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Tim and Doug dive deep into the world of All Elite Wrestling. Recaps, character analysis, storyline breakdowns, and more. Two guys who have been All Elite since day 1 talk AEW.
And with that, Elite Heat is back for 2026.
Yeah.
So little unintentional break for a week. We didn't actually talk about taking New Year's Eve off, ah but then we ended up having people come over here and ah Doug was invited, but was like, no, don't like you and didn't show up.
um
That wasn't an exact quote.
You're right. It was fuck off. I hate you.
Thank you. saying No, it wasn't hate you. It was fuck off. I'm not super fond of you at the moment.
Ah, yes.
Plus, I just got some new French onion dip.
Oh, well, see, I went with the subtext there, but that's me.
That's all fair. That's all fair.
Anyway, this is Elite Heat where we're going to try and take two hours of wrestling and smoosh it down to 30 minutes, which we have not yet been successful with.
Not yet, but we're going to try today, by golly.
We're going to keep trying. So with that, let's get into it.
Yep.
So tonight's episode of Dynamite opened with Don Callis and the demand. I guess you would call it a promo. um
Yeah. Yeah.
Basically saying that they took out ah who was supposed to be Jet Speed.
Jet speed.
Thank you.
Yep.
Took out Jet Speed. Here's what I wrote down about it. i and I enjoyed it. I actually thought Ricochet was pretty good here.
Mm-hmm.
which is, you know, I'm not the biggest fan of him on the mic, but I thought he was pretty good here. I have no idea who that new guy is in the Don Callis family. Should I know who that is?
I don't think so, because I haven't heard of him either.
Okay.
But it was nice it was nice to see that ah that Mark dude getting paired up with someone to give him something to do.
I don't.
Yes. And I think, it yeah, I agree.
So I was pretty okay with that.
And I think it's very interesting to put him with another big dude.
Yeah, yeah.
I kind of didn't understand why they weren't working like him and Lance Archer before this. Cause Lance Archer has had nothing to do since Brian cage got hurt.
Yeah, and they just brought him out later on tonight just to stand, I guess.
Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, i don't know who he is, but cool.
Yeah.
I'll go with cool.
Now, wait, I do want to backtrack a little bit because technically Dynamite opened with JR's back.
Yeah.
yeah That's true. It did open with with Jim Ross, which you know was good to see.
Yep.
um
Yeah.
And i thought he I'll say this. I thought he was on it tonight. I thought he was sharp. I thought he did a really nice job tonight.
Yep.
I'm glad they cut away from him walking down the ramp, though, because that was tough to watch.
Yes, it was. But.
And I get it. He's been through a lot.
And he's in his home state, so I was very happy to see Jair back.
Mm-hmm.
And it was kind of one of those things I was like, yes, that's awesome.
Yeah. Yeah, it was good. ah So after the promo, then we got Mox and Shelton Benjamin.
That is an interesting matchup.
Okay.
I liked it. Here's what I put. I wrote, Shelton Benjamin is awesome, but will never win a singles title.
Oh, that's interesting. Okay. So here's what I wrote about him. I put, I feel like Well, i I wrote a couple things about Sheldon. was like, I feel a little bit like they don't know what to do with him right now.
um
Yep.
I also feel like maybe we don't appreciate him enough as fans.
I would agree.
Because he's really good. And I think he showed you that again tonight, that he's really good.
Oh, ah he's amazing.
I think here's where ah here's where I'm going to disagree with you just a skosh on him not winning a singles title, um which this is going to tie into tonight's match. I think AEW has so many of them, and they need something for him to do.
Because like I said, it feels a little bit to me like he's a little bit lost right now with with Lashley Hurt.
Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep.
They have so many that I could see them, especially if Lashley's out for a while,
yeah
And this is why I feel like he's a little bit lost. I feel like they're waiting to see really where Bobby's at. Right. But if he's going to be out for a while, I don't know why you don't build a proper feud between him and Mox or him and Okada or him and Ricochet, which would make sense since they had beef anyway, and let him get one of those titles.
I don't think we're going to see him as the world champion, but let him get one of those titles because they have so many.
No. Heroes... They do, and it I get it, but he is one of those guys who I absolutely love in the ring, but there's just something about him that doesn't quite push him over the top, in in my eyes, for to be wearing the belt. Not that he couldn't wrestle for it and defend it and look amazing doing it.
It's one of those personality things where even with MVP there... I don't think he's got enough of that shine to make that look really awesome. He'd be a great champ.
ah like Like I said, I love Shelton Benjamin. I think he's amazing. I just don't see him wearing a single strap. But you make a great point. AEW has so many single straps. And putting him head-to-head with Ricochet makes so much sense that I'll caveat my statement that if he's going to win a singles belt, it should be Ricochet's.
All right, that's fair. I think that would make a lot of sense. I would like, especially after tonight, I would like to see them build a proper program with Mox, which is why the finish really surprised me.
I was disappointed in that finish.
I was too.
I really was.
ah Here's why I was disappointed in it. Not only because I think that it would have made all the sense in the world to have Shelton Benjamin be the first challenger for Jon Moxley's continental class or Continental Championship, I should say
Mm-hmm.
But also, i my issue with it is the ending didn't make sense. Because, first of all, you've got Shelton Benjamin, who has been doing this for close to 30 years, I would think, at this point.
Yeah, he's been doing it a while.
At least 20.
Mm-hmm.
isn't This isn't, I'm going to pick on him again. this It would have made more sense if it was Wheeler-Uda and you didn't know better.
Right, right.
And Mox rolls you into that pin and you aren't thinking and don't let go of the hold.
Mm-hmm.
And it's like, okay, well, learning moment, kid. Shelton Benjamin knows better.
Yes, he does.
And when the whole match they're talking about a draw is going to count as a win for him, basically, a draw gets him the title shot.
Yep.
Shelton knows that. Why wouldn't you let go?
I thought for sure they were overselling the draw angle on commentary. And I thought that's exact. I was like, I love the foreshadowing, but I think you're overdoing it and you're, you're giving away the the ending.
And then they didn't pull the trigger on it. I was, and I was really shocked. And can I just say I'm getting tired of these pre-match matches where if you beat the champ, then you get a shot at the title.
i don't like that.
You don't like the eliminator match?
I don't. I, it, it just doesn't make sense to me, especially for someone the caliber of Shelton Benjamin.
Sure. i get that. i i don't mind it from the standpoint of, I think it's at least a ah different twist on the number one contender match, but...
when you're talking about a roster where you've got more than enough people that you could have put together a good number one contender match, particularly if you had rolled out, I mean, Kyle Fletcher was nowhere to be found tonight, right?
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, absent.
Or, or just if you had grabbed anybody, right? from the Continental Classic.
Mm-hmm.
Or let me posit this one. I know that this is gonna come back around later, but you have Darby Allen who had to bow out of the Classic due to the injury.
Yep.
um Isn't there a kayfabe storyline here for a number one contender match there? And you can have Shelton win that and then go on to challenge for the title, which I would have been on board with.
Mm-hmm.
I just, the, the finish to me, just like I said, aside from all the Shelton's smarter than that, it it also doesn't make sense because now you've got a champion in Jon Moxley, who is one of your biggest draws.
Yeah.
And what are we doing?
Yeah.
what What are we doing? and And shouldn't you be building something with revolution?
And.
Not that far away.
Right. The other thing I wrote down about this match is when's the last time you saw Mox pull out a cutter like he did tonight?
i think he's probably done it more than we think, but yeah, I mean, ah I liked the match. I thought it was a really good match. I just didn't like the finish.
I agree. it just, this felt like a fairly different match for Moxley than it has has been leading up to his winning the title.
That's fair. Yeah, that's fair. um Anyway, so good match.
Mm-hmm.
Not a great finish. And I'm not sure where we're going with this in terms of Moxley.
Nope.
And again, now you've got Shelton Benjamin just twisting in the wind. It doesn't make sense to me. but
No.
So let's move on then to the trios match. The demand versus Jack and the Bucks. This made me happy.
I loved It made me so happy. That was so good.
I very much enjoyed hearing, you know, the super kick party theme again, them coming out like the bucks of old.
Oh, yeah.
ah There was a new energy to them. I felt like also I wrote down here. I told you all the bucks being hurt was a work, um which we all knew, but you know, I want to pat myself on the back.
Oh, yeah. Without a doubt.
You called it.
um I thought that that swinging DDT that Jack did where he was like airborne, That was cool. That was one of the prettier things I've seen.
They pulled out so many moves during that one match. It was bonkers. I wrote down the DDT that Jack did onto the seated ricochet, which I don't think...
yeah that's the one I'm talking about. Yeah.
the Okay, then I don't know if I've ever seen that before.
Yeah. I don't think you're seeing it. I called it a swinging DDT because I don't know what else to call it.
yeah.
That's fair. I thought there was another one swinging. yeah I took swinging as being to the outside because I thought he did one on the outside and maybe I'm just inflating everything together.
I think he did, yeah.
But that one there, that was the one i absolutely just, I pouched for. And I pouched for the three-man Samoan drop by Toa Leona.
That, yeah, that made me, i started laughing. i was like, it's just ridiculous in the best way. So, yeah, I thought that was really good.
It's so good.
Yeah, I thought that was really good. The DDT was really good.
Yep.
I thought it was just a super fun match. I really enjoyed that.
I thought it did a great job of building up the demand. I'm really liking them as a trio.
I am too.
I like Toa, Leona, and oh, forgive me. I don't remember the other guy's name.
ah
I almost said Great O'Conn. That's not right. ah But it's something Conn, isn't it?
King Kong Khan. I think it might just be Khan or Khan. Yeah, something.
No, he's got a full name.
anyway
Is it Bishop Conn?
Let's say sure. I think that sounds right.
I should know this.
Yep. Bishop Khan.
Okay, why not?
According to. No, I'm not going to say your name.
According to nobody, there was there is nobody there.
I'm not going to say your name. No, I'm not. Get out. Go.
He doesn't even believe in you. yeah
my God.
Anyway, I thought that was a great match. To me, possibly match of the night.
Yeah, so for me, it was between the Moxley-Benjamin match and this one, and I ended up picking this one as match of the night just because i the finish was better.
It was a it yeah.
Finish was better. The whole thing, start to finish, really, really well done. Saw a lot of new moves. but Like you said, the Bucks felt really, really fresh. They felt re-energized, and it it just felt good. The demand looked good. They got beat, but they didn't look stupid getting beat.
Everything worked in this match for me. I really, really liked it
I agree. Match of the night for me. And then after that, correct me if I'm wrong, after that new guy that we don't know who he is came in for the beatdown with Mark Davis.
Yes. Yep. Him and Mark Davis came in.
And we got the Andrade return.
Yes, that was, that was pretty cool. And I'm not even the biggest Andrade fan, but I liked that return. I thought that was cool.
Yeah, I thought they did it well. I had wondered how they were going to bring him back in because they finally got that all settled with the alleged one-year non-compete from wwe WWE, which never made sense to me.
fired the guy, but whatever.
Right. And they're contract employees.
And it was...
So you can't really do that, but whatever.
Yeah, exactly. but ah And if if you watched Wrestle Kingdom, which I did not, but if you watched Wrestle Kingdom, he worked the show and came out to the AEW music.
So it was kind of like, oh okay, he's probably showing up, but...
Oh, okay. also watched over the weekend a, I believe it's ACW on Triller, and he basically did the same thing.
Mm-hmm.
Lights out, came back, destroyed some folks in the ring, wearing the suit, wearing the mask, looked really cool. So I was like, okay, I bet we're going to see him in A&W soon. And I didn't expect him tonight, but I was i liked that return.
yeah
Yeah, I thought that was good. I'm very curious to see what they're going to do with him now because it it seems pretty obvious they have pretty big plans for him. I'm just not positive what it is, but I'm curious to see it.
Here's the head scratcher to me, though. Why did FTR come out?
yeah I didn't understand that either it's like who are you looking at there's like a hundred people in the ring
Right. The one that makes sense is the bucks, right? Because the history there.
yeah but they were already laid out yes exactly
I mean, the bucks are why they're called FTR.
But they were already laid out. What are you doing?
Yeah. I don't, it didn't make any sense to me.
Nope.
So I don't, I don't get that.
Nope.
And I'm tempted to do my usual, I guess we'll see where it goes, but I don't, it didn't make any sense.
I think that's what Stokely was thinking too. He was like, let's see where this goes. Let's just wander out and stare.
I guess. Yeah, I guess.
And even the announce team was confused.
And look, if yeah.
They were like, don't know. Here they are
and And if you're going to give us another FTR Young Bucks match, I'm not opposed to that.
I'll watch it.
But it just feels it feels odd to me because this feels like a situation where the heel champs have now laid the groundwork to call out the babyface team, and I never liked that. I always feel like it should go the other way.
Yes, absolutely.
Especially when you're the kind of heels that FTR are. r
Yes. The only thing that I thought, and this was just a fleeting thought, is they keep making a point of having the Don Callis family grow and grow and grow. And the the only thought I had was, are they going to do like Don Callis is all the heels and everyone else is going to be forced to be a baby face kind of vibe where that yeah he's got so much talent.
Very few are actually doing anything, but he's got so much talent in there that could. It just came and went in my head. And I actually, i didn't even write it down, but I just remembered it as we're talking.
so i don't know.
Yeah.
I don't know what you're doing.
I don't either.
don't know.
I mean, like, I see where you're coming from on that. i On one hand, I hope no, because then we're late stage NWO. Where, you know, Disco Inferno is in it.
Yep.
I can't. Don't mention that guy's name ever again here. excellent
But nobody's a fan.
I'm sorry, Glenn. I'm not a fan.
Cody Rhodes had the greatest line about him when he said, you never drew one single dollar. You only got on TV because you popped the boys in the back. Like nobody was a fan of him.
yep yep nope he did one thing I found entertaining and I won't even recount it because he doesn't deserve it
But anyway,
Yeah, that's fine. um But you know what i mean? It feels like late stage NWO. And like I said a couple of weeks ago, if the point of that is to make fun of how bloated the NWO got, then okay.
right
But it's almost a little too meta.
Yeah.
um
Yeah. it's It's on that verge of being, okay, you're now you're trying to be too cute.
Yeah.
Yeah. So I'd be very surprised ah if FTR joins up with the Don Callis family. i think it's to lay yeah I think it's to lay the groundwork for FTR and Young Bucks again, but it just felt weird.
Oh, same.
It was just weirdly done. Yeah, if that's what they're looking at.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And after that, we got the Willow celebration, ah which, you know, that was that I'm glad that they did the video recap because when Chris Statlander came out with her, I was like, I'm confused.
Yeah.
Yes.
I thought you guys hated each other still.
Mm-hmm.
So I was glad that they did that and that that she touched on it in the promo. um I didn't catch this, but my wife caught that when Mercedes was going full unhinged that Statlander like saved the cake.
Because my wife started my wife started laughing of like, she was like, oh yeah, that's the most important thing.
Oh, I did, yeah.
And then it was also a very clever way to then set up the inevitable face full of cake.
Yes.
Which by the way, I'm pretty sure every time there's been a cake around Mercedes, she has ended up in it.
I like that.
Yes. And I think that's a trend that needs to continue.
But, oh, I agree. um Again, unhinged Mercedes is delightful to me.
So good. So good.
I really enjoy it.
I liked this segment an awful lot. I think Statlander and Babes of Wrath are money. I love that because now you can have willow talk and you don't, Statlander doesn't need to try as hard.
yeah
She gets the rub off of their positivity. She can be the weird, positive, brooding one in the back. But I thought I liked them all together. Plus, I like how Willow pitched her promo. Like, look, since we're out here doing a celebration and it's pro wrestling, someone's going to interrupt us. So why don't you just come on out, Mercedes? I invite you out.
Let's celebrate. You had a great year. You had a great year.
She did. Yeah.
And then, like you said, just she Mercedes just snaps and is so good.
I.
And then she eats cake.
Yeah, I thought it was really well done. um ah No notes. I thought it was really well done.
yeah Loved it. I really liked that segment.
Then we got the Briscoe promo, which. What I wrote down here is Honestly, not his best.
I wrote down Mark Briscoe reading the crystal ball was awesome.
Okay, that was good.
And I will, I will take that as a recurring bit all, all day. I love that part, but yes, right.
That was good.
Overall it was fine.
Yeah. Yeah. ah And and to be to be fair and to be clear, I guess, I think that that is Mark Briscoe being a victim of his own success.
He's such a good promo 99% of the time that that 1% that we go, eh, not his best is still better than a lot of other people's.
Yeah, if that came out of anyone else's mouth, we would have been, that was solid promo. Solid promo.
Yeah. It would be far easier to name the people that if they had cut that promo, I would have been like, eh, that's a little disappointing. Then not, you know what I mean?
Yes. Yep.
Like if MJF cuts that promo, I'd be like, eh, not his best work. But, you know, if Roddy Strong cuts that promo, I'd be like, where'd that come from?
Mm-hmm.
You know, you've been holding out on us, you know.
exactly Yeah, exactly. that's That's what I was aiming at. yeah Yes, exactly.
um But, you know, the crystal ball bit was great. And okay, cool.
Loved it.
You know, is it going to get me to watch Collision? No, but whatever.
Here's the thing. I think we need to start watching collision because things are happening there and we could be missing out.
I know.
And I've been trying to watch on the weekends. So I'm not saying we need to do a recap of it, but we might need to start because a lot of things are starting to really go down there.
Yeah, we might need to pay attention to it.
Yeah, I get it. He's trying to... Tony's trying to get eyeballs on it on a tough, tough time slot.
Yep.
What I've got to do is I've got to start watching the... I've got watch it on demand when I'm on the treadmill is what got to
Yep. That's fine too. Yeah.
yeah But... Yeah. Because I'm not going watch it live primarily because I'm going to forget. It's just not a habit for me. I'm just...
Yep.
I'm not... it It's not. I'm just... I'm going to forget.
No, I understand completely.
it and Like if it's a Saturday night, I'm either probably playing video games or like we have a lot we have a local minor league hockey team here, so I might be there.
Or I have fallen asleep on the couch. It's one of those three, but it is.
It's kind of a crapshoot on that one for you. Yeah. Yeah. yeah
And none of those lend themselves to me watching Collision, but.
Okay, that's fair.
Well, but but again, i no excuse. I can watch it whenever. and Let's be real. It's not like I'm trying hard at my job. I could be watching it then.
yeah Don't tell him.
Oh, people know. I don't hide it.
Okay, that's fair. Can I just say up next, I was super happy to see Sammy Guevara back on Dynamite.
Yeah. Yeah.
I was too. You skipped one thing, though.
What did I miss?
The Sisters of Sin.
Oh, I forgot about that promo.
Which I actually wrote down as a Thekla promo.
Yeah.
It was.
Cause it was in she's good. That surprised me.
She's really good.
She's good.
Yep. And it that was one of the first promos I've seen that it seemed to me it was obvious that Sky Blue and Thank You had lines they needed to memorize to make that promo flow.
Julia Hart. Uh huh.
And that's all they had.
I wrote that down too.
Yep.
I was like, what are the other two doing? Like it felt to me like they were doing it on purpose of the like, We are very ethereal, goth, Wednesday Adams.
Well, and I think it was, I think, I also, I think it was meant to rhyme a bit as well, because I believe it did.
but it But if that's what you were doing, it didn't get over.
Oh.
i but I'd have to watch it again, but I think it it was meant to be in that cadence and ah kind of a rhyming stanza type thing.
Yeah. It just.
But yeah, Thekla, I like her a lot.
Yeah.
Yep.
Thekla was real good. The other two were not, in my opinion.
Fair. That's fair.
And then we got Sammy and Bandito, and I agree. I was very happy to see Sammy back on Dynamite. I understand that not unlike with Athena and a couple other people, he's one of the guys that they are using to try and get eyeballs on Ring of Honor.
Mm-hmm.
I get that. I like Sammy Guevara. I've liked him basically from the jump, ah at least since the Inner Circle days.
So basically from the jump.
I like him when he was wearing the panda.
i like Yeah, the I liked the panda too, but I you know i really got to like know him once the Inner Circle stuff started.
Oh, yeah. Yep.
I like him. I'm glad he's back on TV. I think the guy... I think he's underrated, quite honestly.
Yeah.
I don't think people give him near enough credit, particularly for how he sells.
Yeah.
And i was glad to see him back. I thought that was a really good match. thought it was fun.
I also wrote down his new starter Dirty Dom mustache.
I enjoy the mustache, yeah.
Yep. I was like, wow.
Oh, the only other thing I wrote down, and JR touched on this, I don't trust people that wrestle with their wedding ring on. It's the same thing when I see somebody playing in and in ah in in an NFL game.
Oh.
Say that 10 times fast.
Not going to try.
With their wedding ring on. one to
Really?
you're You're going to get it caught on something. And either you're going to get hurt or somebody else is going to get hurt. And like you get this thing caught the wrong way. It's going to peel the skin off your finger.
Yep.
Yep. It'll sleeve it. It'll glove your finger. Not good.
Not a great idea.
Nope. Nope. Didn't even think of that. I thought it was weird that Jim Ross said that. i For some reason, that's what stuck out to me. Not that. Oh, I agree. It was just. What?
Well, I think what happened was they did a close-up where you could see he brought his hand up and you could see the ring.
Anyway.
Oh, yeah.
And I think it just popped into JR's head and he said it, which I have no problem with.
Yep.
No, bring it, JR. That's great.
But also I was like, thank you.
Yeah.
I've been saying that for a while. And then MJF came out and talked some trash, which is always good.
Always a fun time.
Here's the other thing I wrote down.
The interpreter guy, he took the 21plex better than MJF took it. That might have been the best bump I've seen of the 21plex.
Yeah, he sold the daylights out of it. Took it so well. And I agree. i don't think MJF took it it that well.
No.
But, super entertaining. The Interpreter may have been one of my favorite parts of that whole thing.
I enjoyed that.
Other than Bandito firing back his own nut shot.
Yeah.
I thought that was great.
That was good. Yeah.
That was almost...
It was a good little segment, you know.
Yeah. I thought it did everything it needed to do. MJF, again, sounded great. So condescending. Called him kid. He's probably younger than Bandito. But maybe.
Probably.
Maybe not. I don't know.
I don't know.
And yeah, interpreter guy? Kudos, my friend. Bring him back.
Mm-hmm.
I'd like to see more of him.
Yeah, it was good. I agree. that That, you know, that was all good. And then ah the Brody King video, here's what I wrote down about that.
Mm-hmm.
I did not know he was in a band.
Oh, really? Okay.
Yeah, I didn't know that.
isn They've mentioned it time or three that he was, I don't remember the name of the metal band, but yeah, he's the lead singer of a band. yeah
Well, i don't i don't I don't consider that singing, but, you know, I'm not going to tell him that.
Well, no, I wouldn't either. But he does he does what he does with a band.
Yes, he he yells into a microphone and people pay to see that.
Okay. Yeah.
So good on you, my friend.
Yes, and they do.
then he does a tope suicida into the crowd.
i hope he does. ah Then Tony Storm and Marina Shafir. I wrote down about this. And the reason that I just thought I'd jump out of this is because these three words stuck out. Match was fine.
Match was fine.
Match was fine.
Tony did her best to make Marina look good. Tony Storm is gold. i did enjoy Marina Shafir mocking her and Orange Cassidy's dance. I thought that was funny.
Yeah, I think that them allowing Marina to have some more personality is a good thing.
okay
I'm still not sure that she's going to ever be what maybe they're hoping she'll be.
I agree.
But, you know, you need some heels in the women's division. So why not? Especially since what happened to Megan Bain? Where is she?
I don't know if she was full-time AEW or not.
Oh, yeah, no, she is.
Is she really? Then don't know what happens here.
Yeah, I know she wrestles in Japan a lot, but, I mean, all ah they're all free to basically take bookings all over the place.
Right.
You know, I mean, look no further than Mercedes. um But, I mean, hell, at WrestleKingdom, Will Ospreay came out and was like, oh, no, um my next match is going to be here, basically, you know, so.
I don't know where she's at.
Nice.
Yeah.
I
So she is. so I don't, I don't know why she's MIA all of a sudden.
don't either, because I really like Megan Bain. I think she's fantastic.
I do too. Yeah, but okay, whatever. um The other notes I made here finish was okay to keep the feud going. I guess I thought they made Mina look real weak when she ate one kick and dropped like a brick.
Well, it's basically exactly what they did with the roles reversed because when Mina got crushed by Marina, Tony came out. She got healed, just kicked in the mush and collapsed.
It was the exact same thing.
yeah that's true.
And they just ran it back. What I found most interesting was the Deathriders role in this. No Jon Moxley. And then Claudio coming in hot, hot, hot.
He came in real hot.
I wrote down Claudio made a move is how I, what I wrote down.
Okay. I like that. Yeah, I like that.
Cause he seemed to be the one going, uh, uh, uh, we're not getting kicked out.
Yeah.
We're in a wreck house here. Came in, took his t-shirt off.
Yeah.
And again, look stupid strong. And then, you know, got held back. But yeah.
Yeah. I mean, the look has never been the problem with him.
No, no, it never has.
No. The only other thing I wrote down was that Luther dabbing Tony's forehead at the end was really funny. I got a big kick out of that.
I love how they have taken someone who was hired because he was Chris Jericho's friend and a death match match wrestler and turned him into one of the most entertaining, silent sidekicks for Tony Storm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Brilliant stuff. Brilliant stuff.
really like what those two are doing and i i don't think luther gets enough credit for being who he is with her because he doesn't talk and he's so funny it's so good yep
I agree. I agree. He's great. And the way that he knows when to work the crowd, it's tremendous. um And, you know, I did ask for more Tony Storm and Orange Cassidy, and they're giving us that.
So I i guess I can't complain.
i did like that final shot i did like the final shot of him with tony and uh marie marie marina yeah that's the one yeah
Yeah. Yeah.
Mina. It's very confusing when you have Marina Shafir and Mina Shirakawa. It's, it's, yeah.
and it was Mina, not Marina. So yes, Tony and Mina in orange.
Correct. Yeah. Yeah.
Tony and Mina in orange.
Yes.
Tony and Mina in orange.
Yes, exactly. Follow the yellow brick road.
Yep.
That's what that's kind of sounded like to me.
Yep.
ah Then the pack interview happened. Here's what I wrote down. Whatever this it's just not doing it for me. It's nothing against him. It's not anything against Darby. Really? This is just not scratching my, my itch the way that I think they hope I just, whatever.
I would have rather seen Pac just say, yeah, no, and then leave it at that and leave Darby frustrated.
Yeah. Yeah. I would have preferred a we're going to stretch it out and Darby keeps chasing him and gets like progressively more unhinged basically.
Yeah.
Instead of just, I'm going to break your ankle or give me the match. Give me, you know, like, like it's the Batista thing. Remember when he was like, I'm going to murder Ric Flair.
Yeah.
Apparently if you don't give me the WrestleMania match, like, well, I mean, that's basically the implication was that he was going to kill Rick.
murder rick
Like,
Yeah,
So yeah, i whatever. Whatever.
yeah i I agree. i think I would have rather seen Darby come out and force a challenge for the Continental title.
Yeah, or I just, I don't know.
Because he got kicked out. I would have rather seen that path than this. I understand why they're doing it, you know, because they belabored the point that he beat every other Deathrider and not Pac. And so he's got to beat him. But I like Pac's response. He's like, I beat you twice.
We call you a loser.
Yeah. Yeah.
Carry on.
Yeah. I thought he was very good. I, it's just the storyline itself. And I think the problem with it is you have a very cooled off death writers.
Yep.
They have lost a lot of their heat. Um, and I don't know how much longer you can drag this breakup out because face Moxley and then the rest of them trying to have heel heat is just not, it's not, it's not working.
it feels like it's almost kind of there. It feels like it's now Moxley and then there's the Death Riders and it's not really, they might share the same music, but they don't share much else right now.
Yes.
Yeah, no I agree. And then, you know, Darby is never going to be my favorite. And that's just me. It's just me. But I think that I don't know if it's because of the injury or what it is, but I feel like he's cooled off a lot too, at least for me.
could be um i think with sting retiring i think he lost a little bit of that shine the injury him taking time off to climb the mountain him being gone there being so much act you know that roster is a stacked roster and it's okay for him to have a cool down period for the for right now i think i think it's all right and i i agree with you i'm fine watching them wrestle again because it's going to be a good match but i did i need to see it no will i watch it yeah
I don't know.
Yeah. Yeah.
yeah
Yeah, but I'm going to watch it because it's going to be part of a pay-per-view where a bunch of other matches are why I'm going to buy it. You know, like I'm going to watch it and go, yeah, I'm i'm sure the match is gonna be good.
That's fair.
And I'll be like, yeah, when we're talking about revolution, assuming that's when the match is, I'm sure that I'll go like, no, it was good. It was good. It was entertaining, you know, whatever. It was fine. And then we're going to move on to something else. I'm be like, this was a banger, you know?
Are they going to throw that on next week? Because are so trying to stack that card.
Maybe.
They might throw it on for next week.
Maybe.
I don't remember what they said, but yeah.
I don't remember either. I'm not sure that they did say. um So, yeah, they they might.
They might not have.
But I don't know. Like I said, it just this one isn't hitting for me. I agree with you. It's fine for Darby to not always be on fire. You can't always be on fire unless it's like 1998 and you're Stone Cold Steve Austin.
No.
I mean, ah you know, beyond that, it's always going to ebb and flow.
Very accurate, yeah.
This one just isn't hitting for me. and Whatever. Then we got the main event.
Yeah. Yeah.
ah The lights out match between hangman and swerve and hook and powerhouse. And this actually brought up something that I meant to bring up with the willow celebration, but forgot about had some problems with the lights tonight. Didn't we?
I actually kind of liked the fact that the lights were out for the lights out match. I kind of liked that.
so I agree with you at first. I was like, this is interesting. But then I was also going, I don't know how these guys are going to wrestle in the dark and the spotlights couldn't keep up with them.
Right.
And that's where I was like, this, I, this is not intentional. And it happened during the willow celebration to like the exact same thing where they flickered and went out.
you know
So I thought that was kind of interesting, but
yeah when they went to go lights out it started flickering i'm like well that's weird because i looked away at the willow celebration i looked away my dog was wanting attention idiot i know and then when i looked back up the lights were out and i was like oh okay whatever you know i thought mood lighting i don't know what they're doing but
yeah.
Jerk.
It, it, it could have been worse, right? Cause they didn't lose everything.
Oh, yeah.
So at least you had the light from the video boards and stuff, but
Right.
Mm-hmm. And i think some of that I think some of the surrounding house lights were on as well, but yeah.
yeah they, you're right. They were, but it was, it, I don't know what happened there. That was weird.
Mm-mm.
um But in terms of the match, well, first of all, the fan handing Hangman a beer was really funny. I enjoyed that.
That so good. I was hoping. I was like, please take it. Please take it. And he did. I was like, thank you. That's so good.
And I love that he took it and really didn't ever break the stare. that was That was really well done.
Mm-hmm.
um the Okay, so then...
Uh-oh. Here we go.
When I say to you, that I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes, when I say to you that I laughed for, I think, 10 straight minutes, and when I say to you that my wife turned to me and went, you are 12, what do you think I'm talking about?
ah I'm not 100%
He stapled that man in the nuts.
Oh, yeah, that was pretty funny. Yeah. But that's not the first time they've done that.
I know, but it was really funny to me.
ah was so good.
It was really, especially because the way that a Hobbs just like froze, you know, like he really did.
It was pretty funny.
Hobbs sold that really well. I will agree.
He really did. I laughed really, really hard at that.
That's fair.
I'm not ashamed to admit it. I thought that was really funny.
i guess I guess I've watched a little too much GCW to see to have been...
Hmm.
That's been happening a lot over there. so
All right, fair enough.
But
I'm not sure. ah You might be right that they have done it before. I don't remember it. So to me, that was very new.
I liked Hobbs taking the abdomen staple guns and not backing off. I thought that was really good.
I agree. Him no-selling the staples I thought was tremendous, especially when you put it in juxtaposition with the way Hook was screaming.
Oh, yeah.
And I thought Hook did a great job on that, by the way.
I think they played that, the staple gun bit, people might go, oh, that's over the top. But it really, people might think I'm i'm ridiculous, but that staple gun bit really did some character development for both Hobbs and Hook because it showed that Hook, I'm the greatest second generation wrestler ever,
Oh, you're going to staple me? Ow, ow, ow. And Hobbs is just this beast.
right
And it really felt like Hobbs looked great in this match on the losing end, but he looked super strong. And what's funny is during that match, I thought I could see Hobbs wearing a singles title easily.
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, he has before.
More so than I can see Shelton Benjamin. shelton benjamin
That's fair. Well, I, I think that between the two of them, I do think that Hobbs someday is probably going to be a world champion.
I hope so.
I, I think, I think he will. Um, but to, to your point, I mean, to go back to the staple gun, the reason that they did it also is it's kind of swerves thing, you know, like RVD, it was always the chair, right.
Mm-hmm.
And the, the van damninator and all that stuff. And, and, um, The staple gun is kind of his thing. The chain is now kind of Hangman's thing.
Mm-hmm. And apparently hanging people near to death is kind of his thing as well. Living up to his name.
i say His name is Hangman.
Yeah, I'm just saying.
He's telling you right up front what he's going to do.
I know, but it it seemed a little like a hat on a hat. It seemed a little obvious, but nope, he's doing it.
Truth in advertising, my friend.
Fair, fair.
um Yeah, I agree with you, though. I thought Hobbs looked really strong. i liked Hook being kind of the sniveling little whiny guy, especially when, to your point, he's all, I'm the i'm the greatest second-generation wrestler ever.
Yep.
And then the staple gun all but killed him, which is extra funny when his father made his bones in ECW.
Right. Like I said, i I think that is a much more layered approach that people will give that credit for because I think all the things we just said were very intentional.
So...
Oh, 100%. Yes, they absolutely did it all on purpose. um Also, the only other note I had from this was, I don't know how Hangman didn't just shatter his knees doing that Deadeye on the cinder blocks.
Right? Man, my wife looked up and went, Oh, that, why, why did that, why are there cinder blocks in the, in the ring?
i just went, mo
Well, so it was a callback to All Out, um what, two years ago or whatever, whenever Swerve and Hangman did the, I believe it was a Lights Out Cage match, because he, so because Swerve?
a
right.
Did he do the stomp, the curb stomp onto the cinder blocks?
I think so. He stomped Swerve onto the onto the cinder block, I believe, or he did something.
You're remembering that, right?
inca
and Maybe it was the Deadeye.
okay
I don't remember. I was there, but I don't remember because I was surrounded by people who were way too drunk, and that's a story for another time.
No. At a wrestling show? No.
it was is is very It was almost as fun for me as that bit is that you do.
No. He said they were drunk at a wrestling show. Right?
He thinks it's a bet. I know.
Anyway, and with that's the show. um But, you know, again, i the main event I thought was really good just to put the button on.
Love it. Yeah.
I thought that was really good. um Again, don't ever tell me AEW doesn't tell stories after everything we just talked about there. That was all very intentional. And I think, again, what you and I have talked about, Hangman and Swerve, sure looking like a team that might sooner rather than later challenge for the tag titles, which I am here for.
I am so glad you said that because my final thought, but even before the match was over, this just kept rolling through my head. I didn't even bother writing it down, but I was like, put the belts on those two already.
Yep. Yep.
Though, if you put them up against, I mean, they look damn near unstoppable together. They look so good together.
Yep.
ah can't wait. Let it happen.
Yeah. Yep. I agree. And then you can all...
FTR should have come out then.
Yes, that would have made a lot more sense. And then, of course, you can always do the classic. They're going to, you know, eventually melt down and you can reignite the feud and everybody's happy.
Yeah, absolutely. But yeah, put the at least let him take a run at the belts.
Yeah, but overall, I thought this was a really good show.
Mm-hmm.
Really, really strong show, particularly coming off of although I guess they did a really good rating for the New Year's show, which kind of surprises me, given that it was New Year's Eve.
Right.
um but for the show that was probably going to have more more eyeballs on it because it wasn't on the same day as a holiday, I thought it was a really strong showing for them.
Yep.
I think we both agree. The trios match, match of the night.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Yeah. And now, gee, I wonder, will Bandito beat MJF next week? Hmm. Hmm.
No.
Going out on a limb on that one, are we?
I am. I am.
Okay. Okay.
i will give them credit. They really are trying to paint the picture that. and And it is possible. Bandito is one of those guys who could pull one out. You you could believably see him pulling one out.
Yeah, I mean, what they at least have done for close to a year now, I would think, it feels that way anyway, is really they've been building Bandito. The push is real for him.
Mm-hmm.
They really like him. And I get it. i get why. But he ain't beating MJF.
No, he's not.
He's just not. um i And then I will be curious to see what version of Omega we get next week.
Yeah, yeah.
I like that Kenny is going to be the first challenger. I think that's... I like that.
Yep. That's gonna be good.
Yep. So, on to next week and maximum carnage. Should get Brody King to say that.
That's where we need Brody King.
Yeah!
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um
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h We're also on, I don't know, iHeartRadio.com.
a bunch of other podcast platforms that I don't even know what they are, but we're on them.
Hmm.
So
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ah Yeah,
Point them our way. That's all saying. Point them our way.
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Where's the stop button?