#Colts payroll

[kenttsterling]

Trayce bows out with class #iubb! #Colts LG Quenton Nelson gets paid! IU Women seek revenge!

[madelynraemunson]

CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen's Club series)

strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!reader

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ MDNI

Chapter 015: Eddie, Do You Copy?

Learning about, understanding, and loving all parts of Eddie.

* = somewhat smut

** = smut

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014**, 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020*

word count: 5.8k words

disclaimers — fluff, grief, flight of icarus easter eggs bc of eddie’s mom, ANGST, talks of childhood abuse/negligence/foster care, implied domestic violence, homicide, cancer, mentions of suicide, mentions of underaged drinking/drug use if you squint, lil modern-nostaglia moment btwn eddie and the boys (as a treat ✨), erica and wayne cameo yayyy

author's note: eddie is so boyfriend in this chapter 🫠 happy holidays, you filthy animals ♥️

“I put the record on, wait till I hear our song. Every night I’m dancing with your ghost.”

♡

Your eyes accommodate the first beacon of light as thirst creeps its way into your system.

6:38 AM.

Quietly chucking the covers off, you find yourself hobbling over Eddie in attempts to get to the kitchen. You can only hope that it doesn’t wake him.

Eddie responds with a low grumble. Followed by some mumbling and flailing. And then you watch as he shifts around, doing his best to return to the state of comfort he was in before his sleep was interrupted.

But if he’s anything like you — which you know for a fact he is — his cranky self is most likely awake by now and just pretending to be unconscious to avoid early morning conversation.

To put it to the test, you press a soft kiss onto Eddie’s forehead. He smiles.

You smile to yourself. Called it.

When you get to the kitchen, you seek out Eddie’s Garfield mug for your reservoir of choice. And as it fills with water, the bedroom adjacent from his captures your attention.

Steve’s door is open. A huge indicator that he’s still not home.

Judging by the energy levels of everyone last night, you assume it’s because they were still out partying. And for Steve’s sake, a part of you hopes it’s also because he went home with somebody.

Once you’ve got your water, you sneak back into Eddie’s room, using the newfound, natural light to really study it.

You would’ve thought it was an extension of Steve’s room, not Eddie’s. Everything’s a posh navy blue, something Eddie wouldn’t be caught dead in if he had been anywhere else.

But the corner of his room is more like him, decorated with vinyls and a Crosley just like your sister’s. There were records of his favorite metal bands: Sabbath and Maiden. Anthrax, Metallica, and Judas Priest. And the unsuspecting like Elvis, The Doors, and Pink Floyd. Even country — both old and new, Johnny Cash and Chris Young — followed by a wide selection of Chicago blues and bluegrass.

The rest of his personality could be found on the bulletin board sitting on his desk.

Hand soap, dryer sheets, FUCKING DO PAYROLL

Eddie’s to-do list. You let out a soft chuckle.

Familiar faces canvas the board. There’s photos of Eddie, Jeff, Gareth, and Grant. A picture of him with his uncle — Young Eddie with his hair buzzed and Uncle Wayne’s a subtle gray, most likely Eddie’s doing.

There’s a photo of Steve and Eddie at a Colt’s game. Eddie and Dustin. And Eddie with Will at what looked to be a D&D convention of sorts.

But one photo catches your eye the most.

‘MOMMY & ME: LIZ + EDDIE , 1994’

His mom’s name was Liz. You graze the picture of Liz holding a baby Eddie in her arms. On her face was a dimpled smile like no other, the love-filled look in her eyes having been shielded by her thick wavy brown hair.

But you didn’t need to see her eyes to know how much she loved Eddie. You see it in how she’s holding him, gently pressed to her chest while she supports his neck, his beady brown eyes staring at her with the same amount of adoration.

It all reminds you of Mom. You’re almost certain there’s a picture of you two like that, but it’s back home with Billy… evidently a forbidden turf to trek.

At least there’s still the memory of it. But like the bond with your twin, it’s also growing to be distant.

Your eyes and tears trickle down to another picture of her on Eddie’s bulletin board.

It’s of Toddler Eddie now with Liz in what looks like a kitchen. He’s standing on her feet and, judging by the motion of the picture, is dancing along to a song that was probably playing on the stereo. Behind the two of them sat piles and piles of CDs, all of which were all of the blues.

“She was pretty, wasn’t she?”

Eddie is behind you now. He smiles at you with a dreamy gaze, beaming at the mere fact that the two women who made him happiest could be visually processed in the same frame.

You gulp.

“Really, really pretty,” you insist. “You have her smile. A-and her hair.”

"Yeah, I look a lot like her," Eddie chuckles with a hint of pride. He grazes the photos of her in the same way you did. "She’s influenced me a lot growing up. Bet that's why my sperm donor can't stand me."

You carefully dissect his choice of words. There’s a lot of resent for Alan Munson on Eddie’s part. You don’t blame him, if what Billy discovered had been true. It’s the same reason you and him resent Dad.

Eddie fixates on the expression on your face. He knows why this is so moving for you.

“It never gets easier, does it?” he questions, hinting at your own ongoing struggle with grief.

You cross your arms and shake your head. Softly you mutter, “Never.”

You feel stupid. Eddie’s doing his best to navigate his own baggage, yet you still found a way to make it about yourself.

He pulls you close and wraps his arms tenderly around your waist. Eddie doesn’t have to say it to reassure you that your burdens are safe in his presence. You can just feel it. Two traumatized individuals understand each other in a way others can’t.

“Time just keeps going,” you speak again. “Everyone moves on and you’re kinda just…stuck in place.”

“World just keeps going. Grief doesn’t care about your plans when it blindsides you, taking you for everything you’ve got.”

You swallow hard as Eddie’s words sink into you.

Tragedy just feels so non-consensual. No one ever asks for it to happen.

You and Billy can’t even go surfing without thinking about Mom. Whenever you try you both always end up fighting. That’s why Max tends to go alone or with her own friends.

“I have to stay away from a whole genre of music because I’ll burst into tears,” you scoff in agony. “Billy and I can’t even listen to Iration without thinking of our mom.”

“Can’t listen to Muddy Waters without thinking of mine.”

You and Eddie sway in place to the tandem of your beating hearts. It’s a breath of fresh air knowing you have each other now.

After a while, he ruffles your hair and spins you around so that you can face him.

"But enough about that," Eddie attempts a smile. He rubs your shoulders and you hum in awe. "This is supposed to be a happy time."

"Happiness and despair can coexist," you sniff. “Duality, remember?”

Eddie smiles. It's a you're right kind of smile. "I was yesterday years old when I learned that."

He kisses your forehead and soon you two are in the shower, rinsing up and mentally preparing for the long day of errands ahead.

You’re the first to hop out and get dressed, eager to devour a bowl of oatmeal before tackling the day.

"Hey… babe?" Eddie calls out to you from his closet.

The pet name almost sounds too natural rolling off his tongue. But then again he is the owner of a strip club, and was married for a few years before meeting you.

“Yeah?” you call back, heart skipping a beat.

“Can you make me a coffee while you’re out there?” he requests. “The usual black drip coffee with some hazelnut? Please and thank you.”

“Of course, hun.”

You can get used to this.

So you make your way back out into the living room and kitchen shortly after, practically skipping. But the person you see in the kitchen — with tired eyes and a bowl of his own oatmeal in hand — stops you in your tracks.

"Morning, Hargrove," Steve responds.

You're so dumb. You've gotta start realizing that when you sleep with one of them, the other may pop in at any minute. After all, it’s their townhouse.

As frozen in place as you are, you do your best to shoot Steve a shy little wave. Again, the look on his face indecipherable.

"Morning..." you pathetically respond.

Steve eventually grants you a wave back. He pokes around at his oatmeal while you make your way over to the fridge, your cheeks flushing a timid red as you do so.

You move in a way that seems like you were way too conscious of your actions. Even Steve notices. But he keeps trying to eat, his spoon clinking against his bowl as he intermittently clears his throat, all an attempt to fill the void of silence.

"Did you have a fun night?" you question. "You know... bar-hopping."

"Yeah, I did," he replies. "Argyle had to get cut off cuz he was being real extra with it."

"Oh geez."

"I know."

“How was Max?”

“She was fine,” Steve shrugs. “The bars use the same 21+ wristbands Hellfire does so we were able to sneak her in no problem. Chrissy made sure she got home safe. The girls were just stoked they finally got to have a carefree night.”

“That’s so good,” you breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m so happy for them.”

“Yeah,” he nods in agreement. “I’m really happy for them too. Seems like they needed it.”

Finally, your friend decides to address the elephant in the room.

"We uhh..." he begins. "We should probably end what we have going on here. Just so no one gets hurt."

“I think that’s a smart idea too,” you mumble as you nod.

You make your way over to Steve, stunned that he doesn’t shy away from you when you invade his personal space. Instead he leans into you, opening up his lap so you can maneuver between his legs.

You know, like how friends usually talk.

“It was fun while it lasted…”

"I know. I just feel so bad..." you choke, rubbing his arm softly. "I’ve wasted your time."

"I wouldn't say that," Steve refuses, shaking his head rapidly. He touches you back, running his hand across your arm. "I've thoroughly enjoyed your company."

Eventually his hand intertwines with yours.

There’s a heaviness in the room and something tells you that Eddie is near, looming at the foot of his room so that your business with Steve remains uninterrupted. He knows there’s some dust that still needs to settle. And he will linger until it does.

"You helped me get out of a really dark place," Steve admits. "And Eds too, I'm sure."

You look back towards Eddie's room.

“It wasn’t my intention to fall for him,” you say. “It just…happened. The connection, i-it’s...”

“I know…” Steve soothes you. “Been pickin’ up on that for a while. If you think I’m blaming you, I’m not.”

Steve urges you to meet his gaze again. And when a teardrop falls from your eye, he uses his thumb to wipe it away. Tells you to stop, before he too starts crying.

"This is... a huge step for him," Steve manages a grin. “I don’t think you realize, Shy Girl.”

"Yeah, I bet," you nod. "After Isabelle..."

"Yeah, Isabelle and everything else that dude's got going on," he confirms. "This is really good for Eddie. I can tell. It’s why I think it’s best that we part ways.”

Steve eventually does cry too, but it’s a rather suppressed one. The both of you take turns wiping each other’s tears, embracing the presence of each other for just a short while longer before needing to distance yourselves indefinitely.

You’re never going to forget Steve Harrington. His charm. His integrity. His everlasting devotion to the ones he loves most, and how he’d — time and time again — go to the ends of the earth for them. A noble soul in the highest regard. A true king.

“Thank you for being so kind,” you say to him. “You made my first week in Indiana a lot less intimidating. I hope you’ll still be around.”

“Of course I’ll still be around,” Steve chuckles. “Look at our friend group. Look at where I live.”

You share a laugh with him again.

“Ain’t no getting rid of me that easy, Hargrove.”

“I can sure try though, right?”

“Now why would you do that?” he banters sarcastically, chuckling into you.

He kisses your cheek softly one last time. Finally, Eddie’s door swings open, prompting you and Steve to asunder from one another.

“RISE AND FUCKING SHINE!” Eddie announces his entrance. “Both my soul and thine.”

You get out of Eddie’s way so he can go over and hug Steve good morning. Eddie then breaks the hug with a peck on the cheek and rough slap to Steve’s ass. Steve winces but you can tell he enjoys it.

“Mwah!” Eddie cheers. “Love you, babyboy. What you got going on today?”

“Oh, just gonna work on the online biz for a bit,” Steve mumbles as he ushers his hands through some paper. “Then ’m gonna start recruiting peeps for my other new job.”

“I forgot you dropship now,” Eddie says. “How’s that going?”

“Really fucking good,” Steve smiles. “I shouldn’t count on it too much though. It’s why I also have Newby’s. Speaking of which…”

Steve hands you a flyer. You take it from his hands.

NEWBY’S COFFEE ROASTERS: Even Superheroes Need Coffee!

Steve explains to you that a new coffee shop is taking over Family Video’s old suite. The owner grows his own coffee beans and all syrups are organically made from Hawkins locals. And since they’re a Mom and Pop shop, they were really going to need some help.

“If Maxine is still looking for a job, she’s more than welcome to apply,” Steve says. “We’re gonna need baristas. And we’ll be coworkers so whenever she’s on, I can drive her to work.”

“That sounds like an awesome gig for her!” Eddie pitches in. “Free coffee for employees too, I’m guessing.”

Steve nods at Eddie’s remark.

“That’d be amazing,” you blush. “Thank you, Stevie.”

“Thank you, Stevie,” Eddie parrots you. You elbow him playfully.

“Yeah, anything for you guys. I’ll put in a good word for her to Bob. He’s the owner. Great guy.”

“And what about this owner, huh?” Eddie chimes in. “Hope you can pull some strings and snag me some of those magic beans as well. I’m gonna need it. I also don’t mind paying full price cuz it’s goin’ to Newbs.”

“T’yeah with your job? You can have all the beans you want.”

“Mm, speaking of which,” Eddie scoffs as he stares at the time on his Apple Watch. “It’s almost time.”

Steve imitates Eddie’s gesture. Your eyes dart between the two of them, confused about the context of the whole ordeal.

“What are you guys-” you begin.

“Ah, buh-buh!” Steve stops you. “Wait for it…”

You look at the time on your phone to feel some sort of involvement as well.

7:59 —> 8:00

Eddie’s phone rings.

"An everyday thing," Steve tsks, shaking his head, resuming his breakfast as he does so.

"First problem of the day," Eddie looks at you. "It’s always something with Hellfire. From the moment the day begins...Yello?"

It’s Lucas. Sinclair never really calls unless it’s a dire situation, so you listen closely, doing your best to make out what he’s saying on the other line.

"I can't come in tonight,” is what it sounds like.

"Uh, why the fuck not?" your man demands. He places a sassy hand on his hip. "We need you for front of the house."

"Erica's sick and my car is in the shop."

"I'll pay for your Uber, you're coming in."

"I think it's covid. I don't wanna spread it to anyone if l've been exposed."

"It's not fucking covid, you guys have been jabbed more times than I can count for school."

The two continue to bicker back and forth like they’re brothers. Steve excuses himself from the narrative, going over to the kitchen sink to wash the dishes.

You watch Eddie as he lights up a pre-roll, taking a frustrated drag from it while he listens to Lucas’s, probably bullshit, excuse.

Eventually there’s a scuffle on the other line. Something something, “GIMME THE DAMN PHONE” followed by a “NO” followed by a “PHONE. NOW”. Eddie’s drags from his blunt grow increasingly slower.

Then another person speaks. The voice belongs to a girl. She sounds slightly younger than Lucas. And she sounds sick. And angry.

"Listen here, Ed-NERD Alan Munson," the girl hisses sassily. " I KNOW I did not just hear you tell my brother that he is coming in even when HE TOLD YOU why he can't. It's giving desperate. It's giving exploitation of your employees. If you want my brother to come in for a half shift at your stupid gentlemen's club then you best pull up to our residence, YOURSELF, with them spicy chicken wings level Creeping. Death. My tongue? It needs to be on FIRE. My eyes? They need to be burning from the temperature and sauce. My sinuses? BOYYY, you better be-LIEVE they oughta be SO CLEAR, I could cough up a loogie, SPIT IT OUT THE WINDOW, and have it smack you RIGHT UPSIDE THE HEAD SO HARD you won’t even THINK about forcing my brother to do something he isn’t comfortable doing again. Keep trying me, motherfucker. THE FUCK WRONG WITCHU."

Steve is flabbergasted. Eddie's mouth is wide open. You would’ve thought Lucas’s sister was on speakerphone but she wasn’t.

You're scared of Erica Sinclair. And so is Eddie, the way his eyes widen at her spiel. If Lucas's sister ever got into a heated argument with Billy, Billy would go home crying.

“And some sweet potato fries," she adds softly. "Please. Do we have a deal?"

"At your service," Eddie deals her a salute through the phone, even though she can't see it. "Anything Applejack wants, she gets. I'll be over after my Meijer run."

"As you should, sir."

Eddie turns to you after he hangs up the phone. "Don't ever own a business."

——————— 🛒—————

“WE GROW UP AND MOVE AWAY... The seasons pass, but the monsters stay.”

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪

Hellfire is Eddie’s baby. The man lives and breathes that strip club.

As much as you’ve already harbored that suspicion, you didn’t realize his work-life balance was practically non-existent. Running errands. Frequent call-outs. Always having to prepare for the unexpected. But that’s the price one pays for owning a business. It also only seems to get harder and harder when you’re a handsome business man like Eddie, someone with the drawing power like that of a 13,000 gauss magnet.

“Mike to Munson, do you copy?”

You and Eddie have hit the road now, ready to start your errands run before your shift begins. As Eddie drives, he has you hold his phone up for him while he speaks to the boys in their group FaceTime call.

“Copy,” Eddie responds. “Thank you for covering ground, dear Paladin. It is because of you we are no longer… short staffed.”

God, they’re such dorks. You’d cringe if Eddie didn’t have the sex appeal of a Roman god.

“It’s the least I can do,” Mike insists. “Taking inventory as we speak. We need more ground chili and pop cans. Cola and Fanta, please. When you go to Meijer.”

“Done deal,” Eds nods. “Who’s doing side quests?”

“Me!” Will chimes in. “Doing silverware, stainless steel, and just helping Jonathan open up the bar.”

“Thank you, Byers-squared.”

“And I’ll sweep and do windows,” Dustin adds. “We’ll figure out the front house situation as it unfolds. Gonna be a little late. Getting gas.”

Eddie places a firm palm over your hand. He smiles at you when you look over.

“Running errands with Shy Girl, we’ll see you soon.”

“Pulling in now. Over.”

“Us too. Over.”

“Over and out, boys.”

————- 🚐———-

After your Meijer run, you and Eddie stop by CVS for Wayne’s medications and the ‘morning after’ pill. And shortly after that, you two haul ass to the other side of town to scoop up Nina.

Eddie gives the young dancer a ride to work almost every day. He also smokes her out before the shift, evident by her waltzing in stoned out of her mind all the time. It brings you peace knowing the whole story now, and that there truly is nothing more to it than that.

“Your boyfriend really needs a new car,” Eddie huffs to Nina as she climbs into the backseat. “Been telling him that shit’s on it’s last good tire.”

Figuratively and literally. The 90s Buick that you caught sight of shortly before Nina shuffled in can only be described as a lost cause. Nina knows it too, the way she scowls at the thing.

She tsks as she clicks her seatbelt in place.

“Duh, Eds. What do you think I’m saving up for?”

Eddie holds up an eighth.

“I can think of a few things,” he chuckles. “I take it you’re a fan of all things eco mode.”

“Hey, it’s 2022, of course we’re going green.”

Eddie grins. “I like how you think, sweetheart.”

Nina looks over to see who’s in the front seat. Her eyes glimmer when she realizes it’s you.

“Oh, hey Shy Girl!” she cheers.

You smile at her contently. Securely.

“Hey, Neens.”

Eddie starts up his van once again.

“Alright everyone,” he says as he shifts gears. “Hold onto something. We’re on a tight schedule so expect some Eddie Stops.”

“Not this again,” Nina mutters.

“Oh boy…” you add.

SKRRRT!

———— 🏠 ————

After dropping both Nina and the groceries off at Hellfire, you and Eddie set out to Forest Hills Trailer Park to visit his infamous Uncle Wayne.

“Wayne’s the man,” Eddie boasts as he drives on. “Taught me how to fish. Somehow taught me how to drive. Automatic and stick.”

He laughs at that one.

“Even took me out of the foster care system when I was 16. I lived in his old room for years while he took the pull-out couch in the living room.”

“Foster care?” you echo as he nods. “He was tired of you jumping from home to home?”

“Nah, I just kept running away,” Eddie cackles. “If a kid was ever in the police station for something, nine times out of 10 it was probably me. I was stressing way too many people out, Uncs probably felt bad for them.”

“But he also loves you, I bet,” you grin. “You’re his nephew, Eddie.”

Eddie smiles too. “Yeah, somethin’ like that.”

Eddie pulls into an empty dirt road just yards from the estate. You two climb out of the van together, slamming the doors in unison.

Eddie leads you up the stairs by the hand, then uses his other one to wave at old neighbors close by.

“Hey y’all! How ya doin’?” he exclaims. He lowers his voice when he speaks to you. “Those are the Johnsons. Their sons were frequent customers of mine in high school.”

Your eyes widen in shock. Eddie waves to another pair of neighbors.

“And those are the Jacobsons. I bought their sons alcohol their senior year for homecoming. Buncha lightweights though. Wouldn’t recommend.”

“Well aren’t you a hero,” you jest.

“Hey, someone’s gotta pay the bills,” Eddie shrugs, half-jokingly. “You would think 40 years at The Plant gave you a decent insurance plan but that wasn’t the case. Had to help Wayne out for a fat minute. Still do every now and then.”

Eddie shifts closer to the door and gives it a couple knocks. He leans his head towards the doorframe, placing his lips just inches away from the chipped, painted wood.

“Wayne Munson,” Eddie bellows in his playful, deep voice. “It��s your friendly neighborhood pharmacist here. I’ve come with your percs, your piss pill, and your Motrin.”

Percocet and Motrin.

Two very strong pain killers. Hearing those names send chills down your spine. Those are the same meds Mom overdosed on when Billy found her.

But given Wayne’s circumstances, it’s not too much of a concern. According to what Eddie has told you, his uncle had just retired and is very frail. Heavy machinery and long hours can do that to someone. Just constant, chronic pain.

The door swings open and you hear Eddie greet Wayne like a grateful man would greet his dad. “Hey, Old Man! How are you?”

“Hello, there my boy. Agh, watch it. ‘s hurtin’ again.”

It didn't seem like anyone was at the door when you look over. But that was because you were looking about two feet too high.

Your eyes travel to the level at which Eddie bends down and there you see Uncle Wayne, having wheeled himself to the door to greet Eddie with a warm hug.

Oh this goes deeper than you thought.

A nose cannula. Yellow grippy socks. The wheelchair that housed his thin, fragile body. The navy blue Pacers beanie that concealed the fact that the man had very little hair.

Wayne’s face was extremely chiseled in, deeming him malnourished and underweight. The bags under his eyes that drooped heavily against his sockets took up a good portion of his face — nearly half.

You look at the place behind him. His trailer had lots of rails installed, Ensure protein shakes for adequate nutrition, and the pull out couch was set up to look like a bedroom, with a collapsible dresser right beside it that was nearly lost in a sea of orange medicine bottles.

The realization nearly knocks the wind out of you.

Wayne is sick. He almost looks terminal.

It feels like the ground had opened up and swallowed you whole. Your knees feel wobbly like gelatin, but Eddie is too busy reuniting with his father figure to notice. When he turns back around, he pulls you into him, with the biggest smile on his face.

“There’s uh, someone I want you to meet,” Eddie says to Wayne, his cheeks now a deep shade of pink. “This is Shy Girl.”

“Shy Girl,” Wayne smiles the same bright smile that Eddie has. “So you’re the THEE Shy Girl that my Eddie’s been rambling to me about. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, sweetheart.”

You meet Wayne where he’s at, shaking his cold hand at eye level and giving him the warmest smile you can.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Mr. Munson.”

“Mr. Munson,” Wayne smirks cheekily. There’s a hint of who he used to be when he does that. He was most likely a firecracker just like Eddie, evident by how the two start poking at each other in a teasing manner. “Didn’t realize we were at a business meeting. In that case, we shall not waste any time. You and Eddie can come on in now, Miss Hargrove.”

Butterflies form in your stomach. You never told Wayne your last name.

And soon you’re in Wayne’s trailer, Eddie’s old home before he grew his wings and left the nest. A bittersweet energy floods the room. It only becomes more prominent when you see Eddie and Wayne holding hands as they make their way inside.

“Welcome to my office,” Wayne proceeds, carrying on with the banter. “I’ve got some tea in the cupboards, as well as some stale saltines because this one over here thinks I should watch my sodium intake. You’re more than welcome to help yourself.”

“Thank you so much,” is all you’re able to say.

“No worries, doll.”

Wayne darts his gaze back over to Eddie. “Anywho. Now that the formalities are over… son, I need to take a shit.”

The same dry humor too. You giggle and glance over at Eddie while he grimaces at Wayne in annoyance. But, since it’s not his first rodeo, he obliges, unlocking Wayne’s wheelchair to wheel him over to the commode that was concealed behind a DIY curtain.

“Did you do your exercises today?” you hear Eddie ask him.

"I tried. Got tired ‘bout halfway through.”

“What are your oxygen levels looking like?”

“Satting 88 percent without my oxygen. 93 percent on three liters.”

“That’s what we like to see. Good job, baby. I’m proud of you.”

You stand off to the side, giving Wayne as much privacy and dignity you can throughout this very intimate ordeal.

While Eddie is away with him, you keep yourself distracted with Wayne’s mug collection, as well as the array of trucker hats that decorated one of the four walls. You take a look at what’s on the TV: The Price is Right is just about to go on a commercial break. And on the coffee table rested an assortment of dated magazines, all going back to as early as 2008. Ah yes, recession core.

Within a few short moments, Eddie comes back out. You study him as he makes his way to the kitchen to wash his hands, making faces at the friendly neighborhood cats who liked to make themselves at home on the porch.

“Anyways!” Eddie exclaims. “I’m gonna start making Erica’s wings cuz we got everything here.”

He starts back over to you.

“But before I do, want me to show you my old room? It’s like a huge time capsule. Wayne hasn’t touched it since I left.”

You can barely meet his eyes. Eddie is acting way too normal about this. Or maybe you’re too dramatic.

He sees you frowning, thinking.

“…You okay?” he attempts with you.

"Eds... I didn't know," you whisper softly.

But Eddie smiles a bit. "That's okay. I initially didn't want you to know."

"How bad is it?"

"Stage 3. Lung cancer."

"How long has he had it?"

"Siiiince… March of 2020?” Eddie recalls. "We initially thought it was covid because of all the pulmonary stuff..."

He gestures around his own lungs.

"So what started out as a — rather intimate — nose swab turned into a biopsy that turned into getting a team of specialists….”

He glances over at Wayne to make sure he’s still okay.

“To having uncomfortable talks with the case worker about...exploring other options... And then to me being his full-time caregiver."

"March of 2020..." you recall. "Isn't that the same time you and Isabelle got divorced?"

"We were finalizing it..." Eddie corrects you. “But that’s neither here or there.”

“And Hellfire?”

“We were struggling for a bit not gonna lie,” Eddie chuckles. “It was during the start of covid and no one wanted to leave the house. Even when the babes were smoking hot.”

Holding up a palm, you stop him from explaining any further.

“So let me get this straight,” you state. “Your piece of shit dad UNALIVED your mom in cold blood when you were a kid, your father figure has cancer. You somehow manage to care for him full-time all while basically living at Hellfire, your business that your ex wife tried to SABOTAGE; which led to you getting arrested and released on bail up until your trial where you were then proven NOT GUILTY. But even then, your reputation still remains slightly tainted because almost everyone in Hawkins is a narrow-minded, self-righteous prick who weaponizes religion to get an upper hand? And they know you’re an easy target so that’s exactly what they did in this case, making your life and Wayne’s a living hell when it was the last thing you two needed at the time?”

“It be like that sometimes.”

Eddie flashes you a sarcastic, ‘I’m alive’ peace sign. He’s not helping.

Your heart just about shatters.

Eddie has suffered so much. But he hides it so well with his never-ending sarcasm and Munson magic.

And to think all of this — Hellfire, Wayne, and divorcing Isabelle — went down a couple years ago. He still had his childhood to sort through. If that's even plausible.

“It’s also kinda why Chrissy and I were screwing around,” Eddie adds, snapping you out of your thinking. “Apparently I was constantly depressed and she wanted to keep me distracted and all. Again, fun. But very short-lived.”

You fall into him and squeeze him tight. Eddie is almost taken aback by it. But nevertheless, he returns the favor.

"Are you alright?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" you demand. "You have all of this going on and you're asking me if I'm alright?"

Oh, how lonely Eddie must’ve felt through all of this. You just want to hold him. Take away all of his pain.

It’s always the angels on earth who get sent to hell and back. Eddie deserves the world, and you’re going to go your best to give it to him.

"Are we alright?" you question him.

"Of course we're alright," Eddie insists, ruffling your hair like it’s the silliest thing you’ve ever asked him.

He pulls away from you. Rubs your back delicately as you soak in all of this new information.

“You sure you want to sign up for all of this?”

You are absolutely more than sure.

“Now why would you even ask that?” you choke. “You know my stubborn ass. I’m not backing down without a fight.”

“Yeaaah,” Eddie squints. “I guess you are pretty stubborn.”

You fall into one another again, kissing each other like it’s the air you need to breathe. Eddie delicately cups your face with his hands, relishing in the last couple of smooches before he pulls away.

“I like stubborn though.”

“You and me, Eddie.”

“You and me, sweetheart.”

“Eddie!” Wayne calls, innocently interrupting the moment. “I’m done, boy, now come help me get up.”

“Comin’!” Eddie cranes his neck, shouting in Wayne’s general direction. He kisses you one more time on the forehead before excusing himself. “Be right back, babe.”

You and Eddie leave for Hellfire shortly after spending a little bit more time with Wayne.

The entire ride there, you let Eddie talk about his memories with his uncle… how he’s attended homecoming rallies, talent shows, graduations, and the less-than-celebratory court hearings — loving Eddie unconditionally through thick and thin. He was there for Eddie’s senior prom, snapping photos of him with the boys and his date Ronnie, who was also his best friend at the time.

Wayne was also there for Eddie’s wedding, even though he didn’t particularly like Isabelle. Again, every milestone, Wayne was there for.

You fawn over Eddie as he continues to talk, the spark in his eyes never leaving for as long as it’s about his loved ones. You can only hope he talks to Wayne and the others about you in the same way.

You can’t believe this is real life.

From here on out, it’s going to be you and Eddie. And you’re going to be by his side no matter what, because he’s proven to you that he is committed to doing the same.

From here on out, it’s going to be Shy Girl and Eddie… and nothing… NOTHING will ever change your mind or get in the way of that.

🏷️ tag list: @chrrymunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n , @corrodedcoffincumslut , @bebe07011 , @mmunson86 , @eddiesguitarskills , @chelebelletx , @imonhereforareasonsadly , @eddies-trailer-babe @hideoutside , @motherfckerr , @jxpsi , @lindseyj23, @sidthedollface2 , @manda-panda-monium , @elvendria , @micheledawn1975 , @hereforshmut , @siriuslysmoking , @nymphetkoo , @m-chmcl-rmnc , @justinelittlewoodsworld , @ahoyyharrington , @keepittoyourselftellnobodyelse @kellyxo1 @emsgoodthinkin @winchester-angel @chloe-6123 , @redbarn1995 @angietherose @kiyastrf94 , @purplewitchcauldron @kellsck @joyfulfxckery @munsons-mayhem28 @dragonfire @emma77645 @drivelikenina @livosssblog @thinkingth0ts @hugdealer @ellielunamckay

[soullessjack]

SPN?

1) honestly jody and donna , i know they aren’t entirely canon but both actresses support the idea and that’s good enough for me ^_^

** secondary is jack/harper i LOVE them and we deserved to see more. #letjackfuck2k24

2) rowena and jack!!!! i see their dynamic as an aunt/nephew type thing and I love (almost) every time they’re together (omitting the time jack witch-napped her to bring back Mary). I wish we got to see more of them </3

3) Sam and Amelia. usually i can handle the show’s bad moments as enjoyably bad but season 8 was paint-drying levels of boring. Amelia was a bland nothing-burger of a character and the rest of Sam’s normal guy arc did absolutely nothing for him or the season

4) hmmmmm….. not sure I have one actually 🧐

5) JACK <3 my most special boy in the entire world i love him more than anything ever Even my other special interests and fixations 😭 he’s been deeply important to me for 7 years now and probably will be for the rest of my life!! I self-ship with him and plan on getting several tattoos for him and hopefully I’ll be able to meet Alex again someday :3

6) Lucifer/Nick, hands down. Lucifer stopped being an interesting villain to me around like S7 or so honestly, and every time he got brought back it just felt like such a lazy move from the writers or a painful excuse to keep mark on the payroll

7) something that should’ve happened…very broad question for this show. Destiel should’ve happened, a better finale should’ve happened, some deleted scenes and scripts should’ve happened, Jack being covered in more blood and maybe having a longer lasting ‘villain’ arc should’ve happened …many such cases

8) something that shouldn’t have happened…again, many choices, but to save time I’ll just leave it at Nick’s entire character. besides (see #6) he straight up shouldn’t be alive. Dean shot him in the head with the Colt all the way back in S5 lmao

9) hmmmmm……i think my entire blog is full of rare (if not downright unpopular) opinions, but if I had to choose one that is Extremely rare, I’d go with this one: Dean is one of Jack’s dads. As frustrating as his initial behavior is, he does grow past it, and he puts genuine effort into being a better mentor/father figure to Jack—not only because he does care about them, but also because he literally could not forgive himself for how he acted and wanted to make up for it as much as he could.

obviously they do have a very complicated and rough relationship, but that’s literally every other relationship on this show, and it’s kind of agitating that they aren’t given the same nuance or understanding that the others get—especially when half of the discussions surrounding it can be boiled down to “bad man mean to helpless baby” (which is another thing on its own but ill stop here). I don’t mean this as an excuse or apologia for Dean’s behavior, but when you consider that he’s a severely traumatized person with a relatively small support system and a canon tendency to verbally abuse/emotionally distance himself from people as a coping mechanism (literally what he had a breakdown over in Purgatory) it’s a little easier to understand it.

everyone is quick to talk about how he said “Jack’s not family,” but nobody paid attention to the fact that in the script, he’s mildly horrified at Jack agreeing with him (if you truly meant an insult, wouldn’t you’d want the target to agree?). or that after jack restores the world from chuck’s damage, Dean not only fully expects/wants them to go back to the bunker with them (IE continue living there) but he also literally fantasizes about buying jack a big screen tv and recliners for saving the world. so id love if the fandom ixnayed on the “uncle” shit. ironically the only one of TFW to actually be Jack’s uncle is Cas, biologically

alternatively for a rare opinion: i want jack kline biblically, carnally, horrendously, homosexually, expeditiously, and so on and so forth.

[buttdawg]

Collision

I found the show to be enjoyable enough, although the first and last segment were really the only reasons to show up.   It was nice to see Andrade return without some bullshit mindgames involving getting guys to join his team.  And it was nice to see Miro back in action, but it’s going to take a while to see if AEW is actually serious with these guys. 

I thought all the CM Punk stuff was kind of basic, in that he was just covering stuff we already knew.  Then later, I realized that was sort of the point.  He’s been gone for so long that he sort of needs to reintroduce himself to the audience.  This whole thing has been like a big reset.  Punk doesn’t seem to have changed, but the audience has, and they’ve gotten so used to speculating about his return that it’s worth easing into it.  I didn’t understand why his first match was with Samoa Joe and BCG, but it would have been premature to have him get into a feud right off the bat. 

In that respect, having him talking smack about MJF is smart, because it’s an obvious program, but one that doesn’t have to be paid off immediately.  MJF already has business with other challengers, but it makes sense for MJF to duck Punk instead of dropping everything to deal with him.  And just because Punk has a legitimate claim to a title match doesn’t mean he gets to have it right away.  He can gripe about it every week while he does a feud with some other wrestler who thinks he belongs at the front of the line. 

Still, they really kind of need to figure out how to make Punk vs. the Elite happen.  Maybe they already have, but the crowd clearly wanted it, and I think the crowds in other recent shows have wanted it too, but they knew they’d have to wait for Punk to come back before it would be an option.  So every week, the fans are going to ask when Punk vs. Elite happens, and why they’re not getting it now.  Pundits were talking about it being a big money match last year, but now, I think it’s almost evolved beyond that.  Now, it’s like AEW almost has to do the match just to move on from Brawl-Out ‘22.  They don’t have to do it right away, or even this year, but they need a plan to do it eventually, because I think their fanbase expects a plan, and they’ll be pretty disappointed if they ever find out it’s not happening. 

Back when the whole thing went down, I thought Punk was done for good.  Either Tony Khan would cut him on the spot, or Punk would turn back into Bruce Banner and be too horrified by his behavior and resign.  I sort of wondered if the Elite would return, but then they did, and I started to think that meant Punk was really finished, but here we are.  The only thing that bugs me is that-- as far as I can tell-- they still haven’t mended fences from last September.  That just sounds irresponsible. 

Then again, if they really are planning to turn all of this into an angle, then they really wouldn’t want anyone to know they mended fences, would they?  I mean, this is where fans always fall down the rabbit-hole, because why would Punk still be that mad at Colt Cabana?  Or Adam Page, or the rest of them?  I think the fans have this baseline rationality that they want to apply to the wrestlers, where they’re all cool professionals backstage and any real-life animosity is easily sorted out.  I mean, that is how it’s supposed to be, but it doesn’t always work out that way, which is where you get fans taking sides in things like this, because if it’s truly irreconcilable, then there must be a bad guy, or we have to assume that both sides are assholes. 

At the end of the day, I just think dividing the roster in half to keep Punk and the Elite separated is dumb.  If you’re Tony Khan and you want both of them on your payroll and they hate each other’s guts, then you make a hard choice.  You cut one loose or sit both sides down and make them play nice.  But 2022 has shown me that Tony Khan isn’t the 4-D genius promoter everyone wants him to be, so yeah, I can actually see him making a second AEW just for Punk.  This is the guy who thinks Jeff Jarrett belongs on his flagship show in 2023, so there you have it. 

So I’m kind of expecting another backstage fight, because those who do not learn from history, something-something.  But I think I’ve reached a point where I don’t care whose heads roll in all of this.  I like Kenny Omega, the Bucks, Adam Page, and CM Punk, but also, fuck all of those guys.  The show was pretty kickass back when they were all suspended and Moxley was champion.  If they want to ruin their careers over Colt fucking Cabana, they can go right ahead.

[readersmagnet]

Ox in the Culvert by Gerald Brence

Ox in the Culvert is a real Wild West novel set in the early 1850s. It follows Texas Ranger Ray Andrews and his best friend, Tom Jenkins, as they compete in a Samuel Colt shooting event. The top ten Ranger shooters get one of the new revolvers and a mission to guard a payroll wagon in the Indian country of deep Southwest Texas. Sores Aguilar, a ruthless bandit, is watching the wagon and planning to rob it.

Learn more about Gerald Brence and his books at www.geraldbrencebooks.com.

[jasonblaze72]

Hard Knocks Season 19 Episode 1: Release Date, Preview & Streaming Guide

The Hard Knocks S19 episode 1 release date is out, and sports fans are eager to explore more about the same. Here is a glance at the Hard Knocks premise before we get to the Hard Knocks season 19 episode 1 release date and hard knocks season 19 episode 1's streaming details. Hard Knocks, a reality sports television program, is made by NFL Films and HBO and broadcast on HBO Sports. The first broadcast of the program began in 2001. It covers the Team's preparation for the following season by following a National Football League (NFL) team through training camp each season. The show shows the players', coaches', and staff members' daily lives, including their relationships with their families, competition for jobs, and even inside and practical jokes. It largely focuses on rookies' adjustments to the NFL, concentrating on the Team's most recent first-round selection. Undrafted and veteran players frequently receive extra attention when trying to make the squad. The NFL and HBO have labeled it "the first sports-based reality series" on television. Also read Drag Race Italia Season 2 Episode 2: Release Date, Preview & Streaming Guide. What Is The Premise Of Hard Knocks Season 19? Detroit's native club plays the game with genuine dedication despite never having advanced to the Super Bowl. Sadly for them, their perseverance hasn't yielded much over time; as of 2021, they have a record of 3 wins, 13 losses, and one draw. On the plus side, 11 of the past 13 teams that Hard Knocks has covered have benefited from the spotlight. The Cleveland Browns turned around their Team's format by utilizing their television platform, going from the major disappointment that was their winless 2017 season to a 7-win, 8-loss, and one-tie 2018 campaign. Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers both mentioned their victories in the season after their appearances on "Hard Knocks," putting the Rams on track to win the Super Bowl in 2022. Detroit Lions Team Chief Executive Officer Rod Wood expressed his excitement about the chance he and his Team were given to "showcase the hometown of Detroit and the fantastic culture we are establishing at the Lions." This was in response to HBO's decision to feature their city in a future season. Additionally, Wood commended NFL Films and HBO Sports, calling them "the best of the best" and confident they are the ideal fit to tell the Team's narrative to the globe. Many new and seasoned players will be introduced to viewers in the forthcoming Hard Knocks installment. You'll come across youthful football players aiming to impact the game and veteran professionals hoping to retire with a Super Bowl ring. Campbell, the Team's head coach, will command attention in his second season in that position. The series would be narrated by five-time Golden Globe contender Liev Schreiber and feature some of football's biggest stars. Which Team Has Been Featured The Most On The Show? The Dallas Cowboys have the most "Hard Knocks" appearances. America's Team appeared on the show for the third time as the 2021 season drew near. Only the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams had multiple appearances on "Hard Knocks." In contrast, the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Colts each had one. What Is The Hard Knocks Player Movement? The official start of the NFL's league and year trading period for 2022 was March 16. Teams were allowed to use 2022 alternative clauses on players to keep their exclusive negotiating rights over those whose contracts expire in 2021. The players who had them in their contracts make an offer sheet to awaiting local independent entities and submit a Minimum Salary Tender on March 14. Which clubs had to stay under the salary cap was determined by the "top 51" criterion, which states that the 51 highest-paid athletes on a team's payroll must have a combined salary cap. On March 16, clubs were permitted to contact players with contracts that had expired and were now absolute free agents to begin contract negotiations. When Is The Hard Knocks S19 Episode 1 Release Date? So, the Hard knocks season 19 episode 1 release date is Wednesday, November 9, 2022. hard knocks season 19, episode 1, will air on HBO at 10:00 pm in the US. International fans and viewers can stream hard knocks season 19, episode 1 at the following time and dates: British Summer Time: 3.00 am (November 10, 2022) Indian Standard Time: 8.30 am (November 10, 2022) Singapore Standard Time: 11:00 am (November 10, 2022) Philippines Standard Time: 11.00 am (November 10, 2022) Japanese Standard Time/Korean Standard time: 12.00 pm (November 10, 2022) Australia Eastern Daylight Time: 2.00 pm (November 10, 2022) Where To Watch Hard Knocks Season 19 Episode 1? Hard knocks season 19, episode 1, will stream on HBO Max at the time listed above. Also read The Conners Season 5 Episode 7: Release Date, Preview & Streaming Guide. Read the full article

[danwhobrowses]

AEW - Best and Worst Booking Decisions from Double or Nothing 2020 to 2021

As I promised back in my WWE Post Reviewing the Booking of Mania 35-36 it is time for me to run down AEW's booking over the last year.

Double or Nothing 2020 was AEW's first PPV of the Empty Arena Era, which they pulled off with the inaugural TNT champion being Cody'd, Brian Cage's debut and murder of Darby Allin, Hikaru Shida began her mammoth title reign, Moxley and Brodie Lee put on a fantastic show with their short build and we finished off with the wacky Stadium Stampede. But since then, it's had some ups and downs.

As I said with the WWE one, these are my opinions: some of which will act within hindsight rather than within the moment.

There will also be spoilers from the Dynamite after DoN 2020 to the end of DoN 2021, you have been warned

May 2020 Best - FTR They told us one day they would wrestle the Bucks and the world shall rejoice, and after several teases on BTE following The Revival's release from the E, FTR arrived and the division got even more stacked because of it.

Worst - Mike Tyson loses to his shirt AEW did try with Tyson, pushing for some shared history with Jericho as they began to stand off with one another. But his struggle to cleanly tear off his shirt really made the confrontation awkward and it wouldn't go anywhere.

Best - Baker becomes the Roll Model Baker's injury was a huge blow given how she was finally getting over thanks to her heel turn and bloody battle with Shida. It would've very easily killed her momentum to be off TV, but AEW instead played into Baker's injury by making her flaunt her heelish hilarity, starting with her being a wheelchair-riding 'roll model', this would begin Baker's time entertaining in spite of injury.

Worst - Allie and QT begin What was this huh? Now Allie in a red dress was a sight to behold but the whole romance angle where a very married Allie had a brief period as a babyface and pairing with the also very married QT Marshall. We all knew it was gonna lead to Butcher and Blade jumping the Natural Nightmares, but it really overstayed its welcome.

Best - The TNT Open Challenge We will get more on this but Cody's win of the TNT title was met with concern given the monster push of Lance Archer - not to mention the dismal design of the championship itself. But Cody did his best to add prestige via the weekly Open Challenge, which would showcase a lot of talent in a similar way to Cena's US title Open Challenge.

June 2020 Best - Brodie goes on the Recruitment Prowl Being the leader of the Dark Order, Mr. Brodie Lee needed a new direction after being felled by Jon Moxley. What he decided was to add to his ranks; bringing in Dark Standout Alan Angels, enticing Colt Cabana and extending a hand to Anna Jay. These choices bolstered the Dark Order's ranks to last much longer, especially with their segments in BTE showing all their comedic flair.

Worst - Sammy Guevara eats his words The Speaking Out movement affected AEW just as it did most of wrestling, leading to the release of Jimmy Havoc. But Sammy Guevara also got done in by his egregiously vulgar comments he made regarding his attraction WWE's Sasha Banks in an old interview that had now surfaced. While this isn't a booking decision per se, it was the fault of AEW to have not caught this on their background check. Sammy would rightfully be suspended with a full apology, seminars taken and a direct conversation with Banks herself to make amends.

Best - Red Velvet stirs in Red Velvet would debut on Dark in June, showcasing talent which would later be enhanced and explored later in the year, adding Red Velvet did indeed bolster the women's division a bit more, showing AEW's dedication towards building new stars was still alive.

Best - Wardlow vs Luchasaurus rocks the house Lumberjack matches are more miss than hit, but the long-awaited match between Wardlow and Luchasaurus was a sleeper hit for the month. Big time spots of athletic hosses slapping meat and flipping feet continued to showcase Wardlow's dominance with a big win over the Dino-man, just a good wrestling match worth the wait.

July 2020

Best - Open Challenge Opens Doors Cody's open challenges started with the AEW roster, but they soon expanded to being for indy talent and cross-promotional challengers too: Enter Eddie Kingston. The Mad King made an instant impact in his hardcore challenge against Cody, which quickly earned him a contract with the company. Also among the challengers was Ricky Starks - who would also get a contract - and Warhorse, who had rallied the fans into giving him a shot - and AEW did play into his popularity, having an answer for a lot of Cody's offense until he hurt his leg for the finish. It was smart booking even if Cody was bound to win.

Worst - Cardona's time is Radio Silence You gotta feel bad for Matt Cardona, he has all the makings to be a great star, but he just suffers from either company disinterest, injury or poor timing. The latter was the case for his AEW time, since AEW were having to deal with WWE's COVID outbreak by extension of any partners, Cardona only had a rare appearance backing up Cody a few times and while he did find himself in Impact, it's sadly not as green as the other side.

Best - Sue is Over The Best Friends as babyfaces walk the line perfectly of being a group of goofball man-children but also legitimate and talented wrestlers. The cherry on the top though was the Friends' entrance to Fyter Fest in Trent's mom Sue's mini-van for their tag title match, immediately getting Sue over with fans. Sue would also be a cult figure for BTE in her skits with the Dark Order, being the only person ever to make Brodie Lee break character and corpse.

Worst - Cody cannot elevate Hager Cody's defenses led to Hager (and his wife) looking for a title match, the sale of it being a more legitimate bout with the weigh in and packages didn't pull off in the match though, being quite slow and simplistic. Hager still remains a wrestler who lacks any more potential than what he has now but knows the right people.

Best - Taz promos around Mox's COVID absence Due to the aforementioned outbreak, AEW were forced to reschedule their main event when Renee Young had contracted the virus, exposing their world champion Jon Moxley by extension. This meant that Brian Cage would have to wait longer for their match (though not as long as UK fans are waiting for AEW to come overseas), so AEW decided to let Taz carry them over this predicament, which he did marvelously by reviving his FTW title and handing it to Cage. It added some extra heat and something for Cage to carry around as if he had won the personal victory over Moxley already, and it would lead us into the following week's rescheduled Main Event at Fight for the Fallen.

August 2020 Best - Brodie Destroys Cody After a lot of defenses and Cody getting the 'finished product' TNT title, fans wondered how Cody's defense against Mr. Brodie Lee would go. And boy did we get a spectacle, the Exalted One demolished Cody, Anna Jay then choked out Brandi as the rest of the Dark Order held the Nightmare Family at bay, and we were left with the visual of Brodie on top and Cody and Brandi at their feet, covered in the shredded remains of the old TNT title that Cody had reigned with. It was great storytelling and a great way to elevate Brodie as well as finally putting the Dark Order over, the stable rode the highest they had been since their debut while Cody disappeared to film for the Go Big Show.

Worst - Bea and Sadie get released, Mel stays AEW did their best to keep as many people they could during the Pandemic, but due to the travel restrictions Bea Priestley was very much land locked and Sadie Gibbs was not getting a second chance at her botched debut. It was a shame because of how talented both women were, Bea especially since rumor has it she might be en route to the E. What was baffling was that Mel, of the failed Nightmare Collective, remains on AEW's payroll despite not having appeared for over a year, hard to add that up.

Best - Thunder Rosa makes her challenge Before the Forbidden Door, NWA opened their doors to AEW while the pandemic prevented them from filming shows. With champion Hikaru Shida lacking a built-up challenger, fans were interested in Thunder Rosa's intrigue about Shida's challenge, and would be pleased to see AEW roll with it too. Rosa and Shida made for a great cross-promotional feud which'd lead to a great match in the following month. To this very day, Thunder Rosa's appearance on AEW is one of the brand's most vital steps in terms of strengthening their women's division.

Worst - The Deadly Draw is on Youtube Speaking of the Women's Division, AEW had also decided to have an all-women's tournament called the Deadly Draw. 'Random' tag teams would be forged in a tag tournament that'd give women some time to show their stuff. Unfortunately, this would mostly be on Youtube - save for the Finals - and be dominated by Fans' disdain that Allie and Brandi were making the finals. The method of picking was not handled well since we didn't really get any mismatch teams aside from Nyla, and the amount of women we got were not all spectacular with Rache Chanel and the former Cameron being a part of it. While Ivelisse and Diamante would win too they only got some crappy medals, all of which leaves a bitter taste following Ivelisse's release.

Best - Deadly Draw gives us Conti, Diamante and Savoy That being said, the Deadly Draw had its saving graces. For one the use of Veda Scott on commentary, Madusa as the host and Shaul Guerrero as the announcer were nice touches, we also got to see Tay Conti, Diamante, Ivelisse and Nicole Savoy wrestle - the middle two win. Conti would turn out to be the most important of the lot with her team and friendship with Dark Order's Anna Jay, getting over because of their chemistry and making it to the semi-finals.

Worst - Conti to Dark Order doesn't develop Conti and Anna's friendship meant that soon after, Jay had extended an offer for her friend to join the stable. For weeks we saw Conti carry around this invitation but then: nothing. Conti never joined Dark Order and this didn't beget any friction between the friends either - in the end it became a missed opportunity as Conti dances on the edge of being supported by the Dark Order but not a part of the Dark Order.

Best - Jericho and Cassidy Debate With Mike Tyson unable to appear more to feud with Jericho, AEW slotted over-as-fuck Orange Cassidy to face Jericho. While Jericho got the win in the first match, we were graced with a fun 'debate' hosted by Schiavone and with a guest appearance of Eric Bischoff. Cassidy's monologue during the debate was great too.

Worst - Cassidy's first win over Jericho isn't as big as it should be Unfortunately, when Cassidy did get the win over Jericho was not as good as the first, getting clunky at times with some miscommunication and slow pacing. They would have their rubber match in the gimmicky Mimosa Mayhem which would also be a bit of a mixed bag.

Best - Hardy and the Mad King Squad Up Despite solid starts, Private Party, Lucha Bros and Butcher & the Blade had struggled a little to find success in AEW, but they would gain some benefit by associating with Matt Hardy and Eddie Kingston. Hardy worked well as a mentor to the similar styled tag team to his younger years, while Kingston's evil grin to the camera did signal that Kingston's new squad would be up to no good.

Best - Moxley and Allin make another classic Allin and Moxley somehow just click, they click so well that you could put them in a match every week and people wouldn't complain, hell there's fanart of Moxley essentially adopting Allin in the same vein as Shota 'Shooter' Umino. Anyway, Allin vs Moxley is always fantastic, and it made sense for the feud that was growing.

Best - You're Out of the Elite! Hangman's slow burn storytelling has been sublime, and it was at a new height when FTR started sniffing around Hangman like lions around a wounded gazelle. Feeding into Hangman's alcoholism - established since his inability to beat Jericho or PAC in his hunt to be world champion - FTR exposed doubt within Page that the Bucks were ousting him out and would soon turn on him. All of which were mind games to sow discontent between him and Omega in their bid for the tag titles. The cherry on the top came with Hangman's removal from the Elite, after a stellar feud in Revolution being brought up, Hangman impulsively screwed out the Bucks from getting another title match, after a dressing down and being kicked out of the group we pan to a shot of Hangman staring into a mirror cracked - perfect storytelling.

Best - MJF campaigns against Moxley MJF had been undefeated and fans have wondered when rather than if he would get his shot. And when he set his eyes on Moxley it is spectacular. The faux presidential campaign was right up MJF's alley as he looked to write out Moxley's go-to finish of the Paradigm Shift, this also had great easter eggs like MJF emulating Samoa Joe's shove on him to one of his entourage, as well as his lawyer Sterling being a good addition for the feud.

September 2020 Best - Allin/Starks, Johnson/Carter are bangers September came out with some very impressive matches, for Dynamite it was the culmination of Allin and Starks' feuding but on Dark we got unsigned Lee Johnson and Ben Carter blow the roof off, immediately both names were a topic of scouting and it remains a top level match.

Worst - Billy Mitchell's cameo Early into Miro's debut we got some vignettes of 'The Best Man' enjoying his other past-time as a gamer. While this wasn't the right way to go in hindsight, the cameo of Billy Mitchell - a controversial figure in Arcade Gaming - was quite out of place for AEW as well, many having to look up who the dude was anyway and why many gamers were disgruntled about it. 'Celebrity' Cameos can only really work if you know who they are.

Best - Kingston stories a weird finish into a Title Match It would've been a Worst moment on this list when Eddie Kingston lost a battle royale for a title shot by being pushed off the turnbuckle despite leaving to the apron via the middle rope. However, when winner Archer came down with COVID, AEW was put in a reverse Fyter Fest scenario, a champion but no opponent. This allowed Kingston an in to use the fact that he never technically went over the top rope to barter a title match, which he used to impressive effect.

Worst - Sydal Slips The Shooting Star Press is a difficult move to pull off, and dangerous to botch. It had also been the staple of Matt Sydal, who was the Joker in the Casino Battle Royale of All Out, but when he did his Shooting Star he slipped and faceplanted. While it's not a booking decision it is a sore spot, Sydal has partly recovered as a full time worker and a mini-feud with Nakazawa to save face on the botch, but he has only once tried the move again.

Best - Will Hobbs impresses When Sydal botched and hit the floor though, Will Hobbs was the one you saw roll over inconspicuously to check he wasn't hurt. The youngster had already been impressing on AEW Dark on a regular basis and his appearance alone in the Battle Royale was an encouraging sign. Hobbs would also put on a strong performance in that match, which would lean in on being more utilized on Dynamite, his momentum would also carry to Double or Nothing with another strong run in a Battle Royale mostly pitted against Christian Cage.

Worst - The Matt Hardy incident Perhaps the lowest point of All Out was the Broken Rules Match. Hardy and Sydal had overshot their spear spot from a forklift to a table and Hardy hit his head hard. Hardy wobbled with signs of concussion as the match to and fro'd about being called off, Hardy though was having none of it - since the stipulation would have him retire had he lost - he would continue for a scaffolding spot for the finish but it did put a lot of heat on Guevara and AEW for allowing the match to continue. Matt would make a recovery and have a cinematic match with Sammy to finish the tainted feud, but from there BROKEN Matt Hardy was seldom seen.

Best - Deeb arrives Serena Deeb is one of the most technically gifted women on wrestling. Someone so grossly underutilized by WWE that it's baffling that the best thing they would do with her on the main roster is shave her head for the admittedly great Straight Edge Society but then release her for not keeping up kayfabe in her personal life. This was the month though that the current NWA Women's Champion debuted on AEW Dark and would later get signed, Deeb adds veteran experience and technical mastery to AEW's women's roster and she is a cert to be AEW Women's Champion someday.

Worst - Fans fight Tooth and Nail but Swole/Baker doesn't deliver Despite Britt Baker's rise to superstardom, her return feud with Big Swole became a bit of a mishit. The build was fine with Swole often getting the better of the wheelchair-bound Baker, so for Baker's return AEW had set a cinematic match in her dentist's office. The match was placed on the Buy-In, which pissed a lot of fans off and had them strong-arm Khan into putting it as the opener, and it didn't pay off. The match was par at best, ending with Baker losing as well, while the quickly-put-together match of Private Party vs Silver & Reynolds shone brightly on the Buy In in the spot this match should've taken. Listening to fans is of course good but AEW had the hindsight to judge whether the match was worth it in the eyes of the fans and they picked wrong.

Best - Parking Lot Brawl But for every par match AEW has they always sneak in a blinder, and it was Best Friends' 5-Star Parking Lot Brawl against Santana & Ortiz that pulled it off. With Orange Cassidy coming out of the boot of the car, Santana & Ortiz's Dead Presidents' appearance and Sue getting a brand new minivan and flipping off the Inner Circle duo at the end, the match was a fantastic closer for the night.

October 2020 Best - Brandon Cutler gets the W Brandon Cutler had AEW's longest losing streak, and they loved to ham it up, except Peter Avalon also had AEW's longest losing streak too. They had tried working together but couldn't find the common ground, so when Avalon turned on Cutler we were set for one of these men to get the win. After two no contests due to double count outs and double disqualifications, Cutler and Avalon had a no rules rubber match on Dark and it was great. Cutler got his win in probably AEW Dark's best feud storytelling - though it probably should've been on Dynamite or even the Buy In of the PPV - giving a payoff years in the making.

Worst - Nyla/Shida II is built on Dark Hikaru Shida had gone through the majority of the Women's Roster, so with new manager Vickie Guerrero, Nyla Rose wanted her title back. The problem however was that all of Vickie's calling out of Shida after a Nyla squash was on Dark, so the match was poorly built. You feel bad for Tony Khan because he tried this so more eyes would go on Dark but it was also a reminder that title matches should be built on the Main Show.

Best - MJF and Jericho get musical MJF had decided once again to try and get in with the Inner Circle, only this time he was faring better thanks to his chemistry with Chris Jericho. What we got was Le Dinner Debonair, a pompous, broadway-esque musical scene that fit the larger than life and delusional heel aura of both men's ego. While some people called it 'too goofy', it was also named one of the best TV moments of the year.

Worst - Miro feuds over an Arcade Machine Fans wanted one thing from Miro: the beast, but AEW did not lead with that. Instead they had him feud with Best Friends because they were thrown into an Arcade Machine he was playing. While it's not the level of feuding over shampoo, it was still rather dumb and contrived given how the rest of this weak feud was telegraphed leading up to Kip and Penelope's wedding - despite Miro's attempts to subvert Wrestling Wedding Tropes.

Best - Leyla legitimately impresses In October, 'Legit' Leyla Hirsch came out of nowhere and made the best of her moment. A non-title debut against champion Hikaru Shida on Dark proved an extremely entertaining affair as Hirsch got to showcase her physicality, and then that was followed instantly by a NWA Women's Title shot against Deeb on Dynamite - which she also really impressed in. While it took a while for AEW to announce Leyla as a signing, it was a definite plus to see Olympic qualities in the Women's Division.

Worst - Jericho can't get Luther over When Jericho got a whole Dynamite to celebrate 30 years in the business he had a lot on his plate, several cameos from Slash and Hiroshi Tanahashi made it a special moment but the Main Event didn't work. Luther is sadly another one of those Brutus Beefcake cases of knowing the right people, and while Luther could probably go when he was younger, currently he isn't the best. People wondered if Jericho could carry Luther in his match with Chaos Project but unfortunately it didn't land, Luther after all has his place on the undercard throwing Serpentico around, he doesn't need any more than that.

Best - The Cleaner shows signs of returning After an Anniversary Show meant that Moxley had gone through another opponent in his mammoth title reign, AEW had set up a tournament to name the new Number 1 Contender. At this time as well FTR had already dealt with Hangman and Omega but their post-match embrace was not reciprocated by Omega, who had more or less washed his hands with his partner. The two were in different places, Page had descended further into the bottom of a drink without any of his friends while Kenny had become focused upon being a singles competitor again. Metaphorically winking to the hard cam, Omega would enter in an over the top fashion with cheerleaders of the Jacksonville Jaguars dancing with brooms to hark the slow arrival of the Cleaner. His disgruntled face after squashing Sonny Kiss was also meme quality.

Worst - Brodie's Reign is cut short Brodie Lee's TNT title reign was great, it had put the Dark Order on top and his segments on BTE were extremely entertaining too. An emphatic return of the dark haired Cody Rhodes did invite a rematch which would be a more brutal affair than Cody's prior squashing, but sadly Brodie would not retain. His reign only lasted a month and in hindsight that would be the only time Brodie held gold, while he stated he had no regrets on how short his reign was it was not great booking to put it immediately back on Cody as if Brodie only held it because Cody had another show to record.

Best - Dog Collar Match was great Result notwithstanding though, the Dog Collar match proved as brutal as it was entertaining. Another match that elevated the TNT title's prestige, Lee and Cody tore into each other in a match that could've easily screamed Vince Russo late-WCW failure. But the men pulled it off with their raw talent and nobody looked bad out of it.

November 2020 Best - Kenny vs Hangman I Since AEW's inception, Hangman Page has been on a slow course to squaring off against Kenny Omega. This came to a head in the finals of the No.1 Contendership Tournament, the confident Kenny vs the angsty Page proved an effective opener which further spiralled Hangman into depression while Kenny would return to the top of the card.

Worst - Hornswoggle in a nappy? The Inner Circle's Vegas skit was probably too much, it had some good moments like Hager and Wardlow continually staring at each other as they beat up people in the club, also the appearance of an Elvis Impersonator and Konnan. But the bit finished on a weird note trying to homage The Hangover by having WWE's former Hornswoggle appear in a baby's nappy, it was just weird no ways around it.

Best - Cargill and Top Flight make an impression November saw the debuts of new members of the Women's and Tag Division. The Martin brothers impressed as the new vibrant and athletic tag team, putting on a wild show against The Bucks. Jade Cargill would start AEW by confronting Cody with the tease of one Shaquille O'Neal, but the moment the camera panned to Cargill she had one word printed on her and it was 'Star'. While Top Flight are halved by injury, Cargill has continued to show her growth.

Worst - Shida vs Abadon has a short build When Abadon debuted on AEW Dark she put on an impressive match with then-not-champion Hikaru Shida, the story being that Shida was weirded out by the Living Dead Girl. Since then, Abadon had been undefeated in her sporadic appearances - partly delayed by injury - so she was put on a course to reignite this storyline with Shida. However, they didn't get enough time, only a couple segments of Shida trying to prove herself not scared and an AEW Dark segment when Abadon jumped Shida and hit a Cemetery Drive on her. A decent match would follow, but we could've done a lot more.

Best - Hobbs turns to FTW Will Hobbs had grown more and more impressive with each appearance, put over as well in promo by Jon Moxley too gave him a lot of credit. During Darby's feud with Team Taz, Hobbs had often come to make the save to prevent Darby from being injured, however he did have a habit of arriving a little late. This proved to be intentional when Hobbs turned heel, aligning with Team Taz to learn under the ECW Legend. While Hobbs has yet to taste gold, he has of recent found himself elevated by the feud with Christian Cage and should Brian Cage move away from Team Taz, he would clearly be the top choice to take the FTW belt from him.

Worst - Cody Hogan's his title loss When it was time for Cody to drop the TNT belt again, fans would hope that it would be a similar case of Cody putting someone over red hot like he did Brodie. However, instead Darby defeated Cody with a series of roll ups which Cody kicked out in 3.1, a very Hogan vs Warrior title change with Cody also having to keep the spotlight on him by handing the belt to Darby before Darby's moment was further interrupted by Team Taz's attack.

Best - Darby has gold At the very least, Darby being crowned TNT champion after finally beating Cody was a perfect narrative for the talented and albeit batshit crazy masochist Emo Skater Boy. Darby's reign would also be consistently good and maintain Allin's star aura against opponents of all shapes and sizes.

Best - PAC is BAC Due to COVID, several of AEW's international talents were land-locked and unable to appear, but when the UK's borders loosened slightly The Bastard PAC made an emphatic return to reestablish Death Triangle. This had also come off the heels of Eddie Kingston trying to sway Penta away from his brother and kick Fénix out of his group. PAC's mini-feud with Kingston would remind the world that AEW had some world class talent to put in against Kenny Omega as well as reminding the world that PAC is just amazing as a wrestler.

Best - Bunkhouse match blows the roof off Dustin Rhodes seems to have carved an interesting spot for himself as the 'Obscure Gimmick Match Master'. Currently teasing a Bullrope match with Nick Comoroto, he shone brightly in the culmination of the long-winded QT/Allie storyline which lead to a Bunkhouse Match against the Butcher and the Blade. It had old school qualities with amazing spots that continued a long chain of AEW pulling off impressive gimmick matches even if the feud wasn't as impressive itself.

Best - Mox and Kingston, Feud of the Year 2020 You know what was an impressive feud though? Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. Imagine winning feud of the year for something set up in September to November? And most of it was promo, but these were two of the best promo guys in the world, touching on their roots, their former friendship, the lengths either would go and all coming to a head in an I Quit Match. Kingston made you believe every word he said when he declared that he would never quit and he wouldn't stop until he was champion but come the match Moxley proved more resilient than words can be. Getting Feud of the Year is not bad going for what originally started as a one-off title match because Archer got COVID.

December 2020 Best - Brodie Lee Memorial Show Near the end of December the wrestling world was shocked by the death of Brodie Lee, the Exalted One was someone fans really wanted to see be a major world champion someday, but he had tragically succumbed to a Lung condition. At this time too AEW were promoting a 2-part special of New Year's Dash, but delayed the shows a week to put on a memorial show for Brodie. With matches picked by Brodie's eldest son, AEW did perhaps the perfect tribute show, with a perfect blend of clips and tributes paired with matches that honored the Big Rig. Brodie's influence was shown with Silver emulating Brodie's outfit, Eric Redbeard appearing, FTR renaming their Goodnight Express to the Big Rig, and the TNT title being handed to Brodie Lee Jr. - who became AEW's youngest signing - and a special t-shirt being the highest selling t-shirt of 2020, with proceeds going to Brodie's wife, Amanda. Brodie's influence still reigns in AEW as the Dark Order have become somewhat gatekeepers to the TNT title and the quote 'It's [day], and you know what that means' being frequently used or displayed via signs to start off an AEW show.

Worst - Ben Carter slips through their fingers Ben Carter had proven a sensational talent on his AEW showings, quickly having rose to having a match on Dynamite. However, AEW did not get his signature on the dotted line, and the E came a-callin'. The loss of the now-Nathan Frazer was a rough blow for AEW business since it showed that WWE could still outbid them if they wanted someone enough, and AEW made the mistake of not signing him before other companies started sniffing around.

Best - IT'S STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! The 'Winter is Coming' special had many big things happen, but one of the biggest of all was the return of Sting. Instantly Sting's T-Shirt sales broke records in AEW (until the Brodie shirt would break Sting's) as the WCW legend had made his return to TNT in a veil of snow staring down Darby Allin, nostalgia was high on this moment.

Worst - STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING does nothing for a month But. There was a problem with Sting's arrival on AEW, he wasn't exactly spry in his 60s and AEW were cautious in wanting him to come back into the ring despite being classed as an active talent. AEW did miss a mark by promoting Sting to just do the same interview over and over, more than once in fact, you gotta do something with Sting to get the fans excited.

Best - Taz chokes out Cody While feuding with Darby, Cody became involved when he dropped the TNT title to Darby and got attacked by Team Taz all the same. When this led to a verbose conflict between Cody and Taz over the legitimacy of the FTW championship, Cody made the mistake of turning his back on Taz after diminishing his philosophy because Taz's son Hook was training under his factory rather than his father. Jake the Snake did warn him not to turn your back on someone you respect, but maybe he should've warned him to not turn your back on a Human Suplex Machine, because Taz immediately put him in the Tazmission - to a huge pop from fans - choking out the younger Rhodes to further personalize their feud.

Worst - Dynamite Diamond Ring doesn't change MJF had used the Dynamite Diamond Ring sporadically as a weapon to cheat in matches, but it anything it was a glorified brass knuckles that had limited prestige. When AEW had the chance to give it new prestige by having it fought over a year after MJF won it, they decided to simply keep it on MJF's pinky finger. As a result we had a battle royale and a match that kinda went nowhere narratively, and AEW should've really just made the ring a one-off or given it to someone else to signify a young up-and-coming talent getting a rub.

Best - The Acclaimed prove they're not all talk Not to be outdone by Top Flight, who they seem destined to have an eternal rivalry with, The Acclaimed put on an impressive showing in their title match with the Bucks too. Max Caster's diss tracks continue to slowly win fans over but this was the moment the Acclaimed turned into a mainstay of AEW's tag division.

Worst - TNT ask for no more surprises While reported months later, fans were alerted that after Sting's debut, TNT had asked AEW to not do any more surprises. Business-wise it made sense since they wanted to promote any big moments on the show for a greater viewership, but Wrestling-wise eliminating the shock factor would be a detriment to the business as a whole. AEW have managed to work their way around such things by promoting 'mystery entrants' or debuting surprise characters between other promoted segments but it is still a questionable decision by TNT to request such a thing.

Best - This is Bear Country Next on the 'XX impress on Dark, get signed up' is the tag team of Bear Country. Different to Top Flight's flippy talent and the Acclaimed's knack for mind games and more technical wrestling was two big hoss men running roughshot War Machine-style, there's not much else you need to sell with that, Bear Country was just good stuff and provided another style AEW's tag division could use.

January 2021 Best - Negative One With Brodie Lee Jr. now signed to AEW, he started to make appearances as Dark Order's new leader 'Negative One'. And instantly, Brodie Jr had become an excellent presence. With great understanding of the business for such a young age, Negative One would delight audiences on Dark and Elevation be it on commentary or simply being the feral prince that often accompanied Preston Vance, Anna Jay and/or Tay Conti. The kid was having the time of his life too.

Worst - TNT title doesn't get revamped enough With the original finished product of the TNT title handed to Brodie Jr, there was an opening to make a new TNT title which learned from the criticisms that the original had. Unfortunately we did not have this, we mostly just got a Black strap. Granted COVID would've been a part of that but given how long Darby's reign was, we could've put work towards giving us a better looking TNT championship.

Best - Dark Order turn face, help the Hangman On BTE Dark Order found their feet with their flair for comedy, one of the segments that began this was Evil Uno's selling of Brodie's throwing of papers, the bit originated from Lee discovering that Hangman had once reached out to the Dark Order website sometime at the beginning of his depression spiral. Because of the rejection, the Dark Order had fostered an animosity against Page with frequent 'Fuck Hangman' chants, and yet Hangman would sporadically appear in their hangout, starting his own 'Fuck Hangman' chant when kicked out of the Elite in a brutal show of Page's self-loathing. From there though the Dark Order had softened to the Anxious Millennial Cowboy and after a face turn they had grown to become AEW's most popular faction and a much-needed friend for Page. While Hangman wouldn't officially join the Dark Order, it definitely proved to be an entertaining chapter in Page's story from an unlikely source.

Worst - Team Taz will jump Darby, but not Sting During their feud, Team Taz were seen to jump Darby Allin whenever they could, didn't matter if he had Cody or Moxley on his side they would still try to get the upper hand on the TNT champion. But now that Sting has arrived, Team Taz decided to stop doing that. As much as it was AEW protecting Sting from bumps, it really diminished Team Taz as well because five men that included Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs and Brian Cage were scurrying away from a lone 60 year old with a baseball bat.

Best - Bullet Club in AEW Tama Tonga might refute it, but the appearance of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in AEW was big, and their arrival to aid Kenny and then to two sweet him with the Bucks was an image definitely worthy of closing the night. From Gallows and Anderson's arrival to AEW led to Impact's doors being opened, which has recently led to Omega being the Belt Collector.

Worst - Callis' feud with the Bucks is gimmicky When Kenny won the AEW World Title at Winter is Coming, he had began a full on chaotic turn with Don Callis as his manager of sorts. The Young Bucks however were still firm babyfaces and were perturbed by Callis' actions that were ousting the Jackson brothers out of Kenny's social circles. Some bits were good, Callis really laying in thick the fact that he felt the Bucks had lost their edge, but the majority of it was a bit too much soap opera for my liking, the fake shiner was probably where it jumped the shark.

Best - Tay Conti shows her improvement against Deeb Tay Conti had grown a lot as a wrestler since her debut, and when set to challenge Serena Deeb for the NWA Women's Championship we had the story of 'Jack of All Trades vs Master of One'. Leaning more into her Judo and martial arts background, Tay Conti showed the wrestling world that she had arrived as a wrestler thanks to the AEW machine. WWE's loss had officially become AEW's gain as Tay Conti continues her rise to perhaps being one of the biggest female stars in the company.

Worst - Archer can't win a feud Having lost to Cody in May and then Moxley on the Anniversary episode, Archer was put in a no-win situation by feuding with Eddie Kingston. Now Kingston is great, but the problem was that both men desperately needed to win a feud for credibility, and Archer was the one who lost. Archer continues to be sold as a monster but also someone who will lose all his major feuds. Suffice to say, more can be done with the Murderhawk Monster.

Best - MJF sows seeds of discontent Having officially gotten in with the Inner Circle, MJF now had Chris Jericho's ear and he was ready to spread his poison. This started with the ousting of Sammy Guevara - Jericho's protege of sorts - before moving on to sowing tension between Jericho and Santana & Ortiz. This would be the beginnings of an excellent swerve by AEW, which we will get to later.

Worst - Santana and Ortiz aren't even the Inner Circle's tag team? Because of MJF's sowing though, we had a weird scenario where the Inner Circle were debating who was their official tag team? Debating between Jericho and MJF the singles competitors, Sammy and Hager the singles competitors or Santana & Ortiz the tag team. In this as well MJF and Jericho won, which was more sowing on MJF's part but it does still leave the worrying sense that AEW's tag division is perhaps too big as Tony Khan waits for the right moment to introduce a Trios title.

Best - Wardlow vs Hager was surprisingly good Another recurring narrative of MJF joining the Inner Circle was Jake Hager and Wardlow staring each other off whenever they could. In order to 'bury the hatchet', Hager challenged the War Dog to a match, and surprisingly this was Hager's best match in an AEW ring so far, big men slapping meat with the right conclusion of Wardlow winning.

Worst - The Waiting Room fades out While Britt Baker was injured but not Wheelchair bound she had started an interview show on Dark called 'The Waiting Room', it had a few flaws here and there but eventually it showed on Dynamite to decent effect. But after that it was gone, which is a shame because it could've easily been a longstanding segment for either of AEW's shows at the time to give some promo segments or interviews to AEW's talent.

Best - Private Party are leeched After working under the wing of 'Big Money' Matt Hardy, Private Party turned heel to compliment Hardy's newfound persona as the Company Leech. The heel turn has somewhat revitalized the once-promising tag team and proved they can play either side, it even got them an Impact Tag Title shot and an impressive match on the PPV.

Worst - Whatever Snoop Dogg was doing Snoop Dogg made an AEW appearance where he was insistent on doing a spot, but it didn't really work - much like it didn't really work when he tried it in WWE. Snoop as a guest wasn't the worst idea in the world and it is good that he's willing to bump on the show, but could does not always mean should.

Best - Jungle Boy and Dax put on a masterclass In the middle of FTR's midcard feud with Jurassic Express - the one that'd involve Marko Stunt being kidnapped - Dax Harwood and Jungle Boy crossed paths in an excellently technical match. The match received high praise that'd further put Jungle Boy over while also giving worthy praise for Harwood's wrestling ability.

Best - Jungle Boy gets some Baltimora While on the subject of Jungle Jack Perry, Tony Khan had decided that he had a library of songs he owned or could own and use as entrance themes for some of AEW's more earmarked talent. This would begin with Jungle Boy, who was given Baltimora's 'Tarzan Boy' per the suggestion of Joey Janela. Immediately Jungle Boy had something the fans could use to rally behind, a chantable song that embraced all that Jungle Boy's character was.

February 2021 Best - JD Drake makes an impression JD Drake does not look like AEW's typical wrestler, but that's the point. On his debut on Dark he surprised many with his great offense and agility, even able to pull off a moonsault. Quickly Drake was signed and becomes the odd one out but also the oft-ignored voice of common sense in the Wingmen faction of prettyboys. He's having a lot of fun with it too and has put on good matches, recently against Rocky Romero.

Worst - Women's Eliminator Tournament partly goes on Youtube The Women's Eliminator Tournament opened up the Women's Division in a big way, but COVID meant that not all of it could be filmed in Jacksonville. So like the Deadly Draw, the tournament had to spend some of its time on Youtube. Now I have no problem with Youtube being used, it's a wider medium that can be accessed at any time, but it did mimic the downsides of the Deadly Draw and alienate the TNT-only audience, especially since Dynamite rarely showed highlights of the tournament progress.

Best - Women's Eliminator Tournament exceeds expectations That is however, the only criticism with hindsight one can give the Eliminator Tournament. Because not only did it give us the return of Riho, Yuka Sakazaki, Ryo Mizunami, Emi Sakura and Aja Kong, but it also graced us with the talented debuts of Maki Itoh, VENY (aka Asuka, who also wore Hana Kimura's robe) and Mei Suruga. In addition Shida provided Japanese commentary for the Joshi matches sporting a strikingly beautiful white suit. The tournament did not have a bad match at all; with VENY vs Sakura, Suruga vs Sakazaki, Sakazaki vs Sakura (which had Sakura perform a fantastic entrance), Serena Deeb vs Riho, Leyla Hirsch vs Thunder Rosa, Riho vs Rosa, Baker vs Nyla, Conti vs Nyla and the finals were all great and unique matches. The non-tournament 6-woman joshi tag match was also excellent and so was the surprise winner of Ryo Mizunami and her title shot against Shida at Revolution.

Best - Moxley brings the IWGP US Championship Jon Moxley may've lost the AEW World Championship, he still had a title on hand he could use: the IWGP US Championship. While NJPW had intended to keep it mainly on NJPW Strong during COVID, New Japan also allowed Moxley to bring his title on rare occasions to AEW, later to the point where he could defend it. It was definite good business and the next thing is why it was such a big deal.

Best - THE FORBIDDEN DOOR OPENS! 'New Japan will not work with AEW' - that was what we were told in the early stages of AEW, but we held out hope. We got more hope when Harold Meij stepped down from NJPW but still the 'Forbidden Door' remained shut, all the way until Beach Break when a hooded figure came up to Jon Moxley, hit a GTS and revealed himself. KENTA, the holder of the IWGP US Championship Briefcase he won in the inaugural New Japan Cup USA tournament. The internet went wild, the forbidden door was open and there was no way fans will let it close again.

March 2021 Best - Sting debuts cinematically Team Taz's feud with Darby came to a head with a Tag Team Street Fight. It was Sting's first AEW match and fans were concerned on how many bumps he could take - memory of his 'career-ending' match with Rollins echoing in the mind. AEW though would not make that mistake, deciding to go cinematic to protect Sting and give him time to recover from any bumps caused - as well as win the match like one HHH refused to do - the match itself was fantastic with Team Taz and Darby fitting in a ton of extreme spots and Brian Cage just flexing all over the place.

Worst - Archer feuds(?) with Sting After said Street Fight though, Sting continued said momentum with: Interviews. Worse yet these interviews started being interrupted by Lance Archer, who wanted to take Sting's TV time from him. This amounted to nothing as well because after Sting put an endorsement on Archer, the Murderhawk Monster would decide not to fight for a spot and come in to save Sting and Darby from time to time. If we were gonna establish this alliance we could've done more with it, sadly AEW keep on following up Sting wrestling with a ton of Sting talking.

Best - The Pinnacle debut MJF's snaking in on the Inner Circle was paying off dividends, but after an unsuccessful challenge for the tag titles, the Inner Circle had announced a 'War Council' to discuss their future. It looked as though MJF was gonna completely oust out Jericho from his own group, but out came Sammy Guevara. Absent since leaving the group, Guevara had unraveled MJF, revealing that the Inner Circle was wise to MJF's plot all along: except they weren't. MJF had played 5 steps ahead of the Inner Circle, because he wasn't trying to steal his faction, he was setting up his own. FTR, Spears, Wardlow and MJF swarmed the Inner Circle for an epic debut which would be known as the Pinnacle.

Worst - Cody beats Penta despite a shoulder injury At this point fans were beginning to wonder how Cody Rhodes would write himself off of TV. His wife Brandi was halfway through pregnancy and the Rhodes had announced a Miz & Mrs-esque reality show too. So when Cody was kayfabing a shoulder injury and pitted against Penta El 0M, fans were hoping that this time Cody could not finagle his way into defeating a charismatic and popular member of the roster who could use the rub and has a history of kayfabe breaking arms, and yet he did. The feud set up ended up being a one-off that harmed Penta more than it did good, he had done the arm breaker but Cody just shrugged it off and won anyway. It was growing all too apparent that clean Cody losses will remain to be few and far between.

Best - Penta Says that Alex is a Great Hype Man There is one saving grace to the Penta/Cody mini feud though and it's that pseudo-Dark Order member, Spanish announcer and interviewer Alex Abrahantes had been paired with Penta as his translator/hype man. Sporting some Rollins-esque outfitting of gloves and jackets, Abrahantes added extra venom to his translations which of course gave Penta a lot more vibrance. Alex as well seems to be having a whale of a time doing so.

Worst - Team Taz Dissension starts, but will pause for 2 months In the aftermath of their Street Fight defeat, Cage had drawn the ire of his Team Taz comrades by showing Sting some respect. This led to some light tension between Cage and the rest of the team, especially Ricky Starks. While this could've worked towards a Cage face turn, the tension fizzled out, only reigniting recently.

Best - Jade, Velvet and Shaq impress at a Crossroads The special episode 'The Crossroads' had been set up to promote a mixed tag match which served as Jade Cargill and Shaq's AEW wrestling debut. Competing against Cody and Red Velvet, the match did put fan minds at ease by keeping Shaq's spots simple but classic, while Velvet and Cargill ran the show in the ring. Shaq took a table bump as well which was cool and the match started Jade's star-level momentum on a high.

Worst - Shaq just, disappears In the aftermath of the table spot Shaq was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance, but when we went backstage to get some comments from Shaq before being sent off we found that the ambulance was empty. A weird thing considering that in a few days Shaq would be back on TNT anyway like that had no continuity, it was a strange decision nonetheless.

Best - Exploding. Barbed Wire. Deathmatch! AEW and their penchant for gimmick matches is an interesting relationship, but the moment this match was announced it had garnered a lot of hype. I mean it's not every day you see an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, and Kenny and Mox had already tore into each other in Full Gear to the point where they legitimately broke state laws. The match was every bit as brutal as promised, homaging Onita many a time through Mox but also with the wired up baseball bat, 99% of the match was freaking awesome.

Worst - Fizzling. Barbed Wire. Deathmatch. Sadly, that 1% that wasn't would be the final visual of the PPV. Moxley is defeated and the whole ring is gonna blow, Kenny and co have scurried and Mox is handcuffed and KO'd in the middle of the ring. Disregarding the warnings of the Butcher, Blade and Bunny, Eddie Kingston rushes in to help his former friend, past enmity be damned, he cannot free Mox in time and in a narratively pivotal act of self-sacrifice drapes himself over Moxley to take the blow. And all we got was a fizzle, a few sparklers and fireworks would end the night unfulfilled, undoing all the good the match had delivered. It would be AEW's most unsatisfying moment caused by a botched ending that could never be undone.

Best - Mox and Kingston reunite to rule the promos Although they could not take back the botched finish, the storyline still allowed a new dynamic of Moxley and Kingston reuniting as chaotic street brothers eyeing up the Elite for a fight. One King of Promo would be enough but two was just fantastic, you could watch Kingston and Moxley bounce off of each other all day and still remain thoroughly entertained.

Worst - Kingston doesn't get a crack at Kenny It was however a shame that draping your body over your friend to protect him from an intended explosion was not enough to validate a feud between said person and the creator of the explosive device. Kingston looked all but set to try and avenge his friend by facing Kenny, but it would not turn out to be. The closest we got was a jump and a One Winged Angel, which is a shame because Kingston vs Kenny would've been fantastic - but alas, Mox and Kingston jumped over Kenny and just went for the tag teams instead.

Best - AEW support Cezar Bononi and his wife Cezar Bononi was doing fine as part of the Undercard faction of the Wingmen with Pretty Peter Avalon, Ryan Nemeth and JD Drake. Behind the curtain though Bononi's wife Camila was suffering from Leukemia and needed a Bone Marrow transplant, her sister was a match but she was in Brazil so they needed an emergency visa so to do the transplant on time. Thanks to the collective efforts of fans and the continued exposure AEW provided for Bononi, Camila's sister would make it in time and Camila herself got her transplant and seems to be doing well.

Worst - Big Money Matt loses his quarter, but it doesn't go anywhere In the conclusion of the chapter where Matt Hardy tried to leech his way into Hangman Page's profits, Hangman had defeated Hardy in a 'Big Money' match which meant that Page had won all of Hardy's money over the last quarter. This opened an avenue to see what Big Money Matt could be like with No Money, but it amounted to very little. In fact the worst we got from Matt was eating olives, a missed opportunity for sure, we could've even had Matt be hounded by loan sharks and debt collectors but alas, it didn't dent his money in the end, at the very least Hangman got his lawnmower.

Best - Elevation elevates Mizunami, Leyla and Limelight In March, AEW debuted a more canonized version of Dark called Elevation, which'd be used to show off a bit of the undercard and allow more opportunity to climb the rankings. In the first month of Elevation, we were graced with several good matches, usually including one of three Elevation Regulars. The Eliminator Tournament Winner Ryo Mizunami would go on a series of bouts with female talent such as Tesha Price and KiLynn King where she effortlessly fit into the role of AEW's women's division gatekeeper, meaning that whoever beat her would get a solid rub - and Abadon did. When Mizunami returned to Japan, one of the people she felled took over from her duties and that was Leyla Hirsch, Hirsch had teamed successfully with Mizunami a couple of times as well and has effectively used her spot to get some wins in. On the men's side, NJPW Strong regular Danny Limelight was given his namesake with some high profile matches including Jungle Boy, Frankie Kazarian and Dark Order's 10, not to mention Takeshita, Omega, Kingston and Moxley in later months, the Team Filthy member definitely taking the show's name to heart.

Best - Cassidy wonders where his mind is Not long after Jungle Boy had obtained Baltimora, plans had been made to give Orange Cassidy a new theme too. The pick was an inspired one with The Pixies' 'Where is My Mind?' - which many would be familiar with as the ending song to Fight Club - the song suited Cassidy really well, and after positive testing on Dark it was used for the next Dynamite to close off the night.

Best - Arcade Anarchy delivers in spite of a weak feud It should probably be a word of caution to not face the Best Friends in a gimmick match in AEW, because they hit a new gear whenever they do. The feud with Miro and Kip was poor, and fans were more than happy for it to end on the PPV when Miro got his win, but AEW insisted on one more match: Arcade Anarchy - agreed to by Kip. In spite of fears this match ruled: Trent's return with Sue was great, Kris Statlander's return was a huge surprise, it took all 3 Best Friends to keep Miro down and we finished the night with Where is My Mind playing us off. Despite the weak feud, AEW had finished strongly which made reheating Miro a lot easier.

Best - Tully Blanchard wrestles in 2021 The culmination of Jurassic Express vs FTR came in the Crossroads in a 6-Man tag match. Made extra bonkers because Tully Blanchard was FTR's third man in the match. They of course limited his spots and a Shawn Spears return would prove the difference, but it's an entertainingly ridiculous thing that Tully Blanchard both wrestled in 2021 and won: wrestling is just crazy.

Best - Final 4 of Casino Tag Royale put on a Show AEW have played around with the 'Casino' concept for a few stipulations; regular battle royale for men and women, ladder match, and then tag royale. This royale finished strongly though with the final 4; John Silver, Fénix, PAC and Jungle Boy. Four absolutely over stars brawling out in mini-matches that left fans salivating for more, after Silver and PAC were eliminated Fénix and JB put on an absolute treat of a finale, which ended with Fénix getting the win for Death Triangle to face the Bucks.

Best - Silver earns Sting's respect with a Dislocated Shoulder John Silver was voted by Dark Order to take Darby Allin's open challenge for the TNT title - offered because it was the anniversary of Brodie's debut. Silver vs Allin became a great match, made even more impressive since Silver dislocated his shoulder early in the match and kept going. While Silver couldn't bring the title home to the Dark Order, he got a show of respect from Sting - which in turn would lead to the Dark Order coming to Darby and Sting's aid at times.

Best - Maki Itoh breaks America Fans of TJPW or twitter's tdegifs were very familiar with the charismatic foul-mouthed hard-headed former idol Maki Itoh, and seeing her in the Women's Eliminator tournament paid dividends despite her first round elimination. Itoh's popularity skyrocketed, she had an It factor which pissed off Jim Cornette for extra adulation, and come Revolution's Buy-In, Maki Itoh had arrived in Jacksonville for one of the biggest pops of the night. Itoh proved charming and entertaining even though she was aligned with the heels, to the point where she even main evented the inaugural Elevation against Riho. Sadly Itoh would have to return to Japan and unsuccessfully challenge for Rika Tatsumi's TJPW Princess of Princess Championship (her tag partner/former longstanding rival/sauce boss/Pink Striker Miyu Yamashita would however win), have her twitter hacked and set up a new division of her faction 'Saitama Itoh Respect Army 2021' with Yuki Kamifuku and Marika Kobashi, but she had made her mark and then some, the world was a simp for Maki Itoh, and she allowed it because she needed the monies.

Best - Rosa/Baker break the ceiling Itoh vs Riho wasn't the only cross-promotional women's main event AEW gave us, because 2 days later on St. Patrick's Day Smash, Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa's unsanctioned match would deliver on one of the highest rated matches in modern women's wrestling. A bloody and fantastic affair instantly rose Baker and Rosa's stakes in a fitting end to their rivalry, but one that also didn't cost Baker any standing because it technically 'didn't count'. It remains to this day AEW's best match in the women's division.

April 2021 Best - Miro ditches Kip After months of hanging with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford, Miro had become fed up with Superbad. The acceptance against his wishes to fight the Arcade Anarchy proved the last straw as Miro set his focus on capturing any and every title within his reach, with or without Kip. After a few weeks of not seeing Sabian, Miro attacked him, writing Sabian out of action with a legitimate wrist injury while Ford was dealing with an allergic reaction to her eyelashes, with Kip gone Miro could finally be who we were waiting for: at freaking last.

Worst - Interference finishes beget questions of Faction Bloat Although not as bad as WWE, many matches on AEW seemed to end one way or another with factions fighting one another, clean finish or not. This did of course grind on fans and cause questions to arise that perhaps there are too many factions in AEW, they have a point, though easily fixable without splitting any factions up.

Best - Bucks descend to heeldom Don Callis had been a thorn in the Bucks' side for a while, but his words had got in their head, they were indeed the most successful when they were cocky assholes. Although they did save Moxley from being swarmed one time, the six-man tag proved too much for them: they didn't want to see the feral Moxley take out their old and storied friend and so they chose Kenny over morality. No longer annoyed by Callis, the Bucks became absolute shiteating heels again, which benefits the climate of the tag division.

Best - Jade is elevated by being sought out While Jade Cargill would only sporadically appear for squashes, AEW have done well to slow burn her star power by having managers try to get her as a client. It's simple storytelling but effective, because people want Jade it means that Jade is desirable and that makes her more important as a talent.

Best - Baker DeManDs her title shot Because the Unsanctioned Match 'didn't count' Britt Baker had carried the acclaim of that match even in defeat. Baker had stopped dossing around too, legitimately rising up the ranks to the Number 1 spot like a looming shadow to have her crack at Shida's title. It could've been easy to give her a shot by virtue of her performance but AEW did it right - and gave Tay Conti her shot in the process - which made Baker much more valued in her title hunt.

Best - Cage upsets the Hangman At the Number 1 Spot, Hangman Page looked like he was on course to fight Kenny Omega, but when asked about this prospect Page dodged the subject entirely. The thought though would weigh on his mind in his match against Cage, where he was practically squashed in an upset fashion, it was a surprising plot twist and delays Page's clash with Kenny while also adds to Cage's reputation.

May 2021 Best - Varsity Blonds add some Hart The Varsity Blonds had done well considering that they started as being an undercard pair-up and grew into a talented young combo homaging Brian Pillman and Steve Austin's team of the Hollywood Blonds. But adding Nightmare Factory upstart Julia Hart just added the missing piece for the blonds, as a trio they look the part, and their rise feels earned as they put on a great showing against the Bucks.

Worst - QT loses to Cody after all that Cody's Ace Problem had transitioned to the point where QT Marshall was picked to turn on him next, collecting a small portion of the Nightmare Factory who felt that the students were secondary to Cody's ego. When it came to the exhibition Cody won by DQ, but got assaulted by the Factory, so when they had a proper match we had a choice: elevate this new faction or have their leader lose, guess which they chose? QT tapped out to the Figure Four and Cody prevailed.

Best - SCU put it on the line For several months, SCU had put a challenge on themselves that if they lost in tag competition (not singles or battle royales) they would split up. It had worked well because they were undefeated since, but being at the top of the rankings with a heel Young Bucks signalled the inevitable clash between the two teams. The question would be could the Bucks really end the team they welcomed to AEW on Day 1, their friends, the first World Tag Champions of their company, and the answer was yes. A bloodied affair of near falls and the Bucks hamming up any emotional bonds they once had led to a fantastic match that has put a tragic end to SCU.

Worst - SCU's embrace is cut short But immediately after that we cut to Mox and Eddie trashing their locker room. AEW would return to show SCU's final embrace but a 'previously on' is not as effective as seeing it when the wound is fresh, it was the end of a partnership that had spanned a decade, all the way back to Fortune, Bad Influence and then The Addiction, it deserved the time to linger.

Best - Blood and Guts! Last year it was planned that the Elite would face the Inner Circle in a WarGames-esque match called Blood and Guts. But COVID had prevented this, so we changed to Stadium Stampede. With the Inner Circle feuding with the newfly formed Pinnacle, AEW made the right call in bringing Blood and Guts back a year later to clash the two factions against one another. And it truly did live up to its names, a brutish match which cemented the Pinnacle as one of AEW's top factions.

Worst - Blood and Guts (nor Stadium Stampede II) doesn't finish the feud Big gimmick matches like these should be feud enders, but AEW wanted to put the two factions at odds again. With the threat of disbanding, the Inner Circle got a rematch for Double or Nothing for Stadium Stampede and while it wasn't bad fans did feel that the feud should've ended at Blood and Guts. In addition, Stadium Stampede wouldn't even finish their beef as they look to divide into 3 mini-feuds again.

Best - Miro crushes Darby Without Kip, Miro was a monster and he immediately went for gold. A perfect usurper for Darby Allin's TNT title reign, Miro destroyed the fearless and near-indestructible daredevil - who was protected from the squash because Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky had thrown him down some stairs last week - his look over to Sting as they both accepted that they were likely losing this match was a great moment between Miro's destructive force. And as TNT champion Miro is great, his thanking of God for various things are both charming and hilarious but he also manages to pair it with psychotic menace, long may the Best Man reign.

Worst - Cody's American Dream wins over Ogogo's valid points After submitting QT in his match, Cody's celebrations were cut off by Anthony Ogogo, the Olympic Bronze Medallist and former Boxer in QT's Factory, who KO'd Cody and covered him with the UK flag. A feud with Ogogo could've been the saving face moment for the Factory but instead Cody opted to zone in on the flag thing. Painting Ogogo as the 'Anti-American Foreign Heel' did not sit well for anyone who wasn't an uber-American 'Patriot' since the concept was heavily outdated, in addition Ogogo was making real valid points about why he disliked America: pointing out the gross flaws in the country's healthcare system and Cody would reply with how his pregnant wife and unborn daughter were black, choking up his words to garner sympathy. This all falls flat given how Ogogo is also black and never once implied that Cody was a racist. With the chance to put over the Factory with a charismatic young competitor, Cody instead decided to win without even using a finisher - because it was Memorial Day Weekend and America always wins, at this point the Factory remain pretty tainted now since Cody has beaten every member he's faced (and Dustin beat the other one). Saying things worked out on 'Focus Groups' didn't help Cody's defense as to why the feud went the way it did either, it was an outdated narrative with a result that all but screws over the Factory.

Best - The Forbidden Door opens again While none have risen the heights of KENTA's shocking arrival, the Forbidden Door did remain open for some more appearances from NJPW's personnel. Yuji Nagata made a big return to TNT to fight Moxley for the IWGP US Championship but also Ren Narita and Rocky Romero made appearances, the latter having a mini Roppongi Vice reunion with Trent. AEW had also extended the forbidden door to DDT with Konosuke Takeshita impressing on AEW's first house show and on Elevation, and recently a Joker Card appearance for Lio Rush.

Best - Shida gets recognized, and a revamped title After a year of holding the AEW Women's Championship Hikaru Shida had been the subject of criticism from neckbeards acting like she was the 'female Brock Lesnar'. Some were annoyed that Shida's title reign had lasted so long and were blind to the fact that this was clearly intended so Baker could win in front of a crowd. The Dynamite before Double or Nothing though AEW did right by recognizing Shida's work ethic and title reign and by presenting her with a new and larger Women's Championship. While people may complain that they could've unveiled this new title at the PPV I felt it was right to at least let Shida enter the PPV with this title considering how long she had held the Women's Division down. Some poor builds aside, Shida had carried the division with strong matches and worked behind the scenes as well for improving the division, as well as producing the Women's Eliminator Tournament. In this house we do not disrespect Hikaru Shida.

Best - Double or Nothing 2021 And we end on the crescendo, and what a crescendo. The full-time return of fans were graced with an excellently feel-good PPV - aside from Cody beating Ogogo - which had all the competitors perform at a high level. Starting hot, giving Jungle Boy a big unexpected win, Mark Henry debuting and topping it off with Stadium Stampede signed off a big and entertaining year for AEW and closing off with the returning crowd chanting Judas: masterful chef kiss level idea.

The aftermath of DoN while mentioned will probably not be touched on next year because damn were these posts long, but at the very least I did it for WWE and AEW as I said I would. Let's hope that both companies can rise to higher heights and avoid lower lows in the next year when we retread these ppvs again.

[buyaeroprecisionnow-blog]

Dpms Ap4 Ar-15 M4 Type Rifle -- Review

MARTY LUFFMAN:Jonathan, it is sort of a dream come true. We shooters are now part of some other exciting equestrian event thus finally bringing it completely. We have the same spectators in the CMS how the rodeos have, but now folks won't need to leave one event to discover it completely. On the revolver I would personally go with something in.38 special caliber other than a 2 inch barrel if having it concealed is a main factor. Along with mind though that the shorter the barrel, the less accuracy you may have. The Colt Cobra is actually excellent choice if you don't mind a pricey gun; the aero precision lower SP101 is factor option. Don't get me wrong, I love almost every the gun manufacturers reading and own a array of designer labels. But there's a kinship with my Remington and my father's also. Whenever it's hunting season, that's aero precision the primary rifle which reach for in my gun display case. Your neighbor can't decrease on payroll taxes. And the has with regard to the mortgage to have a roof over his family's head. He also needs to keep his car so she can make the drive to his job every lunch. But he can always cut back on produce. the easiest and best performing way to balance any family's ailing budget. The DPMS AP4 sported two 30 round clips, sling, cleaning kit, carry handle, telescoping stock and bayonet haul. I had to stand back and look at the rifle for just a moment. I saw beauty in this particular gun I'd never seen before. Produced by well build, felt solid and was easy to field take. I marveled at the wonderful design and engineering. I started to love this gun, and I hadn't even fired it yet. As she moves about the same six feet of hallway (Spike should preferably by some extension cords for their cameras) she utilizes another tried and true detective technique - she starts yelling "Hello" like she was at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Right about now even Helen Keller knows she's in the building, but our Jayna sticks to her gun and continues to stealth walk her way down exact same stretch of hallway because of stage magic and chemicals of the Spike TV production team. But ar15 lower receiver no matter whether a woman tries the 'exercise' approach cellulite reduction - she usually falls victim of simply not being on a cellulite-specific workout program. Hence perpetuating her constant grapple with all the methods her cellulite affects her daily life, attitude and happiness. The twenty-two inch barrel measures .786 inch diameter forward of the gas block, and in.669 inch under the hand guard to your back of the gas section. It has a one-in-nine-inch rifling twist to accurately stabilize long, heavy bullets, though works well with short, light bullets also. The heavy barrel profile adds stiffness and one greater skill to absorb heat than does the standard barrel profile used close to original Mini and the Ranch Shot gun.

[defensefilms]

NFL Week 6 Picks And Adam Schefter Might Be Cancelled

WEEK 6 Picks:

1. Buccaneer Over Eagles

2. Dolphins Over Jaguars

3. Vikings Over Panthers

4. Chargers Over Ravens*

5, Rams Over Giants

6. Texans Over Colts

7. Chiefs Over Washington

8. Packers Over Bears

9. Bengals Over Lions

10. Cardinals Over Browns

11. Cowboys Over Patriots

12. Broncos Over Raiders

13. Steelers Over Seahawks

14. Bills Over Titans

WEEK 6 Preview: 

So I see a couple of games here that I feel the need to go out on a limb with on a little bit.

Starting with the 2-3 Minnesota Vikings, who I feel are playing the Carolina Panthers at just the right time. I’m betting on the Panthers finally sliding backwards and the Vikings to finally picking up a win over an opponent with a limited quarterback in Sam Darnold.

The other game I’m very willing to gamble on is the Texans to beat the Colts in Indianapolis. The way that the Colts lost that Monday night game against Baltimore, just proves that they are ripe for the taking and any team they play has a shot to beat them, no matter what the score is.

The Las Vegas Raiders had Jon Gruden step down from this head coaching and while the Raiders offense is still the best unit on the field, as far as talent and production, they’re in too much turmoil to be picked by anyone. They could surprise me but I’m taking the Broncos in that AFC West divisional game.

That New England-Dallas game definitely looks like it will a tasty one, and with the Cowboys beginning to look more complete, both on offense and defense, Dak and Zeke look poised to give Bill Belichick fits on Sunday night. 

The Arizona Cardinals taking on the Cleveland Browns is another of the more compelling games on offer this weekend.

Game Of The Week:

There could have been a number of games in this spot this week but I couldn’t go against the idea of Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, taking on the 4-1 Los Angeles Chargers.

Couple of narrative here, one of them being the battle of the young quarterbacks, with Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson, but also the Chargers were Lamar Jackson’s first ever playoff opponent in 2018 and on that day, they overcame the Ravens by 23-17.

The dynamics are different here, but these are looking like the next two best teams in the conference behind the Buffalo Bills. 

This is an opportunity for the Charger to really take ahold of the AFC West and stay firmly among the top teams in the AFC as a conference. For the Ravens, it’s a chance to slay an old demon, and deal a severe blow to the Charger while taking a seat in the top spots of the AFC for themselves.

The Adam Schefter Problem:

In light of the e-mails that were uncovered, the very same ones that resulted in Jon Gruden no longer being the head coach of the Raiiders, are part of the NFL’s investigation in to the Washington Football Team and their owner Dan Snyder, and it’s beginning to appear, that there is in fact, a culture of collusion between NFL teams and some members of the national media.

It appears that in a specific e-mail that ESPN’s lead NFL analyst, known as being the most informed and in-the-know reporter in his field, asked former Washington Football Team general manager, Bruce Allen, for his okay to publish a story, back in 2011.

Michael Smith is a former ESPN writer, sportscaster and analyst. He’s now independent and mainly posts on his youtube channel called “Brother From Another”.

Along side his co-host, Michael Holley, Michael Smith, broke down how Adam Schefter violated journalistic protocol by asking the subject of a story to essentially edit the story before publishing it. He goes on to say that what Schefter did, is absolutely not the norm in sports media.

Again this feeds in to the culture of the “select few” in the NFL and the greater danger being how much control teams have over what information gets out.

It’s probably over for Schefter, ESPN can keep him around or on the payroll but if his name is actually attached to a story, it will be greeted with suspicion and rightly so.

Michael Holley went on to state, at the end of his and Michael Smith’s video, that there has always been a culture of protection around the Washington Football Team, as far as how the league and the commissioner dealt with them, and the e-mails being uncovered are showing why this is the case. 

[dsmadmin]

#GhostFromThePast

Jo was sitting at her desk in black waters. Looking at the time of day it was. She was sat with her laptop on looking to see what has been happening in the world. Deep down she was surfing for anything Supernatural. When she stopped on a possible ghost house reading through the news of four teenagers breaking into in an asylum full of ghosts after staying the night on some kind of a dare. When two only two teenagers came out of the house alive in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She ponders over the article. That sound like her kind of thing but she wanted to check out a few times first by going to the library. When she powered down her laptop. She wasn't to take any silly risks without knowing all the facts. For her, it's been quiet in the last few days. With her life was starting to fall back into place. She was settling into her new life here in Austin but she missed her mom very much. She needed to put her big girlie pants on and stop to reply on her mom and stand on her own two feet. Which she was doing for the last few weeks. With her buying her place as she was stable in her new place here in Austin and working in black waters. With her friends and she could call some of the family. When she looked over at the photograph on her desk with Her mom Eileen, Bobby, Colt, Cas and Sam. The last photo of them will get her when they hunted together. When she thought she would check the roster of what hunters were on call. To see if they were interested in going on a hunt. Which she did when a certain name flashed up to her. Sam Winchester. She had missed Sam Winchester. Colt’s brother Sam when he took his own life. She missed the conversation between Sam and her. She hoped he was at peace wherever he is upstairs in heaven. A small smile curve into her lips as she looked at him a little more. She deeply missed him as he was like a big brother to her. The brother she never had. When she looked into his file and sadness fell on her heart. Picking up the photography in her hand with her thumb rubbing over Sam's face. I miss you, Sam. I wish you were still here. Jo put the photography back proud on her desk. When she stood up to go to the library to check on everything about ghosts. This was another thing Sam was amazing at. When he saw a large man in the distance of the stalls of the library. Picking up some books. When she stopped herself in her tracks just looking at him. She had frozen in the spot just keeping her eyes on Him.

Sam -Standing in the center of an aisle wearing a grey and white checkered flannel with faded blue jeans, his hair just a little to long and his boots scuffed up from rough use. Several books in his hands and one opened he was just doing a few pages of speed reading to see if it was relevant to what he needed and was looking for when he got a feeling he was being watched. Head up he looked around and his eyes fell on a small blonde at the end of the aisle. When he'd agreed to work with Blackwater he'd made it clear he wanted transparency and Colt had given him access to every employee on Blackwaters payroll. Having had some encounters with the British Men of Letters Sam had been leery joining up but as he got to know Colt the more trusting he'd gotten. Even though the guy was different than his brother he still had those core things that made them /Dean/. So he knew who she was by remembering her face. He smiled and raised a hand to wave hello.-

Jo - Her eyes were just drawn to him was Sam back. When she tried to speak with nothing was coming out of her mouth at the first. When she saw his hand waving her over to him, she started to move closer to the giant of the Man in his blue jeans and flannel shirt. A million questions were playing in her head she wanted to talk to /Her/ Sam, but how could he be back with his body getting a hunters funeral and now he was just standing only a few yards away. When she approached him. Trying to make some saliva in her mouth as her mouth was dry. Her mouth felt like sandpaper as she struggles to speak before and letting out a deep breath. “Sam?”

Sam - Yeah. I'm sorry, this is probably weird. We've never met but I've read some of your file... -Holds out his hand and gives her a genuine smile.- Sam Winchester, but you probably knew that of course. It's good to finally meet you.

Jo - Jo couldn't get her head around that Sam Winchester was standing in front other. This was a huge deal for her. With the introduction of him, she smiled with millions of questions playing in her head. Her voice went very high when she spoke. “ Hello, Sam how are you okay. What's going as she set out a few quick questions in no time? Not giving him the chance to answer. Yes, I know you are Sam Winchester, not the one I know of but A new Sam Winchester. Can I ask something? Her mouth just fires out another question without even thinking. Are you just like my Sam? It's great to meet you, Sam. How long have you been here? You have been reading my file. I guess you like to do your homework on all hunters here at black waters? Jo tries to stop with the quick-fire questions to the man standing in front of her as she tried to breathe without answering another question him. *she misread the hand gesture and just hugged him, as she would Do with the other Sam*

Sam - -Little surprised but he went with it and hugged her back.- Well Dean and I have always been here. I’m assuming you’re asking if we came through a rift. The answer is no. I’m not sure how your “Sam” was so I can’t answer that. But look hey it’s great to meet you though.

Jo - -She paused herself in the hug listening to him talking. When she moved from the hug let him go. Taking a step back from to look up to him- You didn't? But how are you here Sam, sorry about all the questions?

Sam - This is my home dimension Jo, from what I've discussed with other things here are different from other places but we Winchesters are still hunters here.

Jo -*She stopped and bite her lip in front of him. Feeling like an idiot so jumping to the conclusion that's the man standing in front of her was from another world. * My apologies, Sam, I just thought you were from somewhere else as you just remind me of my Sam from here. I didn't realize there could be two of you from the same dimension. Can I buy you a coffee for apologies? And maybe we start over and talk?

Sam - -He didn't realize there were two of him here but he didn't say anything about it.- There's nothing to apologize for and if you want to talk sure I don't mind.

Jo - *She breathes easy from making an idiot of herself. Okay, he's a different Sam from this world not one of these sites that keep opening up. Which itself needs to be investigated. May Sam would be interested in looking into it. *

Great, I hear that's a great smoothie and sushi restaurant just outside and around the next block if you are interested? I know I could do with some help with a case if you are interested.

Sam - That sounds good. -Stuffing his hands into his jacket he walked alongside her.- Yeah sure, what's the case about?

Jo - Jo began to walk beside him, as they made their way out of the library. She had forgotten how to tall Sam was as she felt like a midget beside him. Looking up to him. Carrying the file in her bag she was allocated back at black waters. She didn't have a permanent hunter partner as she like the freedom of working with many hunters to expanding her acknowledges of all the hunters of black water. She knew in great details of Sam Winchester with his knowledge of the lora of most everything supernatural as the same age knew before this was a book worm and she wonders if this one would be the same.

*Continue to walk around to the little smoothie bar opening the door for Sam to step in* let's take a seat and we can talk. *Walking over to a booth* is this okay Sam? *Offering him a smile as she slips her small body into the booth seat*

Sam on my Last hunt I came across this special book that I've heard everyone is looking for when I mean Everyone I mean the supernatural world especially the witches and special crazy one as in there's this group of species that has been taking the limbs from us the humans but I can't seem to figure out what they are. A few nights ago I was investigating a young woman in a south haven in Michigan, in the State University where she was seen going into a medical building to see a scientist on the CCTV. Around forty-five minutes later a janitor found her in the medical room with her eyes missing and there was a shadow caught in CCTV escaping from jumping out of the ninth story window and landed on its feet. I just don't understand what could stand on its feet from that high. I came back to black waters looking for answers as the trail has gone quiet.

Sam followed Jo and took a seat listening to her. His mind racing for several reasons. He glanced around thinking a public place might not be the best spot if she truly had something everyone wanted but he didn't want to offend her so he let her finish and thought about what to ask first. He'd heard of several books that everyone would like to get their hands on but he wasn't sure which she meant. Lowering his voice.- Jo, this book. It's an actual book? Like a grimoire or is it like a stone tablet? This might not be the best place... to discuss this. -Eyes move from people around them back to her. Could be demons sitting right next to them and they'd never know without outing themselves as hunters in broad daylight.- We'd have to narrow it down there are many things that could do something like that. *Jo listened to Sam and knew she had to be careful to watch what she would say next with all the eyes and ears around. She nodded and smiled at his questions, this Sam doesn't know her well enough to speak in Hunter code to answer him to what book she had. When the time was right and the location, with no ears around she was willing to discuss this further with him. The last thing she wanted was to put Sam or herself in danger of being out on the opening.*, let's have this drink I promised you and we can go somewhere else to show you my workout moves? I know you will want to see them since this was your kind of thing Sam. If you are in?

Sam - Sure, always up for learning something new.

Jo - Good, I can always do with a great hunter on my side. How about me we order and have none hunter conversation right here. To get to know each other since there are unknown ears around. What are you drinking Sam?

Sam - Coffee is fine.

Jo - *Waves to the waitress over* No problem a straight black one? Do you want anything to eat? *Looking at the menu*

[dsmroleplay]

#AGhostFromThePast #SPN #DSM #RP Part One

Written by: @HuntressJo_rp & @swinchesterdsm​

*Jo was sitting at her desk in black waters. Looking at the time of day it was. She was sat with her laptop on looking to see what has been happening in the world. Deep down she was surfing for anything Supernatural. When she stopped on a possible ghost house reading through the news of four teenagers breaking into an asylum full of ghosts after staying the night on some kind of a dare. When two only two teenagers came out of the house alive in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She ponders over the article. That sound like her kind of thing but she wanted to check out a few times first by going to the library. 

When she powered down her laptop. She wasn't to take any silly risks without knowing all the facts. For her, it's been quiet in the last few days. With her life was starting to fall back into place. She was settling into her new life here in Austin but she missed her mom very much. She needed to put her big girlie pants on and stop to reply to her mom and stand on her own two feet. Which she was doing for the last few weeks. With her buying her place as she was stable in her new place here in Austin and working in black waters. With her friends and she could call some of the family. When she looked over at the photograph on her desk with Her mom Eileen, Bobby, Colt, Cas and Sam. 

The last photo of them will get her when they hunted together. When she thought she would check the roster of what hunters were on call. To see if they were interested in going on a hunt. Which she did when a certain name flashed up to her. Sam Winchester. She had missed Sam Winchester. Colt’s brother Sam when he took his own life. She missed the conversation between Sam and her. She hoped he was at peace wherever he is upstairs in heaven. A small smile curve into her lips as she looked at him a little more. 

She deeply missed him as he was like a big brother to her. The brother she never had. When she looked into his file and sadness fell on her heart. Picking up the photography in her hand with her thumb rubbing over Sam's face. I miss you, Sam. I wish you were still here. Jo put the photography back proud on her desk. When she stood up to go to the library to check on everything about ghosts. This was another thing Sam was amazing at. When he saw a large man in the distance of the stalls of the library. Picking up some books. When she stopped herself in her tracks just looking at him. She had frozen in the spot just keeping her eyes on Him.

::::::::::::::::::

Sam was Standing in the centre of an aisle wearing a grey and white checkered flannel with faded blue jeans, his hair just a little too long and his boots scuffed up from rough use. Several books in his hands and one opened he was just doing a few pages of speed reading to see if it was relevant to what he needed and was looking for when he got a feeling he was being watched. Head up he looked around and his eyes fell on a small blonde at the end of the aisle. When he'd agreed to work with Blackwater he'd made it clear he wanted transparency and Colt had given him access to every employee on Blackwaters payroll. Having had some encounters with the British Men of Letters Sam had been leery joining up but as he got to know Colt the more trusting he'd gotten. Even though the guy was different from his brother he still had those core things that made them /Dean/. So he knew who she was by remembering her face. He smiled and raised a hand to wave hello.-

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jo's eyes were just drawn to him was Sam back. When she tried to speak with nothing was coming out of her mouth at the first. When she saw his hand waving her over to him, she started to move closer to the giant of the Man in his blue jeans and flannel shirt. A million questions were playing in her head she wanted to talk to /Her/ Sam, but how could he be back with his body getting a hunters funeral and now he was just standing only a few yards away. When she approached him. Trying to make some saliva in her mouth as her mouth was dry. Her mouth felt like sandpaper as she struggles to speak before and letting out a deep breath. “Sam?”

:::::::::::::::::::

Sam Yeah. I'm sorry, this is probably weird. We've never met but I've read some of your files... -Holds out his hand and gives her a genuine smile.- Sam Winchester, but you probably knew that of course. It's good to finally meet you.

::::::::::::::::::::::

Jo couldn't get her head around that Sam Winchester was standing in front of others. This was a huge deal for her. With the introduction of him, she smiled with millions of questions playing in her head. Her voice went very high when she spoke. “ Hello, Sam how are you okay. What's going as she set out a few quick questions in no time? Not giving him the chance to answer. Yes, I know you are Sam Winchester, not the one I know of but A new Sam Winchester. Can I ask something? Her mouth just fires out another question without even thinking. Are you just like my Sam? It's great to meet you, Sam. How long have you been here? You have been reading my file. I guess you like to do your homework on all hunters here at black waters? Jo tries to stop with the quick-fire questions to the man standing in front of her as she tried to breathe without answering another question. *she misread the hand gesture and just hugged him, as she would Do with the other Sam*

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam was a little surprised but he went with it and hugged her back.- Well Dean and I have always been here. I’m assuming you’re asking if we came through a rift. The answer is no. I’m not sure how your “Sam” was so I can’t answer that. But look hey it’s really great to meet you though.

:::::::::::::::::::::::

Jo paused herself in the hug listening to him talking. When she moved from the hug let him go. Taking a step back from to look up to him- You didn't? But how are you here Sam, sorry about all the questions?

[ladyimaginarium]

👫 beretta? :3c

Upon taking him back home, Beretta quickly found that she really liked this kid. He always wanted to impress her with what he could do, and when he couldn’t, he’d get easily frustrated. But what he couldn’t do physically, she would teach him what she knew about the world and educating him. So, whenever she’s away for long and extended periods of time, Mikhail gets easily frightened due to his abandonment issues, and because of this, he becomes the little imp in the Corsica household and more or less terrorizes the entire mansion - and it’s usually up to Sig and/or Colt to catch him before he pisses Corsica off. When Beretta returns, however, he stops immediately and rushes over in his wheelchair and gives her a hug. However, when the incidents became far too much, Beretta gently asked him why he was causing a ruckus, and Mikhail told her that he was terrified of being alone. Feeling a sense of pity and empathy for the boy, for she knew all too well what that felt like once, she reassured him that that would never be the case, not anymore at least. She’s made him promise that if he won’t fight anyone or terrorized the place when she’s gone anymore, that she’ll take him out to do whatever he wants ; he obliged.

She’s recently noticed that there’s a playful sibling rivalry between Mikhail, Colt and Sig, and at times, even Emilio ; she thinks it’s really cute. Sig sometimes gives him lollipops, Colt allows him to play with the stray cats that come near the mansion and Emilio had Mikhail try out being a DJ and make his own music. She recalls overhearing one night when the trio were telling him ghost stories and about the monster known as Krampus. Sig and Colt give him tags from the corpses of Twilights they’ve collected ; Beretta knows all too well that although they may never admit it, Mikhail’s grown on them just as much as he’s grown on her.

There are times when Mikhail has difficulty sleeping so Beretta sings him lullabies ; it soothes him.

Although she’s perfectly fine with his inability to walk and doesn’t mind pushing him around on his wheelchair for the time being, unbeknownst to most, Beretta’s threatened anyone who even looks at the boy the wrong way that she would utterly destroy them. She’s recently intimidated one of the scientists under Uranos Corsica’s payroll to getting a surgery ready to repair Mikhail’s Achilles Tendons - it could be prepared anytime now.

send me 👫 and i’ll give you four headcanons about our muses. || always accepting. || @tagcollector

[hyderabaddeccannews]

Today I.e Wednesday 10th July, 2019, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad Sri. Anjani Kumar, IPS, along with DCP, ACP West Zone makes a visit to Asifnagar Police Station Regarding Reviews law & order situation. Progress of CCTNS, also had a discussions with all payroll car & blue colt officers. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=893867414307932&id=239189673109046 (at Asif Nagar) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzvVK32ppkR/?igshid=xj59skw1r8qj

[lauracrofty-blog]

The 2017 NFL League year began on March 9 at 4:00 p.m. EST. On March 7, clubs were allowed to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the agents of players who became unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their contracts two days later. On March 9, clubs exercised options for 2017 on players who have option clauses in their contracts, submitted qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts and to whom desire to retain a Right of Refusal/Compensation, submitted a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2016 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit, and teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "Top-51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a collected salary cap hit below the actual cap). The 2017 trading period also began the same day.

Free agency @ NFL

A total of 496 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period.[4] Among the high-profile players who changed teams via free agency were cornerbacks A.J. Bouye (from Texans to Jaguars), Logan Ryan (from Patriots to Titans), and Stephon Gilmore (from Bills to Patriots); safeties Barry Church (from Cowboys to Jaguars), Johnathan Cyprien (from Jaguars to Titans), Micah Hyde (from Packers to Bills), and Tony Jefferson (from Cardinals to Ravens); linebackers Jabaal Sheard (from Patriots to Colts), Malcolm Smith (from Raiders to 49ers),

and Manti Te'o (from Chargers to Saints); defensive tackles Johnathan Hankins (from Giants to Colts) and Calais Campbell (from Cardinals to Jaguars); offensive tackles Andrew Whitworth (from Bengals to Rams), Kelvin Beachum (from Jaguars to Jets), Matt Kalil (from Vikings to Panthers), Mike Remmers (from Panthers to Vikings), Ricky Wagner (from Ravens to Lions), Riley Reiff (from Lions to Vikings), and Russell Okung (from Broncos to Chargers); offensive guards Kevin Zeitler (from Bengals to Browns),

Larry Warford (from Lions to Saints), Ronald Leary (from Cowboys to Broncos), and T.J. Lang (from Packers to Lions); tight ends Martellus Bennett (from Patriots to Packers) and Jared Cook (from Packers to Raiders); wide receivers Alshon Jeffery (from Bears to Eagles), Brandon Marshall (from Jets to Giants), DeSean Jackson (from Redskins to Buccaneers), Kenny Britt (from Rams to Browns), Pierre Garçon (from Redskins to 49ers), Robert Woods (from Bills to Rams), Terrelle Pryor (from Browns to Redskins),

and Torrey Smith (from 49ers to Eagles); running backs Latavius Murray (from Raiders to Vikings), Adrian Peterson (from Vikings to Saints), Eddie Lacy (from Packers to Seahawks), and Jamaal Charles (from Chiefs to Broncos); fullbacks Mike Tolbert (from Panthers to Bills) and Patrick DiMarco (from Falcons to Bills); quarterback Mike Glennon (from Buccaneers to Bears) @ NFL.

[dsmadmin]

#GhostFromThePast

Co written by @SWinchesterDSM and @HuntressJo_rp

*Jo was sitting at her desk in black waters. Looking at the time of day it was. She was sat with her laptop on looking to see what has been happening in the world. Deep down she was surfing for anything Supernatural. When she stopped on a possible ghost house reading through the news of four teenagers breaking into in an asylum full of ghosts after staying the night on some kind of a dare. When two only two teenagers came out of the house alive in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She ponders over the article. That sound like her kind of thing but she wanted to check out a few times first by going to the library. When she powered down her laptop. She wasn't to take any silly risks without knowing all the facts. For her, it's been quiet in the last few days. With her life was starting to fall back into place. She was settling into her new life here in Austin but she missed her mom very much. She needed to put her big girlie pants on and stop to reply on her mom and stand on her own two feet. Which she was doing for the last few weeks. With her buying her place as she was stable in her new place here in Austin and working in black waters. With her friends and she could call some of the family. When she looked over at the photograph on her desk with Her mom Eileen, Bobby, Colt, Cas and Sam. The last photo of them will get her when they hunted together. When she thought she would check the roster of what hunters were on call. To see if they were interested in going on a hunt. Which she did when a certain name flashed up to her. Sam Winchester. She had missed Sam Winchester. Colt’s brother Sam when he took his own life. She missed the conversation between Sam and her. She hoped he was at peace wherever he is upstairs in heaven. A small smile curve into her lips as she looked at him a little more. She deeply missed him as he was like a big brother to her. The brother she never had. When she looked into his file and sadness fell on her heart. Picking up the photography in her hand with her thumb rubbing over Sam's face. I miss you, Sam. I wish you were still here. Jo put the photography back proud on her desk. When she stood up to go to the library to check on everything about ghosts. This was another thing Sam was amazing at. When he saw a large man in the distance of the stalls of the library. Picking up some books. When she stopped herself in her tracks just looking at him. She had frozen in the spot just keeping her eyes on Him.

Sam -Standing in the center of an aisle wearing a grey and white checkered flannel with faded blue jeans, his hair just a little to long and his boots scuffed up from rough use. Several books in his hands and one opened he was just doing a few pages of speed reading to see if it was relevant to what he needed and was looking for when he got a feeling he was being watched. Head up he looked around and his eyes fell on a small blonde at the end of the aisle. When he'd agreed to work with Blackwater he'd made it clear he wanted transparency and Colt had given him access to every employee on Blackwaters payroll. Having had some encounters with the British Men of Letters Sam had been leery joining up but as he got to know Colt the more trusting he'd gotten. Even though the guy was different than his brother he still had those core things that made them /Dean/. So he knew who she was by remembering her face. He smiled and raised a hand to wave hello.-

Jo - Her eyes were just drawn to him was Sam back. When she tried to speak with nothing was coming out of her mouth at the first. When she saw his hand waving her over to him, she started to move closer to the giant of the Man in his blue jeans and flannel shirt. A million questions were playing in her head she wanted to talk to /Her/ Sam, but how could he be back with his body getting a hunters funeral and now he was just standing only a few yards away. When she approached him. Trying to make some saliva in her mouth as her mouth was dry. Her mouth felt like sandpaper as she struggles to speak before and letting out a deep breath. “Sam?”

Sam - Yeah. I'm sorry, this is probably weird. We've never met but I've read some of your file... -Holds out his hand and gives her a genuine smile.- Sam Winchester, but you probably knew that of course. It's good to finally meet you.

Jo - Jo couldn't get her head around that Sam Winchester was standing in front other. This was a huge deal for her. With the introduction of him, she smiled with millions of questions playing in her head. Her voice went very high when she spoke. “ Hello, Sam how are you okay. What's going as she set out a few quick questions in no time? Not giving him the chance to answer. Yes, I know you are Sam Winchester, not the one I know of but A new Sam Winchester. Can I ask something? Her mouth just fires out another question without even thinking. Are you just like my Sam? It's great to meet you, Sam. How long have you been here? You have been reading my file. I guess you like to do your homework on all hunters here at black waters? Jo tries to stop with the quick-fire questions to the man standing in front of her as she tried to breathe without answering another question to him. *she misread the hand gesture and just hugged him, as she would Do with the other Sam*

Sam - -Little surprised but he went with it and hugged her back.- Well Dean and I have always been here. I’m assuming you’re asking if we came through a rift. The answer is no. I’m not sure how your “Sam” was so I can’t answer that. But look hey it’s really great to meet you though.

Jo - -She paused herself in the hug listening to him talking. When she moved from the hug let him go. Taking a step back from to look up to him- You didn't? But how are you here Sam, sorry about all the questions?

[mittensmorgul]

I'm not sure calling out Mary for saying "I love you" is entirely fair, or comparing her use of the words to Cas'. Of course she doesn't love Sam and Dean as strongly as Cas does. How could she? She just met them, she's just getting to know them. But I think it's important to remember that even if Mary was raised as a hunter, she was still raised by a very traditional looking family, and the bar for saying "I love you" in a traditional family isn't so damn high. (1/2)

Mary's frame of reference for those words is so different. Mothers tell their children they love them, all the time, for no real reason (I'm generalizing here. I'm aware there are lots of moms who don't do this). Even when they feel distant from you, or they're angry at you, or they don't understand you. I think it says a lot more about what Sam, Dean, and Cas have been through than it does about Mary that in order to say things like that someone has to be dying. (2/2)

Oh, no. I’m not “calling her out” for telling her kids she loves them. I mean, I’m a mom, and I tell my kid “I love you” every day. The thing is, it’s not what I think about the importance or profound meaning behind a casual love declaration like that is. It’s what 12 years of Supernatural has stated this phrase means.

In TWELVE YEARS, Sam and Dean have never ONCE come out and directly said, “I LOVE YOU.” TO ANYONE.

(yeah Dean said it to Mary, while reenacting a scene that had occurred when he was four years old, and he once told Sam-- in his djinn dream-- to tell Mary he loved her)

But as far as we know, Dean hasn’t said those words TO ANYONE in more than 30 years.

Yet I don’t think that any reasonable person could argue that he doesn’t love Sam, or Cas, or Mary... because for Dean the words are meaningless without the proof, and that happens through actions. This isn’t me judging Mary for saying the words, this is how the SHOW ITSELF has established the way Dean understands what it really means to be “family.”

This is how DEAN defines love, explaining it to Crowley in 10.17:

DEAN: Never saw that coming, either. What is it, huh? Why you letting mommy dearest tie you into knots?CROWLEY: Because... We're family. Blood.DEAN: That's not the same thing. A wise man once told me, "family don't end in blood," but it doesn't start there, either. Family cares about you, not what you can do for them. Family's there through the good, bad... all of it. They got your back... even when it hurts. That's family. That sound like your mother?

Someone can SAY “we’re family!” until they’re blue in the damn face, but if they then turn around and stab you in the back and expect you to just roll over and accept it “because we’re family!” then... 

I mean going back to 6.21, Cas hadn’t really learned this lesson yet, either. He THOUGHT he had. The whole reason for agreeing to Crowley’s plan to “pop purgatory” was based on the fact that he could leave Dean entirely out of it. He started down this road in an attempt to PROTECT Dean, to leave him “in peace.” And he’d already gone too far down the road, and his desire to keep Dean out of it had already failed.

CASTIEL: I thought you said that we were like family. Well I think that too. Shouldn't trust run both ways?DEAN: Cas, I just can't...CASTIEL: Dean, I do everything that you ask. I always come when you call, and I am your friend. Still, despite your lack of faith in me, and now your threats, I just saved you, yet again. Has anyone but your closest kin ever done more for you? All I ask is this one thing.DEAN: Trust your plan to pop Purgatory?CASTIEL: I've earned that, Dean.

Thing is, Cas was desperate here. If Raphael got that power instead, the apocalypse would start right back up and there would’ve been nothing anybody could’ve done to stop it. He was in an impossible situation.

I think Dean even recognized that, because he couldn’t even offer any viable alternative for Cas. He just knew that nothing good could come of Cas’s current plan. Partly because Cas had done ALL of it behind his back.

That’s one reason I’m relieved that Mary has come at least PARTIALLY clean here as early in the season as she did. It means she still has time to turn back and find another way.

She also doesn’t have the fate of the universe resting on her choices here, the way Cas did when fighting the war in Heaven. There were real stakes involved back then. If he lost, the whole planet would lose.

Mary’s not fighting a war. Not a real one, anyway. And yet, without planet-ending stakes on the table, she’s demanding Sam and Dean trust her choice to work with the MoL, despite what they’ve already experienced about working with them...

And she’s basing her demand that they “hear her out” on the fact that “they’re family.”

Which for Dean is just a different way of telling someone he loves them. People have to EARN that designation, even if they’re blood.

It’s fine for her to say “I love you,” and it’s a biological fact that they’re family. But to Dean, there is a difference between family and ///FAMILY///, and Mary’s violated one of the biggest rules for him:

She didn’t have their backs. She chose the people who’d been party to Sam’s torture over her own sons. And when the whole truth comes out about her part in 12.12, and what she’d really been sent there for... I think there’s going to be a MAJOR sense of betrayal.

Sure, she had no idea things were going to go so horribly wrong there, but if she hadn’t been lying in order to prevent Sam and Dean from finding out the truth about her working with the MoL, they would’ve been able to prevent that entire situation from happening in the first place.

And even AFTER all that went down, she STILL went back to work for the MoL.

That’s just not, in Dean’s definition of the word, what family would do.

All the words in the world can’t make up for her choices and her actions if it hasn’t changed anything. No amount of “I love you’s” can just make that betrayal disappear if she doesn’t actually do anything to demonstrate the fact.

Mary learned that the MoL had given her “bad intel” that nearly got Cas killed and DID get Wally killed. But she accepted Ketch’s apology and went right on working for them. Not only that, she handed over the Colt. If that had been Dean, he would’ve walked away from that arrangement. Like he did after Samuel tried to feed him and Sam to ghouls...

Samuel was “family” too. What would Mary have thought of his choice to resurrect her at the expense of her own sons’ lives? THAT’S NOT HOW WE DO FAMILY AROUND HERE!

Yet, that’s exactly how Mary’s choice to keep working for the MoL feels to Sam and Dean here...

Granted, Samuel had never known Sam and Dean before. They didn’t really mean anything to him. The fact they were Mary’s children was sort of an abstract concept to him. Mary was all that mattered to him.

That’s... kinda monstrous, no?

It’s this twisted bargain to bring back Mary at the expense of Sam and Dean’s lives that made it impossible for ANYTHING Samuel said to overcome that. In 6.16 (granted, it’s while he’s possessed by the Khan worm, but still...)

SAM Put your gun down.SAMUEL What you gonna do, son? You're not gonna shoot me. You got your soul back. You gonna shoot your own family?SAM Yeah, I wouldn't go with the family thing. Try again.

And then later, when Sam is feeling guilty for shooting Samuel:

SAM I don't know. I mean, I barely remember him, and what I do remember – it's not good. And what he did to us...But...DEAN There's a "but"?SAM I mean, I just can't help but think...What would Mom say?DEAN You know what I think Mom would say? She'd say just 'cause you're blood doesn't make you family. You got to earn that.

And just... in the show’s own shorthand, saying “I love you” and then turning around and going right back to work with the MoL are two contradictory things. Saying “we’re family” but then announcing you’ve been secretly working with the people who’ve hurt your family all along negates the family sentiment.

Yes, Mary wants a chance to explain, she wants Sam and Dean to hear her out, but I don’t really think there’s anything she can say to make her choice to continue working for the MoL okay. If at the end of 12.14 she stays on the MoL’s payroll, it would be as bad in Dean’s mind as Samuel feeding them to the ghouls.

And no combination of words can fix that. Only actions can.

One week after the earth-shattering weight of Castiel’s “I love you,” Mary’s casual and repeated use of the phrase despite having kept up this betrayal, combined with her pulling the “we’re family” card when she confessed... and then proceeded to “explain herself...” Well, this had better damn well be one hell of a weighty explanation here to justify those words, at least to Dean.

I’m just saying that the show has instilled both “I love you” and the concept of “Family” with far more meaning than they’d have to anyone else on the planet. To Dean (and to Sam, and even to Cas), they know and understand that these are not terms that are thrown around lightly. And the show has demonstrated over and over again that Mary doesn’t yet understand this.

This will be her “teachable moment.”