Migs

I think the Dome plan is the champ (hoping ZSJ, although I guess it could be Naito) against a big name outsider. I don't think Tsuji has the juice to main event the Dome yet. (I do think they should put him over for it early next year.)

And... it's gone.

I would add there's a lot of great stuff in 2016-2018 if you enjoy the Bullet Club guys. Everything tumbles off a cliff dramatically in 2019.

I kind of assume it's to set up a bit of a question, which would be resolved by Nana still being on team Swerve. I will say, I think they've struggled to find the voice for Swerve as a babyface and as the champ. He's still over, but there was a sense of purpose there before that feels forced right now.

Honestly, I can't even remember if any of the rest of the show was good last night - they put Kenny and Okada face to face again. Feed it to my veins.

Confirmed that TK is an Andy Kaufman fan. Maybe we soon find out the real Forbidden Door wasn't between AEW and New Japan but between Andy Kaufman's private island and the rest of the world. Kenny Omega and Andy and TK against the Bucks and Perry, book it.

It's apparently Swerve's championship speech. That's why he didn't give one on Dynamite.

Yeah, that worked. Way more than I thought it would. FTR-Bucks was great, loved that they mixed more violence into it as opposed to the spot-fest types (while still getting in some cool ones).

I think Swerve as a babyface is really just a fans reacting thing. Put him against Ospreay in Wembley, he'll be fine as a heel and he won't need to change the character a bit.

I totally forgot about Shingo, who also main evented a Dome show. He's probably a good answer if it's not a Musketeer.

Who they pick to take the belt from Mox is a fascinating question. Does Mox take this all the way to the Dome? Only 3 guys on the roster have main evented the Dome in the last decade - Naito (old), Tanahashi (older) and Sanada (very clearly not the answer long-term after how his title reign went). Given how they've treated the new Musketeers, no one seems like an obvious choice.

The answer is both. You run big matches with them quickly but long-term, they can be used to build those younger teams too.

One thing that really struck me - the lack of Kevin Dunn camera cuts and the announcers getting to talk like humans really made the product so much more tolerable. I didn't think either show was great, but they weren't exhausting in the way WWE shows could be not that long ago. Huge improvement on its own, especially in terms of capturing casual viewers.

I went to the small one and it was pretty cool - seemed like the patriarch was still working the grill there (although this was 2015, not sure if that's true now). You get the benefit of imagining Hanson and Brody sitting at that counter.

Curious to hear more on these. Definitely breaks with AEW's past, although it's possible this is just a rash of contracts not being renewed, or people asking out? (Although the surprise from Henry definitely contradicts that.)

She hasn't really been put in a position to do much so far, but yeah, she looks cooked.

Honestly, it was hilarious. Like a Lesnar Suplex City match on downers.

This tournament just gets worse and worse. Kind of crazy that we could have a New Japan tournament without a single **** match.

Take a look at who Kevin Kelly follows on Twitter. He's a Qanon guy, has been for at least a few years.

He's got enough money that he assuredly could buy any of the existing second-tier companies, although most of them already seem like vanity projects. I guess not TNA, although I really can't imagine Vince going that direction. If he were to do anything, I think it'd be a new company. I actually do think he could get decent TV of some sort based on his reputation. The bigger question is who he could get to be the lynchpin? Brock?

The Bucks taking their PWG tornado tag match (complete with Rick Knox) to a PPV main event with Sting and literally getting to superkick the past was incredible.

Julia's hurt and I don't believe is cleared yet based on the reporting.

I think the AEW fanbase appreciates a variety in their wrestling that tends toward someone like Hook or Jade getting over. But it's obviously a problem for developing workers who don't have experience to advance the meme status. Compare this to, say, Orange Cassidy, who everyone thought would flame out - turns out having years working indies in a variety of styles / characters allows you to have a sense of your character that lets them evolve. I don't yet see Hook evolving much, and Jade hasn't (we'll see if WWE can help her do it).

Korakuen has a handy calendar. https://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/en/tourists/hall/events.html

So he's very available!