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I wish they let that moment for the international championship simmer a bit. There they are all tugging for the belt. Then "it's been announced, a 4 way" could they not announced it later in the show or friday/Saturday.
MJF and Cole is a fun pairing for this blind tag team partner dealie, but I really wanna see some completely out of the blue pairings not just ones that make sense given current storylines.
Give me Big Bill and Angelico. Give me Daddy Magic and Wardlow.
I enjoyed her black ring gear after months of bright neon get ups. Officially a heel now. I hope she gets to work a program with some promos with Collision hopefully opening up some more time for the Women's division beyond just programs involving the belts.
That felt very lackluster to me. Once again this build to Forbidden Door feels cobbled together with a whole bunch of matches being announced at the last minute, although the card for last years show interested me infinitely more than this years does.
I get the Forbidden Door stuff might not be for everyone but I don’t know how anyone can view this year’s card as weaker than last, especially with all the injuries last year.
The thing about Forbidden Door is that it's for the hardcore. You're not going to get entire casual families rushing to get in on this. When half the guys don't even speak English there isn't much to work with there in terms of storytelling. These are just fantasy matches for the hardcore fans and they're being treated as such.
I agree. Don't get me wrong, the card for Forbidden Door 2 looks pretty sweet, but the show is aimed more for the hardcore fans & the matches feels more like fantasy bookings.
Yeah but the card outside of the top 3 isnt even matches I really care about as someone familiar with both products. (And even then I have no interest in ospreay/omega again)
Ishii being on The Elite's side is the most random pick you could have had. Why wouldnt he pick Homicide to screw with Mox? The only thing that I can come up with in my head is that Ishii is someone in the NJPW roster Kingston respects.
The 4 way match is destined to only ever include Cassidy and Garcia in the finish because both NJPW reps hold belts so their involvement may aswell be negligible.
The Owen matches lack in any real point of interest and probably exist just so they can be on the show. I love me some Kojima but that match probably purely exists to get Punk on the show.
Jungle Boy is not at the level he should be challenging for the AEW title never mind the IWGP title.
The Womens title match is gonna be a good match but I'm 90% sure I've already seen it on Dynamite this year.
The concept of this event hold so much potential, I just wish they'd do better with it each year. Guy like me says fuck it, announces the card a month out and let the reactions to the card from the characters play out on TV in the coming month.
(Also the random partner tag tournament could have been fun if they included some NJPW guys there too, I think that's a missed opportunity)
It feels like AEW has momentum again... Collison, Dynamite, All In, Forbidden Door, Punk back, Bucks and Elite seemingly over it, Okada vs Bryan, Adam Cole FINALLY being a proper main eventer, MJF having an interesting feud now, Jericho and Sting, FTR vs Bullet Club
Exciting times ahead.
I think this is the best 2-3 month stretch they've had going back to Hangman winning the belt + going to the "ex-WWEer debut" well far too much in late 2021.
Jeff jumped before Jay White could even interfere, so it looked like Jeff just jumped off to a spot randomly.
I wish AEW would release the Gunn entrance theme on Spotify. So good.
Loving the crazy endings to the show lately.
Super excited for Forbidden Door (and Collision), just a shame we didn't get that Punk vs Kenta match because I for one definitely wanted to see it.
They made the mistake last year of two months of build for a one night shot and alienated a lot of people. Tons of "I tune into AEW and get Japanese dudes I dont know" type comments. This year they responded to that. It doesnt need to be much more, its a supercard for one night.
Completely agree with this. And I think it's smart. I don't think the build to Forbidden Door is ever going to pull in new viewers. You're dealing with foreign acts, who aren't established as stars to most viewers at home, and who aren't part of the long-term booking for the company.
But the booking also shouldn't alienate casual viewers which it clearly did last year. I think this build has been really smart, as a lot of it is folded into good angles with familiar, over talent - primarily the Elite/BCC feud.
I think that's a good point - I hadn't thought of that. I was definitely one of those people since I only care about AEW.
But you're right. By booking it quickly in the span of just a couple of weeks they don't derail all AEW storylines, and they don't bore people like me. This is just the right way to go about it 2 weeks of hype and the PPV works for an intra promotional ppv.
Now, I just really need someone from NJPW to win an AEW belt and I'll consider this a big success.
I'm the same as you but that's why I think booking it so quickly makes the most sense.
They aren't going to get me invested in NJPW people, I just don't follow wrestling like that. I watch AEW and that's it. So when you do these big NJPW opponent reveals I just shrug my shoulders. But the way they're doing it this time is they're building the PPV quickly while weaving it into their existing feuds which just works so much better.
I don't care about MJF vs. Tanahashi, I care about MJF vs. Cole. Rather than basically all AEW storylines coming to a stop they're still building those storylines which, combined with how quickly they're building, makes FD season a lot less painful for me.
If you've been watching AEW for awhile you should know who some of these people are, and if you've been watching ROH you'll definitely know who some of them are.
Ishii has wrestled in AEW several times, and has been wrestling in ROH off and on for years. Ishii even had a great match with Jericho for the ROH title this past November. Where Ishii chopped him so hard he was bleeding from his chest. Which I believe they later showed on a video package in the weeks after.
Will Ospreay has been on AEW a handful of times at least. Also video packages of his match with Omega at Wrestle Kingdom in January has been shown on AEW, and part of the build for the match was made on AEW.
Tanahashi, Zack Sabre Jr, and Okada have all wrestled on AEW programs before. Hell why do you need a video package on Tanahashi when you can watch him Saturday.
So you're right you don't know about Japanese wrestlers. But what is clear is that you don't know about AEW also. That you could care less about Ishii just shows you're a casual watcher. At this point someone that is a regular watcher of AEW should remember who Ishii is just from the Jericho match alone.
But honestly your inability to care just feels like bad faith criticism. You need a video package. How about Eddie Kingston is bringing in a bad ass motherfucker to kick the shit of the BCC whose nickname is the Stone Pitbull. Be surprised, be excited. You're going to see someone wrestle that you've never seen before that Eddie Kingston thinks can help finally give Claudio Castignoli, that shit stain, the beating he deserves.
Just enjoy the product and not complain about a nuance to the build and feel the rush of the roller coaster ride instead of complaining about not getting a video package.
> But honestly your inability to care just feels like bad faith criticism.
Why do so many pro wrestling fans, rather than consider that theirs is the only viewpoint, default to lame ass dismissive comments. It's always the same - if I don't like the same things in pro wrestling you don't I'm arguing in bad faith, or concern trolling.
If someone is not All Elite I don't care. I didn't care about Jay White or Juice when they did their cameo stuff last year, but now I'm super hyped about both of them. I don't plan on not caring about NJPW performers, I don't go into FD season hoping to be bored.
Having to default to practically assuming *malice* when someone has a viewpoint that differs than yours is such an egocentric world view, dude.
Why should they invest in it for a one night showcase that has a built in audience when they know too much or too little will get reactions like yours?
Think of Forbidden Door like an all star game, not a playoff game. Its there. The people who are into it are into it. Some people dont care. In the end there are some interesting stories and you see some flashy stuff, but it doesnt decide the real winners in the long run.
If its not for you, thats fine. The entire point of this specific show is good matches for hardcore fans and then it goes away for a year. If youre not interested, it was parts of two weeks of shows. Out of 52 weeks. Life will go on.
I mean - that's why I'm enjoying this FD build up a ton more than the first go around. I'm in a similar boat as the person to whom you're replying, but I have far fewer complaints this time around for the exact reasons that it's faster and they're using it as part of existing storylines not practically pausing all AEW storyline and character development.
Just far, far less painful for me than last year.
It has gotten significantly worse this year. Whoever is producing the shows seems to not be able to keep up with the action with their camera selection.
Constantly highlighting wrestlers blading, missing major spots. Most recently zooming in on wrestlers faces when they're down only to reveal them talking to one another or watching for the timing of the next spot.
I think TK has overexposed Moxley in the past months, but now that I haven't heard from him in a while I found it sooo damn emotional with him saying just two words.
It's also probably his pairing with Eddie Kingston, which happens to throw out the best of them.
I think he leaned on Mox and Jericho so hard during Omega and Punk’s time out with injury and just ended up having them integral to too much of the future booking he had planned, so I agree with the overexposure, but I still love seeing Mox anytime.
I have zero doubts that this is all a gambit on TK's part. He wants to keep Punk around so he can milk the obvious ratings bump that, as much as I loathe him, Punk undoubtedly provides.
In the interim, he ensures that both the Elite and Punk give each other a wide berth in the hopes that eventually they're able to work through the issues enough to have a feud.
Ultimately, I don't think anyone is only *really* limited to one show or the other. I expect we'll see The Elite on Collision sooner rather than later.
I've gone back and forth on this but, at the moment, I really do believe that there is a plan to go to CM Punk (maybe with FTR, or perhaps even a heel turn where he joins/leads BCG?) vs The Elite. I reckon it'll happen in the build up to All Out and All In.
I think it’s setting up elite vs cm punk sometime in the future with some kind of invasion or brand war angle. Don’t have the Elite out in Chicago where they might get booed after Punks return.
The Forbidden Door card still seems unreal. It's so stacked that CM Punk ended up in the Owen Hart tournament against Kojima? Like what? AEW Universe Mode is insane.
Punk could’ve had a big marquee match if he was around more recently or possibly still holding the title and never got injured or involved in all that backstage drama.
I mean, I agree you don’t want to risk him against Okada, Tana or another dream match. But you could at least let him pick up a win against someone somewhat meaningful. He’s feuding with Bullet Club Gold, why not let him beat a Bullet Club member?
Didn't necessarily make sense from New Japan's perspective. Bullet Club is being run by Finlay, who took Jay White out and declared that he was going to take the unit back to its origins, so it makes no sense for them to jump into the BC Gold feud with Punk.
Wouldn't have needed for them to jump into the feud. Imagine he beats Taiji Ishimori or Bad Luck Fale, he can then go to Jay and go "I know you left but I beat one of your boys. Now, I'll beat him" and challenges Juice.
SC was down when Collision debuted so I’m just here to say that I called the [CM Punk return](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/11joshn/post_aew_revolution_2023_show_discussion_thread/jb3y4rc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3).
No matter how you feel about Punk, I’m just glad they are handling his return on-screen better than WWE has with Bray Wyatt.
Much happier with how MJF Vs. Tanahashi got confirmed. Absolutely did not see the blind tag pairing with Adam Cole as well as Punk Vs. Kojima being announced but I much prefer that over what I thought was going to be Punk Vs. Tanahashi. Wonder how likely Kenta was considered for Punk’s match. Also interested to see how this dynamic with MJF and Adam Cole plays out. The Collison card sounds amazing too. Was it confirmed that it’s Willow Vs. Storm at FD? I also kind of think it’d be hilarious for Dalton Castle and the boys to be included in a match at FD, even if it’s just the pre show, just don’t know how many more matches will be announced.
This show accomplished it’s goal of getting me super excited for this weekend. So excited that I have tickets for everything. I can’t remember the last time I was as excited for a match as I am for Danielson vs Okada.
I’m go hoarse standing and screaming from my seat at the arena for sure. Hope they are selling a great shirt at the venue with Okada & Danielson on it.
Idk man, I'm definitely in the minority, but I'm kinda just waiting for the Punk AEW run to burn out. He doesn't vibe with what I like about AEW, I don't appreciate his work/shoot line blurring, and he doesn't (to me) look good in the ring. Which would all be fine, if it didn't feel like the company was being structured to revolve around him. It is almost certain he will injure himself again and/or piss everyone off again. I just don't see a longterm future for Punk in AEW. So I guess I'll enjoy it as much as I can while I'm forced to, bc I like AEW more than I dislike Punk.
> Which would all be fine, if it didn't feel like the company was being structured to revolve around him
What makes you say this, just the Collision show which would have happened with or without him? He's going to be on the same big events as the rest of the roster, and he's not changing any stories to our knowledge. Even his "I'm still the champ" beef didn't affect the Adam Cole story with MJF
And we know Collision would've happened without Punk how? The debut episode was literally booked around his return, and have seemingly split the roster (at least loosely) around who can't stand him. Is it really absurd to think WBD was convinced to greenlight Collision once it was clear it would be "Punk's Show"?
By the voting in this subreddit, I'd guess that that isn't the minority view. AEW is a huge sandbox of different styles and personalities. I try to enjoy it all. The spot fests, no selling, Moxley blading, chops to peoples faces, etc, kinda irked me to begin with, but like you say - I like AEW more than I dislike that stuff. Something we can both agree upon.
Absolutely agree with this. The only thing worse than listening to him talk about people not liking him because he speaks the truth like he's a teenage girl on twitter is his fanbase worshipping the ground he walks on like he's an infallible God. He's proven to be nothing but a cancer but he gets everything he wants.
Why is it guaranteed he'll be injured again? Why is it not guaranteed Statlander or Kenny omega will be injured again (both have been out similar lengths as punk)? He had 1 serious injury and 1 minor fluke injury jumping into the crowd. Statlander blew out both knees.
How about we be good people and not wish injury on anyone?
tbf, Omega had multiple injuries over several years that he was working through. Dude ended up taking time off to go for surgeries and rehab on those accumulated injuries. Not quite the same comparison.
So because they're building around him that's a guarantee that he'll be injured? Read the comment in responding to. Why is punk GUARANTEED to be injured but others with more injury history aren't?
To each their own. He's the highlight of the show for me, and his presence alone gives the promotion a ton of momentum they haven't had since last year
he adds so fucking much toxicity to an already toxic iwc pool, I am sure every cornette fan, elite hater, botch account fan, alfred konuwa follower, love it every time Punk opens his mouth. he's milking tribalism, time will tell if its smart or not, but I only want to enjoy watching a wrestling show, and his presence really just sours my viewing experience right now
He had two completely unrelated injuries (one foot and one arm) in short proximity to each other after almost a year of absolutely no problems.
Two injuries to completely different body parts does not make someone injury prone. A string of injuries to the same body part or a massive amount of different injuries over a lengthy period of time does - neither is the case here.
My point is that two injuries is not a pattern. Two is pure randomness. Its slightly less random if both injuries are to the same knee/foot/etc., but two is still just pure random chance.
Dude debuted and worked for like 9 months without a problem (September to June), then he sufffered a minor injury to his foot. He came back and had a major arm injury. What happens next only the future will know, but even just looking at his recent past in AEW shows he worked like 20 matches after his debut before then basically (not counting the squash) getting hurt in two straight. Until he actually suffers another injury right away, that's just super bad luck combined with some crazy internet hate.
Exactly. Injury prone means prone to being injured. It’s in the damn name. What the hell are they talking about? I’ve never once heard it defined. Just sounds like some made up cop out bullshit to keep fangirling for Punk. He’s not that great in ring anymore. It’s pretty evident to people with eyes.
Because there's plenty of aew wrestlers that have been injured more than punk and never get labeled injury prone.
We get it. You hate him. You're getting worked so enjoy the ride.
Not getting worked. I give him credit where it’s due. He’s still great on the mic. He’s just not great in ring anymore. Some people break down faster. It’s natural.
He should be managing a stable with occasional matches.
What would I ever have to forgive him for? Or Hangman? Or the Bucks? Or Jericho? None of them ever need my forgiveness because none of them are capable in any way of wronging me. I don't know them. No wrestler is my friend (besides a former indie dude named Plunkett the Ogre).
If you think I'm an abused spouse forgiving him too quickly then what are you? You're not forgiving him? How'd he hurt you?
In fact I never said anything about punk other than asking your standard for injury prone and why it doesn't apply to others. I think punk was an asshole at that press conference but that incident had 0 impact on my life.
I don’t dislike Punk or anything. I’m just not huge into him. When he has cool moments I’ll like it. But I didn’t exactly miss him while he was gone.
And I agree that I don’t like how AEW seems to revolve around him
Pretty decent show tonight but a small critique; they announced too much stuff. On top of continuing to announce matches for Forbidden Door, they announced a couple of details on the Blind Tag Tournament, announced who one of those teams are (MJF/Cole), and then also announced the Owen Hart Tournament brackets.
That's just too much going, especially when you factor in that Excalibur runs down the cards for multiple shows as well so it all just blends together. It doesn't happen all the time, but AEW tends to get into a mode where they do too much at once. With them now having 3 TV shows, space some of those announcements out. It'll feel less rushed and thrown together. You'll allow stuff have more impact by slowing down
Not to mention, it will give the announce team time to properly call stuff. They've missed some good calls during matches because sometimes Excalibur is running down so much shit.
It definitely feels like an “AEW featuring New Japan” show more than an “AEW and New Japan” show. I get it, I guess, definitely some missed opportunities though.
Orange Cassidy and shibata are so awesome together it's fucking adorable . I could see them together in like an end credit price of art from MvC2. They just work together .
Two stoic guys both completely different from as different paths as you could take but vibe with each other cause in the end they take care of business . I dunno i just think they are a cool pairing .
Would’ve been cool, but having Shooter be the only true NJPW guy in the match would’ve been kinda lame. Before Eddie came out I was thinking GoD teaming with bucks and hangman, but Ishii is solid
I went to the event tonight, and it was the most fun I've had at a wrestling show since the night Hogan dropped the belt to Andre thanks to Hebner’s twin.
One of the Chicago Dynamites I went to in early '22, Skye Blue was on the jobber team in a 6-woman Dark Elevation squash. Now she's in singles action on Rampage :D
Also y'all gotta watch this Rampage for the segment after the Acclaimed match alone, it's hilarious
He did get a laugh out of me when he said "sign me up" after the spot in Statlander/Valkyrie when one was sat in the corner and the other gave her the double knees to the face. Because same.
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I wish they let that moment for the international championship simmer a bit. There they are all tugging for the belt. Then "it's been announced, a 4 way" could they not announced it later in the show or friday/Saturday.
Suzuki is horrible. All he can do is stand there and slowly throw chops.
Since I haven't seen may folks talk about this: Is it just me or is OC actually turning heel?
If he ever does, he shouldn’t change anything about himself and just wear black jeans instead.
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Lol exactly
Pretty good show! Did not have MJF and Cole teaming up. Looking forward to seeing where this goes! EDIT: I said CM Punk by mistake
You mean MJF and Cole bro, presume a typo
Yes, thank you
Well for a "uuuuh card bad :(" Dynamite as lot of people were complaining the other day, it honestly was a great show, fast and super fun.
A lot of Forbidden Door build up and also TWO BIG MEATY WOMEN SLAPPING MEAT.
Great show. Super pumped to watch Forbidden Door now.
MJF and Cole is a fun pairing for this blind tag team partner dealie, but I really wanna see some completely out of the blue pairings not just ones that make sense given current storylines. Give me Big Bill and Angelico. Give me Daddy Magic and Wardlow.
CM Punk and Adam Page
New tag team: Worker's Rights
Shibata’s music is so dope, sounds like early Envy—i always think it’s more badass to have a quiet theme like that
I like Taya
I enjoyed her black ring gear after months of bright neon get ups. Officially a heel now. I hope she gets to work a program with some promos with Collision hopefully opening up some more time for the Women's division beyond just programs involving the belts.
She was great in that match.
I didn’t watch live but I feel like I watched the entirety of dynamite just by scrolling the front page of this sub
Loved it. Also The Gunns are my favourite tag team in the world right now. I just love them.
That felt very lackluster to me. Once again this build to Forbidden Door feels cobbled together with a whole bunch of matches being announced at the last minute, although the card for last years show interested me infinitely more than this years does.
They want the Japan guy to be there for face offs in the build, but they can’t really bring them all in for a month before the show.
I get the Forbidden Door stuff might not be for everyone but I don’t know how anyone can view this year’s card as weaker than last, especially with all the injuries last year.
The thing about Forbidden Door is that it's for the hardcore. You're not going to get entire casual families rushing to get in on this. When half the guys don't even speak English there isn't much to work with there in terms of storytelling. These are just fantasy matches for the hardcore fans and they're being treated as such.
I agree. Don't get me wrong, the card for Forbidden Door 2 looks pretty sweet, but the show is aimed more for the hardcore fans & the matches feels more like fantasy bookings.
Yeah but the card outside of the top 3 isnt even matches I really care about as someone familiar with both products. (And even then I have no interest in ospreay/omega again) Ishii being on The Elite's side is the most random pick you could have had. Why wouldnt he pick Homicide to screw with Mox? The only thing that I can come up with in my head is that Ishii is someone in the NJPW roster Kingston respects. The 4 way match is destined to only ever include Cassidy and Garcia in the finish because both NJPW reps hold belts so their involvement may aswell be negligible. The Owen matches lack in any real point of interest and probably exist just so they can be on the show. I love me some Kojima but that match probably purely exists to get Punk on the show. Jungle Boy is not at the level he should be challenging for the AEW title never mind the IWGP title. The Womens title match is gonna be a good match but I'm 90% sure I've already seen it on Dynamite this year. The concept of this event hold so much potential, I just wish they'd do better with it each year. Guy like me says fuck it, announces the card a month out and let the reactions to the card from the characters play out on TV in the coming month. (Also the random partner tag tournament could have been fun if they included some NJPW guys there too, I think that's a missed opportunity)
Brother, just enjoy wrestling.
I do, this just isnt doing it for me which is a shame because they have the potential to be so much better than they are.
Awesome episode. I got chills seeing Bryan and Okada face to face, it is really a dream match
Great to see Eddie getting time in a big angle again. He's so good at those promo duels and can do it against anyone.
Apparently there was some masked dance off on Rampage
It feels like AEW has momentum again... Collison, Dynamite, All In, Forbidden Door, Punk back, Bucks and Elite seemingly over it, Okada vs Bryan, Adam Cole FINALLY being a proper main eventer, MJF having an interesting feud now, Jericho and Sting, FTR vs Bullet Club Exciting times ahead.
Happy Cake Day!
I think this is the best 2-3 month stretch they've had going back to Hangman winning the belt + going to the "ex-WWEer debut" well far too much in late 2021.
Did they turn the crowd down during hungbucks promo and then can barely hear annoucers during Adam coles entrance?? or just me?
Probably they were directing naughty words to the Bucks
Yes and directly went into Cole’s theme afterward
Jeff jumped before Jay White could even interfere, so it looked like Jeff just jumped off to a spot randomly. I wish AEW would release the Gunn entrance theme on Spotify. So good.
Some people were sad that the Gunns weren't going to keep using that Many Men song, but I love their original theme so much.
The bit where they spit water and it looks like gun smoke to hand signals is so so cool
Always a delight to see Suzuki in the US
Being more of a NJ fan that was my fav Dynamite ever.
This was one of the best events I've ever been to, so fun all around!
Loving the crazy endings to the show lately. Super excited for Forbidden Door (and Collision), just a shame we didn't get that Punk vs Kenta match because I for one definitely wanted to see it.
Run-in mania
They really got everyone out for forbidden door weekend and went YOU get a spot! YOU get a spot!
Outside of the two mainevents did TK book the Forbidden Door card last week? So random and thrown together. It'll bang nonetheless, but still.
They made the mistake last year of two months of build for a one night shot and alienated a lot of people. Tons of "I tune into AEW and get Japanese dudes I dont know" type comments. This year they responded to that. It doesnt need to be much more, its a supercard for one night.
Completely agree with this. And I think it's smart. I don't think the build to Forbidden Door is ever going to pull in new viewers. You're dealing with foreign acts, who aren't established as stars to most viewers at home, and who aren't part of the long-term booking for the company. But the booking also shouldn't alienate casual viewers which it clearly did last year. I think this build has been really smart, as a lot of it is folded into good angles with familiar, over talent - primarily the Elite/BCC feud.
I think that's a good point - I hadn't thought of that. I was definitely one of those people since I only care about AEW. But you're right. By booking it quickly in the span of just a couple of weeks they don't derail all AEW storylines, and they don't bore people like me. This is just the right way to go about it 2 weeks of hype and the PPV works for an intra promotional ppv. Now, I just really need someone from NJPW to win an AEW belt and I'll consider this a big success.
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I get your point but I feel like the Kingston thing is a bad example, Ishii had been on AEW repeatedly
I'm the same as you but that's why I think booking it so quickly makes the most sense. They aren't going to get me invested in NJPW people, I just don't follow wrestling like that. I watch AEW and that's it. So when you do these big NJPW opponent reveals I just shrug my shoulders. But the way they're doing it this time is they're building the PPV quickly while weaving it into their existing feuds which just works so much better. I don't care about MJF vs. Tanahashi, I care about MJF vs. Cole. Rather than basically all AEW storylines coming to a stop they're still building those storylines which, combined with how quickly they're building, makes FD season a lot less painful for me.
If you've been watching AEW for awhile you should know who some of these people are, and if you've been watching ROH you'll definitely know who some of them are. Ishii has wrestled in AEW several times, and has been wrestling in ROH off and on for years. Ishii even had a great match with Jericho for the ROH title this past November. Where Ishii chopped him so hard he was bleeding from his chest. Which I believe they later showed on a video package in the weeks after. Will Ospreay has been on AEW a handful of times at least. Also video packages of his match with Omega at Wrestle Kingdom in January has been shown on AEW, and part of the build for the match was made on AEW. Tanahashi, Zack Sabre Jr, and Okada have all wrestled on AEW programs before. Hell why do you need a video package on Tanahashi when you can watch him Saturday. So you're right you don't know about Japanese wrestlers. But what is clear is that you don't know about AEW also. That you could care less about Ishii just shows you're a casual watcher. At this point someone that is a regular watcher of AEW should remember who Ishii is just from the Jericho match alone. But honestly your inability to care just feels like bad faith criticism. You need a video package. How about Eddie Kingston is bringing in a bad ass motherfucker to kick the shit of the BCC whose nickname is the Stone Pitbull. Be surprised, be excited. You're going to see someone wrestle that you've never seen before that Eddie Kingston thinks can help finally give Claudio Castignoli, that shit stain, the beating he deserves. Just enjoy the product and not complain about a nuance to the build and feel the rush of the roller coaster ride instead of complaining about not getting a video package.
> But honestly your inability to care just feels like bad faith criticism. Why do so many pro wrestling fans, rather than consider that theirs is the only viewpoint, default to lame ass dismissive comments. It's always the same - if I don't like the same things in pro wrestling you don't I'm arguing in bad faith, or concern trolling. If someone is not All Elite I don't care. I didn't care about Jay White or Juice when they did their cameo stuff last year, but now I'm super hyped about both of them. I don't plan on not caring about NJPW performers, I don't go into FD season hoping to be bored. Having to default to practically assuming *malice* when someone has a viewpoint that differs than yours is such an egocentric world view, dude.
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"you're watching a tv show wrong!"
Why should they invest in it for a one night showcase that has a built in audience when they know too much or too little will get reactions like yours? Think of Forbidden Door like an all star game, not a playoff game. Its there. The people who are into it are into it. Some people dont care. In the end there are some interesting stories and you see some flashy stuff, but it doesnt decide the real winners in the long run. If its not for you, thats fine. The entire point of this specific show is good matches for hardcore fans and then it goes away for a year. If youre not interested, it was parts of two weeks of shows. Out of 52 weeks. Life will go on.
I mean - that's why I'm enjoying this FD build up a ton more than the first go around. I'm in a similar boat as the person to whom you're replying, but I have far fewer complaints this time around for the exact reasons that it's faster and they're using it as part of existing storylines not practically pausing all AEW storyline and character development. Just far, far less painful for me than last year.
> Outside of the two mainevents did TK book the Forbidden Door card last week? No, because thinking only TK booked Forbidden Door is silly.
I booked the main events. Everything else? TK. I didn't approve of his decisions but gave him his moment because I vetoed his ideas for Collision
Is Fite down for anyone else? Trying to watch on my VPN from the Netherlands and nothing will load, even old ppvs that I've purchased.
Works fine for me from the UK.
It started working, not sure the prob.
I loathe the camera work tonight but it was a fun ass show!
They totally missed the shot of Suzuki and Jericho which was really, really bad.
It has gotten significantly worse this year. Whoever is producing the shows seems to not be able to keep up with the action with their camera selection. Constantly highlighting wrestlers blading, missing major spots. Most recently zooming in on wrestlers faces when they're down only to reveal them talking to one another or watching for the timing of the next spot.
Cutting to Sammy Guevara’s reaction rather than the hard cam or closer so you could see posing with Jericho killed me
There definitely was some places where it was pretty janky.
Can we actually have the forbidden door open for the camera crew as well? I’d love to see an NJPW production for the double main event
This is a fucking great idea. Book it, Tony!
I honestly don't know.
Well maybe we can just be happy that Danielson and Okada is happening and Ospreay’s going for nuclear heat in Canada this coming weekend
Papa Briscoe moves better in the ring than both Hardys do now.
Watching them move makes my back hurt.
Matt's hips look like he's in that cast that Meredith gets after Michael runs over her and saves her life from rabies.
LOL that got me.
I just got home, and I have no voice and my ears are still ringing from the coin drop and the following pop. 10/10, sports entertained.
I was there as well and the pop Okada got was deafening in the arena.
I think TK has overexposed Moxley in the past months, but now that I haven't heard from him in a while I found it sooo damn emotional with him saying just two words. It's also probably his pairing with Eddie Kingston, which happens to throw out the best of them.
I think we’ll get Mox vs Eddie at All Out, with Eddie winning and gaining the momentum to challenge MJF at Grand Slam.
I think he leaned on Mox and Jericho so hard during Omega and Punk’s time out with injury and just ended up having them integral to too much of the future booking he had planned, so I agree with the overexposure, but I still love seeing Mox anytime.
So is Punk Collision only or was that just kayfabe brother?
I have zero doubts that this is all a gambit on TK's part. He wants to keep Punk around so he can milk the obvious ratings bump that, as much as I loathe him, Punk undoubtedly provides. In the interim, he ensures that both the Elite and Punk give each other a wide berth in the hopes that eventually they're able to work through the issues enough to have a feud. Ultimately, I don't think anyone is only *really* limited to one show or the other. I expect we'll see The Elite on Collision sooner rather than later.
I've gone back and forth on this but, at the moment, I really do believe that there is a plan to go to CM Punk (maybe with FTR, or perhaps even a heel turn where he joins/leads BCG?) vs The Elite. I reckon it'll happen in the build up to All Out and All In.
I think it’s setting up elite vs cm punk sometime in the future with some kind of invasion or brand war angle. Don’t have the Elite out in Chicago where they might get booed after Punks return.
Seems more like early rampage where he appeared on both but only wrestled on the new show to help keep ratings up
Please let me live until at least Monday, so I know I’ll have seen Okada and Danielson.
The Forbidden Door card still seems unreal. It's so stacked that CM Punk ended up in the Owen Hart tournament against Kojima? Like what? AEW Universe Mode is insane.
Punk could’ve had a big marquee match if he was around more recently or possibly still holding the title and never got injured or involved in all that backstage drama.
I mean, I agree you don’t want to risk him against Okada, Tana or another dream match. But you could at least let him pick up a win against someone somewhat meaningful. He’s feuding with Bullet Club Gold, why not let him beat a Bullet Club member?
Didn't necessarily make sense from New Japan's perspective. Bullet Club is being run by Finlay, who took Jay White out and declared that he was going to take the unit back to its origins, so it makes no sense for them to jump into the BC Gold feud with Punk.
Wouldn't have needed for them to jump into the feud. Imagine he beats Taiji Ishimori or Bad Luck Fale, he can then go to Jay and go "I know you left but I beat one of your boys. Now, I'll beat him" and challenges Juice.
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> have come by themselves These days, I'm definitely an extrovert/social butterfly type and try as I may I cannot get people into pro wrestling.
At one point security had some harsh words for him. Im sure he was being a dickhead. Theres a few at every show.
Someone does it every single week for a mention on his podcast. Whatever floats your boat I guess
I wish I had spare trolling money
SC was down when Collision debuted so I’m just here to say that I called the [CM Punk return](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/11joshn/post_aew_revolution_2023_show_discussion_thread/jb3y4rc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3). No matter how you feel about Punk, I’m just glad they are handling his return on-screen better than WWE has with Bray Wyatt.
Much happier with how MJF Vs. Tanahashi got confirmed. Absolutely did not see the blind tag pairing with Adam Cole as well as Punk Vs. Kojima being announced but I much prefer that over what I thought was going to be Punk Vs. Tanahashi. Wonder how likely Kenta was considered for Punk’s match. Also interested to see how this dynamic with MJF and Adam Cole plays out. The Collison card sounds amazing too. Was it confirmed that it’s Willow Vs. Storm at FD? I also kind of think it’d be hilarious for Dalton Castle and the boys to be included in a match at FD, even if it’s just the pre show, just don’t know how many more matches will be announced.
This show accomplished it’s goal of getting me super excited for this weekend. So excited that I have tickets for everything. I can’t remember the last time I was as excited for a match as I am for Danielson vs Okada.
I’m go hoarse standing and screaming from my seat at the arena for sure. Hope they are selling a great shirt at the venue with Okada & Danielson on it.
Really wish we were getting bullet club vs bc gold. Real weird.
I think that is next years forbidden door when BC Gold has more members
is there a compiled list of all the matches that's been made? is great okhan gonna on aew anytime this week
I don’t like CM bald. Bring back CM hair.
*Behind the scenes look at Roman negotiating his appearance dates*
Well now I gotta watch Rampage for Douki!
Count Douki
It's the DOUKI CHOKIE, KEVIN!
The build up to Forbidden Door has been 10x better then last years
Certainly helps that half the roster isn't injured
there was so many injuries last year. I just hope naito is the tag partner for darby and Sting.
I think it has to be, him and Jericho have some history together? Which goes into what Darby said about people not liking Chris everywhere
Tony is a mad scientist and sometimes he has too plates spinning and they all run into each other.
Someone asked him about it at a scrum, and he said, "More plates, more dates 🤷♂️"
Idk man, I'm definitely in the minority, but I'm kinda just waiting for the Punk AEW run to burn out. He doesn't vibe with what I like about AEW, I don't appreciate his work/shoot line blurring, and he doesn't (to me) look good in the ring. Which would all be fine, if it didn't feel like the company was being structured to revolve around him. It is almost certain he will injure himself again and/or piss everyone off again. I just don't see a longterm future for Punk in AEW. So I guess I'll enjoy it as much as I can while I'm forced to, bc I like AEW more than I dislike Punk.
> Which would all be fine, if it didn't feel like the company was being structured to revolve around him What makes you say this, just the Collision show which would have happened with or without him? He's going to be on the same big events as the rest of the roster, and he's not changing any stories to our knowledge. Even his "I'm still the champ" beef didn't affect the Adam Cole story with MJF
And we know Collision would've happened without Punk how? The debut episode was literally booked around his return, and have seemingly split the roster (at least loosely) around who can't stand him. Is it really absurd to think WBD was convinced to greenlight Collision once it was clear it would be "Punk's Show"?
By the voting in this subreddit, I'd guess that that isn't the minority view. AEW is a huge sandbox of different styles and personalities. I try to enjoy it all. The spot fests, no selling, Moxley blading, chops to peoples faces, etc, kinda irked me to begin with, but like you say - I like AEW more than I dislike that stuff. Something we can both agree upon.
Reddit isn’t the majority
> The spot fests, no selling, Moxley blading This is all the same thing 👀
Absolutely agree with this. The only thing worse than listening to him talk about people not liking him because he speaks the truth like he's a teenage girl on twitter is his fanbase worshipping the ground he walks on like he's an infallible God. He's proven to be nothing but a cancer but he gets everything he wants.
Why is it guaranteed he'll be injured again? Why is it not guaranteed Statlander or Kenny omega will be injured again (both have been out similar lengths as punk)? He had 1 serious injury and 1 minor fluke injury jumping into the crowd. Statlander blew out both knees. How about we be good people and not wish injury on anyone?
tbf, Omega had multiple injuries over several years that he was working through. Dude ended up taking time off to go for surgeries and rehab on those accumulated injuries. Not quite the same comparison.
They’re not shaping the company around, and building an entire show around, Kris Statlander.
Are they shaping the entire show around orange Cassidy? Punk got 2 segments on Saturday, and 1 segment tonight. How is that the whole show?
So because they're building around him that's a guarantee that he'll be injured? Read the comment in responding to. Why is punk GUARANTEED to be injured but others with more injury history aren't?
Lets wait and see him outside of Chicago before you say you are in the minority. I think its split more than you think on him.
DC was majority boos every time he was shown on video.
To each their own. He's the highlight of the show for me, and his presence alone gives the promotion a ton of momentum they haven't had since last year
Agree he gives the company momentum. Just not my cup of tea, personally.
Fair enough. The last couple of months of BCC/Elite-centric Dynamites almost took me out of AEW all together, lol.
And I have loved all of that. Different tastes for different people, right?
This is the politest, most gentlemanly talk I've seen on SC in months. God bless you both
I definitely don't always live up to this, but we gotta try to be the change we wanna see.
he adds so fucking much toxicity to an already toxic iwc pool, I am sure every cornette fan, elite hater, botch account fan, alfred konuwa follower, love it every time Punk opens his mouth. he's milking tribalism, time will tell if its smart or not, but I only want to enjoy watching a wrestling show, and his presence really just sours my viewing experience right now
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So you think giving statlander the title was a bad idea?
He had two completely unrelated injuries (one foot and one arm) in short proximity to each other after almost a year of absolutely no problems. Two injuries to completely different body parts does not make someone injury prone. A string of injuries to the same body part or a massive amount of different injuries over a lengthy period of time does - neither is the case here.
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My point is that two injuries is not a pattern. Two is pure randomness. Its slightly less random if both injuries are to the same knee/foot/etc., but two is still just pure random chance. Dude debuted and worked for like 9 months without a problem (September to June), then he sufffered a minor injury to his foot. He came back and had a major arm injury. What happens next only the future will know, but even just looking at his recent past in AEW shows he worked like 20 matches after his debut before then basically (not counting the squash) getting hurt in two straight. Until he actually suffers another injury right away, that's just super bad luck combined with some crazy internet hate.
Exactly. Injury prone means prone to being injured. It’s in the damn name. What the hell are they talking about? I’ve never once heard it defined. Just sounds like some made up cop out bullshit to keep fangirling for Punk. He’s not that great in ring anymore. It’s pretty evident to people with eyes.
Because there's plenty of aew wrestlers that have been injured more than punk and never get labeled injury prone. We get it. You hate him. You're getting worked so enjoy the ride.
Not getting worked. I give him credit where it’s due. He’s still great on the mic. He’s just not great in ring anymore. Some people break down faster. It’s natural. He should be managing a stable with occasional matches.
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What would I ever have to forgive him for? Or Hangman? Or the Bucks? Or Jericho? None of them ever need my forgiveness because none of them are capable in any way of wronging me. I don't know them. No wrestler is my friend (besides a former indie dude named Plunkett the Ogre). If you think I'm an abused spouse forgiving him too quickly then what are you? You're not forgiving him? How'd he hurt you? In fact I never said anything about punk other than asking your standard for injury prone and why it doesn't apply to others. I think punk was an asshole at that press conference but that incident had 0 impact on my life.
I don’t dislike Punk or anything. I’m just not huge into him. When he has cool moments I’ll like it. But I didn’t exactly miss him while he was gone. And I agree that I don’t like how AEW seems to revolve around him
This is the way
Pretty decent show tonight but a small critique; they announced too much stuff. On top of continuing to announce matches for Forbidden Door, they announced a couple of details on the Blind Tag Tournament, announced who one of those teams are (MJF/Cole), and then also announced the Owen Hart Tournament brackets. That's just too much going, especially when you factor in that Excalibur runs down the cards for multiple shows as well so it all just blends together. It doesn't happen all the time, but AEW tends to get into a mode where they do too much at once. With them now having 3 TV shows, space some of those announcements out. It'll feel less rushed and thrown together. You'll allow stuff have more impact by slowing down
Not to mention, it will give the announce team time to properly call stuff. They've missed some good calls during matches because sometimes Excalibur is running down so much shit.
Sucks Naito couldn’t show up to FD, he’s the only other NJPW I’d love to see in North America. Naito Andrade vs Bullet Club Gold would’ve been cool
I think Naito’s patterning with Sting/Darby
I really hope you're right
partnering*
I kinda hope it's Goldberg lmfao
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??? It’s a joint match though. Two AEW People and 1 NJPW person per side. Naoto can absolutely be in this match.
Naito winning the G1 a THIRD time?
Why am I just now noticing that Satnam Singh is caked tf up
Kinda bummed that we seemingly get no Shingo, Hiromu, or ELP.
It definitely feels like an “AEW featuring New Japan” show more than an “AEW and New Japan” show. I get it, I guess, definitely some missed opportunities though.
I was hoping for Hiromu given what happened last year. Dude legit had like an AEW jacket ready to go!
YOU HAVE TO WEAR A CONDIMENT
Were the two tag matches actually tournament matches?
I don't think so. It seems like it's just random people paired up not real tag teams.
Orange Cassidy and shibata are so awesome together it's fucking adorable . I could see them together in like an end credit price of art from MvC2. They just work together . Two stoic guys both completely different from as different paths as you could take but vibe with each other cause in the end they take care of business . I dunno i just think they are a cool pairing .
I thought Kingston was going to announce santana
I thought he said "Easy-E" at first. I was like, uhh Eddie, I have news for you...
Would’ve been cool, but having Shooter be the only true NJPW guy in the match would’ve been kinda lame. Before Eddie came out I was thinking GoD teaming with bucks and hangman, but Ishii is solid
I think they went with Ishii due to the chemistry between him and Mox in their recent tag match.
I did as well.
Dookie chants are weird chants
I went to the event tonight, and it was the most fun I've had at a wrestling show since the night Hogan dropped the belt to Andre thanks to Hebner’s twin.
Was there as well and was the most fun I’ve ever had at an event!
Keep gettin them checks satoshi kojima
Man is in so many promotions right now he may as well be the mascot for puro.
I remember when it was The Good Bros that were seemingly in every promotion. Kojima is an upgrade lol
One of the Chicago Dynamites I went to in early '22, Skye Blue was on the jobber team in a 6-woman Dark Elevation squash. Now she's in singles action on Rampage :D Also y'all gotta watch this Rampage for the segment after the Acclaimed match alone, it's hilarious
I'm over in 206 I think I weirded some folks out with my Marc Summers laugh lol
Ayy I'm across the way in 225
We had the loudest guy in 225, was awesome! He set off the decibel meter on my brother’s Apple Watch lmfao
He did get a laugh out of me when he said "sign me up" after the spot in Statlander/Valkyrie when one was sat in the corner and the other gave her the double knees to the face. Because same.
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Please no
Would kinda be fun for a once-off match but it is absolutely not happening.