ onto the cage wall from the floor, and the Jericho/Guevara/Danielson/Castignoli do every false finish possible, I was exhausted.
During the Seraya/Britt Baker match, they showed Seraya’s brother at ringside. I remember she had tried to get him into the WWE, but they turned him down. I wonder if she made a similar proposition to AEW and they’ll have him work a few matches?
AEW has announced, after the controversial finish of the Trios Championship match, that the Death Triangle/Elite match at Full Gear was actually Match 1 of a best-of-seven series for the title.
I dont know I dont think punk was totally responsible for that mess …I mean when you let your friend do whatever they want someone gonna pop off at some point
I’m still kind of dazed at how Punk went from insanely popular prodigal son to King Backstage Prick in such a short time. Maybe WWE treated him like garbage because he really was a cancer?
He’s definitely struck me since long before he walked on WWE as loving the smell of his own farts.
I’ve always hated overly political gimmicks, but I take some perverse pleasure from this one.