AEW: On The Edge of Glory

[Oz]

ALL ELITE WRESTLING: ON THE EDGE OF GLORY
written by oz.

Hello, first time BTB’er here. (in English at least) In the past, the influx would go from BTB to e-fed, seems the opposite is happening these days. I just wanted to try my hand at this, I don’t expect to go beyond two shows honestly, but we will try regardless. It’s an itch I feel like I need to scratch at least once before concluding that it’s not for me.

AEW is the only Western promotion I watch on a semi-regularly basis and I feel like BTB’ing a Puro or Joshi company would be wonkier given their scheduling and stuff. So, I’m trying my hand at AEW, given that I actually fantasy book it in my hand quite frequently whenever people I don’t like win a match or someone I like doesn’t win a match.

I am starting right after WrestleDream, the events in the main event practically gives this BTB its name as well. Everything in the company from the very start to the end of WrestleDream stands as it has happened in real life. Cody is gone, Punk is gone, Regal is gone, Jade is gone, Cole is injured, Perry is suspended etc.

The only change I will be making is probably already in consideration in real life, and that’s a monthly PPV schedule. I think it will help me better structure things. 4 weeks of weekly shows (Dynamite/Rampage/Collision) will be in-between each PPV.

I will also not be booking RoH. Unless the RoH title changes happen in AEW shows, the changes will occur off-screen. I will probably use primarily RoH guys in my shows though.

For the long-ass roster, I used the Roster page on AEW’s official site as reference, so, there might be notable omissions and stuff, blame the website for that, not me. I will also be putting the company information in Spoiler tags because I myself dislike when I want to read a BTB and in the first post I already see what title changes or roster additions or formed factions occured during the BTB timeline.

Thanks in advance for reading and hope you have fun while this lasts.

Spoiler: Men's Roster

Aaron Solo
Action Andretti
Adam Cole - injured, out indefinitely
Adam Copeland
‘Hangman’ Adam Page
Alex Reynolds
Andrade El Idolo
Angelico
‘Cool Hand’ Angelo Parker
Anthony Bowens
Anthony Ogogo
AR Fox - personal reasons, out for 1 month
Ari Daivari
Austin Gunn
Bandido
Big Bill
Billy Gunn
Brandon Cutler
Brian Cage
Brock Anderson
Brody King
Bryan Danielson
Buddy Matthews
Cash Wheeler
Chris Jericho
Christian Cage
Christopher Daniels
Chuck Taylor
Claudio Castagnoli
Colt Cabana
Colten Gunn
Danhausen - injured, out indefinitely
Daniel Garcia
Dante Martin - injured, out indefinitely
Darby Allin
Darius Martin
Dax Harwood
Dustin Rhodes
Eddie Kingston
Ethan Page
Evil Uno
Griff Garrison
Hook
Isiah Kassidy
Jack Perry - suspended, out for 1 month
Jake Hager
Jay Lethal
Jay White
Jeff Hardy
Jeff Jarrett
John Silver
Johnny TV
Jon Moxley
Jose the Assistant
Josh Woods
Juice Robinson
Keith Lee
Kenny Omega
Kip Sabian
Komander
Konosuke Takeshita
Kyle Fletcher
Kyle O’Reilly - injured, out indefinitely
Lance Archer
Lee Johnson
Lee Moriarty
Luchasaurus
Luther
Malakai Black
Mark Briscoe
Mark Davis - injured, out indefinitely
‘Smart’ Mark Sterling
Marq Quen
Matt Hardy
Matt Jackson
‘Daddy Magic’ Matt Menard
Matt Sydal
Matt Taven
Max Caster
Michael Nakazawa
Mike Bennett
Mike Santana
Miro
MJF
Nick Comoroto
Nick Jackson
Nick Wayne
Orange Cassidy
Ortiz
PAC - injured, out indefinitely
Parker Bourdeaux - injured, out indefinitely
Paul Wight
Penta El Zero M
‘Pretty’ Peter Avalon
Powerhouse Hobbs
Preston Vance
Prince Nana
QT Marshall
Rey Fenix
‘Absolute’ Ricky Starks
Roderick Strong
RUSH
Sammy Guevara
Samoa Joe
Satnam Singh
Scorpio Sky
Serpentico
‘Captain’ Shawn Dean
Shawn Spears
Sonjay Dutt
‘The Icon’ Sting
Stokely Hathaway
Stu Grayson
Swerve Strickland
The Blade
The Butcher
Tony Nese
Trent Beretta
Wardlow
Wheeler Yuta
Zack Clayton

Spoiler: Women's Roster

Abadon
Anna Jay
Athena
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D
Diamante
Emi Sakura
Harley Cameron
Hikaru Shida
Jamie Hayter - injured, out indefinitely
Julia Hart - personal reasons, out for 1 month
Kiera Hogan
Kris Statlander
Leila Grey
Leyla Hirsch
Madison Rayne
Marina Shafir
Mercedes Martinez
Nyla Rose
Penelope Ford
Rebel
Red Velvet
Riho
Ruby Soho
Saraya
Serena Deeb
Skye Blue
Tay Melo - personal reasons, out indefinitely
Taya Valkyrie
The Bunny
Thunder Rosa - injured, out indefinitely
Toni Storm
Willow Nightingale
Yuka Sakazaki - injured, out indefinitely

Spoiler: Broadcast Team

Alex Abrahantes
Alex Marvez
Alvaro Riojas
Dasha Gonzalez
Excalibur
Ian Riccaboni
Jim Ross
‘Dapper Yapper’ Justin Roberts
Lexy Nair
Mark Henry
Nigel McGuinness
Renee Paquette
Taz
Tony Schiavone

Spoiler: Referees

Aubrey Edwards
Brandon Martinez
Bryce Remsburg
Mike Posey
Paul Turner
Rick Knox
Stephon Smith

Spoiler: Tag Teams & Factions

The Elite: Kenny Omega & ‘Hangman’ Adam Page & Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson & Brandon Cutler & Michael Nakazawa
The Don Callis Family: Don Callis & Konesuke Takeshita & Sammy Guevara & Will Ospreay*
Blackpool Combat Club: Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
Bullet Club Gold: Jay White & Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn
Dark Order: Evil Uno & John Silver & Alex Reynolds
La Faccion Ingobernable: Andrade El Idolo & RUSH & Preston Vance & Jose the Assistant
Death Triangle: PAC & Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix
Best Friends: Chuck Taylor & Trent Berreta & Orange Cassidy & Kris Statlander & Hook & Danhausen & Sue*
Varsity Athletes: ‘Smart’ Mark Sterling & Josh Woods & Tony Nese
The Acclaimed: Max Caster & Anthony Bowens & Billy Gunn
Hardy Party: Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy & Isiah Kassidy & Ethan Page
Christian’s Home For Fatherless Friends (unofficial name): Christian Cage & Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne
Planet Jarrett: Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal & Sonjay Dutt & Satnam Singh & Karen Jarrett*
Mogul Embassy: Swerve Strickland & Prince Nana & Brian Cage & Bishop Kaun* & Toa Liona*
Spanish Announce Project: Angelico & Luther & Serpentico
The Kingdom: Matt Taven & Mike Bennett & Roderick Strong
QTV: QT Marshall & Johnny TV & Harley Cameron & Aaron Solo
The Wingmen: ‘Pretty’ Peter Avalon & JD Drake* & Cezar Bononi* & Ryan Nemeth*
House of Black: Malakai Black & Buddy Matthews & Brody King & Julia Hart
Aussie Open: Kyle Fletcher & Mike Davis
Better Than You, Baybay: MJF & Adam Cole
Top Flight: Dante Martin & Darius Martin
FTR: Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
The Outcasts: Saraya & Ruby Soho
Darby Allin & Sting & AR Fox
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D & Jamie Hayter & Rebel
Kip Sabian & The Butcher & The Blade & Penelope Ford & The Bunny
Daniel Garcia & Jake Hager & ‘Cool Hand’ Angelo Parker & ‘Daddy Magic’ Matt Menard & Anna Jay

*: Not an official member of the roster

Spoiler: Champions

AEW World Champion: MJF
AEW Women’s World Champion: Saraya
AEW World Tag Team Champions: FTR
AEW International Champion: Rey Fenix
AEW TNT Champion: Christian Cage
AEW TBS Champion: Kris Statlander
AEW FTW Champion: Hook
AEW World Trios Champions: The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn

Spoiler: Weekly Shows / PPV Schedule

AEW Dynamite - Every Wednesday
AEW Rampage - Every Friday
AEW Collision - Every Saturday

(PPV names may subject to change)

Homecoming - January
Battle of the Belts - February
Revolution - March
Fyter Fest - April
Double or Nothing - May
All In - June
All Out - August
Forbidden Door - July
WrestleDream - September
Full Gear - October
Winds of Winter - November
World's End - December

 

[Oz]

AEW: WrestleDream 2023 Report
Adrian Oznarowski - OZPN

"In an event that honoured the late great Antonio Inoki, it seems that All Elite Wrestling managed to slap the nay-sayers once more, delivering another critically acclaimed PPV in Seattle.

The Zero Hour has opened with an intergender eight-people tag team match where the team of Athena, Billie Starkz, Keith Lee and Satoshi Kojima have defeated the team of Diamante, Mercedes Martinez, Lee Moriarty and Shane Taylor. The following was a dream match for some as two hard-hitters in Claudio Castagnoli and Josh Barnett squared off against each other, a match where the former RoH World Champion had gotten the win. We had Luchasaurus delivering a squash to Nick Wayne up next, but it was not the last we had seen of each of those man during the night. The match that capped off the Zero Hour was a Trios title defense as the highly-popular act of The Acclaimed had gotten a win over the TMDK trio from NJPW.

The AEW World Champion himself opened the main show, but not to defend his world title. After losing his tag team partner to a very stupid injury, MJF willingly put his title on the line against The Righteous in a handicap match … and managed to come out victorious after a bizarre display.

Another hard-hitting dream match was up next, where the double champion Eddie Kingston defeated a legend and a fellow champion in Katsuyori Shibata to defend both of his titles.

The TBS title was defended next, with the second ever TBS champion Kris Statlander putting her title up against Julia Hart. The Queen of the Black Throne, despite her recent rise, did end up losing to Statlander.

In the next match where the number 1 contender for the AEW Tag Team titles would be decided, Young Bucks won a Four Way tag match which included their old rivals Lucha Bros, The Gunns and the newly formed team of Orange Cassidy and Hook.

The villain was the hometown hero at Seattle as Swerve Strickland gained a huge victory over ‘Hangman’ Adam Page with the support of the crowd firmly behind the Mogul, even booing the cowboy due to their support of Strickland.

Ricky Starks, whose future has been discussed thoroughly in the wrestling circles lately, had the next match, beating Wheeler Yuta, getting a much-needed victory for his career.

Perhaps the selling point of this PPV brought two technical masters together in an epic clash. Bryan Danielson, whose name was given to the Best Technical Wrestler award, took on Zack Sabre Jr., who won that award during Danielson’s active years. It was everything the fans hoped it would be and while the AEW star got the victory at the end, it left everyone wanting even more.

The next villains up were not liked by Seattle as much as Swerve, however, as The Don Callis Family, consisting of Konesuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara and Will Ospreay opposed the trio of Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and Kota Ibushi. The thrilling match came to an end with a victory for the Family after Don Callis shenanigans.

The following match determined who Young Bucks would face at a later date, as the AEW Tag Titles were defended. Aussie Open challenged FTR in a losing effort, making FTR vs Young Bucks IV a clear possibility in the near future.

The TNT title match, which features arguably the hottest storyline going on in the company, saw Darby Allin main eventing an AEW PPV for the very first time. That would be the only success Allin would see at this match, as he had unfortunately lost to perhaps the hottest act in company, Christian Cage, in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, getting the first fall before conceding two straight, the second thanks to a double-cross from Nick Wayne. In the post match happenings, Christian, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne took it to Sting as well. Before Christian could deliver a brutal con-chair-to to The Icon, a new face emerged in All Elite Wrestling. The speculations were true and ‘The Rated R Superstar’ Adam Copeland made his AEW debut, taking the chair from a shocked Christian Cage. He teased hitting Sting straight in the head before revealing his true colours, fighting on Sting and Darby’s side.

What will these all bring for the future? We shall wait and see …"​

 

[DTP]

A very strong write-up to set the stage for what this diary is all about. There are so many aspects to AEW's growth, particularly with Adam Copeland's WrestleDream debut. With that said, it's apparent he hasn't exactly moved the needle thus far, despite such an astonishing angle on Dynamite last week. I think there is a lot that can be done to help AEW at such a crossroads in its development, and I'll be interested in seeing how you can pull that off. I get a good vibe from your prologue. Each of the boundaries you set out in the opening post all make logical sense, particularly with the ROH nonsense that's currently eclipsing the product from maximising its' full potential.

Let's see where we go.

 

[Dubble J]

Really excited to see an OZ project pop up here in BTBland. Think post WrestleDream is a good starting point so I look forward to seeing what direction you go.

 

[Oz]

A very strong write-up to set the stage for what this diary is all about. There are so many aspects to AEW's growth, particularly with Adam Copeland's WrestleDream debut. With that said, it's apparent he hasn't exactly moved the needle thus far, despite such an astonishing angle on Dynamite last week. I think there is a lot that can be done to help AEW at such a crossroads in its development, and I'll be interested in seeing how you can pull that off. I get a good vibe from your prologue. Each of the boundaries you set out in the opening post all make logical sense, particularly with the ROH nonsense that's currently eclipsing the product from maximising its' full potential.

Let's see where we go.

Thank you for the kind words! It is a bit disheartening to see that my favourite wrestler of all time seemingly is not a draw (in terms of tickets and ratings at least) but since in the BTB realm where I won't have to actually deal with things like ratings and ticket sales, I am more than excited to book what Copeland ends up doing in AEW.

On the RoH part, what I meant was more that I won't be booking any RoH shows or PPV's, but I do plan to use RoH guys in my AEW shows as well, even having some RoH title defenses here and there (at least in the early stages of this project, the process of differentiating two companies will be a gradual one for sure)

Really excited to see an OZ project pop up here in BTBland. Think post WrestleDream is a good starting point so I look forward to seeing what direction you go.

I do remember your own AEW BTB project so it's good to see someone who has walked this path excited for my take. I will also plan on avenging you for that bit where people gave you shit for booking Tanahashi as a heel against Moxley because he is the ultimate babyface in Japan, whereas he has historically played the outsider heel whenever he is booked in other companies.

A small update: The outlines of my first 3 shows (I will be posting each week in the same post, so in one actual update, you will be getting Dynamite, Rampage and Collision.) are done and since they are rather detailed, I don't think I will have too much difficulty actually writing out the shows themselves. I do ideally want to get it out before the week's end but next week is a more realistic timetable for when I'm actually kicking this project off.

Once again, thanks for the kind words both of you and hope you stay tuned!

 

[King Kota]

Very nice, glad to see you in the btb. On side note miss you in discord hope all is well my friend

 

[Oz]

AEW Dynamite
October 4th, 2023
4th Anniversary Special

The sight to open the first AEW outing after WrestleDream is a familiar one. Between the 200th Episode Special, WrestleDream and the 4h Anniversay Special, Tony Khan had been quite busy on-screen. Regardless, he looks as (weirdly) energetic as always. He thanks the fans for sticking with AEW and Dynamite for four whole years and helping All Elite Wrestling grow to the heights that it has. Tony then concedes that he doesn’t have a lot to say, and for his sake, let’s hope that was true as he is immediately interrupted by none other than our honorable TNT Champion: Christian Cage.

Christian does not look happy in the slightest and it should not be hard to guess the reason for his distress. Christian’s walk to the ring is rather fast as he immediately stands close in the face of Khan and immediately asks: ‘Why did you bring him in?’

He proceeds to repeat this question a few times, not explicitly naming ‘him’. This confrontation and the intensity of this question seems to bring Khan a similar amount of distress. We are not quite sure if Tony is fearing for his life yet, but lucky for him, Adam Copeland’s theme song hits. Christian immediately turns to the stage, which gives Khan the opportunity to weasel away and exit the ring. When Copeland hits the ring, the two old friends immediately come face-to-face and the silence remains for a few more minutes before Copeland takes a step back and starts to utter his first words in a Dynamite ring.

The Rated R Superstar immediately reveals that he had been following what Christian had been doing ever since Captain Charisma had signed with AEW. He was so happy that he got to properly have a run again and that happiness lasted until last year. Copeland says that what Christian had been doing for the past year had been disgusting him to such a degree that he felt compelled to come here and give him a reality check. All of Christian’s words, all his actions, all his attitude … Adam compares that to a kid lashing out after not getting what he wanted. He diagnoses his best friend with an obsession to prove that he is better than Adam despite Christian’s own legendary talent and legendary career. Maybe people actually believe that Christian Cage is better than Adam Copeland now, he says, and maybe they are right for thinking so. But Adam dismisses the importance of that because he is here now and he will achieve so much in AEW that Christian will once again be left in his shadow. He then states that only after then will Christian realize that all his misdeeds in this past year were so unnecessary, so unneeded. And only after then will he return to the man he really is, apologise to everyone he has wronged and actually prove to everyone just how good Christian Cage really is.

Christian remains silent in front of these words for a moment, but then, of course, he starts his rebuttal. Christian says that he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone and advises Copeland to not get stuck in abstract ideas like that. To prove his point, he raises his TNT title and claims to be the face of TNT as he does that. Not only that, but also the biggest champion of this company and its most respectable legend. Because Christian Cage’s legend, Christian Cage’s legacy continued to grow and grow and grow, unlike Adam’s. Unlike Adam’s legacy who shrinks and dies when it sees the glimpse of a shadow. Christian insists that Adam isn’t here to teach him a lesson, but to steal his sunlight because Adam Copeland can’t live in the shadows. “In the dark, Adam, you’re just a corpse.” Christian hits with that line. “Just like your mother.”

That line immediately draws reaction from Copeland as he immediately takes Christian down with a double leg takedown and starts to rain down punches and forearms on the TNT champ. This doesn’t last long as the pair of Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne come out to help Christian. The numbers advantage disappears when Darby and Sting also come out and this causes the Christian’s faction to flee.

[Rey Fenix (c) vs Nick Jackson - AEW International Championship]: As expected, the duo who produced one of the earliest classics in AEW Dynamite put on another match that can be classified as a banger. It is very much defined by its fast paced action and constant stream of reversals. The match comes to an end after Fenix reverses a Moonsault into a Fenix Driver. [Winner: Rey Fenix in 16:35]

Fenix and Jackson shake hands after the match. Jackson is not too happy for his loss but seems graceful enough to give Fenix his props as the International Champion. This good vibes last until FTR’s theme song hits.

FTR stands on the stage with their tag team titles hanging on their shoulders. Cash immediately takes it to Nick and calls him too eager to chase singles glory for someone who lost against them in their last two matches. Dax not only tells him to keep his eyes on the prize but also flat-out calls it disrespectful to them that Nick has not forfeit his contendership right after he and his brother became the contender for their tag belts. The cameras pick up on Nick calling the tag champs delusional. Cash suggests that the punishment for this disrespect should be equal to the size of the disrespect, which Dax agrees and proposes that Fenix defends that title against Harwood next week on Dynamite. Firstly, FTR reminds us that they won their last two matches against Young Bucks so they don’t have as much to prove as the Bucks do, and second, they want Nick to watch as Dax achieves what he couldn’t. Nick tells Fenix to reject this ridiculous proposal but Fenix accepts it anyway.

A backstage promo featuring ‘Hangman’ Adam Page is up next. Hangman is understandably not happy at what happened in WrestleDream. Not only was his defeat at Swerve’s hands a travesty, but it was even more damning that the people of Seattle made the collective choice to boo him and cheer for someone like Strickland. Page recognizes that he lashed out at the fans back during the match because of this and he did not love doing that. Because during at his worst, during at his most alcoholic, during at his most anxious, it was also AEW fans who helped Page get back at his feet and fight back everything that stood in his way. “But if that support won’t be there…” Page adds, ending his promo with some existential questioning, “...then what will become of me?”

Excalibur is once again rapidly going through match announcements: Dax vs Fenix for the International Championship at next week’s Dynamite, Moxley vs Komander for Rampage, Orange Hook & RVD against Garcia & 2.0 for Rampage, Mike Santana vs Miro for Collision but most importantly: 3rd ever Women’s Casino Battle Royale in the Collision main event to determine a number 1 contender for Saraya’s AEW Women’s Championship!

[Taya Valkyrie vs Billie Starkz]: Immediately after the announcement of Women’s Casino Battle Royal, two participants of the Battle Royal square up against each other. Billie has Athena in her corner, giving her advice against La Wera Loca. Billie puts up a good enough fight but Taya gets the clean victory with Road to Valhalla. [Winner: Taya Valkyrie in 8:59]

Renee Paquette is backstage with the Mogul Embassy. Swerve, especially. Renee basically asks Swerve what is next now that he has defeated Adam Page. Does Swerve think that he has truly taken Page’s spot? Swerve smirks before answering. He states that he has waited for a long time to get a spot like this and unlike Hangman, he is planning on reaching out to the very top with his two hands immediately unlike whining and crying like a certain cowboy. That’s all, he says and the whole squad takes their leave after that.

[Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta & Bryan Danielson vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nichols & Bad Dude Tito]: Despite their loss to the Acclaimed, the TMDK trio looks as motivated as ever for this trios action. The commentators mention that TMDK is looking to get revenge on Bryan Danielson on behalf of their boy Zack Sabre Jr. The in ring action seems to pretty much prove that as the trio try to isolate Danielson as much as possible. Danielson eventually makes a hot tag to Claudio who absolutely cleans house. Back from commercial break, Yuta is the legal man for Blackpool Combat Club … and despite his best efforts, Haste and Nichols double team him quite frequently and plant him with their tag finisher, Tankbuster. Claudio makes the save at the last moment! The match continues for a few more minutes before Danielson taps Tito out with a LeBell Lock. [Winners: Blackpool Combat Club, in 12:02]

Up next … is The Don Callis Family! Under their ominous music, Don Callis enters the ring with Konesuke Takeshita and Sammy Guevara. Sammy takes the microphone first and shows WrestleDream as further proof of how Chris Jericho had been holding him down. Now that he is in a family that cares about him, he will only flourish and prosper as the true star of AEW that he should’ve been from the very beginning. As for Don, he is just in a celebratory mood. He proudly exclaims that the The Don Callis Family can get rid of everyone they want to get rid of, they can sweep and they can beat them over and over until they get tired of it. Of course, what he says is not that clear because of the boos, but the microphone helps obviously.

Chris Jericho is the one who interrupts them. He walks to the ring alone and starts to call Don out on his bullshit. Jericho tells Don that he hasn’t earned a single penny in his life that is not ill-gotten and now that he has gotten another victory by literally hitting Jericho with his own stick, he wants to celebrate that? Don’s smile only gets bigger at this question … while Takeshita and Guevara are slowly trying to flank Jericho. Sensing that, Kenny Omega hits the ring.

Kenny takes a mic and tells that they can beaten with all sorts of shenanigans, their shoulders can be held down but they will not stop fighting until they wipe Don’s self-satisfied face out of AEW’s landscape forever. Hyped by Kenny’s statement, Jericho immediately challenges Takeshita and Guevara to a two-on-two. Sammy declares that he and Takeshita would beat Kenny and Jericho any place, any time … but he had suffered a teeny tiny injury in WrestleDream that would put him out of that match. Kenny immediately asks for Ospreay if Sammy is not cleared but Don laughs, telling Kenny that Ospreay is a real and mighty champion who is busy defending his belt in Japan. However, a friend of his is itching for a fight.

That’s when Kyle Fletcher storms the ring with a steel chair. The chair hits Omega in the face before Jericho takes two chair-shots, one to the stomach, one to the back. Takeshita and Sammy help and Don Callis Family take out the Canadians.

[Hikaru Shida vs Skye Blue]: It goes rather similarly to how Taya vs Starkz went, but the gap is a bit more close this time around. Skye gets a considerable amount of offense, but Shida’s experience is too much for Blue to deal with. Shida takes the win with Three Count, but the audience gives a fair ovation to Skye Blue afterwards. [Winner: Hikaru Shida in 9:12]

We are once again backstage and it’s the TBS Champion Kris Statlander who is addressing the AEW faithful this time. She reveals that she had been offered a spot for the Casino Battle Royale as well. She then reveals that she had turned down that offer. Statlander proudly speaks about how she is already a champion and it is her duty to elevate her own title to new heights, which she has already done better than Saraya ever can.

Her statements are interrupted by Ruby Soho, who smugly looks at Kris and tells her that she is merely scared of going after the bigger champion because she knows that Saraya would simply humiliate her and put her in her place. Statlander is about to retort when Saraya strikes her from behind with the Women’s title! Soho and Saraya reign down stomps on the TBS champion before leaving the crime scene, showing Stat the ‘L’ sign as they go.

[Samoa Joe vs Bandido]: It’s a Joe vs a high flyer match, so the structure goes as expected but it is no less compelling. Joe hits hard, Bandido takes it and replies with his own acrobatic moves. It goes back-on-forth for the most part, with occasional Joe domination stretches sprinkled in-between. In the end, it is the RoH TV Champion who manages to prevail, making Bandido pass out with a tight Coquina Clutch. [Winner: Samoa Joe in 19:42]

After the match, Joe offers his hand to Bandido, seemingly respecting the fight that he had given Joe. Bandido gladly shakes Joe’s hand. Tony Schivaone talks about how Joe might have turned a new leaf, with the respect that he had shown MJF and now Bandido. Just as he says that, Joe pulls Bandido towards him and knocks him with a headbutt. Under the boo’s, he follows up with a Muscle Buster. He poses afterwards, proving that he hasn’t lost his edge after that loss to MJF.

After the commercial break, MJF heads down to the ring under great fan support. In the beginning of his promo, he briefly talks about his win against The Righteous and once again, he has done exactly what he said he would do. He will continue to defend the RoH Tag Team titles and those belts will be still with him to see his brother Adam Cole’s return. But now, there were more important matters to address. He mentions Jay White and then immediately tries to get a ‘tofu’ chant going again, which he is fairly successful at doing, let’s be honest. MJF re-iterates that he did not attack Jay White backstage, nor that he knows who did it. He was still a scumbag despite being ‘your scumbag’ but he would not need to pull that kind of shit to get Jay White’s number, because he was better than Jay, and you kno-

Like clockwork, Jay White comes out to interrupt Max. Before he can say anything, MJF tells it to Jay’s face that he had nothing to do with the attack. It might look very suspicious and Max is aware of that, but he is giving his word as the Triple B Champion that it was not him. What he does not expect is for Switchblade to start laughing. Jay simply says: “Don’t worry Max, I know it wasn’t you!”

MJF seems confused at this, which Jay is more than happy to elaborate on. Jay knows that Max had nothing to do with the ones who attacked him because he doesn’t have the heart and the guts for things like that anymore. Jay flat-out calls MJF soft again. The MJF who puts together vagabonds and has them take out his target is in the past. Instead of a proper ‘scumbag’, Max has chosen to be ‘their scumbag’. Jay can’t say that he’s proud for Max for that, nor can he tell MJF what way he can choose. Max should feel free to be a softie, but Jay will have no such disadvantages.

Rest of the Bullet Club Gold swarms the ring and immediately attack MJF! Four on one, they manhandle the AEW World Champion. Jay White puts his opponent out with a Blade Runner and poses with the Triple B over MJF’s motionless body. With that shot, Dynamite comes to an end.

---

AEW Rampage
October 6th, 2023

[Jon Moxley vs Komander]: The commentators question how well Moxley can return from his concussion. Komander does give a fair bit of trouble to him, using his pace to dance around Mox. His triumph comes to an end when Moxley starts getting good and hard hits in. As the match progresses, Moxley gains more and more of an edge, getting back into the rhythm. A Paradigm Shift is enough to put Komander away after a hard-fought battle. [Winner: Jon Moxley in 15:28]

Angelico is backstage, seemingly looking for some people. Eventually, he enters a specific room to find his fellow Spanish Announce Project buddies Luther and Serpentico in a janitor’s closet. There is a cassette player next to Serpentico, playing a melancholic music while the the former Chaos Project is sitting inside mop buckets and eating salt and vinegar chips. Angelico is taken aback by this sight and immediately asks them what they are doing. Serpentico tells that they have zero motivation left, they lose all the time, he’s certain that they would be unemployed if people remembered they existed in the first place. Feeling bad, Angelico tells them that he is going to try and arrange something. After that, he leaves the closet with new determination.

[Willow Nightingale vs The Bunny]: Another preview for what might be to come in Women’s Casino Battle Royale. The Bunny enters with the whole Kip Sabian faction behind her and that does hint on the course of this match. Willow occasionally gains the advantage but Kip and his faction try and get involved from ringside quite a lot, helping The Bunny gain a considerable amount of nearfalls. Willow shows that she has had enough after one point and jumps into Kip, Ford, Blade and even Butcher with a huge Crossbody! She enters the ring after that but is immediately taken into a Small Package … but Willow kicks out and then nails Bunny with her Gutwrench Powerbomb, giving her the victory in this match. [Winner: Willow Nightingale in 11:57]

Ricky Starks is giving a backstage promo now and Big Bill is just near him like a tower. Ricky starts by reminding us that he had gotten a decisive victory over Wheeler Yuta at WrestleDream. While winning always feels nice and Ricky hadn’t been winning a lot lately … Ricky also realizes that his win over Yuta only represents him putting Wheeler in his place after BCC’s little bitch had the gall to run his mouth at Absolute. It doesn’t mean further than that, it’s not a career-defining win and it’s definitely not a win that brings him closer to his goals as being the Absolute face of AEW. And Ricky is aware that he only has to move forward. But before he can move further with his point … he is interrupted by the QTV crew. Harley instantly starts flirting with Ricky while QT tells Ricky to hop onto the Q-Train so QTV can help Ricky go wherever he wants to go. Ricky and Big Bill look at each other before Ricky flatly tells QT that he feels insulted by even receiving an offer like this. This is just further proof that Ricky is nowhere near where he wants to be if a goon squad like QTV can come up to him and say something like this. Johnny TV takes the reins in QTV and squares up to Ricky, taking off his sunglasses. He tells Ricky to calm down and hit the brakes. When Ricky replies ‘make me’, the two remain in a staredown, which is how this segment ends.

[Emi Sakura vs Robyn Renegade]: Emi dominates the match-up for the most part, causing Robyn to try and pull off a twin magic to gain the upper hand. This seems to work … only for a few hits, so it is Charlette Renegade who tries to pull off the twin magic after this. The twins argue among themselves, trying to avoid facing Emi’s hits. The referee works out that Charlette had attacked Emi during the match but uses the referee’s discretion and chooses not to give Emi the DQ victory. Eventually, Charlette goes under the ring again and Emi takes Robyn, throws her into the ring and finishes her off, showing a strong and dominant display before the Battle Royal. [Winner: Emi Sakura in 6:12]

It’s another quick Excalibur match announcing round: Kris Statlander vs Saraya and Ricky Starks vs Johnny TV are announced for this week’s Collision.

In the split screen: Mark Henry interviewes both of the sides in the main event. Daniel Garcia, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand take the word first. Garcia says that they have to find a new identity after no longer being the Jericho Appreciation Society. They will find their identity in winning and that’s what they are going to do today. Cool Hand takes shots at RVD, saying that he ain’t cool anymore while Daddy Magic is just going off, screaming insults at Cassidy, RVD and Hook, especially saying about Hook that they will finally catch that brat this time. Mark turns to the other side. Cassidy flat-out asks if anyone has anything to say. Hook just shakes his head and RVD just does his taunt. Cassidy also says ‘nah’ and then they walk away from the screen. Then, Mark Henry proclaims with his happiest voice: “IT’S TIME … FOR THE MAIN EVENT!”

[Orange Cassidy & Hook & Rob Van Dam vs Daniel Garcia & Matt Menard & Angelo Parker]: Orange Cassidy starts the match for his team and he tunes out his classic spots from the very beginning, driving Daddy Magic absolutely crazy. Menard goes ham on Cassidy but OC uses his wits to get ahead. RVD also does his classic spots which are still fairly over while Hook just throws people around and also gets into some sweet technical spots with Garcia. But it is OC who gets the majority of ring time from his team while 2.0 manages to double team him fairly often. Hook tries to get involved to help his tag team partner out, which culminates in a spot where the two teams are brawling outside while Garcia and RVD are the legal men. And that pairing ends with RVD tapping out to a Dragontamer! [Winners: Daniel Garcia & Matt Menard & Angelo Parker in 13:11]

Right after the match, the camera cuts backstage … where Don Callis is shown watching Garcia’s celebration backstage … with a huge grin on his face. This episode of Rampage comes to an end after this sight.​

---

AEW Collision
October 7th, 2023

The show immediately opens with a chaotic environment as there is a beatdown going on backstage. It soon becomes clear that the MJF is once again on the recipient end of a 4v1 attack in the hands of Bullet Club Gold. Max tries his best to fight back but the numbers game is too strong for the world champ to overcome. To add insult to injury, Switchblade nails Max with his own title belt in the head, which seems to put him down for good.

[Kris Statlander vs Saraya | Non-Title Match]: The two champions square up to each other in the opening match of Collision with Saraya gaining upper hand in the earlier stages. Stat builds up to a decent comeback but Saraya uses underhanded tactics to keep her advantage. That only drives Statlander to come back even harder and when she was finally in an advantageous position for a long stretch, Saraya’s Outcasts buddy Ruby Soho come out to help … only for Toni Storm to be the equalizer! She chases Ruby with a slipper in hand and this allows the match to remain relatively clean. With the outside interference factor nullified, it is the TBS Champion who picks up the clean victory with a Big Bang Theory! [Winner: Kris Statlander in 11:40]

While Statlander celebrates her victory, the commentators once again question her decision to opt out of the Casino Battle Royale, given Statlander now had definitive proof that she could square up to the very champion herself. That talk is interrupted when Toni nails Ruby in the head with her slipper, causing Soho to tumble down.

Father of the Year is backstage, surrounded by his loving sons. Christian Cage has some papers in his hand, which he is quick to disclose that the papers he has are the copies of some of the medical files that is related to Adam Copeland’s injury history. Christian reveals some gruesome details about the procedures Adam had to go through and it does not help that Nick Wayne is making really exaggerated disgusted faces during this. Christian concludes that he could easily send his Right Hand of Destruction, Luchasaurus after Adam and finish his miserable career for good, and he did contemplate doing this throughout the week. He was about to send this match request to the AEW management, who wouldn’t dare to refuse their TNT Champion, but then Nick Wayne gave Christian an idea.

Nick steps forward after this, challenging Adam Copeland to a match because quite frankly, Adam is a prick who wants to take away the happiness of Nick’s family from him. Nick discloses his feeling of disgust when Copeland reacted like how he did when Christian mentioned his mother because at least Copeland had a mother who supported his career ambitions, unlike Wayne’s mom who hadn’t even talked to him ever since he saw the light and joined forces with Christian Cage. And Nick wants to take the rage and the frustration that comes with him out of Copeland. Christian smirks at that and pats Nick on the back, before telling to the camera that he is going to end this entanglement with Copeland quicker than anyone can ever realize.

Renee Paquette is up with her guests being the rather controversial Bullet Club Gold. Juice and The Gunns are balls of energy as always while Jay has a smirk on his face. Renee asks Jay about the hideous assaults on the world champion lately and Jay starts to laugh, telling Renee that nobody called it hideous when he was attacked by some masked goons so he is not going to lose any sleep on how Max fares with that. In fact, Jay insists on his belief that the masked people have nothing to do with Max because Max doesn’t have the heart to do something like that anymore like the softie he has become. Max might not have attacked Jay with some masked freaks or might not even hired those freaks but that does not mean Jay can’t attack Max with his compadres in Bullet Club Gold. Jay calls that the difference between Max and him, Switchblade has no problem being cutthroat. Juice basically shouts that they will attack Maxey-boy ON SIGHT while The Gunns drive further that nobody will help Max because the only friend he ever had shattered his ankle like a moron when trying to help his sorry ass. Jay repeats the term ‘on sight’ once more before Bullet Club Gold exit the scene.

[Ricky Starks vs Johnny TV]: Ricky has Big Bill in his corner while Johnny TV has the entire QTV. Big Bill, for the most part, manages to keep the QTV people in check while Starks and Johnny go at each other. Johnny has a decent showing, keeping Ricky down on relatively good stretches and even managing to attempt a Starship Pain, but Ricky is simply on a different level. Bill manages to let Aaron Solo slip, who immediately eats a Spear and then a Roshambo from Ricky. Johnny tries to take advantage of this distraction … but he, too, eats a Spear for his troubles and picks up the victory. [Winner: Ricky Starks in 13:00]

The Acclaimed welcome us back from the commercials as they make their entrance. Max Caster takes shots at Jada Smith and Joe Biden in his rap before the trio do their usual scissoring routine in the middle of the ring. They pretty much deliver a promo on how they plan on keeping their scissors sharp and defend their trios belt against formidable opponents. Their promo is interrupted by an unusual guest, however. It’s … Angelico!

Angelico enters the ring with a microphone and says that if their words are true, then they are looking for opponents … which is an excellent opportunity for Spanish Announce Project. Angelico pretty much asks for a match before Caster interrupts rather harshly, telling Angelico that they want to keep their scissors sharp, not covered in dirt before saying that they don’t even know what the heck a Spanish Announce Project is. Angelico looks rather embarrassed by this, trying to explain that it’s him, Serpentico and Dr. Luther. Caster and Bowens start to laugh at that, cracking jokes … until Billy Gunn steps forward.

Billy tells the kids to be more respectful and affirms that he does remember Angelico. He remembers beating Spanish Announce Project a few months back so he, too, is not too sure about giving them an opportunity like this. Still, he admires Angelico’s compassion for his friends for coming out and asking for a match knowing he would face ridicule like this. Daddy Ass concludes it by telling Angelico that if he can beat him one-on-one, then they can get them three-on-three for the titles. Angelico is beaming at this news, thanking Gunn before leaving the ring. Caster and Bowens are surprised by this offer … but they scissor either way.

[Kyle Fletcher vs Darius Martin]: It’s a high-tempo match decorated by remarkable high-flying spots by both people. Don Callis is on the commentary table for this one, hyping up Kyle. He is right to do so, as Fletcher picks up the victory in his first match as an official member of The Don Callis Family. [Winner: Kyle Fletcher in 9:47]

We are back with our world champion as MJF is near the medical wing, icing up his bruises. That is, until Mogul Embassy walks into the frame. Swerve, Nana, Cage and Gates of Agony greet Max full-squad. Swerve is jovial at seeing Max in a state like that. He says that little birdies told him that Max was in great need of protection. MJF glares at Swerve with annoyance, telling him that jackals like Swerve would never do something unrequited … but Max is also not an idiot who would walk into the line of fire and take a beating four against one each week. In the end, MJF asks Swerve for his price. Swerve asks for fifty grand upfront … which Max looks a bit hesitant but agrees to it. Swerve extends his hand to complete this deal … but when Max tries to grab it, Swerve takes it back and adds: “And a shot for your AEW World Championship.”. This breaks the camel’s back for Max who tells Strickland to piss off. This angers Gates of Agony who seem ready to attack the champion but Swerve holds them back. After MJF leaves the scene, Swerve starts to laugh, telling Mogul Embassy that he would come around sooner than later.

We get a short vignette of Powerhouse Hobbs walking around the streets. His inner monologue states that he can’t trust anyone to do what needs to be done. This is accompanied by clips of Moxley, Team Taz, Ricky and QTV. In the end, he has only himself to rely on. He walks into a small library … where all the books are The Book of Hobbs. The vignette ends with that sign.

[Mike Santana vs Miro]: Before the match can properly start, CJ Perry comes out and takes her place ringside in Santana’s corner. Santana seems a bit surprised by that but accepts it, as he is facing very tough opposition. The match begins and the guidance of CJ Perry on how to get the upper hand on Miro seems to work out. This angers Miro more and more with each failed attempt to get the upper hand back. Eventually, Miro charges forward Santana who is in the corner … but the referee ends up going down from that. Before Miro can turn back and focus on the match again, Ortiz slides into the ring and hits Santana with a big chair-shot! Miro then turns back and makes Santana pass out with a Game Over, which the referee comes to his senses enough to see and call the victory for Miro. [Winner: Miro in 12:18]

Post-match, Miro looks at his flexible but equally estranged wife who is upset that Miro won. CJ returns backstage, not wanting to further feel the shame of his husband doing well without her. Ortiz slides into the ring once again with the intention to continue his assault on Santana … but that only earns him a Superkick from Miro, who shouts at him to not get involved in his matches ever again.

Renee is once again backstage and next to her is the RoH World and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, ‘Mad King’ Eddie Kingston. Renee congratulates him on his title defense against Shibata, which Eddie thanks her for. Mad King is aware that this is kind of a broken record at this point but he can’t under-state just how much being able to face those legends mean to him, let alone beating them. As a double champion, especially as the holder of the RoH World Championship, he knows that he has a lot of former champions and their legacies to live up to …

“And one of them is me.”

Entering the view is, appropriately, the former RoH World Champion Jay Lethal and the rest of the Planet Jarrett. Jay mockingly claps Eddie before telling him that he couldn’t lace up his boots in his RoH. Eddie flatly responds that he wouldn’t lace up Jay’s boots, he would smack him in the face and re-arrange his facial features instead. He reminds Jay that his RoH was one of the many constitutions that overlooked Eddie so if Jay wants to remind him of that place then Eddie would be more than glad to send Jay where his RoH went. Jay tries to re-but but so does Sonjay, and by doing so, he gets very close to Eddie’s face … who nails him with a Headbutt!

That causes a chaos between Eddie and Planet Jarrett and before the brawl concludes, we cut back to ringside.

Yes, you guessed it, it’s Excalibur lightning round time! The new matches he announces for next week’s Dynamite: are: Eddie Kingston vs Jay Lethal for RoH World Championship, Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega vs Kyle Fletcher & Konesuke Takeshita and Adam Copeland vs Nick Wayne! And for Rampage: Angelico vs Billy Gunn!

[Women’s Casino Battle Royale]: We open the match with Spades: Taya Valkyrie, Emi Sakura, Marina Shafir, Mercedes Martinez and Kiera Hogan

Hogan seems like relatively easy prey in the opening minutes of the match, which causes her to be targeted pretty early. However, she manages to survive two near eliminations in this time period. Shafir and Martinez pretty much team up against all other three while both Taya and Emi show a respectable display. No eliminations yet, and up next:

Clubs: Hikaru Shida, Penelope Ford, Madison Rayne, Ruby Soho and Diamante

Shida and Soho go at each other from the get go while Diamante knocks down Rayne before she can even enter the ring. Mercedes and Marina briefly split up and this gives Emi Sakura a great opportunity to eliminate Marina Shafir, making The Problem the first elimination of this edition of Casino Battle Royale. We get another elimination soon after. The Killer Bee manages to enter the ring and hit a few moves but Taya Valkyrie chucks her out soon after. Ford and Hogan are another pair who seem to brawl mostly amongst each other in the meanwhile. This goes on until the next group to arrive:

Diamonds: Willow Nightingale, Skye Blue, Riho, Anna Jay … and Abadon

Abadon manages to scare the bejeezus out of both Skye and a returning Riho during their entrances. She does also get ganged up on the moment she enters the ring, but she gets out of a near elimination, managing to single out Mercedes Martinez from that crowd soon after. The next elimination turns out to be Diamante in the hands of Willow who throws her out with a rather impressive throw. Anna Jay, Ruby Soho and Penelope Ford briefly join forces to gang up on Shida. Hogan tries to help the former AEW Women’s Champion but is thrown out by Anna Jay for her troubles. The help Shida needs comes in the form of Skye and Riho who end up getting in the ring after the Abadon scare. Speaking of Abadon, she is thrown out by Taya who causes her to fall by a low-bridge on the ropes. Soon after that elimination, the next entrants are revealed:

Hearts: Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, Billie Starkz, The Bunny and Toni Storm

Toni enters rather slowly as you can’t rush glamour. Ruby, abandons the temporary heel alliance she has going on just to go outside of the ring and attack Toni, hoping to get revenge on her for the slipper incident earlier in the show. Shida’s face alliance, with the help of the numbers, eliminates Penelope Ford due to this. Anna Jay manages to slip and avoid elimination there, however. Emi Sakura doesn’t last much longer than that, being eliminated by Willow Nightingale who got her second elimination. Britt throws out Bunny while Skye disappoints her fans by being eliminated by Anna Jay who had to do an eye poke for that. Boos rain down for The Queenslayer. To cap up this batch, Willow gets her third elimination after she knocks down Martinez with a big Clothesline! The action in the ring slows down as the time for the Joker to be revealed:

Joker: ‘RoH Women’s Champion’ Athena

There is a great reaction for Athena as she runs to the ring. Billie looks very surprised and very happy to see her mentor by her side, immediately offering her to team up and throw some people out. Athena responds to this by immediately throwing Billie out, telling her that ‘it’s one of your lessons’ before focusing back on the match. Two big competitors in Nyla and Taya are going at each other and they try to eliminate each other … giving Riho the perfect opportunity to pull an R-Truth and eliminate both at the same time! Riho looks so happy after this! But her happiness doesn’t last long as she walks into a line of Eclipse by Athena, who throws her out after that. Ruby Soho is on the chopping block next, thrown out by none other than Toni Storm! Ruby is furious and tries to get back in the ring but is stopped by the referees. Toni is too busy laughing to realize Anna Jay sneaking up to her from behind and eliminating her.

With Toni’s elimination, the final 5 are set! Hikaru Shida, Willow Nightingale, Anna Jay, Britt Baker and Athena are the only ones with an AEW Women’s Championship match opportunity left. The first blood from this bunch comes when Britt boots Anna from the apron. She is targeted next, however, by Ruby Soho and Saraya, who has come to see who her opponent will be. Statlander comes out to equalize, but all these distractions only serve for Willow to knock down Britt!

Willow, Athena and Shida make up the final three competitors in this and the three go at each other for a solid while. Athena delivers an Eclipse to Willow who was stunned on the apron, finally eliminating the woman who has racked up four of them today. Athena and Shida circle each other after that and they, too, take a solid while to come up with a winner with a few nearfalls keeping the audience on edge.

In the end, it is Hikaru Shida who throws the RoH Women's Champion off the top rope and wins the Battle Royale! [Winner: Hikaru Shida in 32:05]

The camera shows the disappointed face of Athena while the commentators highlight the performances of Willow Nightingale and Anna Jay. Collision wraps up with Hikaru Shida’s celebration.

 

[Mandalorian]

Really strong start to this project, mate. Everything is logical and presentation is clean. You’ve done three shows here but it doesn’t feel overwhelming or anything like that to ingest it all at once. You’ve captured AEW and how things work here very well. Can’t wait for the next cycle.

 

[Roy Mustang]

To add onto the above, I'm loving the tweaks to improve the Women's division straight away and also the fact you are going a different route with Adam being willing to throw hands with Christian right away

 

[Oz]

AEW FULL GEAR 2023
Date: October 29th, 2023
Venue: Kia Forum, Inglewood, California
Confirmed Match Card:

AEW World Tag Team Championship
FTR(c) vs Young Bucks

AEW Women's World Championship
Saraya(c) vs Hikaru Shida

(more matches will be added)
(card subject to change)​

 

[DTP]

Following last week's strong opening week to this project, I'm very eager to get into how the 4th Anniversary Special went.

While I don't normally like the idea of Tony Khan appearing on-screen, it made sense with Christian Cage in the opening segment. It was really amusing actually, asking why he hired Adam Copeland. Very interesting direction to take things in by having him go personal to ensure Adam didn't get any wrong ideas about the idea of them being potentially friends. I'd like to see what you can do with Nick Wayne at this stage of his career/life.

Rey Fenix was always going to beat Nick Jackson to retain the AEW International Championship, but what intrigues me is whether he will be a transitional champion until Jon Moxley gets cleared. The situation with FTR was a choice, and I suspect it's intended to play into FTR and the Young Bucks' inevitable next encounter. I hope it will be the last time we see that dynamic for a while.

Hangman Page needed a promo like this following such a disheartening loss at WrestleDream, but I really hope he's not about to go down the heel route opposite Swerve Strickland, no matter how revered Swerve was over Hangman at the pay-per-view.

Good to see Billie Starkz on AEW television for a change, but Taya Valkyrie was always going to win. I'm surprised to see no angle for this, but with the Casino Battle Royale scheduled for AEW Collision this week, it makes sense. I maybe wouldn't have announced next week's show so early into this show, however.

I enjoyed seeing TMDK's Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls and Bad Dude Tito on AEW television, even if it set the stage for Claudio, Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson and Wheeler Yuta's win.

The Don Callis Family promo with Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega was kept very close to reality for obvious reasons, and I'll be interested to see how you play it with Kyle Fletcher. I think there is a lot of ways you can choose to go with this storyline, so I'll be very curious to see how it's executed.

Hikaru Shida defeating Skye Blue was fine, it fit into the show. I feel like Blue is a bit overexposed of late, having been featured so strongly over a lot of more talented women on the roster.

I've been waiting for something to do with Kris Statlander and the Outcasts. I'm interested for obvious reasons if there are any ideas in mind for Toni Storm, based on recent events. It really helps the AEW TBS Championship to not have Kris in the Casino Battle Royale. I suspect a match with her and Saraya may be nigh. I wonder what Ruby Soho makes of Saraya getting involved on her turf.

Samoa Joe and Bandido would have been a great match. I'm surprised the ROH World Television Championship wasn't on the line. Douchebag Joe then destroying Bandido after a show of respect was nice. I am curious to see where we go with Joe.

Jay White being the next top challenger to the AEW World Championship just made sense. He and MJF will have some epic promo battles, and hopefully it odesn't turn out to be too much of a joke a la real life's events. Nonetheless, the Bullet Club Gold will serve as great fodder for MJF and friends, whomever they may eventually be.

I thought Dynamite was good, but booked a lot like a WWE show with an opening promo and main event promo. Considering it's the 4th Anniversary Special, I expected some more emphasis on that fact.

Onto Rampage, Jon Moxley defeating Komander made perfect sense, and while I'm sure Komander had a lot of opportunities, the right man definitely won. I probably wouldn't have had it go as long as it did, though.

As someone who has been a big fan of Angelico and Luther for a long time, I really hope something is on the horizon for the Spanish Announce Project. It sounded like a goofy segment, which is an excellent start. The only thing I'll say is Serpentico speaking is a bit weird - mind you, I don't know if his character does talk or not. This trio would make perfect underdogs.

Willow Nightingale over the Bunny was fine, they had a decent match a while ago on television. It's all building for the Casino Battle Royale match tomorrow. You're already doing a mighty better job of handling the AEW women's division, that's for certain.

Very strange synergy with Ricky Starks and Big Bill meeting members of QTV. I don't know how I feel about it, but it was well written and the character work is definitely there.

Emi Sakura over Robyn Renegade was what it was, all the more similar for the task of getting ready for AEW Collision. Charlette Renegade failing with twin magic is good, and I do think there is potential for that to be a fun spot in the Casino Battle Royale.

Orange Cassidy, Hook and Rob Van Dam. What a trio - nuff said. Fine main event win with Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker. I'd love to see you do more for Menard and Parker particularly. Perhaps this win for Garcia over RVD was a step in the right direction, but I do hope you save Van Dam's losses for special occasions.

Rampage sounded like a real show, and I liked how simple but effective it was.

AEW Collision kicking off with another gangland beating of MJF by Bullet Club Gold is dramatic, but I'm not keen on it for the sole purpose of making the AEW World Champion look like such a sitting duck. I think there should have been more to get us to this point. Maybe MJF going blind rage to fight all members, just to be overtaken? With six weeks of build, we have a long way to go to get to Full Gear - if that is the direction, of course.

I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger so soon on Kris Statlander and Saraya one-on-one, especially with it being the two Women's Champions against each other. Interesting choice for an opener, though. I just feel like this has pay-per-view potential, or even Dynamite main event potential. I do not want to see Saraya as AEW TBS Champion, that said. Toni Storm beginning her descend into madness perhaps? All for it, with the Outcasts finally falling apart.

You write Christian Cage's stuff incredibly well. I really liked his promo here, with Nick Wayne also getting some development.

Bullet Club Gold's promo was really well done, in fairness. One thing I've noticed is you appear to prefer holding big angles backstage. Not a knock, but I do think there's a time and place for that, but it's also important to hold these kinds of angles in the ring. Alas, it provided good motivation for what Jay White wants to make of his rivalry with MJF.

Ricky Starks and Johnny TV would have been a fun match, I don't doubt. Are Starks and Big Bill babyfaces now? I really want to see you try and make this QTV disasterpiece work. It's been a swing and a miss thus far.

The Acclaimed and the Spanish Announce Project's promo expanded on the scene last night on Rampage. It was very interesting to say the least, but it also made me ponder whether the Acclaimed could be doing anything more fruitful than this. It was comedy, though, so it worked.

Kyle Fletcher getting a win over Darius Martin worked fine. I don't think it would have done too well in the ratings, but Darius is lost until Dante Martin returns. It gave Fletcher a win to get over his affiliation with the Don Callis Family.

I suppose I should have seen Swerve Strickland eyeing up the AEW World Championship. I like you following suit with MJF having many enemies and no friends.

I believe Mike Santana has a lot of potential as a singles star, which is why it was a shame to see Miro dispose of him. Thankfully it read like a competitive match and got time, so I can't complain. Ortiz's interference protected him well, too. I don't like Miro taking Ortiz out as well, though. I just want to see Miro get his teeth stuck into a proper storyline again - and not with his wife CJ Perry.

It's disappointing to see Eddie Kingdom go the route he is in real life with Jay Lethal and friends, but hopefully you can make it more interesting. At least it seems you are racing to get to the ROH World Championship match next week.

The Casino Battle Royale was a great read, and a solid showcase of the AEW and ROH women's divisions. Athena as the joker worked amusingly, and Hikaru Shida getting the win in the end made perfect sense. With eliminating the ROH Women's Champion, I wonder if we're due a champion vs champion showdown, should Shida beat Saraya for the AEW Women's World Championship.

Collision was a pretty good show, but I think Dynamite was your strongest suit. One thing I will note is we aren't quite seeing the big angles yet, but I suspect this will come as we get a little closer to Full Gear. I see you've moved it up a bit, which may be too soon after WrestleDream for my liking. Alas, it's probably better than a seven week break between pay-per-views.

 

[Gambit]

I love Christian’s line about Copeland’s mom. Very fitting for the character.

Page questioning who he is without the crowd behind him is very intriguing… it makes me wonder if maybe we’re going to get heel Hangman before it’s all said and done.

The FTR segment felt a bit funky for me, but I’m willing to bet the Bucks will cause some issues in Dax’s match with Fenix.

The King of Television holds no prisoners.

The BCG beating down MJF at the end of Dynamite and at the beginning of Collision was very nice. Setting up Switchblade as the dastardly challenger I love it.

I also love Swerve offering the Mogul Embassy’s services in exchange for the World title. Already setting him up for the main event scene in the spot Joe has on TV. I dig it.

2point0 and Garcia beating Hook, OC, and RVD kinda surprised me for the Rampage main event. Hook rarely loses in the world of AEW.

Love how you’re heating Starks up, but I’m not exactly keen on heel vs heel matches.

Miro decimating Santana and then Ortiz who helped him win the match is nice. I”m curious to see how you’re going to handle the Santana/Ortiz feud.

Good win for Shida