RingoPlaysDrums

Watching the clip of Graves telling Bischoff on After The Bell... I really think that was the first time he'd been told. It feels like a genuine reaction to me.

I'm sure some wrestling fans will be fuming about Khali's induction which I'll enjoy. Kane and Khali are both obvious inductions given the parameters. Here's Undertaker telling Kane the news: https://mobile.twitter.com/WWETheBump/status/1374746413138071552 Much like Bischoff he gets emotional. Even though fans, me included, seem to care less and less about this HOF and it's overly long induction ceremony, it's quite cool to see that it still means a lot to most of the talent.

Where have you heard that?

Watched Orton on the Broken Skull Sessions. At one point Austin asks about his feud with Drew McIntyre last year and Orton says that he initially had "no interest" in working with him but that changed over time as they got to know each other better. I'm possibly misinterpreting this but Austin seems to know what he's talking about and I feel like I've missed something here. I wasn't watching when they had that feud last year and I haven't seen the episode of BSS with Drew either. Was there some heat there that I don't know about? I couldn't find anything with a google.

Show was just there prior to the fantastic Sheamus/McIntyre video package which up until that point was the best thing on the show. Then their match was even better. What a war. I know Sheamus is pale but fucking hell, all the scratches and bruises all over this body. Proof that you can have a sufficiently violent match without the use of blood. Main event was a blast as expected. I see some were disappointed but I thought it was great. Probably the most I've liked a match that's taken place in the "thunderdome". What a ref bump! I certainly hope this is still leading to Bryan getting into the match. Amazing news on Andrade.

I know Sheamus is pale but look at the state of his body ffs.

I'm not the biggest Ospreay fan but he had a hell of a tournament. I gather he was probably expected to win going in but after watching his three matches in the final three rounds of this tournament I'm a little more on board with it.

I liked Ospreay/Finlay. Solid story with the underdog favourite Finlay taking on the guy with a well publicised new mean streak. Finlay hurts his ankle and I liked the spot where Ospreay removed his boot whilst in the figure four.

Almost certainly the best women's match in AEW's short history, unless I've forgotten something. Started off well enough but really moved up another gear when they both started bleeding and there were some great visuals of both. Nice use of the tacks. Loved how Thunder Rosa just broke down as the pinfall was counted, which was appropriate for what felt like new ground for US women's wrestling in the modern era. What a war.

Cinematic match I assume?

Everything about Shane/Strowman is absolutely rotten but McIntyre/Lashley looks more and more enticing by the week. This angle feels like one of the only things Raw has done well for a while. Plenty of time to go until WM of course.

Was just watching the flag match from Badd Blood 1997 and Vader does a spot where Bulldog moves so he rotates so far on his moonsault that he lands on his feet (and stumbles a bit but still pretty much lands it) which I don't think I've seen him do before. Anyway it looks incredibly impressive for a man of his size (he was 42 at this stage as well). The announcers pretty much gloss over it like it's nothing. Even today that'd be something.

Well I enjoyed this a lot, although probably not as much as many. Ospreay's broken nose definitely added to the final portion of the match. Reminiscent of an MMA fight as Ospreay's blood began to cover ZSJ whilst he was in the triangle as you are trying to determine just where the blood is coming from. This led to a pretty great spot where Ospreay lifts ZSJ up to the top turnbuckle and ZSJ takes him down to the mat with a crazy armbar. I liked all the shit talking. Exciting match between two wrestlers who know each other well and it felt intense and unique enough to at least mostly make up for Ospreay doing handspring elbows and chopping with his bad arm etc.

Incredible stuff here from start to finish really. From the amazing, memorable entrances right up until the final shots of DX celebrating up the ramp whilst being pelted with trash and the Harts in the ring, with Diana in tears over the fallen body of Davey Boy. The crowd heat is insane throughout. Hell of a performance from Shawn, bumping around and helping Davey Boy to look amazing. DX do their jobs as well as they get involved and screw over Bulldog. The match itself is very good but the whole package is just electric. Feels like a moment in time. There's no Pillman or Neidhart here but Pillman would be dead within weeks and three of the other four Hart Foundation members gone from the company within 2 months.

Just saw this match and I absolutely loved it. It's remarkable how entertaining LA Park is at 51 years old here. As noted above, I don't think there's a better word than "captivating" to describe his performance. Brutal brawl featuring some truly great moments. The beer bottle action. Park's tope. That fan losing his shit and throwing the drink. Rush smearing Park's blood across his chest. And put me in the camp with those who liked the finish. It's messy and dramatic and fit the match imo.

Good news if true. Fingers crossed they accept. Not sure it's likely they will but I'd love to see him elsewhere.

He's gotten worse if anything. I remember enjoying his ring work a decent amount back in 2014/2015. That's rarely the case now.

Man, they delivered here. Great episode that gives me a little more faith that they do kind of know what they're doing.

Yeah. He really shouldn't be on Dynamite anymore but they don't seem to have the heart to get rid of him. Excalibur, Tony and Taz would be a much better trio in my opinion. If they absolutely must keep JR around, have him do Dark Elevation alongside Jericho/Big Show.

Sounds terrible. We're lucky we'll still have the old style Network in the UK... for the time being at least. This sounds like a huge downgrade from a subscriber standpoint.

I loved the finish to Cena/Lesnar to be honest. The idea that Lesnar was like a bull that could run right through anyone but that there was always the possibility he could be caught like a matador might catch a bull. Great finish to what was a truly unique match at the time.

I'd say the street fight overdelivered and the ladder match underdelivered. Why were Cody, Arn and co. loitering around the tunnel for ages before finally disappearing (and then coming back soon after)? That was so distracting. There were some awkward spots as well. Compared to what we're used to in WWE, AEW's multi man ladder matches have all felt a bit off imo. Perhaps the production is the main reason for that? Archer was easily the best part of the match for me with Penta and Cody being more memorable than the rest. And since it seemed like this match was going to be all about giving Sky, Caster (and Page) the chance to shine I can't say that it really worked in that regard.

Nah, I meant it did the job in Funk/Onita. Definitely not here.

For the record I expected it to be Christian and I think it's a solid signing. He looked like he could still go at the Rumble so in that sense it's a lot better than Angle who can barely move or whoever else who offers nothing in the ring at this stage. People were obviously wrong to expect Lesnar or Punk or whoever else that's a bigger name than Christian but I think that's bound to happen when you hype it up like that and if the end result is that people are talking about how disappointing it was because the surprise was "only" Christian, I think you've got a problem.

Everything was great about that main event until the final explosion. They imitated Funk/Onita to a tee with Kingston in the Onita role and the countdown alarm. Now that explosion was also a bit of a letdown but I think it did the job there. But in this case people are going to mock it relentlessly, and rightly so. As has been said, if the idea was Omega messing up, Callis should've been driving that home. Also, Christian is a good signing for AEW but when you announce that you've signed a major HOF-worthy name and you're going to announce it at your PPV and it turns out to be Christian who we all saw sign for TNA years ago when he was actually in his prime... people are going to be disappointed. They should've just announced that they'd signed Christian and there'd be a lot more good will. The show was solid but these two big misfires are the things people are going to remember.