the last show I left this inspired was an ROH show at the Manhattan Center main event by Bryan Danielson vs KENTA in 2006

God, what a blast

I don't really like Jon Moxley but it was a cool moment and a great way to start the show. Some jerkoff yelled "get that drunk out of the ring!" and the crowd was like "ooooh" and Moxley had him tossed. I would've liked to have seen this end in some kind of angle but the promo got people going, it's really fun to yell out the lyrics to "Wild Thing", and he looks physically better than he did pre-rehab.

Adam Cole's entrance is over. Is Adam Cole over? I don't know. There was chatter in this post earlier about him not looking great...and he's even less physically imposing in person. I worry about him. He was protected and portrayed well in NXT. But he's going to run into a program with Omega probably in the next 4 months and I just don't know how he's going to look on TV.

Orange Cassidy is a bullshit gimmick for marks who watch hentai. I hate this character.

I hope Tony Khan has a Hangman strategy that's more measured than "be a good guy and do good guy stuff." Hangman Page seemed to me to be, by far, the most popular guy in AEW after Sting and CM Punk. The ovation for his run in surprised me. His entire presentation when he hits the ring makes perfect sense. But why is your champion only eating up 90 seconds of airtime on your flagship show? He needs to be wrestling or talking every single week. Adding insult to injury is that there was no Hangman merchandise for sale - for your world champion! People were vocally frustrated about it. Hangman needs to get through Lance Archer with a swiftness. This reminds me of when Daniel Bryan, white hot after the Wrestlemania main event win, got thrust in an overlong program with Kane. The only guy who didn't get a reaction good OR bad all night was Lance Archer.

Cody on the other hand gets all the reactions. When you have to sit through one of his promos in person it's really eye-opening just how up his own ass he really is. On one token, he's belligerently tonedeaf to just how overwhelming he's being, he takes 7 minutes to communicate a 3 minute message. On the other hand, his pandering is gross - he uses jargon like "heel" in his promo, he references the Walter name change, he warns Brody King of calling himself "Brody" in AEW. It's fucking insufferable...but it's also really important. I don't think Cody Rhodes of all people is sophisticated enough to do this like Meta-heel John Cena by birthright thing he's doing, I think he actually believes that what he's doing is great. It's NOT great, BUT people care A LOT. People boo with their full throats and launch profanity his way incessantly. Other people also chant for him and do the "bowing" motion to him too. So while I think he's kind of a mess, I can't help but admit he's the ONLY character on AEW who's getting legitimate heat. Cody Rhodes is the only real heel in AEW. Maybe it doesn't matter if it's being done on purpose?

the CM Punk squash of Spears got a HUGE pop. God that was exciting. It's fun to do things like that I think...it felt like a flash knockout kind of UFC win. No one saw it coming but when it happened everyone immediately accepted it.

And then there's Sting. Man, the word "legend" gets thrown around a lot in wrestling but he's got a real claim to the title. For all of the great characters and wrestling we saw last night the vibe just completely changed when Sting came out. The mood was palpable - I heard a guy a row behind me just say outloud "man that's actually fuckin Sting". I was STUNNED how much he was bumping, but boy did it make the comeback even more powerful. When Sting did the stagedive it was like a party broke out in the crowd.

I know a lot was made about Big Swole's lack-of-diversity comments a few weeks ago. I didn't think Tony Khan's response was so tactful. But I'd like to point out that there's hope; Ricky Starks and the Acclaimed are legitimate stars in the making. Starks can go as far as Khan lets him. The Acclaimed have "it". Of everyone I saw last night who I hadn't already seen in person or on WWE TV, the guys who had the most obvious charisma BY A MILE were the Acclaimed and Ricky Starks (Starks shot something for DARK).

If Dynamite is in your town, go. Just go.