WingedEagle

Yet another phenomenal AEW PPV. Page/Swerve was a fitting next step and escalation in their feud and I didn't mind the length or pacing at all. The needle absolutely bothered me as it felt like something out of a snuff film for the sake of it. They had more than established violence, brutality, hatred and whatever other visceral feelings you could possibly want by that point and that single spot felt like a complete divergence from everything they'd done on this night and previously. I just don't get why it was needed or what it added. I loved the match and it was hardly ruined by it, but it would've been so much cleaner to right to the finish without that spot. Willow vs. Stat blew away every expectation I had and worked with such stiffness and energy in what was probably my second favorite match of the night. The violence felt organic and generally flowed pretty well and didn't feel like a stunt show save a couple minor exceptions. Possibly my favorite women's match in company history (unless I'm overlooking something obvious). Danielson vs. Perry was good. Which is fine, except Danielson usually delivers something a whole lot better than good. Perry needed to work like a chickenshit heel looking for any and every edge rather than as Dragon's equal, but whatever. Onward and upward. That angle afterwards was absolutely INCREDIBLE, with Yuta's performance putting it over the top. Really, really curious where they go next as it seemed like Dragon would defend and perhaps drop the title at WrestleDream in front of a hometown crowd. But now they've got Darby at Grand Slam along with Mox, Claudio, maybe Pac, perhaps Christian and an Ospreay return encounter all in the cards. Maybe Danielson is working us all again and sticking around a little longer? Ospreay vs. Pac was great. On most nights perhaps my MOTN but Swerve/Page and Willow/Stat both connected more with me here. I just didn't this at the MOTYC level some folks were immediately discussing it as, but this was great and would love to see it revisited.

I haven't made it to the subsequent TV yet and don't remember from when I watched this in real time (Good lord that is 27 years ago!), but did they ever explain why Savage linked up with Sting before the turn?

Really good call. Man is not eager to get off his feet and will only do so in the most delicate manner possible. Will be tough to unsee that.

That Gunther pop seemed pretty tame, especially relative to Kaiser's last night and a number of others on this show. Berlin not feeling the ring general?

Tye Dillinger, tell us how she rates tonight?! Meanwhile, with all the chatter about Sid the last few days -- is Rhea somewhat a vastly better yet comparable female? Incredible look, charisma and presence with a few absolute gems in the ring. But generally relying on said look, charisma and presence between the ropes.

I thought it was pretty damn good as well. Good pacing, big spots, a solid story of Owens not going far enough to finish the job but without overdoing it and they brought it home without overstaying their welcome. Maybe match of the week. MOTY? Yeah, not that high on it.

Strap match was pretty damn good until the bracelet appeared. But that was about as dominant a win as you could give a babyface.

Sweeping all that dirt under the rug before Raw premieres on the station? Certainly feels like an attempt to present a nicer, better WWE with all the actual bad guys gone just in time for the Netflix debut.

Or not. If he never steps foot in a ring again this was still a memorable moment in a great match on an an all time show. Certainly scratched the itch for me in the best way possible.

This was by far the highlight of the early footage we have available. Both worked with tremendous physicality and aggression and while its not something one can rate given the clipping, its easy to say that this looked like an absolutely tremendous match rather than good for its time.

Everything he did but looked good, but incredibly slow, to the point that it overcame his mechanics and fluidity. That didn't make it any less of a moment or less fun, but my man was working on 0.5/0.75 speed.

Literally the king at which all must come from this point forward. Good luck. Odds are someone will surpass him as long as this business continues because that's what happens. But I'm not betting on it happening in my lifetime.

Maybe not!

Only if worth a damn means not as worthless as Hook/Jericho. That was incredibly disappointing. Are we at the point where we ask what Britt Baker has done other than bleed against Thunder Rosa?

How late is this show going? With 3.5 matches left it doesn't seem like there's any shot of it fitting in a 4 hour window.

The Casino Gauntlet might have been one of the most fun matches I've seen in a damn long time. So many great moments and surprises.

I don't think 80k was ever the goal. They passed 50k in the last couple days so whatever number they land on will still be incredibly impressive.

Until that spot on the steps and ensuing juice this was just a television match and it seemed the moment was much bigger than the match. Let's see what the back half has to offer.

Blood! More!

Loved the opener as it had some fun bumps, minimal dead time/set up spots and they did a good job shifting focus to different folks throughout. But what I love even more is an afternoon PPV! No getting tired for the biggest matches or conflicts about staying up super late ahead of work. As far as I'm concerned all PPVs should be from Europe.

Didn't even realize it was offered there but this is very much the move as it lets me watch on the big screen. Working like a charm!

Doesn't look like BR PPV is available through Max in the US but can certainly go straight to BR.

What's the best site to order the show from online? I seem to recall people had issues with certain providers the last time around but can't recall which. If I end up watching live I won't be home and will need to watch on the computer.

He absolutely could. But are they going to have Kingston and perhaps others cut those promos to end up with egg on their face?

Surprised to see Roman & Jacob get so physical so soon. Wargames is a lock but hopefully their first singles meeting is as big a deal as possible. Not sure it gets a Mania slot but hopefully an extended build. I assume Wargames is Roman/Usos/Sami vs. Solo/Jacob/GOD but we'll see how Hikuleo or anyone else fits in there. Really great Smackdown though -- Andrade/Melo 3 was the second best match of their trilogy and still great. Andrade is the Carmelo whisperer we never knew we needed. DIY/Profits was also a super strong TV match. High marks for both that along with the closing angle made for a great TV show.